Sirotablog
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. David writes about political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties.
-
July 30, 2007 7:11 AM
The Best Review Any Book Could Ever Receive
I'm just back today from my working/writing vacation in British Columbia - regular blogging here will start up shortly. Thanks to Mark Nickolas for holding down the fort here - and make sure to put the Rocky Mountain Report on your bookmark list.
When I got back last night, my email/voicemail box was full of messages with people calling to tell me my book, Hostile Takeover, had received perhaps the best review a book could possibly get. No, I'm not talking about any review from a pundit, I'm talking about a review from a citizen aired by CNN during a preview of its Democratic YouTube presidential debate. Here's the interchange:
LEMON: Why are you focusing on campaign finance reform?
LILES: Because that's the veil that gets in the way of getting all these other problems fixed. That's the sort of shield that the entrenched interests have in shedding the average Joe like you and me out of it.
LEMON: So, let me ask you right off, then. What would you like to see done about it?
LILES: I'd like to see public financing of political campaigns spread to a national level, similar to what they're doing on -- in Maine and Arizona.
LEMON: Yes. So, you're retired from Georgia Public Broadcasting. You're working now as a technician, like you said, your tape was very professional. What sparked you to do this? I think you said you read a book last year.
LILES: I read a book by a fellow named David Sirota, it was called "Hostile Takeover." And ...
LEMON: Was it an epiphany for you?
LILES: Yes, it was.
As I said, this kind of review, as opposed to any pundit review, is the kind of thing that makes writing books worth it. Unlike many political books written today, Hostile Takeover was written for citizens, not elites, and to hear that a citizen read the book and was motivated to get involved - well, that's what it's all about. That kind of attitude may seem strange to many in the professional political arena, where approval from folks like these Three Stooges is considered far more important than the support of regular people. But hey, call me crazy - I've just got a different attitude about what's important.
Speaking of the importance of citizens and not elites, I'm going to be at the YearlyKos Convention starting 8/2 in Chicago. I've been looking forward to YearlyKos since last year - it's truly a people-powered event. If you are there, come on by, put a face to an email address, and say hello. I'm going to be signing the new paperback of Hostile Takeover on Friday. I hope to see you there!
-
TAKE ACTION
-
About David Sirota
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Hostile Takeover. He lives in Denver, Colorado. His daily blog can be found at CREDO Action. He contributes regularly to the Denver Post's Web site, is a senior editor at In These Times magazine and is working on his second book. He has been profiled in Newsweek and the Rocky Mountain News and is widely known for his reporting on political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties. Sirota serves as co-chair of the Progressive States Network, a 501(c)3 organization that supports state legislators and that is a partner of CREDO.
You can subscribe to Sirota's e-mail newsletter by going to davidsirota.com and signing up in the lefthand corner. To find out more about Sirota, download his official biography or see his recent media appearances. You can e-mail him at sirota@credoaction.com.
The views expressed on this blog are his own, and do not necessarily represent the views of Working Assets (publisher of CREDO Action) or the institutions Sirota works for.
-
Recent Sirotablog entries
- Fox News: "Historians Pretty Much Agree" That FDR Prolonged the Great Depression
- Maddow Busts Morgan Stanley Board Member for Conflict of Interest
- Viva Las Vegas?
- Gov. Paterson Is Either Deliberately Deceptive Or Grossly Uninformed
- We WERE Punked
- CO-SEN: Potential Huge Differences Between Candidates Have National Implications
- Kirk as USTR - Changeiness or Change?
- Maddow: Did America Get Punked On the Bailout? Yes...Now Here's What to Do.
- Becerra Turns Down USTR
- In a Recession, Should States Raise Taxes Or Slash Spending?
-
More David Sirota
-
This Modern World
-
February 17, 2009 -
February 10, 2009 -
February 4, 2009 -
January 27, 2009 -
January 20, 2009
-
-
Donations Recipients
-
RSS feeds
Discussion
Those 3 stooges are like a life support system for a methane generator.
One thing about them, is that they'll won't say anything relevant to 99% of Americans given that they are in love with their own bullshit and supporters of the status-quo.
For me I'd never attend a YearlyKos, I'm a blue collar stiff(part time now), not some elitist ass kool aid drinking kossack who can drop a grand or two on a whim. Heck most working class folks wouldn't have anything in common with those kind of people anyhow. I know, I don't have anything in common with folk who are patently oblivious to the economic situation that bluecollars face. So its best to stay away from them.
One thing about Dkos is that its representative not of working class people and values but of a upper class that has a whole nother set of priorities and values. Matt Taibbi pretty much nailed their Ivy league lilly white asses in that article he recently wrote.
I got banned from DKos back in 2005 for loudly protesting Ben FUCKING Nelson. There I was kindly asking and suggesting that it's better to replace Ben FUCKING Nelson with a real Democrat but NOOOOOOO. Most everyone except a couple of users from the rural lands desperately defends the motherfucker telling me a native Nebraskan that "The Democrats cannot afford to replace Ben Nelson because the GOP will easily snatch his seat." I then pointed out issue after issue how Ben FUCKING Nelson is pro-GOP, pro-rightwing, pro-Corporatist. Sure, two or three users begin to sympathize but still, the rest of the users invent BULLSHIT talk about Ben Nelson being less "anti-abortion" than Chuck Hagel or even try to bring up his empty promises of "helping the poor children" shit which he already wrote off the second he BARELY won in 2000. After the lame-brain responses, I was just outright fed up and in angry protest cursed and sweared against everyone who DARED tell me a Nebraskan that I have no right to choose whether to replace Ben FUCKING Nelson. I was finally labelled a "troll" and KICKED off DKos. Time and again, that stupid Markos who looks like an ILLEGAL ALIEN GAY would try to pretend that his users are taking the economic issues seriously but I know it's a pile of BULLSHIT. For every one rare post on the economy, environment, or even plans to get us out of Iraq, there are dozens of social BULLSHIT that relegate those important posts to the backend !
By the way, I'd attend the YearlyKOS only if it meant that I could freely protest DKos for KNOWINGLY supporting Ben FUCKING Nelson despite his Zell Millerism in him. Of course, besides the fact that I would likely risk getting arrested which would result in putting my wife to worry and misery, I still don't think that 99+ % of the audience there would have a fucking clue about the anger of us red staters and why we're stuck with a "if you can't beat them join them" attitude but would as usual label folks like myself as "mental" cases or some shit !
Join the Discussion