Other Dimensions - Speculative, Paranormal

A Cheaper Way to Save the Planet

2012-01-29T10:52:00.000-08:00

Venus Loop (now available at Lillibridge Press: http://www.lillibridgepress.com) is a science fiction novella which tells the hypothetical tale of how a civilization on the planet Venus destroyed itself through industrial pollution resulting in global warming. If present alarming trends in carbon emissions here on Earth are not curtailed soon, a similar fate may loom ahead for us in the real world. Recent violent tornadoes sweeping a path of devastation across the southern United States are but the latest in a series of record-breaking storms, floods and droughts that are the harbingers of an escalating climate change disaster that has already changed our world and could someday destroy it.

Recent United Nations reports indicate industrial carbon emissions are at an all-time high. But, many people still wonder what any of us can do to take on such a vast and far-reaching problem. Well, there might be a surprisingly simple way to start: Tax the use of fossil fuels.

Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) has introduced the Save Our Climate Act (H.R. 3242.)This legislation would levy a carbon tax on fossil fuels. See:

http://stark.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2304:press-release-stark-introduces-carbon-tax-bill-to-reduce-emissions-deficit&catid=82:press-releases-2011&Itemid=62

Congressman Stark is to be congratulated for taking so bold and direct an approach to so critical a problem.

The controversial cap-and-trade approach to reducing carbon emissions has been only moderately successful in Europe and is essentially at the mercy of market volatility. But, a direct tax on fossil fuels which would cut money out of the profits of big coal and oil companies and give them back to the American energy consumers for a change, is a far simpler, more direct and more reliable way to push our economy toward clean energy development and away from our dangerous and costly dependence on foreign oil. If implemented, the Save Our Climate Act would, over the course of decades, reduce our country's carbon emissions dramatically, stabilizing our climate and environment with no harm to our economy. The revenue resulting from such a tax would be enormous. And, it would be paid in a dividend to individual consumers, helping them to meet increased fuel and energy prices. In short, the rich would get poorer and the poor richer for once, we wouldn't have to keep wasting precious lives and resources on wars over middle-eastern oil, and the ecological future of this planet would be secured for future generations.

Clean, renewable energy is definitely the future of this planet. Studies have shown that wind-driven energy alone generates far more jobs than the coal-fired plants that dominate so much of our energy market now. Mainland China is rapidly innovating toward the development of clean, renewable energy sources. At this rate, China could become a global leader in the energy production of the future. If the U.S. is not to be left behind in the dangerously antiquated world of fossil fuels, then let us revive the spirit of American competition through ingenuity and scientific innovation by gearing our economy toward safer, cleaner forms of lasting energy. The technology is already largely within reach. If new technologies need to be developed, so much the better; America is at its best and employs the most people when we forge ahead into new realms of technological innovation.

Venus Loop at Lillibridge

2012-01-15T16:41:00.000-08:00

http://www.lillibridgepress.com

Hey, Science Fiction fans --

Care to visit the planet Venus in a time period 400 million years ago?

A world of bizarre intelligent life forms, alien civilizations, telepaths, time travel and robots?

Check out my latest SF novella Venus Loop, now available at Lillibridge Press:

http://www.lillibridgepress.com

Lillibridge Press, for excellent and unusual reading matter -- Science Fiction and far more!

Vampire Review - Soldiers of the Night

2011-11-09T20:08:00.000-08:00

Check out my guest blog post at Vampire Review:
http://networkedblogs.com/px2eT

If you love vampire and horror fiction, that's a blog you'll definitely want to visit!

Buy link for Unholy Alliance:
http://www.eternalpress.biz/book.php?isbn=9781770650343

Second American Revolution?

2011-10-15T22:11:00.000-07:00

http://www.lillibridgepress.com/book/Flags

"Flags" is a science fiction dealing with civil war and divided societies in the far future. But, such stark divisions appear to be forming right now, in the real world. Born not entirely out of racial and cultural strife, as depicted in "Flags," but primarily out of economic divisions and resulting class strife.

The angry, frustrated people rise up in the streets. Occupy Wallstreet. Occupy Boston. Occupy the banks and the neighborhoods of the wealthy. There is no violence. Not yet, at least. But, there is clearly anger fueled by frustration, and no sign of it's abating soon. Is this merely a random convulsion symptomatic of hard times? Or, is it something far more basic? Have we finally reached the wall of unregulated capitalism? I would say 'yes.'

When the lion's share of the wealth is concentrated in the hands of the few, when those "too big to fail" do inevitably fail, collapsing of their own bloated weight and the economy collapses with them, then the dominos of social change must begin to fall. As with any revolution, this one starts with the young and educated. Recent college graduates who step out into the real world and for all their hard work find no jobs waiting for them feel betrayed. And, they have a right to. They are joined inevitably by others. Peace activists and grieving families tired of war. Unions who feel threatened and exploited as their collective bargaining rights come under attack. There is no single, unifying message, creed or manifesto to this "uprising," if that's what it is. But, the common, visceral mood is clear: The status quo is not working; those in power are not serving the national interest; it's time for a change.

This has been building for the past few years. It started when the economy collapsed in the waning days of the George W. Bush administration. Hope was lacking, the people were hungry for change, and they voted for it in the person of Barack Obama. But, as always, Americans expect, quick, easy fixes for their problems. When Obama couldn't deliver jobs and recovery quickly and easily (thanks in no small part to Congressional opposition from stubborn and recalcitrant Republicans who care more about political ideology and allegiances than about the long-term stability of the country) the people were quick to blame the incumbent administration. The right-wing reactionary movement known as the Tea Party arose, fueled by thinly-veiled racism and right-wing sponsored propaganda. Such reactionary populist movements are a knee-jerk reaction to hard times; it's easy to blame the government (after all, we can vote them out.)

But, as the recession continues, the Obama-bashing and "anti-socialist" nonsense of the Tea Party could not continue to drain the collective energy of the people. Inevitably, the people have begun to recognize the real enemy; the unregulated, obscene hoarding of wealth by ruling strata with an over-indulged sense of entitlement. For the first time since the days of the Vietnam war, the people (largely, the young) take to the streets in massive numbers, to the point where the police have a problem simply containing the protests. Protests that have grown far too large to ignore. It has been long since the country (and, for that matter the world) has been so divided, and so energized. Neither side offers concrete solutions.

