A Pre-Veterans' Day Reflection

Almost seventeen years ago, I was a young mother who had a newborn during one of the worst winters the Northeast had ever weathered (no pun intended). This meant that my maternity leave—yes, the one that was three months long and seemed like it would be an eternity before I had taken it but what was really the blink of an eye—was spent shoveling snow, breastfeeding, shoveling more snow, and gazing longingly out the window to see if I could venture out with an eight-pound baby strapped to my chest. My house isn’t that big so walking the floors—her favorite activity—took all of about six minutes, even if I did it ten times in a row. Outside was the way to go, but with the sidewalks slick and icy, there was no way I was going to make the trek down the steep stairs in front of my house with a baby wailing in a sling across my gigantic bosom. It was just too dangerous and with my predisposition to klutziness, a recipe for disaster.

One day, the weather broke. It was early March and the snow was now almost gone, the streets wet but not slippery. I stuffed the baby into the front-facing pack and headed out into the cold, whereupon I came across another young mom and a tiny toddler—about eighteen months old—walking up the street, apparently as happy as I was to be out and about after a winter trapped indoors. The mom looked familiar but we didn’t know each other; we came to find out that one house separated us and we both had small kids. The toddler had a cloud of white curly hair not unlike cotton candy blowing around in the breeze, his hands protected by mittens, his parka pulled up around his ears. His name was Spencer and he was the younger of her two children and possibly the cutest child I had ever seen.

Spencer and his family were our neighbors up until five years ago when the opportunity to purchase a house on the side of a hill with a meadow in the back presented itself. We stayed in touch as you do when you aren’t neighbors anymore—a quick hello in the grocery store, or a wave as you pass on the street, everyone racing to their next destination or carpool pick up. “We really need to get together!” we would say and we would mean, but it happened only rarely. In the past five years, I was also dealing with a cancer diagnosis and had kind of holed up in the house, so the opportunity to see our friends dwindled as I struggled with treatment and its attendant difficulties. All of us worked full time and had kids to raise. Spencer and his brother made it a point to come to a prayer service on my behalf, though, and Spencer visited every Halloween without fail. We looked forward to his visits; he was now a rangy teenager with a penchant for anime and a creative streak. He would come for candy and to touch base, telling us how much he missed the old neighborhood and his friends here. We never considered Halloween to be officially over until Spencer came in whatever getup he had come up with and got his requisite Three Musketeers bar. Once he had come and gotten his candy, we would shut off the porch light and go to bed, another Halloween now in the past.

This past summer, I got a call from Spencer’s mom: he was turning eighteen; would we come to his birthday party? We were delighted by the invitation but found it a little strange that an eighteen year old would want a birthday party replete with old fogies like me and my husband. We found out when we arrived that it was a surprise and the reason for the party was fraught with emotion. The next day, on the day Spencer would actually turn eighteen, he was enlisting in the Marines.

Spencer and his family were profoundly affected by the events of September 11, 2001. Spencer, it would seem, had been so affected that he wanted to join the Marines and fight for our country. His parents were ambivalent, to say the least, but trying to support their son. The party was to be a celebration of his life and his ambition; we all had a blast, eating lobster tails and steak and drinking delicious wine and celebrating this young man with an incredible goal.

I focused on how much fun the party was and tried not to think about this tow-headed young man heading off to Parris Island in March. I have kept my emotions pretty much at bay since August, even when I thought about the party and what it meant. However, when I heard the doorbell ring at 9:30 p.m. last Sunday night—Halloween night—and heard the kids race down the stairs shouting “It’s Spencer!” I declined to come out of my bedroom. I couldn’t face the thought of seeing Spencer for the last time on Halloween night, here to collect his Three Musketeers bar and to say hello to us as he has every year since he was two years old. He was dressed as a woman, and a pretty convincing one at that, according to Jim and the kids. He was going to dinner with some friends but told them that before they got to their destination, he had to stop at our house to say hello and get his candy. It was tradition. Next year, he’ll be somewhere else and we’ll have to find another way to figure out when to shut off the porch light.

