J.D. Rhoades's Blog, page 34
March 24, 2012
An Etch a Sketch Candidate In an iPad World
Latest Newspaper Column:
I know, I know, I just did a column on Mitt Romney last week. But let's face it: The dude's a gift that just keeps on giving.In this case, the gift to his opponents, both Republican and Democratic, came from Romney communication director Eric Fehrnstrom. It was the day after Romney's decisive victory in the Illinois Republican primary, and the Romnoids had fanned out across the various news and political shows to talk up their candidate.Everything was going OK until a CNN host asked the fateful question: "Is there a concern that Santorum and Gingrich might force the governor to tack so far to the right it would hurt him with moderate voters in the general election?" To which Fehrnstrom replied "Well, I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It's almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again."For opponents of a candidate who already had a reputation as a flip-flopper who'd say anything to get elected, the image proved irresistible.Sales of the classic children's toy immediately took a jump as everyone associated with the Santorum, Gingrich, and Paul campaigns, not to mention every member of the Democratic National Committee, rushed out to purchase one, the better to (figuratively) beat Governor Romney over the head with.A Santorum spokesman even showed up at a Romney event to pass Etch A Sketches out to reporters. Newt Gingrich gave one to a young boy at one of his rallies and said, "Now you can be a presidential candidate," which no doubt both pleased the youngster and confused him to no end.Gingrich later said that if Fehrnstrom had "set out to highlight for everybody why we distrust Romney, I think he couldn't have done a better job." Of course, someone like Gingrich, who can say on a Tuesday that "any ad which quotes what I said on Sunday is a falsehood," doesn't have much room to complain about someone else's "resets."The fact that no one in the supposedly liberal media has yet pointed out the rank hypocrisy of his statement may be because, once again, Gingrich's campaign has faded to the point where reporters have trouble remembering that he's still actually running, and the ones who do remember don't care.The president, as of this writing, has not commented, although one liberal blogger has already put a virtual Etch A Sketch up on the Web, highlighting some of Romney's contradictory statements. I'll tell you one thing, though: If we don't see as many Etch A Sketches being waved about at the Democratic Convention as there were flip-flops being waved at John Kerry in 2004, then the Democrats need to find a new communications team.Now, it's true that Fehrnstrom was simply stating one of the venerable principles of presidential politics: You play to your base to appeal to the true believers who vote in the primaries, then "tack toward the center" during the general.The problem is, we don't live in an Etch A Sketch world any more. We live in the world of YouTube and Google, where everything is recorded, and everything is available forever. Heck, Jon Stewart and "The Daily Show" have based their entire shtick around it.Say something that contradicts what you said six months, a year, five years, or even 10 years ago, and if it was ever on video, the legion of research gnomes who work for Stewart will have your contradictions on the air by 11 the next night, accompanied by Stewart's patented pained look at the camera, the look that says, as clearly as any words, "Does this person think we're as stupid as he is?"
In addition, with the "bases" of both parties getting both farther and farther apart, and more and more hardened in their respective positions, a candidate seeking to "tack toward the center" finds him or herself with a much longer distance to sail.Fehrnstrom's statement reflects an older mindset, one that doesn't take into account the fact that these days, information is forever, the reset button doesn't work, and all your public history resides in the cloud. The icon for the modern political scene isn't the Etch A Sketch. It's the iPad or Android phone running the YouTube app and showing videos of everything you've ever said in public.You can shake that bad boy all you want, but you can't make the stuff you don't want to admit to go away.
