Tonight: Amanda Marcotte Keeps it Skeptical at the Brattle Theatre

^{Amanda Marcotte, as Bandolier-and-Secret Service Palin}

Waaay back in 2007, before his reputation was massacred by his extramarital relationship with the oh-so-sage and graceful Rielle Hunter, “Johnny” Edwards was more concerned with how the ladies he appointed to blog for him could harm his presidential bid.

“John Edwards is a decent man who has had his campaign tarnished by two anti-Catholic vulgar trash-talking bigots,” the president of the Catholic League explained three years ago.

Funny how the passage of time and an illegitimate child really puts quotes like those into perspective, huh? One of the alleged “trash-talking bigots” was Amanda Marcotte, then blogmaster of the Edwards campaign and writer for popular feminist blog Pandagon. Marcotte gained notoriety in many circles for brazen written attacks of the Catholic Church and eventually, to the relief of the Edwards camp, resigned from her post. Given Edwards’s current standing in the American political landscape, her exit from his campaign is a much bigger badge of honor than a marker of shame.

Skepticism and fire power in tow, Marcotte’s been plugging away since she was ousted from the failed campaign. Her second book, Get Opinionated: A Progressive’s Guide to Finding Your Voice (and Taking a Little Action) was published last month and is filled with all sorts of liberal cynicism and clever explorations of things like vaccinations, environmental issues, and the war on drugs.

Marcotte's new book, which succeeds her 2008 It's a Jungle Out There: The Feminist Survival Guide to Politically Inhospitable Environments, is painted as a topical but rousing overview of today's most pressing political issues with the ultimate goal of informing young readers and getting them riled up enough to actually do something. "Get Opinionated will help you find your political voice and galvanize you into action," Perseus Books says.

There's probably no better group in town to host a figure like Marcotte than the Boston Skeptics Club, who have invited her to the Brattle tonight to speak about the new book. Furrow your brows and hurry your soon-to-be-more-opinionated self on over to Harvard Square to see Marcotte at 8 pm.