Will Belegon's Whimsical Box

Story Submitted, Brady Bunch Time Coming...

2011-06-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

I finished the short story I was working on in time to submit it before heading to Balticon over Memorial Day weekend... yay me! We'll see what the editor/publisher's opinion of it is and I will announce it here when I hear yay or nay. If they do not decide to include it, I will find an alternate venue, I promise.

Speaking of Balticon, this was the third year I have attended and I come home every year having enjoyed it just a little bit more. It is not my "normal" con because I am all but an unknown there. Very few of the people I see there have ever read much of my writing. Those that have are more friends and colleagues than audience, so to speak. So it is a very low pressure environment. I really should try my hand at fantasy or science fiction eventually. Yeah, I've written several paranormal things, but I mean classical science fiction...or at least space opera. I've always read SF and Fantasy for pleasure. Perhaps I fear writing it will remove that pleasure. Hmmmm...

This weekend, the under twenty-one population of the household expands from three to five. My absolute favorite six weeks of the year, when the children of my body come to stay and I have my step-spawn and blood-spawn all under the same roof. I feel more complete during this time. Yes, it makes free time almost non-existent. But I suffer that gladly. I miss my kids, and as much as I enjoy the company of my three younger housemates, there is always that emotional distance that comes with the fact that I am not their father.

But for the next six weeks, my kids are more than voices on a phone. *GRIN* I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!

Yeah, I must be some kind of crazy. I am actually looking forward to six weeks with five teenagers in the house. Wow.

Keeping the Habit Going...

2011-05-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

Since blogging Saturday about my recent frustrations on the writing side, I started yet another story... only this one is specifically for a call I noticed that ends June 1st.

The idea is that by putting a deadline there, I can try and force myself to write. Sure, I'm writing for an open call. There is no guarantee in that and the piece may not be chosen. But that doesn't mean it will necessarily be a fruitless exercise.

The call is for work between 2500 and 8000 words, so I am not committing to a novel or anything. But finishing even a short work will be a step in the right direction. It's a call for college years themed erotica, and my college experiences were a fertile field for my early ventures into erotica. This time, I chose an event from my actual past and I am tweaking it to turn out differently. The central idea is the chance to relive a decision that I don't necessarily regret but where I have wondered about alternative outcomes.

I'm not changing the initial point of decision, the place that could have really gone either way, because I like the choice I made. It was one of those moments where I feel like I lived up to my ideals... doing something the right way, despite there being a personal cost.

However, I am changing the aftermath of that decision. That is where the "What if..." portion comes in to play.

So far, I written just over 2000 words and have almost reached the point where speculation will diverge from reality. Not that the story is exactly what happened and certainly the dialogue is not accurate. I mean, it was twenty years ago and I have trouble remembering things with that detail after twenty minutes.

So it isn't really a "true story." It is more like based on what maybe could have been a real story if the persons in the story might have concentrated a little less on what things appeared to be and a little more on what they really wanted.

But I'm having fun with it. And it has been a while since I wrote for fun.

It Isn't Really Writer's Block

2011-05-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

My writing has been at a standstill lately. I keep making myself promises to get moving again, and then other things get in the way or I sit at the keyboard and just stare until I finally click over to Facebook or open the news or a blog. I've constantly wondered what I am lacking.

There are several things one needs to write. Some fall under motivation, some ability or talent, some logistical.

The opportunity to write, the time in other words, is there. Oh, I'm busy. Very busy. I get up Monday through Friday and head to work, of course. Then I come home and four days a week the turnaround time until heading to the dojang for taekwondo is short, but not THAT short. Three of those days I have at least an hour of down time. And there are all the other things that need doing. Sleep, sustenance, laundry. But I have not picked up my PS3 controller or booted up Fallout or Neverwinter Nights in weeks. And I usually have the whole weekend with only minor commitments. So although my time is tight, there are places where I could sit down and bang away at wordsmithing.

All the incentive is there, at least rationally. And I sure as hell could use the money, more now than ever. I have two WIP's that are already sold; contracts aren't signed, but the publishers have been waiting on the finished work for quite some time and have not made any indication that they have changed their mind. One was even up on a Coming Soon page --- and was "coming soon" for way tooooo long. Eventually, when the site got updated, it came off.

I also have plenty of work started, in various stages of completion. Most of them stalled at around 30K. I have even more tales with the outlines of a plot on paper (virtual and otherwise) and no shortage of ideas. So, the creativity is there. The ideas have never stopped flowing.

I think it might boil down to two things, and they are related. Audience and enjoyment. When I first turned my mind back to writing, I had both of those. I started with sportswriting, of course. And audience was never a problem with those blogs, especially after I started working for a national website and had their linkages. I didn't always get heavy feedback on each post, but I could see the numbers as far as pageloads. And I did get comments, sometimes dozens of them.

When I started writing erotica and erotic romance, it was at Literotica and I again had feedback... some of it very strong. The negative stuff rarely bothered me. In some ways it was more energizing then the good stuff. And the community and the standards of the AH and the audience made me a better writer.

But the money at Lit is non-existent. Yeah, a couple of contest wins -- but that doesn't pay bills, it just feeds the ego and lets you splurge on a minor indulgence. The sports money was better and more predictable, but was strictly a secondary income source. You could make more money collecting aluminum cans than I did as a "professional sportswriter."

The enjoyment of creation is fine. I still get that. Liking my own turn of phrase or plot point. But the second step in enjoying writing, for me at least, is having someone react. The greatest compliment you can receive as a writer is when people believe your fiction is real. I've had people argue with me. "That's wrong, because she would never do that!" What a compliment, when a reader gets mad at me because the creation of my imagination is so completely real to them that they honestly believe that character has a life and a personality outside my skull.

I need to find that part again. I am no Emily Dickinson in talent... but also, I am not one in temperament. I can not sit alone and create my art for it's own sake. My art is only complete when it has created, or failed to create, an emotion in my audience.

Of course, the dilemma is that in order to find an audience... I HAVE TO FINISH SOMETHING!

Grrrrrrrrr...

Redefing Rape: New GOP-sponsored Anti-abortion Bill

2011-01-30T14:42:00.000-08:00

We all know that certain groups in this country have a focus on abortion that overrides any other issue. They will go to any lengths to overturn Roe vs Wade -- and the most extreme of them will even call murder justified if it is the murder of a person who is pro-choice or, worse yet, works at a clinic or a Planned Parenthood.

(That these same groups are almost without exception in favor of the death penalty still boggles my mind. Seems to me there should not be a size or age limit on life being "sacred.")

But this blindness to reason or "compromise" has always excluded a few select circumstances. When the life of the mother is in danger, rape and incest. And very few Americans disagree with those exceptions. Or did...

One of the new bills the GOP has hit the ground running with is H.R. 3, the No Taxpayer Funding For Abortion Act. On the surface, it is a bit strange...taxpayer funding of abortion in all but the circumstances cited above is already illegal.

H.R. 3 looks to redefine and increase these restrictions. First and foremost, it now forbids using federal funds OR funds that are tax-deductible for an insurance plan that includes coverage of abortion. This would include any funds that are pre-tax out of your paycheck. The language is quite deceptively clear...

‘(1) no credit shall be allowed under the internal revenue laws with respect to amounts paid or incurred for an abortion or with respect to amounts paid or incurred for a health benefits plan (including premium assistance) that includes coverage of abortion, (from the bill as published at opencongress.org)

This means that any health plan that covers abortion is taxable... not just any portion used for abortion, not any deductibles, not any actual procedure. The language clearly says "includes coverage."

Bad enough. This is nothing less than an attempt to force health insurers not to cover abortion... but this type of legislation has always been subject to the "rule of three." The three exceptions.

Later, those are addressed... but they are addressed in a very specific way. Read for yourself.

‘The limitations established in sections 301, 302, 303, and 304 shall not apply to an abortion--
‘(1) if the pregnancy occurred because the pregnant female was the subject of an act of forcible rape or, if a minor, an act of incest; or..." (goes on to cover the life of the mother being endangered.)

Now remember, the letter of the law is exactly that... the letter of the law. Not "Rape." "Forcible Rape." So, you were drugged? Not covered. Thirty year old man has consensual sex with a twelve year old? Not covered. No force was used? NOT covered. Threats, remember, are not force. This is why there is a difference between assault and battery. Assault is threats, battery is an unwanted touching or contact.

So, be quiet and do as you are told or I will hurt the kids sleeping in the next room? NOT COVERED. As I hinted at before, the date rape drug dropped in your gin and tonic... NOT COVERED. What's more, some states don't define a difference in rape and it can thus be argued that no rape in those states would be covered since there is no definition for "forcible" in those locations.

Does this sound extreme? Think I am pushing the point too far? I'm not. Once the law is approved, what is written is what is... intention is not a part of it. This is why it is so important for legislation to be well written.

H.R. 3 is dangerous. It isn't only an attack on the issue of choice. It is a precedent setting attack on the definition of rape itself.

Tell your congressional representative to vote no on H.R. 3.

Tangled Roots

2011-01-24T13:55:00.000-08:00

The latest release in Coming Together's Neat line is now available through All Romance eBooks and Smashwords.

Giselle Renarde's Tangled Roots is a multilayered tale about Simone, who has come to a crossroads in her life. In order to move forward, she is going to have to chose more than just a path right or left... she is going to have to confront the heritage and the past that has caught up to her at last.

Moses, the main male protagonist, is both what she wants and what she most fears. He will challenge both her assumptions and her misconceptions... and force her out of a comfort zone that has been holding her back in ways she has both cultivated and in areas of which she is completely unaware.

The short length of this piece does not keep it from being a complex, well thought-out journey through Simone's past and her state of mind. It also addresses the subject of race and pride from an internal perspective, exploring how the outward assumptions of those around Simone shape her world and affect not only how she treats others, but her own sense of worth.

A good read for a good cause; all Coming Together:Neat proceeds are used to fund micro-loans through Kiva. This work is also available through eXcessica, and if you think it sounds familiar, you might own it already... Neat does not require exclusivity and the folks at eXcessica were more than willing to share based on the charitable focus of Coming Together.

If only Amazon were able to understand that concept, it would already be available there as well... and hopefully will be soon. Until then, you can get it at Smashwords or ARe.

Five "Whole Truths" We Will Never Learn

2010-08-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

I see lists, I click on lists, I waste time on lists... so why not waste time writing one and at least get some word exercise out of it...

1) The JFK Assassination - There is no doubt that Kennedy had lots of enemies and an awful lot of people stood to benefit from his death. But does that mean there was a conspiracy? I don't think we will ever know.

2)What was Greek Fire? - For hundreds of years, a substance some have described as "ancient napalm" was the greatest fear of a sailor going into battle. But the secret of making it disappeared. Some modern substances have similar properties, but there just isn't any way to learn what the original was. We may actually have the same thing today and just not realize it.

3)Did Shakespeare write everything Shakespeare wrote? - I am not one of those people that have theories about this or that member of the royal family, nor do I think Kit Marlowe or Ben Johnson took Will's name. But this was at the beginning of theater as an art form and the plays we have are primarily transcripts of performances. How much changed during rehearsal? Didn't actors ad lib, even then? It's fun to wonder who would claim what if we could speak to the members of his acting company.

4) Babe Ruth's Called Shot - A former Supreme Court Justice swore Ruth called it. The pitcher that threw the pitch says if he had, that pitch would have been in his ear. There are home movies, but the angle and quality makes it impossible to tell if he is gesturing at right-center field or the Cub's dugout. Ruth played the "you tell me" card for years before half-assedly saying that he did call it. And this was not a man given to doing things halfway.

5)Why can't Will Belegon finish a new novel? - Okay, maybe this truth we can learn. Or maybe not. But it probably has something to do with writing blog posts instead of fiction....Twitter may be implicated... and video games are definitely part of the problem.

The Breakfast Club

2010-08-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

I watched The Breakfast Club with my stepson today...

Such an iconic movie. A moment suspended in time, a single Saturday afternoon in the mid-eighties. It is a piece of theater that seems so dead-on specific to me... and yet, like all classics, it is so universal that thousands of others, and not only in my generation, think it is actually about them.

Breakfast Club came out the winter after I graduated high school, in February 1985. It was filming while I was actually where those kids are, time-wise. In high school, dealing with the little struggles that seem so large... because it is all we know. A failing grade, a trip to the principals office, a first kiss. A single Saturday can envelop the learning of a lifetime.

In 1985, I never would have thought that someone who would turn sixteen in 1990 would be able to relate. Let alone in '95, 2000, etc. It has now been 25 years and yet I think that every person who has been through a detention period in those 25 years finds something in the film that they relate to...

In my multiple endeavors, I work with people that cross many generations and a few cultures. There are only a few things that cross the gaps between oceans and generations. But I can hand a pair of sunglasses to a college kid at my day job and say "For better hallway vision..." and the kid gets it. Right away. He knows the line, he knows the movie and more importantly... he knows what the line means. Not what it says, but what it means.

We used to play the conversation game about "Which member of the Breakfast Club are you?" Which then gets inevitably expanded to which John Hughes character, etc. And someone that wasn't even an idea when I first saw the movie, who wasn't even born when I graduated college, let alone high school... they can play that game, too.

Is it a revelation to them, like it was to us? No, it isn't. The one thing that is true for us is that we were the generation that got to experience this first. Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Some Kind of Wonderful. And Fast Times, St. Elmo's Fire, etc. We sometimes forget that, with a few very small exceptions, this didn't exist before us. Before John Hughes, before Amy Heckerling.

There is no Juno or Scott Pilgrim without John Hughes first.

But still, that gives us a bridge. We can cross the years through these films. Not only the years between us and our own adolescence, but the years between ours and our kids.

John is gone now, died last year. Once again, thank you John.

Oh, and by the way, I'm John Bender. Because in high school, I wasn't fulfilling any of the artistic/intellectual potential that made me a published author, nor was I playing the sports I played in college. And I sure as hell wasn't the kind of guy that showed the kind of perseverance necessary to be achieving a black belt.

No, I was a regular visitor with the Assistant Principal, the guy who nearly got kicked out of school a few times and who was probably gonna work at Sears for the rest of his life.

Go figure, eh?

Stay Decision Seems To Say No Appeal Possible

2010-08-13T07:02:00.000-07:00

The wait for the decision in California's Prop 8 case was long. Months, not weeks... a long time to wait. Especially considering it has been 22 months since the fateful thing passed in the first place.

Thirteen days of actual trial ended and the case went for decision in March. It has been six years since San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome fired his warning shot across the bow of bigotry by issuing licenses illegally. (Though I support Mayor Newsome's actions, there is no doubt that it was not a matter legally in the jurisdiction of the city.)

I think the wait has been long enough, although I understand the wait until Aug. 18th. But beyond that? NO.

When the decision was announced a week ago, it felt like I had won a personal victory. Because although I may be straight and legally able to marry, I have far too many friends who have been treated as second class citizens simply because of the gender of the person they love.

Still, I had that joy stolen once, when the voters of California approved Proposition H8 two years ago. So while pleased, I was cautious about releasing my feelings. As I said, I felt a sense of victory. But it was equivalent to the sense of victory I suspect may have been felt by the 20th Maine as the sun slipped below the horizon on Gettysburg's second day.

The line had been held against determined attack. But another attack was coming in the morning. I waited for the decision on the stay, feeling that this would be the first salvo of the next phaze of battle. I fully expect to see the opponents of equality lining up for their version of Pickett's Charge on the battle line of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

I did expect the opponents to be repulsed. I did not expect them to be so firmly defeated.

When I first read the stay on the decision, I was amazed. A few days before, I gaped at the strength of the legal language from Judge Walker. Legal decisions are written in shades of gray, despite the tendency of laypeople to think of a court's judgment as black and white.

Judge Walker punished the supporters of Prop H8. He paddled their behinds and sent them to the principal's office. He gave them not just an F, but an incomplete. He did everything but call their mother's and tell on them. I suspected the stay would be calmer, although I certainly expected it to be in our favor. It is not calm.

My reading (and the Judge has since confirmed that what I read was what he intended) is that not only is the stay not granted but also that, since they were not actual parties to the suit, the proponents of H8 have no right to appeal.

That right lies with the named defendants, The State and Attorney General of California. Both Gov. Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown have indicated they do not believe in the suit and shall not appeal. Indeed, the Governator twice vetoed bills from the legislature with a stated position that he felt this decision belonged in the arena it now occupies.

Hell, they refused to even defend the suit in court back in January. Imagine this for a second from a different perspective. Someone sues you and your response when called to court is to tell the judge that's alright, you don't need to come. Go ahead and rule the way you want. Can you imagine doing such a thing personally? It's asinine. But of course, so was Prop. 8.

The question of whether or not the Judge should have allowed others to speak in the trial on behalf of the Proposition may be the only thing that allows this case to be appealed. That and the weight of precedence. No court wants to establish a principal of law that could, under other circumstances, be used to further quite a different agenda.

Judge Walker was quite clear. To paraphrase, he said, "You bigots weren't the ones being sued to begin with, but I let you shoot your mouth off because it seemed like I needed to hear if you had a valid argument on behalf of 52% of those who voted in November 2008. You wasted my time and you used my court as a forum to expose your biased and selfish point of view. Enough. You hurt these people and I will not allow it to continue."

And then, in very unusual legal fashion, he slapped them down twice.

Wedding bells begin to ring on Wednesday.

Sarah Says Gulf Oil Spill Is Environmentalists Fault

2010-06-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

Every once in awhile I think I am beyond surprise. Then something like this happens.

The tragic oil spill in the gulf lacks no shortage of blame. We can blame BP, we can blame the government, we can blame the prior administration... we can even blame ourselves for the unfettered use that fuels the demand.

But this morning, Palin jumped the shark again. We really need to come up with some new terms to describe this woman's particular brand of wacky.

Who's to blame for the spill? The "extreme environmentalists."

Basically, her argument is that by blocking drilling in places like the ANWR, environmentalists force companies like BP to take greater risks.

This is kind of like me falling and breaking my neck while using a rolling office chair to get a cookie out of a jar on the top shelf... and blaming? Not myself. Not the person that put the cookie jar on the top shelf. Not the company that put wheels on the office chair. Not the person who baked the cookies.

No, this is like me taking that incident and blaming the builder that made the ceilings high enough for cabinets that tall to fit in the house.

An Avoidable Tragedy In Sonoma County

2010-05-03T13:53:00.000-07:00

I want you to imagine something... Especially if you are heterosexual...

You've been married for twenty years. You and your wife (or husband) are entering those "golden years." You have memories and a home and happiness, if not health. Your partner, eleven years your senior, has become frail. But you still love each other as much as ever. And all the struggles are made easier by the ability to spend time with the love of your life in the house that the two of you have made into a home.

Then, disaster. Your partner falls down the front steps. Imagine the pain, the horror of their injury, your feeling of helplessness.

Now, imagine that the hospital won't let you visit your wife. Worse, they claim that she has no relatives and make all her decisions for her, ignoring your documented and proven legal rights in the matter. Ignoring wills, powers of attorney, all the legal paperwork you were so careful to have in order for just this reason. Then they acquire access to one of your joint bank accounts and drain it to pay bills.

But it gets worse. They evict you from your home, sell off all your joint possessions and force you into a nursing home. And then the worst of all...

She dies. You never get to say goodbye. You have been denied access to the love of your life over the final weeks. Irreplaceable moments.

Couldn't happen? Ask Clay Greene.

Why The Word Marriage Is So Important

Clay had all this happen when his partner of twenty years, Harold, became injured. Clay and Harold,knowing this could happen if they were not careful, did everything right. They got all their ducks in the right rows, had all the paperwork. But of course, they were not "married." By the time they had a short window when that could have happened, it was too late.

Can you imagine this happening to a heterosexual woman whose husband fell down those steps? Or a man whose wife fell? Say yes and I will call you a liar, to your face. You know better.

This is why, until all the playing fields are equal, powers of attorney and domestic partnership filings and any officially recognized relationship that is tagged as the equivalent of marriage... isn't. Just as separate but equal was far from equal in the Jim Crow South.

Greene vs. The County of Sonoma goes before a court this July. Details of the case can be found here. A way that you can do something to help can be found here, at All Romance eBooks.

Of course, you can also help simply by talking about it. Write a blog. Talk to friends. Confront people who try to play "separate but equal" semantics with marriage equality the same way you would if they used that language about race or gender or religion.

This tragedy could have been prevented. Nothing we can say or do or feel or pray can get Clay a single second more with Harold. But just maybe, we can keep this from happening to Mary & Judy, or Robert & Joseph, or yes, Will and Alessia.

It's not about religion or tradition or labels or morality. It is about love.

The Peril of Ali Sabat

2010-04-02T06:15:00.000-07:00

A Lebanese man who works as a television psychic has receieved a reprieve today, but it may be short lived... and if it is, so will he.

Ali Sabat was making the pilgramage to Mecca required of all Muslims who can afford it when he was arrested by the Saudi Arabian religious police and eventually sentenced to death by beheading. For witchcraft.

Yes, you heard that right. One of the richest nations on earth, with full availability of all modern technology and in most ways very much a part of the twenty-first century, is preparing to execute a citizen of another sovereign nation for witchcraft.

Ali's execution was scheduled for today, but it was announced it would not be taking place. However, it was not announced that it had been canceled. Just that it wouldn't be today.

If Ali Sabat were an American rather than Lebanese, this would be front page news. Instead, I only stumbled upon it. It sickens and saddens me. Sure, these laws are not new and it is most certainly nothing unique for the Saudi's to be applying them. And the argument can be made that Mr. Sabat should have been well aware that he was taking a risk.

Of course, Mr. Sabat would likely say that he had no choice, that his faith requires him to make this pilgrimage. Ironically, the same faith his executioners will use to explain why they had no choice but to behead him.

But Mr. Sabat is a foreign citizen on a visit. As far as I know, he has not broken any of these barbaric laws while on Saudi soil. We could as easily wait until his executioners visit New York and arrest them for murder. After all, beheading a man for witchcraft is illegal in the United States, right?

How much do you think the Saudi's would squawk if we did that? What if we arrested his judge as an accessory?

The simple plain truth is that they did it because they can. If he had been a Briton, or a Canadian or yes, an American, I doubt he would have been arrested at all. Because those countries can protect their citizens. Lebanon can't.

In other words, the Saudi's aren't only being barbaric, they are being sadistic bullies. Which throws their defense (which they actually haven't felt a need to make, since their victim is not from the west) into the realm of excuse and nothing more. After all, if they were really doing a holy duty, imposed upon them by their God and as unavoidable as Mr. Sabat's need to make a pilgrimage, such mundane considerations should be regrettable but unimportant in the long run.

It is exactly such things as this that have long made me a supporter of Amnesty International.

What Massachusetts Means...

2010-01-20T07:39:00.001-08:00

Very simply, the GOP victory in Massachusetts is a message. We didn't elect Obama and a super majority to sit and dither with obstructionists. We elected them to get things done. And if you don't do it, we will kick your ass out!

Now, I have no data to support this. It's a gut reaction, enhanced by voter reaction in stories about the election. Especially quotes from independents.

So, listen up Dems. This is not so much a GOP victory as a Dem loss. We are tired of seeing the least visionary and most reactionary 20% of the nation dominate due to their willingness to shout lies and attack anyone trying to use logic.

We didn't create a super-majority and elect a liberal President to get a watered-down version of health care reform that primarily benefits insurance companies and drung manufacturers. We wanted true reform.

You gave us kowtowing to people willing to compare you to Nazis instead of a public option, despite poll after poll telling you that is what the people wanted.

You gave support to Wall Street, after running on support for Main Street. You listened to lobbyists instead of laborers. You gave us fearful, creeping steps forward at a whisper, as though you were afraid of some uncouth, crass idiot standing up in your speech and shouting that you were a liar... when we asked for action.

We wanted strength and you gave us caution. We asked for change and you gave us unnecessary concessions to an opposition whose intellectual standard-bearers felt that being asked what newspaper they read was "ambush journalism."

The results in Massachusetts are a wake up call, indeed. But not to move further to what Beck, Rush and Hannity consider acceptable compromise. No, this is a call to listen to us instead of Fox News.

The people who butter your bread just told you that if you don't do your damn job, there will be consequences. Let's see if you get the message...or if you are too distracted by the circus of the screaming tea-baggers.

The New Lie: Bush Kept Us Safer Than Obama

2010-01-08T07:45:00.000-08:00

In recent weeks, a trend has emerged. The next big lie that the Republican leadership seems to want to focus on is a downright doozy. Enough to make me wonder if it is a test. After the Birther and Tea Party silliness actually seemed to resonate with parts of America, someone must have decided this might work with someone.

This isn't even as innocuous as putting a "D" next to Mark Foley's name when the Republican was caught chasing pages or playing up Palin's "death panel" falsehood.

This morning, Rudy Giuliani went on Good Morning America and claimed...

"We had no domestic attacks under Bush; we've had one under Obama."