The next day, I sat at my computer working, like I do every day. The phone rang and it was a friend asking how our Halloween was. She wasn’t expecting me to burst into tears but when I explained why I was crying, she understood. She said that every time she sees a list of names, bios, or photographs in the paper of young men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, she stops and reads them, offering a silent prayer. She knows that they are someone’s child, someone’s grandchild, a brother, a sister, a husband, or a wife. They deserve to be remembered and to be celebrated for their commitment to something bigger or greater than many of us will ever know. They deserve to be counted.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think the little blonde toddler in the parka would grow up to be a Marine. There’s not much more to say on the topic except that our friend, Spencer, will be in our daily thoughts and prayers while he serves his country proudly. But most of all, we want him to know that we look forward to the day when we can give him a Three Musketeers bar on a Halloween night not too far into the future.

Maggie Barbieri

Dr. Eric Hickey Visits SJ Sisters in Crime

I belong to the San Joaquin Chapter of Sisters in Crime which meets in Fresno. In fact, I am one of the founding members of this chapter.

Over the years we've had police officer, police detectives, the county coroner, private detectives, CSI folks, fire investigators, and of course lots and lots of authors. One of our favorite speakers though is Dr. Eric Hickey.

Here's his bio:


ERIC W. HICKEY, Ph.D.
Criminologist--Consultant
Cell 559-676-0711
Office: 559-253-2226
Fax: 559-253-2267
http://forensics.alliant.edu
Dr. Eric W. Hickey

Dr. Hickey is the Director of the Center for Forensic Studies at Alliant International University. He also teaches criminal psychology at California State University, Fresno, CA. Dr. Hickey has taught many courses in criminal personalities, sex crimes, homicide and psychopathology in universities, colleges, jails and prisons and supervises theses and dissertations involving forensic and criminal psychology. Dr. Hickey has considerable field experience working with the criminally insane, psychopaths, sex offenders and other habitual criminals. He has also served as an adjunct instructor for the American Prosecutor's Research Institute at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina profiling stalkers, cyber-stalkers, criminal personalities and sexual predators.

He publishes books, articles and lectures extensively on the etiology of violence and serial crime. His book, Serial Murderers and Their Victims, 4th ed., Thomson/Wadsworth Publishers, is used as a teaching tool in universities and by law enforcement in studying the nature of violence, criminal personalities and victim-offender relationships. Another of his books, The Encyclopedia of Murder and Violent Crime, Sage Publishers, explores the phenomenon of murder and violence through the eyes of some of the world’s most noted experts. In 2006 he published Sex Crimes and Paraphilia (Prentice-Hall Publishers), a comprehensive examination of sexual perversions, sex offending and sexual predators. His latest coauthored book, The Myth of a Psychiatric Crime Wave, (Carolina Academic Press) examines the misperceptions and reality of the mentally ill and mentally disordered as criminals. He is currently writing another text examining criminal minds and criminal personalities. He is also writing his first novel, In Sane, a disturbing journey into the minds of psychotics, psychopaths and the criminally insane. Dr. Hickey is co-founder of Gambaru Productions and is developing a new television series, Predators, to assist crime survivors (See predators.tv).

His expertise is regularly sought by the media including appearances on CNN, Catherine Crier Live, NPR, Larry King Live, 20/20, A&E Biography, Good Morning America, Court TV, Discovery and TLC. He consults with private agencies and testifies as an expert witness in both criminal and civil cases. A former consultant to the FBI's UNABOM Task Force, Dr. Hickey currently assists local, state, and federal law enforcement in training and investigations. This includes assisting Peace Officer Service Training (POST) in developing course material and job aids for investigators. He also conducts seminars for agencies involving the profiling and investigating of sex crimes, arson, robbery, homicide, stalking, workplace violence and terrorism as well as workshops for mental health practitioners. Internationally recognized for his research on multiple homicide offenders, Dr. Hickey has conducted seminars in several countries including Canada, England, France, and Japan. He has also trained VIP protection specialists in Israel in profiling stalkers. His research involving hundreds of victims of stalking examines the psychology and classification of stalkers, victim-offender relationships, intervention, and threat assessment.

He's spoken to us about nearly all of the above topics and this time he focused on serial killers complete with photos and in some cases the killer and photos of their victims (when they were alive in most cases.)

He's absolutely fascinating and such a gentle man, it's hard to believe that he dwells on such sordid subjects and teaches about them. I was so glad I got to hear him speak again.

