Caricature of Bill
by Glenn Brucker
Vox Populi
Comments, Critques, Response
Don't like what you've read? Agree fully with what's been said? Get it out of your head and in to Inditer.com - Simply click on the Inditer.com in bold....lo and behold...an email form waiting for you to send your response to the editor. It's not new, nor improved, just easy. We'll enjoy hearing from you.
"Have Graflex - Will Travel"
Dec 30, 2000
To: Email Margaret Karmazin
From: Donald Grant DeMan
Re: Taking Her LeaveHaving read Margaret Karmazin's "Leave" draws tears. This New Year's I promise to cherish Diane more than ever, and have this fine soulful author to thank for it How bloody moving! Oh boy! 'Nuff said. I gotta go fine a hanky.
Dec 30, 2000
To: The Editor - Mentor, J.W. Rowe
From: John Davis Collins Re: AudiogrammeDear Bill:
The folowing is a faithful recording of an audiogramme (actually 5 separate ones combined into one for clarity) received at the Dean's snowbound office 12/30/00.
Greetings Dean and Greetings to The Lord President and all other duly accessioned members of the Society:
I am routining these calls through the former British Crown Colony of Hong Kong (Hang Sen, PRC) to take advantage of my British TeleCom Communications Cards before they expire. They expire Midnight 12/31/00, but even the operators don't know if that goes by local time in Grenwich or by Hong Kong time. They did however put the call through.
You might take note of the power crisis in the Western US augurs the end of the deisel era. Like it or not we will have to chose between atomic power and Rolling Blackouts like those that they have in Third World Countries.
But as time goes on as I visit both modern cities like Jakarta in Indonesia and more traditional ones like Surebia (phonetic) where pedi-cabs bicycle powered still ply the streets, I do not see the Third World meeting the First as much as I see the First devolving into the Third.
We see in the news that private enterprise turns from the official police to its own security and intelligence services sometimes with comical results owing to low pay and lack of supervision. Yet that is what I saw throughout the Third World when I began shipping out 30 years ago.
Yet the US in picking the leadership turns to the voices of the past: The cold warriors: There is no Soviet Russia seeking world domination to oppose.
And on that subject I do not understand your caution. Even constitutional scholars have taken more liberty with criticism of the US Supreme Court than the Dean will allow. What happened to the roustabout who called Bubba Bill the Butcher of Belgrade and sang blasphemous songs to "holy" Hillery?
Cherio,
JW Rowe Mentor
Greetings Lord Mentor:
I don't have your knowledge of the Third World. Even in the Army, I have never traveled outside the US and Canada.
I can tell you that the events you describe could be read in Boethius or Augustine who chronicalled the declining years of the Western Imperium and meet some of the dreary predictions of Malthus and Spengler, particularly the decline in public health. No human government in existence on the day Christ was crucified survives today. The only country which can boast of continuous existence since that time is Ethiopia. All works of man(people)kind, whether monarchies, republics or autocracies, eventually fail the test of time. Was it Shelly who said, "My name is Ozymandis, King of Kings, Look on My works ye mighty and despair.//Nothing beyond remains of that collasal wreak the long and level sands drift gently away."
I confess to admiring Gore more than Bush, but I did not vote for either. I think Gore's concession speech is one of the best delivered. It deserves to be remembered among some of the best of this country's orations. However neither have the vision for the 21st Century: because both live in the past perhaps different ones, but the past nonetheless.
On criticiz(s)ing courts, the law in this state is that a lawyer may not subject a court or judge to ridicule. (S)He may disagree,,, (s)He may state grounds or reasons for dispute,,, AS Gore with a hidden allusion to Abraham Lincoln said, he must accept even if he disagrees. This does not mean that (s)he cannot strive to change the law the judges have made. Political figures such as the comic team of Bill and Hill aren't entitled to such kid gloves deference.
You do make reference to private security and intelligence forces. This did figure in the greatest case that can't be told and I'm far more aware of the problem than I'd like to be. You may read "The Prof's Hat" no in http://wwww.inditer.com, which does speak somewhat obliquely to the problem.
For The society,
THE DEAN
Dec 30, 2000
To: John Davis Collins
From: Donald Grant DeMan
Re:The Prof's HatJohn has come up with yet another prize from the depths of the past, though enviously, this is the first I heard he made Captain. Mario's character is brilliantly portrayed, reminiscent of Walpole with a cigarette instead of that cigar!
Collin's scores again.
Dec 29, 2000
To: Kimit Muston
From: Donald Grant DeMan
Re:The Ironic BananaNow both of our great national elections are fading into obscurity I can turn to a few of the Inditer's opinion works, and naturally that means - along with others - my old buddy, Kimit. (Though this slow gray head is still trying to figure the relationship between the human-like banana, and electrical political corruption in California) Duh DuMan!
Note: here in British Columbia, there's no problem, the Government owns the utility, so they manage the rip-offs in house.Though once in awhile one escapes into the press like the billions it spent and lost in Pakistan. I just love it when Kimit begins to wonder...that is of course what all writers should regularly do...and he performs his magic with such cutting skill and grace, the words seemingly effortless slicing, tickling and thundering out the truth. Bravo to Kimit, and a big thanks for the enrichment.
Dec 29, 2000
To: Kimit Muston
From: Richard Koss
Re: The Ironic Banana
I think you left something out of your analysis of the utility rate increases in California. I haven't been to California in years, but I read that there hasn't been a new power plant built in the state in the last four years. Apparently, the environmentalists don't want any more such plants, and are willing to see people suffer brownouts and blackouts and pay more for power. This would also explain why the local companies have to go out of state to buy power and it shouldn't be surprising that this would increase the cost of power to the consumer.
