Category Archives: Book Review

Review of: Vince Flynn’s “American Assassin”

Posted on by
4

With all that’s going on with our Mark Steyn event, it was nice to take a break and read the latest hit from my favorite author.

I had heard Rush Limbaugh mention Vince Flynn over the radio last year and decided that if Rush recommended it, it must be topnotch. I picked up a copy of Extreme Measures at an airport book store and began the book on a short flight. A sleepless night later, I was hooked. After devouring my first Mitch Rapp (the feature character) novel, I proceeded to purchase every other book Vince Flynn had written.

The latest in the Rapp saga, American Assassin, brings the reader back to the origins of the CIA’s most effective assassin. Assassin takes place shortly after Rapp’s long-time girlfriend, Maureen Eliot, was killed aboard Pan Am Flight 103, the Lockerbie Bombing. Following Maureen’s death, Rapp dreamed of delivering justice to those responsible.

Rapp’s recruiter, Irene Kennedy, has to fight to get Mitch accepted in the CIA training program. Stan Hurley, who we have  met in earlier books, is the man responsible for training the next generation of black ops agents. He is immediately skeptical of Rapp, who he refers to as a “college puke,” because Rapp has no prior military experience. However, Rapp’s chief defender, Irene Kennedy, contends that the CIA needs someone who can think outside of the box and act independently and she believes that Rapp is that man. With Kennedy’s support, Rapp is admitted into the training program where he makes a first impression only Mitch Rapp can make (if you have read any of the other Rapp books you know what that means). From the outset, Rapp shows signs of what we know he will become. Despite the fact that he has had no formal training, his work ethic and raw athletic ability (he was a standout athlete at Syracuse, captaining the lacrosse team) make Rapp a formidable force. He excels in the training program, mastering all required fields.

On a side note, while we have met an older Stan Hurley in recent books, the younger, field operative Hurley is one of my favorite characters. Just a tough, mean, no nonsense SOB. He’s a drunk, temperamental vet that still strikes fear into the hearts of terrorists the world over.  All you really need to know is that he goes by the code name “William Tecumseh Sherman” because he plans on burning his enemies to the ground. That makes him my type of guy. Enough said.

Anyhow, After Rapp finishes his training (as by far the best recruit), we follow him on his first mission. Without giving too much away, Rapp sets the tone with how well he does with orders right off the bat, disregarding his superiors and executing a plan he considers more logical. On this operation Rapp tracks down a renowned arms dealer, who by the way sold the explosives to the Lockerbie bomber. The sequence wherein Rapp pulls the trigger with a terrorist on the receiving end of swift justice does not disappoint.

Rapps’s next venture finds him in Beiruit, Lebanon, at the time of a ceasefire agreement which ended the nation’s bloody civil war. There, Rapp is supposed to rendezvous with Hurley and another agent when something goes wrong. Hurley is recognized from his last trip to Lebanon, and is almost immediately taken hostage. Rapp is faced with the option of leaving Hurley behind, or going into indian country and trying a long shot rescue mission. Obviously, Rapp goes in and all hell breaks lose. Throw in some Russian gangsters/government officials as secondary villains on top of an all-star cast of Muslim terrorists and you have another gem from Vince Flynn.

Click HERE to purchase American Assassin

Review of "Young Guns: a New generation of Conservative Leaders"

Posted on by
9

Two years ago it was said that the elections of Barack Obama to the presidency, an overwhelming Democratic majority in the House and 60 Democrats in the Senate signaled the death of conservatism. At this writing, November 2nd is less than 50 days away. Real Clear Politics’ polling averages has the GOP picking up at least 7 seats in the Senate, leading by 5% on the House generic ballot, Republicans picking up a minimum 7 Governorships, and Republicans controlling of 31 state Houses by November 3rd. This rapid sea change raises two questions: why did this happen? What will the new GOP majority look like?

