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I’ve known Mike Farmer for a little while. Like so many others, I was drawn to his website late one night while looking for new military fiction -- specifically Armor fiction. Anyway, the author caught my interest and I picked up the book with a great deal of anticipation. As those of you who have read the book are well aware, it is a fantastic read. If you have yet to read the book – get it. Now. When I finished the book, I took a couple of minutes to pass on my thoughts about it to the author via this very website. Within 48 hours, much to my surprise and delight, I got an e-mail back. Thus began a steady exchange of e-mails and general discussion. The culmination of those discussions was an offer by Mike to write a couple of things for the website. Not one to shy away from a chance to be heard, I jumped on the opportunity. So with no fear and zero trepidation…

Mike asked me to take a couple of minutes to introduce myself to his fans. Never a shy one, I thought about this for a moment and agreed. In an effort to be brief, for I place a high value on brevity (it tends to lend itself easily to honesty), this is John Bertetto:

1.. I am from California. I was born and spent the better part of my formative years in Southern California. We lived far enough from Los Angeles to not be a suburb, but close enough so that we could still smell its breath. Growing up in that area taught me two things: a) I had a great deal of fun as a youth. Summers at the beach, fall fun in the mountains, and winters could be spent playing in the desert. Vegas was a short three-hour drive away. Before fun was outlawed, Palm Springs was the spot for Spring Break. Every type of diversion was available; b) I will not be going back. The protective shroud of youth has long been shrugged from my shoulders. LA is the last outpost on the edge of the pit. Never before has a larger collection of self-serving, self-absorbed, special interest, finger pointing bullshit artists been assembled. LA is one of the rare places in the world where no one is to blame, and no one is held responsible. The apologists and excuse-makers have the answers for everything, and it never includes them. It’s the kind of thing that leads directly to outrage and riots. And contrary to public opinion, those in the know are well aware that no one suffers more than the citizens and the LAPD. The citizens suffer because the special interest groups have alienated the masses and the LAPD suffer because the city trusts them with nothing.

Let me make a small comment about the LAPD. They are a courageous group of men and women who deserve their city’s thanks and support. Instead they are understaffed at the street level, top-heavy in bureaucracy and alienated from those they serve. Every step they take must be taken under fear of lawsuit. If the city of Los Angeles put as much effort into the LAPD as they do into their LAPD witch-hunts, maybe children could play on the street corners without getting shot in a gangland crossfire. And I’ll tell you what, changing the names of the city’s regions is a bullshit answer. Renaming South Central Los Angeles “South Los Angeles” is not a solution. It is not the first step to a solution. It is a pathetic attempt to sway public opinion to people outside the region. Maybe “South Los Angeles” makes the folks in Sacramento and Des Moines sleep easier at night, but it does nothing for the people who live there, who sleep on the floor and wake up to gunshots and squealing car tires. People who can’t walk to school because of the neighborhoods they have to cross to get there. Those people need more than a name change.

2.. I do not surf.

3.. I live in Chicago. The difference between LA and Chicago is night and day. Chicago is a blue-collar town. The pretension is reduced by about 80%. The people here support and believe in their police department. The special interest groups still exist, but he fronts a Coalition. By the way, that little murmur you hear when you speak? That’s not agreement, that’s laughter.

4.. By my nature and upbringing I tend to be two things: aggressive and impatient. As a consequence, I tend not to have time for bullshit. If you are going to stand there and spout a fountain of half-truths, slanted facts, or plain lies, I will call you on it.

5.. My qualification: I’m an American citizen. I’ve lived on both of this county’s coasts and in between. I was raised in an American home, with both my biological parents, and yes it is a shame I that I should have to even mention that. I’ve worked my way through college and grad school. I’ve worked on farms and in large corporations. I’ve slept on floors and worked two jobs to make ends meet – even after grad school. Pride is not about refusing to do things you feel you should not have to do. It’s doing the things you need to do because it’s necessary. The first Americans did not come to this country and receive a government-sponsored business loan. They did not build log McMansions. They did not ride in covered wagon SUVs. They carved this country out of the land, out of the forests and granite. They tilled the land with their sweat and nurtured it with their blood. They literally put their lives into it. As a reward, these remarkable men – normal men with the usual human shortcomings – who created this country’s government, created one in which the average American citizen could have a voice.

Mike Farmer once told me that he is not one to pull any punches. That’s good, because I like to throw them myself. And he has offered me the opportunity to do so – I gladly accept.

--John Bertetto

Michael Farmer / TheTanker.Com E-Mail readermail@TheTanker.Com

"HEADSHOT" Featuring John Bertetto