Run: A Novel About One Man's Quest to Save This Country From Itself
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"Run is a wonderfully conceived, very cleverly carried out novel...Once I started reading I didn't stop."
-James Fallows, the Atlantic

 

Run: A Novel About One Man's Quest to Save This Country From Itself

other resources

One of my primary goals with this book was to get people to care about Noa Kalakaua and, hopefully, the issues Noa Kalakaua cares about. If you've been inspired by Noa to learn more about the issues facing this country (and what must happen in order for our government to deal with them), or if you're simply a concerned citizen seeking more information as you prepare for the upcoming elections, you may find the links below useful.

www.change-congress.org - Pushing for fundamental reform of Congress. Founded by Lawrence Lessig and Joe Trippi. Seeking a slightly different solution, but motivated by the same issues as Noa Kalakaua.

www.GOOOH.com - Grass roots movement aiming to fundmaentally change the way we elect members to the House of Representatives.

www.rockthevote.com – Register to vote.

www.facingup.org – Nonpartisan effort to get American voters to discuss the budget issue and how to solve it.

www.treasureydirect.gov/govt/govt.htm – Provides a daily report of the country’s debt. 

www.realclearpolitics.com – Tremendous summary (including many varied perspectives) of what’s happening on a daily basis in politics.

www.fairvote.org – Organization arguing (in compelling fashion) for a national popular vote for the president.

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/features/budget_hero – Stop complaining about how the government spends money and figure out how to balance the budget with this interactive game.

www.crfb.org – The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is a not-for-profit group seeking to educate the American public about issues that have a significant fiscal policy impact.

www.concordcoalition.org – Not-for-profit organization arguing for fiscal responsibility. The Concord Coalition created the Fiscal Wake Up Tour. If you care about where the country in headed, spend some time on this phenomenal website.

www.iousathemovie.com – Wonderful documentary film highlighting the looming budget/economic crisis.

www.cagw.org – Watchdog organization seeking to minimize wasteful spending in Washington DC. Publishers of the Annual “Pig Book.”

www.vote-smart.org – Don’t be a dumb voter.

www.factcheck.org – Don’t be dumb and don’t be a dumb voter.

http://thomas.loc.gov – Track legislation as it makes its way through Congress using the Library of Congress’s website.

www.house.gov – In case you don’t who your House representative is.

www.senate.gov – In case you don’t know who your senators are.

www.opensecrets.org – Allows voters to see how and from where their representatives raise money.

www.ombwatch.com – Not-for-profit government watchdog group that promotes open government, accountability, and citizen participation.

 

 

Good Books

Where Does the Money Go? Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis by Scott Bittle & Jean Johnson does a wonderful job of presenting the complexities of the budget (and the many issues facing our country) in unbiased understandable language.

Forgive Us our Debts: The Intergenerational Dangers of Fiscan Responsibility by Andrew L. Yarrow, explores the potential consequences of ignoring the debt.

The Coming Generational Storm: What You Need to Know about America’s Economic Future by Laurence J. Kotlikoff and Scott Burns highlights the many economic challenges by the Baby Boom and proposes both policy solutions and a plan for individuals to weather the storm.

Taxes, Spending, and the U.S. Government’s March toward Bankruptcy by Daniel Shivaro highlights the long term effects of current spending patterns.

 

 

Grass Roots Movements

Tenure Corrupts – Nelson Walker of Saratoga, CA, has created this site to push for term limits

One Simple Idea – The website, run by Daniel Summars of Lewisville, TX, does indeed have one simple idea (getting rid of career politicians) and loads of supporting information.

Get Out of Our House – A remarkably ambitious Texas based movement that seeks to challenge all incumbents in the House with a slate of non-partisan politicians in 2010.

Give Congress Back – Nice collection of evidence that shows the members in the House of Representatives are working for themselves and not for us.

The Do Nothing Congress – This blog, maintained by Jack Walsh, does a wonderful job of chronicling how the misaligned incentives in Washington impact the quality of legislation and the quality of life for most Americans.

 

 

If You Want to Get Serious

The following think tanks present tremendous resources for those looking to take a deep dive into some of these issues.

American Enterprise Institute – www.aei.org

Brookings Institution – www.brookings.edu

Cato Institute – www.cato.org

Center for American Progress – www.americanprogress.org

Club For Growth – www.clubforgrowth.org

Heritage Foundation – www.heritage.org