Top Comments: the Books by Friends edition

Two mini-book reviews of authors I know (in full disclosure), after the jump ……

           Keep those Top Comments cards and letters (and e-mails) coming, folks ……………… But first: Top Comments appears nightly, as a round-up of the best comments on Daily Kos. Surely ... you come across comments daily that are perceptive, apropos and .. well, perhaps even humorous. But they are more meaningful if they're well-known ... which is where you come in (especially in diaries/stories receiving little attention).

Send your nominations to TopComments at gmail dot com by 9:30 PM Eastern Time nightly, or by our KosMail message board. Please indicate (a) why you liked the comment, and (b) your Dkos user name (to properly credit you) as well as a link to the comment itself.

I like to highlight certain books in this space … albeit, I have limited capacity to read books detailing the sins of our political opponents. Often, I am afraid my blood pressure will start to spike and I will leave with a depressing feeling (which has happened on occasion). In fact, when attending Netroots Nation (and I plan on doing so this summer for the first time in four years) one criteria I have in choosing which panels I plan to attend: besides time, affinity towards the subject, interest in the presenters …. is “can I balance-off these sessions so as not to leave with my head between my legs?”

Now, I know this isn’t always true: when profiling the book that Gabriel Sherman wrote about Roger Ailes, I was duly impressed at how much he kept the book on an even keel.

In a previous Top Comments, I mentioned a new book release by the founder of Drinking Liberally, the national meet-up group (D/L for short) of which I am a chapter host of.  At that time, it was so new I did not have time to read it — now I have, and can recommend it to all liberals because:

a)  It’s a short 184 pages (and in a small-size tome, as well).

b)  It is an easy read: focused on people (rather than charts, Electoral College), etc.

c)  You can probably get it via interlibrary loan if funds are tight, and

d)  The subject matter could be difficult … yet reads triumphantly.

Many of our fellow DK readers can relate to the title: Blue in a Red State tells the story of some of my fellow chapter hosts who run Drinking Liberally chapters in places around the country who run risks with their political views. The Wall Street Journal regularly used to run (even in the pre-Murdoch days) OpEds from conservatives living in Manhattan, Hollywood, Berkeley and other blue areas telling of how mean their friends are to them. I don’t doubt it … yet none of them ever acknowledged it went the other way, too.  

D/L founder (and the book’s author) Justin Krebs describes growing up in a blue area: (New Jersey as a kid, Boston for college and now in Manhattan) and acknowledges how easy it is to be a liberal there. He says he has come to understand how different it can be for others. Some examples:

  D/L founder Justin Krebs

Lisa (Waukesha, Wisconsin) — as you can imagine, she tells how living  in between Milwaukee and Madison means that she is in .. Scott Walker country. She is afraid to have political bumper stickers, afraid of having damage done to her car. She does say that belonging to Costco gives her a morale boost, that she has trouble with fellow liberals who tend to judge too harshly but that by settling in Waukesha, “I’m a better person now than when I lived in Madison”.  

Diane, Al and Cass Chulick (Spartanburg, South Carolina) — All friendly people I have met before and the book tells: how they choose their battles, know which right-wing friends they can socialize with (and which ones to keep at arms-length) and how being retired leaves Al in a more advantageous position to voice his views. They say their neighbors are good people and that being careful they have a good life … yet also say they do have times when they speak up.

Kathleen (Grapevine, Texas) — a thirty-something whom I met in New York a few years back when she attended the play about Ann Richards— is someone (like myself) with Republican parents … albeit “They’re not today’s Republicans — things are so different now”. She takes issue with liberals outside Texas who excoriate Barack Obama, says she ignores people who flip-her-off due to the Wendy Davis sticker on her vehicle and has ran two unsuccessful campaigns for public office (city council and school board) yet is undaunted — her efforts resulted in a sidewalk for the school and having city council meeting minutes posted online.

I told Justin Krebs that my only criticism was the lack of a concluding chapter; the book merely stops with the final person’s profile. A minor fault in a good book.

Ask for it at your public library

For a non-political book (at least outwardly) — I can recommend a book from a high school classmate of mine, who rode the bus with me for four years. Marianne Canedo married another classmate of mine (Joe Bohr) and both settled into careers in the greater Washington D.C. region (she in publishing, he as a marine engineer).

You may be familiar with the term Gap year:

A gap year is an experiential semester or year "on," typically taken between high school and college in order to deepen practical, professional, and personal awareness.

Well, Marianne and Joe decided to take a gap year at age ….. 55 (after becoming empty-nesters) —selling their home and cars, quitting their jobs … and embarking upon a 21-country tour of Europe during the course of a year. Gap Year Girl is more than just a travelogue, though:

They begin in Paris (where they ran the Paris marathon) to the Loire Valley and southwest France; through the Pyrenees to Spain and Portugal; across the Strait of Gibraltar to Morocco; back across the Mediterranean to Italy; up the continent from Austria to the Netherlands; back south along the Adriatic and Aegean to Greece, Croatia and Turkey; up and over the Alps of Switzerland (including a 7-day hike of the Tour du Mont Blanc); and finally, as they retreat to Provence for the summer and head back to Paris.

