Trans in the Time of Trump Book Blitz #rabtbooktours

LGBTQ+

Date Published: February 9, 2026

Trans in the Time of Trump by Hope Abbigail Nulf is a poignant, thought-provoking collection that captures the intersection of personal identity, political resistance, and art. Born from the author's experiences of surviving trauma, transitioning, and discovering resilience, this book combines raw humor, activism, and deep insight into the current political landscape.

Through her character "Doodle," Nulf expresses complex emotions about identity, gender, and societal pressures, offering readers a unique, humorous perspective on the struggles faced by the LGBTQ+ community in an increasingly divisive world. This first of nine Doodle books explores the power of art to speak truth to power, inviting readers to join a movement of resistance, hope, and courage in the face of tyranny.

With illustrations that convey both personal pain and joy, Trans in the Time of Trump is a powerful declaration that art can heal, inspire, and fuel activism.

 

About the Author

I am a trans special education teacher and 10 years ago I started cartooning books for kids and parents that were in trouble. I did 8 books for kids that were picked on or disliked, and then my country went away.

In the face of treatment of trans people, brown people, and the growing abuse of all minorities I had to change Doodle from a comforting friend to a mirror I could hold up to rednecks.

She is my activism. A far cry from my mother’s activism in the 60s, but it is what I can add to the fight.

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Operation Cast Lead Book Blitz #rabtbooktours

Nonfiction

Date Published: 08-28-2025

Publisher: Tellwell

Ambiguity has been the story of our era since Operation Cast Lead. The author found herself in the middle of ambiguous theme, dialogue, plot, and portrayal while engaging with a love story on General Hospital in 2008/2009. There was the question mark about the female character: Was she going to be humiliated?

Operation Cast Lead ensued as a mechanism to decide the fate and resolution of this question. The author was conflicted as her tendency to humiliate herself in her fantasies interfered with how she interpreted the story and how she responded to it while Operation Cast Lead unfolded, a war that took place between Hamas and IDF at the climax of the story of Sonny and Kate.

What was the truth of this connection? Why has Gaza been held hostage to this story ever since? What’s the way forward for Israelis and Palestinians? What’s the way forward for humanity?

The book argues that Operation Cast Lead was a design, and attempts to place the case within the current framework of international law while acknowledging that there are fundamental flaws in this framework and that there should be transformation at the foundation of international law for humanity to have a breakthrough and realize true freedom.

This book reveals a secret about history. A secret that would explain why the conflict in the Middle East has not met its resolution. As well as the conflict at the core of humanity.

 

About the Author

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Inside USAID Book Blitz #rabtbooktours

Current Events/Politics

Date Published: September 26, 2025

Publisher: MindStir Media

This book gives needed context for the current controversy about the US foreign aid agency, USAID. One evaluation described it as "an eye-opening, sharply insightful, and often humorous look into the inner workings of USAID and the broader world of US foreign assistance. Blending memoir, policy analysis, and rich storytelling, the book delivers a compelling behind-the-scenes portrait of what it means to work in international development, from the surreal bureaucracy to the life-threatening assignments abroad."

Inside USAID is an insider's view of some of the sillier aspects of government bureaucracy, revealing the adventurous, often risky life of diplomatic staff posted in third-world countries as well as some of the waste in the system. It also takes readers through some fascinating and dangerous events in the author's own twenty-seven-year career with USAID, peeling the curtain on nearly three decades of diplomatic service across seven countries, sharing war-zone experiences, absurd government acronyms, failed aid attempts, and moments of genuine impact.

The stories balance critical reflection with a deep appreciation for the ideals behind U.S. foreign aid. The book is both a tribute to the unsung heroes of development work and a critique of the system's inefficiencies, political intrusions, and sudden dismantling. It contextualizes the countries historically, politically, and economically, off ering readers a nuanced understanding of how aid shapes (and sometimes fails) entire nations. The book also is both a eulogy and a call to action for rebuilding what the author sees as one of the U.S.'s most effective foreign policy tools.

Witty, wise, and often sobering, Inside USAID is a must-read for policymakers, development professionals, historians, and anyone who wants to understand the real stories behind America's global influence through foreign aid.

 

About the Author

Clifford Brown is a retired Senior U.S. Foreign Service Officer who served for 27 years with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), including roles as Mission Director, Deputy Mission Director, and Regional Legal Advisor. His work took him to postings in Kenya, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Guinea, Peru, and Washington, DC, with regional responsibilities spanning numerous additional USAID missions.

Before joining USAID, Brown practiced commercial law for eleven years in Los Angeles as a partner at Ervin, Cohen & Jessup in Beverly Hills, California. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Whitman College, where he was also a Thomas Watson Fellow, spending a year conducting independent research in Latin America. He earned his Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law, where he served as Managing Editor of the UCLA Law Review.

