Lotsa books...want to write? Read previous post...

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION

DEBUT:

Elizabeth Eslami's BONE WORSHIP, about the complex relationships between fathers and daughters featuring an Iranian-American girl whose enigmatic father has decided to arrange her marriage after she drops out of college, to Jessica Case at Pegasus, on behalf of Mollie Glick at Foundry (World English).Translation: Stephanie Abou at Foundry

MYSTERY/CRIME:

Bookseller Vincent McCaffrey's debut HOUND, in which a bookseller gets involved in an unofficial murder investigation after a woman from his past asks him to look at her late husband's collection, to Gavin Grant at Small Beer Press, in a nice deal, for publication in September 2009 (World).

GENERAL/OTHER:

Bookseller Vincent McCaffrey's debut HOUND, in which a bookseller gets involved in an unofficial murder investigation after a woman from his past asks him to look at her late husband's collection, to Gavin Grant at Small Beer Press, in a nice deal, for publication in September 2009 (World).

CHILDREN'S/FANTASY:

NYT bestselling author Holly Black's THE POISON EATERS and Other Stories, a collection of stories including two stories set in the world of her novels Tithe, Valiant and Ironside, to Gavin Grant at Small Beer Press, for publication in Summer 2010, by Barry Goldblatt at Barry Goldblatt Literary (NA).

NON-FICTION...

BUSINESS/INVESTING/FINANCE:

Lead counsel Lloyd Constantine's PRICELESS: The Case that Brought Down the Visa/MasterCard Bank Cartel, an inside account of the largest anti-trust merchant action suit in U.S history between Walmart, Circuit City, The Limited, and thousands of other small merchants against the proposed merger by Visa/Mastercard, to Don Fehr at Kaplan, in a nice deal, for publication in October 2009, by Liz Darhansoff at Darhansoff, Verrill, Feldman.Christine Richard's CONFIDENCE GAME: How a Hedge Fund Manager Called Wall Street's Bluff, the inside story of hedge fund manager Bill Ackman's battle with bond insurer MBIA, and the dangerous delusions that humbled America's largest financial institutions, to Mary Ann McGuigan at Bloomberg, in a nice deal, for publication in October 2009 (World).

HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:

Author of KABUL IN WINTER, WOMEN WHO KILL and Nation contributor writer/photographer Ann Jones's WOMEN, WAR AND PHOTOGRAPHY, chronicling the author's experiment in using photography as a tool for social change by giving women in the Ivory Coast, the Congo and other post-conflict war zones digital cameras to photograph their daily lives, even though none of them had ever used a camera before, resulting in an extraordinary documentary record of abuse and suffering by the native women themselves, leading to the awakening of conscience by some village elders, and the beginnings of positive changes, to Riva Hocherman and Sara Bershtel at Metropolitan, by Ellen Geiger at the Frances Goldin Literary Agency (world).

24-year-old Alan Kennedy-Shaffer's THE OBAMA REVOLUTION, a campaigner for the President-elect's in-the-trenches look at Obama's campaign, ascent to power, and plans for the future, to Michael Viner at Phoenix, for publication in March 2009 (world).

HUMOR:

From fictional political pundit, strategist, and campaign consultant Martin Eisenstadt, called on and quoted as a McCain adviser during the election, created by filmmakers Eitan Gorlin and Dan Mirvish, I AM MARTIN EISENSTADT: One Man's Barely Legal Adventures with the Last Republicans, to Mitzi Angel at Faber and Faber, for publication as a trade paperback original in May 2009, by Richard Abate at Endeavor.

MEMOIR:

Laura Bush's memoir, promising "an intimate account of Mrs. Bush's life experiences, including eight years in the White House," providing her "recollections of both the personal and historic moments that have defined her life," to Susan Moldow at Scribner, with Nan Graham editing, at auction, for publication in 2010, by attorney Robert Barnett at Williams & Connolly (world).
NARRATIVE:

Philadelphia Magazine staff writer Steve Volk's A CRACK IN THE WORLD: A Journey Into the Gap Between Science and the Paranormal, taking readers on a strange and unsettling journey into the heart of the paranormal universe, exploring the new physics, hardcore skeptics, dream researchers, ghosthunters, NASA astronauts turned paranormal enthusiasts, world-famous psychologists, the science of out-of-body experiences, militant atheists and evangelical scientists, in order to probe a new language that will enable science and belief to coexist, to Eric Brandt at Harper One, by Andrew Stuart at The Stuart Agency (NA).

SCIENCE:

The New City and Human Capital author Stephen Amidon and cardiologist Thomas Amidon's THE SUBLIME ENGINE: A Biography of the Human Heart, drawing on history, science, religion and literature to tell the story of humankind's abiding fascination with the heart, to Colin Dickerman at Rodale, by Henry Dunow at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner (NA).

SPORTS:

PGA superstar Phil Mickelson's first instructional book, PHIL MICKELSON'S SHORT GAME MAGIC, focusing on the aspect of the game for which he is best-known and admired but which gives amateurs the most headaches, to Bruce Nichols at Collins, in a pre-empt, by Scott Waxman at Waxman Literary Agency (world).

Wrap...

Note: Here's the BEST WRITERS' CONFERENCE ever!!!

From the Southern California Writers Conference * San Diego:

Latest News as of 1/13/09 >> Print SD23 Brochure I Print SD23 Flyer>> View Proper Manuscript Format Sample I MSG on Writing a Synopsis>> JJ on "Pitch" Conferences
I MSG on Choosing the "Write" Conference>> Book your Crowne Plaza Hotel room
online here (use code SCW)

[ Note: Agents wanting to participate contact Michael Steven Gregory only if you're
accepting clients. There are plenty of other conferences that provide reps who have no
sincere intent of acquiring new clients with free weekends at nice hotels in desireable
locales. The SCWC is not one of them. ]

SCWC*SAN DIEGO 23 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

ADVANCE READERS STILL AVAILABLE: Your San Diego conference is now only four
weeks away and we're happy to report that several advance submission readers remain
open at this time and are willing to accept material until further notice. To ensure the
reader of your choice is still open, call or email SCWC Executive Director Michael Steven Gregory before selecting . . .

We're starting to fill up now so don't hesitate — register today!

ADVANCE SUBMISSION UPDATE, PLUS (1/8/09): Literary agent Jeff Moores, of
Dunow, Carlson & Lerner in New York, is ready for more submissions. While he's still
looking for stellar fiction, Jeff reports that he's especially interested in "all types of
nonfiction so long as they aren’t prescriptive books, craft books, etc. Narrative nonfiction, science, politics, etc. &mdash these are all good." Likewise, Literary Works powerhouse
agent Jacqueline Hackett is open to any and all commercial fiction and nonfiction . . .
Finally, author/workshop leader Michael Thompkins is making available the syllabus
to his Shrinking Fiction sessions, "Using Psychology to Write Great Characters 1 and 2."
Contact him directly to get your copy . . . Check back next week for another important
update.

EARLY "BARD" DISCOUNT EXTENDED (1/2/09): With the arrival of our dutiful
director's special holiday gift — one Zachary Pearce Albers — it's only fitting that we
bestow a gift to every other SCWC writer, so we're extending the $50 discount off full
conference registration . . . At the moment all readers remain open for advance
submission critique, followed by one-on-one consultation. For those seeking an agent,
now is the time to put your pages forward and take your shot. Of particular note is a late addition to the roster, Jacqueline Hackett. In addition to commercial nonfiction, she's
really interested in fiction with a humorous/suspenseful plot and unique characters.

SCWC mascot Ben says, "Jolly Holly!"JOLLY HOLIDAY "MUSE" (12/22/08): In effort
to preserve a forest or two and keep the SCWC affordable, we're no longer mailing
hardcopy brochures via regular post. As always, however, the 4-page brochure is
available online,
enabling us to update information to it as need be. And don't forget, we also have the
printable 1 page flyer for distribution to all your writerly groups and friends . . .

Another staff addition comes in the form of author/editor Lynn Vannucci. For those
who were at LA6, you'll remember Lynn introduced us to Beat the Book, her exclusive
1-year-long disciplinary/editorial program. BTB puts into action an aspect of the SCWC's continuing success that most often sets us apart from other conferences, by extending
many of the vital relationships forged and expertise gleaned during the weekend event
well beyond its close in effort to get manuscripts into shape, properly represented and
ultimately published. For those isolated from an empirically qualified writing community,
or grappling with an inability to find the time to write, or not fully exploiting what time
you do find, we're going to slap Lynn with a workshop tailored specifically for you . . .

We're also pleased to announce that the
University of California San Diego Extension's Creative Writing Program will be offering
credit for certain workshops on the February schedule, for those interested. Specifics
will be posted here in January. . . . Rumor has it that two more SCWCers have landed
book deals. Am awaiting details, but rest assured that once we know, everybody will.
In the meanwhile, to you and all your other favorite writers, your family and friends,
the SCWC wishes the Jolliest Holly of all — Cheers!

LATEST "MUSE" (12/8/08): Filling out the special guest speaker slots, Sunday morning
we welcome novelist, nonfictionalist and Pulitzer Prize nominee Caitlin Rother to the
SCWC. Her most recent is Twisted Triangle, which tells the torrid tale of a kidnapping,
an attempted murder and a love triangle involving two married FBI agents and none
other than bestselling crime novelist Patricia Cornwell — true story!

Sunday evening, author and Alluvium Books publisher Marie Etienne will discuss her
latest, another true story, Confessions of a Bi-Polar Mardi Gras Queen. Heartbreaking
and often hilarious, in it she explores the themes of love versus lust, the legacy of abuse
and mental illness, the impact of murder and suicide among her siblings and the
redemptive power of faith, forgiveness and courage . . .

Also aboard is Marla Miller, a SCWC favorite who returns with her ever-popular
"Pitch it to Me: Let's Fix Your Book Pitch!" troubleshooting workshop. Another San
Diego regular will not be back this year, unfortunately, due to a conflict. Yes, we know
it's criminal, but don't worry: Gordon Kirkland will no doubt return for a future
event . . .