Those two quandaries are answered by Representatives Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy in their great new book Young Guns: a New Generation of Conservative Leaders. The book is divided into three sections, authored by the aforementioned Congressmen. Cantor, the second highest ranking Republican in the House, broadly outlines the political environment that led to his party’s decline and swift resurgence. Cantor also expounds upon the general direction the party will head in, should they take the majority this fall. Representative Ryan tackles the nuts and bolts of Republican domestic policy. The third and final section of the book is written by Representative Kevin McCarthy, Cantor’s deputy Whip. McCarthy’s section focuses on how 2010 candidates were recruited, and what they will do to connect with voters this election cycle. Young Guns sets forth the pro-freedom agenda that the GOP will use this election cycle, and govern by once in power.

America rests in the hands of a Democratic majority that views America differently… they focus on its flaws rather than it greatness…They think America is an ordinary nation, not an exceptional nation.

Eric Cantor begins the book by telling the sad story of the GOP in the waning days of its last majority in 2006. While we are all familiar with this narrative, it is important for elected Republicans to understand what voters mean when they say the GOP ‘lost its way.’ It is one thing to acknowledge a popular catchphrase, it is another to truly comprehend it. If the GOP hopes to not just win a majority in 2010, but to retain it in the future, it must correct the mistakes that have damaged the conservative brand. The Republican Party is not spared in Cantor’s honest analysis. He laments that Republicans did in fact lose their way. At some point the party stopped being the party of limited government and became the party of government. Honest men and women forgot that they were elected to change Washington. Instead, Republicans focused on reelection bids and constructing a political machine akin to that of the former Democrat majorities. With that lesson understood, Cantor moves forward in offering the message of the newly revitalized GOP.

When President Obama was elected in 2008, along with his Democratic counterparts in both Houses of Congress, his party promised honesty and transparency. Obama repeatedly promised to be a ‘post-partisan’ President, who would reach across the aisle to adopt the best ideas put forward. While astute observes noted that President Obama was rated the most liberal of all 100 Senators by the non-partisan National Journal, many held out faith, hoping Obama would live up to his campaign promises. This matter was immediately put to the test. With the economy in a tailspin, the new administration claimed their first priority was calming the economic storm. President Obama made it known that he was in favor of a government spending program that would allegedly stimulate the economy. The price tag of his $787,000,000,000 stimulus bill was unsettling to many on both sides of the partisan divide. With a true bipartisan spirit, the Republican minority put together an alternative stimulus bill. The bill was not doctrinaire conservatism, but rather an attempt to find common ground with the new President. The bill recommended:

  • Reducing the lowest individual tax rates from 15% to 10% and eventually down to 5%
  • Allowing small businesses to reduce tax liability by 20%
  • Ensuring no tax increases to pay for spending
  • Assistance for the unemployed
  • A home buyers credit of $7.500 for those buyers who can make a minimum down payment of 5%

It was determined that this bill would create twice as many jobs as Obama claimed his stimulus bill would at half the cost – using the the Obama administrations own economic modeling. Obama’s eventual response to GOP alternatives? “Elections have consequences… and Eric, I won.” From then on it was clear that the the new President had no intention of pursuing a non-partisan agenda. Obama, Pelosi and Reid routinely shut the GOP out of any and all policy making decisions. The GOP was painted as the part of ‘no,’ but that was a more fitting name for the Democrats. They were, and still remain, the party of ‘no.’ They have said ‘no’ to any and all new ideas that might deviate from strict adherence to their failed ideology.

Paul, Kevin and I are unapologetic believers in the concept of American exceptionalism. America offers opportunity like no other nation, and with hard work, sacrifice, and perseverance, no one is limited.

If Cantor disputes the party of ‘no’ label, Representative Ryan blows it out of the water. While Representatives Cantor and McCarthy hold leadership roles in the party, Paul Ryan is recognized as one of the great thinkers of the conservative movement. His section of the book explains the crossroads his country is at. According to Ryan, America has to make a choice: to pursue the dream of the Founders: limited government, liberty and a prosperous future, or that of Western Europe: gradual decline, substantial tax increases, and an enormous federal leviathan.

Ryan explains that his road map will allow Americans to have a social safety net, remain solvent and ensure the preservation of individual liberty. Ryan tackles: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and health care. Drawing on his experience, which included working for Jack Kemp, Ryan has constructed a pro-freedom agenda for the GOP that leaves no stone unturned. Foremost in his reforms is an area that has been seen as a political third-rail for Republicans in the past: entitlements. However, Ryan’s sober analysis and sensible solutions show that the GOP is willing to tackle the most important issues facing the nation.