EXCUSE ME? The man who was once accused of being unable to form a sentence that wasn't subject - verb - 9/11 said that? And what's worst, he is not the first. Mary Matalin and Dana Perino beat him to it. Matalin claims that the 9/11 attacks didn't happen on Bush's watch on Sunday Morning. Perino tells Sean Hannity "We did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush's term."

The last I checked, September 11, 2001 happened nine months after Bush took office. That is most definitely on his watch and during his term. Also, what about the Anthrax attacks that killed five people? And that is just domestically.

I'm not sure who should be most insulted. Perhaps it is the Republican base. Your leadership thinks you are not just inattentive and willing to parrot their words... they think you can't even read a frakkin' calendar!

I sure hope this one bites the GOP in the ass. Otherwise, the next thing they might attempt is painting Sarah Palin into Da Vinci's The Last Supper... or at least having her faith heal Dick Cheney's heart.

The Dangers of Compromise In Health Care

2010-01-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

The Democratic moderates are shooting themselves in the foot...again. If anyone is going to need new health care, you would think it would be these soon-to-be toeless wonders.

AP, Washington - Facing the need to maintain a tenuous 60-vote coalition in the Senate, House Democrats will probably have to give up on starting a new government insurance plan to compete with the private market, something that's a nonstarter with Senate moderates. In its place they hope for more generous subsidies for lower-income families to buy health insurance.

This was a few column inches down in a story about Obama calling a meeting between House and Senate leadership to push Health Care Reform away from the traditional committee to "reconcile" the two versions from the legislative bodies and instead have the House amend the Senate bill and send that one back to the Senate. Then, it would presumably be passed by the super-majority and go to Obama's desk.

Hey, moderate Dems. I know, you are worried about being ousted in the 2010 elections. I get that. Listen up. No health care bill = Republican weapon in election. Compromising with Republican leadership has only weakened this bill to the point where what came out of the Senate was a boon to only one group -- the insurance industry.

At least the House included some kind of a public option, something the Americans who are not on Fox News' Christmas Card list actually want. And while I realize that Fox is very vocal and that the Republicans are very noisy and numerous, there is something you need to remember. Yes, registered Republicans make up about 36% of the electorate. What you need to remember is that 100-36 = 64.

Reality Check: 64% of the vote will get you re-elected, you idiots.

So, if you really want to hang on to your precious job, quit dragging your feet. And damn it, do NOT take out the idea of a government business to compete with the insurance companies and replace it with "subsidies for taxpayers." Um, reality check time again.

Reality Check: A government plan, even if unprofitable, would at least be bringing in SOME of the revenue to support itself. "Subsidies," on the other hand, bring nothing back. Yes, the money goes into taxpayers checking accounts. But there it gets combined with some of their money and goes to the insurance company.

Ok, so who really gets the money, dumb-asses?

This whole process is already fuel for your opponents. What you need to have is the victory, no matter how Pyrrhic. Because a loss at this point is more fuel for the fires that the Republicans will use to light their torches and sterilize their pitchforks. (After all, none of us wants to piss off the FDA, even Fox News.)

Get it passed. Get it passed in as strong a form as possible. Quit being afraid of your own shadows(Seriously; it hasn't been the Repubs holding this back, its been other Dems.)

You have the majority, you idiots. Use it before you lose it.

All Things Must Pass...

2009-12-29T19:46:00.000-08:00

We've all had favorite possessions. Things that we enjoyed, perhaps even treasured. Things whose value to us outweighed their cost. For me, and for many men, one of the things we often treasure is a vehicle.

Ben Sollee wrote a song about this fascination, comparing Americans to ancient cultures and their burial habits. The main lyric is "In America, they'll bury us with our cars." And I find a lot of truth in it. I've had my fair share of vehicles over the years, some of which were just transportation, a few of which I really enjoyed and two of which I considered special. Not just possessions, but friends. I traded the first for the second, a little less than ten years ago.

That first was a Chevy S10 pickup that I bought with just under ten thousand miles on it. It is the closest I've ever come to owning a new vehicle. I loved that truck and it was my clear favorite, but when I became a father I knew its two-passenger days were numbered. When my son was an infant, it worked for a while, the car seat pushing my wife against me, but not uncomfortably so. But when my daughters arrival was drawing near, I began to look. I hung on for awhile, having acquired a second car and keeping my truck for when it was just me...but I knew it was a temporary solution.

So I traded my S10 for a Nissan Pathfinder. I figured here was a way I could still have "my truck" and yet also carry all the needs of a two kid family. And I did. My Pathfinder carried us to Padre and Charger games, to little league practice, to fencing, to Disneyland. It had hot chocolate stains in the back seat, and melted crayon that never completely went away, and memories of laughter and even fighting. It was the truck that had "Go PVLL!" painted on the back window when my son made his first All Star team.

And it had memories of all the friends and loved ones that have surrounded me for the last ten years. Sitting in the drivers seat, I could glance to my right or over my shoulder and remember people I love and care about sitting there. It crossed a country with me.

Over the last couple years, its been showing its age. The repairs began to mount and the creaks and leaks grew. But I still loved to drive it. I loved the power, loved the way I could feel the road. And it proved itself capable of handling the snow and rain of my new home.

Sunday, its time ended. Ironically, it wasn't because of recklessness on the part of the driver (I've been known to enjoy speed too much) or a mechanical failure. It was just blind and dumb bad luck. Turning a corner with a slight bank on a cold morning, there was a bit of invisible ice. The road is narrow, the kind of road where you hold your breath when a big vehicle passes and your mirrors almost trade high fives. I turned into the skid and my faithful friend kicked herself back. But just as it seemed that we had escaped, disaster.

Reconstructing it with photos and memory, I figure my right rear tire slipped off the pavement. And there just happened to be a depression there. The tire spun and when it hit the blacktop at an angle, over we went.

We skidded about a hundred feet, maybe a hundred fifty, with the disconcerting and surreal experience of riding with my head at three o'clock instead of twelve. The pavement of the road grinding the passenger side mirror down, the window unbroken.

If not for the trees, I might have just ended up with a need for some pounding, paint and a new mirror. Or maybe the frame twisted when we went sideways. I'll never know. Because we did hit the trees, wedging in beneath one, the branches crunching the drivers side fender and bumper into the engine compartment. I hung there in my lateral perch for a moment, marveling at the unusual angle, thanking the seat belt and cursing chance.

I crawled out, just in case the liquid dripping was more than water (it wasn't.) Then I lamented having only brought one glove. Like I said, the morning was cold. I called Alessia, let her know what had happened and that I was alright. Called work and told them I wasn't gonna make it in. Then I had to watch my faithful friend suffer the indignity of having a tow truck winch her out and back to her feet.

She was cranky in her old age, nineteen ninety-four having been awhile ago in truck years. She was closer to two hundred thousand miles than one hundred. And the truth of the matter is that we were going to part ways soon no matter what. I couldn't afford to keep fixing the same things again and again.

But she went out protecting me. I don't have a scratch, or even a bruise. None of the windows broke, the seat belt did it's job and none of the interior panels bent. I'll enjoy having a newer, more reliable, quieter vehicle. One with less of an appetite for gas and repairs.

But I'm gonna miss my old friend.

A Costly Victory - And Perhaps A Useless One

2009-12-25T05:35:00.001-08:00

As someone who has consistently advocated the reform of the health care system and as a voice that was far from silent on this issue in the past, I find the fact that the Senate has managed to pass a bill on health care insurance reform encouraging.

I also recognize that the failure to pass it would have been trumpeted by that portion of this country which continues to contest things simply because of the political party that presented them, ignoring the greater question of whether or not something is actually beneficial to their constituents.

Yet I am not happy about this vote that took place at dawn on Christmas Eve. Primarily because of the word before reform in my first paragraph. Insurance.

I am an unashamed advocate of universal health care. This is not that. Is this a victory for the Obama faction and it's supporters, including me? Yes, in that it was shown that things could be passed despite the full onslaught of the ridiculous opponents who cried about death panels and socialistic medicine.

But this legislation is far short of what we actually need in this country. It is only a first step and I fear that politicians tired of defending themselves from the histrionic antics of a vocal and ill-informed minority will now abandon this fight in favor of ones that don't get them called names. They can claim victory and that will be enough.

It's a silly position for two reasons.

First, you are leaving a job unfinished and half-assed is not good enough. Yes, it is better than nothing. But although this is a victory for reform, it is also a victory for the insurance companies. They still exist and they still are able to place profits over public good. A European friend of mine explained his view of the problems of health care in America very simply... "Of course your health care is too expensive and not good enough - you spend more than half the money on insurance companies and administration." That fact does not change with this bill.

We are still protecting the insurance companies. We shouldn't be. Free market economics, right my Republican friends? The insurance companies, who are essentially abacus salesmen in an age of calculators and computers, are left hale and healthy by this bill. A mistake, possibly an epic one.

Second, you are completely blind to the world view of your opposition. They could care less what legislation you propose. As long as the primary sponsor of the bill has a D next to their name rather than an R, the legislation must be evil.

If a Democrat proposes a bill saying that bunnies are cute and furry and a legitimate symbol of Easter, Fox News would run a story saying that representative hates baby chicks.

You can not meet their hate halfway. Until they quit looking at who supports legislation and start looking at who would benefit from it, compromise is entirely useless.

So yes, this is a victory. The democratic leadership has shown they can get something done despite the vitriol and propaganda of the right. But this is a starting point, not an ending one. Ted Kennedy's legacy is not fulfilled and if you honor his memory and if the democrats are truly concerned for their constituents instead of what people that already hate them say about them across their dinner tables, this will remain only a beginning.

We shall see. Actions speak louder than words.

La Jolla Writers Conference 2009

2009-11-10T10:26:00.000-08:00

Four and a half years into this gig, I've begun to develop that sense of blase. Whereas my first Romantic Times was frenetic and exciting, I now can look through the schedule with a whatever, maybe I'll sleep in attitude. I still get excited to see friends and attend parties, but the glamor is gone. EPICon is certainly fun, and the people and locations make it more so, but it has also transitioned to where the things around the conference are what I look forward to rather than the conference itself. And the average booksigning engagement is just that: average.

This is not to say I dislike or am bored with those things. That is most certainly not true. Yes, there are annoyances, such as RT's continuing attempts to marginalize the epublishing world. But overall I would instantly and repeatedly recommend attending those events. And of course my book-signings would cease to be average if attended by more people who had actually read my books instead of the sign in front of the store that day.

Yet there is one conference that continues to make me step back and say "Wow!" It is the smallest one I attend, deliberately so, and also the most valuable. The La Jolla Writers Conference.

A small event that is tightly focused on the emerging writer, Antoinette and Jared Kuritz continue to take that hanging curve and knock it out of the park. Every year, I meet a new inspiration or two, make a valuable connection or new friend and receive a major surprise.

I have the LJWC to thank for the wonderful friendship of Robyn Carr, just as an example. It was there that we first met her, as we also first met Lisa Jackson, Steve Berry, Ken Kuhlken, Warren Lewis and Eldon Thompson, among others. It's hard to stop the name-dropping thing, because there are so many fine authors and people we have met at this event. (Note to Warren: Get a website, dude. You rock too hard to be that far off track.)

I can't recommend this conference highly enough. This year was as stellar as any. We met Jane Green, who may forever remember me as the only man to show up for her eight a.m. Chick-Lit class...Lisa Gardner, who spun tales about wandering deserted mental institutions in the dark and the smells of the body farm...and our surprise for this year, the incredible Steven Boyett, for whom I had zero expectations. I must now consider myself a huge fan. The man's passion and energy, as well as his vision and acumen, are simply amazing.

We also renewed our associations with Warren and Eldon as well as author Mark Clements and agent Taryn Fagerness.

We saw some old friends (*waves to Walter*) and also met some new ones, including Marty and fellow Browncoat Dawn Maria. One of the wonderful things about gatherings of writers is that no one looks at you oddly when you scrawl an idea on a napkin or act like you've met a soulmate because you can both identify the nature of the special hell (hint: for people who talk at the theater) or quote a half-dozen opening lines ranging from Austen to Zelazny.

If you are a writer or a poet or a screenwriter...you need to look into this conference. It's not Comic-Con, or RT, or BEA...this is about business and craft and emerging from the small circle of buildings at Paradise Point inspired and aware. And it is the best conference/convention money I spend each year.

Shame On Maine

2009-11-04T06:30:00.000-08:00

"This country, which has given to the world the example of physical liberty, owes to it that of moral emancipation also. For as yet, it is but nominal with us. The inquisition of public opinion overwhelms in practice the freedom asserted by the laws in theory." --Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 1821.

I am not one to cry for the elder, better days. I believe in that depths of my soul that we, as a nation, a planet and a species, have continually made strides in the direction of maturity. There is no doubt, despite those who oppose anything which violates their own interest, that we have made great strides towards the ideals which Jefferson and Adams discussed at great length in their letters as they evaluated the results of their labors.

Yet this morning all I can think of is how well the quoted statement applies to the news from Maine.

"The inquisition of public opinion overwhelms in practice the freedom asserted by the laws in theory."

This very concept that the rights of a minority are subject to the whim of public opinion is diametrically opposed to the intent, words and public statements of the men who this country so reveres as the Founding Fathers.

Men who fought a war with arguably the most powerful military entity on the planet in order to avoid the tyranny of the majority would not in any way approve of what has happened in Maine, or what happened in California.

After all, do you think that the Stamp Act was unpopular with the great majority of the British Empire? Of course not. To them, it was right that the colonies should bear the expense of the recent war with France that, in the MAJORITY opinion, was fought on behalf of those colonies.

The fathers of this country risked death not to establish majority rule, but to oppose it. They put the checks and balances in our constitution to prevent exactly the kind of thing that is now happening. It has ever been the role of the courts to protect the rights of the minority. To have the efforts of those courts subject to the "whim of public opinion" is both shameful and harmful to the very cause of Freedom.

"The Gothic idea that we were to look backwards instead of forwards for the improvement of the human mind, and to recur to the annals of our ancestors for what is most perfect in government, in religion and in learning, is worthy of those bigots in religion and government by whom it has been recommended, and whose purposes it would answer. But it is not an idea which this country will endure." --Thomas Jefferson to Joseph Priestley, 1800.

Unfortunately, it does endure. It is the burden of those who have embraced reason over fear and superstition to persist in trying to achieve those ideals set down by our founders more than 200 years ago.

The cause of Marriage Equality has suffered another setback. Yet the odds for the eventual triumph of Freedom in this cause are still better than those faced by the handful of brave souls who sacrificed in pursuit of the establishment of an independent nation on these shores.

We must continue to fight, and we must continue to answer fear with reason, hatred with love, and superstition and loathing with common sense and forgiveness.

I hang my head at the results from Maine and wish they had been otherwise. Our citizens have proven that they yet have growth to achieve if they wish to truly reach the heights this nation once aspired to.

Yet, we must continue.

"[Let us] go on in doing with [the] pen what in other times was done with the sword, [and] show that reformation is more practicable by operating on the mind than on the body of man." --Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Paine, 1792

Why Are We Still Talking About This? Blog Action Day 2009

2009-10-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

Yes,I am one of those annoying people that likes to quote their favorite movies and TV shows. And one of those favorites is Firefly, the short-lived but extremely well written space-opera with a western overtone. In one of the episodes, Capt. Mal Reynolds brings his ship and crew into danger to rescue a brother and sister that have caused him nothing but trouble.

After the rescue, the brother (Simon) attempts to figure out why Mal would risk everyone else, his ship and his own life to come back for them. When Mal replies that he has a responsibility to protect his crew, Simon pushes the issue, giving all the reasons Mal should NOT have taken the risk.

Mal's response is full of loyalty and incredulity that the explanation he has already given is not so obvious as to defy all further discussion.

"You're on my crew. Why are we still talking about this?"

This last statement is how I feel about the validity of climate change. Why are we still talking about this?

Yes, there are scientists, especially in the United States, who argue against the existence of climate change and even more who argue against it being human-influenced. However, there are also scientists to be found who still argue about the validity of evolution, or the nature of gravity, or the curvature of the earth. Who say the moon landings were faked. That whites are genetically superior to other races. A Phd does not make one intelligent or ethical... only educated.

In the nineteen-fifties, there where hundreds of doctors who argued that smoking was not only not addictive and harmless, but actually said it was good for you. Why? Because they were PAID to do so. Take a look at the money-trail around some of these so-called Climate Change Deniers. How many of them can trace major funding back to people looking for precisely these kind of findings?

And no, I am not gonna do that research for you. Because when 99 out of a 100 say a thing and it is not going to benefit them personally and in fact cause hardship or at least a reduction of ease in their lifestyle, I tend to believe the 99. Especially when the 1% in question is screaming at the top of their lungs and the 99% are looking at him querulously and saying "Why are we still talking about this?"

Scientists love to get to the bottom of things. It is part of the reason they became scientists. A scientist deciding something is not worth the argument is like Glenn Beck deciding a Tea Party protest is not worth Fox News coverage. Both rare and puzzling.

So quit arguing about whether it is happening. Look around. Doctors had to quit taking the tobacco blood money when the lung cancer cases became so obvious there was no legitimate way to disguise their bias. Look at the fires this decade in Southern California. Look at Polar Bears drowning because there is not enough ice. Look at the shrinking glaciers. Look at the long term trend in temperatures.

It's obvious. It's happening. And if we are not wholly to blame, we are at least accelerating the process.

It's time to quit talking about whether or not the soup is burning and turn down the heat on the stove.

Why are we still talking about this?

Dragon*Con Post-Mortem

2009-09-08T13:45:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back...

Alessia and I attended Dragon*Con 2009 in Atlanta this weekend and had a real blast. She has already posted her reactions and since we did all the same things, I'm gonna try to avoid repeating her thoughts... with one major exception.

I too wish to say how cool it was to be a part of the Thriller world record attempt. Even if they find some technicality we missed and deny us the official recognition, we all have that awesome moment when the laughter stopped and the excitement of accomplishment burst out. (Yeah, I know...all I devoted was a few hours to it while Lauren and the rest of the team worked on this for months. I hope they don't mind my leap to inclusion, but I really do feel like all 900+ participants have become a sort of team. It was that cool.) By the way, in the practice video that Alessia posted, I am the white-shirted Pirate at the very beginning.

I've been to several Comic-Cons, including back in the days before Hollywood really discovered it. Dragon*Con has that sense of camaraderie which characterized the original Comic-Con, although it is a bit more diverse in the interests and is already bigger than Comic-Con was in the early eighties.

I loved the diversity of the costumes. There are so many people walking about in costumes that they obviously made themselves. Not obvious because they look cheap...obvious because they don't. They are very individual and show signs of the love invested in them. The fact that some of the people in the costumes are attractive doesn't hurt, but I will also say that I would far rather take a picture of a person wearing something they made and love than a booth babe wearing something because she is receiving a paycheck.

We dressed up three of the four days and were quite flattered to be asked to stop and pose. After Friday, when we wore our Hammer and Anvil outfits in tribute to Dr. Horrible, we thought the remainder of the weekend we would be fairly anon. The H & A double entendre plays well with this crowd, so we expected some attention. But we actually were stopped more often on Sunday. Personally, I'm gonna lay the credit for that at the feet of my partner. She looked fantastic in her black pirate top and corset and high boots.

The fact that neither of us looked anything like Johnny Depp probably helped as well. Sometimes there is too much of a good thing.

We attended a panel about the Hobbit movie, saw Felicia Day a couple of times and saw way too much stuff that we wanted to buy. Through major exercise of willpower, we managed to keep the car only slightly stuffed.

Things I'll remember?

-Felicia's face when presented with a questioner who told her that since she had not been able to find any Bad Horse/Penny slash, she wrote some.

-Lunch with friends whom we dearly love and see far too infrequently.

-Being told to scoot in closer and for the people standing to move to the left (if you were there, you know what this means) and then Chitty Chitty Bang Bang causing a traffic jam around the piano.

-The obvious enjoyment shown by the celebrities in being reunited with their friends and the way they were so gracious with their fans.

-Kids on MARTA staring at the costumes and whispering to their parents. How they smiled back when we said hello.

-Fantastic costumes not just in the halls or panels, but being worn by people we know and love.

We are already planning to return to Atlanta next year, this time staying downtown so that we can avoid the transit time-sink, although I have to say that the trains were very easy to use. We didn't really hit any of the late night parties due to being dependent on public transportation and next year I would like to dance a bit and maybe take in the parade.

A Very Busy Sunday

2009-08-30T06:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, and I thought Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest?

On this last Sunday in August, I have three exciting things happening. My first solo release from Phaze in over a year was made available late last night, although the official release date is tomorrow. En Garde is the story about a man who thinks he is past being surprised by life and the woman that proves him wrong. It isn't my longest work, but the price reflects that and I have to say that Kelly is one of my favorite characters ever.

Its an intriguing and erotic adventure on many levels and I am very proud that this story is kicking off the Phaze Scores line of sports-related erotica. En Garde is available now at Phaze.com for the low price of two dollars. I promise you'll will it far more than a couple of dirty, crinkled bucks in your pocket.

Today is also the day we are proud to announce the next step in the evolution of Coming Together and erotic altruism with the launch of Coming Together: Neat. This single story line will shocase works between 10K and 50K, give authors who aren't comfortable writing short stories a way to contribute and also is CT's first venture into Micro-lending, a type of program that I personally believe will help maximize the impact of Coming Together. Let's face it, $50 doesn't mean much to the Red Cross. But in Afghanistan, it is an annual income for some people. Follow the link to the Coming Together blog for more details!

And last but certainly not least, Alessia and I are headed to the car to drive a few hours so that I can watch Park View Little League, where I coached and my son plays, take on Chinese Taipei for the championship of the world. There are a lot of endeavors in this country where we call it a world title and yet all the participants are from the US. This is NOT one of them. These kids, some of whom I've known since they were five or six years old, have a chance to accomplish something truly special. I have to go, I just have to. Once in a lifetime opportunity and all that, even though most of them won't know me unless I tell them whose Dad I am. And Alessia is coming along because she thinks its cute how excited I am about this. I love that she is willing to skip an entire day of productivity so that I can scream "P-V-L-L!" for a couple hours.

So that's my day of rest. How about all y'all?

GO PARK VIEW!!!!!!

Honor Him In A Manner He Would Appreciate

2009-08-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

Ted Kennedy has passed, brain cancer taking from us the last of a set of brothers whose impact on the history of this great nation is unarguably massive.

Senator Kennedy was a man of passion, an impressive legislator and a great American. He saw two of his beloved brothers pay the ultimate price for public service and yet never shied from that spotlight. Many lesser men would have removed themselves from public life after assassins stole the lives of their brothers. Ted never considered it. He even ran for the very office that had brought tragedy to his family.

He was a man I admired, both for his greatness and for his humanity. It is no great dishonor for me to call him the least of that triad of siblings. I might as well call Michaelangelo's Pieta a lesser work. It is, compared to the Sistine Chapel. So it was with Ted, always trying to live up to the legacy bequeathed to him in the most bloody of manners.

He was not entirely comfortable with the burden, as some of his history shows. Yet he overcame that to become a voice of leadership and change, a powerful force in the nation that murdered his kin.

He is gone, and I will miss hearing him. Miss that distinctive Kennedy accent, the tinge of voice that carried unmistakable reminders of Jack and Bobby, that made me believe in his belief in the ideas and concepts that he espoused.

Ted Kennedy should be honored in the manner most fitting, by the fulfillment of his life's work. In 1969, Ted Kennedy introduced into the national discussion the idea that a nation this powerful should care for all its children, not only those most fortunate.

Pass a national health care package. Those who have held up this process for mere money and political gamesmanship should be ashamed. They have succeeded only in delaying long enough to rob a great man of an opportunity to see his work finished before he passed. They are but a shadow of this man we have lost today.

Enough. Honor Ted in a way he would have wanted. Pass national health care.

Reviews and What They Mean

2009-08-15T06:49:00.000-07:00

When I first became published, I hung on the possibility of reviews like a pet waiting to be fed. Not quite reaching out, but with that eagerness in the eyes and that not so patient wait.

Now, I don't even see them unless someone points them out, to the point where old reviews can be new to me. Part of this is gaining perspective, part of it is the realization that a good review is not going to mean that many sales in most cases.

I also think that a good portion of it has to do with the extreme disappointment I felt when our first "major" review was badly mishandled, as Romantic Times assigned an erotica piece with a "villain" (she is more of a foil, never villified) who is a crusading member of the Christian Right to a reviewer whose profile indicated that her favorites were Christian Inspirationals. You know, kinda like asking Ann Coulter to review The Audacity of Hope. You can imagine the response that character got from her. We were labeled "anti-morality."

But even with the results of the process having jaded me to things, I still feel a little anticipation when a new one is found by Phaze or a friend and brought to my attention.