Speaking of crime, The L.A. Times named its choices for top crime & mystery fiction
of 2008 yesterday. Citing our Friday evening special guest speaker's latest they said,
"Don Winslow drops pitch-perfect sentences to brilliant effect in The Dawn Patrol
(Alfred A. Knopf), recoding the traditional private-eye novel through a surfer
community lens." We could've told 'em that.

And for those of you following the Writing Crime track that's loosely woven into the
schedule, here's a pretty good primer in the form of a recent feature piece author
and periodic SCWCer Thomas Larson did for the San Diego Reader, called
"Intimate Murder: Women Kill the Ones They Love" . . .

Finally, advance submission readers will begin selling out soon as the conference
begins to fill up. If you haven't already, with the schedule now posted,
keynote speakers announced, workshop leaders & readers all listed (remember,
agents and editors typically sell out first), and a $50 discount off full
conference registration available, now perhaps more than any time before is the time
to invest in your writing career!

ONE OTHER SPEAKER (12/5/08): Hailing from Northumberland, England,
bestselling author Val McDermid brings her latest novel, Darker Domain
(Harper, Jan. 2009), to the SCWC. With 25 books and a hit TV series to her name,
the UK's Wire in the Blood, Val's work has been translated into 30 languages and
yet only now is finding the big time with this past April's break-out release, The Grave
Tattoo. A modern day thriller addressing a 200-year-old mystery — HMS Bounty
mutineer Fletcher Christian's apparent return to England — The New York Times
declared the book, "Exciting…wildly beautiful," while The Boston Globe concluded simply, "Extraordinary." From us to Val, Dinna droon the miller!

BUT WAIT — THERE'S MORE!: That fabulous femme (in the informal sense of the
word for all you purists) of finite fine fiction Julie Ann Shapiro returns with her
hands-on workshop, "Flash Fiction: The Ultra-Quick Story Market." Given that
we can no longer keep up with her ever-growing list of by-lines, let's just say that
if you want to write fast, write now and get published, she's your go-to gal . . .

Finally, the jacket art for another prolific author/SCWC workshop leader,
Frederick Ramsay, just came in for his upcoming book, Choker (Poisoned Pen,
June 2009). Wha'dya think? Exactly -- Excellent!

[Go to http://www.writersconference.com/ for workshop schedules and a lot more]

Wrap...

Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy..GOING...

From SFGate.com :

Obama will end 'don't ask' policy, aide says
Matthew B. Stannard, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 14, 2009

(01-13) 20:21 PST -- President Obama will end the 15-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy that has prevented homosexual and bisexual men and women from serving openly within the U.S. military, a spokesman for the president-elect said.

Obama said during the campaign that he opposed the policy, but since his election in November he has made statements that have been interpreted as backpedaling. On Friday, however, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, responding on the transition team's Web site to a Michigan resident who asked if the new administration planned to get rid of the policy, said:

"You don't hear politicians give a one-word answer much. But it's 'Yes.' "

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/13/MNTG159HHG.DTL&type=politics

[Use link above to continue reading]

Wrap...

Homeless? How to Survive on the Streets....

From Lawns to Gardens:

Surviving on the Streets

On the Peak Oil blog, Lawns to Gardens, Randy White, who calls himself Randy Scott for some reason, interviews DD Desade, a guitarist for the Railer band.

Desade spent 8 months as homeless man, so he gives advice on how to survive and eventually get off the streets.

http://blip.tv/file/556551/

---------------------------------

Randy White believes that Peak Oil has already happened, a new Great Depression has started, and the homeless population will skyrocket. However, he believes that we can survive by sacrificing our consumption, sharing with others, and converting our lawns to gardens. Here is his blog:

http://www.lawnstogardens.com/

Wrap...

Some guy is desperate for this San Diego chick....

From NBC San Diego.com:

22-Year-Old's Virginity Auction Bids Hit $3.7M

A San Diego woman who is auctioning off her virginity said she has now received a bid of $3.7 million, according to a published report.

MORE

Wrap...

BushCo & National Security...

From Buzzflash:

The Final Irony in Bush's Farce of a "War on Terror": "White House fails to curb rising flow of banned items to Tehran through front companies and schemes unknowingly involving American firms." Cheney's Halliburton Was One of the First to Use Ruses to Flout Boycott of Iran. "Iran Using Fronts to Get Bomb Parts From U.S." We Have Been Saying Since 9/11, The Bush Administration is a Danger to the National Security of the U.S.

Wrap...

Bamford knows...good book just out...

From NY Times Book Review:

'The Shadow Factory'
By JAMES BAMFORD
Reviewed by CHRISTOPHER DICKEY

James Bamford brings his narrative of the National Security Agency into the post-9/11 era.

Profile of James Bamford

Wrap...

Another Selection of TV & Books Coming...

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION/DEBUT:

Winner of the Eudora Welty prize in fiction and author of Buying Lenin Miroslav Penkov's BULGARI: a country, in stories - a debut collection that paints a portrait of one of Europe's oldest countries - Bulgaria, with seven stories and one novella that beautifully weave centuries of Bulgarian history, beginning some four hundred years back in time and moving forward to present day, to Courtney Hodell at Farrar, Straus, by Sorche Elizabeth Fairbank of Fairbank

Novel Journey website creator Gina Holmes's CROSSING OCEANS, the story of a woman with a terminal illness coming home to make peace with her father, to Karen Watson at Tyndale, in a very nice deal, by Chip MacGregor at MacGregor Literary.

SCI-FI/FANTASY:

Spider Robinson's ORPHAN STARS, set in the world of VARIABLE STAR, a genius inventor and a handful of fellow survivors of a cosmic disaster must race time itself to warn the Orphan Stars, the scattered outposts of humanity, so that the human race can safely navigate its way to survive the forthcoming onslaught triggered by the explosion of Earth's sun, to Pat LoBrutto at Tor, in a good deal, in a three-book deal, by Eleanor Wood at Spectrum Literary Agency (NA).

HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:

OBAMA: The Historic Journey, a heavily-illustrated book covering Barack Obama's life, from his childhood through his inauguration as the 44th president of the United States, with a final chapter that includes the inaugural address and a 32-page photo essay by 12 New York Times staff photographers, with an introduction by NYT executive editor Bill Keller and essays from Times staff and contributors including Frank Rich, Thomas Friedman, Paul Krugman, Maureen Dowd, David Brooks and Gail Collins, to Geoff Kloske to Riverhead, for publication on February 16, 2009, by Scott Moyers at The Wylie Agency, produced by the New York Times and Callaway Arts & Entertainment (NA).

A separate young readers edition written and designed for children ages 8-12 age will be published as well.

HOW-TO:

Meg Mateo Ilasco and Joy Cho's CREATIVE, INC., in the spirit of Craft, Inc., this time exploring how to create a successful career as a freelancing "creative," to Jodi Warshaw at Chronicle, by Lilly Ghahremani at Full Circle Literary.

POP CULTURE:

Host and star of Country Music Television's COWBOY U Rocco Wachman and Matthew Pellegrini's HOW TO BE A COWBOY, an exploration, with a pop-culture lens, of the many facets of the cowboy life, with chapters on campfire cooking, the cowboy uniform, horses and trucks, cowboy economy, the three Rs: "ranching, roping, and rodeo", country music and dancing, and of course, the indefatigable cowboy spirit, to Adam Korn at Harper, by Sorche Fairbank of Fairbank Literary Representation.

TRUE CRIME:

Anthony Flacco's SANFORD CLARK AND THE TRUE STORY OF THE WINEVILLE MURDER, a psychological drama about the true crime story that also inspired the recent film, Changeling, to Philip Turner at Union Square Press, for publication in fall 2009, by Sharlene Martin of Martin Literary Management (NA).

TV:

Kathleen Flinn's THE SHARPER YOUR KNIFE, THE LESS YOU CRY, about a journalist-turned-corporate exec who falls in love, gets downsized, cashes in her savings and heads to France to pursue her lifelong dream of studying French cuisine in Paris at Le Cordon Bleu, to Fox TV Studios for Lifetime, by Sarah Self at The Gersh Agency, on behalf of Larry Weissman at Larry Weissman Literary.

Wrap...

Laura Bush & the Book Advance...

From Political Wire .com:

According to the New York Post, First Lady Laura Bush received an advance of just $1.6 million for her book deal announced yesterday -- far less than the $8 million Hillary Clinton received for her memoir, Living History.

The New Yorker notes that most publishers that met with Mrs. Bush were unimpressed with her proposal.

Wrap...

It Ain't Oil...It's Algae From the Ocean....

From Voice of San Diego. com:

Trying To Turn San Diego Into Green Houston
By DAVID WASHBURN
Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009

In the early 1990s, San Diego's moribund economy was revived by a bunch of scientists who figured out how to do things like turn a mobile phone into a multi-media entertainment center and develop a diabetes therapy out of lizard spit.

Now, with the economy tanking again, another bunch of scientists is telling anyone who will listen that the region's next economic boom might be borne out of pond scum.
Algae that is -- green gold, San Diego soda.

San Diego, already home to dozens of companies involved in solar or wind energy, would be a major player in the nation's multi-trillion-dollar energy economy if a group of local researchers succeed in turning algae into a commercially viable transportation fuel, something they think they can do within a decade.

www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2009/01/02/science/975algae010109.txt

[Use link above to continue reading]

Wrap....

Leon Panetta will head CIA....

From The New York Times:

Panetta to Be Named C.I.A. Director
By CARL HULSE and MARK MAZZETTI 42 minutes ago

Leon E. Panetta, the former congressman and White House chief of staff, would take over an agency that has been buffeted by leadership changes and morale problems.

Wrap...

Good luck getting Bush Admin records...

From Secrecy News:

NARA CANNOT ASSURE COMPLETE TRANSFER OF BUSH RECORDS

The impending transfer of Bush Administration records to the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will challenge the capacity of the Archives to absorb them because of their enormous volume and the diverse formats of various electronic records.

But there is also a fundamental question concerning the integrity of the transfer process, which relies on the good faith of executive branch officials and which can be subverted by design or neglect.

"There really is no practical way we know of for NARA to be assured that every document in paper or electronic form has been received from an agency," Dr. Allen Weinstein, the former Archivist of the United States, told Congress last year (pdf, at p. 136).

"Nor can NARA police the records management practices of over 300 federal agencies to ensure that permanent records are not purposefully or unintentionally withheld from the National Archives. Federal agencies are expected to fulfill their statutory responsibilities."

