Book Reviewed: False Choices: The faux feminism of Hillary Rodham Clinton

Road to the White House for Hillary Clinton, the feminist-in-chief

Feminism is largely used as a tool by the Democratic Party to promote its own interest. It is the focus group sculpted political package justifying their exploitation of people; racial minorities, women, middle class, abortion issue, immigration policies, and the whole enchiladas. No one is more qualified to exploit the system than Clintons. When Bill Clinton’s tenure as president ended, Hillary swapped roles seamlessly. They parlayed decades of public service into a fortune; for them politics is a “family business.” There is no distinction between business careers and political careers. Holding and serving in public office provides a platform from which they can monetize experience, connections and prominence. The 2014 family Income was $28 million; the estimated family net worth was $110 million; and Hillary’s personal wealth was valued at more than $30 million by Forbes Magazine. She pulled in a reported $14 million advance for her memoir of the Obama era, “Hard Choices.” In 2013, she gave 36 speeches for about $8.5 million, most at about $225,000 a pop, to customers like Goldman Sachs Group and Fidelity Investments.

How much does Hillary care about common people? For example, her State Department paid men $16,000+ more than women, even after accounting for education and job category. Laura D’Andrea Tyson, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Bill Clinton, noted in the New York Times that women aged 25 and over constitute one-third of all minimum-wage workers, compared to teenagers of both sexes combined, who constitute about one-quarter. In addition the female minimum-wage workers are principal wage-earners in their homes where the husband/boyfriend is making enough to buy six-pack. The family is counting on money to pay the mortgage and put food on the table. As one can see that this a stark contrast to what the elite of the Democratic Party is cashing in.

This book argues that Hillary Clinton is not the feminist working women are looking for. The political and economic environments require a politician to understand the challenges of working women who are struggling to support their families and a build a future. The deprivation created by the extractive neoliberal governments benefit millionaires like Hillary Clinton. The discontent among young women is so strong that this became visible in 2016 democratic race, where majority of them are supporting Senator Bernie Sanders.

With regard to individual essays in this book; I found the articles by Maureen Tkacik on abortions and politics; Kathleen Geier on the policies of Hillary Clinton; and on ending poverty by Frances Fox Piven and Fred Block are interesting. Author Maureen Tkcik’s essay is profoundly educational as it illuminates the politics of abortion. According to the author, both the sides of the aisle are taking political advantage of this very painful process for women. It turns out that democrats are more wrong than republicans on this issue. As a man, I understood the emotional side of abortion and also believed in the woman’s reproductive rights. But there is another side very few men understand, it is the physical damage and pain caused by the anti-abortion drugs and surgical procedures. According to the author, less American abortions are performed at physician’s office compared to abortions in West European countries, Access to abortion pills and proper health care in the event of abortion-induced complications, the European model outshines the American model.

Zillah Eisenstein’s essay entitled, “Beyond Hillary: Toward Anti-racist, anti-imperialist feminisms,” and Mede Benjamin’s essay entitled, “Pink-slipping Hillary,” is little to do with feminism, and more to do with war in the Middle East. The problems in the Middle East started long before Hillary was even born; the royal families of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain are run by families of despots did not deliver the social justice to its population. The Islamic militants came on the horizon and quick to capitalize the popular discontent among its masses. Hillary Clinton did not create or exacerbate these problems. Belen Fernandez’s article entitled “Hillary does Honduras” is largely out of place in this book as it is completely devoted to June 2009 coup in Honduras, and how Hillary could not stop the injustice done to the Honduran people. Donna Murch’s essay and the essay by Tressie McMillan Cottom are about African Americans; it is very little to do with faux feminism.

The sad irony is that if Hillary Clinton wins 2016 presidential race, we will be told by elitists like Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and other feminists that the glass-ceilings are broken and we are in a post-feminist era. The depressing part of this saga is that this is a victory for very few; women who are too rich, too white, and too capitalistic. An average working woman has no place in this circle.

The quality of the writings is average, and Editor Liza Featherstone has performed an inadequate job.

Book Reviewed: The Journey Within: A Modern Guide to the Ancient Wisdom of Bhakti Yoga, by Radhanath Swami

Learning the path of bhakti yoga from Radhanath Swami

“The Journey within” is a call to adventure; it asks you travel beyond all adversities to find the true love for the immutable and immortal lord through the path of bhakti and devotion. He instructs the reader to pursue the heart’s deepest calling to discover the beauty of true self and appreciate life’s miracles at every moment of this mortal life. The swami quotes Bhagavadgita and Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) quite extensively to illustrate the devotion and love for the lord. His points are always focused, thoughtful, consoling and satisfying to the reader.

