Liberty & Power: Group Blog
Entries by Amy H. Sturgis
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Can you hear me now?
I am the interviewee today in a special "Engine Room" episode of StarShipSofa: The Audio Science Fiction Magazine. The interview, which covers subjects related to science fiction, fantasy, and technology, among other things, is a little over an hour - the entire show, in fact. You can download it here or via iTunes under "StarShipSofa," or you can listen to it streaming here.
A list of my other podcast commentaries, interviews, and unabridged dramatic readings is available here with links.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Security risks, book prizes & Muhammad's child bride
An American book prize has blacklisted Random House following its "cowardly self-censorship" of Sherry Jones's novel The Jewel of Medina. The Langum Charitable Trust, which awards two yearly $1,000 (£550) prizes, has said that until the novel is published, it "will not consider submissions of any books, for any of our prizes, from Random House or any of its affiliates."
Random House dropped Jones's novel, about the child bride of Muhammad, after it was warned that it posed a security risk akin to the publication of The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie.
Read "American literary prize blacklists Random House" by Alison Flood of The Guardian
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Summer Political Fiction
SF author Jeff Vandermeer has posted his picks for "Summer Political Fiction: From Jessica Z to Black Clock 9."
Monday, July 28, 2008
Ken MacLeod interview
Award-winning Scottish author Ken MacLeod talks about libertarianism, the War on Terror, and how they relate to his new novels The Execution Channel and The Night Sessions, in this recent interview.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Indigenous Grandmas Oppose Doctrines of "Discovery," "Conquest"
"The ultimate goal of the grandmothers - to hand-deliver a statement to Pope Benedict XVI, asking him to rescind several controversial papal bulls that played a part in the colonization of indigenous lands - was thwarted."
Read the story by Rob Capriccioso: "Indigenous Grandmas Nearly Kicked Out of Vatican."
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Prometheus Award Winners Announced
The Libertarian Futurist Society has released the names of the novels that will receive this year's Prometheus Awards in advance of the planned awards ceremony at the World Science Fiction Convention in Denver next month.
Read more about this year's winners.
Read more about the Prometheus Award.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Politics Killed the Dystopia
Twenty years after political attacks from both the Right and Left grounded a pathbreaking dystopian science fiction television series, fans and critics still remember the Captain Power story.
I discuss how anti-gun and pro-family groups missed the important lessons concerning liberty in the series they destroyed in the latest StarShipSofa podcast, available here.
The Wabanaki Confederacy Goes Global
At the end of a weeklong Wabanaki Confederacy conference, the Wabanaki Council of Chiefs passed a historic resolution calling on United Nations nongovernmental organizations, the Human Rights Council and the Organization of American States to intercede on the tribes' behalf against incursions on tribal sovereignty by states and courts.
Read the full article by Gale Courey Toensing.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Words on Little Brother
I highly recommend listening to this new interview with Cory Doctorow, author of the "must read" Little Brother (which I recommended here). In this interview Doctorow talks about the Department of Homeland Security, CCTV, Creative Commons licenses, and his inspiration for Little Brother.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Podcast appearances
I have two new podcast appearances to report:
* I was the featured guest for last week's episode of The Future and You, available here. The interview, conducted by futurist and transhumanist Stephen Euin Cobb, runs about half an hour. You can also get The Future and You via iTunes.
* My latest contribution to the StarShipSofa podcast is now available here and via iTunes. My seventeen-minute article (which begins about ten minutes into the program) is about rediscovering the writings of Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Doctorow's 1984 for 2008
Cory Doctorow's new dystopia, Little Brother, deserves the attention it's receiving. As author Scott Westerfeld says, it's a "rousing tale of techno-geek rebellion, as necessary and dangerous as file sharing, free speech, and bottled water on a plane."
Read the Publishers Weekly review.
Read Neil Gaiman's review.
Read the Omnivoracious review.
Download the book for free.
Issues of tribal sovereignty, self-sufficiency are universal
With judicial and state assaults on tribal sovereignty, and failed federal policies in Indian Country, the nations need to move toward solidarity in all arenas, according to the president of the United South and Eastern Tribes.
Read "USET President Sees 'New Era of Activism' in Indian Country" by Gale Courey Toensing.
The American past meets modern museum doctrine.