Unlike some in Washington today, I don’t have any doubt about the moral strength of America…We’re the good guys.

The final section of the book by Kevin McCarthy explains how the GOP, and especially the Young Guns have been recruiting candidates. Representative McCarthy details how the GOP is not just looking to create a Republican majority, they are trying to create a conservative majority. A majority of what I have called ‘citizen legislators.’ Rather than recruiting typical pols to run for office, McCarthy and the rest of the GOP have been looking for people who ‘get it.’ The GOP brand was damaged by a decade long spending binge. Prospective candidates must understand that being elected to Congress is about something bigger than themselves; it is about “changing America.” In making this point, McCarthy recalls a conversation he had with an aspiring candidate:

McCarthy: Are you going to run?

Candidate: Do you need me to run?

McCarthy: No, I don’t need you to run.

Candidate: Do you want me to run?

McCarthy: No, I don’t want you to run. I’ll help you if you want to run.

McCarthy eventually advised this candidate not to run, telling him “this can’t be about you. This is about changing America.” The section goes on to profile a number of the Young Guns running this year. These candidates do ‘get it.’ They are running to change Washington, not to become political hacks.

Young Guns provides more than a road map to Republican victory in 2010. It offers the basis under which a conservative coalition will govern once in power. If the principles outlined in this work are adhered to by a new class of Republicans, the party will unite the center-right, that makes up the majority of the United States, achieve electoral successes, and more importantly, implement the solutions that will put America back on track. In 1976 Ronald Reagan said:

This is our challenge; and this is why here in this hall tonight, better than we have ever done before, we have got to quit talking to each other and about each other and go out and communicate to the world that we may be fewer in numbers than we have ever been, but we carry the message they are waiting for.

We must go forth from here united, determined that what a great general said a few years ago is true: There is no substitute for victory.

Republicans once again are in the political wilderness. However, conservatives again carry the message the country is waiting for. Young Guns makes it clear that the GOP will trumpet this message, and lends hope that once in the majority again, Republicans will govern appropriately.

Click here to purchase a copy of Young Guns: a New generation of Conservative Leaders.

Review of S.E. Cupp’s “Losing Our Religion"

Posted on by
25

Until this point, I can’t say that I’ve ever enjoyed—or even read for that matter—a book that opened with a quote by Fidel Castro. The quote was about Castro’s revolution and his faith in such. His words set the stage perfectly for what S.E. Cupp outlines as being the new revolution—the ‘mainstream’ media’s war on American morality. Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media’s Attack on Christianity is a fresh look at an issue that has remained for the most part unexamined, despite being on the minds of the majority of the country. Armed with statistics, wit, and a truly impartial look at the state of religious America, S.E. Cupp, an avowed atheist, gives one of the most honest and transparent analyses of the liberal media’s godless agenda that I’ve ever seen.

S.E. Cupp points out the glaring contradiction between the fact that while more than 80% of Americans identify themselves as Christian, the leftist media—which has become so inherently and incorrectly referred to as ‘mainstream’—wants to demonize and mock those who are actually in the majority. Cupp is not writing a book to defend Christianity on theological grounds, but rather, to point out the hypocrisy in the tolerance-touting press showing complete and utter intolerance towards anyone who has a relationship with Christ. The exception to this rule is, of course, if that relationship is secondary to a firm belief in black liberation theology a la Jeremiah Wright.

A non-believer, Cupp has no reason to desire the success of Christianity; instead, Losing Our Religion shows her unwavering hope for a truly fair and balanced media, one that shows all sides of any debate, particularly those of a spiritual nature. She makes no apologies for going after the biggest culprits in the war against Christianity: the New York Times, NewsWeek, Salon.com, Huffingon Post and TIME Magazine are among the guilty along with MSNBC and CNN (inevitably.)

