When i tune to it in the weekend usually its authors sharing their new releases. Watching nonfiction authors oh on book tv is the best television for serious readers. On cspan they can have longer conversations and delve into the subject. Book tv they bring you author after author that spotlight the work of fascinating the people. I love book tv and im a cspan fan. [inaudible conversations] good evening. Good evening and welcome to the barns noble and we appreciate you guys being here. If you could all just take one moment adder take a look at your cell phones and please be sure they are turned off. We would appreciate that. So following todays reading and question and answer, immediately afterwards you will find me outside and we have plenty of books for purchase, great, graduation gift. [applause] we have some outside as well. Afterwards erin will be more than happy to sign them for you, im sure. So we are very happy to invite up in the guest category for a change our guest this evening. When she is not running the first line of defense upstairs, the Customer Service here at the barns noble Upper East Side or serving as bouncer in broadway events, a role she is most effective at. [laughter] this publishing effective is busy writing awardwinning books and we are happy to present one of the latest political suicide. Just plain dumb mistakes. With this crazy Election Year im sure there will be a sequel following this book. Ladies and gentlemen, thank join me in welcoming my colleague erin mchugh. For any of those who dont know me, i was ted cruzs subjectrary of state. [laughter] a couple of years for those who dont know how long it takes to get book published, a couple of years a. People say yes, finally its got a home and then you have to write it. So i knew that 2016, the election was coming and it was going to be sort of crazy but who could possibly have any idea how crazy. [laughter] with that, i think we all know what the landscape has been, what it is only going to turn out to be, we dont know, but as mr. Obama said at the correspondence the other night, this was my last time up here and we dont know who she will be, who shows up here next year, so we will see. I am going to read the introduction to you and a few pieces, they are all these people are so crazy. You can hardly imagine that this all has happened before we were born, most of them. Ive got some of the pieces started as early as 1700s. I will read from somebody who is presently in jail and got in trouble around 2010 and in between. In the 21st century it seems like the electoral process from our local School Board Elections to campaign for mayor and campaign for mar your has become a circus. Remember, i wrote this a year. [laughter] the future of the country rests is instead filled with budgetary tightrope regimes, ethical disappearing acts and most certainly clowns. Instead it becomes three ringses of horror. We are sofa teeinged by the time the mud is slung and election day is over that we are often exhausted by new legislators before they even had a chance to start their jobs. The thrill is on and they havent had a chance to screw up yet. Oh, but they will. Not all of them but enough to fill 24 hour programming churning. How could he think he could get away with that . And we will see back and shake our heads and say, to each other, now, thats political suicide but so often it doesnt turn out to be. Who can understand it in. [laughter] anyway, let me read a few of my favorite pieces. This is about a man Robert Potter, he lived from 1800 to 1842 so not so long. Robert potter was from North Carolina entering the United States navy in 1815 when he was 15 years old and staying in midshipment and in those days provided excitements. Legend had it, he may have killed an officer in a duel. Theres lots of duels. Duels everywhere. Itwas back when he passed congress at 1823. One summer afternoon in 1831 Robert Potter castrated two men. I know. Potter was certain that his wife isabel was stepping out on him with two very different bows, one a minister and the other a teenager boy. Some say that the minister was the cousin and the boy was the nephew of her stepmother but thats never been confirmed. What is known that potter attacked them both on the same day. The sketchy but reports is that when potter found isabela and the reverend together he wrote the man of god in the neck, hog tied him and cut him down below. And for the congressman, he was reinforceful but at peace with his actions. He declared i am consoled by the conviction in what ive done acted upon those feelings which nature has implanted in the hearts of all men. Indeed, that each of you would have done the same thing under the same circumstances. , well, maybe, maybe not. They certainly have not forgot on congressmans adventure with the knife. Even today, castration or the threat of it is still called potterrizing in parts of the sowd. Potter resigned from congress in 1831 and he and his wife divorce. No surprise there. He spent six months in prison. He did manage to get back into legislature but the next year got tozzed out for an episode that involve it had card game and other shaky dealings which may have been cheating, brandishing a gun, or knife or stealing money or trying to get out of a deat. Take your pick. Those were all the reports. There was a lot of moving around because there was no 24hour news cycle and not a lot of newspaper coverage back then that when you got in trouble you would just move far, far away where people never heard of you. So he decided he was going move to texas, the wild texas seem better and got some military credibility and even ended up signing the texas declaration of independence. He took up with a new woman who he married. She seemed to have a husband somewhere. Served as a secretary of the navy, the texas navy. [laughter] perhaps potter in 1842, the regulated moderate award, potter found home surrounded by enemy of regulators. He thought he could get away by jumping into a nearby lake and escape by swimming under water to safety but he came