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A diatribe that includes the insulting language and hate speech in which you have wrapped your inane generalities posing as arguments is barely worthy of comment.

At least that is what my Asian wife and extended Asian family says as we sit here in Asia where I have spent around three quarters of the past 44 years and during which time I have travelled several hundred times into around and out of every corner of India, Pakistan and East-Pakistan/Bangladesh.

[Not to mention all of Africa, the Mid-East, the Persian Gulf, all the rest of Asia including the 3.7 square miles [The majority of which -- more than 2.5 million square miles -- is comprised of brutally enslaved other Peoples lands, territories, sovereign states and nations -- including some of India's!] that Peking's self-annointed, self-appointed and self-perpetuating predators call "china"]

I suggest, however, that before you attempt to rationally relate to reality you first rid yourself of both your hesperophobia and the enormous post-colonial log in your eye and on your shoulder that appears to blind you to the reality of present day India and China. [Not to be confused with either place's poential!]

And then you might look up the definition of FRee Market and/or Laissez-Faire Capitalism in other than a socialist tract and while you're at it become familiar with the Peter Principle that without exception operates in every one of the world's hierarchies -- and no less in those of the moronic American corporations that have put their owners Capital in the paws of the lying, looting, thieving, invading, colonizing, enslaving and mass-murdering gangster-bastards-posing-as-politicians that so-grandiosely call themselves "china" -- than in New Delhi, Islamabad and Dhakka.

Or, come to that -- in Washington DC!

Meanwhile here is a list of beautiful books to further clear your mind of prejudices and open it to but a few of life's possibilities.

[They are all available in India -- cheap, of course -- no royalties having been forwarded from there to their creators and/or to the owners of their intellectual content]

Blessings -- Brian

Enjoy:

We the Living (1936) - This is the first and most autobiographical of all of Ayn Rand's novels. It is also a good book for teenagers. So many young lives are destroyed before they have really begun in this gut-wrenching novel. For those who consider Rand to be arrogant and caustic, it is necessary to understand what she witnessed as a young woman in communist Russia. This book will make you appreciate all of the blessings we enjoy in this great country.

Anthem (1938) - I have recommended this book before (see last year's summer reading list). It is a good starting place for teens who have an aversion to reading. At around 100 pages, it has a fast-moving plot. As a professor at a university dominated by identity politics, I see this novel as something more than grim prophesy. Rand captures 1984 ten years before Orwell. She explains the campus diversity movement 50 years before its onset.

The Fountainhead (1943) - Ellsworth Toohey is, in my opinion, the most memorable character from this famous Ayn Rand novel. Toohey was supposed to remind readers of Joseph Stalin. In the wake if the 2004 election, he reminds me of someone else. At around 700 pages, this novel may be a bit long for the average high school student. But, then again, many high school students were required to read it in the 1950s. Rand's philosophy of objectivism really begins to take shape in this classic thriller.

The Road to Serfdom (1944) - After I published last year's summer reading list, I was criticized for two omissions. One was "Orthodoxy" by G.K. Chesterton. The other was "The Road to Serfdom" by F.A. Hayek. Complaints regarding the latter exceeded complaints regarding the former by about two to one. Nothing more need be said.

Animal Farm (1946) - Maybe your high school student is having trouble in his English classes. Maybe that is, in part, due to his inability to pick up on symbolism. I flunked English four years in a row in high school, partly because of my inability to pick up on obvious literary symbols. Nonetheless, I picked up on everything in this great little novel. While this list is presented in chronological order, "Animal Farm" might be the best starting place among these ten books.

1984 (1948) - Over the next few years, how many students will get a daily dosage of "the two minutes hate" by professors who are still seething with anger after the defeat of John Kerry? And how many times will the Office of Diversity remind us of the opening pages of 1984 as it seeks to do exactly the opposite of what its name implies?

Witness (1952) - This is one of the most important books of the twentieth century. Before and after reading this book, parents should encourage their children to visit www.biography.com and search for the name "Alger Hiss." What they read will demonstrate just how far in denial this nation still is regarding the Soviet infiltration of our government during the Cold War.
After 9/11, we can no longer afford such naiveté.

The Gulag Archipelago (1956) - If you did not think that "We the Living" painted a realistic portrait of Soviet Russia during the Stalinist purges, this great work of non-fiction by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn will set matters straight. Some call it the greatest non-fiction book of the twentieth century. I can't argue.

Atlas Shrugged (1957) - This is my favorite American novel. It is my second favorite novel behind "The Brothers Karamazov." Based on her other writings, Ayn Rand seems to have considered John Galt's speech to be the highlight of the novel. Francisco d'Anconia's speech at Jim Taggart's wedding was my favorite part of the novel. At over 1000 pages, this one is going to take time for your high schooler to read. If they refuse, you can always teach them a lesson about capitalism by paying them to read it. The results will be well worth the investment.

Treason (2003) - The www.biography.com entry for Joseph McCarthy says the following: "His wild, unsubstantiated charges and headline-grabbing investigations of Communists in the foreign service, the US Information Agency, and the military...led historians to label the early 1950s the McCarthy era." After you read this wonderful book by Ann Coulter, ask the good folks at A&E just what those unsubstantiated charges were. And, in class, make sure your children ask their professors, too. Be prepared for a lot of stammering, after a long and awkward pause.