Pre-Isaac randomocity

Isaac, if you don't follow the weather, is a tropical storm in the Atlantic. The latest forecast has it still at tropical depression strength when it gets this far inland--we'll probably get some heavy rains, at least. Not that we don't need it. I just would like for it to fall when I don't have to drive in it. And without accompanying air-to-groiund lightening, high winds, or tornadoes.

Anyways, that's what I'm sort of bracing for right now.

On the creative front, I had an idea for a TV show this morning that I think is a really good one. It's sort of an unusual thing for me--it's a legal drama. I think the character at the heart of it would be interesting and there's a unique hook that will both draw in an audience and actually work to do good things in the real world. Of course, I can't divulge what I'm planning here, yet. Maybe one day.

I'm still working on the first draft of The Singers in the Eternal Night--my characters are starting to exhibit unplanned-for personality traits, which I know from experience is a good thing. Still got a long way to go on this thing.

I'm also still thinking about The Harvester of Faces. This is the next project in the queue--I want to wait to start on it because it will be a lot more complicated than my current project, which is basically a haunted house story in space. This one will have all sorts of social and political commentary worked into the plot--I'll be getting a lot of stuff off my chest with this one. Hopefully it won't come across as preachy--I hate that. One thing I can say about it: it's a dystopic story, but the dystopia isn't where you think it would be. It's nothing that hasn't already been done a few times but I'm hoping it'll be subtle enough to sneak up on most readers.

And I'm still re-reading and touching up Seer II--I think after I finish this pass I'll send it off to my friend who might be interested in starting actually getting it made. Of course she'll have some notes--she may actually hate it--but either way I'm looking forward to her feedback. She's incredibly busy these days but until I send it to her I'll keep obsessing over it, tweeking it, adjusting it, when I really should be working on other things.

Anyways, fingers crossed the weather doesn't get too terribly bad here, and if you're in the cone of uncertainty for Isaac keep your eyes on him over the next few days.

A maybe stormy Saturday night randomicity

It's been a bit of a roller coaster this week.

I can't really talk about work other than to say things are tough out there right now and everybody is trying to save as much money as they can. It could be worse. And so forth.

Things are pretty stressfull family-wise, too--I don't know everything that's going on there so I will refrain from commenting on it. It's just how things seem to go, I guess.

Offset that with the good news that my beautiful, talented, perfect little eight year old goddaughter, Talyan, will be reprising her role as Ava on Two and a Half Men. I figured they would have her back but it's nice to now know for sure. I'm very proud of her and I know she and her mom are very excited. Talyan is happiest when she's on set, I think. A little superstar in the making.

www.weather.com insists that this thunder I keep hearing is an hallucination--the map does not show any storms in this area and there probably won't be tonight. But it's awfully dark outside, and, as I said, I keep hearing this thunder . . . of course, I could just be losing my mind. It wouldn't take much at this point.

The redo of my first draft of this novel is coming along pretty well. I'm calling it The Singers in the Eternal Night, and it's science fiction/horror. Emphasis on the "horror." Still got a long way to go with it.

The problem I'm having is the next project on my to-do list, another science fiction/horror novel I'm calling The Harvester of Faces, is starting to clamor for my attention. That one is more like science fiction with horrific elements and it is by gawd gonna wait its turn! Dammit! I'll probably make some notes for it, plot some things out, that sort of thing, just to get my muse to calm down and focus on the issue at hand.

I'm still missing Atari terribly. I think every one of my neighbors has a dog and they all walk them when I'm out and about.

That's what's on my mind, this possibly stormy Saturday evening.

The third man - part four

Re-entry

Our boy has served two terms as President--all of the second and about half of the first one triumphant. He got a lot of his agenda accomplished, thanks to his own refusal to compromise his standards, and to more than a little bit of good luck. He's enormously popular, at home and abroad, and thanks to his endorsement his Veep gets elected next general election, overwhelmingly. That's a different story.

