GAP: Generic Acquisition Protocol

Title:              GAP: Generic Acquisition Protocol
Author:         Christopher Lee Nordloh
Year:              2019
Publisher:     Book-Art Press Studio
ISBN:             978-1-950024-84-1
Pages:           212

"If a police officer wants to question a child and the parent invokes the child's right to have their legal guardian present, or their right to an attorney, can the State seize custody of the child without the parent's knowledge and proceed with the interview?"

This question caught my attention when I first glanced over the abstract of this highly disturbing revelation of what is happening inside the child protective service system in Colorado, but likely not unique to that state. Can the authorities really remove, unbeknownst to the parents, a child and place the child in a corrupt system?

It seems to be the case, as Christopher Lee Nordloh reveals in his nonfiction book GAP: Generic Acquisition Protocol. I had heard of cases of wrongful removal of children from their parents, but never have I heard of cases so outrageous and grotesque as what Nordloh describes, when a mother in Colorado loses her daughter as her constitutional rights are violated.

Christopher Lee Nordloh examines the case of a minor child, Joy (not her real name), who was removed from her mother through GAP and never returned again. GAP uses a manufactured excuse to take custody of a child. It is a "one-size-fits-all" allegation against the parent, a measure that should leave any parent - good and bad ones - seriously concerned with the system we live in. The corrupt judge uses a fraudulently fabricated excuse for the court to accommodate the needs of the State of Colorado to accomplish this task.

Nordloh describes in detail the GAP process, using a real case, assisted by extensive evidence, as he exposes corruption. This book gives you the chills! I could not put it down. I could not help but think of two cases I personally knew of where the state had removed children, whom they had no reason to remove, of which one was U.S. military family and the other a hard-working, legal immigrant. Nordloh's book is aggravating, scary, and treasured at the same time. Aggravating because we don't want to think that child protective services is corrupt, that it might even be another source of human trafficking. Scary because this story is not fabricated Hollywood garbage but a true story right in our modern day America. And treasured because without courageous individuals, such as Nordloh, we might never know that these horrific cases happen right under our very noses.

I give this book straight A's. It is well-documented, thorough, straightforward, and follows a strategy used in courts but described so that anyone can understand it. Of the 212 pages, 138 pages are supporting exhibits proving Nordloh's arguments, which is greatly appreciated to thoroughly understand what happened in this case. It is not just a story. It is a case, one that is highly recommended to read by any parent but also any family attorney.

Review by Publisher Karina Schmitt of Sophie Publishing House, Inc.
www.SophiePublishing.com

Governing the Affairs of the People

Title:                Governing the Affairs of the People
Author:           Rogers, Steven
Year:                2014
Publisher:       Xulon Press
ISBN:               978-1628716771
Pages:             137


A guide for local government elected officials written by Steven Rogers; this little blue book is an interesting read, which unlike many books on political affairs, does not promote a specific political platform, philosophy, nor party affiliation. It is not about promotion of a political candidate who tries to tarnish the reputation of their opposition. Nor is it about how to get rich fast using politics as its vehicle, in lieu of finding employment elsewhere or getting off public assistance, as some politicians have done.

Governing the Affairs of the People starts out with a quote from a statesman - or woman - most admirable, namely Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533 - 1603) who said:

"To be a king and wear a crown is a thing more glorious to them that see it than it is pleasant to them that wear it."

A leader, not a career politician, Queen Elizabeth I is known for her unconventional ways for a woman of her time to lead a nation for forty-five years until her death, while challenging and defeating the Spanish King Philip II in the Spanish Armada. Some scholars have argued that the Queen ruled her Empire Machiavellian style, even claiming without solid proof that she used Nicholas Machiavelli's famous guidebook to state leadership, The Prince (written in 1513 and published in 1532, a year before the Queen was born), as her literary mentor.