Utility companies are generally regulated by a state commission and rate increases are supposed to be based upon not only capital investment, but increased costs. What does the Governor have to do with this rate increase? Utility corporations contributing to the governor's political campaign? Out of state companies to boot? Sounds like big business paranoia to me. Just another example of those big, evil corporations, whom all the environmentalists and socialists would like to see destroyed. Dick Koss
Dec 28, 2000
To: The Editor - Dr. James Woodbury Rowe
From: Thomas Dean, Dean of RPPS
Re: Audiogramme from Lord Woodbury Rowe - at sea and a-seaDear Editor; (Lord Prince Regent & Lord President):
The audiogramme of James Woodburry Lord Rowe Mentor_rpps@theglobe.com faithfully transcribed by The Dean deanofrpps@aol.com on this 27th day of December 2000 in the 29th year of the Society:
Greetings Dean and to all duly accessioned members of the society. I acknowledge receipt of the deans Email address deanofrpps@justice.com. I would say if they had an Email address in the doghouse the Dean would have one there as well.
You may reassure our Lord Prince regent and newly elected Lord President of the Society(princeregent55@hotmail.com). I have had High Tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria BC. I hope he is not thereby disappointed.
I read the story Keep Your Fork and was suitably moved. I found the story cogent and flowing poetry. Did you write it Dean?
I am somewhat taken aback that the Dean had to "officially disapprove" of my remark that only a freshman law student could have reached the conclusion that was obtained in the Election decision. Do not all citizens of the US and Canada have Freedom of Speech? What if I had attributed the decision to a sophmore, worthy of the wisdom I found in it?
Cherio,
James W. Rowe, Mentor
Greetings Lord Mentor:
Sorry I did not write "Keep Your Fork." I believe Bill Loeppky our Prince Regent and newly elected Lord President did. Although I appreciate the compliment intended, I am not as capable of such flowing prose as is the Inditer's Editor or its premier ecrivien Donald Grant DeMan.
Ed Note: "Keep your Fork" has an anonymous author. I must disagree with the Dean regarding his capability as 'inditer'. He has proved time and again he is most able in the art of turning a fine phrase.
However the mistake is common enough. Many of the Inditer's readership here on Long Island believe me to be Bill Loeppky or at least Grant Deman, if not The Macduff Himself.
Ed Note: the Macduff, as this is written, in his 83rd year, lies abed, sorely afflicted with melancholia and some other dreadful neurological ailment of the nasal passage....unimaginably painful I am told. He has had to, for the nonce, forgone the blowing of his beloved pipes.
I transmitted your appraisal of the Election decision. Lawyers have no greater freedoms than everyone else. They do have extra burdens. The Code of Professional Responsibility prohibits adverse public comment on a court or judge. The late Judge Fuchsberg brought a challenge to that rule but as late as 1970 it has been re-affirmed in New York State.
I can say with Al Gore that I disagree but I must also say with Mr Gore that I accept the ruling without any of the additional flair with which the Mentor and many others greeted it.
I beg to report that I did indeed once have an address at thedoghouse.com, but I have been advised that the service terminated 15 December 2000 as part of the shrinking of the electronic superhighway in the wake of adverse returns of internet stocks on the exchange.
I am sure Our New Lord President is suitably reassured about your proper anglo-philic tendencies in consequence of having received at $70 High Tea at the Empress.
It is thus,
by Command of the Society, jfcaddendum:
Adele (the Dean's paralegal) tells me that on her sixteenth birthday her father took her to high tea at the Plaza Hotel in New York City which then served it. It was a special treat and her Dad brought along his special flask to make sure he had available "something just a little stronger."Ed Note: Oh! I can hear the wailing, the ranting and raving! High Tea at the New York City Plaza Hotel! The nerve, the audacity of such an establishment, attempting to usurp the ritualistic event of High Tea at the Empress....the crown jewel of hotels in the entire Commonwealth!
Dec 27, 2000
To: The Ed
From: Edith WeissNato To Send Troops to the U.S.A.
In wake of the recent shooting near Boston, and the high incidence of civilian fatalities in American schools,churches, and workplaces, Nato will be sending peacekeeping troops to the United States. More from Edith Weiss:
Dec 26, 2000 To: Donald Grant DeMan
From: The Editor
Re: Fer de lanceI find it most interesting that Donald Grant Deman, in his inimitable capability of transporting the reader to distant locales, finds the location perfectly suited to be the home of the deadly raptor named for the Harpies of ancient Virgil.
It shows us that literature of thousands of years ago still plays a role in our daily lives. Yet, some would say these courses of Ancient and Modern Literature are of little value in later years. Perhaps, but only if one is brain-dead.
Dec 26, 2000
To: Donald Grant DeMan
From: Dr. James Woodbury Rowe
Re: Fer de lanceGreetings:
I read reread Harpie's Latest Adventure & I say here here for another magnificient triumph.
The symbolry of the egg which re-echoes from a distant past in many hidden forms including the holy grail and the replenishing cup is so subtlely and skillfully presented that Harpie III functions on several different levels of understanding at once.
Dec 24, 2000
To: Donald Grant DeMan
From THOMAS DEAN, Dean of RPPS
Re: Fer de lanceDonald Grant DeMan sent me an advance copy of Harpie Fer De Lance (Iron Teeth). It is technically perfect. It has all the power, majesty and elegance of previous Harpie stories, combined with the mysteries and mystique of Spanish Catholicism.
DeMan has a powerful imagination to write of a very different culture and religion in a very different physical environ.
The only comment I have is that a Latina's cultural standard might not be the Notre Dame football academy in the US but a real university in Spain or Mexico. It's not a criticism - more of a question or a query.