Getting there was an adventure in itself. I knew how to get to the college where he was speaking, but the woman who rode with me said she knew a better way--so I followed her directions. As we got farther and farther into Fresno I began to recognize neighborhoods that were in the opposite direction from where we should be driving. I pulled over and whipped out my handy Magellan, programmed it for the address of our destination. It took us to a quicker way to get to where we needed to be--we'd gone about 9 miles the wrong direction. Sure glad my own inner Magellan was alerting me that we were not on the right track.

It was all worth it, Dr. Hickey is a fascinating speaker.

Marilyn

Resolved: We Can Disagree without being Disagreeable

The election is over. Thank Goodness.

I think what bothered me the most about this election, and in truth, election cycles over the last ten years, is what it does to me and my own behavior towards those with whom I disagree politically.

I don't think there is much dispute, from either side, that there is a genuine lack of civility in politics today. Who's to blame for this conduct is undoubtedly in the eye of the beholder. But it's become the norm to vilify opponents rather than simply oppose their views. Gandhi implored us to "hate the sin, love the sinner." But that concept has no place, apparently, in today's political sphere.

All of which wouldn't bother me nearly as much except for how it makes me behave. I find myself cheering when a self-righteous, holier-than-thou candidate is tripped up by his own newly-discovered failings. Take for example, Gary Condit. He was a Congressman, at the center of the tragic Chandra Levy case. He was eventually exonerated of any complicity in her death, but it was hard to feel much sympathy for the man. While serving in office, he never missed an opportunity to excoriate Bill Clinton, yet conducted an affair with an intern young enough to be his daughter. Aha, I thought. Karma has bitten him in his self-righteous ass. Should I be that happy at someone's else's moral failings?

But politics today has become a zero-sum game. The only way I win is if you lose – and lose spectacularly. And maybe I even get to rub your nose in it. Nyah, Nyah, Nyah. There is no room for the moderate, no place at the table for men like Henry Clay, "the great compromiser." Nancy Reagan's slogan of "Just Say No," has been co-opted to "Just Vote No," by the opposition, regardless of the merits of any particular bill. And like sheep following Bo-Peep, too many of our elected officials follow their chosen leaders right over the cliff.

The 112th Congress will take office on January 3, 2011. It can be a fresh start. Civility can -- must -- return to those hallowed halls, even while spirited debate is encouraged. And I need to practice what I preach -- so would any Tea Party members like to come to tea?

Marian, the Northern half of Evelyn David

The Sullivan Investigation Series

Murder Drops the Ball (Spring 2011)

Murder Takes the Cake - Paperback - Kindle

Murder Off the Books - Paperback - Kindle

Riley Come Home - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

Brianna Sullivan Mysteries - e-book series

The Holiday Spirit(s) of Lottawatah
- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah
- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries
- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

The Write Stuff

We're excited to have Brittany Roshelle with us at The Stiletto Gang today! Brittany is a freelance writer and an aspiring author of young adult fiction. Her blog, The Write Stuff, is where writers, authors, and book lovers converge to learn insider tips into the publishing world, read exclusive author interviews, and win book giveaways. Previously, she was a journalist for The Examiner as the Columbus Relationship Advice Expert. Currently, she writes for the online women’s magazine, Betty Confidential, as a Betty Fan Blogger. She recently completed her first novel and is actively pursuing agents.

Stiletto Gang: How long have you been writing?

Brittany: My father actually paid me a dollar per story when I was a little girl. He loved that I loved to write. As I grew older, I would journal every day, so much so that I often filled up a new journal every week. Since I loved to read often, I bought a new book every week as well. All of this led my father to lament that he should have bought stock in Barnes & Noble had he known what was ahead for him and his wallet.

Stiletto Gang: Where did you get the idea for your blog?

Brittany: I think a lot of people talk about writing a book, but that’s just it. It’s talk. The reason I held back from writing is that I come from a family of scientists and mathematicians. The idea that I might pursue a field that doesn’t require an advanced degree seemed laughable. And while books are everywhere, how one gets published is a big secret to most people.

I created my blog, The Write Stuff, with the goal in mind that I would contact as many authors as I could and publish their stories, their tips to publishing. Not only did I want to give any writers out there the help they needed, but I wanted to show everyone who was skeptical that getting published is possible.

