In the above clip, Hannity, defends that crazy bitch Ann Coulter, re her stance on the 9/11 widows.

This next clip however demonstrates his hypocrisy, when author, Christopher Hitchens criticizes the late Reverend Jerry Falwell, (a man that Hannity apparently knew and liked), regardless of the reverend’s offensive and hate-ridden rhetoric.

Sean Hannity: “I am asking for human decency, and and if you don’t think it has an impact on his family to use even the phrases tonight that he’s vulgar, fraud and a crook. I think you are incredibly mean, incredibly thoughtless..”

So basically, Sean Hannity calls for human decency from Christopher Hitchens re Reverend Caldwell, yet lets Ann Coulter get away with her comments about the 9/11 widows. This from somebody who called out Barack Obama on his relationship with Jeremiah Wright?

I rather like seeing Sean Hannity put in his place, and made to look like the petulant, hypocritical fool that he is.

Anyway, I’ll leave you with this guy, who came to the same conclusion that I did about Sean Hannity’s hypocrisy.

What an arsehole. Another perfect example of the kind of extremists that organised religion has managed to spawn. Urrgggh.

On a lighter note, I bet he is beyond pissed that Obama will be his next president.

He is undoubtedly one of the most evil figures of the 20th Century, but the fact is, many of the things he believed in still pervade our very lives today, be it in the form of racism, homophobia, or anything else that attempts to deprive individuals of their freedom to be who they are.

Demoralize the enemy from within by surprise, terror, sabotage, assassination. This is the war of the future.

Adolf Hitler

This could be included in a manual on how politicians the world over, govern their people today.

How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don’t think.

Adolf Hitler

Two words: Proposition. Eight.

Humanitarianism is the expression of stupidity and cowardice.

Adolf Hitler

That quote could have come straight from a Fox News pundit.

Universal education is the most corroding and disintegrating poison that liberalism has ever invented for its own destruction.

Adolf Hitler

Ever the optimist huh?

Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.

Adolf Hitler

Aint that the truth.

Sixty-three years on, and his legacy of intolerance and hatred are still very much with us.

So, I was over at Beth’s the other day, when the link to this post caught my eye. The post was written by some broad called Dana Goldstein. It was entitled, The Indignities of First Lady-Dom.

Ms Goldstein writes:

Don’t get me wrong — I adore Michelle Obama. She will undoubtedly be one of the smartest and most accomplished first ladies in American history. She survived right-wing attacks to become a force to be reckoned with on the campaign trail this fall.

But tooling around on the transition web site last night, I couldn’t help but feel discouraged by the washed-up old gender ideologies reflected there. The president-elect’s bio is built around a story of pulling himself up by his bootstraps and forging a public service career. Michelle’s bio, on the other hand, leads with the comforting news that she puts her children first — no Hillary-style meddling in politics for this first lady! It defines Michelle Obama primarily by her personal relationship to others:

“When people ask Michelle Obama to describe herself, she doesn’t hesitate. First and foremost, she is Malia and Sasha’s mom.
But before she was a mother - or a wife, lawyer, or public servant - she was Fraser and Marian Robinson’s daughter.”

Sorry, but is this supposed to be a bad thing? The fact that she puts her children first, and has no intention of meddling in her husband’s work, is wrong somehow?

Goldstein continues:

Of course, this tone shouldn’t be surprising. The job of the first lady is, essentially, to fulfill arch-traditional wifely expectations. One’s career or academic successes are almost wholly irrelevant. It is, as Echidne of the Snakes writes, “the job with no paycheck.” And in that way, it provides the perfect opportunity for us to think about the unpaid labor done by every stay-at-home mom and wife:

What an utterly ridiculous and pointless column.

I can’t believe that she’s judging Michelle Obama for describing herself as a mother first and foremost. I’m pretty sure there are more heinous things in life, than somebody actually taking his/her job as a parent seriously.

As somebody who’s pretty career-oriented, as well as being a borderline feminist, if I had children, damn right I’d put them before my job. This doesn’t mean that I expect everybody to feel the same, but in my opinion, if you aren’t going to put your children first, why have them in the first place?

Michelle Obama is not going to be president, her husband is. What’s so hard to understand about that? Surely Americans don’t want a First Lady who’s going to be delegating from the wings?

And to those commenters who felt ‘uncomfortable’ about Michelle Obama’s alleged ‘Leave It To Beaver’ bio, get an effing grip, and belt up.

If more people were as dedicated to their children, the world wouldn’t be so effed up, and eight year old kids wouldn’t go round shooting people.