Dec 23, 2000
To: Margaret Karmazin
From: Samantha Kimmel
Re: The Long StoryMargaret Karmazin's "The Long Story" was a delight. While it ended a bit abruptly, the free flowing, delicious story was a pleasure to read. She drew her characters with a light yet detailed hand; I intend to look up more of her work.
December 21, 2000
To: Juanita Johnson - Margaret Karmazin - Editor
From: Donald Grant DeManPogo Christmas Greetings
Thank you and our very best wishes to you and more and more and more...as much as you can stand....The Long Story
Yet another Margaret Karmazin masterwork. Breezy - draws a person. You know, I didn't really have time to read this, but couldn't - for the life of me - stop. The characterizations are superb, the settings delightful and real to the point of discomfort. The detail, the fast pace...what can I say: "Yet another Margaret Karmazin masterwork" - that what! Donald Grant DeManFoot of the Bed - Juanita Johnson
I enjoyed this story last year, and am glad that you chose to put it, once more, front and center. A fine story, brilliant in style and delivery, pathos supreme, and triumph over dire adversary. That's a life!
Dec 17, 2000
To: Cailean Darkwater
From: Richard Koss
Re: Another DayHaving read her other works, I'm not surprised by the quality and style of this piece. What impresses me most about this work, is Cailean's ability to take off on a rather shopworn theme, and using her special talents, make it seem fresh and enjoyable to read.
Dec 16, 2000
To: Cailean Darkwater
From: Donald Grant DeMan
Re: Another DayMy heart jumps for joy seeing Cailean back with us, and finds she has been working beneath the screen all this time - in those places where the programs does its stuff...oooo.
As a #8276, or LMJ I really cannot understand much of the inner workings of The Plan, but know a fine piece of suspenseful work when it grinds my rusty gears and circuits. Cerulean Blue eyes? Where have I heard that before? A fine artistic work, by a tenacious, skilled author.
Donald Grant DeMan
Dec 13, 2000
To: Edith Weiss
From: Dee Walmsley
Re: Nudie bacon fryingEdith,
I can't wait for the next telemarketer's call. Frying bacon in the NUDE!!! That smarts. Thanks for the chuckles.
Dec 12, 2000
Having just read the "humorous" missive of Carlin I. Ratus in Vox Populi, I cannot appreciate this vague character poking fun at rampant disease and pestilence within our households. Computers have feelings too, it must be remembered. I care not a wit who elected who, nor what all the fuss is about down there in the crocodilian-infested swamps of Florida, and I do appreciate the attention of the World Renowned Rockaway Park Philosophical Society for its interest in my humble literary and artistic endeavors. Nevertheless, I love my Dell and am happy to have him up and wobbling around the Inditer once more. His illness was no joke and he spent some time lingering on the brink in the intensive care unit of "My Guy" Dr. Andre the Magnificent.As for my best friend, Bill, I really don't know about his computer at all, except for some time he kept bitching about the service. There seems to be a recovery of some kind here. Regarding our namesakes: Bill's - W.L.M.King - failed to join the armed services* but nevertheless became PM and won the War; Bill continues to follow in those hallowed footsteps. Mine - U.S. Grant - got drunk and won his War and became President. I stayed drunk through the war, and let my buddies take all the credit for the victory. I'm still running for both offices, so the jury's out.
Smiles, Donald Grant
*Ed Note: - Although Donald Grant DeMan makes mention that Wm. L. Mackenzie King (my Godfather) failed to join the armed forces, he fails to mention the old boy was 40 years of age at the outset of WW1....65 at the outset of WW2...just a little too old for cannon fodder. I don't usually come to the rescue of Mackenzie King....I am not really a fan of his, but in this case I must. During WW1 King was Laurier's Minister of Labour and went to New York where he was engaged with the Rockefeller Foundation and Industry on how to better improve production for the war effort. Not only was he too old for active duty, he was a member of parliament, a cabinet minister of special significance during WW1 and the Prime Minister who saw us through WW2...again much too old for the armed forces, but he did fulfil, more than many, his duties to the war effort of both of those major conflicts. Kook? yep...but he did his dooty! Perhaps Donald Grant was thinking of another Prime Minister, who at the time of WW2, was twenty years of age, the best age for the armed forces, who never-the-less deliberately found the ways and means to avoid the armed forces and fighting for his country.
Dec 11, 2000
To: Editor - Email Edith G. Weiss - J.D. Collins" - Email Kathryn Jennings-Hancock - Email Patrick J. Furlong From: Donald Grant DemanI laughed until I cried. What a comedian and thinker Edith Weiss - Bad Attitude News is. Worth the cost of getting back on line!
And what a fine writer. I can certainly relate to telephone marketers. "And just when do my free dancing and sewing lessons begin?" is one of my favorite, though admittedly dated responses. And I have long since left thoughts of my body behind, except for when my dear Diane makes some little humorous demand like, "Remember the collapsible wicker chair we once had?"
Thanks so very very much, Edith
***********************
My oh my, it's certainly fine to know that legal matters are settled on the level of a Royston Road community mutually- satisfying doggie ass-sniffing round robin contest. The irony and the wry drollness of Collins' work (The Brethren) rings just so pure in the seasonal air of a winter snow storm.
Sad. Mournsome...the plight of human frailties are finely depicted with a humorous frustration - a A John Davis Collins trademark. Well done!
***********************
Boy what a writer Kathry Jennings-Hancock is! The wit, the prose, the seemingly endless stream....ooooo.
We at the Deman's in Royston where we have lived for thirty years as a reactions of parents who moved more than chess pieces, are repelled by the thoughts of Kathryn's experience over the holidays, (Happy Non-Holidays) but nonetheless celebrate her joyful acceptance, and even enjoyment of the experience.
