Inhalt

TABLE OF VOLUMES

THE BEGUILERS BUNDLE

A WARNING

Robert Stetson

THE BEGUILERS BUNDLE

A WARNING

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Let this be a warning to everyone. Read and heed. If it disgusts you, do not look away, for when you look away, that is when it happens.

TABLE OF VOLUMES

BEGUILERS – A WARNING

BEGUILERS II – DNA

A WARNING

Robert Stetson

THE BEGUILERS - A WARNING

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Let this be a warning to everyone. Read and heed. If it disgusts you, do not look away, for when you look away, that is when it happens.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE BEGUILERS - A WARNING

CHAPTER 1 GETTING REAL

CHAPTER 2 THE BILL

CHAPTER 3 THE CAMPAIGN

CHAPTER 4 THE AWAKENING

CHAPTER 5 AND THE WINNER IS

CHAPTER 6 ORDER 9066 REVIVED

CHAPTER 7 EMPOWER THE PEOPLE

CHAPTER 8 THE FINAL SOLUTION

CHAPTER 9 A NEW WORLD ORDER

CHAPTER 10 ETERNAL PEACE, AT LAST

Chapter 11 EPILOGUE

THE BEGUILERS II - DNA

CHAPTER 1 SOMETIMES THE DRAGON WINS

CHAPTER 2 THE NEW RESISTANCE

CHAPTER 3 THE MADNESS

CHAPTER 4 THE SETTLEMENT

CHAPTER 5 THE HARBINGER

CHAPTER 6 HACK ATTACKS

CHAPTER 7 WEB WARS

CHAPTER 8 GOON ARMIES

CHAPTER 9 THE LOST & THE FOUND

CHAPTER 10 NEW BEGINNING

CHAPTER 1 GETTING REAL

My name is Slater Stone. I’m a forty two year old Senator struggling to compete with my colleagues for position within the party structure. I’ve been involved in the House and the Senate for the last few years in a bid to make it to the top. Politics, like any business can be a brutal game.

Somehow, in the beginning, I didn’t realize that. I ran for local political positions and worked my way up through the town government to the state government, then ended up in the Senate.

In the beginning, and at first, things were easy. People listened to you and gave you respect. Later on, things became more complicated. The games of give and take became bigger and harder to navigate, but I learned quickly.

The party leaders took notice and helped me take advantage of opportunities, then watched to see how I did with them.

Like all other political candidates, I have a philosophy that is not really understood by the general public.

Don’t get me wrong, I care about the people in my State, but let’s face it, I’m running a business here.

The business of politics is built on a three pronged foundation.

The first prong is popularity, which is gained by giving the people the impression that people are getting what they want. The goal is to get reelected at any cost. Failure to get reelected will end the game.

The second prong is building a power base in the party with your fellow politicians. They can help you build your power base. Failure to build a power base at all cost will prevent you from being nominated.

The third prong is amassing wealth. Let’s get real here. The whole reason for being in business is to pad the bottom line.

Power brings money and more power brings more money. Being in the big-time takes a lot of both money and power. I’m very good at what I do. Most of the people I started with are gone. They made too many mistakes.

I guess when the Bible says it’s harder for a rich man to get into Heaven than to pass through the eye of a needle, That’s because you can’t squeeze all that money through that tiny little slot. I’ll be damned if I’m going through that eye without my money.

The most perplexing problem is how to give the people what they want and not alienate your fellow politicians. It’s easy, you lie.

My life is simple outside of my political challenges. I married the young lady I fell for in high school. I should be calling her a woman to be more politically correct, but it was alright to call her a girl back then.

We beat the statistics and we’re still together. I got a job in finance and she went to school full time. She always had a habit of getting involved with outside political activities, which may have been the thing that attracted her to me.

We had a child and named him Toby. Perhaps I should say, she named him Toby. Amy is a very strong willed woman. Sometimes it’s like being married to a badger. Get her angry and you have a fight on your hands.

Toby is a bit older now. If anyone tells you that personality isn’t hereditary, they are wrong. Toby is a scrapper like his mother, and he is analytical and always ready for a debate, like his dad.

I’m proud of the boy, because, like a Chihuahua, sometimes he doesn’t realize, or give a damn, that the other dog is bigger than he is.

The phone is ringing. I answer it. One of Toby’s teachers is calling today and asking for a meeting to discuss Toby’s apparent attitude toward the teachings of the school.”

She says, “Toby had better change his attitude and stop arguing with us over the information given in the text books.”

I’m concerned about Toby.

I ask, “What is he saying that is so upsetting? If you can fill me in, Amy and I can talk to him about it.”

She says, “Toby is telling the other students that we don’t live in a democracy. Can you imagine that? He is referencing information online that shows the history of our country and is quoting past Presidents.”

I ask, “Is the information he is providing wrong, or is he just confusing the other students?”

The Teacher says, “We have a job to do here. We are working to instill pride in every student regarding this great nation and their faith in our democracy. Toby is creating confusion by instilling doubt in the others as to the validity of our message.”

I say, “I see. You feel that the information creates a disruptive influence over the other students and is upsetting the atmosphere you’re attempting to create.”

The Teacher says, “Yes.”

I say, “I will talk to him about the situation he has created and ask him to stop stirring things up over there. He needs to learn when to speak up and he needs to learn when to remain silent.”

She says, “Where is he getting this stuff? Is he involved in any kind of group that practices anti-American activities?”