"NARA must rely on the agency records officers, other agency officials, and a vigilant public and press to inform us of any such failure to act," he said.

As for presidential records in particular, Dr. Weinstein said "the incumbent President is solely responsible for ensuring that ... components of the Executive Office of the President adhere to the records requirements set out in [the Presidential Records Act]."

Although the President is supposed to obtain the written views of the Archivist prior to any proposed destruction of non-permanent records, "the final disposal authority rests with the incumbent president... regardless of the Archivist's views."

See "National Archives Oversight: Protecting Our Nation's History for Future Generations," hearing before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, May 14, 2008 (esp. pp. 131-136).

An estimated 25,000 boxes of White House documents are to be transferred to the Archives, R. Jeffrey Smith of the Washington Post reported ("Bush E-Mails May Be Secret a Bit Longer," December 21). Electronic records of the Bush White House are believed to total 100 terabytes of information, or about 50 times the volume of electronic records left behind by the Clinton White House in 2001, Robert Pear and Scott Shane reported ("Bush Data Threatens to Overload Archives," New York Times, December 27, 2008).

Volume aside, the White House electronic records were often generated in non-standard formats using proprietary software that somehow must be accommodated by NARA.

"The biggest risk facing NARA that could disrupt a successful transition is our ability to ingest the electronic records of the White House," Dr. Weinstein said. A plan to address this risk was approved November 7, the New York Times reported.

Vice President Richard B. Cheney recently argued (pdf, at p. 24) that "The Vice President alone may determine what constitutes vice presidential records or personal records, how his records will be created, maintained, managed and disposed, and are all actions that are committed to his discretion by law" (as reported by Pamela Hess of Associated Press on December 18).

That view was disputed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and historians who filed a lawsuit seeking to ensure compliance with the Presidential Records Act (PRA). "[The Vice President's] demand for unchecked discretion not only contravenes binding Circuit precedent, but ... is repugnant to our democratic ideals and the rule of law," they argued in a December 22 pleading.

Wrap...

Ross & Bazaar del Mundo...

The San Diego Union-Tribune has an article today that gives the URL to a blog about what's coming down with the former Bazaar del Mundo in Old Town.

www.plazadelpasado.blog.com

Once upon a wonderful time, Diane Powers had the place and everybody loved it. Packed all the time with happy people either wandering thru the shops or dining at Casa de Pico or one of the other restaurants within. Then Delaware North grabbed the whole thing with Sacramento's help and everybody local took one look at what they'd done and never went back. Horrible.

Delaware lost money hand over fist. Locals hated it and were downright angry.

So now a guy from Chula Vista, Ross, has succeeded in taking it over. He's put up the blog...URL above...and wants to know what we all want to see there or are hoping for. The man is a successful restaurant guy and a local, so there's a good chance he'll do good things. Anything is better than what Delaware did.

Go make a comment on that blog if you've ever visited.

Wrap...

A Choice Wrap-up of 2008....

From Boys From Red State via Julian News:

http://www.sitemason.com/newspub/fQKJvW?id=61310

Wrap...

Obama has to replace many enemies at DOJ....

From The Washington Independent via truthout.org:

Obama Faces Legacy of Lawlessness at Justice

http://www.truthout.org/010209C

Daphne Eviatar, The Washington Independent:

"As an inspector general's report revealed, potential new hires during the Bush administration were disqualified for jobs if in the past they'd worked for Democrats or organizations with 'liberal affiliations' - such as civil rights groups.

The inspector general concluded that 'political or ideological affiliations were used to deselect candidates' applying for entry-level attorney positions and internships."

Wrap...

2008 thoughts....

Happy 2009!!! I began to wonder if it would ever ever get here. And now there are 19 days plus some hours before the Bush/Cheney cabal is kicked out of DC.

Of course their followers are still resident in the Congress until those vermin can be rid of as well. Vermin like Mitch McConnell, et al. No easy job due to their home state supporters...those poor ignorant, self-abusing fools.

Like so many others, I do not envy Obama's becoming our 44th president. He goes into office with the most incredible load on his shoulders. Thank heavens he's as intelligent as he is. We voters finally did something right at the polls.

Just outrageous how long the Coleman/Franken contest has gone and will be going on in Minnesota. Cannot believe the voters there managed to mess up their ballots to the extent they have. You'd think they were totally uneducated.

Which all goes to prove how important a good education is. And how long will it be before the election people get the message that the e-voting machines need to all be instantly trashed and paper ballots be the one and only way to vote? Paper ballots that are designed exactly the same, no matter which state they're used in.

Common sense is in short supply...and is no match for the politicians' hidden agendas.

I've just finished reading George Stephanopoulus' book, "Only Human". It deals with what went on in the first term of Clinton's term as President. I guarantee it will turn your stomach, same as it did mine. I have never encountered the incredible level of egotism as the people in that book possess. So be prepared.

And that was during Clinton's first term. Remember the calls to the writer/investigative journalist in which the people in the BushCo administration asked that they be called on Jan 20th? They had things to tell. I don't doubt it a damned bit...and if the first Clinton term was absolutely disgusting under the surface, I dread to think what a similar book on the BushCo admin will bring to light.

A guy in NYC was quoted yesterday as saying that if the weather was freezing New Year's Eve, he knew he's encounter frozen piles of vomit this morn. Well, the vomit won't be frozen after reading the truth about what went on behind and under the scenes in the BushCo administration...it will be piled high and reeking to say the least.

Variety just published a recap of the BushCo admin that one writer friend said was a real eye opener. I've read all 14 pages of it. Found little I didn't already know. It's what I don't know yet...and the rest of the world will find out shortly that will really turn the stomach.

Even as we speak, that rat bastard Bush is down in Crawford at his "ranch". You can bet your bottom dollar that once he leaves the White House, the "ranch" will go up for sale. Hell, he has 90,000 acres in Paraguay. What earthly use would he have for Crawford. That was pure image and nothing more.

But the media loved it. Fell for it. Thought the citizens would too. And they may have until they learned that cowboy Bush is afraid of horses. Some cowboy. Pathetic. Still, as in too many places, image is all.

So what now for Bush and Cheney and the rest of their evil cabal? Think they'll just walk away from what they've done, the crimes they've committed, the purely evil things they've done, the thousands of deaths they've caused?

I guess we'll see.

Wrap....

Pentagon appointees dismissed....

From The Hill via truthout.org:

Obama Dismisses Bush Pentagon Appointees

http://www.truthout.org/123108K

Sam Youngman, The Hill: "Despite keeping Defense Secretary Robert Gates in the Pentagon, President-elect Obama's transition team informed 90 Bush appointees their services will not be needed after Inauguration Day.

Scott Gration, a senior official on Obama's transition team, called and emailed several of President Bush's Pentagon appointees about 10 days ago to inform them they were being dismissed."

Wrap...

Jeb Bush for Sen? Read the comments!

From: http://3bluedudes.com/florida/jeb-bush-ready-to-roll-for-us-senate/

Politico is reporting that former Florida Governor and brother to President George W. Bush, Jeb Bush, is poised to run for the United States Senate seat in Florida. The Florida seat is help by Sen. Mel Martinez, but Martinez recently announced he will not seek reelection.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush – the son of one president and the brother of another – has been working the phones since Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) announced earlier this month that he won’t seek reelection in 2010. Sources say Bush hasn’t made up his mind yet about running for Martinez’ seat yet, but that he’s getting green lights from would-be contributors and blessings from Republican Party leaders.

Strategists and political observers take it as a sign that Bush will run.

[Use link above to continue reading]

Wrap...

AZ Sheriff will be "the star"....

From Levine Breaking News:

***Reality television featuring law enforcement officers on the beat is nothing new. A show featuring a lawman who makes jailed inmates wear pink underwear and uses actors to trick suspects, however, is a new twist.

Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- whose showy brand of justice has raised charges of discrimination and civil-rights abuses while making him a hero among fans of his tough-on-crime attitudes -- will star in "Smile: You're Under Arrest."

Wrap...

Big Selection of Up-coming Films & Books....

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION/DEBUT:

A.D. Scott's FAULTLINES, about a young Scottish boy who is found dead in a canal lock, the 1950s Highlands newspaper staff -- including the female typist embroiled in an abusive marriage and her boss, a seasoned journalist determined to revamp the paper -- who uncover the crime, and their small town, which harbors deep and troubling secrets underneath a polished veneer, to Sarah Durand at Atria, in a two-book deal, by Peter McGuigan at Foundry Literary + Media, on behalf of Sheila Drummond of The Drummond Agency (NA).Foreign: sheilad@ozemail.com.au

Immigrants' rights attorney and first-generation American Ghita Schwarz's DISPLACED PERSONS, exploring the definition of family, its malleability, in an exquisitely crafted story about two Jewish couples amid a community of survivors settled in the US just after WWII, to Jennifer Brehl at William Morrow, by Lisa Bankoff at ICM (NA).

Kirk Farber's POSTCARDS FROM A DEAD GIRL, a surreal love story about a lost soul who is getting postcards from his missing girlfriend; it reads like a Wes Anderson movie, to Carl Lennertz at Harper Perennial, for publication in Winter 2010, by Sandra Bond at Bond Literary Agency (NA).

Founder of the literary journal Murdaland and energy trader Cortright McMeel's SHORT, a tour through the down-and-dirty, scandal-ridden world of bigtime energy traders, pitched as Wall Street meets Glengarry Glen Ross, to John Schoenfelder at Thomas Dunne Books, by Alex Glass at Trident Media Group (NA).

MYSTERY/CRIME:

Nora McFarland's SHOOTER, a debut mystery series featuring a young Central California localTV news photographer, to Trish Lande Grader for Touchstone Fireside, for publication in spring 2010, in a three-book deal, by Molly Friedrich at Friedrich Agency (NA).

GENERAL/OTHER:

David Wroblewski's prequel to The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, the next in what will become a trilogy, focused on the life of John Sawtelle, the patriarch of the Sawtelle clan, the origins of his extraordinary fictional breed of dog, and the fraught, ultimately fatal relationship between his sons, Gar and Claude, Edgar Sawtelle's father and uncle, again to Lee Boudreaux and Daniel Halpern at Ecco, by Eleanor Jackson at the Elaine Markson Agency (US).

