Book Reviewed: Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford

A tale of pilgrims in America This is the first-person narrative of the pilgrims' adventures and triumphs during their early years in America including their planning years prior to their departure in 1620. The book covers the period of 1620 to 1646, which is the ultimate source for the term 'pilgrims' as applied to the separatist congregation who were looking for total freedom from Church of England, as William Bradford observes that "they knew they were pilgrims" in describing their journey of faith to an unknown land. William Bradford's congregation in England and the others who traveled with him left all of that behind for a vision of a new life in a new world. They had little hope that they would reach the land again. After numerous meetings with merchants, ship builders, and their friends they finalized that a voyage to Virginia in America, which already had a colony from England, would be a good choice. The choice was costly in terms of the loss of human lives and the challenges they faced. Mayflower landed in Cape Cod in the winter of 1620. Between Nov 11 and Dec 21, they explored the area. Earlier English expeditions prior to 1620 by other English colonists had spread disease killing significant Native American population. The expedition by Thomas Hunt had kidnapped a number of natives to be sold into slavery. The Mayflower passengers did not receive a warm welcome from the Nauset tribe when they first met on 8 December 1620. By March of 1621, 50% of the passengers and crew were dead, but the survivors refused to give up and continued building the settlement. Much of the book was written when Bradford was the colonial governor, one of his intentions was to inspire others. The book contains honest expression of a man who inspired many of his believers and freedom seekers. Every passenger who boarded the Mayflower surrendered their former lives in the hope of something better, and they did not look back. This work is the most significant part of early American history.

Book Reviewed: The Mind of a Bee by Lars Chittka

Do bees have feelings? Trying to understand the mental experience of others is a philosophical, physical, and neurobiological challenge. Experiences are inherently subjective; hence it is hard to know how others experience the realities of life. For example, we know the complete genome of a laboratory mouse, but we do not know what it is like to be a mouse. In this book, the author examines the nervous system, navigational, and learning abilities of bees and tries to find if they have consciousness, and how does it compare to that of human consciousness. The human brain has eighty-six billion neurons, but insects get by with a lot fewer. The honeybee has about one million neurons, and the tiny wasp (Megaphragma mymaripenne) lives with fewer than 10,000 neurons. How does a bee with a small brain produce highly sophisticated behavior? Apparently, the size does not limit their behavioral sophistication because they are wired for efficient information storage and retrieval Bees see different colors than humans, they are sensitive to light, magnetic and electric fields. Thus, they perceive and respond to information that humans do not experience. For example, bumblebees may use minor changes in the electrostatic patterns of flowers to assess which ones have been recently drained by other bees. They also learn to recognize human faces and spatial structures which is significant evolutionary behavior considering their brains are small and lack the specialized module that humans use for facial recognition. The author paints a remarkable picture of bee behavior and psychology in which he argues that bees have sophisticated emotions resembling optimism, frustration, playfulness, fear, and other traits commonly associated with mammals. He observes that bees are sentient and can suffer like advanced life forms as a conviction that creatures without a backbone have rights too. The author’s style of writing and narrating his scientific arguments are engaging by connecting one chapter to the next in a continuous manner. One fact that haunts me is the consciousness debate which needs to address physical (theoretical physics) and philosophical implications and not merely neurobiological and evolutionary attributes. Consciousness is most fundamental like matter and energy. Another surprising thing is that Insect biologists have also been advancing the rights for bees and wasps just as humans and other mammalian species have.

