Chris Dodd, 63, son of the late Senator Thomas J. Dodd, one of the lead prosecutors during the Nuremberg Nazi war crimes tribunals. With this legacy running through his veins Dodd has been committed to public service beginning with his desire to strengthen America’s school system as is seen in his presidential campaign where he endorses an ambitious and comprehensive education plan. However, as important as this is to Senator Dodd, he states that his administration’s top priority will be to restore the constitution under a bill that he co-sponsored called “Restoring the Constitution Act.”

Dodd’s public service actually began as soon as he graduated from Providence College when he joined the Peace Corps and built both schools and Maternity clinics in the rural areas of the Dominican Republic. Once his in the Peace Corps was over he enlisted in the Army National Guard and later served in the U.S. Army Reserves. Senator Dodd later returned to Louisville where he graduated with a law degree from the University of Louisville School Of Law. A short time later he was elected to the Congress and served there until he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980. Currently in his fifth term as Connecticut’s senior United States Senator, Chris is the trusted chair of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which oversees America’s financial institutions. In addition, it is important to note that as a family man, with two children of his own, children and families of such importance to the Senator that he is known as the “Children’s Senator.” Due to his dedication in this arena Dodd was named “Senator of the Decade” by the National Head Start Association.

Additionally, his vision is seen in his effectiveness on some of the toughest issues. One of these was his authoring and passing of a landmark bill that has provided more than $3 billion to help cities hire, equip, and train firefighters. Dodd also was instrumental in the authoring and institution of the Help America Vote Act which is one of the most important voting rights legislations passed since 1965.However, as a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Dodd while domestically strong is by no means an outsider to foreign relations. During his career he has worked with six presidents and managed to foster relationships with many of today’s most important world figures and is recognized as an expert on Latin and South America.

Another point in Senator Dodd’s resume is that he plans to restore America’s moral authority by strengthening our alliances with other countries around the world. As President, Dodd intends to rebuild international institutions to bolster our defenses against terrorism while upholding our common values. Further Dodd is strongly opposed to the Bush-Cheney troop surge strategy proposing instead a surge of diplomacy in the region. One way he proposes standing up to Bush’s misguided Iraq policy is to end the War in Iraq. To this end he is strong a supporter of the Feingold-Reid proposal that sets a timetable to end the war in Iraq by March 31, 2008. Dodd’s successful handling of foreign diplomacy was seen in his leadership in ending U.S. military assistance to the Nicaraguan Contras, which in turn opened the door to successful elections in 1990. Additionally Dodd’s expertise was again called upon when he led the Senate Central America Negotiations Observer Group that was created to monitor the progress of the Guatemala City Peace Accord which called for a cease-fire in the Nicaraguan and El Salvador civil wars. Dodd also had a hand in facilitating the Good Friday Peace Accords in Northern Island that were signed on April 10, 1998. Overall, fellow voters I would say that what is best for our world neighbors is best for us and we need to create a system with balanced proportions of incentive and accountability. There are several candidates running for the 2008 presidential office that provide capable leadership though I feel that the creme of the group are not the front runners but rather contenders like Joseph Biden, Ron Paul, and Chris Dodd that are not making as big a splash on Jay Leno and other talk shows but have the best interests of the nation at heart.

Tags: chris dodd, senator chris dodd, presidential 2008 candidate, iraq war, domestic policy, foreign affairs, guatemala city peace accord, feingold-reid proposal, senator of the decade, children’s senator, senate banking, housing, and urban affairs committee, restore the constitution act, states rights

The Financial Times on July 3, 2007 presented an article by Senator Chuck Hagel entitled “Internationalize Iraq”. In contrast to the major Republican Primary candidates, who continue to support the disastrous policies of the Bush administration Chuck Hagel, in his article, maintains that political accommodation is the only way to end the bloodshed in Iraq and supports establishing an international mediator with the “backing and authority of the international community to engage Iraq’s political, religious, ethnic, and tribal leaders in an inclusive political process. With this stand he also bravely distances himself from the Bush administration and their policies by stating that the “misadventure in Iraq is the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam.”