But, one thing is clear: The banks and corporations who condemn as "socialism" and "class warfare" any attempt at government regulation have no right to demand bail-outs (corporate welfare) at the people's expense, then spend the people's hard-earned tax dollars on bonuses while continuing to ship American jobs overseas. Those who whine that taxing the rich is not the answer, that we shouldn't punish the wealthy for being successful are missing the larger lesson of history. As we learned in the 1920's, in the age of the corporate robber barons, capitalism is a beast whose insatiable hunger must meet limits. Otherwise, the beasts grow too large, devouring the smaller ones until we can no longer afford to feed them at all. Until there is only one beast whom we cannot hope to control or even survive. In an age when multi-national corporations are powers unto themselves, owing allegiance to no nation or people, yet demanding both the individual's right to free speech and the worker's hard-earned tax money while giving nothing in return...democracy is in peril of extinction. In its stead may arise a hideous form of lawless corporate slavery once reserved to the darker pages of science fiction.

The fight for this world's future may well be waged in the streets, by a people who will no longer be food for the beast.

Darkness Embraced

2011-10-09T17:05:00.000-07:00

Attention, lovers of all things dark, pagan and vampiric:

Check out one terrific site: Darkness Embraced at: http://www.darknessembraced.com for some deliciously dark artwork and fascinating articles.

You can find my article "Dark Reflections" in the Vampire Mythology section.

And, one more thing: Please check out my vampire novelette "Unholy Alliance" at Eternal Press or Amazon.com.
http://www.eternalpress.biz/book.php?isbn=9781770650343

Pleasant screams

Death Machine

2011-10-02T21:58:00.000-07:00

The last earthly sight ever seen by Al-Qaida cleric Anwar al-Awlaki was a U.S. predator drone; a remote-controlled death machine from the sky... something once reserved to science fiction. Even as some Americans gleefully rejoice in the high-tech extra-judicial execution of a suspected enemy, others wonder fearfully what implications this assassination may bode for the future of our nation and the world.

http://www.lillibridgepress.com/book/Flags

Who was this man who our president assumed the moral authority to kill with the touch of one button? Anwar al-Awlaki was a U.S. citizen born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents. Considered a militant Islamic cleric al-Awlaki was reputedly a powerful figure within al-Qaida, accused of recruiting and "inspiring" young men to carry out acts of terrorism against the United States. Acts like the Christmas 2009 attempt to blow up an American airliner bound for Detroit.

al-Awlaki was a powerfully motivational speaker whose Internet sermonizing called for Jihad against the U.S. But, U.S. intelligence officials claim he did more than just preach and inspire; they believe he took a more direct role in carrying out terrorist activities.

Now, we'll never know. Because, the accused terrorist was never brought to trial. He was declared too dangerous to live and ordered killed by a machine. Because the president of the United States, and a handful of generals said he deserved to die. Perhaps they were right. Then again...who's next?? If anyone...U.S. citizen or no... can be deemed dangerous to U.S. national security, simply by virtue of preaching or stating an opinion deemed to be "inflammatory" or "anti-American" and on the basis of that sentenced to death by the autocratic command of a general or president...then what has America become? And, who is safe?

Science has provided us with mechanical executioners that can kill anyone anywhere in the world. No trial. No counsel. No presumption of innocence. No jury. Just a government official who with a pushbutton can eliminate anyone anywhere in the world. What a feeling of almost godlike power we risk instilling in our leaders by allowing such power to exist.

If such weapons can be sent to kill Americans in other nations without due process, what is there to prevent the same being done on American soil? Ron Paul criticized the assassination, citing a dangerous precedent. For that, his public support drastically dropped off. Could someone like Ron Paul therefore be declared a "potentially disruptive element" and be targeted for remote-controlled execution?

Now that we have "smart bombs" and other machines that kill, quickly and efficiently the world over...now that law and due process have been abandoned in cases deemed a threat to national security...how long will it be before the decision of who lives and who dies is made by computers in the Pentagon? How long before autonomous robotic machines programmed to designate and "neutralize" perceived threats to national security have the power of life and death over all of us?

First, presidents with the power to wage war without Congressional approval. Now, presidents with the power to kill anyone any where in the world at will. What next? War turns us all into monsters. Will the machines we create to wage those wars someday become the masters of our fate?

War and Remembrance

2011-09-09T20:51:00.000-07:00

As we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the most horrendous terrorist attack of our nation's history, many reflections, dark and deep pass through our collective consciousness.

http://www.lillibridgepress.com/book/Flags

Recollections of loved ones lost. Shattered complacency. Haunting images burned forever into our national psyche. We ask ourselves over and over if we could have prevented it. If we can stop it from happening again. We reflect on the test to our national resiliency and character. We calculate (or try to) what we lost that terrible day, how well (or poorly) we responded, and what we've gained (if anything) in strength and hard-earned wisdom.

All important and natural parts of the healing process. But, as we seem to loop back in time to that hellish moment, seemingly frozen there yet again like flies in amber, do we reflect on the thousands more who've died since then? Of the thousands interred not under tons of fallen rubble, but in flag-draped coffins? And, what of the tens of thousands more in Iraq and Afghanistan killed in wars that perhaps should never have been waged?

Iraq was a war fought not for our national security, but over oil, power and revenge, for grievances that predated the 9/11 attacks by several years. Yet, it was fought under the pretext of forestalling another 9/11, and like any war, it fed on the irrational and maddening fear of the public. And, the war dragged on, death after senseless death, until the public's fear subsided, their anger cooled, and we all forgot the reason the war started. Now, as we withdraw from Iraq at long last, suicidal, murderous violence erupts there again. The madness of hatred seems never to end.

Many would say our mission in Afghanistan is far more pure. It is, after all, the country from which the 9/11 attacks were launched. And, no one, least of all the Afghan people, wants to see the extremist brutality of the Taliban continue. But, as the wars drag on, with no end in sight, a line of bodies stretching out into seeming dark infinity, should we reflect less on our own pain, and more on how we became mired in the madness to begin with? The answer to that question (if there is one) goes back more than a century, to when we first began exploiting the middle-east for its oil. Oil. That alluring black poison whose addictive hold over our economy we must break. In trying to establish "stability" in the middle-east (stability meaning our continued ability to control the oil there) we have supported corrupt and repressive regimes, only to see them fall with tragic consequences, as in Iran, fueling hatred of America, which in turn fuels terrorism. And now, as the great enigma of the "Arab Spring" rises, we must re-examine our role in that terrifying and rapidly changing part of the world. President Obama and the NATO Alliance deserve praise for militarily supporting the brave Libyan rebels who overthrew the tyrant Muamar Khadafi. But, what comes next? Can the nations of the west work together with the emerging fledgling democracies of the middle-east to eradicate those conditions of social and economic injustice in which terrorism thrive? Or, does hatred stand between us still?