Brown is the author of Dilettante: Tales of How a Small-Town Boy Became a Diplomat Managing U.S. Foreign Assistance (2021), a collection of stories tracing his path from early work on farms, railroads, and tugboats in Eastern Washington to a career in international law and diplomacy. He is retired in Maryland.

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Readers Imbibing Peril Challenge 2024: Alien Romulus Review

VIDEO CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS

I live under a rock these days, or at least way off in the middle of nowhere, a minimum of 45 miles from any city, so I didn't know Alien Romulus was even a thing. From what Charlie says, it's good, except there's one ridiculous part. 

Here's what I had to say.

Whatever silliness there may be in this movie, it can't be as much of a rank stinker as Alien 3. Even Alien 4 wasn't as bad as Alien 3, and it was pretty bad. 

I liked both Prometheus and Alien Covenant. As far as the Alien quadrilogy, the last one of those movies I liked was Aliens.

To continue that thought, Alien 3 isn't just a wet fart in the Alien franchise; it's a steaming pile of Xenomorph spoor among all movies ever. My hatred of this movie is a hill that I will proudly die on. It's comparable to being fed a liver dish with a side of raw zucchini sprinkled with cilantro. 

I can tolerate the existence of the garbage fire that is Alien 3 slightly more than I can tolerate donald tRump, and that's only because while, like a tRump speech, it has the capacity to render audiences brain-dead, it doesn't have the capacity to destroy the United States from within.

By comparison, Alien 4 is a liverwurst sandwich served on 99-cent store brand bread with knockoff French's yellow mustard. Liverwurst is the only form of liver that I can tolerate, and my desire to consume it is limited. 

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing Alien Romulus and crossing my fingers that the US won't be seeing tRump: The Sequel come election day. 

Ornery Owl Has Spoken

Fan art, not mine.

My old friend Peggy Sue says you shouldn't watch Alien 3.

It's a good idea to listen to Peggy Sue.

Free use image from Pixabay

Ornery Owl is hatching some plots.

Sunken Leadership Book Blitz #rabtbooktours

 

 

Unlock the Secrets of Resilient Leadership

 

Just as the U.S.S. Constitution—"Old Ironsides"—has withstood the test of time through exceptional construction and adaptability, our written Constitution remains a pillar of strength in our society. Dr. Joe Aniello's "Sunken Leadership" draws powerful parallels between these two enduring icons, offering profound insights into how strong leadership can navigate and rise above challenges.

 

In "Sunken Leadership," you'll explore:

●       The remarkable resilience of "Old Ironsides" and what it teaches us about leadership.

●       How the foundational principles of our Constitution empower us to overcome modern obstacles.

●       The vital importance of viewing historical achievements with respect and understanding, rather than through a contemporary lens.

 

This book is not just a historical analysis; it's a call to action for current and future leaders to rise, adapt, and lead with strength and integrity.

Don't miss your chance to be inspired by the lessons of the past and apply them to today's world. Purchase your copy of "Sunken Leadership" by Dr. Joe Aniello today and embark on a journey to uncover the indestructible power of leadership.

About the Author

"Dr. Joe” AnieHo is a tenured, full-professor at Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina.

He has taught in their Schooi of Business for the last 21 years primarily in Organizational Leadership and Human Resource Behavior. He also has served as Executive Director of the Francis Marion University Center for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management.

His holds an MBA in Marketing from Fordham University in New York City and an Education Doctorate from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. His dissertation is on ”Increasing Creativity in Adults.”

Prior to his Academic Career, ”Dr. Joe” spent over 20 years in major American Corporations rising to the level of Officer/Vice President.

He lives in Florence with his wife, Tracy, and their three young children: Elizabeth, Patrick, and Mary.

He has two great siblings, Anthony, his wife Sheila, and their children Autumn and Christian. Anne Marie Guerrero, her husband Danny and their children Jenna and Katie. Those families are all growing and fiourishing.

Joe also had two awesome parents, Anthony F., and Antoinette Marie who have since gone on to their eternal rewards given for lives devoted to others. They continue to become even more awesome to me with each passing year of my life.

 

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The Dove That Didn't Return Book Blitz #rabtbooktours

Poetry

Date Published: May 21, 2024

Publisher: Holy Cow! Press

 

A poet and female commander in the Israeli Defense Forces creates an original perspective from the war-torn front lines of the Middle East conflict.

The Dove That Didn’t Return tackles the canon of war poetry, an almost exclusively male-penned body of poems. In the book, biblical stories, verses, and fragments are rewritten through the eyes of a female lieutenant in the Israeli Army. It is a contemporary poetics on the revelations of war from an Israeli perspective never before told—a woman, and a soldier at that.

