"Ringer" - A Kindle Romantic Suspense/Thriller

As a "fun experiment," three Hilton Head Island authors decided to collaborate on writing a romantic suspense/thriller. The happy result was Ringer, a digital book available on Kindle ($2.99).


Set mostly on Hilton Head Island, it is the story an attempt to derail an International Peace Conference being held at the Cloisters on Sea Island, Georgia. 


In the service of a clandestine organization of the government, IMPOSTR, Caroline Stephens is a specialist in disguise and surgically changing a person's appearance. After a successful operation at a safe house in West Virginia, her world falls apart. By accident she survives an attempt to kill her and realizes that not only is she the target of her own agency, but also that her own brother who is calling the shots.


After escaping  south, she attempts to hide as an oyster sucker on Hilton Head Island where she meets a fishing boat captain who is a former Navy SEAL, Can Coop, and their benevolent employer, Noah Stamper. By accident Caroline and Can learn that they are both threats to an important general who has presidential ambitions and that, therefore, they are his targets.


Having determined  the general's plans,Caroline, Can and Noah set out on a nearly impossible mission to thwart the general's scheme- a plan which would severely damage international relations for years to come.


The novel is  fast-paced  action with an adequate dash of suspense. The local color helps the reader overlook some of the coincidences of the plot line, but its charm is the interesting characters whom the reader quickly identifies with.


Tre' Hilton is the pseudonym for three Hilton Head authors: Kathy Wall, known for her Bay Tanner series, Jo Williams, author of The Song My Soul Remembers, and Vicky Hunnings, author of The Bride Wore Blood and other mystery novels.

Republicans Averse to Democracy and Sermon on the Mount

Ayn Rand: Guru of the Republican Party

If I were a Republican, I would be concerned about what my party has become. In the last election they campaigned on creating jobs. That's a good thing. They campaigned on curtailing excessive government spending. Another good thing. They campaigned on no new taxes. Not a good thing if that is GOP-speak for "let's renew the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy."


Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that the only jobs they were interested in were patronage jobs for their cronies and contributors. In fact, their first efforts were to eliminate the existing jobs of public workers like police and firemen.


Their idea of curtailing government spending was to do it at the expense of the middle class and the poor while providing energy and agricultural companies with huge subsidies. And of course they insisted on continuing the "temporary" Bush tax breaks for the super wealthy.


These items are some of the many that explain why I am not a Republican. On the other hand, disregarding the above, I suspect my Republican friends are now wondering what has happened to the Grand Old Party. First of all, there was Sarah Palin. Enough said. Then they watched as the so-called Tea Party became the tail that wagged the dog. If that were not enough, along comes Donald Trump with his dog-and-pony show.


But more recently, many whom the GOP had courted with protestations of Christian fundamentalism  were astounded to learn that real spiritual guru of the Republicans (Ryan, the Pauls, and the Kochs etc.) is Ayn Rand with with her gospel of selfish greed and her distaste, nay, hatred,  for Christianity. She finds the Sermon on the Mount despicable. Sorry about that, Christian conservatives. It appears Karl Rove and friends were just using you. You, I suspect, would be surprised at the things Ayn Rand has said.


But certainly, Republicans were committed to the concept of democracy. According to George W. Bush one of the reasons our youth were being sacrificed on the altar of Iraq was to spread democracy throughout the Mideast. 


Just a minute. This week we heard from the new Republican governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder, who informed us that democracy is a problem. We were always aware that Republicans worked to keep Americans from voting, but we attributed that to their fear of fraud or of being the minority party, but now we know what they really want is a plutocracy. As Governor Snyder said: “Every single one of those places has just been told that them having locally elected officials, that’s a problem,That democracy is in the way of making things more efficient in Michigan, that Democracy is not the way we fix problems in America, that it is a problem.” (MSNBC Rachel Maddow)


Nothing like unbridled capitalism in an efficient plutocracy!

The New Racism and the Birthers

It is now obvious why President Obama was reluctant to release the long form of his birth certificate. It's release is a waste of time and only serves to give the crazies like Donal Trump more attention than they deserve. In addition, the other crazies like Orly Taitz will continue to deny the facts, And then there are Republican leaders like John Boehner who say they take the President's word for his citizenship, thereby cleverly not admitting his citizenship was and has been a proven fact.


Unfortunately, the whole issue appears to be based on a new form of racism. The new, more subtle form of  racism does not resort to cross-burnings, lynchings and the other more crude methods of the KKK. In fact, today's racists do not want to be labeled racists; they go by a whole range of conservative, patriotic-sounding names.