Having studied and written about Her Majesty and the Spanish Armada, I am not  convinced that Elizabeth I (only) used The Prince to assist her in becoming one of history's most remarkable statesmen of all times. In fact, given her strong Protestant conviction and her consistent rejection of the power hungry, scrupulous, and murderous King Philip II of Spain, whose only objective was to gain territory and spread the Catholic Church in cooperation with the Pope, I am more convinced she found guidance in Biblical teachings.

Steven Rogers asks "As I travel the political landscape I ask, whom can I trust and form whom can i find guidance?" (pg 9).

This question alludes to what the reader is about to be introduced to, namely a account on how one distinguishes between a true leader and a career politician with the guiding light of God by his side always.

Steven Rogers recognizes that many officials "who begin to read this book will never finish it," as they will be too afraid to finish it (pp 17), but one is a fool if one does not read to the end.

Whether you consider yourself religious, regardless of religious affiliation, or not, Steven Rogers provides invaluable guidance in leadership aligning himself with his faith. There is an interesting harmonious balance between his advise to the political leaders and using examples from the Bible in which leaders of the past have learned their lessons and how we can learn from their mistakes in modern day leadership roles.

Alan Axelrod called Queen Elizabeth I a "CEO" of her beloved England, a Captain of her ship taking full responsibility for her crew - her crew being the great people of England. Likewise, Steven Rogers provides, through Biblical examples, advise on how we select good leaders, and how political leaders maneuver through the challenges they face on their road. He presents the temptations many political leaders are likely to fall prey to, while offering solutions to how best to meet these challenges the right way and maintain integrity, honor, and respect in a dirty world.

Governing the Affairs of the People is an easy read which deserves more attention than I fear it might have received. It is a guidebook describing a code of honor many politicians, as we all know, sadly do not possess, yet the public fail to see it while blindly and foolishly trusting  deceptive faces of evil ideologies who promote government freebies for all. Nothing is free. If someone tells you otherwise, be on alert for they are trying to deceive you.

I recommend Steven Roger's guidebook even for leader of none-political character, such as those in the private sector and education. Read it for its quality advise on how to be a better the leader of your organization or classroom.

Governing the Affairs of the People is available on Amazone here.


By Karina Schmitt
Publisher, Author, and Political Activist

Cuban American Political Culture and Civic Organizing by Robert M. Ceresa

Author: Ceresa, Robert M. 

Publishing Year: 2017. 

Title: Cuban American Political Culture and Civic Organization.  

Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan.

From the standpoint of proofreading and editing, the literature is mediocre because of certain redundancies. Whether this is due to insufficient editing or done deliberately to try to drive down a specific narrative, as the material is intended for college students, is unclear. There are also parts where the writer expresses himself obscurely which repeatedly forces the reader to reread a sentence or paragraph to decipher precisely what he intends to say, as it lacks clarity. Because this is not a book review, I will not discuss specifics in this paper but will be reviewing the text in a separate book review later.

Ceresa’s research assists in understanding the Cuban culture relative to Cuban voters and why voting rights for most Cubans is fundamental to life. In Chapter 5 Political Theory as Political Culture he provides insight into how the Cuban culture approaches politics and the community they construct and identify with. He highlights how one’s political culture is reflected in the “shared values, beliefs, and identity and interest people inherit from their social network (Ceresa. 2017:77). The construction of micro-societies with local communities is analyzed and discussed in this chapter which serves as background education for the analysist of a project such as this paper. For the Cubans, the ideals they construct within their own micro-society, such as for example the Republican Club of South Dade, start at the local level and pro-actively reaches out to the state and national level. They are based on relationship and report building at the local level, which Ceresa theorizes is how the Cuban voters also nurture their political society and commitment to ideals (Ceresa. 2017:78).

Ceresa appears to be openly biased and not surprisingly anti-Republican (Ceresa. 2017:3). He does not shy away from calling Fidel Castro a hero (ibid) nor applaud Obama’s attempt to reverse the hardliner stand that the United States and Cuban Miamians have taken against communist Cuba since early 1960’s, as he makes an effort to mention, as though pro-Muslim Obama identifies himself with Catholicism during his visit to the Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre in Coconut Grove, Miami, as “the US president to pay his respect there” (Ceresa. 2017:4). I find it interestingly ironic that Ceresa would praise Obama for this fake visit to Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre in Coconut Grove, Miami in an attempt to court Cuban Americans, who are predominately Catholic, as though they are oblivious to Obama’s religious affiliation.