2008 Goncourt Prize winner Atiq Rahimi's SYNGUE SABOUR, the story of a woman whose husband suffers brain damage from a bullet wound; she cares for him and talks to him, but is angry about his sacrifices, to Judith Gurewich of Other Press, in a nice deal, by Alice Tassel on behalf of the French Publishers' Agency (NA).

FILM:

Ursula Le Guin's THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS, a classic from 1969 takes us to the world of Winter, introducing us to its inhabitants, the Gethenians-whose society is not based on gender roles, optioned for feature film to screenwriter/director Will Phillips, by Bill Contardi, on behalf of the Virginia Kidd Agency.

NON-FICTION:
BIOGRAPHY:

Lynne Cheney's FOUNDING GENIUS: A Biography of James Madison, moving to Wendy Wolf at Viking, at auction, for publication in 2011, by Robert Barnett at Williams & Connolly.

Herman Obermayer's REHNQUIST: The Man Behind the Robe, the historical portrait of Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist through personal observations and recollections of one of the bench's most remarkable men; as the leader of the court that decided the presidential election in 2000, and as the presiding officer of a senate that decided not to impeach an elected president (Clinton), he led a fascinating life, to Anthony Ziccardi at Pocket, for publication in November 2009, by Sam Fleishman of Literary Artists Representatives (world).

BUSINESS/INVESTING/FINANCE:

Reporter for the NYT business section and Portfolio magazine Paul Sullivan's CLUTCH, an examination of who is clutch in sports and business and what we can learn from them, to Adrienne Schultz at Portfolio, for publication in 2010, by Erika Storella at The Gernert Company (World).

Investigative journalist Andrew Kirtzman's book about Bernard Madoff, piecing together the story of Madoff's extraordinary alleged $50 billion fraud and tracing, the steps which led to his downfall, to Claire Wachtel at Harper, for publication in 2010, by Flip Brophy at Sterling Lord Literistic (world).

Veteran investigative reporter Richard Behar's book on Bernard Madoff's rise and fall, Susan Mercandetti at Random House, for publication in 2010, Richard Abate at Endeavor (world English).

HISTORY/POLITICS/WORLD AFFAIRS:

Garrett Graff's THE BUREAU'S WAR, examining the evolution of the FBI from an interstate crime-fighting organization to an international counter-terrorism power deeply engaged in the war against terrorists, as well as its own battles with the CIA and the White House -- told through the lives of its agents and Director Robert Mueller, to Geoff Shandler at Little, Brown, for publication in Spring 2011, by Tim Seldes at Russell & Volkening.

New Yorker editor David Remnick's book on Barack Obama, race and politics in America, an extension of his lengthy magazine that ran after the election, The Joshua Generation, to Sonny Mehta at Knopf, with no planned pub date yet according to Politico, by Kathy Robbins at The Robbins Office .

CBS News reporter Scott Conroy and Fox News reporter Shushannah Walshe's SARAH FROM ALASKA, embedded reporters in Sarah Palin's vice presidential campaign draw upon interviews with the Alaska governor, campaign staff, Republican politicos, and others to explore the impact of her candidacy and the issues it has raised both for the country and for the Republican Party, to Clive Priddle and Lisa Kaufman at Public Affairs, by Alice Martell at Alice Martell Agency (World).

MEMOIR:

Alysia Sofios's INTO THE SUN, memoir of the author's investigation of the 2004 Wesson Murders in Fresno, California in which she risked her reporting career and safety to help free the remaining members of the Wesson family from the psychological clutches of their murderous father and husband, to Abby Zidle at Pocket, for publication in September 2009, by Janet Reid at FinePrint Literary Management (world).

NARRATIVE:

Bringing Down the House author Ben Mezrich's book about entrepreneurship at Harvard, the school's Final Clubs, and student Mark Zuckerberg and the founding of Facebook, to Doubleday, for publication in fall 2009.
Aaron Sorkin is adapting the book for film, with Kevin Spacey's Trigger Street Productions producing.

Pulitzer Prize winner and NYT bestselling author of After the Fire Robin Gaby Fisher's narrative exploration by of the alleged beatings, sexual abuse, and unmarked mass graves at a Florida boys' reform school, addressing the larger 360-degree story of the victims, the accused, and the Nuremberg-style community that has allegedly lived with this open secret for more than 50 years, pitched as Erin Brockovich meets Sleepers, to Yaniv Soha at St. Martin's, by Yfat Reiss Gendell at Foundry Literary + Media (NA).
Foreign: sabou@foundrymedia.com
Film: candace@lakeliterary.com

Wrap....

Jerry Brown goes to bat for gay marriage...

From The Sacramento Bee:

AG Brown asks court to void gay marriage ban

SAN FRANCISCO — California Attorney General Jerry Brown is asking the state Supreme Court to void gay marriage ban, according to the Associated Press. Return to sacbee.com for more on this story as it develops.

Read More

Wrap...

On the matter of Rick Warren...

Okay... remember this: Obama is not stupid. Having that individual give the invocation at his inaugural should verify that when he said he would be president of ALL the people, he damned well meant it...and that includes the fundys.

More, they cannot now claim that they have been ignored by him. So cool off. It's not as though Warren has been given a governing post. And it most assuredly is not a slam against the gay and lesbian communities or anyone else.

Wrap...

Photo memories...even a whale hunt...

From The International Herald Tribune:

The Year in Pictures

The Year in Pictures: War, grief, joy, achievement, and, in May, a devastating cyclone in Myanmar.

From Len:

This is a website that is very long. It is a bunch of pictures of a whale hunt by Eskimos taken by a journalist. About 3000 pictures on a slide show. Only open this if you have a lot of time to watch it.

http://thewhalehunt.org/whalehunt.html

Wrap...

Palin on Gov Blago... :)))))

From chicagotribune.com :

Sarah Palin: Blagojevich's nerve?
Jeff Finkelman on -->December 15, 2008 at 6:13 PM

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says she has wondered how long Gov. Rod Blagojevich thought he might "get away with'' an alleged scheme to sell the Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama.

Read more in the Tribune's Swamp blog.

Wrap...

Restore the Rule of Law...

From Secrecy News:

SEN. FEINGOLD URGES "CONCRETE STEPS" TO RESTORE RULE OF LAW

In a December 10 letter to President-elect Obama, Sen. Russ Feingold urged the next Administration to take a series of specific measures to strengthen the rule of law. Distilled from the record (pdf) of a September 16 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the subject, the recommendations addressed four topics in particular: separation of powers, excessive government secrecy, detention and interrogation policy, and domestic surveillance.

The letter's recommendations on combating excessive government secrecy included brief reference to a proposal stressed by the Federation of American Scientists for a fundamental review of agency classification guides to eliminate obsolete or unnecessary classification instructions.

Establishing such a review may be even more important than revising the executive order on classification or rescinding of the Ashcroft policy on FOIA, both desirable steps but which are only loosely coupled to daily secrecy decisions.

By comparison, revising agency classification guides -- which specify what information shall be classified at what level -- and updating them to eliminate spurious secrecy requirements would have immediate favorable consequences for agency practice, particularly since many classification guides have not been reviewed for years.

(See "Overcoming Overclassification," Secrecy News, September 16, 2008.)

Wrap...

Words...and the shoes thrown...

My favorite word is "commence". My most hated word is "partake".

On the other matter:

Too many people are yelling about where were the Secret Svc guys when the Iraqi flung the shoes? They were close by and were moving in when W signaled them to stop, but nobody mentions that. He wants them out of camera range when he speaks. Of course, else he wouldn't be the complete center of attention. Nobody mentions that either.

What I want to know is why none of the reporters the guy was in the midst of, noticed him taking off his shoes. Pretty hard to miss, I'd think.Of course they were all watching W, but still, as we know, movement catches the eye. Didn't catch theirs, apparently. Or else they just ignored it.

Wrap...

Video: Brave Iraqi throws his shoes at Bush...

From BBC:

US President George Bush arrives in Iraq on a surprise visit to the country that has defined his presidency since the 2003 invasion.

For more details: http://www.bbcnews.com/

NOTE: To throw or hit someone with a shoe, in Iraq, is the gravest insult of all. W had it coming.

Wrap...

US calm before storm...thank your deity of choice...

From Jerry in Colorado via email:

I find my self interested in how our world was at first crumbling, then progressed to collapsing and now [Dec 12] we're in that state of mild disbelief that occurs in the calm before total devestation.

The car industry going bankrupt!?!? And we are still talking to their CEOs as if they knew something??? Or could do something?? Did we ever believe the GOP would do anything??? My god, they're the ones who want to see big government fail, not succeed, and ironically they're willing to sacrifice some of the big businesses they usually worship, to show the government as a failure. But, down deep, the right wing GOP loves the idea of hundreds of thousands of workers connected to the auto industry, out of work. The GOP will show those prole bastards who runs the country. That senator from Tennessee summed the GOP position up quite well: If we have a government big enough to give us what we want, it's also big enough to take away everything too. Do you think he rushed out to buy an automatic weapon when Obama got elected??? Probably.

I would like to know how these car executives could come up with a viable, detailed plan for recovery in less that a week?? They didn't have one when they first arrived in Washington, so they were sent home to create one, and they did. In less than a week. Second question: if they could see this economic disaster coming, why didn't they come up with that plan months, if not years ago? And if they didn't know it was coming, what in hell are they doing as top executives?? How did this massive mess come about so quickly and unexpectedly? A kind of stealth downturn??? They can't blame the general economy for the mess they've created in Detroit.

Let me give you a personal example of why the 'Big Three' are failing. Two years ago we needed a new vehicle to survive up here at 7400 feet, in the middle of the San Juan Mountains, living on a dirt road. We needed one with four wheel drive or all wheel drive, one that could get at least 23 miles per gallon [then gas was upwards of $4.00 per gal] and a vehicle that could take the rough driving we have up here. We explained all this in great detail to the Ford agency in Albuquerque. We were shown an all wheel drive Ford something or other and we drove it in Albuquerque, with a noticiable lack of snow in the summer, on paved roads, and the car seemed to be what we wanted. This test drive I blame on myself, i.e., I should have taken the damned thing out into the back country, but you can't do that. Anyway, we bought it and took it home.

