Practical Demonkeeping Chapter 31-32

31 GOOD GUYS Augustus Brine, Travis, and Gian Hen Gian were squeezed into the seat of Brine's pickup. As they approached Effrom and Amanda's house, they spotted a beige Dodge parked in the driveway. â€Å"Do you know what kind of car they drive?† Travis asked. Brine was slowing down. â€Å"An old Ford, I think.† â€Å"Don't slow down. Keep going,† Travis said. â€Å"But why?† â€Å"I'd bet anything that Dodge is a police car. There's a whip antenna pinned down on the back.† â€Å"So what? You haven't done anything illegal.† Brine wanted to get it over with and get some sleep. â€Å"Keep going. I don't want to answer a lot of questions. We don't know what Catch has been doing. We can come back later, after the police leave.† The Djinn said, â€Å"He has a point, Augustus Brine.† â€Å"All right.† Brine gunned the pickup and sped by. In a few minutes they were sitting in Jenny's kitchen listening to the answering machine. They had gone in the back way to avoid the burnt, doughy mess in the front yard. â€Å"Well,† Travis said, resetting the machine, â€Å"that buys us a little time before we have to explain it to Jenny.† â€Å"Do you think Catch will come back here?† Brine asked. â€Å"I hope so,† Travis said. â€Å"Can't you concentrate your will on bringing him back until we can find out if Amanda still has the candlesticks?† â€Å"I've been trying. I don't understand this much more than you do.† â€Å"Well, I need a drink,† Brine said. â€Å"Is there anything in the house?† â€Å"I doubt it. Jenny said she couldn't keep anything in the house or her husband would drink it. She drank all the wine last night.† â€Å"Even some cooking sherry would be fine,† Brine said, feeling a little sleazy as he spoke. Travis began going through the cupboards. â€Å"Should you find a small quantity of salt, I would be most grateful,† the Djinn said. Travis found a box of salt among the spices and was handing it to the Djinn when the phone rang. They all froze and listened as the machine played Jenny's outgoing message. After the beep there was a pause, then a woman's voice. â€Å"Travis, pick up.† It was not Jenny. Travis looked to Brine. â€Å"No one knows I'm here.† â€Å"They do now. Pick it up.† Travis picked up the phone, and the answering machine clicked off. â€Å"This is Travis.† Brine watched the color drain out of the demonkeeper's face as he listened. â€Å"Is she all right?† Travis said into the phone. â€Å"Let me talk to her. Who are you? Do you know what you're getting yourself into?† Brine couldn't imagine what was going on in the conversation. Suddenly Travis screamed into the phone, â€Å"He's not an Earth spirit – he's a demon. How can you be so stupid?† Travis listened for a moment more, then looked at Augustus Brine and covered the receiver with his hand. â€Å"Do you know where there are some caves to the north of town?† â€Å"Yes,† Brine said, â€Å"the old mushroom farm.† Travis spoke into the phone, â€Å"Yes, I can find it. I'll be there at four.† He sat down hard on one of the kitchen chairs and let the phone fall into its cradle. â€Å"What's going on?† Brine demanded. Travis was shaking his head. â€Å"Some woman is holding Jennifer and Amanda and her husband hostage. Catch is with her and she has the candlesticks. And you were right, there are three invocations.† â€Å"I don't understand,† Brine said. â€Å"What does she want?† â€Å"She thinks that Catch is some kind of benevolent Earth spirit. She wants his power.† â€Å"Humans are so ignorant,† the Djinn said. â€Å"But what does she want with you?† Brine asked. â€Å"She has the candlesticks and the invocations.† â€Å"They're in Greek. They want me to translate the invocations or they'll kill Jenny.† â€Å"Let them,† the Djinn said. â€Å"Perhaps you can bring Catch under control with the woman dead.† Travis exploded. â€Å"They thought of that, you little troll! If I don't show up at four, they'll kill Jenny and destroy the invocation. Then we'll never be able to send Catch back.† Augustus Brine checked his watch. â€Å"We've got exactly an hour and a half to come up with a plan.† â€Å"Let us retire to the saloon and consider our options,† the Djinn said. 32 THE HEAD OF THE SLUG Augustus Brine led the way into the Head of the Slug. Travis followed, and Gian Hen Gian shuffled in last. The saloon was nearly empty: Robert was sitting at the bar, another man sat in the dark at a table in the back, and Mavis was behind the bar. Robert turned as they entered. When he saw Travis, he jumped off the stool. â€Å"You fucking asshole!† Robert screamed. He stormed toward Travis with his fist cocked for a knockout blow. He got four steps before Augustus Brine threw out a massive forearm that caught him in the forehead. There was a flash of tennis shoes flailing in the air as Robert experienced the full dynamic range of the clothesline effect. A second later he lay on the floor unconscious. â€Å"Who is that?† Travis asked. â€Å"Jenny's husband,† Brine answered, bending over and inspecting Robert's neck for any jutting vertebrae. â€Å"He'll be okay.† â€Å"Maybe we should go somewhere else.† â€Å"There isn't time,† Brine said. â€Å"Besides, he might be able to help.† Mavis Sand was standing on a plastic milk box peering over the bar at Robert's supine form. â€Å"Nice move, Asbestos,† she said. â€Å"I like a man that can handle himself.† Brine ignored the compliment. â€Å"Do you have any smelling salts?