After all, feedback was one of my favorite things about writing from the very beginning. In my time honing my chops at Literotica I was an unabashed feedback slut, checking my scores and my comments constantly. So it seems to be obvious that the opinions I receive on my professional work would also give me that anticipatory twinge.

Counterbalancing this is the idea that it can be a dangerous trap. There have been numerous instances of authors getting "caught" bitching and anguishing and even looking to retaliate over poor reviews. I almost fell into that trap over the RT review, so I understand. Now, I am glad I didn't, since the internet is forever and I just don't want to be seen that way.

So, do reviews mean something? Absolutely. Do I tear my hair out over a bad one? No. Besides, the best revenge for a bad review is a good one. That way I know it's not me protecting my "children," it is an unbiased opinion. So in that spirit, I present to you what the Romance Studio thought of Artifactual, with a reviewer that was not grinding an axe....

I found this a thoroughly delightful erotic romp, complete with adventure, plenty of sex, and a few mysteries. The unusual items for sexual pleasure were especially intriguing. Amanda and Bruce are well suited to each other, playing off each other’s strengths. They complement each other well. I found a touch of comedy in one chapter that really had me going. I laughed so hard tears streamed from eyes and it took me a few minutes to start reading again. I loved it!

My thanks to Patricia at The Romance Studio (www.theromancestudio.com)who gave me this wonderfully validating moment by writing a Five Heart review that I somehow didn't see for two and a half years.

And to all of you out there who take the time to read my books and share your opinions, good or bad ... thank you.

Baracknophobia!

2009-08-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

First things first. I didn't coin that, Jon Stewart did. If you aren't watching him...well, then this column will probably piss you off.

See, I remain utterly amazed at the ability of certain individuals and *cough* "news" networks to complete ignore the facts in order to pursue the spreading of misinformation. The saddest thing? The reason they are able to continue doing it is because, compared to some of their target audience, these programs sound intelligent.

We are now almost a year removed from the point where the Republicans lost the election, when they named Sarah Palin their candidate for Vice-President. And in that year, what has happened is that the same people who trumpeted her selection have gone out of their way to make the craziest and most shockingly ill-informed of her comments look....well, moderate.

We've had the Tea-baggers, a movement so absolutely ridiculous and out-of-touch with the current state of the country that even after they became aware that the name of their movement had certain...other....meanings, they stuck with it. I mean, these are people who are so wacky that they are equating 4% bumps in tax rates to people who own the companies that pay them minimum wage with a time when a foreign power with an honest-to-god King was the ruler of 13 colonies. The Boston Tea Party was a protest against the Stamp Act of 1765, which was basically a way to make Americans pay for the expenses of British Troops stationed here. 4% tax hike on your boss vs. being made to pay the expenses of the troops occupying your soil to keep you under control. Yes, I see how that equates. *shakes head in disbelief*

We have the people that say Obama is stupid (um, Magna Cum Laude at Havard?) We have the ones that still think he is a muslim (like it should make any difference anyway.) We have the ones that say he is weak and unwilling to stand up to the foes of America (you know, like Somali pirates.)

We have the ones that actually think a forgery of a Kenyan Birth certificate from a time when the city named wasn't in Kenya somehow trumps the one from Hawaii and even try to explain how birth announcements were "planted" in Hawaii papers... because after all, everybody back in 1961 just knew we would have a black President from Hawaii. I mean, of all the crackpot conspiracy theories I have ever heard... even the Holocaust deniers are in awe of the ability of Birthers to ignore facts.

And now we have that Palin woman again, throwing out words about "death boards" that are rabidly echoed by the Glenn Becks of the world.

People, please! Back away from the kkkool aid and have some Kenyan coffee. The man isn't a socialist (please READ the definition before using that word!) He is not the anti-christ. He isn't even that much of a liberal! He is a politician. An intelligent one for once, who is actually pissing off some of us on the far left (yes, by their definition I am a member)because he is making too many compromises on health care, prosecuting those who tortured and the repeal of DOMA.

So quit with the panic already. Get a dictionary and read the definitions of socialism and tyranny. And while you are at it, look up xenophobia. Then look in the mirror and slap yourself in the face. I hope you are better than this. I really do.

Where Did This Idea Start?

2009-08-01T08:30:00.000-07:00

I've noticed a small trend in the publishing world. A rather dismaying one and one that I feel may be linked to the plethora of new places where you can publish, including but not limited to websites, CafePress, Lulu and of course the growing industry of e-book publishing.

For better or worse, there is a small subset of authors who are redefining (in their minds, anyway) the role of editor. Basically, the change that they are assuming can be summed up in one sentence.

The editor is there to catch and fix my mistakes.

On the surface, this does not sound bad. It actually sounds exactly correct. The problem is that the emphasis has changed. Most authors, whether born in 1950 or 1980 or at any other time, do feel that an editor's job is to catch mistakes. They are not wrong. The problem is this... a small subset of authors out there feel that it is the editors job to catch all the mistakes.

In other words, they don't don't worry about self-editing first. They just throw it out there and trust that someone else will check and double check. Some of this I blame on a lack of education, not in traditional schooling but in the craft of writing. Some of it I blame on the pressures of a growth market; where companies who are struggling to stay on the crest of a wave that will eventually break on the beach of maturity buy things to keep other companies from buying them first. And some of it I blame on the authors themselves, who have fallen prey to a cultural expectation that anything wrong must be able to be blamed on someone else.

It's sad really. And completely beyond my understanding. I can not personally conceive of turning in a work that was as rife with problems as some of things not only out there being edited, but even already published.

It has to stop somewhere. So, a word of warning. If I am your editor and you write about King George receiving a telegram of anger concerning the Boston Tea Party? Or if your African-American hero from the south side of Chicago constantly proclaims things to be "bloody annoying" and no one finds it strange? Or if your baseball player hits eighty home runs in 2004 and never has to deal with a steroid accusation and never gets interrupted at dinner for an autograph request and can easily hide that he is actually an alien from Arcturus Prime complete with a tail that somehow never got noticed by teammates or the ESPN reporters in the locker room?

Expect me to call you on it.

You can use Google as easily as I. You can look up when the telegraph was invented, or the year Germany invaded Poland. And you know that a kid from Chicago will use the F word and a thinly disguised Mr. Darby clone in Victorian England will not.

As your editor, I am there to help you change there into their or point out that the brown sweater was red three pages ago. I have no problem with things like that. We all lose track of things over the course of months writing a book. I'm not perfect. I screw up,too. All the time actually. Both as an author and as an editor. But even so...

As an editor,it is not my job to do your homework. It is not my job to do your basics. It is my job to tweak and prod and try to help you be the best you can possibly be. I am not supposed to build the engine. Just tune it up. That's why I get one-tenth the royalty percentage you do. Because you are supposed to have already done the big job. I'm supposed to help with the details... and maybe keep you off Twitter's #romfail.

San Diego Comic-Con 2009: Rewards & Revelations

2009-07-27T08:51:00.000-07:00

Back in the eighties I was a regular for Comic-Con. Had some great times, but just fell away from going to it when I "fell away" from collecting comics. Because back then, it really was more about comic books.

Last year I took my kids to Sunday and this year the entourage doubled. My kids, my love and two of hers. It made for crazy logistics, especially since the majority of them are not of an age where we can go "everybody scatter and meet here at 3 pm." But it also made for a day with the added perspective of a madhouse through a child's eyes.

There's something wonderful about a child realizing that she is not going to get in trouble for yelling along with the opening of Spongebob in a crowded room. In the giggles of the two girls as they snag freebies or pose for a picture with Barf from Spaceballs. Of the teenager grinning every time someone compliments his pink shirt with the "+10 Shirt of Masculinity" graphic.

For the adults, it was wonderful to see our friends. We made a point to search out Berkeley and Spice author Eden Bradley and Load World Comics Sam Saturday. The few minutes I spent with them would have been worth all the hassle. But they didn't have to be, because there were other things.

Panel highlight of the day for me was a discussion with Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Dune fans, take note. There are several more books in the que and, perhaps most excitingly, there is talk of a new feature production. Brian was careful to point out that it is very much in the preliminary stage. It might never get beyond script doctoring. But even the prospect of a film produced in the post-Peter Jackson LOTR environment is enough to tingle the fanboy hairs on the back of my neck.

We ended the day at the Buffy Sing-Along, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The teenager, as we were leaving, pronounced Comic-Con to be "pure undiluted awesome sauce." More than enough motivation for us to return, and next time for more than one day. One day is too hectic. You need a minimum of two.

I'm So Tired of The "I Can Shout!" Version of Political Discourse

2009-07-05T08:23:00.000-07:00

I originally wrote this on a discussion board in response to specific claims. Then I realized that, even without changing the specific claims, it actually can fit with so many other similar discussions.

I want an end to the tactics of Karl Rove. I want to hear a political discussion where some research is evident. Where no one is called names, where no one repeats a stretch of an assumption ten times to make you think it must be true.

I want accountability. I want facts. I want something measurable, said by someone unafraid of the idea that if they put something out there that can be measured or tested they might end up being embarrassed because a mistake was found.

I'm getting so tired of the way certain people on these boards, when confronted, retreat into opinionated statements of doom and despair that have no component that can be discussed in a concrete manner.

Please provide evidence that there is a dictatorship or tyranny being planned. Please reference the definitions of dictatorship and tyrant while doing so. Please show examples of elected officials in this country who are legally entitled to hold their position "until death."

Please show evidence that the "far left" is a homogeneous group and that it is funded by a certain individual. In particular, expand upon claims that politically-motivated organizations with large memberships are the tools of a shadowy demagogue rather than the voice of a segment of the population.

Please be specific about which propaganda, please define socialism and compare and contrast it with the ideals in these publications and then please tell me how ANY political belief that is pursued through the current political system can actually be un-American when it is clear that public debate from all sides was considered to be an asset by the Founding Fathers.

Please define "myriad forms of welfare." Please discuss how certainty that medicare and medicaid will bankrupt the country fits with opposition to the establishment of a national healthcare system that would eliminate them. At the same time, please show why eliminating the significant cost to business that is currently imposed by supplying health insurance would be a negative upon the health of those companies... since I can't think of a single small to medium business owner I know who would not immediately point to health care and workers comp as their two biggest costs associated with employees other than actual wages.

Please provide examples of failed policies and programs that would indicate that this President is ineffectual rather than effective in a manner that disagrees with your personal goals.

Please provide examples of international failures and losses of territory and influence that would show that the global status of the United States has been weakened in the last six months.

And finally, please provide evidence that any and all of these individuals you scream against "hate America" rather than that they have certain beliefs that do not align flawlessly with your own.

I want stuff that can be proven or disproven. I want something besides the opinions. I want to see if you can actually quit screaming long enough to have rational discourse.

Forgive me if I don't believe that any of that will happen.

Anticipating A Decision In California

2009-05-26T05:09:00.000-07:00

At approximately 1 pm eastern, the California Supreme Court opinion/decision on the most recent skirmish in the battle for California equality will be published. The decision will be focused on the legality of the marriages performed prior to the passing of Proposition 8.

Personally, I expect a decision that will satisfy no one. I expect them to uphold the legally-performed marriages in the interval between the striking down of the previous stricture limiting marriage to a man and a woman (which was not a constitutional amendment) and an opinion that because Prop 8 was a constitutional amendment, it has to stand.

I disagree with that last part. In my opinion, Prop 8 was only a constitutional revision. As such, it can be found to be incompatible with the actual document and rejected under the same grounds as the original court case that caused the drafting of Prop 8 in the first place.

Prop 8 does two things that, in my opinion, violate the constitution. One, it creates a separate standard of legal judgment for people of homosexual orientation, thereby deriving them of inalienable rights that are guaranteed in Section 1 Article 1 and making Prop 8 incompatible with the original document. Two, it violates Section 1 Article 4.

Free exercise and enjoyment of religion without
discrimination or preference are guaranteed. This liberty of
conscience does not excuse acts that are licentious or inconsistent
with the peace or safety of the State. The Legislature shall make no
law respecting an establishment of religion.

I believe that the existence of Prop 8 is inconsistent with the the peace and safety of the state. I further believe that Prop 8 prevents the free exercise and enjoyment of religion without discrimination or preference. What is more, I consider the denial of rights of a significant minority of the population based on religious beliefs to be licentious and therefore not protectable under the basis of freedom of religion.

I don't believe the Supreme Court will have the guts to completely overturn Prop 8, although I do believe that they will certify the marriages that took place prior to its passage. However, I also believe that they have reason to overturn it completely, reason that they themselves expressed in their prior opinion and that remain consistent with both the law and the Constitution.

I sincerely hope that the Supreme Court of California follows the path ofprotection of the rights of all of its citizens instead of following the opinion and preferences of a small and shrinking majority of its citizens.

Strike down Prop. 8.

Universal Health Care & Cops On San Diego Streets

2009-05-10T05:36:00.000-07:00

With the ending of last falls election, some of the political steam left my blogging. Because rebellion against the establishment is fun to write but expounding on the pratfalls of Republicans and expanding on my admiration of Barack Obama went from supporting my candidate to feeling like I was gloating.

I don't like to boast and I certainly have never belonged to that group who likes to beat their chest and proclaim their victory. Oh, I celebrate. But I don't like to be perceived as rubbing it in.

But I am returning to these fields of endeavor. There is stuff going on.

One of the things that got Barack elected is his commitment to revamping health care in this country. Over the last few years, I have become an advocate for ending our current broken system altogether and putting the federal government in the role the insurance companies are now in. I feel health care should be up there with police and fire services, roads,infrastructure, education and national defense as the things that a modern society provides for all its citizens. This gets me labeled a socialist, or at least a believer in socialized medicine. But my argument has always been that taking basic health coverage out of the hands of the private sector would be a boon to businesses large and small . And a situation occurring in my hometown illustrates why, and also speaks to the very important issue of public safety.

San Diego is recovering from bankruptcy. Among the actions they have been forced to take is dramatic restructuring of retirement benefits for Police Officers and Firefighters. Those changes go into effect on July 1st, and affect not only new hires but employees who have been there for forty years.

Because of it, San Diego expects to lose up to 100 of its most experienced police officers and an unknown amount of fire crew in the next six weeks as they take retirement anywhere from two to five years before they planned on it.

See, under the new plan, health benefits for retirees are capped at just under $9,000.00 a year. As opposed to the full coverage they currently receive. And if any of you have actually seen what a hospital stay costs in this country, you know that this is the equivalent of paying 10 cents on the dollar.

I understand why the City of San Diego had to restructure. For that matter, so do most of the officers and firefighters. They aren't quitting in a self-righteous huff. They are reluctantly leaving departments they love and can still actively contribute to based on an inescapable financial reality.

In a nation with universal health care, this would be a non-issue. And 100 of the best of San Diego's Finest could continue to protect my children and share their experience with younger officers for a few more invaluable years. I'm sorry, but I firmly believe that some things you can't learn off a computer or out of a book.

So tell me, architects of John McCain's "5K Health Benefit." What good does a 5000 dollar tax break do for these people? Tell me, opponents of UHC, how private insurance is doing a better job in this case. Tell me why UHC would not be a good thing in this case.

And then, sorry to be harsh, tell it to the mother who wants to know why the people who shot her son while he was standing outside a party are still at large.

Or how about you look at today's headlines out of Southern California and last Octobers... and then make an argument to me about why you feel it is a good thing for some of the most experienced leaders and Chiefs in San Diego's Fire Department to take early retirement? We need that experience available come fire season.

The lack of a comprehensive health care system in this country is a threat to our economy and to our very safety. Nearly every other advanced society on this planet provides health care to all its citizens without placing that burden on the employers and without leaving millions of freelance employees, private contractors, self-employed or the unfortunate unemployed and their families in the predicament of choosing between dental care and new clothes, food or even the rent.

Tell your congressman. Tell your Senator. It is far past the time we caught up with the rest of the world on this.

#AmazonFail and Occam's Razor

2009-04-13T06:46:00.000-07:00

Over this Easter weekend, something went wrong for electronic mega-marketer Amazon. That much is undeniable. What exactly went wrong? That is not so simple to determine.

The problem: Somehow, in an escalation of a policy implementation that has existed in some form since at least February, hundreds if not thousands of books with erotic and GLBT content were excluded from Amazon's rankings and thus from many of their search functions.

The exclusions were remarkably targeted. For example, The Parents Guide To Preventing Homosexuality was not removed. Heather Has Two Mommies was.

Theories over how this happened abound. Amazon, after being confronted with a huge outpouring of protest, especially on Twitter, says it was a glitch. At least one person on LiveJournal has posited that it was a deliberate attack by a Focus On The Family-type organization. Because of how specific the targets were, many are convinced it is deliberate discrimination from someone highly placed in the online retailer. Some believe that it was simply another example of a corporation being stupid.

By applying the most basic form of the principle generically known as Occam's Razor (All things being equal, the simplest theorem is most often correct), I would bet on the last being correct. And yes, I am aware that the Razor is actually far more complicated than this and that this is a pop culture application, not a scientific one.

Think no one could be that stupid? Please. New Coke. Hilary Clinton landing in Bosnia under sniper fire. John McCain choosing Sarah Palin.

The really interesting thing here is the reaction and the power of the internet. Amazon is going to be reeling under this for days if not months. Especially because other entities are smart enough to be jumping at opportunities. Phaze Books is running a protest 25% off sale. Twitterers are telling people to get a checklist of de-listed books and go buy them...from All Romance eBooks or Barnes & Noble or Borders.

One thing I am sure of is that the glitch explanation, by itself, does not wash. This was not an accident. That it may have been the exploitation of a found "glitch" by a small group of people, inside Amazon or out, with an agenda? That is most certainly reasonable.

But if Amazon is this vulnerable in their basic business practices, that doesn't make me feel very confident about the information security of my address, direct deposit info or, worst of all, my credit card info.

If you want to view the outrage, the information and some of the very funny opportunistic humor that lies at the base of this controversy, search Twitter under #amazonfail or, even better, under #glitchmyass. A good analysis of one of the possible causes is at Dear Author and you can find some interesting discussion at CNET.

A Bit of Anti-CPSIA Silliness

2009-03-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

If they can pass a silly law I can write a silly poem. Not claiming that it's good, just silly.

The little boy
From down the street
was looking very glum
he sat on the curb
his eyes downcast
not having any fun
I queried him
and he replied
"Oh sir, the world is sad
all the grownups are so mean
and the kids almost as bad"
So I ran home
and got Shel Silverstein
To make him smile again
with tales of Dirty Dan
and Where Sidewalks End
I knew he'd smile then
I put the book
into his hands
and smile yes he did
as sirens blared
and the police jumped out
from the bushes where they'd hid
they cuffed me then
and glared at me
and pushed me to the ground
the lead detective opened
up the book and groaned
and fixed me with a frown
"1974's the date
you very vicious wretch
how dare you give
a boy a book
the cancer then to catch?"
They snatched me up
took me away
but could not foil my plan
for as the cops
took me to jail
the boy laughed at Dirty Dan.

Another Case of Extremes in Idiocy: CPSIA

2009-03-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

Neil Gaiman alerted me to something via Twitter. It's not something I had heard about before and is indicative of the reason that we need to have the occasional common sense veto on our lawmakers.

When the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 was passed last year, in the wake of the lead paint panic, it seemed wise. But a poorly written law often can do far more damage than good.

Now, I only discovered this myself within the last couple hours. But as much as it sounds like an Urban Legend, it does not seem to be so.

In trying to address a legitimate problem, our government has passed a law that is nothing short of stupid. The part that first caught my attention was about children's books published pre-1985. These are now considered so hazardous as to be outlawed for sale or even being stocked in libraries? Excuse me? Look, my copy of Where The Wild Things Are is not going to give my kid lead poisoning. Apple seeds are poisonous too. In sufficient quantities.

Another affected area? Bicycles. After all, I see kids eating bicycle frames for lunch every freaking day. They might be poisoned. We must address this atrocity! If my kid gets a bicycle frame in his mouth somehow, I am more worried about the fall he just took and his teeth. Not about possible lead poisoning from the metal. (Note that they are talking about the structural frame, not the paint on the frame.)

C'mon. We can not afford to allow this kind of stupidity to go unchecked. If you don't tell stupid people they are stupid, they think they are not doing anything wrong.

More information here:
http://www.city-journal.org/2009/eon0212wo.html
http://overlawyered.com/2009/02/cpsia-what-will-be-enforced
http://designloft.blogspot.com/2009/02/cpsia-by-numbers-why-libraries-cant.html

and directly from the source:

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09120.html

Spread the word and let's see if we can't get someone of intelligence in Washington to notice this travesty!

Edit: Adding a good link about how to handle calling your Congressional Representative.
http://www.whimsicalwalney.com/wp/?p=156

Further edit: I checked out the usually-reliable Snopes and their article is aimed at clothing resale and gives a blanket false report, not addressing the book issue. Please do not be fooled by this. The stay on the law still exempts children's books printed before 1985.

A Review From The Wenches

2009-03-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

BD Whitney over at Book Wenches reviewed the eXessica release Focus, which includes a short story/poem by yours truly. And she even liked it. Imagine that.

Dancing Wildly by Will Belegon:

After suffering the frustration of a long-distance relationship and six months of the delays that life can bring, a young man reunites with his girlfriend. Although he is initially uncertain of the reception he will receive from her, it soon becomes plain that their connection is as strong as ever.

The author of this short story has combined a poem with narrative to tell a tale of young love and joy. Although I am not a fan of poetry overall, this one is very well executed, and its use in this story is very effective in evoking an emotional reaction.

As a poet of emotion, who is less interested in being technically impressive than in eliciting a reaction, I am very pleased by the last line. Poem reviews are hard to come by. And when you do get them from someone not related to you, they are usually from other poets. I like discussing the details of word choice, etc. I do, really, I promise. But it is not why I write poetry. So I am especially happy to have this.

BD liked the entire book and gave a nice mention to my beloved for her short story Knead. BD, if I might be so bold, I think you show exceptional taste.

I'm biased, of course.

The Heirs To Cronkite And Murrow

2009-03-07T07:21:00.000-08:00

Looking back over what we learned in the campaigns and what we are learning in our present media, I have decided that I know who now holds the torch that Edward R. Murrow passed to Walter Cronkite.

And it's not Sixty Minutes, it is Jon Stewart. With Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher borrowing it on occasion.

If you had your eyes closed throughout the fall, suffering from the creepy overload of Caribou Barbie meets Senator I-Have-A-Hairball, it is time to open them again. Yes, the land of news is very disturbing because it reminds us of our diminishing 401ks. Personally, I've taken to measuring my losses in extra years I will have to work. But you aren't getting much reporting out of the major news networks anyway. Just parrot and spin.

It's the comedians that are giving us the real news. These three men, with their more partisan counterparts Keith Olberman and sometimes even Bill O'Reilly, make us laugh. Then they make us think about why it was funny. Stewart and his team at The Daily Show on Comedy Central (http://www.thedailyshow.com/) have become especially adept at using a public figures own words against him or her. Colbert is more sardonic and Maher more controversial. Olberman at his best can trump even Stewart, but his inconsistency is a factor and let's face it, he is as focused on one side of the issues as O'Reilly and Hannity. True, that side is the one I am on, but that is not my point today.

Murrow, who famously stood up to the madness of Joe McCarthy, and Cronkite, whose integrity can be measured by the once common sentiment that "if Walter says it, it is true," would see their legacy in these men, not at ABC, NBC, CBS or most especially at Fox. Honestly, can you imagine Walter Cronkite deep-frying a budget or using a racial slur on the air?

The media has a powerful position in America, and the electronic medias position becomes more powerful with every cutback at your local newspaper. There is a danger in papers like The Rocky Mountain News shutting down. It thins the conversation. Diversity of opinion and thought is one of the pillars of our liberty, something our founders knew very well. They were careful to protect the sources of diverse discussion in the Bill of Rights, and for good reason.

I'm not saying that the News Organizations lie, but I am saying that I trust Jon Stewart more than Brian Williams.

If someone asks you for your sources, you could do worse than these: http://www.thedailyshow.com/, http://www.billmaher.com/, http://www.colbertnation.com/home

DVDs, Movies and Obssessions

2009-02-27T06:21:00.000-08:00

My beloved partner is to blame for this. She put the idea in my head that with all the interest I have and all the time I devote to video entertainment, I should put it to work. And she is not talking about the Mpeg's on my computer that feature mostly naked people, either. (Yes, I have some of that. In case you didn't notice the 501 crotch shot, I am male. And most men, whether they admit to it or not, have at least a minor porn stash. Which is not to say women don't...)

Do a review blog, she says.

And I'm taking her seriously. I woke up this morning thinking about what I could blog about today and started counting DVDs by title. I stopped counting at 669. Which is a number that is deceptively small based on other things.