Did they find what they were searching for? Was it the experience of a lifetime they had envisioned?

In telling friends of their plans, some said “Please take me with you”, others asking what would happen to their (adult) children?

She tells about being disappointed by a country she expected to like (Morocco), about wonderful experiences wandering off the tourist belt and some interesting characters (good and bad) they met along the way. They stayed and dined in inexpensive places and also had fancy dinners … trying to learn as much as possible about the places they visited.

Upon their return, Marianne decided to begin a new career as a middle school French teacher (in part because their journey began and ended there). And while there is no overt politics in the book, I have always believed what Rick Steves has said: that travel broadens one’s perspectives. She talks at times about the status of women and young girls she meets, and makes other comments that indicate that she’s not likely to be voting for the Trumpster. Indeed, as the Down With Tyranny blog noted: “In his delightful book, Fire-Breathing Liberal, Rep. Robert Wexler marvels at how many of his Republican colleagues seem to think not possessing a passport is a badge of honor!”  ……. When next I get a  chance to meet them (at our high school reunion) I will tell Marianne that (like Justin’s book) I would have preferred a concluding chapter: but how much I admire the two of them for doing what they did ….. and not look only for safe choices.   Also check with your library Let’s close with an old Elvis Costello tune that seems …. quite apropos tonight. x YouTube Video Now, on to Top Comments: -------------------------------------

From brainwave:

In the diary by robbinsdale radical about a visit by a presidential candidate - I'm nominating this pithy reply by NevadaLiberal.

From allergywoman:

In the diary about being flagged - I like what Frank Zappatista saith in response.

And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........

In the diary by Leslie Salzillo about the CEO of Target defending his store chain’s pro-LGBTQ position— it was noted that the right-wing AFA is urging its followers to shop at Wal-Mart instead, and while it was suggested that  societal status may play a role…. DAISHI believes it is much more simple than that.

TOP PHOTOS May 11, 2016 Next - enjoy jotter's wonderful *PictureQuilt™* below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment that features that photo. (NOTE: Any missing images in the Quilt were removed because (a) they were from an unapproved source that somehow snuck through in the comments, or (b) it was an image from the DailyKos Image Library which didn't have permissions set to allow others to use it.) And lastly: yesterday's Top Mojo - mega-mojo to the intrepid mik ...... who rescued this feature from oblivion:

1)  Laws don’t apply to a revolution. … by Wisper  +244 2)  A candidate doesn’t have to “earn” my vote. My v … by catwho  +241 3)  Unbelievable! Well, maybe not... by One Pissed Off Liberal  +240 4)  Warren is awesome and will help Hillary in the g … by Idontknowwhy  +197 5)  Been here for 12 years, and in all those years I … by Lisa Lockwood  +189 6)  We are re-visiting the gilded age. Many fully em … by blue jersey mom  +175 7)  I’d send her a hatchet as a gift but it would pr … by CwV  +153 8)  Warren will be a great asset to HRC….where HRC w … by stuhunter2  +149 9)  Sadly, not. Worse, they see nothing wrong with t … by ruscle  +142 10) See that’s the thing Hillary doesn’t have this p … by Smokzdaizm  +128 11) I know it's not an open thread but I just had to … by Jeremimi  +127 12) Tribalism isn’t just a republican trait. by ssgbryan  +124 13) Reporter is mistaken. Or obtuse. It might not ma … by Are We There Yet  +122 14) I wouldn’t get too worked up over it. I note tha … by Bob Johnson  +121 15) We’re smack dab inside the New Guilded Age and h … by Puddytat  +117 16) Hillary needs to leave Senator Warren right wher … by ColoTim  +116 16) “Reid calmly faced his inquisitor: ‘I want you t … by Ugmo  +116 18) Interesting. Ideological control. … by TomP  +112 18) The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center (TPC) Walk … by markthshark  +112 20) Thanks for the insult. Typical. … by TomP  +111 21) BNR # 338: by LieparDestin  +110 22) I agree. But once this primary is over (as in, e … by Hyuga  +109 23) I was given a 1 week timeout for writing a diary … by tote  +108 24) If you don't think hilliary is any better than t … by timsmith  +103 25) I’ve been getting them, too, over a couple of co … by Puddytat  +102 26) No, there are no FEC violations for Hillary. Ber … by indie17  +99 26) Someone made this point. Keep him busy and not p … by Catskill Julie  +99 26) Uh...no by Scan  +99 29) So tired of this blatantly dishonest, conspiracy … by Lysis  +97 29) Trump is a light weight compared to the other pe … by flo58  +97