Are Today’s Voters Stupid? Or Just Ignorant?

As a so-called writer, I frequently have to remind myself to be precise in my language. I do occasionally slip and use the word stupid, when I what I actually mean is ignorant. And when it comes to voters, sadly, way too many (on both sides) are woefully ignorant.

Everyone should vote. I mean, those of us who are actually eligible to vote. Dead people, illegal aliens and other non-citizens, should of course, not be allowed to vote. And those people who have already voted multiple times. Sorry Democrats, I know I’m talking about your base here, but really.

Unfortunately, there are many people who vote for candidates about whom they know almost nothing. If you are a gun owner, voting for someone who wants to abolish the 2^nd Amendment is stupid! And if you don’t know the candidate’s position on the issue, then you’re just ignorant. Abortion is always a big issue. Whether you are Pro-Life or Pro-Choice, your chosen candidate’s position should matter to you. He or she will be voting to send your tax dollars to pay for things. Shouldn’t you care about where your money is going?

I’m Pro-Life. I think choices are great and I truly hope the women in my life make good ones. I also hope they know the difference between birth control and abortion. I’m conservative enough to think these are not the same things. Abstinence is a choice. Birth control is a choice.  Aborting babies weeks before they are due? Not so much a choice as a “Get Out of Jail Free” card for failing to make the right choices in the beginning. IMHO

What about border security? Abolishing ICE? Or raising your taxes to pay for all the new welfare recipients who are entering the country illegally? What about MS-13 and the drugs pouring into our country through a weak and unsecure border? What about building a wall? How does your favorite candidate feel about those issues?

I know some very nice people who profess to be Democrats. I often wonder how they feel about the state of the Democratic Party. This is the party that now hates everyone and everything. They are openly advocating violence against political opponents. And willing to use any ugly smear tactics to destroy those who oppose them. They want to undo the results of an election just because they lost. They want to remove a Supreme Court justice just because they despise the President who nominated him. They are the most Anti-American group ever assembled, attempting to turn our country into a socialist society, yet a lot of seemingly normal people still proudly stand with them. Why? Do they really believe the ends justify the means?

Eric Holder says when they go low, kick them while they’re down. Hillary says there’s no reason to be civil with people who disagree with your values. Maxine Waters says when you see your political opponents out in public you should gather a crowd, harass the hell out of them, and tell them they’re not welcome. CNN says Kanye West is a “token Negro” because he expresses an opinion contrary to their own. The mainstream media calls the President a liar and a racist on a daily basis . Among other things. With no proof offered, or needed apparently. Antifa, sponsored by the Democrats’ money man George Soros, literally stages riots in our streets. And do you honestly believe that the newest caravan (invasion) of so-called refugees arriving just in time for the election is a coincidence?

And now we have mail bombs sent to “Trump’s targets.” Seriously? We’re supposed to blame the President? Sorry to disagree with CNN, but Trump has already defeated all those folks, so they can hardly be called his targets. Attacking a bunch of former this and thats hardly helps Trump or anyone else. But hey, if you can blame DT for hurricanes hitting the US coast, I suppose you can blame him for anything. And remind me again, which party has been advocating violence for the last two years? Oh yeah, the Democrats.

And yet some really nice people I know are still supporting Democratic candidates. Why? I really have no answer. I pray that it is only ignorance (which can be cured by education) and not stupidity.

(Lack of) Motivation and Frustrations of the Writer

What motivates a writer? Considering the time and effort involved, (and the lack of tangible reward), why would someone willingly subject themselves to the tortures of writing? I cannot speak for others, but here goes my answer.

I wrote my first novel for one very simple reason, just to see if I could. My son Scott told me about NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month.  I was intrigued and because I had retired, I thought I would give it a try. I had written poems and short stories before, and I had occasionally dreamed of some day writing the “Great American Novel,” but now I had no real excuse for not at least making an attempt. So for thirty days in November of 2016, I typed until I hit the 50,000 word goal and I had written an actual novel!