Number one, that's titles. Which means that the 42 minute Dr. Horrible DVD counts the same as Ken Burns' Baseball, which has nine innings running about four hours each. Plus an "extra innnings" disc. Considering things like Baseball, Band of Brothers, The Tudors and even Lord of the Rings, I figured a better representation would be hours. If I call it four hours a title (which will be low, I promise) then I have over 2500 hours on DVD. It is probably closer to 3500, at least.

Number two, that does not count things still relegated to VHS or the countless hours that can be spent on the RPG genre of videogaming I love.

So, I have the inventory, especially when you consider that I am constantly wanting to acquire more and that I lost a goodly portion of my collection in the divorce. Many musicals, RomComs and movies the kids liked stayed behind in San Diego. Another 150-200 titles maybe.

But should I do it here? This blog was supposed to be to support my writing, then became political. But it's mine. I can do what I want.

Still, maybe I would be better served by doing a dedicated blog?

So, now I have to decide a few things. Dedicated blog, yes or no? If so, title of blog. How to distinguish from the hundreds already out there. Do I focus on new stuff? Overlooked stuff? Blasts From the Past?

I mean, there are still far too few people that have seen Before Sunrise.

My Poor Neglected Blog

2009-02-20T07:23:00.000-08:00

It's not that I haven't been writing blog posts here... it's that I haven't been writing.

I've been plotting a new Erotique-world story with my partner and I did write sports during the Charger playoff run. But overall, I just haven't been writing. The Padres got a new owner and a new left-fielder. Not a word. the Chargers designated a franchise player. I'm silent. The Republicans have been acting like spoiled children who want to take their ball and go home and I've been quiet.

I so need to change this.

Yesterday, I wrote nearly 2200 words on a new story. Which is great, except that now I have yet another WIP. (Work In Process, for you sane people. You know, the non-writers.)

So I dutifully say to myself that I'm gonna finish it today. It's an erotic piece and I've got one of them naked and the other one half naked. I've written literally dozens of sex scenes. One more should just flow easily through my fingers to the screen, right?

Nope. Nothing. Not a friggin' word. Frick. Freak. Frak. And all those other substitute f-words that are out there. (Why do made up substitute F words always have an R in them?)

Maybe I'll try again this afternoon. Sigh.

It's Really Happening...

2009-01-19T08:42:00.000-08:00

I've been silent here for a month. After a 2008 in which I ranted and raved about everything and everyone.

But I wake up today, on a day where we celebrate Dr. King's birthday...and knowing that Coming Together At Last is out, and knowing that the Bushes have moved out of the White House...and I think about what that means. And I think about how passionately I endorsed and hoped and prayed for tomorrow.

Tomorrow, Barack Obama will be sworn in as President of the United States. Tomorrow, the official face of our nation...will be black. Part of me wants to shy away from that, because after all, Barack's complexion is monumentally unimportant to me in so many ways. I didn't and do not support him for that reason. It just didn't register as a negative.

But see, that's the point, isn't it? I mean, I don't want to sound like a braggart. But isn't my attitude exactly what Dr. King dreamed about and searched and fought for so hard that they actually killed him for it? Dr. King never wanted restitution or guilt or apology... he wanted opportunity. He wanted his children and his grandchildren to be judged not by their genetics, but by their deeds.

So, I celebrate the inauguration of a black man because it represents a step toward that color-blind society. But that is not what has me excited. That is not what has me watching YouTube again.

Tomorrow, a man takes office who believes in inclusion over exclusion. Who appeals to our hopes instead of our fears. Who's first response to an attack is tempered instead of temperamental. Who is looking for solutions instead of scapegoats.

He is the child of a single parent. He understands the importance of grandparents. He knows what and where his roots are. He understands that it sometimes takes competition to bring the best out of us. He is unafraid to show that he loves his family. He is unafraid to utter the words, "I was wrong" although he presumably hates the need to do so. He hates to lose, but he is not arrogant in victory.

He does not say, "I am the authority," he asks us to join his team. He asks us to care for our fellow Americans and our fellow citizens of the world. He asks us to sacrifice, not shop. He can pronounce nuclear.

And he is perhaps the ultimate embodiment of the American Dream.

Tomorrow, we move from a nation that locks it's doors in fear to one that opens them to their neighbors. Tomorrow, we reclaim optimism, at a time when it is desperately needed. Tomorrow, the man who was derided as unready will hit the ground running with more of his administration already in place than any President I can remember. Tomorrow, the man I rooted for like he was the point guard of my basketball team steps on the court to take on the challenges and I will support him the way I supported Magic when he lead the Lakers. Because it is not bad for the President to inspire the dedication that a rock star, celebrity or sports hero does. Indeed, it has been far too long since one did.

I am a Charger fan, a Padre fan and a USA fan. And an Obama fan, too.

And yeah, maybe I'll have the feeling like my team just won the big game. And maybe that's wrong because all our work is ahead of us, not behind. But anyone who spent as much time in locker rooms as I did knows that leadership may be a concept in rhetoric, but it's a required reality when a team needs to accomplish something.

Tomorrow, our point guard bring the ball up court. Set the offense up, gang. We got a game to win.

What DId You Think "Reaching Across The Aisle" Meant?

2008-12-18T06:50:00.000-08:00

So I wake up today to the sounds of internet teeth gnashing and icons of the left standing up to tear at their shirts and adorn their head with ashes...

Because Obama chose Rick Warren to give an invocation at the inauguration.

Oh, please. Tell me gang, what prominent U.S. pastor could he have chosen that would have been a recognizable proponent of gay rights? Basically, the Christian community is united in the stance that Warren has taken about homosexuality, the one that is causing all these wails of dismay.

Barack Obama ran for office on the platform that he would work to find common ground with both his opponents and his allies. I think that this choice is consistent with that stance.

Obama said in the election what his official stance on the issue of gay marriage was. The man is a mainstream politician. He is not on the far left, but a moderate. Prior to all this dismay over Warren the only ones that had ever characterized him as being that far liberal were people like Rush Limbaugh.

No President or presidential candidate is going to take a stance that will satisfy the people doing all the shouting this morning. Nor should we realistically expect one to do so.

Calm down. All this end-of-the-world rhetoric over a ceremonial post that will have zero impact on anything the man does to actually govern this nation?

Jeez. You all sound like Republicans.

Do We Need To Say "Thank You" For Prop. 8?

2008-12-11T08:16:00.001-08:00

In the wake of Jon Stewart's forceful conversation with Mike Huckabee and with continuing discussion ongoing in the month since California voters barely approved the changing of the constitution of that state to ban gay marriage, I am reminded of a thought I have had consistently since Nov. 5th.

Nothing has ever had the effect on the national conversation about sexual orientation equality that this rejection of basic rights has.

Do we need to scream our thanks to the voters that approved this horrendous piece of legislation? Putting aside for the moment the absolute silliness of a 2% margin being enough to change a constitution and disenfranchise 10% of the population. Putting aside the unprecedented ventures into politics by multiple churches who should forfeit their non-profit status due to their political activism...

There has never been a greater rallying cry for this cause. And let's face it, California is an easy mark. 48% of Arkansas, or Mississippi or Tennessee or Kentucky... you won't get 48% of the vote in Alabama. So winning California is not the long term goal.

Gay marriage needs to be addressed nationally. And the passing of Prop. 8 is making that possible in a way it would not have been otherwise.

This discrimination needs to be addressed legally, not legislatively. It needs to go to the Supreme Court. We aren't looking for the election of Harvey Milk here, people. We are looking for Brown vs. The Board of Education.

It doesn't need to be a state law. It needs to be a national directive.

We are a nation formed with the statement that all men are created equal. We need to live up to that statement. And if certain members of our society don't want to change their prejudices, that doesn't mean they should be able to impose their thinking on others. Regardless of location. This is a discussion about rights, not real estate.

Adaptations

2008-12-09T06:26:00.000-08:00

It feels like years since I wasn't having to adapt to a "new" set of circumstances. Nor am I finished with that just yet... yes, I am finally in a place where I have more than a couple drawers or half a closet, with a woman who isn't constantly checking my collars for lipstick and I spend my days seeking contact with my "spouse" instead of avoiding it.

But even that takes adjusting to... I have lived for so long under the microscope. Had to have an explanation for what I was doing, who I was talking to, why I cared. To be trusted takes adaptation as well. I start to explain my actions and I get that quizzical look, the one that says I am just sooooo silly.

One easy adjustment has been not having the bluetooth in my ear all the time. I've avoided it so much I don't even know where my bluetooth is. I mean, it isn't lost. It's here somewhere. I just don't have to pull it off the charger in the morning and then recharge it again in the early afternoon. I'm glad to know it isn't really a part of me.

I have not managed to adapt in a work sense yet. I will. I'm gonna have to do so in a hurry. But I have an office space set up now and I will soon begin to develop new work habits. I'm so used to waiting until the family goes to bed... and now that I actually want to be there when she goes to bed, that throws me off. Our time together is so precious to me that to squander it by voluntarily withdrawing seems the height of wastefulness. But I also know I work best in solitude.

The hardest thing is the distance from my kids. I never thought I would be without them. I fought so hard to save my marriage not because I truly wanted to be with my ex, but because I didn't want to be away from my kids. Now that they are so many miles away, I recall every moment I could have spent with them and didn't and beat myself up about it.

In seventeen days, I will be picking them up to fly back across the country with me for a week. That week is going too be a seven-bite slice of heaven.

So, my only constant is change. It is still gonna be that way for quite some time. But at least I feel the forward momentum. I don't feel like I am spinning my wheels anymore. I am out of the ditch and back on the road.

At First

2008-12-07T07:56:00.001-08:00

Before Mandy Long and Bruce Winfield began their globetrotting stewardship of the most unique retail establishment in Philadelphia, there was a woman who built the foundation for Erotique. Built it with her will and her sense of adventure. A woman who was ahead of her time in many ways.

Vivian Long's life was full of triumphs and tragedies. As we celebrate the beginning of a new era in America, come back with us and experience the beginning of the Erotique era for the Long family.

On a historic day in Washington D.C., Vivian Long and Eduardo Rojas Aguliar make some history of their own. And like this country, their lives will never be the same.

Walking along 17th Street with his mind firmly in the past and oblivious to the historic present, Eduardo Rojas collided with his future. Not metaphorically, but quite literally.

Both his stack of books and the woman in the yellow dress tumbled to the ground.

“¡Madre de Dios! My apologies, señorita. I did not see…”

His breath caught, his words drifted into a stammer as the woman turned and he saw her eyes for the first time. Though he considered himself a romantic, Eduardo had never believed in the concept of love at first sight until that moment.

She settled on her elbows, smiling at the slightly open-mouthed stare of her unwitting attacker. Though he had seemed quite determined to keep moving before their impact, he was currently motionless. Torn between wanting to see how long he would stay that way and a desire to get back on her feet, she decided to flip the switch on his internal circuit breaker.

“Usually, it would be considered polite to help a lady up—especially when you’re the one who just sent her sprawling.” The harsh content of the words was belied by their light-hearted delivery. Vivian Long was far less upset about being knocked down than she was interested in the man who had done so. He wore a brown suit that was the height of fashion…decades ago. The collection of books he had been carrying was now split between the pavement and a precarious perch in his crooked elbow, save the one in her lap. She lifted it and glanced at the spine while her handsome assailant stammered another apology, letting the rest of his armload fall in his haste to offer her a hand.

“I am very sorry, señorita. I was trying to make my way through this crowd as quickly and as gently as possible, and I somehow did not notice you, though how that was possible, I truly do not know.” Eduardo blushed as he realized what he had just said. It was, however, exactly what he was thinking. Her creamy skin stood out in a sea of predominantly darker tones. Brown hair in braids, deep eyes of hazel that had trapped him momentarily, and a figure that filled out her summery dress in ways that he had best not consider if he wanted to avoid further embarrassment.

“Perhaps your mind was in the Andes of the 1500s instead of Washington in August of 1963.” Vivian took the proffered hand, pulled herself up, then placed the book, Marriage and Courting Rituals among Classes in Incan Society and Their Effect on Warfare and Politics, in the hand she released after gaining her feet. She retrieved her sign and helped him gather the other scattered volumes, which carried similarly scholarly titles in both English and Spanish. “Do you work at the Smithsonian?”

“No, I am merely a student. I did several years in the field after obtaining my master’s degree in Chile and am now working on my doctorate through an exchange program at Georgetown College. I apologize again for my carelessness and would…”

His words were drowned out as the surrounding crowd cheered the comments from the current speaker. The noise quickly died down as the people once again began to concentrate on the speech.

Vivian smiled again as she pieced together what she thought he had said. “I’m sorry, are you asking me on a date? I don’t even know your name!” She struggled to keep a straight face as the man’s handsome features contorted in shame, and he immediately began a new apology.

“No, no. I simply meant that I felt I should make amends and would like to….”

“Hush.” Vivian placed a finger on his lips. A visible shiver passed through him at her touch, but he did not withdraw. “Have you a specific meeting that you were hurrying to reach?” She lifted her finger slightly to allow his reply, and his tongue darted, subconsciously sampling the site of her touch. Vivian felt the imaginary rasp of it against a distant part of her body.

“Well, no. I simply had not anticipated the immensity of this event and…”

With the heat of his breath brushing her fingertip, she realized he was not the only one stunned by an inexplicably powerful connection. In that moment, it became more necessity than amusement to maintain contact.

Once again, Vivian placed the finger on his lips. “Then you can make amends by standing with me and listening to the next speaker. Witness some history as it happens instead of reading about it hundreds of years later. Then you can take me for that cup of coffee, señor…” Her voice trailed off in an interrogatory tone.

“Rojas. Eduardo Rojas Aguilar.”

“What a mouthful! Eddie, it is. Please, call me Vivian. Now, stand here and listen with me. Then you can buy me that drink, and I’ll consider your debt repaid. Deal?”

Eduardo started to correct her undignified shortening of his name, but thought better of it. There would be time for that later, he realized, still shocked both at his own forwardness and that he had put himself in a situation where it could come into play. He decided that it would be a more interesting evening than he had expected, although he still had reading to do. Hearing the name of the next speaker and realizing it was familiar from the newspaper, he decided that he would indeed listen. Afterward, the companionship promised to be, at the very least, intellectually stimulating.

Vivian watched the conflict play across Eddie’s face before he quieted. She thought she recognized it, both from her own experiences and those of acquaintances. She also noticed the quiet intensity that took over as he glanced down at her sign, then turned his attention toward the stage erected on the monument steps. He might not be up to speed on current events, but he knew something of the struggle, she realized. While his clothes were out of date, there was a fierce intelligence in those eyes. She was very interested to hear his reaction to the speech, which, by all accounts, would be similar to one she’d heard the speaker deliver months ago.

“Very well, miss…Vivian,” he finished, looking at her and stammering over her given name as if it was an inappropriately glimpsed undergarment. Since she’d not supplied her surname, he had no choice but to use the more personal form of address. There was something titillating about the man’s discomfiture, she realized. He made her feel like a forbidden fruit, ripe and juicy and begging to be…

“I take it this is a cause about which you are passionate?”

Vivian cocked an eyebrow, causing him to blush at his use of a word with such sexual overtones.

“I mean,” Eduardo continued, “with which you are intimate?”

She smiled.

For those of you who have been craving more Bruce and Mandy...

Well, you'll have to keep re-reading Artifactual. We will return to those two beloved characters, but their next adventure is still in the plotting phaze. *wink*

So, The Reason I've Been Quiet...

2008-11-20T15:04:00.000-08:00

I took the proverbial leap into space. Jumping without a net, all those wonderful sayings.

I left a place I swore I would never leave again. I love San Diego. I love it's warm winters and non-humid summers, love the proximity to Mexico and the resulting taco shop on every corner, love the ethnic mix and hearing multiple languages spoken around me every day. I grew up there, learned to keep my balance there and fell in love for the first time there. Had my heart broken for the first time there.

I love being in a town with professional sports and art museums and Shakespeare in Balboa Park. I love being close enough to L.A. to visit it easily, just as I love how Camp Pendleton keeps it at bay. I love $69 Southwest flights to Vegas and San Francisco.

So why did I leave?

Because there is something, or rather someone, here in the mountains that I love enough to make missing all of that worth bearing. She couldn't move, so I did.

Yes, I miss my friends and family. Most of all, I miss my children. If you know me, you know that it is not a cliche, or rather the cliche is true, to say that they are the light of my life, that I live for them.

But tensions with their mother were high. My being out of San Diego may help that. I hope it does. I hope without the constant reminder of my presence she will find it easier to be happy with the new state of our lives...and I hope and am gambling on that happiness making things easier for my kids.

And when I bring them here to visit with me in a few short weeks, I can be completely free and happy for the first time in a very long time. In the meantime, I'll talk to them a lot and make sure they know I love them... and hope they understand why I had to come here.

No sooner had I arrived then my new home was covered in the white blanket of the first snows of the year. I couldn't help but see it as an omen. As the gentle white rain filled in the imperfections of the meadow below, I compared it to smoothing out my life.

Snow is a blank slate. A fresh carpet on the world. Waiting for footprints, waiting for change. Waiting for children to play, for sunshine to reflect.

Everything old is new again.

Obama Wins!

2008-11-04T21:33:00.000-08:00

Thank you, America. I am so proud of you.

In one dramatic night, you have restored much of the prestige and power of the Presidency. You have showed that any child in the United States can look at the White House and dream about being President.

You have shown the world that we are not all Cowboys. You have shown that we value intelligence. You have done more to restore our standing in the world with this one choice than a thousand victories achieved through force of arms could have done.

You have moved beyond the prejudice of our past. You have demonstrated that the American Dream is still something more than a cliche.

You have elected Barack Obama.

The Time Has Come to Be Heard

2008-11-02T23:32:00.000-08:00

I write this with approximately 33 hours to go before the polls open here in California. By this point in the process, if you are reading me you know where I stand. You know I support Barack Obama. You know that while I may differ on some issues, I am primarily supporting the democratic ticket.

I am confident if not complacent regarding the national agenda. But I am still extremely worried on the matter of Proposition 8.

We know that if one man's rights are denied, the rights of all are endangered.
~Robert F. Kennedy, 5-6-1961

I live in one of the more conservative areas of California. I use this as a salve to my fears, because I see far too many bumper stickers and lawn signs supporting Prop. 8 to make me comfortable. The polls show that the sentiment against this institutionalized discrimination is eroding. While still showing that Prop 8 should be defeated, things are approaching the margin of error. It's a toss up.

I know good people who are deluded enough that they are voting yes on this proposition, despite the fact that I hear the trepidation in their voice. They know this is a Jim Crow law that is being pushed. They know it's wrong. So they seek reinforcement. They seek justification for their vote. Because they need to reconcile the fact that they are voting against the civil rights of their fellow Californians.

Their hearts tell them one thing. Their fears tell them another.

Those fears are being reinforced by money from outside the state. Those fears are being reinforced by the people they trust most. Their parents... their teachers... their pastors. And because they have spent a lifetime following the advice of these people, they will ignore the nagging doubt at the edge of consciousness. The voice that tells you not to steal from Mom's purse... not to pour water into the vodka bottle to replace what you drank as a teenager... not to keep the extra twenty dollars the bank teller gave you by mistake.

You know it is wrong to deny others the rights our forefathers fought so hard to keep. You know that the U.S. Constitution guarantees all of us equal protection under the law. You know that the voice whispering at the edge of your mind telling you this is wrong... is right.

You know that making others happy while causing no harm to anyone is by definition a good thing.

Don't vote based on prejudice or fear. Follow the voice. Vote no on Proposition 8.

Why Jesus Would Vote No On 8

2008-10-21T16:41:00.000-07:00

Throughout this election season we have seen wild accusations, strong feelings and deceitful advertising on many issues. Nationally, this is focused on the Presidential race, but here in California we are seeing the same kind of bitter focus on a piece of legislation that, for a large portion of our population, is equally important.

I am among those with strong feelings about the proposal to amend the state constitution to define legal marriage as being between a man and a woman. Simply put, I must tell you that I am categorically against any law which denies any citizen their civil rights.

The primary opposition to that view is being based in the churches. It’s predictable. It is also, from my point of view, incredibly sad.

Approximately two thousand years ago, a transformational figure emerged from a small town called Nazareth. This man’s teachings and morality were so revolutionary that they have literally transformed the globe. He was an incredible pioneer… not in the area of religion, although that certainly applies. But in civil rights.

Let’s look at the man, his actions and his teaching. I am restraining this discussion to the actual words and deeds of the man Jesus. I am not, for the purposes of this piece, interested in the epistles of his followers. Also, I am taking the Gospels at face value, ignoring the questions about the literal truth of the document and focusing on the man they describe.

Jesus of Nazareth was the one of the first major western figures to propose such revolutionary concepts as the separation of church and state, pacifism in the face of persecution and a commitment to care for the poor, sick and disabled. But the leadership position I wish to emphasize here is his belief in equality.

If you examine the teachings and words of Jesus, you find a dramatic difference between him and his contemporaries. One that is less obvious to us because of the very changes his teachings helped bring about.

In that time, it was an accepted truth that a king was in all ways superior to his subjects, that only a priest could speak to God and that people who were different were inferior. Women were chattel. Children were an expendable commodity. Slavery was common. Those who worked in certain professions were not only misguided, but evil and sub-human.

Jesus rejected all of the above. He recruited his disciples from the ranks of fishermen. Laborers, whose lack of formal education was appalling to the men who sat in the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. He dared to suggest that a common man was as valuable as a king or priest. He not only suffered the attentions of children, he adored them. He sought out the companionship of women, not as sexual vessels, but as his intellectual equal. He healed lepers, who were considered to have been afflicted by God for their sins. He comforted the insane, who were considered to be possessed by demons.

And perhaps most shocking of all, he preached that Samaritans and Gentiles of all sorts, even Romans, were worthy of respect. Just as were such “scum” as tax collectors and prostitutes.

When he would not desist from these teachings, he was considered so incredibly dangerous that he was put to death. Not by the civil authorities. According to most accounts, they did everything they could to avoid condemning him. He was condemned by the religious establishment of his own country. By those viewed by the masses he preached to as closest to God. By the men who should most have embraced his message, were they truly concerned with souls instead of shekels.

Now, those who occupy the same place in the consciousness of California are arguing that a group of God’s children are somehow less deserving of civil rights. That granting these civil rights, despite not changing a single thing about their own lives, will somehow reduce the value of marriage. They are arguing that a “true believer” has no choice but to vote yes on Proposition Eight.

In doing so, they take a direct stand against the ideals of Jesus of Nazareth. They betray the very concepts this man died a horrible death to defend. They deny his example. Note that I am not talking about sin. I am talking about the legal principles that Jesus pioneered.

Peter denied his Lord three times. These people prepare to follow the example of Peter on November fourth. Peter’s guilt, by all accounts, followed him for the rest of his days and even influenced the manner of his death.

There is no doubt in my mind that if Jesus of Nazareth were to cast a ballot this November, he would vote against this measure to disenfranchise a portion of the masses. Every position of his ministry expresses this. He died rather than reject his convictions.

If you truly honor this man, how can you betray the principles of his life?

Ignore your personal Sanhedrin. Vote no on Proposition Eight.

The Final Debate

2008-10-16T01:25:00.000-07:00

It was the best of the three in many ways. Sitting across from each other, Barack Obama and John McCain were forced to face each other. We saw McCain finally acknowledge his opponent. We saw Obama "called forth" to answer the accusations about Ayers and ACORN.

It was the best moderated of the events, as someone finally took the initiative to keep the two candidates on track. That, the nature of the setting and the finality of this being the last chance to speak to the entire nation in one moment created some much more impassioned speech.

I watched this one on CNN, after watching the first on PBS and the second on NBC. CNN is the network which has been supplying focus groups with a dial to rate their reaction. The individuals turn the dial to indicate their positive or negative feelings, which are then shown on a graph at the base of the television screen. I liked the graph. It was interesting.

It absolutely PLUNGED when McCain went negative.

Obama seemed to score best with the graph on Education and on Health Care.

On the economy and taxes, it was more even.

Obama flatlined a few times, right in the middle... but he only rarely went below the midline. And most of the time when he did, it seemed to be when he was basically forced to "counter-punch" negative.

I saw nothing that I thought was a game changer. McCain started much better than in the past two debates. But he lost that momentum in the middle, which I thought was more even and then he crashed. I felt Obama won the last third.

There was also a dramatic difference on the questions about the VP choice. Sarah Palin has certainly been a divisive choice. While she has fired up the Republican base, It would seem evident that the country as a whole do not approve of her and do not feel she is qualified. Joe Biden does not seem to evoke much emotion, yet people do trust him and feel that he could lead the nation.

Finally, I noticed that McCain did much better with men than women. While this was most clear on the Roe v. Wade question, it was visible throughout the night. If we use the CNN focus group as a model, I would have to conclude that women simply do not trust John McCain.