I say, “He is just a boy. He does not pose any threat to our national security. I can assure you that he’s just talking. Let’s not overreact. If he has evidence of the things he is saying, we need to tell him to temper his opinion in a way that serves the greater good. Let me talk to him.”

She asks, “What do you mean temper his opinion? He is turning my classroom into a zoo. If we can’t get him in line, then he will be expelled.”

I say, “Let me talk to him. I’m sure he means no harm.”

The Teacher emits a huffing sound and slams down the receiver. I reflect for a moment and wonder how you can justify expelling a student from school for voicing an opinion, especially when the historical evidence supports it.

George Orwell comes to mind when he said, “The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.”

Harry Truman spoke some words of wisdom as well, saying, “When even one American who has done nothing wrong is forced by fear to shut their mind and close their mouth, then all Americans are in peril.”

Funny how, when faced with the wrath of our institutions, these words become mere platitudes.

The hour is late and I’m going to have to go home and deal with Toby somehow. This is going to be a difficult situation to moderate.

I will somehow have to calm the situation at school and not upset Toby’s ability to speak out. I will have to instill the message that being right isn’t always the most important thing. It’s being right when the moment is right.

With elections drawing near, the press is often found just outside of the exit from the Senate Building. They try to catch random Senators on their way out of the building at the end of the day.

One reporter catches me today and asks, “Sir, can you share a piece of legislation that you have had a part in making a reality?”

I adjust my hat in the face of a strong wind and answer, “During my tenure in the Senate, I am proud to say that law enforcement has had an easier job when it comes to speeding cars in the city limits.

“It used to be that speeders would just keep one eye on their radar detector and when it chirps, they slow down because there is obviously a speed trap nearby.

“I am the one responsible for passing legislation requiring the law requiring cities across America to install small micro-transmitters in every street light and on every street inside the city limits.

“They take almost no power to operate and they emit a signal that sets off the radar detector.

“In this way we can eliminate the use of radar detectors because the moment you turn it on, it starts reporting microwave activity. The entire city is bathed in radar signals.”

The reporter asks, “Sounds expensive. Where did the funding come from? They had to put the billions of little radar transmitters on all the street lights across America.”

I look into the camera and my face turns very serious. The wind is picking up, so I clutch my coat collar and turn just a little to avoid the direct blast of air.

I say, “I want everyone to understand that this is not a tax. This is a fee.”

The reporter says, “Tell us more about the recent title fee and what to expect in the future.”

I say, “Starting last month, any vehicle that is registered anywhere in the United States requires you to pay a one time registration fee of five hundred dollars. It offsets the cost of implementing the new traffic control network, starting with the anti-radar devices.

“This will be called the ‘Federal Vehicle Regulation Fee’. It pays for the ‘Wide Area Radar Dispersion Signal’ or as we like to call it, ‘WARDS’.”

The reporter says, “Yes, Senator Stone. I am personally familiar with it. My son just bought his first car with the money he made from mowing lawns and shoveling snow.

“The car cost three hundred dollars, but the WARDS fee made the purchase eight hundred dollars. It posed a bit of a hardship on the young guy.”

I smile and say, “How ironic. It’s the young kids that make these transmitters a necessity. The young people are the ones who are speeding on our city streets.

“If it keeps one more of these rascals off the road, we are all better off for it. It’s kind of like the effect of the wildly expensive tobacco tax on cigarettes. It curbs the behavior of the irresponsible.”

The reporter says, “Funny you should bring that up, sir. The tobacco tax on cigarettes is enormous, but I see the tax on pipe tobacco and cigars has remained manageable. Why is that?”

Now I emit a bit of a chuckle and move in closer.

I say, “Aw, come on. Pipes and cigars are the tobaccos of the rich. The boys on the Senate floor would have a fit if they had to pay a whopping penalty for enjoying a decent cigar.”

The reporter is becoming visibly agitated and says, “Smoking any form of tobacco is causing health problems that are overloading the public health care system. It unfairly burdens the rest of us with inflated health care premiums.”

I say, “Look! This interview is going nowhere. It may be true about pipe and cigar smoking being a health risk, but we in the Senate aren’t over burdening the public health care system.

“We have our own separate health care. We are not part of the statistic on the rising cancer rate. We get annual checkups, lung rays, prostate exams and our wives get breast exams every year.

“We are not the ones who are adding to the health statistics in this country, so don’t point any fingers at us. If you want to pay fewer taxes, quit smoking cigarettes.”

Sitting in my living room this evening and watching my interview on the news is making me upset.

As the news report drones on, the deck is pretty well stacked against me. Amy and Toby keep looking over at me and scowling. What did I do?

I say, “They edited the interview to make me look like an ogre. It might seem pretty bad, but that was not my intent.”

The five minutes of news are abruptly switched to another five minutes of commercials. When did we stop paying for commercial free cable television and accept the notion of paid cable with half of the time being commercials that repeat over every five minutes? Where did the benefit of the commercial free medium go?

The nightly news comes on and the top story is a tsunami that has swept across southern Florida. The film footage of the damage is pretty bad.

In one shot of the Disney World Park, Mickey and Minnie Mouse are swirling around in a watery vortex with their arm stretched out as if to say, “Help me.” My hand goes up and rests on my cheekbone to hide my smile. Toby is distressed by the image.

The Announcer comes on the screen and says,

“There is a movement on to restrict our national banking system to American owned interests. Three more Chinese banks and two more Japanese banks are due to open in the next week with several more on the way.

