Robert Devereaux

This morning, I was struck with a book idea that has me considering the task of putting together a book proposal for whichever company publishes Howard Zinn’s "A People’s History" series of spinoffs from his magnificent and eye-opening A People’s History of the United States.

That publishing company turns out to be The New Press, and here’s The New Press’s first paragraph describing themselves:

Established in 1990 as a major alternative to the large, commercial publishers, The New Press is a not-for-profit publishing house operated editorially in the public interest. It is committed to publishing in innovative ways works of educational, cultural, and community value that, despite their intellectual merits, may be deemed insufficiently profitable by commercial publishers. Like the Public Broadcasting System and National Public Radio as they were originally conceived, The New Press aims to provide ideas and viewpoints under-represented in the mass media.

Check out especially their books on U.S. history.

I’ve just ordered Fighting Words: An Illustrated History of Newspaper Accounts of the Civil War.

Will I in fact pursue a book proposal with them? 

Don’t know. 

Ideas strike a writer, then fade. 

Some persist. 

The ones that not only persist but nag are those to pursue to their lair.

They’re the ones that make the project of a book proposal (these can run 70-80 pages if done properly) worth the time and effort.

Robert Devereaux

Where have we heard it before?

Ah, yes.  Hitler’s fanatical vegetarianism, not to mention his coprophagic sexual ways.

Now, please see Susie Bright’s blog entry about Chimpy McFlightSuit’s hatred of "green food" and "wet fish" (poor dear Laura), as per the new tell-all book White House Chef by Walter Scheib. 

Susie’s opener:

This is rich.

Remember Walter Scheib, the brilliant chef who was fired by Laura Bush’s East Wing for using traitorous French cooking techniques? — You know, like sauteing. W. hates “green food” and “wet fish,” and Scheib must have suffered under such constraints. Now he’s serving his revenge— blazing hot.

Walter has just written a tell-all recipe book, White House Chef, which he’s dedicated to Hillary Clinton— Quelle Surprise d’Octobre!

Let’s all lame-duck this war criminal big-time!

Robert Devereaux

Check this out.

Money quote:

"Each year new countries in less-developed parts of the world move up the Index to positions above some European countries or the United States. This is good news and shows once again that, even though very poor, countries can be very observant of freedom of expression. Meanwhile the steady erosion of press freedom in the United States, France and Japan is extremely alarming,” Reporters Without Borders said.

The U.S. has fallen to 53rd place.

Sad and pathetic!

Robert Devereaux

The current Republican party has disgraced its own moderate and honorable past with the right-wing radicalism it has embraced in the last many years, and the Bush-enabling that has plunged us into a Constitutional crisis.

We must vote against all of the following unworthies:

–AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl
–AZ-01: Rick Renzi
–AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth
–CA-04: John Doolittle
–CA-11: Richard Pombo
–CA-50: Brian Bilbray
–CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave
–CO-05: Doug Lamborn
–CO-07: Rick O’Donnell
–CT-04: Christopher Shays
–FL-13: Vernon Buchanan
–FL-16: Joe Negron
–FL-22: Clay Shaw
–ID-01: Bill Sali
–IL-06: Peter Roskam
–IL-10: Mark Kirk
–IL-14: Dennis Hastert
–IN-02: Chris Chocola
–IN-08: John Hostettler
–IA-01: Mike Whalen
–KS-02: Jim Ryun
–KY-03: Anne Northup
–KY-04: Geoff Davis
–MD-Sen: Michael Steele
–MN-01: Gil Gutknecht
–MN-06: Michele Bachmann
–MO-Sen: Jim Talent
–MT-Sen: Conrad Burns
–NV-03: Jon Porter
–NH-02: Charlie Bass
–NJ-07: Mike Ferguson
–NM-01: Heather Wilson
–NY-03: Peter King
–NY-20: John Sweeney
–NY-26: Tom Reynolds
–NY-29: Randy Kuhl
–NC-08: Robin Hayes
–NC-11: Charles Taylor
–OH-01: Steve Chabot
–OH-02: Jean Schmidt
–OH-15: Deborah Pryce
–OH-18: Joy Padgett
–PA-04: Melissa Hart
–PA-07: Curt Weldon
–PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick
–PA-10: Don Sherwood
–RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee
–TN-Sen: Bob Corker
–VA-Sen: George Allen
–VA-10: Frank Wolf
–WA-Sen: Mike McGavick
–WA-08: Dave Reichert

Go forth and do it!

Robert Devereaux