Patriots, Stand Up!: This Land Is Our Land, Fight to Take It Back

Russell Peterson, the former Governor of Delaware and head of the Council of Environmental Quality weighs in on matters environmental and non-environmental. In "Patriots, Stand Up," he explains why he could no longer remain a member of the Republican Party. Peterson was a progressive governor, elected to the state's highest office as a Republican in 1968, following the race riots which occurred in the wake of the Martin Luther King assassination. His first act as Governor was to remove the National Guard troops from the streets of the City of Wilmington. His predecessor, Governor Terry, had ordered National Guard troops to occupy the city in the wake of the riots and had left them in for months thereafter. My high-school memory of seeing the Guard troops on city streets in uniform with M-16s has stayed with me to this day. Russ Peterson makes a convincing case that the Republicans abandoned him, much more than he abandoned the Republicans. Although he is very senior at this point, his narrative and his call-to-arms is the voice of a much younger, vigorous and fully-engaged man. There is much about this book that relates to Delaware. Delawareans in particular will enjoy his perspective on state affairs and national issues as a public man for a particular era--the 60's and 70's. However, in "Patriots, Stand Up," his story is actually the story of Russ Peterson the private man. This is his personal journey.

This is a frightening book. Frightening because if what the author says is true - or even a small part of it is true - then America is in deep trouble.Russell Peterson is a distinguished citizen: a former (Republican) Governor of Deleware; former Head of the Office of Technology Assessment; a former high Republican official of both the Nixon and Ford administration; a former President of the Audubon Society, and someone who has obviously thought deeply about our great country.His damning critique of the right-wing conspiracy that has taken control of our government should give us all sleepless nights.Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Firth, Ashworth,Rove etc., etc. are all called to account in this short book. With absolute clarity and unimnpeachable references the author lays out the conspiracy that is the Bush doctrine. If you love your country, please read this book.