I am truly grateful to Mr. Jasper and the New American Magazine for writing and publishing this very well-written and assessed review of my book. This review is written by a journalist and author who knows and truly understands the saga of government whistleblowers. Several years ago, in the early-mid 2000s, Mr. Jasper was one of very few true journalists who daringly covered, reported, and wrote about the facts and harsh realities involved in cases of national security whistleblowers- including me and several members of our organization (NSWBC).  As you can tell from the review below, he understands and knows what he is talking about, and that my friends, is a real rarity when it comes to the US media and those who sell themselves off as journalists. Here are some excerpts from the review:

Imagine that you have a Top Secret clearance and are privy to some of our country’s most sensitive national security information. In that capacity, you discover that some of the highest elected and appointed political leaders in the land are engaged in espionage and treason, accepting bribes and selling weapons and information (including nuclear weapons secrets) to foreign powers, including our enemies. Moreover, you learn that some of your co-workers are in league with these conspirators, covering up the evidence trail and misdirecting those tasked with preventing such security breaches.

Shocked at the blatant betrayals you have discovered, you do the right thing and report this to your superiors. It’s not only the morally right thing to do; you are duty-bound, oath-bound to do no less. Agency policy and federal law require you to do no less. Having done your duty, you expect that higher-ups in the chain of command will do theirs. But time passes and nothing changes. You press the matter with superiors only to be told not to “rock the boat.â€� But with so much at stake, you refuse to simply drop the issue and allow treason to continue unchallenged. Some colleagues are sympathetic but warn you that you are pursuing a futile course that will only bring retaliation, harassment, and even danger to you and your family. Undaunted, and with no other option, you jump rank and take the matter to the top of your agency. Action is swift, but not what you had expected. Instead of investigating and prosecuting the spies and traitors, it is you who are subjected to investigation, surveillance, harassment, threats, and intimidation. Read more È

The anticipation is over. The review of my memoir Classified Woman: The Sibel Edmonds Story is published in the American Conservative Magazine. You can read the entire review here. I think Mr. Giraldi has done a good job, and done so objectively-free of any bias. I am grateful. I know how hard it is to review 350+ pages filled with information and try to fit it into only so-many words (limited space), so my hat is off to him for taking on that task, producing a solid and objective review. Here are a few excerpts from the review:

“I will not even try to reconstruct all the twists and turns that Edmonds describes in her 341 pages, but rest assured that she has the ability to surprise one with new revelations, even for readers like myself who have been following her case.�

…

“…She speculates that that her ostracism by the Fourth Estate, and also by congressmen who were ostensibly engaged in elevating government ethics, is due to the fact that both Republicans and Democrats were parties to the criminal behavior that she describes. In one particularly delicious account of high level shenanigans she recounts how an interview with Congressman Henry Waxman’s House Oversight and Government Reform staff was stopped abruptly when a staffer asked her if any Democrats were involved. “We have to stop here and not go any further. We don’t want to know,� he intoned after she confirmed that the malfeasance was not strictly GOP.�

…

“Perhaps more disturbing, Edmonds describes a number of failures to appreciate significant intelligence that might have enabled the government to foil 9/11, all part and parcel of a pervasive underlying narrative of espionage and corruption by high level government officials, both appointed and elected. She names names at the bureau, in Congress, and also at the State Department and Pentagon, including Congressmen Dennis Hastert, Dan Burton, Roy Blunt, Bob Livingston, Stephen Solarz, and Tom Lantos. She also fingers Douglas Feith, who headed the Office of Special Plans at the Pentagon, and Marc Grossman, who was the third ranking official at the State Department. Per Edmonds, all were part of the vast criminal enterprise that stole U.S. defense secrets, diverted weapons sales through false end-user certificates, participated in drug trafficking, and engaged in money laundering and bribery.�

…

Again, I encourage you to read the entire review, and for those of you who have read my book, please consider posting your comment(s) there and thank Mr. Giraldi and TAM for daring the establishment, being journalistically objective, and continuing to stand up for issues and cases declared forbidden by the status quo.

Those of you who are new to this website, my case and my book, here is how you can purchase Classified Woman despite its being officially declared forbidden by the government, the establishment publishers-media and all the parasitic bottom-feeders below them:

You can visit the Classified Woman website here: http://classifiedwoman.com

Classified Woman can now be purchased at Amazon, Kindle, Nook and directly here:

You can purchase your personalized signed copy for $49.95 + Shipping & Handling.

