[Publisher, Novelzine, 2010,164 pp., soft cover, $15.99]

by William Hughes

Baltimore, MD — Stephen Janis is an awarding-winning investigative reporter. The urban crime scene is his beat. His engrossing, surreal novel, “This Dream Called Death,” is his second book.

The fast-paced story is set in the decaying, crime-saturated and once-highly industrialized, “City of Balaise.” It’s a look into a grim, but maybe a not-too-distant future, where your worst fears of an ultra-controlling “Homeland Security-like” agency running amuck are a reality. Preventing crimes means the municipal bureaucrats, at the urgings of a paranoid “Deputy Mayor,” can check out your “dreams” for any “negative” thoughts, and if necessary, restrict your liberties.

Janis told the audience at his book reading, on Feb. 18, 2010: “Baltimore is Balaise!” He once wrote for the now-defunct “Baltimore Examiner” and he’s currently part of the staff of the “Investigative Voice.” If you ask me, he looks like a character right out of HBO’s “The Wire.” Janis had his book-reading at the “Atomic Books” store in quirky Hampden, a neighborhood that the film-making icon, John Waters, used as a base for so many of his comic flicks, such as “Cry-Baby.” In fact, “Atomic Books” is also a “mail drop” for Waters! (I’m not making this up.)

The unnamed narrator in “This Dream Called Death,” we learn from his memoirs, is a plodding bureaucrat in the “Bureau of Dreams,” aka as the “Bureau.” He’s charged with “reviewing dreams” in “district four, section three” of the city. If warranted, the narrator can grant or deny a “request for a waiver” for a dreamer slated for the dreaded “Waking Recidivist Complex”–the most severe form of therapy.

In the beginning, the narrator doesn’t reflect on the moral or social implications of his work. To him, it’s just a job, a way to grind out a living. He says: “It is what it is.” However, he will soon be jarred by fate into embracing a totally different point of view.

We learn that Blacks are targeted for “negative” dreams more than Whites. Dreams “about death” pose the highest threat to the deputy mayor. As for the media, well, don’t get your hopes up. Even the narrator refers to the evening news as, “Nightlies!”

This pre-crime type of theme was popularized by Philip K. Dick in his short story, “The Minority Report,” which was later made into a sci-fi film (2002). It starred Tom Cruise. Another of Dick’s novels was the basis for the movie, “Blade Runner.”

Here’s the narrator quoting the Deputy Mayor, on the day he took office: “This is no time for celebration…I am declaring ‘a state of emergency.’ A state of emergency born of the reality that Balaise is sick–a dying patient in need of surgery. And Balaise is dying because she is not safe.” He then has a huge banner, the size of the City Hall itself unfurled. It reads: “Be Conscious!”

If I didn’t know any better, I’d would have thought the model for Janis’ deputy mayor was NYC’s gift to the absurd–that raving Neocon, Rudy Giuliani! He’s that same lock-them-all-up politico, whose inept and corrupt Police Commissioner, Bernie Kerik, just got four years in the federal slammer for tax evasion.

However, closer to home, some might see a wee bit of ex-Baltimore City Mayor, now Maryland Governor, Martin O’Malley, in the persona of the overly-ambitious deputy mayor. When he was the City Hall boss, his disputed “arrest policy” led some innocent people, mostly in the Black community, to get police records, even though the charges against many of them were later dropped. O’Malley denied any wrongdoing on his part. Also, when he was mayor, his theme for the populous was–“Dream!”

In any event, two of the keys that make “This Dream Called Death,” such a compelling read for me are; first: Janis knows what the hell he’s writing about and it shows in the details of his novel. He has experienced Balaise (read Baltimore) and its crime-drug-infested areas, along with its dysfunctional criminal justice system. And secondly: The dismal human conditions that Janis describes ring mostly true and, unless reversed, will create, for the generations to come, a living hell on earth. To some, tragically, that hell has already arrived.

The sinister game plan of the screw-loose Deputy Mayor, who also suffers from a George W. Bush, Jr.-complex, can be reduced to this: He wants to “fix Balaise by fixing the dreams” of its citizens. He also wants the people to “believe” again. The demagogue vows to “declare war on those who do not ‘believe’” in order to “save” the city itself. Isn’t that like Dubya “saving” Iraq by destroying it?

Consider also the narrator’s view of the bleak wasteland that is a huge part of a dying Balaise: “Tight brick courtyards gave way to large vacant weed-filled lots, pockets of dust and trash, molting dogs and rats. Barren stretches of naked land were punctuated by a lone structure, a shack wrestled into the ground.”

I think the above fits right in as a metaphor for our country today, which is now subject to the “USA Patriot Act.” A place, too, where if the President labels you as an “enemy combatant,” you can then be locked away, indefinitely, without “due process of law,” and probably, end up being waterboarded as well. The celebrated author Naomi Wolf predicted that if the current administration does not undo all of the excesses of the Bush-Cheney Gang, America could easily slip into “a police state.”

