rlfj: Blog

Still getting people asking if I am going to incorporate the current racism-in-police issue in the story. No, I am not rewriting the story. Remember, the story is in 2025 at this point. 2020 was back in Chapter 12, which ran through 2022. He was not an active consultant during those years but was working on his doctorate. Regardless of the reforms being pushed and promised, we will still have police forces in the future. The crazies are pushing for police forces to be dismantled, but that simply won’t be happening. Defunding is a definite possibility, but that isn’t crazy. The largest mental health system in the nation is the prison system, which is also the largest drug treatment system and the largest homeless shelter system. The police and the prisons are the most expensive and inefficient way to do these things. Putting more money into these types of social programs makes a considerable amount of sense. As to what Grim would do differently, as early as 2019 Grim was giving lectures at the Athens and Forsyth academies on topics like PTSD, Use of Force, and Autism/Mental Health (Chapters 8 and 9). Those are the types of things that will be much more important in the future, at all academies.

More than a few people enjoyed the end scene in chapter 27. Some asked if it was something I had ever gone through. Sorry, nothing quite like that. Back when my wife and I were dating in college, we got busy under a blanket in the living room of her parents’ house late one night, and a couple of her younger brothers wandered in. They just laughed and went to the kitchen and we quickly redressed. No shotguns were brandished. We didn’t have the same problems with our youngest, but she was incredibly headstrong and basically told us she was going to see her boyfriend with our knowledge or do it anyway and lie to us. That being said, she never got into any trouble and has grown up to be a great kid, wife, and mother.

Gnius1 informed me: “Wow - assault, domestic abuse and brandishing - quite an episode for Grim. Of course, being an ex-cop, he won't end up in prison as he should.” Glad to see how well I write evil criminals! I suppose throwing Romeo in the lake was the assault and throwing Juliet in the lake was the domestic abuse. Under the circumstances, Grim can probably get those laughed out of court. Brandishing is going to be a real stretch, though; Grim never took his weapon from his holster and Georgia is an open-carry state. While I’m not a lawyer, I doubt any DA is going to want to take any of this to trial, especially when Riley files much more reasonable charges of statutory sexual assault. (She’s under the age of consent in Georgia, 16, so even though she didn’t have sex with him it still qualifies as sexual assault.)

Multiple people commented that biologically speaking, it is the male that determines the sex of the offspring. Not sure I believe that, considering the arguments my wife and I have had about our own kids. I know that nitwits of that caliber couldn’t have been from my genetics!

Anyway, enjoy!

Several people wrote that Carl was totally unrealistic in figuring that his heroics at the diner would cause him to lose. I have two comments on that. First, Carl is not an experienced campaigner and didn’t realize the positive effect this would have. Secondly, the only reason this becomes positive is the presence of the video. Without the security video showing what happened, it would be ridiculously easy for Stewart to frame Carl as an out-of-control vigilante who bought the endorsement. This would be basic Political Science 101. Instead, he gets huge amounts of positive televised time that he could never have bought. Television is a visual medium. The various media outlets might not run the press conference, but you can guarantee they will run that video repeatedly!

And so ends Book 5. Book 6, ‘Congressman’, is next. For those who have asked about future installments, there will be:

Book 7: President

Book 8: Emperor

Book 9: Overlord

Book 10: Grand Imperator

And then we will finish with:

Book 11: Grand Poobah of the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes (Bonus points to all who figure that out. Double bonus points for those who remember which Lodge number it is.)

Now we take a break from Carl Buckman to finish off the Grim Reaper. Enjoy!

An interesting footnote. One of my readers couldn’t understand my references to whether evolution was real, and why somebody would be asked this. After a few emails it turned out he was from overseas, where this stuff is pretty well settled – the guys with the fossils won. He couldn’t believe the anti-science attitude of some of our leaders.

More fun and games for Carl, more grief from readers about politics. It would seem that unless Carl renounces his middle-of-the-road leanings I must have him renounce both his membership in the Republican Party and his American citizenship. If you’re a member of the Tea Party or MAGA, just stop reading and stop writing me. It will be easier on all of us. Thank you.

Carl and his sister getting back together again seemed to be an important point for a lot of readers, and it was going to happen at some point. However, for those readers who want them to be a lovey-dovey family again, that may not be realistic. Suzie has a new life halfway across the country, and the intervening years have taken a toll on them. Some things get damaged when this happens.

Sorry that Chapter 99 seemed short. Suzie has been a popular character in the story, and lots of people wanted her to be brought back more fully. I could have written a lot more about how the four adults spent days talking about things. Somehow that just didn’t seem right to me. Suzie is back in Carl’s life, but will she ever be a major part again? We’ll see her some more in the future, but a quick chapter was about all I could come up with.

In Chapter 100 the campaign starts getting underway. I repeat my thank-you’s to my various editors, who gave me a lot of pointers on running for office. No way in the world would I ever want to do this! Just a note on some useful source material. Hardball by Chris Matthews focuses on the Machiavellian methods used to make it into office and then stay there. It reads like a primer on getting things done in Washington, a touch boring at times, but very useful. Another interesting read is The Party Is Over by Mike Lofgren, on the effect money and campaign contributions have had on Congress. Lofgren is more than a little preachy on the Republicans and the Tea Party but doesn’t have much use for the Democrats either.

I had an interesting email which basically asked, “How can you write about people and use their names without being sued by them?” For example, I am discussing in a fictional setting meetings with prominent public figures such as Clinton, Bush, and Gingrich. For those who don’t already know the answer, in 1988 the Supreme Court ruled in Hustler Magazine v. Falwell that public figures can’t sue for defamation unless there is ‘actual malice.’ (This is a gross simplification, of course.) The key phrase here is ‘public figure’. Generally this is taken to mean just about any politician, performer, or other well-known person. In Carl’s case, as a simple businessman, no matter how wealthy, he would probably not be considered a public figure, but once he began writing his books and appearing on television and giving speeches, he would be certainly considered a public figure. For the sake of our story, this is how I can write fiction about various famous people but could get in serious trouble writing about my personal accountant, who sure ain’t a public figure!

My intrepid political editors include wino, stjoe56, and ednelson. I thought I knew a lot about politics, but they showed me I have a lot to learn. I rewrote a bunch of stuff, had it reviewed, and then rewrote some more. I’m sure it still ain’t perfect, but it’s a heck of a lot better now than before! Thanks guys!