What, ultimately, are America's defining values and goals as we look back over the first decade since 9/11? It is to our credit as a nation that there has been no massive backlash against Muslims in America (as there might have been in other countries.) But, the hatred is there, all the same, festering in the shadowed corners. Islam in any organized form is often met with condemnation in America. Implicit in the intolerance is a feeling that Islam itself is to blame for 9/11, not a few twisted individuals. And, the ever-present danger to our precious civil liberties rising out of potentially extremist security regulations remains as dire a threat to our way of life as any terrorist attack. Are we doomed never to heal? To keep our wounds green forever? And, as we look to the dead of 9/11 again and again, have we become desensitized to the new martyrs whose names and faces nightly cross our television screens as the war grinds on and on?

At some point, the mourning must end. and we must look to the living. The next generation should not inherit a war whose meaning lay lost in the ashes, and whose goals lay buried in the bloodied sands.

Survival by Adaptation

2011-08-29T21:36:00.000-07:00

http://www.lillibridgepress.com/book/Meeting

As nature's fury subsides, the sea grows calm again, clear blue skies and sunshine return, and the wreckage is cleared away, we bid farewell to Hurricane Irene and return to our normal (such as that is) lives. Some say the warnings were exaggerated and foolish. Others will say, and rightly so, that New York City dodged a bullet. Tragically, New Orleans wasn't so lucky. Which city will be next?

Once again, science fiction laps at the shores of everyday reality. Time was, a tidal wave threat to the towering skyscrapers of New York was confined to sci-fi films. We just got a taste of the new reality. The hurricane that just swept menacingly up the eastern seaboard was unprecedented in size; seen from space, it was a living horror that only a few short years ago, existed only in the minds of climatologists and science fiction writers. Like all storms, its power dissipated as it moved inland. But, the power of storms continues to increase as the ocean's temperature continues to rise due to man-made climate change.

In the space of a decade, climate change has altered our planet more dramatically than even sci-fi had ever envisioned. New frontiers have opened in a world that supposedly ran out of them a long time ago. There are now adventurers setting out to row to the north pole; a physical impossibility not long ago. Once foreboding and impenetrable walls of ice receding, regions of this globe, some at towering altitudes once inaccessible to Man, are now becoming tourist attractions. As the ice continues to melt, strange new forms of deep sea life, exotic and beautiful beyond the ability of even the most fertile imaginations to conceive are being seen by human eyes for the first time. But, there is devastation as well. Species diversity is dwindling as the noble polar bear and many other species are threatened with extinction. Wildfires, floods and violent storms plague the United States while drought devastates Africa.

Human industry is the cause of these unnatural changes. But though, as a species, we had the power to bring these changes about, we seem to lack either the ability or the will to reverse them. Some say it's already too late to reverse the effects of climate change, and that we'd better get busy adapting to the inevitable challenges ahead. It is undeniably true that the ability to adapt is the difference between survival and extinction for any species, ourselves included. But, how are we to adapt to so rapidly changing a world? Recent history has grimly demonstrated that entrenched economic interests, bloated corporations and their political servants will continue to make difficult, if not impossible, any meaningful federal-level legislation to reduce carbon emissions.

But, in making meaningful changes to our nation's energy grid, slowing down the rate of climate change and working toward adapting ourselves to those effects already on the way, smaller may be better. More can perhaps be accomplished at the city level than at the federal level. (see September issue of Scientific American.) New Orleans (and now New York) was our wake-up call. Some cities are already modifying architectural and energy production strategies toward the twin goals of reducing carbon emissions and making cities better prepared to weather the next superstorm to come their way. The vision of several mayors and urban planners is to make the cities of the future greener and more energy efficient, in order to preserve our environment and our way of life. Since the federal government...as always, torn by self-serving political agendas and rivalries...has failed to pass any meaningful overall standard of carbon emissions, it may now be up to cities to coordinate such standards between them. And, since the poor would (as usual) be hit the hardest by the deleterious effects of climate change, it would behoove city governments serious about reducing carbon emissions to reach out to those communities in the greatest need and help them to conserve and use energy wisely and efficiently.

Adapting to climate change may eventually trigger a brave new world of creative and scientifically guided urban planning, and a genuine effort to narrow the gap between rich and poor and work toward economic justice (something every society needs to do in order to create a healthy and thriving democracy.) Change for the sake of survival is what shapes a species. But, as we are the only species that consciously creates it's own circumstances, we are, for better or worse, truly the masters of our fate.

Nuclear Fire

2011-06-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.lillibridgepress.com/book/Meeting

Once again, nightmarish situations once seen only in science fiction break through into the real world as grim reminders that the human race can affect nature with devastating consequences.

For decades, climatologists warned a skeptical public that climate change due to excessive burning of fossil fuels could lead to (among other things) large-scale brush fires. Sure enough, that's exactly what we're seeing in several American states: infernos that are all too real.

Now, some of those wildfires are getting dangerously close to nuclear power plants, threatening to damage or destroy the control systems that keep the nuclear cores contained. Some consider nuclear power to be a "safer" alternative to fossil fuels, since it does not contribute to carbon emissions. It does however produce deadly nuclear waste which is next to impossible to get rid of. And, let us not forget the hellish disaster of Chernobyl. It would be bitterly ironic if the very wildfires caused by fossil fuel consumption let the nuclear demon out of its cage.

We've recently witnessed a potential nuclear disaster in the making in Japan, as the result of tsunami. So great is the threat, that Germany today announced it was shutting down its own nuclear industry. We should wise up and follow their example. Better yet, we should phase out fossil fuel consumption as well, switching to truly safer alternatives such as wind, solar, hydro and natural gas, before more such disasters materialize.

In the dark fantasies of fiction, the misguided think they can control their destinies through a caged demon at their command. They always learn the hard way that the cage isn't as strong as they think.

Cate Masters - Author Spotlight

2011-05-29T21:13:00.000-07:00

Check out my author interview, and other interesting news about unusual and paranormal fiction at Cate Masters fabulous blog:

http://catemasters.blogspot.com/2010/05/thomas-olbert-in-author-spotlight.html

Imaginary Monsters, Real Horror...