Sheesh.

A novella-length paranormal published in December 2007 by Samhain in the Perfect Gift anthology, Love Me Still is my first exposure to Ms Banks’ writing (even though I do have one of her novels published as Sharon Long in the TBR mountain range—must find and read asap).

This story could be considered inappropriate for minors because the premise involves a formal marriage/mating/relationship between two brothers and their wife, but there is neither language nor graphic sex in it. It is a brief and moving look at the complexities and resilience of relationships.

Here’s the blurb:

Forgiveness is the most difficult thing to give but the most cherished thing to receive.

Beloved mate to two wolves, Heather lived an idyllic life until hunters destroyed the pack’s peaceful existence.

Believing their mate betrayed them and was responsible for their father’s death, Cael and Riyu cut Heather from their lives. But when they realize their terrible mistake, can they ever gain her forgiveness and win back her love?

Because of the length—barely 60 pages—there is a lot of background that is sketched rather than explained. Heather is a human who has been mated into a pack of wolf shifters. For the most part, these beings remain hidden in the mountains, limiting their interaction with humans as much as possible.

We are left to guess at how Heather came to meet and be adopted by the wolves, even though there is a bit of a hint about her losing her mother as a young child. Anyway, her mates and the pack are her family, all she wants and all she needs.

Until, that is, a vicious attack that costs the pack their alpha’s life and leaves them believing that Heather betrayed them to the hunters. The only person, other than Heather, who could explain the situation, is gone hunting for revenge, and in the face of their father’s words, her mates shun her.

Once the truth comes out, guilt eats at both Cael and Riyu, but the bigger issue is finding Heather—left wounded and betrayed, vulnerable to the elements—and getting her forgiveness.

I loved the characterizations even as I had some serious issues with the story.

We see events unfold from Heather’s and Cael’s perspectives, which felt just a bit lopsided considering that it’s a three people relationship, but it still worked in telling the story. I loved that the narrative wasn’t cluttered with extraneous stuff—everything that is there is necessary, period. Nico, John Quincy, even Lorna (Heather’s mother in law). Each of them is necessary both to move the plot forward and to provide the backdrop for the relationship between Heather and her mates.

The time elapsed from beginning to end is not clear; there is about a month between the attack and when Cael, Riyu and Nico find Heather again, but she is so sick and feverish when they take her back to the pack that anywhere between another week or even more could have passed. This works well because Heather was not only beaten but raped by the hunters who wounded, and eventually killed, the previous alpha, and it would not have been convincing in any way that she could have worked through her emotions and the first wave of pain and horror of the attack any sooner than that.

But even with the passage of time providing a buffer, I would have liked it if Ms Banks had made it clear that Heather is still healing and that both she and her mates have rough times ahead.

I enjoyed—mean person that I am—how vivid Cael’s and Riyu’s guilt and horror at themselves over having betrayed Heather’s trust is portrayed. Simultaneously, their reactions when they believed, based on what proof they had, that she had betrayed them and cost their father his life, rang true. Between grief at losing their parent and shock and horror at her perceived betrayal, killing her wouldn’t have been too harsh (of course, there would’ve been no story then, but you know what I mean, it felt deserved).

Heather’s feelings of loss, bewilderment, betrayal, grief, are so vividly written that my stomach clenched in sympathy and my eyes teared as I read the scene where she walks to the edge of the ridge, wondering if dying wouldn’t be better…

Sometimes, all the love in the world is not enough. And sometimes, it’s the only thing that helps.

Huge quibble, though: Heather is very obviously hurt—from a wound to her forehead to a broken leg, it’s beyond evident that she was attacked as well, so while her mates reaction while in the grip of grief and shock was understandable, I wonder what the rest of the pack was thinking, feeling, doing.

My last serious issue with the story is that it would seem, based on one of the last paragraphs, that Heather feels that the pack has a right to forgive her… for what, exactly? For being raped? Or for having her mates doubt her so badly? That line, perhaps a bit throwaway, irked me tremendously.

Love Me Still gets 6.75 out of 10, and I’m definitely looking forward to reading more of Ms Banks’ work.

First, this kid is eighteen. Yes, you read right, 18 years old. He reached voting age just in time for this presidential election. Listening to him, I have felt my hope for a better future being renewed. Here’s a wonderful example of the generation who came of age during this time.

Second, I think that the sometime acrimonious conversation  over race, discrimination against homosexuals or other minorities, the financial crisis, and other matters, would benefit a lot by remembering that we are just at the starting point.