A tale well spun once more. PS - I shall never forget Bob!
***********************
Love Patrick Furlong's terse prose on the man-woman relationship (A Loving Betrayal). This one includes yet another entity...but I won't give it away at this juncture. Smiles!
Thanks - to all of you!
Donald Grant DeMan
Dec 09, 2000
To: Kathryn Jennings-Hancock
From: Ann Dolin
Re:Happy Non-HolidaysKathryn,
What perfect timing for me to read about how chaotic we make this time of year. I enjoyed sharing the Happy Non-Holidays experience. I will reread this piece each time I start feeling overwhelmed with the madness and commercialism of this holiday season. Thanks so much for the reminder of what the holiday spirit is really all about. Maybe we all need to be stuck with just the barest of necessities once in a while to put things into perspective. This was a great read
Dec 06, 2000
To: Donald Grant DeMan
From: John F. Clennan
Re: Christmas Cannonball ExpressDonald Grant Deman's latest, The Christmas Canonball Express joins a line of smashing successes.
All good Christmas stories (e.g. The Homecoming, Gift of the Magi) have the same point: it's the people not the presents that make Christmas merry.
Canonball makes that not only through the boy's and the girl's sacrifice for each other but also in its particular attention to details of time: World War II: shortages, concern over safety, the contrary forces of apprehension and confidence in the future... the detailing: Singer sewing machines, scarce nylon threads, heat gives it that spark of realism to the time period spoken of. I object when is see depression era people portrayed as 60s radicals, there were surely similarities, but many more differences, compare church attendance for example.
Yet we have no mis-mashing of times from Grant. The ornateness of the singer sewing machine is a stark contrast to the dangling 20 watt bulb and the scarcities of wartime. Donald Grant DeMan's children may (would) seem to come off very English, a good rub for Victoria which Inditer.Com says should be a colony of its own, and excellent for its time and Canadian touch. Civilisation and the world empire one and the same in their minds are at stake; "Mr" Hitler, not Tojo & Hirohito is the enemy. That European focus when the wharf fronts on the pacific where one would hardly expect a U-boat is delicious.
It is surely one of the best pieces submitted to Inditer.
Dec 06, 2000
To. Donald Grant Deman
From: Jim Stallings
Re: Billy, Billy BuncoMy first DeMan story and I was very impressed with the detailing of the petty grifter's milieu, the con, the deception, the abuse of women, the careless trickstering. DeMan writes in the style and substance of the men's crime magazines and novels of years past, now brought forward and reinvented here; and surely, it is a voice of experience and insight into the consequences of the hard choices of the criminal underclass. I look forward to reading his other published stories.
Best,
Jim Stallings
Nov 30, 2000
To: Thomas Dean
From: Richard Koss
Re: Kimit Muston's Inventing Bill Gates:
I always enjoy reading both Thomas Dean and Kimit Muston, even when I don't agree with them. Tom Dean's comments confirm what many people have been saying before and after the court decision on Microsoft.
The key word I found interesting was "mediocrity." The government, particularly this administration, has done its best to convince America that this is okay. At the risk of being misunderstood, because I am a conservative, I will go off on a tangent briefly, to say that when "diversification" becomes the focus, rather than "quality," the result will almost assuredly be mediocrity.
If we continuously strive to find the best quality, whether it be in the form of individual personnel, product, service, or whatever, our chances for success are increased significantly. Only when diversification is the result of making these quality choices, and not the criteria for making them, we will have risen above mediocrity and its illusory satisfaction brought about by the pressures of political correctness.
Nov 30, 2000
To: The Editor
From: Thomas Dean
Re: Kimit MustonDear Bill:
Enjoyed Kimits article...
Kimit is a good writer ..... I enjoy he's style even when I disagreeI did read Kimit Muston's 'The Internet Fringe' which was thoroughly enjoyable human interest or comment material. Kimit is a great journalist and I always enjoy reading his material.
From a literary and advacatory view, Kimit's best was Inventing Bill Gates. There Kimit presented cogent arguments why the great giant Bill Gates should fall so that poor competitors might enter the field.
While I found the style conversational and the argument cogent, I thoroughly disagreed with the proferred conclusions that space should be made in the market for competitors whose wares nobody wants to buy.
My contrary view was presented in Fullosia Press as follows:
"RPPS May Edition:
"Bill Gates found guilty in Socratic determination"
"Reminescent of Socrates found guilty of corrupting the youth of Athens, Bill Gates was declared culpable of forming a monoply by stiffling creativity and thwarting innovation. Anyone capable of reading this message knows how untrue those charges are. The problem with Bill Gates' competitors is that they aren't competent enough to make a comparable product that anyone would want to buy."
I viewed the court decision against Gates as establishing the right to mediocracy.
By no means take this as a criticism of Kimit. I hesitate to write when I disagree with an inditer-dot-com author for fear my views are taken in wrong spirit.
Ed Note: That is certainly not the spirit meant to be offered in these pages. An exchange of views is healthy. If rancour is the residue of discussion, it would be best that discussion does not take place. I am sure you need not fear such a consequence from simply stating your views. Other news - - Dr. Rowe offers no new comments on the Election. He does appreciate all the coverage inditer-dot-com has given his thoughts.
November 27, 2000
To: The Editor
From: Thomas Dean
Re: John GuiffreyDear Bill:
I was speaking to John Guiffrey (JAGIU@WebTV.net) who is not one of my altered states or alternative personalties but who has submitted notes occasionally to Inditer.com
I submit this photo of John for your reference.