I published that first novel a year after I started writing it. Even without counting the planning and outlining and mental preparation or the thirty days of actual writing, I spent a full eleven months editing, revising, and getting it ready to publish. I have yet to reach my original (somewhat modest) goal of selling fifty copies. My poetry collection spans two years of writing. There were poems that I typed out in less than five minutes and never changed a word. Other poems were revised and edited daily over a period of months until I was finally satisfied with the wording and the punctuation. Almost every poem was originally written without a title. In preparation for publishing, I gave each poem an official title. As before, some titles were obvious and took no thought or effort. Other titles were changed multiple times before they were finalized. To date, I have sold less than half as many copies as my first novel.

It is discouraging. It is depressing. It is maddening.

Clicking the Publish button is a fearful experience. (Then you spend hour after hour posting info about your book on every website you can find hoping to let the world know your masterpiece is available.) Checking your sales reports to see that no one is buying your book is more frustrating than I can describe. And nothing kills your motivation to write more effectively than the realization that what you are writing will likely be read by only a handful of family and friends. And some of them will purchase a copy they never get around to reading.

I am a writer by choice. I can blame no one else. When I chose to hit the Publish button and make my works available to the public, I was openly setting myself up for whatever came next. There are highs, of course. Holding the printed copy for the first time is glorious! Reading the first positive review is very affirming. Being able to sit with someone who has read your book and talk about the story and the characters knowing that you created them is amazing. At times like these, I feel like an actual writer!

But other times, reality comes crashing in to destroy your self-confidence. So now, a week after the release of my third book, I reluctantly check the latest sales report. The results are disappointing. Three copies purchased by me, two by the rest of the world. I remind myself that I don’t care about the money (I really don’t), but I was hoping more people would want to read this one. I don’t feel like writing today. Maybe tomorrow or the next day, I’ll get back to my current work in progress. Maybe next week.

So why do I write? Here is my honest truth. I am a writer. I have a story to tell, so I will tell it. If you choose, you may listen. And maybe you will find it worth your time. I hope so.

NOW AVAILABLE! At the Drive-In: Small Town Tales

After several weeks of last minute editing and Formatting Hell, my book is finally complete! I don’t know how they do it, but the brains behind Microsoft Word have somehow managed to hide all kinds of demonic spaces and evil margin ghosts that appear in my writing the closer I get to finishing my manuscript. Fortunately, there is plenty of help available online, because an instructional manual that covers all the issues I have encountered might not fit through my door. Or maybe I’m just too dumb to format a simple document.

Anyway, I have successfully checked every last comma and exorcised all the format ghosts and demons and bravely clicked the Publish button once again. Now if only someone will read the thing!

Ebook available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JDDVKNV for $3.99

Paperback at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1718119496 for $11.99

Here’s the final book description:

Have you ever lived in a small town? Worked at a small school or church? Maybe a drive-in?

Life moves at a slow pace in the small Texas town of Eastlake, as portrayed in this collection of short stories spanning six decades. For most folks, the school calendar drives the social calendar and on Friday nights, everyone turns out to support their hometown Eagles, but from 1957 to the present, Sully’s Drive-In has always been the town’s true center.

Cole Bradford comes to Eastlake as a young, single coach and returns later as the embattled principal of the intermediate school. Ron Copeland is the veteran administrator who has spent more than half his life as the principal of Eastlake High School until he encounters a new superintendent with whom he immediately finds conflict. Evan Peters is the football coach and later Athletic Director with character issues aplenty. Cora, his wife, has her own set of problems and nowhere to turn for help. Christopher Manning is the pastor at the First Baptist Church, although we first meet him in the role of youth minister. Amy Davis, Brent Griffen, Ty Mills, and the Holder family also live and work in the community.

Come to Eastlake and spend some time enjoying the quiet life and getting to know the locals.

