A Couple of Good Reads

"Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book."

  - Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), Roman philosopher

This past week I finished reading two books that I enjoyed very much. Joel Rosenberg's second novel, The Last Days, grabbed my attention from the first page. Jon Bennett, the protagonist, is a highly successful businessman who has been pressed into service in the war on terror by the president. He finds himself in one critical, life-threatening situation after another as he attempts to complete his mission.

Rosenberg writes like Tom Clancy at his best, but I find him easier to read, and just as entertaining. You'll get through this book quickly. It would be a good way to spend a winter weekend.

I also finished Senator Zell Miller's latest effort, A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat. Miller, a former two-term governor of Georgia and now a U.S. Senator, is critical of his party as he discusses education, welfare, national security, bi-partisanship, taxes and spending, abortion and 2nd Amendment rights. He calls for the Democrats to move back to the center if they want to win the presidency:

"In the real world outside the Beltway, most Americans are in the middle. They mix both liberal and conservative ideologies in their practical political beliefs. They don't want government to do everything for them, as die-hard liberals suppose. Nor do they want substantially less government, as die-hard conservatives suppose. What they want is common-sense government that works...for them." 

I lived in Georgia during Miller's governorship and he got my vote.  He is a man who has wide appeal in both parties, and I believe his views will influence many voters who are now undecided.