As regular readers know, I’ve become quite a fan of libertarian Tom Woods. He has a daily podcast which I listen to religiously, and he has published several books, many of which I have read, and more of which are on the “To Read” pile. He is the guy behind Liberty Classroom, and has prepared video/audio home school classes for high school students that can be appreciated by adults, about government and Western Civilization. I have purchased these courses and listened to more than 20 lessons in each course, and have learned a lot from each.

I don’t agree with Woods about everything, but I agree with him on an awful lot. He’s a great and entertaining writer and communicator, and his books are jam-packed with useful information.

Woods has a new book out: Real Dissent: A Libertarian Sets Fire to the Index Card of Allowable Opinion. So far it looks like it’s great — and it’s only four bucks on the Kindle.

So: I have decided to reward people who have helped me out by sending them a free copy of the Kindle version of this book. True, it’s only $4, but that bargain-basement price allows me to share the book with a lot of people. It’s a real book — the print version runs 347 pages, and it covers a wide range of interesting libertarian topics.

Is there a catch? Well, sure, lots of ’em!

First of all, if I send it to you, I’d like you to make a real effort to read it. It’s a collection of shorter pieces, so feel free to browse the table of contents and start with whatever seems the most interesting.

Second, I’m going to limit the giveaway to the first 25 people who ask. (I may expand it to 50, but I have no plans to give away more than 50. I don’t have time for that.)

Third, I am going to give priority to people who have helped me out — including subscribers, people who have made donations, and people who have signed up for Woods’s Liberty Classroom (I get an always-disclosed kickback from that).

(Subscribers and people who have donated to me get the book, period, whether you’re the first person asking, the 26th, the 51st, or the 100th. Just tell me.)

That’s pretty much it. Tell me you’re going to read it, be someone who has helped me out (or who will), and I’ll send you the book.

Here’s what you have to do: email me at patterico AT gmail DOT com. Put “Tom Woods book” in the subject line. In the email, provide with with an email address that you have a Kindle or a Kindle app registered to. (You don’t need a Kindle to use a Kindle app.) Typically, that will be the email address that you use to access your Amazon account. When you send me the request, make sure to tell me that the email address you are providing is the one you have a Kindle app registered to. If you don’t tell me that, I am going to reply and ask you, because I’m not spending $4 without knowing for sure that it’s going to work.

If you want to tell me in the email how you’ve helped me out, it couldn’t hurt your chances — depending on the volume of requests I get.

I start a trial pretty soon, so give me a month, although my goal is to try to turn around requests as soon as I get them.

This book really looks great, folks. There’s a lot of stuff on the free market and the Fed and libertarian ideas in general. And Woods (like yours truly) has had an Internet fight with Mark Levin and lived to tell the tale — and his responses to Levin are part of the book. Anyone with an interest in libertarian ideas at any level will no doubt find something to enjoy. Even if you’re not a libertarian — in fact, especially if you’re not a libertarian — give it a try.

Let the giveaway begin!

[guest post by Dana]

UPDATE: The CDC has confirmed that the second healthcare worker did indeed call the CDC several times before flying, informing them of her fever.

NOTE: At the link, CBS news tries to provide some cover:

Officials in the U.S. have been trying to calm fears over the Ebola crisis, but time and again events have overtaken their assurances.

The second healthcare worker with Ebola is Amber Joy Vinson of Dallas. She flew across country on a commercial jet with 132 passengers on Oct. 13, with a low-grade fever. Just one day later she was symptomatic and went to the hospital.

Dr. Thomas Frieden of the CDC was adamant that she should never have boarded:

“She should not have been on that plane,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Tom Frieden said Wednesday after the nurse was confirmed to have Ebola.

Why not?

Because Vinson, a 29-year-old nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, helped care for Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, Frieden said. And because another health worker who cared for Duncan had already been diagnosed with the virus.

“The CDC guidance in this setting outlines the need for what is called controlled movement. That can include a charter plane, a car, but it does not include public transport,” Frieden said. “We will from this moment forward ensure that no other individual who is being monitored for exposure undergoes travel in any way other than controlled movement.”

However, there is a report that Vinson inquired about the safety of boarding the plan beforehand. And who did she ask? The CDC:

CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. John LaPook reports that Vinson called the CDC several times before boarding the plane concerned about her fever.

“This nurse, Nurse Vinson, did in fact call the CDC several times before taking that flight and said she has a temperature, a fever of 99.5, and the person at the CDC looked at a chart and because her temperature wasn’t 100.4 or higher she didn’t officially fall into the category of high risk.”

If this is accurate, then the CDC is far less in control of this crisis than we were originally led to believe and everything becomes suspect. And further, this certainly calls into question the CDC “guidance” that Dr. Frieden referred to.

–Dana

The Texas Department of State Health Services has announced in a press release that a second health care worker has tested positive for Ebola in Dallas:

A second health care worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital who provided care for the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States has tested positive for the disease.

The health care worker reported a fever Tuesday and was immediately isolated at the hospital.

Health officials have interviewed the latest patient to quickly identify any contacts or potential exposures, and those people will be monitored. The type of monitoring depends on the nature of their interactions and the potential they were exposed to the virus.

The worker was among those who took care of Thomas Eric Duncan after he was diagnosed with Ebola.

The preliminary Ebola test was run late Tuesday at the state public health laboratory in Austin, and results were received at about midnight.

As I told you last night, the Los Angeles Times has reported that the hospital was unprepared to deal with this, and essentially had no protocol. Nurses say: “There was no advanced preparedness on what to do with the patient. There was no protocol; there was no system.” This is in marked contrast to what Obama had promised on September 16, when he said: “We’re working with hospitals to make sure that they are prepared, and to ensure that our doctors, our nurses and our medical staff are trained, are ready, and are able to deal with a possible case safely.”

Citizen, have no fear. Your friendly federal government is on the case.