The book contains fifteen stories with several characters appearing in multiple tales:

·         In the Beginning

·         Friday Night Lights

·         The Boy Who Cussed

·         The Fight

·         Missing

·         Church

·         Black Romeo

·         Renovations

·         Boy Meets Girl

·         Only the Lonely

·         Rewards

·         Accidents Happen

·         The Anthem

·         Meow

·         Funeral

Hopefully, readers will enjoy these tales and find a few characters they like. I’ve already written several stories for the sequel. As always, follow the blog, leave comments, and come back next week for more!

Book Review: Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

In my never-ending fascination with the classics, I recently picked up two novels by Thomas Hardy that I somehow missed over the years. (The Return of the Native was the other one.) I decided by coin flip to read Tess first. I liked it enough to ensure that at some point I will eventually read the other one as well. So here goes my official review.

Without giving away the entire plot, Tess Durbyfield is a young woman from a poor working-class family living with her parents and surrounded by younger siblings. When her father hears from a local parson that they may be descended from an “ancient and knightly” family, the D’Urbervilles, he is delighted, despite the knowledge that the family is now extinct. When Tess accidentally causes her family to suffer a financial crisis, the parents hatch a plan to recover by sending her to a wealthy old woman named D’Urberville living in a nearby county.

Here she encounters the novel’s primary villain, Alec D’Urberville.  Spoiler alert (even though it’s revealed on the book’s back cover blurb), he rapes her and she flees to her home where she bears his child.  The baby dies and Tess leaves home to find work at a dairy farm in a neighboring county. Here she meets our hero (maybe) Angel Clare with whom she falls in love. When the details of her past are revealed, they obviously don’t live happily ever after.

I will spare you the details, but at this point the book becomes very depressing! (Yes, her life gets even worse!) Tess embarks on a long series of increasingly more difficult jobs while separated from Angel. Her past returns to haunt her in the reappearance of Alec D’Urberville. At this point, I began to feel as if I were at a movie! I kept wanting to hiss every time the villain showed up, and yell at Tess and Angel in frustration when they couldn’t make a decision, or when they constantly made the wrong one! IMHO, LOL.

By the end, I was still hoping for everyone to come to their senses, but alas, it was not to be. Consider this one a tragedy. Nevertheless, I would recommend the book, at least to the older crowd who appreciates a good classic tale. Honestly though, it is a somewhat difficult read due to the language of the age. (It was first published in 1891.) And for the non-readers (Shame on you!), you can see a wonderful BBC adaptation on Amazon Prime Video starring Gemma Arterton and a young Eddie Redmayne.

The Supreme Court and the Dirty Politics of the Left

So, days before the vote to confirm the latest nominee to the Supreme Court, we get the Democratic version of the Hail Mary in the form of an accusation of sexual assault from Brett Kavanaugh’s high school days. Wow! Having failed to expose any legitimate reason to oppose the nomination, the Democrats on the committee have resorted to brutal character assassination and a return to the battle of the sexes. Every time I think the Liberals have sunk as far as they can, they find a way to go even lower.

Don’t misunderstand me. Aside from the timing and the obvious stalling tactics being used, someone with relevant information about the nominee deserves the chance to share that with the committee. Christine Blasey Ford should have been given every opportunity to tell her story. And she was. But the constant outbursts from those who claimed she must be believed, before she even told her tale, were ridiculous. What possible purpose did her testimony serve, if her supporters had already made up their minds? The lack of any corroborating evidence makes absolutely no difference to these people.

Sadly, you cannot prove a negative. Brett Kavanaugh will never be able to provide concrete evidence that these alleged actions didn’t happen. Dr. Ford, on the other hand, has ways to prove her assertions. Physical evidence from 36 years ago is unlikely, but she could possibly produce witnesses to support her version of events. But so far, the people she has named have provided only denials. They either didn’t see, didn’t hear, didn’t know, etc. Even her own testimony lacked crucial details. (And an FBI investigation will likely produce the same results already uncovered by the committee.)