So, without further blathering ado, here is Daniel Brown:

So I discovered Ann Coulter via Youtube the other day… and God love her, but she’s a fucking lunatic.

Ann Coulter on Hannity and Colmes

“How do we know that these men weren’t going to divorce these harpies?” Apparently that’s a question that Ann Coulter asks of the 911 widows, in her book. Classy bird.

Ann being interviewed by Katie Couric

Ann being interviewed by the BBC’s Jeremy Paxman

Jeremy looks as disturbed as I feel when I listen to her.

How is this woman any different from a muslim extremist?

Jews need to be perfected?

Coulter is a great example of why organised religion should be avoided at all costs. Man she makes Sarah Palin look like an ultra-liberal lefty.

Originally published by Samhain in November 2006, this novella length story by Ms Walker caught my eye recently when it was reviewed by the inimitable SBSarah here. Eagle eye readers will notice quickly that she gave Talking with the Dead a C-.

If you are familiar with the most irreverent Smart Bitches who love Trashy Books, you understand immediately why I would be moved to search for and read a story with such a grade. If you are not familiar with them… where have you been? Nevermind. Hie thee over to their blog posthaste, and edumacate yourself. (If you are truly pressed for time, you can see Ms Walker’s reaction to the grade here)

Either way, my review after the blurb:

Surrounded by death, a man with a terrible gift reaches for life.

A horrific tragedy blasted open a door in young Michael O’Rourke’s mind—cursing him with the ability to talk with the Dead. Nearly two decades later, Michael has moved from victim to survivor, using his abilities to seek out those who would go unjudged.

With his gift, he talks to those who’ve died violently and seeks out their killers. Only once he’s found the murderer, can the victims be at rest. After his last case, the only thing he wants is peace and he hopes to find it in the small town of Mitchell, Indiana.

But something is horribly wrong—the dead are waiting for him there, as well.

Small town sheriff Daisy Crandall is frustrated. The murder investigation she’s leading is going nowhere, the few leads she’s had haven’t panned out. She needs a break—this case is personal and when a stranger arrives, turning up where he shouldn’t be, she’s suspicious. Finding out that he is more than what he appears to be, should shock her but doesn’t. The fact she’s highly attracted to him at the worst possible time is a hindrance.

Unfortunately, teaming up with Michael is the only way.

Now it’s a race against time before the killer destroys the life of his next victim…

Now, before I start on the actual review, I have to give a shout out to Ms Walker, who knows I’m a fan of her work and was kind enough to take pity on Kindle-less*** me, sending me a copy of Talking with the Dead. Thank you!

The prologue sets the tone of the story by introducing us to a young Michael and his older (and very protective) brother Luke. In a few short pages the reader is hit with the very real anguish of these two young boys who are trapped by circumstances in a seedy and dangerous world, at the mercy of a woman who should never had children.

The story proper starts with Michael taking part in the hunt of a serial killer, exhausted and almost burned out by the constant barrage of despair, and sometimes uncontrollable rage, from the ghosts seeking to lead him to their murderers. Every so often, he feels the need to run, trying to escape these restless spirits. But of course, there is death everywhere, and all too often there is murder as well.

Michael’s wanderings take him to a small town in Indiana where the fourth body of a local woman has just been found. Like the previous three, the most recent victim had been raped, tortured, and then killed by exsanguination from multiple cuts—a slow and truly agonizing death. The local sheriff has no clues for any of the murders and is at the end of her rope when this mysterious and dangerous looking stranger arrives.

I love Ms Walker’s characters almost without exception, and that holds true for this story. Michael’s sadness and bone deep exhaustion are both evident and understandable, while his empathy and compassion for all the victims he has come to know through the years come through very clearly.

Dasynda (Daisy) is a very sympathetic and strong heroine, even though her past is only sketched in. I find myself very curious as to what made her return to her small hometown after working for a police department in a big city, as well as what makes her doubt her instincts at the beginning of the story.

Surprisingly, it was the character of Tanya, the ghost of the latest victim, who I enjoyed the most after Michael. Her initial fear, and thus her refusal to recognize her killer, followed by her rage over the waste of her life and the lives of the other victims, were very very appealing to me; they felt real—and yes, I’m talking about realism from a ghost

In a sense, the supernatural/paranormal elements in Talking with the Dead steal the show. Not only do they get a major share of the pages, but their impact on Michael and Daisy, as well as on the investigation, overshadows the development of their relationship. And this brings me to the part where I disagree the most with SBSarah’s assessment. I liked Michael and Daisy together, mostly because I see this novella as a beginning for them. Whether or not it leads to the perfect happily ever after, it’s a very promising start, one I can believe in.