“The United States Banking Commission has assured us that the interests of the American people are secure. The banking laws are very strict. Every dime is regulated in how it can be managed under the Federal Banking Commission regulations.”

The TV breaks for another five minute round of commercial messages that are exact repeats of the last commercial break.

THE Announcer goes on with more news, “FEMA has adopted the ‘Ant and the Grasshopper Bill’ to redistribute food and other resources during just such a crisis.

“Passed by the Senate just today, the Ant and the Grasshopper bill will require everyone to turn in vital supplies they might have been hoarding in the event of a local or national emergency.”

“The Announcer turns to Bill Armand Ready, one of my colleagues in the Senate and asks, “What is the Ant and the Grasshopper bill, Bill?”

Bill Armand Ready always seems to want his full name used when he is addressed. His campaign slogan was “Bill, armed and ready and shooting for justice”.

His political opponents called him “Bill, armed and ready and shooting at your justice”. Bill leans back into his chair and you can just tell, we are settling in for a long story.

Bill says, “You know the story of the ant and the grasshopper, don’t you. It’s the story of how the ant worked and stored up food and supplies to survive the winter. The grasshopper never lifted a finger to prepare for the oncoming cold.

“When winter came, the ant was snug and warm and the grasshopper was out in the cold with no food or comfort.

“The moral of the story was that the hard working ant who prepared for the future was wise, while the grasshopper who didn’t prepare and who lived for today was foolish and deserved to go without.”

The Announcer says, “It seems odd that you would associate a bill, and ultimately a law after that story. Why did you do that?”

Bill just smiles and points his finger at the Announcer and says, “That story is a gross misrepresentation of the facts.

“The fact is that people who work hard and focus on the needs of their family and society are putting their energy into the things that benefit America.

“The people who selfishly hoard food and supplies, thinking only of themselves, are not looking out for the interests of their neighbors. Their energy is turned inward and they are a drain on the resources of the community.

“The original story and the moral it was pretending to suggest is a gross misrepresentation of what it means to be a good citizen.

“Under the Ant and the Grasshopper legislation, we gather all of the resources of the community in one place and then dispense them to each according to their needs.

“This redistribution of resources is an example of how the government can channel life giving resources to the betterment of the community at large.

“We hear it often used by the government. In the past it was simply called the general welfare, or the public good. Now it’s called the Spock Idiom, ‘The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one’, you will often hear it from now on.”

The Announcer asks, “How can you be assured that the people will comply with the law in the wake of a disaster?”

Bill says, “We will follow up with a program very similar to the mass weapons of destruction inspection process used long ago in Iraq. We go door to door and conduct a search. If there are resources that remain un-surrendered, then the family is in violation of Federal Law and is arrested pending a determination of who is head of household.”

The Announcer shakes his head and asks, “Isn’t that a terrible drain on the community law enforcement?”

Bill says, “It’s only a temporary measure. The law was just passed and there wasn’t time to prepare for this tsunami incident. It caught us off balance.

“We will have a system ramping up for next month where a store card will be required to buy food.

“We have long had a central computer complex that is intended to monitor all of the communication channels in the United States and filter out key words to minimize terrorism.

“We now have a better way to accomplish that and it has been in place for the past four months.

“The new purpose for the central system puts tracking in place and measures your weight against your food purchases to determine if you’re storing extra food.

“We’ve added a subroutine called ‘the measure’, that takes all the party permits along with the participants' identities and calculates the total consumed caloric distribution.”

“No one can hoard food without our knowing how much and when they stockpiled it.”

The interview ends and the Announcer has become pretty upset. Apparently he is a survivalist and a reactionary who is naturally defiant of the government’s insistence on protecting his well being.

In parting, the Announcer says, “Next you will be monitoring our cars with location devices to see if we are going out of the country to shop for supplies.”

I pull out my little notebook and write his outstanding suggestion down. Senators don’t write the bills they vote on, but I might just make an exception here.

We not only don’t write the bills, hell, we don’t even read them. I’m late for an appointment to meet an old friend of mine.

After rushing to the coffee house, I arrive a bit early and have a seat. Bill Noble walks in.

Bill Noble is a noted historian and is visiting on summer break from his college teaching job.

I ask Bill, “I have recently been wondering why there is all this fervor over the lighter recreational drugs. Why is marijuana illegal and yet alcohol is not?”

Bill says, “That takes us back to the time between the year 1919 and 1933. These were the years of prohibition. This was a time when the political rulers listened to the wishes of the activists among us who wanted to eliminate the evils of the demon known as alcohol.

“Let me tell you. The entire thing was a disaster. The White House and Senate didn’t catch on for a long time because they had large stockpiles of alcohol, threw parties and drank all they wanted.

“It was the perfect example of the comment, ‘The silent majority isn’t silent, Washington is deaf’. It took an amazing thirteen years of rioting and bloodshed before the lawmakers realized that they were not the only ones ignoring the law. The rest of the country was also drinking in their basements and places called speakeasies.”

I ask, “How did the law get passed in the first place?”

Bill says, “Several examples of drunken misbehavior were given as an ongoing argument that alcohol was at the root of violence. They ignored the fact that people that are violent were violent people.

“The prohibition was responsible for everything from graft to mass murder by the mob. There was far more illegal activity and bloodshed in defiance of the law. Ironically, because of prohibition, the incidents of domestic violence was much greater than when there was legal alcohol.”

I say, “So the ban on drinking was lifted after fourteen years of disastrous results. I’m not sure how that answers my question, Bill.”

