Just Observing

Just Observing

So now he's officially Atty Gen Gonzales. We have some sick puppies running this country, you ask me. And there's SecState Rice struttin' her Bush-contaminated self while she tells Europe to forget US co-operation re. Iran. Top that off with Bush kissing Liebermann..the only Dem (name only) standing to applaud his Soc. Sec bull. Shit.

M joined J and I on the hotel patio this morn. Handed us both a package of manuscripts (the first 30 pages of each--not the whole thing). Don't know how many J received, but I have three. Two fiction and one nonfiction. Last year, before it was over with, I ended up with about a dozen to comment on. Writers attending the upcoming writers conference send in their first x-number of pages of their books for advance manuscript critiques. So we read, critique, and at the conference have fifteen minutes, one-on-one private consultations with those authors. This gives them a chance to ask questions, discuss writing problems, agents, and so on.

I have three guys' work to look over since I specialize in military novels. One is writing about Korea, one about Vietnam, and one about war set in the future. Don't know yet whether that one is fantasy or hard science fiction. Haven't read a word of any of them yet. Just their cover letters. At least one has also written a synopsis. I never read those until after I've read the first 30 pages of the actual book. But I'll say this...those are some damned interesting cover letters. I'm looking forward to reading their work.

First I have to get calmed down. That Gonzales business, to say nothing of the SOTU speech Bush gave, made me madder than hell. This nation had better prepare to be ripped off like nothing the people who voted for him can imagine. These next four years are gonna be a bitch. To say I'm not a happy camper is an understatement. So I have to forget that. Not about to inflict my anger on these innocent manuscripts. When I go to work on them, it will be strictly the craft of writing and nothing else.

So this morning comes Tommy, the head of maintenance at the hotel, in a wet suit. And what's he doing? Repairing the wiring of a light in the pool. And there he goes, bare wires in one hand and a tool to pull the broken wire in the lamp out in the other. Right into the pool. Electricity is turned off, but we're sweating residual electricity still there. All turned out well. But whoa!

Meanwhile, the Judge dealing with the mayoral situation ruled that if those damned bubbles weren't filled in on the ballots, those 5000-plus votes for Frye, who was the write-in candidate, didn't count according to State law, which in this case, he said, overruled city law because both state and city held the election on the same day. That leaves Murphy as Mayor of San Diego for a 2nd term. It will now go to the Appeals court to set precedent. Frye would be mayor if those bubbles had been filled in. The fact that voters had to handwrite her name on the ballot, which shows intent, means nothing as far as this Judge is concerned. Ah me. Murphy had already started taking revenge on various people who supported Frye. And he's okayed transcripts of the closed meetings he likes so well, but those transcripts will never be released, he decided.

And since the Strong Mayor form of government was also voted in, that took him off the council, leaving 8 people on it. Who's gonna break the ties that will come? A 9th district will have to be carved out to get an uneven number of councilmembers eventually. Fun, fun, fun.
Wrapped.