This week-a mixed bag-YA, gays and a DC scandal.

Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist by Jack Abramoff (2011)

Known now as the face of the Washington scandal, Jack Abramoff tries to explain himself in this oddly interesting book about his life and career.  He stumbles into lobbying not sure what it is.  His life is defined by his Judaism, not because of his family, but in spite of it.  He finds himself at the uber-liberal institution founded on ideals of social justice, my alma mater, Brandeis University, a conservative Orthodox Jew determined to pound the pavement and find all the College Republicans in Waltham and beyond.  And he does.

To his credit, he grows the organization, makes a name for himself as a young man, decides not to finish at Georgetown Law Center and begins lobbying.  He is enamored of the 70s and 80s Republican big wigs and easily becomes enmeshed in the DC political scene.  Soon he is a major player taking cases and 'making a difference,' in his words.

But when the mighty fall, they fall hard.  Though from his reaction, you'd think he was not a big firm Washington player, but a neophyte to whom 'full disclosure' and 'split fees' were terms unfamiliar.  To hear him rationalize a la Robin Hood that his money was going to charitable ventures was almost painful.  After all, whether you fall on his side of the aisle or not, Abramoff is a bright man who knew how to work people and the system, whether right or wrong.  Was that the best he could do?  Also not impressed with the naivete and dichotomy of his religion and his immorality.  If you stop work because of the Sabbath, but what you're stopping is bribes, does it really matter?

The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth Laban (2013) YA

Reminiscent of Thirteen Reasons Why, mainly because of the device used to tell the story, this book is told through the voices of Tim, an albino boy,  and Duncan, both students of the fictional Irving School in Westchester, NY.

The senior English project is the Tragedy Paper and it is a BIG deal.  Woven throughout this book is the need to write this paper, how the lives of these students intersect and how one student's story may become the Tragedy Paper for the other.

Duncan arrives at school to begin his senior year and is placed in the room Tim had the year prior.  Left for him as his 'treasure,' an Irving tradition, is a set of CDs on which Tim recorded length messages for Duncan to hear.  We are told the story of Tim, Vanessa and the prior year through these recordings, and intertwined in real time is Duncan's story.  While this could have had more depth, not quite sure of my expectations, this was a good YA story about accepting others, regretting mistakes made and trying to do the right thing.

Pray the Gay Away: The Extraordinary Lives of Bible Belt Gays by Bernadette Barton (2013)

I can only imagine the size of the closet Bible Belt Gays need in which to hide.  This book by PhD and lesbian Barton is well-researched.  She spoke to almost 60 gay men and women living in the Bible Belt and they divulged their experiences being raised there, the abuse they suffered at the hands of their own parents upon coming out, the treatment by their churches and communities as well as the rejection and ostracism they experienced.  She also attended an Exodus International conference, visited the Creation Museum and discussed many sociological and psychological studies.

On a regular basis, the negative messages gays in the Bible Belt are inundated with are overwhelming.  From bumper stickers that proclaim 'marriage=one man+one woman' to billboards against homosexuality as a sin to ex-gay programs promoted like Exodus International, political signs on lawns to vote for propositions for marriage amendments, regular church sermons about homosexual sinners burning in hell, the discomfort of being able to walk down the street hand in hand with your same sex partner because of widespread disapproval, the ability to fire someone for their sexual orientation.  It is endless.

Barton talks about how the gay community is incredibly oppressed, forced into what she calls a 'toxic closet.'  They have to be careful to whom they disclose their relationship for fear of repercussions.   They have to be wary of the conservative Christian community, for although Christianity espouses love, their experiences have been of exclusion and hate.  On the other hand, studies have shown that when gay people come out, those who fear or hate gays have it normalized because they realize that the people they know who are gay are not the heretic, immoral monsters they feared but everyday people very much like themselves.  Hopefully this book will be picked up by many, though those who need it most surely will not.

I read, therefore I am,
the lowercase b