While Cuban American Political Culture and Civic Organizing can be used selectively as material for the gaining background knowledge of the Cuban American political identity and for an understanding of what might have played a role in the shifting of some Cuban American voters to Non-Party Affiliated voters, it fails to convince me as statistics from Miami Dade County Government demonstrates over an eight year period, while the pro-Marxist agenda of the Obama Administration worked to pull voters away from conservatism, that Democrat voter registrations among Hispanics is dropping. What Ceresa may be relying on is that most students who will be reading his book will not bother to double check if the statistics supports his claims. Ceresa researches Cuban Americans in Miami from 2007-2017, which skillfully coincides with the Obama Era, but because of the publishing date of his work, it is not reflective of the Cuban American political scene during the 2018 Midterm Election, which the Greiner and Gladwin’s report from FIU’s Cuban Research Institute demonstrates the opposite of.

One thing that struck me as suspicious was his admiration for communist and political activist, Saul Alinsky (Ceresa. 2017:vii), who is known for his radical leftist perspectives, though he never joined the socialist party, and his book Rules for Radicals (1971). He is known for his work in the so-called New Socialist Movement, a movement which subscribes to the idea of New World Order in which they progress their far-leftist agenda through government handouts. Knowing that both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are influenced by Saul Alinsky’, Clinton writing her thesis on Alinsky, and Ceresa revealing his admiration for Alinsky, this aids to explain convincingly his advocacy for making the readers think Cuban Americans are turning leftist oriented. He uses persuasive argumentation techniques but fails to provide hardcore facts. The only thing missing here presently is proof, such a copy of bank transfer or a cancelled check, where Ceresa received funding for his research project from. I have my suspicions. 

Bøger fra Max Rask

Forfatter: Max Rask
Titel: Oldemors historiske opskriftsbog
År: 2018
Forlag: mellemgaard
ISBN: 978-8-93692-44-2
Pris: Kr. 195,00 (P-bog) og Kr. 149,00 (e-bog)

Titel: Vognmanden fra Kværndrup
År: 2015
Forlag: mellemgaard
ISBN: 978-87-93366-49-7



Man kan med fordel købe Vognmanden fra Kværndrup (2015) og Oldemors historiske opskriftsbog (2018) sammen, idet Vognmanden fra Kværndrup ved flere lejligheder giver referencer til opskrifter i Oldemors historiske opskriftsbog.

Oldemors historiske opskriftsbog og Vognmanden fra Kværndrup tager læseren med på en rejse  i danskernes hverdagsliv fire generationer tilbage. I Vognmanden fra Kværndrup vender forfatteren blikket tilbage til 1920'erne til familien Larsen fra Kværndrup og det med tiden voksende entrepreneur firma, som forfatteren mindes.

Max Rask, som blandt andet er radiovært og journalist, giver igennem interviews, fotos og arkivarbejde et indblik i det tidlige tyvende århundredes hverdag med familie, arbejde og kønsroller. Han linker på en fin og hyggelig måde, som får læseren til at føle sig tættere på Max Rasks familie, de to bøger. For eksempel fortæller han i starten af Vognmanden fra Kværndrup om Lauras dejlige og populære kråsesuppe, som man kan finde opskriften på i Oldemors historiske opskriftsbog. 