I just got a heads up on the coming review of my book Classified Woman in The American Conservative magazine by Philip Giraldi. I am thrilled. I am honored. And most importantly, I am heartened to see channels still-not-corrupted or co-opted by the government-the establishment and its tentacles.

Now, let me be forward and forewarn you: I have no idea if the review is going to be positive, negative or something in between. I don’t have a clue on the coming content of this review. But I have to tell you, no matter what, it is an honor to have it reviewed and written by Philip Giraldi. He is a man of integrity. He’s been out there for a long time taking on topics and targets long-declared untouchable. He talks the talk, and is not afraid of walking the walk to go along with it. Thank you Mr. Giraldi and TAC for being courageous, daring, and journalistically independent, and of course, not for the first time in my case.

So yes, I am curious, excited, and a bit nervous. I will know more, together with the rest of you, this coming Friday. The review will be posted here at Boiling Frogs Post.

Meanwhile, those of you who are new to this website, my case and my book, here is how you can purchase Classified Woman despite it being officially declared forbidden by the government, the establishment publishers-media and all the parasitic bottom-feeders below them:

You can visit the Classified Woman website here: http://classifiedwoman.com

Classified Woman can now be purchased at Amazon, Kindle, Nook and directly here:

You can purchase your personalized signed copy for $49.95 + Shipping & Handling.

I will be at FireDogLake Book Salon this evening (Saturday, June 30, 2012). The two-hour session will be hosted and moderated by Kevin Gosztola. We’ll be discussing and taking your questions and comments on my memoir Classified Woman, the persecution and prosecution of government whistleblowers, government censorship and excessive secrecy, and more! Mr. Gosztola is one of the most respected experts on these issues. He has been covering these topics for years through sound and objective analyses and articles at FDL.  FDL has consistently supported government whistleblowers and truth-tellers, and has done so without any partisanship spin or angles. It is an honor to be there and have this opportunity.

The session will start at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern).You can register and join the discussion session here.

Signed Copy of Sibel Edmonds’ recently released memoir Classified Woman: The Sibel Edmonds Story

Max Holland; Leak: Why Mark Felt became Deep Throat; Univ Press of Kansas (March 2012)

What was Watergate about?  Who was Mark Felt?  Was he “Deep Throat?� If he was, why did he do it?  Why should we care, now?  These are some of the questions underlying, addressed in, and raised by a new book by Max Holland titled Leak:  Why Mark Felt Became Deep Throat.[1]

Watergate, at its root, was about the abuse of executive branch powers.  The discovery of a break-in at the office of a rival political party spiraled into an affair leading to impeachment proceedings and the resignation of a President, following revelations of high-level support for illegal activity including campaign finance violations, money laundering, wiretapping, and burglaries.

In a country based on constitutional principles like ours, drawn on a tapestry following a war for independence from tyrannical government authority, the exercise of executive branch authority always calls for oversight.  And good lessons from history can help illuminate current events.  In Leak, Holland provides a valuable and original inquiry into important historical questions.  Holland’s interpretation gives us some insight into a murky history, and it also provides context for currently pressing questions about the integrity of government and our Rule of Law.

Who Do You Trust?

Who can we trust, when lawmakers and law enforcers become lawbreakers?  What motivates those who speak out, or “leak,â€� to provide sensitive and previously secret information to society?  Can we always rely on people of integrity to speak out when warranted?   What if we can’t trust the people who do speak out, or the people who report what they say? Read more È

An Independent Review by David Swanson

I am truly honored by the following review of Classified Woman by David Swanson at WarisaCrime.Org. Here are a few excerpts from the review:

The experiences she recounts resemble K.’s trip to the castle, as told by Franz Kafka, only without the pleasantness and humanity.

I’ve read a million reviews of nonfiction books about our government that referred to them as “page-turners” and “gripping dramas,” but I had never read a book that actually fit that description until now.

The F.B.I., the Justice Department, the White House, the Congress, the courts, the media, and the nonprofit industrial complex put Sibel Edmonds through hell. This book is her triumph over it all, and part of her contribution toward fixing the problems she uncovered and lived through.

…

Edmonds translated other materials that involved the selling of U.S. nuclear information to foreigners and spotted a connection to a previous case involving the purchase of such information. The FBI, under pressure from the State Department, Edmonds writes, prevented her from notifying the FBI field offices involved. Edmonds has testified in a court deposition, naming as part of a broad criminal conspiracy Representatives Dennis Hastert, Dan Burton, Roy Blunt, Bob Livingston, Stephen Solarz, and Tom Lantos, and the following high-ranking U.S. government officials: Douglas Feith, Paul Wolfowitz, and Marc Grossman.

