Dispatches from the Flying M

Tragedy in the family of writers

A sudden fire claimed the house and studio of writer James Reasoner Tuesday.  James is a friend, a terrific writer of crime novels and Westerns, incredibly prolific, and an inveterate collector of comics, pulps, and books.  If you had a question about old paperbacks or pulp magazines or almost anything else, he was one of the guys you would turn to.

Now it's all gone.  He and his family got out with the clothes on their backs.  I'm hoping there will be some sort of public effort to help them out--an emergency fund, or at least a drive to restore some of his collection to him--and if there is I'll let you know here.  In the meantime, he and his family could use your prayers and good thoughts.

One thing you can do right now is buy a copy of my favorite Reasoner novel, the tight, exciting Texas Wind, online or at a bookseller near you.  While you're at it, pick up a couple of his others--you'll be helping yourself as well as them.

Primary news

John Edwards will give a major speech on poverty today in New Orleans, where he began his primary campaign, and will announce that he's dropping out of the race.

He just couldn't break through the media's obsession with Obama and Clinton, or the historic nature of a race that might give the presidency to a woman or a black man.  He's led the race on issues, pushing for universal health insurance, an end to the war in Iraq, and economic justice for the middle class and the poor, and his rivals have followed in his trail all the way.  Hopefully they will continue to follow his lead, and do more to address issues of poverty, hunger, and economic and social justice.  To me the race now looks like a decision between hiring a skilled manager and an inspiring motivational speaker, but we've left behind the option of getting that guy who'll cut through all the bs, roll his sleeves up, and get the job done.

Unfortunately, we need all three.  After eight years of Bush, we are badly in need of competence in the Oval Office.  But we also need to be uplifted, and we need hard workers who can focus on neglected issues with laser intensity and fix things.  With luck, the Democrats will stop tearing each other down and instead concentrate on winning the White House and accomplishing the difficult tasks ahead.

NOTE: In the Comments I've included the text of Edwards's speech.

Watching the Florida speeches last night, I was struck by Romney's concern that American jobs are being taken by "countries like Asia and India."  That's almost Bush-league in its idiocy.  I'm sure if I was on national TV after a contest like that, I'd say stupid things, too--but that's why I sit at a keyboard instead.

I keep being struck by what an awful public speaker John McCain is.  Last night's wasn't as bad as his New Hampshire victory speeches, which was truly one of the worst I've ever heard.  But it was pretty lame.   I'm also tired of hearing what a "maverick" McCain is--he's a guy with one of the most conservative records in the Senate, elected several times by the state that brought us Barry Goldwater.  How much of a maverick can he be?  I guess it's "truth by repetition."  Maybe if I claim to be a New York Times bestselling author often enough...

And, is it just me, or...?

State of the Union

Bush's final State of the Union address last night was pretty sad--except for the fact that it was Bush's final State of the Union address.  The speech itself was largely a litany of failure.  He talked about the economic slowdown, and basically said "My tax cuts for the wealthy have not helped middle class or poor families or prevented a recession.  But they've helped the rich get richer, so let's make them permanent."

Without mentioning the fact that when he took office, we had a balanced budget and a surplus, he said,

"Next week, I'll send you a budget that terminates or substantially reduces 151 wasteful or bloated programs, totaling more than $18 billion. The budget that I'll submit will keep America on track for a surplus in 2012.

"American families have to balance their budgets; so should their government."

In other words, "by 2012, through making deep cuts in essential spending, we might be able to get back to where we were when I started wasting our national treasure."

He talked about earmark reform, not that his party no longer controls Congress and classic abusers like Duke Cunningham are in jail or retirement.

He talked about the need for better health insurance and lower health care costs, an issue he has done nothing to address.

He discussed the need to wean ourselves off of oil--pretty rich for an executive branch headed by two old oilmen who have done nothing toward that goal.

He mentioned the Gulf Coast, which he has not succeeded in rebuilding.  He talked about immigration, which he has not been able to tackle in any meaningful way.  He mentioned Iraq, which he broke but has not fixed, and dwelled on bringing home some troops (which was always part of the surge plan) without mentioning that the war is a long way from "won" and the next president can expect to inherit a mess of Bush's creation.  He said we're beating al Qaeda in Iraq without pointing out that they weren't there until after his war, and said they're being denied safe haven in Iraq, without acknowledging that the real al Qaeda has all the safe haven it needs in Pakistan.  His big successes were stopping two terrorist attacks (Los Angeles, and planes flown over from London) that experts agree were unlikely at best.

The low point in an already deflated speech came here:

"To protect America, we need to know who the terrorists are talking to, what they are saying and what they're planning.

"Last year, Congress passed legislation to help us do that.

"Unfortunately, Congress set the legislation to expire on February 1st. That means, if you don't act by Friday, our ability to track terrorist threats would be weakened and our citizens will be in greater danger.