2011-04-27T19:05:00.000-07:00

Fiction abounds with imaginary monsters of the dark imagination. But, in real life, more people in these strange times seem to recoil from other kinds of imaginary monsters than from the real dangers and dilemmas that threaten our future.
In a real-life horror story, storms and floods are devastating communities in the southern United States with unprecedented ferocity as the death toll mounts. Yet, no one dares even consider that man-made global warming might be a contributing factor. That's just a hoax; global warming's not real. The ecological consequences of industrial oil spills continue to manifest, yet still no outcry from the public in favor of more government oversight of corporations trying to dismantle what little remains of environmental protection laws. Everyone knows corporations are more trustworthy than the government. The evidence of their own senses aside, the public continues to deny the dangers literally destroying their homes daily.
So, what does the public fear? What are the monsters that frighten them? They fear the president might be an illegal alien. They fear that efforts to make healthcare affordable and corporations manageable are communist plots to re-distribute wealth and promote class warfare. The cold war is long over, yet they look at Barack Obama and see Stalin's ghost.
Why? Are we a nation of children unready to face the unpleasant facts of life and choosing instead to live in a world of fantasy and imaginary monsters? Is it that we've lost the ability to distinguish fact from fantasy? Is technology to blame? Is it that cyber-space has proven so enticing a refuge from these paranoid times that opinion blogging has become a substitute for reality? Have we become so alienated, not only from our own government, but from life itself that pompous reality T.V. clowns with their bald-faced lies and empty rhetoric become more viable candidates for the presidency than people who dwell in the real world? Has fantasy truly taken the place of substance?
Or, is the source of the madness a much older monster; Racism? Do we concoct these elaborate paranoid fantasies of forged passports and communist conspiracies merely to cloud the ugly, bigoted face we don't want to see in the mirror? We create imaginary monsters to hide the real monsters we'd rather not have to fight or acknowledge. The saddest part is, we created the real ones, too.

Turning Point: The Nuclear Factor

2011-03-26T22:53:00.000-07:00

http://www.lillibridgepress.com/book/Meeting

Once again, science fact has caught up with science fiction. And, not in a good way.

The escalating human tragedy of a tsunami in Japan has triggered the potential for a man-made disaster whose full effects may not be felt for years. Possibly even generations. The threat of radiation escaping damaged nuclear reactors. As of the most recent reports, a reactor containment vessel was cracked by the disaster, and radiation continues to escape, even as the Japanese government struggles to keep the situation contained.

Some contend the reports have been exaggerated by the U.S. government and minimized by the Japanese government. In either case, this is not the first time a country has been threatened by nuclear accidents. Three-Mile Island was our wake-up call for acknowledging the dangers of nuclear power. That incident thankfully ended with no appreciable harm to human life. Chernobyl, the Russian incident, was a million times worse; the worst nuclear disaster since Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The two afore-mentioned incidents were the result of design flaws or human error. And, while nuclear programs have been run effectively in France and elsewhere, the current disaster in Japan starkly reminds us that, no matter how well designed or efficiently run a nuclear reactor may be, there is no accounting for the whims of nature. The Japanese disaster has prompted a rapid and desperate re-examination of nuclear safety. But, perhaps the larger question more people should be asking is whether nuclear power plays a practical role in our future energy needs.

How to guard against radiation leaks. How to dispose of nuclear waste. How to protect nuclear plants from terrorist attack. How to control the proliferation of weapons-grade fissionable material. No longer science fiction, these are problems we will always have to face until we rid ourselves of nuclear power. In a time when carbon pollution and global warming are becoming pressing concerns, some are tempted to embrace nuclear power as the energy alternative of the future. But, we may be leaping at too easy, and potentially dangerous a solution. Safe, clean energy alternatives such as wind, hydro and solar power should be explored and developed, before we rush headlong into a nuclear age that could threaten the health and security of our world and leave future generations to inherit problems they never created.

Revolution in the Cyber Age

2011-02-07T18:06:00.000-08:00

As the second decade of the 21st century begins, what may be the beginning of a raging fire of social change sweeps across nation after nation in the middle east, an ancient and fiercely traditional part of the world. A place where change is almost unknown, and autocratic government is the norm.

As is usually the case in the west, we were all astonished to see the young, angry masses taking to the streets in Tunisia, Egypt and beyond. We don't expect revolution in such lands. Now that it's begun, some welcome it as hope for change and eventual democratization in a region where dissent and free thought have been suppressed by military, authoritarian and clerical rule for so long. Others fear it as the beginning of a still more repressive form of society that may become a breeding ground for terrorism and regional war. Only time will tell. But, if one dictatorship can be overthrown, why not another and another? The important thing is that a spontaneous explosion of dissent among an oppressed, young and restless population happened, seemingly in the blink of an eye. A very basic, very human form of minimum critical mass, triggering a chain reaction that hasn't stopped yet.

So, what happened? It started in Tunisia, with one young man who, in the course of rebelling against a simple injustice, a blow to his dignity, committed the ultimate act of defiance: He set himself on fire. The news of it, the potency of the image, the young martyr's pain, the event itself spread as fast as the flames. Because, of course, we live in the age of cyberspace. A medium that links the youngest children across oceans. Nothing happens in this world that is hidden from the eyes of the people, especially the young, and there is nothing that a tyrant fears more than the light of day. That's why the tyrants of this world would love to control cyber space. The Red Chinese try to, but only with limited success. The Egyptian regime tried to pull the plug on the whole Internet when dissent broke out in their country, but the simplest cable connection foiled that attempt.

Some say communication is the beginning of civilization. And, some say revolution is the first step toward all forms of real progress. One always fuels the other. The communication networks of today were science fiction a generation ago. Some say the progress of the last generation has been limited to instantaneous communication, while social progress has lagged behind. But, recent events remind us starkly that what happens in the real world enters cyber space and emerges a billion times stronger. Enter the right combination of human energies, bright and dark, and the explosion that may result may shake the world.

Technology only serves the tyrant when it is controlled by the chosen few. Once it is everywhere, linking people the world over, it sets the people free. Whether these revolutions lead to good or ill, we may be witnessing a moment in history in which the people glimpsed the light of a power they had within themselves the whole time and never knew. Like the first humans to see the spark ignite the fire, this could be the beginning of a bright new age.

Suburban Vampire; Beyond Romance

2011-01-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

Check out a couple of very interesting blogs for lovers of unusual fiction:

For lovers of the undead denizens of the night: Suburban Vampire: http://suburbanvampire.blogspot.com/

I'm guest blogging there now. Enter a comment on the Suburban Vampire blog site before Friday 1/14/2010, and win a free pdf of my vampire novelette "Unholy Alliance."

And, for lovers of offbeat romance literature, often involving the bizarre: Beyond Romance: http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com/?zx=d74325b0064297e8 - I'll be guest blogging there starting Saturday 1/08/2010.

SCIENCE FICTION - NEXUS - Coming soon from Phase 5 Publishing

2010-12-28T21:19:00.000-08:00

  Looking for way-out cosmic sci-fi?
  Time travel?
  Intergalactic odysseys?
  Alien societies of the future?

  Check out Phase 5 Publishing--

The first installment of my science fiction novel "Nexus - Dissent" is now available online at Phase 5 Monthly Review:

http://www.phase5publishing.com/

Nexus is the story of a dangerous forbidden love set in a galactic society of the very distant future... composed entirely of women.

Starship combat. Alternative societies. Time travel. Artificial intelligence. Desperate escapes and political intrigue in a universe beyond time! Get a taste, and learn how to order the full-length novel, Book I in the Nexus series, as well as many other great works of unusual fiction from Phase 5!