Every media outlet while give you the soundbites, so I feel no need to rehash them. (We will all be sick of hearing about Joe the Plumber soon.) I will say that I feel that Obama did perform better than McCain, although I know my own bias plays into that. But Barack appeared calm and measured. John McCain, on the other hand, sometimes appeared as though he were barely able to contain his anger. I think that will make an impact. Most people don't want that reaction in a crisis.

In the end, McCain did not get the dramatic faux pas or mistake from Obama that he needed, nor did he find a way to differentiate himself from the messages he has given out on the campaign trail.

Obama could have lost the election tonight. He could not win. Basically, Obama held serve. With a ten point advantage in the polls, that may very well be enough.

Judging this debate as an isolated event, I still feel Obama won the evening. However, there is little doubt that this was McCain's best performance. But Obama was far more clear and impressive on Health Care and Education and although he did not hammer McCain on the economy as he has in the past, he still seemed better equipped to handle the issue than his opponent.

Blog Action Day 2008: Poverty

2008-10-15T11:29:00.001-07:00

Today, I take a break from berating presidential politics. It's Blog Action Day and the subject is Poverty.

Odds are, a good percentage of those who might read this have only dealt with the issue at arm's length. That's not a bad thing, by the way. I'm not going to sit here and yell at you for being above the poverty line. The old saw about catching more flies with honey definitely applies to charity. Getting angry doesn't increase donations. Every activist working in an inner city or on country back roads knows this very well.

My own experience is a little closer, although I have never felt poor. But there were weeks growing up when we ate the same thing three or four days in a row. Corned beef, cheese sandwiches and hot dogs & beans are intricately woven into my childhood. There were years when Christmas was more about refilling the sock drawer than a new bicycle. By some definitions, my family came close to that scary "poverty line." Close enough to be on government assistance a time or two. Close enough to shop at a thrift store or Pic n' Save instead of Macy's, let alone Nordstroms.

But let's face it, that's nothing. We had a roof over our head and we live in a country that helps. It could help more, but we'll save that topic for later.

I live in San Diego. It is my home and it always will be, even if my travels lead me other places for extended times. I grew up here, in a city that draws tourists and rightfully seems to have fewer problems than many urban areas. We do have many people living on that edge, although we don't have projects like Chicago or abandoned buildings like New York. We have families that are just scraping by.

However, living in San Diego also means living next to Tijuana.

I have seen poverty. Real poverty. The whole family living in a room whose walls melt in the rain, under an aluminum sheet roof where everyone has to be outside in the afternoon because inside becomes an oven. In high school, I helped feed orphans whose lives made me vow never to be unthankful about the conditions as I grew up. I have seen a child kneeling on a sidewalk leading to the United States, unwashed and awake at three a.m. because he has no school to go to in the morning, singing "La Bamba" and hammering a cheap guitar with three broken strings. Hoping that some drunk American teenager, who has crossed the border to party, will toss him a quarter. Mothers sitting under an overhang with an infant suckling while the baby's brother and sister try to get someone to buy Chiclets.

Scenes that we like to think exist only in India or Africa happen on hillsides that, on a clear day, I can see from my house. Unlike Sarah Palin, I don't think that just because I can see the hills of Tijuana makes me an expert on how to erase the scourge of poverty from our planet.

I don't wonder at the causes of illegal immigration. If I could get my family out of those conditions, I too would cross a desert to find a minimum wage job.

And yet, I can become desensitized. I've grown up with this, seen it a thousand times. It's only when someone points it out to me that I feel the things I felt the first time I saw it.

We are the lucky ones. If you own a computer to read this on, you are living in greater luxury than the majority of the people who have lived on this planet. And you are living in greater comfort than a great many living on it today.

Do something.

On days when I remember, I donate clothes to thrift stores. Toys my children have outgrown. I have fed the poor, but not recently. I have done volunteer work. I am proud of the efforts I have made, both with my time and my money. I am proud to be part of organizations like Coming Together.

But there are times when I need to be reminded that I can do more.

If you are out there and you aren't doing something, do it now. You are already on the computer. Make a donation. Ten bucks. The cost of a couple hours entertainment at the movie house will feed a houseful of children in Tijuana. I don't need to point out where… you know how to use Google and I don't really care which charity you pick. The next time they ask you in the checkout line to donate a dollar, say yes. If a dirty five year old sings "La Bamba" at you, have the compassion to empty your pockets of their change. It means a lot more to him than to you.

I don't care what you do. There are a thousand choices.

But do it. We are the lucky ones. Share some luck today. Believe me, the feeling you get back is worth it.

John McCain Stars In "The Gambler"

2008-10-14T01:28:00.000-07:00

One can almost imagine the frustration of Michael Jordan.

Gambling rumors once came close to destroying his lucrative endorsements. Yet this fall, the Chicago Bulls great has watched as a front page story in the New York Times about a presidential contender's habit has immediately disappeared from the public's attention.

John McCain doesn't hide his habit. Is it because of this, because he can sit there and respond, "I am a betting man" on national television, that no one is interested in what this could mean as part of the philosophy of the Commander In Chief?

The easy excuse is that we assume that a man who has spent twenty-five years in a position of great authority is beyond the temptation to follow his reckless urges on matters of national importance. After all, no President would take such wild chances. Just because someone enjoys putting their money on the table in Vegas doesn't mean they would gamble with the responsibilities of their office.

The problem with this assumption is that Mr. McCain's own behavior is contrary to it. The McCain campaign has been rolling the dice for months, and they continue to do so without the slightest hesitation. Sarah Palin is only the most obvious of these questionable decisions, and the book is still out on the wisdom of that choice.

In the immediate aftermath of the campaign's controversial decision to name the Alaska governor as running mate, it seemed to be a good bet. The polls in the days that followed allowed the campaign to rake in a few chips, and it energized the Republican base in a gratifying way. In short, the decision was a short term winner.

However, as any race track aficionado knows, hitting a long shot early does not necessarily mean that you will leave with more money in your pocket than you had on arrival. In many cases, quite the opposite is true. Your success at the beginning often fuels wild and unwise choices late in the afternoon, so that by the time you head for the parking lot, you end up down far more than you ever intended to spend.

John McCain has been laying crazy bets for the last month. Mortgage plans and "Who is Barack Obama?" are just two of them. The most damaging was the false suspension of his campaign, a mistake he is now trying to minimize by returning to David Letterman. Upsetting the only man more popular in Indiana than Larry Bird was hardly a wise choice.

So, John McCain is willing to gamble with the choices he makes in his campaign. A campaign that is the culmination of years of preparation and in itself is a fulfillment of a lifetime struggle to emerge from the shadows of his famous father and grandfather.

The Presidential nomination is the most important thing that has ever happened to Senator McCain. It is obvious, in his demeanor and in his desperate abandonment of many of the moral positions he has held throughout public life, how much the presidency means to him. Yet his impulses remain. In the pursuit of the one goal that has dominated his destiny for decades, John McCain is immediately willing to shake those dice, ask Sarah Palin to blow on them and let fly. He'll take his chances.

The problem is that if he wins his biggest bet, the stakes will change forever. It won't be his livelihood and reputation on the line. It will be the well-being, safety, and security of every single one of us. If John McCain somehow manages to go on a three week winning streak and ends up in the White House, his long shot win will fuel years of belief in his own luck.

Every pit boss in Vegas will tell you that, eventually, the house always comes out ahead.

The Moment Which Defined This Election? "That One."

2008-10-08T10:17:00.000-07:00

It's a catchy headline that a columnist salivates over. Yet I found myself so reluctant to use it that I decided not to follow my normal pattern of writing immediately after a debate due to the way it dominated my thoughts.

With an evening to think on it and a good night's sleep behind, I realize it dominated my thoughts for a reason.

The appalling and disrespectful moment when John McCain referred to Barack Obama by pointing a finger sideways and saying "that one" with utter disdain captures everything about the man that gives me pause when I imagine him as President.

Moments can define people. As a writer and a film buff I should know this. When Lawrence of Arabia stands on the roof of the train, when Sidney Poitier says, "They call me Mr. Tibbs!" or when Indiana Jones casually pulls his gun and shoots the swordsman in the marketplace, those characters are defined forever.

John McCain defined himself in that moment. He thinks he is better than everyone around him. He thinks that this presidency is his because he deserves it and no one else does. He showed not only disdain for Barack Obama, but for all of us. Our votes are his by right. He doesn't need to earn them.

See, John McCain thinks he is entitled to that post. He thinks that the fact that he has to go out and cater to all of us in order to be elected is ridiculous. Because why should he have to parade around in front of these people who are beneath him in order to get the job he so obviously deserves?

I struggle with this characterization. It is an awful thing to say about a man who suffered as a P.O.W. and who has spent the great majority of his life in service to his country.

But it fits.

If I was writing John McCain, as a character in a novel, and I needed the reader to "get this" about the character, I could not have chosen a better way to make the point. And it changes the rest of his actions in ways that make sense within the character. It explains his choice of Sarah Palin, since her obvious flaws become inconsequential to a man who thinks he knows so much more than those around him. The pat on the back of the audience member, the constant use of the condescending "my friends" and the repeating of talking points that have already been shown to be untrue all make sense from this point of view into John McCain.

It explains why he thinks he can fly into Washington with a non-suspended suspension of his campaign and think that he will emerge victorious. It explains why he feels it's no big deal to blow off David Letterman. It explains his role in the Keating Five. It explains his first marriage and how it ended. It explains the awful jokes.

And it fits with a man who was involved in three flying accidents in the Navy before he was shot down and yet never lost his wings because of who his father was. With a man who knew they wouldn't kick him out of the Naval Academy. With a man who pledged this spring to run a clean campaign on the issues and instead is running what the New York Times called this morning "one of the most appalling campaigns we can remember."

It explains why he can't look at Obama. It explains why he is okay running the horrible ads. It explains why he can make outrageous claims like Obama not agreeing to ten Town Halls "forced" him to go negative and why he can tell his lies with a wink and a smile.

It's a moment I am not going to be able to shake easily. Because, as a writer, I feel it reveals character. Perfectly. I couldn't have written a better scene and thus I am hard-pressed to explain away what I saw and heard.

The only question to be answered is who John McCain respects less. Barack Obama? Or all of us?

Supporting The Troops

2008-10-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America have today released their annual "Report Cards" on the House and Senate. Some of you may be familiar with this idea of giving members of Congress a letter grade based on their voting records and sponsorship of legislation that supports various organizations.

In today's political climate, I consider this organization's grade to be one of those that makes a difference. To me, it has to do with the old value of actions speaking louder than words. Or as John McCain has recently called the concept, not only "talking the talk, but walking the walk."

The results are not surprising to me. But I think that they should be. It saddens me that I am not surprised.

For review, let me point out that the McCain campaign has repeatedly attacked Barack Obama as not supporting the troops. Their attacks have ranged from negative ads released after Obama's trip to Germany to questioning his voting record in both debates to comparing the number of trips he took to Iowa with those he took to Iraq.
John McCain also goes to great lengths to remind everyone of his experience as a POW.

It's something that is one of the great disconnects with John McCain. In my experience, and based on what I read in the experience of most others, the great majority of our veteran's are reluctant to speak about their own service. My father is very proud of his service, as evidenced by his Vietnam Vet bumper sticker and photos of his friends on the wall above his computer. Yet he rarely mentions it, and to actually get him to speak about that time in more than a passing fashion requires emotional trauma.

The IAVA proudly gave out 150 perfect scores this year. That shows the nation's commitment to our troops, even in a very unpopular war. We should all be proud. Unfortunately, they also gave out 9 D's or F's.

Anyway, to the grades of the presidential candidates. Largely due to his absences while on the campaign trail, Barack Obama receives a B. I would greatly prefer that to be otherwise, knowing that it is a subject we both consider of great import, but there it is. Not the top grade, but respectable.

John McCain gets a D.

Let me repeat that. John McCain received a D. Yes, his large number of absences affect his grade. But they also affected Barack Obama, yet he got a B.

Also, if you go to the website of the IAVA and download the full document of their 2008 Report Card, you will notice that while they do not take a politician's military service into the grading, they do notate that service by placing a star next to their name.

Of all the Senators listed, only one man has that honorable star next to the dishonor of a D or an F. John McCain.

Way to "walk the walk" there, John.

Morning After Reactions To Sarah Vs. Joe

2008-10-03T09:58:00.000-07:00

So all the pundits, including me, are out in force. We all have opinions and many of them are based primarily on what we thought going into the debate rather than on what we thought about it.

Last night, I praised Sarah Palin for doing better than expected. I stand by that. She did do better than expected. However, I find some of the reactions to that performance dismaying.

Fox News said she stopped the bleeding and may have once again saved John McCain's campaign. Newspapers and websites all over are spending the first couple column inches of their stories praising her for, basically, not being a train wreck. But then they are all unanimous in saying that she got her tail kicked in the actual debating department. So why is the first part of the story, well known by every editor to be the most likely part to be read, spent praising the loser?

THIS is equality? This is the performance of a woman who is supposed to shatter the glass ceiling, a claim she made in her RNC acceptance speech? She got her butt kicked! Everybody says so, even the Republican wags. How then are we full of praise for her today? Do you think Elizabeth Dole would have done so poorly? What about Kay Hutchinson?

Or better yet... rewind a few months and watch Hilary Clinton debating Joe Biden. Not only does she not get embarrassed, she stands toe to toe and wins points. THAT'S damaging the glass ceiling. Not pathetic fallback on rehearsed talking points because you can't actually answer the question. Not thinking that we have recalled a Union General from 1862 to take over in Afghanistan. Not long pauses to search her memory of the prep work in Arizona. Not blindly repeating falsehoods that had been blown out of the water by Barack Obama when John McCain tried to use them a week earlier.

I wake up and look at the news organizations and the blogosphere and I am annoyed that we would lower our political standards in this way. When Dan Quayle did this we barbecued him. And rightfully so.

To say that Sarah Palin did so well last night just because she was not a total failure repairs the glass ceiling, it does not damage it. There are many women in national politics who would have done far better debating Joe Biden than Sarah Palin did.

You can wink at me and drop consonants off your words all you want, Sarah. It won't convert me to supporting you because you are "folksy." Yes, you're attractive. But the naughty librarian look loses it's appeal when the person wearing it favors censorship. Yes, you are the first female Republican to be nominated for a national executive office. But I can't say that you are a standard-bearer for women's rights when you favor removing many of the victories already achieved and when your campaign won't even commit to supporting legislation for equal pay.

Sarah Palin showed she's one of us. That's what I keep hearing. Well, guess what? The top two executive jobs in the country are not supposed to be held by people that are "one of us." The people in those jobs are supposed to be exceptional. Not "just plain folks."

The more I write, the angrier I get. Quit cutting her so much slack. Hold her to the same standards you held Hilary to, the ones you held Geraldine Ferraro to and, yes, the ones you hold Barack Obama, Joe Biden and John McCain to as well.

To do anything less does not shatter the glass ceiling, it repairs it.

Palin Exceeds Expectations

2008-10-02T23:17:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, I wrote that Barack Obama basically won the first Presidential debate by exceeding expectations. Even the most partisan Democrat would have to say that the same was true of Sarah Palin tonight, that she exceeded expectations dramatically. But does that mean she won?

Even Fox News won't say that, although they do reveal their leanings and hardly-surprising-by-now by bias by quoting her NINE times before they do Joe Biden.

But, all Sarah needed to do tonight was not be a complete and total lackwit. And yes, she succeeded in that. If this were a high school debate competition, the scores would go overwhelmingly to Joe Biden. Indeed, a CNN poll conducted in the wake of the debate showed that 97% of America thought Joe Biden was knowledgeable about the issues. That's pretty intense. But another poll said that 84% felt Palin did "better than expected."

So what does it all mean? The jury is still out on that, but in the all-important realm of the undecided voter, it seems to mean a slight victory for Obama. In yet another CNN poll, 18% of undecided voters said tonight had made them decide for Obama, while 10% said they were now committed to McCain.

In my not-so-humble opinion, Sarah scored a victory tonight because she did show that she has dimensions to her that are not evident when Tina Fey plays her on Saturday Night Live. But that does not mean she changed my mind about how incredibly scary she is.

That's gonna take actions, not just words. You betcha.

McCain To Suspend Again?

2008-09-30T11:37:00.000-07:00

This morning, John McCain hit the morning shows in the wake of new polls which showed definite gains for Senator Obama. Among them was the uber-friendly waters of Fox News, where he did an interview that included a lot of tail-kissing and very questionable interpretations of his actions last week.

McCain answered with a scripted response (I know it was scripted because every time they asked him another question he started over with "I'll do whatever is necessary..." and repeated his talking points. It happened no less than three times.) that basically said that he would do it if it would help.

Help what? Barack Obama? Because that is all the last time accomplished. And how is he gonna suspend his campaign this time? Hey, Jay Leno! Do you have McCain on your schedule this week? Better call Keith Olberman and see if he can sub.

Because the only thing that John McCain suspended last week was appearing on David Letterman's show. His offices were all open. His advisers and subordinates were all out hitting the news shows. He gave an interview to Katie Couric at the time he was supposed to be talking to Dave, then gave a speech the next day, then finally showed up in Washington just barely in time for his photo op at the White House. Then all he did was shut up and look interested for the photographers until the very end, at which point he opened his mouth to present an alternative plan that had already been explored and condemned by Secretary Paulson, Warren Buffet and pretty much every person of financial knowledge willing to state an opinion.

Oh, except for Sen. Phil Gramm, his top financial adviser. The one who called America a nation of whiners. The one whose name is on the legislation that helped get us to this point. Yeah, that's credible. Next on McCain's agenda is apparently a conference with Britney Spears on how to keep his life calm and on track under media scrutiny.

Unless, of course, The campaign suspension really was what some have floated. A feint aimed at getting Barack to flinch and allow the first debate to be re-scheduled for this Thursday. Thereby bumping the Vice-Presidential debate off the schedule. Thereby keeping Sarah Palin from being exposed.

Obviously, that can not be accomplished now. We know the McCain camp is scared about Thursday. We know it because they have been out hitting the media in all shapes and forms over the last three days, attempting to lower expectations for Palin. It's actually a very wise strategy. The more everyone expects her to get her bell rung, the better she looks if she doesn't wilt under pressure. At this point, with how badly she is expected to fail, simply not fainting on stage is going to win her plaudits from the media and cause Fox News to proclaim her the victor.

Are they really so worried that they would suspend the campaign to cancel the debate outright? If so, they are going to disappoint an awful lot of people.

Especially the writers at Saturday Night Live.

Debate First Reaction: A Draw, Which Is A Win For Obama

2008-09-27T01:24:00.000-07:00

I'm sure I'll talk much more about this later.

But my first reaction to tonight's presidential debate was about missed opportunities. I wanted Obama to hammer him. McCain said several things where I saw lies and and misrepresentations and all the same old John McCain things.

And then Barack would just kind of smile and say, "Well, John...That's not quite accurate."

It frustrated me. But then I remembered something. This is the one that McCain was supposed to win hands down. This was his strength. And if McCain was going to change the state of the race, he needed to score big tonight. He didn't.

In most polls, in this immediate and therefore incomplete aftermath, Obama is being said to have won a small victory. The one I have seen remarked upon the most actually has him with a very small margin over a tie, but a larger one over a McCain win. 40% Obama, 38% tie, 22% McCain.

But the things is, this was the foreign policy debate. This is the area where McCain's experience helps the most, this was the debate where the Obama camp worried about getting blown out. This was the one were McCain was expected to swing for the fences and maybe hit a grand slam.

And 78% of those polled thought it was pretty close or an Obama win.

That's significant. And the next debate? Palin vs. Biden. If she can't respond to Katie Couric, how is she gonna handle Joe Biden? Show him her swimsuit video?

A tie is a win, in this case.

John McCain Will Debate After All

2008-09-26T09:21:00.000-07:00

The McCain campaign, after swooping into Washington a full day later then they said they would, after never suspending any aspect of a campaign they said they would and after making once-friendly David Letterman feel like an "ugly date," now says that they will, after all, attend the debate in Mississippi tonight.

Why? Wasn't the original purpose of John McCain "suspending" his campaign to be able to stay in Washington until this financial crisis was resolved? Does this mean it is resolved then?

Let's review. The "agreement in principle" that a bi-partisan committee had come up with before McCain arrived in Washington is floundering at best. House Republicans are still acting as blocking agents. McCain came into town, said very little and then backed a plan completely different from the one that had gendered support across the aisles, a plan that Secretary Paulson said "would not work." The largest bank failure in the history of the country happened overnight.

Nope. Problem definitely not resolved.

So then why is McCain back aboard the Debate train? Simply, really. Because the polls and the voice of the people yelled at him that he needs to be.

This whole thing was a grandstand ploy to try and make John McCain look heroic and responsible while also allowing him to avoid the extra attention of a debate during a time of plummeting polls and giving him additional prep time. This despite the fact that he has known when the debate was for just as long as Obama and that he once again, during that interview with Katie Couric when he was supposed to be on Letterman, has accused Obama of basically being mean to him by not giving him he "ten Town Hall's."

It's transparent. It's ridiculous. It got him ridiculed extensively for two nights by a man reputed to be one of the sharpest wits in America, who used to be enough of a friend that McCain announced his candidacy for President on his show. It made the people of the U.S. actively engage in conversation along the lines of "What the hell is he thinking?"

And it got him caught in one of the silliest accusations yet, when his team called the White House meeting a "shouting match" and tried to blame it on Obama (without ever saying they were trying to blame it on Obama, of course.) Really now, John. We're supposed to believe the guy that kept his cool through everything he has been faced with this year was the one that got into a shouting match, and the guy with the nasty temper who calls his wife things you can't repeat on television was the calm one. Um, your buddy George would say "That dog won't hunt."

Oh, but hey. At least it distracted everyone from noticing what a fool Sarah Plain looked like when Katie Couric asked about Alaska being next door to Russia again.

Can You Smell The Desperation?

2008-09-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

So, the latest news is that John McCain wants to suspend the presidential campaigns and the debate scheduled for Friday. He expects us to believe this is because of the severity of the economic crisis. He says that his presence is needed in Washington.

What are you going to do now, John? After all, you've shown such a firm grasp of the situation so far. The fundamentals of the economy are strong, right John? All that your presence in Washington is going to do is pull some bright young mind that could be actually working on the problem away from his desk so that he can try to educate you on what's really going on.

You couldn't be bothered to be in Washington for months. Ted Kennedy got back to the senate after a brain operation, defying doctors orders, to vote on a Medicare bill that failed by a single vote. Not Obama's. He was there on July 9th, voting. The missing man was John McCain.

Truth is, John McCain has not been in the senate in five months.

The real truth is this. John McCain's campaign is teetering on the brink of disaster. And that disaster is primarily because of the economy. Of course John wants to suspend the debate and the campaign. For him to go into that atmosphere with Barack Obama on Friday would be like Roman Polansky showing up at the Oscars. Just plain stupid.

Seen last nights ABC News poll? John McCain obviously has. Barack Obama, 52%. John McCain, 43%. Do you think we're stupid, John? Start telling the truth, the birds are sizing up that growing nose for a nest.

The people of the United States deserve to see how you respond in a crisis if you want to be President. Right now, it looks like John McCain is still reading My Pet Goat.

What's Old Is New Again. Remember The Keating Five.

2008-09-19T11:36:00.001-07:00

Investors are losing millions. A lending crisis brought on by deregulation, poor decision making and lobbyists has scared and angered the American people. And a man with hopes to be President is right in the middle of it, with a friend and adviser who is the head of one of the worst offenders.

John McCain, judging by his new ad, wants you to think we are talking about 2008 and his opponent. We're not. We are talking about the Savings and Loan crisis of the late eighties and early nineties. The man who hopes to be President is John McCain and the friend and adviser is Charles Keating.

John McCain wants us to forget. He wants us to give him the reigns so that he can steer us out of trouble. But John McCain is the last person we should trust when it comes to financial scandal. Because John has been there before, and we should be using that phrase his buddy George Bush so memorably screwed up. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

America, don't get fooled again.

John McCain would like you to believe he was exonerated. He was not. What happened was that they couldn't find evidence showing that he had done anything more than intimidate with his presence and with things that were barely true but were, after all, a little bit true and thus hard to claim as being prosecutable falsehoods. That sounds familiar, doesn't it?

At the end, John McCain was found to be officially guilty of poor judgment. He was not prosecuted further because he paid for the free flights and vacations given to him by Charles Keating and because he was able to claim that it was his wife's money that was invested with Keating, not his. You know, like how his wife owns all those houses and thus he doesn't know about them.

And he paid the U.S. Treasury $112,000.00 in order to offset the campaign contributions he had received from Keating.

John McCain was at the center of what many called the worst example of Senate corruption since Teapot Dome. John McCain helped Charles Keating attempt, unsuccessfully, to brazen through an investigation and drag out a situation which resulted in Charles Keating's investors, who were primarily older people who had invested for retirement, losing over one hundred eighty million dollars with no hope of recovery.

