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!
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Obama Accepts Nomination At Mile High
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.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
McCain's Experience Is In Being Wrong
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.
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.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Dave Stewart's American Prayer
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
Monday, August 04, 2008
The Cost Of John McCain's Soul? $285,000.00?
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...
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...
Friday, August 01, 2008
Latest McCain Ad Includes MisQuote Refuted The Previous Day
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.
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.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Exxon Really Feeling The Pinch, Eh?
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?
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
A Useful Website Indeed
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...
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...
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Political MisInformation: Blatant Lies In Email
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:
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?
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."
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.
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.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
ArtiFactual Is A Dream Realm Finalist!
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.
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.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
The Importance of Environment
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.
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.
Monday, June 30, 2008
John McCain Uses Swift Boaters He Once Condemned
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.
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,
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:
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.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Great Article At Publisher's Weekly
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.”
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.”
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Sharing The Blogosphere
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.
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.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
We Teach This To Children, But Hillary Doesn't Get It
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
AP Says Obama Has Clinched
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.
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.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Will Belegon at The Erotic Woman
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?
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.)
Thursday, May 15, 2008
CA Supreme Court Does The Right Thing
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.
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.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Help Other's While Helping Yourself
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...
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!
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...
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...
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Come Together With Ann Aquirre to Help Cyclone Victims
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.
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.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
An Even Split on May 6th? No, Look Again.
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.
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.
Monday, May 05, 2008
The Myth of White Voters and Obama
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Back From RT, Minus One Bag
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.
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.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Promo & Partying In Pittsburgh
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*
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*
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
The Fool I Couldn't Laugh At...
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.
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.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
A Parts List Is NOT Instructions...
...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.
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.
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Song Remains The Same
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?
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?
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Take A Leap With Phaze!
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!
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!
Monday, February 25, 2008
This Is Just Nasty... And Funny
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!
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!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Thoughts About Experience And The Presidency
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Super Tuesday! Let Your Voice Be Heard!
I don't care who you support, if your state is voting today... GET OUT THERE AND VOTE!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
I Support Barack Obama
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.
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.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Finished!
After many struggles, some external and some internal, Alessia and I wrote the last words of the sequel to Double Header today.
Spring Training has endured multiple challenges and led to discussions between its two authors that might have broken up your average rock band. At just over 45,000 words, it is the longest of our individual works to date. It may also be the most complex.
There are twists and turns in Spring Training that we never imagined when we first set out to write it. We knew it would feature Andrea Spring and feature her falling in love with Mark Hamilton. That might be the only thing from our original discussions that remains the same.
Of our joint work, this is perhaps the most traditionally romantic in plot. Yet the sex is both intense and incredibly varied. Those who loved the wild side of Andi in Double Header will certainly not be disappointed. She remains a most daring sexual adventuress. But you will find out much more about Andi in this book. A glimpse of her background, the surety of her strength and the vulnerability of her weaknesses. Andi has followed an incredible path through these two books.
Mark had a small role in Double Header. Now, he takes center stage. Even, as you'll see, when Andi most certainly does not want him there. He will demand of Andi something she has been unwilling to give any man.
Spring Training, the sequel to Double Header from the writing team that Heather Fowler calls "a straight up duo of walking hedonism", is coming this spring to Phaze.
Are you ready for the coming season?
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Phaze Holiday Sale
Phaze is running a 50% off sale on all electronic books through 1 a.m. eastern on Dec 26th... So, if you've just gotta indulge that shopping bug one more time, I have a suggestion for a place to do it...
Enter the code HOHOHO at checkout to get the 50% discount.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Under Fire Available For Christmas!
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On Christmas, the biggest day for gifts of the entire year, will you step out and give something special? And get reciprocated not only with the warm glow it creates in your heart, but by some stirrings slightly lower?
There are families this Christmas who are putting up a tree in a hotel room, or a rented apartment, and gazing at it with a different feeling. Melancholy. Wistful memories. Brushing away tears that are not of joy. These families spent last Christmas in a home they had dreamed of for years... and lost in a fiery moment.
Do your part to help those families. In return, we'll warm your cockles with a selection of the best erotica available, from names like Rachel Kramer Bussel, Gwen Masters and Shanna Germain.
Thanks to the wonderful combined efforts of authors, publisher and most especially my beloved co-editor Alessia Brio, Coming Together: Under Fire is available NOW... a most appropriate release date indeed, two days before Christmas and exactly two months since the worst day of the fires. And not only an appropriate date, but a dramatically fast one. Phaze has really stepped to the plate to get this volume out quickly. From conception to availability, this project has moved with a speed unheard of in this business. Simply amazing.