Purchase Offers

2010-12-09T22:30:00.000-08:00

http://www.lillibridgepress.com/book/Flags

http://www.eternalpress.biz/book.php?isbn=9781770650343

http://www.lillibridgepress.com/book/Meeting

When did we forget how to dream?

2010-11-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

When did our nation forget how to dream? When did we lose our sense of wonder, our belief in our ability to reach for the stars? Our belief in our ability to be more than we are? Some say it died on 9/11. Some say it declined with the economy. Anyway, at some point, we woke up and found ourselves a nation of cynics.

Science fiction is the avatar of our ability to dream of soaring to distant horizons, of proving there is no limit for us save our willingness to try. Since the days of Jules Verne, scientific speculation and flights of fancy have inspired the human race to reach for the unreachable and expand our frontiers, both internal and external. In the turbulent but hopeful era of the late 1960's, Gene Roddenberry introduced us to the world of "Star Trek" a dream of a future in which war and petty divisions were but unpleasant memories, and a unified, enlightened human race reached out to boldly go where none had gone before. In those days, we dreamed of going to the moon, and we made it.

Where are our dreams and hopes now? Where is that starry-eyed calling to move forward into a better world through our own ingenuity? Where is the determination to invent electric cars, solar technology, orbiting microwave power satellites, magnetic bullet trains and other inventions that could free us from Arab oil and greedy, ecologically destructive oil corporations? Grubby, self-serving politics and accommodation with special interests has killed carbon emission regulations, along with all meaningful incentive for green technology innovation. And, the most tragic part is that there is little or no outcry from the public. They're too busy voting for conservative politicians who reject change in any form, whether it be universal healthcare or clean energy.

Is a nation in decline when it abandons all hope in a better future? I think so. You can see the sad evidence in today's science fiction. Or, rather, the lack of it. Where today are the Captain Kirks and Mr. Spocks, the futuristic heroes who inspired us to dream of better days and grand adventures through invention and enlightenment? Science fiction has dwindled, reflecting the flagging spirit of a nation that has lost its will to dream.

Once, we dreamed of flying to the stars. Now, we fight for maintaining the status quo. Once, we dreamed of gleaming futuristic cities on the moon. Now, we march wearing the costumes of 230 years in the past. Once, we aspired to greatness. Now, we aspire to smallness. Once, we dreamed of a future where diseases were conquered and everyone was equal and healthy. Now, we scoff at dreams of self-improvement and ask to see each other's passports. We don't want to move forwards anymore, it seems. Only backwards.

Is there a Gene Roddenberry out there somewhere who can remind us of how to dream?

When the Apocalypse arrives...will anyone notice?

2010-08-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

Science fiction films like '2012' and 'Day After Tomorrow' and science fiction stories like my novelette 'Meeting' depict apocalyptic futures involving mass flooding due to global climate change. In the real world today, science fiction is fast becoming science fact. Devastating floods continue in Pakistan and China, record breaking heat waves have triggered massive forest fires in California and Russia, as well as lethal droughts in Africa and Australia. An ice berg the size of Manhattan Island has broken off the polar ice cap and is drifting out to sea. Unprecedented events, these, and almost biblical in their devastating effect. But, not unexpected. Climatologists predicted decades ago that such things would happen, and they are right on schedule.

What is being done about this? Not much. The only meaningful legislation intended to fight climate change to pass through the U.S. Congress, after a long, bitter political fight has gone down in flames, essentially killing any hope of legislating reasonable emissions standards to slow global warming in the near future. The reason? Petty political bickering and entrenched special interests (namely, big oil) and politicians who value their own careers more than they do the world their children and grandchildren will inherit. So, as present trends continue, what can we expect to see in our daily lives? According to EPA studies: "longer heat waves that harm the sick, poor, and elderly; extreme weather events that can lead to death and injuries; and increases in ground-level ozone linked to respiratory illnesses like asthma."

So, the obvious question: Why does the public, even in the face of overwhelming and obvious evidence, remain skeptical that this world is rapidly running out of time? The obvious answer: They simply don't want to believe it. It's too difficult, and too inconvenient for the people to rise up and force the corporations to clean up their act and stop polluting our atmosphere with
CO2 and other dangerous greenhouse gases. After all...it might lead to more people getting laid off. As long as one can at least try to believe that the end is still a way's off...that "I'll be safely in my grave by the time the apocalypse comes" ...we can continue to live our lives comfortably watching reality TV, driving our gas-guzzling autos and blaming the Obama administration for everything.

So, what could we do, if we had the collective will? Plenty. According to leading scientists, the energy used to power, heat, and cool our homes, businesses, and industries and the fuel we use for transportation are responsible for more than 80 percent of global warming emissions in the United States. The major renewable energy alternatives (wind, solar, geothermal, bioenergy, and hydropower) combined could generate many times the amount of electricity the nation now needs. Several renewable energy technologies are available today, and others are projected to become commercially ready in the next twenty years. Wind power has the greatest near-term potential.

In short: It's not easy to convert our destructive civilization to a more ecologically benign one, but it can be done, and without destroying our economy. All it requires is the will of the people to speak out and motivate our legislators to do the right thing and stand up to the big-money corporate interests. The potential is there. But, time's running out.

I hope the epitaph of our civilization won't be: "We had other things on our mind."

New Age of Darkness?

2010-06-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

"Flags" a science fiction novelette published by Lillibridge Press and now available on Amazon.com - paints a grim picture of a future in which the human race is one step away from destroying itself over racial, religious and ideological divisions. In real life, how far are we from this, here in the land of the free, where all men are created equal?

The growing hysteria over immigration in this country is becoming truly frightening. Gone is the America embodied in Lady Liberty standing tall and proud with her torch upraised, a shining beacon of hope and opportunity to all the world's peoples who hungered to breath free, unshackled by the tyrannies of the past. The America we seem to be degenerating into is one retreating behind a wall of fear and intolerance. Our growing chorus of reactionary activists envision a ridiculously huge fence sealing our immense border with Mexico, stretching out like the Great Wall of China. Impossible to build or maintain effectively, of course, but conservative politicians and demagogues continue to advocate it to appease the terrified masses. What next? A vast army sent to guard our Great Wall of Texas? Machine gun turrets? Mine fields? High voltage wires? How far are our conservative elements from advocating extermination camps for illegal aliens?