Janis builds his tale in one bone-chilling scene after another with a writing style of clipped sentences that suits the genre. His urban landscape descriptions are first rate. As the tension escalates, the character of the narrator evolves, too, into a much more sympathetic figure. As you begin to care about him, Janis takes you for a ride into a history, a nightmare, which I fear, may be only one more 9/11 incident away from becoming our reality!

©2010, William Hughes, All Rights Reserved.

William Hughes is an author, commentator and videographer. His videos can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=liamh2 Email Contact: liamhughes@comcast.net

by William Hughes

“Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.” – H.
L. Mencken

Baltimore, MD – On Monday, Nov. 9, 2009, the criminal trial of Mayor
Sheila Dixon will open up in the Circuit Court House, only two blocks
from City Hall, where she’s reigned as boss of bosses since 2007. In a
way, it will be like watching one of the iconic John Waters’ flicks.
The case will have it all: sex, fur coats, a shop-till-you drop
mentality, comedy, a married boyfriend in heat, gift cards, sleazy
politics, back room deals, greed and high priced lawyers. In fact, the
Mayor has seven lawyers on her defense team! This is probably a world
record! (Saddam Hussein only had three.) This is also something film
guru Waters would never allow in any of his movies. One legal eagle
blowing off hot steam on behalf of a client would be more than enough
for him.

The seven counts in the indictment against Mayor Dixon all deal with
her alleged theft of 60 gift cards, meant for the poor. I’m not making
this up–gift cards for the needy of the city. They are worth about
$1,500 and were donated. Now, $1,500 isn’t a lot of money by New
York’s or Chicago’s crooked politician standards, but hell, we’re
different here in Baltimore. This is the South, Hon!

One of the last Baltimore officials to get jail time was a City
Comptroller, Wally Orlinsky. He crossed the line to the dark side in
1982. He demanded $10,032, “five percent” of a contract, that he had
helped to secure for a hauling company to truck sludge to a Western
Maryland strip mine. Mr. Orlinsky pleaded guilty to an extortion
charge in federal court, resigned his office, and got a six-month
sentence. He was later pardoned by President “Bubba Bill” Clinton and
ended up his sad sack days in a state sinecure (double gasp) planting
trees along I-95.

Mayor Dixon, an African-American, has insisted repeatedly that she’s
innocent. It’s true that the case is far from a slam dunk. The State’s
Special Prosecutor, Robert A. Rohrbaugh, however, doesn’t buy any of
her excuses and he’s convinced that he can make the charges stick.
He’s been probing City Hall for over four years. To the locals, it
feels more like fifty years! And, some are wondering out loud: All of
this for a lousy $1,500!

“The Boyfriend” in this drama is a developer, well connected to some
of the other wheeler-dealers in town. His name is Ronald H. Lipscomb
and he has a cute little mustache and dresses in the best kind of
Brooks Brothers’ suits. Mr. Lipscomb just copped a guilty plea to a
campaign finance violation, in yet another corruption inquiry into
City Hall wrongdoing. He is married. Mr. Lipscomb is slated to testify
against his ex-flame, Mayor Dixon. So much for a Romeo and Juliet
ending to this soap box-like saga.

Is the Dixon/Lipscomb flash-in-the pan relationship yet another sign
that we are living in a decaying culture devoid of true romantics? I’m
confident filmmaker John Waters will answer that question down the
road, if he decides to take on this slice of Baltimore camp.

What fun director/film maker Waters, a/k/a “The Pope of Trash,” would
have with this yarn. I can only imagine the dialogue that he could
dream up for the court room scenes between Lipscomb and the Mayor.
Chances are that she will need to testify. How else can she explain
away her use of those 60 gift cards and what happened to the products
that she bought with them. Did Mayor Dixon make up her own definition
for the “poor” and the “needy?” We will find out at the trial, which
could take one to two months to finish. Question: “Who will be taking
care of City Hall while the Mayor is in court daily?” Why can’t Mayor
Dixon appoint John Waters, a city native, as her Deputy? At least, the
people of Baltimore can have a good laugh as their town goes to Hell.

As for casting the principals of a John Water’s film, I would leave
that up to the director, who has a genius for such things. However, I
do have a suggestion for an actor to play Mayor Dixon–Dave Chappelle!
That’s right. I said Dave Chappelle. He could do the Mayor in drag!
And, there isn’t any reason why he can’t put a mustache and also do
Lipscomb! Having one actor play a dual role will also save the
producer some big bucks. Chappelle, in my opinion, is the funniest,
most talented comedian in America today.

