Constantine, Alex. Psychic Dictatorship in the U.S.A. Published in 1995 by Feral House, P.O. Box 3466, Portland OR 97208 ($12.95 plus $2 postage). 221 pages.
Alex Constantine, a fan of the late parapolitical researcher Mae Brussell, currently hosts a radio program for KAZU-FM in Monterey, California. In this book he has brought together a collection of essays on the following topics: electromagnetic and biotelemetric mind-control experimentation by intelligence agencies (often on involuntary subjects), satanism and ritual cult abuse of children (also with an intelligence connection), and OSS/CIA theft and profiteering for the purpose of funding covert operations. Specific case studies within these areas include the Strategic Defense Initiative as a cover story for mind-control research, the McMartin Preschool molestation case, the Jeffrey MacDonald "Fatal Vision" murders, the Children of God cult, the Larry King case in Omaha, NutraSweet and the dumbing of America, and the secret appropriation of stolen Nazi art by the OSS.The level of detail is impressive in certain areas, and some chapters include footnotes. This makes the book valuable. But for those who do not share the author's experience of having been victimized by the techniques he describes, it's difficult to accept his occasional suggestion that the various chapters in this book are related at some sinister level.
Pell, Eve. The Big Chill: How the Reagan Administration, Corporate America, and Religious Conservatives Are Subverting Free Speech and the Public's Right to Know. Boston: Beacon Press, 1984. 269 pages.
Eve Pell is a West Coast journalist who writes for progressive publications. In this book she chronicles the anti-free speech climate of the early Reagan years, and how this has affected a broad spectrum of Americans. Her book has four main sections: 1) the federal government as censor (the Executive Order on Classification, Antileak Directive NSDD 84, the weakened FOIA, the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, the courts, and encroachments on science and high tech); 2) censorship in schools, libraries, and business (book banning and pornography censorship on the right and left); 3) libel (the use of libel law by the powerful to harass the weak); and 4) suppression of dissent (Senate Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism, unleashing the IRS and other agencies, and conservative public interest legal foundations).Pell performs a service by warning us that tolerance in America is on the decline, and accurate when she sees this as a problem on both the left and right, from the national government all the way to the local level. Eight years later the problem is more serious because of an ailing economy that decreases the choices we have, the increasing monopoly of the major media, and the deterioration of the educational system.
Schlosser, Eric. Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. 310 pages.
Three topics are covered in this well-written chronicle of the American underbelly: the war against marijuana, the war against pornography, and the plight of migrant farm labor from Mexico. Nearly half of this book is about the porn empire of Reuben Sturman, who started in 1963 and after countless legal battles, was finally brought down in 1992. He died in prison in 1997.One might be tempted to describe this book as a cultural study, simply because it's a fascinating read. But the extensive footnoting and bibliography, along with Schlosser's field research and interviewing, qualify it as full-blown investigative journalism of the highest quality. Similar praise was universal for Schlosser's previous book, "Fast Food Nation." His next book will be about the American prison system.
While Schlosser is long on relevant facts and short on moralizing, one is forced to agree with him that America is in decline -- for reasons that deregulation, the free market, and corporate capitalism cannot address. More reasonable regulation (worker protection) along with reasonable decriminalization (ease up on marijuana laws) are vaguely suggested in the tiny last chapter, perhaps because the book required closure of some sort. You cannot expect to find everything you need between just two covers.
Schrag, Peter. Mind Control. New York: Pantheon Books, 1978. 327 pages.
Born in 1931, Peter Schrag is an educator as well as a former reporter and editor. His numerous books are critical of American culture, education, and social policy. Schrag is too cynical to be called a traditional liberal, but too well-established to trouble himself with the notion that conspiracies exist in high places. Despite a title that conspiracy theorists will love, this book is a general criticism of the mental health industry and the bureaucracy that supports it. Schrag is worried about the shift from the old punitive methods of social control (as represented by mental hospitals), to the newer and more frightening "therapeutic" methods: psychotropic drugs, behavior modification, and the assault on privacy represented by computers and high-tech surveillance. He's almost a libertarian, except that he believes that full employment and an emphasis on improving social conditions (meaning more government?) will go some distance toward eliminating the need for social control.Eighteen years later it seems that the biggest narcotic of all, television and our centralized mass media, deserved at least a footnote back in 1978. And Schrag's faith in the possibility of enlightened government seems just a bit old-fashioned. Still, this book is well- researched and well-written, and provides a critical perspective on social issues that are too often ignored.
Wise, David. The American Police State: The Government Against the People. New York: Vintage Books, 1978. 437 pages.
