Summer Reading Adventure

I've been flirting with the idea of starting blogging again. We'll start with our summer reading adventures. Here's the list. Join in on conversations in the coming weeks!

Maggie’s Summer 2010 Reading List

Nonfiction – Political
The Dynamic Dominion – Frank Atkinson
Virginia in the Vanguard – Frank Atkinson
Going Rouge – Richard Kim & Betsy Reed
What a Party! – Terry McAuliffe
The Audacity to Win – David Plouffe
The Year of Obama – Larry Sabato

Nonfiction – Biography
Fever Pitch – Nick Hornby
The Polysyllabic Spree – Nick Hornby
Eat, Pray, Love – Elizabeth Gilbert

Nonfiction – Teaching
The Quality School – William Glasser
One Day, All Children . . . – Wendy Kopp
Amazing Grace – Jonathan Kozol
The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child – Donalyn Miller
Holding on to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones – Thomas Nevkirk
The Trouble with Black Boys – Pedro Noguera

Fiction – Adult
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies – Jane Austen and Seth Garhame-Smith
Music for Chameleons – Truman Capote
Juliet, Naked – Nick Hornby
Ford Country – John Grisham
Liberty – Garrison Keillor
Push – Sapphire
Killer Angels – Michael Shaara
Brooklyn – Colm Tobin
Bartleby & Co. – Enrique Vila-Mates

Fiction – Young Adult
Durango Street – Frank Bonham
The House on Mango Street – Sandra Cisneros
Coraline – Neil Gaiman
Little Brother X – Doctrow
Looking for Alaska – Green
Bronx Masquerade – Grimes
Hoot – Carl Hiaasan
The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
Inexcusable – Lynch
Monster – Myers
Rats Saw God – Thomas
Skinned – Wasserman
Make Lemonade – Wolff
American Born Chinese – Yang

Follow Me!

As Raising Kaine ends its successful run in Virginia politics, I'm joining up with the group who hopes to help fill that vacuum at Blue Commonewalth. Please follow my blogging adventures there!

Tom Needs Your Help!

You can debate Virgil Goode's prudence in requesting a recount, but no matter what you decide, Tom Perriello needs your help to keep his offices open and his lawyers on retainer during the recount. You can click here to donate. Just a few dollars are sure to help ensure progressive leadership in the Virginia Fifth!

All politics, all the time

The New York Times reports that Gov. Mike Huckabee will begin a book tour in Iowa later this month. Despite my utter exhaustion following my two weeks on the trail, I have to say that I love elections. I think that they represent a time citizens can have a conversation about the direction of our country, but I dislike all of this focus on national races. All politics is local. And, in this endless campaign cycle, I would really like to see politicos turn our attentions to state races next. In Virginia, the entire House of Delegates will be up for re-election. This election is exceptionally important as congressional redistricting ocurrs following the 2010 census.

So, let's stay away from Iowa and New Hampshire for a few years (a lot of people in NH seem to not be big primary fans, anyway) and focus on the elections that will continue to shape our nation and will actually happen this decade.

Campaign Craziness

Virginia is the place to be for this election season! I saw a quote in someone's gchat status the other day: "Obama can win without Virginia but with Virginia he can't lose!" Since I've been here, I've canvassed for VA-2 and VA-5. Both are likely Republican keeps, but the Danville Register and Bee endorsed Periello today.

Maybe it's just because I'm surround by Obama people all day, but I'm feeling really hopeful about this election so long as we keep knocking doors, making calls, and driving folks to the polls.

“Don’t believe for a second this election is over. Don’t think for a minute that power concedes. We have to work like our future depends on it in this last week, because it does.” - Barack Obama

Death and Taxes

Sorry for the hiatus. I've been trying to get everything together for my campaign trip to Virginia. Today we take off for the Virginia 2nd and then it's back to C'ville to campaign for Obama, Warner, and Periello. Only eleven days left!

At any rate, I find this article from the Washington Post heartening during my morning peruse. It's a shame this line got burried three grafs down, instead of in the lede: "But for the first time in decades, Democrats appear to have the upper hand in the debate over taxes."And then, much further down, they let us know that "In the latest Washington Post-ABC tracking poll, Obama maintains a 51 to 43 percent lead over McCain on handling taxes."

Most of us have known for a long time that it is a fact most families enjoy better economic times under Democratic administrations and that Democrats seek to ease the financial burden on middle- and working-class families far more often than Republicans. It is very exciting to see the party finally own these facts! Yes, as Oliver Wendell Holmes (a Republican) said, taxes are the price of a civilized society. But there's nothing wrong with highlighting the fact that we would rather tax people who can afford it than those who can't.

Eleven days. Go knock doors.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

Thanks to Raising Kaine for this one:

With all of the finger pointing McCain has been doing lately toward ACORN, he must have forgotten he spoke at at this pro-immigration rally co-sponsored by the community action group.



Let us all collectively mourn for the loss of the John McCain of 2000 and his "Straight Talk."

In true liberal media fashion, the Washington Post article doesn't mention McCain's appearance.