And although John McCain survived, he was far from blameless. Not in my opinion, not in the opinion of the investigators and not in the opinion of his homestate media. I present to you the words of Tom Fitzpatrick from The Phoenix New Times November 29, 1989.

Link to the original article.

"You're John McCain, a fallen hero who wanted to become president so desperately that you sold yourself to Charlie Keating, the wealthy con man who bears such an incredible resemblance to The Joker. (skip ahead)

Since Keating's collapse, you find yourself doing obscene things to save yourself from the Senate Ethics Committee's investigation. As a matter of course, you engage in backbiting behavior that will turn you into an outcast in the Senate if you do survive.(skip)

Those who survive will be the sociopaths who can tell a lie with the most sincere, straight face. You are especially adept at this.(skip)

It was a sobering scene. There you sat with Glenn, both sweating before the cameras, waiting to answer questions: two badly tarnished American icons.

No one forgets that Glenn was the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth. You won't let anyone forget that you were a prisoner of war. But you have played that tune too long. By now your constant reminders about your war record make you seem like a modern version of Arthur Miller's tragic failure Willy Loman.

Clearly, both you and Glenn sold your fame for Charles Keating's money.

It was a Faustian bargain. It was also a bad joke on the rest of us and a disaster for many old people who lost their life's savings to Keating.(skip)

Perhaps you might silence your own conscience about all this someday.

Just keep telling everyone that it was your wife's money invested in that shopping center with Keating and that you knew nothing about it.(skip)

Keep telling them that it wasn't that you were bought off but that Charlie Keating got special help only because he was one of the biggest employers in the state.

Just keep sitting there and staring into the camera and denying that Keating bought you for money and jet plane trips and vacations.

So what if he gave you $112,000? Just keep smiling at the cameras and saying you did nothing wrong.

Maybe the voters will understand you took those tiring trips to Charlie's place in the Bahamas in their behalf. Certainly, they can understand you wanted to take your family along. A senator deserves to travel on private jets, removed from the awful crush of public transportation.

You sought out a master criminal like Keating and became his friend. Now you've discarded him. It shouldn't be surprising that you are now in the process of selling out your senatorial accomplices.

You're John McCain, clearly the guiltiest, most culpable and reprehensible of the Keating Five.

More Evidence of McCain's Ever-Shifting POV

2008-09-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

I've said before that I don't care about a politician changing their position on an issue but that it disturbs me greatly when they change positions on ethics or character.

I would define something like beliefs about what experience is and what qualifies a person to be trusted to make wise decisions on national matters to be more of the latter.

The best, and funniest, political commentary is when a politician's own words are used against them. This is one of the reasons that I found the Jon Stewart piece on The Daily Show so funny. The one where he caught Karl Rove dissing Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and compared it to Rove's endorsement of Sarah Palin.

I find it less funny when it's the actual Presidential candidate. Especially when he is selling himself as being honest, a maverick and an agent of change.

This is video from a Republican debate in October 2007. John McCain is talking about Rudy Guiliani and Mitt Romney in this clip. Please remember while watching this that New York City has a population of 8 million. A million people for every 900 that lived in Wasilla while Sarah Palin was mayor. Mitt Romney is the former governor of Massachusetts and served a full four year term. The Boston metropolitan area, just part of the state, has a population of 4.5 million compared to Alaska's 670,000 and Palin has served for less than half a term.

A Day To Remember

2008-09-11T13:27:00.000-07:00

Seven years since the world stopped moving and stared at their televisions in shock and tears. Seven years since those horrible images and unimaginable bravery. Seven years since the United States got a better understanding of how people in Europe and Israel have felt for so very long.

To this day, I remain in awe of the way that the Police and Fire Departments of New York performed in the face of terror. Of how those brave individuals went up those stairs while everyone else was running down. Of the men and women who rushed to help at the Pentagon. Of the passengers and flight attendants of Flight 93 who realized what was happening and chose to go down fighting, ordinary people without training or a duty to perform, who chose death rather than allow anyone else to be hurt.

To this day, simply murmuring "Let's Roll" brings a flush of emotion to my face and forces me to choke down both tears and overwhelming pride in my fellow Americans.

I will not politicize this day, although the part of me that feels we have strayed from a path that would prevent another attack wants me to do so. But there are no men and women in service to this nation who do not want to prevent that horror from reoccurring. That we may differ on how to achieve that goal is very normal, and let's face it, very American.

But we should also realize that September 11 is not a day when only America grieves. It was called the World Trading Center for a good reason. Nationals of over 90 countries died that day. The attack may have been on America, but it impacted the entire world.

Over 200,000 Germans marched in support of both the United States and all who lost citizens and friends; wives, husbands and children. Le Monde's headline read "We Are All Americans."

Today is not a day about the red stripes in our flag, but about the red blood shed from all over the world. Yes, it is also right and proper that we honor our own and also that we celebrate the spirit of our nation.

Let us never forget any of the victims, regardless of their citizenship. September 11, 2001 was a horrible day for all of the human race.

My thoughts and prayers are with all of us who were hurt that day and most especially with the families and friends of all those whose lives ended that day, whether doing their duty or just their job.

Never Forget.

McCain's New Ad Bypasses Gutter and Jumps In The Septic Tank

2008-09-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

John McCain has released an ad that just goes too far.

Referencing a bill from the Illinois Legislature that set up funding to teach kids what kinds of touching were inappropriate and to get a teacher or parent when someone tried to touch them there, McCain is saying that Barack Obama wants to teach sex ed to kindergartners.

John, the reason you didn't want to talk about your honor to Time magazine is obvious now. Many people don't like to talk about the girl they broke up with while the wound is still fresh.

John McCain said he was going to run a different kind of campaign. He pledged truth. Heralded the arrival of the "Straight Talk Express" and spent a lot of time trying to act like a defender of truth, justice and the American Way.

Superman isn't real, John. He is as mythical as your sense of fairplay, your sense of honor and your morality.

Even When Disputing Facts, McCain/Palin Are Deceptive

2008-09-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

Recognizing the dangerous effect of the revelations that Sarah Palin once inquired as to a method of how to ban books, the campaign for John McCain/Sarah Palin today is disputing a list of books that has appeared on the internet as being the ones that she tried to ban.

The truth is, no list was ever submitted and no books were ever banned. That is a fact.

But the tack that the campaign is taking is that because no books were ever banned and because the list is false, that means that Palin never had any thoughts about banning books. They say this even while admitting that Palin requested information on HOW to ban books. But they say the request was "rhetorical" and try to pass it off as an isolated and casual conversation.

The truth is that the reason Sarah Palin never banned books is because a woman took a stand. Mary Ellen Emmons told Palin in no uncertain terms that she would not allow books to be banned. And not just on one occasion, as the campaign would have you believe. Emmons says that Palin asked for information on the subject at least three times, including once before she was ever sworn in as mayor. The "single rhetorical question" defense stems from the fact that Palin only asked this question once as a matter of public record.

That should be scary enough... that a mayor of any American city would, on public record, ask a librarian how she would go about banning books. It scares me.

For the record, Sarah Palin DID fire Mary Ellen Emmons. As part of what Plain described as a "loyalty" purge. In fact, she first requested Emmons resignation in October 1996, then actually fired her on Jan. 30, 1997.

She rehired both Emmons and the Chief of Police (fired the same date) on the following day. Emmons then remained in her position for two and a half years.

It amazes me that the Republicans believe this is a defense. Does anyone really believe that the firing of public officials on Jan. 30, 1997 was not all about sending a message? Should people who have done nothing wrong in their work be fired because they are not "loyal" to an official?

I believe that Sarah Plain was prevented from banning books by the stand of a courageous librarian who put her job on the line. I further believe that no one in the United States who has faithfully and properly performed their duties should have to worry about retaining their job and livelihood simply because their new boss doesn't think they are "loyal" to her.

If you do your job the way it is supposed to be done, you should keep it.

If someone asks about the mechanism for banning books three separate times, they are probing, not being rhetorical.

Are Fannie & Freddie "Fundamentally Strong", John?

2008-09-08T10:50:00.000-07:00

As dismaying as it may be to see the pattern of Federal bailouts continue, the reason that both Barack Obama and John McCain agree on the actions of the Shrub Administration in the housing market is because we have little choice in the matter unless we are willing to endure a repeat of 1930 to 1935. Even the hint of that kind of an economic downturn is disastrous, and being willing to risk it will not win votes.

The same is true of the Bear-Stearns bailout from earlier this year, and the same will be true if it happens with Detroit, as some feel that it will.

Indeed, Obama is already using the idea of providing Federal assistance to help automakers retool as a part of his campaign. An idea that I support not because I believe in the government helping save a foolish private entity from a financial disaster of it's own making but because it will help bring greater fuel efficiency to the American automobile market quicker than almost any other approach. The result of that will be directly beneficial to all of us, and since I will be in the market for a hybrid vehicle in the next few years (my beloved Pathfinder is starting to enter that "constant investment" part of it's lifecycle) it will be good for me personally.

Remember basic Econ 101... if the supply of a commodity remains constant and the demand for it lessens, price will drop. Of course, that's assuming supply remains constant. Knowing how wonderfully socially conscious and mindful of the public good our beloved oil companies are, I worry about whether it will actually happen. But it is worth trying.

But back to where I was originally headed. The housing crisis is now reaching proportions of magnitude where comparisons to the Great Depression are no longer ridiculous. That is not a good thing, obviously. Some estimates I've seen this weekend were that by years end, nine percent of homes could be in foreclosure.

Let me repeat that. In capital letters. NINE PERCENT. Go down your street and start counting. Every time you reach ten, imagine the next home has a "For Sale, Bank Owned" sign in front of it.

This is an immense danger to the economic well-being of the United States. And since money affects everything, it is also a threat to national security and employment, etc. The government stepped in to save the mortgage underwriting apparatus of our nation because if those feet of clay crumble, the statue that falls will not only shatter but the resulting debris will crush apparently unrelated industries. (Witness the results of the bailout in the Stock Market for evidence that I am not the only one believing this.)

And yet, two of the people running for the nations highest offices show zero understanding of the dangers. G.I. John and Caribou Barbie don't get it, even now.

John McCain has not recanted his statement that the fundamentals of the economy are strong and even Jay Leno couldn't get an actual answer from him related to housing. And the fact that John owns multiple homes that could only be called "investment properties" makes that even more glaring. I realize the McCain wants to avoid any and all discussion of the issue because every mention of it reminds voters of his most serious malaprop comment yet.

But a time of crisis is not a time to avoid questions because you're afraid of speaking up again. This is not grade school, John. You are running for President. You can't afford to sit there in class, refusing to raise your hand and trying to hide behind the pigtails of the little girl sitting in front of you. I don't care if the kids laughed at you last time. Show me some of that courage you supposedly have in such great supply. This is not a time for you to enter your second childhood, or your second shot at second grade.

As for the girl he is hiding behind? Her response was that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had gotten "too big and too expensive to the taxpayers" (from a speech in Colorado Springs.) Governor Palin needs someone to tell her that these are private companies and that the implicit backing of the federal government has never before been realized. How can Caribou Barbie be expected to govern if she doesn't even know whether or not a company is part of the government? It's like she was saying that Hummer had become a liability to the Army, not knowing that Hummer was a part of General Motors.

It's scary to me how little actual knowledge either of these candidates show. Yet, there they are in the polls, actually in striking distance of Obama/Biden. Why is that America?

I wish that the average voter would do a little bit of research... something besides watching TV commercials. Here's a hint, sheeple. If the message includes someone saying their name and that they approved it, it's biased!

(a tip of the hat to a comment on Americablog by Asphyxia8, from which I "stole" the phrase Caribou Barbie. It made me smile so much I had to use it.)

Real McCain of Genius

2008-09-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

I find myself wanting to embed things more and more often lately... I see clips from Jon Stewart and videos of songs I like that the artists are mad about certain people using...

But I usually resist... because, you know, this blog is supposed to be about original thinking. Not about parroting the stuff other people make up. I leave that to my Republican friends.

But this is just too classic. I love it. From worsethanbush.org, here is Real McCain of Genius, a fun political parody of the beer ads.

Library-Gate: What Does It Mean?

2008-09-04T23:57:00.001-07:00

So now it's all over the internet. Yep, back when she first took office as the mayor of Wasilla, Sarah Palin used her position to try and get the city librarian to remove certain books from the shelves.

It will be talked about. We will hear pundits spouting off about what happened and why it does or does not matter. And lots of their opinions will be valid and important.

But you know what? None of it matters to me.

Why? Because one thing is clear. Whether or not she was successful, or just curious, or just interested in pursuing an agenda on behalf of her constituents... Saah Palin inquired about what it would take to ban books.

And we are not talking about Mein Kampf or the latest issue of Hustler.

One of the most intense changes brought about by the American experiment was that every publication did not have to pretend to support the government or it's moral positions.

We tend to forget this. That men like Thomas Paine were risking a rope around their neck and a short drop with a sudden stop when they talked about freedom. Sure, there is a difference because no one is talking about hanging Maya Angelou. But the basic principle is the same. No one should fear to speak their mind.

But the librarian in Wasilla took on Sarah Palin. And she is not the librarian there any more. She weathered the first storm. And maybe the second or third. But eventually, she quit fighting. Now, she isn't returning phone calls to the New York Times or the Boston Herald or Time Magazine. Official word is that she is on vacation. What is that? People don't often give up their fifteen minutes of fame. At least, not without a damn good reason.

Sorry, folks. An apology to those of you who want to see this woman Palin as a change, as a chance to move forward. I'm sorry because the more I hear about her past, the more I think that she is a step back rather than a step forward.

I don't want some token in the VP slot. I don't care if she has breasts.

I want someone who is truly progressive. And Sarah Palin is looking like a throwback right now, not a step forward.

I reserve the right to say I was wrong. But I don't think I am.

Sarah Palin's Acceptance Speech

2008-09-04T01:05:00.000-07:00

I'm trying... I really am. I want to be non-partisan, I want to be open to all points of view. And I am reading all these people talking about Sarah Palin and how she did so well speaking tonight. And I'm listening and reading... and I want her to do well in many ways.

She is a good speaker, well, pretty good. I expected that. She beat an incumbent Governor in the Republican primary in Alaska. I figured that would take some doing, you know?

But I read it first. Then I watched it. And I'm watching it again. And what I find is... well, not much.

There were lots of token references... and a lot of veiled criticisms, hiding behind statements that had built in, as Independence Day quotes would have it, "plausible deniability." You know, kinda like George Bush talking about appeasement.

And then there were the outright lies and the outright insults.

She talks a good game maybe... in front of a partisan crowd, with everyone on her side. In front of all those people that look and think like her. (oh, look... veiled insult with plausible deniability *wink*) Hey, isn't that kinda like "dramatic speeches before devoted followers?"

She called herself an advocate for special needs children... and offered nothing about how or why she could claim the title. Well, let me tell you something... I know a real advocate, I'm in love with a real advocate and you Mrs. Palin are no Alessia Brio.

She dares to mention that there are "some candidates who use change to promote their careers" after trying to lay claim to that title just days ago when she was introduced in Ohio. And says it as she accepts a spot on the ticket of a man who has changed almost every single position he ever held that was contrary to the platitudes of the people whose approval he now seeks so desperately.

She dares to claim that she will fight the oil companies in a speech where she trumpets that her husbands works for them and that she has every intention of letting them do whatever they want in Northern Alaska.

And then she finishes by hitting all the little talking points that she was told to hit... and offers not a single specific. She paints a powerful picture. With lies. With generalities. With exactly what we should expect. Fear and distraction, insult and divisiveness.

You want to impress me? Quit stealing parts of your speeches from your opponent and the rest from big-budget blockbusters. Get real, get specific.

And finally, Mrs. Palin, let me clear you up on one more point. Until this year, it wasn't "congress" who "fought the prospect of a McCain presidency - from the primary election of 2000 to this very day."

It was your fellow Republicans. Especially the current President... Who John McCain seems to think is right more than 90% of the time.

Well, maybe this time W was right. For once.

Violence In Minnesota At The RNC

2008-09-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

As we were preparing for the Democratic Convention, I kept hearing things about the possibility of violent protests, and the preparations the Denver police had made, etc. The climate of the country, the war, the anniversary of 1968 in Chicago were all mentioned. I heard very little to nothing about such preparations or issues for the Republican Convention.

And after the Democrats had an almost idyllic convention experience, I heard even less.

Why? In hindsight, it would seem obvious that the party the crowd most likely to protest is angry with is the Republicans. They are the ones in control during this war, like the Democrats were in 1968. They are the ones who have been in charge while the country went to hell in a handbasket.

And unfortunately, their mindset is the one with the history of forgiving overzealous action on the part of authority figures and demonizing zealousy from those who oppose their point of view.

So I suppose I should have seen this coming. But I didn't. Worse, in another example of the seeming inability of much of the mainstream press to give equal coverage to Republican miscues as they do to Democratic ones (Repeat after me: Czechoslovakia is no longer in existence. Please remember this now, John.) I have seen very little in the mainstream media about the violence at the RNC. Yet there have been multiple atrocious incidents. Pepper Spray used indiscriminately. A reporter and her cameraman violently arrested. C'mon now...you might have missed the press credential or even, in a stretch, the microphone. But the cameraman? Since when do we arrest the press for covering a story in the United States of America?

But the one that has me most shocked is the brutal mistreatment of a seventeen year old boy from Milwaukee.

Inside the Convention, Pharisee-like cries of anguish over the "mistreatment" of a pregnant seventeen-year old girl. Mistreatment that I have yet to see come from the Democrats, by the way, despite the tearing of sackccloth and wearing of ashes on the podium.

Outside, a vicious beating of this young man, completely ignored.

The link follows. Please be warned, there are photographs and they are not pretty.

http://www.vitalsourcemag.com/index.php/blogs/michelle/

Please, do not allow this to go unnoticed. Five police officers can carry a limp seventeen year old to the side of the road quite easily. And I personally am reminded that leadership and culture flows down from the top. I can not see Barack Obama ignoring this were it brought to his attention. I fear I can not say the same about John McCain, and I believe that this mindset flowed all the way to the authority figures on the streets.

Leave Palin's Daughter Alone! (Her Family Is Not The Problem.)

2008-09-02T23:52:00.000-07:00

As a writer who has left no doubt in previous posts who I am supporting for President, You might imagine I have something to say about John McCain's running mate and the fact that her seventeen year old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant.

I do. Leave Bristol Palin alone! As the candidate I support said, peoples families should be off limits and people's children should be especially off limits.

It proves nothing about anything that Bristol is pregnant. Her parents didn't want this anymore than any parents want that kind of stress.

I have plenty of issues with McCain's choice for VP, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. I find it hard to believe that a party who relentlessly pointed out Barack Obama's inexperience throughout August then somehow found the one VP Candidate LESS experienced.

Oh, but she has executive experience, they say. Sure, of a town of 9000. Oh, and a few months in charge of a state with a smaller population than the city that John McCain forgot to pay his property taxes in for four and a half years.

And that is just the top of the barrel. I could go on, and will later, but I fear blunting my other message.

The private internal issues of her family are not our business, at least not in this case or in general. Yes, I agree that if we were talking to Sarah Palin specifically about her position of teaching abstinence or about pre-marital sex or single mothers, then I can see it being relevant in a limited fashion.

But whether or not her teenage daughter acted like, well, a teenager... that has nothing to do with Sarah Palin's ability to lead or her qualifications (or lack of them) for the position that she has been asked to fill.

So back off and leave the girl alone!

Obama Accepts Nomination At Mile High

2008-08-29T00:06:00.001-07:00

Barack Obama faced a challenge. With more than eighty thousand people surrounding him in Invesco Field at Mile High and millions more on television and the internet, Obama had expectations riding on his back in a way more familiar to John Elway than to a politician.

But even putting aside the question of priorities in an America that often gives more reverence to a quarterback than a President, we are still left with a question we can relate to football. Did he lead the Democrats to a touchdown?

In this age of demagoguery, there will be pundits in the morning who want you to believe that his campaign hinged on this night… at least until their next deadline. But they are wrong. This was not the fourth quarter.

This was an opening drive.

And on an opening drive, quarterback and candidate Obama did what he needed to do. He did what a good team (because Obama has always known he is only one part of America's team) does… He drove down the field and scored. He didn't throw up a bomb on the first play. He went to the ground game…he hammered out first downs. He pushed downfield, mixed it up and put the defense on their heels.

He took up the mantle of Roosevelt and Kennedy and he resisted what must have been an almost overwhelming temptation to turn this into a night all about him and his connection with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. That would have been the vertical game, the long bomb.

Barack got into the huddle and he called a run on history around end for eleven yards, tossed a screen pass on national security for sixteen yards, hammered George W. Bush with a run off tackle for eight. And on that play, eight was enough.

Health care for twenty, gay rights for fifteen, specifics on taxes for thirty. This was not what some expected. This was not lightning. This was the trenches. This was where the lineman do the real work that lets the skill players get all the glory.

Offense sells tickets. But you win championships in the trenches.

McCain's Experience Is In Being Wrong

2008-08-28T13:12:00.000-07:00

I have been watching the DNC with interest, staying up late because I have had other things to do in the early evenings and patiently waiting for someone to say what we all should be able to recognize.

Last night, the Democrats finally made the point I think should be made more firmly and consistently. John McCain's experience is as much of a liability as it is an asset.

Bill Clinton, John Kerry and Joe Biden hammered the point. And they need to. Because the one thing that is consistent about a candidate who is willing to change everything else about his ethics and his values in pandering to the GOP hierarchy is his consistent ability to make mistakes.

He has been wrong about foreign policy, constantly advocating positions that are incredibly evident of his faulty judgment. He said Bosnia was another Vietnam and Iraq was not. He said we would be welcomed as liberators. He said no one talked about Afghanistan and Osama Bin Laden anymore because they were "yesterday's news."

BTW, does no one else find it horribly sad that the most famous casualty of Afghanistan is Pat Tillman? A man who gave up a professional football career in Arizona and then gave up his life. You would think that the Senator from a state that counts Pat Tillman as one if it's great heroes and examples would avoid downplaying the theater of operations in which he lost his life. But that would require McCain to be in touch with the people below his own income bracket, something that clearly is a challenge for him.

He says the economy is fundamentally strong at a time when it is clearly not and he dares to state this opinion after earlier stating that he doesn't know as much about the economy as he should. Yes, John... we figured that out again when you made that ridiculous statement.

This man's mental myopia should be legendary. John McCain's foreign policy approach is reminiscent of nothing so much as Charlie Brown trying to kick that football, repeatedly attempting the same thing and never learning from his past when he ends up on his back saying "This time I thought I was right."

Experience at being wrong should not be a qualification for the White House. It should be a warning.

Dave Stewart's American Prayer

2008-08-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

LYRICS

This is my American Prayer
This is my American Prayer

This is the time to finish what you started
And this is no time to dream
This is the room
We can turn off the dark tonight
Maybe then we might see

American Prayer
American Prayer

And this is the ground
That keeps our feet from getting wet
And this is the sky over our head
And what you see depends on where you stand
And how you jump will tell you where you're gonna land

American Prayer
American Prayer

My oh my
Couldn't get much higher
Lets not kick out the darkness
Make the light brighter

And these are the hands
What are we gonna build with them?
This is the church you can't see
Give me your tired, your poor and huddled masses
You know they're yearning to breathe free
This is my American Prayer
American Prayer
American Prayer

When you get to the top of the mountain
Will you tell me what you see
If you get to the top of the mountain
Remember me

LIST OF GUESTS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
Dave Stewart
Forest Whitaker
Amy Keys
Macy Gray
Jason Alexander
Colbie Caillat
Whoopi Goldberg
Joss Stone
Buju Banton
Ann Marie Calhoun
Barry Manilow
Linda Perry
Cyndi Lauper
Sergio Mendes
Herbie Hancock
Mike Bradford
Margaret Cho
Cindy Gomez
Speech
Joan Baez
Daedelus
Pamela Anderson
Peter & Gordon
Sierra Swan
Nadirah X
Perez Hilton

The Cost Of John McCain's Soul? $285,000.00?

2008-08-04T12:45:00.001-07:00

On June 16th, John McCain was the first of the two major candidates to adjust his position on offshore oil drilling, reversing his previous support of a federal ban (Barack Obama has since also called for a relaxation of that ban in a more limited sense.)

The following day, according to the non-partisan group Campaign Money Watch, ten Hess Corporation Executives and family members donated the maximum legal contribution of $28,500.00 each to the joint RNC/John McCain fund. The big (but not only) question I have?

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The change in position or the money? It is perfectly reasonable for oil company executives to jump on the bandwagon of a candidate who is supporting their positions. However, if the money was conditional on the opinion, that would be something very different...and we also have to watch and see what happens when the numbers are reported for the time following Obama's announcement. If the donations were in response to the policy position change, as opposed to being a condition of it, than we should see some similar effect in Obama's numbers.

If we don't, it doesn't meant that McCain is crooked. At least, not as far as I know...