S.E. Cupp takes readers chapter-by-chapter through what she believes are the ’10 Commandments’ of the liberal media, from “Thou Shalt Hate Prop 8” to “Thou Shalt Fornicate,” pointing out their habit of promoting worship, though not the kind of worship that 80% of Americans find themselves doing on a day-to-day basis. Instead, the liberal media chooses to encourage worshipping celebrity, environmentalism, feminism, and evolution. As she points out, this type of worship is especially easy for the media now that they have a man in the White House who holds the same disdain for Christians as they do. Barack Obama has openly declared that he no longer sees America as a Christian nation, and has repeatedly embraced atheism and Islam to the point where those who listen to Obama would see those belief systems as being mainstream themselves. Cupp unapologetically points out the blatant double standard between accepting—or refusing to talk about all together—Obama’s radical, racist church in Chicago, while attempting to label Sarah Palin as an evil, hateful Evangelical (gasp!) for her family’s Pentecostalism.

While the phony journalism and ongoing affront to Christianity that those of the religious right may see as exhausting, or even amusing in some cases, S.E. Cupp warns that we can’t sit down and let this unfold. Her book is not a depressing obituary to religious freedom in America; it’s a beautifully written call to action to rise up and put the alleged ‘mainstream’ (translation: liberal) media in its place. This is a revolution indeed, and it is one that won’t stop until the media has succeeded at removing any and all evidence of Judeo-Christian values from the country, or until we stop them. Losing Our Religion is a must-read for Christians and non-Christians alike. S.E. Cupp takes a scary situation in the United States and spins it with her fantastically unique sense of humor to point out the true agenda of the liberal media, and why it’s so hypocritical. Her brilliant, well-researched analysis is nothing short of ground-breaking. It took a non-believer to make me realize how much my religion was under attack.

Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media’s Attack on Christianity can be purchased from Amazon.com here.

Hannity's "Conservative Victory" a necessity for conservatives

Posted on by
7

I have to get my bias out of the way first: I love Sean Hannity. When I heard that Hannity was coming out with a new book, I was quite excited; it’s been too long. Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama’s Radical Agenda is a breath of fresh air, especially at a point in America where the last six months have been ravaged by radical socialism and backroom dealings in Washington (see Healthcare, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Reconciliation and Entire Democratic Party.)

While books that criticize Obama are commonplace now with authors such as David Freddoso, Jerome Corsi, and Brad O’Leary, Hannity manages to still producing a fresh, ground-breaking analysis of the man at the helm of America, President Barack Hussein Obama. After over a year of nothing but mistakes coming from the White House, the mainstream media is still incapable of reporting the actual startling facts about Obama, ranging from his history of radicalism, his administration of radicals, and his radical ideology that has already pushed forth the biggest government take-over in America’s history.

The first chapter of Conservative Victory is a deep analysis of Obama’s relationship with America’s favorite reverend, Jeremiah Wright. Hannity takes the reader even further, however, probing into relationships of question in Obama’s past, some even unknown to me prior to reading his book. From Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers to David Axelrod and Kevin Jennings, the shocking past of many of Obama’s appointees are finally getting the coverage they deserve.

Conservative Victory is not just an attack on Barack Obama. Instead, it’s a comprehensive tool, a guidebook even, for conservative activism. Obama is the greatest example in America’s history on why conservatism is not only ideal, but necessary. Hannity uses the president as a launching pad for the lessons that conservatives need to learn to allow the conservative movement to succeed. A big part of the success of conservatism is ensuring that the Republican Party actually has conservative candidates, not RINOs (see John McCain.) Despite what some of the Republican leadership may say, Republicans have lost their way, and Sean Hannity explains this not in a defeatist manner, but in a way that inspires all conservatives to affect change in the GOP,  not cast it aside as a lost cause. Hannity asserts the reality that nothing good can come from a third party.

On The Sean Hannity Show, it’s not uncommon to hear claims that when put to the test, conservatism will always win. These are unequivocally true. Hannity doesn’t leave readers depressed about the sad state of America; in the last chapter he gives an unmitigated list of what conservatives need to remember in moving forward. From national security to personal liberty, the values that conservatives hold — that the average American holds — are the values that we as conservatives need to remember in moving forward.

Conservative Victory is unapologetically conservative; it’s an honest and true account of the values that Obama is destroying America with, and how conservatives can overcome it. Any one who wants America to succeed needs this book.

Sean Hannity’s Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama’s Radical Agenda can be purchased from Amazon here for only $8.00.