This thought just occurred to me...

The Catholic Church is getting into all kinds of trouble because not only did some of their priests molest children, but then the organization kept these men in the priesthood even after these assaults became known to higher ups.

So, what we have here... is a failure to ex-communicate.

[Thank you. Thank you. Please tip your wait staff. I'll be here all week.]

So, this dude in the US House of Representatives (allegedly) has been caught taking money in exchange for political favors -- that's a crime, by the way -- and the FBI gathered evidence not only from his homes in his district and in Washington DC, but also from his office in the Capitol.

Because taking records from the Representative's office could be construed as interfering with his work as a legislator -- a no-no according to the Constitution -- members of the House on both sides of the party dividing line are now in an uproar over the Executive Branch's apparent disregard of the Constitution.

Speaking as a private citizen who is trying to figure out what the hell happened to his political party, let alone the government:

Where were you short-bussers while the writ of habeas corpus was being shredded in Guantanamo? What were you NFL-referees-in-training thinking when you decided to give the administration a pass on the domestic spying program, rather than censuring those involved for not following protocols that were already in place for just such situations? And what the intercourse did you think the Patriot Act was all about?

"Oh, you mean *those* civil rights!"

It's a little late to be whining about separation of powers, don't you think? Give me back my Constitutional government, you hypocrisy mollycoddlers.

My rejection letters continue to get nicer and more encouraging. I have a few editors now who have asked me in their own handwriting to keep sending them stuff, including two editors who have done so for the first time in the past few weeks.

Of course, I'd rather receive a check and a contract than a handwritten rejection, but the handwritten rejection is yet another step in the right direction for my budding career as a published fictioneer.

Earlier on these electronic pages, I'd noted that my second pro sale (also a short story) would probably see the light of day during the second half of 2007. Well, things are moving faster than that. According to Amazon.com, Cosmic Cocktails by Denise Little (editor) from DAW Books will go on sale December 5th of this year. I've read several of the stories that will appear therein, and they were all excellent. My contribution is entitled "Everybody Stops at Boston's."

Yee-ha.