Authors @ MindSay

It amazes me when I pick up the right book at the right time.  I love reading simply because a book can remind me of things easily forgotten.  The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella served as a reminder of many things.  It is actually the second time I've read the book; the first time when I was still living in California before my relationship with Josh began.  If I remember correctly, it was right after Alexa died.  Now, however, it seemed to make stronger points to me.

Samantha Sweeting spent every waking moment for seven years trying to become a partner in her top notch legal firm.  Twelve years before that was in preparation of becoming the best lawyer she could possibly be.  One single mistake (that wasn't even made by her) changed her life in a split second.  Mistakes in the legal world can obviously be costly.  This one happened to cost her client 50 million pounds.  Mistakes in her world were unacceptable, and so when the mistake came to light, she left without a single word - just walked out of the office and kept going until she landed on a stranger's doorstep.  The strangers mistook her for a housekeeper an agency sent to them.  Not having any answers of what to do about her life (especially after finding she was fired for her reaction to her own mistake), Samantha decided to make the best of the strangers' misunderstanding and remained as their housekeeper.  The funny thing is Samantha can't boil eggs much less do a load of laundry.  This top-notch lawyer ended up falling in love with the gardner and the charming country life she began to make for herself once she learned to slow down and smell the roses.  She learned to cook and clean.  Life drammatically changes for her and she just adores it. 

Suddenly the legal firm realized that Samantha never made a mistake, that a senior partner set her up to take his fall should his financial scandal be found out.  The firm fell over themselves to make it up to her and offered her an even better position in their ranks.  She was torn between accepting the offer and remaining where she was.  The gardner skipped town to make the decision easier for her.  But halfway to London,  Samantha leaves her partners on the train to find her way back to the love of her life even though she had no clue where to find him in Cornwall.  All she knew was she would find him somehow.

Gods, I love this book.  It's just absolutely wonderful. 

"It doesn't matter.  Don't beat yourself up for not knowing all the answers.  You don't always have to know who you are.  You don't have to have the big picture, or know where you're heading.  Sometimes it's enough just to know what you're going to do next."

Soft sigh in relief.  Lately I've been searching for all the answers and getting extremely upset whenever I'd come up empy-handed.  I often thought about going to the local metaphysical store to have my tarot read so that I get some answers, but I haven't had the money to do so.  Then I read these words and realized that it doesn't matter if I have all the answers.  It really is enough just know what to do next.  For instance, I know I need to find a part time job.  That's what I need to do next.  And it doesn't really matter what kind of job it is... I know I can do anything I put my mind to as long as I have Josh's support.  I know I'm starting school next month.  That's as far as I need to go... the only answers I really need.

 Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books.  Police-Writers.com added three Florida cop writers: Art Smith, Susan Goreck and Ronald Hunter.

 

Art Smith had a career in law enforcement from 1970 to 1986.  His book, My Life in the Blue Parade details his career beginning with the Wadsworth Police Department (Ohio).  He explores the “unusual conflicts of a police officer with the public, other police officers, administrators, and family.”  A divorce sees Smith moving to Florida and joining the Fort Lauderhill Police Department. According to the book, “after a couple years, because of internal problems, he moves back to Ohio on a promise of a position by a sheriff’s office. The promise was broken and he worked temporarily at the Marietta Police Department as a dispatcher. Art Smith returns to Florida and works five years as a police officer for the Sunrise Police Department.  Again, according to the book description, “unprofessional and unethical treatment by his supervisors and another police officer made him lose all desire to remain in law enforcement any longer.”

 

Susan Goreck is a deputy sheriff with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (Florida).  Her book, Poisoned Mind, tells the story of her year undercover investigating a murder suspect.  According to the book description, “Many of us have had neighbors whose loud music, objectionable habits, or destruction of property get on our nerves. This is the story of a man who got so annoyed, he poisoned his neighbors with an extremely painful nerve toxin. The personalities are what make the book: the cartoon-character nerd who was a disgruntled househusband to a female orthopedist, the quietly charming policewoman who went undercover to get the goods on him, the loving Southern family who suffered so much. And there's a revelation at the end of the story that will appall you. As the New York Times wrote, "Florida, the cradle of creepiness in detective fiction, offers up some weird criminals in real life, too.... The authors are good at portraying the oddly disconnected society of small-town Florida, as well as the man who almost committed the perfect crime there."

