Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 12/28 - Dozens

I was hangin' with my buddy Bags today, watching the first hour of one of my favorite films, The Dirty Dozen (1967), when he mentioned Duck Dynasty, which he has seen many times and I haven't seen at all. He mentioned an odd, amusing stat he'd heard somewhere, which I just researched on the web and found at LibertyNews.com, which apparently has a conservative bias. A column gleefully announced that, according to the President, 500,000 Americans signed up for healthcare on the government website this month, despite all the crashes and error messages. He did not mention how many of those “signups” represented people who actually enrolled in a plan. It should be said that while 500,000 people signed up for ObamaCare in December, 1.3 million Americans joined the Stand With Phil Facebook page in just 24 hours to show their support for Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson, who was suspended from A&E for calling homosexuality illogical. The move by the network and sponsors created an overwhelming backlash that had them reverse course. Everyone knows money talks, always did, always will. It's encouraging to see millions of Americans rise up against the far left and political correctness.

As for The Dirty Dozen, I would have sworn that a word, perhaps deemed too offensive, has been edited out since the release of the movie. I was certain that Major Reisman (Captain in the novel) says to Victor Franko, whom he has pulled aside for failing to do close order drill: "You little wop bastard." Suddenly it occurred to me that the pejorative may have been used in the novel, which I read months before the film came out. I also believe the author, E.M. Nathanson, erred in the spelling of the name Franko, an Italian-American, which would be spelled with a C rather than a K. I just scanned the first few chapters at Amazon, which end before the confrontation. Unfortunately, I no longer have a copy of the book. The first thing I'll do if someone donates one is look that up. I don't think I could have imagined it, or heard what I wanted to hear. What's it matter, really? From the novel came one of the greatest popcorn flicks ever, a war movie that has no actual combat until the final 20 or so minutes, which relies on character development and humor in its first two hours, delivered by a great cast. Sadly, such a classic would not likely be made today.

My thanks to my old buddy Joe Marx, Groucho's biggest fan, who purchased Exchanges and now has all five of my books. Thanks also to the two women who bought a total of five mysteries.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx

Another highlight from today’s presser is news that, according to Obama, 500,000 Americans signed up for healthcare on the website this month, despite all the crashes and error messages.
The President did not mention how many of those “signups” represented people who actually enrolled in a healthcare plan.
However, it should be said that while 500,000 people signed up for Obamacare in December, 1.3 million Americans joined the Stand With Phil Facebook Page in just 24 hours to show their support for the Duck Dynasty Patriach, Phil Robertson, who was suspended from A&E for calling homosexuality illogical.
- See more at: http://www.libertynews.com/2013/12/stand-with-phil-facebook-page-gets-1-3-million-facebook-likes-in-24-hours-while-obamacare-only-sees-500000-sign-ups-in-december-meanwhile-healthcare-gov-crashes-two-hours-before-the-presidents-bi/#sthash.KEf6mi4x.dpuf