A Big Announcement
Hello friends! It has been far too long since I sent out one of these newsletters. That’s, in part, because I have been working on something major that I am very excited to share with all of you!
A few weeks ago my friend, Luppe B. Luppen, and I announced the upcoming release of our book, “The Truce: Progressives, Centrists, and the Future of the Democratic Party.” You can pre-order a copy here!
This book, which will be out on January, 23, 2024, is a deeply reported look at what happened to the progressive revolution spurred by Bernie Sanders and how Joe Biden has forged an unlikely alliance with the resurgent left. It’s packed with original reporting, exclusive scoops, and interviews with key players in Democratic and progressive politics.
Luppe, who is perhaps better known by his nom de plume, “nycsouthpaw,” and I spent the better part of two years working on this project together. We have uncovered some major new information about the last election and crucial developments that will help you understand the next ones.
I can’t wait to tell you more about this book and to share the first excerpts in the coming months. In the meantime, as you may know, pre-orders are absolutely vital for books. Advance orders help retailers determine how many copies they will stock and how heavily they will promote a given release. Because of this, I need your help!
If you have appreciated my writing and reporting over the years, I would be deeply grateful if you would consider pre-ordering “The Truce” today!
In an effort to encourage pre-orders and express thanks to our most loyal readers, Luppe and I are doing something special. If you are subscribed to my free newsletter and you order a copy of our book prior to January, we will make sure you get it signed! Luppe and I will be signing and sending out bookplates, which are stickers with the publisher’s logo that are made to fit on the cover page, for any newsletter subscriber who makes a pre-order.
To get your signed bookplate, just pre-order a copy of “The Truce” and respond to this email with a picture of your receipt, your preferred address, and any inscription you’d like us to include. We will make sure your bookplate is sent directly to you ahead of the release. It’s sort of like a global book signing where you don’t have to leave your reading nook!
Over the next few months, we will have some other events and announcements related to this book and I will keep you posted. I can’t wait for you all to see what’s inside. We are quite proud of it.
And now, on to some other news that I have been reading and writing …
I have been quite busy over at Talking Points Memo writing on, among other things, former President Trump’s wild behavior during his civil fraud trial in New York and the latest legal drama and absurd revelations involving Rep. George Santos (R-NY). I also interviewed a Connecticut mayoral candidate who broke into the Capitol on January 6 and dug into Joe Kent, a House hopeful in Washington state who may be the most extreme far right politician with a real chance of victory this year. Kent’s ties to Proud Boys and neo Nazis made headlines when he first unsuccessfully ran for office last year, but he’s flying more under the radar in his second do-over campaign. I also exposed some new information about Kent including his links to Three Percenter militia groups and pro-Nazi statements made by a man who was one of his top advisers. Lastly, my colleague, Josh Kovensky, and I attempted to peel back the curtain on special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into January 6 by taking a look at his right hand man.
Speaking of Talking Points Memo, my boss, Josh Marshall, has just compiled some good English language news sources if you’re following the situation in Israel and Palestine. I shared some of my own thoughts over on Bluesky.
Summer has, sadly, come to an end. I hate that. It’s my favorite season and one of the things I have always loved about summer is fireflies! For the past few years, I feel like I have been seeing them less and less. Apparently, that’s not, like my opinion, man. The fireflies are actually disappearing with nearly one in three species headed for extinction. While I am glad to know I wasn’t imagining it, the fact we are losing these delightful creatures is pretty tragic and disturbing.
The Economist had an amazing dispatch from an Arctic Norwegian town where the midnight sun is in the sky and the streets filled with spies. The town’s position on the border with Russia has led to all manner of intrigue including suspicious priests, drones hovering outside living rooms, and agents on both sides soliciting favors and low-level intelligence work from people who commute across the line. It’s a crazy and tense situation that is heating up due to the war in Ukraine.
As I have been writing over the past few weeks, “History,” the new album from Lapgan is one I have had on repeat. I love both instrumental hip hop and Indian music. Lapgan brings both together perfectly. Check him out and see you soon!
سلام
Congratulations!!!!