The new racists came to the fore during the 2008 presidential election and have only increased their veiled attacks on President Obama since his election. Typical of the attacks has been all of the hulabalu about whether the President was born in the United States and is, therefore, an American citizen. And of course, they were quick to surmise that he was born in Africa


One has to ask why this president, the first black president, had to show us a copy of his original birth certificate. Did Ronald Reagan have to show a birth certificate? And why was John McCain not questioned about his citizenship. After all, McCain was born on foreign soil at Coco Solo Air Base in the Panama Canal Zone. Since the Constitution stipulates that the president must be a "natural born citizen," one could challenge McCain's eligibility. But no, it was all about the black guy, Barack H. Obama.


For years the Republican Party has employed what they called their "Southern Strategy," part of which was the theory that Republicans could count on the racist vote in the South. One would like to think that Americans today are not voting based on race, but judging from the "birther" nonsense, it appears that politicians are still resorting to tactics which attract the racist vote. The politicians who send their colleagues emails depicting the First Family as monkeys are somewhat rare, but the fact that any politicians in 2011 are doing this is despicable.


Perhaps even as disturbing is the fact that some of these politicians may not be racists themselves, but in their efforts to attract the vote of those who are, they function as enablers.  That would not be new. We've seen politicians of a wide variety of beliefs say the "right" thing in order to appeal to conservative Christians.


Unfortunately, whatever its form, racism is still with us, and the presence of a black man in the White House (no pun intended) brings the hatred to the front lines of politics.

New Amendment to Eliminate Congressional Privilege

For years Congress could go about its business or monkey business in the confidence that the public was not paying much attention. In the belief that the public was not interested, the major news outlets were content reporting only on major legislation and not bothering with the day-to-day machinations of Congress. But a funny thing, the internet, happened. All of a sudden American citizens were able to access a whole panoply of new sources of information. To the chagrin of politicians, it soon became apparent that inquiring minds were quite interested in what our Representatives and Senators were doing or not doing. 

Even today, the public is still catching up with what our elected officials have done, specifically what they have done for themselves. According to many, what they have done is to create a two-tier system of citizenship; one for themselves and another for the rest of us.


For example, the members of Congress can retire with their same pay after only one term. But these are the same geniuses who are proposing that the rest of us work beyond the age of 65 in order to receive our meager social security benefits. 


These elected officials (the ones who are supposed to be our representatives) have also exempted themselves from Healthcare Reform in order to keep the healthcare package that they have been enjoying for years.


But, even more disgusting, is that they have specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed. For example. they are exempt from prosecution for sexual harassment laws  - laws which they passed for the rest of us. Such laws are justified, but what is not justified is that  they exempted themselves.


As a result of these Congressional shenanigans, there is a movement afoot proposing a 28th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The proposed amendment would read: "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representative that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States."


And,  such an amendment would not even influence all the perks they give themselves, such as free foreign travel and their own Congressional Country Club. They would continue to have a plethora of government-paid benefits that most taxpayers could only dream about.

North Carolina Wine Country: Shelton Vineyards

Springtime at Shelton Vineyards

In early April, returning from a Florida vacation, my wife and I were travelling north on I-77 through North Carolina when we happened upon the Shelton Vineyards.


Early afternoon found us passing exit 93 with signs indicating the Harvest Grill at Shelton Vineyards. Since we had eaten the day before at fast-food places, we were determined to avoid them on this day, and the Harvest Grill seemed to be what we were looking for. After mistakenly driving into the village of Dobson, we backtracked and found the Harvest Grill located within the Shelton Vineyards.


The Grill provided a perfect interlude to our day of travelling. We were greeted in the lobby by Mr. Ed Shelton, and shown to a table on the patio overlooking the finely manicured grape vines. Exhibiting an abundance of Southern hospitality, our waitress was very attentive to our needs without  being smothering.


Chef Paul Lange's  menu is a "delicious mixing of the urbane and rural high-end comfort food." For lunch, I enjoyed a buffalo burger with bacon and bleu cheese, accompanied by a garden salad with Harvest Grill Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette dressing. My wife was delighted by a tomato Parmesan bisque along with the same salad. Both of our lunches were excellent and were attractively served.


Since we had four more hours of driving ahead of us, we chose tea and coffee rather wine from the vineyard, but we did purchased two wines to take with us  - a Madison Lee Red and a Shelton Shiraz. We served the Madison Lee Red at a dinner party recently and all guests wanted to know where to purchase it. Fortunately, thanks to changes in Ohio law, Shelton  Vineyards is able to ship it's award-winning wines to our homes.


