B L O G G E R H O O D

Mr Obama goes to Chandler

2012-01-25T21:07:00.004-05:00

Well, the Pres showed up in my town today. He flew in to Gateway Airport out in East Mesa and cruised on over to Intel on Dobson road. The Intel property borders Oakwood which is part of Sun Lakes. I managed to avoid the traffic jams caused by his appearance, but my wife got caught up in the mess. She made it home about 45 minutes later than usual. This was due more to the local police not having a clue about where and how to reroute around Intel than the Pres's presence.

As is usual on Wednesdays I adjourned to my driveway (it faces west and is warm in the winter) for a cigar and an adult beverage. (Wine tonight since we were having fish for dinner later) Once I had my lawn chair setup, my cigar lit, a good book and the wine at hand I noticed a noise to the north. Lo and behold it was our President making his speech outside the construction at Intel. All I could hear were cheers and an occasional word from his speech. I walked back inside, turned the TV to channel 5 and there he was, making jokes, being charming and presidential just a few blocks from my home. Literally within shouting distance. (Or really within loudspeaker distance)

Of course nothing that happens in our state can be do without the presence of our governor, Jan Brewer. The takeaway from their meeting is a picture of the pair with Brewer putting her finger in the Pres's face. This chick is a total piece of work. I'm guessing he couldn't wait to get out of here.

Channel 5 showed the plane getting ready to takeoff, so I stepped out on the patio and sure enough there was Air Force One taking off headed to Vegas. How did I know that it was his plane. I mean it was dark and the airport is miles away. Ah, here's how it works when you're the big guy. There were no other planes in the air. Not a one. See when AF1 takes off they clear the airspace for his departure. So not too hard to figure it out.

I watched the plane fly out of sight, gave the Pres a little salute, and walked back inside to do the dishes.

The excitement never ends around here.

RT

"Much Ado about Nothing"

2012-01-15T13:52:00.004-05:00

The title of today's post is pretty much what I think about this presidential primary season. The current crop of alleged "conservative" nitwits filling our airwaves with right wing banalities is both scary and boring. The only bright spot so far has been Stephen Colbert's attack ad on Mitt the twit.

Enjoy

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T17:03:00.003-05:00

I wrote a short poem for the Daily Husband today, you can read it here. It pretty much says it all for us this year. Vicki and I feel very blessed to be able to celebrate the season in good health and spirits. It was much different this time last year.

We even celebrated our 25th Anniversary in Vegas this last week as well. While there we saw a performance of the "Lion King" at Mandalay Bay, gambled and rambled the strip till 4:30 AM one morning, enjoyed a very late room service breakfast the next day while overlooking the strip from the 31st floor of our hotel and just generally had a great time. We also took the opportunity to go downtown on the double-decker bus and see Fremont Street and the whole scene down there.

Now back home in Sun Lakes we're looking forward to an evening service tonight and Christmas day at our oldest daughter's house in Mesa.

My wish is that all our friends and relatives find the same peace and happiness this year that Vicki and I have.

Vicki and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

RT

Thanksgiving Day 2011

2011-11-25T01:26:00.005-05:00

I have a lot of things to be thankful for this year.

First and foremost is Vicki's being Cancer Free. This time last year we were deep into her Radiation and Chemo treatments. I had researched everything I could about her cancer and I was deeply worried about the outcome of the treatments. The process was grueling, but we were fortunate to have the best of the best on her treatment team.

So... I am thankful that there are still people willing to make the sacrifices necessary to work in our health care system. Most have terrible schedules, end up working weekends, nights, Holidays, you name it. I am very thankful that an extraordinary group of these folks worked so diligently to fight the cancer in Vicki's head.

I am very thankful to have a partner who is able to meet the challenge of cancer and maintain her sense of humor, her great attitude and her love for me. I am likewise thankful to learn that we have the kind of marriage that can not only survive a fight with cancer but get better.

I am also thankful to have a wonderful support group of friends and family that prayed for us, helped us, and was always there for us when we needed them.

I am thankful that in spite of the recession, the awful job market and our government's indifference; that we have jobs, a roof over our heads and some hope for future prosperity.

I'm thankful that this Thanksgiving my wife and I were able to spend time with our family and friends to celebrate this day.

And last but certainly not least, I'm thankful to still be here on this magnificent planet and to look at each new day as the blessing it truly is.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours,

RT

Out of Iraq

2011-10-22T15:24:00.011-04:00

After 10 years, over 800 billion dollars and just under 5,000 fatalities our president announced that we will be withdrawing all troops from Iraq by January of 2012. It's about time. Since we never should have been there in the first place, one wonders what took us so long. But bad things happen when you displace a government and attempt nation building. You'd think we would have learned our lesson in Viet Nam, an action in which in I was involved. But it has not happened. Our country has been blithely engaged in two wars for the last decade with little or no protest from the populace.

The old saying about "those that ignore history are doomed to repeat it" applies to our foreign policy for at least the last 40 years. Now, with the factually challenged warrior wannabes in charge of the congress and perhaps the senate as well (in spite of a supposed Democratic majority) we continue on the path of waste and destruction with little or no thought to the outcome or consequences.

From my perspective our leaders have lost the ability to think big enough to help the majority of the people. Most seem tied to some cause or worse, to some corporation whose only goal is profit. Witness the exodus of middle class jobs in the last 30 years. Where did these geniuses think our citizens would work when they sent hundreds of thousands of jobs to China, Indonesia, Pakistan and Whereeverthefuckistan? They didn't care then and they don't care today.

This country has been divided into two distinct classes; the investment class that owns 40% of everything and 50% of all stocks and bonds. These folks constitute just %1 of our population. The other 99% of us make up the other class. Most of us depend on employers, the government and the cycles of the economy for our well being. Since 1980 and the conservative revolution headed by Ronald Reagan our government has made it easier and more profitable for corporations and the wealthy while making it much harder for the other 99%.

This has been accomplished by applying the science of Madison Avenue (marketing) to political dialogue, with devastating effect. "Framing" has become the modus operandi of the pundit and media class. No longer are issues reported on and discussed without some variety of "framing" involved. The majority of the electorate remains ignorant of what is being done to them and this allows them to continually vote against their own self interest. Amazing!

As just one example of the duplicity of the factually challenged in power is the current buzz word "Job Creators". What a Crock! These very people are the ones responsible for millions of jobs lost, not the ones that remain. After all, someone has to do the work on the ground, don't they? The lucky folks still have jobs, though they pay less and have fewer benefits than just 5 or 10 years ago. I guess the Corporations and Wealthy think it's OK if the people who made this country what it once was, who fought in its wars, and continue to lay down their lives to this day, should struggle to make a living in the richest nation on the planet.

I applaud all those in the "Occupy Wall Street" protest for at least identifying the enemy within. It is too bad they lack a spokesman to articulate the anger and frustration felt by so many and the injustice of supplying the financial sector with over 13 TRILLION dollars in bailout money while continuing to decimate the middle class. The Greed of the ruling class in our nation is so apparent and ever present that one wonders why it took so long for the people to rise up in protest.

Perhaps it will come to something, but I remain cynical that any action will be taken to right the wrongs done to us.

Of course we are now in the election season or "silly season", where we will be bombarded with BS from all parties. Most if not all of this will be a smokescreen to divert our attention from the real and most pressing issues.

For comic relief I recommend any so called Republican debate, but only if you can turn off your critical thinking and need for facts. Just sit back and laugh for a bit. Oh, and wait for the news of our next invasion of a foreign country, its just around the corner. My guess is somewhere in Africa this time.

RT

Made to Order

2011-09-18T17:35:00.006-04:00

Seems like there is no party, administration or person you can depend on in our current political environment. Somehow our government, which of course is really just a surrogate for corporations, keeps screwing up. This is another sad example. Of course it's almost funny when explained by Jon Stewart.

Enjoy,

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

OK, that's all I've got to say about that.

RT

Blah, Blah, Blah

2011-09-05T19:02:00.007-04:00

The nonsense that passes for political discourse in our country has both disappointed and disgusted me. Also we've just suffered the hottest August in history here in Phoenix.

So.... I offer this bit of creativity. If you miss the rain as badly as I do, just sit back and listen.

RT

Is 8 Enough?

2011-08-14T16:24:00.014-04:00

So...... The Iowa Straw Poll for the Republicans has a winner. And the winner is....
Michele Bachmann, really, I'm not kidding. Seriously; the Iowans who participated preferred the queen of Wackyworld to any of the other candidates who were in the running.

Amongst those were a faux news contributor, a governor from the Midwest, a gospel singer and probably a couple of flat earthers, perhaps even a birther or two. All sought to out right wing the other making the whole thing imminently unwatchable and pretty ridiculous.

To make the point here a couple of videos from "The Daily Show" on the subject.

All this fun and then Rick Perry ( another Texas Governor) (cause we all know how good the last one did, right?) announces he's running. To make the whole event totally rad Sarah Palin, serial butcher of history and all things factual rides into town on her bus of BS.

My heart goes out to those in Ames.

RT

At Least Bill gets It !

2011-07-09T18:45:00.006-04:00

I found this clip on Huffpost today and was mildly pleased to see that at least someone else besides me understands what's going on here. As usual Bill Maher picked a very controversial way to make his point, but I agree with that as well.

Perhaps you believe that 3 years and a few months is sufficient punishment for losing your baby. If you do then Bill thinks you're probably a middle class Republican voter as well.

Here's what he has to say.

Nuff said,

RT

Critical 4th of July

2011-07-02T16:45:00.010-04:00

I am almost too damned cynical to be writing this post today. I've come to believe that the capture of our local, state and federal government by the monied interests (read financial oligarchy disguised as the republican party and various tea-party groups) is almost absolute. Yet I still find myself making the attempt to help wake up the American electorate.

So in that vein here's some contributions from others who feel as I do and something that you the reader can do if you wish to help out.

First a little snark to start off the process. This comes compliments of Crooks and Liars. To read the entire article you can go here. To paraphrase, it is a commentary on the corporatization of our country with new words for the pledge of allegiance.

I pledge allegiance
To the Bathtub
Of the United Slates of Norquist.
And to the Republicans,
For which it scams,
One Corporation,
Under Fraud
With Liberty & Tax Cuts for All....
corporate jet-owning billionaires.

The next offering is again from Crooks and Liars and is a fictional speech ( we really wish he had delivered this speech though) that should have been given by the president on the debt ceiling and the current debate, craziness and blackmail by the radical right to further impoverish and harm the majority of our citizens. You can read the whole speech here.
Let me just say that in the speech he lays the facts out and addresses what is really going on now.

Last is a real speech given by Bernie Sanders on the house floor. It is a letter to President Obama. This was brought to my attention on the blog Time Goes By, an elder blogging site dedicated to the issues affecting folks my age.

If after hearing Bernie's speech you would like to sign the letter yourself, you can do that here.

When I signed there was a little over a hundred thousand signatures. By my count there ought to be at least a hundred million people who should be on board with Bernie. We truly face another threat to our independence this Fourth of July. This threat is to our financial freedom. The proposals of the far right will mean a further decrease in the well being, happiness and live styles of countless millions of us, while helping to increase the already tremendous gap in wealth and power between the top 1% and the rest of us.

I wish you a happy fourth and hope you'll join in what may be the most important fight of your generation.

Peace,

RT

Congrats New York, But.......

2011-06-26T15:08:00.007-04:00

I suppose that congratulations are in order for the gay and lesbian community in New York state this week. They can now be married and have all the advantages and disadvantages associated with the institution. One wonders if they fully thought out the downside of this event. Now they will find their way into divorce courts, child support cases, and the myriad of other legal potentialities in modern marriage. Good luck with that!

Now don't misunderstand me. I really don't care about gay marriage. I am more interested in the distraction it brings that helps keep truly political and economic issues buried in media BS. In my humble opinion it would have made more sense to make civil unions legal nationally, thereby affording them the same legal status as marriage, but without offending those who oppose gay marriage on religious grounds. If you're interested, the statistics tell us that single parent families, especially those of unwed mothers are far more deleterious to our society than homosexuality. Our current group of politicians won't let these facts get in the way of their posturing on family values. Many in our government continue to attempt to legislate morality often with disastrous results.

Anyway...... There is some irony in New York state showing this level of tolerance and progressiveness considering it is the same state that houses the majority of our financial crooks and swindlers. Too bad the legislature couldn't focus on that. The chief crime fighter in that state was Elliot Spitzer who fought Wall Street while attorney general, but managed to get caught in some adulterous behavior as Governor of the state. You don't here much out of the NY Attorney Generals office on prosecutions these days, do you?

The media outlets continue to focus on moral issues which arouse the fanatics on both the right and the left. While our focus is on these issues, the more critical and important political issues are left to the insiders to handle (or not) as they see fit. Indeed the right has managed to convert purely religious issues into political dialogue, forgetting or ignoring the separation of church and state so crucial to our constitution.

This has gone on for so long now that we take it as the norm. Few people object often or loudly enough to force reporting about the real and important issues that face our country.

What are those issues you ask?

Here are just a few issues on which I think we ought to focus.

True progressive reform of our financial system, including the FED
A national debate on our continuing global military intervention and the costs to our military, our economy and our national character
An accurate assessment of our nations need for infrastructure growth and maintenance
Reform of the individual and corporate tax system with emphasis on creating skilled jobs in the US and penalizing those who send work offshore, (also corporations who hide offshore to escape taxes)
Creating a realistic national drug policy and ending the so called war on drugs, (it has had a similar effect to prohibition and created drug billionaires worse than Al Capone)
Take the money out of our elections and rescind the Supreme Court's decision to give corporations unlimited access to our politicians with no individual responsibility for the corporate officers.

There are no doubt many more issues that could be brought to mind, but if the ones above were seriously addressed we would have a much better country for our middle class.

Fat Chance? Maybe, but I continue to hope.

RT

Outrageous Hypocrisy & Picking the Low Fruit this Memorial Day

2011-05-28T17:07:00.020-04:00

I received a couple of Patriotic e-mails from a friend of mine this memorial day weekend and it got me to to thinking about Patriotism, Nationalism and the way they are currently practiced here in the Good Ole USA.

The current crop of congressman in the majority party profess extreme patriotism, yet are simultaneously attempting to further impoverish the very people they publicly venerate.

First, here's a not so subtle video concerning Congressman Ryan's budget proposal and the privatizing of Medicare.

While extreme in its content, the video does illustrate the two points made in the title. First, the current attempt to privatize medicare, if successful, will most definitely hurt seniors' life expectancy and ability to get adequate medical care. Secondly, the elderly and poor are the low hanging fruit for Republicans and Democrats alike these days.

The Hypocrisy of course is that the so called patriots will end up hurting millions of us who actually fought and served in the military. I sometimes use my VFW pin as a tie tack or wear in on my lapel when attending formal dress events. On a cruise ship someone asked me about the pin and I replied it was very inexpensive, "All you had to do was sign up for military service and go somewhere where people were trying to kill you."

To all those wanna be warriors in our congress and senate (intentionally lower case) on this memorial day; I invite you to Kiss My Ass. Real patriotism means taking care of those that fought for you, not betraying them to the moneyed interests that get you elected each term.

The last president to serve overseas during wartime was George Bush senior. Before him Reagan sat out conflict in the reserves stateside during WWII, similar to young Georgie Bush who flew in the Texas Air National Guard during Vietnam, never leaving the states. Of course our current president has no military service either and continues two wars in the middle east and occasional forays like Libya.

Too often those that have no idea of what war is really like end up having too large a say in the USA going to war. Just witness our latest conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. These long and fruitless endeavors have helped bankrupt the country both financially and morally.

A chart and study available here show that the two things most likely to sink our economy in the coming years are the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Bush tax cuts. Funny how that study never gets mentioned in congress by either party.

The effects of the recession on our elderly and most vulnerable citizens are manifested in many ways not spoken about in congress or the media.

From a study by AARP and with thanks to Ronni Bennett at "Time Goes By" here are a few of the sad statics for seniors after the recession. Oh, you can see all of them here.

24.7% of those surveyed have already exhausted their savings
12.4% lost their health insurance
49.5% put off medical or dental care due to finances

I hope our future leaders will have less selective memory and more true patriotism than the current gang. Though, I'll admit I am not too hopeful.

Regardless of the cretins now in power, I hope you take a minute this weekend to remember those that fought and died for our country, even if they might roll over in their graves at the current mess we've made of our heritage.

Hope you have a great weekend,

RT

News and othe stuff

2011-05-15T20:08:00.004-04:00

Well, by now we've all had a chance to digest the demise of Bin Laden. It is certainly good news that the mass murderer is gone. One can only wonder why it took the supposedly most powerful nation on earth a full ten years to find and kill him. It would seem that good intelligence work and highly trained special operatives proved much more successful than launching 2 unnecessary foreign wars and wasting countless lives and billions of dollars in fruitless nation building.

While the military industrial complex and the financiers of their efforts have prospered the rest of our country and the world have not fared so well. Millions still remain unemployed, the economy remains fragile with looming commodity price increases. (The speculation on oil and the rising price of gold are sure signs of a lack of faith in the US dollar and its economy)

Meanwhile our republican congress wants to balance the budget on the backs of the poor, elderly and mostly powerless majority of our citizens. How these dimwits can ignore the inequity of tax breaks to wealthy individuals and even wealthier corporations at the same time they strive to literally limit the life span and life style of the middle and lowers classes is beyond belief. Only in this country is greed and avarice considered an asset and not a vice.

Perhaps the money grubbers can be stopped, but it does not look good at this point.

On a more personal note, our family is experiencing some good news for a change. Vicki is going back to work after her last test showed no signs of her cancer. We will be getting an update on her MRI from this last week as well, and hope it will also show no signs of cancer.

Of course we had to go car shopping for her and we managed to find something she liked that we could afford, so that's great news as well. We'll be picking up her wheels the first part of next week and the following Monday she reports to work at her new job. She'll be traveling the 101 from Chandler to Tempe so we got her a more modern and bigger vehicle than our 08 Honda civic.

Also, we attended a friends graduation a couple of weeks ago at the Cardinals stadium in Glendale. It was our first and perhaps our last visit to the place. We don't go to games and don't have any other friends or relatives going to the University of Phoenix.

Both of us are looking forward to a better 2011 than 2010.

That's all the time I have today, it's time to throw some ribs on the grill.

Keep smiling,

RT

Why America has become Second Rate

2011-04-10T15:21:00.025-04:00

If you don't believe it just look at the statistics. According to which year's data you read we are not even in the top 20 in the world for life expectancy. As of 2011 our average lifespan here in the good ole US of A is 77.9 years. Now I know that doesn't sound too bad if you're 30 or 40 years old or younger, but if you are 62 then your life expectancy horizon seems close at hand.

But I digress. The for profit health care system and the resulting politics are mere symptoms of the disease. I found it clearly diagnosed in an article on Huffpost today that you can read in full here.

To summarize, it gives the unflattering and unfortunately accurate description of how the top 1% of our citizens both here in the US and in other developed countries have gamed their national and international economic and political systems to benefit themselves at the expense of the other 99% of their countrymen. One can only be appalled, amazed and astounded at their greed and avarice that knows no boundaries.

At some point the greedy bastards will kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. As the middle class of our country recedes into the dim past and we continue on our way to a national Hooverviille (or Potterville if you've watched "A Wonderful Life"), there will be less and less to exploit. Right now the current attack is on social security and medicare. The trillions in dollars that have been payed into the system by hardworking Americans is the latest target of their greed. (Though G. W. Bush tried in vain to privatize social security prior to the 2007 recession and crash.)

Along with unmitigated moneyed influence in every level of our government, there is the huge amount of misinformation and disinformation being broadcast, written, and distributed by every means available. The willing cooperation of the media and the public education system in keeping our citizens financially and politically illiterate for at least the last 3 decades has helped the demise of our middle class become a reality in our lifetimes.

We live in a time of financial vampires, failure and incompetence at the highest levels, and political slight of hand where greed is glorified and those who exercise it with no regard for the consequences rewarded.

While I am not a believer in the vast right wing conspiracy, there is no doubt that the so-called right wing agenda in our country has many, many followers and their tactics and strategy have worked well.

Our congress is currently contemplating cutting programs for the poorest and most vulnerable of our citizens while the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% remain in place. Corporations have acquired personhood through the good offices of the most radical right wing Supreme Court in my lifetime and women are considering incorporating their reproductive organs in an effort to break free of government interference. (This from a state legislature debate, resulting in the banning of the word uterus from use in the house)

State governments with republican governors and republican majorities in their houses are aggressively going after state worker unions, cutting education, health and any other programs deemed too liberal. Few have tried getting their corporate citizens to pony up any more money in taxes. In fact most have offered increased tax benefits and lower taxes in the hope of attracting jobs. At what cost to their citizens I wonder?

I have little hope of seeing the kind of political and economic revolution that will be required to right our sinking ship in my lifetime. I can however, cling to the hope that before we have a modern version of the great depression our children or our grandchildren will wise up and put the genie back in the bottle.

During World War II we thought that the advent of nuclear weapons was the beginning of the end of the world. Instead it has been the financial weapons of mass destruction and the greedy bastards that profited from them that will destroy our way of life, our sense of security and the well being of millions upon millions of our citizens in this country and the rest world as well.

Now you may ask is it as hopeless as I make it sound? It depends. If the majority of us are willing to educate ourselves enough to understand the real enemies of prosperity and take action then perhaps there is some hope.

The chances seem slim, yet I remain hopeful that some reform, some protection from the vampires, some political or financial garlic might be produced to save us before the last drops of vitality are drawn from the middle class and we deteriorate from mediocrity to irrelevance. Perhaps we'll figure out a way to make things again in our country. Can you think of the last American made TV, Car, Cell Phone, Shoes or Clothing that went home with you? Maybe we'll figure out that a healthy economy can't survive the financial services industry taking up 25% of the income. Maybe we'll understand that politicians are always playing politics with every issue, that they serve the wealthy and powerful and they cannot be trusted. Maybe we'll turn off Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly and all the other opionaters and make our own minds up about policy and practice. Just maybe.

What do you think?

RT

Who I am

2011-04-02T14:50:00.008-04:00

In my youth I considered myself somewhat of a thinker, but in truth I was more action oriented than intellectually inclined. Now in my early dotage it seems possible that I might actually become a thoughtful person.

The picture at right is my evidence of that belief. It was taken after Vicki was diagnosed with cancer but before her treatment began. We spent an afternoon at a park in Scottsdale with our kids and a local photographer. The young lady taking the pictures was both talented and creative. We have many great pictures of our kids and us together. Still, my favorite is the one shown here, because I feel

it shows me for who I am, a husband, father and grandfather. In this picture I see the resemblance to my father and vainly hope I am starting to attain his quiet dignity and calm demeanor. Admittedly I am not so sure about either of those attributes coming my way, but I do remain hopeful.

Most men think of themselves as what they do for work. At least I've managed to understand that my most important roles are those that relate directly to my family and friends. My wife has been the one to continually show this aging only child what family is really about. I hope that this picture shows that as well. I am more than content to be her partner in our lives and play whatever part is needed in support of family.

While all of us who have been severely financially impacted by the recession bemoan our work status and finances, I at least, will not fail to count the blessings of a good marriage, a supportive and loving family, and the feeling of belonging to something bigger than myself.

I hope that shows in the picture also.

It's taken me a long time, but I believe that now I am learning who I am.

Who are you?

RT

Contemplating 62

2011-03-27T00:58:00.008-04:00

Here it comes!

Next month I turn 62 and with that event there are some choices to be made.

Several people my age have advised me to register for social security at the earliest possible moment. I guess they're thinking it's better to get a small monthly amount that's guaranteed than wait and hope it will still be available later. I am of two minds and will need to do much more research before going that route.

While my imminent decrepitude has been on my mind lately, there are a lot of other things I've been considering as well.

Why haven't any of the financial fruadsters who brought down our economy gone to jail?

Why do Republicans hate the middle class?

What was John McCain smoking when he brought Sarah Palin onto our political landscape?

How many wars are enough?

Will we eventually be marketed to death?

Why can't the brains behind our car manufacturers use technology to increase gas mileage instead of filling the car with more expensive and mostly useless tech distractions?

While we're at it, who thinks the new Camaro looks like a Camaro?

What are the millions of people who are currently unemployed doing about it?

What is anybody doing about it?

How much money and how many yachts are enough for Wall Street folks?

Who really runs our country and most of the civilized world?

How many more ignorant gun laws will the Arizona legislature pass, and shouldn't we make these people pass an intelligence test before allowing them to make our laws?

Who really feels the need to carry a gun into a bar, a church or a school and why?

And last but not least, how much whiskey will it take for me to keep my sense of humor while watching our state, our country and our planet deteriorating before my very eyes?

Keep smiling if ya can,

RT

Cancer Free !!!

