Liberal Entitlement$
Liberal Entitlements, self-published, is a fiction based on Canadian politics, taking the reader into an election campaign engineered by the opposition to expose the corruption in the ruling party and to assume power. The end result of the election is dramatically influenced by an unexpected event late into the campaign. The reader will sense that the story is too close to truth to be a pure fiction. Bearing in mind that truth is often stranger then fiction; in politics the line between the two is frequently blurred, or even non-existent.
148 pages
ISBN 0-9737390-3-7
Excerpt - Three Wise Persons
Alan Brooks spotted the empty table and carefully worked his way through the crowd. He was lucky to find it, as the popular Stampede bar was almost full. It seemed more Calgarians were thirsty on Thursdays than on any other day. Thirsty Thursday, he thought. No sooner had he sat down then his friend, Will Whittaker, joined him.
Will had arrived earlier, but had immediately gone to another part of the establishment to look at the dancing girls. It was a routine he followed every time he had a drink at the Stampede.
"Hi Will, you're early as always," Alan remarked. "Next time find a table so that I don't have to sweat it."
Will grinned at his friend whose opening line never changed, "Hi Alan, you know that my priority after I get here is to check out the talent. It puts some spice in my boring life, which would get unbearable if I didn't grab a quick peak now and then."
Will, in his mid-fifties, was a University of Calgary political science professor. He was of average height with an ample frame, and packaged himself in traditional rumpled tweeds. His face looked young and trustworthy, a face that attracted people. Women liked to associate with him, as friends. He had been with the university for a couple of decades and loved all aspects of his job. He was a thoughtful and objective individual with an analytical mind and an earthy sense of humour.
Alan had developed an oil company that eventually became a medium sized producer, pumping 14,000 barrels a day. Five years ago when he turned 70, he and his two junior partners took the company public. He sold most of his shares, retaining 15 percent of the company. His accountant invested 50 million for him, ensuring that Alan had enough to live very comfortably with his wife and to buy the first round every Monday and Thursday evening for his two special friends.....
.....Patricia Mulligan was the third member of their troika, invariably arriving late. She was a senior reporter with the Calgary Herald, with her own column, which ran three times a week. Patricia had seen much of life and retained a number of its scars. Her enthusiasm for a story, and for the story behind the story, had led her to neglect a marriage and herself. Her days as a single mother were more or less over as her two children were now on their own. She frequently suffered guilt pangs, some justified, and soothed them with work, food and an occasional drink or two.
Alan caught the eye of their waiter and nodded to him. Turning back to Will he said, "Patricia didn't call so we should expect her. If she doesn't make it it's your turn to drink her Irish coffee. Wonder what she likes about it? The Irish whiskey is so abrasive it can remove bugs off a radiator."
"Why don't you ask the Irish lady? She's just come in." Will waved in her direction and she made her way through the crowded bar, her ample body clearing a wide pathway. "The Red Sea parts for our Patricia, at least it had better or else there'll be trampled bodies." .....
....."Well Patricia," Will asked, "what juicy news is being misquoted by your rag today?"
"As a matter of fact, Will, it'll be right up your alley," she replied. " The federal opposition seems likely to get their act together this time and get their non-confidence vote through. It appears that the Bloc Quebecois and the NDP will cooperate with the Conservatives this time."
"Why this time Pat?" Alan asked. "Or should I be asking our learned friend here who's been trying to figure these things out for 30 years?"
"I'll give him a chance to speak, Alan, as a matter of fact I sometimes feel like I'm saying exactly what he wants me to say. Guess I've listened to him so much I feel like I owe him tuition fees. Except that I can't afford them on my paltry newspaper wages."
They both smiled at her as she carried on. "The opposition parties have been biding their time, Alan, waiting for the voters to forget that they just voted not long ago. They also expected, or at least prayed that the voters would become much more peed off at the Liberals over the advertising scandal in Quebec and the other shady deals than they have. And at the gun law legislation. And the gay marriage legislation. And anti-Americanism. And the judicial decisions on so many issues like the child pornography-as-art decision. And the softness on young offenders. And the early paroles. And the slow deportation of convicted criminals who are not citizens. Etcetera, etcetera.
"Well it's not turning out that way. Perhaps with the Quebec voters over the advertising scandal, but not with the rest of Canadians. Since the Conservatives are the main opposition, they have gotten very antsy over all this. And know that the more time passes, the bigger the chance that Peter Otter and his Liberals will escape punishment by the voters. So they believe they're between a rock and a hard place, and have to strike. It bugs them to have to deal with the Bloc, the party that promotes Quebec separatism and is therefore treasonous in their eyes. Not a pretty scene for them." She stopped and turned to Will. "Well, Will, what do you think?"