Give the "Ancient Americas" exhibit back to the ancient Americans, and the Field Museum along with it. If any of the heirs and assigns of the Aztec, Inca, or Maya feel inclined to practice a little human sacrifice on anthropologists, sociologists, moral relativists, neo-Marxists, and other conquistadors of modern academia, call it "maintaining the natural order of the world."
Read "When Worlds Collide" by P.J. O'Rourke
Monday, May 26, 2008
Reason Nominated for 16 L.A. Press Club Awards
Reason brought in 16 award nominations from the Greater Southern California Press Club Awards. Winners will be announced June 21. Read the details.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Podcasting update
As you may know, I've begun narrating contemporary science fiction stories for the audio science fiction magazine StarShipSofa. (You can hear my narration of Elizabeth Bear's dystopian "And the Deep Blue Sea" here, and other narrations will go up soon.) As of today, I've also begun contributing an audio "article" for StarShipSofa's "Aural Delights" Wednesday program, in which I give my commentary about a topic related to the history of science fiction. These will run once a month. My first is available on today's show. (It begins approximately 10 minutes into the podcast.) If you listen, I hope you enjoy!
Sunday, March 2, 2008
The Russians Are Coming (To a Theater Near You)
Fyodor Bondarchuk is currently shooting a highly anticipated Russian science fiction epic entitled Inhabited Island. Rumor has it that it boasts one of the biggest budgets of any Russian film to date at $30 million. Release is scheduled for October 2008.
The movie is based upon the 1971 novel Prisoners of Power, a political satire of the Soviet regime written by science fiction legends Arkady and Boris Strugatsky.
View the trailer.
Visit the official film website.
Friday, February 15, 2008
What are the "must read" dystopias?
Watching all the presidential primary activity has made me think about political dystopias (hmm, I wonder why), which leads me to a question: What would you put on a "must read" list for great dystopian fiction?
Off the top of my head, I might start my list with these titles...
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Babes and Valentine's Day
Best wishes to all for a very happy Valentine's Day!
Just in time for the holiday, The City Paper reflects on the recent history of popular culture, celebrating "Women of the Years: 20 Babes Whose Babeness Matters."
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Interviews
Just a quick note re: two forthcoming radio interviews of mine. Both will be available online.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
In/Near NC? You're invited!
You are cordially invited to discover America through the eyes of its first peoples via the First American: Voices Film Series, a joint effort between Lenoir-Rhyne College and the Women's Resource Center. Both events are free and open to the public.
Date: Wednesday, February 27, 6:30pm
Place: Auditorium, United Arts Council of Catawba County in Hickory, NC
At 6:30pm, see a performance by the All Nations Drum and Performers of Cherokee, NC.
At 7pm, see a screening of Four Sheets to the Wind. This Native-produced film had its world premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, where Tamara Podemski (Saulteaux) won the Special Jury Award for Acting. Director Sterlin Harjo (Seminole/Creek) is a Sundance Institute Annenberg Fellow and a 2006 Renew Media Fellow. Producer Chad Burris (Chickasaw) has been a selected to participate in Sundance Institute's Producers Lab. This film follows the drama of one family living in contemporary Native America and is rated R.
Date: Thursday, February 28, 6:30pm
Place: Belk Centrum, Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, NC
At 6:30pm, see a scholarly presentation by Dr. Amy H. Sturgis, who will be signing copies of her book, The Trail of Tears and Indian Removal, at the end of the event.
At 7pm, see a screening of The Trail of Tears: Cherokee Legacy. This Native-produced documentary is endorsed both by the Eastern Band of Cherokees and by the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. It is presented by Wes Studi (Cherokee), and it has won an impressive array of awards, including the Silver World Medal for History (New York Festivals, 2007), the Silver Film Award (Telly Awards, 2007), Best Documentary (American Indian Film Festival, 2006), the Founder’s Award (International Cherokee Film Festival, 2006), and Best Feature Documentary (Native American Music Awards, 2007), among others.
For more information, see the Voices Film Series blog. Check back for additional updates!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
A Good Time to Remember Standing Bear
"A Good Time to Remember Standing Bear" By Kevin Abourezk
New interview
As of this morning, there's a new interview with me here, in which I discuss my latest projects and appearances, Native issues, and yes, even the Liberty & Power blog.
Just FYI. Thanks for tolerating my shamelessness. :)
Thursday, January 17, 2008
A New Outlet for Aboriginal Cinema
Inuit filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk and his co-producer Norman Cohn grabbed worldwide attention for their film Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) when it won a medal at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, but neither expected the accolades and attention to trickle down to others telling aboriginal stories.