Book Reviewed: Mason-Dixon: Crucible of the Nation by Edward G. Gray

The American Frontier King Charles I of England granted the Calvert Family a charter for the Colony of Maryland in 1632,, and in 1681, Charles II awarded the Penn Family a similar charter for Pennsylvania. However, a dispute over a sixty-nine-mile parcel of land between the 39th and 40th degrees of North Latitude led to the creation of Mason-Dixon line. If the Calverts had prevailed, part of Philadelphia would be in Maryland, if Penns had succeeded, Baltimore would be in Pennsylvania. The Mason-Dixon Line is the story of America’s colonial beginnings, nation building, and conflict over slavery. Pennsylvania became a slave-free state and Maryland was a slave state. African Americans faced a boundary between distinct legal regimes. With the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, the Mason-Dixon Line became a federal instrument to arrest the northward flow of freedom-seekers. After the Civil War, the Line’s significance faded. This is a clutching story of colonial grandees, Native American diplomats, Quaker abolitionists, fugitives from slavery, and capitalists all contending with the relentless violence and political discord of a borderland that was transformative in American history. The borderlands between PA and MD were under the control of Native Americans that had abundant natural wealth. The colonial assault on Native population led to loss of countless lives and the destruction of Native communities. The African Americans living south of Mason-Dixon line had too many challenges. It is clearly expressed in the words of Harriet Tubman, an abolitionist and social activist. “When I found I had crossed that line," Harriet Tubman recalled, "I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such glory over everything; the sun came like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven, I had crossed the line. I was free." Of course, the glory that came over Tubman was qualified. With freedom came a clear sense of loss and fear: "My home, after all, was down in Maryland; because my father, my mother, my brothers, and sisters, and friends were there." The runaway slaves had a deep fear that the federal agents would be looking for them, so that they could return them to their owners in Maryland. The reality of the situation was clear to the African America population, but it took decades for White Americans to understand that. But White abolitionists and quakers struggled to help freed African Americans to bond with their enslaved family members still living in Maryland. The end of slavery in Delaware was not due to a revolution. Through the amendment process, the federal government altered the law so that Delaware did not have to alter its legal code. The end of slavery in Maryland was not revolutionary either. The Line's defining slave state only abolished slavery after four years of martial law and de facto federal military occupation. The author recalls that the Mason-Dixon line was not conceived of as territorial border, but that concept evolved gradually. This is a book of 456 pages, although exhaustive, the counties at the border line had significant difficulties in applying and enforcing the relevant laws, be it Pennsylvania, Maryland, or Delaware.

Book Reviewed: Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and the Washington Post by Martin Baron

Washington Post is a fake news media trying to sabotage democracy Washington Post is one of the sources of misinformation and crackpot conspiracy theories of today that is destroying democracies not only the United States but also in other countries like India and Israel. For example, the Washington Post incessantly fact-checked Donald Trump’s presidency, but now the Post does not fact-check Biden’s speeches. The platform has been taken over by Leftist journalists, liberals, and Islamists, promoting critical race theory (CRT), Black Lives Matter (BLM), ANTIFA. LGBTQ, antisemitism, and Islam has become the focus of newspaper. The Post took down a recently published cartoon in which Hamas terrorists surrounded themselves with civilians and children while fighting Isarel. The Post apologized excessively for publishing it, but the apology is unnecessary and uncalled for since the cartoon spoke truthfully. In another publication, the Post described a high-value terrorist like Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as an "austere religious scholar" in a 2019 obituary. They also support anti-Semitism, anti-Israel, pro-Hamas conspiracy theories, and trying to destroy democracy in India. Why would not they report or comment on their opinion column about human rights abuses in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Islamic Africa, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. And not to forget Islamic savagery that is happening in African countries. The Global Opinions Editor Karen Attiah promotes antisemitic, Hinduphobic, and anti-India opinions. The paper ignores the truth in a way that sabotages democracy. It is known for hiring controversial and biased journalists who act more like activists for liberal causes rather than as objective journalists for truth. Anti-Modi, anti-India and Hinduphobic journalists like Meena Venkataraman, Anumita Kaur, Khaled Beydoum, Rana Ayyub, and several others regularly spew venom against India but remain silent when Hindu minorities are killed, abducted, and forcibly converted in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Hindus are getting killed all over India, especially in Kashmir. Indian Hindus are prevented from practicing Hindu faith by Islamists in several Indian states. Untruthful stories about Hindus in India are featured regularly in the Post and used every means possible to create anti-govt and anti-Modi sentiments. In this book, Washington Post Editor Martin Baron shares his experience as the managing editor, and working for Jeff Bezos, the new owner. He argues that journalists at the Post must work with objectives to get the truth and report it. But the fact is the Post and other leading newspapers like NYTimes have become a place for social activists to promote their beliefs in the gospels of CRT, ANTIFA, LGBTQ and antisemitism. They supported Adam Schiff who launched an all-out political campaign built on baseless distortions against a sitting U.S. president, Donald Trump. Why did Post did not realize that Schiff politicized the Russia collusion in 2016 election when there was no evidence for it. The U.S. House of Representatives censured Schiff for engaging in falsehoods. Matt Taibbi reported “Twitter Files” in 2022/2023 that indicated the Biden campaign reached out regularly to ask Twitter to investigate and remove posts which Twitter complied. In the case of Hunter Biden laptop story, Twitter went into overdrive, falsely categorizing the story as “hacked materials” early on, then locking prominent accounts that shared it. The Post enthusiastically protected the President from its ill effects. I do not think you will miss it much if you choose not to read this book.