up for air and the minute he did he was shot in the head. Hes buried in texas and has a doublesided tomb stone and on the other side, texas. Colorful to say the least, right . Here is a man named marion, crazy people in washington. He lived from 1901 only to 1936 tbhorn born in poland. He entered politics, politics, first as leftleaning and then as a democrat. By 1932 he ran for congress and entered washington in 1933. Early on he showed great promise. Energetic and interested and advocate for the Great Depression forgotten man. The truth is that he was probably bipolar. It began with pranks and partying, though excessive his behavior was highly unique. By 1936 the stories were multiplying. He made awes for referring to Supreme Court justices as old fossil. He hosted a party only to find when they arrive today investigate the noise complaint that he had taken over the switch board and calling all the neighbors and he was arrested for speeding. Not only did he resist arrest, but he tried to run out of the courtroom upon appearing before the judge and then he found a girlfriend, Administration Secretary named ruby louis knicks. She didnt remain a girlfriend for long. She married for jiffy. They hopped in the car and im sure sped to maryland to get hitched. When the groom didnt have the two bucks for the license he borrowed from justice of the peace. Before the honeymoon he hosted small number of journalists and mixed cocktails which were made out of hair tonic or gin or something. He explained, i met her about a week ago when she called me up one night. She asked me down and i went down and looked her over. She was okay. Took off to puerto rico for a honeymoon. Two separate Car Accidents including one where he bit the driver on the neck and caused the car to crash in a ditch. He drove to the white house into the driveway which you could do, anybody could do with gifts to fdr, the president wasnt home but read a little note left behind in the driveway along with the bag holding a collection of empty beer bottles, moth balls and pingpong balls. He escaped. [laughter] finally, he escaped several days later and picked up again by the police. Ruby had him transferred to a different hospital for which he escaped and arrested and brought back to gain freedoms he returned to hometown of seattle whether to risk imprisonment in dc. Back in seattle he found that he had quite a fan club. People nationwide had loved the crazy stories about being called capitol clown and none so more than the residents of the district. It wasnt that anybody had gotten hurt. Maybe the guy did on the neck. [laughter] the guy was just a nut. When he told his constituents he would not run for reelection, a friend filed papers to run for his seat and then suddenly reversed the decision and said he would run again. However, he never see the campaign. On the way to gala ruby and her husband stopped by the offices in downtown seattle, ruby stayed in the car, he went upstairs wrote a suicide note and then stepped off the ledge of his window. I know. His body struck the ground right next to the car in which ruby sat next waiting for them. My only hope in life was to improve the condition of an unfair Economic System that held no promise to those that all the wealth of decent chance to survive let alone live. He threatened to take the seat or culmination of mental instability, we will never know, but still holds the record for being the only sitting congressman ever sent to an an insane asylum. Think about that. [laughter] okay. I would love to read to you the story of rita, my favorite story in the book. Shes still alive. Born in 1953. This is the biggest embezzlement scam that you have never heard of. The biggest municipal fraud in american history. It took place in an dot on the map dixon, illinois. Dixon was famous of being Ronald Reagans childhood home. Thats about it. Rita was comptroller and treasurer. The majority of employees were part time. Cornwell was appoint today city Financial Post in 1983. It was a deal deal for her. Corn well cornwell was a horse lover and became one of the best horse breeders in the country. She had a luxury motor home that she traveled out and generally on call for town duties even if she was away. Folks at dixon figured they had a pretty good deal, every day she took a day off and was Still Available by phone or email. These are all her neighbors and friends. Pricey clothes, jewelry and all under 83,000dollar salary minus all the days being unpaid for taking the day off. They figured thats where all the money came from and the three homes she owned. Others assumed that she inherited money somewhere despite the fact that knew her parents were not wealthy. People wanted to see what they wanted to. They believed she was trust worthy and didnt question it. Kathy discovered a strange bank account when she was discovered during cornwells absences. It was secondary account holder, Rita Cornwell, the came was fairly simple. She would missile town or illinois and things like that. She would drop the fake invoices and transfer money and deposit into the dummy account. Any audit, any audit at all in 30 years would have uncovered the scam but no one ever checked. Why would they . This was rita. She worked for the town, for them all these years and so she got away with writing 200 of fake invoices in addition to checks from the city account that were made out directly to treasurer. Even some of the checks were made out to spas. No one was noticing. After a few years after opening the account, rita was making checks out to fairly large amounts, 300,000, 500,000. Over the course of the many years, all the 30 years, sit down, i hope youre all sitting, Rita Cornwell stole 53 million from the district of illinois right out of the pockets of her friends and neighbors. [laughter] at the same time that she was filling her coffee, police cars had used radios, streets that badly needed repair, a Water Treatment facility that didnt get built. When swanson, the secretary found the dummy account she was floored. It was rita after