But haste did not make waste. This is a fantastic collection. I'm extraordinarily proud of my involvement, although I will defer most of the credit to the tireless Ms. Brio. She is the Pele of this project.
Please, if you have a last minute gift to buy... buy Coming Together: Under Fire in either print or ebook format. You'll be giving to many more than just the one who unwraps it.
Monday, December 03, 2007
Fallen Angels Reviews Double Header
Dawnie from Fallen Angels Reviews has ventured into the world of Andrea Spring and liked what she saw enough to give it four angels out of a possible five.
I admit that I have been a little nervous about the possible reactions to the latest release from Alessia and myself. It's the first that didn't feature a M/F one-on-one relationship and our "heroine" is much more complex. She has a definite journey through Double Header and its forthcoming sequel Spring Training. What's more, the place that she begins that journey from can be a little harsh for people not accustomed to a woman of Andi's sensibilities.
Dawnie saw what we intended, calling Andi "a complex character with sizzling sexual needs." Part of my interest in seeing reviews and feedback for this work is that Andi is a very different heroine for readers used to more traditional romantic elements. I'm pleased that Dawnie stayed with us to see the growth and complexity of Andi's character.
The other thing that stands out in the review is her impression of the book's sexuality. She calls the sex scenes "extremely hot and raw." Again, a gratifying response. Double Header definitely is erotica with romantic plot, as opposed to traditional romance with erotic elements, and it is wonderful that Dawnie enjoyed it.
I suppose that I'm a little greedy on this one. I want to send the reviewer a note asking what kept her from giving that elusive fifth angel. It's the pleaser in me. Always looking for the maximum amount of approval. But as one of the few reviews we have had so far for DH, I'm happy it is such a positive one.
You can read the full review at Fallen Angels Reviews by following this link.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Being Judged By Our Political Silence
The United States likes to take the public position that we are better than those around us. We point to the atrocities of the world, and puff out our collective chest and say how we aren't like that, see?
We pontificate about being a Christian nation. It is from our perceived position of moral "higher ground" that we talk about things like making the world safe for democracy. That we dare to address human rights issues. That we base things like "family values" on when our politicians give speeches. We are, in general, a church-going nation that takes pride in being able to look in a mirror and be proud.
If we look in a mirror with pride, either the mirror or the viewer is a liar.
In Saudi Arabia, one of our strongest allies and a nation whose favor we court daily, the victim of a gang rape has been sentenced to six months in jail and 200 lashes. The 19 year old girl's crime was being in the company of an unrelated male. She was abducted, driven out into the countryside and raped by seven men. They were all convicted of this crime, but their ability to commit it was judged to be her fault because she made herself available for it by being out with a college friend. Not out on the town drinking and carousing, but out in a car with a college classmate trying to retrieve a picture of herself. She was sentenced to ninety lashes for being in a car with an unrelated male. Then she made the mistake of appealing.
The appeals court increased her sentence. The implied reason was that she had discussed the case in the media. "For whoever has an objection on verdicts issued, the system allows an appeal without resorting to the media," (Saudi Ministry of Justice, in a statement on the case) This is perfectly legal in Saudi Arabia.
I am not debating the sovereignty of the Saudi government. By definition, they have a right to make and enforce their own laws. Nor are their visions of what is moral and right they same as ours.
The announcement of the verdict created what the AP describes as an "international outcry." The response of our own state department was that the verdict "causes a fair degree of surprise and astonishment." Oh, and to note that the Saudi government could still overturn the sentence.
Thanks for taking a moral stand there, United States. After all, we'd better not criticize the people who just happen to be sitting on top of all that oil, no matter what they do. Canada's response was to call it "barbaric." Um, in case you haven't noticed, Canada gets cold. They need heating oil more than we do, but they had the guts to say that it was wrong, not just surprising.
Sure, we should respect the rights of other nations to follow their own laws and moral code. But we should also be steadfast in stating that we believe it to be wrong to further punish this woman. Be it 90 lashes, 200 and six months in jail or a literal slap on the wrist. Even if you are in a position where you feel what she did was wrong and needs to be punished... don't you feel that the seven men who raped her already accomplished punishing her?
I don't know why I would be surprised. We support torture. Our strongest voices about the supposed immorality of homosexuality keep getting caught waving their hands under other stalls in men's bathrooms. We have a large amount of people who think that lying about a blow job is equivalent or more wrong then manipulating facts so that we are justified in invading a country and killing thousands.