Other signs of Senator Hagel’s independence from the party line are evidenced in his breaking with the party by opposing the fiscally irresponsible prescription-drug program under Medicare. Even more important, however, is his steadfast support of states rights, his emphatic stand that the federal government has no right to dictate what constitutes a marriage, and his vehement opposition of the President’s federal “No Child Left Behind Act.”

Reminiscent of Ron Paul Senator Hagel’s ability to cross the great political divide would make him a viable candidate to reclaim the leadership of the mainstream of this country. It was surprising for this author to see that even the New York Times offered an article in July 2007, “Seeking a G.O.P. Opening on the War” which questioned if there wasn’t room in the presidential race for candidates who oppose the administration’s war policies.

So who is Chuck Hagel? Senator Hagel is a long-time Nebraska Republican who has been among the loudest critics of the Iraq War and despite his conservative voting record has been forcefully criticized, over the last four years, for his criticism of Bush’s handling of the war. So while not officially a candidate in July he attended a Democratic Debate, sponsored by CNN/YouTube, in which he was named the winner despite his Republican Party affiliation. During this debate Senator Joseph Biden a Democrat was asked “If you have to pick any Republican to be your running mate, who would it be?” Without hesitation, Mr. Biden said: Chuck Hagel. Then John Edwards was asked the same question and he too replied that he would choose Chuck Hagel to be his running mate.

Therefore, knowing that Hagel is a registered Republican it is interesting that his name has been linked to not only the Republican ticket but also to the Democratic and Independent ones. So, in an environment immersed in hyper-partisanship and ideological polarization it appears that Chuck Hagel may be the man to bring unity to our divided political front.

Another glowing accolade about Hagel came from fellow Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell who called him a “solid, thoughtful, conservative Republican” whose voice is invaluable to the nation, and who is “an indispensable member of the Republican team”. (Lincoln Star Journal, May 2007, by Don Walton)

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has resigned as of today August 2007, but it should be known that Senator Hagel called for his resignation on May 16^th, 2007 after Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that as White House Counsel, Gonzales attempted to undermine Comey’s authority to persuade Attorney General John Ashcroft to re-authorize a domestic surveillance program from his hospital bed. During that statement Hagel stated “The American people deserve an Attorney General….whose honesty and capability are beyond question. Attorney General Gonzales can no longer meet this standard. He has failed this country. He has lost the moral authority to lead.” After this statement Hagel added, “ America is a nation of laws. In the interest of the American people, Alberto Gonzales should resign now.”

Given this over the board support from an array of arenas and political parties I would suggest that you join the www.drafthagel08.com movement and continue to ask Senator Hagel to enter the presidential challenge.

Tags: chuck hagel, 2008 presidential campaign, draft, alberto gonzales, bush administration, iraq war, no child left behind, medicare drug-prescription plan, ron paul, john edwards, joseph biden, republican candidate

In yet another ploy to usurp the power of our national constitution, president George W. Bush is pushing ahead with a plan for the North American Union. This plan, like so many before it, has the support of elite Canadians, Americans, and Mexicans since it will further integrate the three countries’ economies and add additional wealth to their coffers. However, what is the cost to the average citizen? First of all, one must understand that this plan is going by various names and euphemisms, such as the North American Security and Prosperity Initiative, NAFTA — Plus, or the Grand Bargain, but regardless the end result will be to create a new political and economic entity that would supercede the constitutions of the various countries involved. Why should anyone be surprised to see this happening when it has been obvious for so long that president Bush is a deceiver and a liar who is seeking to undermine our constitutional rights and give him the possible opportunity to become the first long-term dictator of the United States — something that he has envisioned since 9/11.