Shelton Vineyards are located in the heart of the Yadkin River Valley which features six other vineyards between Dobson in the north and  extending toward Charlotte in the south. Apparently, the unique soil and climate result in the significant characteristics of Shelton wines, and are ideal for "growing European varietals such as Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Viognier and Riesling." The vineyard currently grows 11 different varieties of grapes.


An interesting tidbit I learned at the Shelton Vineyards: rosebushes are planted among the vines, not for their beauty, but because they are extremely sensitive to disease and insects and begin to show symptoms sooner than the grape vines. As the Sheltons say, "A rosebush is a canary in a coal mine." 


My recommendation: if traveling north or south along I-77 in North Carolina, Shelton Vineyards (c. 3 miles from exit 93 on I-77)  and the Harvest Grill will provide a pleasant respite from interstate highways and fast food restaurants.

Easter's Pagan Influences

Many, Christians and non-Christians, have wondered why the feast that celebrates Jesus' resurrection is called "Easter."  What does the word mean? Where did the word come from? Why isn't it used in the New Testament? Why isn't it celebrated on the same day every year? And, what does "the easter bunny" have to do with this feast? How do "easter eggs" fit in? Why the lilies?
Although these questions were not dealt with in our Baltimore Catechisms, the answer to most is that sometime before 899 the Christians chose to incorporate certain aspects of Anglo-Saxon paganism into the Christian celebration of Jesus' resurrection. 


Since the 1st Council of Nicaea (325) decided that the  Resurrection feast would be celebrated on the 1st Sunday after the full moon following the Spring Equinox,  it coincided with an already existing Anglo-Saxon celebration whose rituals took place at the same time of the year. The pagan spring festival was dedicated to the fertility goddess, Oestre. (The British monk, Venerable Bede, made reference to this in the 7th century) The Christians appropriated that name, Easter, and the concept of springtime being a period of nature "returning" to life. The Christians had no qualms about assuming some of the rituals ( the Easter fire) and some of the Anglo-Saxon symbols.

Christians apparently began painting "Easter eggs" in medieval times as eggs symbolized new life. In the 17th century, the "Easter hare" who brought eggs to good children appeared in German communities.  The Germans who settled in Pennsylvania brought that tradition to this country, again emphasizing the rabbit's reputation for fertility and thus new life.

Although there are some Christians today who are apparently embarrassed by the pagan origin of the name and symbols, others proudly point to the ingenuity and flexibility of those early Anglo-Saxon Christians who were willing to adapt pagan terminology and practices to serve what they considered the true religion. And, without doubt, using practices already familiar to the population had a beneficial proselytizing result.


For a more complete picture, search "pagan origins of Easter."  Quasi-religious celebrations surrounding the Spring Equinox have a long history, and their influence is obvious in today's Christian celebration of Easter. If one gives it a second thought, there is an obvious relationship between the belief that Jesus rose from the dead and springtime, the season in which nature resurrects itself from the death of winter.


Perhaps those Christians of today who want to separate the feast of Jesus' resurrection and the terminology and symbolism of the Equinox would do better to appreciate the convergence of themes as did the Anglo-Saxon Christians. 

Taxes are Part of the Deal

As the April 15th tax date approaches, I recall a sign from "The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear," Saturday, October 30, 2010 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Smart Devices

A Smart Vacuum Cleaner?

My daughter is smarter than I am, and I am okay with that.
Then I bought a computer that is smarter than I am. A little disturbing.
We now have a automobile that is smarter than I am. Scary.
Our 2-year old TV and its remote control are 
definitely smarter than I am. Embarrassing.
And I just purchased a phone that is smarter than I am. 
Why didn't I keep my old stupid phone?
I mean, having something in common,  my stupid phone and I 
were able to communicate.


And that is why we are not getting a dog. 

I know damn well that the dog will be smarter than I am.

But, on the other hand, there is Smart Water. That's ridiculous.

I must be smarter than water.

I hear tell that there are now smart showers and toilets. 
Now that's not right; a smart toilet? I definitely don't want to know 
what it does. But I suspect it does know "shit from shinola."


Recently I was told some genius is selling "smart bras."
God knows, I have nothing against bras,
but why does someone need a smart bra? 
What is the difference between a smart bra and and a dumb bra?
Does a smart bra unclasp itself when one says "open sesame"?