all. She immediately brought it to the attention of the mayor who wasted in time in calling the fbi. Six months they were ready and one in morning 2012 rita corn weapon cel was called into the office where the fbi was waiting for her. Rita confessed, after all she was caught redhanded and fully cooperated with the fbi. The mayor was so upset by now when asked what his thoughts or comments on the episode was, he said, turned out Rita Cornwell didnt give a shit about this town. [laughter] she was paid for 20 years. Now she would have to pay the price, shes due for release in 2030. [laughter] so thats the story of rita. This is a rather newer story. I have to read it because of the dairies, you will see. Many of you remember bob, born in 1932. Here we go. And he got in trouble later in the last century but interesting stuff. Came back from politicians when his great grandfather was part of the convention and took family trade in his home state of oregon playing Party Politics and making a name for himself. Back in 1963 at the age of 29 he entered the rouse of representatives and five years later after a squeak he won the race for senate. Youngest senator in town, sociallymoderate republican who supported civil rights, gun control and legalize abortion including planned parenthood and the political caucus. He and his wife were popular breath of fresh air. Pat would work hard and by 1985 he replaced daniel, Senate Committee and finance. He was now one of the most powerful men in washington but also massive drinker. Before 1987 Senate Campaign his wife taught him into seeking a therapist and talking about it. He returned to the appointment and declared i am not an alcoholic. I have what is called a drinking problem. More than decades later in 1982 it all began to come up and pat would not be getting any more kudos, instead he was getting hit with charges of sexual harassment. Many victims were Staff Members or lobbyist. The former left employee to avoid the problem. The weird thing, you remember back in the thing when you couldnt get away with speaking up, he didnt really understand what the problem was, it seemed. He would say awkward things like im apologizing for the conduct that is alleged that i did. It was the nondenial denial. Of all the accusing the worst indictment came from pat himself. I just love this so much. He kept a dairy, a dairy that sounded like a blond to a teenage girl. This is all disgusting but the dairy just really gets me. Dairy was subpoenaed by the subpoena Ethics Committee and by 1995 excerpts appeared in every major newspaper across the country. My favorite sample, although disgusting, of extremely odd and unsettling grasp of sexual behavior, grabbed tracy and she got a little whats the big deal. She made a big stink about it and took me two hours and a couple thousand dollars to calm her down. [laughter] i have one question, if she didnt want me to to touch her nest, why was she in the xerox room. Sure, excuse that she need today make copies. I have a room full that you can boss. I had my jacket off and my sleeves rolled up revealing the welldefine muscular arms which are always bulging with desire. I know what she wanted. This didnt require a lot of thought. [laughter] worst cait it came to lighten the time and the release of dairy to the committee, he would have gone back and changed portions of the record, he confessed in the dairy about making the changes. [laughter] gorgie him him in 1991. She went back to oregon. Let me read two more one more, two more . [laughter] you know, its hard to not read about wilmer mills. 1909 to 1992. When you do Something Like this and you do the research youre looking for the one factoid you never heard of and when you get to the line of this one, you will see what i found out. A bunch of congresses knew mills life, fine congressional record and finally redemption. But here is our part of the story. The democrat from arkansas from the a family of liberal, his father was a School Superintendent who helped public school, the first one in the state to teach both black and white students. Valedictorian of high school in college, wilmer went to law school. He ended up in washington. He became an extremely power voice in washington and remained in congress for nearly four decades from 1939 to 1987. To this day, no one has held the chair longer. He helped develop medicare. In fact, mills with kennedy had been working on the universal Health Care Reform bill in summer of 1974 which mills managed to get to the committee with little squeak of 1213 votes. Mills was nervous about bringing the bill to the house floor but then became a moot question a few months later on october 9th. His life went to hell in a hay basket. When his car was stopped at 2 00 a. M. , he was drunk, he had cuts all over the place, in the company of a stripper, jumped out of the car and ran and cops called a suicide attempt. They brought it to the mental unit for the might. She was a washington neighbor, a mrs. Anabelle of argentina but famously known as fan fox which she was known as the argentine fire cracker. My wifes broken foot prevented our entertaining at home and she insisted i take our friends to a public place we had frequented before. This i did, he explained. We visited another place and we had a few refresh ment. I enlist it had help of others to assist me in seeing her safely home. Since mills was beaten up and fox ended in the mental hospital, perhaps she should have asked for a better host. Altercations and arguments were far from unusual. In the presocial media days no one ever grabbed photo of them or reported any hankiepangy at all. We are not on line. In fact, manage today lay dow a few days after arrest claiming that the whole thing is unfortunate circumstances, evidently brought on by a few refreshments. He hold up just for a week and that seem today die down. On november 4th. He won reelection with 60 of the vote. It might have indicated there, but it didnt. Wilmer mills gave her a kiss and then, since that was enough, gave a press conference back in her dres