Jeg måtte jo som en del af denne sjove oplevelse at samlæse og anmelde samtidig begge bøger, afprøve et par opskrifter, som Max Rask fortæller om. Jeg valgte derfor kråsesuppen og den berømte brunsviger. Kråsesuppen, som man kan finde på side 112 i Oldemors historiske opskriftsbog, og som forfatteren anbefaler at lave med gæs (Vognmanden fra Kværndrup. Side 15), er ganske fortræffelig. Man lægger hurtigt mærke til, at opskrifterne er præsenteret på samme måde, som sad man overfor sin bedstemor, og spugte hende, hvordan man laver retten. Vi er i dag vant til, at alt skal skæres ud i pap, så selv en høne forstår det, men jeg husker også, som bøgerne antyder, min mormor, som remsede en masse ingredienser op samt deres mængder med cirka anvisninger. Det er en af de sjove detaljer, som man oplever ved Oldemors historiske opskriftsbog og som gør det ekstra sjovt at bevæge sig ud i.

Idet forfatteren er fynbo, valgte jeg at afprøve brunsvigeropskriften (side 165). Man skal lige tænke et øjeblik, inden man rører det hele godt sammen 😉 Opskriften på fyldet skal naturligvis oven på brøddejen, inden det hele bages. Enhver, som har bare lidt erfaring med at bage, vil kunne regne den ud. Det er en dejlig opskrift, som varmt anbefales.

Begge bøger byder på mange fine, omend gamle, billeder, så læseren visuelt kan danne sig en billede af livet og personerne, som Max Rask fortæller om. I denne slags litteratur, hvor man netop stifter personlig bekendskab med mennesker og steder, er det fantastisk godt at kunne sætte ansigt personerne. Ofte i litteratur er vi nødsaget til at forestille os, hvordan folk ser ud, men her er det så fint, at Max Rask byder os indenfor, hvis man kan sige det sådan, og lader os komme nærmere på livet og personerne.

Jeg anbefaler, at man køber bøgerne sammen, og jeg giver Max Rask et skulderklap for det store arbejde han har lagt i bøgerne. Hvis jeg skulle give dem nogen kritik teknisk, så ville det være rent redigeringsmæssigt, at jeg mener, at forlaget kunne have gjort et bedre stykke arbejde, men det er ikke noget, som Max Rask kan kritiseres for.

Strukturen og fremgangsmåden i Oldemors historiske opskriftsbog er ganske fin, idet første halvdel af bogen giver baggrundsviden om livet for en dansk familie fra begyndelsen af det tyvende århundrede og frem til cirka 1970'erne. Anden del af bogen byder på oldemødrenes gode, gamle, danske opskrifter, som man næsten kan smage i første del af bogen, når forfatteren beskriver, hvordan familien samledes om dem.

Man får også hurtigt opfattelsen af, at vi i dag desværre har ofret familiesammenholdet for den hurtige livsstil, som vi i dag oplever. Disse bøger kan bringe os mentalt tilbage i tiden, så vi ikke glemmer denne tid.  Ved gennemlæsning af opskrifterne i Oldemors historiske opskrifter kommer jeg uvilkårlig til at tænke på min gamle, slidte Frøken Jensens kogebog, som oprindelig blev trykt i 1901. Det er en gammel hjælper i mit eget køkken, som jeg har haft stående på min bogreol i mange år. Det ville ikke forbavse mig, hvis Max Rasks oldemødre har haft et eksemplar af Frøken Jensens kogebog stående.

Bøgerne er tilgængelige i landets boghandlere og på www.mellemgaard.dk. Links til bøgerne ses øverst oppe på denne anmeldelse.

Af Karina Schmitt
Forlagschef
Sophie Publishing House, Inc.
Florida, USA
www.sophiepublishing.com

Nornespind af Gert Maarløw Nicolaisen

Forfatter: Gert Maarløw Nicolaisen
Titel: Nornespind
År: 2018
Forlag: mellemgaard
ISBN: 978-87-93692-21-3


"Det grå æbletræs første beretning" står der med mellemstore bogstaver på forsiden af denne historiske roman. Dystre, violette nuancer spreder sig ud over forsiden. Jeg åbner spændt bogen og ser teksten på flappen:

Tøkk skulle dø! Så enkelt var det. Det skulle være nu, og Gudrid skulle selv være den, der sendte kællingen til Hels port med et langt rødt spor efter sig. Hun skulle spytte og danse på troldkvindens døde lig, sprætte hende op og fodre skrigende ravne i ugevis. Hovedet på hende skulle løftes på en stang og øjnene hænges om hendes hals.