Bill says, “It’s pretty much the same story with hemp, Slate. It was actually in 1915 that Utah passed the first enforced state anti-marijuana law, followed on its heels by the 18th Amendment to the Constitution (alcohol prohibition) being ratified in 1919.

“There was a much different picture where hemp was concerned. Those who voted on the legal fate of this plant never had the facts, but were dependent on information supplied by those who had a specific agenda. The evidence was misleading and was designed to deceive lawmakers.

“The history of marijuana’s criminalization is filled with: racism aimed at hemp causing black violence, fear of murderous rampages caused by hemp induced insanity along with ‘wife beating’, Yellow Journalism designed to induce paranoia, ignorant, incompetent, and corrupt legislators along with personal career advancement and greed

“These are the actual reasons marijuana is illegal.

“Emphasis on law enforcement includes the Controlled Substances Act, where the weed marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 drug reserved for the most dangerous drugs that have no recognized medical use.

“Many of the states are trying to right the wrongs by allowing medical use of hemp to treat all of the known maladies benefitted from the use of it.

“Trust me, Slate. The medical profession has no ax to grind when it finds that hemp benefits people having treatable conditions. The insurance companies are behind the legalization of hemp for treating health problems. It’s a lot less expensive than some of the pharmaceuticals.

“Obviously, the pharmaceutical industry is pulling for Congress to maintain it as a schedule 1 illegal substance. These are the dynamics behind the verbal drug wars on Capital Hill.

“One example of the benefits is the lowering of pressure within the eye that can cause blindness if left untreated. The condition is called glaucoma. Testing and monitoring have proven hemp to be a beneficial treatment.”

As we round the corner on the way to my house, I ask, “Bill, do you think people will ever realize that the crime, the syndicates, the graft and violence associated with hemp far outweigh any of the possible negative effects of its legal use?”

Bill says, “ The problem has mutated, Slate. Now there are so many facets of our government that exist because of the war on hemp that it would be financially devastating to our law enforcement community to legalize it.

“It’s always about money. It’s never about the quality of people’s lives, or eliminating the killing or the crime or the corruption.”

I ask, “Speaking of money, have you noticed that the Orientals are taking over our financial institutions?”

Bill says, “They are American banks and that is American currency being governed by American law. What is it that you’re worried about?”

We arrive at my home. I am completely amazed at the facts regarding drug laws. You would think that serving in the lawmaking sector of the country; I would have been better informed about the history of the laws on our books.

As we enter the living room, I say, “I want you to meet Bill Noble. He is visiting on leave from his college where he teaches American History and civil law. Bill is going to be in town for a few days.”

Bill nods and smiles, looking around the room.

I say, “Bill, this is my wife, Amy, and sitting over there is my son Toby.

“I fell in love with Amy in High School and we’ve been together ever since. Toby, well, he’s a typical teenager. Toby is bright and asks a lot of questions. That’s good, most of the time.”

I stop short of mentioning Toby’s issues at school. Like me, he has a problem telling which times are best for speaking out and which times are best for remaining silent.

We’re enjoying Bill’s company and one of those rare evenings at home when the confounded phone rings again, interrupting our quiet conversation.

It’s Ernie.

Ernie asks, “Have you ever heard of a Political Guide?”

I answer, “No.”

Ernie says, “I never heard of it either until your name went up on the list of candidates for the upcoming Presidential election.

“I am to be your political guide for this upcoming election. The people who want you in the White House have assigned me to you.”

I ask, “Who assigned you to me?”

Ernie says, “We often don’t know who makes some of the party decisions. It came from somewhere in the political machine. All I know is that my job will be to walk you through the task of becoming President.

“Congratulations Slater, guess we’ll be working together for a lot longer. You made the final list of candidates being considered for nomination for President of the United States.

“That’s the good news.

“The bad news is that your life is in danger. We have some people coming over to take you to a place of safety. Go with them.”

The door bursts open and six men in black enter. Two of them grab me. Without speaking, they carry me from the room and put me in a black limousine. My feet never touched the floor on the way out the door.

I am beginning to notice that people are starting to talk to me, rather than with me. I never expected this trend. As I move up the ladder, my influence begins to fade dramatically. I always thought it would be the other way around.

As we speed through the streets of the city, I call Ernie back and ask, “What the hell is going on here? Is my family safe?”

Ernie says, “One of our teams in the CIA were on a night expedition in the Landgate Hotel and found a document outlining a plan to assassinate you before the election. There are people inside of the party who don’t want your name on the ballot.

I ask, “Isn’t the CIA only authorized to operate outside of the country? I thought they were expressly forbidden to function inside the United States.”

Ernie says, “For crying out loud, man. I’m telling you that there are people out there hell bent on killing you and you come back with some crap about the boundaries of CIA authority?

“Your family is safe. The Secret Service has them under guard and they will be fine.”

I say, “I think the question of the scope of the CIA powers are valid. You must know the answer, right?”

Ignoring me, Ernie continues, “The hotel office was not the office of the other party, but one sympathetic to your opponent’s campaign.

They want to ensure you will not be nominated. If you are nominated, then the backup plan is to get to you before the elections are over.

“Their idea is to assure that the event will take place close enough to the election to prevent another candidate from being popularized in time to win.”

“I ask, “How did you come to break in there and are there any leads to the origin of the document?”

Ernie says, “We were acting on an anonymous tip from an unknown informant. Since the tip involved your death, we had to act on it to ensure your safety.

“The document is pretty clear about their intentions. And we did some background investigation regarding the origin of the document.”

