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BILL OF WRONGS -- THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH'S ASSAULT ON AMERICA'S FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS |
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Three weeks before her death at the end of January 2007, Molly Ivins was bedfast, nearing the end of a protracted struggle with metastastic cancer, and I was flying to New Jersey to interview one of the subjects of this book. I assured her that I would tell her about the interview as soon as I returned to Austin. "No," she said firmly, "call me as soon as you finish the interview." This book was Molly's project, the Bill of Rights her great love, writing her life's mission. We worked together pitching the book to Random House, and then shaping, reporting, and revising chapters. Molly wasn't inclined to let go. Not even when I returned from New Jersey to find her in Seton Hospital in Austin, less than a week before she returned to her South Austin home to die. From her hospital bed, in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible, she explained how we could best tell the story of the Bush administration's program to quash the First Amendment free-speech rights of American citizens who dared to criticize the president. This was what she cared about. Her determination to stay in the game was remarkable. To recognize one of the authors of a book in the book's acknowledgments is unusual. We were working in unusual circumstances. Molly was a rare and dedicated professional, who twice a week in more than three hundred newspapers reminded people that they were not alone even if their political views didn't square with what the administration was selling. Harder to acknowledge is the loss of a colleague, a generous friend, and a very courageous woman. Betsy Moon, Molly's inimitable personal assistant and friend, held this book project together under the most difficult circumstances. Charlotte McCann, who spends most of her time as publisher of The Texas Observer, was an invaluable colleague, providing research, editing, and constructive criticism. Our agent, Dan Green, in New York, moved this book from a proposal to its current form, again guiding us through paper processes that most writers find daunting and providing invaluable editorial suggestions. In Hamburg, Jim Lacy made critical connections for us and Tine Muller provided translations of books and documents used that allowed us to tell Murat Kurnaz's story. At Random House, Dan Menaker started this project and Jonathan Jao saw it to completion. And as she has on all of our previous books with Random House, associate copy chief Beth Pearson turned a rough manuscript into a book. Jeanne Goka-Dubose provided support, as well as criticism and commonsense advice rooted in the reality-based culture. |