Book Review-- The Backlash" Right-Wing Radicals, High-Def Hucksters, and Paranoid Politics in the Age of Obama by Will Bunch
It would be easy to write an Obama-backlash book using buzzwords with cliché' ridden accounts of the Right Wing talk show blather-babblers.
Fortunately, Will Bunch does not resort to such pedestrian style bloggisms. As an experienced and award winning journalist, Bunch does his homework and reports on what he has learned in this straightforward accounting of the paranoid fringe tilting at delusions of conspiracy.
Stories about the "Oath Keepers," "Birthers," the Tea Party, Knob Creek militia, FEMA internment camps, the resurrection of the John Birch Society and Sarah Palin is all here in Bunch's over-the-top horrific telling of right-wing populism.
The Backlash goes into the deep background and the bizarre rise of Glenn Beck, the current darling of the Fox News rabid reporters. What is more shocking than Beck's popularity is the stark indifference of Beck's handler's to his lack of proficiency as a news caster or that he has a passing relationship with the truth.
Beck's raw ambition got him into radio when was only 13 years old in Seattle, WA, where he had an on-air job at an FM station doing the overnight shift on weekends. From that first job he never left radio and moved from one station to the next immediately after high school. Bunch tells Beck's story in a series of personal and professional vignettes mixing his failed personal life with ever-increasing success as a radio personality. His self-styled showmanship was modeled after a format called the "Morning Zoo." It was a mid-1980's drive-time fast-paced show with skits, parody songs and caricatures. Beck was riding high in the jocular, content-free teenybopper radio-land for while, but his lack of discipline got him into trouble more than once.
"An admitted sufferer from attention-deficit disorder, Beck clearly struggles with impulse control even after he finally stopped drinking and doing drugs in 1994 with the help of a then-friend, Senator Joe Lieberman," Bunch wrote.
Beck's troubles began long before his attempt at recovery as Bunch describes Beck's downfall both in his personal and professional life. "This was especially true in the late 1980s in Phoenix when, desperate to get his Morning Zoo out of a deep ratings rut, he staged a series of inane pranks against the show's number-one drive-time rival--crashing the wedding of its program director to plaster his own show's bumper stickers on the bridal car, and finally, unbelievably, calling the wife of his rival deejay to make fun of…her recent miscarriage."
Bunch weaves Beck throughout the entire book as a backdrop for the many right-wing organizations and events dotting the country.
In his report on the Tea Party Convention, he reveals that as the event planners tried to paint the Tea Party as saving the country for the poor, oppressed, unemployed, retired and small business owners. It failed miserably in trying to make the case it was the right wing baby boomers Woodstock while charging attendee's $549 a ticket.
It was in fact the fundraising scheme of a small-time lawyer, Judson Phillips, just one of many who took advantage of the many Tea Party believers eager to buy a piece of the myth.
As Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin stump for the little guy, both are fanatically exploiting their celebrity by raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars for speaking engagements to the unemployed faithful, while offering no solace to those unable to pay their utility bills, but quick to blame Obama.
The convention itself became so controversial, Michele Bachmann and Marcia Blackburn, two two right-wing congresswomen, cancelled their appearances, as well as American Majority president, Ned Ryun. Bunch quotes Ryun as telling the media, "Listen, I'm all for a person making a buck, but this seems very crass, very opportunitistic."
In a philosophic bent, Bunch refers to Neil Postman's prophetic book, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, to illustrate the obvious of how television is doing our thinking for us, and "people medicate themselves into bliss," according to Postman, by believing anything they see and hear on television, as evidenced by the fiction that is accepted as fact on Fox news.
The Backlash is disturbing in that it validates what we don't want to believe, and that is while "fake news" began on the Comedy Channel's Daily Show with Jon Stewart as a parody, Fox News has become reality as the most widely watched cable news show in the country.
If you are looking for an answer or some solace to the disconcerting uneasiness that the Glenn Beck's of the world are multiplying, you won't find it in the The Backlash. Bunch is just reporting here and offers no predictions of whether this marginal world of extremists will succeed in taking over the White House or Congress. He offers no philosophical musings beyond the Huxleyan references to what the deliberate manufacturing of falsehood is doing to our lives.