2011-02-26T14:14:00.006-05:00

Vicki met with her chemo doctor on Thursday of this last week and received the results of her PET scan. The results could not have been better. She is cancer free. The rigorous and intensive radiation and chemotherapy treatment regimen, along with the prayers of our support group have done their job.

The chemo doctor congratulated Vicki on going through a rough treatment schedule and told her she should give herself a pat on the back. I join the doctor in these sentiments. Vicki's attitude has been the key to her successful treatment in my opinion. While no cancer patient can completely escape thoughts about the potential consequences of the disease, Vicki kept her eye on positive actions for her treatment and allowed herself to be supported by friends, family and neighbors.

We were blessed with a terrific support system. Our two oldest daughters played key roles in Vicki's treatment travel scheduling and moral building. Other family members and friends chipped in as well and there was never a lack of people willing and able to help with transportation to treatments, companionship and just being there for her.

I have never been prouder of my daughters than during this time and my oldest daughter continues to amaze me with her warmth, love and support. It is a very rewarding experience for a parent to realize his daughter has become such a fully formed and vibrant adult friend, companion and partner in this time of life and death decisions.

As I look back on the very first day we learned of Vicki's cancer during her initial operation I recall the family members present that day and know now that I should never have worried about support from these folks.

I cannot thank enough all those who kept Vicki in their thoughts and prayers these last months.

Never the less, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, from the bottom of our hearts.

God Bless you all,

RT

"Movin on Up"

2011-02-04T20:01:00.007-05:00

If you've forgotten, Valentines Day is this month. It is also the month that Vicki and I get our tax records together, pick up a copy of turbo tax and sit at our computer to plug in numbers and figure out if we're getting from or giving to the IRS.

Well the good news is that we're getting a return. The bad news is it won't be very much. You see I made the transition this last year from unemployed to working poor. I didn't know I was the working poor till I did my taxes. That's when I understood what the financial crisis, the recession and the results of these events meant to me.

Even the federal government (not necessarily the most understanding of entities) thinks I'm the working poor. Which is both Tragic and Ironic because at the same time I see the very evidence that I'm poor for the first time in over 20 years, the Veterans Administration is revoking my status and telling me they want to charge me for some prescriptions I got through them when I was unemployed. Go figure, huh?

I suppose it's funny in a kind of fucked up, only in America, middle class desolation kind of way. Anyway if you don't laugh at this crap it will drive you crazy and I can't afford to go in that direction any further if I want to stay employed and semi-viable in today's society.

At my age I concern myself with things like remembering that Joe Walsh was the lead guitarist in the band "The James Gang". I listened to an album of theirs on the way home from work today. For the life of me I just couldn't remember his name, even as the lovely guitar riffs wafted through my civic. By 6:00 PM I'd given up and fired up the computer to "Google" the band's name. Just at that point the name "Joe Walsh" flashed into my addled brain.

So...... Anywho, While I am thankful to be employed and know we're blessed to have the insurance that comes with it, it would be even better to actually be employed at the level appropriate for someone of my age and experience.

Perhaps next year I will have achieved the next level, which I'm thinking will be just underemployed or something like that. Hard to make the distinction, but I'm sure I'll have it figured out by next January.

I want to finish with a great clip from Bill Maher.

Keep Smilin,

RT

Not missing 2010

2011-01-16T13:15:00.009-05:00

In spite of the recent news from Tucson about an evil little prick with a gun shooting various government officials and innocent bystanders, I welcome 2011 and say a not so fond farewell to 2010.

I hesitated to comment on the Tucson story because it seemed like a natural extension of our state's gun policy. Literally anyone can purchase a weapon in Arizona and this is what comes from that sort of lack of regulation. It is really no different than allowing the blind to drive if you think about it. Many of our citizens are not mentally equipped to own weapons, it's just that simple. I feel bad for the victims, but I'm already sick of hearing about it and especially hearing about the perpetrator and the pundit's opinions.

Here in cancer world, where I live, our lives revolve around Vicki's treatment schedule, her follow-up appointments and related scans and tests. This next week will start her 5th chemo treatment cycle. It has gotten harder on her each time as her immune system fights back against the chemo drugs. With luck she will pass her blood test on Monday and this next treatment cycle, the second to last, can begin. While her spirits remain high, each successive treatment week takes more and more out of her and reduces her strength.

That's why I welcome 2011. This can be the year we say goodbye to her cancer and hello to remission and cure. In 2010 we had her surgery, diagnosis, radiation and chemo. God willing we will have her cure and return to health in 2011.

So in spite of the unhappy local, national and international news, I still look forward to this year and I damned sure won't miss 2010.

Best to all of you out there,

RT

Twas the Night Before

2010-12-24T13:22:00.005-05:00

Well, here it is. We made it to Christmas Eve in one piece. It hasn't been all that easy this year. Vicki's diagnosis of cancer in August has dominated our lives since that day she had surgery and the tests from the biopsy came back positive.

We've been fortunate that she's received the best care possible, though recently her Chemo guy has pissed me off. She has had two times now that her white cell count has been so low she couldn't take her chemo. This last Monday she failed her blood test again and came down with a nasty lung infection. I thought we were going to have to admit her for pneumonia, but the chest x-ray came back OK. She's been on a strong antibiotic and coughing up junk all week, but today she is much better.

We now know that the celebration of our anniversary where we were out and about among hundreds of people led to her infection. She just can't be around a lot of people with her immune system so weak.

Still, we are happy to be together this Christmas, to have the love and support of family and friends during this time of our lives and thankful for all the good things God has bestowed upon us.

So here's my Christmas offering for all you yuletide revelers:

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the valley
Bikers were out at some Harley rally

And Turkeys were fried and baked and roasted
While holiday celebrants were getting toasted

Old Codgers played golf and shot for the green
dodging the Ducks and Geese on the scene

The freeways ran smoothly at least for a while
till you came to an exit where stores sold high style

And our children prepared for Santa's coming
While father's struggled with overloaded plumbing

Cause our families come together at this time of year
causing some anxiety, confusion and fear

But it's still a great time if you hang on tight
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night

Peace and God's Blessings to you this Christmas,

RT

Friday Funnies and not so Funnies

2010-12-10T19:20:00.005-05:00

My best friend Jack sent me an e-mail claiming to be me on you tube. The clip was an interview with an Irishman concerning his opinion of what were the root causes of the recession. The gentleman is both profane and profound. Enjoy.

John Stewart speaks to Obama's dissatisfaction with the American Public. As usual it's funny and poignant. Not much more to say about this. Here's the link .

That's all I've got on the humorous side. Here's a link to Christopher Hitchens (not a guy I can say I like or often agree with, but this time he's right on. Read him here.

OK, that's pretty much it for me this week. I am supremely happy it's Friday. My immediate supervisor (in front of his boss) in our team meeting today asked me if I liked my job. I told him NO I did not. He then asked me why I was still there even though he knows very well I need the insurance for Vicki's Cancer treatments. This guy tries to be a bully and intimidate folks, but in this case he just came off as being a jerk.

Hope your weekend is fantastic. Remember there's still 14 shopping days till Christmas. So get out there and stimulate our economy if you can afford to do so. Regardless, take a minute and contemplate the true meaning of this most precious Christian Holiday. For those of us who believe it's time to celebrate the birth of the World's Saviour. Not a bad reason to sing with joy if you've got it in you'

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

RT

Another Milestone

2010-12-05T16:10:00.002-05:00

We completed 50% of Vicki's chemo this week. That's the good news. The not so good news is that her 4th chemo week will be the week before Christmas. It's sure to make her depressed and make it harder for her to enjoy the holiday. Still, I am determined that we will have a Merry Christmas.

This next week I'll be haunting the local mall looking for presents and surprises. Hopefully I'll be able to find nifty gifts to help cheer her up.

We also will be celebrating our 24th wedding anniversary the last Sunday before Christmas. Luckily it's before her next chemo, so she should be up for dinner out and maybe even a dance or two.

I've got the Thursday and Friday before Christmas off. That should allow me to look after her closely following her 4th chemo treatment.

Here's hoping that you and yours have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

RT

Seriously and Satirically Thankful 2010

2010-11-24T20:08:00.004-05:00

Like many folks who have found jobs after a long stretch of unemployment I am thankful to have a job this year.
Likewise I am doubly thankful to have insurance
I am thankful to have a nice clean decent place to live and food on the table to eat
I am thankful to have reasonably good health for a person my age
I am thankful to be married to a wonderful woman
I am thankful for all the kids and grandkids we have
I am thankful and grateful for the great support system of friends and family that help us during Vicki's cancer treatments
I am thankful that today was Vicki's last Radiation treatment (#30)

On a lighter note I am thankful I was able to miss Sarah Palin's book signing here in Phoenix today.
I am thankful that the new congress will not be in session till next year
I am thankful that George Bush can never be president again
I am thankful that at least 50% of the population has common sense, though the people who are in that 50% percent are not the same all the time
I am thankful that for 4 days I will not be answering the phone for work
I am thankful that football is a winter sport (though the season gets longer every year)
I am thankful that I will not be driving, flying or commuting by train to some distant location during this holiday break

And I'm thankful that Cigars and Whiskey do for me these days what pot and Boone's Farm Apple Wine did for me in the 60s

Happy Thanksgiving,

RT

27 Down

2010-11-19T21:39:00.007-05:00

We've just ended week 6 of Vicki's treatments. They have included 27 radiation sessions and 2 chemotherapy treatments. This next week we will complete the 30 radiation treatments prescribed for her cancer and also the 3rd session of chemo.

I will be celebrating these accomplishments over a long Thanksgiving weekend. Both of us will be happy to end the daily visits to St. Joes for radiation. In fairness I should say that the folks at Radiation Oncology are great. Vicki has received the best possible treatment available and the staff is superb. That being said; we will not miss the trips or the treatment. I can see the effects of the radiation on her face tonight and the redness and swelling is apparent.

Her doctor has told us that the radiation will continue to have effects for a few more weeks and then slowly dissipate. We look forward to that.

The chemo will go on for a total of 6 cycles which should take us into late January of 2011 or early February. After that it may 2 or 3 months before she will be tested to see how effective the treatment regimen has been.

I pray every night that this will end our fight with her cancer and we will be able to look forward to a more normal life and schedule. Cancer world is a very different place to be.

One positive thing that both of us can take from this is all the wonderfully brave people we've met at the radiation and chemo centers. Some of these folk's stories and trials with surgery and treatments are scary and heart breaking. It brings to mind the story of the man who bemoaned having no shoes till he met the man who had no feet. Every time we go to the hospital or the chemo center we meet someone whose situation is so much more dire than our own. It gives one pause.

No matter what you condition or situation remember to count your blessing.

Wish us luck,

RT

Election Night Blues

2010-11-02T22:39:00.005-04:00

OK, it seems the pundits may have gotten this one right. The Dems have lost the house and we will have our first "Orange" speaker of the house. Good luck you republicans, you'll need it. After two years of obfuscation and obstructionism the new majority will be forced to actually do something. If recent history tells us anything the damage will be done with continued weakening of any governmental oversight of the financial sector in particular and corporations is general.

The result will no doubt be good for the already wealthy and devastating for the growing lower classes and even middle classes now struggling for their very survival in the new American economy. So hold on to your wallets cause most of us are going to get slammed if they manage to pass the legislation on their agenda.

In my world, where cancer rules, we moved into week four of Vicki's treatment. Week two included 36 hours in St. Joes, some of it in the emergency room. We got out though and she's doing fine now. Week three was just 5 radiation treatments and one visit to the chemo guy for a followup. That week went pretty smooth. Oh, somewhere along there Vicki's hair fell out and I shaved my head to match. We are a pair of baldies now.

This week (#4) of treatment has been two chemos with another tomorrow along with the daily radiation treatments. My oldest daughter took Vick to the Monday and Tuesday sessions and I will pick it up tomorrow and through the rest of the week.

Vicki is doing well considering all the cancer treatments she's receiving. Her attitude remains superb and I gain strength from her positive outlook and faith.

So.... election or not, win or lose, life as we know it goes on. The good news is that we've seen the last of a season of the most obnoxious campaign commercials ever aired. Surely there are several places in hell for these responsible for the political ads this year. May they roast for eternity.

RT

1 Week Down, 23 to go

2010-10-17T16:38:00.006-04:00

We've successfully completed the first week of Vicki's treatment. It consisted of 10 separate appointments, four of which were radiation and 3 chemo. The others were an outpatient minor surgery for her port placement, a shot at the end of the week to counteract the effects the chemo has on her bones and another one that I forget what it was about.

So now we have two weeks of just afternoon radiation, with one exception. They will be doing a needle biopsy on a tumor in her side that we all believe is not cancer. Even so, the doctors want to be sure. So she'll be in St. Joes on Tuesday most all day between that and the radiation.

Hopefully the results of that test will be negative and we can focus on her health and state of mind during these next 6 months. We went out and found her a recliner chair today that will allow her somewhere to hang out without being in bed all the time. Currently she is using the couch. The last couple of days she's been asleep by 5:30 in the afternoon. She is going to be a morning person. They told us there would be some times during the day when her energy level would be at its peak and it seems that time is the first few hours after she gets up. After that she is tired and not really feeling that spiffy.

My two oldest daughters have been a great help during this first week and Bridget the oldest will continue after her sister Jamie goes back to Enid on Wednesday. I admit to enjoying the time spent with the girls, but wish it could be under other circumstances. Jamie has stayed with us during the week and went out to her sisters on the weekends and that has worked out well. She'll be back here this afternoon and we'll start the new week off with an afternoon radiation session on Monday.

All in all it feels like things are going OK at this point. I hope and pray that continues till we defeat her cancer and she's cancer free.

Wish us luck,

RT

The Last "Pre-treatment Weekend"

2010-10-10T17:46:00.002-04:00

Things will get busy starting Monday. So we took the opportunity this last weekend to spend time together. Friday night we hung out and Saturday night we went out for dinner, dancing and some gambling at a local Casino.

It was the right thing to do and I knew it when Vicki told me on the way home last night that for a few hours she'd forgotten the upcoming trials of Chemo and Radiation therapy. For just a few hours we were just a couple having a good time on a Saturday night. Sometimes that's all you can ask.

We've been given the schedule from both cancer treatment groups and Vicki has 9 separate appointments for treatment next week. It will be hectic to say the least. While we are blessed to have some of the best doctors and technicians in the country at Barrow's Neurological, the offices for Chemo are at some distance from us and the hospital. It means we will be spending a great deal of time in transit from home to one and then the other treatment location. The tightness of the schedule has already caused some stress and tension, but we have put a plan in place to handle it next week.

My middle daughter Jamie is here for another week from Oklahoma and she along with her oldest sister Bridget are taking Vicki to St. Joes on Monday. That day she will get her port for chemo and her first run through for radiation. She is freaked out about the mask she must wear during radiation. It fits her face extremely snugly and holds her head in exact position.

Tuesday she and I will be going to her almost day long first chemo session. During this one they will give her two separate drugs and couple of liters of saline. This takes 5 and 1/2 hours. Then from there we will drive down to the hospital for her first radiation. That takes no more than 1/2 hour or so total. Still, it will be a very long first day of treatments.

Wednesday and Thursday she gets a one drug chemo treatment lasting about 2 hours and again radiation after each one. Then Friday she gets a shot at the chemo Dr.'s office for bone marrow loss and then another radiation treatment at St. Joes. During all this I will attempt to got to work all the days but Tuesday.

The next three weeks will be daily radiation and then the fourth week we start with combined chemo and radiation again.

This is scheduled to continue till she's had somewhere between 28 and 33 radiation treatments and 5 or 6 chemo cycles. That puts the total treatment time to around 6 months. Hopefully by February or March she will be done with all this and cancer free.

Anyway that's what I'm hoping for.

RT

Cancer treatment schedule begins

2010-10-02T16:21:00.003-04:00

Now that we're deep into it even Saturdays are not safe from calls from Doctor's offices about upcoming treatment appointments and various other necessities of the oncology related culture.

After breakfast this morning my wife informed me she'd received a call before I got up confirming her appointment to have a "port" installed at St. Joes to make her chemo easier.

There will be potentially 3 chemo and 5 radiation sessions during her first week of treatment. In addition there are other tests, shots and procedures upcoming.

On Tuesday of the coming week we go to St. Joes to have her mask made. This device will hold her head in exactly the same position for each of her 28 to 33 radiation sessions. There will be focused energy on specific parts of the interior of her skull to kill the remaining cancer cells that her surgery did not remove. The simultaneous chemo (done the same day) is supposed to enhance the effects of the radiation and also pickup any stray cancer cells in the rest of her body.

Vicki sat down this morning at the computer and printed out a schedule so we can determine who will be going with her for what treatments. My goal is to be with her for all initial procedures, but I may have to miss the placement of the port so I can keep my hours at work up enough to stay full time and therefore keep my insurance.

Our middle daughter Jamie is coming in from Oklahoma to stay for two weeks and she will be going with Vicki to some of the appointments.

The hardest part for me seems to be letting go and allowing others to help. My two oldest daughters are awesome adults and I guess its time I let them show it.

I had a dream that life would get less complicated and slower as we grew older. I am constantly disabused of this notion. Still, its better to be active and fighting than the alternative.

Wish us luck,

RT

Sunday, Sunday

2010-09-26T18:38:00.008-04:00

We're just hanging out today watching the Cards and the Raiders. The lead has been going back and forth, so at least it's interesting this week.

We had another eventful week last week with Vicki's 2 MRIs and PET scan at St. Joes on Thursday. We will meet with the radiologist on Monday to review the results. We met with the team coordinator for the skull based tumor group at Barrow's Neurological Institute on Thursday as well. She explained the team's history, goals and approach to treating Vicki's cancer. One thing has happened to bring an extra level of uncertainty and frustration to my wife's world.

She woke up the morning after the tests with an unexplained swelling on her side, which remains still. Because of this we will go in early on Monday in case they need to send us somewhere else for help or diagnosis of this new issue. It pretty much bummed Vicki out and pushed her into into tears of frustration and fear.

It is hard to think outside of our immediate needs and situation, but I am still able to be appalled at both local and national politics. On the local level our esteemed Sheriff Arpaio is under investigation for potential misuse of an estimated $80 million dollars of taxpayer money. A local add about Brewer is attempting to associate her with the private prison company responsible for allowing the escape of three dangerous inmates and the murder of two more innocents before they were apprehended.

The national seen is worse with the Dems folding on shutting the door on charity for the rich. The Bush era tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% seem to still have enough support from both Republicans and Democrats to be renewed. The sad truth is that no matter what party is allegedly in power; money still rules our government at every level. Now, with the effects of the recession it is extremely aggravating to watch the rich get richer and the poor continue to get poorer and poorer.

And as if that weren't enough, the nutjob teapartiers, (those brilliant patriots and conservatives, just ask them) have gotten the right wing fringe fully engaged in the national arena. Some even hope for a Palin presidential run in 2012. Are we really that stupid? Maybe!

I must admit to serious disappointment with the achievements of this current administration and the Democratic party as a whole. They have once again managed to shoot themselves in the foot instead of seizing the initiative and being productive. The time is now past when effective reform for the financial sector is possible. That ship has sailed. The Dems allowed the Republicans to stymie and dilute the health care initiative and everything else they put forth.

And now we are blessed with the most devisive and ineffecient congress in many years. I truly dislike modern day republicans and their policies, but the Dems would be better served if they learned from their ability to execute a plan.

Especially troubling to me is the seeming "coupe de grace" of the right wing in demonizing "Big government" and immunizing "Big business", as if unelected CEOs and corporate hacks care more about social justice and national welfare than the people we elect to protect us.

I remain dismayed out our national naivete and the continuing ability of the right to be bamboozled by the Madison Avenue types in charge of Republican and now Tea Party strategy and tactics.

I guess the only thing to do is laugh. Without some humor it would be hard to live in this country at this time.

Best to all

RT

Labor Day 2010

2010-09-04T15:09:00.006-04:00

It's that time of year again when we say goodbye to summer pleasures over the labor day weekend and get ready for school, fall, elections, winter holidays and all things long sleeved and cozy. We will be hanging out this weekend around the house and enjoying the three days off. This is our Labor Day.

Labor day has an interesting and perhaps unknown origin in Canada going back to the 1870s. For a look at the history of this Holiday go here. To summarize the history; it began as a celebration of trades and trade unions and evolved into what it is today. It is ironic that we find ourselves in the worst time ever for unions and trades in the US. Starting with Reagan killing the air traffic controllers union and moving forward through the massive exodus of manufacturing and value added jobs from our country to the takeover of our economy by wall street, we have witnessed the fastest and deepest decline in the value of work since the great depression.

I count myself as lucky to be holding down a job with benefits in this economy. Without a job we would have no health insurance. The events of this week made me all the more aware of the precariousness of our situation. My wife had surgery this week and was diagnosed with cancer. Currently we await the results of the biopsies to know what we will do next. It feels like swimming in a sea of uncertainty.

My hope is that the stage and type of cancer will allow quick and successful treatment. In this coming battle we face I know that attitude is everything, so I am doing my best to stay positive and supportive. I am also focusing on enjoying every minute, no every second, with my wife from this moment forward.

I remain extremely hopeful for our personal situation, but remain less than optimistic about the future of labor and labor unions in our nation. The toxic politics of the Republican party have managed to demonize everything beneficial for the working class by masking the war on the middle class in issues like gay marriage, abortion, immigration, regulatory reform and taxes. I fear for our country that the so-called conservatives will take control of congress and move forward on useless foreign wars, massive defense spending, tax cuts for the rich and loose to nonexistent oversight of the financial powers that brought this country so close to economic collapse just 3 years ago.

So while I will be enjoying the time off to spend with my sweety, I will not be celebrating Labor Day so much as grieving the demise of its namesake. Somehow it feels more like a wake than a Holiday to me.

RT

Of Work and Play

2010-08-16T19:51:00.006-04:00

Working for the man in the 2010's is a different gig than it was in the 60s and 70s. For one thing the "man" is just as likely to be the "woman" and for another the "man" may well not be human at all. I have the great pleasure (insert snarky tone here) to have both things going for me. My immediate supervisor is ostensibly a nice young woman 30 years of age, but in actuality I work for a computer. It tells me when to start, when I can take a break and when I can go home. If I have a temper tantrum at not being able to sign out for break(old man needed to Pee) and happen to drop oh let's say a dozen calls, it rats me out to some pernicious little weenie in the home office that tracks me down, writes me up and gets me fined a week's worth of commission. Ain't corporate life in post recession awesome?

Now to be clear on this I do not object to working for a woman, but I would at least like her to be older than my own children. Seriously, it's like working for your kids here. Secondly if you have to work for a computer then make the thing smarter, faster and more helpful.

Recently a corporate weenie decided a call I answered took too long and wasn't focused enough on auto glass, even though the customer's question was something entirely different. Again there was a write up and another attempt to fine me a week's commission, but this time I objected. We had a meeting with another supervisor up the line, listened to the call and had the warning (a final written one) voided. All this during the week I was the number 5 salesperson (by commission paid that week) in the telephone sales department. There are about 900 people in my position.

I took the opportunity during the last meeting to encourage the management (read people my kids age) to be more positive and uplifting to the employees. We fire or someone quits here almost every day. The turnover is incredible, really outrageous, but due to the economy there is a fresh group every week or two.

Anyway...

Play this weekend consisted of chilling out. My wife had a couple of grandkid's parties to attend and I was still bushed from our trip last weekend. During that weekend we spent the night in the hotel at the Apache Gold Casino in Globe, the next day traveled to Pine Top and then came back Sunday through Payson. The total miles covered during this circuit was 454. Loved the trip with the exception of the new photo speed trap at the entrance to Show Low coming in the main highway. The damned thing flashed me and I await an overpriced ticket in the mail. So this weekend was used for rest and relaxation.

I did watch the Cards win on Saturday. The game started in old style Cardinals fashion, but in the last quarter they pulled in out. I wouldn't have thought to watch, but the young lady who sits next to me at work is the girlfriend of one of the players. Having a personal connection made it more interesting. She is a great young woman and not the kind you'd expect as an NFL players sweetheart. She is shy, hardworking (going to school full time to finish a graduate degree, teaching soldiers in the National Guard on Weekend duty and working 30 hours a week as well). She has impressed me with her independence, drive, and fortitude. Yet the small minds that make up our management at work have failed her miserably. She needs a Monday-Friday schedule starting in September to allow her to perform her national guard duties more fully and they have managed to botch up the effort. It looks like she will find other employment. At that point my personal connection to the cards may evaporate.
Well at least I watched one game.

Things are much the same and then not like anything or any time before. Life goes by faster now and leaves a little less to remember it by. I suppose when fall finally gets here and we can emerge from our air conditioned cocoons I'll cheer up.

RT

Saturrrrdaaaaaay Afternoooooooon

2010-06-19T16:44:00.006-04:00

If you lived through the 60s and have enough brain cells left to remember the Jefferson Airplane and a singer named Gracie Slick, you may understand the manner in which today's blog title is written. If you didn't and you don't, Oh Well!