But let’s go back a bit. There is an actual process for confirming a Supreme Court nominee. And how did that go? First, the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee, intentionally set out to disrupt the proceedings by ignoring the rules of order in a coordinated attempt to DELAY and OBSTRUCT. Of course, these are the preferred tactics of the Liberal Left at this point.

Next, they turned the entire hearing into a circus with a series of protesters screaming and throwing tantrums forcing security to physically remove them from the hearing. And does anyone seriously believe that the whole thing wasn’t organized by the Democrats?

And finally, the big finish, accusations of attempted rape! Because why not destroy a man’s reputation and career if it gets you what you want? Forget what the American people want. Forget who the American people elected. I have a hard time seeing any of these so-called protests as anything other than childish tantrums by those who didn’t get their way. (Trump promised to nominate Conservative judges to the Supreme Court. Hillary promised the opposite. And many people openly admitted that to be the deciding factor in their vote for President.)

And so, we’re back to delay and obstruct. Dr. Ford wants to testify before the Senate, now she doesn’t, now she does. Sorry, can’t come on Monday, how about Wednesday, no maybe Thursday. Meanwhile the Democrats who announced before the hearing ever started that they would all be voting against the nominee, sat back and demanded that she be believed, whether she appeared or not. And when all that didn’t work? Demand an FBI investigation.

And what about Brett Kavanaugh, considered by many to be the most qualified jurist in the country for the position? His wife and daughters have had to endure the onslaught of hatred and listen to the most vile accusations. The man has spent an entire career working with women who have all proclaimed him to have been a perfect gentleman at all times. But we’re supposed to ignore all that and believe that while he was a high school student, he was some kind of sexual predator. I have a really hard time reconciling those two images.

So, who do blame for this fiasco? How about we start with Dianne Feinstein. Apparently, she had the original letter from Dr. Ford in July. Two months ago. So, during the entire hearing process, she never mentions these allegations or shares the letter with anyone on the committee? Why? I only see two possible answers. Either she didn’t find the accusations credible or she intentionally waited to use the letter in a last minute effort to delay the proceedings. Neither answer paints her in a very favorable light. She claims that she held the letter back to honor Dr. Ford’s wish to remain anonymous, although she or her staff are the likely culprits in leaking her name to the press. And if she wasn’t going to use Dr. Ford, why did she help her arrange for a lawyer and a polygraph?

How about Dr. Ford herself? While it is true that these types of incidents are vastly underreported, it is hard not to question her timing. She is apparently a liberal activist and she has surrounded herself with lawyers and advisors with a decidedly leftist political bent. What are her motives for telling this story at this point? Is this about personal payback/revenge or is it all because Kavanaugh is a Conservative who the Left is convinced will single-handedly take away their abortion privileges? My personal opinion is that anyone who thinks this is about anything other than politics is just being intentionally ignorant.

And now, we have even more allegations surfacing. Is anyone surprised that the second accuser admits that she was sought out by Democrats who went looking for others who would accuse Kavanaugh of crimes? And the third accuser? The involvement of the publicity hound lawyer Michael Avenatti tells you all you need to know about her. How much is too much? How much until people realize that all of this is coming from the side who proclaimed they would do anything to stop Kavanaugh’s confirmation? And don’t be surprised if this latest delay is used to give the Dems time to locate yet another accuser.

But of course, the real targets of all this nonsense are a few RINO Senators and the American public. If Flake, Murkowski, and Collins give in to the pressure from the Left, Kavanaugh will not be confirmed. And all you have to do is tune in to the mainstream media, if you want to see plenty of coverage of the sheep who believe every story and every rumor.

After listening to both sides, I will say this, Dr. Ford may very well have suffered an assault of some kind in her teen years, but I honestly do not believe that Brett Kavanaugh had any involvement. She may be convinced that he is the one who did this to her, but again even her own handpicked witnesses dispute her version of events. And without evidence how can you condemn this man and deny him the reward of his lifetime of service to his country?