The real story begins now. Our boy--POTUS--is now our boy--private citizen. He still has a Secret Service detail but he doesn't truck around on Air Force 1 any more. Often, even though he gets a daily intelligence briefing, he has no idea what's going on in the trouble spots in the world. He has a staff and an office, but now he'll have hours--sometimes even a day or longer--where his every minute isn't already planned out and he can actually sleep until mid-morning.

It's an effort for him to not pick up the phone to call the current POTUS during a crisis--he really misses the feel of those reins in his hand and he remembers how annoyed he'd get when he'd get a call from a former POTUS with unsolicited advice. So, he watches the news with the remote in his hand, ready to change the channel when the story turns to something that would make him cringe and dive for the phone.

His wife has no trouble adjusting. She likes having her own house back--she was never comfortable with the army of servants and likes resuming her former role as a traditional house wife who cooks and shops for her family.

The boy digs being able to make breakfast for his wife again--it was a bit of a tradition with them but he had to stop during his terms in office. He misses being able to go shopping with her, or going to visit friends or just take a vacation without it becoming a major event. His popularity has not diminished--indeed, it has grown since he left office, and his predecessors can feel his shadow over them and it makes them really nervous. He gets asked--begged, even---not to take a stand on matters of policy, even if he is in agreement with what's being done, as it would cause problems with the current administration. He pretty much has to keep his mouth shut, smile for the cameras, and play nice.

It ain't easy. He can feel that people expect him to take a stand when something is happening, somewhere in the world, and he does get sent to hotspots to negotiate with troublesome world leaders--he's still respected, as everyone knows his word is good and the current administration would not dare to betray him by not following through on what he promises.

But after a while his popularity becomes troublesome, even among his friends who still hold office. He's the eight-hundred pound elephant in the room. Even his friends, even people who owe him their careers, wish he would just disappear sometimes.

Even he wishes he could do that, or at least go somewhere where people don't know him, where he can run down to the drug store at night to buy some asprin or a six pack of sodas without a motorcade and bodyguards. He'd love to go to a theater box office and buy a couple of tickets to a film and watch it with his wife like everyone else does.

So, does he eventually adjust? Of course he does. As he gets older so do the people who adore him so strongly--in his old age he's as popular as ever, but his supporters are older, wiser, more mellow, and consider him one of their gang. After several years he is able to go out, socialize, hang out with people--they still know who he is, and still love him, but they accept him as part of their own group without making a big deal about it. They love having him, and make him feel welcome, but consider him one of their own. Now he's able to go see a movie, or have dinner in a restaurant, or go shopping, and he'll be recognized and greeted by everyone, but he won't be mobbed--he's allowed to live his life surrounded by millions of people who consider him a personal friend.

He realizes, finally, that this is all he ever really wanted. If life is a mission, his was accomplished.

The third man - part three

So, our boy has stood his ground in spite of all sorts of pressure to give in, and turned out to be right. He's worked with his political enemies for the good of the country, narrowly averting an ecomomic disaster that his enemies nearly caused.

How do they reward him? By undermining him at every opportunity. What does he do? He tries to do his business running the country.

A few months after the fiscal crisis was averted most people have forgotten that he vetoed the law that caused all the problems--that Congress overrode his veto and nearly plunged the country into an economic abyss. Now, POTUS is just seen as mild-mannered guy who attends mall openings and speaks at charity banquets.

One night there is an earthquake, not in California where one would expect, but in Tennessee, which is on a fault line but not an area that one would expect something of this magnatude--and this one was a doozy. Billions of dollars of property damage. Thousands of casualties. It's a disaster.

A few hours after the earthquake certain aide workers are given satellite phones and told to place a call if they need anything big--earth moving equipment, for example, or three tons of bottled water. They are told that the President has appointed a special czar to oversee the Federal response to this disaster. These phones are a direct line to this czar, who has enormous power and should be able to cut through red tape and make things happen. When the first of these people uses this phone he is shocked to find out that this czar is POTUS himself.