My better half and her mother are spending the afternoon at my daughter's hair salon, so I've got time to watch a little world cup, a little golf and surf the net for the latest news.

The first thing I found on the Huffington Post this morning was an interview by a high school student of a long time Arizona legislator who chairs the committee on education. Sort of an oxymoron really, I mean education and a committee on education in the Arizona legislature.
Anyway, the boob doesn't know his own voting record and the fact he voted to cut $550 million bucks from the same program he says he supports. You can read the article and see the video HERE.

Then over John Amato's Crooks and Liars is this fantastic video from C-Span of Democratic congressman Sheldon Whitehouse giving a detailed and chilling account of how corporations have infiltrated the very government agencies that are supposed to be regulating them. That article and commentary video(I warn you it's long and windy and full of hyperbole, but still accurate) can be found HERE.

I stopped in at the sight called Hysterical Raisins and found this amusing account of the Republican Senator who felt the need to apologize to BP for being extorted by the Obama administration to pony up $20 billion for a fund to help the victims of the Deep Horizon continued oil pumping. (It ain't a spill folks, they're just pumping 50-75 thousand barrels of oil directly into the Gulf of Mexico.) You can check that out HERE.

Well that's enough political claptrap for me this week. The weekend is way too short to start off with, so there's a limit to how much time I'm willing to devote to contemplating the seemingly unstoppable decline of our society and nation.

The summer doldrums are upon us here in Phoenix, with temps each day over 100 degrees, so the best thing you can do is hang out at the pool or inside in the AC or make the trek up north on weekends to escape the heat.

I wish you well

RT

Random Sunday Thoughts

2010-06-06T15:02:00.005-04:00

BP OIL - How about some criminal charges for those who knew they were risking disaster and proceeded anyway? And while we're at it, what will the Gulf of Mexico and the rest of the world's Oceans connected to the gulf by currents look like with MILLIONS OF BARRELS OF OIL in them?

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO THE LEAK - slow, inept and let's face it, quite impotent. It becomes clearer and clearer that regardless of the party or leader in office that corporations run our planet with minimal oversight.

ARIZONA'S IMMIGRATION BILL - It's hard to believe it will have any significant effect on the amount of illegal aliens in our midst. It has however sparked debate on what we are willing and able to do about our ever changing demographic. And of course it reinforces the idea that we here in Arizona are backward, illiterate racists.

FIREWORKS, GUN LAWS AND GUNS IN BARS - Though this is old news it still bugs me that our state legislature is able to spend time on these laws but can't find the time or smarts to help with our state's fiscal issues.

JOHN MCCAIN AND WHAT'S HIS NAME HAYWARD - This dude (Hayward not McCain) has always reminded me of the cartoon character that said "and now for the Norts Spews." Whatever their party comes up with will be immaterial to me and many other voters.

THE NEXT SUPREME COURT JUSTICE - Since the selection of George Bush by the court is has become more and more important to get someone on the court who is even slightly liberal. This is why the republicans fight so hard on these appointments.

THE DEFINITION OF CONSERVATIVE - I have long wondered what exactly is supposed to be conservative about a party that abandons the middle class, worships the wealthy and powerful and wreaks havoc on the few protections given to the common man. Two wars (at least one totally uncalled for) billions wasted on killing people and worsening our position in the world and these people call themselves conservative. Sounds extremely radical to me.

THE ECONOMY - For some reason the markets have been surprised that jobs have not bounced back. These are the same folks that oversaw the exodus of manufacturing during the last 3 decades in search of better quarterly results. Really? Now you're surprised?

BEING A HOCKEY FAN IN ARIZONA - Each year I look forward to the NHL playoffs and the Stanley Cup. I don't follow the rest of the season because I don't have cable and I don't care till the playoffs. This year NBC carried the first two games and will carry the 5th game today. We were able to see game 4 over at the clubhouse here in our development while enjoying the buffet so that worked out great. It took me a while to get over the way the Coyotes played in game seven against the Red Wings, but I'm back to rooting for the underdog in the Cup finals.

WORK HAS CHANGED - I'm working as a troop these days, just one of many, many others. It is a daily lesson in humility. I've fought for a decent lunch hours (yes, one that falls somewhere in the actual time you eat lunch) and won due to a doctor's note. Now I'm in a similar battle over a decent work station that doesn't cause the arthritis in my neck to incapacitate me after a day's work. Again a doctor's note has been required to get even minimal action. I will be bringing in a footstool to help mitigate the pain caused by the replacement chair that gives me enough height to work the keyboard, but denies me the ability for my feet to reach the floor.

WEEKENDS ARE WAY TOO SHORT - Enough said!

RT

Memorial Day this Year

2010-05-30T19:57:00.014-04:00

I have often griped in the past about not having a veterans day off. It went on like that for more than 3 decades since my release from active duty. For some reason every time it came around I had to work. It has not been the same with Memorial Day. This year will be the first in my memory, going back at least 30 years or so, when I WILL be working on Memorial Day.

I should be thankful that I have a job and believe me, I am. It's just that this year I was drafted to work on what would otherwise be a paid holiday. It doesn't feel like much of a Holiday if you're working does it? Oh well, that's life in the post recession corporatocracy we like to call the good Ole USA.

Many of my fellow employees are in the same boat. We will spend 4 hour shifts tomorrow answering calls about auto glass pricing and scheduling. It seems our busy country and populace require instant auto glass gratification. So while you are basking in the sun on the beach or considering the plane, train or auto ride home from the memorial day trip, I will be there for you if a rock dings your windshield or a vandal or thief breaks your drivers door glass and makes off with your Garmin.

Of course the real meaning and purpose of Memorial Day usually gets lost in the drive to maximize vacation time and leisure. If you're interested in the genesis of this holiday, then please go here. The official date of inception is May 30th 1868. A union general named John Logan declared this day as a time to put flowers on the graves of union and confederate soldiers.

So................ Whether you're working tomorrow, finishing your holiday or just hanging at your house, please take a minute and contemplate why we honor the millions of soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines who gave their lives fighting battles in the name of our country.

RT

What I like about spammers

2010-04-01T23:21:00.002-04:00

It seems that a couple of dweebs out there among the vast intertubes of the overnet think that blogs are just places for them to post their crap.

Not so much really.

So; to those who continue this pernicious pastime, let me just say this.

Someone was passing around the rumor that you eat shit and run rabbits.

I disabused them of this falsehood by telling them outright that you don't like rabbits.

As on my other blog, comments will now be moderated.

RT

False Economy

2010-03-27T16:37:00.003-04:00

As I watch Butler and Kansas State battle it out for a place in the final four, I thought I'd post today on the cost of our Walmart based economy.

The idea of cheap (not inexpensive but definitely CHEAP) Chinese imports dominating our domestic retail economy hit home once again today when I filled our Hummingbird feeder. Yes we did cheap out and buy the least expensive one at Lowe's and yes we knew there was a good possibility that Hummingbirds would be less attracted to it than other more costly ones. What we didn't count on was that it would leak.

After the first filling of the feeder and the resulting red stains on my patio, I moved the offending item to a tree a few feet into the yard. Now each time we fill it we must take precautions against the incessant leaks.

The awful truth about this is that even should we go back and buy a higher priced one, it may well leak as well, due to shoddy engineering, poor manufacturing and general cheapness.

There was a time in this country when we made things. Americans produced socks, shirts, pants, shoes, toasters, TVs, lamps, cameras, furniture, and thousands of other sundry items we use each day in our lives. While the highest quality items of domestic origin were pricey, there were still plenty of lower cost options made in the good Ole USA. Not so much now.

Have you tried to find a reasonably priced pair of shoes that wasn't made in China, Pakistan or WhereEvertheFuckistan lately?

The most heavily advertised and purchased brands like Nike, Sketchers and others are made everywhere but the US. The manufacturers say it's too expensive to make them here. What they don't say is that the profits made from using cheap foreign labor are just too tempting to pass up. That's the real bottom line.

The almighty buck, as witnessed by the recent bailout of the despicable financial sector, is all we've been about for since at least WWII and maybe waaaay longer than that. I yearn for the time when converse lowtops were made here and our Levi bluejeans were still a domestic product.

In my humble opinion the only thing that the advent of massive cheap imports has done for this country is burden our landfills with millions, perhaps billions of pounds of cheap crap hardly worth buying in the first place.

If and when I replace the defective feeder, I will force myself to attempt to find one made somewhere else than China. If I get lucky, I might even find one still being made in my own country.

Wish me luck.

RT

Old Dog, New Tricks

2010-03-14T14:41:00.005-04:00

I got a job!

Believe it or not, it may be possible for an old dog to learn new tricks. I successfully completed my first week of training at my new company. This training week consisted of classes, computer use and a smidgen of role playing for handling incoming calls.

I was happy to score 100% on 4 of 5 incremental tests, with a score of 95% on a computer navigation segment (old dog, new tricks, right?) and on the final I got a 99%. Not bad for a guy who is perhaps the oldest employee at this location.

Anywho....

Next week the rubber meets the road. My class and I start our shifts (they vary in starting times and length) with mine being the 6:00 AM to 2:30 PM shift. I feel blessed to have a full time job with a great company (Safelite Autoglass) and the potential to grow with the new location.

My job is that of a Customer Service/Sales representative. The operation of which I am a part handles calls from all over the US and we are able to quote prices, schedule work and handle the logistics of service and install from a central location. The organization and attention to detail required to move thousands of pieces of auto glass around the nation on a daily basis is truly amazing. I admit to feeling pretty good about being a part of a company that is well run and efficient.

On top of all this my commute is short. I filled the Civic with gas on Saturday and calculated my daily commute costs at less than $2.75 a day. Sweet!

Now I just need to relax and do the work. Wish me luck.

Oh and to all you folks out there still looking for work; don't give up hope. If I can do it then you can too.

RT

Supreme Court or Supreme Crap?

2010-01-29T14:12:00.003-05:00

Like many political junkies and progressive advocates I am currently suffering from extreme issue fatigue. (If you haven't heard of this then you are obviously not thinking enough)

With the economy still faltering, unemployment above 10% and moving higher; with health care reform turned into a bad joke and financial reform a laughingstock among the informed, and of course there's those two pesky foreign wars we've been waging for years, it makes one just plain tired.

So the latest ruling by the Supremes should really come as no surprise, though to me it does seem a bit like piling on. The Superlative nine decided in all their wisdom ( well actually it was really a 5 to 4 vote) that what our political system needed most was more money from special interests. Hey, you can't make this shit up, they said it. Corporations are people and they have the right of free speech as much as any real person!

And what speaks louder and more freely than millions upon millions of corporate dollars spent on attack ads, yellow journalism campaigns and distorted reporting?. According to the top echelon of our judicial system, .....nothing.

If I had to register my disappointment with the actions of the administration, the houses of congress and the Supreme court it would be up there with my admiration of Hitler, Maddoff and Jack the Ripper.

I am a believer in personal freedoms and rights, not corporate ones. This latest abomination shows clearly that the we've lost control of our government.

The saddest part of this to me is that we will be subjected to more and more political BS for longer and longer periods of time. The already almost never ending election cycle will become filled with dreary, tedious, and mostly erroneous political bias guaranteed to misinform and dupe the sheeple. We can all look forward to continued episodes of political suicide where the masses vote time and again against their own self interest.

There's nothing like gun control, gay marriage or abortion to cloud the more real and pressing issues out of the spotlight and put more ideologues and monocrats into public office.

Oh Goodie!

RT

Christmas 2009

2009-12-24T13:36:00.009-05:00

First and foremost I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas.

You might find your circumstances somewhat changed this year from Christmases past, or you might be one of the fortunate folks who are prospering in the current economy. Either way, I hope you take the time to enjoy family, friends, and this most special Christian Holiday.

Vicki and I will be attending the Lutheran Version of midnight mass (11:00 PM) tonight and spending Christmas afternoon with our oldest daughter, our grand kids and Vicki's parents.

Both of us went out this week to shop for each other and I finished my shopping yesterday. I wandered the malls, looked at women's stuff and finally managed to pick some presents for my spouse.

In this I feel blessed, there are many this year without the luxury of having even the minimal funds I possess to buy gifts. Take a minute if you can and say a prayer for all those less fortunate when you celebrate tomorrow.

I'll leave you with this bit of tomfoolery.

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the House (well, really the Senate)
The Health Care Bill was circulating amid death threats from Senator Bennett
The amendments were hung throughout the Bill's tree
But hidden were possible so the voters won't see

While the bankers and Wall Street pulled strings as they could
Like our Congressmen and Senators were puppets of wood
And the foreclosures continued right on through the Season
Though the parties involved could not see the reason

And the Airlines and Trains and Buses and Cars
Ate up the petroleum we import from afar
As our citizens traveled to visit their kin
To forget the predicament our country is in

The weather got feisty with storms and with snow
Affecting our progress and where we could go
To deliver the presents and our shiny faces
To loved ones in various cities and places

But in spite of the contemporary circumstance and challenges faced
Old Santa's still coming with Reindeer well paced
To deliver the goodies on his annual flight
Saying "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Rich and Vicki

RT

Catching Up

2009-11-18T23:40:00.003-05:00

I have not written in several weeks due to other pressing activities. Vicki and I have been rehabilitating the house next door for her parents. They were fortunate enough to sell their home in this market and are moving at the end of the month into a rental that's smaller, less expensive and more suited to their needs at their age.

I met the homeowner next door some months ago and eventually talked to him about renting to my in-laws at a reduced rate if I put in the labor to fix the place up and make it habitable. Since Vicki was available as well, she jumped in and together we cleaned, painted the interior and oversaw the tile contractors that replaced the flooring in the baths and the kitchen. The project (at least as far as we are concerned) ended today. The house is looking great. We finished hanging Levelor Blinds in the master bedroom, painted the entry double doors, caulked all the counter tops and bathrooms, hung a ceiling fan, installed a doggy door in the master and myriad other tasks.

We will be moving at the end of the month as well. We've leased a "Villa" (just a fancy duplex) on the golf course across the road at Oakwood (a gated community in Sun Lakes) and will start moving on the 27th.

So.... As you might guess, we've been very busy.

While all this was going on I received word that a man for whom I worked at Lodi Door died on Sunday the 15th. He was just 58 years old, two years younger than me. I worked for him for several months, played golf with him, called on customers with him and was a proponent of hiring him when my good friend Jack went to another company.

The folks at Lodi are a close-knit group and I don't doubt he will be sorely missed. I know Jack will feel the loss of a friend and co-worker as well.

Life is a strange business at best; full of surprises, pitfalls, happy accidents and tragedies. The events of the past few weeks remind me that it's not so much what happens to you as how you handle it.

Take care of yourself, enjoy your friends and family, live on purpose and thank your God for each day given to you.

RT

An Economy run by Burglars

2009-10-20T13:24:00.003-04:00

If you know who Matt Taibbi is and what he writes about, then you'll appreciate this.

RT

When do we get it?

2009-10-20T09:42:00.002-04:00

Where's the outrage?

RT

It's about time!

2009-10-05T11:46:00.002-04:00

What he said.

RT

2009-10-03T00:01:00.012-04:00

As always please refer to the Raven's Nest for information about wordzzling.

The Ten Word Challenge: family, cheese cake, 20 years ago, refrigerator, laugh and the world laughs with you, bath brush, zombies, African violets, butterflies, holding hands

The mini: monsters in the closet, roughly, bowling, menu, Pennsylvania

My Last Wordzzle:

I will miss the weekly Wordzzle challenge. The people who read my work and whose work I read have become like an on-line family to me. And the words kept me guessing as to what would be on the literary menu for each week. Yet, like most goods things, this too must come to an end. After a year of a summer of my discontent (no job, 113 days in Phoenix over 100 degrees and still counting) and with my wife finally back to work and doing very well thank you; I have determined to fill my days with supporting her efforts, looking for work, writing seriously (if only I could) and generally being a 110% productive househusband till I am once again gainfully employed.

This effort leaves roughly zero hours a day and not many more a week to apply to internet writing. It might surprise some of you to hear this, but keeping house, fixing meals, shopping and the other varied pursuits necessary to provide comfort and care for your spouse is a full time job. I knew this before but was damned glad to be out of the house each day working. Now the joke (so to speak), is on me. I am keeping a good attitude and humor with the old adage in mind; "Laugh and the world laughs with you." It certainly beats the alternative.

No departure from the Wonderful World of Wordzzle would be proper without thanking the creator and literary hostess, Katherine at the Raven's Nest. I have greatly enjoyed my long distance relationship with her and consider her a great blog friend as well as a talented writer. Katherine resides in Hancock New York, a town just across the border from Pennsylvania. She is currently having her home remodeled and has graced us with progress reports and pictures of everything from her new refrigerator to a bath brush. (OK, maybe not a bath brush)

One of my favorite writers and readers is Dr. John. He writes from both his Castle and his Dragons' lair at Fandango. I have been consistently amazed at the exploits of 012 and the amazing poetic talent of his dragons.

There is no denying the imagination of Betty who introduced me to invisible Penguins and other hard to see animals. I always enjoyed the exploits of the various critters and their humans.

Speaking of imagination,Stephen has certainly shown me the depths to which a new world can be created in his writings. Jay at Bailey's Buddies entertains each week with tales of Phrog and the Salamander sisters. C.J. at Pro Atrz spins wonderful stories which leave me yearning to go on an archeological dig or some other adventure. Still no signs of Zombies yet, but who knows what she'll think of next. It's hard to tell what Monsters in the closet she has in store for us.

The folks at Reston Friends delight each week with a variety of poetry and prose. It's like getting coffee and cheesecake for the price of just one. Then there's Gabrielle at Wild Goose Scoops the Moon. (Man I love that blog title) and many others who have come and gone in the year or so I've been writing and reading the Wordzzle at the Raven's Nest.

I will often reflect on the varied styles and talents of the Wordzzle writers as Vicki and I, holding hands, take our evening walks now that the weather has finally cooled. In the past, perhaps 20 years ago, when Vicki still belonged to a bowling league and I coached the kids' baseball team, I would have never thought to write or meet people on the internet. Back then I would have gotten butterflies in my stomach just thinking about having to write something, especially weekly and with a deadline. My writing ability in those days paralleled my one experience with growing African Violets, which was sad indeed.

It has been a great experience for me to participate in Wordzzling. I can only hope that you get as much from it as I have. With all this practice at plot and character development, dialogue and narrative, perhaps I will find it in me someday to actually write a real book.

So, with no further ado, I bid you all farewell till next we meet amongst the electrons and packets of the ethersphere. Thanks to all for writing and reading.

RT

2009-09-26T00:01:00.001-04:00

It's at least ten times better if you go by the Raven's Nest and check out the other stories.

This Week's Ten Word Challenge: Tibetan sky, symbols, won’t you come home Bill Bailey, shadow figures, brain cortex, practice makes perfect, life, start of school, lavender, chow down

The mini: mental hospital, falling leaves, apple cider, packing crates, clues

This week's Episode: Endgame

Laughlin, Nevada-Police headquarters.
McCool and Jean had come down to the cop shop to say goodbye to the team. The captain thanked McCool for his help, adding that under usual circumstances the town seemed less of a mental hospital and more like an elderly friendly Vegas. Thomas admitted this trip had been a bit more than he bargained for and commented that the falling leaves of the Cottonwoods along the river signaled it was time for the couple to head back to Phoenix. "Besides, I can only take so much of the good life here in Laughlin" he laughed. Both he and Jean thanked everyone for their kindness and the couple promised to come back as soon as Dan and Carla set a date to tie the knot.

"With the most difficult case in memory all but wrapped up, it's time to give my fragile brain cortex a diet of golf, old movies and "Survivor" he added with a grin. With farewells said to all Thomas and Jean drove their new 2010 Honda Civic Hybrid across the bridge and headed clueup the hill to I-40 and the trip home. Both would be happy to exchange the chase for clues and suspects for their normally more laid back existence in Phoenix.

Washington, D.C. the Hoover building.
Sgt Johnson sat quietly in his office and contemplated the results of the interrogation of the killer from Laughlin. The suspect had been surprisingly cooperative. Johnson had watched him chow down after the flight from Phoenix to D.C. and then seated himself opposite the man. His name had been revealed as Fred Dumphreys. He was ex-military special ops and had contracted with the CIA in the 80s. The story he told took him around the globe from lands beneath Tibetan skies to the back yards of financial barons in the Hamptons. He stated plainly that he had always been an assassin of one sort or the other. "You know the old saying, Practice makes perfect; well I guess you could say I didn't practice enough since I got caught" he offered. Johnson explained to the man that the shadow figures in his world didn't normally come to light, but in this case they'd received the results of an interrogation of his client and that had given the good guys the edge. "I had never worked for this client before "Fred volunteered. “The offer was just too good to pass up" he added. "Two million dollars upon completion of the contract and I could retire." "I should have known better than dealing with a flake" he concluded. "Your flake confessed to 23 murders and several billion dollars in real estate fraud" Johnson told the killer. "She's dead and you're going to live the rest of your life in prison unless you have something to tell me that is worth saving your miserable ass" the FBI man shot back. Johnson had no respect for murderers no matter how skilled they were.

"Well how about a lead on the largest drug smuggling ring in the world that just also happens to be the major funding source of the Taliban in Afghanistan?" the killer asked, "Would that be enough for some slack here?" he asked. Indeed it was more than enough. Johnson called a contact in Homeland Security and they transferred the prisoner to their facility. The information led to the exposure of a producer of apple cider that was smuggling opium in liquid form into the U.S. and laundering the money before it went to supply weapons, bribes, and all the other expenses necessary to fight American forces on a world wide scale.
The elicit drug had been designated in the packing crates with special symbols on the IBM bar code and allowed the stateside distributors to pull the proper bottles and reconstitute the opium.

It would take several weeks, but the information would allow the government to stop two thirds of the influx of heroin from the Middle East and keep billions of dollars out of terrorists' hands.

The killer would spend a couple of years in a country club jail and then be released back into the population.

Basra, Iraq a sidewalk cafe in the center of the city.
Somehow Charlotte had made it across the border and into the relative safety of Basra. It had taken two days to have her account in the Cayman's wire money to her location. After that she found a source for papers and ID. When she got back to Europe she'd have her own man make better documents, but these should work for now. At least she was clean and alive. The first thing she'd done after bathing was to buy clothes. Though there were few shops for western women's clothing, she found sufficient attire to travel. Today she wore a lavender head scarf that made her pale skin shimmer. Charlotte sipped her coffee and watched the young Iraqi children pass by her table. Someone had told her that today was the start of school and the kids were happy to be safe enough to walk the streets again.

The following day she would cross the border again but this time into Iran. She'd hired a car and driver for the trip from Ahvaz to Tehran. Once in the capitol city she'd fly to Greece and then on to France. Charlotte let her mind wander to what the world had in store for her and found herself humming "Won't you come home Bill Bailey" under her breath. She had to admit that in spite of her ability to speak enough Farsi to communicate here that she would be damned glad to get out of this region of the world that seemed stuck in the 13th century.

She looked up as a young Iraqi girl that looked to be no more than 12 approached her table. Smiling, the young girl uttered the phrase "Allah Ahkbar" and then pulled a cord at her vest. Charlotte's world exploded. The over pressure from the proximity to the blast shattered every bone in her body and in the millisecond while the shapeless and dead form of the former serial killer remained erect it was eviscerated with steel shot and nails traveling in excess of the speed of sound.

The blast killed several other foreigners who were at the cafe as well. What Charlotte had forgotten was that she was a symbol of the oppressor in a war zone. The oversight had proved to be fatal.

In the end in turned out that the Saudi's hadn't lied at all. Charlotte did actually die while trying to escape, if just a few days later than reported. The prince and princess had thought about warning the McCool's but found out that Charlotte had been spotted in Basra and had actually viewed a video taken of the blast from a government building across the street. The quality of the images was enough to see the startling emerald eyes of the serial killer open wide in the instant she knew she was going to die.

Fini

RT

Wordzzle 81 - A stitch in time saves nine

2009-09-19T00:01:00.001-04:00

Whether dressed to the nines or in your jammies, don't dream of doing the Wordzzle without checking out the Raven's Nest first.

This Week's Ten Word Challenge: dangerous, engine, sullenly, bespoke, evergreen, bauble, medicine, freight, destined, tinsel

The mini: carbon, feelers, outright, ballet, fizzing

This Week's Episode: Almost Home

Washington, DC the Hoover Building. The last missive from the Kuwaiti government concerning Charlotte/Connie/ Constance had arrived. The fact that it had come through State again bespoke volumes on its credibility. "The Kuwaiti government was sorry to inform the United States, but the criminal in question had attempted to escape after her interrogation and been fatally wounded during this action." While Johnson had no doubt that Constance Lawler was a dangerous serial killer, he doubted the timing of her death. It seemed more than likely in his opinion that she succumbed to the interrogation techniques in use in that part of the world. Or perhaps she was murdered outright by her interrogators when they were done with her. He would put out some feelers with his contacts overseas, but doubted they would ever know for sure how she died. The one thing he did believe however was that she was indeed dead.

