Nathan Martinez is President!
World News Network
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today marks a historic day for the nation as the first person of color has been elected President of the United States. President-elect Nathan Martinez, Jr. marked the occasion by thanking the American people in a public address during which he promised, again, to bring prosperity back to the nation, by putting the country on a new path.
A Historic Day! Martinez Elected!
American News
WASHINGTON, D.C. - President-elect Nathan Martinez captured the hearts, minds and votes of a majority of the American people with his promises of hope and change.
Martinez Wins Election!
World Tribune
WASHINGTON, D.C. - On January 24, 2009, Nathan Martinez will become the official President of the United States after soundly defeating Republican candidate, Sen. Daniel McRae. Promising hope and change, President-elect Martinez will also become the first person of color to sit in the highest office of the land.
MANHATTAN, NY - Business baron, Henry B. Castiglione, III stood six-foot, two inches and was a full five inches taller than his father, Camilo Castiglione, once the wealthiest man in the United Kingdom. Today, the family fortune was a small fraction of what it had been and the industrial conglomerate left to Henry now operated in the United States. It was two decades ago when Henry’s father was forced to face reality...if he remained in England, the government and the unions would eventually own the family business.
The Democrat takeover of Congress had been a rude awakening in 2006 and their success in securing the White House in 2008 was even more alarming. Many of the positions Nathan Martinez ran on were the same as those the socialists back home had run on several decades earlier.
Martinez advocated a universal government healthcare program; he was in support of legislation that would enact the rights of all workers to organize into labor unions and he had no qualms about increasing tax rates on every class of citizen outside those who paid nothing. Martinez’s plans focused on increasing the size of welfare spending and the private sector would be the group he picked on to pay the tab.
Just following Martinez’s accession to the presidency, Henry and other big industrialists met to secretly discuss the winds of change now sweeping in from Europe. Their only concern was that this last capitalist bastion might fall next. The consensus among Henry and his peers was that something needed to be done to reverse the trend to permanent Democrat Party control and liberalism, the first step toward socialism.
Henry had devoted a great deal of money during the last election cycle, an unsuccessful effort which also made him a target of the American media. He understood the nature of the problem; the news industry could outspend the Republican Party by a factor of ten or more, and do it in the guise of news reporting. To make things worse, the money conservatives like himself threw into advertising only lined the pockets of the news industry. It was a vicious and counterproductive cycle that arose every two years.
The enormity of the problem was caste in light of the numbers. During the election, the media had been able to move seventy-six percent of the “undecided” vote, more than thirty-five million voters, into the Democrat camp! Something needed to be done, but Henry and men like him were at a loss as to what.
People believing in ‘Global Warming’ were coming to power. Only recently had it become revamped as ‘Climate Change’ when a prolonged period of unusually cold weather blew holes in the theory. The response of the intelligencia was to step up their rhetoric, as the stakes were too high to lose the issue to the facts. When, not if, the Democrats took control of Washington, something like the "Kyoto Agreement" would be as good as signed. When enacted, it would eventually siphon off, not millions, not billions, but approximately 2.5 trillion in taxpayer dollars...all from the private sector, corporations and individuals, alike. It was a racket; much of those taxes would find the way back into the pockets of those party officials in power.
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MANHATTAN, NY - Deena Crawford’s personal secretary, Shirley Winters, sat quietly at her desk outside the news icon's office. Shirley was in her late twenties, attractive, petite, outgoing and held a business degree and had much bigger plans than to remain an administrative assistant for Ms. Deena Crawford. For a year, the secretary was with the Washington Bureau as an assistant for Lucy Dietrich who was open to her dream of becoming a reporter. With Lucy’s support, Shirley began attending night courses to get the requisite journalism degree. Her dream was put on hold nine months earlier when her now-estranged spouse was forced to relocate to New York for a promotion. It seems the success had gotten to Shirley’s husband’s head, and the extramarital affair with her spouse’s secretary soon became known.