I know, I know, I just did a column on Mitt Romney last week. But let's face it: The dude's a gift that just keeps on giving.In this case, the gift to his opponents, both Republican and Democratic, came from Romney communication director Eric Fehrnstrom. It was the day after Romney's decisive victory in the Illinois Republican primary, and the Romnoids had fanned out across the various news and political shows to talk up their candidate.Everything was going OK until a CNN host asked the fateful question: "Is there a concern that Santorum and Gingrich might force the governor to tack so far to the right it would hurt him with moderate voters in the general election?" To which Fehrnstrom replied "Well, I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It's almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again."For opponents of a candidate who already had a reputation as a flip-flopper who'd say anything to get elected, the image proved irresistible.Sales of the classic children's toy immediately took a jump as everyone associated with the Santorum, Gingrich, and Paul campaigns, not to mention every member of the Democratic National Committee, rushed out to purchase one, the better to (figuratively) beat Governor Romney over the head with.A Santorum spokesman even showed up at a Romney event to pass Etch A Sketches out to reporters. Newt Gingrich gave one to a young boy at one of his rallies and said, "Now you can be a presidential candidate," which no doubt both pleased the youngster and confused him to no end.Gingrich later said that if Fehrnstrom had "set out to highlight for everybody why we distrust Romney, I think he couldn't have done a better job." Of course, someone like Gingrich, who can say on a Tuesday that "any ad which quotes what I said on Sunday is a falsehood," doesn't have much room to complain about someone else's "resets."The fact that no one in the supposedly liberal media has yet pointed out the rank hypocrisy of his statement may be because, once again, Gingrich's campaign has faded to the point where reporters have trouble remembering that he's still actually running, and the ones who do remember don't care.The president, as of this writing, has not commented, although one liberal blogger has already put a virtual Etch A Sketch up on the Web, highlighting some of Romney's contradictory statements. I'll tell you one thing, though: If we don't see as many Etch A Sketches being waved about at the Democratic Convention as there were flip-flops being waved at John Kerry in 2004, then the Democrats need to find a new communications team.Now, it's true that Fehrnstrom was simply stating one of the venerable principles of presidential politics: You play to your base to appeal to the true believers who vote in the primaries, then "tack toward the center" during the general.The problem is, we don't live in an Etch A Sketch world any more. We live in the world of YouTube and Google, where everything is recorded, and everything is available forever. Heck, Jon Stewart and "The Daily Show" have based their entire shtick around it.Say something that contradicts what you said six months, a year, five years, or even 10 years ago, and if it was ever on video, the legion of research gnomes who work for Stewart will have your contradictions on the air by 11 the next night, accompanied by Stewart's patented pained look at the camera, the look that says, as clearly as any words, "Does this person think we're as stupid as he is?"
In addition, with the "bases" of both parties getting both farther and farther apart, and more and more hardened in their respective positions, a candidate seeking to "tack toward the center" finds him or herself with a much longer distance to sail.Fehrnstrom's statement reflects an older mindset, one that doesn't take into account the fact that these days, information is forever, the reset button doesn't work, and all your public history resides in the cloud. The icon for the modern political scene isn't the Etch A Sketch. It's the iPad or Android phone running the YouTube app and showing videos of everything you've ever said in public.You can shake that bad boy all you want, but you can't make the stuff you don't want to admit to go away.
March 21, 2012
Cheesy Don't Even Begin to Cover It, Mitt
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Folks who know me know that one of my biggest pet peeves is a badly done Southern accent. For example, don't ever ask me about the movie "Steel Magnolias" unless you want to hear a rant about the travesty that is Olympia Dukakis' attempt at a Southern drawl. "Fake Southern" gets to me like fingernails on a blackboard.But I've got to tell you, Mitt Romney's latest attempts at being "down home" as he campaigned in the South drew more winces from me than annoyance. It was just painful to watch.I mean, the dude's got enough going against him being from Massachusetts (or, as it's more commonly known down here, "Taxachusetts"). The Bay State, like California, is one of those parts of this great country that conservatives, especially Southern conservatives, love to hate.Plus, there's that whole "moderate" thing, plus the other "M" word (Mormon) that's guaranteed to make Southern evangelicals suspicious. As a friend of mine pointed out, the Southern Baptist Convention once spent more than $600,000 to send teams of missionaries - to Salt Lake City.Still, I'm sure there were some people willing to put that aside, because they think Romney can beat Barack Obama in the general election. Unfortunately, when Romney tries to act natural around people who make less than a gazillion dollars a year, he starts behaving like some sort of badly programmed android sent here by an alien race to observe our primitive customs.You may remember John Kerry's "who among us does not love NASCAR?" quote from 2004. As it turns out, Kerry never said that; it was entirely made up by columnist Maureen Dowd to mock Kerry's stiff speaking style. Dowd, however, could not have made up a more ham-fisted response than the one Romney gave when asked at the Daytona 500 if he followed racing."Not as closely as some of the most ardent fans," Mitt said, "but I have some great friends who are NASCAR team owners." That sound like distant gunfire you heard immediately after that was the sound of thousands of palms being applied to thousands of foreheads in disbelief.