Would it have been so hard to stand up and say that, while we respect Saudi Arabia's right to rule it's own nation, we feel that these actions are unjustified? I'm not even asking that we call them the misogynistic, chauvinist, torturing bastards that they are. Just tell them we don't approve. Even that would be nice.
All I'm asking is that we tell them we don't like it.
We pontificate about being a Christian nation. It is from our perceived position of moral "higher ground" that we talk about things like making the world safe for democracy. That we dare to address human rights issues. That we base things like "family values" on when our politicians give speeches. We are, in general, a church-going nation that takes pride in being able to look in a mirror and be proud.
If we look in a mirror with pride, either the mirror or the viewer is a liar.
In Saudi Arabia, one of our strongest allies and a nation whose favor we court daily, the victim of a gang rape has been sentenced to six months in jail and 200 lashes. The 19 year old girl's crime was being in the company of an unrelated male. She was abducted, driven out into the countryside and raped by seven men. They were all convicted of this crime, but their ability to commit it was judged to be her fault because she made herself available for it by being out with a college friend. Not out on the town drinking and carousing, but out in a car with a college classmate trying to retrieve a picture of herself. She was sentenced to ninety lashes for being in a car with an unrelated male. Then she made the mistake of appealing.
The appeals court increased her sentence. The implied reason was that she had discussed the case in the media. "For whoever has an objection on verdicts issued, the system allows an appeal without resorting to the media," (Saudi Ministry of Justice, in a statement on the case) This is perfectly legal in Saudi Arabia.
I am not debating the sovereignty of the Saudi government. By definition, they have a right to make and enforce their own laws. Nor are their visions of what is moral and right they same as ours.
The announcement of the verdict created what the AP describes as an "international outcry." The response of our own state department was that the verdict "causes a fair degree of surprise and astonishment." Oh, and to note that the Saudi government could still overturn the sentence.
Thanks for taking a moral stand there, United States. After all, we'd better not criticize the people who just happen to be sitting on top of all that oil, no matter what they do. Canada's response was to call it "barbaric." Um, in case you haven't noticed, Canada gets cold. They need heating oil more than we do, but they had the guts to say that it was wrong, not just surprising.
Sure, we should respect the rights of other nations to follow their own laws and moral code. But we should also be steadfast in stating that we believe it to be wrong to further punish this woman. Be it 90 lashes, 200 and six months in jail or a literal slap on the wrist. Even if you are in a position where you feel what she did was wrong and needs to be punished... don't you feel that the seven men who raped her already accomplished punishing her?
I don't know why I would be surprised. We support torture. Our strongest voices about the supposed immorality of homosexuality keep getting caught waving their hands under other stalls in men's bathrooms. We have a large amount of people who think that lying about a blow job is equivalent or more wrong then manipulating facts so that we are justified in invading a country and killing thousands.
Would it have been so hard to stand up and say that, while we respect Saudi Arabia's right to rule it's own nation, we feel that these actions are unjustified? I'm not even asking that we call them the misogynistic, chauvinist, torturing bastards that they are. Just tell them we don't approve. Even that would be nice.
All I'm asking is that we tell them we don't like it.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Some Bridge Players Don't Get It
I'm a sports geek, admitted and unrepentant. But the world of competitive bridge is completely under my radar. All I can tell you is that Omar Sharif used to write a syndicated column about it for the newspaper. So why would I be writing about Bridge?
In yet another example of the idiocy that has permeated this country, some members of the women's U.S. Bridge team are being threatened with expulsion from the federation because they don't like King George, and they dared to tell the world.
This is a link to the story at The New York Times. I'm not going to rewrite it, but if you are a free-thinking patriot who thought that this couldn't happen again after the Dixie Chicks were vindicated, read this story.
A few thoughts from me about information in the article:
USBF president Jan Martel claims this is not a free speech issue, claiming to be a private organization. True on one level. But if you represent the USA, you represent the USA. NOT "certain people within the United States who feel that George Bush is doing a good job." You represent ALL of the USA. If you are the "Jan Martel Bridge Foundation", that's different. But to your claims that this is not a free speech issue when you are threatening these women with the loss of their income for one year and a one-year probation after that? For a peaceful and light-hearted expression of political fact? For stating that they are members of the more than 50% of the country who did not vote for His Royal Incompetence? Well, to use a phrase even your beloved leader would understand, that dog won't hunt! (probably because the dog fears the vice-president will be on the trip.) Also, your offer of differing "plea bargain deals" to the women who apologized rather than stand resolute shows that you are being discriminatory and manipulative.