Shirley had been Ms. Crawford’s assistant for eight long months and she hated what the ‘Prima Donna’ was doing. Shirley found the news anchor both arrogant and condescending, but what she disliked most was the way Ms. Crawford treated her, like an indentured servant. The good-natured, warm personality Ms. Crawford portrayed to the viewing audience every night was nothing except a facade. What’s more, Shirley recognized she was on borrowed time. Most of Crawford’s assistants had not lasted a year.
Shirley answered.
“This is the operator. I have another one on the line who insists on speaking with Ms. Crawford.”
The female anchor had become the face most her audience trusted for their perspectives of events. Ms. Crawford had also become one of the most outspoken critics of conservatism in all its forms. This was why many nuts showed up at Ms. Crawford’s doorstep, so to speak.
“Put the call through, I’ll take care of it. This is Ms. Crawford’s office. Can I help you?”
The voice of a young man answered, “I want to speak to Ms. Crawford. Tell Ms. Crawford I have something on the President. Tell Ms. Crawford I know she’ll be interested.”
What a pompous ass, thought Shirley. “Whom am I speaking with, please?” with sarcasm in her voice.
“Mr. Smith.”
“Look Mr. Smith, Ms. Crawford is very busy. She gets calls like yours at least twice a day so you’re going to have to give me something to work with if you want to get Ms. Crawford’s attention.”
Normally, this as far as the caller would get. Stumped at the need to prove that what they are saying was true.
“Tell Ms. Crawford I have proof that President McKinley has been breaking the law, international laws…and no one, including anyone in the media knows about it.”
Abu Ghraib resulted from leaks to the media who ran with the human rights violations story for four long years. One of the narratives that surfaced tied the actions of the eleven convicted military personnel to secret orders said to come directly from the White House. The ludicrousness of this concoction seemed at first so far fetched no intellectual on the right had taken it consequentially. Several years later, the Abu Ghraib story had played a large part in putting the Democrats back in control of Congress. The orthodox intelligencia was again proven wrong.
“Mr. Smith, that all sounds good, but I’m afraid that’s not going to get you anywhere. Is there some kind of physical proof that your claim is true? Something you can fax, mail, or deliver?”
Shirley made the mistake of sending a fruit cake through once before. If it happened again, it would mean the unemployment lines for her.
There was a long pause on the other end of the line.
“I’ll fax you a portion of a document, what is the number?”
Shirley looked and found the company phone directory and gave the caller the number for a fax machine in an unoccupied office. There was a fax sitting next to Shirley, but Mr. Smith sounded legitimate. The other “Mr. Smiths” would never have committed to sending evidence to back up their wild claims. This guy apparently would.
“Look for it within the next couple of minutes. I expect to speak with Ms. Crawford once you get it, and I don’t want to have to
go through the operator again.”
“Wait one minute Mr. Smith. What is it that you’re after?”
“That will be between Ms. Crawford and me.”
“Mr. Smith, I’m afraid you don’t understand Ms. Crawford very well. It would help your position immensely if I could give Ms. Crawford some idea of what you’re looking to get in exchange.”
“Money and immunity.”
“How much money?”
“$5 million.”
“Immunity from what?”
“I leave it up to you to figure that out.”
“Okay, here is my direct line.” Shirley gave Mr. Smith her personal extension.
Mr. Smith responded, “I will call you back within the hour,” and hung up abruptly.
Sounded like he got a little mad.
Shirley set the phone down and walked to Ms. Crawford’s door, which was every time closed. Shirley gave it a brisk knock. “Ms. Crawford. I have to run down to the supply room. We’ve run out of ink for the printer.”
Ms. Crawford’s muffled voice came through the solid wood door. “Fine, just don’t take too long.”
“I won’t Ms. Crawford.” Shirley smiled smugly as she walked off to find the facsimile machine that was on the same floor, but on the other side of the building.
