An Open Letter from One Loser to a Winner

I have tried to avoid politics in this blog, not because I don't have ideas that are political but because I think politics is very private and individual. I try to respect everyone's political views even if I strongly disagree.
But there is one current politician who stands alone in his contempt for those who disagree with him. I'm speaking about Donald Trump of course.
Trump would undoubtedly call me a "loser" because unlike this "favorite son" he never served a minute in the military or in Vietnam. I did but I consider myself extremely lucky that I was a company clerk like Mash's Radar.
Unlike Senator John McCain, I'm clearly no hero, but I am throughly disgusted with the rantings of this third rate businessman, the Donald.
I did not wach Trump's so-called telethon for vets last night but I am sure like his television show it was thoroughly entertaining. I am sure he wrapped himself in the American flag and professed his undying support for vets. Well, Mr. Trump, you fooled no one.
You were afraid to face questions of substance in the Republican presidential debate because you have no substance.
When I think of Mr Trump, I am often reminded of that famous challenge by attorney Joseph Welch of that other demagogue, Senator Joseph McCarthy, during the Army Mc Carthy hearings in the early 1950s: "Have you.no sense of decency, sir?"
That was the beginning of the end for Senator McCarthy and we can only hope that Mr Trump's blatant attempt to use the millions of veterans of this country for his crass political purposes will fail,and fail miserably.

Is Cancer Avoidable?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/studies-clash-over-causes-of-cancer/

A recent study reported in Nature Magazine and in Scientific American suggests that up to 90% of  all types of cancers are due to personal choices and environmental factors. These include diet, exercise, smoking and exposure to radiation and other carcinogens rather than just "bad luck" as some other studies have suggested. If interested in this study, just click on the above link.

New Book: A Reservation for Murder

     A Reservation for Murder

                                   A Lieutenant Morales Mystery

                      “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”

                                                Sun-Tzu, Chinese general and military strategist, (400 BC)

“You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”

                                                Hotel California

                                                Eagles

Chapter 1

Nothing much ever happens on Pine Island. So it was all the more surprising when a man who was fishing from the Matlacha drawbridge saw a body floating in the water in Pine Island Sound just a few feet away from the bridge. It was even more surprising when that body turned out to belong to Mike Sullivan.

The body of Mike Sullivan was the first body discovered in Pine Island Sound that January. But it was not the last.

Mike Sullivan was anything but an ordinary kind of guy. He was a part- time fisherman and a full-time jerk.  Although he had been on the island only a few months, he had managed to alienate half the island. Night after night, as he sat drinking Coors Light after Coors Light at the bar of the Sunset Bar and Grill, he boasted about his many conquests to his few friends and anyone else who would listen.  He claimed that there wasn’t a woman on the island that he couldn’t bed if he really wanted to.  And with his wavy dark hair and brooding brown eyes, many a woman on the island had already fallen to his charms.

Recently, Sullivan seemed to have come into some money, no one knew for sure from where or how much. But he was clearly spending it freely.  He had bought himself a brand new, candy apple red, Ford F-150 pickup truck with a trailer hitch. The trailer hitch was for a new 32 foot fishing boat which he now kept moored near the Bonita Lodge.  A couple of people from the island had been surprised to see him in downtown Fort Myers on several occasions recently wearing a blue pin-striped  suit and fancy black loafers, rather than the scruffy jeans and rubber waders he usually wore. That new suit would come in handy now that he was dead and the undertaker laid him out for his funeral, The island’s undertaker, Jeffrey Bonnett, always prided himself on how well the deceased looked in his funeral parlor after he had worked on them. “Hell,”  Bonnett often bragged, “some of these poor bastards look better dead than they ever did when they were alive.”

 He was particularly proud of the work he did on Sullivan. “He looks like a movie star.” he said,  “A goddam movie star.”

When word got around the island that Sullivan had been found dead in the waters of Pine Island Sound, there were not a few men on the island who were relieved. And quite a number of women who were moved to tears.

Free Book

If you haven't already read my legal mystery, Dead in the Water, you are in luck.  For the next three days, from September 18 through September 20, it will be available for free for Kindle on Amazon.  Now, you have no excuse for not reading this book, which has been called by one reviewer,
"An exciting thriller with plenty of surprises" and "A good entertaining read." If you do decide to read Dead in the Water, I would be extremely grateful if you would post a review on Amazon.  Reviews are the lifeblood of indie authors like me. So, thanks, and please enjoy.
P.S. Today the book is on sale at its regular price of $1.99 if you just can't wait to read it.

http://www.amazon.com/Water-Lieutenant-Morales-Legal-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00U35Z7CS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442489447&sr=8-1&keywords=dead+in+the+water+basinski

A View of Life

Some people say you should live every day like it is your last. I say live life every day like it is your first.

Praise for "Dead in the Water"

My mystery novel, Dead in the Water, has received some excellent reviews and for those,  I could not be more grateful. One of those very recent reviews was particularly kind. In the review,  the reviewer described as an avid  reader opined "Mr Basinski may now join the ranks of Gresham, Donnelley, and Turow." 

Dead in the Water hits the Amazon Best Seller Lists!

Mystery Financial

As of today, my book, Dead in the Water is ranked No. 5 in the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller/Financial category for Kindle books.  Please see the above link. Many thanks to all of you who have purchased the book.  I would be extremely grateful if you would please write a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Reviews are the independent writer's best friend.  Thanks to all.