Kuwait, a jeep in the desert headed towards the Iraqi border. Charlotte would have been surprised to know that she was already reported as deceased to the Americans. She felt very much alive indeed. After completing the carnal ballet with the young lieutenant, she had sullenly, but charmingly pleaded with him to allow her to adorn herself with a bauble from her make-up kit before servicing him further. This behavior played right into his ego and further fueled the engine of his desires. He commanded her to make herself becoming for him while he went outside to relieve himself. When he returned she was attired in a short skirt that looked to be made of little more than tinsel and was bare breasted. The lieutenant felt he was destined to a day or two of sybaritic vacation before his men came back from the small village to which he'd sent them. By that time he would have administered the medicine which would end the infidel woman's life. He had decided it would be a sin to mar her beauty when killing her.

Charlotte had quite different plans and hers were the ones that took precedent. When Amir joined her back in the tent she used the incapacitating powder and within minutes was gone. But not before she undressed him (she needed his uniform) and shot him through the head at close range with his own pistol. Her plan was simple. Make it across the Iraqi border and head to Basra. There she could use her one remaining account to acquire funds, papers and make travel arrangements. She knew that Iraq was still a war zone and her chances of escape were better there than in Kuwait. If she made it across the border she felt she would be home free.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Martin and Jane had traveled back to Jane’s home town after hearing from Johnson about Charlotte’s death. It seemed unlikely now that she would somehow return from the grave and threaten them in this peaceful setting. Jane had missed the streets lined with evergreen trees in the old neighborhood where she’d grown up. Even the passing freight trains brought back pleasant memories of warm sunny days at the park waiting for a train to pass and the walk to the root beer stand. She could almost taste the fizzing bubbles of a root beer float now. As a matter of fact she would take Martin to the Hires drive-in for a treat right after closing. First though they would close on their little house on the outskirts of her old stomping grounds. There would be plenty of time to settle in to life back in America.

Bullhead City, Arizona, the banks of the Colorado River. The killer’s plan had worked to perfection. He found himself drifting slowly towards his targets and quite close in to shore. He took the first shot and watched as the target fell, though he failed to see the “pink mist” that should accompany such a shot. He put it off to the dim light and took aim at the second target. The funny thing was that it hadn’t stood up. The natural reaction to someone getting shot right next to you is to stand up, though experienced professionals will do the opposite and get down. In this case the target seemed frozen. No matter, he would take that as good luck. While sighting in on his targets he failed to see the electric boat slip in silently behind him from upstream. When the 1 million candle power spotlight hit him he was more than surprised. “Drop your weapon now” came from a loudspeaker immediately to his rear. He turned to be confronted to by an FBI special weapons team in full combat gear including state of the art carbon fiber body armor aboard a 20 foot pontoon boat. The killer dropped the rifle to the deck of his boat and kneeled as they handcuffed and then searched him.

Only later would he find out that he’d failed in his mission and had damaged two robotic doubles and nothing more. But even attempted murder on two people carried stiff prison sentences and he was likely to get the maximum. His only option would be to cooperate with the authorities on solving other contract hits. It was a double edged sword, but if he played it right he could actually live to see the world outside a lockup again.

RT

2009-09-12T00:01:00.001-04:00

Wordzzle 80

Take a turn past the Raven's Nest Drive-In and get all the dope on the program.

This Week's Ten Word Challenge: Charitable, alligator, tribute, drunk, slave, preparation, carrots, mountainside, propeller, lark

The mini challenge: chisel, worship, suicide, organic, plus

This Week's Episode: Desert Nights

A tent in the Kuwaiti Desert. Lieutenant Amir Al Kasishada had seen few women like the one tied to the center pole of his tent. His ancestors might have had fine slave wenches in their tents when they fought the Turks, but that had been many centuries ago. She had made herself up nicely after her interrogation; so much so in fact that she merely appeared drunk rather than abused. The interrogator had given the lieutenant little information concerning the woman's crimes other than she had offended the royal Saudi family in a major way and would not be allowed to live.

Charlotte smiled once more at the young officer. She knew it would be suicide to move too soon. First she must make the man so enamored of her that he would be unwilling to share her. Amir approached her with a combination of arrogance, ignorance and eagerness. The predator in her undertook the preparation necessary to accomplish the life and death task she faced. Not unlike the way an alligator can wait patiently near the banks of a river for its prey; she would wait till the lieutenant was clearly within her power before she struck.

Once he untied her she stayed on her knees and slowly unzipped his uniform trousers. It was here she would start the process. She would worship his member and body like it was that of a god. She needed to motivate him to get rid of as many of his men as she could. Charlotte engulfed him with her lips and uttered a moan so real and organic that the young man almost came in that moment.

The South of France, the Vignoire Estate. Count Vignoire was surprised to receive another visit from Inspector Georges De Solemaone. He was even more surprised when the officers accompanying him arrested his housekeeper. The old man and the inspector sat in the parlor while the gendarme explained that he knew who Charlotte really was and also that the housekeeper was slowly killing him with South American parasites. "I was just waiting here to die" the old man explained. "Why don't we put that off till your time has really come?" asked the inspector. By the time they were done a new live-in nurse had come out to the estate from town and the Count was being seen by a physician that still made house calls and as an added plus would start the treatment to eradicate the exotic parasites. Inspector De Solemaone left the estate with the feeling that he'd actually made a difference in the tragic life of one very sad old man.

Laughlin, Nevada. The dusty mountainside that stood above Casino row was filled with double and single wide trailers that housed the dealers, clerks, and assorted other workers that were fortunate enough to rent these relatively cheap and close to work abodes. Sitting at the very top was a water tower. Atop this tower were two surveillance techs borrowed from the Nevada State Police. It was somewhat of a tribute to the little Laughlin PD for their work in the uncovering of a serial killer and serial fraudster that they could get this kind of help on short notice.

The two techs had both night vision and infra-red scopes. From their viewpoint they could see over a mile of the river, the McCool's condo and all approaches from the Nevada side. If they spotted an individual with a gun the whole department would know immediately. The Bullhead cops and Arizona State patrol had the Arizona side covered.

McCool’s plan involved a modified carrot and stick approach to capturing the killer. In this case the “carrots” were two life sized figures made up to look like the couple. It would have been less than charitable to call these decoys “dummies“. They were really more like actors. These were specialized robotic doubles used in film making that had been donated on a lark by an L.A. producer who’d been swindled by the Hollingsworth/Liplin team. The FBI had not had a use for them till now, but Sgt Johnson was glad to help when McCool called. While not perfect, they would seem very lifelike from a distance in the dark.

Jean was staying with Carla while Dan and Thomas staked out the area. They had gotten the decoys set up ahead of nightfall in the belief that the killer would not come out before dark. In this they were lucky. The killer didn’t resume his surveillance of the McCool’s Condo till 9:00 PM and by that time the team was in position and the decoys hard at work. A technician controlled their movements by a wireless controller and made the couple shift in their chairs, move their arms and seem to take a drink from their glasses.

The assassin watched for just a few minutes and then headed down to the marina. He had rented a boat earlier in the day and made a copy of the key. He would cut the chain holding the boat to the dock, push the boat away to float downstream before starting the engine and then set himself up for his shooting run. A small tripod would steady his 223 custom sniper rifle with scope and silencer. He was an expert shot with this weapon. The current ran slowly past the McCool’s condo and his plan was to run upstream and drift back down with the current. He would be careful and go slowly. The last thing he wanted to do was to run aground or hit a rock in the shallows with the propeller and become stranded in the river. Using any lighting was out of the question, so that meant no running lights as well. After the hits he would cruise to the airport dock and catch the ten o’clock shuttle to Vegas. He loaded his gear into the boat and pushed off.

Bullhead City, Arizona outside the McCool's condo. Directly below the condo the shoreline had been built up with large rocks and boulders. McCool situated himself behind a large boulder on the upstream side and Griggs found a spot on the downstream side. They had been waiting since nightfall. McCool's legs were starting to cramp and he needed to pee. He glanced at his watch and noted the time, 9:43. The only thing they'd seen in the last 1/2 hour had been a fishing boat slowly heading up the Colorado with its lights out. Since then nothing. He had become so bored that he'd used his pocket knife to chisel "TM loves JM" into a piece of sandstone next to him. After this was all over he would bring Jean down here and show it to her.

His earpiece squawked from the lookouts on the tower "Boat coming downriver, possible gun setup on bow". The com network lit up with double clicks as the team stood ready. This could be their guy.

RT

Idiot Congressman

2009-09-10T14:45:00.004-04:00

There is nothing quite so galling as a Liar calling another person a Liar.

For those who were watching the president's speech on Health Care to both houses of the congress last night you were witness to that event.

Representative Joe Wilson, a republican rep from South Carolina was the culprit in question.

A look into this moron's past record and history will explain it all. He was an aide to Strom Thurmond, head cracker and bigot of the beltway for decades. It seems Joe is attempting to take his place.

Bite me Joe.

RT

Wordzzle 79

2009-09-05T00:01:00.001-04:00

Go by and say hello to Raven at the Raven's Nest. She is the originator and facilitator of Wordzzle.

This Week's Ten Word Challenge: Spam, perpetual motion, sprinkle, telephone pole, stains, alphabetical, surgery, flattery, liberty, preservation

The mini challenge: shadows, singularity, Florida, caterpillars, copy

This Week's Episode: Chances

Laughlin, Nevada. The killer tried his luck at the tables in the Colorado Belle while he waited for nightfall. He knew better than to not gamble. That would be a sure giveaway if the presumed investigation that followed the killings looked for anomalies. Of course he did wear a baseball cap, sported a very good mustache, (fake but movie quality) and wore glasses. He enjoyed the perpetual motion of the casino floor and the security of being in a crowd as well.

Later he would scope out the targets' residence from a perch in the shadows across the river. At some points the Colorado is quite narrow and the section in front of the McCools' condo was less than 250 yards wide. It had been almost too easy to locate his prey. The leasing company's alphabetical listings of temporary tenants had provided him with the McCools' address. With the help of Google maps he'd found their condo and been happily surprised to see it was on the water. He would take the shots from a stolen boat, catch a shuttle to Las Vegas and fly to Florida.

Around 11:00 PM the killer took up a position across the river from the McCools' condo. It came complete with a cottonwood tree and a nearby telephone pole to give the assassin a better view if required. He sited through his binoculars and found the sliding glass doors of the condo in question. He could see two couples sitting in the living room. He had not found good recent picture of the targets, so he would wait till the other people left to confirm the identities. If they came out onto the patio tonight he would put the plan in motion. It required just the slightest singularity of events, the couple on the patio by themselves, to provide him the opportunity to make the kills and secure his commission.

Kuwait, a bunker in the desert. Charlotte had been interrogated three separate times. The first had broken her, the second had been recorded while she was under the influence of sodium pentothal and the final one had been for the pleasure of her interrogator and to assure nothing had been held back. The stains on her now shredded gown contained blood, urine, feces, semen, saliva and various other substances the interrogator had felt appropriate for the final session. It would not be undue flattery to say that the interrogator was as good as one gets in the Middle East. Charlotte had revealed all of her crimes; the 27 murders, the various and sundry financial frauds and the gigantic fraud committed against the Saudi Prince and the American people.

In spite of all she had endured there was still the will within her crazed being to fight for her liberty. She would do whatever it took to accomplish the preservation of her life. There had been two things, two bits of information she'd been able to keep from her torturer. She held on to these bits not because of any great strength or bravery, but because the man failed to ask her about them. While he had put her through all the agony and humiliation, even threatening some radical and unpleasant surgery on her face and figure, she would have told him anything. He needed only to have asked, but he didn't. So Charlotte didn't tell him about the account number hidden in her cosmetics or that she kept a powdered version of her custom formula for incapacitating her victims with her mascara.

The interrogator was not Turkish as she had thought, but she had been close. He was an ethnic Kurd from northern Iraq. He had left her in reasonable but weak shape to allow the drivers and guards some fun with her before her disposal. It had been known since the first interrogation that her deeds against the royal family would not be allowed to see the light of day. It was royal pride and honor at stake. They could afford the money, but not the humiliation of being taken by an infidel and a worse, a woman. She was to be eliminated after she was drained of all useful information. The tapes had been passed on to the Saudi security messenger and now she was just another plaything for the group before they were dispersed.

Washington, DC, the Hoover building. The tape came in through the state department. It was fortunate that Sgt. Johnson had been there to receive it. He was reviewing the footage with his team when it came to the part about the last phone call Charlotte made to a hit man. The targets were the McCools. He grabbed his cell and dialed Thomas. “Thomas, how are you?” he asked. “OK, I guess” McCool replied. “I was stepping out on to the patio to check the weather when you called” he continued. “Looks like this coming storm might at least bring us a sprinkle” he finished. “Do me a favor and step back inside a minute, will ya?” Johnson asked.

Bullhead City, Arizona. McCool had listened as Johnson told him about the tape and Charlotte’s plans. He fired up the laptop in his office and after deleting the annoying spam from the health care wingnuttia, he found the e-mail and attached video sent from the encrypted site at the Hoover building. The addendum stated in legalese that this was a classified copy and not for distribution. McCool finished watching the portion sent by Johnson and went back out into the living room. Once there he told the group of Dan, Carla and Jean what was going on. Jean strolled casually to the patio door and pulled the vertical blinds closed. A few calls were made; one to the captain of the Laughlin police and one to the chief in charge of the Bullhead city police. There was no description available for the killer, but they could start by looking at late fly-ins.

In a little over half an hour they had a plan and Dan and Carla left to go back over the bridge to Laughlin. The McCools locked up and went to bed. Thomas put a chair in front of the sliding glass door on the inside and put his home protector shotgun next to the bed. He prayed he wouldn’t have to use it.

Kuwait, outside the bunker. The interrogator had allowed Charlotte to put on makeup and clean herself up for the drivers. He supervised the packing of the equipment, the loading of the trucks and then locked up the bunker. He wanted no part of what was to come. He left the Kuwaiti lieutenant in charge with the responsibility of disposing of Charlotte’s body when they were done with her and drove away towards the border. Charlotte was presented to the young officer as both reward and charge.

Charlotte knew she would have only one chance. She smiled at the young officer when he entered the tent. She would be careful but swift with this one.

Laughlin, Nevada overlooking the river. The killer had watched as the visiting couple departed the McCools’ condo. He took the opportunity to confirm the targets' descriptions. He watched as one of the many caterpillars that infested the cottonwood tree under which he crouched swung lazily on it's thin silken thread as the night breeze blew down the river. If the couple didn't come out on the patio tonight, there was always the next day. The weather report called for storms and a cooling trend. He knew would get his opportunity before the week was done.

RT

Wordzzle 78

2009-08-29T00:01:00.010-04:00

Raven can tell you all you need to know at the Raven's Nest.

The Ten Word Challenge: records, impulsive, really cool, bread crumbs, angels, Sponge Bob, magical moment, back and forth, suffering, good fences make good neighbors

The mini challenge: side effects are generally mild, clingy, rooster, samples, curiosity

This Week's Episode: Answers

Kuwait, west of the Al Burgan oilfield. The bunker had been used by the Kuwaiti forces to fight the Iraqi invasion, then as a command post for American troops during the aftermath. It had sat empty for years till just a few days ago. The trip by truck, car or ambulance to the bunker from the airfield at Al Magwa was several hours through the desert. There had been much travel back and forth in the last few days. Any oil field workers that might have noted the activity could have only thought that the trucks were headed to the frontier for work at the border because they knew better than most that good fences make good neighbors.

Charlotte awoke in a sitting position. She was fastened at the wrists and ankles to a cold metal chair. Her attire was a thin cotton robe open at the front. Attached to her nipples were alligator clamps that had wires running to a small metal box with colored lights and dials. The air smelled musty but very dry. The room she was in was windowless and dark. A man who appeared Turkish or mid-eastern was speaking to her. "The side effects are generally mild if you answer promptly and truthfully" he stated. "Where am I" Charlotte asked. Instantly she felt a terrifying shock in her breasts. She screamed in pain and horror till the shock stopped.

"We are not here to satisfy your curiosity" the man said sternly. "That was one of what can be many and various samples of your continued suffering if you fail to follow my directions implicitly" he added. "Nod your head if you understand me" he commanded. Charlotte nodded her head as instructed. "There are no angels here" he continued, "but there will come a magical moment when you tell me all." Looking at Charlotte intensely her interrogator asked "Tell me your name?"

Washington, D.C. the Hoover building. "Special" special agent Rodgers had spent two months looking into the finances, investments and businesses of the deceased Charles Hollingsworth. The records that he reviewed told of a massive interstate real estate fraud encompassing California, Arizona, Nevada and not surprisingly, Florida. This operation was clearly not the result of impulsive risk taking, but rather cold calculated financial action. The ex-con- artist turned FBI agent respected the art and artifice necessary to pull off a scam worth billions. The really cool part was that he had found it and figured it out. Perhaps his next office would have a window. After all, no one but him had been able to follow the financial bread crumbs that lead to the Liplin/Hollingsworth partnership and in doing so had uncovered the largest real estate fraud in the history of not only the United States, but the entire world.

Laughlin Nevada, the airport. The man in the Hawaiian shirt stepped off the little twin prop commuter from Phoenix. His appearance was nondescript by design. No one would remember him. He'd received a call for a job on Monday morning while shopping for a Sponge Bob Square Pants lunch box for his 6 year old son. He ex-wife had given him a shopping list of back to school needs and he knew enough not to disappoint her or the boy. Even a contract killer feared some things and an ex-wife was one of them. He'd listened intently to the instructions and raised his eyebrows when the caller mentioned the fee. With the amount of money he would get from the completion of the job he could buy his son a whole classroom.

Laughlin Nevada, the McCool's condo. Jean slipped into a clingy teddy, the kind that Thomas had told her for years that he loved to see her in. Their plans were to watch a good movie with dinner and wine, and then she would invite the horny old rooster to take advantage of her. It never took much asking. But that was actually one of his good points.

RT

Wordzzle 77 - A pair will do

2009-08-22T00:01:00.001-04:00

Double your understanding of Wordzzle by visiting the Raven's Nest.

The Ten Word Challenge: blind panic, apartment, fleas, soap operas, Cajun cooking, free and easy, legal, sangria, public school, new

The mini challenge: class, calendar, keeping secrets, boring, fashion

This Week's Episode: Let's Make a Deal

Charlotte received two unexpected pieces of bad news on Monday morning.

The first was contained in a small article on page 5 of the L.A. Times. It concerned a fatal two car accident on Getty Center Drive in which the occupants of the smaller vehicle ( a Honda Civic) walked away unscathed and the driver of the much larger SUV was killed. Charlotte couldn't believe the luck of the McCools or the incompetence of the hired help. Obviously the people she had hired (who came with references and were highly recommended) were not of a class necessary to take out a retired cop and his wife. She would have to resort to other more expensive means.

The second bit of bad news was at first very troubling till she learned the reason for the situation. She'd gotten a call on Monday morning from a representative of Prince Akim telling her the Prince and Princess had unfortunately been called back to Saudi Arabia due to a family emergency. She was unable to get any more from the assistant, as he was paid well for keeping secrets about the royal family. He did tell her she would hear from the Prince later in the day. While waiting for the call she did some detective work of her own and found out the Prince's favorite granddaughter had been in an auto accident in Europe. The royal couple had flown out immediately to oversee her care and bring her back to Saudi Arabia.

By the time the Prince's call came in the afternoon Charlotte had finished all the boring details involved in rescheduling the contract signing. In her typical almost OCD fashion she'd prepared, she thought, for any outcome short of canceling the deal. In this she was to be surprised once again, but this time somewhat pleasantly so. The Prince apologized profusely for the delay, told her about his granddaughter and suggested she fly to the Mid-East at his expense on his official jet to sign the deal and take care of the legal matters necessary to conclude the contract signing in his country. He hinted that there might be the occasion for a quick introduction to his Uncle the King while she was there.

Charlotte demurred at first, telling the Prince she would need to look at her calendar for the coming week and get right back to him. In truth she knew of no impediment to going, but didn't want to sound too anxious. Charlotte took a half an hour to adjust to this new turn of events; thinking her life at times seemed like the soap operas her long dead mother so loved. "What was the point Mom?" she wondered. "While you were watching "Days of Our Lives", I was being gang raped in my High School" she continued. "Now my life is more real and exciting than anything those boobs that produced your favorite show could have thought of" she finished to herself. This would be the inverse of the old saw he father had used when telling her to be careful of her friends in school. "If you lie down with dogs you'll surely get fleas" he quoted to her. Well, it looked like Charlotte was going to hobnob with Kings and Queens instead, didn't it? The faux Ms. Vignoire called the Prince back and said she'd been able to reschedule her commitments for the week and would be delighted. The Prince gave her instructions to meet the plane that afternoon at LAX.

"She's coming to us" the Prince said to his wife. The Princess looked at the note Jean had passed her and the e-mail she'd received concerning the attempt on the McCool's lives. "We will find out who this woman really is, won't we dear?" she asked. "Yes beloved, our friends in Kuwait will see to that" he answered.

Martin/Mike and Jane disembarked at LAX. The flight from Manaus had been long but uneventful. Both were glad to be back in the US and yet doubtful of their safety and security in their home country. Sgt Johnson met them at the gate. He'd been surprised to hear from Martin, amazed at what he had to say and then delighted to learn who his companion Jane was and the relationship to his suspect Constance/Connie/Charlotte. As they walked away from the gate and looked out at the tarmac the Royal Saudi plane got their attention. The group watched a striking redhead board the jet. Martin and Jane just looked at each other and laughed.

"Well we won't be running from her in a blind panic for a while will we?" Martin asked. "Not if that jet is going home we won't" Jane smiled back. Johnson had watched with the pair and asked them what they had seen. They explained that the woman who they'd witnessed boarding the airplane was the one who had been looking for Jane and the very same woman that Martin saw at Hollingsworth's house. Johnson couldn't believe it. If what the couple thought was true, his prime suspect was this very minute leaving the country for parts unknown.

Sgt Johnson pulled out his cell phone and dialed the tower. He identified himself and asked for the flight plan of the Royal Saudi aircraft. He thanked the tower and rung off. Then he called the McCool's. When Thomas answered Johnson asked "Any reason the Prince is taking our suspect to Kuwait?" he asked. "Not quite sure about that" McCool answered, "but we received a request for the DNA map of Constance Lawler from the Saudi authorities this morning" he answered. "The captain called me before we boarded for the flight back to Laughlin" he finished. Johnson hung up with McCool and then turned back to Martin and Jane. "Let's get you two to our West Coast headquarters and take your statements" he said. While they made their way to the waiting Suburban he wondered if he would see his suspect again.

Dan and Carla picked up the McCools at the Laughlin airport. The four went back to Thomas and Jean's rented Condo (really nothing more than an apartment) and settled in for updating each other on events in the case. Though they'd been in contact by phone and e-mail all along it was always better to talk face to face when brain storming about murder, evidence, motives and the like.

Thomas made Sangria to go with the Cajun cooking the group had decided on, though his public school upbringing made him think beer would have been sufficient. It mattered little to him because the lifestyle that Jean and he lived was very free and easy. The conversation turned to the latest news. the group discussed Johnson's finding Martin and Jane, the attempt on the McCool's and the sudden departure of Charlotte Vignoire on the Saudi jet. There was no consensus on what that meant and until the Prince contacted them it was out of their hands.

Carla stated "Boy I'd like to be a fly on the wall in that jet". They discussed the matter some more and all wondered what was happening in the Saudi airplane.

Charlotte knew exactly what was going on. The crew had been instructed to treat her as royalty. She was the only passenger and every need was to be met. She reviewed the menu for dinner and chose the caviar, lamb, and a vintage wine. The meal had been excellent though after eating she felt somewhat ill. She felt almost as though she was airsick. She found the airsick bag in front of her seat just in time as she vomited violently into the bag. The attendant rushed to her aid taking the offending bag at once.

Tamir al Satar was doing well playing a royal Saudi flight attendant. In spite of ten years in the Saudi Secret service and 5 before that in the army special ops branch, he was always up for the royal family's special assignments. This had been one of the easiest. Just make the lady puke into a bag, put the contents in a special machine or more what looked like a series of highly miniaturized lab machines at the rear of the plane and set the equipment to send the results to the kingdom. This he had accomplished with ease. He awaited the outcome of the tests.

The pilot of the aircraft in question was wondering why he'd been assigned this flight. The plane had been worked on all Sunday and part of Monday morning to modify the rear compartment. He was told it was testing equipment and that a subject would be brought aboard. Little else was known to him other than 1/2 of his flight crew was now Saudi Secret service. Well, the pay was good and he'd spent two wonderful days in the land of the infidel doing what all the faithful did when they came to America; namely everything they couldn't do at home. In a little while he would hear if he was to continue to Kuwait or divert to Riyadh. It could get interesting from there on in.

