No Such Thing As Ghosts (Part 8, Epilogue)

Note:  This is the eighth installment of a ghost story.  It’s not meant to be read by itself.  If you’d care to start at the beginning, click here and follow the links.

Pale light had begun to streak the sky when the van pulled up behind the little car, sputtering and coughing as its occupants jumped out.

“Help us!” Jake yelled.  He was straining at the car door, trying vainly to pull it open.

The older man rushed forward, but Gillis stopped and looked at the car roof, which was bisected by a sharp line.  The front half was (more…)

Sam Clovis: The Next Name You’ll Hear

There are approximately one hundred and sixty Trump Administration appointments awaiting the pleasure of the United State Senate for hearings and confirmation.

Among these are names for a couple of dozen Federal judges, fifty or so assistant sub-undersecretaryships (not a real thing, but you get the idea), and ambassadors to such places as Haiti, the Bahamas, Croatia, Zambia, Lichtenstein, India, and Germany.  (I find it somewhat disturbing that we lack an ambassador to India, particularly given that they’re a nuclear power with a history of friction with their neighbors.  Quite unlike Germany, of course…)  Most of these will fly through with minimal debate, which is as it should be; many are relatively innocuous, while some can be objected to solely on ideological grounds.

But there are a few that should make us all sit up and take notice, and one in particular that will make a really big stink.  That last is Sam Clovis (more…)

No Such Thing As Ghosts (Part 7)

Note:  This is the seventh installment of a ghost story.  It’s not meant to be read by itself.  If you’d care to start at the beginning, click here and follow the links.

She’d started the fire with the flashlight battery and a foil gum wrapper, something she said she’d seen on YouTube.  Jake was amazed, but more he was grateful for the yellow light that came, driving away the fog and a chill he hadn’t known he’d felt until now.  Carefully they fed birch bark, then twigs and splinters (more…)

Whitefish: The Unpleasant Truth

You’ve been reading for a couple of weeks about Whitefish Energy, a small Montana company (with all of two full-time employees) that shares a hometown with Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke.

You already know they were awarded a massive contract to repair hurricane damage in Puerto Rico, that the investors are personally acquainted with the Secretary and donated to the Trump campaign, that there’s been massive media outcry against them and a call for Congressional investigation.  You might even be aware that the F.B.I. (more…)

Indictments (After Donne, Meditation XVII)

Indictments are being handed down tomorrow. By the time you read this, there’s a good chance they’ll be out, and someone will be facing charges.

They’ve been oddly public about this, leaving us to speculate over a whole weekend about who the unlucky sod is going to be that’s first into the inquisition. Will it be Manafort? Kushner? No doubt there are a few deluded Trump supporters that honestly think Hillary Clinton is about to get indicted. (more…)

No Such Thing As Ghosts (Part 5)

Note:  This is the fifth installment of a ghost story.  It’s not meant to be read by itself.  If you’d care to start at the beginning, click here and follow the links.

It took a little while to explain the joke to Clarice, but when she got it she loved it.  It turned out she’d been a Scooby-Doo fanatic as a kid, and being compared to Daphne delighted her.  The conversation went on merrily for a time, which was a pleasant change.

It was also in stark contrast to the gloom outside.  The night had been dark before, but now with the mist rising it was almost impossible to see past the reflection of the headlights.  Jake slowed (more…)

Maxine Waters, And Other Things I Won’t Write About

Three things happened yesterday with vital importance and lasting impact on the American political, social, and economic landscape.  And Congresswoman Maxine Waters wasn’t involved in any of them.

It’s no shock any longer that our national news media is, to put it plainly, crap.  It is driven inexorably toward sensationalism by the twenty-four hour news format, to the detriment of (more…)

No Such Thing As Ghosts (Part 4)

Note:  This is the fourth installment of a ghost story.  It’s not meant to be read by itself.  If you’d care to start at the beginning, click here and follow the links.

They had just made it back out of the marshy area, and the trees to either side were a bit of a relief.  Sue was saying, “Now, it should be around–” when “Look out!” came from the back seat.  Jake stomped the brakes.  What the hell–?
 (more…)