Anyone with a propensity to look at things from the evangelical right may conclude that this is just another foreordained step towards a one world government and the beginning of the reign of the anti-Christ. For others it is just an economic strategy to combat and be competitive with the newly formed European Union. Like the EU, the American Union would replace each of the countries’ independent currencies with a common currency called the Amero and everything from environmental regulations to security would be brought in line with a common standard. Vive le Canada opposes the creation of this union because it believes that it will mean the loss of Canadian sovereignty and democracy as it hands over more power to unelected corporations. At the Web site, individuals can see the timeline of the progress the three countries are making towards a new North American Union. For those of us in the United States we need to also fear the loss of our guaranteed constitutional rights if this union succeeds.

For Canada, its fears are that, unlike the European Union, the countries joining the American Union are not equal in size or power. This means that the United States and, therefore, the Bush Administration, could confer their vastly unpopular policies on both themselves and Mexico. Vive le Canada believes that erasing their border with the United States would mean adopting the United States policies as well as creating a climate of insecurity in the realms of economics, military strategies, and an environment of political instability that would jeopardize its standing with the rest of the world. The first step towards uniting these three countries actually began in 1921 when Edward Mandell House, the chief advisor of President Woodrow Wilson, founded the Council on Foreign Relations. However, this first step was relatively informative in nature and it wasn’t until 1973 when David Rockefeller joined with fellows from the Brookings Institution, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Ford Foundation that the Trilateral Commission was formed. This commission is made of the top political and business leaders from around the world. This commission quickly began taking steps to control foreign affairs when in 1974 it published its first major article, “The Hard Road to World Order.” In the article, Richard Gardner wrote: “In short, the house of world order would have to be built from the bottom up rather than from the top down. It will look like a great ‘booming, buzzing confusion,’ to use William James’ famous description of reality, but an end run around national sovereignty, eroding it piece by piece, will accomplish much more than the old-fashioned frontal assault.” If you read the article you will see that Gardner advocated trade agreements as a means of creating a new economic world order.

It is interesting to note that for the next five years things were relatively quiet until President Ronald Reagan came on the scene and proposed the “North American Agreement” which was geared at producing a one country government between Canada, the United States, and Mexico that would allow goods and people from the three countries to cross boundaries at will. While this original proposal was presented in 1979 during his campaign for president, by January of 1981 he officially proposed the North American Common Market. It then took until October of 1984 for the U.S. Congress to adopt the Trade and Tariff Act that extended the powers of the president to concede trade benefits and to enter into bilateral free trade agreements. Once this statute was in place, the Canadian Royal Commission issued a report to the Government of Canada recommending free trade with the United States.

Once all of the United States and Canadian ducks were in order, Mexico was approached and in November 1987 it signed an agreement between the U.S. and Mexico to establish a free trade zone between the two countries. By April of 1991, cooperation agreements had also been signed between Mexico and Canada covering taxation, cultural production, and exports. This set in place all of the negotiations for the signing of NAFTA on August 12, 1992.

Frighteningly, this was not to be the end and, by December 1994, the Free Trade Area of Americas (or FTAA) was initiated. In that agreement the “Heads of State and Government of the 34 democracies in the region agree to construct a Free Trade Area of the Americas, in which barriers to trade and investment will be progressively eliminated. This is according to the official FTAA Web site. Upon the completion of these negotiations, Mexico was given a $6 billion line of credit by the U.S. and Canada for agreeing to let the Peso float.

As time progressed, Chile was included in the Free Trade Agreement and by July 1997 the U.S. presidency proposed applying NAFTA parity to Caribbean countries as well. In July 2000, Mexico’s President Fox came up with his “20/20 vision” for the newly formed American Union that would include having a customs union, a common external tariff, greater coordination of policies, common monetary policies, a free flow of labor, and fiscal transfers for the development of poor Mexican regions.” President Fox further suggested that $10 to $30 billion in U.S. monies be invested in NAFTA to support the underdeveloped regions of Mexico with the funds being administered by an international Inter-American Development Bank. By March of 2005, plans had already been put into motion for the creation of the Texas NAFTA Superhighway that is scheduled to parallel Interstate 35, be composed of 10 lanes, and travel through the heart of the U.S. from the Mexican border at Laredo, Texas, to the Canadian border at Duluth, Minnesota.