John Guiffrey gives this by way of complement to Grant and others of Inditer: John spent an evening in Borders and compared the reading material there available to Inditer & found Inditer to be immeasurably superior.PS: I am looking for a book "An Enemy of the State" by M.C. Bolin. It is published by Hyperion with publication date December 1998.
The publisher says it's hard to find.....Borders Books can't order it.
Maybe if you or some Inditer reader could tell me where to find it, or has it and wants to sell, trade or lend, I will pay all expenses.
Nov 21, 2000
To: Dominic Martia
From: Sam Person
Re: Proposal for Reforming our Electoral ProcessI found the essay amusing, clever, and well done. Enjoyed reading it.
Interesting how the fiasco is generating a whole new avenue for writers to explore!
November 17, 2000
To: Jason Gurley
From: Jim Stallings and Laurie Stallings
Re: DisrruptDear Editor:
In "Disrupt" the protagonist in his SUV beautiful world is knocked into the cold truth that he cares more about his own security and comfort than about the victim of his negligence. The short piece hones right in on the grotesque implications of society devoted to its own self-indulgence, its moral bankruptcy and cowardliness. Not an easy thing to witness...but we know it happens everyday in ways more minor and major than this. The story suggests an "inciting incident"...that could set off a long series of consequences and has echoes of Tom Wolfe's premise in Bonfire of the Vanities.
November 14, 2000
To: All
From: The EditorRe: Newspaper Story from Victoria BC, Canada Times Colonist, datelined Tallahassee, Fla., and (AP) (Recount deadline imposed-Legal Battles Escalate)
A paragraph in the above cited news story attributes this quotation to Al Gore lawyer, Dexter Douglass. Mr. Douglass is quoted as saying, "Our most sacred right .... is to have our vote counted to pick the leader of our country and the free world."
Whoops! Mr Douglass. Because Bill Clinton, Al Gore or George W. happen to be elected president of the United States of America and leader of that country, it does not follow they are the leader of the free world. I am a citizen of an independent country, any of the above three are not, and never will be my leader. Perhaps if you could come up with a better list of candidates I would agree with you, as my country is in dire need of a leader too, but any of the above three would be out of the question. We would rather not have anyone from Hollywood either....we live in a real world, not a John Wayne 'shoot every Indian in sight' world.
The USA may be the mightiest country in the world, but we have turned the corner there too. Might is no longer right. Might is bullyism, pure and simple. I give the USA full marks for being mighty....the Soviet Union was once mighty too....China is mighty and runs rough shod over it's neighbours while we in the west let them get away with it .... but as for the president of the USA being the leader of the free world, I'll pass! There will be those who will respond to my remarks that the USA could wipe us out in a moment....they probably could, but that is might, not right.
I don't want a leader in my country who thinks, as Mr. Bush does, that Mexico is the largest trading partner of the USA. Canada does hundreds of times the trade with your country as does Mexico. Mr. Bush also says the border between USA and Mexico is the longest border between the USA and any country, while elementary school children will tell you the longest undefended border in the world is between Canada and the USA. While we're at it, our Prime Minister undoubtedly knows the name of the President of the USA. However, Mr. Bush, on National TV, called Jean Chretien our Prime Minister, John Pontine! (for heaven's sake!) For nine years in a row, the United Nations has stated that Canada is the best nation in the world in which to live. But, we don't like to blow our own horn too much. That's because, while our eyes are closed with the ecstasy of our own horn blowing, someone might pour some nasty stuff down the other end of the horn.
Nov 14, 2000
To: the editor
From: Anonymous - that is anonymous to you, but not to us!
Re: The Florida Fiasco (election - soap - melodrama) - perhaps not!Question: "Why did the chicken cross the road?"
Vice President Gore: I fight for the chickens and I am fighting for the chickens right now. I will not give up on the chickens crossing the road! I will fight for the chickens and I will not disappoint them.
Governor Georege W. Bush: I don't believe we need to get the chickens across the road. I say give the road to the chickens and let them decide. The government needs to let go of strangling the chickens so they can get across the road.
Senator Lieberman: I believe that every chicken has the right to worship their God in their own way. Crossing the road is a spiritual journey and no chicken should be denied the right to cross the road in their own way.
Secretary Cheney: Chickens are big-time because they have wings. They could fly if they wanted to. Chickens don't want to cross the road. They don't need help crossing the road. In fact, I'm not interested in crossing the road myself.
Ralph Nader: Chickens are misled into believing their is a road by the evil tire makers. Chickens aren't ignorant, but our society pays tiremakers to create the need for these roads and then lures chickens into believing there is an advantage to crossing them. Down with the roads, up with chickens.
Pat Buchanan: To steal a job from a decent, hardworking American.
Jerry Fallwell: Because the chicken was gay! Isn't it obvious? Can't you people see the plain truth in front of your face? The chicken was going to the "other side." That's what "they" call it-the "other side." Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And, if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like "the other side." That chicken should not be free to cross the road. It's as plain and simple as that.
Dr. Seuss: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes! The chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed, I've not been told!
Ernest Hemmingway: To die. In the rain.
Martin Luther King King, Jr.: I envision a world where all chickens will be free to cross without having their motives called into question.
Grandpa: In my day, we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Someone told us that the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough for us.
Aristotle: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.
Karl Marx: It was a historical inevitability.
Saddam Hussein: This was an unprovoked act of rebellion and we were quite justified in dropping 50 tons of nerve gas on it.
Ronald Reagan: What chicken?
Captain James. T. Kirk: To boldly go where no chicken has gone before.
Fox Mulder: You saw it cross the road with your own eyes. How many more chickens have to cross before you believe it?
Frued: The fact that you are at all concerned that the chicken crossed the road reveals your underlying sexual insecurity.