† Mavis climbed down from her milk box, rummaged under the bar for a moment, and came up with a gallon bottle of ammonia. â€Å"This should do it.† To Travis and the Djinn she said: â€Å"You boys want anything?† Gian Hen Gian stepped up to the bar. â€Å"Could I trouble you for a small quantity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"A salty dog and a draft, please,† Travis interrupted. Brine wrapped one arm under Robert's armpits and dragged him to a table. He propped him up in a chair, retrieved the ammonia bottle from the bar, and waved it under Robert's nose. Robert came to, gagging. â€Å"Bring this boy a beer, Mavis,† Brine said. â€Å"He ain't drinking today. I've been pouring him Cokes since noon.† â€Å"A Coke, then.† Travis and the Djinn took their drinks and joined Brine and Robert at the table, where Robert sat looking around as if he were experiencing reality for the first time. A nasty bump was rising on his forehead. He rubbed it and winced. â€Å"What hit me?† â€Å"I did,† Brine said. â€Å"Robert, I know you're angry at Travis, but you have to put it aside. Jenny's in trouble.† Robert started to protest, but Brine raised a hand and he fell silent. â€Å"For once in your life, Robert, do the right thing and listen.† It took fifteen minutes for Brine to relate the condensed version of the demon's story, during which time the only interruption was the screeching feedback of Mavis Sand's hearing aid, which she had cranked up to maximum so she could eavesdrop. When Brine finished, he drained his beer and ordered a pitcher. â€Å"Well?† he said. Robert said, â€Å"Gus, you're the sanest man I know, and I believe that you believe Jenny is in trouble, but I don't believe this little man is a genie and I don't believe in demons.† â€Å"I have seen the demon,† came a voice from the dark end of the bar. The figure who had been sitting quietly when they came in stood and walked toward them. They all turned to see a rumpled and wrinkled Howard Phillips staggering out of the dark, obviously drunk. â€Å"I saw it outside of my house last night. I thought it was one of the slave creatures kept by the Old Ones.† â€Å"What in the hell are you talking about, Howard?† Robert asked. â€Å"It doesn't matter any longer. What matters is that these men are telling you the truth.† â€Å"So now what?† Robert said. â€Å"What do we do now?† Howard pulled a pocket watch from his vest and checked the time. â€Å"You have one hour to plan a course of action. If I can be of any assistance†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Sit down, Howard, before you fall down,† Brine said. â€Å"Let's lay it out. I think it's obvious from what we know that there is no way to hurt the demon.† â€Å"True,† Travis said. â€Å"Therefore,† Brine continued, â€Å"the only way to stop him and his new master is to get the invocation from the second candlestick, which will either send Catch back to hell or empower Gian Hen Gian.† â€Å"When Travis meets them, why don't we just rush them and take it?† Robert said. Travis shook his head. â€Å"Catch would kill Jenny and the Elliotts before we ever got close. Even if we got hold of the invocation, it has to be translated. That takes time. It's been years since I've read any Greek. You would all be killed, and Catch would find another translator.† â€Å"Yes, Robert,† Brine added. â€Å"Did we mention that unless Catch is in his eating form, which must have been what Howard saw, no one can see him but Travis?† â€Å"I am fluent in Greek,† Howard said. They all looked at him. â€Å"No,† Brine said. â€Å"They expect Travis to be alone. The mouth of the cave is at least fifty yards from any cover. As soon as Howard stepped out, it would be over.† â€Å"Maybe we should let it be over,† Travis said. â€Å"No. Wait a minute,† Robert said. He took a pen from Howard's pocket and began scribbling figures on a cocktail napkin. â€Å"You say there's cover fifty yards from the caves?† Brine nodded. Robert did some scribbling. â€Å"Okay, Travis, exactly how big is the print on the invocation? Can you remember?† â€Å"What does it matter?† â€Å"It matters,† Robert insisted. â€Å"How big is the print?† â€Å"I don't know – it's been a long time. It was handwritten, and the parchment was pretty long. I'd guess the characters were maybe a half-inch tall.† Robert scribbled furiously on the napkin, then put the pen down. â€Å"If you can get them out of the cave and hold up the invocation – tell them you need more light or something – I can set up a telephoto lens on a tripod in the woods and Howard can translate the invocation.† â€Å"I don't think they'll let me hold the parchment up long enough for Howard to translate. They'll suspect something.† â€Å"No, you don't understand.† Robert pushed the napkin he had been writing on in front of Travis. It was covered with fractions and ratios. Looking at it, Travis was baffled. â€Å"What does this mean?† â€Å"It means that I can put a Polaroid back on one of my Nikons and when you hold up the parchments, I can photograph them, hand the Polaroid to Howard, and thirty seconds later he can start translating. The ratios show that the print will be readable on the Polaroid. I just need enough time to focus and set exposure, maybe three seconds.† Robert looked around the table. Howard Phillips was the first to speak. â€Å"It sounds feasible, although fraught with contingencies.† Augustus Brine was smiling. â€Å"What do you think, Gus?† Robert asked. â€Å"You know, I always thought you were a lost cause, but I think I've changed my mind. Howard's right, though – there's lot of ifs involved. But it might work.