Book Reviewed: How to Interpret the Constitution by Cass R. Sunstein

Reconstructing the foundations of American constitution To determine the meaning of the Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court Justices use one of several methods of constitutional interpretation. In some cases, the meaning of the constitution is apparent from the text itself, but much of the Constitution is broadly worded, leaving room for the Court to interpret its provisions before it applies to a particular circumstance. For example, the Second Amendment reads, A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed. Does this right extend to all citizens, or only to militia. It is unclear, but the 2008 Supreme Court ruled that every American has the constitutional right to bear arms. To choose a theory of interpretation, the author says that justices seek reflective equilibrium, which means that fixed points in the constitution are relevant. These fixed points are related to morality and justice. Among the methods of constitutional interpretation include Textualism, adhering to the text of the Constitution; Semantic originalism, deciding on the meaning of words; Original Intentions, based on the idea of authorial intentions or what went through the minds of the framers of the constitution; the original public meaning; the ratifiers' expectations; protecting democracy, democracy-reinforcing judicial review; Traditionalism that observes long-standing traditions; and moral readings that makes best moral sense. These methods have both benefits and disadvantages. Moral readings are unmoored or dangerous. Who are judges to tell us what morality is. Clarence Thomas is a good example for originalist judge, and we heard a lot about it during the confirmation hearing of Judge Bork during Ronal Reagen presidency, when he said that he would be following a literal interpretation of the framer’s language and intent. The extent of such applications is evident in recent SCOTUS decisions like the ban on abortion. Justice Clearence Thomas suggested that other cases that rest on the right to privacy must be reviewed. Specifically, cases protecting contraception access and same-sex relationships. In addition, regulating the social media companies which have too much control over online discussion about political and economic events. These digital platforms provide avenues for historically unprecedented amounts of speech which is controlled by a few people in the organization. The U.S. Constitution as it stands now protect the Islamic Sharia Law and its core beliefs that include, jihad and Fatwa orders are religious duties, and so are killing apostates and infidels, blasphemy laws, practicing Ummah and Sharia. The constitutional experts must weigh in on these topics. It is pertinent to note that the European Court on Human Rights has ruled more than once that Sharia is “incompatible with the fundamental principles of democracy.” However, it has effectively legitimized an Islamic blasphemy code in the interests of "preserving religious peace" in Europe. The author states that the Constitution must be defended on the ground that it makes the relevant constitutional order better rather than worse. But he doesn’t define what is better or worse, and for whom is it better? This book needs some work that includes some edits.

Book Reviewed: Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will by Robert M. Sapolsky

The science of spontaneity and freedom In this book, neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky argues that we have no free will and that such choices are determined by factors that are beyond our control. We live in a deterministic universe where all events are determined by an initial state and laws of nature. The events of the remote past are not under our control, and the human brain registers a decision long before an individual consciously decides to do so. Many unconscious factors play a role in making free will non-existent. The author makes a good argument for determinism which means everything in the universe is preordained. No matter how thinly you slice a particular situation or an event or an action, you will find that each unique biological state is caused by a unique state that preceded it. And if you want to understand things, you need to break these two states down to their component parts and figure out how each component comprising “Just-Before-Now” gave rise to each piece of “Now.” This is how the universe works. But what if that isn't the case? What if some moments aren't caused by anything preceding them? What if some unique “Now” can be caused by multiple, unique “Just-Before-Now events” The science of reductionism by breaking it down each state to its component parts is futile. Because in the world of chaos theory, emergent phenomenon, and quantum physics, indeterminacy is ever present, it defies reductionism. Hence, determinism is not compatible with free will, in essence a neuron has no apparent cause for an action of a free will. It turns out that we are at present through the scheme of biological evolution and have emerged to the current state. We had no control over our history. The author presents his arguments well in the middle chapters, and the last two chapters focus more on the sociology of how the lack of free will affect humanity. It is interesting to read another book also published in 2023 is, “Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will by Kevin J. Mitchel makes an opposite argument stating that we have free will and it is conferred by the transition of matter (non-life) to highly self-organized and self-regulating entities (life) during biological evolution.