Bill Gates: I have just released eChicken 2000, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook - and Internet Explorer is an inextricable part of eChicken.
Einstein: Did the chicken really cross the road or did the road move beneath the chicken?
Bill Clinton: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What do you mean by "chicken"? Could you define "chicken" please?
George Bush: I don't think I should have to answer that question.
Louis Farrakhan: The road, you will see, represents the black man. The chicken crossed the "black man" in order to trample him and keep him down.
The Bible: And God came down from the heavens, and He said unto the chicken, "Thou shalt cross the road." And the chicken crossed the road, and there was much rejoicing.
Colonel Sanders: I missed one?
Nov 08, 2000
To: Jason Gurley
From: From Frances Fasano Alt
Re: "Disrupt"
Jason Gurley's 'Disrupt' was riveting. Excellent social commentary. At first I thought the writing was pretensions but soon all the pieces fell neatly into place. Nice work.
Nov 08, 2000
To: Jason Gurley
From: G. Mason
Re: "Disrupt"
Disrupt is a story that hits the attitude of most of our country (USA) on the head of the nail.
November 06, 2000
To: Richard Koss
From: Thomas Dean - Dean of RPPS
Re: The Importance of Being Liberal
Dear Bill:
I read The Importance of Being Liberal . I try to avoid 19th century terms and use the words 'right' and 'left'. Frankly, there is a cultural divide in the U.S.A. between right and left.
In the U.S. right wing people are independents .... they aren't groupie people who depend on media splash or public acclaim for sustenance .... a right wing person cuts his/her own path, thus in groupie, social situations a true right wing person could care less who wears what or who's talking to whom. A right winger sets his/her own standard and cares naught what others think about it.
Much like that Canadian Anglican Bishop who, when faced with lawsuits from the Indians endangering the church's wobbly financial condition: Why do I need a table, a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine?
Thus Hollywood was long before the John Wayne fiasco. The Green Berets conceded to the left. The left need each other to assure each other that they're correct on these issues we'd like to hear more from the other democracies. Thomas Dean - Dean of RPPS
reply to deanofrpps@AOL.COM
Nov 02, 2000
To: D. Grant DeMan
From: John Clennan
Re: Billy Billy BuncoSubject: Bronco Billy Bucks the Wrong Bronc
Dear Bill:
The saga of Bunco Billy is another astounding, triumph of Grant. The concept of Bunco Billy is intriguing: Who protects (or guards) the custodians? Qui custodes custodiens - - The Latin maxim shows it not to be a problem of recent origin.
Bunco Billy is one of those memorable characters, a new comer, (ASJ fence jumper; can irregularly landed immigrant) who can take the smartest and the toughest. But can he out smart a wronged female? Well worth reading!
Well done Grant! (ASJ: Hee-Haw! can: Here-Here) Sincerely,
Nov 01, 2000
To: Kimit Muston
From: Jaret Morgan
Re: Kimit Muston Essays
I find Kimit A.Muston's articles very entertaining. I like his style and brand of humor. When I read his articles, I know I will be nodding my head and grinning.
Oct 30, 2000
To: Rosemary Bowery
From D. Grant DeManRe: Hog Killing Day
I haven't yet et today, so this piece left my mouth a-watering fer some jowls and such. Country ham is now illegal in Canada, but I remember the days when they hung for years from the barn rafters, gathering mold and such. Took three days of scrubbing to get them into baking shape.
I'll just bet this tasty piece, so saltily -written by Rosemary gets Bill Loeppky to make a few more sacks of his unique sausage. Also I note that Rosemary's clan shot their hogs. They must have been a wealthy lot, for my folks would never waste a cartridge on a pig, for they were reserved for moose, deer, and elk - one for each animal, except on that rare occasion when Daddy was lucky enough to find a small herd walking single file. In that special case one well placed rear entrance round gutted, cleaned and killed the whole passel of them animals, and the whole county et for the winter. Smiles and thanks heaps for the finest piece I've read so far, Rosemary.
Oct 29, 2000
To: Jaret Morgan
From: Rosemary Bowery
Re: "Jaydo Nod"Comments I emailed to Jaret Morgan.
"Go Placidly amid the Noise and Haste and remember what peace there may be in silence" (from Desiderata)
I enjoyed reading your short stories and poem in 'The Inditer' this morning.. "Jaydo Nod: Intergalactic Spy" did take me out of the kitchen for a bit and as I read "My Silence" several times attempting to apply the sentiment to my own museful moments, I felt the sacredness of your essay. I enjoy most poems that rhyme -"Shade" is from the heart, and it rhymes.
Thank you for an enjoyable start for my Saturday.
Oct 28, 2000
To: Kathryn Jennings-Hancock
From: D. Grant DeMan
Re: Sound Advice
A story piped full of the fiber of living. Kathryn's characters move at the speed of light in a heavy investment of emotion toward a fresh beacon of maturity and understanding. Life, it would seems is more like a catapillar than a spiral. Congratulations on this fine short story!
Oct 28, 2000
To: Rosemary Bowery
From: Jaret Morgan
Re: "Stuff"
I grew up in McDowell County, West Virginia. Once I left the country and discovered "Big City Life", I knew that this is where I truly belonged. I thirsted for a McDonald's on every block and shopping malls in every direction. Finally, something to do other than sit on my front porch and let time pass me by!
But Rosemary Bowery does a fantastic job of taking me back with her stories, and in a positive way. I was especially fond of "While I Was Away". With vivid description given as if she were talking to me instead of me reading it, she brings to light my own happy memories that I had since buried. Thank you, Rosemary.