† â€Å"He is still a lost cause,† the Djinn chimed in. â€Å"The invocation is useless without the silver Seal of Solomon, which is part of one of the candlesticks.† â€Å"It's hopeless,† Travis said. Brine said, â€Å"No, it's not. It's just very difficult. We have to get the candlesticks before they know about the seal. We'll use a diversion.† â€Å"Are you going to explode more flour?† asked Gian Hen Gian. â€Å"No. We're going to use you as bait. If Catch hates you as much as you say, he'll come after you and Travis can grab the candlesticks and run.† â€Å"I don't like it,† Travis said. â€Å"Not unless we can get Jenny and the Elliotts clear.† â€Å"I agree,† said Robert. â€Å"Do you have a better idea?† Brine asked. â€Å"Rachel is a bitch,† Robert said, â€Å"but I don't think she's a killer. Maybe Travis can send Jenny down the hill from the caves with the candlesticks as a condition to translating the invocation.† â€Å"That still leaves the Elliotts,† Brine said. â€Å"And besides, we don't know if the demon knows the seal is in the candlesticks. I think we go for the diversion plan. As soon as Howard has the invocation translated, Gian Hen Gian should step out of the woods and we all go for it.† Howard Phillips said, â€Å"But even if you have the seal and the invocation, you still have to read the words before the demon kills us all.† â€Å"That's right,† said Travis. â€Å"And the process should begin as soon as Rachel starts reading the words I translate, or Catch will know something is up. I can't bluff on the translation at my end.† â€Å"You don't have to,† Brine said. â€Å"You simply have to be slower than Howard, which doesn't sound like a problem.† â€Å"Wait a second,† Robert said. He was out of his seat and across the bar to where Mavis was standing. â€Å"Mavis, give me your recorder.† â€Å"What recorder?† she said coyly. â€Å"Don't bullshit me, Mavis. You've got a microcassette recorder under the bar so you can listen to people's conversations.† Mavis pulled the recorder out from under the bar and reluctantly handed it over to Robert. â€Å"This is the solution to the time problem,† Robert said. â€Å"We read the invocation into this before the genie comes out of the woods. When and if we get the candlesticks, we play it back. This thing has a high speed for secretaries to use when typing dictation.† Brine looked at Travis. â€Å"Will it work?† â€Å"It's not any more risky than anything else we're doing.† â€Å"Who's voice do we use?† Robert asked. â€Å"Who gets the responsibility?† The Djinn answered, â€Å"It must be Augustus Brine. He has been chosen.† Robert checked his watch. â€Å"We've got a half hour and I still have to pick up my cameras at The Breeze's trailer. Let's meet at the U-PICK-EM sign in fifteen minutes.† â€Å"Wait – we need to go over this again,† Travis said. â€Å"Later,† Brine said. He threw a twenty-dollar bill on the table and headed toward the door. â€Å"Robert, use Howard's car. I don't want this whole thing depending on your old truck starting. Travis, Gian Hen Gian, you ride with me.†

Analysis of the Plan to Permit States to Have Set Their Own Rules on Drinking

Analysis of the Plan to Permit States to Have Set Their Own Rules on Drinking The Drinking Age States’ Rights States should be allowed to make their own drinking laws because the Constitution does not state that this is a right given to the federal government and therefore, it rightfully belongs to the state governments. This does not classify as an inherent power because Congress has no reason to believe that these laws are necessary for the government to function, especially considering that the United States has only instituted a MLDA – minimum legal drinking age – in the last hundred years. In fact, the history of MLDAs demonstrates how states have been deciding their own drinking laws for years, without the federal government ever needing to get involved. When prohibition was repealed on December 5, 1933, each state was allowed to set their own laws for alcohol consumption within their jurisdiction (Hedlund). It is due to this history that it can be logically concluded that this does not function as an implied power of Congress – especially when it is seen how rather than simply legislating the issue, as they would do if they truly believed they had the right, the government has been going through loopholes of crossover sanctions, the Highway Trust Fund, and misreading the twenty-first amendment for their own gain as they try to pass laws on what should be an issue of implied power. They eventually succeeded in the eighties, a decision that has been upheld in the Supreme Court, but this does not disprove the fact that they never should have been given the right to pass this law in the first place. Prior to the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, states had decided the age of alcohol consumption independently for their constituents. With the addition of the new law in 1984, which forced all states to raise their minimum legal drinking age to twenty-one, the federal government instituted a policy of crossover sanctions which â€Å"force the implementation of federal requirements in one area or the states risk losing money in another, similar area† (LaFaive). In this case, any states that refused to raise their drinking age to twenty-one would be punished by a reduction of their highway funds by