Later, in South Carolina, Romney told a restaurant owner who offered him some of the establishment's signature dish that he wasn't "a catfish man."Now, I remember Chris Matthews going ballistic when told that Barack Obama had gone into a diner on the campaign trail and ordered orange juice instead of coffee. This was a sure sign, in Matthews' eyes, that there was something not quite right about Obama, even though millions of people order orange juice in diners all the time. That's why diners carry it.Matthews has not been heard from so far on Catfish-Gate, which would be all to the good, except that now Romney's flip-flopping even on that. Campaigning in Alabama, he claimed, "I had catfish for the second time. It was delicious, just like the first time." Guess somebody rebooted the MittBot and added some new fish-friendly programming.Of course, no attempt at pandering would be complete here in the South without some reference to grits, and Romney's no exception. In Pascagoula, he began a campaign appearance with a "mornin', y'all" that was so fake it made Olympia Dukakis sound like Randy Travis. Then he followed up with the claim that he'd started his morning off right with a biscuit and some "cheesy grits." What, no fatback 'n' hog jowls?It's not uncommon, of course, for politicians to engage in cultural pandering. It's not even uncommon for them to do it badly, as Romney has (see "Kerry, John," above). What is uncommon is for them to do well by it, and the MittBot is no exception. He lost Mississippi and Alabama to Rick Santorum, even as his delegate count grows, increasing the likelihood he'll be the nominee.Which leaves the Republicans with a potential Southern problem they haven't had to face in decades. Elections are often decided by voter turnout. General elections, as opposed to primaries, are often decided by being able to persuade not just your hard-core believers, but independent and moderate voters, to get out and vote. Those voters often make their decisions on gut feelings about whom they trust.Will the true believers turn out to vote for someone they so clearly don't like and don't trust? Will the independents turn out to vote for such a transparent phony? Will dislike for a charismatic president hang on in an improving economy long enough to carry the day for the MittBot?I have my doubts.
Folks who know me know that one of my biggest pet peeves is a badly done Southern accent. For example, don't ever ask me about the movie "Steel Magnolias" unless you want to hear a rant about the travesty that is Olympia Dukakis' attempt at a Southern drawl. "Fake Southern" gets to me like fingernails on a blackboard.But I've got to tell you, Mitt Romney's latest attempts at being "down home" as he campaigned in the South drew more winces from me than annoyance. It was just painful to watch.I mean, the dude's got enough going against him being from Massachusetts (or, as it's more commonly known down here, "Taxachusetts"). The Bay State, like California, is one of those parts of this great country that conservatives, especially Southern conservatives, love to hate.Plus, there's that whole "moderate" thing, plus the other "M" word (Mormon) that's guaranteed to make Southern evangelicals suspicious. As a friend of mine pointed out, the Southern Baptist Convention once spent more than $600,000 to send teams of missionaries - to Salt Lake City.Still, I'm sure there were some people willing to put that aside, because they think Romney can beat Barack Obama in the general election. Unfortunately, when Romney tries to act natural around people who make less than a gazillion dollars a year, he starts behaving like some sort of badly programmed android sent here by an alien race to observe our primitive customs.You may remember John Kerry's "who among us does not love NASCAR?" quote from 2004. As it turns out, Kerry never said that; it was entirely made up by columnist Maureen Dowd to mock Kerry's stiff speaking style. Dowd, however, could not have made up a more ham-fisted response than the one Romney gave when asked at the Daytona 500 if he followed racing."Not as closely as some of the most ardent fans," Mitt said, "but I have some great friends who are NASCAR team owners." That sound like distant gunfire you heard immediately after that was the sound of thousands of palms being applied to thousands of foreheads in disbelief.
Later, in South Carolina, Romney told a restaurant owner who offered him some of the establishment's signature dish that he wasn't "a catfish man."Now, I remember Chris Matthews going ballistic when told that Barack Obama had gone into a diner on the campaign trail and ordered orange juice instead of coffee. This was a sure sign, in Matthews' eyes, that there was something not quite right about Obama, even though millions of people order orange juice in diners all the time. That's why diners carry it.Matthews has not been heard from so far on Catfish-Gate, which would be all to the good, except that now Romney's flip-flopping even on that. Campaigning in Alabama, he claimed, "I had catfish for the second time. It was delicious, just like the first time." Guess somebody rebooted the MittBot and added some new fish-friendly programming.Of course, no attempt at pandering would be complete here in the South without some reference to grits, and Romney's no exception. In Pascagoula, he began a campaign appearance with a "mornin', y'all" that was so fake it made Olympia Dukakis sound like Randy Travis. Then he followed up with the claim that he'd started his morning off right with a biscuit and some "cheesy grits." What, no fatback 'n' hog jowls?It's not uncommon, of course, for politicians to engage in cultural pandering. It's not even uncommon for them to do it badly, as Romney has (see "Kerry, John," above). What is uncommon is for them to do well by it, and the MittBot is no exception. He lost Mississippi and Alabama to Rick Santorum, even as his delegate count grows, increasing the likelihood he'll be the nominee.Which leaves the Republicans with a potential Southern problem they haven't had to face in decades. Elections are often decided by voter turnout. General elections, as opposed to primaries, are often decided by being able to persuade not just your hard-core believers, but independent and moderate voters, to get out and vote. Those voters often make their decisions on gut feelings about whom they trust.Will the true believers turn out to vote for someone they so clearly don't like and don't trust? Will the independents turn out to vote for such a transparent phony? Will dislike for a charismatic president hang on in an improving economy long enough to carry the day for the MittBot?I have my doubts.