"Congress must ensure the flow of vital intelligence is not disrupted. Congress must pass liability protection for companies believed to have assisted in the efforts to defend America. We've had ample time for debate. The time to act is now."

This is the most inane, indefensible argument I believe I've ever heard him make.  And the construction of that one sentence: "Congress must pass liability protection for companies believed to have assisted in the efforts to defend America," is as mangled as any he's ever uttered.  "Companies believed to have assisted in the efforts to defend America"?  He knows if they did or didn't. 

The point is this--he wants immunity from prosecution for telecoms that broke the law at his request. If he doesn't get that immunity, he'll veto the bill and end the program that he claims is protecting American lives.  If American lives are really at stake, isn't that the most important thing?  The only possible reading of this is that he knows if the telecoms wind up in court, they're going to point fingers at who asked them to break the law.  That'll expose the fact that the administration knew it was acting illegally at the time.  There's just no other interpretation.  If we live in a nation of laws, then those laws must apply to the administration and the corporate world.

Back to the SOTU--the procession of failures continued for about 55 minutes.  He tried to find success stories, but there weren't many.  He's probably just as glad as I am that he's done with this--time to get out into the corporate world and start cashing on some of the favors he's granted.

And not a moment too soon...

Pediatric brain tumors

I have two friends working hard to help the fight against childhood brain tumors.  Author Jack Passarella has an annual auction, which I've donated to and mentioned here in the past.  And artist Tommy Lee Edwards is part of a motorcycle event called The Ride for Kids that raises money for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.  This year, with the cooperation of Lucasfilm, he's raising the stakes more--he has created an exclusive Star Wars print which--well, I'll just let him tell it.  Here's Tommy Lee:

Dear friends and family--

Last year, hundreds of North Carolina bikers and I travelled the triangle area and contributed to a national fundraising total of $4.5 million.

Giving my time as a motorcyclist was my way of showing support for those families battling every day with childhood brain tumors.  This year, my hope is to shatter last year’s fundraising efforts by donating not only my time to ride- But also my professional background as an official Star Wars illustrator. I’m thrilled to have the support from Lucasfilm on this truly inspiring fundraising endeavor.

This year, Lucasfilm has offered to sponsor me by helping me create a limited-edition (300 count) run of Star Wars lithographs. (see below attachment)

I've set-up a website for this endeavor..... 

http://web.mac.com/tommyleeedwards/iWeb/Site%20charity/

With every $30 donated on this website, people will get this exclusive Star Wars print sent to them, and know that their money (thru ride for kids) is going DIRECTLY to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.

Sticking with the theme at hand, I've created an all-new exclusive illustration of speeder-bike troopers for this one-time exclusive print.

It measures 30" x 15", and is printed on a high-quality 80# coated stock.

With help from many of you, I was able to raise over $2,000 for last year's ride. I plan on smashing last year's total by offering up this incentive that will hopefully catch the attention of my fans, comics fans, star wars fans, and people who just want to help some families battling pediatric brain tumors.

Here's a link to my TLE Ride for Kids donation site....

http://web.mac.com/tommyleeedwards/iWeb/Site%20charity/

I also have a bit about it on my BLOG.....

TLE-BLOG

Thanks so much for considering a tax-deductible donation by sponsoring my Ride for Kids.

best wishes ,

_Tommy Lee Edwards


If you can't afford $30 or have no need of a Star Wars print, you can also contribute any amount of money here.

Home from Phoenix

After a rainy drive, we made it home from the Phoenix Cactus Comicon last night around 7:45.  The con was fun--I haven't heard official numbers yet, but attendance was much, much bigger than last year's. With luck that'll continue, and will mean that the dealer's room and programming can grow proportionately (there was definitely more programming this year).

We got to see lots of old friends, like Shannon Eric Denton and Whilce Portacio and J.S. Lewis and Derek Benz, in addition to con staff and volunteers and other pals, and make some new friends, like Madame M and Tony DeZuniga, the genius who originally designed DC's great Western character Jonah Hex.  I was on a panel with long-time friend James A. Owen, and new ones Mike Kunkel and Mike Bullock.  And I met Ed McGuinness for the first time--although I edited him for years, on Mr. Majestic and Thundercats, we had never managed to meet face to face.

I had a great time, signed a bunch of books and comics, bought lots of comics (including a bunch of reference material for Spider-Man: Requiem) and was generally glad to be there.  But, as always, I was also glad to get home.

Saturday in history

Because on Saturday I'll be at the Phoenix Comicon, I wanted to give advance notice of some significant dates in history, as taken from the official Jeff Mariotte 2008 Calendar:

On January 26 in:

1926: First TV broadcast (this one is the subject of some debate), in Scotland.

1927: Edward Abbey born (Abbey makes a cameo appearance in River Runs Red, which closely matches his cameo appearance in my life--early notice for all you Abbey fans!).

