Michael Friedman

Kamala Harris Should Be President

Revisado: 03-13-19

Senator Kamala Harris has had an amazing life and her autobiography brings out the best in her qualities as a public servant: concerned, smart, creative, effective and grounded in fact, science, statistics and technology. That is a rare combination for an elected official and she is, in many ways, the opposite of our current president. In this regard, I mean more than just policy. Her work ethic, family connections, concern for the less fortunate, ability to speak the truth regardless of political consequence and willingness to take on the Powers That Be in our country are what is needed. Let me be specific. In 2011 as Attorney General, Kamala Harris went to Mira Loma near my home to analyze the damage created by pollution from crates unloaded at Los Angeles docks. Her entry into a lawsuit against the county and the polluters resulted in remarkable changes and money for the citizens whose lives had been ruined by illegal pollution. She has taken the lead to draft bipartisan legislation to prevent cyberattacks by Russia, North Korea, Iran, China and others in our election process. In spite of its support, it is not favored by President Trump so Mitch McConnell will not bring it for a vote. She courageously supported the accusers of Brett Kavanaugh leading to delay and ultimately a call for him not to be put on the court by thousands of attorneys and the American Bar Association. Following the mortgage debacle, she refused to resolve the litigation settlement offer supported by many states and as a result she corrected the immoral devastation of hundreds of thousands of families and vastly increased the amounts paid by the banks. This is but a sample of the courage, creativity and instincts of a fine politician who “gets it” and should be our next President. Just one guy’s opinion of course.

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A Fine History of the Reign of Terror of the Osage

Revisado: 01-07-19

This book details the murders of the Osage Indians by many people in Oklahoma in the first few decades of the 20th Century. By luck, the Osage were dispossessed of their homelands and then their second reservation to Northern Oklahoma where their barren lands soon became the site of many oil fields and the Osage became the richest people in the world. That led to government sanctioned trusteeships that deprived many Osage of the management of their own moneys. Above and beyond the greed and theft was the murder of hundreds of Osage to pilfer their estates thanks to the duplicity of lawyers, doctors and others. It is an amazing story first told as the biography of Molly Burkhart whose family was murdered to consolidate the family fortune in the hands of the murderers who conspired to eliminate the Osage members of her family. Later, the book details the rise of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, one if its first cases being the prosecution of the killers and the exposure of the legal system designed to support the Reign of Terror of the Osage tribe. Finally, Mr. Grann uncovers decades of hitherto unknown abuse and killings that were for the most part never prosecuted or uncovered for reasons of neglect, incompetence, racism and corruption on a large scale among the non-Osage people who married into or otherwise manipulated these proud native Americans. It is a wonderful story, well told.

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A Remarkable Story

Revisado: 01-04-19

This is a well written book on many levels. Mr. Bauer became a prison guard at a private correctional facility in Louisiana working for what is now called CoreCivic. It is a corporation that provides extremely poor, limited services at correctional facilities so that it can generate millions of dollars in profits for its shareholders and management. Mr. Bauer’s observations of careless, dangerous, inhuman behavior at the expense of employees and inmates was routinely denied by CoreCivic who threatened to sue his publication (Mother Jones) and Mr. Bauer if they published what he observed. Thankfully Mr. Bauer recorded and filmed what the observed and no lawsuit was forthcoming. This is, in essence, the cruel and unusual punishment that is prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to our Constitution.
Mr. Bauer tells his story with a cogent history of private ownership of correctional facilities that dates back hundreds of years and essentially replaced slavery with cheap labor that is forced to work under inhuman conditions.
On another level, Mr. Bauer lets us know the effect of just a few weeks of his employment on his personal life, his feelings and the changes to his personality. It is a remarkable story. It deserves to be a NY Times Best Book of 2018.

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Deserves NYTimes' 10 Best Books of 2018

Revisado: 12-16-18

Educated by Tara Westover

This fine memoir chronicles Ms. Westover’s childhood in a dysfunctional, abusive and delusional family in rural Idaho and her struggles to overcome the need to separate from the family she loves in order to pursue a normal, healthy and ultimately remarkable adulthood. She was raised in a fundamentalist Mormon family that was incredibly intolerant of the norms of 21st Century American society. That would include interaction with other children, tolerance for other’s ideas and beliefs, an understanding of culture through television, radio or the internet, the appreciation for science including medicines, the learning of history, inoculations and treatment by medical professionals, the avoidance of physical and emotional abuse by parents and siblings, and embracing physical safety for young children working for the family. Ms. Westover overcomes these impediments brilliantly and becomes not only highly educated but a creative, skilled intellectual who amazes some of the best educators of our time in the United States and England. It was not an easy journey for her and the impediments placed primarily by her father and brother were impossible to ignore. The major theme of her father’s life is intolerance. His world is driven by the Word of God as only he perceives. That excuses the physical harm he visits on his children, the lack of contact with the outside world, the disdain for science and education and the necessity of choosing his way in order for Ms. Westover to receive the love not only from him but her mother and other siblings. To receive that love, she must renounce everything she has learned and understood and to embrace a life of physical and mental abuse that is hard to imagine. This is a wonderful story, beautifully told.
Some have drawn similarities to Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance which is also a wonderful memoir by a young man who was raised in rural America by a mother with addiction and other significant mental issues. Eventually he becomes an excellent lawyer and author. His difficult journey was, however, not nearly as stark as Ms. Westover’s. To me, more to the point is last year’s excellent debut novel by Gabriel Tallent, My Absolute Darling. I saw many parallels between the 14 year old girl “Turtle” and Ms. Westover’s challenging childhood. Regardless, Educated deserves to be one of the New York Times’ Ten Best Books of 2018.