Each week I interview someone new, whether it’s a New York Times bestselling author or someone with their first novel. I ask about their story, chat about their new book, and host a contest. It’s the ultimate place to learn insider tips to the publishing world and the best place to find inspiration, especially if you’re an author-in-the-making.

Stiletto Gang: What's something important you've learned along the way?

Brittany: There’s no one road to publishing. Every author has a unique story. For some it took seven novels before they made it. Others got an agent three weeks after they sent out their first query letter. What is the same, though, is that everyone persevered. They’re authors today because they never gave up the dream. They kept writing, revising, and trying to get published. While publishing a book takes time, you can either be your own best friend or your biggest roadblock.

For example: What do Dr. Suess, John Grisham, and J.K. Rowling all have in common? They’re authors who were rejected multiple times by publishers. Can you imagine what would have happened if they had said, “Enough’s enough,” and gave up? While no one can say if your writing will ever make you that famous, who's to say it won't? You just have to hang in there.

Stiletto Gang: You also have another blog for Betty Confidential. Tell us about that.

Brittany: Yes! I have a Betty Blog called Chocolate Covered Chick Thoughts. Each week, the Betty fan bloggers and I are asked a question by Betty often relating to the most recent celebrity scandal, and it’s our job to spill on our real life relationships. Each Friday the top blogs are featured on their main website. So far, my articles have appeared every Friday.

I have the best time writing my articles. I try to throw in as much humor and advice as possible without being too serious or personal. I absolutely love it.

Stiletto Gang: You recently finished your first novel. What was that like?

Brittany: My biggest dream for as long as I can remember was to write a full-length novel. That dream has finally been realized. It feels so wonderful and gratifying…I really cannot explain it! But it’s important for me to keep in mind that my job is not over yet. The road to publication can be broken into two basic steps: writing the best novel you can write and getting it published. Right now, I’m teetering on the edge of phase two in the process. I can clearly see that writing my novel was the more enjoyable part. Spending all day inside my characters' heads was fun, insightful, and heart-warming. Now that I’ve finished the manuscript, the business side of it all starts. The next step is to send out my query letter.

Stiletto Gang: What has the querying process been like for you?

Brittany: Reducing your book into 250-350 words is incredibly difficult. By far harder than writing the actual book. That being said, it’s all part of the process and I'm eager to learn as much as I can. Creating a killer query letter is at the top of my list; and, after working on it for a few weeks, I think I’m close to it.

Stiletto Gang: What’s the title and the genre of the manuscript you're currently pitching?

Brittany: The Popular Girls, and it's a contemporary YA novel. It’s an edgy tale of a young girl and her quest to find her self-worth in our fast-paced society.

Stiletto Gang: Do you think your blog has helped you finish your book?

Brittany: Absolutely! Writers have to get out there and connect with other writers. They need to do their research. Part of that is paying attention to how other authors have navigated their way through the publishing industry. More importantly, having my blog has been a way to meet new, wonderful people, and it's a daily exercise in writing for me. You’ve got to keep those writing muscles strong and healthy.

Stiletto Gang: What’s the hardest part about writing?

Brittany: For me, it’s the end. Through the process of writing a novel, you grow very attached to your characters. I don’t like having to let that go and end it!

Stiletto Gang: Do you have any writing rituals, or something you keep on your desk everyday while you work?

Brittany: An iced white mocha latte. Often times I use it as my reward after hitting my word count. Besides that, I just need a clean workspace and a silent cell phone…and did I mention chocolate?

Stiletto Gang: Brittany, thanks so much for coming by today and sharing your story! We'll definitely be checking out The Write Stuff and all your author interviews and contests. And good luck with your book (fingers crossed).

Life's Puzzles on a Timeline

The true picture of a life comes into focus only slowly. The real, rather than imagined, existence essential to non-fiction can be inconveniently opaque, downright incomprehensible, and, in the case of serial killer Aileen Wuornos, unimaginably violent. Aileen was behind bars and had confessed to killing seven men when she first crossed my radar in 1991. I was riveted, I admit. I couldn’t imagine why she did what she did. So I wound up making sense of her life for my true crime book Lethal Intent. It was like piecing together a shattered glass.