It snowed like you wouldn't believe that year. We couldn't see out our front windows because the snow was piled up to the roof line. The Ford couldn't handle the snow. Later it couldn't handle the mud. I got stuck in my driveway once. I was highly pissed and cursed the idea of all wheel drive as being a viable alternative to 4wd. We decided to buy a Toyota, which we had years ago, in the 60s and 70s, and drove our 4wd Land Cruiser literally all over the Southwest on nothing but dirt roads and trails, and never, ever had a problem. In the process of buyinig a 2008 FJ Cruiser, we were trading in the wimpy Ford, and the guy who was doing the deal called us over and said, "This isn't an all wheel drive. It's a standard two wheel drive." We were stunned. We had been sold and paid for an all wheel drive, and they gave us this piece of shit. Naturally we contacted the Ford agency and got nothing but a runaround for about a month. Unfortunately for them, we had the paper work showing where 2wd had been crossed out and all wheel substituted. Then they tried to tell us, the 4wd meant four wheels and 4 doors. We were entring the twilight zone of logic when we both exploded. Eventually we got $3000 dollars from them, but that wasn't enough as far as we're concerned. That agency should be put out of business for fraud.

In anycase, that's why when the Ford executives plead for help, I say fuckem. They've been greedy from the beginning and they're greedy now, and greed defines their entire organization. To give them anything would be an exercise in stupidity. I would let them fail simply because they're incompetent and listen only to themselves.

The politicians feel bad about the number of workers put out of jobs but when your culture is going through a massive change, people are going to get hurt. The GOP would cite that ancient cliche, "You have to break some eggs if you're going to have an omelet." Why is it they are never the eggs getting broken?

And I can't even think about Wall Street and the Bankers. Giving them billions with no strings attatched??? Of course Bush knew they would use it wisely to help the people out of this economic slump. So did Congresss. Anyone hear the GOP screaming about big business then? Not a peep. The money simply disappeared. What can we learn here? Let's see. American Big Business cannot be trusted? Ummmm. That sounds right.

So, here we are at the beginning of the 21st century, the world is basically in flames or dying of disease and starvation, which has yet to come to America, but is in South America, Central America and Mexico, and our insightful GOP leaders, who loved deregulation, want smaller government to handle the bigger problems. That's similar to using a volkswagen bug to pull a semi trailer full of truck axles. We're going to have unemployment on a legendary scale, health care problems that go beyound the 30% bankruptcy rate due to health costs we now have, and the GOP wants smaller government. The Republicans have this wonderful little political belief that big government is dangerous, but what they don't add, is only when you put Republicans in charge of a big government is it dangerous. Look at that last eight years. Look at Bush 1.

And what, we have to ask, has the GOP accomplished? Well, they've destroyed the CIA and the FBI, they've compromised the military to the point that if anything serious happened anywhere, that required an American military presence, we couldn't do it, and they're made the USA an international pariah. The American infrastructure, from bridges and highways to local roads, is rapidly crumbling. The national parks are being opened up to oil interests and the capper of it all...in some parks you can now carried a concealed weapon. For protection from what??? From whom are you concealing the weapon? Let's see...bears don't care, neither to mountain lions, chipmunks, skunks, wildlife in general. So, it must be that criminal element that loves to go to parks for camping and fishing and hiking. Yeah, they're dangerous. Pack that 357 baby, and let them know, " Who da man?"

Thank [your diety of choice here] for existentialism.

Wrap....

A Short List of Coming Books....

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

GENERAL/OTHER:

THE GIRLS author Lori Lansens's HER BODY ELECTRIC, about an obese woman whose husband wins the lottery and disappears on their 25th anniversary, sending her across the country in search of him, again to Judy Clain at Little, Brown, for publication in September 2009, by Denise Bukowski of The Bukowski Agency (US).Canadian rights previously to Knopf.


Sarah Waters's THE LITTLE STRANGER, a ghost story set in 1940s Great Britain, in Hundreds Hall, a centuries-old house of declining health and fortune, to Geoff Kloske at Riverhead, for publication in Spring 2009, by Jean Naggar at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency (NA).

NON-FICTION

BUSINESS/INVESTING/FINANCE:

Pulitzer-Prize winner and former WSJ Detroit bureau chief Paul Ingrassia's tale of Detroit's fall from glory to the brink of disaster, drawing on sources from the executive suite to the factory floors to recount the inside story of the crash of Detroit's car companies and their potential road to redemption, to Susan Mercandetti at Random House, by Scott Moyers at The Wylie Agency (NA).

Peterson Foundation CEO and former US Comptroller General David Walker's WAKE UP CALL, an action plan for digging America out of its $55 trillion deficit and stabilizing its financial future, to Tim Bartlett at Random House, at auction, for publication in January 2010, by Gail Ross and Howard Yoon of Gail Ross Literary Agency.

HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:

Author of THE LOST CITY and THE UNITED STATES OF AMBITION Alan Ehrenhalt's THE ONCE AND FUTURE CITY, looking at the way American cities are changing as they are increasingly perceived as desirable places to live, and positing a future of thriving inner cities and lower-class exurbs that falls somewhere between the class-stratification of 19th century European metropolises and the multi-use urban vision of Jane Jacobs, for publication in 2011, to Andrew Miller at Knopf, at auction, by Chris Parris-Lamb at The Gernert Company (NA).

This American Life contributor Jon Jeter and Washington Post reporter Robert Pierre's book on what Barack Obama means to black America, following African-Americans from of all walks of life as they face the new issues, conversations, crises and triumphs brought on by having a black president, to be published in January 2010 as Obama makes his first State of the Union address, to Eric Nelson at Wiley, in a very nice deal, by David Fugate at LaunchBooks Literary Agency (World).

STEEL DRIVIN' MAN author and historian Scott Nelson's CRASH: AN UNCOMMON HISTORY OF AMERICA'S FINANCIAL PANICS, which looks at how major economic downturns have shaped our nation's political and social history, to Andrew Miller at Knopf, at auction, by Deirdre Mullane of Mullane Literary (world).

MEMOIR:

Former Hollywood executive, Gesine Bullock-Prado's CONFECTIONS OF A CLOSET MASTER BAKER -- an humorous and edgy memoir (with recipes) of the author's journey from sugar-obsessed child to miserable, awkward Hollywood insider (she ran her sister, Sandra's production company) and how she left it all behind to follow her love of baking and open Gesine's bakery in Montpelier, Vermont, to Stacy Creamer at Broadway, at auction, by Laura Nolan at The Creative Culture.

Lt. Gen. Russel Honore (U.S. Army, retired) with Ron Martz's SURVIVAL: HOW A CULTURE OF PREPAREDNESS CAN SAVE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY FROM DISASTERS, offering lessons learned through decades of service, including as commander of Joint Task Force Katrina, on how government, communities and individuals can prepare for and mitigate disasters rather than simply respond to them, to Malaika Adero at Atria, by David Vigliano and Michael Harriot at Vigliano Associates (World).

Wrap....

On the financial meltdown...here's the book to read...

From author Janet Tavakoli:

Dear Mr. Buffett: What An Investor Learns 1,269 Miles from Wall Street (publication date January 12, 2009—available for pre-order on Amazon).
Janet Tavakoli, president of Tavakoli Structured Finance, explains the events leading up to the worst financial meltdown in world history through her correspondence and discussion with Warren Buffett over 3 years. Tavakoli shows how they predicted the meltdown well in advance, warned investors, and propose how to fix it. Tavakoli also explains how to prevent it from happening again. Dear Mr. Buffett is a witty well-told account of how principle triumphs over greed and panic, and is a must-read for all those seeking the timeless wisdom that has beaten, and continues to beat, the market.

“Janet Tavakoli warned that the biggest credit bubble in world history was coming well in advance. Now she explains how the world could have avoided this disaster and how we can prevent it from happening the next time.”
JIM ROGERS,
author of A Bull in China, Hot Commodities, Adventure Capitalist, and Investment Biker

“Janet Tavakoli writes about the exotic, abstract financial instruments that helped implode the U.S. financial markets, and she writes in a clear, sprightly way. She knows a lot, and translates it well. Contrasting the shenanigans of recent years against the good analysis and common sense of Warren Buffett is appropriate, and helps to illustrate the levels of irrational behavior.”
ADAM SMITH (GEORGE J.W. GOODMAN),
author of The Money Game and Supermoney

“If you are an investor, either or through mutual funds or managed accounts, you must read this compelling book. You should understand how name-brand institutions like Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Wachovia, and UBS collectively lost hundreds of billions of dollars in ill-conceived products they invented and sold to investors who lost much more. Janet Tavakoli saw this coming and explains what happened clearly, logically, and persuasively. The juxtaposition of Buffett’s investment philosophies provides sharp contrast with those of the major institutional participants who are responsible for the current debacle. Knowing how this disastrous phenomenon evolved will forever change the way you evaluate you investments and/or those intermediaries who make them on your behalf.”
ERIC GLEACHER,
Chairman, Gleacher Partners LLC

“Janet Tavakoli has a gift for using personal anecdotes and clear language to explain the complex instruments of structured finance. Dear Mr. Buffett is an insightful look at the current global credit crisis in language that the layman can grasp. This book is a must-read for every trustee allocating to alternative investments.”
JOHN P. CALAMOS SR.,
Chairman, CEO and Co-CIO, Calamos Investments


Best Regards,

Janet

Janet Tavakoli is the president of Tavakoli Structured Finance, a Chicago-based firm that provides consulting to financial institutions and institutional investors. Ms. Tavakoli has more than 20 years of experience in senior investment banking positions, trading, structuring and marketing structured financial products. She is a former adjunct associate professor of derivatives at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. Author of: Credit Derivatives & Synthetic Structures (John Wiley & Sons, 1998, 2001) and Structured Finance & Collateralized Debt Obligations (John Wiley & Sons, 2003, September 2008).
Dear Mr. Buffett: What An Investor Learns 1,269 Miles From Wall Street will be released January 9, 2009.

Wrap...

Airmen are due all honors....