In April of the same year Senate Bill 853 (The North American Security Cooperative Act) was touted as a bill to protect the American public from terrorists by creating a North American Union. It must be known that along with this the U.S. has by this time also entered a pact with countries in Central America forming the Central America Free Trade Agreement or CAFTA. Senate Republicans in June of 2005 argued that CAFTA will promote democratic governance but there is nothing at all democratic about CAFTA’s multitudinous pages of grants of vague authority to foreign tribunals on which foreign judges can force the U.S. to change our domestic laws to be “no more burdensome than necessary on foreign trade.”

Fortunately, for us there are still voices out there to sound the alarm as was seen in June 2005 when Lou Dobbs of CNN began his June 9^th broadcast by asking if “our political elites have gone mad?” after announcing that “an astonishing proposal to expand our borders to incorporate Mexico and Canada and simultaneously further diminish U.S. sovereignty was under consideration.” Fear must strike at Americans hearts when they hear that on January 10, 2006 government officials from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico met in Louisville, Kentucky for a “Public-Private Dialogue” around the SPP. Discussion hits were centered on “marrying policy issues with business priorities” thus expanding the SPP beyond those initial stages of process and building a “genuine constituency for North American integration making for a North American council for competitiveness that would be led by unelected/unsupervised corporate leaders.

Enter, however, hero Tom Tancredo, who in June of 2006 demanded a super state accounting from the Bush administration demanding a “full disclosure of activities that had been implemented by the Bush Administration in implementing a trilateral agreement with Mexico and Canada that could lead to a North American union, despite having no authorization from Congress.” For further information on how the North American Union Threatens U.S. sovereignty, see informationliberation.com’s article North American Union Threatens U.S. Sovereignty. Also, check out Republican Congressman Ron Paul’s article A North American United Nations? or Patrick Buchanan’s article The NAFTA super highway.

Thank God for sensible Canadians who have, since April 1, 2007 begun progressive movements to fight the American Union and have filed heated charges of a cover up putting on enough pressure to force the shut down of hearings regarding the Union after Alberta professor and director of the Parkland Institute, Gordon Laxer, testified that acceptance of this plan would leave Canadians “to freeze in the dark” if the government were to forge ahead with plans to integrate energy supplies across North America, if the government forges ahead with plans to integrate energy supplies across North America. By July their movement had spread and NDP MP Peter Julian began gathering signatures on a petition to stop the SPP. To date these brave Canadians have fought fearlessly to stop this senseless union and went so far as to schedule a National day of action against SPP on August 20, 2007. For an eyewitness report from Victoria, see Victoria SPP protest here. So the issue comes to us Americans, are we brave enough to fight for our constitutional freedoms? Do we want to leave a free electorate who hold the political elite accountable for their actions as a legacy to our children? Or do we want to forfeit our rights to the business mongrels of Enron and the other business elitists out there whose sole desire is to gain more and more power while usurping the rights of the working American?

Tags: north american union, nafta, bush administration, canada, mexico, united states, constitution, spp, north american united nations, nafta superhighway, u.s. sovereignty, cafta, senate bill 853, hard road to world order

Certain Prey, starring Lucas Davenport, is another winner in John Sandford’s Prey series. I find it constantly surprising that Sandford can come up with such original plot lines while maintaining a contiguity of characters throughout the series.   In Certain Prey, Sandford introduces psychopathic lawyer, Carmel Loan and hit woman Clara Rinker. These two combine their infamous actions after
Carmel’s twisted desire to possess fellow attorney Hale Allen causes her to hire Clara to murder Hale’s wife. As the women begin to discover, through a leak in the police force, however, there are several loose ends that have to be taken care of. These loose ends result in several murders and actually turn the two women into a twin turbine smooth killing machine.