Radhanath Swami’s spiritual journey began at a young age; he was spiritually drawn into the writings and teachings of spiritual masters of India. He made a difficult decision to travel to India when he was a young college student, and spent years at many holy places. Meditating, experiencing and spiritual learning were the order of the day. He had the blessings and encouraging words of many saints, sadhus and holy men in India. He found the message of the ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupada most compelling and very appealing. Since then, the swami has never looked back and made his life a mission to spread the wisdom of the Supreme Lord using the teachings of Bhagavadgita, Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) and the Dvaita-Vedanta. He discusses his life experiences as a practitioner of bhakti yoga, and opens the mind and heart of the readers to the Immortal, the Immutable, the Omniscient, the Omnipotent, the Omnipresent, the Unfathomable and Immeasurable Supreme Being. Swamiji reveals that love, prema, bhakti and total dedication to serving the lord will help reveal the inner soul after removing the veil of the carnal mind. His vision of bhakti yoga incubates, grows, and takes the reader into great heights. His teachings show that the soul is always free and perfect, but human beings are lost in the wilderness of physical reality. The world has enough distractions to keep us all under its bondage. Thus the wheel of suffering continues to move, with us being its fuel. But we have to escape this cycle of spiritual blindness and suffering in order to realize the perfection of our soul in the Spirit.

A brief summary of the book is as follows: While visiting a multibillionaire’s home, swami counsels his guest about achieving peace and happiness in his life, despite the fact that he was a billionaire. The swami tells the story of the banana-seller named Sridhar, whose simple life-expectation stuns even Lord Caitanya. The gist of the story is that you can find happiness in life despite the fact that you are living with very basic necessities.

In the chapter on “What is bhakti, the path of love?” Swamiji describes the tragic death of Mother Hladini Devi who sacrificed her own life during the tumultuous period in the West African nation of Liberia. She was serving the lord touching the hearts of Africans with love. When the assassins entered their dwelling, she chose to protect the devotees of Krishna. Her last words while speaking to death squads were, “How dare you kill the devotees of Krishna? Better you kill me than kill them!” Hladini was the first to be shot. She lay down her physical existence to protect others. That was the best satisfaction she had at the last few minutes of her mortal life. She embraced her ideals and lived a life of compassion. She felt intimately connected. Everyone who knew her was sad and perhaps angry with the injustice done, but Mother Hladini was at peace and remained closest to the Supreme Lord.

In the chapter on “Tarabai’s gift,” a group of villagers take eight hour bus trip to swamiji’s ashram in Mumbai, to present him with a gift; which makes swami feel humble for their sincerity and devotion. The swami observes that for those who serve the lord will have that sincerity to another person. In another chapter, “What is true wealth” he meets an old lady named Dorothy at a Florida airport and consoles her when she has lost her family and asks her find true love in life and she will come to peace with life. Swami’s words are beautifully expressed in this chapter.

In the chapter, “Dharma of Bhakti,’ one of the longest in the book, the Maharaj describes the five components of bhakti yoga practice; the living in scared space; developing spiritual relationships and forming a spiritual community; chanting the holy names of the Supreme Lord; listening and reading the sacred scriptures; and worshipping the lord with pure bhakti, veneration, and faith in the wisdom of the lord.

The subject matter is broadly discussed to generate universal interest in bhakti, prema, dharma, faith, and the awareness of Supreme consciousness without mentioning the name of Lord Krishna. He quotes from Bhagavadgita throughout the book, stressing the path of bhakti is critical in finding inner happiness and to be at peace with the Supreme Reality.

Movie Reviewed: Arsène Lupin, starring Lionel Barrymore and John Barrymore

The story of Arsene Lupin, the gentleman thief

Lionel Barrymore was Louis Mayer’s favorite actor at MGM Studios and shared this view with fellow executive Irving Thalberg. The studio casted Lionel Barrymore and also picked his brother John Barrymore to play the role of the gentleman thief in this 1932 hit. They made several hit movies for the studio including the “Grand Hotel” also a 1932 film. Arsene Lupin is probably the first movie of MGM under new contracts. The story is about a gentlemen thief (John Barrymore) who causes significant scare and headache for the Paris residents and the police department. His nemesis, the chief police investigator played by Lionel Barrymore faces embarrassing moments in apprehending the culprit, the thief always manages to escape narrowly.

Maurice Leblanc (1864–1941) was the creator of the character of gentleman thief Arsène Lupin and Lupin was popular character in the French speaking world as Sherlock Holmes in the English speaking countries. This film was the first for the two brothers, although they worked together on stage in several shows. The casting was a historic spark off each other, and the movie was a box-office hit when released in 1932. Jack Conway directed this story that also co-starred Karen Morley, Tully Marshall, and John Miljan. It was based on the script of Carey Wilson, Lenore Coffee and Bayard Villier.