And he is there--everytime one of these aide workers makes a call, POTUS himself answers. Not a secretary. Not an assistant. Not a cabinet member. POTUS. And he by gawd makes things happen. You need a bull dozier, you'll get it, within hours if not minutes. You need someone evacuated to a hospital for emergency surgery--a helicopter will be there and a surgical team will be standing by.

In one area a minor bureaucrat--a promising young Democrat, as it happens--deliberately withheld assistance to a Republican district, strictly to make the Republican look bad. POTUS called the Dem and informed her that, as far as politics was concerned, her career was over--she didn't run for re-election and never ran for office again. And the Republican district got its help.

POTUS nearly worked himself into a heart attack--his doctor was extremely concerned and he suffered from sheer exhaustion. However, many people were helped, supplies got to where they needed to go, and many lives were saved. It's pretty much a concensus that his help was critical in keeping a terrible situation from becoming an unnending nightmare.

People remember that. They remember his leadership during the economic crisis, how he said the law was wrong and stood his ground, in spite of the fact that his veto would be overridden. They remember how he worked with those who tried to destroy his credibility, tried to make him irrelevant politically--he welcomed them into the Oval Office and listened to them and compromised when he really didn't have to, considering how unpopular those people were at the time.

POTUS goes from being a mild-mannered moderate Democrat to being enormously popular. Near the end of his first term a Congressman does not dare to thwart him, lest he find his office buried in tons of mail from angry constituents and himself targeted for defeat next election. POTUS is in demand as a speaker, his campaign war chest is full before the election cycle even starts, and he's mobbed everywhere he goes. At his speeches the crowds go wild when he's introduced, and also every time he pauses for breath.

His reelection campaign left his opponent's career a smoldering ruin of shattered dreams and never-to-be realized hopes. He won in a landslide. Having thousands of people who feel like they owe him--personally--their lives, didn't hurt, especially since many of them were so vocal in their support. There's serious thought to amending the Constitution to allow him a third and fourth term--his wife, though, put her foot down at that.

Anyways, he did all this by standing his ground, trusting his instincts, being true to himself. By being nice--he became famous for respecting and being well-mannered and polite to everyone. He never attacked anyone other than that one person during the earthquake crisis, and that person was a member of his own party. And deserved it.

So, the last half of his first term, and his entire second term, were tremendously successful. He was loved, popular, powerful. And now, it's all over, and he's going to become a private citizen again.

Next--Re-entry.

The third man - part two

So, our boy finds himself, against all odds, in the Oval Office.

The economy is not in a recession but it's not growing, and there are signs that it's about to start declining. The Republicans in the House of Representatives propose a plan that they say will kick-start it--this is one of those things Republicans love, where tax breaks and subsidies are given to corporations and enormously wealthy individuals because they think these entities will spend it on growing their businesses, hiring new people, expanding, etc., etc. Instead of taking the extra money and investing it in yatchs, private jets, and in off-shore manufacturing and support, which is what they actually do with it.

Anyways, economists love this plan and say it's just what the economy needs. Support in Congress--where Republicans hold a large edge in the House and a slight edge in the Senate--is great. A major push is on to get this bill passed into law.

POTUS consults his staff, who tell him he would be insane to veto the bill. He should either pocket veto it, or sign it into law. A straight up veto would be a disaster--Congress has more than enough votes to override his veto and he's already seen as a weak, ineffectual President.

POTUS calls an old college buddy who is now an economics professor at a small college in the mid-West. His friend tells him that he thinks this bill is a bad idea--it'll benefit the economy for two quarters or so, then it'll begin to collapse. POTUS decides his friend is right and announces that he's going to veto the bill.

His staff has a collective stroke. They say it will be the end of his presidency and he's not even done with his first year yet. He'll become irrelevant in the political process. He'll be a laughing stock. He'll lose re-election, and Republicans will hold the White House for at least three terms afterwards.

