Here it goes. The shocker. 

I used to be a Young Republican. 

Yes, you read that right. 

Let me explain and defend myself – and explain why I changed. 

Actually, it isn't that I changed that much. It's the party that changed. Or, to be clearer – that got corrupt. 

The basic "model" for the Republican party that I agreed with (at the time – over 30 years ago) was that it was better to spend money to support business than it was to support welfare. Said another way, I believed (and still believe) that it's better to create jobs than it is to pay people not to work. (More on jobs and job creation in a future blog).

That was before "greed is good" became the mantra of big business and corruption became so pervasive. In fact, I assert that the biggest problem with our society is how much we've allowed money – especially corporate and special interest money – to corrupt our politicians, and our politicians to use that money to destroy our planet.

The most blatant example? The denial of climate change. Whenever ANY politician denies the TRUTH of climate change being caused by people, primarily by the use of fossil fuels – they are waving a flag declaring themselves corrupt – and have been bought off by the oil companies.  

How can I be so sure?  

The evidence is irrefutable – by scientists. Like people who have double PhD's in People who know a LOT more than politicians who have a financial interest in perpetuating the lies told by the oil companies. 

Nearly as blatant is when Mike Pence took $100k or more from tobacco companies and declared, "Cigarettes don't kill." Did he really expect anyone to believe that?  

Sadly, either they did believe his lies – or they didn't care that he was corrupt. I'm not sure which is worse. 

First of all – who in their right mind would believe a politician over SCIENTISTS anyway? Especially a politician who gets money from oil or tobacco companies? For the unbiased truth, check out https://climate.nasa.gov/ – or even the Weather Channel. 

And then we have politiicans who are so financed (paid off) by oil companies that they won't support (and often even condemn) what's best for the planet – like renewable, clean energy like solar and wind and other renewable sources. And those who use their big-money influence to ILLEGALLY attack the peaceful protestors at Standing Rock so they can have their soil-contaminating pipelines.

This – in a word – is EVIL. And it must STOP.

The responsibility of the government is to the PEOPLE – not to special interests. 

And maybe it wouldn't be so horrible if it wasn't so HORRIBLE. Like destroy-the-planet horrible. Kill people with cigarettes horrible. Pollute the air horrible. Cause irreversible, devastating planet changes. Watch the video below if you have ANY questions. 

Other examples of this corrupt violation include the NRA/gun manufacturers and Defense contractors – and the politicians who defend the rights of mentally ill people to get guns and ammunition. (Sorry, but that's not the language in the Second Amendment – which allows for a "well-regulated militia" – violence in our theaters and schools and streets and other public places.  

And now we have a president who colluded with Russia to illegally "win" the election so he can get his tiny, greedy hands on that $500 billion oil deal with Russia/Putin. Does he care if this alliance with an evil dictator results in a war? Of course. Because he's undoubtedly invested in defense contractors, and can't wait to follow in Cheney and Bush's footsteps and make $39 off a war. Why else (a) not share his tax returns and investments, (b) say that a president "can't have conflicts of interest" and (c) hire Cheney as an adviser?  

Obvious. 

So, what's the solution?

First of all, end Citizens United. Not allow politicians to profit from these kinds of destructive alliances. 

And secondly, manage corporate corruption in other ways. See my future post on Jobs. 

As this is my blog, and I honestly have no idea who is reading it anyway, I'm going to depart from my "vision/purpose" for the blog (to chronicle my life in Aspen) and share some of my suggestions / solutions / views about current issues facing our country and the world. Be aware: This series includes criticism about both political parties.  (Note that I won't dignify a certain person by using his title or name. I think you know who "Dumpster" is.) It also includes a "higher level" perspective. 

Agree or disagree, it's up to you. I just have to get my thoughts out to the Universe. 

Before we get into this discussion, let's remember what this country was founded on – freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and the melting pot of immigration. So if someone reading this thinks "we" should exclude people based on these reasons, you are the one who needs to leave, not "them." 

Now, onto Immigration and "The Wall:" Building a wall is the dumbest idea ever. As a platform for the election, it brilliantly, if not sickeningly, inflamed the ignorant, racist masses. But as a solution? Dumb dumb dumb. First of all, we have walls and border patrol. Secondly, walls don't keep people out. Third, it's not only anti-American and anti-Christian (coming from the Antichrist, that shouldn't be a surprise), it's anti-human. 

Oh, yeah, and who's gonna pay for it again? Hmmm?  (Whoever believed Dumpster's assertion that Mexico would pay was drugged on some severely tainted orange kool-aid).  

I'm not saying we don't have an issue with illegal immigrants in this country. We do. Illegal anything causes problems for everyone. (More on that below). I'm just saying that keeping them out via a wall that costs us – taxpayers – a ton of cash is sooooo stupid. 

