GVP's Way is the author's blog including book and movie reviews, thoughts on the craft of writing, perspectives on the business of publishing, and musings on life, politics, and family.
Please enjoy and leave your comments.
He's a walking contradiction
Partly truth and partly fiction
Taken every wrong direction
On his lonely way back home
And there's a lot of wrong directions
On that lonely way back home.
The Pilgrim
Kris Kristofferson
What Kind of People Are We Anyway?
The conservatives are up in arms. The pundits are full of themselves. The liberals are telling each other "I told you so."
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the landmark case of Boumediene v Bush. The case involved the rights of an individual who was deemed an enemy combatant and held in the notorious Guatanamo Bay prison in Cuba. The Supreme Court, via a slim majority of an emerging coalition of Ginsberg, Kennedy, Souter, Stevens, and Breyer, ruled that prisoners held at Guantanamo have the right to challenge their imprisonment in the US Courts.
The conservatives believe it's the end of the world--how will we ever be able to combat terrorism if we can't lock up people suspected of terrorism, torture them, refuse them a hearing, and lock them away?
Gary
4 Comments
Tim Russert Can't be Dead
Tim Russert can't be dead. He was only 58, just like I'm about to be.
Tim Russert can't be dead. He was only a little overweight, always had a lot of energy, never stopped working, just like me.
Tim Russert can't be dead. He's got a wife and son, just like me.
Tim Russert can't be dead. He was a lawyer who changed careers, just like me.
Tim Russert can't be dead. He grew up in a gritty Midwest town and never left his roots behind, just like me.
Tim Russert can't be dead. He lived through the 60s, loved baseball, and enjoyed politics, just like me.
Tim Russert can't be dead. He's got an old man he likes to tell stories about, just like me.
Tim Russert can't be dead.
He was the best at what he did.
Based on everything I heard and read about him, he was a decent guy who always remained grounded.
From the first time I saw him on TV years ago, I liked him, felt a connection to him.
And now I'm feeling about as mortal as I've felt in a long time.
Tim Russert, dead at age 58.
Damn.
Red on Red
Jeff and Bill, I really appreciate your thoughtful comments, and I'm so glad we've found this blog as a way to reconnect. I think the history we share, growing up in Elkhart in the 60s , gives us a common perspective that is rare.
So, guys, this story, "Red on Red," set in Elkhart in that time when "gas was cheap and RVs sold for less than ten grand" is for you.
I'm fortunate enough that while I've not reached a point with my writing where my novels have been noticed, my short stories usually find a publisher and some have even received modest acclaim. In the last couple of years I've written four stories set in Elkhart in the late 60s, early 70s. "Homecoming" took third prize in SEAK's Legal Fiction Contest. "Redemption," which I hope to post soon on this blog, has just made the second cut in a prestigious competition (so I learned today). "Savage Nights," took first prize in a contest last summer. And I just recently completed "Red on Red."
We Miss You Bobby Kennedy
1968 began on a bad note. Things went from bad to worse.
The Tet Offensive kicked off the night of January 30 with over 100 simultaneous attacks against American targets throughout South Viet Nam. The offensive was intended to inspire an uprising against the Americans, who were in disarray at home. Eugene McCarthy had already launched a campaign against President Johnson on the single issue of bringing the troops home. General Westmoreland was predicting outright victory with light at the end of the tunnel, but he thought he needed another 200,000 troops in addition to the half million US troops already in country. The Tet attacks were strategically unsuccessful, mopped up in 24 hours, but the impact was more far reaching. An already skittish nation watched on the evening news as the US Embassy in Saigon came under enemy fire. A famous photo of the execution of a bound Viet Cong soldier at point blank range by the commander of the South Vietnamese police added fuel to the fire--a doubtful country sensed chaos, defeat, and wasted lives.
CBOCS West, Inc. v Humphries
Years ago, in law school, I wrote a law review article on "Section 1981" and its interaction with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the article I contended that Section 1981 was supplementary to Title VII and that Title VII did not supplant rights granted by Section 1981. It took a long time, but yesterday, the Supreme Court upheld my view--although they had no idea they were doing so.
Title VII created the EEOC and specifically prohibits discrimination in employment practices. Enacted in the wake of the Civil War, Section 1981 provides that "all persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall have the same right in every State and Territory to make and enforce contracts. . . as is enjoyed by white citizens.” Rev. Stat. §1977, 42 U. S. C. §1981(a).
Three Reasons the Democrats Must Win in 2008
I've supported Hillary Clinton throughout this long and bloody primary season. I believe she is the best Democratic candidate for reasons I've put forth on this blog before. I still believe that and I also believe that she has a legitimate claim to the nomination--she and Obama are basically even in delegates and Hillary has received a stronger popular vote. I also believe she's more electable than Obama against McCain. That said, it looks like the Democratic candidate is going to be Barack Obama.
We all need to get behind him. There are three reasons Democrats must win in November.
1. John McCain is dead wrong about Iraq. We need to get out as soon as possible, as advocated by both Hillary and Obama, so that Iraq and the other Muslim states take ownership of the mess we've created. We need to accept how it all shakes out. Of the two, only Obama realizes that our continued role of policeman is no more than a death sentence for thousands of more young Americans. He will get us out of the mess Bush and the neo-cons created. He will strengthen the homeland against further attacks from terrorists.
Until They Put Me Down
Took the boat across the lake
Pulled into our slip
Said hi to Mike and Rusty
Dennis, Dave and all the rest
Listened to the song
Sung by men we love
Watched Reilly play before the stage
Took communion at the bar
Sang with Ray and Robert Earl
Gurf and Steve and Merle
Guy and Van and Jimmy B
You Red Neck Mother, Mother we have known so well
Took some shrapnel at the Bay of Pigs
Lost two fingers on a Gulf oil rig
Stopped half way back
Peed starboardside with Reilly at my hip
Drink 'til all the drink is done
Eat 'til all the food is gone
Sing 'til all the songs are sung
Love 'til they put me down.
Until they put me down.
Lynched by a Mob
As things unravel at Indiana University, it becomes increasingly clear that Kelvin Sampson was lynched by a mob--the same mob that hired him in combination with the mob of Bobby Knight fans that didn't want him in the first place and gathered like sharks in the water at the first hint of blood.
I never believed Sampson was a saint. My point was that he was no worse than anyone else and probably the best IU could have gotten in the wake of the Bobby Knight and Mike Davis disgrace.
Let's face it, the idea that NCAA basketball is an amateur sport played by student athletes is a myth. NCAA basketball at schools like IU is nothing more than a farm sport for the NBA--we need to let go of the myth of student-athletes and amateurism.
Acceptance
Writers, for the most part, don't get too many opportunities to celebrate. Even when you do, the cause for celebration is often so long delayed that celebration seems anti-climactic.
In the last two weeks I've had three reasons for celebration. The third arrived just this morning.
The week before last, I received notification that a story I recently wrote for a theme contest will be featured on the publisher's website for two months later this year. That story, which is a little edgier than my mainstream fiction, will appear under a psuedonym.
Hillary's My Gal
I support Hillary Clinton for President because she's more electable than Barack Obama against John McCain, and the country cannot stand even four more years of a Republican President. Well, maybe the country can, but I'm not sure I can.
I support Hillary Clinton for President because she's seasoned, she's been thoroughly vetted by the press and the country, and she's the first woman candidate with the credentials and experience to lead the country.