Yet, like Bunch's excellent previous book, Tear Down This Myth: The Right-Wing Distortion of the Reagan Legacy, The Backlash is a must-read for those who want to understand what is happening on the political scene and a context behind the doctrine of fear and hate.
This review is posted on the New York Journal of Books Web site,
http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/2010/08/backlash-right-wing-radicals-high-def.html
Reviewer Geri Spieler, author of Taking Aim At The President: The Remarkable Story of the Woman Who Shot at Gerald Ford. Spieler is writing a new book debunking San Francisco Values.
In Defense of San Francisco Values
Well, the Republicans are doing what they do best: Obfuscate the issues, blame, complain, point fingers and make up stuff up instead of offering real solutions about real problems.
Some things just never change.
Talk about "Content Free" presentations that are designed to mislead, take Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado's table at the GOP convention in San Diego? He wasted good space, time and money printing silly and inaccurate exhibition posters about soft drinks, bottled water and Mayor Gavin Newsom.
Maldonado mislead attendees into thinking that all soft drinks and bottled water are banned in the city of San Francisco which is absolutely not true. He obscured the facts that this ban is restricted to city property only, however you would never know this from Maldonado's pitch. Typically, the Republican's conveniently stop short of any full story, leaving people to misunderstand the issue, which is exactly what the Right wants to happen. At least I hope so. The alternative, that they don't understand it themselves, is even more frightening.
However, getting back to the GOP convention and Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado's display, here is the real story: San Francisco made a commitment to save money for the city. The mayor is following his promise to help combat obesity and reduce fat related diseases.
By removing one of the major causes of obesity, sugary, high fructose corn syrup soft drinks on city property only, it encourages those using vending machines to pick an alternative. If the person really wants that Coke or Pepsi, well, hey, they can go across the street to a liquor store and get it.
"There's a direct link between what people eat and drink and the obesity and health care crises in this country," Newsom spokesperson Tony Winnicker said. "It's entirely appropriate and not at all intrusive for city government to take steps to discourage the sale of sugary sodas on city property."
Regarding plastic water bottles, here is the real story again, unlike what Mr. Maldonado reported to the narrowly-focused GOP attendee's.
In 2006, Mayor Newsom promised to curb spending on bottled water when a SF Chronicle story that found San Francisco had paid more than $2 million for water, paper cups and dispenser rentals in recent years. The story found that the city spends nearly $500,000 a year on bottled water.
In addition to city departments, all city concessions, city-funded events and functions in city buildings will be prohibited from using city money to buy bottled water which went into effect July 1.
The report says that by Dec. 1, all city departments located on city property must switch from bottled water dispensers to dispensers that attach to taps or water pipes and use water from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park.
If you really wanted to shake up the convention attendees and talk about fiscal responsibility, Mr. Maldonado, you might have pointed out that in the long run the cost will be cheaper than the $500,000-a-year bottled water bill the city currently pays.
Gordon Bennett, a member of the executive committee of the San Francisco Bay chapter of the Sierra Club, said the plastic that bottled water comes in is not recyclable and takes up valuable landfill space.
"The other aspect is that there's nothing wrong with tap water," Bennett said. "In many cases, the quality coming out of the tap is equal to or better than bottled."
In the interest of keeping costs down as well as not contributing to the plastic island the size of Texas floating out in the ocean, San Francisco is doing its part to be responsible.
The SF Chronicle report found that the departments that spent the most money on bottled water and related expenses during the previous year were Public Health, which spent $139,926; Muni, which spent $65,780; and San Francisco International Airport, which spent $65,670. The same report said that the mayor's office in City Hall spent $1,660, and the Public Utilities Commission, which provides drinking water to 2.4 million Bay Area customers, spent $8,622 on bottled water. Quite a difference, wouldn't you say?
So, again, if someone wants a plastic bottle of water or a soft drink, there is no law in the city of San Francisco that says they can't have it. They just can't purchase it on city property.
Is this too difficult to understand? Where are you going to save money, Mr. Maldonado?
San Francisco Values Clarified
A continuing discussion from me about San Francisco.....
