One of our very talented members here at The Planet (you’ll have to guess who, I’m not tellin’!) has just had their latest book released! A Planet- sized congratulations!!!

I invite you to join me in supporting our fellow member and their talent by buying and reading their new work, “Forgotten Heroes and Villains of Sand Creek”. Here’s a summary from Amazon.com:

On November 29, 1864, Colonel John Chivington led a bloody and terrible raid on an encampment of Arapaho and Cheyenne who had come to the area believing they were on a path to peace. Before it was over, between 130 and 180 Native Americans had been massacred. This attack, known as the Sand Creek Massacre, is one of the most well-known and notorious events in Colorado’s history.

In Forgotten Heroes and Villains of Sand Creek, author Carol Turner turns an eye to the central characters, their histories and how they came to be part of this bloody episode. This fascinating look at such a pivotal event, its instigators and its martyrs includes the stories of John Chivington, an ambitious preacher with a streak of cruelty; Captain Silas Soule, a man who is still honored today by the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes for his efforts in saving their ancestors; Ned Wynkoop, one of Soule’s compatriots who had a change of heart regarding the tribes; Chief One Eye, a persuasive and charismatic medicine man; and many, many more.

You can find it at Amazon.com through this link: http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Heroes-Villains-Sand-Creek/dp/1596299436

Or at Borders.com at this link: http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=1596299436

Once you’ve read it, feel free to post your comments and thoughts about this book on this post.

Janet Evanovich is a writer of women’s fiction, aka romance novels, except for her ‘By the Numbers Series’, which also appeals to men, teens, adults, and the elderly.

The series is also known as the tales of Stephanie Plum, and the books’ titles are based on numbers such as: “One For the Money”, “Two For The Dough”, “Three to Get Deadly”, etc.

The 16th book of the series is slated for release June 22nd, 2010.

Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series is one of the most popular works of fiction in recent memory that has crossed the barrier of women’s fiction to a large, loyal male readership.

http://www.evanovich.com/

Ms. Evanovich has also accomplished a most treasured feat of having her Stephanie Plum come to life on the big screen next year.

In Movie Theaters: TBA, 2011 (Development)
Directed by: Julie Anne Robinson
Starring:
Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum
Jason O’Mara as Joe Morelli
Daniel Sunjata as Ranger
Distributed by: Lionsgate Films
Genres: Drama Crime Mystery

http://www.themovieinsider.com/m1037/one-for-the-money/

Those of us who are rabid fans of Stephanie Plum have speculated for years on the casting should it ever be made into a movie and the actors chosen are not exactly the people her fans would have chosen, but we’re willing to wait and see.

Other books made into movies, such as “An Interview With A Vampire” suffered similar complaints with the casting of Tom Cruise as Lestat, but that worked out nicely and fans of the books were appeased.

Stephanie Plum is a comical character whose life is filled with crazy mishaps and humorous catastrophes once she begins the life working for her cousin Vinny as a bounty hunter.

She has a pet hamster named Rex that lives in a soup can within an aquarium, and she keeps an unloaded gun in the cookie jar on her kitchen counter.

Joe Morelli is the roguish Italian cop that she’s known all of her life and eventually becomes her on-again, off-again boyfriend.

Ranger is the dark man of mystery, always dressed in black with a sketchy background and sketchy heritage, who owns a security company Rangeman Inc. and he saves Stephanie from several hilarious and not so hilarious adventures.

Stephanie is from the ‘burgs’ of Trenton and the book is filled with a zany cast of characters, plus a dog named Bob.

There’s Grandma Morelli with her ‘evil-eye’ and Grandma Mazur who always carries a loaded gun in her pocketbook and has been known to shoot the chicken on the platter during family meals.

There’s Stephanie’s nemesis Joyce Barnhardt that boinked Stephanie’s husband on her dining room table, leading to a very short marriage and quicker divorce.

Eventually Stephanie meets and saves a prostitute Lula, who is one of the most beloved characters in the series.

