ABOUT

 Ben Douglass is an "Indie" author who publishes novels, essays, reviews, and poems for his own amusement and the amusement of others. He is a grumpy old white guy with type 2 diabetes and prostate problems, and who doesn't take shit from anybody. He has been living in the Concordia neighborhood, of Northeast Portland, Oregon for the last 35 years. When he isn't creating tall tales, he is kept rather busy with his partner Ave Marie, five cats and two dogs.



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(Review) THE JANUARY 6TH REPORT

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TITLE: The January 6th Report: Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol PUBLISHER: Celadon Books in Collaboration with The New Yorker DATE: December X, 2022 BY: United States House of Representatives Select Committee Staff PAGES: 724 - Paperback version PREFACE: David Remnick, Pulitzer Prize author FORWARDS: Nancy Pelosi, Speaker; Bennie Thompson, Chairperson; Liz Cheney, Vice Chairperson EPILOGUE: Jamie Raskin, Congressperson To start off this review let me outline how the organization of the book is presented: Table of Contents: I. Preliminaries II. Executive Summary III. Narrative:      1. The Big Lie      2. "I Just Want to Find 11,780 votes"      3. Fake Electors and the President of the Senate Strategy      4. "Just Call It Corrupt and Leave the Rest to Me"      5. A Coup in Search of a legal theory      6. "Be There, Will Be Wild"      7. 187 Minutes of Dereliction      8. Analysis of th
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The Cossacks by Tolstoy

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    This 1862 novel, in a vibrant new translation by Peter Constantine, is Tolstoy's semi-autobiographical story of young Olenin, a wealthy, disaffected Muscovite who joins the Russian army and travels to the untamed frontier of the Caucasus in search of a more authentic life.  While striving to adopt the rough and ready lifestyle of the local Cossacks, Olenin falls in love with a free-spirited girl whose fiance turns out to be a formidable opponent. Showcasing the philosophical insight that would characterize Tolstoy's later masterpieces, this long overdue translation is a revelation.
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A-Okay

 [This narrative poem was inspired by Charles Bukowski, the giant of "dirty realism" and "transgressive fiction."] i During my innocence (childhood, post-puberty, young adult) And up until three years ago The "A-Okay" hand signal Was my personal sign of approval: I'm okay...you're okay... That hot chick in high school English (the one with the big tits & ass) was okay. Drinking eight cans of Old English 800 (and a fifth of MD 20/20 on 21st birthday) was okay. Scoring Oregon sticky green bud at 26 was also okay. ii Now it all stinks to high hell: Like baby shit... Like the wine shits... Like Metformin diarrhea shits... What-in-the-fuck is wrong with people? iii The Three-Percenters: A slime-ball white supremist group Has stolen my beloved symbol. (cultural appropriation or political thievery?) Now I fear for my peace of mind, To think about it, let alone do it. Because some latte-sipping, turd-like elitist, scumbag Will smear me with their own s
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