The buzz these days is that "San Francisco Values" are the three dirtiest words in politics. The term dates back at least to 1996, when California Conservative Rep. Frank Riggs,
attacked his Democratic rival Michela Alioto over her "San Francisco Values." More than a dozen years later, the phrase was exhumed by the former Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich and radio-TV talk show host, Bill O'Reilly to attack any left-leaning politician, particularly House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Ideological differences between the political parties are morphing to such an extent that they have become embedded in American society itself. One is either "progressive," the new term for a liberal or a Democrat. If one is a Conservative most likely, they will be called a Republican or Right Wing. Then there are the Independents who paint themselves as the new intellectual elite too chicken to take a stand. In addition, let us not forget about the Tea Bagger wacko's is too disjointed to organize. It is a shame the United States never reached the Nirvana of the "post partisanship" era of
politics as a time when the humdrum business of party and governance would rise above present day extremes of party polarization. Think of it as a Kennedyesque vision of leadership; the inspiration that moves people beyond narrow self-interest ("Ask not what…").
Today's version of post partisanship is akin to political segregation. The voting public has adopted identities so preposterous that attempts to clarify them are as absurd as trying to educate the Tea Baggers in the facts of American history. Unfortunately, there is an abundance of political ignorance all the way around. It seems the rule today is, "don't confuse me with the facts. I'll stick with my personal bias and assumptions, thank you."
Which precisely brings me to this point: When is television news not news? When it is commentary. The term, "News" has been completely co-opted by our so-called network news industry. When Wolf Blitzer refers to a Tweet in the middle of a news show as "qualified information," I think we really need to question the management of CNN. Twitter as journalism?
Ian Mitroff and Warren Bennis describe a vivid account of the metamorphosis of television news in their brilliant book, The Unreality Industry. In it, the authors clearly explain what has happened to our population that allows celebrities to tell us what are true, what we should believe and never question. We have become a nation of lazy thinkers.
"TV news is not only infused through and through with deception but with entertainment as well. Now so thoroughly a part of TV news, entertainment not only constitutes a significant portion of the content within the news, but it has become integral to 'the content leading up to the news.' If reality doesn't satisfy that perceived public need, then unreality has to be invented in order to fill it. "
The unreality of "San Francisco Values" fits the same tone here in that people will choose to believe what a "celebrity" tells them. If the definition fits their beliefs, then it must be true. Right?
An official geographic definition of San Francisco Values includes the San Francisco Bay Area, which reaches to Marin, Berkeley and down the Peninsula to include the cities of Palo Alto, Mountain View and of course, Silicon Valley.
These values follow very strong
liberal tendencies and are said to have grown out of the Hippie culture. They include same-sex marriage, anti-war activism, pro-choice politics, marijuana decriminalization, and lenient immigration policies.
Following the Hippie legacy of Socialism, San Francisco created a universal health care program called Healthy San Francisco, except that it is privately funded. It also happens to be very effective. No long waiting periods for even the most basic of services. A survey by Kaiser Permanente revealed that participants are very happy with it, as are the providers. I suppose a liberal San Francisco value of healthy eating could qualify as a Hippie quality. Sprouts and all that, you know. Therefore, in keeping with organic lifestyle of Northern California, the city installed salad bars in public schools. If you still want to cut your ties with evil San Francisco Bay Area, including the Silicon Valley, you really need to make a clean break of everything "San Francisco." This means going cold Turkey and giving up your
iPod or anything Apple. HP computers and software, Google, Yahoo, eBay. Don't not forget to shut down your blog on BlogSpot and you can't use TypePad. Sorry. Those products are Bay Area-based.
Also no Adobe or Macromedia products. No computers, either, since most run on AMD or Intel. No tax preparation using Intuit products. Cancel your Netflix subscription. Cancel your TiVo subscription. Remove your Network Associates or Symantec virus protection software from your computer. Unplug your Netgear Wifi router. Don't wear Levis (or any kind of jeans), Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, or buy your kids Gymboree. Avoid LeapFrog learning toys. Boycott Pixar movies. Boycott any movie using George Lucas' special effects. Don't take any medications that were created at Genentech. Delete your Adobe Systems
programs. No more PDF's for you. Stop using any programs from Cisco Systems, Intel, Intuit, Juniper Networks, LSI Logic, National Semiconductor, NetApp Oracle Corporation, SanDisk, Sun Microsystems or Symantec.
