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{ Saturday, January 21, 2006 }

10:51 AM | link

From a piece by Molly Ivins titled I Will Not Support Hillary Clinton for President:
The majority of the American people (55 percent) think the war in Iraq is a mistake and that we should get out. The majority (65 percent) of the American people want single-payer health care and are willing to pay more taxes to get it. The majority (86 percent) of the American people favor raising the minimum wage. The majority of the American people (60 percent) favor repealing Bush's tax cuts, or at least those that go only to the rich. The majority (66 percent) wants to reduce the deficit not by cutting domestic spending, but by reducing Pentagon spending or raising taxes. The majority (77 percent) thinks we should do "whatever it takes" to protect the environment. The majority (87 percent) thinks big oil companies are gouging consumers and would support a windfall profits tax. That is the center, you fools. WHO ARE YOU AFRAID OF?

...Bush, Cheney and Co. will continue to play the patriotic bully card just as long as you let them. I've said it before: War brings out the patriotic bullies. In World War I, they went around kicking dachshunds on the grounds that dachshunds were "German dogs." They did not, however, go around kicking German shepherds. The MINUTE someone impugns your patriotism for opposing this war, turn on them like a snarling dog and explain what loving your country really means. That, or you could just piss on them elegantly, as Rep. John Murtha did. Or eviscerate them with wit (look up Mark Twain on the war in the Philippines). Or point out the latest in the endless "string of bad news."

Do not sit there cowering and pretending the only way to win is as Republican-lite. If the Washington-based party can't get up and fight, we'll find someone who can.

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{ Sunday, January 08, 2006 }

1:00 AM | link

Progress on my 2006 reading goals: 2 out of 52
  1. The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E.L. Konigsburg—After reading just the first couple of chapters, I knew I’d love this book. The characters are delicious, especially the main character’s uncles! Their tiffs are hilarious. And at the heart of the story is an interesting discussion of history, art, and property values. I highly recommend this middle-grade novel, even for adults.
  2. Two or Three Things I Know for Sure by Dorothy Allison—This was an interesting memoir, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I were familiar with any of the author’s other work. But it was a very quick read (less than 100 pages) and wonderful writing.

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{ Sunday, January 01, 2006 }

11:04 PM | link

Last year I kept track of how many books I read, and it was kind of pitiful. For someone who has hundreds of unread books in her house, I'm not making much progress. My total for 2005 was 29. Next year, I'll try for 52. We'll see how that goes...

But here's the run-down of what I read in 2005. My big favorites for the year are in bold, and I would highly recommend them.
  1. The Hip Mama Survival Guide: Advice from the Trenches on Pregnancy, Childbirth, Cool Names, Clueless Doctors, Potty Training and Toddler Avengers by Ariel Gore

  2. Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott

  3. How to Write a Children's Book and Get It Published by Barbara Seuling

  4. Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

  5. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen

  6. A Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories by Richard Peck

  7. Mothering Magazine's Having a Baby, Naturally: The Mothering Magazine Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth by Peggy O'Mara

  8. Frindle by Andrew Clements

  9. A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

  10. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6) by J. K. Rowling

  11. Necessary Dreams: Ambition in Women's Changing Lives by Anna Fels

  12. Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym

  13. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

  14. Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie by Peter and Connie Roop

  15. The Blue Jay's Dance by Louise Erdrich

  16. Edwina Victorious by Susan Bonners

  17. Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate by George Lakoff

  18. Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

  19. Until I Find You by John Irving

  20. A Beginner's Guide to Changing the World: A True Life Adventure Story by Isabel Losada

  21. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

  22. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America Barbara Ehrenreich

  23. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

  24. Witch Child by Celia Rees

  25. Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

  26. Summerland by Michael Chabon

  27. Please Stop Laughing at Me by Jodee Blanco

  28. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

  29. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

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