Del Stone Jr.

We can’t afford to elect a man without a plan

October 27, 2024

Image by Del Stone Jr.

Former president Donald Trump was recently interviewed by The Bulletin, a monthly publication of the American Association of Retired Persons.

In that interview he was asked questions about the economy – how he would bring down the high cost of food, fuel and rent; how he would save Social Security; and how he would push back the date at which Medicare becomes insolvent.

He answered that he’d do all those things by strengthening the economy. He argued the high cost of everything is due in large part to the cost of energy, and if he could make oil more available, prices would come down. He used the words, “Drill, baby, drill” – meaning he would ramp up the exploration and drilling for oil. More oil would mean lower energy prices, which lower the price of everything else.

It’s the old maxim that a rising tide floats all boats. Most of the time that’s true, but this time there’s a problem.

The tide is already high.

Go to your favorite search engine. Mine is Google, but there are others. Ask it, “Which country is the world’s leading oil producer?”

The answer will be the United States. The United States produces more oil than Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Russia, Iran, and all the traditional oil producers.

While you’re there, ask your favorite search engine, “Which country leads the world in oil exploration and drilling?’

Once again the answer will be the United States.

The United States is already doing what Donald Trump says he will do to fix the economy. That means, the cornerstone of Donald Trump’s economic plan is null and void.

He is literally a man without a plan.

If it isn’t too late, reconsider your vote for Donald Trump. We can’t afford to elect a man without a plan.

About the author:

Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”

Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.

As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.

Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .

Pop singer Skye Riley finds herself being stalked by the Smile Entity in the followup to the viral horror movie hit "Smile" from 2022. This new excursion into that universe is even bloodier than the first. Paramount Pictures.

“Smile 2” Starring Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage. Directed by Parker Finn. Two hours, 7 minutes. Rated R. Theatrical release.

Plot summary: Comeback rock star Skye Riley finds herself stalked by the Smile Entity after witnessing the gruesome suicide of former classmate and sometime drug provider Lewis. A stranger, Morris, offers her a possible way of beating the entity.

Spoilers? None.

Del’s take

Halfway through “Smile 2” the couple behind me got up and left. I should have gone with them.

I didn’t like the movie.

*Skye Riley believes she is losing her mind after witnessing her former classmate and sometimes drug provider Lewis kill himself by smashing his face with a gym weight. Paramount Pictures.*

Critics are raving. It was the top box-office draw its opening weekend. It’s well made and well acted. Director Finn and distributor Paramount are thinking about a threequel, I bet.

But lowly I, me, yours truly, didn’t like it. Why?

Because once upon a time horror movies were scary. “Smile 2” isn’t scary. It’s gross, violent and depressing, but it’s not scary.

I will say this: It’s got the coolest soundtrack I’ve heard in recent memory. And the cinematography was awesome. Upside aerials over the city? Very cool.

And the talent was invested in this film, no doubt. Naomi Scott and Rosemarie DeWitt were terrific. The others were good, some even memorable, like the creepy little girl at the meet-and-greet, who spoke nary a word but stared – and smiled.

But what can I say? I didn’t like the movie.

I remember a day when horror movies relied on storytelling, tension, and the audience’s imagination to make them scary. These days it’s all about jump scares and gore, and “Smile 2” is generously endowed with both. We get to see faces smashed with gym weights, jawbones ripped from skulls, daggers of glass pulled from bloody feet – it goes on and on. After awhile you just sit there in your movie theater seat, the soles of your shoes sticking to the gooey floor as this bloody spectacle plays out on the screen, the last molecule of empathy in your body bludgeoned into senselessness. The couple behind me missed the really bad parts.

Plus, it’s hard to feel anything for people who are so shitty, and every character in this movie is a creep to some degree, from burned-out ex-junkie Skye (Naomi Scott) to her insufferable stage mom Elizabeth (Rosemarie DeWitt) and looney drug dealer Lewis (Lukas Gage). Who cares if any of these guys gets a bedazzled microphone shoved through the eye?

Finally, what is the point of all this? What kind of object lesson are we supposed to learn? I tried to decide if “Smile 2” was a treatise on the wages of guilt, or a condemnation of the hollowness of fame and those who chase it. In the end I decided it was nothing but a pointless bloodbath.

But don’t listen to me. The critics love it, and so do moviegoers. Box Office Mojo reports “Smile 2” earned $23 million its first weekend, which topped the charts. All those people, and all that money, can’t be wrong. Right?

I give it a grade of C. Too bloody, too violent, too depressing for lowly me.

Del Stone Jr. is a former journalist and writer.

In one of the creepier scenes, Skye Riley is approached by a young fan at a signing who says nothing during the encounter but stares at her, a weird smile plastered across her face. Paramount Pictures.

Today, I voted.

I didn’t vote for a person. I voted for values, and principles.

I voted for sanity, and reason.

I voted for truth, and the rule of law.

I voted for tolerance, and acceptance.

I voted for dignity, and respect.

I voted for the Constitution, and America.

I voted against things, too.

I voted against immorality, and a lack of ethics.

I voted against insanity, and chaos.

I voted against lies, and disrespect for the law.

I voted against intolerance, and exclusion

I voted against humiliation, and contempt.

I voted against fascism, and a police state.

Today, I voted for love, not hate.

If I had a message for you today, it would be to give hope a chance.

We know what fear, and rage, look like. We’ve seen them before.

Give hope a chance.

About the author:

Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .

Hurricane Helene struck a couple of hundred miles to the east but still caused significant flooding at Ferry Park in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Photos by Del Stone Jr.

Since the late 1800s, scientists have been telling us that our use of fossil fuels was changing the climate.

For the past 50 years, scientists have been telling us that the ice caps are melting and sea levels are rising; summers are growing hotter; droughts and forest fires are happening more frequently; thunderstorms and tornadoes are becoming more violent, and hurricanes are forming more often, intensifying more rapidly, growing stronger, and producing more rain.

The loss of life, the destruction, and the misery we are seeing in the Southeast right now, as a result of Hurricane Helene, was entirely preventable.