Can't use Craigslist, Digg, Flickr, Salesforce.com, Technorati, Twitter
and certainly you have to cancel your FaceBook account. No more music from Pandora for you.
So, now let's look at what is on the list of "San Francisco Values." If you accuse San Francisco of being the bastion of same-sex marriage,
it's time you learned that same-sex marriage is still illegal in California. However, it is not illegal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, or our nation's capital, Washington, D.C. San Francisco held a small march the same day from Aquatic Park along Polk Street to City Hall in support of the "Christopher Street Liberation Day" events in New York.
Another non-first for San Francisco is hosting gay pride parades. These high visibility events actually started in New York, not San Francisco. The demonstrations began as a reaction to police routinely harassing and arresting the gay patrons of the Stonewall Bar on Christopher Street. The first parade was June 27, 1969 in Chicago, Ill., followed a day later in New York City.
Now two hundred cities across the country celebrate gay pride in some fashion or other.
Misinformation abounds. A conservative Web site, Conservapedia.com, says, "San Francisco has the largest population of homosexuals
in the nation of America." Sorry, this is factually incorrect. According to research by the American Community Survey, a division of the Census Program, by population alone, New York City has the largest homosexual population of any city in the U.S., then Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco comes in fourth.
As for the pro-choice item on the list of what is wrong with San Francisco, it just doesn't register. California comes in ninth on the list of states that rank pregnancy, birth and abortion. In fact, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Washington, D.C. rank much higher according to the Guttmacher Institute study.
It's too bad that no other cities with the same evil policies of San Francisco like gay pride parades and sanctuary for illegal's get the recognition they deserve. The fact is San Francisco really doesn't qualify for being first of the list of a cauldron of sin.
Unfortunately, too many people feel the need to tell others how they should live. I heard a woman who called into called into a radio show addressing gay marriage. She said that if the country allows gays to marry then straight men will become gay and there will no longer be any straight men left in the United States.
No wonder the country is afraid of San Francisco. With this kind of mentality, it is curious the U.S. military hasn't marched across the Golden Gate Bridge to take over Coit Tower. Geri Spieler is the award winning author of Taking Aim At The President: The Remarkable Story of the Woman Who Shot at Gerald Ford. She is currently writing her new book about, guess what, San Francisco Values.
San Francisco Values are Good for our Nation
San Francisco Values Are Good for Our Nation
This is the first post on my new theme, "San Francisco Values are Good for our Nation."
Frankly, I'm tired of people bashing San Francisco. Have you ever noticed that those who have negative things to say about our city are usually people who have never been to San Francisco or even to California.
This scenario reminds me of when I lived in Rhode Island. When someone learned I was from California, they would proceed to tell me all about my state and usually have negative things to say about it.
Of course, when I asked if they had ever visited California, well you can guess the answer.
What is it about California that causes such a strong reaction? I'd like to say jealousy as we really do live in a wonderful place. Of course, if I ever hear another no-nothing say things like, "It never snows in California," I'm going to buy them a subscription to the U.S. Geological Survey. Hey, Dummy, ever hear of the San Bernardino Mountains, or maybe the Sierras?
Ok--I'm off topic but I do feel better.
The buzz these days is that "San Francisco Values" are the three dirtiest words in politics. The term dates back at least to 1996, when California Conservative Rep. Frank Riggs attacked his Democratic rival Michela Alioto over her "San Francisco Values." More than a dozen years later, the phrase was exhumed by the former Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich and radio-TV talk show host, Bill O'Reilly to attack any left-leaning politician, particularly House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Ideological differences between the political parties are morphing to such an extent that they have become embedded in American society itself. One is either "progressive," the new term for a liberal or a Democrat. If one is a Conservative most likely, they will be called a Republican or Right Wing. Then there are the Independents who paint themselves as the new intellectual elite too chicken to take a stand. In addition, let us not forget about the Tea Bagger wacko's too disjointed to organize.