It's just as stupid to spend taxpayer money – nearly a billion dollars a year – offering bilingual education that effectively keeps kids from learning to speak English.)

I've seen and agree with the data that says how important these "workers" are to our economy. We need these people. We just need a way to make them legal – to stop hiding and start paying taxes. 

Being illegal sets up a mindset. Not only does it separate "them" from "us," it also subconsciously implants a mentality of illegality. Not good. 

So, what is the solution? A simple plan to make these people LEGAL. Here's my plan.

1. This is for people who have a work history in the US. It's not for new people coming in who have no job or work history here. 
2. It's also for people who have no criminal background. 
3. Give them 6 months to declare themselves – and start paying taxes. If they don't – then they're on probation and on the path to being deported. Make the punishment clear and harsh enough to get them to get on board. 
4. Give them 2 years to go through the process to become legal. This includes speaking English. (And of course, obeying other laws). It also includes a transition plan for ESL classes for adults and for all education to convert to 100% English. (I'm not saying we don't teach foreign languages in schools. That's great. I'm saying we make sure that all the core curriculum is in English. 

Rationale: The more these people (forgive me for using this phrase, but I don't know what else to say to distinguish them other than calling them immigrants or illegals, neither of which is really accurate – or respectful) stay separated – by being illegal and by not being able to speak English. 

Before I get a lot of backlash about their rights to speak their home language, here's my rebuttal. They can speak whatever language (or perform whatever rituals) they want in their own homes. I couldn't care less. I am saying that my plan to get them to speak English is for everyone – including and especially them. By not speaking English, they are limiting their own opportunities. By failing to integrate, by perpetuating the separation, they're inviting discrimination. And even though discrimination is wrong, it's real.  

And let's be honest. We need more ways to unite – not divide. 

As far as money goes, here's my POV. Yes, I know that a lot of illegals do pay taxes. They pay sales taxes, of course, and they also have withholding from the false Social Security cards. And, no, I don't know how much more revenue the IRS would collect by making them legal. I'll let the experts sort that out. But it's pretty obvious that there would have to be additional revenue by making them legal taxpayers. And yes, even if we have to spend some money to enable this plan, we'd also save a ton on the expenses for bilingual education and communication. So it's bound to be a positive impact on the economy. 

Liberals will whine that these people need to be able to keep their language and culture. I don't argue with that – but I don't think we should perpetuate their limitations by paying for the language separation. Spend money to unite – not divide. Spend to offer opportunities for growth and integration – not to continue limitations. 

What would the "conservatives" say to this plan? I honestly don't know, because I can't understand their logic. And I can't understand their logic, because their opinions (from what I've seen) aren't based on facts at all. Dumpster wants to separate and inflame the population. That's not good for anyone – except him and his buddy Putin (who thrives on civil unrest). Their argument about jobs is unfounded, since the jobs immigrants take aren't the ones they want or are willing to do. (More on job creation in a future post). If there's a reasonable, logical reason for their wanting a wall (other than for some rich people to make a ton of money building it – and probably hiring illegal immigrants to do the manual labor!) – please comment on my Facebook page. 

Look out for future posts on: 

• Part 2: Campaign Finance Corruption
• Part 3: Education and College
• Part 4: Healthcare
• Part 5: Jobs
• Part 6: Taxes
• Part 7: Candidates and Parties
• and more!

(That is, if you want to. Up to you). 

Here they are!  The new cover designs for my DUET stories novels!

Here are the "before" covers… (for comparison):

What do you think?

I wanted to use drawings instead of photos – not only to be different but to also keep a lot more open to the reader's imagination.  I do the same thing in the books. Other than age, gender and name, it's up to readers to imagine the body type, hair color and eye color – and even the nationality or race – of the characters.  I do the same thing with my screenplays. 

Okay. Here's the thing. I haven't been as diligent writing every day, and I need to understand and explain why. 

There are some practical explanations, like since this year began I've been working long, tedious, exhausting hours. First it was the extensive editing on the new book, Fifty Shades Deeper. Then it was the launch and initial marketing. And then getting my other books ready for re-launch and printing. So I've not only been busy, I have been spending 7-12 hours a day glued in front of the computer screen moving pixels around. 

And let's be honest – how exciting is it to write about that? 

The final product is exciting, I guess/hope. And I'll reveal that in a future post.  

In the meantime, I hope my readers – whoever they are – bear with me and understand that I would rather write about nothing than write something boring. It's like when I was in grade school and wrote in my diary the exact same thing almost every day. Woke up. Went to school. Played with caps. (Yeah. Lots of days doing something so stimulating). Watched TV. Went to sleep. 

And now for some comic relief…(Who remembers this?)