The Writer's Life 11/22 - Moore & More

Here's the last paragraph of an op-ed piece in today's NY Post by Ilya Shapiro. It sums up what grudging supporters of President Trump hope: "I still worry about the state of the rule of law, as well as damage being done to political norms. But that’s mostly a function of President Trump’s Twitter feed. When it comes to actual on-the-ground results, the administration’s judicial and regulatory agenda is nothing but #winning." Meanwhile - has the President erred in supporting Roy Moore? I have no idea. His instincts have proven far keener than those of his critics, and he needs a reliable Senator to cast votes in support of his agenda. Moore is 70. The overwhelming nationwide consensus seems to believe his accusers. Without actual proof, I withhold judgment. The alleged offenses date to when he was in his early 30's. Since then he has served the state of Alabama as a judge. He is the father of four. A Vietnam veteran, he achieved the rank of Captain in the U. S. Army. If there have been no incidents since those cited, should he be forgiven? After all, he has not been accused of rape. Of course, if he demonstrated such behavior through the ensuing decades, he should be vilified and damned.

In another op-ed piece, Betsy McCaughey reveals that there is a bi-partisan call in Congress for mandatory sexual harassment training, which seems to reinforce the notion that politicians are completely without common sense, out of touch. They need to be instructed not to grope or expose their privates? Gimme a break... A Post article on harassment includes findings of a Quinnipiac poll, in which one number shows how insane this issue might get. 69% of American women claim to have been hit on at work. Outside of advances on the married, or persistent nuisance - so what? How are people supposed to get together? How many have met a spouse while on the job? I despise smug know-it-all Al Franken and I'm happy to see him humiliated publicly, but his behavior was merely sophomoric, boorish, not criminal or grounds for removal.

RIP David Cassidy, 67, who succumbed to organ failure after years of struggling with alcohol. He was wildly popular as the lead singer of The Partridge Family. The show ran for four years,  1970-'74, 96 episodes. He then made tons of money doing concerts. According to his bio at IMDB, at his peak he was the world's highest paid live entertainer, and his official fan club was the largest in pop history - exceeding Elvis Presley's and The Beatles'. He was ranked #1 in TV Guide's 2005 list of  TV's 25 Greatest Teen Idols. Unfortunately, his riches were lost, possibly due to crooked managers, and he was forced to continue working even in ill health. Here's a quote attributed to him: "I was one of the wealthiest young male entertainers in the world then, but 10 years later I had nothing to show for it. By the 1980's I was broke and had to rebuild my life." His music made a lot of people, especially kids, happy. Kudos.

I can't let 11/22 pass without noting that terrible day in Dallas:

I trusted the forecast, which called for clearing in the afternoon. It was still drizzling when I began setting up the floating book shop under the scaffold just before eleven. It proved to be the right move. My thanks to the gentleman who bought The Matarese Circle by Robert Ludlum and The Godfather's Revenge by Mark Winegardner, the latter of which continued Mario Puzo's story; and to the young man who wanted easy fare to help him improve his English, which led me to recommend four Star Wars booklets published by Scholastic, and Protect and Defend by Vince Flynn; and to the guy who bought two more Elvis vinyl records; and to the old-timer who bought Johnny Cash's Greatest Hits. He said: "I may not be able to see well enough to read but I can still hear." Special thanks to the young man with a Russian accent, who offered $40 for the final 20 or so Elvis albums. I love smart shoppers.

Vic's Sixth novel: http://tinyurl.com/zpuhucj 

Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story Collection:http:// tinyurl.com/lh2tepa 
Vic's 2nd Novel Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

Website: http://vicfortezzaauthor.my-free.website/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/Vic-Fortezza-Author-118397641564801/?fref=ts

Read Vic's Stories, free: http://fictionaut.com/users/vic-fortezza