Here, a family vacation snapshot of a smiling Aileen boating with the grandparents who raised her. There, stories of her screams heard way across the yard whenever her adoptive grandfather whipped her. Here, old school yearbooks showed her smile sliding further off her face every year. There, a letter from a school counselor revealed a missed opportunity, an ignored cry for help. “This girl needs help now,” it insisted.

Learning that during adolescent kissing games no boy ever would kiss Aileen made the sting of her rejection palpable. Between ages eleven and twelve, she began selling her body for packets of cigarettes, earning the nickname “cigarette pig.” It was clear that she was sexually abused, but Aileen’s stories were ever-changing and slippery. However, she got pregnant at fourteen and had a son who immediately was whisked away from her. In Florida, working as a prostitute, she once drunkenly held up a mini-mart while wearing a bikini.

As I interviewed, researched, and covered her murder trial, the puzzle pieces kept piling up. She wasn’t charged in one of the seven murders to which she confessed. She was too drunk to remember where she left the victim’s body. And to this day, the body of part-time missionary Peter Siems has not been recovered.

So many scenes swirled in my head. They drew me right into her world but did not tell me why she was a serial killer. I have a huge, detailed timeline of Aileen’s life to thank for that. It stared down at me from my office wall for ages before it began to speak to me.

Then it hit me. Aileen suffered from borderline personality disorder, said the experts, and was consumed by fears of abandonment. The timeline showed me that those fears and the stress on her all-important relationship with Tyria Moore, her girlfriend of four years were, for varying reasons, through the roof in the days preceding each murder. Often, she had no money, and in her mind, having cash was essential to hanging on to Tyria.

As a teenager, Aileen drove people away with her explosive temper and tried to buy the friendship she craved by supplying beer for parties. Adult Aileen stole hundreds of dollars from many of the men she murdered. She carried Windex in her “kill bag” with her .22 caliber gun and methodically wiped away any fingerprints. Then she’d scoot home triumphantly, waving wads of dollar bills to pay for rent and beer – a short-term fix to quiet her dread.

The timeline showed me that she committed at least five of the murders when her jealousy and fears that Tyria would leave her really escalated. A pretty blonde heterosexual co-worker of Tyria’s joining them for Thanksgiving and being close to Tyria shook Aileen up a week before her first known murder. And when Tyria’s 18-year-old sister visited, Aileen’s murders spun out of control. Aileen was incredibly jealous of the sisters’ tight bond and was petrified that Tyria would move back with her family and leave her. She killed three men in six weeks. With the hundreds of dollars she scored, the women partied and went to Sea World.

Ultimately, I felt as sure as I’ve felt about anything: Aileen killed – she said it herself – to avoid leaving behind any witnesses, but her “killing days,” as she called them, were when her fears of being left overwhelmed her. For me, the timeline on my wall was the key to understanding.

Do you think the timeline of your life would reveal anything important about you? If so, do let us know. We’d love to hear from you.

Aileen Wuornos was executed by lethal injection in October, 2002, after a decade on Death Row. Award-winning journalist and author Sue Russell’s book “Lethal Intent” is being re-issued in November 2010 as a Kensington Books “True Crime Classic.” Visit her at sue@suerussellwrites.com, or follow her on Twitter or Facebook

____________________

Sue Russell is a California-based, internationally syndicated award-winning journalist and the author of several non-fiction books including the top-selling true crime book, Lethal Intent. Sue has had over 1,500 articles published with her work appearing in the Washington Post, New Scientist, Miller-McCune.com, American Legion, Tru TV’s Crime Library, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Southwest Airlines’ Spirit, and the Detroit News and San Diego Union-Tribune.

Buy Lethal Intent: Lethal Intent is being reissued as a Kensington Books “True Crime Classic.” Find it in bookstores or order it online at your favorite bookseller. amazon.com bn.com booksamillion.com indiebound.org

Treasures Returned

Back in the spring, I wrote about an elderly woman who lived in town—Mrs. C.—and how after she had passed, certain members of her family took it upon themselves to take all of her belongings and put them at the curb for people to take or for the garbage men to dispose of. I wrote about how sad it was that a woman’s life, rich and full when she was alive, had been reduced to sacks of garbage in front of her house. My friend, the wonderful Tina, was happening by as Mrs. C’s stuff—rather, Mrs. C’s life—was being pitched out with the trash, and took those things that she considered treasures: beautifully-bejeweled brooches, an antique lamp, an oil painting in need of a new frame, some costume jewelry, and a couple of rings. Tina also took some furniture which now resides in the new Teen Room at our local library, a donation on behalf of this lovely woman whose possessions were carelessly tossed aside in the interest of expediency. She took the stuff because nobody else seemed to want it.

