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Last Week's News Scoops (According to Arizona's Congressman Andy Biggs): Newsletter: The Biggs Idea

What was Andy up to last week: Happy Friday!
The House interrupted its August recess this week to focus on two pieces of legislation that prove Democrats are out of touch with the American people. Every American is feeling the effects of inflation, an open border, and the crisis in Afghanistan. Yet Nancy Pelosi called the House back to federalize elections and start the process to spend another $3.5 trillion, pass a radical socialist agenda, and provide amnesty to illegal aliens. It’s time for President Biden and Nancy Pelosi to focus on the crises they’ve created and begin working for the best interests of the American people. Read below to learn about the important happenings of the week: On Fox News

Prayers for Afghanistan Thursday was a dark day in American history. I express my sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of those tragically killed. Since being sworn into office, President Biden has projected weakness. In this instance, that failure of leadership has emboldened the Taliban. As President, it is Biden’s duty to ensure that our country is so feared and respected around the world that our enemies think twice before attempting to do us harm. President Biden has done the exact opposite, and the American people are paying for it with their lives.  This tragic and avoidable turn of events will forever mar the United States and our reputation with allies and enemies. As a man of faith, I pray for the protection of those who are still in harm’s way. May God safely return them home to their families and loved ones. H.R. 4: Democrats’ Second Attempt to Federalize Elections This legislation is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Similar to H.R.1, it is an  unconstitutional power grab by Democrats to federalize all elections. It would effectively abolish Voter ID, allow for unlimited mail-in ballots and allow ballot harvesting.  Remember these policies when you hear about this bill because the Democrats love it and will do everything they can to pass it through Congress. Click on the photo below to listen to me explain why I oppose the bill: Infrastructure & Reconciliation The Senate-passed $1.2 trillion infrastructure package is full of wasteful spending initiatives with no plan to pay for them. Even worse, Democrats are using budget reconciliation to pass another $3.5 trillion dollar package chock-full of socialist policies and amnesty for illegal aliens. The package is so radical it caused several hours of last-minute negotiations among House Democrats as they tried to shove the package through this week. Now the process of crafting -- and fighting against -- the details of the reconciliation package will begin. Click on the photo below to listen to why I voted against allowing this process to proceed: Interview on Fox Business with Varney & Co. I joined Varney & Co. on Fox Business to discuss the Afghanistan withdrawal. I support bringing our troops home and so do the American people. However, a plan should have been put in place to execute it successfully. Instead, we are experiencing one of the worst military debacles in modern U.S. history with the potential to get much worse. Click on the picture below to watch: Protecting Employees from Vaccine Mandates This week I introduced a bill that would prohibit entities that received COVID-19 relief funds from forcing their employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Many of these companies turned to the federal government for support during 2020’s tough economic times, and that support was provided by American taxpayers. Now companies are bullying those same tax-paying employees into taking a vaccine that they may not be comfortable with. My bill will stop those companies from enforcing those mandates by requiring them to return the relief funds they received if they don’t allow their employees to make their own personal health care decisions. Click on the bill below to read it:   Final Thoughts: Biden’s Afghanistan Failure Since becoming President, Joe Biden created a border crisis, allowed crime to soar in our communities, spent recklessly, forcing inflation to rise to new highs, and now failed to safely withdraw our troops from Afghanistan. Joe Biden said he was going to, “Build Back Better,” but all we’ve seen from him is failure and weakness. America has no idea what Joe Biden’s plan is to fix this mess, he won’t answer questions from the press, and everything he and his Administration has predicted about the situation has been wrong. At this time, we need a leader to buckle down and let his actions speak louder than words. The world is watching and America is waiting for true leadership. FOLLOW US:      Bills Co-sponsored: H.R. 5062, Americans not Aliens Act (Gosar, R-AZ) Articles of Impeachment against Secretary Blinken (Norman, R-SC) Letters Co-signed: Letter to Sec. Mayorkas Regarding Reinstatement of MPP  Letter to Dr. Fauci Regarding Use of Beagles for Scientific Experiments Letter to President Biden on Eviction Moratorium Letter to DOJ Regarding Dismissal of UVMMC Conscience Violation

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Way-Too-Woke for Me: 'Pushy' Novelist Philip Roth A Master of Self-Promotion ...He Hustled for Prizes

Read this if you want to - all of it >

A master of self-promotion: letters reveal how Philip Roth ‘hustled’ for prizes

Correspondence found in archives shows how ‘pushy’ novelist used ‘collusion, networking and back-scratching’ to win literary awards

By Dalya Alberge

Sun 29 Aug 2021 04.45 EDT

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As one of America’s foremost novelists, Philip Roth was awarded nearly every literary accolade, including a Pulitzer prize. It might be assumed that his work spoke for itself in securing these plaudits, but previously unpublished letters reveal he was, in fact, a master of self-promotion, networking and mutual back-scratching.

