"How The Yankees Took Over New York and Why The Mets Matter More Than Ever": The Mets are the Bailey Brothers Building and Loan versus the Yankees as Henry F. Potter in this humorous, informational, and satirical look at the ongoing battle between New York's two famous baseball teams. If you sit down in front of "It's A Wonderful Life" every holiday season, are a die hard baseball fan (particularly those of the New York Mets), or a Yankee Detractor you will be entertained and even informed by this unique baseball book.

American politics today is run on scandal and sound bites because our politicians have become disconnected from the government and public that they serve. Vast changes brought about by the information revolution and the global economy-and by the new "Choice Generation" of Americans under the age of thirty-have yet to impact America's centralized, one-size-fits-all government programs. Enter Andrei Cherny, who uses his unique vantage point as a twentysomething with experience working closely with the President and Vice President of the United States to consider what these vast changes will mean for American government and society. Cherny convincingly argues that Americans are coming to demand a Choice Revolution in government-expanding democracy by taking decision-making power out of the hands of experts and putting back into the hands of ordinary people. But more individual power doesn't mean just more individualism. Cherny proposes a truly interactive government in which increased government responsiveness is met with an increased commitment on the part of the public to the common good.

"He is known today, as he was then, only as Dave. His jugs and storage jars were everyday items, but because of their beauty and sometimes massive size they are now highly sought after by collectors. Born about 1801, Dave was taught to turn pots in Edgefield, South Carolina, the center of alkaline-glazed pottery production. He also learned to read and write, in spite of South Carolina's long-standing fear of slave literacy. Even when the state made it a crime to teach a slave to write, Dave signed his pots and inscribed many of them with poems. Though his verses spoke simply of his daily experience, they were nevertheless powerful statements. He countered the slavery system not by writing words of protest but by daring to write at all. We know of no other slave artist who put his name on his work." "When Leonard Todd discovered that his family had owned Dave, he moved from Manhattan to Edgefield, where his ancestors had established the first potteries in the area. Todd studied each of Dave's poems for biographical clues, which he pieced together with local records and family letters to create this moving and dramatic chronicle of Dave's life - a story of creative triumph in the midst of oppression. Many of Dave's astounding jars are found now in America's finest museums, including the Smithsonian Institution, the Charleston Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston."--BOOK JACKET.

"At the dawn of the 21st century, the residents of Century, Florida, prepare for their centennial celebration. There's a parade to plan, a murder to plot, a marriage to save and one to let go. Here, universes revolve around a small-town Lolita, a high school teacher sees possible futures, a Piggly Wiggly meat cutter tries to please his Vegan wife, and a lonely woman weaves a new cosmology in the patterns of her crochet. Secrets will out, lives will end, and nothing will be the same." -- Amazon.com.

We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do herby vow to actively participate as informed citizens, holding ourselves and our representatives accountable, in the conduct of our nation’s affairs to serve all generations now and in the future. Obamacare. IRS Scandal. NSA & Privacy. BridgeGate… Anthony Weiner. Chris Christie. Tom Ford. Bob Filner… Shutdown vs Meltdown. Gridlock, TeaParty. Rep. vs. Dem… Deficits. Lobbyists. Unemployment. Opinion Polls… They’re all here and it’s all up to you! Enough is enough and the time for action is now. Everyone says they’re fed up with the partisan rancor, inefficient government, and the “blame games.” People cry for leadership and apathetically accept the status quo. In Political CRAPS. Author Tom Ufert lays it all out as a former political insider and holds both politicians & voters accountable. He reminds us all that with freedom comes responsibility and change takes action. “A Government by the people, for the people.”

A celebration of the remarkable poem vessels of Dave the Potter David Drake, also known as Dave the Potter, was born enslaved in Edgefield in the backcountry of South Carolina near the Savannah River. Despite laws prohibiting enslaved people from learning to read or write, David was literate and signed some of his pots. His practice was not only to add his name and a date but also to embellish his work with verse—a powerful statement of resistance. The Words and Wares of David Drake collects multifaceted scholarship about David and his craft. Building on the 1998 national traveling exhibit catalog, I Made This Jar: The Life and Works of Enslaved African-American Potter, Dave, and featuring more than one hundred beautiful images and six new essays, this authoritative volume presents the diverse perspectives of scholars, artists, and collectors. The Words and Wares of David Drake adds important depth and context to our understanding of both Edgefield pottery and the life of Dave. David's work is now so highly prized it is the cornerstone of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's traveling exhibit of nineteenth-century ceramic art from Edgefield. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (September 8, 2022–February 5, 2023) Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (March 6, 2023–July 9, 2023) University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor (August 26, 2023–January 7, 2024) High Museum of Art, Atlanta (February 16, 2024–May 12, 2024)

It’s a Wonderful Life is an American film classic celebrated for its inspirational character. Famously shown during the holiday season, it brings families together in the spirit of mutual love and support. It tells the story of George Bailey, who turns suicidal one Christmas Eve after decades of frustration and sacrifice in which his dreams are repeatedly shattered for the good of others. George is convinced that his life is anything but wonderful. Enter Clarence, his guardian angel, who must find a way to get George to appreciate his family, friends, and all the good he does in life. Clarence does find a way and George returns to his family at film’s close. This might seem like a fairy-tale ending, but it is anything but convincing, which should come as no surprise since the film rehearses an ontological war between contending parties with rival conceptions of what it means to lead a meaningful life. It is a rather one-sided conflict as George finds himself more or less alone in the world. He has been trying to escape his hometown his entire life in order to pursue his Promethean vision in the wider world. To prevent this, God dispatches Clarence to get George to heel. He resorts to a kind of transcendental terrorism to force George to return home and believe it was his own idea. Yet what does it say about a form of life when it resorts to such means to prevail in an existential contest? From a Nietzschean perspective, it is possible to illuminate the film’s extraordinary cruelty. Despite appearances, George’s restoration is temporary at best and there is every reason to believe that eventually he will try to take his life again. Tragically, George must leave Bedford Falls and those who love him must insist that he go.

Northern New Yorks Adirondack Park is a naturalists wonderland of high peaks, plunging chasms, pristine waters, and stunning vistas. In this collection of columns from the popular series the Adirondack Almanack, author John Warren reveals another side of this charming land. Stories of bank robberies, the Ku Klux Klan, gambling, buried treasure, rattlesnakes, and earthquakes abound. Showing careful research and a panache for storytelling, Warren takes the mountain path less traveled, where locals and visitors alike will be surprised by the hidden gems of the Adirondacks.