Joshua Holland

Dear stan, Over the past 6 months, I've researched the deception, propaganda and misinformation that the Corporate Right has used for decades to distort reality, confuse voters, and, most recently, to avoid any serious reforms that will set our economy on the right track.  And I wrote a book about it! The result is The Fifteen Biggest Lies about the Economy (And Everything Else the Right Doesn't Want You to Know About Taxes, Jobs, and Corporate America).  (It's  my first book - I've been AlterNet's economics editor and writer for 5 years). I'm writing to ask you to buy a copy, and one for your a  friend too, if that’s doable. I think you’ll find it stimulating, although I can't promise you will exactly enjoy it. On one hand it is pretty depressing how deeply these right-wing myths have penetrated our economic discourse. On the other hand, when arguing about the economy, it's important to come armed with the facts.  We are only weeks away from a very important election, and there are some people who can be convinced. The basic thesis of the book is that by nearly every conceivable standard, the American economy has gotten steadily worse from the early 1970s to the present. The anti-government, pro-corporate agenda has damaged our nation for too long, and yet, turn on Fox News and you'll find them still hawking the same foolish theories, baseless accusations, and bald-faced lies. There is an excerpt from the book on AlterNet today on a classic case of blaming  the victim: "How Can Tea Partiers Actually Believe that Wall Street Hustlers Were the Innocent Victims ... of Poor People?" Yes, unfortunately some people in America are simply too eager to avoid placing responsibility where it belongs. That is just one myth of many. The book dissects 15 malicious fictions perpetrated by the Right -- revealing how the conservative narratives are just plain wrong on the economy, wrong on jobs, wrong on the deficit, wrong on taxes, and wrong on trade. What do you think?  Will you support AlterNet?  Will you invest in getting the truth out on the most fundamental issues of the day.  As an AlterNet reader we're giving you a discount off of the cover price.  YOU get it for $14.95. My Best,      Joshua Holland P.S. I almost forgot. A few people I respect a lot have said some good things about 15 Lies. Here are some of their enthusiastic endorsements: Joshua Holland's brilliant, data-rich, accessible, and in-your-face book should be required reading for every American livid about floating a political-financial system that benefits powerful institutions and megalomaniac leaders. —Nomi Prins, author of It Takes a Pillage Holland and Team AlterNet toss up fifteen lies for us and knock 'em out of the park, while also teaching us how to detect any new twists they might throw out at us. What a handy book! —Jim Hightower, author of Swim against the Current Most of the basic facts that people need to know about the economy are straightforward, as this book demonstrates. It is only the bad guys who make things complicated. —Dean Baker, author of False Profits A valuable antidote to the brazen lies, calculated deceptions, and vacuous sound bites of those who want to use our government for their own gain rather than to benefit us all. —David Cay Johnston, author of Free Lunch