ten percent. This was vastly different from the system of states control that had operated until this point, when many states were lowering their drinking age to eighteen to reflect the changing climate following the Vietnam War, when young adults could be drafted to fight for their country but were not allowed to drink. In 1970, the twenty-sixth amendment lowered the voting age to eighteen for this reason (â€Å"The 26th Amendment†) and many states decided to lower their drinking age accordingly. The issue with federal legislation about drinking age is that situations like this are less likely to be taken into account, as can be seen by the federal government choosing the age of twenty-one. This age makes sense in a post-prohibition era when young adults couldn’t vote until that age either, but now it shows that the government is unable to keep as up-to-date as more local governments could. This switch to a system of manipulative fiscal federalism was stated by the federal government to have been done to serve the purpose of protecting young lives as fatalities related to alcohol and drunk driving vastly increased in alignment with states in the sixties and seventies lowering their drinking age to eighteen (MADD). This is not the issue, however. The question is not whether or not lives have been saved by the federal law or not – it is that this was never a choice for the federal government to make in the first place. Whether states do a good job of choosing an appropriate minimum legal drinking age is not to be considered, although the United States has the highest drinking age in the world (ProCon.org), but rather that they are being denied their Constitutional right to decide. Likewise, drinking age is never mentioned in the Constitution and the federal government knows it – they knew that they had no right to legislate on this issue and so covered it up by technically making the act option to states, only enforceable through coercive funds that states need to keep their highways intact. States have the right to legislate any issue that is not explicitly given to the federal government as stated in the tenth amendment but Congress has been using crossover sanctions and its role as a regulator of interstate commerce to deny states of funds from the Highway Trust Fund, which is â€Å"a transportation fund in the United States which receives money from a federal fuel tax of 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel fuel and related excise taxes† (Highway Trust Fund) (Resnick). This has been considered legal through the supreme court case South Dakota v. Dole, which stated that taking five percent of a state’s h ighway fund for refusal to cooperate with the federally mandated drinking age was not considered unduly coercive through the spending clause of the twenty-first amendment (South Dakota v. Dole). It is important to note that this is a decision based on five percent of their highway fund, and that the actual amount that the federal government takes away nowadays is actually twice this amount. Similarly, this is not fair for the states because the funds come from the tax dollars of their constituents and should not be held hostage. The federal government knows that they are in the wrong and do not have the right to legislate on this issue and yet continue to do so. The states have violated no part of the Constitution by changing the drinking age within their jurisdiction to twenty-one, eighteen, or whatever other age that they choose and should not be punished for following the laws of this nation. The twenty-first amendment, which repealed the eighteenth amendment which legislated prohibition, has said nothing about a minimum legal drinking age and so this falls into the category of an implied power, which means that it should be left to the states to decide. As Judge O’Connor stated in his dissenting opinion in Dole, In the absence of the Twenty-first Amendment, however, there is a strong argument that the Congress might regulate the conditions under which liquor is sold under the commerce power, just as it regulates the sale of many other commodities that are in or affect interstate commerce. The fact that the Twenty-first Amendment is crucial to the States argument does not, therefore, amount to a concession that the condition imposed by  § 158 is reasonably related to highway construction. (South Dakota v. Dole 483 U.S. 203 (1987)) What the judge is arguing is that the commerce clause, which gives Congress the power â€Å"to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes†, is not a factor in the decision of Dole because the case is not centered around whether or not the federal government has the right to control the Highway Trust Fund, as they clearly do, but whether the drinking age is adequately relevant to these funds to justify keeping them from states – and, more importantly, whether the federal government has the right to pursue crossover sanctions for this issue at all. The fact of the matter is that this is an easy realization to come to. The Constitution does not say anything about drinking age and so it is the implied right of the states to legislate on this issue if they choose to. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 is not only unnecessary, it is unconstitutional in the strictest version of the law. Congress knew this when th ey looked for loopholes and the rights of the states must be protected.

