Protecting children

I saw on WebPro News where, "The US Congress passed a bill into law this week aimed at protecting children from on-line predators. The law dictates how hyperlinks and domain names leading to sexual content may be presented. The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 prohibits "misleading" domain names and links."
Without knowing all the details of this law, the ideas behind include recent thoughts of mine.
This idea of children is getting out of hand. Young people - presumably anyone under 21? - are children when the government wants them to be children and are adults when the government wants them to be adults.
Whoever said a rose is a rose by any other name never met our fearless leaders in the US government. When lawyers get busy, no word is safe.
Being 64 and counting, I remember when in grade school we would seek out the good stuff in Payton Place and Lady Chatterley's Lover. Not sure of the spelling and ain't going to take the time to look it up.
When I became a teenager, I figured I was an adult, no matter what the law said. Every guy I knew would have jumped at the chance to have an affair with any good looking woman no matter her age. "Eight to Eighty, deaf, crippled, blind and crazy," was okay as we used to say but never did.
What's my point?
My point is we live in a time of fantasy where childhood innocence has become a false god - unless of course you want to try the little twirp in a court of law as an adult where even an execution becomes a possibility.

Naughty words

I read the other day where PBS is worried about airing the Ken Burns documentary on WW II. Seems as though there will be some raunchy language used by the Greatest Generation and PBS fears they could be fined by the FCC if the program is aired in prime time.
Oh dear! We must protect the public from sex and naughty words. But when the blood of war is on the agenda, as President Bush would say, "Bring it on!"
Are we a stupid people or what?
If parents want to shield their little ones from sex and nasty words, that is not only their right but their duty.
But that right and duty is neither the right nor the duty of those in public office.
I get PO'd over the government deciding what is appropriate. Secrets, secrets, secrets seems to be the mantra of the current regime. Must protect the public. If God wanted to protect the public, we would all be deaf, dumb and blind. Is that the roll of government - to protect the public by making it deaf, dumb and blind?

Adirondack Vampires & Witches: More on non Christian

Adirondack Vampires & Witches: More on non Christian

More on non Christian

There are many kind Christians in this country. As an old saying goes, "The government has better citizens than it deserves."
There used to be an older saying that said, "All you have to do is die and pay taxes." To that has been added, "Shop until you drop."
As to the holier than thou crowd, correct me if I am wrong, but I see no difference between radical fundamentalist Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc., etc.
To paraphrase Mr. Bush, "They hate freedom." Bush says "Democracy." I say freedom is what they hate.

Not a Christian Nation

This is a legit post, but also an effort to do something

As I started to say, This is not a Christian Nation - and I say, "Thank God!"
But seriously, if this were a Christian nation, we would still have plenty of "sinners" but we would not have the "Holier than Thou" crowd. We would not have a society that seems bent only on consumerism. Everything would not be about the "bottom line." Our banks would not be competeing with loan sharks to see how much interest they can charge. Our government would not be so secretive. The government would ask more of itself than its citizens and it would trust its citizens.

Writing in the Adirondacks

From a personal point of view, I like living in the Adirondacks. From a writer's point of view, especially one who rejects any consideration of what may offend someone somewhere, there are times when I wish I were back living in the New York of the 60's.
Having recently published two very different books has cristalized these two different feelings.
I can easily go out and get my hiking book, "Adirondack Hikes in Hamilton County," into local book stores and other retail outlets.
But with my vampire novel, "The Dancing Valkyrie," the opposite is true - and this in spite of the fact that much of the action in the novel takes place here in the Adirondacks.
I know that if I were living in New York, the success of "The Dancing Valkyrie" would climb while the success of "Adirondack Hikes in Hamilton County" would decline.
Also, living in New York would provide many more outlets to sell the books.
But I like living where I am so I struggle forward, hoping for a little witchcraft magic to help "The Dancing Valkyrie" to find its market.
The book is not for everyone. It is not for those who wouldn't read a vampire novel if it were given to them. It is not for those who "become offended" by explicit sex (mostly lesbian), a plethora of four-letter words and some graphic violence.
Yet behind behind of all these potentially offensive things and what makes, I believe, these offensive things neccessary, is the primary idea I had when writing the book. What might vampires really be like if they were to exist and if they were created by God.
Perhaps that is the most offensive thing some will find in the book - and it is there I do mean to offend.

Book Signing at Fact & Fiction, Saranac Lake

Book signing in Saranac Lake
On Thursday, July 20, between 4-7 p.m. at the Fact & Fiction book store in Saranac Lake, Adirondack author Peter Klein will be signing copies of his two new books, "The Dancing Valkyrie," a novel about vampires in the Adirondacks, and "Adirondack Hikes in Hamilton County," a hiking guide.

New Book stores added

New stores added in and near the Adirondack Park where you can purchase copies of Adirondack Hikes in Hamilton County or The Dancing Valkyrie. Stores are listed from south to north. If store is out of stock, remind them to reorder.
Mysteries on Main Street, Johnstown
Adirondack Country Store, Northville
Charlie Johns, Speculator
The Lake Store, Sabael
Pick-It-Patch, Indian Lake
Pines Country Store, Indian Lake
The Adirondack Museum, Blue Mt. Lake
The Ol' Station, Blue Mt. Lake
Blue Mountain Outfitters, Blue Mt. Lake
Hoss's Country Corner, Long Lake
Old Forge Hardware, Old Forge
Fact & Fiction, Saranac Lake

Let Freedom Ring

Well, here we are. The Fourth of July is almost here. The Spirit of 76. Give me liberty of give me death.
But do we still feel that way? Did the spirit of freedom die on 911 when "everything changed"?
Maybe I am just getting old. I turn 64 this year. Do I have a faulty memory. But it does seem to me the average American has less freedom today than was had back in the 40's, 50's and 60's when I was much younger than I am today.
What seems really odd to me is how leaders in our government seem to want us to believe this is a very dangerous world and we might need to give up some of our freedoms and privacy in order to be protected. This seems odd because the threat today is far less than what it was during the Cold War.
In my mind, the so called War on Terrorism just cannot compete with WW II and the Cold War.
You can't blame this odd state of affairs just on Bush or the Republican Party. When it comes to taking away our freedoms, the Democrats are busy taking away one half of our freedoms while the Republicans work hard to take away the other half. I guess you could call that a real bi-partisan effort to take away all our freedoms.
Have a happy and free Fourth. Maybe exercise your freedom by breaking a few laws like set off some firecrackers, smoke a cigarette where you are not allowed - or - in the name of shameless self promotion - read my book, The Dancing Valkyrie, which has a lot of sex, violence and four-letter words.