Category: politics

Posted in: Current Events History Non-Fiction politics

S3 E08- Dan Shyti Breaks Down the Systematic Gaslighting of Many Americans in His Latest Book

In his timely new book, American Gaslighting: How America is Being Systematically Taught to Hate Itself, author Daniel A. Shyti provides an in-depth analysis of human psychology and historical precedent demonstrating how Americans are being manipulated into hating their own country to serve the ends of political extremists who have propagandized entertainment, education and several other aspects of the culture. Dan breaks this down and discusses how he did his research on this episode of Book Spectrum.

Shyti minces no words about this manipulation, stating, “We need to blow the lid off woke ideology and expose it for what it really is – Marxism in disguise. The goal is to systematically deceive Americans into hating their own country. Its central tactic is pervasive gaslighting, a psychological ploy designed to make people doubt the reality that is right under their noses. “

“There wasn’t one specific event that triggered me to write this book,” says Shyti. “Rather, it was a build-up over time as I observed the egregious assaults on the American identity and the blatant self-hatred that the left is determined to create. As I heard the lies coming from the left, I noticed that they grew more and more outrageous, and it became obvious to me that the left was engaged in creating an alternate reality – persistent gaslighting intended to induce Americans to hate their own country.”

Daniel A. Shyti is a professional speaker, leadership expert, speech coach, political commentator, author, and patriot. After graduating with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Pratt Institute and serving in the Army for four years, Dan made the transition to private industry. There he dedicated himself to being a good leader and eventually became the Vice President of a Fortune 100 technology company, until he left to start his own leadership training company.

Dan founded 4 Power Leadership, with the goal of creating personal transformation through teaching the art of leadership. Dan is the author of 4 Power Leadership: Your Pathway to Leadership Success and Ten Timeless Rules for Life: Things Every Young Person Should Know for a Perfect Launch. His third book, American Gaslighting: How America is Being Systemically Taught to Hate Itself, examines political ideology in a combined context context of human nature, logical thought, and historical perspective to expose and counter Marxism cloaked as “woke ideology.” Shyti passionately believes that identity politics is destroying America and that Americans need to unite under the one identity that matters – the American Identity – and commit to the Constitution as our unifying framework. Daniel and his wife live in Sterling, VA.

Posted in: Current Events History Non-Fiction politics

S3 E03 – A Deep Dive into Putin’s Playbook with former DIA Agent Rebekah Koffler

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine commences and captures worldwide headlines, what people might not know is this is only a small portion of Vladimir Putin’s long game. What does he have planned next? What is the bigger picture? How does he plan to go about his ambitious goals?
With me on Book Spectrum for this episode is Rebekah Koffler, a Soviet-born former US intelligence officer with the DIA and author of the book, “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America”
As we are seeing some of the Russian President’s games play out these days, Koffler says this has been in the works for a while. In Putin’s Playbook, Koffler goes in-depth on how Putin rose to power from behind the scenes to pushing himself onto the world stage. She also delves into:
Why Putin wants to rebuild the old USSR under his rule
How Putin wants to cement his legacy
Why Putin sees himself as the “Good Guy” amid the controversies with some of the former Soviet Republics
Putin’s disdain for NATO before and after publicly declaring the western treaty group as a threat to Russia’s existence.
When why and how Putin picks and chooses the times and circumstances involved with executing his plans
Are the US and the rest of the NATO nations strong enough to go against Putin in a potential world war or are they too weakened by internal wokeness policies to respond to the Russian threat?

Koffler’s goes inside the mind of the Russian oligarch in Putin’s Playbook.

Posted in: Current Events Education History Issues Non-Fiction politics

S2 E20 – Scott Shay Exposes Anti-Jewish Conspiracy Theories Being Taught at US Universities

While writing a tribute to his father, a survivor of the Holocaust who educated him on the importance of faith and Jewish values, Scott Shay was disturbed and dismayed to discover the presence of extremist anti-Zionist professors (Far Left and Far Right) on the faculty of his alma mater, Northwestern University. As a student of Jewish thought, history, and current events, who has written extensively on contemporary Jewish issues, he was compelled to take a deep dive into the world of anti-Zionist conspiracy theories and academia.

“I learned that Northwestern University, my beloved alma mater and a jewel of American academia, has enabled some of its professors to openly promote conspiracy theories,” says Shay. “Sadly, many academics can no longer even identify conspiracy theories. Professorial proponents insist that far from being conspiracy theorists, they are brave truth tellers.”

Set against the framework of Northwestern University’s motto, Conspiracy U not only illustrates the issues present when serious and trustworthy scholarship is abandoned in favor of theory and ideology, but proposes that the motto itself points toward a better option. Rather than dismissing ideology or giving it undue precedence, Shay suggests that the motto and the Golden Rule together form an unbiased and universally applicable framework which provides the intellectual and moral criteria to distinguish between facts and conspiracy theories, leaving room for diversity while also excluding approaches that devalue our common humanity.