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One word description speech - Essay Example Well, this is not competition but rather trying to determine where I need to improve on. It is worth noting that my confidence and enthusiasm also complements my greatest trait. I socialize a lot because I believe in the power of being together and sharing. In fact, I believe that my social nature helps me deals with anxiety, depression and anger. I have human nature and believe that honesty is one of the avenues of success. Just not to keep you waiting for long, I was trying to justify my major trait; which is ambitious. That is the kind of a person I am. Just to add on top, being an ambitious person has enabled me to be very organized, academically prepared and successful in various situations. As they say, each and every human has the weakness and the strength side of him/herself. My weakness is that I sometimes solve my problems in a simple way; that sometimes do not give me the ultimate solutions to the problem I am faced. To summarize it all, my ambition is my strength and I believe it is my driver to

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Should economic efficiency be the primary consideration and priority for the enforcement of competition law - Essay Example This research considers both sides of the debate and emphasises EU competition law and policies. It is concluded that there is no real dominant theme as between economic and non-economic policies and purposes in the enforcement of competition law. This is as it should be, since, the social, political and economic aspects of competition law and policies are equally important to the efficient operation of the market. It is argued that economic efficiency cannot be obtained unless, the political and social objectives of competition laws are achieved. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 4 The Purpose of Competition Law 5 Non-Economic Purposes and Policies of Competition Law 7 Economic Purposes and Policies of Competition Law 10 Non-Economic Factors as the Main Consideration in the Enforcement of Competition Law 11 Economic Efficiency as the Main Consideration in the Enforcement of Competition Law 15 Conclusion 17 Bibliography 19 Introduction Governments have introduced national com petition laws reflecting a growing trend toward a general consensus that competition laws are primarily aimed at promoting economic efficiency in the market (Lloyd, 1998, p. 1129). Non-economic policies are also reflected in competition laws which are divided between social and political concerns (Baker, 2013, p. 2176). ... 93). Economists tend to favour the economic efficiency of competition law while legal scholars are not comfortable with this view (Kerber, 2009, p. 93). Lianos (2013) presents the two sides of the debate in terms of the economic welfare perspective versus the normative perspective (p. 7). The economic welfare perspective views economic efficiency as the main objective of competition laws. In this regard, economic efficiency refers to enabling consumption choices and the fairer distribution of production permitting freer market entry (Lianos, 2013, 7). The normative perspective refers to the promotion of innovation and democracy in the market for the social and political efficiency of the market (Lianos, 2013, p. 13). This paper analyses both sides of the debate and determines that while economic efficiency appears to be the main consideration and priority for the enforcement of competition law, non-economic factors should have equal consideration. In making this argument, this paper is divided into three parts. The first part of this paper presents the economic and non-economic policies of competition law. The second part of this paper analyses the non-economic arguments and the final part of this paper analyses the economic arguments. The Purpose of Competition Law The purpose of EU competition law can be gleaned from Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Consolidation Edition) 2012 (hereinafter TEFU). Article 101 in general bans any agreement or collusion calculated to distort trade and competition in the market (TEFU, Article 101). A list of the applicable activities include, price fixing, production restrictions or controls, sharing markets or