March 18, 2012
What’s My Name?
I'm musing about pen names today over at the
What's My Name?
I'm musing about pen names today over at the
March 11, 2012
THANKS, RICK AND RUSH!
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This week, I'd like to reach across the aisle, as it were, and offer my thanks to a couple of Republicans.I know this might seem shocking, and it does break with the position of many of my fellow liberals, but I'd like to extend the hand of thanks to Rick Santorum and Rush Limbaugh.
Sen. Santorum, as a supporter of this president and someone who'd like to see him win a second term, I'd like to offer my warmest gratitude to you for your complete inability to stay on message.
Oh, I know that, with employment rising and other good economic news, the Republican platform of "everything sucks and it's all Obama's fault" becomes somewhat problematic. It's going to be hard to keep those moderates and independents on your side when you have to keep dismissing, mocking and trying to change the subject when there's any piece of good news. The Debbie Downer character from "Saturday Night Live" may be amusing, but I wouldn't pick her for my communications director.
Nevertheless, economic gloom and doom is the message the Republican Party has chosen to embrace, and that's the one the candidates are expected to broadcast.
But you, Sen. Santorum - when it comes to any issue involving sex in general and contraception in particular, you're like my dog when he sees a squirrel on our morning walk. He knows he's not supposed to take off running full-tilt after it, but he just can't help himself.
Likewise, whenever the subject of contraception comes up, you may know, somewhere back in the recesses of your mind, that the issue is an electoral minefield, given that polls show three-quarters of American women have used the pill, only 8 percent of them think that birth control is morally wrong, and 89 percent of Catholic women - your own fellow religionists - not only have no problem with birth control, but favor expanding access to it for people who can't afford it. But you can't help but chase that squirrel, can you?
You can't keep from blurting out things like how contraception is "a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be," and that states should have the power to ban it, even for married couples.
Which brings us to Rush Limbaugh. Thank you, Mr. Limbaugh, for your recent comments regarding Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke.
When Republican House members refused to let any women testify at a hearing involving a rule that private insurance plans had to include contraception, the Democrats held their own hearing. Ms. Fluke was a witness.
She talked about the financial hardship some women suffered because the student health plan at her private university did not provide coverage for contraception and related how a friend who took the pill to control her agonizingly painful polycystic ovarian syndrome was denied coverage and suffered as a result.
So you, Mr. Limbaugh, then went off on a bizarre diatribe over three days about how Ms. Fluke was a "slut" and a "prostitute" who "wanted taxpayers to pay her to have sex," even though, again, this was a discussion of regulation of a privately funded insurance plan at a private university and had nothing to do with taxpayer funding.
Further, Ms. Fluke hadn't even talked about her sex life. Nevertheless, in one of the creepiest jokes ever heard on the American airwaves, you demanded that Fluke should videotape herself having sex and post it on the Internet so you, a 61-year-old man, could watch it.
Now, a lot of people have given you grief for that. As of this writing, 45 sponsors have pulled out of your show after a storm of Internet protests. There have been calls to take you off the taxpayer-funded Armed Forces Radio.
But I say, please continue. Keep disrespecting women with whom you disagree in the crudest possible fashion, while positioning yourself as the voice of American conservatism.
And Sen. Santorum, please stay in the race as the "conservative alternative," while uncontrollably spouting off a radical position on birth control that's sure to alienate the vast majority of female voters.
Because pretty much all of the women of voting age that I've talked to recently are as angry and energized as I've ever seen them over these issues. And they're not energized for your party.A recent AP poll showed the president's approval ratings up 10 percent among women since December, beating Romney 54 percent to 41 percent in this key demographic.
Thank you, fellows. And enjoy the second Obama term.
This week, I'd like to reach across the aisle, as it were, and offer my thanks to a couple of Republicans.I know this might seem shocking, and it does break with the position of many of my fellow liberals, but I'd like to extend the hand of thanks to Rick Santorum and Rush Limbaugh.
Sen. Santorum, as a supporter of this president and someone who'd like to see him win a second term, I'd like to offer my warmest gratitude to you for your complete inability to stay on message.
Oh, I know that, with employment rising and other good economic news, the Republican platform of "everything sucks and it's all Obama's fault" becomes somewhat problematic. It's going to be hard to keep those moderates and independents on your side when you have to keep dismissing, mocking and trying to change the subject when there's any piece of good news. The Debbie Downer character from "Saturday Night Live" may be amusing, but I wouldn't pick her for my communications director.