Quoting the article, the words of Jim Kirkham, who sits on the board of the American Contract Bridge League:
"I think an apology is kind of specious. It's not that I don't forgive them, but I still think they should be punished."
Jim, your use of "specious" indicates your feelings very clearly. The definition of specious:
1. apparently good or right though lacking real merit; superficially pleasing or plausible: specious arguments.
2. pleasing to the eye but deceptive.
3. Obsolete. pleasing to the eye; fair.
As to the second part of your statement, if you think they should be punished than you DO NOT forgive them. The definition of forgive:
1. to grant pardon for or remission of (an offense, debt, etc.); absolve.
2. to give up all claim on account of; remit (a debt, obligation, etc.).
3. to grant pardon to (a person).
4. to cease to feel resentment against: to forgive one's enemies.
5. to cancel an indebtedness or liability of: to forgive the interest owed on a loan.
–verb (used without object)
6. to pardon an offense or an offender.
Jim, if you are going to be a repressive, lying jerk who thinks patriotism is the science of "yes-man"ing Karl Rove, at least have the balls to admit it instead of claiming to be capable of forgiveness.
Robert Wolff was quoted as saying that he didn't feel free speech gave the right to criticize one's leader at certain venues. Excuse me, Robert? WAKE YOUR ASS UP! That is exactly what this right is all about. Free speech is not about the ability to chose a baked potato over french fries with your fast food combo meal. It is about freedom from repression for speaking your views.
Debbie Rosenberg, who held up the sign and is now facing this criticism and possible suspension for doing so, expressed the real problem.
“Freedom to express dissent against our leaders has traditionally been a core American value,” she wrote by e-mail. “Unfortunately, the Bush brand of patriotism, where criticizing Bush means you are a traitor, seems to have penetrated a significant minority of U.S. bridge players.”
America was not built by simpering wimpy individuals who caved in to government or to the criticism of their bosses or Tory neighbors. We are a nation founded in rebellion.
The true Americans in this situation are the ones who are standing up to speak their mind despite the possible consequences. I applaud Jill Levin, Jill Meyers, Debbie Rosenberg, Hansa Narasimhan, JoAnna Stansby and Irina Levitina. Especially Debbie, who held up the sign and who is going on record with her dismay at the anti-American behavior of the USBF.
In yet another example of the idiocy that has permeated this country, some members of the women's U.S. Bridge team are being threatened with expulsion from the federation because they don't like King George, and they dared to tell the world.
This is a link to the story at The New York Times. I'm not going to rewrite it, but if you are a free-thinking patriot who thought that this couldn't happen again after the Dixie Chicks were vindicated, read this story.
A few thoughts from me about information in the article:
USBF president Jan Martel claims this is not a free speech issue, claiming to be a private organization. True on one level. But if you represent the USA, you represent the USA. NOT "certain people within the United States who feel that George Bush is doing a good job." You represent ALL of the USA. If you are the "Jan Martel Bridge Foundation", that's different. But to your claims that this is not a free speech issue when you are threatening these women with the loss of their income for one year and a one-year probation after that? For a peaceful and light-hearted expression of political fact? For stating that they are members of the more than 50% of the country who did not vote for His Royal Incompetence? Well, to use a phrase even your beloved leader would understand, that dog won't hunt! (probably because the dog fears the vice-president will be on the trip.) Also, your offer of differing "plea bargain deals" to the women who apologized rather than stand resolute shows that you are being discriminatory and manipulative.
Quoting the article, the words of Jim Kirkham, who sits on the board of the American Contract Bridge League:
"I think an apology is kind of specious. It's not that I don't forgive them, but I still think they should be punished."
Jim, your use of "specious" indicates your feelings very clearly. The definition of specious:
1. apparently good or right though lacking real merit; superficially pleasing or plausible: specious arguments.
2. pleasing to the eye but deceptive.
3. Obsolete. pleasing to the eye; fair.
As to the second part of your statement, if you think they should be punished than you DO NOT forgive them. The definition of forgive:
1. to grant pardon for or remission of (an offense, debt, etc.); absolve.
2. to give up all claim on account of; remit (a debt, obligation, etc.).
3. to grant pardon to (a person).
4. to cease to feel resentment against: to forgive one's enemies.