Fortunately, for the citizens of the Twin cities however, the doggedness of Police Detective, Lucas Davenport, results in the capture of one these two ladies. Unfortunately, however, Clara is able to escape the net that Lucas has thrown out despite the fact that he was closer to capturing her than any one else has ever been.Overall, Certain Prey is an engaging read that strives to give you an insight into the minds of all the players by telling the story from all viewpoints. Sandford is so adapt at his masterful portrayal of the characters that you are even able to feel a certain amount of sympathy for the Clara since you are told what events led her to her life of crime. However, Sandford is also good at directing your dislike toward Carmel who is shown to be single minded when it comes to what she wants no matter who is stepped upon or in this case killed to accomplish it.

Certain Prey is the 14^th installment of the Prey series and throughout the entire series Sandford has managed to identify a unique combination of plot and memorable characterizations that allows each story to unfold in a logical and believable manner. As in the other installments in the series I found Certain Prey to follow a well defined path of ensnaring serial killers but at the same time providing the reader with a balanced view of both the good and the bad. Additionally, I must say that this particular book is one of the best of the series and should definitely be given a read by anyone who wants to see into the mind of a serial killer and the proponents of justice whose mindset is to capture them.

Another exciting book that will rivet readers this summer is The Triumph and The Glory by Steven Edward Rustad. In this new release Rustad does a great job of delving into the minds of Hitler, Stalin, Beria, FDR, and others as he attempts to engage the reader in the struggles of the Second World War. Before you begin the reading, however, you should know that not of the historic parts are true but events motivated by Russian Commisars are true including the one where they order that a young boy be put into a penal battalion. The book goes even further as it helps the reader to understand the terrible thinking behind the holocaust and the emotions of the American GI’s who fought to free its victims. Overall, the author of tale goes into the minds of soldiers, nurses, captains and others to make it a truly unique read.

Tags: book review, fiction, assassins, lucas davenport, john sandford, certain prey, serial killer, the triumph and the glory, women serial killers, police drama, world war ii

President Bush is pushing Congress to authorize a new law that would, according to him, modernize how law governs the way intelligence agencies monitor the communications of suspected terrorists. However, Senator Feingold calls the measure an “egregious power grab” that would give the administration more authority. In Bush’s weekly radio address on July 28, 2007 he stated that the current law is “badly out of date.” Currently, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act provides a legal foundation that allows information about terrorists’ communications to be collected without violating civil liberties. Bush wants to expand the law to take into account that terrorists are now using disposable cell phones and the Internet to communicate, recruit operatives, and plan attacks, but Democrats want to ensure that changes to the current law do not give the executive branch unfettered surveillance powers.

Bush believes that since these same tools were not available 30 years ago when FISA passed that these additional methods of communication need to be incorporated into the new law. His proposal included the fact that recently released information has concluded that al-Qaida is using its growing strength in the Middle East to plot attacks on U.S. soil. I don’t know about you but it seems to me that this could easily be setting up for a wag the dog scenario where an attack is allowed in order to frighten the U.S. populace in going along with his plans to garner as much power as possible.

This prospect is possible since ruling by creating fear in the hearts of people has been a political tactic since the Crusades and on Saturday Bush was quick to point out that “Our intelligence community” (the same one that told us Iraq had weapons of mass destruction) “is warning that under the current statute we are missing a significant amount of foreign intelligence that we should be collecting to protect our country.” However, Senator Russ Feingold from Wisconsin said that Bush was trying to exploit the threat from al-Qaida to push the bill. He concluded that “Bush is making an egregious power grab that includes broad new powers that have nothing to do with bringing FISA up to date.”

The original FISA law was made a statute in 1978 and set up a court that meets in secret to review applications from the FBI, the National Security Agency, and other agencies for warrants to wiretap or search the homes of people in the United States in terrorist or espionage cases. Bush has already overstepped the limits of this law when, after the Sept. 11 attacks, he authorized the NSA to spy on calls between people in the U.S. and suspected terrorists abroad without FISA court warrants. At the time his reasoning was that the administration needed the authority to act more quickly than the court could. It also included a statement that said the president had inherent authority under the Constitution to order warrant-less domestic spying. I would say that this is setting the American people up to be ruled by a dictator, which was first demonstrated shortly after 9/11 when Bush wanted to make it possible for him to extend his presidency past his limit of 8 years.