Nevertheless, economic gloom and doom is the message the Republican Party has chosen to embrace, and that's the one the candidates are expected to broadcast.
But you, Sen. Santorum - when it comes to any issue involving sex in general and contraception in particular, you're like my dog when he sees a squirrel on our morning walk. He knows he's not supposed to take off running full-tilt after it, but he just can't help himself.
Likewise, whenever the subject of contraception comes up, you may know, somewhere back in the recesses of your mind, that the issue is an electoral minefield, given that polls show three-quarters of American women have used the pill, only 8 percent of them think that birth control is morally wrong, and 89 percent of Catholic women - your own fellow religionists - not only have no problem with birth control, but favor expanding access to it for people who can't afford it. But you can't help but chase that squirrel, can you?
You can't keep from blurting out things like how contraception is "a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be," and that states should have the power to ban it, even for married couples.
Which brings us to Rush Limbaugh. Thank you, Mr. Limbaugh, for your recent comments regarding Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke.
When Republican House members refused to let any women testify at a hearing involving a rule that private insurance plans had to include contraception, the Democrats held their own hearing. Ms. Fluke was a witness.
She talked about the financial hardship some women suffered because the student health plan at her private university did not provide coverage for contraception and related how a friend who took the pill to control her agonizingly painful polycystic ovarian syndrome was denied coverage and suffered as a result.
So you, Mr. Limbaugh, then went off on a bizarre diatribe over three days about how Ms. Fluke was a "slut" and a "prostitute" who "wanted taxpayers to pay her to have sex," even though, again, this was a discussion of regulation of a privately funded insurance plan at a private university and had nothing to do with taxpayer funding.
Further, Ms. Fluke hadn't even talked about her sex life. Nevertheless, in one of the creepiest jokes ever heard on the American airwaves, you demanded that Fluke should videotape herself having sex and post it on the Internet so you, a 61-year-old man, could watch it.
Now, a lot of people have given you grief for that. As of this writing, 45 sponsors have pulled out of your show after a storm of Internet protests. There have been calls to take you off the taxpayer-funded Armed Forces Radio.
But I say, please continue. Keep disrespecting women with whom you disagree in the crudest possible fashion, while positioning yourself as the voice of American conservatism.
And Sen. Santorum, please stay in the race as the "conservative alternative," while uncontrollably spouting off a radical position on birth control that's sure to alienate the vast majority of female voters.
Because pretty much all of the women of voting age that I've talked to recently are as angry and energized as I've ever seen them over these issues. And they're not energized for your party.A recent AP poll showed the president's approval ratings up 10 percent among women since December, beating Romney 54 percent to 41 percent in this key demographic.
Thank you, fellows. And enjoy the second Obama term.
March 4, 2012
Sluice Tundra, Private Eye: The Case of the Flip-Flopping Financier
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It was about 11 o'clock in the morning, the day after the Michigan and Arizona primaries. I waited in the hallway of the big mansion, trying to keep my trench coat from dripping rain on the expensive Italian tiles. It didn't work. Darned gravity.
"The governor will see you now, sir," the ancient gray-haired butler said.
I followed him into a room so large you could have played full-court basketball in it and still had room for a game of pingpong in the corners. It was a long walk to where the former governor sat at the other end; I had to stop and rest a couple of times.
As I came closer, he got up from behind an antique desk that probably cost more than my house. He flashed me the tight-jawed, blank-eyed, toothy grin I'd seen a thousand times on my TV screen, the one that always made me wonder if he was real or something that had escaped from a ride at Disney World.
"Are you Mr. Tundra?" he said.
"That's me," I said, "Sluice Tundra, private eye. An honest gumshoe, trying to earn a living out on the mean streets, where life is cheap, the women are fast, and the lead flies like ..."
"Yes, Mr. Tundra, I know," the governor interrupted. "It's on your business card. I must say, you really had to use some small print to fit that speech onto one card."
"It was either that, or say 'Continued on Next Card,'" I said. "And that would be silly." I took a seat. "So what can I do for you, governor?" I said.
"I'm being followed," he said. A hunted look came over his chiseled face. "It's always there. Right behind me. It won't leave me alone."
"What?" I asked. "What's following you?"
"My record," he said.
"Your record?"
He nodded. "I'm supposed to be this big right-wing conservative. I need that to get through the primaries. But every time I turn around, it's there." He got up, went to the nearby wet bar, and poured a drink with shaking hands. "I can't get away from it. I can't get away from the fact that I once supported a ban on assault weapons. That I ran for the Senate in 1994 saying I'd be a stronger advocate for gay rights than Ted Kennedy. That I supported the Wall Street bailout and once supported stem cell research."
