Tony Island Blog - Sane Thoughts for an Insane World

Welcome to Tony Island Blog! William Voegeli's Never Enough: America's Limitless Welfare State  takes a look at the welfare state that was basically created during the New Deal era. On the one hand, you have the Liberal Loons (my term, not Voegeli's) who insist that the welfare state must grow larger to help those in need. On the other hand, you have the fiscal conservatives who equally adamantly insist that the Federal government must get smaller, thus lowering taxes and enabling the private sector to expand and create more jobs. This see-saw from large to small and back is examined by Voegeli. He lays some ground work in the first half of the book, comparing the US to other countries in various ways. In the second part of the book, he takes a look at the liberal and conservative viewpoint of how things should be. He basically comes to the conclusion that conservatives have to admit that the welfare state will never go away so it's best to deal with it and manage...

Welcome to Tony Island Blog! It's not often I tell readers to STOP reading my blog and to read something else. In this case, I urge you to grab a copy of Liberty Defined , turn off the PC and read it. It's absolutely fascinating. Ron Paul takes 50 issues, in alphabetical order, and gives his reasoned views on them. He touches on a wide variety of issues such as abortion, defense and terrorism. This stuff isn't for the faint of heart. It's hard core libertarianism - traditional conservatives will recoil at some of his views, especially on drugs and defense. But, if you have an open mind, a libertarian attitude and/or the ability to read other viewpoints on current issues, then this is the book for you. I really recommend adding it to your personal library. Top quality stuff. It was a real eye-opener for me. While I knew I'd agree with many of the issues presented, I was surprised to be in total agreement on his views on defense after reading that chapter. I'm...

Welcome to Tony Island Blog! If you are interested in liberty, then you have to read Woods and Gutzman's Who Killed the Constitution ? Taking 12 pivotal points in American history, the authors dissect the decisions and actions taken by Presidents, Supreme Court justices and Congresses to completely kill and gut the Constitution. I won't get into the 12 scenarios dissected so you can read them freshly for yourself, but I will say it was both an enlightening and depressing read. In the final chapter, the authors posit the question - "Can a written Constitution survive?" - any Constitution, not just ours, but of course ours is the one in discussion. It's an interesting question to pose considering ours has already been killed. At 202 pages, the book is a quick read - there's also the complete text of the Constitution as an appendix. This book is a real eye-opener and will have you thinking as you read each page. I strongly recommend you grab yourself a co...

Welcome to my blog! I'm currently reading Being Catholic Now . Kerry Kennedy, one of eleven children of Robert and Ethel Kennedy, has gathered these essays from prominent Catholics throughout the United States. They range from priests to well known celebrities. I'm really enjoying reading these essays, especially the ones from well-known figures such as Cokie Roberts, Bill O'Reilly and Bill Maher. The essays are well-written and presented in an almost conversational style. I really feel like the author is talking to me personally about his/her views on the Church, its impact on him/herself and its impact on the world at large. It's interesting to read how these prominent people weave the Church and its teachings into their lives. While I think that people of any religion can gain insight from this book, I feel it's especially relevant to Catholics. Feel free to leave a comment below. Thanks for reading my blog!

"Obama's dream is actually an American nightmare" Welcome to my blog! For our first post of 2011, I have an excellent book to recommend: The Roots of Obama's Rage  by Dinesh D'Souza. D'Souza presents a theory about Obama and then methodically backs it up with facts from Obama's own words and books. He then uses this theory to help us understand Obama's odd policy decisions and actions. Finally, he uses the theory to predict future actions the President will take - and how harmful they will be for America and her global allies. I have been reading several similar books lately and I have to say that D'Souza's take is excellent and his theory explains Obama better than many others I have read. He really hit the nail on the head and the sound is reverberating across the globe. I really don't want to give too much more away - I urge you to read this book. There is one section in which D'Souza explains how Obama makes his radical id...