My Top Ten Books from 2014

-I don't think any of these books came out in 2014, but these are my top 10 out of the 62 books I read last year.

My Top 10 Books from 2014!
1) Happily Ever After: Walking with Peace and Courage Through a Year of Divorce-Kristin Armstrong--This is by far the book that ministered to me the most while I was going through my divorce.  So much so, that I have bought it for other friends going through the same thing.

2) You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a more Fulfilling Life-Eleanor Roosevelt--A friend was reading this book and bought a copy for me so we could read it together.  We read it in January and it was an awesome book to start my year off with.  Eleanor inspires people with her words and in the way she lived her life.  She was an incredible woman.

3) Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight-Karl Rove--Rove is an amazing man on so many levels.  I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about him in his candid book and about what went on in the Bush Administration.

4) Chasing the Devil: My Twenty-Year Quest to Capture the Green River Killer-David Reichert--Reichert is a man who never gave up on finding the Green River Killer (who turned out to be Gary Ridgeway) and thus bringing some measure of justice and closure for all the victims' loved ones.  This was an inspirational story on not giving up on a just cause.

5) Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10-Marcus Luttrell--The book and the movie about this true story made both of my Top 10 lists.  An incredible story about some amazing men, true heroes indeed.

6) Smokin' Seventeen-Janet Evanovich--No top 10 list is complete without a Stephanie Plum book on it.  Evanovich's series on Stephanie Plum makes me laugh out loud, reader beware if you are reading this in a public waiting room, people will think you are crazy.

7) Sleepers-Lorenzo Carcaterra--I saw the movie about this years ago and didn't realize it was based on a true story.  I found the book in a thrift store and ended up reading it right away and not being able to put it down.

8) Escape-Carolyn Jessop--This is the book that started all of my research on the FLDS and the many brave women and men who escaped the FLDS's clutches.

9) Frances Folsom Cleveland-Susan Sinnott--I found all the first ladies that I read about this year to be fascinating, but I especially loved learning about Frances because I didn't know much about her and there were a lot of firsts for her and her husband in the White House.

10) Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People-Sarah Bradford--A wonderful book about an amazing woman.

A Review of Courage and Consequence!

Photo: Karl Rove and I at Hannity's Take Back Our Country Event in 2010

The courage and conviction I saw among those aboard Air Force One and in the White House in the years ahead gave me the confidence of having been on the right side of the fight.

I wanted things on the wall that reminded me of where I came from and whom I admired.

...the leading reform opponents--this tale's true villains--were Democratic congressman Barney Frank and senator Chris Dodd. Dodd was less angry than Frank--though this could be said of virtually everyone on Capitol Hill--but he was just as wrong in his diagnosis of the problem and his opposition to reform.

At its heart and in its results, politics is the great, moving expression of our democracy. There are knaves and fools in politics, but the arena is also filled with people motivated by high ideals and great causes who work with skill, integrity, and honor.--Karl Rove

-I read this book at the beginning of the year, so this review is way overdue. 

-I have always respected Karl Rove, but this book has only increased my respect for him and President Bush. It was fascinating to see how things took place behind the scenes. A lot of it confirmed things that I thought at the time. 

-I met him at Sean Hannity's Take Back Our Country Event, and he was genuine and kind.  I have a good friend who used to work with Rove and Bush back in Texas while Bush was running for Governor, and he vouches that Rove is the real deal.

-I highly recommend reading it!

Taking Our Country Back w/ Sean Hannity and Karl Rove in KC!

Saturday was an awesome day!! The "Taking our Country Back Tour" made a stop in Kansas City with Laura Ingraham, John Rich, Karl Rove and Sean Hannity.

Before the show, I got autographs and pics taken with Sean Hannity and Karl Rove. They are both amazing, genuine and gracious men in person. I enjoyed all the talks, even Laura Ingraham's. She lost some of my support in recent years when she relentlessly went after Bush over the immigration issue towards the end of his presidency. Yet, she encouraged everyone on Saturday to support good, conservative Republicans instead of wandering down the 3rd party road like some seem destined to do.


Karl Rove gave an incredible talk and just amazes me with his grasp on the issues. He is so disarming that its hard to see why anyone would hate him. I then remind myself that the left will attempt to destroy anyone they perceive as a threat, and Rove is definitely that.

He also gave some specific ways to make sure Republicans win in November.


John Rich won my support when he denounced Phelp's horrible clan (that was picketing outside) by saying there was a special place in hell for them. I still cannot fathom the evil that it takes to protest at a funeral of a soldier who has died for his country.


Sean Hannity brought the house down as usual, the crowd roared when he came out. He is definitely a Republican Rock Star for so many reasons! For one thing, he is the real deal! He started off by pointing out how bad things were and then moving onto the good news and what we could do to take our country back! I left there feeling optimistic about our country's future, and ready to get to work!

Sean Hannity in KC on April 10th!!

Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, John Rich, Karl Rove and Chris Stigall are going to be at the Sprint Center this Saturday for the "Taking our Country Back Tour"!

A friend and I are going, and I'm looking forward to it. I got both Hannity's book, Conservative Victory, and Rove's, Courage and Consequence at Sam's last night. Stay tuned for a post after the event!!

Karl Rove

"They are likely to nominate a tough, tenacious, fatally flawed candidate by the name of Hillary Rodham Clinton."--Karl Rove

Karl Rove was loved by many conservatives and hated by the left. Whatever you want to say about him he's been a huge force in the political realm. To be honest I was shocked today to hear the news that he was leaving a year early. I asked my radio guest, Bill Price (who personally knows Rove) if he saw this coming and he said he didn't.

Paul Gigot describes Karl Rove in his column as "relaxed and cheerful". That is amazing to me when you look at the amount of stress he's been under for numerous years and how much he is vilified by so many. Yet, in the brief amount of time that I got to meet him last September that was my impression of him as well.

As Gigot points out, Karl Rove has clearly been extremely influential and I would argue that its been an influence for good.

I love his quote about Hillary at the top, I can't think of a more accurate term for her than "fatally flawed".