"Don't forget Romneycare," I said. He looked daggers at me, but I went on. "You remember? You said you liked the individual mandate, that the mandates worked."
"You're not helping!" he snapped.
I shrugged. "What do you want me to do?"
"Make it stop following me!" he said.
"Sorry, Governor," I said. "I'm pretty good, but I can't change the past. If I could do that, I'd undo my second marriage." I got up from the chair. "But look on the bright side. Once you've got the nomination, a lot of those people who've been railing against everything you've supported will fall in line and vote for you. Because as bad as they hate bailouts, health care (for anyone but them), gun control and gay people, they hate Obama even more."
He brightened up at that. "So I'll win the election?"
"Oh, God, no," I answered. "Obama's going to take that record you're fretting about and spend months beating you over the head with it so hard your ears ring. You're going to be the John Kerry of the Republican Party - the guy the base went along with, even though they didn't like him, because he was safe and electable. Then the moderates and independents looked at him and saw him as a phony who votes for things before he votes against them. And we all know how that worked out."
I shook my head. "No, you've got to have more than 'I'm not that guy' to win the general election. There just aren't enough people willing to turn out in the general election to vote based on hate. And you, sir, just don't have much more than that, especially now that the economy's improving."
He looked stubborn. "I can tell them it isn't. I can tell them the better unemployment figures don't mean anything."
"Yeah, good luck with that."
He drew himself up to his full height. "Mr. Tundra," he said, "you're fired." Then, for the first time, he smiled a genuine smile. "I really do like firing people."
"Yeah," I said. "Good luck with that, too."
March 2, 2012
GALLOWS POLE FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME
Thanks to the resounding success of last month's promos for THE DEVIL'S RIGHT HAND and LAWYERS GUNS AND MONEY, I'm starting off March by offering my latest, GALLOWS POLE, free for a limited time for the Kindle.
Someone is killing entire families, forcing fathers to hang their wives and children before taking their own lives. How does the killer do it? And what is the meaning of the small iron horse the killer leaves at every murder scene? FBI agent Melissa Saxon and her handpicked team are racing against time to solve the mystery before more families die.
Former anti-terrorist operative Colonel Mark Bishop and the survivors of his command think they know. One of their own, a stone killer who calls himself the Hangman, has come out to play, and he's trying to draw out not only Bishop, but his former comrades—the elite team known as Iron Horse.
Only the Horsemen can stop one of their own. But the team is disbanded, the survivors scattered. Bishop himself is tormented by guilt for the things he had to do to keep one of his men from suffering an agonizing death. Their adversary is not only a skilled assassin, but a master at creating fear. Behind the scenes, shadowy and powerful figures pursue their own plans for Bishop and the Hangman.
Mark Bishop, Melissa Saxon, and the last of the Iron Horsemen will have to use all their courage and every resource, including an array of high-tech weapons, to stop the Hangman. What they have to do will put everything they ever believed in to the ultimate test and push Bishop to the edge of sanity.
"[A] book that will both entertain and challenge you. What more could you possibly ask for?"--Elizabeth A. White, reviewer
"J.D. Rhoades delivers the goods and then some in the wonderfully suspenseful Gallows Pole."
-- Gary Phillips, author of THE UNDERBELLY
"J.D. Rhoades kicks ass!"
--J.A. Konrath
"Rhoades is a knock-em-dead writer. Always a fan. Get this."
--Anthony Neil Smith, author of ALL THE YOUNG WARRIORS
Someone is killing entire families, forcing fathers to hang their wives and children before taking their own lives. How does the killer do it? And what is the meaning of the small iron horse the killer leaves at every murder scene? FBI agent Melissa Saxon and her handpicked team are racing against time to solve the mystery before more families die.
Former anti-terrorist operative Colonel Mark Bishop and the survivors of his command think they know. One of their own, a stone killer who calls himself the Hangman, has come out to play, and he's trying to draw out not only Bishop, but his former comrades—the elite team known as Iron Horse.
Only the Horsemen can stop one of their own. But the team is disbanded, the survivors scattered. Bishop himself is tormented by guilt for the things he had to do to keep one of his men from suffering an agonizing death. Their adversary is not only a skilled assassin, but a master at creating fear. Behind the scenes, shadowy and powerful figures pursue their own plans for Bishop and the Hangman.
Mark Bishop, Melissa Saxon, and the last of the Iron Horsemen will have to use all their courage and every resource, including an array of high-tech weapons, to stop the Hangman. What they have to do will put everything they ever believed in to the ultimate test and push Bishop to the edge of sanity.
"[A] book that will both entertain and challenge you. What more could you possibly ask for?"--Elizabeth A. White, reviewer
"J.D. Rhoades delivers the goods and then some in the wonderfully suspenseful Gallows Pole."