Nevertheless, he vetoes the bill.

Congress gleefully overrides his veto and the bill becomes law.

For two quarters the economy is booming, expanding, the stock market climbing steadily, and Congressional Republicans are very busy pounding each other on the back, congratulating themselves, trying to decide who among them will be the next occupant of the Oval Office.

Then it all goes to hell. In three days the Dow falls below where it was when this bill became law, and keeps falling. The economy goes into reverse, quickly, and the word "recession" is being tossed around. Since Congressional Republicans were so vocal about this law, and pretty much anybody who knows anything about how the economy works says it's responsible for the problems we're now having, it's kind of difficult the GOP to deflect the blame.

POTUS, for his part, does not start trumpeting, "I told you so!" Instead he meets with Congressional delegations to discuss repealing this law, and what can be done to minimize the damage. Of course, now they are willing to listen.

After some desperate but measured and reasonable action, and some painful decisions are arrived at, things gradually start getting better. It was difficult, and painful, and involved a lot of sacrifice, but it appears the crisis has been averted.

In spite POTUS's leadership, his insistance on sticking to his principals, and the fact that he was right all along, Republicans are still working to undermine him. He's gained some credibility and some allies now so he needs to be undermined, they think, and efforts begin to make him seem to be ineffectual, weak, and lacking gravitas.

Then, disaster happens.

(To be continued. . .)

The third man

I was reluctant to post this here but since nobody but me reads this thing anyways I guess it's pretty private.

This is an idea, something I'll sit down and write one day. I'm just thinking out loud.

A man, a Democrat, decides to run for President.

He does this with no hope of actually winning, or even getting the nomination. He's the mayor of a fairly large city--say Provedence, Rhode Island, maybe--and wants eventually to get elected to Congress. He figures this is the best and quickest way of getting his name out there. He's guessing he'll lose a few primaries, bow out gracefully, and rake in the benefits the run gave him in name recognition.

But something odd happens. The Republican presumptive nominee is the Vice President--the current President is in his second term and is enormously popular, as is his Veep. His poll numbers are ridiculous and most of the heavyweight Dems have decided to forego this Presidential election. As a result, most of the Dems running are considered second tier guys, except our guy, who is considered third tier.

There are two Democratic front runners and they hate each other. It's not just political, it's personal. The attack ads begin quickly and it gets bloody. It gets so bad that most Democrats are sick of both of them and either vote for our guy in their primary or just stay home.

Our guy wins the nomination.

Now, he's not a bad guy. There are no scandals in his background, no mistresses or gay lovers, no shady dealings with corporations, nothing. He's politically moderate, and believes in compromise.

His problem is he's not all that charisamatic. People like him just fine but they can't picture him as POTUS.

Besides, it's academic anyway, as VPOTUS has it sewn up.

Two weeks before the general election, the Veep is way out in front. Our guy will be lucky to win his home state.

Meanwhile, in VPOTUS's home town, a cop who investigates cold cases notices that two twenty-something year old murders have enough in common that they were probably committed by the same person. He puts the evidence from those two murders together and it all adds up to one suspect--VPOTUS.

The cops decide they have to prosecute the case--this is murder, after all, not some under-the-table financial shenanigans--and the evidence is compelling. So, they contact VPOTUS's chief of staff--who is a former Attorney General and judge, and who storms into town a few hours later with the intention of telling these guys to shove it. They show him some of the evidence--there is plenty more that they didn't show him. The former AG goes back to his boss and tells him they need to be meeting with the DA and talking deal. If this case goes to trial their evidence will get admitted and they will get a conviction, and VPOTUS could possibly get the death penalty.

VPOTUS has to withdraw from the race, after agreeing to serve 25 years to life in prison for murder. And he considers himself lucky he's not on death row. Yes, he did it.

Our guy finds himself POTUS. Now what? Stay tuned, and I'll tell you.