Jaret Morgan
Oct 28, 2000
To: Rosemary Bowery
From: Nancy
Re: "Stuff"
I always enjoy this lady's stories. Too bad each of us can't just sit down and talk with her for hours.Looking forward to her next story.
Oct 27, 2000
To: Chris Balow
From: Samantha Kimmel
Re: SwingsChris Balow's story "The Swings" - what an original and evocative tale! I was riveted, Chris, and hope that you continue to write and write and write.
I think you have a natural bent toward the odd, horror and the mysterious. With time and experience (write, write and write some more) your style will continue to improve, and you'll go from a good writer to a fine one very soon.
Keep 'em, coming, Chris!
regards, Samantha Kimmel
Oct 26, 2000 To: Chris Balow
From: Kathryn Jennings-Hancock
Re: Red Patch - Swings
I sincerely hope young Chris Balow continues to write, because I thoroughly enjoyed both The Red Patch and The Swings. He paints a picture of mood, and if I could offer anything to him by way of advice (and bear in mind, it's only advice in the mind of this writer!) it would be two things: (1) Use adverbs the same way you use anchovies, which is only when necessary, and sparingly, and (2) Most readers like to be shown, rather than told, the nice part of which is, you can generally show with fewer words. All in all, a great couple of stories from a writer I hope to read more from! Thanks! - Kathryn Jennings-Hancock
More from Kathryn:
Kudos to Samantha S. Kimmel for Teens and RU-486. My hat is off to her for expressing so well a question I've read reams about (and who hasn't been inundated with articles, opinions, commentaries since the whole issue was raised?), but for once, not in techno-jargon terms, or from-the-pulpit rhetoric, but simply, and honestly, and realistically, with an image of a young girl I will be a long time forgetting.
Thank you for raising the question, not by stating it outright, but in presenting a picture that let my own mind inquire.
Oct 25, 2000
From D. Grant DeMan
To: Chris Balow
Re: "The Swings" - "The Red Patch"I tried to get a handle on that horror story the boy...????....wrote. Must have missed something. The writing is magnificent, nmore than real, especially considering his age, but my brain will not connect with his visions. Perhaps I am much too old and more than real. Flights of fantasy that have the reader leaving the earth and journeying with these dream sequence characters infiltrate ever nuance and crack of these two stories. In that I can find no "better" of the two. Problems lie with theme and cohesion. As with much young stream of consiousness, there is a tendency to ramble away from subject matter. More, for example, is required to connect the bats to the red patch. Swings tend also to take off to some other land, and never return to a core theme or idea.
However a wonderful poetic-prose experience that Chris Barlow has allowed us to share. Enjoyable reading.
Oct 22, 2000
From: The Editor
To: Poets
Re: Poetry
Are poets different than other folks? If so, what makes them different? Now and then, Inditer.com must close it's gates to poetry, or at least to a lot of it. Then, after a while, we open the gates, only to be inundated with poetry which leaves a slightly sour after-taste.
The worst part of it all, when any of this 'not too terribly good' work is turned down, we are sure to be flooded with email suggesting among other things that there is reason to believe our genetic make-up requires investigation.
Henceforth, your editor, who makes no claim to be an expert, or even slightly knowledgeable in the field of poetry, will no longer determine what poetry will be published and what will not be published. We will continue to accept work from most of our regular poetry contributors. The Editorial Board of Inditer.com, those who have taken on this onerous task for no recompense will make the poetry calls from now on.
Oct 21, 2000
To:Richard Koss - - Kimit A. Muston
From: Rosemary Bowery
Re: "My Three Loves" - Debates 3 - Public 0Richard Koss's sexist poem "My Three Loves" - also his angry response to Kimit Muston's "Debates Three - Public 0" tells us much: His jam is still soured because the Democrats took over the White House eight year ago and his jealousy of Bill Clinton has surfaced.
Oct 21, 2000
To: Kimit A. Muston - - Richard Koss
From: J. Collins
Re: "Debates 3 - Public 0"I read Kimit Muston's article on the US presidential debates. I am constrained to agree. I also saw mr Bousch and Mr Bore on the telly....to my regret.... I was too lazy to do anything productive that night...
'T'wasn't a dimes worth of difference between Bosch and Bore. Both promised to maintain "the fine tradition" of Mr. Clinton. It would be hard to say if I hope any person follows in mr Clinton's footsteps much less the next president. Somehow picking presidents from 42nd street (red light district) johns does seem to diminish the prestige of the office ever so slightly, but from the debate I can only conclude that whatever the difference between Bouch and Bore is purely a genetic accident
In this respect I must disagree with Richard Koss, I think perhaps Mr. Koss has confused Reagan and Bousch. I may have my criticisms from a conservative point of view of glitzkreig Reagan but Mr Reagan stood for some view point. Mr. Bousch is the pitiable example of the last gasps of a decrepit political system in tail spin decline
My thoughts on the debate have previously been recorded at: http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/fullosiapress/fall2000/oct2000.htm
Oct 19, 2000
To: Kimit A. Muston
From: Richard Koss
Re: "Debates 3 - Public 0"Richard Koss takes issue with Kimit Muston's essay on the great debates, "Debates 3 Public 0". Click here to see the entire text.
Oct 19, 2000
To: Jack Knox
- Inditer.com
From: J. F. Collins
Re: Knox ColumnI have read the Knox article which was well written & informative.
You should take pride that your monumental achievement with Inditer has found recognition in such esteemed columns of the newspapers.
There is much that can be added to your saga of having, under the extreme pressures of health, with all the political overtones of the manner in which the disease was spread, having overcome the human tendency to engage in justified self-pity and instead giving so much of yourself to the cause of promoting English literature on the internet.