Getting back to the trial. Some folks in Baltimore think that
stealing from the poor is the absolute pits. It’s like putting your
hand in the collection plate, not to donate, but to take away. Will
the Special Prosecutor portray the Mayor in that light? I think what
those grasping Wall Street banksters have been doing to America is a
far lot worse then what is supposed to have happened in this case. One
of the big differences, however, between such wrongdoings: The Wall
Street Mob has been screwing the people right out in the open and
getting away with it, too!

In law, the presumption of innocence is a terrific evidentiary rule,
priceless to a defendant. But, the Mayor’s lawyers, are going to have
their work cut out for them painting a flawed Sheila Dixon, as a
“Mother Theresa” to the jury. (1)

At the moment, Baltimore City is hurting, too, as the economy
continues to tank. Municipal employees have suffered layoffs;
Bethlehem Steel, once one of the biggest employers in the area, filed
for bankruptcy; and the huge General Motors plant on Broening Highway
is now part of industrial/labor history. And, then there’s the
potentially lethal swine flu outbreak, along with the murder count on
the rise also. The locals, including the jury of Mayor Dixon’s peers,
will not be in any kind of “live and let live” mood. Think Darth Vader
before he’s had his morning coffee!

We now know from documents that have been released in the case that
Lipscomb and Dixon, age 55 and twice divorced, were an intimate duo in
fancy hotels in New York and Chicago. In fact, the “Baltimore Sun”
revealed, in a Nov. 8, 2009 editorial, that there was one situation
where “she voted on one of his projects [a multimillion dollar
complex] in the morning and hopped a train with him to New York that
afternoon.” (1) What’s the jury going to think about that kind of
risqué behavior? It sounds, at least, like ultra-bad taste to me–
again, down Waters’ comedic alley.

The more of the salacious “Desperate Housewives’” stuff that
Prosecutor Rohrbaugh gets out for the jury to hear, the worse it will
be for the Mayor. Poor thing. (Oh, strike “poor” from the record.)
Supposedly, a former mayoral aide has labeled her a “shopaholic!” Is
that a crime? If the jury concludes that the Mayor’s a “bad person,”
then they will be more inclined to convict her, irrespective of the
small amount of money involved in this controversy. Juries have their
own code in reaching a verdict.

Finally, “Boyfriend” Lipscomb, the once high-flying developer, when
testifying, if permitted by the trial judge, could literally open up a
“can of worms!” Who knows what kind of sleazy City Hall secrets this
guy was privy to as a result of his amorous ties to Mayor Dixon? We
know she was “doing” Lipscomb? Was she also “doing” the poor, the
needy, the citizens of Baltimore? Stay tuned!

©2009,William Hughes. All Rights Reserved.

Editor’s Note: William Hughes’ videos can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=liamh2
. His latest book, “Saying ‘No’ to the War Party,” is available on
Amazon. Email Contact: liamhughes@comcast.net.

Notes:

1.  http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.dixon08nov08,0,3718679.story
and http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bal-md.ci.dixon08nov08,0,511949.story
and
http://www.wbaltv.com/news/21535570/detail.html and
http://wjz.com/local/bribery.Baltimore.City.2.1299306.html

www.youtube.com/watch?v=L53rYUeKiL4

Video: “Baltimore Four” Arrested--Health Care for All

On Oct. 29, 2009, four activists, who support a Medicare for All solution to our healthcare crisis, were arrested in Baltimore, MD, for trespassing. They were engaged in a “patients before profits sit-in” at a 17-story tower, which houses an office of the insurance giant, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. It’s located in the Canton area of the city. The demonstration was part of an ongoing national campaign by the “Mobilization for Health Care for All” group. The protest included the staging of a 15 ft. vampire, “Count Bleed Ya Dry,” that represented the Insurance Industry. For more more details on the Single Payer issue, the arrests and the exact charges placed against each defendant, check out: http://mobilizeforhealthcare.org/ One of the protesters arrested was Dr. Margaret Flowers. She is a member of the “Baucus Eight,” and an unrepentant advocate of a Single Payer System. See: Another Video physician, Dr. Eric Naumburg, was also arrested, along with an 81 year-old retiree, Mr. Charles Laubert, and a school teacher, Ms. Patty Courtney.

from: William Hughes

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JN4ua3ZHfM

Ralph Nader is an American original! He’s activist, a courageous gadfly, a former presidential candidate, a champion of social justice and a best selling author. His latest book is: “Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!” On the evening of Oct. 8, 2009, he spoke at the popular restaurant/bookstore “Busboys & Poets,” in Washington, D.C. Nader, during the Q&A period, said that the late, great President Franklin D. Roosevelt had a “fighting personality,” unlike President Barack Obama, who has an “excessively concessionary personality.” Nader added that he sees Obama as being “not wanting to take on the power structure.” He spoke before a SRO audience.

By Author William Hughes