That's why the two have started a new service allowing such filmmakers from around the world to share and show their work on a website that could become the YouTube of aboriginal cinema.
The duo's new website, called Isuma.tv, has already gathered 100 films and videos from four countries in the four weeks since it began.
The offerings, all free to watch online, range from complete versions of Kunuk's features Atanarjuat and The Journals of Knud Rasmussen to accounts of a Swedish Sami girl's efforts to learn her native language.
Read more here.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
The 50 Greatest British Writers Since 1945
The Times has ranked its picks for "The 50 Greatest British Writers Since 1945" here. What do you think?
I decided I would make a list of My Top Ten Favorite British Writers since 1945.
Of those I chose, four were on the list by The Times:
J.R.R. Tolkien
George Orwell
J.K. Rowling
J.G. Ballard
Six, however, were not:
Mary Renault
Daphne du Maurier
Neil Gaiman
John Wyndham
Olaf Stapledon
Douglas Adams
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Is Russell Means Headed for Jail?
For earlier posts on the unfolding situation with the Lakota Freedom Movement, see here and here.
The controversy continues (as of Jan. 4):
"Legitimacy of 'Republic of Lakotah' Questioned" (from Indian Country Today)
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Shameless self-promotion
I have three news items to share with you, if you'll please overlook the shameless self-promotion:
1. My forthcoming book, Tecumseh: A Biography, is now available for pre-order directly from Greenwood Press and from Amazon.com.
2. Pop Thought has just conducted a new interview with me (published Jan. 3, 2008) about the book. You can read it here.
3. Also today, Sword of Gryffindor posted a new review of my Past Watchful Dragons: Fantasy and Faith in the World of C.S. Lewis book here.
4. I will be interviewed on Woodland Star New Radio (which is accessible via computer here) on January 6, 2008 at 6:55pm EST for approximately 40 minutes about my scholarly work regarding J.R.R. Tolkien. The show is entitled "An Afternoon of Wandering with Frodo and Dr. Amy H. Sturgis through Mirkwood Forest." Listeners can email questions before the interview (woodlandstar@hotmail.com) or call in live to ask questions during the interview.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
An Update on the Lakota Freedom Movement
For my original post about this topic, see here.
Since Russell Means (who, as some of you may recall, challenged Ron Paul for the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party for the 1988 election) and the Lakota Freedom Movement announced plans to take historic action to reclaim freedom under natural, international, and U.S. law, a debate has raged about who legitimately represents the Lakota Sioux.
Suzan Shown Harjo, President of the Morning Star Institute in Washington, D.C., named Russell Means and the Lakota Freedom Movement to her "Mantle of Shame" Awards for 2007, saying: "News flash to Means: treaties are made between nations; you are a person and not a nation; you are not empowered to speak from the Great Sioux Nation...."
However, on Dec. 27, news broke that suggested that Means' approach does have some resonance with, if not support from, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council: "Tribe Official Says Council Will Consider Treaty Pullout." To quote, "Avis Little Eagle says she understands the frustration that led Lakota activists to announce a plan to withdraw from the tribe’s treaties with the U.S. government. However, the vice chairwoman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council advocates holding the federal government to the provisions in those treaties, rather than withdrawing from them."
Means has responded by dismissing the legitimacy of the current American Indian tribal governments recognized under U.S. law, terming their members "those Vichy Indians, collaborators, beggars": "Delegates Announce Pullout from U.S. Treaties."
Thursday, December 20, 2007
The Lakota Freedom Movement
During December 17th-22nd and beyond, the Lakota Freedom Delegation to Washington, D.C. is taking historic action to reclaim freedom under natural, international, and U.S. law, while developing diplomatic relations with the Family of Nations.
Visit the Lakota Freedom website.
Read press coverage:
* "Descendants of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse Break Away from U.S."
* "Lakota Group Pushes for New Nation"
* "Lakota Indians Withdraw Treaties Signed With U.S. 150 Years Ago"
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Alien Nation?
Have the worlds of science fiction and presidential politics ever been more closely aligned than they were in 2007?
Read "Planetary Politics" by Dave Itzkoff from The New York Times.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Congrats to the LockeSmith Blog!
In the few short months since I first recommended the LockeSmith Institute's brand new blog, it has met a warm reception, making CurrencyTrading.Net's list of the Top 100 Academic Blogs Every Professional Investor Should Read and Bootstrapper's list of the 100 .Edu Sites Every Entrepreneur Should Read. Well done!