Posted in: Inspirational politics

S2 E16 – Jacquie Abrams: Hush Money, A Story About a Woman Who Stood Up to Racism in the Workplace

Politically-charged debates are often passionate, yet at times cloud people’s abilities to agree how and when to right a true wrong. While Crying “wolf,” buzzwords and misinformation have become the norm, they minimized those who are actually suffering or lost in the proverbial cracks. Let’s take the story in “Hush Money,” by my guest Jacqui Abrams, a tale based on a true story of racism in the workplace. Due to many factors – not the least of which is fear of losing job and other people lying about or minimizing such at their own workplaces — racial preferences and racism in companies and other work environments goes unreported or ignored. Through the eyes of the characters in her book – -HUSH MONEY — , Jacquie relays an actually true story of a woman who called this out, won her argument, changed things and kept her job. We at Book Spectrum do not run with the “Woke” crowd, but we are interested in treating everyone with the respect they deserve and calling out wrongdoing when we see it. The story in Jacquie’s Hush Money is rarely told and needs to be heard.

Hush Money tells a compelling and cautionary tale that is all too familiar to Black people across the globe about the rigors of working in a large, highly bureaucratic organization and dealing with covert and overt racism. Levels and types of discrimination are chronicled in the five-year journey of Ebony Ardoin, an ambitious, young, Black woman in search of a fulfilling and rewarding career path that allows her to live the American Dream.

The twisting arcs of Ebony’s story reveal layers of emotional complexity and racial trauma as each new promotion invites praise, jealous rancor, and outright loathing. Organizational politics and protecting turf go hand in hand with discrimination, retaliation, intimidation, and racial hatred expressed in a variety of ways.

Hush Money: How One Woman Proved Systemic Racism in her Workplace and Kept Her Job, by Jacquie Abram, has been selected by the Unity and Equality Alliance, located in Canada, as their next book to read. While the organization seeks to help people of color with issues locally, in Brockville, Ontario, they also see the big picture by pushing their messages far and wide. Abram’s fictional story, inspired by true events, lays bare the struggles against racism many Black and Brown people experience in the U.S. and across the globe.

Posted in: History politics

S2 E06 – Jared Knott: Tiny Blunders, Big Disasters: Thirty-Nine Tiny Mistakes That Changed the World Forever

It’s amazing how one little mistake or decision can change one’s life and, perhaps, history. This week on Book Spectrum, Chris talks with Jared Knott, who compiled a library of destiny-changing little mishaps throughout the centuries in his new book: Tiny Blunders, Big Disasters: Thirty-Nine Tiny Mistakes That Changed the World Forever.

Did you know:

• An unopened letter saved the American cause in
the Revolutionary War?

• A badly designed paper ballot changed the
outcome of a presidential election and led directly to
a major war, a war that most now agree should never
have been fought in the first place?

• A German pilot’s small mistake saved Britain
and changed the course of WWII?

These are just a few little coincidences and mistakes which changed the course of world. Jared offers your listeners examples from ancient times through today.

Among his array of talents, Jared Knott has published several articles in the Mensa Bulletin and in graduate school textbooks on subjects ranging from Supreme Court Reform to Arctic Exploration. He was a decorated combat infantry officer in Vietnam in the First Air Cavalry Division. In his civilian career, he has been a marketing leader in the home improvement industry.

Posted in: Fiction Humor politics satire

S01-E11 – "King of Satire" Preston Coleman: The Lost Gospel of Donald

This week on Book Spectrum: During a time of political vitriol and comedians who are trying to pass themselves off as political pundits, what happened to the good old American tradition of light-heartedly making fun of our political leaders on both sides? Every president has mannerisms and idiosyncrasies which are ripe for some jocular ribbing, so let’s all lighten up a bit.
Enter Satirist Dr. Preston Coleman, who has lampooned pols from all over the spectrum, who joins Book Spectrum to talk about his new book: The Lost Gospel of Donald. A couple of decades ago, he targeted the Clintons with his humorist glasses in the book Those Arkansaw Bumpkins.
In The Lost Gospel of Donald, Dr. Coleman takes us back to Biblical times as we meet the Roman Empire’s Donald of Gaul, a casino magnate who witnesses Jesus’ miracles and constantly tries to sign the Son of God as a magic act at his venue. Coleman brilliantly plays around with the public persona that made pre-President Trump an enjoyably bombastic business celebrity to create a book which will entertain both Trump supporters and detractors.
Dr. Coleman talks with host Chris Cordani about the book, the Donald of Gaul character, how poking some fun at leaders on both sides of the fence can be politically therapeutical and how many in our nation might need to develop a sense of humor.

Pick up The Lost Gospel of Donald on Amazon: https://amzn.to/30WwBOw
Pick up Those Arkansaw Bumpkins on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3hGuHHK
Preston’s website: https://prestoncoleman.com/