Fortunately, the American people were alert enough that the public challenged it in court and Bush was forced to put his warrant-less spying law back under FISA court supervision. It comes down to how many of our rights we are willing to forfeit in order to be safe. Are we being told only what the administration wants us to hear so that they can manipulate us into forgetting what our forefathers intended for this republic? Before allowing Bush to take any more rights from us, consider how easily we could be controlled if the right to bear weapons, the right to meet to groups, and other basic freedoms were to be denied to us. Careful scrutiny of all actions taken by the current administration should be observed since it has already shown us how dangerous it can be. Remember also that Bush belonged to a secret, worldwide organization known as the Skull and Bones that he not willing to talk about. This secret organization is known to control the world’s power brokers who work together to control world events. This is quite a scary concept if you take the time to consider all of its ramifications.

Tags: skulls and bones, bush administration, monitoring laws, terrorist, wag the dog, fear, fisa, federal intelligence surveillance act, national security agency, russ feingold, dictatorship, power grab, wiretapping, wiretaps

In 2005, a vehicle was reported to the National Crime Information Center every 25.5 seconds. Using the FBI’s average valuation of $6,173 per stolen vehicle, this amounts to over $7.6 billion in losses.

To combat the problem, a team from the Insurance Information Institute along with the Council of Better Business and the National Insurance Crime Bureau relates the following thoughts as myths.

First, many Americans believe that the majority of auto thefts occur in unprotected areas, however, the truth is that the FBI reports that more than one third of all vehicle thefts occur at a home or residence, compared to only two of every 10 vehicle thefts occurring at a parking lot or parking structure.

Second, it is a misconception that most stolen vehicles are eventually found. In fact, if a vehicle has been missing for more than six days it is unlikely that it will ever be recovered. The FBI says that the first days are critical in the recovery of a stolen vehicle but often even after just a few hours those vehicles that are recovered are completely totaled. One interesting note, however, was that Fridays and Saturdays are the most likely days to have vehicles stolen while Mondays and Tuesdays have the highest recovery rates.

Third, while you might wish that your insurance company was responsible for providing you with a rental in the event your insured vehicle is stolen, this is often not the case. Unfortunately, once the insured goes to make a claim on the comprehensive part of their auto policy they are apt to find out that paying for a rental vehicle throughout the several weeks that it takes to be reimbursed by the insurance company is not covered.

Fourth, anti-theft devices are not easily installed and if they are installed incorrectly they will not work. It is therefore wise to invest in paying a competent professional to do the installation for you. Make sure, however, to get a written warranty from the company installing your anti-theft device and have it explain to you exactly how it works. If you have trouble understanding its directions have the representative repeat them until you are clear on what you have to do to protect your vehicle.

Last, it is not true that vehicle thieves will pass by your older vehicle. In 2005, the top five model years stolen were 1991, 1995, 1989, 1994, and 1997 respectively. According to the NICB, which investigates cases referred to it by insurers states that “Older vehicles are most often taken for their parts which are no longer manufactured and are too difficult or expensive to obtain.” Unfortunately, individuals with older vehicles often drop their comprehensive insurance altogether to save money and are therefore left without any recourse when their vehicle is stolen.

I hope that knowing these facts will help you to better understand the myths versus the facts on auto theft.

Tags: auto theft, comprehensive auto insurance, theft myths. model years stolen, installing auto theft devices, national crime investigation center

In a recent AutoPacific Vehicle Satisfaction Awards survey the Cadillac DTS received the highest scores for any vehicle in any category in the industry resulting in it being proclaimed the most satisfying car or truck in the large luxury car.