Read the LockeSmith Blog here.
Floyd Red Crow Westerman, R.I.P.
Floyd Red Crow Westerman has died at the age of 71.
Westerman is best known as a musician and as an actor who appeared in over 50 films and televison productions, including Dances with Wolves, Hidalgo, DreamKeeper, and multiple episodes of The X-Files. In 2006, he won a NAMMY Award for his third album.
Beyond being an entertainer, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota Westerman was an activist, a member of the American Indian Movement and a spokesman for the International Indian Treaty Council. His first album, Custer Died for Your Sins, provided a theme and slogan for the Red Power Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Read his obituary here at Native American Times.
Sovereignty revisited
Steve Russell is a Texas trial court judge, an associate professor of criminal justice at Indiana University at Bloomington, and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
His recent article is "The Politics of Foreign Aid":
What, I have been asked by many readers, does an Oklahoma Choctaw do when effectively barred from running for office? What do tribal citizens do when disenrolled, whether the purpose is to grow the per caps for those remaining or to rid the administration of a voting bloc based on race?
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
The LockeSmith Institute - new blog
The LockeSmith Institute, which seeks to promote the scholarship of classical liberalism through the exploration of the principles of individualism, private property and the free market, the rule of law, and social toleration, now has a new bag - blog, that is.
Visit The LockeSmith Blog.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Jane Eyre, Hannibal Lecter, and the Welfare State?
Upward Mobility and the Common Good: Toward a Literary History of the Welfare State by Bruce Robbins is new from Princeton University Press (July 2007):
We think we know what upward mobility stories are about--virtuous striving justly rewarded, or unprincipled social climbing regrettably unpunished. Either way, these stories seem obviously concerned with the self-making of self-reliant individuals rather than with any collective interest. In Upward Mobility and the Common Good, Bruce Robbins completely overturns these assumptions to expose a hidden tradition of erotic social interdependence at the heart of the literary canon.
Reinterpreting novels by figures such as Balzac, Stendhal, Charlotte Brontë, Dickens, Dreiser, Wells, Doctorow, and Ishiguro, along with a number of films, Robbins shows how deeply the material and erotic desires of upwardly mobile characters are intertwined with the aid they receive from some sort of benefactor or mentor. In his view, Hannibal Lecter of The Silence of the Lambs becomes a key figure of social mobility in our time. Robbins argues that passionate and ambiguous relationships (like that between Lecter and Clarice Starling) carry the upward mobility story far from anyone's simple self-interest, whether the protagonist's or the mentor's. Robbins concludes that upward mobility stories have paradoxically helped American and European society make the transition from an ethic of individual responsibility to one of collective accountability, a shift that made the welfare state possible, but that also helps account for society's fascination with cases of sexual abuse and harassment by figures of authority.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Book Announcement
I am very pleased to announce the publication of Past Watchful Dragons: Fantasy and Faith in the World of C.S. Lewis.
This volume provides a broad sample of the research presented at the "Past Watchful Dragons: Fantasy and Faith in the World of C.S. Lewis" international conference held at Belmont University on November 3-5, 2005. The contributing scholars reflect a truly interdisciplinary discussion representing the fields of literature, theology, history, and popular culture. The assembled essays offer insights on the messages of C.S. Lewis's fiction and nonfiction, the dramatic adaptations of his work, the influence of his faith, and his relevance to related fantasy literature and authors from J.R.R. Tolkien to J.K. Rowling.
Of particular interest to those at Liberty and Power may be chapters about Lewis's commentary on Empire, Lewis's conception of compensational justice, and J.K. Rowling's exploration of feminism in the Harry Potter book series.
Past Watchful Dragons is now available from Mythopoeic Press and Amazon.com.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Standing Silent Nation - a recommendation
I highly recommend checking out the website for Standing Silent Nation, a new independent documentary about one Oglala Sioux family's legal and political battle to rise above poverty and be economically self-sufficient by raising industrial hemp, and the government's efforts to stand in their way. Read more.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Harry Potter and the Libertarian Love
What are some scholars saying about the political implications of the Harry Potter series?
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Daniel Day-Lewis, American historian
"...the Day-Lewis message is not a particularly fashionable one in the academy. In the long, ongoing argument about whether the heroic individual or the impersonal process shapes history, the pendulum has long lingered on the latter."