From The New York Times:

Tuskegee Airmen land coveted Inauguration Day tickets

In a nod to the inspiration Obama says the World War II unit gave him, its surviving members will have seats for his swearing-in ceremony.
****************************
Note: I think this is a truly wonderful thing for Obama to do, considering how badly these brave pilots were treated during WWII.

Wrap...

Feds after food industry!!!

From Sacramento Bee:

Feds probing manipulation of food prices

Federal prosecutors in Sacramento announced today major breakthrough in a probe of food industry corruption with the agreement of a key figure to cooperate and plead guilty to conspiracies involving racketeering, money laundering and antitrust violations.

Read More

Wrap...

Football News not out yet...

From informant at Seau's Restaurant:

Former Charger, Jr Seau, was called and has left to play with the Patriots football team against the Oakland Raiders.

No idea if this is a permanent or temporary situation. Gonna be fun watching Jr in action again.

Wrap...

Straight from Chicago...FITZMAS lays it out....

From ABC7Chicago:

Gov. Blagojevich taken into custody - 12/09/08 - Chicago News - abc7chicago.com

And, straight from Bill, who lives not far from Chicago:

Guess what? We have another gov on the way to jail. That makes 8 out of 12. We can't seem to get an honest one. Maybe we should try to pick one that was born overseas like California did. Ha ha!

NOTE: 8 out of 12???!!! Is that right? Sheesh!

Wrap...

F-18 jet from Miramar MAS crashes in San Diego...

From CBS...San Diego:

BREAKING NEWS ALERT: F-18 PLANE CRASH IN UNIVERSITY CITY
December 8, 2008 (12:22 PM) --

An F-18 aircraft has crashed in a residential area near Interstate 805 and Genesee in University City, according to a News 8 report. The pilot was reportedly able to eject before the crash. At least one home may be on fire; fire crews are at the scene. The cause of the crash was unknown. Further details on this story as they become available.
****************************************************
UPDATE:
F-18 was flying FROM the aircraft carrier, the Abe Lincoln, T0 Miramar. Two people on ground killed. Pilot taken to Balbao Naval Hosp to be checked.
*****************************************************
UPDATE:

Three people on ground dead, one missing. Note: the booms people heard are the end result of fuel being dumped, as required before landing. When the tanks are empty, the booms occur.

Wrap....

Can't know you broke the law if the law is secret....

From Secrecy News:

SECRET LAW AND THE THREAT TO DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT

"The notion of secret law has been described in court opinions and law treatises as 'repugnant' and 'an abomination'," observed Sen. Russ Feingold. "It is a basic tenet of democracy that the people have a right to know the law."

"But the law that applies in this country is determined not only by statutes and regulations, but also by the controlling interpretations of courts and, in some cases, the executive branch. More and more, this body of executive and judicial law is being kept secret from Congress as well," he said.

To probe that subject, Sen. Feingold's subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing last April 30, the full record of which has just been published.

See "Secret Law and the Threat to Democratic and Accountable Government."

The hearing volume includes newly published responses (pdf) to questions for the record from John P. Elwood of the Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel, Prof. Dawn E. Johnsen, who is now working with the Obama transition team, former ISOO director J. William Leonard, myself, and others.

Wrap...

Get rid of 'em!!

I want to know just one thing: How is a Speaker of the House like Nancy PeLOUSY removed?

Make that two things: Same question for Harry Reid.

Wrap...

Male Gender in Danger....

From Levine Breaking News...

The male gender is in danger, with incalculable consequences for both humans and wildlife, startling scientific research from around the world reveals. The research to be detailed tomorrow in the most comprehensive report yet published shows that a host of common chemicals is feminizing males of every class of vertebrate animals, from fish to mammals, including people.

Wrap...

Having my say...

Gotta say that I am totally torqued with this spineless Congress...especially Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. A more worthless pair would be hard to find.

I would really like to see Russ Feingold as House Majority Speaker. And, yes, John Kerry in Reid's place.

I'm thinking they, at least, would have sense enough to institute some serious regulations on both Wall Street and those blasted greedy corporations. And to cease those damned mergers and acquisitions that lead to "too big to fail."

And yes, dammit, the big 3 auto makers have been grilled enough. Get them the cash they need and do it now. Maybe Congress doesn't give a damn about the companies and the jobs that would disappear as a result of the automakers' failures, but I certainly do.

More, the military-industrial complex needs to be dealt with in the worst kind of way. We need some of those futuristic weapons systems like a hole in the head. Which we may get if some readjustments aren't made in how we fight the insurgent types... to say nothing of terrorists.

The "clean coal" bit is pure bullshit. There's nothing clean about coal, I don't care how you slice it.
Same goes for oil.

Might could be that Congress's wages need to be cut to $1.00 a year until they get their act together.

Further, the states must fix the voting systems damned quick. They have two years before the next national elections and those electronic voting machines should be immediately dismantled and sold for scrap. That's all they're good for. Paper ballots and nothing but paper ballots.

Cannot imagine why election officials allow them to be so screwed up that voters are unable to vote properly. And voters need to be educated about how to mark them. What's going on in Minnesota in their recount right now is a perfect example of why that's necessary.

Finally, newspapers. We truly do need newspapers. But not newspapers merged with a whole bunch of other newspapers. Independently owned newspapers. The LA Times, for instance, has gone rapidly downhill since Zell bought it. The more one owner owns multiple papers, the less informed the public is going to be. Don't kid yourself about that. And the less informed we are, the more we'll be royally screwed.

Wrap...

FBI sting shocks US Atty Patrick Fitzgerald...

From AP:

FBI agents stage sting to snare corrupt Ill. cops
By MIKE ROBINSON, The Associated Press
1:18 a.m. December 3, 2008

CHICAGO — Duffel bags stuffed with cocaine were delivered by plane to an out-of-the-way suburban airport while two sheriff's officers provided security. A police officer stood by to guard the cash and keep out the riffraff at a poker game where $100,000 changed hands. And a drug dealer was told squad cars marked "sheriff" and "sheriff's police" might be available on a "freelance" basis to provide protection for his deliveries.

Such tales of law enforcement gone awry emerged in court papers Tuesday as federal prosecutors unveiled a series of elaborate sting operations aimed at officers who hired out to ride shotgun for drug deals and other criminal activities.

Fifteen officers and two other men who had pretended to be law enforcement officers were charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine or heroin or both.

But the most spectacular pretending was done by the federal agents themselves.

The pilots of the airplane were not drug runners but undercover agents. So were the gamblers who busily played hand after hand of high-stakes poker – all for show.

The drug broker who squired the officers to the airport to pick up the duffel bags was an agent. So was the drug dealer who stuffed the bags into his Mercedes-Benz.

U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald said he was dismayed to find that so many law enforcement officers had "sold out their badge."

"When drug dealers deal drugs, they ought to be afraid of the police – not turn to them for help," Fitzgerald said at a news conference.

Officials paid homage to an unnamed FBI agent who moved into a business in Harvey more than a year ago and set up shop as a drug broker. He soon attracted the attention of police and the corruption grew, authorities said.

They said the agent was sent in undercover because there had been reports of police corruption over the last several years in southern Cook County, including the Harvey police department. An investigation into allegations of robbery, extortion, narcotics offenses and weapons distribution is ongoing, officials said.

Those charged include 10 Cook County sheriff's correctional officers, four Harvey police officers and one Chicago police officer.

Of the 17 defendants, 14 were arrested or surrendered Tuesday and were being immediately brought before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Mason. Two sheriff's officers are on active duty with Army National Guard units in Afghanistan, and warrants were issued for their arrest.

If convicted of conspiracy to possess and distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine or one kilogram of heroin, the defendants would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life. The maximum fine would be $4 million.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart called the alleged behavior "absolutely reprehensible."

"The responsibility of watching over jail inmates is an important one and it's a shame these men didn't take that responsibility more seriously," he said in a statement.

Each of those charged has been suspended with pay pending a hearing next week, Dart said. "That step will then lead to a request for termination," he said.

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Meticulous plan for Mumbai attack...

From Levine Breaking News:

THE AUDACIOUS ATTACK WHICH TOOK A YEAR TO PLAN :

Ten terrorists dedicated to fighting for an independent Kashmir were selected for an operation from which they were likely never to return. The tactics were relatively simple: to strike at multiple targets while simultaneously slaughtering as many civilians as possible before going "static" in three of the locations within the city.

But such a plan would require a year of planning, reconnaissance, the covert acquisition of ships and speed boats as well as the forward basing of weapons and ammunition secretly hidden inside at least one hotel. Nothing would be left to chance. Even the times of the tides were checked and rechecked to ensure that the terrorists would be able to arrive when their first target, the Caf Leopold, was full of unsuspecting tourists enjoying the balmy Bombay (Mumbai) evening.

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For 2009 & 2010..Films and Books....

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION/DEBUT:

23-year-old New Zealander and Iowa MFA student Eleanor Catton's debut THE REHEARSAL, to Reagan Arthur at Reagan Arthur Books, in a pre-empt, reportedly in a six-figure deal, by Granta.

Emily Gray Tedrowe's COMMUTERS, which explores the complex intertwining of love, family and class through its depiction of the shock waves caused by the marriage of one middle-class family's 78-year-old matriarch to a wealthy 81-year-old outsider, to Claire Wachtel at Harper, by Alice Tasman at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency (NA).

MYSTERY/CRIME:

Gyles Brandreth's next three untitled Oscar Wilde Mysteries, featuring Oscar Wilde as the sleuth aided by his real-life friend Arthur Conan Doyle, to Trish Lande Grader at Touchstone Fireside, for publication in 2010, by Ed Victor (NA).

THRILLER:

Sam Eastland's THE EYE OF THE RED TSAR, for a series featuring a Finnish agent, once Chief Inspector, confident and 'eye' of Tsar Nicholas II; set in 1929 and the agent is released from Gulag under mysterious circumstances to complete a special assignment for the new red Tsar, Stalin, to Kate Miciak at Bantam Dell, by Jason Cooper at Faber and Faber (US).

GENERAL/OTHER:

Bestselling author of THE HERETIC'S DAUGHTER Kathleen Kent's THE GIANT OF EDGEHILL, a dramatic love story set during the English civil war and early colonial America, again to Reagan Arthur at Reagan Arthur Books/Little, Brown, in a significant deal, by Julie Barer at Barer Literary (NA).