Now, I had some issues with the story. For example, there is a bit of repetition of some facts by the same character; this is both true of Michael and of Daisy. Also, the police procedures seemed a bit fuzzy to me; I would have thought that any small town wherein a serial killer has been proven to hunt/operate, at the very least state authorities would be notified, let alone the FBI.

Lastly, there were open threads, questions that are never answered, regarding Michael’s work for the FBI (foreshadowing The Missing, perhaps?) and the question of what exactly he can do other than hearing ghosts is left open after that last confrontation with the killer. I’m curious as well about Luke’s fate now that, presumably, his vow is fulfilled.

Talking with the Dead is a quick and interesting read, which gets a 6.50 out of 10.

***For those who are wondering… Samhain is offering free downloads for Kindle users—go check what, when and how here.

So, I was on Amazon the other day, and I happened to notice that the link to a book by an author, who’s latest book I wanted to purchase, wasn’t working properly, so I did the decent thing and e-mailed the author to let her know that there seemed to be a problem with links to her books.

Anyway, this is the e-mail that she sent back to me:

Hi Karen,

Thanks for your email. I am aware of the problem. Amazon and Hatchette, the parent company of my publisher, are in a dispute at the moment and this is Amazon’s way of getting at Hatchette. They’re doing it to several authors in different ways.

The dispute is over Amazon demanding bigger discounts from publishers, which aren’t to be passed on to consumers, and Hatchette said no. So, Amazon are doing things like this and will keep doing it, apparently, until the stand-off is resolved.

Unbelievable.

So Amazon are purposely messing up book links so that authors published by specific houses, can’t sell their work?

Does anybody know how true this is?

And with that out of the way…

Remember the outcry over the mormon church’s financial support to the Proposition 8 campaign in California?

Well, please feel free to spread that outcry to other churches.

It’s not just the mormons trying to make a mockery of their respect of the constitution, when they urge elected officials to perform their service to the public while also bowing to the church’s demand.

Please take a gander at the catholic bishops who are denying communion to public officials—gee, and here I thought that forgiveness was one of the main tenets of christianism.

But lo! Their christian generosity doesn’t end there: they’d rather close their hospitals—and leave people without medical care—than perform legal medical procedures if abortion is legalized.

Gee.

Or let’s check out this other priest, who is standing on his pulpit (metaphorically and probably literally) threatening the faithful with Hell and damnation for not toeing a religious line in their civic lives.

Are these people (bishops, priests, corner preachers) within their rights to air their personal opinions? Yes.

Are they within their right to use their church as a platform for political discourse? Methinks not.

And these two articles are the kind of thing that make me wish that religious organizations (aka churches) who indulge in this behaviour got their tax exemption yanked out from under them.

So to them I say: Congratulations, you are total, complete, and accomplished assholes.

For those paying attention: the lack of capitalization is deliberate.

Can I say how happy I am that we get at least one, and often two, new In Death books every year? Happy, I tell you. Who needs sleep?

Salvation in Death is the twenty eighth novel-length installment in the In Death series. Yup, you read right, 28 novels, and—lemme count—five novellas in multi-author anthologies. Some readers may wonder how on earth can a writer keep both the quality of writing and the freshness of the characters after this many books, and I’m here to tell you that, while I don’t know how she does it, Ms Roberts definitely delivers, each and every time. That is not to say, mind, that I enjoy every one of the In Death books or novellas equally, since more often than not I find stuff to quibble about (but then, I do that with pretty much everything I read), but that they are consistent in quality of writing, plotting, and characterization, and every single one is worth reading and re-reading.

Here is the dust jacket blurb for the hardcover edition:

In the year 2060, cutting-edge investigative tools can help catch a killer. But there are some questions even the most advanced technologies can’t answer…

At the most solemn moment of a Catholic funeral Mass, the priest brings the chalice to his lips. Seconds later, he’s dead on the altar.

For the mourners packed into the pews, Father Miguel Flores’ sudden demise is an unimaginable shock. When Detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas confirms that the consecrated wine contained enough potassium cyanide to kill a rhino, she’s prepared to plunge in and find out why, despite her discomfort with her surroundings. It’s not the bodegas and pawnshops of East Harlem that bother her, though the neighborhood is a long way from the stone mansion she shares with her billionaire husband, Roarke. It’s all that holiness flying around at St Cristóbal’s that makes her uneasy.