New from Common-Place:
"National Character: Daniel Day-Lewis, American historian" by Jim Cullen
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Happy 100th Birthday, Robert Heinlein!
Happy 100 to the Grand Master himself, and one of my very favorite authors, Robert A. Heinlein.
Recent articles:
* "Heinleiniana" by John Derbyshire
* “'We must ride the lightning': Robert Heinlein and American spaceflight" by Dwayne A Day
* "In A Strange Land" by John J. Miller
* "Heinlein's Ghost" by Dwayne A. Day
* "Robert Heinlein at One Hundred" by Ted Gioia
For additional information:
The Heinlein Society
The Robert A. Heinlein Page
Robert A. Heinlein Centennial Website
TANSTAAFL!
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Have Ayn Rand, Will Not Travel
From The Chronicle of Higher Education today:
"Tenure Shrugged: A Scholar's Affinity for the Philosophy of Ayn Rand Cost Him His Job"
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Did Yale's Skull & Bones Society Steal Geronimo's Skull and Bones?
Legend has it that Yale University's ultrasecret Skull and Bones society swiped the remains of American Indian leader Geronimo nearly a century ago from an Army outpost in Oklahoma.
Now, Geronimo's great-grandson wants the remains returned....
President Bush and his father, former President George H.W. Bush, both attended Yale and joined the elite club. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, is also a Bonesman, as are many other men in powerful government and industry positions.
Read "Geronimo's Heir Seeks Legend's Remains From Yale" from CBS.
See also "Grandson of Geronimo Asks Secret Society at Yale to Return Warrior's Bones" from The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
"unmixed and unaccountable evil"
Deeply controversial in the 19th century for its honest treatment of the subjects of divorce, unwed pregnancy, and class politics - North American Review called it "A wild phantasmagoria of unmixed and unaccountable evil" - The Magic Goblet was nonetheless one of Emilie Flygare-Carlén's most popular works. Flygare-Carlén, once widely read and highly regarded both in her native Sweden and across the English-speaking world, often considered the first professional Swedish novelist and one of the first great women authors, has long since fallen into obscurity. Recently her work has received new attention from scholars in Sweden, and now Valancourt Books offers a new edition to give English-speaking readers the opportunity to rediscover this important, fascinating, and subversive writer.
(Please excuse the personal plug!)
Visit Valancourt books here and read more about the novel here.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Beijing bans scary stories to protect young
"China's capital is seizing ghost and horror books from shops to protect the 'physical and mental health' of its youngsters, local media said on Tuesday."
Read the entire article.
Clearly the authorities missed the insight of C.S. Lewis in "On Three Ways of Writing for Children": "A far more serious attack on... children’s literature comes from those who do not wish children to be frightened... that we must try to keep out of his mind the knowledge that he is born into a world of death, violence, wounds, adventure, heroism and cowardice, good and evil... [This] would indeed be to give children a false impression and feed them on escapism in the bad sense. There is something ludicrous in the idea of so educating a generation which is born to the Ogpu and the atomic bomb."
Monday, April 30, 2007
Libertarian Futurist Society blog
The Libertarian Futurist Society has a new blog here.
Friday, April 27, 2007
An invitation for those in/near Nashville, TN
On May 8, 2007 at 7:00pm, join the Tennessee Center for Policy Research and ABC News 20/20 reporter John Stossel for an evening of delicious food, refreshing libations and stimulating conversation as John exposes the errors behind hundreds of media-generated myths—and reveals that the truth is often the opposite of what we've been taught to believe.
Stossel, the winner of 19 Emmys and five awards for excellence in consumer reporting by the National Press Club, will discuss his impressive and irreverent career in television journalism, and expound on his many high profile dust-ups and years of unearthing politically incorrect dirt.
His irrepressible penchant for skewering sacred cows and shattering the herd mentality culminates in his new book, Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity.
Find more information on the "Freedom and Its Enemies" event here.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Virginia Tech, Artistic Freedom, & Implications for Teaching/Writing Genre Fiction
Marleen Barr, a genre scholar who taught at Virginia Tech for 14 years, has written a thought-provoking letter to Locus about last week's shooting massacre and its implications for the writing and teaching of genre fiction.
