In this profound and incisive work; Angelo M. Codevilla introduces readers to the Ruling Class; the group of bipartisan political elites who run America. This Ruling Class; educated at prestigious universities and convinced of its own superiority; has everything to gain by raising taxes and expanding the reach of government. This class maintains that it knows what is best and continually increases its power over every facet of American life; from family and marriage to the environment; guns; and God.It is becoming increasingly apparent that this Ruling Class does not represent the interests of the majority of Americans; who value self-rule and the freedom on whose promise America was founded. Millions of Americans are now reasserting our right to obey the Constitution; not the Ruling Class. This desire transcends all organizations and joins independents; Republicans; and Democrats into The Country Party; whose members embody the ideas and habits that made America great. The majority of Americans feel that the Ruling Class is demeaning us; impoverishing us; demoralizing us; and want to be rid of it.
#852139 in Books University of Hawaii Press 2009-05-20 2009-05-20Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.90 x .80 x 5.90l; .85 #File Name: 0824834119256 pages
Review
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Religious WarsBy Farmer JohnThe interaction between Buddhism and Taoism has always been a subject of great scholarly interest; but it was not until the last two decades that we have seen a major shift in the attitude toward the nature of the relationship between these two religious traditions. As the title of her book suggests; Mollier's agenda is to portray the relationship of Buddhism and Taoism as an adversarial one; in which each tradition uses the popular ideas of its opponent in order to attack and eventually replace it. Mollier's book is an important to the growing field of Buddho-Taoism for a number of reasons. Not only does she provide accurate and fluent translations of influential sutras and scriptures that have never been studied before in the West; she is also successful in showing the significance of popular religious practices; such as rituals and the use of talismans. Mollier's sensitive analysis of the competition between the two main religious traditions to win the hearts of potential followers reveals to us the various techniques used by religious experts in the daily life of commoners without dismissing them as folk religion. Moreover; she shows the important role played by ritual in the life of the common people who were not exposed on a daily basis to scriptural doctrine. After decades in which most scholarly attention was directed toward the study of canonical texts; books like this; which try to map out the actual religious scene of medieval China; are a welcome and refreshing addition to the field.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Not for everyoneBy Karen JensenWhile written from an academic point of view; this book serves the reader well in understanding the dynamics of both schools of thought. This is the most objective viewpoint I have found when discussing the interrelationship of Buddhism and Taoism. This is not written to affirm any belief system but to explain how the past integral growth of the two schools is still with us today. This is not a religious or philosophical text. It made me laugh sometimes when I realized how much I still do not know.12 of 12 people found the following review helpful. Useful for Laypersons as well as the religious or scholarlyBy ProkoptonMollier surveys a few of the 40;000-odd manuscripts found in a sealed chamber at Dunhuang; with a particular eye to the relations between Taoism and Buddhism.Against a background of interfaith rivalry (in which Taoists could depict Lao-tzu reincarnating as Buddha to convert the foreigners; whilst Buddhists had Lao-tzu as Buddha's disciple) she unpicks some interesting stuff about similar doctrines appearing in the texts of the two different faiths. Buddhist longevity sutras turn out to have stolen their texts wholesale from Taoist originals; Taoism in return modelled an entire deity upon a Buddhist bodhisattva.There is much local colour for anyone who has an interest in this kind of thing -- descriptions of witchcraft practices (watch out for 'gu'!) and use of the Big Dipper; etc.; revealing morsels of practice and belief. Whole texts are translated; the scholarship is very able and at times wry.