 

Ronald D. Hunter is Professor and Head of the Department of Applied Criminology at Western Carolina University. He has also taught at the State University of West Georgia (1999-2005), Jacksonville State University (1989-1999) and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (1988-1989). He received his Ph.D. in Criminology from The Florida State University. Prior to entering academia, Dr. Ronald Hunter was a Sergeant with the Tallahassee Police Department (Florida). He has published a number of articles, book chapters dealing with crime prevention and law enforcement, and books related to law enforcement and criminology. Dr. Hunter is on the Executive Board of Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and has been honored in “Who’s Who Among American Teachers” (2004) as well as other prestigious acknowledgements.  His books include: Police-Community Relations and the Administration of Justice; Crime and Criminality: Causes and Consequences; Research Methods for Criminology and Criminal Justice.

 

Police-Writers.com now hosts 474 police officers (representing 202 police departments) and their 986 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

 

Remember how Saudi billionaire sponsor of Islamist terrorism Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz sued American Rachel Ehrenfeld for writing the book “Funding Evil” which implicated him among others in financing Islamist terrorist networks?

                     

For those that don’t know the story of Saudi Islamist bin Mahfouz, you make think big deal. Billionaires, Corporations and the rich and famous sue for defamation all the time.

 

Yes but you see in America bin Mahfouz has to provide the burden of proof he was defamed are libeled. Since bin Mahfouz is an Islamist, I have no doubt in mind he is guilty as the stench of sin permeating a brothel. Why do I think this? I think this because bin Mahfouz did not litigate in America where “Funding Evil” was published, rather he sued in Britain in which the book was NOT published but a handful of Brits bought it on the Internet.

 

In Britain libel and defamation is the burden of the defendant to prove his or her case is the truth.

 

So let’s smell the bin Mahfouz stench: he sued in Britain for a book that was not published there making an American citizen (not a British citizen) to come up with money in a foreign land to defend her book in a foreign court according to the laws of a foreign nation. Man that stinks!

 

If you don’t know the rest of the story, Ehrenfeld chose not to attend the stench wreaking ploy of bin Mahfouz because of money and her (and I agree) feeling the lack of jurisdiction of the British legal system over a book not published in Britain.

 

When Ehrenfeld did not show up in Britain, the Brit Judge adjudicated harshly in favor of the billionaire Islamist bin Mahfouz.

 

The repercussions of the Brit Judge did not only affect Ehrenfeld. It set of a tidal wave of Publishing House fear in America that anti-Islamist or anti-Jihadist literature could make the publisher a co-defendant in Courts of foreign lands where they actually do sell books. In effect bin Mahfouz snuffed good old fashioned American Freedom of Speech using foreign civil laws.

 

Ehrenfeld went to the State Court of which her Publishing House to seek legal protection from civil suits of foreign lands, viz. Britain in this case. The State Court in New York chose not to hear Ehrenfeld’s case citing a lack of jurisdiction outside of the State of New York.

 

The State Court’s decision was probably the correct decision even though it was disappointing. The disappointment being the British Court should have thrown out bin Mahfouz’s litigation for the same reason – the lack of jurisdiction. Then the case went to the New York State Appellate Court – same jurisdictional ruling. Fortunately the New York State Assembly and Senate woke up and introduced “Libel Terrorism Protection Act” (S.6687/A.9652).

 

A recent email from Act For America has informed me that the New York State Senate has done their part and unanimously passed the Libel Terrorism Protection Act.

 

Libel Terrorism Protection Bill Passed Unanimously by the New York Senate!

 

Dear John,

 

If you haven’t already heard, last week the Libel Terrorism Protection bill unanimously passed the New York State Senate. This is a significant victory in the process toward this bill becoming law.

 

As you may recall, the bill was introduced to protect New York authors and journalists from libel lawsuits filed in the courts of foreign jurisdictions. These lawsuits are typically intended to intimidate and silence reporting about terrorism and terrorist-related activities, and they are filed in courts of foreign jurisdictions where free speech and press is not protected to the degree it is here in the U.S.