Shirley was shocked to find a coworker picking the fax out of the hopper when she arrived. “Oh, that’s mine. Ms. Crawford was expecting it.” Shirley snatched the page from the woman’s hands. “Thanks.”
She was at long last beginning to behave like every other New Yorker, every time on the borderline of rude. Shirley did not take the time to look at the fax until she arrived back at her desk. What Shirley saw was a page that had everything blacked out except for one paragraph. It read:
The President hereby authorizes SAD to carry out kill operations against terrorist strongholds operating inside the borders of known insurgent sponsoring countries. Notable sponsors include Jordan, Syria and Iran.
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Senior Editor, Lucy Dietrich and her top reporter, Telly Abernathy, were in her office discussing the progress being made with political connections up on Capitol Hill when her secretary buzzed her.
“Ms. Dietrich, you have a call on line one. She says it is Shirley Winters.”
“Janice, I’m in the middle of something right now. Can you take a message?”
“She said it was urgent.”
Lucy peered across her desk at Telly. “This will take just a moment.”
Lucy picked up the call, “Hello Shirley. What is so urgent?”
“Yes…okay…" Telly Abernathy noticed Lucy’s expression changing to one of both surprise and shock.
"Shirley, do you mind if I put you on the speakerphone? Okay, hold on a second.” Lucy pressed the hold button.
“You need to hear this. This is my former assistant, Shirley Winters.”
Telly said with interest etched on his face, “Okay?”
She pressed the speaker button. “Shirley?”
Telly heard a young woman’s voice come over the speaker, “Yes, Ms. Dietrich.”
“Shirley, can you repeat what you just told me?”
As Telly listened, his interest grew.
“Shirley, are you still working for Ms. Crawford? Was that how this came across your desk?”
“Yes, to both.”
“Do you still have hopes of becoming a reporter? Because this story could be your big break.”
“I’m not sure what you mean, Ms. Dietrich?”
Telly Abernathy signaled his boss with his hands; he wanted to talk privately for a moment.
“Shirley, I’m going to put you on hold for a moment. Just hang on the line.”
“Okay.”
“Good, don’t go anywhere,” and put Shirley on hold.
Lucy peered at Telly, “Are you thinking what I am thinking?”
“Yes, I am, but first, have you ever heard of a government agency called the Special Activities Division?”
Lucy shook her head, “No, but we both are aware of who can find out. I have two thoughts. I say we badge Shirley as one of our own, have her work for us. Let’s see if she can make something of this?”
“I would say go for it, except I want to be included in this one.”
“That’s fine, just keep me in the loop.”
“Shirley...Shirley, are you there?”
“Yes, Ms. Dietrich.”
“What do you think of the idea of becoming one of our people?”
“That sounds wonderful. Will I get to run with this story?”
“Yes, you need to stay right where you are for the time being. See what you can find on Mr. Smith. If Crawford arranges a meeting with the ‘whistle blower’ find out where it is. I’ll have a tail put on him. I am also going to assign one of my top people to help you. His name is Telly Abernathy. I will have him contact you this afternoon. What number should Telly call?”
Shirley gave Lucy both her cellphone and office extension.
“I’ll have Telly give you a call this afternoon. If I know Ms. Crawford and Donald Abraham, they will jump all over those leaked documents. Shirley, I will begin processing your paperwork today."
Lucy hesitated before continuing, “Shirley, you’re in a unique situation. You have come across something that usually only happens once in a journalist’s lifetime. Are you ready for the challenge?”
“Yes, Ms. Dietrich, I am.”
“Oh, and by the way, from now on you can call me Lucy.”
“Thanks, Lucy.”
Lucy hung up.
Telly commented, “You know, this could turn very dangerous for her?”
“Yes, I know, that’s why I want you on this, too. See what you can dig up on this agency and fill me in with what you uncover.”
“Will do, boss.”
MCKINLEY’S LAST ORDER
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