This debut full-length collection follows upon the publication of her critically acclaimed chapbook, Between Sanctity and Sand, from Finishing Line Press.

 

About the Author

Yael S. Hacohen earned a Ph.D. at UC Berkeley. She has received research/teaching fellowships from Tel Aviv University and Bar Ilan University. She has an MFA in Poetry from New York University, where she was an ‎NYU Veterans Workshop Fellow, International Editor at Washington Square Literary ‎Review, and Editor-in-Chief at Nine Lines Literary Review. Her work has been featured or is forthcoming in The Poetry Review, Ploughshares, The Missouri Review, Bellevue Literary Review, LIT, Prairie Schooner, New York Quarterly Magazine, Colorado Review, and many more. ‎Hacohen published her chapbook Between Sanctity and Sand with Finishing Line Press in 2021. Hacohen served as a lieutenant in the 162nd Armored Division of the Israeli Defense Forces. She lives with her family in Tel Aviv, Israel.

 

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Arrested Book Blitz #rabtbooktours

 A Memoir of the American First Lady of Nice, France and the French Riviera

Memoir

Date Published: March 17, 2024

Publisher: ‎ BookBaby

 

Growing up in Beverly Hills with two famous uncles - a cosmetics magnate and a well-connected mobster - eventually led Ilene Médecin to a romantic and glamorous life as the American First Lady of Nice and the French Riviera. "Arrested" follows Ilene through her marriage to Jacques Médecin, a Medici Count fondly known as "King Jacquou," who was the last scion of a century old political dynasty. Her unique experience is from the perspective of an American woman living in France, married to a powerful French politician ruling the Côte d'Azur as they shared their social circle with Princess Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier. Life was extraordinary among royals, celebrities, and politicians. From the enchanted pages of a storybook Camelot, being at the pinnacle of a fantasy existence, only to fall from grace to the depths of a French prison cell. While there were trysts and scandals, nothing prepared Ilene for the demise of a prominent political family and her eventual arrest for her husband's alleged wrongdoings. As for Jacques, sadly, taking up residence in Uruguay was a puzzling end to a stellar political career.

Neither political exile nor arrest had ever been on Ilene's bucket list, but she found herself checking them both off. Her late husband, Jacques Médecin, had been Mayor of Nice, President of Alpes-Maritimes (presiding over the Côte d'Azur), French Minister of Tourism, Member of Parliament, and a Medici Count. Rest assured, "King Jacquou" was no ordinary politician as he ruled the expanse of the French Riviera. Curiously, he also gained notoriety being the official reference for proper Salad Niçoise as the published author of a widely acclaimed cookbook, "Cuisine Niçoise, Recipes From A Mediterranean Kitchen."

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Rise of the Liberal Colossus Book Blitz #rabtbooktours

 

From Corporate Globalization to the Great Reset

 

Political / Nonfiction / History

Date Published: July 12, 2023

Publisher: ‎MindStir Media

 

To speak of a modern Liberal Colossus conjures nothing less than the largest power structure the world has ever known. A distinctly (but not entirely) American phenomenon, this sprawling network of economic interests, political forces, and cultural influences revolves around four organically interconnected sectors - a domestic corporate oligarchy, authoritarian state apparatus, military-industrial complex, and (now in process) a reconstituted liberal (or "neoliberal") world order. Going back to the watershed presidency of Woodrow Wilson at the time of World War I, the overarching ideology that defines, legitimates, and sustains this Colossus has been one variant of liberalism, more precisely a combination of corporate and global liberalism. For the past century the main pillars of this power structure have been continuously reinforced by great scientific and technological innovations in the economy, government, and military as well the international system. If ambitious planning within the World Economic Forum and other global institutions manages to achieve its unprecedented goals, that system will expand further -- toward what has been described as the Great Reset. This would be a global tyranny based on increasingly concentrated (and integrated) economic and governmental power. Here, in The Rise of the Liberal Colossus, Carl Boggs systematically explores the history, politics, and ideology of this frightening development, the biggest threat in modern times to the future of democratic society.

 

"Carl Boggs provides a sweeping historical and political treatise on the origins of the imperial state and its grounding in the liberal paradigm. The trajectory of global destruction begins begins, as Professor Boggs recounts, with the era of World War I and its aftermath and escalates to the present day under the regime of a global corporate order that has brought the world to the precipice of ecological and military disaster."