I ask, “How do you do an investigation of the source of a document? It’s just a piece of paper, is that right?”

Ernie says, “Normally, that would be right, but we are fortunate that the document we found was created on a newer ‘HP brand’ color LASER printer.

After they created the document, they ran it through a color copier. They must have wanted to ensure its distribution to a number of people. Not only that, but the yellow dots are so obscured by the copy process that they don’t copy over to the duplicate copy.

“We located the printer and the copier. They are in the same office. We’re there right now.”

I ask, “How did you find the origin of the document so quickly?”

Ernie says, “Not many people know this, but when you buy a color LASER printer, it makes a series of yellow dots so small and inconspicuous that they will be unnoticed by the average person.

“The yellow dot pattern are the encoded model number and serial number of the printer. When a retailer sells a LASER color printer, the unit is removed from their inventory, which is on file with the manufacturer.

“The manufacturer knows who sold the unit. The reseller has a record of who purchased the printer and their address. The information is further logged by the manufacturer when the purchaser registers the unit’s warranty back to the manufacturer.

“The yellow dot pattern is so unique it is like a fingerprint. We can trace any document back to the person who created it.

“In addition, we located the copy machine that made all the copies for distribution to the other cell members.”

I say, “Give me a break. I can see how you found the printer and the owner, how did you locate the copier?”

Ernie says, “Damn, Slate. You’re making me give away all of our secrets. OK. Most people don’t know this, but every one of the largest commercial business copiers has a hard disk drive embedded in it. Every document you copy is stored on the hard disk drive.

“We just opened the six copiers in the building and rummaged through the files. We found the image of the document we were looking for and found dozens more to use as evidence. The process is a bit like building your family tree. The more you look, the more you find.

“We printed out every document ever made on each of the copiers since they were manufactured. The copiers each had the same owner sales record from the manufacturer of the unit.

“We arrested the owner. He is being questioned by the Information Extraction Bureau. The IEB is another little thing most people don’t know about because the agency is classified. They will get answers. I can promise you that.”

The trip home is miserable. There is nothing worse than Washington in the rain during rush hour. Sitting in the back of my limousine and watching television or reading is hell. I do try to read the paper or watch the news on TV, but the traffic is just creeping along and it’s annoying the hell out of me.

Being a Presidential candidate puts me in a high risk category. Add to that is the fact that my life has already been threatened and I’m not even a candidate yet. I guess this would be the best time to eliminate me before my assassination becomes big news.

I ride everywhere in this bullet proof, bomb proof, limo with an expert tactical driver.

We have five other cars with us. They are plain black cars with plain black run flat tires and have an expert tactical driver and three men in black each.

On the news there is more information about the Chinese and Japanese banking system expansion in the Eastern part of the country.

The Announcer says, “China is pressing for a larger payment toward the United States National Debt next year. China is accusing the United States of tying up their money with our excessive borrowing.

“The Secretary of the Treasury has issued a warning that without additional loans from China, we will be unable to make payments against the National Debt over the next thirty years.”

Ernie says, “Your home has been identified as secure. We are going to return you there and put the local staff on notice. Tonight will be a tense night for all of us.

Together, our six car complement makes up a small traffic jam of our own.

When I am President, the motorcade will be preceded by Police blocking traffic and clearing the way. The trip will be a lot smoother.

“When we arrive at my home, the shadow cars surround my limo and the men in black jump out and surround me. I am escorted to my front door.

Getting home and changing into my slippers and smoking jacket is a welcome relief. I’ve been told that people don’t wear smoking jackets any more. Well, I do. The two men sitting in my living room are uninvited and unappreciated. Perhaps, over time, I will get used to the constant company of these people.

In my opinion, the two men outside would seem to be enough.

The living room door opens and it’s my son, Toby, He’s home from High School. Everyone in my family is being watched to make sure they aren’t abducted and used as political leverage against me.

Toby comes to me and asks, “Dad, is it true that you draft bills and get them passed into law?

“How do you come up with new bills?”

I answer, “Sit down, son. I know that’s what they tell you in school, but that’s not how it works.”

You see, I want Toby to follow in my footsteps and the sooner he learns how things really work, the more accepting he will be when it’s time to do what he has to do when he becomes a Senetor.

I said, “What people don’t seem to realize is that bills are created by lobbyists and not written by congressional members. In the rare instance that the law has a beneficial effect on the public, it was not the intent of the bill when it was drafted.

“Neither I nor any of my fellow Congressmen have drafted any bills. It’s just not what we do.

Toby says, “Dad. They told us in school that it really is what you do.”

I smile and say, “There is a childlike song about “I’m only a bill here on Capitol Hill”, where the bill is being generated by a local representative. The Congressman in the song drafts the bill as a result of a suggestion on behalf of some of the local people in the community.

After hearing from the people in the local community, the Congressman says, “You’re right, there ought to be a law.

“The Congressman in the song drafts the bill and the bill is carried to congress. The bill is voted on during the next Congressional session and becomes law.

“Some bills never make it to the Congressional session. They are put toward the end of the agenda and we run out of time. Rather than risk having them pass, we just never get to them.

“Believe me son, Congressmen don’t write bills. Most of the time we don’t even read them, but vote based on the information we are given. Sometimes we don’t even get to vote on them.”

“Children are taught that about the Congressional process in school because it is necessary to develop the proper attitude regarding our freedoms and the influence we have over our government.

“Children are also taught that we are a democratic society. This is not a democracy, son. It never was and I hope it never will be. We actually live in what is called a Constitutional Republic.”