A search of the victim’s simple, sparsely furnished room reveals few personal touches, except for a carefully hidden religious medal with a mysterious inscription, and a couple of underlined Bible passages. The autopsy reveals much more: faint scars of knife wounds, a removed tattoo—and evidence of plastic surgery suggesting “Father Flores” may not have been the man his parishioners thought. Now, as Eve pieces together clues that suggest identity theft, gang connections, and a deeply personal act of revenge, she hopes to track down whoever committed this unholy act. Until a second murder—in front of an even larger crowd of worshippers—knocks the whole investigation sideways.

The way Eve sees it, vengeance may be the Lord’s business, but if there’s going to be any earthly justice in this case, it’s up to her.

Repeating myself, I’ll cry over the blurb. It says too much about some stuff, not enough about other stuff, and it’s plain inaccurate about yet some other things. Yet the basic premise of the novel is correct, so I’ll just go from there.

First, though, I would not recommend this one for people who want to get into the series, mostly because there are a few too many recurring cast members just dropping off for a line or two, or are just referred to by someone else. On the one hand, it makes sense that they would appear because they are such integral parts of Eve’s and Roarke’s lives. On the other hand, a reader who is new to the series would likely be confused by all these name dropping. Plus frankly, several of them—from Mira to, interestingly, Feeney—didn’t advance the plot even nominally.

For those of us who have read some (or all *cough*) of the In Death titles, this is a great addition. (Heh, I had typed “addiction” –Freudian slip much?)

As usual with Ms Roberts’ work, the characterizations are excellent throughout the novel. On a personal level, it delves even deeper on the matter of Eve’s integrity as a cop vis a vis her compassion as a human being and a survivor of abuse herself. There are some scenes between Eve and Roarke which highlight the continuous effort that it takes to make any relationship successful, the give and take, the commitment, the effort, the time and attention.

There is a scene after Roarke has had a bad dream that is particularly touching, because it’s not often that we see Eve being the supportive one in this partnership—it’s not, note, that her support is not there, but that the novels rarely show it, so this scene was very much welcome.

Also as usual, I enjoy the dynamics between Eve and Summerset. There is an unspoken truce there brought on by their love of Roarke, but there is also a growing respect and understanding of each other that, I would say, both would deny to their dying breaths. It’s just both funny and poignant to read—at least for me, but I’m perhaps a too much of a sap.

I don’t know whether Ms Roberts is Catholic herself, but I liked how she wove the symbolism of the Mass, as well as the beliefs behind those symbols, into the investigation. Both as part of the clues to find the killer and as motivation for the murder, they provide interesting fodder for character studies of victim, murderer, and all those around them.

And the introduction of Father Chale López made me extremely happy; this is a Catholic priest with depth and character, which leaves me wondering if he will be a recurring character as well. I certainly hope so. (I see him as Héctor Elizondo in an episode of Without a Trace, by the way.)

There were, of course, a few things that didn’t quite ring true to me.

First, the person running the long con? On the one hand, the only clue to his true identity is a (presumably) sentimental token of childhood attachments, conveniently at hand in his living quarters. Yet, through the investigation there is no evidence of any sort of hidey-hole (bank safe? a locker somewhere?) holding the IDs, documentation and communications with lawyers, etc. that would be paramount in order to cash in on the con. Nothing.

True, it can be argued that once he reconnected with his past, those things changed hands, but even then they would be found at some point, wouldn’t they? Yet, there is no indication anyone involved even expects these things to exist.

Danger, Will Robinson, dangling plot threads ahead!

Second, if I read the story correctly, there was at least one person aware of the conman’s true identity for quite a long while—a year? This person is billed as not exactly in control of petty, cruel impulses, which begs the question, how did the conman’s identity remain hidden for so long after he came clean to this person?

Lastly, I seriously didn’t care—at all–for the copycat murder in the middle of the book. In many respects it felt like filler. It was too easy, to transparent (both to the characters and to me); it didn’t give me a sense of character development anywhere, nor was it a challenge as a puzzle to be solved.

Quibbles aside—and seriously, you all know how I like to quibble—this is another excellent novel, which I have re-read three times already (in less than a week, who cares about reviewing deadlines? who cares if my brain is more scrambled than usual?).

Salvation in Death gets 9 out of 10 (a full point there goes to Father López, by the way)

This novel is also available through amazon.com here and amazon uk here