RT

Health Care Reform and the Biggest Lie

2009-08-20T00:01:00.004-04:00

Maybe you've heard the old people raging against the government getting involved in their health care. In almost all cases these are of course seniors on Medicare. One wonders what these poor souls think the source of their medical services might be if not the government.

Still, we are treated to countless videos of seniors yelling at their representatives. I actually would like to yell at my representatives as well. But not so much about health care as other things, but that's for a different post. The masses have been infused with industry lobbyists propaganda of all sorts concerning the evils of health care reform.

Some interesting lies being told concern mandating end of life counseling, with the idea of putting old folks out of their misery sooner thereby saving the government money.

Here's a short video from Rachel Maddow on one of the lobbyist's bigger lies.

Along with this is Sarah Palin's death panel fantasy she concocted for use with special needs folks. What Horse Puckey.

But the biggest lie of all is that the government can't do anything right and we ought to fear it. Let's remember we rely on the government for all (100 %) of our essential services in one fashion or the other. The government taxes us and then spends the money on schools, roads, armies, medical research, and on and on. It's because of our government's actions that we have the lifestyle and standard of living we enjoy today. If not for government intervention and oversight the wealthy would have most of us living in hovels like any other third world country.

Our government plays an important though flawed role in standing between the greed and rapaciousness of outright capitalism and the bodies that feed the beast. If you think otherwise you would be advised to think again. The recent bank bailouts should be a signal as to what power and influence money has in our way of life. The banks will be healthy and thriving long before the rest of us come back from this recent recession. Why do you suppose that is?

So,back to the big lies and the Biggest Lie: No, the government will not convene panels to tell you when to die and the government will most certainly not do any worse with health care than the medical and insurance industry. In fact, if we are fortunate enough to have a government option, it should force some competition from insurers and providers alike. We might actually get a favorable result.

Food for thought for the reform naysayers and ammunition for the supporters.
Good Luck!

RT

Factually Deficient Republican Outrage

2009-08-19T18:59:00.005-04:00

I've known for some time that Faux News rots your brain. Now there is actually proof.

Here it is. Nuff said:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Seems it's easy to be wrong when you move too far right.

RT

Yea, what he said!

2009-08-17T14:28:00.008-04:00

You have most likely been hearing lately about the proposed health care reform bills and the outright batshit crazy rightwingnutters commentary.

Like many, I am appalled at the misrepresentations and outright lies used by the insurance industry lobbyists and their dupes on TeeVee and at the rallies.

Today, thanks to links at Eschaton, I found the following two articles from the Washington Monthly. The really interesting thing about them is that they contain e-mails from Bruce Bartlett, a veteran of the Reagan and Bush senior administrations as the basis for the articles.

If you want to know how things got this crazy, how the rhetoric got so out of hand and why there is little if any intelligent discussion on matters political these days, then check out the following two articles.

The Pennance has not been paid part 1

The Pennance has not been paid part 2

Happy Monday

RT

Wordzzle 76 - Is Thirteen always unlucky?

2009-08-15T00:01:00.002-04:00

Go by the Raven's Nest and test your luck with the dos and don'ts of Wordzzling.

The Ten Word Challenge: superlative, flea market, falling leaves, disinformation, who was that masked man?, keeping kids out of trouble, I'm a believer, bonnet in the attic, staff, generation

The mini challenge: deep in the forest, government, charming, heirlooms, flabbergasted

This week's Episode: A Bumpy Road

Thomas and Jean pulled out of the parking lot and headed back towards the 405. Jean told McCool how charming the Princess had been and how glad she was that they had met as private citizens without the government officials that normally supervised royal encounters. "It just felt like two women of the same generation but different cultural backgrounds finding common ground" she said by way of explanation. "It was nice to talk to a modern Muslim woman without all the prejudice and disinformation the media likes to spread about the culture differences" she continued.

She finished by jokingly commenting that she was flabbergasted that the Princess had not once referred to her (Jean) as an infidel during the whole time they spoke together. "They're probably a lot more modern in some ways than we are baby" Thomas smiled back. "Look at the two of them; they're billionaires, philanthropists, and grandparents, all the while running around the globe starting and maintaining charitable projects and good works at an amazing pace" he added. "I bet the majority of their staff makes more than the president of the United States" he quipped. "And their new project in L.A. called "Art on the Down Low" ought to help in keeping kids out of trouble in the projects" he finished.

While Jean and Thomas had been having this lively conversation, Thomas had been keeping his eye on a black Escalade that had followed them out of the parking lot. What had started to trouble him was that every time he changed lanes the Escalade changed with him. He'd mentioned none of this to Jean as of yet. He still thought it might just be someone wanting to make good time like he was on the fairly busy Saturday night freeway. Perhaps one of the attendees at the opening was in a rush to get home and tell their kids about some heirlooms or superlative bronze statues they'd seen tonight.

Well he knew that was BS, didn't he? He reached down and snugged his seatbelt while telling Jean to do the same to hers. "Look's like we've got company and I'm thinking you might really be on to something with the Vignoire woman" he stated. "If I were them I'd make my move when we exit" he remarked. "Just bump us in the left rear quarter and send us into the wall" he finished.

The exit was coming up, but Thomas stayed one lane over towards the center. There was a good chance that whoever was following them didn't know where they were staying so his plan was to continue on down the freeway and then double back when they lost the tail. When the time came to exit he'd make a quick move from the second lane and get off the 405 before the Escalade could make the last minute turn. They'd been running 72, so Thomas slowly picked up to about 80 mph. He looked to the GPS they'd just bought at the Mesa Flea Market the week before and saw what exits were coming up. About two miles down was a nice cloverleaf he could use to get headed back in the direction of the motel.

The pursuing SUV must have suspected something because he sped up within two car lengths of the McCool's Civic and stayed in the far right lane. Thomas picked his way through the evening traffic and put some distance between the two vehicles. This forced the Escalade to move into the center lane to catch him. The exit came up quick with the little Honda doing right at 100mph. Thomas waited till the last instant then sent the car rushing up the curving exit ramp. He used the curve and the steep incline to bleed off speed and didn't touch the brakes.

The Escalade slammed on the breaks and actually backed up a hundred feet or so on the shoulder to make the turn. The Black behemoth caught the McCool's car in the center of the cloverleaf. Thomas let the driver draw a bead on him then swerved at the last minute. The SUV skidded along the concrete wall and ruined that marvelous Caddy paint job. Thomas knew he couldn't outrun the Escalade, but felt he might possibly outmaneuver it. It would be the only way to save their lives. There was now no doubt the big Caddy SUV intended to ram their car.

"Baby, I don't think these people like us" he sarcastically remarked. "I'm a believer" Jean replied. She caught a glimpse of the driver during their last miss and he seemed determined. "They look like pros from what I can tell" she commented. "Didn't see a weapon in the passenger's hand" Jean added. "Must want it to look like an accident" Thomas shot back as he downshifted into 4th and the little 4 cylinder engine hit 7000 rpm. "Now would be a good time to call 911" he continued as he swerved again to make the Escalade miss.

Jean did just that and made sure the occupants of the pursuers’ vehicle saw what she was doing. This backfired by only motivating the driver to hit their car sooner. The two vehicles exited the roundabout headed back out the 405 and Thomas up shifted into 5th at 90 mph. He could literally hear the engine screaming as he watched the TAC hit 7500 rpm, well above the little engines red line. He had speed shifted into top gear and gained a second or two on the Caddy. It was enough for him to gain a few car lengths and put some other cars in between the SUV and their car. With the 911 call in and cops on the way, the occupants of the Escalade had to know their time was running out, didn't they? It was this thought that kept him moving the little car up the freeway and away from the black SUV.

The Caddy driver was not having it though. He charged through traffic and muscled cars out his way as he moved towards Thomas and Jean. McCool watched the progress in the rear view mirror and made a decision. He went almost past the exit, then braked hard, downshifted into 4th and screamed off the 405 back onto Getty Center Drive. Only this time they were doing over 80. The sturdy little Civic made the corner and held on. Right then the Escalade charged into the exit but was carrying too much speed. It lifted off the two outside wheels and looked as though it might roll. The driver brought in back down just in time and headed straight at the McCool's Honda.

Seeing he couldn't avoid a collision, McCool braked just enough to let the oncoming Escalade slip by to the outside. There was a terrible grinding sound as the two vehicles scraped against each other and then the Escalade was by the Honda. McCool downshifted and poured on the gas. They hit the Escalade in the right rear. This pushed the Escalade past the point of stability once again and this time the driver couldn't get it back down. The huge SUV rolled over and flipped down the ramp managing to clip the front of the Civic with one tire. It was enough to put the Honda into the wall at over 70 mph. Then it all went black.

Thomas and Jean woke up in their car with the airbags deployed and feeling like they'd just been beaten up. Jean looked over at Thomas and asked "Who was that masked man". Thomas felt around his body for broken bones and missing pieces before grinning and replying. The detritus from the collision and resulting crashes continued to flutter down like falling leaves for several minutes after the incident and what he intended to say was that someone must certainly have put a bee in someone's bonnet to cause such quick and brutal attention, but it came out sorta sounding like someone had a bonnet in the attic or something.

Jean looked at him then with some concern till he grinned again and said "Well shit, they wrecked our little Honda pretty damn good didn't they?"

At this point a fireman and a paramedic helped the pair out of their car and onto the back end an ambulance. While they were being checked out the investigating officer came over and asked if they had called in on 911. "I did officer, after the SUV attempted to hit us the first time" Jean spoke up. "Well you won't be troubled with them any more tonight" he explained, "We've got one deceased and the other with serious head trauma headed to county medical with a police escort." "The SUV and the men have no papers or any forms of ID, even the plates are bogus" he finished. "Got any idea why these guys where after you?" he said as he looked at Thomas.

"We're civilian consultants investigating some murders in Laughlin, Nevada" Thomas said. "It's possible it has something to do with a missing suspect" he finished.

Thomas and Jean and the cop finished their conversation as the couple was given a clean bill of health by the medics. The air bags and luck and Thomas's driving had combined to make what looked nearly fatal into an accident from which they walked away. The just one year old Civic was another matter. It had extensive frame and body damage. The little car's useful life was at an end.

Thomas made a call on his cell for a rental, then called into Laughlin PD and reported on the accident. After that he called Sgt Johnson in D.C. and left a message.

From what he'd learned tonight there may have been something wrong with the DNA test of Charlotte Vignoire or some other issue that caused the attempt on their lives. Unless it could have been the Prince, someone on his staff or an entirely unknown person, it just didn't make sense any other way. Somewhere deep in the forest of all the clues and facts concerning this case he knew there must be some other way to link Charlotte and the killings.

RT

Wordzzle 75 - Cheaper by the Dozen?

2009-08-08T00:01:00.002-04:00

You can get a baker's dozen worth of info on Wordzzling at the Raven's Nest.

The Ten Word Challenge: reluctant, sacrilege, territory, humiliating, master of ceremonies, gesture, dirty deed, crumbling, thaw, token

The mini challenge: official portrait, personal bank account, shoulder bone, unbearable, widow

This Week's Episode: Communication Breakdown

The Amazonia Grande made its way upriver through the territory of ancient jungles tribes. Martin/Mike had given Jane a small figurine from the last village they'd visited as a token of his affection. Jane wasn't quite sure what to make of the rotund and obviously pregnant wooden carving, but thanked him for the gesture. She was pretty sure he knew she was past the age of having babies now and just enjoyed the "dirty deed" for the sheer pleasure and sexual release.

She asked him about the figure as they walked through the crumbling ruins of a long lost Amazonian civilization and was relieved to learn that he just liked the color and facial expression of the statue.

With that out of the way she was free to enjoy the remainder of the trip up to Manaus. At that point they would have to make a decision on what to do and where to go, next.

Martin fought with himself concerning his feelings for Jane and dreaded the humiliating possibility that she wouldn't feel the same way as he did. It would be unbearable if she didn't love him as he had so unfailingly come to love her. It was for this reason that he had been reluctant to discuss their plans after Manaus. For her part, Jane had taken his timidity as a lack of concern or a cavalier attitude towards her and their future together. "I'll know when we get to Manaus" she thought to herself.

Four thousand miles away in L.A. Thomas and Jean were pulling their Honda Civic into the Getty parking lot. They had parked in the new off street parking garage and walked down two flights of stairs to street level. They crossed over Getty Center Drive to enter at the front of the spectacular structure. It was interesting to see the number of classic cars parked in the VIP spaces, including a vintage Packard with the now infamous "widow maker" doors that opened in the reverse direction. The couple had arrived early to allow time to view some of the other exhibits and then meet with the Prince Akim and the Princess before the opening of the newest exhibition, the French Bronzes.

Most of those attending this event this evening had personal bank accounts with balances in the 9 digit area. In spite of being dressed in their formal finery, (for Thomas a rented Tux and for Jean a shimmering evening gown she'd purchased for their last cruise) the couple felt a bit overwhelmed by the raw opulence of their surroundings and the attendees. They passed through galleries featuring the official portraits of the kings of industry and government before making their way to the conference room that had been reserved for the meeting with the Prince.

The Prince's personal secretary greeted them at the door and invited them into the room. There the Prince and Princess introduced themselves. The Princess gently took Jean aside and they spent the time getting to know one another. To Jean's great surprise she found the princess to be a very modern woman indeed and they enjoyed each other's tales of children, grandchildren and husbands.

Thomas wasted no time in getting to the point of the meeting. "Prince Akim, you are aware of the connections between your losses with the company backed by the now deceased Charles Hollingsworth and the woman known to you as Connie Liplin, correct?" "Yes, I met the woman one time at a meeting in L.A." the Prince replied. "We believe this woman is not only party to real estate fraud on an enormous scale, but also a serial killer" Thomas added. The Prince's eyebrows rose just slightly and he smiled fleetingly at the news. McCool sensed that a thaw in the somewhat cool reception he'd been given had taken place.

In the next half hour McCool gave the Prince all he could concerning the investigation, the evidence and the inability to find Liplin. He even went so far as to mention the Prince's soon-to-be partner, Charlotte Vignoire. This gave the Prince some pause. Thomas assured the Prince that with the results of the DNA test it would be physically impossible for the two women to be the same person. They concluded their meeting and the Prince was unable to add anything helpful to Thomas's inquiry.

At this point the master of ceremonies was calling people into the main gallery for the opening. The Prince and Princess along with various other donors and dignitaries took seats that flanked the massive podium. Thomas and Jean spotted Charlotte seated just a few seats away from the royal couple. The program included thanks to the donors, (Charlotte had given a million dollars and used her family name to help secure the exhibition of some of the French Bronzes) a special thanks to the Prince and Princess, and a hat tip to the Hollywood crowd that was fully represented there as well.

Jean knew it was artistic sacrilege, but she found Warren Beatty much more interesting than French statures. One fascinating though totally unrelated observation she made this night was that Kiera Knightly seemed to be held together by skin and her shoulder bones. At least in the dress she wore to this event it seemed that way. She kept the thought to herself till she and Thomas had time together after the show.

Shortly before leaving she excused herself from the group, including the Prince and Princess who'd stopped by to say goodbye, and went to the ladies room. Jean entered through the luxurious sitting area into the restroom proper and picked a stall. She'd just finished up when she heard someone come in. As she left the stall and started around the corner she spied Charlotte leaning over the sink and cussing in a very un-French fashion. "Goddamn this frigging contact" she heard muttered, as a dull hazel colored contact slipped down the drain. It almost sounded like a Jersey accent, though in truth it was just one short expletive ridden phrase.

Jean eased back so she could peak around the corner without being seen. She watched as Charlotte removed a bottle with a contact in it and put it in. In the edge of the mirror she caught a glimpse of a startlingly emerald green eye before the contact covered it up. At the same time she thought she might have been seen now by Charlotte. She reached back into the stall, flushed again and let the stall door slam before coming around the corner. At the sink she washed her hands quickly and exited the restroom. Jean wasn't sure if Charlotte had seen her or not. On a hunch she stopped by one of the tables and scribbled a short note. This note she put in the Princess's hand as they said goodbye and exited the museum.

The Prince's Rolls stopped at the front door and picked up the royal couple. Thomas and Jean strolled down the sidewalk towards the crossing to the parking garage. "Thomas, you won't believe what I saw and heard in the ladies room" she began. By the time they got to their car she had related the incident and the note she'd given the Princess. "I know you might have wanted to think about that, but I liked her and didn't want her and her husband to get involved with a potential serial killer" she explained. "Well just because she wears colored contacts and swears when she drops one down the sink doesn't make her Connie Liplin" he remarked. "At least she's been warned" Jean answered. "OK baby, I know you did what you thought was right, lets head back to the hotel" he finished.

Charlotte stopped in an alcove and made two phone calls. The first was to her chauffeur to bring the car to the front entrance and the second was one that she had hoped not to have to make. "It was just as well" she thought to herself, "there were much more important things to focus on than paranoia. "This was a problem easily solved."

RT

Our Outstandingly Gullible Electorate

2009-08-07T14:24:00.005-04:00

It seems that no day passes now when I don't read about or see a video of some group of right wingnuttia disrupting a town hall meeting on health care. It's obvious that they don't really care about discourse, I get that. What is painful, disgusting and very disappointing is how many are seniors who should know better.

The practice of astro-turfing has been perfected by so-called conservative groups and aided and abetted by the likes of Glenn Beck, Lou Dobbs and of course old EL RUSHBO. What get's me is how many folks buy into it. The most ironic of these instances is the old folks telling their representatives not to let the government mess with their medicare. Who do they think is administering it? It is confounding to say the least.

After watching a couple of these town halls I have lost faith in a good portion of our people and a great portion of our seniors. I have personal experience with this as well since we live in a retirement community. Old people can be as dumb, as uninformed and as nasty as any young punk you've ever met. Add to this several decades of racism, bigotry and ignorance, and the outcome is disturbing. I've seen it first hand in our community, so the events in the town halls should not come as a surprise I suppose.

Still. I am ashamed of and pissed off at my generation that seems so easily lead down the garden path by what to me are blowhards, fanatics and charlatans. Faux News, in the person of Rupert Murdoch, has had a very detrimental effect on our country and our civil discourse. Instead of objective reporting, fact based editorializing and views from both sides, a large group of our population is willingly subjecting itself to outright rabble rousing 24/7. It's pathetic to watch what should be otherwise dignified and respected seniors turned into rabble.

So let's get set for more pictures of e-mail and television political evangelist inspired shouting matches at the town halls. After all that's what the insurance companies, big pharma and the politicians that take their money want. The less logic, common sense and facts that are discussed the better for them. Because anyone with half a brain that sees how much money is diverted to non-patient expenditure in our health care system would understand there has to be a better way. And that same person would do their very best to inform themselves and push their representatives to act in the country's best interest and not in the interest of the health care industry.

What is most galling of all, is that the folks out there screwing up even having a discussion already have health care through an employer or the VA or yes, the government in the form of medicare and medicaid. So somehow these morons get the time and energy to come out and shout incoherences at officials and the debate ( a much needed one) about smart health care reform is silenced.

If we let these pushers of fear and animosity win this fight then this country is no better off than when we had Bush for a president. Think back a minute will ya? We voted that guy's party out of the white house, out of the Congress and out of the Senate. Are we going to see the victories in the form of tangible results. With the banking industry reaping profits, foreclosures increasing, jobs continuing to be cut, a failure to bring some form of equity to our health care system would be intolerable.

I'm hoping that the vast silent majority of people are more intelligent, thoughtful and forward thinking than the right wing throwbacks currently driving the media focus on health care. If not, the inequities already being reinforced by the bank bailouts will work their way into the very being of our citizens.

I wonder what all the screwballs will think when their premiums rise another 25% and their so-called co-insurance goes up to $15,000.

RT

Sunday Funnies

2009-08-02T00:01:00.001-04:00

Bill Maher tells it like it is on the most recent ignorance issue, the Obama birth certificate. Only Bill, in brutal yet hilarious fashion, can take it to the idiot right in such good fashion. Read the comics in your Sunday paper and then enjoy this:

Have a great week.

RT

Wordzzle 74 - Eleven is O' so lucky

2009-08-01T00:01:00.002-04:00

It's a lucky break for you that all the details and wherewithals on this wordzzle business is available at the Raven's Nest

The 10 Word Challenge: fair warning, hormones, journalism, philanthropist, burgeoning, running the bulls, saturation, tossed in the towel, whine, indelicate details
The mini: hard labor, lurid, quick fix, sizable contributions, trumpet

In case you haven't noticed, this is an ongoing story named the "Laughlin Series". Previous episodes are available at the sidebar.

This week's Episode: California Dreaming

Thomas had given Jean fair warning to not comment on the traffic on Interstate 10. The couple had experienced varying degrees of difficulty on the oft clogged interstate into L.A. on previous occasions and McCool preferred that Jean not tempt the fates. As it turned out they didn't get into the mess of L.A. freeway traffic till Riverside. At that point the mass of elevated figure eights, exits and entrances onto and off of other freeways hit its saturation point. Another more inpatient person would have tossed in the towel and took a surface street towards downtown L.A., but Thomas knew better.

The one thing he'd learned in his years in law enforcement was that big cities, (all big cities) have districts and neighborhoods you don't go into unless you know what you're doing. He was pretty sure that beyond finding their hotel and going to the opening at the Getty, they were clueless. So; no cutting through the hood in search of a shortcut. What the unwary traveler might think of as a quick fix could turn out to a very bad idea. The constant down shifting and up shifting might be construed by some as hard labor, but the wary investigator took it all in stride and refused to whine about the conditions.

Instead, he engaged Jean in conversation concerning the case. The lurid facts of the murders and the indelicate details of the massive frauds committed had allowed the team to fix on a suspect. Indeed it was clear to all that Constance/Connie was the killer. There was ample evidence showing her involvement in the Orange county real estate scam as well. What no one had been able to find out was the new identity and whereabouts of the now law enforcement proclaimed "Queen of Disguise". "Do you suppose she'll ever be found now?" Jean asked. "It all depends" McCool responded. "If she has gone to some country that does not extradite to the U.S. we won't be able to apprehend her even if we find her." "She's been more than one step ahead of us for a long time." "It would be stupid or arrogant to not disappear" he finished.

"What do you think the Prince can add to our knowledge of her?" Jean continued. "I'm not sure, but just meeting him ought to be worth the trip" Thomas answered. The pair went on to discuss the Prince's background. It was rumored he was quite the philanthropist and had made sizeable contributions to the Getty prior to the real estate collapse. Still, the prince had attempted to maintain a low profile, in spite of the need for good press on the Saudis after the recent oil price manipulation and gouging. It seemed it just wasn't in the Prince to trumpet his charitable giving. What was really interesting in Thomas's opinion was the amount of charitable work Prince Akim had done in ""the Kingdom." It appeared that both the Prince and Princess were heavily involved with the migrant workers, their living conditions, wages and health care. This alone made the Prince the most progressive member of the royal family and something of an outcast or black sheep.

"Now how did you find that out?" Jean quizzed Thomas. "Well, I had Paul pull the FBI file and give me the highlights" he answered. "You'll be interested to know he only has one wife and they have grandkids." "Kind of old for a prince isn't he" she laughed. "It's a huge family with burgeoning responsibilities and fortunes" McCool said seriously. "The prince is one of 22 and if you include the king’s extended family it gets into the hundreds."

Thomas went on to explain that the King, the prince's uncle, was old but had brothers and sons that were in line for the crown when he died. The Prince would be a prince all his life. When the young Akim went to Oxford he took a summer in Europe where he experienced running with the bulls at Pamplona, the beauty of the Greek Islands and its inhabitants and anything else that pleased him. "From the summary that Paul gave me it seems the young Prince might have let hormones run wild for a couple of summers" McCool continued. The result was a rash of stories in the London rags (those standards of journalism) that put the prince in a very bad light indeed.

By this time they'd made it onto the 405 and found their exit for the Holiday Inn Express. Thomas was pretty sure that the Prince and Princess would not be occupying any rooms in this inn. No doubt the Saudis had a secure estate in the Hollywood Hills for family members.

Charlotte boarded her Gulfstream in Manaus and they lifted off for L.A. She would get into town a few hours before the opening, make an appearance, glad-hand the Prince and prepare for Monday's contract signing. It wouldn't be long before her plan bore fruit. If all went well she would be one of the ten wealthiest people in the world and the wealthiest woman. She was sorry to have missed her opportunity to find Jane, but that would come soon enough. After all, how could one simple nurse from South Dakota escape detection from the richest woman in the world?

RT

Wordzzle 73 - Base 10 works for me

2009-07-25T00:01:00.001-04:00

It's at least 10 times easier to understand Wordzzle if you go over to the Raven's Nest and check out the originator of this challenge.