The AutoPacific Vehicle Satisfaction Award is earned by the direct input of vehicle owners who answer questions regarding the vehicles overall performance and dependability. The survey polled approximately 24.000 owners of 2007 models.

Jim Taylor, general manager of Cadillac said that the DTS in particular, earned excellent consumer loyalty based on the type of satisfaction shown in this important survey.

The 2008 DTS, launching later this year, is marked by the introduction of the limited-edition DTS Platinum, which will feature an elegant handcrafted interior. The new features in the DTS will include magnetic ride control, heated windshield washer fluid and the new Lane Departure Warning and Side Blind Zone Alert safety systems.

The DTS has a standard 4.6-liter Northstar engine and OnStar Turn-by-Turn Navigation and will start at $42,590. While pricey this vehicle is one of the top selling vehicles from Cadillac’s repertoire of vehicles. Cadillac is a division of General Motors with their cars being manufactured in 33 countries.

Tags: cars, cadillac, northstar engine, onstar, general motors, autopacific, survey, dts

Iris Johansen’s Body of Lies may not be her best offering but it is a fairly entertaining novel that is reminiscent of a cat and mouse game. The authoress uses a ticking time bomb type subplot to propel the action along and keeps the reader’s attention by portraying the victims and antagonists as real flesh and blood people. Her credible interpretation of a secret society within the world’s political power grid blends well with her use of a resourceful yet hardboiled British bodyguard, albeit one with a dubious background, whose sole job is to keep the protagonist safe. Add this to a corrupt senator who hopes to be the next president, a seemingly average reporter, who is more than he seems, and a skillful assassin, whose goal it is to prevent a new source of energy from entering the world scene, and you have a lot to hold your interest.

The main protagonist is Eve Duncan, a forensic sculptor, who began her present career to deal with the loss of her murdered seven-year-old daughter, Bonnie in the hopes that other murdered children could be returned to their families. She is currently in a loving relationship with Detective, Joe Quinn and together they are raising a precocious twelve-year-old, foster daughter, Jane. Despite this existing relationship, however, Jane is still consumed by her devotion to Bonnie who she believes was found and is buried on a hill near her home. Unfortunately for Joe, Eve discovers that he lied to her about the bones they had buried and the fact that they were not really Bonnies’. This begins Eve’s rationalization for leaving her family and taking on the challenge of sculpting the bones of an unknown victim in Louisiana, hundreds of miles away from their home.

The action begins almost immediately when on her first night in Louisiana someone tries to kill her to her from discovering the identity of the dead victim. While she manages to survive this attempt on her life Joe calls in Sean Galen to act as her bodyguard. However, as Galen soon finds out strong willed Eve doesn’t make it easy for him to protect her from the assassins who are determined to kill her. Fortunately, while discovering who the hired assassins are and why they are targeting Jane and the people around her, he manages with Joe’s help to outwit the evildoers.

The one negative is that I felt the author didn’t do Eve justice. She was portrayed as an immature, narcissist whose absorption with her dead daughter took precedence over the living people in her life while twelve-year-old Jane came off like a mature fifty-year-old woman. Another note I would make is that new readers should consider reading the first two books in the series before attempting this one or they will find the recurring characters somewhat puzzling.

Overall, I enjoy romantic thrillers so this one fit that bill especially when Eve was working on the recreation of the face. Unfortunately, while I did get tired of her judging Joe so harshly and felt that it bogged the story down to the point of reminding me of a soap opera Johansen’s colorful villains, wolves in sheep’s clothing, and the nefarious secret organization kept the pages turning. Like in life the story’s moral is be careful who you trust because not everything is as it seems.

Tags: book review, fiction, thriller, mystery, romance, subterfuge, body of lies, iris johansen, forensic scuptor, murder, secret societies, sean galen, louisiana

Saul’s novel Black Creek Crossing was in the same venue as Spielberg’s Carrie, with the same religious overtones, self-loathing teenagers, taunting peers and the overshadowing of witchcraft. However, apart from that, the novel is filled with believable characters who find themselves caught up in the supernatural and in a set of scary circumstances including witchcraft, the evils of alcoholism, religion, and the results of bullying, etc.

