Thanks For Nothing, You Bastards! An open letter to the 60 House Members who voted against the 9/11 Health Care Bill.

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Dear House Members,

My name is Russell Brooks and I’m a thriller novelist. Although I live in Montreal, Canada, there are many things that Canadians share with Americans. There are holidays, our love for fast food restaurants, broken New Year’s resolutions, and NAFTA. I try my best not to criticize US policies, but there was an event that occurred this week that I found to be very disturbing. You all attempted to block a bill that would have allowed the first responders of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to receive health care benefits. It is my understanding that some of those first responders have either died or are suffering from long-term health problems due to being exposed to the toxic ash that engulfed lower Manhattan. Although I’m sure that you all have your reasons (selfish as they may be) for ignoring the needs of these heroes, it is very incomprehensible that although the safety of Americans—home and abroad—is a high priority for everyone, you did not recognize the First-Responders. They may not be fighting overseas with assault rifles, grenades, and rocket launchers. They came into lower Manhattan with fire hoses, EMT equipment, and their ability to direct traffic and crowds to safety. Their own selfless acts of risking their own lives for the benefit of others without receiving any orders from the White House is what makes them the real heroes of 9/11.

I’m sure that you may have pledged allegiance to your flag on numerous occasions to illustrate your patriotism. But I must add that your choice to block the 9/11 Health Care Bill was anything but patriotic. It was a flagrant slap in the face to ordinary citizens that risked their lives to help others in need on that dreadful day. This would’ve occurred while many of you had the luxury of hiding out in one of the underground bunkers that are located between Maryland and Virginia. By voting against the bill you attempted to sign their death sentence, something I’m sure would've pleased Osama Bin Laden considering you’ve continued the job of increasing the death toll from the 9/11 attacks.

I can’t guaranty that another terrorist act will not occur on North American soil in the near future. At best, the terrorists don’t need to do much to attack American citizens since they’re aware that it’s a lot cheaper and convenient for them to let you guys do the job for them. The sad truth is that by voting against the bill, you were all serving Al Qaeda—not your country—an act for which you all deserve to be arrested and charged with treason. Furthermore you ought to be barred from politics for the rest of your lives.

I’ve read some excellent novels and watched some great movies. As an author I’ve always told others that villains will either make or break a story. I’ve been asked what was the inspiration for the villains in my novel. The answer is simple, I always base some of my characters—even the villains—on real people. Today I can say with confidence that if I were to model a villain after any of you in my next novel, it’s unlikely that I would be criticized for creating an unrealistic character.

Fortunately, your efforts failed this week, and at a right time considering that this would be a long overdue Christmas present for the First-Responders. The best Christmas present to America and the rest of the world would be for you all to be exposed and remembered for your actions (or inactions, which ever way you look at it), especially the next time elections come around.

Yours Very Truly,

Russell Brooks
Author of Pandora's Succession.

So for my gift to everyone, I’ve taken the liberty to list the names of the 59 Republicans and the 1 Democrat (non-italic) for your convenience. Hopefully the American voters will not be as asinine in their votes as these House Members have been.

Akin, Alexander, Bachmann, Bachus, Bartlett, Bilirakis, Bishop (UT), Boozman, Brady (TX), Cantor, Cassidy, Coffman (CO), Conaway, Diaz-Balart, Ehlers, Fleming, Foxx, Franks (AZ), Goodlatte, Graves (GA), Guthrie, Hall (TX), Hensarling, Herger, Hoekstra, Inglis, Jenkins, Jordan (OH), King (IA), Kingston, LaTourette, Latta, Lewis (CA), Lummis, Manzullo, McClintock, McCotter, Mica, Miller (FL), Myrick, Olson, Paulsen, Posey, Rehberg, Rogers (KY), Royce, Scalise, Schmidt, Sessions, Shuster, Smith (NE), Stutzman, Taylor, Terry, Tiahrt, Upton, Walden, Whitfield, Wilson (SC), Wittman.
*
Russell Brooks is the author of the action/thriller, Pandora’s Succession. Available Now.

*( http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll664.xml#N)

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SPOTLIGHT: Barry Eisler. Part II The Russell Show featuring Fault Line.

Image via Wikipedia This week I continue with my spotlight of former CIA operative and bestselling thriller author, Barry Eisler, where I do a dramatic excerpt from Fault Line on The Russell Show. (Excerpt chosen by Barry Eisler and done with his permission).

Book Blurb: Silicon Valley: the eccentric inventor of a new encryption application is murdered in an apparent drug deal. Istanbul: a cynical undercover operative receives a frantic call from his estranged brother, a patent lawyer who believes he’ll be the next victim. And on the sun-drenched slopes of Sand Hill Road, California’s nerve center of money and technology, old family hurts sting anew as two brothers who share nothing but blood and bitterness wage a desperate battle against a faceless enemy.



Russell Brooks is the author of the action/thriller, Pandora's Succession, available now.

SPOTLIGHT: Author Barry Eisler. Part I Review: Fault Line.