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A Wondeful Autobiography

Revisado: 12-02-18

This is an excellent autobiography of an amazing public servant. John Kerry was a child of privilege, but unlike many others dedicated himself to making our country and the world a better place. His unique skills, work ethic, adherence to science and history and vision have affected millions of people including Americans for the better. He would have been a wonderful president.
I am a big fan of Dwight Garner of the NY Times, but I seriously disagree with his conclusion that this book is “reassuringly dull for long stretches” and that the second half of the book may require the propping of eyelids for non-wonks. It is precisely when Secretary Kerry enters the Senate, joins the Foreign Relations Committee and then becomes Secretary of State that the book takes off. For the first time he shifts to an issue by issue history as opposed to a chronological tale and then his work and results are immense. His ability to meet, know, understand and entice world leaders is astounding fueled by his sense of history, the brilliant people he engages for help and his understanding of the limitations of the leaders’ countries or supporters. His long relationship with Netanyahu, his meetings and interactions with al-Sisi, Bahar Al-Assad, al Saud, Putin, Ban Ki-moon, Xi Jinping and others are amazing. To name just a few accomplishments, his hard work led to the Paris Climate Accord, the Iran nuclear deal, work on Ocean conservation as well as dealing with the fight against ISIS by Iraq, the removal of much of Syria’s illegal gases, the Ukrainian crisis caused by lying Russia, aid to civilians in Gaza, complex negotiations with Congress especially on the Paris treaty, renewed relations with Cuba, the successful negotiation of elections and power sharing in Afghanistan, negotiations for electoral honesty in Brazil, Venezuela, among other issues. He readily acknowledges not all of his efforts have been successful such as the Israeli/Palestinian peace accord, but from my perspective it was not for lack of trying and given the opportunity to change the previous dynamics, as with China’s cooperation with the Paris Climate Accord, Secretary Kerry’s instincts were revolutionary and often astoundingly successful.
This is a wonderful book and in Audible is read by Secretary Kerry with his occasional wonderful Bostonian accent (pahk for park). Yes, he is not detailed about his children, grandchildren and wives, but that is for a good reasons and does not diminish his astounding public life. He is an excellent writer with an amazing story to tell.

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A Marvelous Memoir

Revisado: 11-05-18

This is a marvelous memoir from one of the truly great English authors and raconteurs of the last 100 years. The late Mr. Hitchens love of the English language is in full bloom here with references, quotes and contexts for many of his amazing escapades. Thankfully, he deals with issues as opposed to the typical chronological autobiographies. See for example John Kerry’s recent autobiography which deals with a marvelous career but do we really need to know of his seeing Mary Martin in Peter Pan as a young man? No. On the other hand, Mr. Hitchens (don’t call me Chris) deals with important issues in his life from his relationship with his mother who died tragically and way too early to his experiences with becoming a United States citizen, Judaism, Israel, travel to war torn and oppressed countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, 9/11, his relationships with fellow authors (Ian McEwan, Martin Amis, Salmon Rushdie, Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer and Susan Sontag to name just a few), his connections with Henry Kissinger, George H.W. Bush and Margaret Thatcher are brilliantly conveyed with wit, science, logic and references to Shakespeare, Henry James, Edgar Allen Poe and many others. He does it all with humor, empathy and magical gift for conveying his thoughts that make one laugh, think, admire and enjoy all within a single paragraph. This is a work of art and should be enjoyed as such. I miss him.

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Dan Brown should stick to Symbology and Europe

Revisado: 10-11-18

I am a Dan Brown fan, but he should stick to symbology and ancient European Christianity as opposed to science and American politics. The best of this book is the use of science, but the tale is so convoluted and nonsensical that it loses the reader many times through his style of shifting scenes at the climaxes, the overuse of “last second” escapes or solutions, withholding what people actually said or did but only describing someone’s reaction and silly foreshadowing such as “he would not forget this day for the rest of his life.” To his credit, this was published before the Da Vinci Code and Mr. Brown has vastly improved his story telling skills in the ensuing sixteen years. As for the stilted presidential political play by play, he can be forgiven for casting blame on an unscrupulous candidate as his illegal transgressions were wiped out by the United States Supreme Court in Citizens United v. FEC eight years after publication. But here the human interaction is stilted and shallow, certainly nothing like Robert Langdon and the characters in those books including the recent Origin. Some things make no sense at all such as the killing of a Canadian scientist and his dogs or the failure to use massive missiles with bombs rather than machine guns to destroy the main characters on a ship. The whole premise of murdering people to save NASA from privatization is lost on me, but Mr. Brown did think it was an important aspect of the plot. So, if you are a Dan Brown fan or one who wishes to wade into the Brown oeuvre, skip this one. Try Inferno.
P.S. I did enjoy the reference to Ellsmere Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago as I am a proud graduate of Elsmere Elementary School and I had no idea where that name came from.