It is a shame the United States never reached the Nirvana of the “post partisanship” era of politics. A time when the humdrum business of party and governance would rise above present day extremes of party polarization. Think of it as a Kennedyesque vision of leadership; the inspiration that moves people beyond narrow self-interest (“Ask not what…”).
Today's version of post partisanship is akin to political segregation. The voting public has adopted identities so preposterous that attempts to clarify them are as absurd as trying to educate the Tea Baggers in the facts of American history. News Flash: The Boston Tea Party was not about raising income taxes on American citizens, which happen to be lower now than in decades.
nfortunately, there is an abundance of political ignorance all the way around. It seems the rule today is, "don't confuse me with the facts. I'll stick with my personal bias and assumptions, thank you."
Look Who Was At The Gate? Pat Nixon and the U.S./Mexico Border
The Housewife Assassin: Local Girl Takes Aim," Or, how a sweet girl from a nice family turned deadly
"The Housewife Assassin: Local Girl Takes Aim," Or, how a sweet girl from a nice family turned deadly.
Saturday June 12th | 1:30 to 2:30 Literary event, Presented by Geri Spieler
Author, Taking Aim At The President: The Remarkable Story of the Woman Who Shot at Gerald Ford,
Palgrave Macmillan, Jan. 2009.
She will talk and read from her award winning book the true story of a doctors wife and a mother
who took aim and shot at the head of a U.S. President and missed by only six inches.
Geri is a former reporter journalist who has written for the San Francisco Chronicle,
Los Angeles Times, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal. Presently she writes for the Huffington Post,
a regular contributor to the New York Journal of Books and is working on her new book for Palgrave Macmillan.
Website: www.gerispieler.com Come to the San Mateo County Fair--Entertainment, Fine Arts Stage.
https://www.sanmateocountyfair.com/ Literary workshops, music, poetry, readings and everything the Fair has to offer.
https://www.sanmateocountyfair.com/
Get the secrets to selling your book proposal from my literary agent
Those of you who know me know that I have what I consider to be the best literary agent on the planet, Sharlene Martin. Not just because she sold my book, but because she has the tools needed to get the attention of the publishers. She knows what you need and she can make it happen.
I wish this same success for everyone and below you can get a glimpse of what I have had the good fortune to experience.
Sharlene and Anthony Flacco wrote, PUBLISH YOUR NONFICTION BOOK: STRATEGIES FOR LEARNING THE INDUSTRY, SELLING YOUR BOOK AND BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL CAREER. They are conducting a Webinar, "The Ten Secrets to a Winning Book Proposal," based on their book. The Webinar will be conducted on June 17th with Writer’s Digest.
http://www.writersdigestshop.com/product/10-secrets-winning-book-proposal-webinar/?r=smbloggers
It all starts with the proposal no matter how much you don't want to write it. Yet, if you are truly committed to succeeding and can persevere, you have an opportunity to learn from the best.
I profoundly encourage anyone who is looking for the best advice in the world to join in.
One Day Media Training Clinic
This media training clinic is the deal of the century....It's not enough to just write your book. You have to sell it!
One Day Public Speaking Seminar
Sponsored by the SF/Peninsula Branch
of California Writers Club
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Peninsula Regent, One Baldwin
San Mateo, CA
The San Francisco/Peninsula Branch of California Writers presents a one day workshop to polish up the great speaker within ...
<< MORE >>“SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A NOVEL”
I will be moderating a writers panel at the San Mateo County Fair on Saturday, June 19 at 1:30 PM and you don't want to miss this. (See info below)
Panel moderating is a skill I learned from a master moderator. Moderating is just like public speaking skills in that it takes practice and homework. I was fortunate to learn from an expert. I'm sure you have been to workshops and events where you had a great group of panelists and a lousy moderator that let the panel run away with the show and you got very little value.
It doesn't have to be that way. A moderator needs to take control and squeeze as much information out of each panelist, listen to answers and let each panel member have a chance to add value.
Below is a brief glimpse of how I'm preparing this panel.
Our California Writers Club public relations and publicity chair, Bardi Rosman Koodrin, leads a literary program for the annual San Mateo County Fair. Her part, the San Mateo Festival, is an arts celebration.