Ohhhh.... I'd best be careful. For a second, I started to sound like a Republican TV ad.

It gets better. A Hess Office Manager and her husband, an Amtrak employee, also gave $28,000.00 each. $57,000.00 from Alice and Pasquale Rocchio of Flushing, Queens. Apparently (according to FEC records), neither of the two have ever donated to a political campaign before each gave the maximum $2300.00 directly to McCain earlier this year. Alice Rocchio, when contacted by a member of TPM Election Central, said the contributions were from their own personal incomes.

The median income in the zip code where the Rocchio's rent their home is $58,069.00.

Is this a Sesame Street bit? One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong...

Latest McCain Ad Includes MisQuote Refuted The Previous Day

2008-08-01T20:31:00.000-07:00

John McCain's ads continue to say absolutely nothing about John McCain except how little there is to say and how low his standards are.

Today, the McCain campaign released an ad claiming that Obama is painting himself as a messianic figure, calling him "The One." In the middle of the ad they included a Dana Millibank misquote that had been refuted by multiple sources and last night was a source of great embarrassment for Pat Buchanan when he was shouted down by four of his colleagues when he, apparently focusing on the remarks he intended to give, completely missed discussion concerning that the quote was a fabrication and opened his critical remarks with it.

This is not what we need in the White House, this is what we HAVE in the White House. Believing statements without verification because they seem to support the position that they are searching to support? That is where we got fooled before going into Iraq! That is one of the key and most dramatic blunders of the Bush Administration and it is one we have seen repeatedly by that administration.

Enough already. John McCain's campaign has the people at FactCheck.org, the Washington Post and the New York Times running ragged simply trying to keep up with the number of lies in his advertisements.

The best they can do is compare Barack Obama to Paris Hilton? You know, they are both kinda skinny, but last I checked they looked nothing alike, Paris had never taught Constitutional Law and despite Ms. Hilton's musical ambitions Obama was the one with two Grammy's and Hilton was the one stupid enough to have two ex-boyfriends selling sex tapes.

John McCain swore he would run a clean campaign. Of course, he also claimed to support the troops, then voted against the GI Bill, then allowed people to spin it like Bush and he were responsible for passing it. Being a veteran and supporting veterans are different things, John.

You want flip-flop? Quick, name the Senator who voted against his own legislation when the RNC told him that it wasn't in line with their platform? Name the Senator who hired a man to head his "Truth Squad" four years after he condemned that man for telling lies about John Kerry.

I had hopes that this campaign was going to be different. I guess I was thinking of the John McCain of 2000 instead of the 2008 version.

Exxon Really Feeling The Pinch, Eh?

2008-07-31T13:32:00.000-07:00

So, in these hard economic times, with unemployment rising, the housing market in a freefall and the average American watching both their future prospects and their 401K balances decline, isn't it nice to see that the big oil companies are hurting too? I mean, Exxon Mobil Corp. reported their second quarter profits today and they missed Wall Street expectations and saw their stock drop three percent. Guess they made some sacrifices on behalf of their customers. Oh, wait... what is that on the AP wire?

HOUSTON — Exxon Mobil Corp. reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest profit from operations ever by any U.S. corporation, but the results were well short of Wall Street expectations and its shares slumped 3 percent.

Okay, I don't know what is worse. That Exxon is posting the biggest quarterly profit for any corporation ever by amorally ransacking the pockets of their customers despite the trying times... or that The Street thought they were going to do so on a grander scale.

When we are actively engaged in prosecuting a war in the middle of the largest oil producing region in the world, with a President whose family made their money in that business, at a time when the world stands at a crossroads of environmental change and when the average U.S. citizen is feeling a shortage of the pocket book due to prices at the pump and the increased costs of good due to the increased cost of the gasoline required to transport those goods... this is not profit-taking that needs to be addressed?

Calling this war profiteering would not be a dramatic exageration. In the midst of the Second World War, or even Korea or Vietnam, would this have resulted in outrage and government action? Almost certainly.

The predicted response from the Bush Administration and John McCain? Outrage indeed. Outrage that their stock dropped three percent.

A Useful Website Indeed

2008-07-29T18:19:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I posted a long debunking of a false email a friend had received. Turns out I could have saved myself some time if I had known about a non-partisan website called Fact Check.org.

They attack misinformation and outright lies from all sources. It's not just things being said about my choice for President, but by him as well. I'll admit that I am relieved to see that in the last month there is only one disputed thing from the Obama campaign. Meanwhile, four of the most recent five articles are attacking John McCain's campaign for distorting the truth. Not that this is a surprise coming from the side of the coin that so effectively used these tactics in the last two national elections.

Included on that page is this about the email I researched:
http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/would_obama_tax_my_profits_if_i.html

If nothing else, it is nice to have my own conclusions and positions supported by a third party who has absolutely no reason to support me. Makes me feel good about my own research, ya know...

Political MisInformation: Blatant Lies In Email

2008-07-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

An email was drawn to my attention today by a friend whose political leanings are different than mine but is smart enough to not take things at face value. He and I had been discussing taxes over the weekend and he forwarded me an email that made several claims about McCain and Obama's tax plans.

It would be wrong to say that I was shocked. I have long since become desensitized to the ability of people to lie, cheat and steal through the anonymity of the internet. But I am also quite aware of how many people take it for granted that their friends and neighbors know what they are talking about. I'm guilty of it myself at times.

The email:

You can verify a lot of this here:

http://money.cnn.com/news/specials/election/2008/index.html

Of course, you may have noted that Obama’s position appears to be ‘changing’, so you will have to pay attention to see what his latest approach is at buying votes.

INTERESTING DATA JUST RECEIVED ON TAXES

Please spread the word.

This is something you should be aware of so you don't get blind sided. This is
really going to catch a lot of families off guard. It should make you worry.

Proposed changes in taxes after 2008 General election:

CAPITAL GAINS TAX

MCCAIN
0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.

OBAMA
28% on profit from ALL home sales

How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.

DIVIDEND TAX

MCCAIN 15% (no change)

OBAMA 39.6%

How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.'

INCOME TAX

MCCAIN (no changes)

Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $31,250

OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)

Single making 30K - tax $8,400
Single making 50K - tax $14,000
Single making 75K - tax $23,250
Married making 60K - tax $16,800
Married making 75K - tax $21,000
Married making 125K - tax $38,750

Under Obama, your taxes will more than double!

How does this affect you? No explanation needed. This is pretty straight
forward.

INHERITANCE TAX

MCCAIN 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)

OBAMA Restore the inheritance tax

How does this affect you? Many families have lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will only lose them to these taxes.

NEW TAXES BEING PROPOSED BY OBAMA

New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet.

New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already)

New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity)

New taxes on retirement accounts, and last but not least....

New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!

MY first response? Who is so stupid as to send an email that includes a web address that basically refutes most of what they say in their email? The answer, of course, is called "hiding in plain view." By including the web-link, they assume that you will take their words at face value without following the link first. I encourage all of you to follow the link. It most certainly does NOT verify their findings.

My response to my friend?

****, your answer is right in the link. However, just to pull a few things out...

1) Home Sales: There is absolutely no documentation anywhere I can find to support that Obama has a plan in place to tax home sales in any way other than their current taxation. Not on that link or on the official websites for ether candidate or on Money.com, The Wall Street Journal, CNN.Money or even on some of the clearly republican-slanted blogs.

The only possible thing I see is on capital gains. But Obama's main adviser on that matter is Warren Buffet, who is by far the most credible source working with either campaign when it comes to finances. Buffet has said that his advice is to place Capital Gains between 24% and 26%, because he feels that is enough to increase government revenues without discouraging people from realizing their gains due to the tax ramifications. However, the exemptions surrounding capital gains taxes will remain unchanged. In other words, the threshold for becoming subject to CG on a real estate sale would remain at 250K. In other words, if you clear a 260K profit, you pay CG on 10K unless you reinvest in a new home within three years. If you clear less than 250K, it is not taxable. That is per individual, not couple. That is where the claim about 500K comes.

John Moores, on the other hand, just sold his Del Mar property. He paid 3.45 million in 2002 and sold for 35 million. Yep, he would be paying.

1) Dividend Tax: True with one problem. The Obama plan cited is only for what the SEC defines as "High Income Investors". So, if have less than 601,000.00 in stocks and bonds, you would not be affected. Also, this is part of CG again, meaning that you would have to SELL more than 601,000 in order to trigger it.

The Income tax breakdown in that email has ABSOLUTELY no relation to ANYTHING I can find online. Here is a table from Fortune Magazine based on their analysis of the two candidates tax plans, as quoted on the CNN.Money website and with the source given as "The Tax Policy Center", an independent research group.

BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS
Here's how the average tax bill could change in 2009 if either John McCain's or Barack Obama's tax proposals were fully in place.

                            MCCAIN         OBAMA

Income              Avg. tax bill      Avg. tax bill

Over $2.9M        -$269,364       +$701,885

$603K and up       -$45,361       +$115,974

$227K-$603K        -$7,871                +$12

$161K-$227K        -$4,380            -$2,789

$112K-$161K        -$2,614            -$2,204

$66K-$112K          -$1,009            -$1,290

$38K-$66K               -$319            -$1,042

$19K-$38K               -$113               -$892

Under $19K                 -$19              -$567

Please bear in mind that Fortune magazines target market is the aforementioned "High Income Investors". In other words, this table was put together to show that Obama's plan would be a NEGATIVE for their target audience.

You and I would see a reduction under either plan (1,009 under McCain, 1,290 under Obama).

I would like to note that while I formerly worked in finance, I am not a tax professional and make no claim to any expertise on tax matters. I am not in the business of giving advice on your taxes.

Finally, something I did not include in my response to my friend, but needs saying... those last few "talking points."

NEW TAXES BEING PROPOSED BY OBAMA

New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet.

New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already)

New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity)

New taxes on retirement accounts, and last but not least....

New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!

I can find absolutely ZERO reputable sources to support ANY of these claims... unless you want to call Obama's plan to tax the oil companies on their higher profits "new gasoline taxes" or "new taxes on natural resource consumption."

The last one is the most ridiculous of them all. Number one, no new taxes have been proposed to support health care reform. Number two, since when are the UK, Canada and most of Scandinavia considered "third world" countries?

PLEASE! IF you get an email like this, treat it the way it should be treated. The same as the one about deadly African spiders lurking in your toilet or how Microsoft will pay you ten cents for each time you forward this.

ArtiFactual Is A Dream Realm Finalist!

2008-07-13T00:28:00.001-07:00

We got word today that Artifactual:Tales of the Erotique Mystique is a finalist for the 2007 Dream Realm Awards!

It's always wonderful to have your hard work recognized and since this book is very dear to my heart, that made it even more special. It also makes me want to curse the people at Romantic Times who thought it was a good idea to assign the review of a book featuring a crusading hypocritical far right wing faux Christian as a villain to a woman who typically reviews "inspirational romance" but I've let go of that frustration. Oh, wait. Okay, maybe I haven't. *wink*

Caitlyn Willows is one of our fellow finalists. We met Caitlyn at Epicon, and I like her. But I hope she will forgive me for saying that I would really like to win. I know, it's not cool to say that. Let me get my cliche cap on...

It's a thrill just to be nominated. In a field of such strong performances, I am happy just to be mentioned in the company of my fellow nominees. The satisfaction of my work is in my own personal growth.

Nah. Sorry, can't pull it off. I hope we win. I do feel it is an honor to have been named a finalist and I am very proud and pleased. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't rather be a gracious winner than a gracious loser.

The Importance of Environment

2008-07-05T11:16:00.001-07:00

No, not a blog about global warming... rather that I was thinking about my creative environment. The people I surround myself with affect both my desire and my ability to be creative.

My lady is visiting me for the Fourth and in her presence I find myself thinking more about plots and solutions, characters and arcs; everything that is a writer in me is more awake and alive with her in my environment. What's more, the peole we chose to associate with when together feed my creativity; people like fellow author Heather Fowler and the new friends with whom we watched fireworks. Knowing that they have a passion for their music or shaping their home the way I have a passion for shaping phrases.

Tonight, we have dinner with author Samantha Sommersby and her family and I expect the same energizing result.

I know that just having Alessia near stimulates me. But it is more than that. It is the circles I wish to travel in while in her company. They feed me.

John McCain Uses Swift Boaters He Once Condemned

2008-06-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

By now, many of you may have heard the remarks of General Wesley Clark about his belief that John McCain's war record does not equate itself to experience in the job of Commander In Chief. If not, I'll put the FULL comment, in context, at the bottom of this entry.

But it is less General Clark's comments that have me shaking my head and more John McCain's response to them.

In 2004, John McCain strongly condemned the 527 Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, in very unequivocal terms. Quoting from The San Francisco Chronicle, Friday, August 6, 2004.

"It was the same kind of deal that was pulled on me," McCain said, referring to attacks on his military record during the 2000 Republican primary race by supporters of Bush. At the time, Kerry and other senators who served in Vietnam came to McCain's defense. Kerry and McCain also worked together in the 1990s on resolving the question of American soldiers missing in action in Vietnam, which led to normalized relations between the countries.

"I deplore this kind of politics," McCain told the Associated Press. "I think the ad is dishonest and dishonorable.

And yet, who did Senator McCain bring to his aid to defend him against this opinion of Gerneral Clark's? Senator Kerry perhaps, in recognition of the fact that the two men had both been attacked as regards whether their military records qualified them to make logistical and political decisions concerning warfare? That would be consistent and logical, seeing that Kerry defended McCain in 2000 and McCain defended Kerry in 2004.

No. John McCain produced fellow POW Colonel Bud Day. This would not in itself be a problem were it not for the fact that Day is one of the men McCain so roundly criticized. Colonel Day was one of the members of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and appeared in a national television ad for them. He also once said of John Kerry, the man who came to John McCain's defense in 2000,

"My view is he basically will go down in history sometime as the Benedict Arnold of 1971."

Day quickly proceeded to get up to old tricks, criticizing General Clark's own time in Vietnam.

Mr. McCain, I am appalled at your choice of spokesmen. If this is indicative of the type of "honorable" and "loyal" behavior we can expect from you now that you are the Republican candidate instead of the maverick outsider, then I consider you no better on the subjects of honesty and honor than the man you seek to replace in office.

Your judgement, sir, is very seriously flawed.

Oh, and by the way... I also find it appalling that I have paid all my property taxes to the County of San Diego in a timely manner while you let yours fall into default the last few years. This does not speak well of your ability to follow up on delegated responsibilities. That a presidential candidate should neglect to make certain his own taxes or those of his family had been paid speaks of the kind of neglectful oversight used as an excuse by President Reagan during Iran-Contra. Sir, did you actually learn nothing from your negative experience as one of the "Keating Five"?

If you can't be bothered to do it yourself, at least hire someone competent to do it for you.

Here are General Clark's comments from CBS' Face The Nation:

Bob Schieffer: Well you, you went so far as to say that you thought John McCain was, quote, and these are your words, "untested and untried," And I must say I, I had to read that twice, because you're talking about somebody who was a prisoner of war. He was a squadron commander of the largest squadron in the Navy. He's been on the Senate Armed Services Committee for lo these many years. How can you say that John McCain is un- untested and untried? General?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Because in the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk. It's a matter of gauging your opponents, and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in Air- in the Navy that he commanded, it wasn't a wartime squadron. He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn't seen what it's like when diplomats come in and say, 'I don't know whether we're going to be able to get this point through or not. Do you want to take the risk? What about your reputation? How do we handle it-'

Bob Schieffer: Well-

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: ' -it publicly.' He hasn't made those calls, Bob.

Great Article At Publisher's Weekly

2008-06-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

Slowly but surely, the waves of erotica and erotic romance are pounding the cliffs placed in front of us to sand. As in any other business, it's the money that is first getting the attention of the so-called "legitimate" publishers and the talent that is then keeping their eyes open.

Publisher's Weekly recently posted this very informative and interesting article,The New E in Erotica . Sure, it's not so new to many of us...but it is nice to see the "big boys" recognizing that their ankles are being bitten. New artistic forms of expression have always fought this battle.

A key quote, in my eyes:
"The consumers were far ahead of me,” says Kate Duffy, editorial director at Kensington, which launched its erotica imprint, Aphrodisia, in 2006. “For years I thought of e-publishing as something people did because they couldn't publish with us. But then we started seeing all of these stellar talents that had first been e-published. It wasn't that the books were in any way inferior—that was my prejudice. It was a different way of accessing consumers, and it would behoove me to investigate.”

Sharing The Blogosphere

2008-06-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

Today I'm guest blogging over at fantasy author Sandy Lender's blog Today The Dragon Wins. Sandy has invited authors throughout the month of June to come in and talk about their pen name and she offered me a slot that I gladly accepted.

Please stop by and check out not only what I had to say but some of the great stories from other authors that have appeared there this month.

We Teach This To Children, But Hillary Doesn't Get It

2008-06-04T11:05:00.000-07:00

It is called good sportsmanship.

We teach it in Little League and on the playground and in Pop Warner. We expect our athletes to exhibit it. We expect it from the losers at the Oscars. We have every right to expect it from a candidate for President.

Hilary doesn't seem to get the concept. She is still trying to be a cheerleader for Team Clinton. Hillary, the Homecoming Game is over. Your team is behind by a touchdown and a field goal and the gun has sounded. All the "go, fight, win" is over. Oh, and Michelle won Homecoming Queen. But you are on the court. Okay?

"No decision will be made here tonight?" Hillary, who decides to lose? Does any competitive person ever decide to lose? It just happens. The game is over. The final buzzer sounded, the bottom of the ninth is finished and we are not tied. You lost.

Now you are supposed to meet the winner at center court and shake hands over the net.

Last year, the football team I dearly love lost the AFC Championship game. This happened largely because of factors beyond their control. Their best player was injured on the second play of the game. Their quarterback was playing on a knee that required surgery immediately after the season. They were playing a team that had cheated and videotaped their defensive signals and received a slap on the wrist for it. The coach, Norv Turner, knew all this. The team played hard but the other team scored more points and won the game. That is the nature of competition. What did Norv do?

Did Norv refuse to shake Bill Belichick's hand because he had been caught cheating? Did he track down the referee and scream about the Chargers being victimized? Did he petition the league to put the points on the scoreboard that LaDainian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers would have scored if they were healthy? No. He went to midfield and shook the other coach's hand. Then he praised the effort and commitment of both teams in his press conference.

Erica Jong came out today and talked about her horrible disappointment in the result of the race. In a piece at The Huffington Post she basically defends Hillary's lack of sportsmanship and says a man would be treated differently. Yeah, a man would be eviscerated this morning instead of being seen as still playing the game. Sorry Erica, it doesn't excuse Ms. Clinton's behavior.

Let's compare that to Barack Obama's words last night about Hillary:
That is particularly true for the candidate who has traveled further on this journey than anyone else. Senator Hillary Clinton has made history in this campaign not just because she’s a woman who has done what no woman has done before, but because she’s a leader who inspires millions of Americans with her strength, her courage, and her commitment to the causes that brought us here tonight.

Who is showing good sportsmanship and admirable behavior between these two?

My son played a little league playoff game last Saturday. They lost, 3-2 in extra innings. My son was very upset. They had only got to extra innings because he had thrown out a guy attempting to steal and then got a base hit with two out, stole second and, on an infield pop fly, ran like hellhounds were on his tail for home plate. The ball dropped, he scored the tying run and he celebrated like a boy does. Pure joy.

In extra innings, his teams pitcher walked the first guy and they moved him from catcher to pitcher. He got a strikeout and then the new catcher let a ball go by and the runner at first went to second. Facing the other team's best player, my son got two strikes on him and tried to finish the job. The kid hit a clean shot to the outfield. Game over.

My son shook the hand of every member of the winning team.

He had every reason to blame others. He didn't. He told me, "Dad, I served it up to him. It was right down the middle." Mind you, in Little League we just want them to throw strikes, not nibble the corners. But my son didn't cry or whine, or say he had decided the game wasn't over. He took responsibility for his own actions, refused to blame others and was gracious in defeat. I was and am incredibly proud of him.

Hillary Clinton, you could learn a lot from my ten year old boy.

AP Says Obama Has Clinched

2008-06-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

According to research by the Associated Press, Barack Obama has achieved the 2,118 pledged delegates necessary to gain the Democratic Party nomination for President.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080603/ap_on_el_pr/primary_rdp

Further reports are that Hillary Clinton will concede this at a speech in New York this evening, with unidentified sources saying that she will let her campaign end, with workers paid through June 15th. It is said that in her speech she will only concede the factual delegate numbers, not the nomination. However, the ending of the financial and business processes would indicate that she is conceding the nomination.

If true, this will effectively allow the Democrats to begin the healing and regrouping process well in advance of the convention.

Barack Obama beat the oddsmakers predictions just getting through Super Tuesday. Now we are set for a Presidential race that may dramatically alter the public face of politics in this country. If Obama runs the type of campaign in the fall that he ran in the spring, and if the American public rejects McCain's politics of destruction, distraction and fear as they did Clinton's attempts to use those tactics, we will have a campaign that will not only be far more ethical, but far more inspiring and educational.

Imagine, a campaign that could actually have fourth graders once again telling their teachers they want to grow up to be president. I like the sound of that.

Will Belegon at The Erotic Woman

2008-05-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

In another example of my staggering ability to accomplish something and then completely forget about it, my story The Doubledare Hotel is now online and available to read for FREE at The Erotic Woman. I sold this story to them back in January and just completely forgot to keep an eye on when it would post.

So if you have time for a little interlude and want to read the story of a woman surprising her significant other in a way he'll never forget, follow the link and check it out!

(It is, of course, erotica and is intended for audiences over the age of 18.)

Reaching New Lows In Media: Rachel Ray Is a Terrorist?

2008-05-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

Oh come on now....

Dunkin Donuts has pulled an ad featuring Rachel Ray after pressure because the Food Network TV star was wearing a scarf that looked "too Arab".

What? What is this, an episode of The Simpsons? D'oh!

According to the Boston Globe:

"Some observers, including ultra-conservative Fox News commentator Michelle Malkin, were so incensed by the ad that there was even talk of a Dunkin’ Donuts boycott.

‘‘The keffiyeh, for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad,’’ Malkin yowls in her syndicated column."

So, black and white paisley equals terrorist garb now? The only thing scarier then that is the idea that the Bushinator might use it as an excuse to throw somebody in Guantanamo.

Really Michelle? You want to talk clueless? How about talking plain old dumb? How dumb do you have to be to think that the American public is so freakin' stupid that they can't tell the difference between Arafat and Rachel Ray? Here's a hint; one of them is dead and the other makes her living talking about America's food indulgences while distinctly NOT wearing a burkha. Rachel Ray is even a sex symbol of sorts, in that grand American tradition of mixing two of life's greatest pleasures.

Get a grip. Contribute to the intelligent side of things for once, otherwise you're going to be out of a job when you succeed in dumbing down the atmosphere of the country enough that people don't learn to read.

Of course, even you aren't as bad as the Roswell Beacon. They actually published a cover showing Barack Obama with crosshairs and talking about the security needs to keep him from being assassinated. Something Hillary has been hinting at and something disgracefully referenced by veteran newswoman Liz Trotta at Fox. (YouTube link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjYpkvcmog0) That last one is disgusting. Oh, and she apologized the next day at the tail end of other comments. Yeah, we believe that you are really sorry. Do you really expect us to believe that was an innocent mistake? Even if it were, the fact that you foolowed your "slip" by saying, "well, both if we could."

So there is our level of intelligent discourse this week, friends. Rachel Ray is a terrorist according to Michelle Malkin and the shooting of Barack Obama would be a good idea according to Liz Trotta. Thanks, ladies. In the name of equality, thanks for proving that you don't have to be male to sound as idiotic as Rush Limbaugh (News for you though, Ann Coulter got there first.)

CA Supreme Court Does The Right Thing

2008-05-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

I would like to take a moment to stand on my soapbox and give the California Supreme Court a loud and long standing ovation.

The California Supreme Court has overturned the ban on gay marriage!

Today, in a historic decision, the State of California has become only the second to uphold the basic rights of it's gay and lesbian citizens. We are the first to not require that you are a resident.

In a 4-3 decision, the Republican dominated Court declared that a law banning same-sex marriages violated the constitutional right to equal protection under the law for all citizens. Even the dissenting opinion was in agreement that the laws were discriminatory, with those three who voted against framing their argument not as a disagreement in purpose but in jurisdiction, saying that it should be decided by voters.

Opponents immediately declared that they would attempt to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot. Of course. That's expected.

It doesn't change the reason we have to celebrate today.

And just to remind the haters... I am a white heterosexual middle-aged male with a college-degree and two children. I attended an Episcopalian grade school and a Catholic high school and graduated from a Presbyterian university. This is not a religious issue. It's a human rights issue.