This contribution to the spate of books to emerge out of Watergate was one of the better efforts. Two chapters concern the CIA -- one on domestic surveillance and the other on CIA involvement in Watergate. Additional chapters include the FBI and IRS and their role in suppressing domestic dissent, and the machinations of the CREEP plumbers, Kissinger, and black- bag jobs in general. His final chapter is an editorial against the official methods: "If we accept the values of the enemy as our own, we will become the enemy."With all of the literature about the CIA over the past two decades, it is easy to forget that for the first half of the Agency's history, almost nothing was in the public domain. Washington journalist David Wise changed all of that with "The Invisible Government" in 1964. CIA director John McCone called in Wise and co-author Thomas Ross to demand deletions on the basis of galleys the CIA had secretly obtained. When that didn't work, the CIA formed a special group to deal with the book and tried to secure bad reviews, even though the CIA's legal counsel had found the book "uncannily accurate." As the unofficial dean of intelligence journalists, Wise is still working on future books from his Washington office.
Here are the names most frequently mentioned in the above books:
ABEL GENE G ACREE VERNON MIKE AGEE PHILIP BURNETT FRANKLIN ALDRICH STEPHEN L ALEXANDER DONALD C ALEXANDER JOHN B (COL) AMERICAN LEGAL FOUNDATION AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION ANDERSEN HAROLD WAYNE ANGLETON JAMES JESUS ANSLINGER HARRY J ATKIN SANFORD ATKINSON LESLIE (IKE) AUCHTER THORNE G AYD FRANK J JR BACON LESLIE BAER ALAN BARKER BERNARD L BARKER SARAH EVANS BARTH ROGER VINCENT BAZELON DAVID LIONEL BEASLEY EVERETTE BECKER ROBERT O BEECHER WILLIAM BEERS SHARYN L.W. BELLAK LEOPOLD BELMONT ALAN HARNDEN BELTER ERNEST BENNETT ROBERT FOSTER (R-UT) BERG DAVID (MOSES) BERKMAN BERNARD BESHAROV DOUGLAS J BISSELL RICHARD MERVIN JR BRANDON HENRY BREGGIN PETER BRENNAN CHARLES D (CHIP) BRODEUR PAUL BROWN BERTRAM S BROWN M.HUNTER BUCKEY CHARLES BUCKEY RAYMOND BUSH VANNEVAR BUZHARDT J FRED CAMERON DONALD EWEN CANNON MARTIN CARADORI GARY A CARPENTER WILLIAM T JR CAULFIELD JACK J CHAMBERS CARL D CHANELES SOL CHILDREN GOD CIEHANSKI THOMAS N CITIZENS DECENT LITERATURE CITRON PETER CLARK KENNETH BANCROFT CLIFFORD CLARK MCADAMS CLOWARD RICHARD A COLBY GERARD COLBY WILLIAM EGAN COLSON CHARLES WENDELL COMMERCIAL BANK CALIFORNIA COMSTOCK ANTHONY CONSTANTINE ALEX CORNELL UNIVERSITY CORPORATE TRAINING UNLIMITED COTTER LLOYD COWAN MARK (OSHA) CRANE GEORGE E CUSHMAN ROBERT E JR (GEN) DE CAMP JOHN W DE LOACH CARTHA D (DEKE) DEAN JOHN WESLEY DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY DELGADO JOSE M.R. DELGADO NAOMI DELOREAN JOHN Z DENTON JEREMIAH A (R-AL) DEUKMEJIAN GEORGE DI BERNARDO ROBERT EAST JOHN P EBERLE PAUL EBERLE SHIRLEY EDWARDS DON (D-CA) EDWARDS PHIL EHRLICHMAN JOHN D ELLSBERG DANIEL ERVIN FRANK R FALSE MEMORY SYNDROME FOUNDATION FALWELL JERRY FEENEY DON FELIX ROBERT H FELT W MARK FIEVE RONALD R FLYNT LARRY FOUNDATION NATIONAL PROGRESS FRANKLIN COMMUNITY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION FREED DONALD FREEMAN WALTER J FREYD JENNIFER FREYD PAMELA FRIEDMAN DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN STEPHANIE GABLER MEL GABLER NORMA GANDY HELEN W GIANCANA SAM GIRARD HARLAN E GOFFMAN ERVING GOODALE JAMES C GOODWIN GUY L GORMAN TOM (L.A.TIMES) GOTTLIEB SIDNEY GOULD CATHERINE GRAY COMPANY GRAY L PATRICK GRAY ROBERT KEITH GROTZ GEORGE E GUTIERREZ ELSA HAIG ALEXANDER M JR HALDEMAN HARRY ROBBINS HALPERIN MORTON H HARRIMAN W AVERELL HARRISON JOHN T