Fans that were hoping to see Japanese-American assassin, John Rain, in a followup to Eisler’s bestselling series will be in for something slightly different in Eisler’s first stand-alone thriller, Fault Line. The first paragraph opens up with a hook that will lock in Eisler’s fans and many more. Readers unfamiliar with Eisler’s work will be instantly drawn into a page-turning experience.


The story focuses on a young patent lawyer, Alex Treven, who expects to strike oil when his latest client, Richard Hilzoy, presents him with a revolutionary technology called Obsidian. Alex anticipates being the talk of Silicon Valley and becoming partner in the firm. However, Hilzoy is murdered in an apparent drug deal, the patent examiner dies, and Alex barely escapes with his own life after an alleged burglary in his own home. When the police offer little assistance, Alex turns to his estranged brother, Ben—a special-ops soldier—for help. Ben rushes to Alex’s aid and forces Alex’s Iranian-American associate, Sarah Hosseini to go underground with them because of her knowledge of Obsidian. Ben distrusts Sarah and believes that she is working for clandestine powers that are bent at stealing Obsidian. As a result, Alex is thrown head first into Ben’s world and must follow his brother’s rules in hopes of surviving further attempts on his life by the forces they hope to expose.


Ben’s paranoia and methods of survival are reflected in Eisler’s experience as a covert operative. Eisler has mastered the art of creating situational tension while weaving in character tensions. Ben’s main objective of keeping Alex and Sarah safe is complicated by unresolved family issues that led to Ben’s estrangement. Further complications also result from the animosity Ben and Sarah have towards each other. There is excellent character development that is not overdrawn. There are also interesting plot twists which make Fault Line a gripping and easy read.

Russell Brooks is the author of the action/thriller, Pandora's Succession. Now available through Amazon.com, Amazon UK, BarnesandNoble.com and www.RussellParkway.com.

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Who's America's Biggest Enemy, itself?

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I spent some time on a conspiracy website, AboveTopSecret.com this week because I thought that it would be a cool way to see some of the interesting conspiracy theories that are floating around—and pick up some ideas for subject matter for a future novel. One topic that grabbed my attention the most was the 9/11 conspiracy thread that argued that those terrorists attacks were an inside job. Apparently the smoking gun that corroborates that theory comes from video footage of World Trade Center 7 (WTC 7). In the video, WTC 7 is seen collapsing on itself. While evidence suggests that Al Qaeda leader and alleged former CIA operative—Osama Bin Laden—was responsible for the plane crashes, one theory that is arguably plausible as any is that the Twin Tower crashes were allowed to happen in order to turn our attention away from the alleged controlled demolition of WTC 7. This would’ve been done in order to cover-up secrets that were hidden inside WTC 7.

Debunkers of conspiracies theories regarding WTC 7 argue that WTC 7 collapsed because it was struck with flying debris from the Twin Towers. However, at least two witnesses—a now-retired NYPD officer and Barry Jennings, the Deputy Director Emergency Sevices Department—both claimed that they heard explosions inside the building prior to WTC 7 collapsing. Further video footage shows WTC 7 collapsing in its own footprint as would a building that was demolished by professionals as opposed to an internal fire.

Considering that the United States has the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as other elite intelligence agencies whose main goal is to collect and analyse intel in order to prevent catastrophes such as 9/11 from occurring, it’s unfathomable that former President George W Bush did not know that Al Qaeda was planning an attack on American soil on that day. For him not to act and allow the 9/11 attacks to occur in order to have an excuse to start a war with Iraq has been a popular theory. Is it possible that 9/11 was engineered to distract attention from what was actually going on in WTC 7?

Russell Brooks is the author Pandora's Succession, coming Fall 2010. Teaser chapter.

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I'm Black and Therfore Own All Rights to say the N-Word.

Over nine million listeners—soon to double that amount by the time that I finish writing this essay—listened to Doctor Laura Schlesinger this week when she got into an argument on her radio show with a listener named Jade. For those unfamiliar with what happened, Doctor Laura—in an attempt to make a philosophical point that African-American comedians on HBO incessantly say the N-word without offending viewers—said the N-word repetitively. Although Jade told Doctor Laura that her use of the N-word bothered her, Doctor Laura still said it again. Furthermore, Doctor Laura stated that she was not calling anyone a N*g*er, that she was just making a point.

Now hold on. This is Doctor Laura, an educated and presumably very intelligent woman of some renown in the T.V psycho-babble entertainment word who is regarded by many to be a leader in that profession. She felt that she was doing the right thing. Wrong. Just because an African-American freely calls out the N-word doesn’t mean that they are right to do so—which is what Jade also told Dr. Laura before being rudely interrupted. One would think that someone of the stature of Doctor Laura would have learned from Michael Richards—formerly known as Kramer from TV’s Seinfeld—when he screamed out the N-word in public. Doctor Laura should’ve known better.

Doctor Laura’s argument that she should be allowed to say the N-word freely as long as she’s not calling anyone a N*g*er is patently ridiculous and it made me wonder. Before that now awfully revelatory call from Jade, has she ever freely said the N-word in the presence of friends of like colour? For sure she would not have freely said the N-word in the presence of her bodyguard—who happens to be black? Considering that she’s a public figure, had she done that, I doubt Doctor Laura would’ve gotten away without causing a media stir that she wished to have avoided at this moment.