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An aptly named book

Revisado: 09-29-18

This book is aptly named as one cannot imagine the Liar in Chief, as he is called by his aides, using his position to ruin the world economy or starting a nuclear war. This book is full of facts, dates and descriptions that lend context and truth to Mr. Woodward’s quotations of the President and those who manage his worst impulses. What one finds is amply evidence of an immature, disconnected, churlish man with “instincts” that are contrary to basic science or known statistics. They have led him to consider the ruining of America’s economy by leaving NAFTA, imposing tariffs on South Korea, giving tax breaks to many of the wealthiest people in the world at the expense of over a trillion and a half dollars of deficit, ending health care for millions, ending DACA that may send hundreds of thousands of law abiding Americans out of the country and removing a nuclear deterrence system in South Korea that would potentially save our country from nuclear attack. In some cases, his instincts have come to fruition like the tax breaks, but in others the intervention of White House associates have removed papers or delayed preparation until he would forget what he wanted for something more important like playing golf or watching FOX news. This is a stunning job of reporting. And it is even more astounding that President Trump has not denied virtually everything that is written. Instead he has tweeted that the book is discredited and full of “so many lies and phone sources.” That is pretty nonspecific. He has ONLY denied calling Jeff Sessions mentally retarded and a dumb Southerner. Of course that was before he tweeted about Sessions that he "doesn't understand what is happening underneath his command position" and had "never taken control of his department." In short, the facts of this book are largely unrefuted by President Trump and his astounding lack of interest with the significant issues of the United States is ample cause for fear in anyone who reads this book. Just by way of example, he does not deny that he tried to order the end to our decades long relationship with South Korea for no good reason thereby endangering the United States safety. The letter he wanted to sign (until it was removed from his desk and forgotten by him) is in the book verbatim. Instead, President Trump now whines about never calling Jeff Sessions a dumb Southerner. THAT is why this book is true. Mr. Woodward is to be commended for his astounding work putting this together.

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An remarkable memoir and history book

Revisado: 09-12-18

This remarkable book by former Secretary, now Professor Albright is part memoir and part history. It is well written and draws parallels between 20th Century Fascism and the rise of Putin, Trump, Erdoğan, Kim Jong-un, Duterte and other 21st Century leaders. It is amazing how Ms. Albright is able to relate her personal experiences (Holocaust and bombing of London survivor) and meetings (Putin, Erdoğan, Milošević and Jong-un among others) in a thoughtful exploration of Fascism’s rise, fall and resurrection. She draws lines between common threads of nationalism, suppression of journalism, lying about science, racial differences and facts as well as the suppression of democracy and political opposition. This book is far from a textbook and makes conclusions from Mussolini, Hitler and Franco that apply to many countries and political movements today. This is an important book. For example, didn’t National Security Advisor John Bolton just denounce the International Criminal Court, the prosecutors of Milošević for war crimes? If you read this book, you won’t wonder why.

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Seymour Hersh is an American Treasure

Revisado: 08-29-18

This astounding autobiography chronicles the reporting of one of America’s greatest journalists who discovered and brought to light many of the worst aspects of the United States duplicity and misfeasance in the second half of the Twentieth Century and the start of the 21st. In that time he exposed the lies of our government during the Vietnam War, My Lai, Watergate, the CIA’s spying on Americans, the murder and attempted murder of South Americans and Fidel Castro, the duplicity of the neo-Cons in Iraq and Afghanistan, the failure to utilize Bashar al-Ashad and the Syrian Government in the Middle East and many other issues. He meticulously exposes the anti-American attitudes of the Pentagon and McNamara during Viet Nam, Henry Kissinger during a host of wars and crises, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Helms among others. Hersh achieves his success through hard work, dogged research, cultivation of sources and interviews. He is one of a kind and, in my opinion, deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work. Of course, that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
A note on the NY Times review of Dwight Garner whom I admire. Mr. Garner misses the point and it’s a shame. He criticizes Mr. Hersh for not writing a fine memoir as he leaves out his family, his relationship with friends such as Bill Bradlee, Daniel Ellsberg, Bob Woodward and I.F. Stone. That’s not the point of the book. This is about reporting and no one really cares how well Bill Bradlee plays tennis or what Daniel Ellsberg likes to drink. Hersh’s interviews with Assad, William Calley and others, Kissinger’s lying and Dick Cheney’s failure to shake his hand speak volumes about Hersh’s conclusions. It is a remarkable story of how many times Hersh has been called a liar by politicians and others only to be vindicated many years later by declassified materials or admissions of witnesses. Richard Nixon’s fairly recently declassified tapes are a perfect example, but only one of many. Hersh’s discussion of his methods and work is fascinating and this book is a historical wonder.

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