Real Common Sense: Using Our Founding Values to Reclaim Our Nation and Stop Palin, Beck, and the Tea Party Leaders from Hijacking America

Kahn, a public radio host, calls for a "common sense" return to the values of our forefathers and a shift in our priorities from consumers to citizens, stressing the importance of interdependence and community bonds. He wags his finger at corporate excess, right-wing rhetoric, and consumer greed before launching into his earnest advice. Few of his ideas, such as his call for media reform and a renewed public service requirement, are revolutionary, but he argues them with an effective blend of fact ("In 2005, an Institute of Medicine report found that 80% to 97% of food product aimed at children and teenagers are ‘of poor nutritional quality' ") and rhetoric ("why isn't our government willing to pass regulations to protect kids from junk food advertising? Our public officials believe that junk food profits are more important than the health of our nation's children"). Cynics might find his perspectives simplistic—and Kahn is no Tom Paine—but his is a well-intentioned reflection on what it means to be a citizen in today's imperfect America. (Apr.)