FILM:

Film rights to Nicholas Sparks' THE LUCKY ONE, to Warner Bros., reportedly for seven-figures, for producer Denise Di Novi (who also produced Nights in Rodanthe, A Walk to Remember and Message in a Bottle).

Amy Kathleen Ryan's YA novel VIBES, to MGM, with Lynda Obst and Marc Rosen of Rosen-Obst producing, and Tiffany Paulsen ("Nancy Drew") adapting, by Kathleen Anderson at Anderson Literary Management.

Marcus Sakey's AT THE CITY'S EDGE, optioned to Hollywood Gang and Film 360 for Ric Waugh (FELON) to direct and Gianni Nunnari (THE DEPARTED, SE7EN) to produce, by Sarah Self at The Gersh Agency, on behalf of Scott Miller at Trident Media Group.

NON-FICTION

BIOGRAPHY:

Boston Globe reporter Sally Jacobs's THE OTHER BARACK, an account of Barack Obama's father, Barack Obama Sr., who was part of the pioneering post-colonial African generation that came to the US on its own terms, excelled in its colleges and universities, and then returned to run and reshape their home countries; examining the forces that propelled the elder Obama throughout his life and probing the elements that bred within him and his son an ambition far beyond their humble beginnings, to Clive Priddle at Public Affairs, by Jill Kneerim at Kneerim & Williams (world).

HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:

NBCC award-winner (WAR IS A FORCE THAT GIVES US MEANING) and former NYT correspondent Chris Hedges' THE END OF NEWS, examining the decline of the newspaper industry; its impact on American journalism and the very real consequences to democracy, to Jonathan Segal at Knopf, by Lisa Bankoff at ICM (World).

NYT art critic Benjamin Genocchio's THE CUPCAKE: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT AND THE CREATION OF THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM, a behind-the-scenes account of how the architect Frank Lloyd Wright staked his reputation on a radically creative vision for New York's Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and waged innumerable battles over seventeen years to complete the museum on his own terms, in the process reinventing the idea of the museum itself, to Paul Golob at Times Books, by David Forrer of Inkwell Management (world).
HOW-TO:


Runway coach and America's Next Top Model judge J. Alexander's FOLLOW THE MODEL: Miss J's Guide to Unleashing Presence, Poise, and Power, offering inspiring advice, life lessons, and self-esteem coaching for all women, backed with his own colorful anecdotes, to Patrick Price at Simon Spotlight Entertainment, for publication in Fall 2009, by Mel Berger at William Morris Agency (World English).

LIFESTYLE:

Author and editor-in-chief of women's magazines (including Mademoiselle and Cosmopolitan UK) Mandi Norwood's untitled Michelle Obama Style Guide, including design sketches and tips on how to achieve Obama's iconic style, to Carrie Feron at Avon A, for publication in spring 2009 as a four-color trade paperback.

MEMOIR:

Peter Von Ziegesar's untitled family memoir of the author's early years, lived in the wealthy and privileged enclaves of the northeast, and his adulthood, lived in connection with his half-brother - also named "Peter" - a homeless schizophrenic man who was a violin prodigy as a child, to Michael Flamini at St. Martin's, at auction, by David Kuhn at Kuhn Projects (world).

PARENTING:

THE GIRLFRIENDS' GUIDE TO PREGNANCY author Vicki Iovine's THE GIRLFRIENDS' GUIDE TO TEENAGERS, to Kathy Sagan at Pocket, by Dan Strone at Trident Media Group.
POP CULTURE:

Actor/comedian George Wendt's celebration of beer, an ode to his favorite drink, to Tricia Boczkowski at Simon Spotlight Entertainment, for publication in fall 2009, by Dan Strone at Trident Media Group (world).

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Billy, the Kid's Grave....

From The New York Times Review of Books:

'Lucky Billy'
By JOHN VERNONReviewed by BEN MACINTYRE

A fictionalized account of the short life and squalid death of Henry McCarty, a k a Billy the Kid.
Vernon cleverly ends with a real newspaper clipping from the Santa Fe Weekly Democrat, the sort of overheated nonsense that helped propel McCarty into myth: “Billy the Kid . . . will no more take aim at his fellow man and kill him, just to keep himself in practice.”

*****

Driving across country from northern Illinois to San Diego, I made a detour in a rather desolate part of New Mexico to an even more desolate place...Billy, The Kid's grave.

Drove down a gravel road, lined on one side by a row of scraggly cottonwood trees. And after a bit, passed a weathered building. Then came a barbed wire fence, knocked down in some areas, that surrounded a very very old western cemetery. Tumbleweeds rolled over the old graves, sort of leapt over the fallen down fence and road. Parked the car, got out, stepped over the fence and walked past leaning wooden crosses, some stone markers, and to the center of the cemetery.

There, three gravestones sat side-by-side, covered by a cement blanket. In the center lay Billy, the Kid's final resting place. The men on each side of him were, it's said, friends of his. Billy lived a short, lonely life and in death, he could not have lain in a more lonely, forgotten location.

And there he lays still. I wonder if, sometimes, others ever visit him.

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Revenge or greed...both kill...

Good gawd! Nobody in San Diego should try to get anywhere near Fashion Valley today. I had to drive Fashion Valley Rd to get to Friars Rd after lunch today. Now consider that it's a short drive to Friars Rd using that route. And shouldn't take so long to pass the three entrances to Fashion Valley shopping mall that are on Friars Rd. 45 minutes! Jam packed. People coming from the opposite direction made left turns in the mall, and the entrance was so full that at least three or four cars had to wait...which left them completely blocking Friars Rd traffic at every one of the 3 lights. So don't go there.

And in a Toys R Us store in Palm Desert, two young guys started firing guns. Turned out to be a murder-suicide...and just scared the hell out of everybody inside the store. Add that to the Wall Mart disaster on Long Island, NY where the waiting crowd..at 5AM!!!...tore the door down which smashed the poor young Wal Mart employee to death, trampled a pregnant woman who then had a miscarriage. Just inexcusable. And I'm not about to try and analyze that kind of crowd behavior other than to say it was totally wrong. The whole damned mess of them should go straight to jail for their selfishness and lack of consideration for others. Toxic people. The whole mess of them.

But a good thing today too. Had lunch with a writer friend. Acapulco Restaurant, where I breakfast during the week, didn't open today until 11AM. So the chef took pity on me and fixed my usual eggs and toast, bless his heart. This is a dinner chef, mind you, and he is definitely not a breakfast cook. He can't scramble eggs to save his soul. Oh, he thinks he's scrambling them, but the real breakfast cook sends them out ever so fluffy, cheese melted on top. The poor chef does his best every Friday, but they come out looking like tiny pieces of popcorn with the cheese just sprinkled on top..and not much of it either. Not melted. He is forgiven because he cooked mine when breakfast wasn't being served.

And then there's the situation in Mombai. I'm comparing them with those Wal Mart shoppers...and what would the difference be if the shoppers had had guns? Just how far would they have gone, I wonder, to get to those sales items? Revenge or greed. Both lead to seriously bad behavior. Joy to the world, indeed.

Wrap....

T-Day Dinner in the Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego...

Sounds as tho it's been a super Thanksgiving Day for my fellow writers. Well, almost. One had a pretty lousy morning what with a son suddenly sick..on this day of all days...and who threw up twice on his bed. And a new puppy that used the living room as his commode. Good thing there weren't more than nine people coming for dinner.

Then there's my brother back in Illinois who, a few years ago, told his wife, "Enough with you spending the day in the kitchen while everyone else is having a great time in the living room." He meant it too. From then on, as they did today, they went to a favorite cafe for dinner.

Here, three of us met downtown in San Diego in the Gaslamp Quarter on Fifth Ave to eat Italian at Chianti's. So the first thing was the special of the day...a full turkey dinner! No matter, we all chose to eat Italian anyway. Well, almost Italian. I topped my meal off with pumpkin pie. Which they drizzled with chocolate! And since I'm a smoker, we sat, as always, at their sidewalk cafe where the people watching is superb.

And here came a rather hefty woman down the sidewalk who tucked her thumbs in her armpits and moved her arms up and down like wings, all the while saying, "Gobble, gobble, gobble! Can you spare any money?" Passed by three times, she did.

I do love the sidewalk cafes in the Gaslamp Quarter downtown.

Also this weekend, at the San Diego Convention Center, will be National Geographic...their annual sale. 30 to 90% off on books, gifts, and apparel. That sale is HUGE. No idea how many halls they take up but it can take a couple of hours at least for a fast look at everything. And no admittance. It's free and open to the public. Talk about early Christmas shopping!

All in all, a really good Thanksgiving. Hope all had the same.

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And the Readers Digest We Know Bites the Dust...

From Levine Breaking News:

READERS DIGEST PUSHES ON IN WEAK CLIMATE:

Mary Berner hates the musical chimes that have played for decades in the Readers Digest Association headquarters. She asked about replacing the 1950s elevator music, she says, with rock n roll, but she settled for updating the tunes, and the next step is we get rid of the chimes.

Ms. Berner has been a jolt to the system for this stodgiest of media companies since she became chief executive in a private equity takeover 20 months ago. She has replaced executives, sold unprofitable businesses and even set out to change the companys name, shaking it up any way she can. Most important, the company is taking risks, starting dozens of new magazines at a time when its peers are contracting.

One of the biggest new ventures, to be announced Monday, is a multimedia partnership with Rick Warren, the renowned minister and author, hoping to tap into the vast audience for his book The Purpose Driven Life. Together, they are creating a Christian membership organization, The Purpose Driven Connection, built on Mr. Warrens call to faith and charitable work. Paying members will receive a quarterly magazine edited by Mr. Warren, with DVDs and pull-out study guides in each issue, and access to a social networking Web site.

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Bush leaving scientific wreckage behind...

From The Washington Post via truthout.org:

Top Scientist Rails Against Bush Hirings

http://www.truthout.org/112308E

Juliet Eilperin and Carol D. Leonnig, The Washington Post: "The president of the nation's largest general science organization yesterday sharply criticized recent cases of Bush administration political appointees gaining permanent federal jobs with responsibility for making or administering scientific policies, saying the result would be 'to leave wreckage behind.'"