…

Yet, thus far, no branch of our government has lifted its little finger to fix the problem of secrecy and the corruption it breeds, which Edmonds argues has grown far worse under President Obama. That’s why this book should be spread far and wide, and read aloud to our misrepresentatives in Congress if necessary. This book is a masterpiece that reveals both the details and the broader pattern of corruption and unaccountability in Washington, D.C. Edmonds has not exposed bad apples, but a rotten barrel of toxic waste that will sooner or later infect us all — not just the whistleblowers like Sibel and the thousands of people in our government who see something and dare not say something for fear that we will not have their back. Let’s have their back.

…

You can read the full review here at David’s website.

As many of you already know, this book is opposed by the government and hated by the establishment. Meaning – it will depend solely on the people and real alternative media and forums to get the word out. I have been doing exactly that: challenging the government by writing this book, challenging the corporate publishers by independently publishing it, and choosing true alternatives over the establishment media to publicize it.

Every single one of you can help make this book known and read- whether it is e-mailing those you know, posting on various forums and social networks, or simply talking about it directly to your friends. And I am grateful to all of you- the members of our irate minority.

 You can visit the book website here: http://classifiedwoman.com

Classified woman is now available at Amazon, Kindle and Nook. You can access all these sales channels here : http://www.classifiedwoman.com/buy-book/

Part II of our book review of Frederick Sheehan’s Panderer to Power

Frederick Sheehan’s excellent 2010 book Panderer to Power: The Untold Story of How Alan Greenspan Enriched Wall Street and Left a Legacy of Recession provides us a window into the sources of the worst financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression.

In part I of this two-part review of Sheehan’s valuable book, we discussed Sheehan’s takeaways from Greenspan’s career before becoming Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

In turn, Sheehan’s review of Greenspan’s nearly twenty years with the Fed gets underway with the Senate confirmation hearing in 1987, after Greenspan’s nomination as Fed Chairman by President Ronald Reagan.  Sheehan notes with some approval the questioning of Senator William Proxmire of Wisconsin, then the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.  Sheehan praises Proxmire’s willingness to critically examine Greenspan’s forecasting record and his apparent enthusiasm for serving the agenda of large banks.  Greenspan was a director of J.P. Morgan at the time of his appointment, which Proxmire noted along with Greenspan’s lobbying activity as a signal his expertise in banking issues might be more attentive to some interests than others. Read more È

Book Review — Frederick J. Sheehan’s Panderer to Power

Written on the heels of the worst financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression, Frederick Sheehan’s critical biography, Panderer to Power:  The Untold Story of How Alan Greenspan Enriched Wall Street and Left a Legacy of Recession (2010) provides us with good lessons for the future.

Some perspective can be had from the fantasy classic Lord of the Rings.  Frodo, the hobbit, is on his quest to reach Mount Doom and destroy the Ring of Power.  Having made it substantially through his mission, but weighed by fatigue and fear for what lies ahead should he continue, Frodo asks Gandalf, a wise and powerful wizard, to take the Ring from him and complete the quest.  Gandalf says “No.�

“With that power I would have power too great and terrible. And over me the Ring would gain a power still greater and more deadly. … Do not tempt me! … Yet the way of the Ring to my heart is by pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good.�

Well, why did Alan Greenspan take the Ring?  Did he just take it when offered, or did he pursue it?  Greenspan certainly ended up in a powerful position, as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System – heading our nation’s central bank.  The Fed conducts monetary policy, regulates and supervises banks, serves as a ‘lender of last resort,’ and provides critical payment services for the financial system.  These responsibilities are, well, significant.  Consider monetary policy, where we have a law directing a committee of 12 people at the Fed to control the aggregate amount of money and credit used by over 300 million other people.

Coming on the heels of the worst financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression, Panderer to Power provides a valuable, critical biography.  Alan Greenspan led an institution that advertised its ability to stabilize the financial system – both before and after our recent financial meltdown.  Biography is a form of history, and as Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.â€�  In light of recent years, Sheehan’s biography helps us understand and remember the past, and underscores critical things to watch for in the future. Read more È

Thomas E. Woods, Jr.; Rollback:  Repealing Big Government Before the Coming Fiscal Collapse; Regnery Publishing, Inc. (2011)

In Rollback, Thomas Woods provides a thoughtful, clearly written wake-up call.  The breadth of the topic is a bit ambitious, particularly for such a portable read, but Woods provides numerous, wide-ranging examples that will lead readers to reconsider some of their assumptions and expectations.  At times, one might be left a bit confused whether Woods thinks government fiscal collapse is inevitable, or if we still have time to forestall that collapse by ‘repealing big government.’  Either way, however, he leaves no doubt he believes we have large-scale upheaval ahead of us, and that the architecture of much of our federal as well as state government faces a forced and forceful diet. 