Sound far-fetched? Think about it. Some conservatives today are advocating deportation for anyone born in this country to a parent who was an illegal alien. One has to wonder how many generations back they would ultimately take this. Are any of us safe? And, of course, they would require everyone to produce identity papers. We seem to be slipping closer and closer to something resembling Nazi Germany. And, have you seen the political platform of the Texas Republican Party? It includes "Opposing all criminal or civil penalties against anti-gay activists and any actions they may take to oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values." If taken literally, that essentially means it would be legal to kill gay people at will. And, of course, the Texas GOP wants to get us the heck out of the U.N. Their platform can best be summed up as: "Attention foreign devils and anybody different from us, get out or we'll kill you." This platform is nothing new, of course; The Texas GOP has maintained it for years. What's scary is that the National GOP will not condemn or oppose it.

America is fast becoming a nation of xenophobes who want to close our doors to the outside world and reject all races, cultures and lifestyles that differ from our safe, comfortably familiar norm. The Islamic civilization took a similar turn back in the middle ages. Like us, they were once an open, enlightened, progressive society. Once they turned to xenophobia, their once vibrant culture stagnated, and they've been stuck ever since in the 10th century. That may well happen to us if present trends continue.

Fang-tastic

2010-06-27T20:26:00.001-07:00

Like vampire and paranormal fiction? Check out Roxanne Rhoads' blog site Fang-tastic at: http://fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com/

You'll read interesting interviews with great authors of vampire, paranormal and fantasy fiction, learn about their books and have the opportunity to post comments and win prizes. I have a guest blog up on that site. Post a comment by Tuesday, and you might win a free copy of my book "Unholy Alliance."

Happy Reading!

Chaos Theory: Tales Askew

2010-05-31T18:38:00.001-07:00

Check out "Chaos Theory: Tales Askew" a wonderfully unusual collection of FREE online speculative fiction. One of my stories "Genesis Cave" is in the current issue, along with some other fine and memorable tales of the bizarre. Happy Reading! http://www.genspace.com/ctta/

Rising Dark Tide

2010-05-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

"Meeting" a novelette published by Lillibridge Press and now available on Amazon.com, deals with apocalyptic futures and ecological disaster.

Sadly, such things are coming true all around us every day. The ecological impacts of the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico are getting worse by the day as an estimated 210, 000 – 2,520,000 gallons of filthy crude oil continue to poison the sea-water, moving toward the coast like some rising dark tide out of horror fiction. The spill, estimated to be over 130 miles long and 70 miles wide, will soon hit the coastlines of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida, devastating local economies and threatening hundreds of species in the Gulf of Mexico, including endangered and rare species. All this of course comes on the heels of the recent coal mining tragedy in West Virginia. One of the worst coal mining disasters in history, though not the first of its kind. Or, probably, the last.

What more proof does this nation need that fossil fuels are killing us? It wasn't enough that 97% of the world's leading climatologists have been warning us for decades about the dangers of global warming? Or, that oil spills like the current disaster have happened before, and are continuing? Or, that the build-up of coal-ash sludge has threatened entire communities in coal mining states? Public opinion is shifting slowly, haltingly toward the development of clean, renewable energy, like wind and solar. (About bloody time!) But, it's not enough. New clean energy legislation making its way through Congress is a step in the right direction, but it's long overdue, and probably not strong enough. Such legislation seeks to compromise with the interests of big oil companies, whose interests are only in making a profit for themselves, not in protecting the environment or local economies.

The big fossil fuel interests have been allowed to grow far too powerful. Corporate oil money fills and poisons the political process like the oil slick fills and poisons the gulf. The governors and representatives of coal states toady for the coal companies. This will only get worse as the Supreme Court's monumentally disastrous decision to regard corporate political bribery as 'legitimate free speech' (What were they smoking?!!!) opens the flood gates for more corporate influence toward weakening already insufficient environmental protection standards.

The only way to fight corporate influence is through a groundswell of public opinion against the fossil fuel industries. It's not there yet. I hope it won't take more needless deaths or irreparable ecological and economic harm before the people rise up and vote en masse against an escalating disaster. It would be great if all that anti-banking and anti-corporate populist rage (well deserved at that) could focus against an even greater threat to our future: fossil fuels. Remember: no matter what we do, the oil wells will run dry in another 50 years. Coal will be gone in maybe 100 years, tops. We simply have to switch to renewable energy sources eventually. Common sense dictates we start now, while we still have an environment left to save. Before coal mining destroys the last mountain range and poisons the last river, before more oil slicks devastate coastal fishing and threaten our food supply, and before global warming decimates more populations with coastal storms, flooding and drought.

The Sierra Club, Greenpeace and many other environmental organizations are trying to fuel public awareness of these issues. I hope more people listen, before it's too late.

Marginal Boundaries

2010-03-31T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hey, check out the first issue of Marginal Boundaries, a fresh new face of unusual speculative fiction. I'm proud to say my short story "A Stitch in Time" is included in this fabulous first issue! http://www.marginalboundaries.com/issue-one/

Short-Story.Me!

2010-03-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

Check out Short-Story.Me! a terrific site for free Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery and Science Fiction. One of my short stories "The Devil's Own" is included in this month's issue. http://www.short-story.me/

Just-published Anthology: The title is "Short-Story.Me!
Best Genre Short Stories Anthology #1". Further information: It is a 230 page, 24 story volume that includes all five of the genres we cover - Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery and Science Fiction.
The stories are not categories by genre, so the reader can be surprised by what happens in the plot without being tipped off by the category.

--To buy the electronic version ($9.95) for the Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003F777ZQ
--To buy the print version ($12.95) in our E-store:
https://www.createspace.com/3445134
--To buy the print version ($12.95) in the Amazon Bookstore: Coming soon
--Go to http://www.short-story.me/our-books.html to see the Authors &
Stories included and the cover.

Short-Story.Me! -- "Best of Genre Short Stories" Anthology is now available for the
Kindle, in the Amazon Bookstore and on our site
--www.Short-Story.Me - Webzine and Anthology Publisher of Genre Fiction

--Read Short Stories by Professional Authors on our site
--Subscribe to our Free Email Short Story Distribution Service or our
Google Desktop Gadget
--Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ShortStoryMe!

Humanity Splintered

2010-03-10T20:56:00.000-08:00

"Flags," my latest science fiction novelette, is now available from "Lillibridge Press" - Read more about it in the Science Fiction section of the Lillibridge Press home page at www.lillibridgepress.com. It is also available at Amazon.com.

"Flags" is a story about humanity driven to the point of extinction in the future by racial, religious and ideological hatred.

Tragically, such things are not confined to fiction. In the real world, Iraq and Afghanistan are plagued by sectarian conflict and suicidal acts of mass murder driven by hatred of any who are of a different religion or creed. The people of Darfur struggle to survive the threat of genocidal war. The nation of Uganda is torn by hatred in one form or another. In the north of that country, the so-called Lord's Resistance Army carries on its campaign of terror, rape and murder, conscripting boys as young as 10, twisting their minds, destroying their innocence and forcing them to become killers. In the south, a law is being debated which, if enacted, could indiscriminately put innocent people to death solely on suspicion that their sexuality may differ from the norm. The most horrifying thing about this law, perhaps, is that it comes cloaked in religious piety, as hatred often does, pervading and perverting the very codes of religious morality, twisting a message of love into one of hate, and teaching bigotry to the next generation while calling it love.