[Use link above to continue reading]

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Obama making changes before he's in office...

From The LA Times via truthout.org:

Obama Taking Action Before Taking Office

http://www.truthout.org/112308B

Peter Wallsten, The Los Angeles Times: "With a series of forceful actions in recent days, amid an almost unprecedented set of challenges, Barack Obama has taken an unusual step for a president-elect: attempting to alter the country's perilous course even before he takes office."

[Use link above to continue reading]

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Peruvians want Bush to get outta their country....

From Information Clearing House:

Bush out': APEC protesters blame Bush for global crisis:

Protesters have demanded that US President George W Bush get out of Peru where he is attending an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, blaming him for the world economic crisis.

http://tinyurl.com/5f4trb

[Use link above to continue reading]

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Atty General Mukasey goes down...

From Levine Breaking News:

ATTORNEY GENERAL COLLAPSES DURING SPEECH:

Attorney General Michael Mukasey collapsed during a speech Thursday night and was being taken to a hospital. Associate Attorney General Kevin O'Connor said Mukasey began shaking while addressing the Federalist Society at a Washington hotel.

"He just started shaking and he collapsed," O'Connor said. "They're very concerned." O'Connor said he did not know whether Mukasey, 67, had regained consciousness."

Wrap...

Former SEAL Lt Com. Mike Lumpkin ....

Really wanted to see Mike elected to the US Senate to take retiring Sen Duncan Hunter, Sr, but it was not to be. Noticed Mike has a Facebook page, and was honored to see I was listed as one of his friends.

Think that may be because I co-authored "Men In Green Faces". Be great to speak with him. My email is on this site, so perhaps he'll see this post and email me and I can thank him personally.

Wrap...

A Real Mish-Mash of Upcoming Books....

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION/DEBUT:

Tea Obreht's THE TIGER'S WIFE, set in war-torn Yugoslavia, where a youngdoctor strives to unravel the mystery of her grandfather's death, and tounderstand why, in his last days, he went looking for a mythical figurecalled "the Deathless Man," to Noah Eaker at Dial Press, at auction, bySeth Fishman at Sterling Lord Literistic (NA).

Craig Larsen's MANIA, examining the nature of memory, wherein a youngphotographer begins to lose his grip on reality after witnessing thebrutal and seemingly random murder of his brother, to Michaela Hamiltonat Kensington, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Frank Weimannat The Literary Group.

WOMEN'S ROMANCE:

NYT bestselling author Angela Knight's sixth MAGEVERSE novel, in whichKing Arthur and his immortal vampire Knights of the Round Table try tosave modern humanity from self-destruction, to Cindy Hwang at Berkley, in a three-book deal, by Roberta Brown of the Brown Literary Agency.

GENERAL/OTHER:

Ron Rash's THE INNOCENTS, set during World War I about a deserter taken in by a young Appalachian woman who knows nothing of his past, and NIGHTHAWKS AND OTHER STORIES, a collection of stories, to Lee Boudreaux at Ecco, by Marly Rusoff at Marly Rusoff & Associates (NA).

Jennifer Archer's CLICK, the story of a sixteen-year-old girl who, aftera brutal beating by classmates and subsequent stint in a psychiatricward, escapes into her photography and the dark, seductive poems shefinds hidden in a cellar, both of which lure her into the mind and worldof a mysterious, troubled young man who died sixty years earlier, toSarah Sevier at Harper, in a two-book deal, by Jenny Bent at TridentMedia Group (NA).

NONFICTION

BIOGRAPHY:

Louise Knight's JANE ADDAMS: A LIFE, the life story (1860-1935) of oneof America's most admired and effective reform leaders whose classicTWENTY YEARS AT HULL HOUSE has been in print for 100 years, to AmyCherry at Norton, in a nice deal, for publication in Fall 2010 on the150th anniversary of her birth, by Tracy Brown at Tracy Brown LiteraryAgency (NA).Foreign: jenny@meyerlit.com

BUSINESS/INVESTING/FINANCE:

NYT bestselling author of The Trillion Dollar Meltdown Charles Morris'sTHE SAGES: Warren Buffett, George Soros, Paul Volcker, and the Maelstromof Markets, examining the perspectives and principles of three pillarsof the financial community -- those who forecast the current crisis andwhose judgments will help shape the recovery, to Lindsay Jones at PublicAffairs, by Tim Seldes at Russell & Volkening (world).

CNN chief business correspondent Ali Velshi's GIMME MY MONEY BACK: TheFinancial Crisis and What YOU Can Do About It, a useable action plan fordetermining your position in the economic mess, regaining what you'velost, and ensuring you're not vulnerable going forward, to RachelTrusheim at Sterling & Ross, for publication December 2008 (World).

HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:

Statistician and FiveThirtyEight.com founder Nate Silver's two books,one said to be pitched as "a Freakonomics-style guide to the mechanicsof electoral politics" and the other on the art of prediction, toPenguin Group, at auction, by Sydelle Kramer at the Susan Rabiner Literary Agency.

NBC News political director Chuck Todd and Sheldon Gawiser's HOW BARACKOBAMA WON: A State-by-State Guide to the Historic 2008 PresidentialElection, to Erroll McDonald at Pantheon, for publication as a Vintagepaperback before Inauguration Day 2009, by Matthew Carnicelli atCarnicelli Literary Management (world).

HUMOR:

Actress and comedian Susie Essman's WHAT WOULD SUSIE SAY?, drawn from alifetime of dispensing advice (solicited or not) as Susie Essman andSusie Green, her alter ego from the HBO comedy series Curb YourEnthusiasm -- both of whom are known for taking no prisoners and cuttingthe crap -- on a range of topics including sex, hypochondria, dogs,sports, comedy and the perils of step-parenthood, to Kerri Kolen atSimon & Schuster, by Lydia Wills of Paradigm and Lee Kernis ofBrillstein Entertainment Partners.

MEMOIR:

Twelve-time All Star for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York MetsMike Piazza's autobiography, following his retirement at the end of the2008 season, discussing everything from the 2000 World Series incidentwhen Roger Clemens threw a shattered bat at Piazza, and the pressconference he held to deny rumors that he was gay to his tumultuousrelationships with the Los Angeles Dodgers, their front office and TommyLasorda, and more, to Bob Bender at Simon & Schuster, for publication in2010, by David Black at David Black Literary Agency and sports agent DanLozano.

Gore Vidal's illustrated memoir, combining personal reflections with asocial history of the twentieth century, with never-before-seen imagesof political and cultural icons from Vidal's personal collectionincluding the Kennedys, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Paul Newman,plus mementos, documents, photos, personal correspondence withcelebrities, fan letters, party lists, campaign materials from his forayinto politics, and drafts from his most famous works, and Vanity Fairphoto editor Ann Schneider overseeing image research and selection, toDeborah Aaronson at Abrams, for publication in fall 2009, by RichardMorris at Janklow & Nesbit.

Author of the critically-acclaimed EPILOGUE Anne Roiphe's ART ANDMADNESS, a first-person account of the cultural drama of midcentury NewYork, a record of the lost years when she confused fame with art and artwith love amid the circle of magnetic male artists of the period withwhom she associated and was sometimes intimate - Larry Rivers, DylanThomas, William Styron, George Plimpton, Norman Mailer, Terry Southern,to Nan Talese at Nan A. Talese, by Lisa Bankoff at ICM (NA).

Co-founder of the Blackstone Group, philanthropist and former Secretaryof Commerce Pete Peterson's autobiography CONFESSIONS OF AN AMERICANDREAMER, to Jonathan Karp at Twelve, at auction, for publication in June2009 (the manuscript is already completed) by Andrew Wylie at The WylieAgency (NA).
*****************************************************

Note: Watch for these books by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom:
"BLACKOUT" Coming JANUARY 09 from Silhouette Nocturne Bites.
What could a Dade Country Deputy D.A. and a female cop rising through the ranks have in common when they meet on a deserted side sreet in Miami, half naked?

Transitions. Humans morphing into darker things . ..

"TRANSITIONS." A new series.

Book one: "Blackout" - January 09
Book two: "Wolf Bait" - February 09

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Bush Admin people are told, DON'T!!!

From Secrecy News:

DON'T REMOVE GOV'T RECORDS, DEPARTING OFFICIALS ARE TOLD

Government officials were reminded recently that as they depart from government service with the end of the current Administration, they are not permitted to take classified information with them.

"Classified information is not personal property and may not be removed from the Government's control by any departing official or employee. This includes 'extra'copies."

That timely warning (pdf) was issued by William J. Bosanko, the director of the Information Security Oversight Office, which oversees the national security classification system.

"This prohibition applies to all cleared officials and employees, regardless of type or level of position," Mr. Bosanko wrote in a November 17 ISOO memorandum to senior executive branch agency officials.

Document removal is among the most pernicious forms of secrecy, as it is often undetected and irreversible.

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Voting is still a mess...

From National Journal via truthout.org:

The Morning After, Voting Problems Remain

http://www.truthout.org/111908VA

David Herbert, National Journal: "Anyone walking through Election Protection's headquarters on Nov. 4 could have been forgiven for thinking the invasion of a small country was under way rather than an election. Dozens of volunteers fielded calls from harassed or confused voters in a command center complete with a 20-foot-high wall of digital maps and statistics. Upstairs, teams of lawyers hunched around conference tables littered with soda cans and cups of cold coffee, working the phones and dispatching legal teams to troubled polling stations ..."

[Use link above to continue reading]

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Hillary says Yes!!!

From Levine Breaking News:

HILLARY CLINTON TO ACCEPT OBAMA'S OFFER OF SECRETARY OF STATE JOB:

Hillary Clinton plans to accept the job of secretary of state offered by Barack Obama, who is reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration.

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Cook knows finances back and forth..Turn him loose..

From Information Clearing House:

The G-20 Economic Summit Won't Change the "Financial Crime Scene"

By Richard C. Cook

I worked in the U.S. Treasury Department for 21 years and learned first-hand the history and operations of public finance in the U.S. I have seen the disastrous results of the debt-based financial system and how it has driven our nation, government, and people into bankruptcy.

I have also seen how these simple measures of monetary reform would be easy to implement and would begin to turn the situation around within weeks or months.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21250.htm

[Use link above to continue reading]

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