How to Prepare for Presentation as a Panelist
“SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A NOVEL”
Four Bay Area novelists discuss their experiences and offer tips for aspiring fiction writers.
Geri: I’ll introduce you so please send me no more than three sentences about you and your work.
• Author Teresa LeYung Ryan wears two hats. As a novelist, she uses her book Love Made of Heart to shed light on secret agonies suffered by mothers and daughters in domestic violence. As a writing career coach and creator of Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published, Teresa helps writers identify their mission statements to attract agents, publishers and fans.
Geri: Send me two questions regarding writing craft.
• Teresa, in interviews you’ve revealed that the themes and subject matters in Love Made of Heart are autobiographical. Did you start out writing a memoir or a novel?
• Teresa, would you share one trade secret about story-telling?
Geri: Please communicate with the other three panelists if you don’t already know each other. I know Margaret Davis and Judith Marshall; I will study Jon Cory’s website.
Geri: Please tell me anything particularly unique about you that pertains to your writing
• “I am the only Teresa LeYung Ryan (my middle name LeYung was created to honor my mom), but, my protagonists represent the many women, children and men who survived similar experiences that I have. I was a witness to domestic violence–a girl who felt helpless, ashamed, angry, guilty and voiceless. Decades later, I found a way to help the child-in-my-heart. Through the characters in Love Made of Heart, I encourage survivors of violence and witnesses to violence to find and fortify their own voices through writing.” Teresa LeYung Ryan http://LoveMadeOfHeart.com
Panelists:
Margaret Davis (Straight Down the Middle) is a sociologist who is also the author of Families in a Working World and A Practical Guide to Organization Design. Her second novel, Katie Carlisle, will be available soon. www.margaretdavisbooks.com
Jon Cory (A Plague of Scoundrels). Retirement enabled him to return to creative writing after a career in business. His debut novel received the 2009 Independent Publishers’ Silver Medal Award for popular fiction. www.joncory.com
Judith Marshall (Husbands May Come and Go but Friends are Forever) is the owner of Kelso Books, a publishing house. Husbands has been optioned for the screen and her second novel, Staying Afloat, will be available soon. www.judithmarshall.net
Teresa LeYung Ryan used her novel Love Made of Heart to shed light on secret agonies sufferered by mothers and daughters in domestic violence. She is also a writing career coach and creator of Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published. http://writingcoachteresa.com
Moderator: Geri Spieler, author of Taking Aim at the President http://www.gerispieler.com/
https://www.sanmateocountyfair.com/ 650 574-3247 for ticket info. Parking lot is on Saratoga, 1 block before the street dead-ends at Delaware (south side of fairgrounds).
The Stage is located in the Fine Arts Dept, which is in the Fiesta Building on the San Mateo Event Center fairgrounds. https://www.sanmateocountyfair.com/fair-info/fairgrounds-map Vendors have the center block of space, we are in our own separate large room type space and the stage is midpoint. (the technology dept is on other side of vendors).
"The Housewife Assassin: Local Girl Takes Aim," Or, how a sweet girl from a nice family turned deadly.
Join me at the San Mateo County Fair on Saturday, June 12 at 1:30 PM for a provacative look at the housewife assassin who almost killed one of our U.S. Presidents!
I'll be reading from my book and talking candidly about the women in the crowd the Secret Service let slip through their security systems and shot at the head of Pres. Ford and missed by only six inches.
"The Housewife Assassin: Local Girl Takes Aim," Or, how a sweet girl from a nice family turned deadly.
Geri Spieler, author of, Taking Aim At The President: The Remarkable Story of the Woman Who Shot at Gerald Ford, Palgrave Macmillan, Jan. 2009. www.gerispieler.com
Saturday, June 12, 1:30 PM -- Where: The Stage is located in the Fine Arts Dept, which is in the Fiesta Building on the San Mateo Event Center fairgrounds.
She will talk and read from her award winning book the true story of a doctors and wife and a mother who took aim and shot at the head of a U.S. President and missed by only six inches. Geri is a former reporter journalist who has written for the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal. Presently she writes for the Huffington Post, a regular contributor to the New York Journal of Books and is working on her new book for Palgrave Macmillan.
https://www.sanmateocountyfair.com