Woods is a fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute.  The Mises Institute was founded in 1982 by Lew Rockwell, former chief of staff for Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.  The Institute has been a center for academic scholars dedicated to the principles of the “Austrian School� of economics as well as classical liberalism more generally.  The Austrian school is so named due to the influence and collaboration of founding members like Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, and Carl Menger.  In the United States, Murray Rothbard became one of the leading Austrian voices, which rejected much of the mathematical and statistical foundations of mainstream economics and their application in government economic programs.  The Austrian school stands out for its dedication to free markets and a sharply curtailed role for government in society, and Woods’s Rollback clearly reflects this perspective.

Woods opens Rollback with two neat quotes, including a long running truth from a Roman senator and historian named Tacitus – “The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.� This idea is fleshed out most explicitly in Rollback’s Chapter 6, “The Myth of Good Government,� where Woods looks carefully at the asserted justifications and politically practical sources of demand for a variety of government programs and extensive regulatory practices.  One common thread to those examples is the notion of regulatory capture, where regulation is sought out and developed by the industries being regulated, at the expense of consumers and the common good.

But the fiscal challenges we face arise from a broader set of political influences, including general public laziness and acquiescence in programs based, in Woods’ eyes, on fiscally unsustainable promises.  He takes a closer look at Medicare and Social Security, and depicts demographic icebergs likely to sink the ship. 

Some fun facts from Rollback’s opening chapter include:

A May 2010 poll found that an incredible 85% of graduating college students planned to move back in with their parents after graduation, facing an average of $23,000 in debt before they even start working.

Many states are ‘going bust;’ seven states likely to see their pension systems fail by 2020, and thirteen more by 2025.

Dozens of cities are contemplating bankruptcy.

Washington D.C. has seen demand for new homes rise faster than another other large American city, and it also has the highest median household income of any of the 25 largest metropolitan areas.

This last item is related to Wood’s opening quote about ‘the more corrupt the state, the more numerous its laws.’  Included along with the 50 states, Washington D.C. has by far the highest income per capita, and it also has by far the largest numbers of lawyers per capita.  When you want to get cynical, one way to think about DC is as a factory full of lawyers and lobbyists, who make laws and programs enriching their clients and themselves at the expense of the rest of us.

In Chapter 2, Woods turns to Barack Obama and the “Change We Can Believe In,� finding not much change nor little to believe in, particularly in the new Administration’s health care programs.  The chapter’s strongest and most interesting elements, however, deal with the stimulus programs for the weak economy, their pork-barrel origins, and their unseen costs that can actually retard recovery. 

From there, Woods broadens his perspective to a general review of the role of government in economic crisis, with particular reference to the origins and solutions developed for our Great Recession in recent years.  Woods provides a careful review of housing market finance and the consequences of government programs like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and their interplay with monetary policy of the Federal Reserve. 

Woods and others have strong words, in hindsight, for what they assert were artificially low interest rates arising from Fed monetary policy in 2002-2006 as seeding the recent housing crisis.  This perspective may be a little too easy, in hindsight, and it can also deflect attention from other worthy sources of investigation into regulator behavior, including the Fed’s outsourcing of capital and other financial regulations to the anointed set of credit rating agencies.  This proved a critical point of failure, Fed advertising that it promotes financial stability to the contrary.  But to his credit, Woods at least notes the credit rating interaction with capital regulation problem.  And those that think the effective repeal of the Glass-Steagall separation of commercial and investment banking in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 was a central element of our latest meltdown would do well to look at Woods’ argument here.  It wasn’t the repeal of Glass-Steagall, for example, that allowed banks to invest so heavily in well-rated but disastrous mortgage-backed securities.  They were allowed to do so before the Glass-Steagall repeal, as well. 

Woods has harsh words for the financial regulators and their claims to expertise and foresight before our latest crisis.  In turn, more and better regulation, the argument goes, is not the solution for our financial system down the road.  Fewer public guarantees and government programs could be a better route.  Along these lines, Woods cites economist and historian Robert Higgs, who has said of the regulators: Read more È