5. to cancel an indebtedness or liability of: to forgive the interest owed on a loan.
–verb (used without object)
6. to pardon an offense or an offender.
Jim, if you are going to be a repressive, lying jerk who thinks patriotism is the science of "yes-man"ing Karl Rove, at least have the balls to admit it instead of claiming to be capable of forgiveness.
Robert Wolff was quoted as saying that he didn't feel free speech gave the right to criticize one's leader at certain venues. Excuse me, Robert? WAKE YOUR ASS UP! That is exactly what this right is all about. Free speech is not about the ability to chose a baked potato over french fries with your fast food combo meal. It is about freedom from repression for speaking your views.
Debbie Rosenberg, who held up the sign and is now facing this criticism and possible suspension for doing so, expressed the real problem.
“Freedom to express dissent against our leaders has traditionally been a core American value,” she wrote by e-mail. “Unfortunately, the Bush brand of patriotism, where criticizing Bush means you are a traitor, seems to have penetrated a significant minority of U.S. bridge players.”
America was not built by simpering wimpy individuals who caved in to government or to the criticism of their bosses or Tory neighbors. We are a nation founded in rebellion.
The true Americans in this situation are the ones who are standing up to speak their mind despite the possible consequences. I applaud Jill Levin, Jill Meyers, Debbie Rosenberg, Hansa Narasimhan, JoAnna Stansby and Irina Levitina. Especially Debbie, who held up the sign and who is going on record with her dismay at the anti-American behavior of the USBF.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Back From The La Jolla Writers Conference
I spent the last few days in a magical realm where everything is empowering and the feedback flows like water from a fountain.
I'm talking about my second trip to the La Jolla Writers Conference, a wonderful event put on by Antoinette and Jared Kuritz. This was the seventh annual conference, but I first attended only last year. I feel extremely foolish for having missed five of them.
This year, I attended classes and Read & Critiques taught by:
David Morrell
Steven J. Cannell
Lisa Jackson & Nancy Bush
Linda Lael Miller
Tracy Hickman
Ken Kuhlken
Mark Clements
Greg Godek
Patti Callahan Henry
Antoinette Kuritz
Warren Lewis
And although I didn't take any classes with them, I at least renewed my acquaintance with Sara Lewis and Mike Sirota.
It's the most amazing thing for a writer to have the creator of Rambo nodding his head and smiling while you are speaking about a plot point or an editing decision. To shake hands and discuss the craft with the writer of The Rockford Files and the A-Team, among 42 other TV shows. To have Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush laughing with you as you discuss the HEA requirements of the Romance genre. To have Linda Lael Miller listen to your writing and praise you for how you set a scene, and to watch her perk up when you say what is going to happen next.
All of these wonderful writers, who between them have sold millions and millions of books, are not only successful, but they are the rare people that want to share their success. They are both encouraging and tactfully critical.
I can't speak for all the writing conferences in the world, nor would I want to do so. But I can tell you that this one has been incredibly valuable to me. If you have been thinking about attending an event or conference featuring any of these writers, I heartily recommend you follow though and go.
I'm talking about my second trip to the La Jolla Writers Conference, a wonderful event put on by Antoinette and Jared Kuritz. This was the seventh annual conference, but I first attended only last year. I feel extremely foolish for having missed five of them.
This year, I attended classes and Read & Critiques taught by:
David Morrell
Steven J. Cannell
Lisa Jackson & Nancy Bush
Linda Lael Miller
Tracy Hickman
Ken Kuhlken
Mark Clements
Greg Godek
Patti Callahan Henry
Antoinette Kuritz
Warren Lewis
And although I didn't take any classes with them, I at least renewed my acquaintance with Sara Lewis and Mike Sirota.
It's the most amazing thing for a writer to have the creator of Rambo nodding his head and smiling while you are speaking about a plot point or an editing decision. To shake hands and discuss the craft with the writer of The Rockford Files and the A-Team, among 42 other TV shows. To have Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush laughing with you as you discuss the HEA requirements of the Romance genre. To have Linda Lael Miller listen to your writing and praise you for how you set a scene, and to watch her perk up when you say what is going to happen next.
All of these wonderful writers, who between them have sold millions and millions of books, are not only successful, but they are the rare people that want to share their success. They are both encouraging and tactfully critical.
I can't speak for all the writing conferences in the world, nor would I want to do so. But I can tell you that this one has been incredibly valuable to me. If you have been thinking about attending an event or conference featuring any of these writers, I heartily recommend you follow though and go.
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