...If Stephen King enters a time machine, appears in Nikki's class as a young student, and writes as he customarily does, could Lucinda as department head justifiably remove him from class? Or, more generally speaking, consider this possible story opening: Once upon a time, feminist extraterrestrials killed all the male human astronauts who landed on their feminist utopian planet. Should the author of this sentence be barred from Cape Canaveral because she poses a clear and present danger to male astronauts? [Please know that on the evening after I wrote this sentence, Larry King reported that a shooting incident had occurred at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. I did not for a moment worry that a feminist science fiction writer was responsible for this act.] Or, more personally speaking, the penultimate scene of Oy Pioneer! describes the feminist protagonist's extraterrestrial clones arriving in spaceships to circle the Blackhole State University administration building. Thus it is. What would happen if Marleen S. Barr had written this scene post April 16, 2007 instead of when she was thirty-four years old?
Monday, April 16, 2007
Ed Kramer's Long Wait for Justice
Dark Echo points out that anthologist and former VP of the Horror Writers of America, Ed Kramer, remains under house arrest in Georgia after seven years, charged with aggravated child molestation but never tried (and suffering from brain damage after an attack by a jail guard).
Seven years is a long time to wait for a trial, especially considering Georgia law presumes a violation of speedy trial rights for delays of over eight months between indictment and trial [Scandrett v. State, 279 Ga. 632 (2005)].
For more information:
"Truth, Justice, and Ed Kramer" from American Jewish Life
Ed Kramer Defense Site
Ed Kramer Official Site
No bliss in feds' marriage initiative
Re: The Native American Healthy Marriages Initiative, managed by the Administration for Native Americans:
The third theme gets to the real point of the report: ''Marriage seems to be particularly important in civilizing men, turning their attention away from dangerous, antisocial, or self-centered activities and towards the needs of a family.''
Excuse me, but did you just suggest that men of color are uncivilized? Indeed they did, on top of ''dangerous,'' ''antisocial'' and ''self-centered.'' The report's fourth theme elaborates these ideas in a manner I can only describe as bizarre: ''Marriage influences the biological functioning of adults and children in ways that can have important social consequences. For instance, marriage appears to drive down testosterone levels in men, with clear consequences for their propensity to aggression.''
My question is this: Are we equally concerned with the testosterone levels of other men, say, aggressive stock traders or the paladins orchestrating the war on terrorism?
Read "No bliss in feds' marriage initiative" by Scott Richard Lyons here.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Robert A. Heinlein on the 'Net
This month's Asimov's Science Fiction includes an excellent review of online Heinlein sources and resources: "On the Net: RAH."
Thursday, April 12, 2007
R.I.P. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922-2007)
THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General...
U.S. author Kurt Vonnegut, born 1922, died yesterday at the age of 84. His novels include such titles as Player Piano (1952), The Sirens of Titan (1959), Cat's Cradle (1963), God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965), and Slaughterhouse Five (1969), and others, along with later works Galapagos (1985) and Timequake (1997). His short story "Harrison Bergeron," quoted above, is widely regarded as a classic political dystopian work.
Read the New York Times obituary.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Heinlein Turns 100
2007 marks the centennial of the birth of the Grand Master himself, and one of my very favorite authors, Robert A. Heinlein.
Recent articles:
"Heinlein's Ghost" by Dwayne A. Day
"Robert Heinlein at One Hundred" by Ted Gioia
For additional information:
The Heinlein Society
The Robert A. Heinlein Page
Robert A. Heinlein Centennial Website
TANSTAAFL!
Monday, March 26, 2007
Harry Potter, Legally Speaking
Now that excitement for the forthcoming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is at a fever pitch, it is worth noting that the Harry Potter and the Law issue of Texas Wesleyan Law Review is now online. Its excellent essays include "Making Legal Space for Moral Choice" by my friend Andy Morriss of Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and "Harry Potter and the Miserable Ministry of Magic" by Benjamin H. Barton of University of Tennessee College of Law, among others.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Prometheus Award Nominees Named
The Libertarian Futurist Society has named the finalists for this year's Prometheus Award: Empire, Orson Scott Card The Ghost Brigades, John Scalzi Glasshouse, Charles Stross Rainbows End, Vernor Vinge Harbingers, F. Paul Wilson
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Who is John Horse?
John Horse's story feels like an answer to every Hollywood studio's wish list: a mix of Spartacus, Braveheart, Amistad, and Glory, with just a pinch of Dances With Wolves. A sweeping tale of a decades-long struggle against oppression, the movie would show how Horse and the Black Seminoles created the largest haven for runaway slaves in the American South, led the biggest slave revolt in U.S. history, won the only emancipation of rebellious North American slaves before the Civil War, and formed the largest mass exodus of slaves in U.S. history....