Tina is also a crafter, so after sifting through Mrs. C’s costume jewelry, came up with a plan to make me a frame with some of the choicest pieces. She knew that Mrs. C’s son and his family had lived next door to Jim for many years and that our families were old friends, even if we don’t see each other very often. The frame that she made me, bedecked with baubles and colorful rhinestones, has sat on the bookshelf in my office since the spring. Tina also made a donation in Mrs. C’s name to our local caring committee, a team who visits the sick and homebound and who also provide food and necessities to those in our village in need. Mrs. C’s material goods did not go to waste, that was for sure.

I know Mrs. C’s’ granddaughters, but admittedly, hadn’t seen them in a long time. I kept thinking that I needed to get in touch with one of the three to let them know that I had some of their grandmother’s things, but I wasn’t sure if they had been part of the team who had cleaned out the house. Maybe they didn’t want her things. Maybe I should mind my own business.

I went to the local grocery store this past Saturday and ran into two of Mrs. C’s granddaughters, Meaghan and Colleen. As they were loading donated groceries into a van on behalf of the aforementioned caring committee, for whom they volunteer, I took a chance and mentioned that I had some things from their grandmother’s house. Colleen immediately welled up and explained that her immediate family had had nothing to do with the purge and that it had been solely the idea of other family members who just wanted the house cleaned out. Her family had received none of Mrs. C’s items; by the time they were alerted to the house cleaning by various friends in the village, everything was gone, having been put at the curb and picked over by people who were told that everything was for their taking. I told Colleen that I had the beautiful frame that Tina had made from her grandmother’s old costume jewelry, the lamp, and some other items. Colleen said that none of her grandmother’s items were worth anything monetarily but for her father, Mrs. C’s son, they would provide a memento of his mother.

I went home and called Tina, telling her that I had seen the girls at the store. She immediately came over with a gold and amethyst ring as well another sterling silver ring in need of a setting. I looked Colleen up in the phone book but she isn’t listed so I found her on Facebook. I sent her an email on Monday morning and she was at my house within a few minutes to collect the things we had kept. This weekend is her father’s birthday; he’ll be receiving a picture of his beloved mother in the frame that Tina created from her jewelry.

I’m not sure what I want to say about this story, but Colleen’s sister Meaghan summed it up when she remarked that when you take the high road, good things eventually happen. (I’m paraphrasing, but you get the drift.) Colleen and her sisters stayed out of the family fray and in the end, thought they had lost everything. But thanks to Tina and her intrepid treasure-hunting, Colleen and her sisters—as well as her dad—now have some lovely mementoes of their grandmother’s life. I hope they enjoy them.

Maggie Barbieri

Oh My, Election Day

I hope everyone is planning to vote and that this will be the end to all the ads and phone calls.

I always vote absentee ballot and did so much earlier. I can't stand the way the politicians act no matter the party. My gut feeling is that politics corrupts. The nicest person with only the best motives for being in office will eventually be corrupted by the system. It worked a lot better back when being a politician was a volunteer job and people did it because they truly wanted to help run the country the best way possible.

Oh, well, we can't turn back the clock.

I won't talk politics to hardly anyone. I don't like to see the stuff on Facebook about politics. I don't like being called stupid because I don't belong to the same party as the one saying I am.

One of my publishers, who also has become my friend, and I have totally opposite views on politics and religion. Right from the start we agreed to never discuss either. Works well and we've remained friends because of this pledge.

Anyway, hopefully the worst will be over at the end of the day and we can get on with more pleasant things to talk about and things we can agree upon.

My wish to everyone is that you each will do what you can to make each day pleasant for yourself and others.

Marilyn

Just Do It! Vote!

Some great points were made by comedian/commentator Jon Stewart on Saturday. No matter what your political party, I hope we can all agree that everyone needs to work together to make things better. Honest debate is good. Hate speech isn't. You can make a difference, it starts by voting. The results from tomorrow's elections will change lives and futures! Be a part of the process. Vote!