Hatred born of fear of the unfamiliar, of the outsider...that seems to come so easily to the human heart. In an age of nuclear weapons, our hatred may be our undoing.

The True Nature of Evil

2010-03-06T18:54:00.000-08:00

"Unholy Alliance" (a novelette published by Eternal Press and currently available through www.eternalpress.ca, Amazon.com and Kindle) is a horror story about a young man trying to discern the true nature of good and evil. He finds the distinction isn't as simple as he once believed.

A real-life horror story is being played out in these United States. The clear moral codes and values that once defined us as a nation and have seen us triumphantly through terrible wars have, it seems, been so clouded by fear and so compromised that they are almost meaningless.

Waterboarding. Sounds almost like a sport. (For some, perhaps it is.) It's actually another word for subjecting a human being to "simulated" drowning. Nothing simulated about it, really. The pain of suffocation is quite real. Waterboarding originated as a form of torture in the time of the Spanish Inquisition. After World War II, Japanese soldiers were prosecuted as war criminals for waterboarding American prisoners of war. Well, of course. Such barbaric acts go against everything this nation stands for. Right? Not according to former Vice President Dick Cheney:

"I'm a strong believer in it," Cheney told a National Press Club audience. "I thought it was well done." His former boss, President George W. Bush apparently didn't agree, as his administration banned waterboarding in 2003. President Obama has said waterboarding is torture and repugnant to American values. Cheney remains unconvinced. "I don't believe that we engaged in torture," he argued. (I'm almost afraid to envision what he would consider torture.)

Well, here's one possibility: According to reports out of the Bush administration, the U.S. military tortured a Saudi national at Guantanamo. The interrogators threatened to sick a dog on him, subjected him to sustained isolation, sleep deprivation, nudity, sexual humiliation and prolonged exposure to cold, leaving him in a "life-threatening condition." The man had to be hospitalized twice at Guantanamo with bradycardia, a condition in which the heart rate falls below 60 beats a minute and which in extreme cases can lead to heart failure and death. At one point his heart rate dropped to 35 beats per minute. Legal officials deemed this torture and blocked prosecution of the prisoner because of it. Other such prisoners have died of their beatings. Still not convinced, Mr. Cheney? It gets worse.

The U.S. news media have profiled cases of innocent people in many countries who have been literally snatched off the street for no other reason than the color of their skin or their religion, detained in secret prisons without charge or trial, where they were tortured, physically and psychologically for years on end. Our government's own files confirm this. Some people were simply "profiled" ; If they fit a religious, personal and/or ethnic profile attributed to potential terrorists by U.S. intelligence, they could be hauled in by local police or military hoping to collect U.S. bounties on "suspicious foreigners." Foreign cops and soldiers did the actual dirty work, but American military planes have been used to transport such victims to countries like Syria and Uzbekistan (countries infamous for torturing and killing political prisoners and gunning down peaceful protesters in their streets) for the purpose of torture. The torture would consist of severe beatings, for a start. At least one victim reported being taken to a room where he would hear other people screaming in agony nearby. He was kept in an underground cell 3 feet wide, 6 feet long and 7 feet high, for 10 straight months. He described it as being buried alive. Wait, it gets better.

Ever wonder what the corpse of a 35-year old father of four would look like after being burned on the legs, buttocks, lower back and arms? Sixty to seventy percent of the body was burned, overall. Doctors who saw the body reported that such burns could only have been caused by immersion in boiling water. Those who saw the body also reported that there was a large, bloody wound on the back of the head, heavy bruising on the forehead and side of the neck, and that his fingernails had been pulled out. We're just getting warmed up. People being raped with broken bottles. People having their children tortured in front of them until they sign a confession. People being boiled alive, according to a former United Kingdom ambassador to Uzbekistan. This was America and her allies? This is who we are? Time was such things were confined to Nazi concentration camps and Soviet gulags.

Mr. Cheney remains steadfast in his defense of such acts. How does he justify it? Quite simply. By remembering the horror of 9/11. "I looked at the world the morning after 9/11, and what I saw was 16 acres of ashes in downtown New York City," he recalled. "You could, if you looked closely enough on television, see footage of American citizens jumping out of windows on the upper stories of the Trade Center because it was better than being burned to death. Those individuals who wished us harm and who were prepared to kill thousands of Americans ... got what they had coming to them," he said.

The scar of that terrible day cut deep to the heart and soul of this country. We all wanted revenge. Revenge tempts and corrupts the best of us, like a drug. Once you're on it, there's little hope of getting off. And, it destroys us in ways no terrorist attack ever could. Not just by taking innocent lives or destroying buildings, but by destroying the values that make us who we are. That make us distinguishable from our enemies. And, we have survived many powerful enemies, from the British Empire to Hitler to the Soviet Union, and we have prevailed. Not in spite of our democratic and humanitarian values, but because of them. And, without resorting to torture. Now, Mr. Cheney and others like him would have us believe Magna Carta, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights...every thing that makes us who we are...are foolish luxuries we can no longer afford. Why? Because the enemy is Al Qaeda? What's Al Qaeda? A band of suicidal cut-throat fanatics hiding in mountain caves? We must give up 200 years of moral and legal tradition because of them? Are we so weak that so paltry an enemy can drag us down to their level so easily? One of our defining moral values, far deeper than constitutional law, is that when faced with a difficult decision, ask yourself: What would Jesus do? The answer usually is that the easy path is not the correct one.

Torture is easy. It's a surrender to the beast inside you, not unlike the surrender of those who line up to blow themselves up to kill us. Surrender to the hate and the darkness. It's so easy. What then, is left of our souls? What looks back at us from the mirror? Is there anything left to leave the next generation? Remember: dictatorships are safer from terrorists, to be sure. But, they never pass the test of time.

President Obama has vowed an end to the practices of torture. It's not likely to continue under his administration. But, he seems to be dragging his feet on closing Guantanamo, and he has not prosecuted U.S. intelligence officials responsible for torture. We may be just one election away from more secret prisons and torture chambers. The most frightening part of all this is that a large number of Americans couldn't care less. Maybe because they've conned themselves into believing that torturing people makes this country safer (even though not a shred of hard evidence bears this out.) Or, maybe they simply don't care about anyone different from themselves; a very common attitude. The Internet is flooded with angry posts from people who keep screaming that because the enemy does the same thing, why shouldn't we do it? America, the mirror of Al Qaeda. Is that our moral code now?