Help Other's While Helping Yourself

2008-05-11T21:02:00.000-07:00

With the recent cyclone and the horrible devastation and loss of life in Myanmar, the power of mother nature is once again being slammed home to us. In addition to the efforts of Ann Aquirre at her blog, Coming Together and Phaze are offering another way to help people affected by storms world wide with a re-emphasis on Coming Together:Special Hurricane Relief Edition.

The Special Hurricane Relief Edition was originally published in response to Hurricane Katrina, but the American Red Cross is also working to help the affected in Burma. Thus Phaze thought it appropriate to remind everyone of the availability of this volume and to give you a major incentive to buy it and add to the help being sent despite the regrettable ineptitude of the Myanmar government.

Phaze is generously offering a coupon for 50% off a future Phaze purchase when you buy the e-book or 75% off a future purchase when you order the paperback. In order to receive the coupon, you must order directly from the Phaze website. Here is a link to the page (scroll down below For The Cure)for the Special Hurricane Relief Edition to make it easier.

In addition, if you order this from the Phaze website and let me know at willbelegon@yahoo.com, I will happily mail you a pair of bookmarks and an autographed label to place in your copy of Coming Together. (Obviously, I will need a mailing address..)

Thank you for Coming Together to help those less fortunate...

Happy Mother's Day From Phaze!

2008-05-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

Phaze would like to wish all you mom's out there a very Happy Mother's Day in recognition of all the things you do for us every day of the year!

So for today only, Sunday May 11, 2008, all Phaze books are 20% off at Phaze.com. Simply enter the code HOTMAMA at checkout and you will receive your 20% discount.

After all, every mom deserves a break today and a chance to spend some time lost in a good book...

Come Together With Ann Aquirre to Help Cyclone Victims

2008-05-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

You will have heard of Cyclone Nargis, which hit Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) on May 2nd. What you may not have heard about is how staggering the loss of life has been in a very densely populated and not very developed part of the world.

Some estimates now rate the eventual death toll at 100,000. As many as 40% of those are said to be children. Presently reported numbers are 22,890 fatalities with at least 42,119 missing. What's worse, ruptured sewage lines are reported to have ruined much of the rice crop in the most heavily affected areas. This will have even more disastrous consequences in the coming months. Aid workers that have been allowed in by the junta government of Myanmar are reporting that homeless peoples could number as high as 3 million. Yes, million.

In response to a question about what was needed, Red Cross spokesman Matt Cochrane said, "Everything." UK charity Save The Children has also been active and is one of the few organizations being allowed in by the Burmese government.

Author Ann Aquirre has started a contest on her blog to give away a $150.00 gift certificate to the book store of your choice if you will simply make a donation and show her that you have made it. Author and Editor of the Coming Together charity anthologies Alessia Brio then added $50.00 to bring it to $200.00.

Please, use this as incentive to help if you possibly can. At the very least, take a few moments to offer your support by spreading the word or sending a kind word in the direction of Ann and also Alessia.

As hard as things are for many in our present economic situation, it is far worse in Burma. Please help.

An Even Split on May 6th? No, Look Again.

2008-05-07T00:01:00.001-07:00

So here we are, approaching midnight on the West Coast and the votes are pretty much counted in North Carolina and Indiana. Obama won in N.C. and Hillary in Indiana. So it's a split decision, right? They both won one, so they are even.

Wrong.

Barack Obama won 56% to 42% over Hillary in North Carolina. But the picture on the top of Yahoo's political news page? Right, the former first lady, with a story about her winning Indiana. And that is all some people will see it as... that she won. But lets look at the numbers.

According to the Associated Press, with 99% of the vote counted in Indiana, Hillary won 51% to 49%. A margin of slightly more than 22,000 votes out of 1.2 million. So, if you think your vote doesn't count, the clear message here is to move to Indiana. However, what's not clear is why this eked out win should propel Mrs. Clinton to say, "Thanks to you, it's full speed to the White House!"

Really? Because North Carolina is the tenth largest state in the nation. There were 115 delegates at stake. And Obama, not to be too mean about it, kicked your ass. He wiped the floor with you. Meanwhile, you barely achieve a victory in a state that was always being counted on by your own campaign, and you do it by trumpeting a "gas tax holiday" that some observers have analyzed as meaning approximately $28 to the average American family. Hey, at least when W tries to buy me off he has the cojones to offer me $600 bucks. I mean, that will at least buy me a Playstation 3. Your deal won't even buy me a game to play on it.

Also, the gas tax holiday was already tried. In Illinois, and one of its supporters was Barack Obama. The 5% reduction in taxes there resulted in a 3% drop in the price. In other words, the reduction of income to the state and to public good created a 2% increase in the profits of the oil companies. And at the end of the tax holiday, gas prices went up 4%.

Gee... no wonder the guys from Shell praised the plan.

So at the end of the day, the latest projections are that Obama has gained at least 94 delegates and Clinton at least 75. With 18 more to still be decided. Do the math. Even if Hillary gets all 18 she ends up with 93. (And she won't... if the current ratios hold, Obama will get at least 10 or 11.)

That's not an even split... that's Barack Obama pulling away as we enter the homestretch.

The Myth of White Voters and Obama

2008-05-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

Let's get something straight, right now.

I am a straight, white middle-aged democrat and I am voting for Barack Obama.

All the campaign rhetoric that keeps coming from Fox News and Rush Limbaugh and company about how white voters won't support Barack Obama? Please. Consider the sources of your information. Outside the actual Clinton campaign, who is out there saying that whites won't vote for Obama?

The Republicans, and their shills. And they are saying it for the purpose of keeping Hillary in the race. Does this not speak to anyone out there who wants a democratic victory in November? Look, if you are a sports fan and your team is already in the Championship game... and you are watching to see who you will match up with... who are you rooting for? The team that you think will beat you? Or the team you think you will beat?

Right. The Republicans and their puppets want the person they think they can beat. Unless there is something out there really horrible that none of us know about, Obama just got hit in the chops with THE knockout blow. Rev. Wright is to Barack Obama as the Monkey Business is to Gary Hart, as Willie Horton is to Michael Dukakis.

And guess what? Obama rolls on. It has hurt him, but it hasn't destroyed him. This scares the Republicans to death. It screams to them of the term "Teflon" as it was applied to their sainted Ronald Reagan.

So now, they and the Clinton's are playing the race card. White voters won't vote for a black man.

They use Ohio and Pennsylvania to try and prove it. Two places Clinton should have won. And she did. But the real interesting thing is not that she won... she was expected to win those states. What's interesting is her margin of victory. Hillary Clinton was up by 25 points in Pennslyvania only a few months before. Obama made up almost two thirds of the lead, almost double what he eventually lost by. And now, there are people and polls that are hinting he actually has a shot to win Indiana tomorrow, which should have been as much of a shoe-in as Pennsylvania was...

The real facts, according to the New York Times, is that Obama is treading water with white democrats. Meanwhile, Hillary is going down for the third time in the African American community. Follow the link, look at the graph. Then find a white democrat and ask the question.

I'm a white democrat and I'm supporting Barack Obama.

Back From RT, Minus One Bag

2008-04-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

Romantic Times went very well in many ways this year. I got filmed for a documentary that was interested in me as a male writer in a female-dominated field, I was interviewed and quoted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and my buttons were a hit. Alessia and I had a book given away in the freebie room and were pleased when all 100 copies got scarfed up and some people even sought us out to sign them.

I met several people I'd been looking forward to meeting, such as Barry Eisler and Elaine from Coffee Time Romance and The Dark Castle Lords. I got to know some people better that I only briefly met last year, like Samantha Kane. I got to meet great new people like Larry from Torquere and Erika. I got brief introductions to people I hope to get to know better, like Caprice Crane and Alexandra Sokoloff. And of course I partied and enjoyed the time with Lillian Feisty, Eden Bradley, Christina Cross, Tawny Taylor and my dear partner Alessia Brio.

The only thing bad about it was the return. Not just leaving my friends, but troubles and inconsistency with the airlines. First, the airline website said my flight was delayed. This created anxiety about making my connection in Minneapolis. Then, we took off on time with the original schedule and even made up time in the air, arriving early. Obviously, that isn't a bad thing. I don't mind having an hour and a half to make my connection instead of 45 minutes. But it does add to the inconsistency portion.

That time ended up being a positive, since the tram was broken down in Minneapolis. But I made it to my connection in plenty of time. I called my mom and told her we were on schedule, or just behind it, and it looked like we would arrive in San Diego just after 11 p.m. as planned, then got on board. And sat while a thunderstorm passed. We backed away from the gate late. We taxied and sat on the tarmac. Eventually we made it into the air.

And I arrived in San Diego safe and sound, if a bit late. My mom had to wait a while, but she was understanding, despite the witching hour being upon us. I told her by phone I would be out as soon as I got my bags. It took a long time for the baggage carousal to start, perhaps due to the lateness of our arrival. I suspect we were the last flight of the evening and that they had a skeleton crew. I got my garment bag right away, one of the first bags off the belt.

And waited for a second case that never came. One that they still can't locate. They know it left Pittsburgh and that is all. This is not good. All of my jeans. About $400 worth of boots and shoes. Lots of brand new promo gear, some autographed books, things I had purchased for the costumes, autographed books, gifts for my kids.

Sure, the airline website says they cover losses up to $3000.00. But it takes a minimum of thirty days. Yeah, I'll have to buy a new electric shaver and pants before then, gang. Plus, if I know the way insurance works, you'll want receipts for things I never expected to need receipts for.

The thing that bugs me the worst is that they had an extra 45 minutes to do it in and they still screwed it up.

But I'm not using the name of the airline deliberately, because I'm hoping they will still get the bag to me, and soon. If they have lost it completely? Then I'll drag their name into the mud.

But other than that one issue (which I really didn't think was gonna be such a long rant) the trip was great.

Promo & Partying In Pittsburgh

2008-04-17T11:01:00.000-07:00

I thought it was busy and frantic last year, but it turns out that as a first-timer who wasn't presenting, I was wrong. Last year was nothing, crazy though it was.

Craziness is normal at RT. If not in your mind, at least on your schedule.

Romantic Times is the big convention for the romance genre, and while it may not quite reach the nuttiness of ComicCon, it gets wild. As always, I don't feel like I've slowed down since I got here.

It started yesterday with the normal registration lines and elevator overflow. We had to get our promo gear out on promo lane and then I did a panel on e-books and law for EPIC. That was the first time I had been on a panel and it was a very interesting experience. Then we had the Expo. I sold and signed a few books and spent about 15 minutes on camera talking to some folks making a documentary about the Romance industry. If I get ten seconds in the finished film I will be thrilled.

Ellora's Cave hosted a "Golden Age of Hollywood" party that started almost immediately after the expo was cleaned up. Went upstairs and got into tuxedo and danced for hours, with lots of drinking and flirting.

This morning, I helped Alessia set up for Club RT, then was interviewed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. This afternoon I will be signing at All Romance eBooks table for an hour, then doing dinner and coming upstairs to get all pirated out for the Faery Ball.

And of course there will be much drinking, dancing and flirting. *Grin*

The Fool I Couldn't Laugh At...

2008-04-02T09:50:00.000-07:00

Abraham Lincoln said, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

The wisdom of this applies everywhere and I certainly have been able to think of people who should follow it in ballparks, but rarely in quite this manner.

Last night, I went to the ballpark with my Mom, something we do together several times a year. My Mom has been a season ticket holder for the Padres since 1985, so her seats are excellent and we don't often have the people drinking ten beers and screaming obscenities. For one thing, the ushers know to take care of the customers in that section. Jake Peavy owns the tickets directly in front and to the left, so someone yelling how he sucks is going to be politely told not to say so in front of his wife, for example.

But last night, we had Mr. "I'm on a date and I really want to impress her so she will consider me a suitable candidate to impregnate her" sitting behind us. And for nine innings, he could not shut his mouth. I know where he works, I know where he went to college, I know who he rooted for growing up and what he wants to name his firstborn... who, by the way,has no choice but to be male. I know how familiar he is with stripper names and that he thinks anyone who names their son William is foolish because it will get shortened to Billy and "Billy sucks." (Billy sucks as a name worse than Everett, which he wants to name his first born because "if he gives him a bad name to begin with the kid won't get a bad nickname from his peers"... and yes, he really said that.)

Luckily for him, he has a good job and he isn't bad looking. Plus, she wasn't the brightest star in the sky. Still, I did feel like telling him that it wasn't smart to tell the girl you are trying to sleep with that her taste in names for children sucks. And that it might have been wise to let her get a word in edgewise on occasion.

And I wanted to be a good teammate on the guy team. Despite the fact that about 40% of his baseball knowledge was dead wrong, I never turned around and corrected him in front of her. I resisted the urge to block his path... although at one point in my life I might have done it merely to teach him a lesson. That, or cornered him on a trip to the snackbar and told him he was blowing it. By the way, it took him two or three beer runs to realize that they actually serve people in those seats and that the people in uniforms bringing nachos to people seated around him were not family members.

And I held my tongue for nine innings of incessant babble. I even took a picture of them together for him and accepted the title of "new friend." Although I could have warned him that when she fixed the collar on my jacket for me and leaned forward to ask me questions, he was in danger of losing her regard.

Until the ninth inning. Warning to prospective idiots. I will allow you to give misinformation out with authority in search of a bed partner only to a certain extent. Chanting "OOOOver-rrrrated" about the all time saves leader while children around you are screaming with excitement? Talking about how the position of reliever has only existed for "about twelve years" and it's "no big deal" to close a game?

Too much.

I let him have it. I asked him how a no doubt Hall of Famer could be overated? When he said no relievers were in the Hall, I named those who were. I told him (and his girl) who Lee Smith was. I disputed every counterpoint he made for a couple of minutes and then, having exacted my revenge for the previous nine innings, I turned and watched the game. Hoffy got two quick outs, but then a nubber to first base happened to be a single because it basically was not struck hard enough to roll faster than the batter could run. Which prompted renewed posturing from fool boy about how he was right. I gave him one long look. I didn't say anything.

I did notice that when Hoffy struck the next guy out, the girl did a little hop and the half-hand claps that screamed "former cheerleader" and that she was suddenly rooting for what he was rooting against.

And I noticed that he got her out of there in a hurry.

I apologize to my fellow guys, and I do kinda hope that I didn't keep him from getting laid. But friends, please...

Before you chatter incessantly for nine innings in front of the girl you are trying to impress... listen to Mr. Lincoln.

A Parts List Is NOT Instructions...

2008-03-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

...or, Why I Am Taking This Shirt Back.

Now, I'm not the snazziest dresser in the world. But I do consider myself to be in the top 30% of my somewhat clueless gender. Said clues being specific to the idea of what looks good. Not the other side of clothing, the one most men get and many women don't. See, you don't need to explain to a man that you can't wear a Red Sox hat with a Yankee jersey, even though they are both baseball things...

No, I'm talking about colors and patterns, and more importantly how colors and patterns relate to the person wearing them. Because my biggest challenge in the fashion area is one of knowing the difference between "That shirt looks good" and "That shirt makes ME look good."

Now I have done some research. That is where the title of this post originates. For example, I have listened when a girlfriend/wife/female friend has made certain comments in the past about what colors or patterns look good on me. And I have noticed certain female reactions to certain garments and tried to then take the next step and extrapolate the characteristics of those garments to other purchases.

But sometimes I put them together in the wrong way. For example, this shirt I need to take back. It's blue... okay, I have been told multiple times that blue brings out my eyes and is a good color for me. It's a lighter blue, and this played a part because I know I have plenty of dark blue things so I don't need more dark shirts. It's a dress-style shirt, and I have received plenty of feedback that lets me know I look good in those. But here's where I made the disconnect and didn't realize that putting together a list of parts didn't equal instructions. It's plaid.

Now,I have green plaid and even a red/blue plaid shirt that I have gotten compliments on, I always get complimented on my kilt, and I remember that girlfriends always used to be fond of my flannel shirts.

So, I buy the plaid in varying shades of blue and bring it home. Along with a few other shirts, because I'm at a place where some old favorites have acquired a coffee stain or the collar is fraying, etc. And because I don't have a woman here locally, I get out the camera and snap some mirror photos to send to Alessia. Because one lesson that HAS stuck is that it is always good to get a female nod of approval.

And in this case, it's a good thing. Everything else I bought, she liked. Grey striped dress shirt, tan polo, blue polo... all good. But the blue plaid that I thought I did so well matching to the parts list? Not so much. Thankfully, I am getting better even at this part. Because when I put the shirt on to photograph it, I kinda went "blah."

Now, if only I could learn to make that jump without buying it first, then I might have something.

The Song Remains The Same

2008-03-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

In the month since I addressed anything political on this blog, many things have changed. John McCain has clinched the Republican nomination and Barack Obama has opened a delegate lead that some call insurmountable. But one thing that hasn't changed is the rhetoric of Obama's democratic opponent.

In comments today, Hilary Clinton once again trotted out her line about needing to do more than make speeches. Apparently, she is really worried about her oratory abilities compared to Obama's, because for the last six weeks she has been harping on this.

As I said in the post in mid-February, making speeches and the ability to do so well actually is very important for a President. No, it is not all that the job entails. But it is a crucial aspect of the position. If you were hiring someone to be President, it would be one of the major qualifications. Must be willing to relocate, able to work unusual hours, have strengths in networking and be an accomplished public speaker.

But today Hilary popped off about it again. "Senator Obama has said often that words matter. I strongly agree. But giving speeches alone won't end the war and making campaign promises you might not keep certainly won't end it," Clinton said.(Reuters)

The wonderful irony is in her other comments on the same day. For example, she promised if elected she would convene military advisers and ask them to develop a plan to begin bringing U.S. troops home within 60 days of her taking office next January.

Now, lets examine this statement from Ms. Empty Speeches Accusation. What is she actually promising? To bring the troops home in sixty days? No, that's what she wants you to hear. The only thing she's actually promising is to have a meeting on the subject of doing so. How wonderfully Washingtonian of her. Isn't this exactly what we want a change from?

She also made a point of talking about how the war is so bad for the economy (Duh!) and costly in human misery. Funny that she didn't think this way in September, 2002. Oh, but everybody voted for the war then, right? Wrong. The majority of Democrats in the House and twenty-one Democratic Senators did NOT vote for the war then. Of course, Hilary couldn't have afforded to vote against the war as the Senator from New York. I get that. But she could at least say so. I might respect that. No, she continues to paint that vote as the right thing to do at the time, basically refusing to admit that it is possible for her to make a mistake. Gee, sounds like the President we already have, not the one we want.

She also talks about how the war could cost a trillion dollars (Hey Hillary, get current. Recent estimates are double that number)and about how much that money could do here in the United States. Funny, I seem to have heard that before. Where? In speeches Obama made in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina and most especially in Katrina ravaged New Orleans.

Her other big use for the money? Solving the housing crisis and making college affordable. Well, Hilary may not value Obama's speeches... but it sure sounds like she has been listening to them.

Refresh my memory, Hilary. What was all that about plagiarism?

Take A Leap With Phaze!

2008-02-28T18:41:00.000-08:00

We like to do things the hard way, don't we? Inches, miles, and all that ridiculous pints-quarts-gallons stuff. On the Gregorian calendar, which we use, we have to add a day every so often. At least in the year thing, it is not about our refusal to switch to that simple metric system.

Adding an extra day to the calendar every four years compensates for the fact that a solar year is almost 6 hours longer than 365 days.

So, in the spirit of starting a tradition that we don't have to mess with that often, Phaze is celebrating Leap Day with a special sale and Take a Leap Giveaway, with two ways to win!

All through Leap Day, Feb. 29, 2008, you can get 29% off all eBooks in the Phaze store using the checkout code LEAP2008. When you purchase a title from the Phaze.com catalog on Leap Day you will be eligible to win one of two Phaze.com gift certificates valued at $29 each.

You can also enter the drawing by sending an e-mail to leapyear@phaze. com with your Name, E-Mail Address, and one sentence describing the best way to "take a leap" on this extra day.

How would spend your Leap Day: an actual "leap" with a bungee cord
attached your ankles, or a metaphorical "leap" toward an exciting new job
or romance? Let us know; we'll post the answers we like best on our blog.

All entries for the giveaway must be in by midnight, Feb. 29, 2008 to be
eligible. No purchase necessary to win!

This Is Just Nasty... And Funny

2008-02-25T22:17:00.000-08:00

So I'm suffering through about the nastiest bout with the annual creepin' crud I can remember. I got sick once last year, but it was nothing like this. I can't remember my throat ever being this sore. (( And that is NOT meant as innuendo, people!!))

And Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman made it worse with their little competition. If you don't know what I'm talking about, Google their names plus Matt Damon.

It hurts to laugh with a sore throat, damn it!

Thoughts About Experience And The Presidency

2008-02-13T18:34:00.000-08:00

In my opinion, there are two ways a President gets things done. Conspire and Inspire.

Conspire: Barack Obama has plenty of experience in putting together coalitions and voting blocs as an organizer in Chicago at the grass roots level, in the Illinois state senate and now as a U.S Senator. And that is the weak side of the two for him. It can be addressed by the proper choice of a VP... and since the VP is the one that spends the most time on Capitol Hill, the VP is the person that needs that experience the most.

Inspire: This comes down to the ability to fire up both legislators to pull things through congress and the general public to push things through congress. Barack Obama is without doubt the most dynamic speaker running for President. He is, IMHO, without doubt the one best able to inspire. Do this as an experiment: Go to YouTube. Find speeches by the three remaining major candidates. DON'T pay attention to the speaker. Pay attention to the audience. Remember, these are people who already support the speaker. The difference in the reactions of Obama's crowds is palpable. This man can create excitement.

As such, the major argument people put against him, lack of experience, doesn't wash with me. He has the tools.

It's just a matter of whether or not you believe he will use them in a way that is beneficial for the country. Since I believe he will, I support Obama.

I'm not terribly anti- Hillary Clinton. But she doesn't make me feel like she is anything other than a lesser of evils. Barack Obama makes me believe in America again.

John McCain is at least a person whom I respect for some of the things he went through due to his service to the nation. I respect him for being willing to publicly disagree with someone in his own party. But I wouldn't vote for him over Hillary.

I have zero respect for Bush. ZERO. I look forward to the end of an error... or rather, the end to a presidency that was stolen in the first place.

Super Tuesday! Let Your Voice Be Heard!

2008-02-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

I don't care who you support, if your state is voting today... GET OUT THERE AND VOTE!

I Support Barack Obama

2008-01-31T10:02:00.000-08:00

Not that this is any big secret, but I chose my candidate months ago and the things I have seen in those intervening months have only strengthened my resolve. Barack Obama is that choice.

I first became aware of Obama in the same way many of us did, with his address at the Democratic Convention. Since then I have watched the man, read the man and listened to him. I have also watched and listened to Hilary and the campaign-suspended John Edwards. I have to admit that I haven't spent much time on the Republican candidates. Sorry, but the Repugs were not high on my list before the disaster of W. Now, they are off the list and will be until they lose the current leadership of the party.

But the key event that switched my allegiance to Barack was reading Dreams From My Father. The book was published before Obama entered politics, a key point for me. It is an honest and forthright tale, and one that lets me know who this man is.

There will be no silliness about inhaling or partying. Barack told the world he was human already, in undeniable print. The man has experiences in Indonesia and Kenya that make him unique among the current crop of candidates; his life and struggles there do much to alleviate concerns about foreign policy for me, simply because at least Barack has lived in a foreign land and visited Africa without the Secret Service hovering.

He learned the effects of racism in school in Hawaii, where he was one of only three black students on campus. But he also knows that side of his heritage on the level of the projects. He recounts his early grass roots experience in Chicago, learning politics from the ground up. He knows what is at stake at the lower end of the financial scale in this country.

And he connected with me in his forward, where he did something so rare for a political candidate that it had a profound effect on my opinion of him. He talked about what he would change if he went back and wrote the book now. As a writer. He admitted that he would change something in his past if he could. He admitted the reality and possibility of mistakes and failure. So rare in a politician, so important in a person.

By the way, did everyone know he won a Grammy for the Spoken Word Edition? I didn't until I linked to the wikipedia page for the book.

I like that Barack Obama speaks of dreams and possibilities. Of working together, of moving forward. I like that he tries to avoid the gutter of Rove-ian politics. I like that he spoke out against the war when all the "cool kids" were supporting it.

So he's a dreamer. So was Jefferson. So was Lincoln. So was Roosevelt. So was JFK. So am I.

I'm dreaming of an Obama/Edwards ticket in November. I'm dreaming of voting for someone, instead of against someone. Of choosing my belief rather than the lesser of evils.

In five days, many of us will have our first chance to cast a ballot for change. Let's do it.

Reject the politics of fear. Reject those who resort to misdirection and miscommunication. Ignore the swift boat marketing of hate and despair. Vote for change. Vote for a dream. Vote for being proud of the diversity that makes us strong. Vote for hope.

Vote for Barack Obama.