-- Professor Gerald Sussman, Global Studies, Portland State University

 

About the Author

After receiving his Ph.D. from U.C., Berkeley in 1970, Carl Boggs taught at Washington University in St. Louis and then at UCLA, USC, Carleton University in Ottawa, and Antioch University, Los Angeles before concluding his career at National University in Los Angeles, focusing on the education of working adults. He participated in the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley, among other activities, and then was active in the anti-Vietnam War movement. Involved in the work of several magazines and journals, he was instrumental in bringing the work of Antonio Gramsci to America, and with it the crucial motif of cultural revolution which he explored in two books and several articles. Since the mid-1970s he has written another 24 books, including ten on topics related to U.S. foreign and military policy along with several on ecological politics. Since 2000 he has been a regular contributor to the online journal CounterPunch. He has also contributed, in writing and presentations (including several plenary talks) to the Global Studies Association based in Chicago. In 2007 he was recipient of a Career Achievement Award from the American Political Science Association.

 

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The Amber Menhir Release Blitz and Giveaway #rabtbooktours

 

The Shadows of the Monolith: Book One

 

Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy, Horror, Satire, Politics

Date Published: October 3, 2023

Publisher: Spinner Loom Press

 

“A GRIPPING DARK FANTASY THAT IMMERSES YOU IN A WORLD OF DEADLY POWER POLITIC AND CORRUPTION.”  Richard Moriarty – The Sun

 

With each new dawn, the celestial body known only as ‘Calamity’ draws closer – and with it the end of the world. Humanity’s only hope from oblivion rests in the menhirs, towering bastions of scholarship and imagination which cast long shadows across the lands. The scholars within the menhirs devote themselves selflessly to the discovery of new magic that will help avert the impending apocalypse … or so the masses have been made to understand.

  In a society divided between those with occult potential and lay citizens, Tara Langcraw is recruited into the Amber Menhir with great interest. The long-awaited heiress of a bloodline bearing the rarest of the six magical disciplines, time manipulation, she is expected to flourish within this noble citadel of learning, as are her friends and fellow recruits, Roland Ward and Peony Bianchi.

They soon find, however, that those who fail to meet expectations, or who dare to challenge the prevailing order, put more than their marks on the line. For the menhir squirms with rivalries, and those who stand against the status quo may not stand for very long.

JONATHAN N. PRUITT

The Amber Menhir, book one of The Shadows of the Monolith series, marks the debut of high fantasy author Jonathan N. Pruitt. A lifelong educator who has taught around the world, Pruitt enjoys spinning spellbinding tales of dark magic and political intrigue. When not toiling away on writing projects, Pruitt can be found traversing about the great outdoors. For more information, visit www.TheShadowsoftheMonolith.com.

 

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Fiascoes and Foibles Book Blitz #rabtbooktours

 

An Unfiltered Look at Public Finance, Media, Politics and Sports

Business Biography

Date Published: November 28, 2022

 

 

Get unfiltered broadcasting and career advice with this biting and provocative firsthand account of working in media.

Paul Burton has 45 years under his belt, including 10 as a regional editor for New York City-based trade publication, Bond Buyer, and he’s survived—and thrived—to tell the tale. From his humble beginnings to his rise in the industry, Burton covers a lot of ground in his stories, from dealing with people in media and finance to workers in tech and personnel. He not only gives honest insights about financial news but also reveals the controversial internal politics of journalism and publishing that run rampant.

Burton’s wisdom on topics such as covering hot-button issues and fighting against negative stereotypes proves that a career in media is just like the news itself: eclectic, bold, and unexpected.

Take part in the drama and missteps that are a part of success in one of the best journalistic memoirs about business on the market.

About the Author

I am a retired journalist and author of two books, the most recent, “Fiascoes and Foibles: An Unfiltered Look at Public Finance, Media, Politics and Sports” (Elite Authors). It came out last Nov. 28. My earlier book was “Tales from the Newsrooms: An Offbeat Look” (Create Space), in 2011.

“Fiascoes,” a collection of anecdotal essays, reflects largely on my coverage of U.S. public finance over the last 10 years of my career – as a regional editor for a business publication in the shadow of Wall Street – against the backdrop of my 45 years in media. They capture drama, missteps and intrigue I encountered with color and biting, irreverent humor. Plenty of attitude. Topics range from transit/infrastructure to media and politics, and also include broadcasting and podcast dynamics, the alarming clout of tech bureaucracies, the abject failure of open-plan office layouts in the workplace and how my early days in sports journalism shaped and benefited my career.

Unique to my perspective is my blue-collar background. The media employs precious few people from working backgrounds these days. I didn’t go to Harvard, Duke or Stanford and prance right into the New York Times or Wall Street Journal. I was the son of a bartender who navigated a winding road, often working for small-to-medium media outlets who punched above their weight class, and frequently landed a rewarding knockout punch.

 

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