Read "Florida's Forgotten Rebels" at Reason Online.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
R.I.P., Captain America (1941-2007)?
The New York Daily News yesterday ran the exclusive story that Captain America, the Marvel Comics superhero created in March 1941 and touted as the original sentinel of liberty, was shot dead by a sniper in Captain America #25 (which also debuted yesterday). The shooting follows Captain America's arrest at the end of the Civil War storyline, in which Iron Man and the forces of law and order defeated Captain America's underdog band of freedom fighters.
His death is sure to ignite controversy in the comic book world - still reeling from Superman's death in 1993 and resurrection the following year - and even political pundits, who may see Captain America's demise as an allegory for the United States.
"It's a hell of a time for him to go. We really need him now," said co-creator Joe Simon, 93, after being informed of his brainchild's death.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Libertarianism in Mainstream Science Fiction
"People whose basic political philosophy is flatly incompatible with libertarianism will continue to find the SF mainstream an uncomfortable place to be."
Eric S. Raymond's essay "A Political History of Science Fiction" is making the rounds again.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
The Trail of Tears as a Turning Point
The story of the Trail of Tears (1838-1839) continues to command attention and remain relevant because, from a variety of perspectives, its represents a turning point in history.
Viewed as an event on the world stage, the Trail of Tears supplies one example of the ongoing phenomenon of ethnic cleansing.
The Trail of Tears was a watershed national event for the United States in two key ways. First, removal signaled a radical departure from previous U.S. policy towards American Indians. Second, the Trail of Tears marked a somewhat uneasy transition in U.S. political thought from Jeffersonianism to Jacksonianism.
Obviously the Trail of Tears marked a turning point for the Cherokee Nation, as it meant the loss of Cherokee lands and many Cherokee lives, and the challenge of creating a new existence and constitution in Indian Territory. But removal also meant political upheaval for the Cherokees, as violent change underscored the conflicts between preexisting factions and their differing conceptions of Cherokee civilization.
FYI, I discuss these issues and others in my new intellectual history of removal, out this week with Greenwood: The Trail of Tears and Indian Removal.
Sunday, October 8, 2006
What is Columbus Day doing to "Americans"?
A new article by Scott Richard Lyons of St. John Fisher College:
"What Columbus Day does to Americans?"
Excerpt:
Indeed, one might observe that these Columbian imperialist values are diametrically opposed to the more Jeffersonian American values of democracy, liberty and equality.... There is no room for American Indian history, the past that we're still living today, in official commemorations of Columbus. The same can be said for Americans of any ethnic persuasion who detest imperialism, whether in the Americas, Vietnam, or the Middle East.
Thursday, October 5, 2006
the "one book" meme
I've been tagged! Here goes.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Banned Books Week
According to the American Library Association, September 23-30 is Banned Books Week.
Here's the ALA's list of the top 10 most challenged books of this century so far:
The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
The Scary Stories series by Alvin Schwartz
The Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey
Forever by Judy Blume
Monday, September 11, 2006
Vermont Eugenics Program in the news
The first recipients of the American Indian Youth Literature Award include a book on the Vermont Eugenics Program. Hidden Roots is written by Joseph Bruchac and published by Scholastic Press. The book is set within the historical framework of the Vermont Eugenics Program, a Native American sterilization program in the 1930s, and tells the story of the haunting effects of this shameful and tragic deed on one of the Abenaki families victimized by it. Author of more than 70 books for adults and children, Bruchac is of Abenaki ancestry and is a nationally recognized professional storyteller living in Greenfield Center, New York.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Prometheus 2006 Awards Winners Announced
The Libertarian Futurist Society presented its annual Prometheus Awards in three categories Aug. 25 at the World Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim, Calif.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
TV Watchers Watch TV
From Vinay Menon of The Toronto Star, Aug. 10:
In our culture of default victimhood, those who advocate nanny-state regulations enjoy playing the blame game because it advances their own special interests. TV is a reliable scapegoat.
Read the article.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Who's Afraid of the Big Question?
In his essay "The Little Picture," historian Edward Gray considers the state of the history profession and admits, "I have found myself drawn once again to the likes of Tocqueville, particularly the impulse—which he was the first to yield to in any serious way—to ask, 'What does America mean?'"
Read "The Little Picture" by Edward Gray from the July 2006 issue of Common-Place.