1929: Jules Feiffer born.

Shame on Harry Reid

Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D NV) has allowed obstructionist Republicans to block legislation since 2006 without actually going through the traditional mechanics of a filibuster--the old Jimmy Stewart standing on the Senate floor for hours or days on end, railing against whatever is at issue, reading from the phone book, doing whatever it takes to prevent a vote. 

But now that a Democrat--the esteemed Chris Dodd--wants to filibuster something that really matters, Reid wants to force him to do it the old-fashioned way.  Dodd wants to prevent the Senate from authorizing a FISA bill that gives retroactive immunity to telecom companies that may have broken the law by enabling the government to spy on U.S. citizens.  Reid wants to bend over to the Bush administration's wishes on this, and provide the immunity.  If he's explained why this is, I haven't heard it.  But it's wrong, and it's stupid, and it's no time to actually start enforcing rules he's ignored ever since his party took control of the Senate.  Does he remember which party he belongs to?

Get the whole story here.

Lies, damn lies, and more damn lies

I don't think any American wants to live in a country in which each political party starts oiling up the impeachment machine as soon as a candidate from the opposition party is elected (which, remember, is pretty much what happened when Bill Clinton won the 1992 election--I think there were calls for impeachment before he had even been sworn in).  Because of the Clinton impeachment circus, the millions of dollars wasted, and the fact that his approval ratings were higher when it was all said and done than they had been before, the Democrats have been loath to even consider impeachment as an option against Bush.

But let's put things in context.  Clinton was impeached for telling a lie about getting oral sex from a consenting adult.  Yes, lying is bad.

The Bush administration, however, has just been shown by the Center for Public Integrity and the Fund for Independence in Journalism to have lied about Iraq at least 935 times during the build-up to war.  This is just in a two-year period, not all the lies they told before and after that period, or about all the other things they've lied about.  This is specifically a tally of lies (that they knew were lies) told with the goal of taking our country into a war that didn't need to be fought (because if it did, they wouldn't have had to lie about it, would they?).

This is from the study's introduction (emphasis mine):

"President George W. Bush and seven of his administration's top officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, made at least 935 false statements in the two years following September 11, 2001, about the national security threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Nearly five years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, an exhaustive examination of the record shows that the statements were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses.

"On at least 532 separate occasions (in speeches, briefings, interviews, testimony, and the like), Bush and these three key officials, along with Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, and White House press secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan, stated unequivocally that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (or was trying to produce or obtain them), links to Al Qaeda, or both. This concerted effort was the underpinning of the Bush administration's case for war.

"It is now beyond dispute that Iraq did not possess any weapons of mass destruction or have meaningful ties to Al Qaeda. This was the conclusion of numerous bipartisan government investigations, including those by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (2004 and 2006), the 9/11 Commission, and the multinational Iraq Survey Group, whose "Duelfer Report" established that Saddam Hussein had terminated Iraq's nuclear program in 1991 and made little effort to restart it.

"In short, the Bush administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003. Not surprisingly, the officials with the most opportunities to make speeches, grant media interviews, and otherwise frame the public debate also made the most false statements, according to this first-ever analysis of the entire body of prewar rhetoric.

"President Bush, for example, made 232 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and another 28 false statements about Iraq's links to Al Qaeda. Secretary of State Powell had the second-highest total in the two-year period, with 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 10 about Iraq's links to Al Qaeda. Rumsfeld and Fleischer each made 109 false statements, followed by Wolfowitz (with 85), Rice (with 56), Cheney (with 48), and McClellan (with 14)."

Find the whole exhaustively detailed study (complete with search function) here.

Almost 4,000 American lives have been lost as a result of these lies, and we'll probably never have an accurate count of Iraqi deaths.  Trillions of dollars have been spent that could have gone into more important programs right here at home, or simply not spent in order to reduce the debt the next several generations will owe.  Osama bin Laden was able to escape punishment, al Qaeda allowed to regroup and retool, and the nation made less safe.

Consenting oral sex, or a war of choice that harms America irreparably for decades to come?  Which one really measures up to the standard of "high crimes and misdemeanors" required for impeachment?

Today

Today is not only the birth date of author Robert E. Howard, but it's the anniversary of the publication of the first novel published in the United States, The Power of Sympathy by William Hill Brown.  Tonight is the full Wolf Moon, so keep a silver bullet handy.

Friday we'll be heading to Phoenix for the Phoenix Comicon. I was digging through some boxes of comics I've written the other day, and ran across stuff that even surprised me, so I think I'll pack up a box of some semi-obscure stuff to display on the table (and sell for cheap, and sign as requested).  So come by my table and take a look if you're going to be there.

Graveslinger #3

Graveslinger #3 (featuring new artist Nima Sorat!) is on sale now at comic book stores everywhere.  Track down a copy today!