What I've been reading

It was really interesting to be reading the non-fiction book "The Twentieth Century: A People's History" by Howard Zinn and the science fiction book "Little Brother" by Cory Doctorow at the same time. Doctorow's near-future is paranoid and suspicious of big government, but his character nevertheless respects the founding father and the constitution. Zinn is even cynical about our founding fathers and believes that no matter who has been in power, the working man gets shafted. After reading "People's History," it's hard not to agree. The other thing I took away from that book, very strongly, is how very morally indefensible it is the amount of money our country spends on the miltary. Don't take me for an anti-military pacifist kook, either. I have two brothers who have served, one in the first Persian Gulf War and the second is career military and gets out this summer after having served more than a decade in a variety of capacities, including as a peacekeeper in Bosnia. I pass people near the federal building in downtown Ann Arbor carrying signs that say, "We've been trained to accept the unacceptable." I think they are protesting for universal health care coverage, but I think it applies to our military budget as well. It didn't used to be as big a part of our budget in the past as it has been in the latter half of the 20th century. In the last few decades, it has been absolutely morally bankrupt to spend what we are spending on weapons while simultaneously cutting funding to help the poor.

My full comments on both books here.