Professor Jacques Berlinerblau, who studied the correspondence while writing a book about Roth, was surprised by how pushy the author was and by his wheeler-dealing with friends and colleagues from the worlds of publishing, literary criticism and academia. “It’s something one would never get from reading his highly autobiographical descriptions of the writer’s lonely life,” he said.

Roth died in 2018 aged 85. His novels included The Ghost Writer, which introduced his alter ego, a young writer named Nathan Zuckerman, who also narrated the Pulitzer prize-winning American Pastoral.

The extent of Roth’s networking has emerged from dozens of letters held within the archives of the Library of Congress in Washington.

The Philip Roth We Don’t Know by Jacques Berlinerblau. Photograph: PR

Berlinerblau, of Georgetown University, Washington, who has published papers on Roth and lectured on his work for three decades, said: “The thing I learnt about Roth in looking through this material is how much time he spent networking, scratching people’s backs, placing his people in positions, voting for them. There are countless examples of friends in publishing and the literary worlds doing favours for Roth – some of those including awards committees. There is ample reason to infer from their responses that Roth reciprocated.

“So much of Roth’s fiction – about a writer who resembled Roth – neglected to allude to that component of the artist’s life. It was a bit disillusioning for me, as I thought – naively – that the great writer cared only for art, its integrity, its austere demands.

“We have this romantic conception of the great man, who’s just lost in the endeavour, and Roth writes about this in The Ghost Writer, probably his best novel. He wants to be passionately writing – art, art, art, nothing but art, life will not intrude on art. It was a vision of Roth that Roth sold.”

The writer went to huge lengths to shape his posthumous reputation, giving his authorised biographer, Blake Bailey, exclusive access to a treasure trove of archival material. Shortly after the biography was published earlier this year, several women accused Bailey of sexual misconduct and assault (allegations he has denied), leading his US publisher to pulp the book, although it was later taken on by another publisher.

Philip Roth at a lunch counter in Newark, New Jersey, in 1968. Photograph: Bob Peterson/Getty

Berlinerblau notes that, in a 2012 interview, Roth mentioned asking his executors to destroy material after his death: “The prevailing story … was that Roth tried to control his legacy from the grave. In researching this book, it became clear to me that Roth did this during his life as well. He ‘hustled’. He spent a lot of time advancing his career.”

Berlinerblau acknowledged that all writers self-promote and that a young Roth was known to have pushed hard to publish his 1959 fiction collection, Goodbye, Columbus. But he added: “Roth was the beneficiary of relationships, arrangements and perks that few writers ever possessed.”

The letters reveal “the degree of collusion”, he said, singling out one in which Roth told a scholar, who had written glowingly about him, that he had tried to get him a particular academic job.

Berlinerblau also pointed to an extensive correspondence with a literary critic, which includes discussions about literature: “But mostly they’re talking about how they can help each other with this award, this position… It made me a little suspicious about the publishing world. There’s a lot of networking.”

In one letter, that critic – a close friend – congratulated Roth on receiving a prestigious literary prize, when he had actually headed the committee making the decision. Roth, in turn, helped him. The critic wrote to Roth: “I am also applying for another fellowship… So, may I ask you to dust off the letter you recently sent and send a version of it again.”

Correspondence with Ted Solotaroff, the late publisher, editor and reviewer who had written in praise of his friend Roth’s writings over the years, reveals he had asked the writer to support a grant application. Roth did so, writing that Solotaroff is “one of the very best literary critics”, repeating the favour for Solotaroff’s nomination for a grant and his application for an academic residency.

Berlinerblau was “shocked” to see such obvious back-scratching: “I’m a liberal academic, who believes in critical distance and blind peer review.”

He added: “I can’t think of a single novel where you had an alter ego Zuckerman who writes a letter on behalf of someone else, and his friend sends him a letter saying I got you the prize, baby, I talked you up, you’re in…

“He refrained from depicting that ‘hustling’ aspect of the craft, even though so many of his novels were about writers just like him.”

Berlinerblau studied the correspondence in writing his forthcoming book, The Philip Roth We Don’t Know: Sex, Race and Autobiography, to be published by the University of Virginia Press in September.

Ultimately, Berlinerblau said, it is all the more surprising because Roth was such “a magnificent writer”.

Another leading scholar, Ira Nadel, author of Philip Roth: A Counterlife, said: “It’s absolutely true. He was a great self-promoter from the beginning. I’m not sure he didn’t need to do it. He played the game, the game of publishing. He knew self-promotion was the key to keeping your name out there and getting your books both published and sold.”

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