BobHarris.com - It begins

Books! Actual books!

"A rollicking ride of intellectual discovery and emotional growth... his comic timing never fails"

-- The Wall Street Journal

"Pulls you in like a good sports story"

-- The New York Times Book Review

"Endearingly frank... jubilant... lighthearted and fast-paced"

-- New York Newsday

"A surprisingly touching memoir"

-- Entertainment Weekly

"Snappy and informative"

-- Associated Press

"Effortlessly funny and informative... tender, human, and very wise... A must for anyone who loves Jeopardy!, or has ever seen it, or is breathing."

-- Joss Whedon, creator, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"I haven't seen Jeopardy! since I was a kid, and yet I was charmed and amused by Bob Harris's fascinating and surprisingly suspenseful book. Through sheer force of personality, he takes this brainy TV show and makes it funny and easy to relate to."

-- Ira Glass, creator and host, This American Life

"A surprisingly intimate, entertaining book."

-- Orson Scott Card, 4-time Hugo Award winner, author of Ender's Game

"Funny, enlightening -- and just might help you win a million bucks on Jeopardy!"

-- A. J. Jacobs, author of The Know-It-All

"A masterful job of describing the feel of Jeopardy! in the heat of battle... I knew Bob was a great guy and a fantastic Jeopardy! player. Now I've found that he's also a wonderful writer. I think I'm starting to hate him."

-- Brad Rutter, top money-winner in Jeopardy! history

Books I'm Getting

Who Hates Whom:
Well-Armed Fanatics, Intractable Conflicts,
and Various Things Blowing Up —
A Woefully Incomplete Guide™

“Revelatory... Harris's sly wit and infectious curiosity make understanding world chaos fascinating... witty, horrific, and necessary.”

— Boston Globe

"Brave... irreverent... charges into the thick of the globe's myriad simmering wars... hilariously relaxed."

— New York Observer

"Only Bob could make a user’s guide to our increasingly hostile world this absorbing, this breezy, and—ultimately—this hopeful.”

— Ken Jennings, author of Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs

“Fascinating, enlightening, and surprisingly: NOT TOTALLY DEPRESSING. A gimlet-eyed look at the world we endure that’s also suitable for enjoying with a gimlet.”

— John Hodgman, author of The Areas of My Expertise
and correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

"All three [presidential] candidates should read all three of these [recommended] books, but McCain gets first crack at Bob Harris's "Who Hates Whom“... a lighthearted overview of the insurrections and civil wars in the world today."

— Steven Pinker, author of The Stuff of Thought, in the New York Times Book Review

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Wednesday, 18 May 2005

When I was a kid, I remember reading about how democracies ended. What surprised me was how often it was a peaceful takeover. Fascists took power in many places not through force, but through rigged elections, broken rules, and consolidation of power, all hidden behind flags and God and promises of glory.

Today, the fanatics who have seized the GOP are beginning their attempt to flagrantly break a half-dozen Senate rules which have existed for generations in order to install federal judges more interested in ideology than precedent.

If this "nuclear option" works, they will very likely soon begin stacking the Supreme Court as they wish (each justice's age and health is thumbnailed here; only Clarence Thomas, at 56, is below the age of 65). The very laws of our nation itself could soon be under the fundamentalists' control.

It's happening right now.

If you haven't already... if you live in RI, ME, OH, SC, NE, AZ, AK, OR, PA, or VA, some of your Senators might be the last best hope to hold the line against this "nuclear option" and seizure of power.

I apologize for repeating myself, but these are the numbers to call (with thanks again to this Kos diary):

Lincoln Chafee, Rhode Island
(202) 224-2921

Susan Collins, Maine
(202) 224-2523

Mike Dewine, Ohio
(202) 224-2315

Lindsey Graham, South Carolina
(202) 224-5972

Chuck Hagel, Nebraska
(202) 224-4224

John McCain, Arizona
(202) 224-2235

Lisa Murkowski, Alaska
(202) 224-6665

Gordon Smith, Oregon
(202) 224-3753

Olympia Snowe, Maine
(202) 224-5344

Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania
(202) 224-4254

John Sununu, New Hampshire
(202) 224-2841

John Warner, Virginia
(202) 224-2023

Man. I never thought things would get so bad I'd be thinking of Arlen Specter and John Sununu as possible lights in the darkness.

I guess you go to a slow coup with the allies you have.

Call right now if you can.

Thanks.