The story unfolds around the life of Angel Sullivan whose dysfunctional family embarks on a journey into the supernatural when they move into a new home at Black Creek Crossing. However, while Angel had hoped that their move would end the bullying that she had been forced to endure at her previous school the scenario only unfolds to one which is much, much worse. The only plus side to the move for her was that she finds a friend in a fellow student, Seth Baker, who has also been the victim of abuse both at the hands of his father and the other students.

Unbeknownst to Angel’s family, was that the house was haunted by two witches who had been burned at the stake in the 1600s. However, shortly after moving in Angel is confronted by a strange cat and strange images of a young girl and when the two teenagers discover the dark secret about Angel’s new home, strange and dangerous things, begin to take over the town.

The book which begins with a shocking opening is propelled onward by an unstoppable plot to an explosive climax. For the most part Saul did a wonderful job of explaining why certain things were occurring but there are a couple of things that he left hanging like why the tree in the church square that was always struck by lightening when someone was practicing witchcraft didn’t burn and why it was important to the story. I also never quite understood why Seth had been cruelly nicknamed “Beth” by his teenage torturers. Basically, the story is a fairly straightforward Harry Potter for adults.

Tags: book review, john saul, black creek crossing, fiction, witchcraft, carrie, spielberg, bullying

As the saying goes, there’s strength in numbers, but your personal credit score tells lenders about your payment history and has the biggest impact on whether you are able to buy that new car or not. While gaining credit is largely a numbers game, local experts say that there are several common sense guidelines consumers can use to add muscle to their creditworthiness. In considering this aspect, one must consider that the most important factors in a lender’s decision are based on the seemingly magical number between 300 and 850 that is given to your credit score.

The credit score was initiated in the 1960s by FICO (Fair Issue Corp.) as a way of alerting lenders of potential client risks. One of the most influential parts of their program included citing a client’s poor payment history. That one aspect alone will weaken a credit score faster than anything else. “Your credit report carries your last two years of credit history,” said Mike Cherry, president of Consumer Credit Counseling Services in Springfield, MO. “If you start paying your bills on time today, and you haven’t been for a year, in 24 months, that bad payment history will fall away.” CCCS is a not-for-profit organization that provides budget counseling and financial education services, as well as, debt management for people without sufficient income to make full monthly payments to unsecured creditors. Another key aspect is debt-to-credit ratio — the amount of debt a person has compared to their total credit limit on all revolving credit, such as credit cards and home equity lines of credit. About 30 percent of a credit score is based on debt-to-credit ratio.

“The most important things would be to make payments on time, but the second is to make sure that your outstanding debt on your revolving lines of credit is 50% or less,” said Marita Thomas, vice president of commercial lending for Empire Bank. “If you’re maxed out on a credit card, you’ll probably be over when the interest is added at the end of the month — and that carries a lot of weight.” Other factors in a credit score include the number of active accounts — too many accounts can be detrimental — and the length of credit history. In general, the longer your credit history, which accounts for about 15 percent of your credit score, is, the better — and be advised that the number of active accounts weighs in for about 10 percent. The remaining 10 percent is based on the mix of credit types.

So, while you now know what determines your credit score, you may choose to check your score annually. To do this you can log onto annualcreditreport.com, which was created by a 2005 federal law and allows anyone to check their credit score once a year for free. There are currently three credit bureaus that allow you to track your report, however, they will not provide you with your credit score; they are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. While the three reports vary, consumers should start by retrieving one and space out the others throughout the year giving you free access to your accounts three times. If you find discrepancies or errors in a credit report, consumers can contact the bureaus to remedy them. You can get your credit score from any of the above agencies for a fee.

Tags: credit score, credit report, equifax, experian, transunion, free, payment history, credit cards, revolving credit, credit limit, debt-to-credit-ratio, credit bureaus, credit reporting agencies