 

We do not know how many of you called or emailed members of the New York Senate, but to all of you who did we say “thank you!” You helped make this happen!

 

We are presenting our Libel Terrorism Protection petition and its nearly 7,000 signees to the New York Assembly, where the bill is still under consideration, currently in the Judiciary Committee.

 

Yours in Defense of America,

 

Guy Rodgers

Executive Director

 

Now when the New York State Assembly does its job it will be Western Culture not only giving bin Mahfouz a black-eye, but all Islamists that routinely use Western litigation laws to undermine Western Culture will receive a poke as well.

 

It will be interesting to see if the Islamist hoodwinkers will use the Federal Court system to nullify New York State legislation. If Islamists go that far, it will be interesting to see which Islamist while file litigation knowing that they will also have to turn over Discovery requested by the Defendants. That is how Andrew Whitehead of Anti-CAIR shot down CAIR’s civil suit against him. CAIR was not willing to give up information in the Discovery process.

________________________________

 

Foreign Litigation About to be Squashed

John R. Houk

© March 4, 2008

 

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

November 9, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists nearly 800 state and local police officers who have written books.

 

Jim Rowell was drafted into the United States Army in 1968.  After Basic Training and Advanced Infantry Training he was deployed to Vietnam.  According to Jim Rowell, “I landed in Vietnam on a bright yellow and red Brannif jet airplane on July 21, 1968. My first impression? The 120 degree heat that knocked me off my feet and a song playing in the background on a loudspeaker”

 

After his military service, Jim Rowell commenced a 28 year law enforcement career with the DeKalb County Police Department (Georgia).  Suffering a heart attack in 1999, Jim Rowell retired from the DeKalb County Police Department Homicide Unit as a police captain.  Throughout his law enforcement career, Jim Rowell served in uniform and as a detective in burglary, youth, sex crimes and homicide.

 

After retiring, Jim Rowell renewed his efforts to publish a manuscript he had written ten years before for his two children. Calling his story Granny and the Eskimo; Angels in Vietnam; which “describes his journey through life from youth to Vietnam where he experienced what can only be described as a paranormal event involving his mother and grandmother the day he was wounded in an ambush. He also tells the reader about his friendship with his mentor on the battlefield, the Eskimo. It was the Eskimo's untimely death on a cold winter night in Anchorage, Alaska that prompted Jim to write his story.”

 

In 1973, Larry Powalisz joined the Milwaukee Police Department’s police aide program, and, after a two year internship, was promoted to police officer, graduating from the City of Milwaukee Safety Academy in February 1976.  During his tenure as a police officer, Larry patrolled one of Milwaukee’s busiest districts. He was later selected to become a member of the department’s Tactical Enforcement Unit—the full-time special weapons and tactics unit. He also served on the department’s Robbery Task Force.

 

In 1994, Larry Powalisz was promoted to the rank of detective, where he investigated robberies, shootings, and other violent criminal offenses. He was also assigned to the Milwaukee PD’s nationally recognized Gang Crimes Unit/Intelligence Division. In addition, Larry also served as a military special agent, where he recently completed 20 years of service in the United States Coast Guard Reserve.

 

In an effort to create a positive set of values for our nation’s next generation of impressionable young people, Larry put pen to paper and created this book, The Island Treasure Hunt, featuring two very likeable characters who find themselves faced with an ethical dilemma. The message conveyed by The Island Treasure Hunt is that good deeds do not go unnoticed. It’s a positive message today’s young people will hopefully realize.

 

Louis Jackson is a former Los Angeles Police Department police officer and the author of Raw in Blue.  According to the book description of Raw in Blue, “A six year veteran on the force is subjected to all the ups and downs that a day in a cop's life entails:  family disputes, robberies, gangs, and the like.  Suddenly his life changes in a matter of moments.  Intrigued by a beautiful TV star, he wanders into an unforeseen set of circumstances involving other cops, drugs, and his life.  Things get worse as one of his best friends turns out to be smack in the middle of a possible way out unscathed.  A gun battle to the death is the only answer for some.  Romance and a daring plan unfolds and ends at a beautiful resort.  Death and survival are the order of the day.”

 

Police-Writers.com now hosts 798 police officers (representing 360 police departments) and their 1706 law enforcement books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.