Remember...If there are no rules, if our intelligence agencies become secret police forces answerable only to themselves, then what stands between us and them? Who among our own population is safe, if his or her "profile" is suggestive of something that someone in power doesn't like? We've all seen the deadly results of police profiling. How long before secret prisons and torture chambers...perhaps even death camps...become the American way of life? Those in favor of the easy path obviously tell themselves: "Not my problem. They'll only come for those different ones. The weirdoes. The dissidents. The outsiders. I'm safe." Maybe until you attend a Tea Party rally. Or, they find something in your family history they don't like. There's always something. No one is safe.

"And, when they finally got around to me...there was no one left to protest." We've seen this all before.

Down the Rabbit Hole

2010-02-28T12:00:00.001-08:00

"Meeting" (a novelette published by Lillibridge Press, available at lillibridgepress.com, Amazon.com and Kindle) is the story of a man who falls through a seemingly magical trapdoor and finds himself in an alternative, fractured reality where nothing makes sense or is what it appears. He feels much like Alice after falling down the rabbit hole.

In real life, America seems to have fallen through a different kind of rabbit hole into a strange land where hope and vision seem to have fled. Where no one hopes, but only despairs. Where leaders don't lead towards anything new, only away from what is, because no one sees the good in anything, only the bad. Everything moves backwards, never forwards. The land of NoNoNo. The ruling elite of this strange kingdom call themselves, appropriately enough, the Tea Party. It seems much like the mad hatter's tea party where nothing makes any sense and everything is the exact opposite of what reason dictates. The Tea Party is not a political movement. "Movement" implies movement toward an envisioned goal, via a defining creed or philosophy. The Tea Party has no such vision. They just like to complain, and tear down whoever happens to be in office at the time. Off with his head! They do present potential candidates, I suppose, but not real candidates; just phantoms. A smiling snow queen who hunts wolves from the air, dreams of bombing countries into submission, and sees glaciers melt and polar bears drown, and insists nothing's wrong. A smiling dreamer who lives in his own private world where ideas and theories are real and reality is too bothersome to acknowledge. He'd like to take us magically back through time to the 19th century, where everything will be just great, where free enterprise, unfettered by big mean government will take us to paradise. These phantom candidates just fade away like the Cheshire Cat, until only their smiles remain. Most Americans don't believe these people are fit to lead us, yet the Tea Party embraces them. Or, pretends to.

So, what does the Tea Party want? Well, they say they want small family businesses to flourish. Well, a sensible way to work towards that would be to tax and regulate the big corporations and pour stimulus money into the small, struggling businesses, while keeping healthcare costs down by setting limits on the big insurers. Right? NoNoNo. In reply to that all-too-logical approach, the Tea Partiers rant and rave and call the president a Marxist, an Arab, a Leninist, elected only by illiterates. "No big government," they cry, oddly forgetting that every financial disaster this country has suffered for the past 30 years...from the deficits of the greed-maddened 80's, to the Enron and Imclone disasters to the escalating healthcare costs and recession we face now...has been the result of too little government regulation, not too much. Curiouser and curiouser. Like Alice in Wonderland, the Tea Party people want magical potions that can make things bigger or smaller. Trouble is, government getting smaller means corporations get bigger, and bigger, until they get too big to fail. Then, like dinosaurs, they collapse of their own weight and the people pay the price. The Republicans let it get to that point by removing all obstacles to corporate greed, year after year, after year. So, the people rebelled and voted for change. Now, that made perfect sense. Trouble was, the people thought all they had to do was vote, and that would fix everything. They didn't vote for a leader. They voted for a miracle worker. When they discovered he couldn't walk on water, or part the Red Sea, that he was, lo and behold, just a mere mortal who had to function in the same old political system of dealmaking and improvisation, when they saw him compromising and getting blocked by the established interests left and right, what did they do? Did they fight for him, get behind him, vote in more of his supporters to make him powerful enough to get more bills passed, to work toward cleaning up the mess? NoNoNo. They abandoned him after one year. Now, if they'd tried to form a third party, that would have been respectable, perhaps even visionary. But, NoNoNo. They just joined the mad dance at the mad hatter's tea party, knowing that the second they start to believe in something, that something could be torn down. An escape from reality, not unlike that other rabbit hole we fell through, back in the 1960's. (Except now, it's the parents fleeing reality, instead of the kids.)

So, what's next? Back to the madness that begat the madness? Then, when that brings no magical, easy answers, back again to the other way, again and again and again...forever? There'll only be light at the end of the rabbit hole when we realize there are no easy answers, and that hope is only the first step toward a long, hard road. Nobody ever promised it would be easy. Nothing worthwhile ever is. America started with a dream, but it took many years of hard work to make it a reality. I hope it doesn't end with a whimper of self-pity and a longing for swift, easy answers.

Global Warming

2010-02-14T12:27:00.000-08:00

Not just the stuff of science fiction, global warming may be a real-life horror for our grand children's generation, afflicting them with drought, flooding, and the regional wars which may arise out of a growing scarcity of resources. Leaders of our military are already becoming concerned about the implications. The snow storms that just blanketed America were right on cue, according to predictions of severely changing weather patterns made years ago by climatologists measuring the long-term rate of global warming.

So, what's being done about it?

At the Copenhagen summit, the United States promised $1 billion to protecting tropical rain forests over the next three years. Tropical deforestation causes about 15 percent of the world's global warming pollution, and with these forests disappearing at the rate of 1 acre per second, protecting them is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to slow down climate change. This is a major commitment of short-term funding, but it's an important investment in the future, and a big step toward re-establishing the United States as a leader in fighting global warming.

More needs to be done, though. Like working toward seriously reducing our country's dependence on oil and coal, and transitioning our economy toward cleaner and more renewable sources of power like wind and solar. And, pushing for a strong EPA to safeguard our country's environment, no matter how loudly polluting corporations and their allies in state governments protest.

Fiction Links

2010-02-11T18:35:00.000-08:00

Hey, check out these links - You can read some of my published short stories - Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror; whatever strikes your fancy - and, you can check out some great sites. Enjoy!

2010-02-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

Hello, All, and welcome to my blog.

My name's Tom Olbert, and I have some stories I'd like to share. If you're into the bizarre, speculative or otherworldly genres of modern fiction, I might have a few items you'd like to sample.

My first published novelette "Meeting" an offbeat science fiction tale of fractured reality is now available from Lillibridge Press at www.lillibridgepress.com. And, at www.Amazon.com.

Another novelette of mine, "Unholy Alliance" a dark urban fantasy of vampirism, forbidden love, escape and revenge is now available from Eternal Press at www.eternalpress.ca, Amazon.com and Kindle.

Happy Reading.