This week's 10 word challenge: riverboat, procrastination, drank, demons, invisible, candle, enough, film stars, summer job, computer

The mini: general demeanor, surprisingly, masked man, reach, standards

This Week's Episode: Amazon Adventures

Jane made her way aboard the "Amazonia Grande" with no special attention paid to her. She booked a hammock berth which was just a space to swing a hammock on the covered top deck of the riverboat. Her general demeanor was that of a native and no one really took any notice of her coming aboard at Santarem, a small town that sits at the juncture of the Amazon and the Tapajos rivers.

Somewhat to her dismay, there seemed to be some procrastination by the captain in getting under way. It turned out that he had a girlfriend there who was late in meeting him at the dock. "Oh well" she thought, "We all have our demons." "It could be much worse" she continued thinking to herself. "He could be one the infamous boat captains that drank or failed to posses the qualifications needed to pilot a passenger boat on the sometimes dangerous Amazon River. While standards in South America might be somewhat lower than in the states, good seamanship was a prerequisite to a successful career on the world’s mightiest river.

No other watershed had the reach and volume of the mighty Amazon. Surprisingly few among modern peoples understood the untamed treasures and vast forests included in Amazonia. Jane was content that she had been among those privileged to live in this wild and wonderful setting for so many years. Her experiences here were not those of the film stars on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, but of an almost invisible yet vital member of the struggling rural healthcare system in Brazil. Jane contemplated this as the riverboat pulled out into the river and headed upstream. She decided it had been enough.

The Amazonia Grande's diesels were by far and away the best part of the small vessel. They were superbly maintained and provided power aplenty to move the boat easily against the current. Jane staked out her space on the hammock deck and settled in for a nap. She didn't awake till she felt the vibration of the engines change. As she slipped from her hammock to look over the side she noticed a powerful speedboat had been tied up alongside. There was just the glimmer of a red-haired woman with a native guide coming aboard before she lost sight of them on the main deck. Jane knew instantly that it must be the supposed Frenchwoman looking for her. Now what could she do? Her choices were few. Three exactly: One - meet the Woman only to find out she was an agent of Constance Lawler and had been at last found. Two - jump in the river and attempt to swim to shore without being seen by anyone on the boat or eaten by anything in the river. And - Three- find a place to hide on board. She chose three.

The next deck down contained the few luxury cabins available. Jane made her way to the ladder and scooted down to the cabin deck. As she started along the outside companionway that held the cabin doors she looked ahead to see if anyone was coming up from the main deck. Each door was tried and found locked. As she put her hand of the last cabin door's knob before the ladder way, she sighted the woman and her companion. She was able to detect the green eyes of Constance Lawler in the reflection in the glass of the wheel house. It sent a shiver down her spine. There was no doubt now. That woman was Lawler and no other, regardless of what she called herself or what color she dyed her hair.

In desperation Jane turned the doorknob and the cabin door opened. She jumped into the small but neat cabin and right into the lap of Martin Heinman, (now known as Mike Henley) and caused Martin/Mike to lose control of his laptop computer he'd been attempting to use. Jane grabbed the laptop just before it hit the deck and handed it to Martin. "Would you mind if I hung out with you in your cabin for a bit sir?" she asked pleadingly. "I think someone just came aboard that means to do me harm" she continued. "I felt the engines idle down momentarily" Martin said. "Who came aboard?" he asked.

"I'm not sure what she calls herself these days" Jane explained. "But when I knew her she was Constance Lawler from South Dakota." "Now it seems she pawns herself off as a red-headed Frenchwoman" Jane finished. "She's looking for you too?" Martin asked. The couple had a quarter of an hour as the dangerous intruders searched the ship to trade stories and attempt to make some sense of it all. When a knock came on the door, Martin put Jane in the small head attached to his cabin and opened the door. There stood the captain and the woman. To Martin's great relief she failed to recognize him. The captain apologized and said the woman and her guide were looking for a relative that might have come aboard in Santarem. "My apologies Senor Henley, are you having a nice voyage so far?" the captain finished.

Martin found his voice and told the captain all was well. He sat back in the bunk and waited for his heart to stop hammering before he went to the head and let Jane out. "Well how about that?" he grinned, "She didn't even recognize me." Each looked at the other and wondered what had brought them together and how had they escaped the clutches of certain doom. If what Jane had told him was to be believed; every person who had ever wronged the redheaded woman had come to a bad end. It seemed likely that Martin and Jane were the only two people alive that evaded her vengeance. " Amazing" Martin mumbled, "just amazing."

That night it was decided that Jane might be better off staying out of sight for the rest of the trip. While enjoying a candle lit dinner on the main deck they exchanged their histories. At first Martin considered playing the masked man in order to keep from telling Jane about his many and major mistakes. In the end he settled on complete and total honesty instead. Jane took the same tack and by the end of the evening they knew more about each other than any other person on the planet. Martin even admitted to Jane that he had a summer job while in college as bookkeeper for a strip club. It was there that he lost his virginity. His father had used a connection with a friend to get the job for Martin, on the condition he not tell his mother.

For a geeky kid in college that summer was an eye opening experience. That night in the cozy cabin aboard the "Amazonia Grande" Martin showed Jane what he had learned all those years ago. It all came back to him much to the delight and pleasure of Jane. The couple fell asleep in each other's arms. Tomorrow would be soon enough to plan the next step in their escape.

RT

Cops and Bloggers - The arrest of Professor Gates

2009-07-23T17:25:00.009-04:00

Some of you out there may have heard about a black professor from Harvard being arrested at his own home in Cambridge, MA after a call was made to police about a suspected burglary in progress. You may have even heard the president reply to a question about the incident on his press conference a couple of nights ago.

Right off the bat I might as well tell you that my father-in-law is a retired career law enforcement guy and my overall experiences with the police have been very positive. With the one exception of a couple of dickheads from Reston, VA back when my crazy ex-girlfriend and I were having weekly knock down drag out fights back in the early 70s. But that's just a silly stage I went through.

As it happens, I have had a similar experience to Professor Gates with an entirely different outcome. Back in 1984 my then girlfriend and now wife and I bought our first home in Gilbert, AZ. I was employed as an outside salesman for a window company and came upon a house that was for sale. Little did I know that the next door neighbors had been evicted from this house and were now renting the adjacent property.

I wanted to see the inside of the place and used my considerable knowledge and skills concerning windows to gain entry and check it out. The neighbor's kid ( a teenage mutant, but no ninja turtle) called the cops and one showed up to question me. I explained I was interested in buying the place, was too lazy and too busy to wait for an agent and that yes, I knew that technically I was trespassing and maybe even breaking and entering. Though in fairness to me it should be noted I broke nothing, just used my skills to open a window.

The end result was that I left the house, locked up and secure, in the presence of the officer and we bought it a few weeks later. I wasn't arrested, hassled or handcuffed. How much does this have to do with me being white? A little. How much does this have to do with knowing I was in the wrong and being on good behavior and pleasant to the cop? A lot.

So here's my take on this latest incident and the comment made by our Pres.

Taking the last first. The president's comment is probably correct. The police did act stupidly. You don't arrest someone because they take offense at being accused of robbing their own home. You do calm them down and you do remind them that you're there doing your job. I'm sure the officer did a lot of the second and very little of the first.

From what I can tell of the events, the Professor was pissed at coming home from China only to be locked out of his house. Now to make things worse, after spending what time he needed to gain access to his abode, some cops showed up and wanted him to prove he lived there. From my cranky old man point of view I get where he's coming from. That being said, I don't doubt that he was just a little pissed that the cop didn't know who he was and was basically treating him like a perp or potential perp. (It the cop watched PBS news he would have seen the professor on more than one occasion)

So the Professor assumed that his treatment was due to his being a black man. And that just pissed him off even more. Now the guy is mad. He wants a badge number and a name to go with this persecutor, this frigging Nazi on his doorstep.

The cop assumes the Professor is jerk. Forget black, white, yellow, green. The cop goes into full "Hey, you want to see whose dick is bigger mode" and lets the guy berate him and get all riled up; just enough to make a case for disorderly.

See, if you're nice to cops, don't bullshit em and treat em like human beings, the majority of the time you'll get that back. But in this case BOTH parties went into this with closed minds and agendas that conflicted.

The Cop wants law and order, and Oh, by the way, you don't get to talk about my mother. The Professor wants life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and if you come in my house and hassle me I'll call you and your mother whatever I feel like.

See the basic conflict there?

So, yea the cops did act stupidly, but so did the professor. He is a really smart guy. I know this because I've seen him on the tube and heard him speak. But he comes with attitude, it's his gig. It was incumbent on both parties to act smartly, civilly and with some amount of humility. My bet is that neither party here did that.

Am I siding with the police, NO. Am I siding with the professor, a little, but I know he could have made it better. After all, black, white, pink, or purple; the man is always the man. He always has more guns, more bodies and more laws on his side than yours. That goes for everybody, regardless of race. Do the cops make mistakes? Sure they do. But when they do, it's a whole lot better if you can talk to them and fix it on the spot instead of getting arrested and making a national issue out of it.

I feel bad for Professor Gates because I don't doubt for a minute he sincerely feels this was about discrimination. I'm not a sure of that as he is. I think it's more about police power and some abuse of that power.

I'm not sure if I feel bad for the cop or not. He should have handled this differently. I think it somewhat cowardly to hide behind police procedures when he knows damned well he screwed up. Just because he didn't like taking crap off a hothead political professor is not really a good reason to arrest him. On the other hand I bet his fellow cops love it. As far as they're concerned, no one is above the law.

If this was about race, then the cops didn't just act stupidly; they are stupid, and ignorant to boot.

If this was about civility, police powers and two guys with egos, then the cops acted stupidly, but so did the professor.

We'll just have to wait and see what comes out. According to the reports, some of what was said by both parties was broadcast on police radio. It would be interesting to hear that conversation.

RT

Wordzzle 72 - A Stitch in Time

2009-07-18T00:01:00.005-04:00

Say it ain't sew and go by the Raven's Nest to continue the thread.

The Ten Word Challenge: corn pone, delegation, nectarines, happiness, 12 going on 13, prancing horses, magenta, butterflies, fragmentary, arthritis

The mini challenge: lavender cowboy, over the moon, preparation, zebra, area rug

This Weeks Episode: Coincidence or Karma

Nurse Jane was surprised when she got the word that someone was looking for her. Her life had changed dramatically from the time she left her high school in South Dakota and went to live with her aunt in St. Paul. She'd been 17 that year and her youngest sister just 12 going on 13. Thinking back to the incident gave her butterflies and not the good kind either. Jane realized that her participation in the hazing of Constance Lawler had forever changed her life and in many ways denied her happiness for decades. The loss of her parents and then her sister left Jane with just a fragmentary hold on her life and pushed her into a career of service and sacrifice.

Only later did she learn that all those involved with the Constance Lawler affair were dead. She doubted the coincidence. It had seemed to her at the time that joining the Peace Corps, changing her last name to her mother's maiden name and working overseas would be enough to avoid the fate of the others. Now, at a few years past 50, with the early onset of arthritis spurring her on to an early retirement like a lavender cowboy or cowgirl as the case may be; she had been found. Or at least closely located.

Jane had wisely asked her many patients and friends to alert her if someone should ask after her. This bit of thoughtful preparation had been her savior. She immediately made plans to meet the riverboat heading up river and left word with her friends to tell the Frenchwoman and the river guide she had gone to Macapa for a flight to Peru. The story given out was that she would be looking after a delegation of missionaries in need of an experienced nurse. Jane hoped this would be sufficient to misdirect her pursuers.

She wasn't over the moon about leaving her tiny village in the Amazon. She'd experienced so many things on her travels; the prancing horses of the Argentine plains, some no bigger than an African Zebra. The nights filled with music, the colorful serapes of the Gauchos, (most looking like area rugs with a hole in the middle) woven with startling and brilliant magentas, turquoises and golds and those wide open skies, contrasted intensely with the rain forest canopy environment of her most recent posting. She would miss the gentle villagers and the innocence of the children, but she realized her own not so innocent past had now intruded into her life. She'd always known that there was the possibility of that happening. Jane packed a lunch of the local bread (similar to south eastern American corn pone) and a few nectarines. She said goodbye to her friends and walked away from the village up the trail to the next riverboat stop. There she would take passage to Manaus and make her way out of the country.

Martin was enjoying the Riverboat trip so far. The villages they passed were interesting. At some they docked and at others the villagers would row out in dugout canoes and more modern vessels to offer their wares. He was beginning to think he had done all the right things. After changing his identity to Mike Hensley he'd also changed his appearance. Gone were the eyeglasses, now replaced with contacts. His hair he bleached blonde and he'd acquired a good tan. Surely no one from his old life would recognize him now. Even so, he was taken aback when a fast speedboat passed the Riverboat and momentarily slowed down to view the passengers who were watching it from the railing on the port side. To Martin's surprise and dismay the passenger on the boat was the fiery haired and emerald eyed supposed French lady from Hollingsworth's house. He recalled just at this moment that her accent and voice when she woke him up at his car weren't in the least bit French.

His instinct was to run and hide, but at the last minute he decided to brazen it out and see if his disguise was successful. He stood at the railing and waved with the rest of the passengers as the boat slowly passed them. There was never the least bit of recognition in the woman's manner. As the boat moved ahead he congratulated himself on his luck and daring. It seemed his adventure would continue, unabated by the alleged Frenchwoman and her henchman.

RT

Wordzzle 71 - Crazy eights

2009-07-11T00:01:00.004-04:00

Deal yourself a winning hand by betting on all the other stories and links at the Raven's Nest.

The Ten Word Challenge: sober, spoilage, knight, laugh and the world laughs with you, peak, blueberries, owl, drugstore, lampshade, and keyboard

The mini challenge: economy, Michael Jackson, ladder, clue, structure

This week's Episode: Riverboat gambler

Martin spent just enough time in the internet cafe in Macapa to learn that the mysterious redhead was a local demi-celebrity in nearby French Guiana. What she had been doing in California at his now deceased and disgraced ex-boss's house was questionable. He had no clue as to her motivation or intention, but sober thinking convinced him to avoid her at all costs.

After purchasing a guide for the interior he made his way through the town in search of a drugstore for some malaria tablets and first aid gear, a clothing store for proper jungle attire and some sort of a hotel for a decent nights sleep.

The local economy was able to accommodate his needs, though the hotel room's lighting included a lampshade inhabited by lizards. Martin found the local cuisine to his liking and his fine dinner filled with fresh seafood cooked with expertise and talent. There was no sign of spoilage or tainted shellfish. The staff at the Hotel Ceta provided Martin with cereal and blueberries for breakfast the following morning, though the local melons seemed more appropriate than his standard corn flakes.

The shops were playing Michael Jackson hits in honor of the deceased singer as Martin moved around town to accomplish his preparations prior to boarding the riverboat "Amazonia Grande", the first of its kind to make the run from Macapa to Manaus. Well, at least to the falls just 30 Km below and then there would be a jeep run the rest of the way. Once there, Martin would get to see the beauty and structure of the deep Amazon interior on yet another riverboat, the "River Owl".

The small town of Macapa gave Martin hope that whatever he had inadvertently gotten involved in back in the states would fade into his past. The people were friendly and proved the old adage "laugh and the world laughs with you."

Back in Laughlin, the working group investigating the serial killer murders was being briefed via teleconference from Sgt Johnson in D.C. "So here's what we know for sure" he summarized. "Connie Liplin/Constance Lawler is our serial killer, but we're pretty sure she's changed identities again." We've connected her with the Charles Hollingsworth real estate fraud and believe she may have been in L.A. at the time of the house fire." "Information from the French National Police is that the DNA test on the noblewoman in French Guiana came back negative."

"We've worked our way up the evidence ladder to the top rung and we're just missing one thing; the perp" he finished. "Anyone out there have any ideas?" he added as an afterthought. "How about following up on the real estate angle" McCool replied. "I'd like to talk to the investor that lost billions in the original deal" he continued. "The young Saudi Prince Akim al Hatar ek Farsim will be in L.A. for the opening of the new Art gallery next week and I've got invitations for Jean and me from a friend" McCool continued. "We could drive over for the opening and talk to the Prince while there.''

"What makes you think he'll want to talk with you?" Johnson asked. McCool gave Johnson the breakdown on the Prince and his attempt at entering the California market. The Prince had invested at the peak of the bubble and lost just under five billion dollars by the time Indy Mac failed. Thomas was confident he would get an audience with the Prince and that the Prince would want some justice for the fraud perpetrated on him and others. The group also discussed the revelations concerning the killers M.O. and the lab's finding that the killer was using a combination of herbal and psychedelic drugs to incapacitate her victims.

That ended the conference and Dan punched the exit button on the keyboard. "Well, with you and Jean taking off to rub elbows with the Artsy Fartsy crowd in L.A., perhaps I'll take the opportunity to be Carla's Knight in shining armor and whisk her away to the White Mountains for a refreshing mountain weekend" Dan quipped. "What, you don't want to stick around for 115 degrees this weekend?" McCool smiled back at his partner. The meeting broke up with each member having their own thoughts and mission. No one believed the case would go much farther if they couldn't find the killer.

Meanwhile in French Guiana, Charlotte was making preparations to fly into Macapa and meet her contact. They would head up the Amazon to check out the lead. It seemed a nurse for the Peace Corps working in a small village might fit the description of Charlotte's missing tormentor. It would be so nice to get the last one before she closed the deal with the Saudis in L.A. next week.

RT

Wordzzle 70 - Lucky times ten

2009-07-04T00:01:00.002-04:00

You just have to go link up with Raven at her nest and check out the Wordzzle Action.

The Ten Word Challenge: Florida, spit, child bride, operatic, busy, holding pattern, sunflowers, ginger jars, office, superintendent

The mini challenge: music to my ears, plot, powerful, braggart, super model

This week's Episode: Evidence

Charlotte's talks with the inspector had been very fruitful. Though not especially powerful in local politics, he was a long time member of the police and had good connections. These had allowed her to garner the information she required over a few short days. Inspector De Leschampes was enough of a braggart to be susceptible to Charlotte's wiles and had the ear of the superintendent as well. It seemed there was some family connection that allowed the inspector unusual access to the superintendent's office.

The ever calculating Charlotte used all this ensnare the inspector into her plot to give false evidence. She had devised a way to fake the DNA test that would prove she was not Connie Liplin or Constance Lawler. It was clear from her talks with the unwitting policeman that the investigation would come to that conclusion if she failed to intervene. She told the policeman a tale of child abuse, economic ruin and paternal estrangement that had just enough truth in it to gain his sympathy and cooperation.

The upshot of the meetings was that she would give DNA evidence at her estate. The locals had forensic technicians, but the sample would be sent to Paris and then on to the FBI. This would assure the investigators she was not who they were looking for and keep them from troubling her father, who was in a holding pattern between life and death. The cover story would explain the lack of affection and closeness of father and daughter as well.

The real daughter had died in childbirth along with her premature offspring. The father of the child was the Count himself. Charlotte had kept a tissue sample as blackmail to insure the old Count Vignoire's cooperation. Now it would be used for something else. The tissue was from the Count's real daughter and the details of the circumstances of her death would have ruined the family's reputation and that of the Count.

What only the Count knew and would not expose, was that his real daughter was not thought to be his by blood. His wife had taken a lover when the Count found himself to be sterile. Both had known of it and agreed to the solution. The goal had been to have a male child to carry on the line. Instead, she had borne him a daughter and then died when the child was only seven years old. The young girl grew to be the spitting image of his dead wife and the Count had been unable to control his love for the girl. By the time she was 18 he'd hatched a plan to move with her to Florida and make her his child bride. This did not happen. Instead the young girl became pregnant after their first coupling, causing him to revisit his alleged sterility and the lover supposedly needed for his wife to bear him children.

That's when he learned the truth about his deceased wife and the thing that nearly destroyed him. His wife had simply used contraception and had the doctor fake his potency test for a bribe. In truth, his daughter was really his daughter and he had committed incest. Like some strange operatic event, the Count saw his busy and bountiful life come apart.

It was at this point that Charlotte came into the picture. She had offered the Count a way out. On top of that she'd had the money to bring the family back to its previous standard of living. In explaining why he'd gone along with this in the papers in his will he'd said; "after all the sadness and horror of what I'd done, even if unintentionally, Charlotte's scheme was like music to my ears." What he couldn't know was that the will would never see the light of day.

The "daughter" had been kept incognito for many years till Charlotte needed the identity and then brought forth. The foresight and planning that allowed Charlotte to make that kind of move, years before she needed the cover, was part of what made her truly the super model of a diabolical serial killer. She'd been busy for over two decades setting the stage for her triumph. When the time came she could spit in the eye of those who had underestimated her capacity for reinvention and renewal. She'd had the last laugh on all of her tormentors from High School but one, and that one wouldn't escape her forever.

It would be a simple matter to exchange the DNA swabs with one’s of her choosing prior to their shipment to Paris. Then the famous FBI and Interpol and the former Surete (now French National Police) could all investigate till they were blue in the face. They would never come close to connecting her to any crimes. There were so many and so widely dispersed over the globe that no one would ever put them all together and attribute them to one person or group of people, much less her specifically.

Charlotte looked out over the garden’s gloriously golden sunflowers as she arranged the ginger jars in her kitchen. It was time for her to renew her search for Jane Insterham. She’d e-mail her contact in Macapa. Perhaps she’d even go with him into the interior if he had a good lead. It would just have to wait a couple of days till she gave the DNA and then switched the samples. This part she would do personally. Too much depended on it to do otherwise.

RT

Wordzzle 69 - Mr. Obvious says "Insert Joke here."

2009-06-27T00:01:00.002-04:00

You should know the drill by now. Check out the Raven's Nest for all the other stories.

The Ten Word Challenge: Chorus line, clam chowder, apples, jack-in-the-box, puddles, Iran, quarry, housekeeping, speed, letter
The mini challenge: motorcycle, grandiose, summer, flying off the handle, blue jays

I'm feeling slightly overcooked here in Phoenix this week with the daily temps in the 105 - 110 range. These are actually normal summer temperatures, if you can believe that. The weather has made me lazy and unambitious. That being the case, the chance of a grandiose episode coming from my brain this week is slim.

Instead, I've opted for this literal speed letter. This course of action should allow me to do some temporal housekeeping, put my thoughts in order like the dancers in a Chorus line on Broadway and take time out to watch the Toronto Blue Jays put it to the Diamondbacks again in an afternoon game.

I may be flying off the handle a bit in search of literary quarry, but the truth is, I'm just not that into it this week. So excuse me if I take a side trip of the mind and you find yourself stuck in my motorcycle sidecar of ennui.

Perhaps it's the depressing news from Iran, some bad clam chowder from last night's dinner, or mud in the puddles of my cranium, cause I just can't get into the work of storytelling right now.

If you want, blame in on all the bad apples in our lives. You know the one's I mean. Those moron's who invented "I'm a celebrity, get me out of here" or the geniuses that have polluted my mind with that damn Jack-in-the-Box commercial featuring dancing midgets in cowboy getup.

Can you really blame me for losing it every now and then?

Have a great weekend!

RT

Wordzzle 68

2009-06-20T00:01:00.003-04:00

Even if it takes two weeks, 14 days or whatever; go by the Raven's Nest and say "Hello" to the mistress of missives, the queen of quotes; yes you know who I'm talking about, the Wunderkind of Wordzzle, Raven.

The Ten Word Challenge: sow, close, console, lives, minute, polish, bass, pussy, complex, resume

For the mini challenge: bow, sewer, house, import, intern

This Week's Episode: Ships passing in the night

Charlotte contacted inspector Guy De Leschampes of the Cayenne Capitol police. She had met him and his wife Cherisse at a charity dinner where she'd been honored for her contribution to the homeless and orphans of the city. She'd been careful to sow the seeds of her reputation as a wealthy and generous socialite and minor royalty.

The locals had been ecstatic at her gift of a modest house for the city's use as a temporary shelter for abused wives and children. In every aspect of Charlotte's subtle but pervasive local PR she had done her best to actually have a positive effect on the local's lives. Her name had been mentioned in the minutes of many charitable foundations in the capitol, adding more polish and substance to her complex social resume with each new donation, benefit or ball.

At the same time, she'd made sure to keep her baser instincts in check. There would be no lovely female body found in the sewer with a mutilated and abused pussy to bring any unwanted attention to her local. She remembered the crude saying that Charles had told her: "You don't get your meat where you eat." Instead, she would have to console herself with other ventures and bow to the necessity of redirecting the investigation away from herself.

After using her maid to go through the inspector's new secretary, an intern really; a luncheon date was made to discuss the issue. Charlotte knew the inspector's love of Sea Bass would help in broaching the delicate subject matter and allow her to get all the needed information to execute the next step in her plan.

In addition, the restaurant's fine wine list, which included quality imports from the home country, would help her close the deal as the meal went forth.