-- Gary Phillips, author of THE UNDERBELLY
"J.D. Rhoades kicks ass!"
--J.A. Konrath
"Rhoades is a knock-em-dead writer. Always a fan. Get this."
--Anthony Neil Smith, author of ALL THE YOUNG WARRIORS
March 1, 2012
Andrew Breitbart Has Died
The right wing blogger was reported dead of natural causes at age 43.
There's a lot that could be said about the death of Andrew Breitbart. But let's not think about his death. Let us remember him as he lived:
And then there's this touching moment.
There's a lot that could be said about the death of Andrew Breitbart. But let's not think about his death. Let us remember him as he lived:
And then there's this touching moment.
February 26, 2012
Beware the Girl Scout Conspiracy!!
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Beware: When you bought those Girl Scout cookies last month, you may have been inadvertently helping to finance the liberal homosexual aborto-fascist agenda.At least that's what Indiana state Rep. Bob Morris seems to be afraid of.Morris recently refused to join in a resolution in the Indiana State House to honor 100 years of Girl Scouting. In a letter to his fellow Republicans, he explained why: "After talking to some well-informed constituents, I did a small amount of Web-based research, and what I found is disturbing."(Note: When someone confidently cites "a small amount of Web-based research" as his basis for an opinion, get ready for big laughs ahead).The Girl Scouts (and their British cousins the Girl Guides), Morris' "research" revealed, "have entered into a close strategic affiliation with Planned Parenthood," though "you will not find evidence of this on [their] website - in fact, the websites of these two organizations explicitly deny funding Planned Parenthood."Well, of course. The fact that they deny an association is just more proof that there is one. Anybody who knows enough to make himself a tinfoil hat knows that.Wait, it gets better."Abundant evidence," Morris reports, "proves that the agenda of Planned Parenthood includes sexualizing young girls through the Girl Scouts, which is quickly becoming a tactical arm of Planned Parenthood."Wow. I didn't know that Planned Parenthood had a "tactical arm." The whole thing raises the specter of fresh-faced, heavily armed, pre-teen girls in sashes fast-roping down from black helicopters to round up our helpless womenfolk and force-feed them RU-486 abortion pills and lesbian porn."Tagalong Actual, this is Thin Mint 6. We have secured the perimeter. Operation Baby Bust is under way. Over!"
Morris cites the fact that the "radically pro-abortion" first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, serves as the honorary national president of the GSA. Of course, so has every first lady since 1917, so I guess they were all in on the conspiracy too. I'm so disappointed in Laura Bush, but you know, I always did think Bess Truman was up to something. Now I know she was probably pushing the radical pro-abortion agenda while Harry wasn't looking.
Within a few days after Morris' letter was printed in the The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, it was obvious that he was feeling a little heat, and by "heat," I mean widespread derision, even from his own party. House Speaker Brian Bosma, also a Republican, responded to Morris' lunacy by bringing Girl Scout cookies into the House floor and passing them out.When finally cornered by reporters, Morris defiantly refused to back down. In fact, in classic wingnut fashion, he doubled down on the crazy. Asked why he thinks the Girl Scouts support abortion, Morris proved that he'd learned from his time on the Internet. He trotted out one of the classic dodges of the dishonest debater when asked for proof of a wild accusation: "Look it up yourself." Also known as, "I'm not your Google monkey."People, said Morris, should "get on the Internet, do some research, contact the Girl Scouts of America on a national level and ask them that question." When someone pointed out that the stated position of the Girl Scouts is neither pro- nor anti-abortion and that such issues are "best left to the girls to talk with their families about," Morris uttered this jaw-dropper: "They're not against it. If you're not against it, you're for it."Based on this logic, the U.S. Postal Service, the Army and NASCAR are all pro-abortion, because they haven't taken a clear position against it.In the end, the resolution to honor the Girl Scouts passed, with only one vote against it, after which Speaker Bosma asked all of the female House members who had been Girl Scouts to stand and make the motion to adjourn. According to USA Today, "nearly every female member stood." Asked about the controversy later, Bosma described his attitude this way: "I've been to the carnival before, and you don't walk into every sideshow tent."Good for you, Mr. Speaker. It's nice to find at least one corner of the Republican Party where they don't let the clowns run the circus. Someone ought to nominate him for national GOP chairman.