I’ve always thought that Sandra Bullock would make an exceptional Stephanie Plum and Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock should be Ranger.
Alas, that is not to be, but I’m willing to keep an open mind.

I am hoping that Cloris Leachman will be cast as Grandma Morelli and Betty White as Grandma Mazur.

As for Lula, I think that one of my favorite actresses – Queen Latifah – would be prefect for the comedic part.

I started reading the Stephanie Plum books several years ago and my husband would always hear me laugh out loud. By the time I was on book 4 of the series, he had to read them to find out what was so funny and he’s been a fan ever since.
And he laughs out loud, too.

So, if you’ve never read them, I would suggest that you give them a try, and see if they’ll make you laugh out loud, too.

My very first effort at writing here on PlanetPOV was about this subject, one that I believe to be of vital importance to the future of our democracy. After a discussion this morning about the Republicans’ plans to regain control of Congress in the next election, I felt that this should be revisited.

Until we see sweeping CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM in our Congress, we will see no significant or substantial legislation passed that will benefit the average American over the big corporations. Our lawmakers have been bought and paid for by the lobbyists from K Street. Millions upon millions have been paid to our esteemed Congress members to assure that their votes will suit the corporations and the banks.

And it’s only going to get worse. I have heard no news lately of the case that is now before the United States Supreme Court involving the “free speech” rights of corporations. If the high court rules as expected on this case, corporations will be allowed to donate DIRECTLY to political campaigns and control the outcomes of the elections. The corporation with the deepest pockets will choose our leaders for us. Our votes will be even more meaningless than they are now. They will be able to run aggressive ad campaigns, either for or against a candidate and shape public opinion. (Imagine the “Swiftboat” ads, so successful against John Kerry, sponsored and paid for by Exxon or Goldman-Sachs for example.)

If there is any doubt about the effects of an aggressive ad campaign, just look at what the insurance lobby has done to the health care debate this fall. They have run ads designed to scare the wits out of our seniors…and they have been quite successful. The outright lies and distortions have been stunning. Those lawmakers who have taken millions from the health care lobby have trumpeted all the talking points put out for them by the industry, in spite of what the American people want or need. Their arrogance has likewise been stunning!

In searching for a good definition of “fascism”, I found that definition to include “collusion between big business and government”. I would suggest that if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck…we must call it for what it is..FASCISM!

The American people are sleeping. It’s way past time for us to wake up! If we do not, our experiment in democracy will go down in the history books as just that…an experiment that didn’t work!

http://planetpov.com/2009/12/05/campaign-finance-reform/

This problem of corporate control of our lawmakers is not a left vs. right, Republican vs.Democrat, liberal vs. conservative problem. It is a deeply rooted cancer that has had a most destructive effect on the people we have elected to do OUR business.

Corporate lobbyists pay handsomely for the privilege of writing legislation to favor their causes. They line the halls of the Capitol outside our Senators’ offices, waiting for their access, holding checks for millions upon millions of dollars in their briefcases. Their causes may or may not be just…to the recipients of those funds, it seems to matter not. The almighty dollar is king! This is not government by elected representation! This is government by BRIBERY!

If there was ever a cause around which the progressives could rally, it would be the reform of our campaign finance laws. The recent health care debates have shown a bright light on the corruption by the lobbyists. In a fair and just world, we would have seen the last of this corruption, but unfortunately, we will continue to face it every time there is proposed legislation that would thwart some corporation’s plans to exploit the people or the environment…at least until We The People demand a change. Public financing of all political campaigns and the outlawing of gifts to our lawmakers would go a long way in solving many of the critical issues that face our nation. The people could then expect a fair debate on those issues without the insidious influence of the big banks and corporations whose representatives sit behind our lawmakers in every discussion and debate.

I have asked the question before…”How do we convince our lawmakers to cut off the hands that feed them?” I would suggest that the American voter will support any progressive who promises to put this issue front and center, to promote public financing of all campaigns. It is vitally important to us all, no matter to which party we belong. Our “representative democracy” is being crushed by the money of the big corporations. Our beloved democracy is dying and we had better wake up soon.