That being done, the car was brought around and she decided to drive herself the short distance to the eatery. Her 2006 Jaguar XK-8 convertible in custom Burgundy Red with camel leather interior was familiar to the locals by now. She exited the estate and rode with the top down into town. As she passed a new Hyundai Genesis sedan going in the other direction, she couldn't help but think she recognized the driver. But from where? Like most of us, it would take her till after lunch to figure out the answer. First she had to work on Guy.

Martin had been lucky to get such a nice car for the drive down the coast into Brazil. It seemed like a good idea to him to keep on the move for the time being. He noticed the redhead in the convertible, but didn't think anything of it till he had crossed French Guiana's southern border. Once again lady luck had helped him out. He didn't start shaking till he went up to his room that night in Macapa, a town at the mouth of the Amazon River. It was his intention to head into the vast interior and stay there for an extended period.

He had not allowed for his having jumped from the frying pan to the fire. How had the sullen and angry women found him, or had she? Had he by some impossible coincidence found her instead? Before he made his way upcountry he would have to look into the identity of the woman.

RT

Wordzzle 67 -

2009-06-13T00:01:00.001-04:00

It might be a lucky move it you stopped by the Raven's Nest and got all the info on this thing.

This week's Ten Word Challenge: nausea, everything is on sale, expect great things, frying pan, pledge, birds of a feather, stick, Saturday morning, liver and bacon, caterpillars

The mini challenge: aggravation, protective, bargain basement, take me out to the ballgame, break a leg

This week's Episode: Shopping for Clues

The trip up I- 40 to the I-17 turnoff took a while, but the group kept the conversation lively. Carla and Jean were anxious to see what the shops in Sedona had to offer and the two men were focused on what Connie Liplin could have purchased from the Archangel Apothecary. The shop was located in the exclusive Tlaquepaque (pronounced Ta-lock-a-pockee) Arts and Crafts village. After a thrilling drive down through Oak Creek Canyon the group continued through downtown Sedona to just before the bridge at the south of town.

The sprawling adobe village sat alongside Oak Creek. It was a labyrinth of tiled courtyards, shops filled with colorful goods and great restaurants. McCool found a parking space under a Cottonwood and the two couples walked through the massive gates into the entry courtyard.

The first thing that Jean noticed was the sign on the bulletin board, "Everything is on sale." "Well, I guess we should expect great things" Carla grinned at Jean. "Whatever won't fit in the car we can have them store and come back on Saturday morning and pick up" Jean winked at Carla. If she had hoped to get a rise out of the boys, it did no good. They were concentrating on the layout map at the other end of the courtyard as they searched for the apothecary.

The guys and gals agreed to meet at Olevera's, a great Mexican restaurant in the complex for a meal before returning to Laughlin. The girls put on their "in search of bargain basement" faces and headed into the maze of stores. Both women enjoyed casual fashion and were really birds of a feather when it came to shopping for deals.

Knowing there was no pledge needed from Jean concerning her thriftiness; McCool uttered the famous theatrical quote, "Break a Leg" as the pair went their way and the two mean walked towards their investigative destination.

Dan and Thomas found the "Archangel Apothecary" right where the map said it would be and entered the quaint storefront. The first thing that they noticed was the smell of incense or patchouli or some such new age odorant. The shop had various and sundry old style glass canisters filled with a variety of objects and creatures. Some, like the multicolored caterpillars, were easily identifiable, others not so much. The old world counter was backed by a wall of medicine bottles and dead in the center of that was a door through which the duo could hear someone whistling over the piped in music out in the main store.

Dan thought the tune almost sounded like a Celtic version of "Take me out to the Ball Game" but then thought better of it when the proprietor came through the door. The visage facing Dan and Thomas was more like that of a medieval wizard than a modern man. A large man with a full black beard and fierce blue eyes smiled a greeting at the pair. "Now it's fine day isn't it lads and what would ye be having on your minds this afternoon then?" he asked.

"Can I ask you what tune that was that you were whistling back there?" Dan said. "Oh that" replied the man. "Just something me dear old Da used to whistle while he worked" the big man replied. "Can't say that I ever heard the name" he continued, "but I knew I was about to be told a very good story when he finished whistling."

McCool took that moment to introduce the pair to the store owner, who turned out to be one Patrick Ian McGregor, or "Paddy McStick" as the man stated he was known on the links. "I'm not sure if it's the "good walk spoiled" or just adult aggravation" he continued as he invited the men to take a seat at the counter, "but the courses here in Sedona are beautiful and it keeps me out of the house long enough to give my Missus a break" he finished. "We've all had the disease" McCool said in sympathy with the man.

When Dan showed Paddy the picture of Liplin, he recognized her immediately. "A fine tall lass with unusual emerald eyes" he stated. Luck was with the men and records where produced with Liplin's purchases. They were seemingly harmless, though one that the pair smelled carried the faint odor of liver and bacon, as opposed to the more traditional liver and onions. When questioned about the various ingredients, McStick told the men that they were used for everything from nausea relief to sleeping aids.

Paddy showed the men a book on old world remedies and ingredients and they bought that and samples of the ingredients in question to take with them. By the time they left they knew everything Liplin had purchased, how much and when. With the aid of the book and some tech help from the FBI they were optimistic they would find the disabling agent used by the serial killer to subdue her victims.

Feeling they'd accomplished all they could at the Apothecary, the pair said goodbye to their most interesting host and went in search of the girls. On the way to the restaurant McCool stopped in a cooking shop and purchased a new Teflon frying pan. "It's for omelets on Sunday morning" he explained to Dan. "Jean won't throw out the old pan, even when it gets beat up and the non-sticky isn't working anymore" he added. "So... whenever I see one that I like, I snag it." "I wondered if you were contemplating cooking up the ingredients we purchased from Paddy" Dan laughed. "I'm way too protective of my health to try that without some professional help" McCool smiled back.

Dan and Thomas went into Olevera's. Since the women weren't there yet, they decided a cool drink at the bar might be nice while they waited.

Charlotte received the call from her "father's" housekeeper concerning the visit made by the inspector. After hearing what had transpired, she decided to step up the dosing of parasites the housekeeper was giving the old man. "Time for Papa to move on" Charlotte instructed the woman. With that out of the way, she terminated the call. If they were this close to her, if there was the slightest suspicion that her new identity was blown, then she would have to act immediately.

It would mean delaying her search for the last remaining girl involved in her gang rape in high school. She'd had all the others eliminated in one form or the other, including personal revenge where she thought appropriate. Too bad, since she'd gotten a lead on Jane Insterham just two days ago. First things first though. She needed a strategy to direct the investigation away from her.

Perhaps the local constabulary could be of some assistance. She'd call her contact the first thing in the morning.

RT

Wordzzle 66 - Come on Boxcars!

2009-06-06T14:00:00.010-04:00

Take a cyber roll of the dice and sashay on over to the Raven's Nest for the odds on favorite hostess of Wordzzle.

The Ten Word Challenge: swashbuckler, heads-up, dry martini, recovery, jungle gym, whiskers, bathing suit, spade, circular reasoning, abrasive

The Mini Challenge: butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, stagnation, chart, star crossed lovers, apricot brandy

This Week's Episode: Answers?

In the period following the untimely death of Charles Hollingsworth in the house fire, the investigation in the Mortgage Fraud Department had taken on new meaning. With the connection to several murders and perhaps even a serial killer, the multi-billion dollar fraud case attracted the FBI's best and brightest.

Like star crossed lovers, the disparate departments within the agency joined forces to disclose the true identity of the woman involved with both the fraud and the murders. The trail seemed to go cold with Cathy McCarty's trip to French Guiana. The agency had served notice to Hollingsworth's company for recovery of much of the fraudulent loans, but the underlying assets, the homes, had long since been foreclosed on or otherwise changed hands.

The agency also took note of the fact that one of the company's accountants was deceased, believed murdered in the desert and the replacement was no where to be found. It didn't seem like abnormal or circular reasoning to suspect the now missing, believed dead Martin Heingold had suffered a similar fate to the first number cruncher. Still a nationwide alert was put out for Martin.

For Martin's part, he had not needed a heads-up to realize that his time in L.A. was done. He had read the L.A. Times story on the house fire and decided to chart a different course of action. He did the only thing he could think of and got out of dodge. He did not return to work, left his apartment the day he read the papers and didn't look back. In fact, he went a step farther and burnt all his old ID and used a set of documents he'd had made some months prior after his gambling problem had put him in jeopardy for his life.

Martin decided South America sounded good, so he booked the first flight out of LAX that evening. It turned out to be a flight to Cayenne, French Guiana. This capitol city on the northeast coast of South America was a jumping off point for tourists interested in visiting Devil's Island, the famous (or infamous) French prison. Martin scarcely realized he was taking the same trip that Humphrey Bogart had flown to film "We're No Angels" with Joan Bennett back in 1954. And though he thought of himself as a Steve McQueen fan, he missed the connection with the 1973 movie Papillion, also filmed at Devil's Island. Unlike his famous predecessors, Martin wouldn't be drinking a dry martini on the veranda with Joan Bennett or sharing the regions exquisite apricot brandy with some young starlet.

No, Martin was traveling to escape and be reborn. For this trip he just needed his bathing suit, his new ID and a change of clothes. He would hang out on the beaches of South America and defer to temporary social stagnation for the near future. Perhaps after sufficient time he would buy a sailboat and fulfill his dreams of being a dashing swashbuckler, only on a modern Sloop with auto reefing and A/C.

Martin stepped off the plane in Cayenne just days after Charlotte's charter had landed at the same airport, though into two entirely different worlds. Martin sported a few days growth of whiskers and was dressed casually enough to play on the jungle gym with the young children at a nearby park.

Charlotte, on the other hand, had been picked up by her limo at the executive jet hangar and whisked away to her estate. The chauffeur had been all of 5 minutes late due to traffic in the city and was concerned he'd receive an upbraiding from his employer. While to most who met her Charlotte seemed that old world lady that the saying "Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth" might be attributed to; she could be quite abrasive and demanding with the help. Always one to call a spade a spade, she demanded and more often than not received, the utmost in service and care from her staff.

Had Martin known that he had flown thousands of miles only to jump from the frying pan into the fire, he would have surely gotten on the next plane to anywhere else in the world.

RT

Wordzzle 65 - Oh so lucky 11

2009-05-30T00:01:00.005-04:00

Flit on over to the Raven's Nest and perch long enough to catch up on the other stories.

The ten word challenge: parasite, meals on wheels, crows, it's my fault, everything but the kitchen sink, on sale, patriotism, the love of my life, library card, common sense

The mini: blackmail, California, stethoscope, postage, crank

This Week's Episode: Questions?

In Laughlin the team was putting the incoming evidence together. The various identities of Constance/Connie/Cathy had been investigated. Agents in California had made the connection with Hollingsworth and were looking in to his recent untimely death in a house fire at his estate.

Operation Marigold had gotten a break when the FBI's mortgage fraud department had finally woken up and seen the name Connie Liplin in connection with Hollingsworth's company, massive fraud and the recent deaths of both parties. Common sense had somehow prevailed and the two different groups inside the FBI had communicated enough for the information to find open minds and ears.

Sgt Johnson had been surprised at the size and scope of the fraud his Agency comrades had disclosed to him, but comforted in knowing he'd also found the motive for several of the recent killings. With this information fed back through the Laughlin team they had gained a picture of what Liplin and Hollingsworth had been up to.

Dan and McCool had made the connection between the Casino Manager and Liplin. The accident at the Diner was under review, but the truck driver was now nowhere to be found. This only added to their suspicion about the murders and deaths in Laughlin.

Putting the events together in a time line indicated to both men that Connie had been cleaning up behind herself and eliminating all connections. They went so far as to hypothesize that perhaps the death of Charles Hollingsworth was less than accidental as well. Neither man could find any links to the victims and blackmail attempts. Banking records showed no checks from any of Liplin's accounts to any of the deceased.

They did find that large sums of money had been wire transferred to banks in the Caymans and then on to Swiss numbered accounts. The trail went dead there however, as the trusty Swiss refused to disclose any further information. The group threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Swiss, but to no avail. In the end, they left it up to the FBI's fraud unit to go after the info with international warrants.

They focused on what became of Cathy McCarty, the last know identity of Connie Liplin aka Constance Lawler. They referred to these as identities and not aliases because it became apparent early on in the investigation that they were dealing with a Chameleon of sorts. This criminal was very detail oriented. She had separate records for everything, right down to even having a library card in each identity's name. The woman had been able to live as more than one person for extended periods of time. It took a special talent to be able to do that, not to mention an excellent memory and a good deal of intellectual prowess.

The people involved in the investigation began to both respect and abhor this woman who continued to elude them. Sgt Johnson used his excellent profiling skills to make the connection between the internal mutilation of the female victims and the gang rape of Constance Lawler in high school. He was reasonably assured of the cause of the particular MO. What hadn't been established was how the killer incapacitated the victims; so Dan, McCool and even Jean had been tasked with reviewing all credit card purchases of Liplin and McCarty for the past several years. So far nothing had shown up.

"You know you're the love of my life, don't you?" McCool asked Jean. "I thought I was the bane of your existence" she smirked back. "Never, my love, but would you be so kind as to please uncover some receipt or other that will lead us to what our killer's doing to subdue her victims?" "I'd love to darling, but so far we got nothing" she answered. "The only thing I have that's even close to out of the ordinary is this one with postage due from Sedona" she added.

The three of them looked the receipt over carefully and found a number for the shop, but the name was smudged and unreadable. Dan made the call. "Archangel Apothecary" the person on the other end answered. Griggs spent a few minutes on the phone and then hung up. "I think we've got a winner" he smiled at Thomas and Jean. "Who feels like a run up the hill to Sedona?" he finished.

Jean decided to go with the two in case there was anything on sale at some of Sedona's great clothing stores. In these difficult economic times she looked on it as an act of patriotism to distribute a little discretionary income. The three picked up Carla just getting off her shift at the Pioneer and headed up I-40. The little Honda was full, but made it up the hill out of town with ease.

Charlotte was over her disappointment of losing the man at Hollingsworth's house. She'd raced after the Buick but somehow he'd eluded her. She was not a person to leave loose ends, but it seemed like an impossibility that the man would be able to correctly identify her from the short time of the incident, much less connect her to the fire. The damn fool had run over her foot and she was lucky it was only bruised on top of her instep and not broken. The comparatively light weight of the rear end of the front wheel drive car and her quick removal of her foot had saved her. It had also thrown her off her feet and made the man's escape possible. Perhaps he'd even been some crank hanging around Charles' house in an attempt to seek revenge for losing his home. There was no telling at this point.

She had made it back to the airport and was in the air before Hollingsworth's place was fully engulfed in flames. No one would be able to make the connection. The flight plan showed the flight as freight only. The plane had delivered $250,000 worth of Truffles which had been taken to several high end restaurants in the area. So she was in the clear there and knew it. Still, it always bothered her when her plans were redirected.

Inspector Georges De Solemaone was met at the door of the fine old French Chateau of Count Edmund Vignoire by a steely eyed house keeper. She took the inspector's coat and hat like it was a snake that would bite her. The inspector's impression of the cold and distant woman made him think it would take more than a stethoscope to prove this creature had a heart.

He was lead into a large sitting room with windows overlooking a field. Georges noticed the line of crows sitting on the adjacent fence and thought about the movie "The Birds" by Alfred Hitchcock. "Oh, I see you've noticed our flock of crows" the elderly gentleman seated in the large armchair said as a matter of introduction. "It's my fault I suppose" he continued, "I've gotten too old to chase them off and even grown used to their morbid company."

"Thank you for seeing me today Count" the inspector replied. "What else would I be doing, if not speaking with you young man?" "It's a great pleasure to have visitors" the Count finished. The two men sat and talked for over an hour. It came up that the Count didn't see his daughter very much and that all he knew for sure about her was that she'd done very well in the international real estate market prior to the collapse and was working with some Mid-East investors to do something in the states. The inspector couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt there was something wrong between the father and daughter.

The Count never could explain to the Inspector's satisfaction why his daughter would choose to live in French Guiana, half a world away. In point of fact, when he learned the old man was dying of a tropical parasite, presumed untreatable even with all the money necessary and modern medical facilities available worldwide, the Inspector became even more suspicious. Why wouldn't the daughter be at her father's side? Clearly he would need to look deeper into the family's history for answers. Inspector De Solemaone thanked the kindly old man and said his goodbyes.

As he exited the home after retrieving his hat and coat from the still unfriendly housekeeper, he noticed a van pulling up to the rear entrance of the Chateau. Deciding to start his investigations immediately, he walked to the van and engaged the driver in conversation.

It turned out that the company was a sort of fancy meals on wheels for wealthy French aristocrats and being paid for by the Count's daughter. The Inspector decided he would look into this aspect as well. The French loved their food, so why wouldn't the wealthy old Count have his meals prepared at his home? "Something more to investigate" the Inspector thought to himself as he drove out of the winding drive of the Chateau and merged onto the main road.

The drive back to Paris would give Georges time to mull what he'd learned today. Did it mean anything and could it possibly be connected to the international case of the serial killer. “Most likely not” he thought, “but there was definitely something not right at the Vignoire Chateau.” The Inspector would continue to investigate until he found out what that was.

RT

The Word on Monday - Memorial

2009-05-25T16:32:00.006-04:00

Memorial: serving to preserve remembrance, or of or relating to memory.

There it is. The reason for celebrating or more correctly, observing Memorial Day.

Today we look back at the price payed by our young men and women in defense of our nation, our ideals and our principles. While doing this, it would be advisable to think of the young people who now serve our nation in harm's way.

My fight was in South Viet Nam. My Dad's in India in WWII and my Granddad's in France. Today's Soldiers, Marines, Naval and Air Force personnel are in places like Kabul, Baghdad, Kuwait, Mosul, and Kirkuk. The names have changed from my era, but the challenges, dangers and opportunities remain the same.

The major challenge for me was to do my part serving my country even when I felt the war in Viet Nam was a mistake. I wonder how many of our men and women serving in the Mid-East are facing this exact same challenge today?

The danger in my war was of course that of being killed. But another danger lingered close at hand. That was the danger of becoming hardened and cynical. Of becoming trapped in a hatred for a people you knew little about. It was the danger of being so radically changed by the experience that joy and healthy living became a distant hope. I wonder how many of our young men and women are facing these exact dangers today?

The opportunity of my war was one of growth. Stress test your mettle, it hardens your nerves or undoes them. Being under fire in a war zone, even if just sitting in a bunker while rockets crash about your compound, tells you something about yourself. It also serves to give you a different outlook on life, a better perspective on what is truly important and allows you to eventually take joy in life here in the good ole USA. I sincerely hope that the young people serving in our armed forces will see the opportunity and take it.

Our country is in dire need of the exuberance, energy and optimism that only someone who had faced the possibility of death and lived through it can bring to bear.

While I think of all the young lives tragically lost in my war and the ones currently being lost in theirs, I remain hopeful that the majority of those serving will come back with renewed hope and vigor in setting our nation on a course of honor and prosperity.

God Bless all who have served and are now serving.

RT

Wordzzle 64 - "And the number was Ten"

2009-05-23T00:01:00.004-04:00

Wordzzle 64 - "And the number was Ten"

Take a couple of minutes, maybe 10, to go by the Raven's Nest and check out the person responsible for this story and others.

This Week's Ten Word Challenge: albino, trench, marble, assistant, Indian, What's that supposed to mean?, sound first principles, the key thing, moat, curtain

The mini challenge: under the surface, doomed, grand design, temple, aspirin

This Week's Episode: Out of the Woods?

Martin came awake quickly, startled by the sunglass wearing beauty at his driver's window. He'd left the window open to keep the car cooler, but it hadn't worked all that well. As he jumped in his seat to sit up straight, his feet hit both the parking brake and foot brake on his 02 Buick LeSabre. The American cruiser started a slide and then roll down the hill toward the road like a slab of marble coming off the cutting table at a quarry.

The wet leaves under the surface of the tall grass beneath the wheels acted as an assistant in the launch. He was so discombobulated by the events that it looked as if he was doomed to crash into the gate at the bottom of the hill before he could gain control of the vehicle. He just had time to notice that the car had run over the woman's foot when he jerked awake. He caught a strobe like vision of the gorgeous vixen falling backward as her sunglasses flew off and she went down. What stuck with him were the piercing emerald eyes and the look of intense hatred, scorn and fury that lashed out at his departing form as the car picked up speed.

Somehow he must have been considered essential by the fates, or necessary to the grand design, because he managed to get the car started and gunned the Buick out the front gate. His plans had changed instantly.

As he looked out the rear view mirror he noticed smoke emanating from Hollingsworth's magnificent home. He knew he wanted no part of whatever was taking place there. Foremost in his mind at this point was escape. One of the sound first principles his old man had taught him was to not get involved in domestic disputes and this had the look and smell of exactly that.

He spent just enough time looking in the rear view mirror that he failed to slow down for the construction trench he'd encountered on the way in to the estate. It was covered by heavy metal plates that used their weight to hold them down. In the interim between his arrival and his now hasty departure a large truck had displaced one of the plates. His passenger side front tire hit the gap perfectly, slicing the sidewall rubber at its weakest point. The ensuing blowout jerked the car hard right at over 50 miles per hour. The gallant Buick sailed across the irrigation ditch that ran beside the road and landed intact in a small vineyard in the field a few feet below the roadbed. It was as though Martin had leaped his mighty steed over the castle moat into the luscious courtyard of a Mediterranean keep.

"Starsky and Hutch have nothing on me" he muttered to himself as he rubbed his temple where it had contacted the door frame. "I'm going to need a case of Aspirin to get over this headache" he thought as he exited the LeSabre to check the damage. He looked up just as the rental car with the woman roared by and he ducked in fear. In her haste to catch up to him she missed him sitting in the vineyard. He sighed in relief and watched the vineyard keeper approach him down the track between the fields. To his surprise the young man was riding a classic Indian motorcycle and smiling. He wasn't sure which he found more surprising; the classic bike or the inappropriate smile.

The motorcyclist had the pure white hair of an albino, but a deeply tanned face. His smile grew as he parked the bike and came over to the Buick. The vintner surveyed the scene, noting that few vines had been damaged and the remarkably good condition of the car. "Well alright then, I guess it's OK if you want to do your commercial at the Winery" he grinned at Martin.

Martin was still shook-up though unhurt and could only utter; "What's that supposed to mean?" "Pardner, I watched you jump the ditch with this big honking Buick and figured yall must be doing some kind of TV add or something" the biker responded. "At least it looked that way from the other end of the field." "Are you OK?" he continued. "I guess" replied Martin, "I've never jumped a car over a ditch before." "And certainly never on purpose" he finished.

"You look like you're having a bad day man." "This incident could have been curtains for you if you hadn't done such a great job of landing your card on the access path." "The key thing here is that you're still breathing." "Let's see if we can get you and your ride out of here in one piece" the young man said.

Though Martin didn't know it, he'd escaped death twice in less than an hour. Some of the luckiest people in the world never know how incredibly lucky they really are. Martin Heingold was foremost among them on this day.

RT

2009-05-16T00:01:00.005-04:00

Wordzzle 63 or "A stitch in time"

The Maven of Wordzzle is the Raven of the Nest; Check her out here.

This week's ten Word Challenge will be: Green goddess, shampoo, filibuster, please and thank you, Operation Marigold, throw pillows, up the creek without a paddle, spandex, ubiquitous, wedding ring

Mini Challenge: Skittles, lamb chops, stingray, chagrin, clever devil

This weeks Episode: Modern Science

Sgt Johnson had waited almost 2 weeks for solid evidence related to the latest information he'd received from McCool. It took a variety of lucky breaks and a convergence of events that could only be described as serendipity.

While most folks felt that incompetence was ubiquitous within the ranks of international law enforcement, Johnson knew better. The inspector from the Surrete had called with excellent news. It seemed the young Swedish victim's family had big connections in her home country. The coroner had been assisted by world renowned geneticist and biochemist Torg Valhuelston.

The famous Swede had found a bit of chemical trace and DNA evidence on the young girls body. More importantly he had found DNA evidence inside the victim's body. This was the holy grail of DNA evidence, the Green goddess, the big Magilla. Much to the chagrin of the perpetrator, the body had been pulled from the surf too quickly, preserved too well at low temperature and examined by both an experienced coroner and a brilliant research geneticist.

To add further pieces to the puzzle, the FBI had accessed DNA evidence from the two decade old gang rape case of Constance Lawler. The DNA samples from these time and distance removed incidents had matched. The very fact that these two agencies had worked together and made this fantastic connection was amazing.

All this had been discussed between Johnson and Inspector De Solemaone. What the inspector hadn't reported to his American counterpart was the results of the investigation into the Vignoire family. From initial reports is seemed they did indeed have a reclusive daughter and they were quite wealthy, though rumors had been heard about some terrible misfortune happening to their holdings.

None of that showed up in their financials however, as their latest bank balance was well into 8 figures. The last thing to do was have a personal interview with the patriarch, Count Alain DeJourniase Vignoire. He would make his way to the estate on the coming day. If anything developed there he would share it with Johnson, otherwise there was no need to mention this false step.