Doctor Laura has since apologized for her careless use of the N-word. I imagine that she’s had time to listen to the broadcast, to reflect and become more self-aware of her public role and admit that she has made a serious ethical error. I’m curious to know at which point Doctor Laura realized this. Was it the moment when she deviated from the topic and talked about President Obama and interjected that African-Americans voted him into power just because he had more melanin than his challenger? Was it when she accused Jade of being hypersensitive because Jade’s neighbour kept stepping on the line by obsessively singling out African-Americans in every conversation? Or was it when she interrupted Jade as she was about to mention that the N-word was thrown about in her house by family as though she was absent?

After having listened to the broadcast several times I’ve concluded that Jade had every right to be bothered by what went on in her household. Accusing Jade of being hypersensitive was insulting and demeaning because Jade stated that her dilemma had gone on for quite some time before she had reached the point of frustration.

As for bringing up President Obama, not only was it off topic but Doctor Laura herself was being racially insensitive when she said that blacks only voted for him because he was black. I’ll admit that if I was an American citizen, I would’ve voted for Obama, not because he’s black but because I feel that he’s more qualified to lead the country. Had it been Hillary Clinton versus Ms Condoleezza Rice or worse yet, Michael Steel, I would’ve voted for Mrs Clinton. Please note, that in the above reference to President Obama, I do not accuse Doctor Laura of being a racist, but that she was racially insensitive. Furthermore, the broadcast hasn’t convinced me that she is a racist, and I am saying this having repeated listened to it. Doctor Laura could have helped Jade had she listened to her more attentively!

Russell Brooks is the author of the upcoming thriller, Pandora's Succession, to be released in the Fall of 2010. Visit http://www.russellparkway.com/ for details.

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Jacket blurb for the action/thriller, Pandora's Succession

Imagine if a destroyer of ancient civilizations lay dormant under the polar ice caps…until now.

CIA operative, Ridley Fox, never stopped hunting his fiancé’s killers—a weapons consortium called The Arms of Ares. When an informant leads him to an old bunker outside of Groznyy, Chechnya, Fox is captured and left for dead. When the informant rescues him, Fox learns that his capture was no coincidence: someone had set him up—possibly another government agent. Fox barely escapes after learning that Ares has acquired a hyperdeadly microbe—called Pandora—that is believed to have wiped out ancient civilizations. The trail leads Fox to Tokyo where he discovers that other forces —including agents within Japanese Intelligence—want Pandora for themselves. The only ally Fox turns to is a woman from his past who he nearly got killed.

The first three chapters of the upcoming action/thriller, Pandora’s Succession, have been recorded and scored as they do in the movies. Visit http://www.pandorabook1.com and subscribe for free to receive serialized excerpts each week.

Presidential Testosterone. Obama shows Italy's PM Berlesconi who's really packing the bigger D*ck

Holy Presidential Testosterone, Batman! Obama shows Italy's PM who's really packing the bigger D*ck!

In a moment rarely seen, President Obama made it clear to Italian Prime Minister, Sylvio Berlesconi, that he would not be kissing his wife, Michelle. Assuming a role that was better suited for one of his secret service agents, Obama stood between the accused sex addict and his wife--thwarting Berlesconi's attempts at making physical contact with Ms Obama.

Unlike other world leaders who had gathered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for a pre-G20 summit dinner, Berlesconi attended the event alone. This is not a surprise considering that the Italian PM is in the middle of a divorce and has faced several allegations of improper sexual behaviour. This would include having an improper relationship with 18-year-old lingerie model, Noemi Letiza.

On a side note, a source of mine has told me that former US President, Bill Clinton, has given up hope of attempting a similar maneuver.

As many would have guessed, I could not help myself from going into author mode. If a novel had this scene, I would suspect that it would probably go something like this:

Don't even think about it, Obama thought as his Italian counterpart extended both of

his arms to receive Michelle. The nerve of you thinking that you can touch my wife. You've only had your hands all over every woman that has walked into your house and God knows where else.

Obama shot a cold stare at his angel, one that Michelle was very familiar with. It was the same stare Joe Biden had gotten to know all too well whenever he fucked up a press conference. No. She wouldn't be the source of a humiliating moment for him. He will not allow his true love to unknowingly set him up--making him easy prey for sadistic vultures such as Limbaugh, O'Reilly, and Beck.

His angel paused, smiled, and extended her hand to Berlesconi under his watchful eye. They shook hands and Michelle retreated.

Obama glanced at the Italian's defeated expression one last time as he and his angel walked away, letting his hand slide down just above the swell of her sensual booty.

Obama smiled the billion-dollar smile that made him one of the most loved public figures in the world. His smile grew just as his hand fell a bit lower onto that tight muscular booty. It took him everything to resist the urge to squeeze.

Damn.

It was such a distraction, but it didn't make him lose the smile. Naw, he was just glad knowing that the old Italian pervert saw just how big his hand really was.

To be continued. . .

Dailymail.co.uk

Russell Parkway is the author of the upcoming action/thriller, Pandora's Succession. Subscribe for free to receive weekly excerpts.