“As for bills, I may champion a bill or vote on it, but I am not the originator. Bills are written by lobbyists who have a vested interest in the law being passed. It is always about money.”

Toby begins to look confused and responds, “I know of some examples of laws that have been passed in the best interest of the public. No money was ever involved.”

I smile again and say, “Tell me about them, son. Let’s hear them.”

Toby says, “What about the speed limit law that not only saved us from importing gasoline from foreign sources, but saved lives as well. Where is the profit motive there?

“The world was running out of petroleum and it was clear that we had a shortage.”

I say, “Yes, son. Cars were lined up for blocks and gasoline was on the verge of being rationed unless we reduce the speed limit. We were told that it was to not only save on gasoline consumption, but to save lives.

“Gasoline was about $.89 a gallon and because it was in such short supply, the price went up multiple times.

“What really happened was that, at 55 miles an hour, it took longer to get home. The slower moving traffic caused more cars to be on the road because the ones that would have reached their destination sooner weren’t there yet.

“The result was more gridlock causing more cars to be stopped and idling amid the traffic that wasn’t moving. Then there are the lines at the pumps, where cars would be lined up for a block waiting to fill up, or receive their rationed amount of fuel.

“Most people would have to leave the engine running so they could move up quickly to prevent anyone else from jumping into line. Fights broke out when people tried to cut in line. It was brutal.

“Notice that the $ 4.00 a gallon gas is plentiful? The oil companies played the supply and demand card.

“While cars were lined up waiting to buy gas, there were oil tankers sitting off the coast waiting for permission to unload their oil.

“As for the 55 mile an hour speed limit imposed to save on fuel, the bill that sets the national speed limit was actually drafted by the insurance lobby.

“They figured the cost of accidents and deaths would be reduced by a lower speed limit. The fifty five mile an hour speed limit law was not passed in all of the states. Massachusetts, for one, was failing to get seat belts passed into law.

“There is a natural resistance to allowing Congress to get involved in personal matters. If you want to understand the motive behind any law, ask yourself who benefits and how. Follow the money, son.

“The oil companies and the insurance industry, both made new record profits. There now seems to be a limitless supply of the $ 4.00 gasoline. Don’t you think if there was a shortage of nonrenewable energy then, that we would have an even shorter supply of energy now?

“The insurance companies realized that if they could get the seatbelt law passed, we could open up the national speed limit to the former speeds without impacting their profits.

“Also, the higher speed limits being restored didn’t crease the volume of gasoline being sold at $ 4.00 per gallon. In fact, there was less gas being sold, but at the higher price the overall profits are now much higher when you tally up the bottom line. ”

Toby says, “The price is increased to $ 4.00 a gallon to offset the change from winter blend to summer blend and then back again from summer blend to winter blend.”

I say, “Funny thing about the idea of the cost associated with re-tuning the blend. We never heard of such a thing before the higher prices.

“If there was a fixed cost of re-tuning the blend, then it would have to have been charged when gas was $.39 a gallon? Increasing the price of the product by ten times would not have an impact of the fixed cost of re-tuning, would it? So, how does he cost of re-tuning now figure in at a higher cost. One would think it would be more greatly absorbed by the higher rate per gallon.

“As for the concept of re-tuning, let me tell you about that. The tanker trucks all line up at the refinery and fill their tanks to the top with the same blend of gasoline.

“They each head out on the road to different parts of the country. Some go to Minneapolis and some go to Arizona.

“Summer in Minneapolis is like winter in Arizona, right? So exactly how can them tweaking the blend possibly make any difference?

“The burning characteristics of gasoline are affected more by altitude, than by the temperature. The same gasoline is sold in San Francisco as is being sold in Colorado Springs.

“The whole thing is a crock, son.”

I hear a grunt from the next room and realize that Amy has been overhearing the whole thing. As usual, we do not agree on how to raise our son.

She comes into the room and asks, “Should you be telling him things that can only be getting him in more trouble at school? The boy is on the verge of being expelled and you’re just throwing more fuel on the fire. You need to be telling him to just shut up.”

I answer, “You know I have also taught him that no matter what they tell him, he is to remember what they told him and agree.

“There is a difference between knowing the truth and acting on that knowledge. He knows to always tell them what they need to hear in order to get him what he needs to see as a result.

“They want to hear that he is learning their material. He needs to see good grades at the end of the semester. Beyond that, what does it matter?

“Where academia is concerned, no good can come from a confrontation regarding the truth.”

Amy says, “Slate, I need to talk to you alone.”

We move to our bedroom upstairs and leave Toby to his homework in the living room.

As we enter the room, Amy turns and looks at me with her eyes smoldering. Her hand pops up to what I think is a salute, at first. She is putting her trembling hand on her forehead in a salute like fashion, then she speaks.

She says, “I have had it up to here with you and your damned attitude.

“Slate, I want a divorce. You are ruining our son and you are making my life a living hell with your political crap. I need a husband with some sense of moral integrity. It’s not just all about you.”

I answer, “Honey, life is a balancing act. You have to balance your ideals against the best interests of our son. You want him to fit in. You want him to be accepted and to be rewarded for being the perfect cog in the perfect machine that is our perfect school.

“I want him to be a man and stand up for his ideals. He is going to have to make a lot of hard choices in his life. He needs to learn to bide his time and he needs to learn to strike when the time is right.

“It isn’t easy to remain silent while people lie about our rights. Neither is it easy to have the corporations treat us like morons while they engage in bullshit and obvious price gouging.