Vikingefortællingen lægger ud med et snapshot fra Island, hvor kristendommen er begyndt at sprede sig, trods vikingeånden stadig præger folks adfærd. Snart bliver læseren taget på tur til Danmark, hvor krig, vold og brutalitet karakteriserer landet.

I løbet af bogens 395 sider hersker der ikke tvivl om, at Gert Maarløw Nicolaisen besidder en enorm baggrundsviden om vikingernes historie, kristendommens grundlæggelse i Danmark og Norden, Sagaerne og vikingernes vestlige ekspansion til Grønland. Hvis han ikke gjorde det, ville det simpelthen ikke være muligt at skrive denne så virkelighedsnære roman.

Igennem personerne, såsom den kristne Gudrid i kontrast med asadyrkeren Torfin, får læseren et spændende og dybdegående indblik i denne tids samfund og deres interaktion med hinanden. I Torfins verden i Hedeby i Danmark hersker der et brutalt helvede, og forfatteren lægger ikke fingre imellem, når han med et flot sprog beskriver scenerne hele bogen igennem, som her hvor han siger:

Kvinden og de skrigende unger fanges ind og drives bundne ad sted, men deres fars blod løber mellem gadens belægningsplanker og nedad mod havnen. Byen brænder nu ikke længere stedvist, men overalt! (27).

Forfatterens fine detaljer gør denne vikingefortælling fangende. Man føler næsten, at man bliver suget ind i bogens handling, hvilket for mig er usædvanligt. Jeg plejer at kunne distancere mig fra bogen, se objektivt på dens handling, men denne bog rev mig med ind i den. Det er en roman, som man ikke har lyst til at give slip på, og jeg håber at se flere af ligende høje kvalitet fra Gert Maarløw Nicolaisen.

Gert Maarløw Nicolaisen

Det er en fornøjelse at læse en roman, hvor seksuelle og lidenskablige scener er beskrevet med fornemme metaforer frem for det platte og sommetider direkte vulgære sprog, som ikke efterlader noget som helst til fantasien. Forfatteren er mester på det sproglige, ikke kun i ovenstående scener men også i krigs- og kampscener, der balancerer mellem billedsprog og hårde, brutale beskrivelser.

Bogens sprog bærer præg af forfatterens kendskab til ældre danske udtryk, hvilket gør den til en særlig oplevelse rent sprogligt.

Denne vikingeroman kommer oprigtigt langt omkring i Danmarkshistorien, hvor den blandt inddrager Harald Blåtand, Sven Tveskæg og Trelleborg på Sjælland. For de læsere, som har besøgt Trelleborg og kender til historierne om Harald Blåtand og Sven Tveskæg, kan de sikkert nikke genkendende til mange elementer i Nornespind, som trækker på historien. Forfatteren beskriver blandt anden kort Haralds personkarakteristik, der adskiller sig fra Svens, med ordene:

Harald havde år tilbage overladt hirden og flåden til Sven. Ikke mindst, fordi Sven brændte med hele sin barske natur for hirden og flåde, imens gamle Harald i langt højere grad var en politisk mand, der tænkte i magtbaser, alliancer, regering og i sidste ende velstand og blivende sport til eftertiden (274).

Af både fiktion, men også vikingefortælling, er Nornespind blandt de bedste, jeg til dags dato har læst. Gert Maarløw Nicolaisens Nornespind fangede mig fuldt ud lige så meget, som de opslugende romaner i Saga fra Valhalla af svenske Johanne Hildebrandt, hvorfra kan anbefales Freja (2009), Idun (2203) og Saga (2004). 

Nornespind får derfor topkarakter.

Link: Nornespind er tilgængelig hos din boghandel og på Forlaget mellemgaards hjemmeside via linket her.



Af Karina Schmitt
Forlagschef
Sophie Publishing House, Inc.
Florida, USA