Cecil Rhodes could not have imagined the empire you have carved out for English. One man one desk and one computor (er) (Check your Oxford - - correct spelling) !
If the Society proclaims the sovereignty of the mind, you have, by the grace of God, actualised it!
Bravo Bill! - - jfc
Oct 17, 2000
To: Jack Knox - Inditer.com
From: Sid Tafler
Re: Knox Column(re inditer.com) That's a great service, showcasing good writing.
(re: Jack Knox) I kinda thought the part about your illness and the government stalling on the compensaiton was a little downplayed. What we used to call a buried lead.
To: D. Grant DeMan
From: John Clennan
Re: Locked Chilcote Cabin CaperThe Locked Cabin is the finest detective stroy since the time A Conan Doyle wrote the last Sherlock Holmes.
What makes it stand on its own right as opposed to a Doyle copy is the effective use of local colo[u]r and local police slang (the King George).
I did love Sherlock Holmes. Have some Holmes trivia:
Which Sherlock Holmes short story or novel had a US setting?
(a)"Sign of the Four", partially set in Utah, during the Mormon Rebellion (1859-60).Which had American characters?
(a) The Four Pips and Hound of Baskervilles.Back to the Locked Cabin.
If our entire civilization were swept away leaving only fragments for the few remaining scholars sequestered away from the collapse, the copiests would say of The Locked Cabin that it was probably an obscure Sherlock Holmes story with a Canadian North-West locale previously left out in the codex. The Locked Cabin is that good.
Oct 14, 2000 To:Peter Gorman - Donald Grant DeMan
From: John F.Clennan
Re: President Gray - Harpy; The BeginningsVery cute -- an adorable piece.
I also loved D. Grant DeMan's Harpy 2 - The Beginnings (pre-quel). Liked the parallel story technique Donald Grant employed.
Oct 08, 2000
To - Rosemary Bowery - Jim Stallings - Kimit A. Muston
From: Fran Alt - Rick Williams
Re: 'A Man Named Enoch' - 'Harriet' - 'The Great Taco Crisis'Read two very short stories at Inditer.com this week.
Rosemary Bowery's - "A Man Named Enoch" and "Harriet", by Jim Stallings. Both were quick easy reads. Both were enjoyable.
'Enoch' presented an interesting anecdote, while 'Harriet', offered an entire lifetime in a nutshell'. To both authors -- Good work!
I sent Kimit's 'The Taco Crisis' to my dairy list. Wanted see how farmers would respond.
Rick Williams did. Read what he had to say below.
***** Response by Rick Williams to 'The Great Taco Crisis of 2000 by Kimit A. Muston'
The writer does not seem to have an understanding of the Bacillus thuringiensis product. He makes it sound as if it is a chemical that is applied when it is sprayed on the fields. Also, compared to the Bt gene inserted in ALL the corn plants, the Bt is only used when a problem is detected. Not pre-emptively. This is an enormous difference when it comes to exposure of the organisms to a substance that will lead to selection of those mutations that resist the bacillus.
"I think the Bio-Chicken-Littles should stick their panic in their gnomes and smoke it. I think the news media should stop treating genetically altered food as if it were something new, rather than a new technique for an old science. And I think all the great Taco crises proves is that ultra-liberals are as terrified of the future as arch-conservatives."
Excellent use of ad hominem attack on those awful bio-chicken-littles.
Sincerely, Rick Williams
Oct 06, 2000
To: - Email Rosemary
From: Ronald. E. Payne, Chicago, IL
Re: A Man Named EnochI just read "A Man Named Enoch" by Rosemary Bowery. When she tells a story, you almost believe you are on the scene. She really puts you in the front row. One gets the distinct feeling she has lived most of what she writes. This man she calls Enoch sounds a lot like a man I used to know.
I always look forward to reading her stories and poems in the Inditer. Keep up the good work.
Ronald E. Payne, Chicago, IL
Oct 03, 2000
To: Rosemary Bowery, Tom Bentley, Kathryn Jennings-Hancock
From: Donald Grant DeMan
Re: "A Man Named Enoch" - "Wars and Rumours of Wars & etc" - "Following Bob"It makes my banjo heart ring with joy to see Rosemary Bowery back spinning her tales, "some of them true" as she puts it. My-oh-my, can this little lady dish out a Sunup simultaneous tear and laugh in less time than it takes to button up my long johns and break the ice from my rusty wash-bucket.
A Man named Enoch is right up there with.....
The finest!
******
Tom Bentley's stories ring so true and fine, that one suspects he lives under the skin with Bill Loeppky in a heavenly paradise, gritty to the extreme, in golden rural Saskatchewan, high on alkaline water and gopher stew. An excellent tale, well told and with more latent themes than the books Grandpa prescribed.
Congratulations Tom!
****** Loved this story ("Following Bob") by Kathryn Jennings-Hancock, though I don't know why. Perhaps it's because the writing is brilliant, rife with intrinsic stream of consciousness running like a night freight to hell on the distant horizons of the mind, pitted and broken rails underlaid with ties peaty and wormed through, so's I listen with heightened distinct expectations of a momentary crashing derailment. Creeping along a mosquito net that's been stretched across the universe and scattered with broken glass?
Peppermint Gothic? Who is to know?
Mood mood mood! Only the author would take such chances.
Congratulations
Oct 01, 2000
To: Kimit Muston
From: John. L. Graves
Re: The Limits on Term Limits (Tom Hayden)Just read your column on Hayden in the LA Daily News and Inditer.com. He just might fit into that wierd group currently on the City Council. But a vast majority of the armed forces veterans consider Hayden and his ex-wife Hanoi Jane to be traitors to this country for their actions and comments in Viet Nam.