“What makes it even more bitter is being attacked for expressing an opinion that you know is right. Then you are being told at the same time that you have the right to express it, but to shut up.

“Do you see any mixed messages here? I do and so does Toby.”

CHAPTER 2 THE BILL

It’s Tuesday morning and the weather is perfect for a day of leisure. It is too bad there is so much to do at the office today. My staff has been updating me on the issues arising around some new legislation that’s on the table.

Arriving at my office, the bills being introduced are stacked on my desk for today’s session. Some of the bills have over a thousand pages. Who has time to read all that information and then come up with an independent opinion?

My secretary comes into the room and says, “Sorry for the piles of paper, Senator Stone. I notice that the stack is unusually tall, this morning.

“If you read all that, your head will explode.”

I say, “The odds of me reading any of that is pretty slim, We vote this afternoon. It’s pretty obvious that no one is going to vote based on the information they get from reading this stack of documents.

“All I have to go on is the hype that I received from my fellow Senators, and through discussions in the hallways with Lobbiests.

She says, “I’m sure you will know just what to do. You always seem to come out on top. I’ll never know how you manage to pull that off.”

I answer, “Sometimes I wonder that myself. It has to be luck. You need a lot of it in this line of work. You have to live like a holy man. Anything you do is broadcast around the world.

“The lobbyists are getting smart. They used to withhold information to try and sneak things through. Now they drown you in so much information that you can’t find the negative points.

“I am reminded of the time the old Bell Telephone Company was being audited by the IRS. They ordered the Bell Telephone Company to turn over all of the financial records pertaining to their Profit & Loss statement.

“Bell Telephone complied eagerly, sending 40 boxcars of documents by way of a freight train. Need I say more about the outcome of the audit? Some battles are just not worth waging.”

She says, “Yes, sir. I can imagine that’s true.”

When the Polls say the people are not in favor of a new law, there are often conflicts that arise between the lobby architects of the new bill and the members of Congress.

There are always some divided interests. The other Congressmen and I have to work through these divided interests between us.

One example of this is the bill to eliminate cash in the form of hard currency. The problems are complex, but the system for achieving it are already in use and working.

Kevin Farmer is a friend on the committee who is backing the bill, while Ben Albert is another friend who is opposed.

It’s a complex problem involving the divided interests of the IRS, the treasury, the people, the banking industry and the casinos.

The new bill will eliminate money in cash form. All money will be made by virtual transfer only. Coins and bills would cease to have any face value.

The banking industry along with the credit industry have been partnering to make this a reality. They have been getting program subsidies and allowances from the government to make the virtual dollar a reality.

Credit cards, gift cards, debit cards and such allow money to change hands in a virtual world.

The cell phone industry has developed card readers for the cell phone that allow the owner to move money around and even make bank deposits by phone simply be taking a photograph of the check.

Online shopping is easy when you can pay over the Internet with your credit or debit card. People with bad credit can join in with their prepaid debit cards and continue to buy online.

As Jimmy Durante used to say, “everyone is trying to get in on the act.”

The list of elements in the debate is; the IRS, the Treasury, the Banking Industry, the Casinos, the Voters, Law Enforcement, Organized Crime, the Computer Industry, the Cell Phone Industry, and the Credit Industry

How we vote has more to do with the balance of power in the Senate than it has to do with the benefit to the people. I won’t be around to represent the people if I take a stand on this issue and lose.

On the other hand, like my son in school, I can play the game publicly and then apply the best solution in session. It’s easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission.

A perfect example of the idea of forgiveness versus permission was played out by one of our past presidents, when he said that the people would be able to hang onto their existing health care after the bill was passed to open up the country to nationally mandated health care.

Insurance companies everywhere dropped their less profitable clients under the new law, forcing them to reapply for a far more expensive plan, often with less benefit than the one they had before.

After millions of people lost their health care coverage, the president simply apologized, saying that he had hoped the insurance companies would not drop their existing clients. He had to know they would do whatever profited them most.

Kevin Farmer my friend on the committee who is backing the bill is in leagues with the IRS, the treasury, the banking industry, law enforcement, the computer industry and the cell phone industry, and the credit industry.

Kevin stops by my office in a rant.

He paces the floor and after some time, he turns, mid stride, points a trembling finger at me and says, “I just want to remind you that when it’s time to take a vote on the cash bill, you need to vote, ‘Yes’”.

Ben Albert, is also my friend and is opposed to the cash bill. Ben represents the interests of the voters, the casinos, and organized crime.

He looks nervous. When you represent the interests of organized crime, you have a right to be nervous. I’m wondering what kind of pressure they have applied to get him on their side.

Just like clockwork, Ben stops just before lunch. The timing is perfect because I have to vote this afternoon. Knowing Ben as I do, I’ve been expecting his arrival. He has been making the rounds of all the Senators to remind us all of our need to vote, “No”.

He mops his sweaty brow and says, “I just want to remind you that when it’s time to take a vote on the cash bill, you have to vote, ‘No’”

On the Senate floor, I deliver my assessment of the pros and cons of the bill, saying, “The Treasury is driving this bill because it will drastically reduce their overhead and eliminate forgery. Their workload will shift from the printing of money to the tracking of serialized denominations of virtual money.

“They already track the serial numbers. The only difference will be that the serial numbers will not be printed on paper currency.

“The IRS is backing this bill because it will eliminate the billions and billions of dollars hidden under the mattress of the people. You can’t hide virtual money. If it is not in the bank, it doesn’t exist.