HARVEY PHILIP HARVEY WILLIAM KING HATCH ORRIN G (R-UT) HAYES ARTHUR HULL HELMS RICHARD MCGARRAH HERSHMAN MICHAEL J HIGBY LAWRENCE M HOOVER J EDGAR HOUSTON LAWRENCE REID HUGHES HOWARD R HUMAN ECOLOGY FUND HUNT E HOWARD HUSTON THOMAS CHARLES INFANTE PETER INFORMATION INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION INGRAHAM BARTON L INMAN BOBBY RAY INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE IVORY WILLIAM JACOBSON MILES JENKINS WALTER W JOHNSON JOHN (L.A.TIMES) JONES JAMES WARREN KALB MARVIN KALMBACH HERBERT WARREN KATZENBACH NICHOLAS D KEATING CHARLES H JR KELLEY CLARENCE M KENNEDY EDWARD M (D-MA) KENNEDY ROBERT FRANCIS KILLE LEONARD KING LAWRENCE E JR KING MARTIN LUTHER JR KIRK PRODUCE KISSINGER HENRY A KRAFT JOSEPH KROGH EGIL (BUD) KRONTHAL JAMES SPEYER LACKRITZ MARC E LAKE W ANTHONY LAVELLE RITA M LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE ADMINISTRATION LAWRENCE LINCOLN (PSEUDONYM) LENZNER TERRY FALK LEVI EDWARD H LIDDY G GORDON LIVINGSTONE NEIL C LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY LOS ANGELES TIMES LUROS MILTON MACDONALD JEFFREY ROBERT MAGRUDER JEB STUART MAHEU ROBERT AIME MANN ABBY MARCHETTI VICTOR L MARDIAN ROBERT CHARLES MARK VERNON H MARTINEZ EUGENIO (ROLANDO) MCCORD JAMES W JR MCGINNISS JOE MCKINNEY JULIANNE MENNINGER KARL A MENNINGER WILLIAM C MILLER EDWARD S MITCHELL JOHN N MORFORD CRAIG S MOTHER JONES MAGAZINE MOYERS BILL D MULLEN ROBERT R MURRAY J.MICHAEL NAESLUND ROBERT NATHAN DEBBIE NATIONAL INSTITUTE MENTAL HEALTH NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY NAVASKY VICTOR S NIXON DONALD SR (F.DONALD) NORTH AMERICAN CONGRESS LATIN AMERICA OBRIEN LAWRENCE FRANCIS OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY HEALTH ADMINISTRATION OFSHE RICHARD OLIVER R SPENCER OLSAFSKY JAMES OLSON FRANK R ORNE MARTIN T OSBORN HOWARD J OWEN ALISHA JAHN PALERM JUAN VICENTE PHILLIPS DAVID ATLEE PIVEN FRANCES FOX PRIDGEN D P QADDAFI MUAMMAR RAGAN JOHN J RAMIREZ GLORIA RAMONA HOLLY RATHER DAN REBOZO CHARLES G (BEBE) REGIONAL YOUNG ADULT PROJECT REID ASSOCIATES RELYEA HAROLD RICHARDSON ELLIOT LEE RIHA THOMAS ROGOVIN MITCHELL ROSENHAN DAVID L ROSENTHAL ED (MARIJUANA AUTHOR) ROSFELDER RICHARD N JR ROSSELLI JOHN RUCKELSHAUS WILLIAM DOYLE RUMSFELD DONALD H RUSSONIELLO JOSEPH P SAFIRE WILLIAM L SCHLESINGER JAMES RODNEY SCIENTIFIC ENGINEERING INSTITUTE SEARLE G.D. COMPANY SEARS JOHN PATRICK SHAPIRO JEFFREY A SHEPPARD STEPHANIE SHOFFLER CARL M SHULTZ GEORGE PRATT SIDLEY AUSTIN COMPANY SILBERT EARL J SILK THOMAS SILVER RONALD LEE SINGER MARGARET THALER SIRHAN SIRHAN BISHARA SKINNER B F SKINNER SAMUEL KNOX SMILEY JOSEPH R SMITH GERALD W SMITH WILLIAM FRENCH SNEPP FRANK W SOVEREIGN NEWS SPENCE CRAIG STAR NEWS STOCKMAN DAVID A STOECKLEY HELENA STONE ALAN A STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE STUDER RUDY STURGIS FRANK A STURMAN REUBEN SUKARNO PRES. SULLIVAN WILLIAM C SWEET WILLIAM H SYNANON INC SZASZ THOMAS S SZULC TAD TACKWOOD LOUIS ELBERT TANNENBAUM GALYA STORM TAYLOR FREDERICK WINSLOW TELLER EDWARD THEVIS MICHAEL THROWER RANDOLPH W TODOROVICH MICHAEL M TOLSON CLYDE ANDERSON ULASEWICZ ANTHONY T UNDERWAGER RALPH UNITED FARM WORKERS UNIVERSITY PENNSYLVANIA VALENSTEIN ELLIOT S VAN CLEAVE WILLIAM R VLADECK DAVID WADMAN ROBERT WAGNER KARL (CIA) WAKEFIELD HOLLIDA WALKER BAILUS WALTERS JOHNNIE M WALTERS VERNON ANTHONY WATTS WILLIAM WEBSTER WILLIAM HEDGCOCK WEISHEIT RALPH WEST LOUIS JOLYON WHITE GEORGE W (JUDGE) WHITE STEVE (DEA) WILSON PETE (R-CA) WOLANER ROBIN WOMENS INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE PEACE FREEDOM YOUNG DAVID R
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