Because of this break in the case, a funding request had been initiated and named Operation Marigold. This operation was to find what was now thought to be an international, multi-decade long serial killer with one of the most diabolical and horrendous modus operandi in modern history.

There was no doubt that the person they were looking for had been a clever devil for many years, but the evidence showed that the body in the Tahoe was not Connie Liplin or Constance Lawler. This in turn made Constance Lawler the most likely suspect as their serial killer. All were taken aback that it might be a woman, but none were so foolhardy as to underestimate the female gender.

The conclusion was drawn that the murders in Laughlin were done to cover up something else. Because of the photos and their similarity; McCool, Dan Griggs and Captain Jenkins felt sure the answer would be found in the history of Lawler and Liplin.

A request was put in to the California State Police for any records. An addendum was added that this was a high priority case with national implications and could they expedite. McCool suggested a serious “please and thank you” addition with just enough info on the case to secure a call from the AGs office.

Like Skittles from the sky, a rainbow of clues came in. Where they had felt like they were up the creek without a paddle in previous weeks, the team now had actual leads and evidence to pursue. McCool, Griggs, Captain Jenkins and the rest of the Laughlin team met regularly and teleconferenced with Sgt. Johnson in D.C. Johnson kept the group apprised of international events and the group kept Johnson up to date on the research on Lawler/Liplin.

There was a long and tragic backstory to Constance Lawler. She had been witness to much brutality and loss. After the gang rape by her fellow cheerleaders in South Dakota, the family had returned to New Jersey. There the girl had excelled in her last year of High School and went on to Princeton, majoring in math.

She'd done so well that her parents had purchased a classic Corvette Stingray for her as a graduation gift from High School. A picture of the young girl had appeared in a local paper. A surprising amount of history was found in school transcripts and pictures concerning Connie Lawler's academic life at college. A racy shot of her in spandex bicycle shorts turned up in a yearbook, along with a note concerning her participation in a student government filibuster on an anti-bullying and hazing bill in her junior year.

The young Mz. Lawler had spoken passionately on the subject in an attempt to kill a watered down regulation and push through her more stringent amendment. She lost the fight, but spoke on the subject for over 18 hours. It was seen as an impotent gesture by her classmates and further ostracized her from the main stream in her class.

After graduating with honors from Princeton, she was again struck with tragedy when her parents’ home burned down with them in it, killing them both. To make matters worse it happened on her graduation night while she was out celebrating. What many missed was the fantastic financial windfall this gave the young 22 year old, along with the detail that she'd minored in Chemistry till her junior year. She was fresh out of college and already a millionaire.

It was much more difficult to do any face to face questioning of the girls allegedly involved with the high school incident. It turned out all but one of them was missing or deceased. That struck the team as more than a coincidence.

Coincidences continued to abound as they learned that Connie Liplin had another alias as Cathy McCarty and this alias was involved with Charles Hollingsworth's company. This company was the employer of the missing but assumed dead accountant and victim that Dan and Carla had discovered in the desert.

The team, and McCool and Dan specifically, began to revisit all the mayhem and madness that had taken place in Laughlin lately. They started with freak accident at the diner that killed two people and looked for any connection to one of Liplin's identities.

All this was so much info in so short a time frame, that after hours pouring over the new data, they broke for dinner and the special lamb chops at Le Fountain De Sheparie.

Charlotte finished with Charlie. She washed her hands with soap and shampoo to get all the blood out, and then checked the inside of the house one last time. As she glanced out the window from the office, she thought she saw a reflection of light from behind a tree. By standing on a couple of throw pillows she got a better angle to see, revealing the bumper of a car.

She pocketed Charlie's wedding ring she'd been holding and headed out the office door to the garden to investigate.

The afternoon heat and the quiet atmosphere had done their work; Martin had drifted off to sleep in the front seat of his car. In doing so his foot had dislodged the parking brake allowing the car to gently creep forward from behind the trees by no more than a foot or two.

"Well hello there handsome, what are doing out here by yourself?" Charlotte asked the just awakening Martin.

RT

Sunday Funnies - Happy Mother's Day Edition

2009-05-10T18:12:00.007-04:00

I have a great deal of respect for mother's in general and several I've known in particular. So I hope all you Mom's have a great day.

I thought the best way to honor them this week would be to tell a couple of stories.

One about a famous Mom and one about one not quite so famous.

Most of you have heard of Erma Bombeck. Erma was a wonderful writer with a great sense of humor and a great outlook on life. She was a resident here in Arizona during our time here. In fact, we once were driven by her mountain cabin in Pinetop, Arizona by our real estate agent while we were looking for a second home back in the mid 80s.

Her mountain home was nice, but modest. We didn't buy the one the Realtor showed us in her neighborhood, it was a bit too much money. Instead we bought a few blocks away and forgot about her even having a home up there. Still, my wife read her work and often read me passages from her books.

I will give you a quote here from her concerning motherhood:

"It is not until you become a mother that your judgment slowly turns to compassion and understanding." Erma Bombeck

I also enjoyed the one she had about football: "Anyone who watches three football games in a row should be declared brain dead."

The other not so famous mother who I have a story about is my own Mom, also now gone from this earth for several years.

During the last year of her life she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and Dementia. In her case though it was mostly harmless and at one point even entertaining. The manager at her retirement home told us that she had claimed to be going to lunch with Bobby Kennedy and had skied extensively in the Alps. This would have been quite a fete for a lady who hadn't left Selma in many, many years. Not to mention the difference in social status and so forth that would have prevented these events.

While at lunch at the "Glass House" restaurant just on the other side of the Alabama River with my Mom and my wife, we asked her about another revelation that had been told to us. "Mom, I hear you're working as a spy for the Queen of England?" I asked innocently as we backed out to the parking lot. "How's that working out?" I smiled at her. "Not worth a damn honey" she replied. "You know that Charles, such an ugly baby with those enormous ears" she continued. I glanced at Vicki in the back seat to confirm what we just heard. She nodded in the affirmative.

We both had to laugh. The picture of this 80 year old southern lady as a spy for the Queen was pretty damn funny. We joked with her and never made fun of her. She was really too sweet for that. The one really important thing I learned from my Mom's last days was the importance of attitude.

She had a wonderful attitude right up to the end. I was proud of that in her and I marveled at her ability to make the best of her situation. For many months she was bedridden, needed help with daily functions, wore diapers and had to have her food mixed at just the right consistency to be able to swallow without choking.

After being told her condition was terminal I asked her what she wanted to do with the remainder of her life. She told me she would like to do exactly what she was doing then. That entailed waking up every morning, having breakfast, taking a nap, talking with me or the nurses, eating again and sleeping. She found contentment in her existence till the last minute of her life.

I miss her today, maybe a little more than most days, but my memories of her are wonderful.

I can still recall how she saved me from Dad when I peed in a coffee cup when I was 4 or 5 years old. I'd had a high fever, turned delirious and thought I was in the bathroom. My Mom discovered me using my Dad's coffer cup as a potty and took me into the bathroom to finish. She felt my forehead, understood my condition and put me back to bed. When Dad got home and found his coffee cup in the garbage and then found out why; he wanted to blister my tiny little ass with a belt. Mom stepped in and explained to Dad I could not possibly have known what I was doing. I think she even laughed a bit about it.

I'll never forget that. Thanks Mom.

RT

Wordzzle 62 - Is Eight Enough?

2009-05-09T00:01:00.003-04:00

Hey it's Saturday, so get yourself on over to the Raven's Nest and check out the show.

This week's Ten Word Challenge: gentle spring rain, mammoth, soap opera, worry, bubble gum, garden gate, seizure, of Biblical proportions, paralysis, wrinkles

Mini Challenge: operatic, stuffed animals, anger management, biographical, paint splatters

This weeks Episode: Real Estate Fortunes

Charles Hollingsworth had received the acceptance letter from the PPIP office and had finished e-mailing the results to Charlotte when he noticed a visitor coming through the garden gate that was just outside his office. He loved the way the office was positioned to catch the afternoon breezes.

Charles was a crass man in many ways, but he appreciated the solitude and luxury his success had afforded him. What did it matter to him that it (his success) would come to fruition with the collapse of the very real estate market he had pumped up for two decades. The crisis, while of Biblical proportions, was just a tool to increase his profits.

He watched the woman walk gracefully through his lavish garden and come to the set of French doors leading to his office. From the first view of the woman's face it was impossible to tell that this might be his Charlotte. All the wrinkles were gone from this face looking at him and she seemed years younger. Yet, when he looked into those strangely Emerald eyes he was sure it was her.

"Connie, is that you?" he asked as she entered the room. "Only Charlotte now my love" she replied "and never any other name even just between the two us." "You understand, don't you Charles?" she finished as they embraced. Charlotte took the time to take off her shoes, which had been dampened by the leavings of an atypical gentle spring rain from the night before. It occurred to her as she did this that it wasn't really necessary, but she needed to keep up appearances.

For Charles's part there was never a worry at the unexpected arrival of his partner and sometimes lover. She could be quite mercurial in spite of her mathematical accomplishments. Her derivatives were some of the most unfathomable and most profitable of all the more than 600 trillion dollars worth that had been written in the preceding decade. While her total was a lowly 500 billion, it represented over 100 billion in profit when their scheme was put into play.

At a time when banks, hedge funds and the good ole US taxpayer was taking it in the shorts, their partnership would make 20% on 500 billion and over 1000% profit from their initial 10 million investment. The Saudis had supplied the rest and then lost it when Indy Mac was closed by the FDIC. The stealthy but lucrative CDSs were sitting in the governments hands and the new company had already placed and won a bid on them.

Charlotte's signature on the checks and the final papers was all that stood in the way of completing the deal.

"How did you get here so soon?" he asked as he kissed the nape of her neck. "Don't worry, I gave everyone the day off today" he added. "We've got the entire estate to ourselves." Charlotte already knew this. The idea of the day off on Mayday and Bank Monday had been floated by her through her contact in the household staff. She had advised Charles to go ahead with it when she e-mailed her reply to his question concerning the history of the day and her advice on setting the precedent. Little did he know that he and this ridiculous homage to his narcissism would not live to see the precedent take effect.

To the eventual investigators it would look as if he had a seizure and left a candle burning by his magnificent sunken tub. By the time they found his charred corpse there would be no sign of the drug given him to induce paralysis and make him a much more compliant playmate.

Charlotte needed only to remind herself to make sure he had an erection when the drug took effect. That way she could play at will for at least another hour. And the one truly wonderful thing about Charles was his member. It was no wonder she was able to take such advantage of him. All the blood must have rushed from his brain each time his mammoth organ became aroused, because that would be the only explanation as to how she so easily deceived him.

Perhaps she'd take him here first, since the office did not sport the watchful eyes of stuffed animals like her male victim's offices had. There was something off-putting about looking up into the eyes of a long dead Tiger and then looking down into the eyes of a frightened and paralyzed man. She much preferred the latter to the former. Then when done with him she’d use his remaining breathes for a little anger management workout. There was no need to worry about the forensic evidence; it would all be burnt up in the fire.

Charles was overcome by her obvious arousal and her aggressiveness. She walked with him in tow towards the master bath. He had no option but to follow as she tugged not to gently on his now aroused member and led him down the hall like he was on a leash.

The last thing Charles remembered clearly would be the vibrant colors of the paint splatters on the original Jackson Pollock that hung on the wall at his bedroom’s entrance. The rest of the afternoon would fade into a fog of pleasure, pain, and then horrible death.

Sgt Johnson was jarred awake by the phone call from McCool. He picked up the phone and left the bedroom so he wouldn’t wake up Zandilla. She slept lightly when he wasn’t beside her.

After coming to his senses and getting all the info, he called in information requests on both names, Connie Liplin and Constance Lawler. With any luck he’d have some news within the next 24 hours. He let Thomas know he’d get back to him ASAP with anything pertinent.

What would be helpful to his case and the one’s being investigated in Laughlin would be a very big surprise. It would all come down to a 20 year old piece of bubblegum and a lab report from a high school in South Dakota. With luck and hard work the FBI analyst might be able to infer some of the more elusive biographical details of the perpetrator of these violent crimes. Of course Sgt Johnson had no way of knowing this at 3:30 in the morning in his home in suburban Maryland.

Though outside the beltway, Laurel was really just another of the many bedroom communities surrounding our nations capitol. Johnson figured he might as well stay up now; he had to get up a 5:30 for the commute anyway. If he left a little early today he could get a head start on the weeks work.

Martin Heingold was the replacement for the missing accountant with the unwieldy moniker of Edward Darion Jamison III. He was also something of a gambler and a snoop. His gambling had taken the form of options trading, so when he was called in on an emergency basis to take over at Hollingsworth’s Real Estate Syndicate he lost no time in investing some of the firm’s funds in shorting the financial sector.

The trades had been disastrous. Now he had traveled all the way out to his boss’s lavish estate to confess and plead for his job. Had he known the true nature of his employer such an operatic performance would never have entered his mind. He would have just left the country under an assumed name and disappeared. Instead he came to his boss as if he was playing out a part in some modern soap opera or financial Telenova. He was unaware that his pleadings would fall on deaf ears.

So he was very surprised to see a rental car sitting in the back of the compound under a tree near the garden. He had been told that the boss might be alone today. He didn’t know who the visitor might be or how long they would stay, but he’d come this far and figured he might as well see it through. He parked his car out of sight and settled back in his seat to await the departure of the unknown visitor. After all he had nothing but time on his hands, didn’t he?

RT

Almost Fatally Flawed Feckless Friday

2009-05-08T18:28:00.008-04:00

First this week: The chairman of the New York Fed resigned because he got caught buying GS shares and selling them for a 3 million dollar profit while head of the board.

Oh, I forgot; he's a retired ex-chairman of Goldman Sachs. Some people (those that breath and can think) might call this a conflict of interest.

Then the Stress Test results came out and all the banks were good. Go figure.

Then of course the bank stocks all went up. Way up. Some over 100%.

Then the banks today sold shares to preferred customers and brokers at discounts to the market to raise capital that they say they really didn't need.

While this was going on, a carefully orchestrated leak program beginning last week and continuing up to Thursday at 5:00 PM when the official Stress Test results were released, came to it's Uber managed fruition and the whole financial group celebrated.

In the meantime, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, the trading arms of WFC, BAC, and Etc are using the TARP money to pump and dump their own stocks and fill their coffers.

Of course the Banksters are still in deep POO POO with trillions of highly leveraged Derivatives hanging on out there and we may be many years recovering from their first incompetent practices. Now to add insult to injury, the current stock price scam will end up coming out of retail investors' pockets or the taxpayers' pockets.

So.... Why am I more pissed off and more fantastically Feckless than usual.

Well, it seems that I bought into a financial ETF that shorts banks. BAD MOVE, very bad, very bad move. See, it will come to pass that the current irrational exuberance wanes. The king will be found to have no clothes. Some carefully orchestrated play or not, will be used to bring the market back to equilibrium.

By that time my shares in this stupid thing will be worth between a third and half of what I bought them for. And because of the leveraged ratio to the RIFIN index, it will be a long climb back to anywhere near my investment.

To make it all more ironic and worse; this was going to be just a quick swing trade. Then I was going back in to longer term investments when the market started a stable and reliable move up.

I will spend this weekend working on a new strategy to accomplish this goal with my ever diminishing trading account.

The good thing is that soon the Sun will set and a cooling breeze will roll across my back patio. When that happens I will drink a few (perhaps quite a few) adult beverages, light up a decent Cigar and contemplate my latest financial folly.

All these years and still so much to learn.

Hope you have a great weekend.

RT

Wordzzle 61 - Come on Lucky 7!

2009-05-02T00:01:00.003-04:00

If you don't know Raven then ya don't know word one about Wordzzle.

First this week, I need to do some repairs and house keeping. Thanks to a recent commenter, Stephen from Phoenix, I was made aware of contextual inconsistencies in the placement of one of my characters.

MIA CULPA ... My apologies to all for this evidence of my ineffective and shoddy research. The issue was the placement of Charlotte in French Guiana. Or more correctly, the placement of French Guiana on the wrong continent. The country is in South America and not on the African continent. In this it seems that George Bush and I have something in common. Neither of us knows shit about geography.

The narrative has been corrected in back episodes, even to changing the sentence using Tiger. My observant reader Stephen pointed out that Tigers are natives to Asia and not South America, where of course French Guiana really is. I actually knew this, but by having the country on the wrong continent, I screwed that up too.

I like to think I keep it real at the Bloggerhood when writing these stories, so I take seriously these comments and criticisms. Thanks Stephen for taking the time and effort to help me make my stories better.

Now, on with the show.

This Week's Ten Word Challenge: translation, crunchy, cat’s paw, trunk, I love raspberry tarts, global warming, star struck, the midnight ride of Paul Revere, fragile, Spring fever

Mini Challenge: pancakes and syrup, flat tire, mongoose, this place looks like a bordello, first dance

This weeks Episode: Riverside Revelry

From a back office of the FBI building in D.C. a file was making its way to the desk of the assistant to the director. This file concerned massive mortgage fraud in the central California valley. It was placed in his secretary's inbox by the weekend messenger. The assistant to the director was on a short vacation and wouldn't see the file till he came back.

The group of Dan & Carla and McCool & Jean decided a good meal at the Condo in Bullhead was a perfect way to blow off some steam and get to know each other better. McCool talked some with Dan about the transition from HVAC back to criminal investigation, while Jean gave Carla the tour of the Condo. They had rented it because of the river view, but Jean couldn't help but tell Carla, when they came to the master bedroom; "this place looks like a bordello."

After the ladies finished the tour the group sat down to eat on the deck overlooking the Colorado River. They started the meal with authentic crunchy tortilla chips with homemade Salsa and washed it down with cold beer. A few tacos later and they were thinking about how they overate and how to make room for dessert. Jean announced that tonight's coupe de Grasse would be tarts. "Oh, I hope they're raspberry" smiled McCool, "I love raspberry tarts."

"That reminds me" Jean said with a gleam in her eye. "When I met you I believe you just plain liked tarts." "Are you besmirching the reputations of my old girlfriends?" he asked. "No need" she replied, "They did that themselves." "OK, let's not forget how we met and our first dance" he countered. "I remember I didn't jump into your bed the first time we met like your other girlfriends" she smirked back at him.

"How about another "Flat tire", I mean "Fat Tire" Dan?" "It's pretty damn good beer isn't it?" McCool said to change the subject. "Sounds like you got him flustered" Carla quipped to Jean. "I think I was star struck by Thomas from the start, but I never let him know it" she added. "And it worked out for the best, just look at us now." "Twenty eight years later and still going strong" she finished.

Dan went to the trunk of his car for his guitar and the two men set up on the deck to play some old Dylan tunes. After a few songs like "Just like a woman", "Rainy day blues" and "Like a rolling stone", they changed artists and attempted an old Smokey Joe tune entitled "The midnight ride of Paul Revere." The song’s lyrics drifted out over the calm river with nothing but an occasional cat's paw to disturb the gently flowing waters, if you didn't count the frequent discordant notes.

The two men changed from the excellent Fat Tire beer to whiskey and cigars. Dan put his Takamine back in the trunk feeling it was a bit too fragile for the kind of playing they would be doing later. Instead he borrowed Thomas's trusty old Fender Mongoose with the travel amp and they settled in for some blues. "Looks like those two have a case of spring fever" Carla commented to Jean. "Don't worry about them, they're just blowing off steam" Jean replied.

About that time Jean's cell phone rang and she excused herself to take the call from her sister Lara. "Hey Sis, how's Laughlin?" Lara asked first thing. "OK," Jean answered, "but we're not winning big at the Casinos if that's what you called for" she teased. "What, you don't think I called to give you the latest update on global warming, or some crap like that?" her sister teased back. "After all, we live in a fragile ecosphere" she added. "I'm pretty sure it isn't that" Jean answered. "You're right again Sis." "You might want to check your e-mails though, cause what I sent you is gonna blow your mind" Lara said mysteriously. "What's up girl, just spill it" Jean shot back. "No way Jean, look at your e-mail and then thank me later, Oh, and tell your husband he owes me a beer" Lara said as she rung off.

Jean and Carla went out on to the deck to get Thomas to fire up his laptop. They all trouped into the kitchen, turned on the computer and waited for it to open up the e-mail. Lara's e-mail was short and succinct. It contained two pictures and the following message. "Looks like her to me." Below that one line was a picture of the deceased Connie Liplin and the girl known by Lara and Jean as that poor thing that got gang raped, Constance Lawler. The picture of Connie Liplin looked older, but it otherwise they were identical.

The truly telltale sign was the eyes. They were startling, a rare off-emerald in color and unlike any the group had seen before. Dan looked at Thomas, then at Jean, and last at Carla. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked the group. "Maybe we should put a call in to Sgt Johnson tonight about this" McCool offered.

The two couples studied the pictures and discussed the possibilities for the next hour or so. Jean thought it possible that the young Constance had changed her name to forget the incident and Carla agreed that was possible. The two men with their law enforcement backgrounds were somewhat more cynical in their considerations. If nothing else it would perhaps help them positively identify the woman in the Tahoe and move on from there. Since it was getting late and the group was a little woozy from food and drink, Jean put Dan & Carla up in the guestroom, with the promise of pancakes and syrup for breakfast in the morning. Everyone went to bed with their own ideas about this new revelation.

Meanwhile, 6000 miles away in France, Inspector Georges De Solemaone looked carefully at the file his agent had written on the woman Cathy McCarty. She had been identified as being at the beach on the night of the murder of the young Swedish girl. The trail had gone cold in South Africa, but the agent had followed a hunch and went to French Guiana. But what he found there was inconsistent with the evidence. The closest thing to the woman Cathy McCarty was a reclusive French noblewoman who looked nothing like the McCarty woman. The inspector would now have to explain to his superior why he authorized the flights and the extra expense.

But the lady Charlotte had been incognito for some time. And the agent was unable to determine when and how she arrived in French Guiana. Was this enough to go on? First he'd have the Surrete do a workup on this Charlotte Vignoire. Surely, if she was from the old money she seemed to be there would be a record on her and her family. He hurriedly sent the memo and got up to leave for home. Tomorrow would be soon enough to decide what to look at next.

Forensic pathologist Cindy Lerner liked her job. She took her position with the Nevada State Police very seriously. When she needed to do extra research to find out the answer to something she just did it. In this case the research was almost too easy. Before switching to Bio-Sciences, Cindy had been a math geek. Not just any math geek either. She won the prestigious Stonehenge award her last year in high school. This included a pendant shaped like the famous Lozenge Calendar. So when an identical pendant came in that was purportedly found with a now missing skeleton in the desert, she knew right away what to do.

Each years' pendant had been marked with month, day and year it was awarded. By using her magnifying glass and simple translation she determined the year it was given. A few phone calls later and she knew the owner's name; Edward Darion Jamison III. He had received the award his senior year of high school in 1989. The info she pulled up on him listed his employer as Central Valley Real Estate Investors in L.A. Cindy printed out copies and placed them in the John Doe file. By Monday morning this case might have a name. It was up to the detective bureau to coordinate with the California cops from here on in.

RT

Feckless Friday - Financial Follies Forever

2009-05-01T17:18:00.012-04:00

I'm still recouping from last weekend's up country gamble-fest and weekend getaway birthday celebration.

The market has continued on it's merry way, finishing April up a record percentage on both the Dow Jones and the S&P 500. All this while the banks continue to look insolvent and have put off the results of the stress test for a few more days to get their stories straight and spin the numbers. Go figure.

Vicki and I enjoyed a great meal at a local Red Lobster on the actual night of her birthday this week. Many and varied Crustaceans were consumed along with tasty spirits. The meals were almost too big. Any more and I would have puked, which would have certainly been a buzz-kill for the establishment's ambiance and our evening.

We're relaxing this weekend with just one trip planned out to our oldest daughter's place for a midday mini-celebration on Sunday.

My Fecklessness this week has been concentrated on holding a position in a stock that I shouldn't, but continue to hold anyway out of conviction that the banks are big fat liars.

As an example of Ironic Fecklessness I leave you with the following story:

This week a Republican Senator by the name of Arlen Spector changed parties to join the Democrats. He was of course soundly verbally abused by his former party's spokesman, Rush (give me Oxy and a Hamburger with fries and shake) Limberger.

Here's the Ironic Fecklessness part; or perhaps it's Feckless Irony, you decide. Evidence points to Al Franken becoming the 60th Democratic Senator when the courts and Minnesota finally make up their minds.

Franken is the author of a very famous and aptly named book; Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot: and other Observations. Here is someone who will give as good as he takes in any dialogue, argument or flame throwing with the repulsive El-Rushbo.

I find it very ironic that these two individuals should be at the crux of politics at this time. Oh, and the Feckless part; Limberger sued Franken over the title when the book came out and lost. I guess it's not libel when it's true, huh?

Have a great weekend.

RT