I recently saw one of those robotic vacuum cleaners,
 but although it is smarter than I am, it did not have enough common 
sense to get out of the way when I dropped a 100 lb. anvil on it.
I suggested applying that same anvil test to our other smart things,
but my wife suggested I visit an institution -- 
and it was not an institution of higher learning

Lenten Resolutions of a Sort

Lent (the Teutonic word for springtime) begins on Ash Wednesday (this year, 3/9) and many Christians around the world will begin observing 40 days of prayer, penitence, alms-giving, fasting and self denial.


For many,  Lent's main component is depriving one's self of things one enjoys. It is a period of "giving up" things like chocolate, alcohol, cigarettes or other pleasant activities.


Then, there are those who "give up" doing things that they should have never been doing in the first place. Some of those activities are:


1. starting wars.
2. listening to Rush Limbaugh.
3. believing what Rush says.
4. wearing crocs in the snow.
5. selling automatic weapons to Mexican drug lords.
6. swimming with sharks.
7. reading Donald Rumsfeld's memoir.
8. watching "Dancing with the Stars."
9. waiting for the wealth to "trickle down" to the middle class.
10. thinking that your 748 Facebook "friends" are really your friends.
11. building bonfires on a frozen pond.
12. believing the US Supreme Court makes "non-political" decisions.
13. selling Super Bowl tickets for non-existent seats.
14. purchasing a tattoo of Ann Coulter on your derrière.
15. damaging your credibility by repeating something you heard on Fox News.
16. making fun of the child obesity problem in the US.
17. asking Brett Favre to email you photos of himself.
18. sending out your wedding invitations on Facebook.
19. answering questions with a question.
20. naming your daughters Bristol, Willow and Piper.
21. using the electric hair dryer in the shower.
22. suggesting that "death panels" are part of the new Health Insurance Law.
23. blaming public employees  for budget deficits.
24. going to a casino and gambling with your rent money.
25. writing your memoir when only 20 years old.


Personally, my Lenten resolution is to stop making up stupid lists. We'll see how that goes. If you would like to add to the list, do so in "post a comment" section below.

GOP Budget: Defund Gov. & Subsidize the Wealthy

Ol' Money Bags: "We love the Republicans.
They are so easy.
 Just throw money at their feet,
and they will fall over themselves
picking it up."

Today (3/2/11) Congress kicked the budget can down the road to avoid a government shut-down. The Republicans don't want that to happen. The last time, when Newt Gingrich shut it down, the country became dramatically aware of how important the government really is.


But the budget problem will have to be solved. The Republicans while protecting their special interests and their subsidies want a $61 billion reduction, and as is so often the case these days, refuse to negotiate. The Democrats today went along with some mutually agreeable cuts, but cannot tolerate the cuts the GOP is proposing. These are just some of the cuts directed at the working middle class and the working poor by the GOP, their lobbyists, and the Koch brothers:


1. They want to defund the new health care law. The result - health insurance companies would decide whether you get coverage and how much you will pay. It would eliminate a provision that at least 80 % of your health care premium would be spent on health care. The insurance company could spent as much as it wanted on CEO salaries and golf outings.


2.This budget would eliminate funds for the homeless veterans. No matter that these men and women put their lives on the line and suffered a wide array of psychological and physical injures and are now wandering our streets and sleeping under over-passes.


3. This budget is under-cutting enforcement of  new food safety reforms. Their donors at the large agricultural corporations do not want the government preventing them from selling suspect or tainted foods.


4. The Republicans in the House want to cut the budget for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by 40%, thus reducing its ability to protect consumers from abuses by financial institutions who are a favorite Republican charity.


5. They also want to defund  NPR and PBS in an attempt to eliminate a news source which examines issues in depth and from various perspectives.  If they could eliminate these guys, corporations like Fox News  would not appear so ridiculously biased.


Obviously this is just a very short list of what the Republicans want to cut or defund. On the other hand, consider just two of the things they want to subsidize.


1. Agricultural subsidies, long recognized as "welfare for the wealthy," are not being eliminated. They want to continue to subsidize these fat cats, perhaps because these guys dump tons of money into their campaign war chests.


2. While they want to defund  programs to develop clean energy and renewable energy, they are hell-bent on subsidizing giant oil companies ($4 billion) and providing them with tax breaks.


There seems to be little doubt that the plutocrats  have chosen to declare war on the middle class and the working poor in order to confiscate more of the country's wealth for themselves, and they are funding the Republican Party to be their mercenaries.