“The tracking of individual serial numbers will also destroy the underground economy. Flea markets and private sales will be recorded when the money is transferred from one bank account to another and flagged as income.

“The Banking Industry is in favor of the bill's passage because it will mean billions and billions of dollars in their virtual vaults that would have been hoarded by people.

“Casinos find this alarming because their chips are not designed to represent virtual money. The expense of tracking every chip and its owner’s identification will dramatically increase the complexity of the money exchange process.

“When the chips are issued by cash, the chip has an implied value, but not an implied owner. The chips become cash. Anyone can cash them in.

“When the chips are tracked by serial number, there is an implied owner and the serial number has to be moved from one account to another.

“With the cash, the chips represent the dollar amount. Any cash equaling the dollar value of the chip can be paid out.

“With serial numbers, the chips represent a specific serial number and only that serial number can be used to pay out.

“It’s a nightmare.

“The Voters are opposed because the tracking of individual serial numbers will destroy the underground economy.

“Law Enforcement supports the bill because it will be difficult, if not impossible, to rob somebody on the streets. Liquor store and gas station holdups will become a thing of the past when there is no money in the cash registers.

“Organized Crime Finds it difficult to imagine ransom situations where the victim makes a blind drop when the money is virtual. Even if the money could be dropped, the transfer would be automatically traced by the transaction serial numbers.

“The Computer Industry is excited about the prospects of having the computer replace the wallet as the conduit for financial transactions.

“Cell Phone Industry is in favor of the legislation because every person would have to have a cell phone in order to conduct financial transactions when out shopping.

“The Credit Industry is in favor of the bill because it will make it impossible to hide. Skip searching will be easier when everyone is identified in the worldwide matrix by their identification number.”

In the end, the task of measuring the consequences of the two possible outcomes of my vote belongs to my staff.

My relationship with Kevin Farmer and Ben Albert is important. More important than the issues surrounding the bill.

Bill farmer is on the nominating committee for the upcoming Presidential election, while Ben Albert has been responsible for obtaining eighty percent of my campaign funding.

This is going to be a difficult situation, no matter how I vote. Do I lose the nomination because I failed to back Kevin? Do I lose the election because I fail to back Ben? Does making the wrong decision mean that I don’t raise the necessary financial backing?

I’m on the way out to my car and it has been a miserable day. I couldn’t vote both ways and I can’t avoid voting at all. The bill is going to be listed high on the agenda. It most certainly has to come up.

One way or the other, I have to piss somebody off. Either way I will have the task of living with my decision.

Coming in the door, Amy greets me with a welcome smile. It’s so nice to be home where you can have a spoken opinion and scratch where it itches.

I’m no more than settled in and waiting for dinner when the phone rings.

Ernie is calling and says, “The person who owns the color LASER printer may end up going free. We can prove he purchased it, but we can’t prove he still owns it.

“His office is across town and he says he sold the unit to the hotel back a year ago. The hotel says they own it, but all of the business equipment is being rented by an unknown group of people. They are also renting out the copier we found. So many people have [paid to use it that it’s unclear who actually copied the documents that we have downloaded.”

I say, “So we know who rented the hotel room, right?”

Ernie says, “The hotel records have the name and a former address of a group renting the room, but the room was rented by a temporary office worker hired on a consulting basis from a newspaper ad they placed. When it was time to check out, the room was paid in cash and not by the credit card they had on hold. The former address is phony.”

I ask, “Great. Who placed the ad?”

Ernie says, “The ad content was placed by an Editor working for the newspaper. He placed it based on a letter and a postal money order he received in the mail. He insists that there was no reason to be suspicious of an ad for hiring a contract secretary.”

I say, “So we’re getting closer to the source. What was the phone number posted in the ad? Who owns the phone and what is their name and address?”

Ernie says, “The phone was one of those preloaded phones that you can buy over the counter. The phone comes from Walmart and was purchased using cash.”

“The phone has a number, but until you log on and buy more hours, there is no way to trace the phone.”

“Drug dealers use them to do business, then when they are out of minutes of service, they throw the phone in the ocean to avoid buying ore hours of service and revealing their identity. I’ll bet there are 10,000 phones sloshing around at the bottom of the bay that were never reloaded with minutes.

“Whoever put this thing together knew what they were doing. We are at a dead end.”

As I sink back into the leather seat in my limo headed for home, I’m exhausted. Today I will sleep rather than watch TV or read anything.

Tonight is one of those rare evenings when there are no election or fund raising parties.

Presidential elections are three years away and my staff has been busy making sure the senior party management knows about me.

Do you like parties? Well, if you're running for office, you had better. It’s one damned party after another. Often, some of the people are interesting while others are often boring. It’s always a mix.

You will discover that the boring ones are the ones who talk constantly and follow you around the room.

The interesting people are the ones who wow you with a bit of wisdom, peak your interest, artfully wrap up the conversation, and then move on.

I had to start drinking non-alcoholic beverages. You can stand around for just so long with a drink in your hand, smiling constantly and nodding to people as they notice you.

The drink will make you look as though you’re having a good time, but you would soon get sick of being tipsy and you need to stay sharp. I drink, but not in public and certainly not at parties. It can be a political minefield.

The morning after always comes. There is no avoiding it. You partied

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Texte: Robert Stetson
Bildmaterialien: Robert Stetson
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 13.12.2014
ISBN: 978-3-7368-6398-9

Nächste Seite

Seite 1 /