Friday, July 14, 2006
The Cherokee Nation - Exercising Its Sovereignty
In May 2003, citizens of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma voted to remove the U.S. federal approval clause from their 1975 Constitution. The clause stated that no amendment or new constitution shall be effective without presidential approval.
Principal Chief Chad Smith said the Cherokee Nation was exercising its sovereignty by approving the new constitution without federal approval and has received all proper approvals by passing a vote of the Cherokee people in July 2003.
Now, by a 2-1 decision, the Cherokee Judicial Appeals Tribunal has ruled that the Cherokee Nation's 2003 Constitution is effective and the tribe's governing law.
Read more.
Saturday, July 8, 2006
A word of thanks...
It's been a big week for me, and I wanted to thank publicly Heren Istarion, The Northeast Tolkien Society and its international membership for honoring me with the 2006 Imperishable Flame Award for Tolkien/Inklings Scholarship. It's all the more meaningful to receive this honor on the week when Valancourt Books and I have celebrated the launch of our newest project, the first scholarly English version of Baron de la Motte Fouqué's The Magic Ring (and the first reprint of this English translation in over one and a half centuries).
Thanks to all for the encouragement and support!
Why Are Indigenous (American Indian) Soldiers Serving in Iraq?
An open letter from Dr. Michael Yellow Bird, Ph.D., the Founder and Director of the Center for Indigenous Peoples' Critical and Intuitive Thinking (CIPCIT) and Associate Professor of Indigenous Nations Studies at The University of Kansas:
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Release of Open Letter on Immigration
The Independent Institute has just released its Open Letter on Immigration to President Bush and Congress on the economics of immigration. The Open Letter on Immigration has been signed by 500+ American economists and other scholars, including five Nobel Laureates, plus more than 40 scholars from other countries.
The media release for the Open Letter
The Open Letter, followed by the complete list of signatories
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Write Fiction, Expect the Police
"Philip Sandifer is the U Fla grad student in Gainesville from whom the campus police demanded DNA and fingerprints. Sandifer had published a short story about a murderer who cites his crimes in a letter to the Special Forces as qualifications for a job with them. The cops' rationale was that even if it was fiction, you can't be too safe, and besides, they didn't think that English students should be writing about murder."
Lawyer demands U Fla cops' documents on fiction writer
U. Florida cops ask fiction writer for fingerprints, DNA
Police Harassment 2
Police Harassment
Monday, May 8, 2006
You can't take the sky from me.
Joss Whedon's 2005 film Serenity, the companion piece to his television series Firefly, has won this year's Nebula Award.
Why people interested in liberty and power should care.
Why people interested in film should care.
Friday, May 5, 2006
Rights Under Attack
This year marks the tenth anniversary of PhreakNIC, the event that began as the largest U.S. hacker convention east of the Mississippi, and evolved into a national technology and culture symposium with a distinct cyberpunk mentality. This year's theme is "Rights Under Attack."
Last year's focus was surveillance. Artist Todd Lyles set the tone with his striking parody of Uncle Sam: "I Watch You."
It Takes A Village?
It's official: Christopher Eccleston, recently the ninth Dr. Who, will take on the role of Number Six in "Sky One's biggest drama commission ever," the six-part remake of The Prisoner (due for broadcast in 2007).
There's no word yet if the 21st-century Prisoner will be as overtly libertarian as Patrick McGoohan's original anti-authoritarian classic.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Stanislaw Lem (1921-2006)
One of the world's leading science fiction writers, Polish author Stanislaw Lem, died on Monday in Krakow. During World War II, Lem was a resistance fighter against the Nazis; he used science fiction because he felt he could communicate his controversial ideas more freely through the genre, often under the radar of the communist regime of the People's Republic of Poland (though he did face censorship at times). His stories - nearly 30,000,000 copies in all - have been published in over 40 languages.
Additional information on Lem:
Wikipedia
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
Lem's Website
CNN
Reuters
Monday, March 27, 2006
If you liked The Lord of the Rings...
Available for the first time in 181 years, The Magic Ring by Baron de la Motte-Fouqué is an epic masterpiece.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Cherokee Nation Rules on Freedmen Case
The highest court of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma has reversed a prior ruling and opened the door for descendants of freedmen (black slaves owned by Cherokees) to pursue Cherokee citizenship.
Further reading:
The Allen v. Ummerteskee decision (PDF)
"Jim Crow and the Indians" Salon.com article on the Allen v. Ummerteskee case