Beware: When you bought those Girl Scout cookies last month, you may have been inadvertently helping to finance the liberal homosexual aborto-fascist agenda.At least that's what Indiana state Rep. Bob Morris seems to be afraid of.Morris recently refused to join in a resolution in the Indiana State House to honor 100 years of Girl Scouting. In a letter to his fellow Republicans, he explained why: "After talking to some well-informed constituents, I did a small amount of Web-based research, and what I found is disturbing."(Note: When someone confidently cites "a small amount of Web-based research" as his basis for an opinion, get ready for big laughs ahead).The Girl Scouts (and their British cousins the Girl Guides), Morris' "research" revealed, "have entered into a close strategic affiliation with Planned Parenthood," though "you will not find evidence of this on [their] website - in fact, the websites of these two organizations explicitly deny funding Planned Parenthood."Well, of course. The fact that they deny an association is just more proof that there is one. Anybody who knows enough to make himself a tinfoil hat knows that.Wait, it gets better."Abundant evidence," Morris reports, "proves that the agenda of Planned Parenthood includes sexualizing young girls through the Girl Scouts, which is quickly becoming a tactical arm of Planned Parenthood."Wow. I didn't know that Planned Parenthood had a "tactical arm." The whole thing raises the specter of fresh-faced, heavily armed, pre-teen girls in sashes fast-roping down from black helicopters to round up our helpless womenfolk and force-feed them RU-486 abortion pills and lesbian porn."Tagalong Actual, this is Thin Mint 6. We have secured the perimeter. Operation Baby Bust is under way. Over!"
Morris cites the fact that the "radically pro-abortion" first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, serves as the honorary national president of the GSA. Of course, so has every first lady since 1917, so I guess they were all in on the conspiracy too. I'm so disappointed in Laura Bush, but you know, I always did think Bess Truman was up to something. Now I know she was probably pushing the radical pro-abortion agenda while Harry wasn't looking.
Within a few days after Morris' letter was printed in the The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, it was obvious that he was feeling a little heat, and by "heat," I mean widespread derision, even from his own party. House Speaker Brian Bosma, also a Republican, responded to Morris' lunacy by bringing Girl Scout cookies into the House floor and passing them out.When finally cornered by reporters, Morris defiantly refused to back down. In fact, in classic wingnut fashion, he doubled down on the crazy. Asked why he thinks the Girl Scouts support abortion, Morris proved that he'd learned from his time on the Internet. He trotted out one of the classic dodges of the dishonest debater when asked for proof of a wild accusation: "Look it up yourself." Also known as, "I'm not your Google monkey."People, said Morris, should "get on the Internet, do some research, contact the Girl Scouts of America on a national level and ask them that question." When someone pointed out that the stated position of the Girl Scouts is neither pro- nor anti-abortion and that such issues are "best left to the girls to talk with their families about," Morris uttered this jaw-dropper: "They're not against it. If you're not against it, you're for it."Based on this logic, the U.S. Postal Service, the Army and NASCAR are all pro-abortion, because they haven't taken a clear position against it.In the end, the resolution to honor the Girl Scouts passed, with only one vote against it, after which Speaker Bosma asked all of the female House members who had been Girl Scouts to stand and make the motion to adjourn. According to USA Today, "nearly every female member stood." Asked about the controversy later, Bosma described his attitude this way: "I've been to the carnival before, and you don't walk into every sideshow tent."Good for you, Mr. Speaker. It's nice to find at least one corner of the Republican Party where they don't let the clowns run the circus. Someone ought to nominate him for national GOP chairman.
February 23, 2012
WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T ASK ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL!
At least night's Republican debate, a viewer-generated question about where the candidates stand on birth control drew boos from the typical GOP debate mob:
Now, since this has been a big topic recently, it would seem a legitimate question to ask. But asking about the GOP frontrunner's radical position on birth control--something a lot of women rely on their health insurance to be able to afford-- interferes with the Republicans' favorite bait and switch: they get into office convincing independents and moderates they're for jobs, low taxes and less government, then immediately forget all that the moment they're sworn in and start trying to limit the reproductive choices of women and restrict the rights of LGBT people (while continuing to spend money on their pet issues as if nothing had happened).
Santorum and Gingrich are scaring the hell out of the Party establishment because they won't keep their mouths shut about it, and they know the whole world is watching, not just the far right.
Now, since this has been a big topic recently, it would seem a legitimate question to ask. But asking about the GOP frontrunner's radical position on birth control--something a lot of women rely on their health insurance to be able to afford-- interferes with the Republicans' favorite bait and switch: they get into office convincing independents and moderates they're for jobs, low taxes and less government, then immediately forget all that the moment they're sworn in and start trying to limit the reproductive choices of women and restrict the rights of LGBT people (while continuing to spend money on their pet issues as if nothing had happened).
Santorum and Gingrich are scaring the hell out of the Party establishment because they won't keep their mouths shut about it, and they know the whole world is watching, not just the far right.
