Chapter Four: STRANGERS

Chapter Four: STRANGERS

And so Malinali trudged through the forest and swamps to Pontochan, where Forearms sold her to the King and she moved into the palace – living in a palace again, but now as a slave and not a princess.

Malinali became very appreciative of Ciuacuatl’s lessons, for with her skills at sewing, cooking, and medicine, she was assigned to the household staff and not put out into the maize or cacao fields for manual drudgery.

Five winters passed. She became fluent in Maya, and learned how to do her work well and quietly, so as to be (more…)

WHY WE HAVEN’T FOUND OSAMA

One of the most frequently asked questions we get at To The Point is: Where’s Osama? Why haven’t we found and killed him?

We’ve gotten another flurry because of the recent claims that “mercs” or mercenaries, “professional soldiers for paramilitary corporations that attend the annual Soldier of Fortune convention in Las Vegas” know where he is – a hidden valley called Dir in northwest Pakistan.

I’ve known Col. Bob Brown, the publisher of Soldier of Fortune magazine for almost 30 years. We almost got ourselves blown up together in Afghanistan with the Mujahaddin back in the 1980s. I told Bob (more…)

Chapter Three: SLAVE

Chapter Three: SLAVE

After Teteotcingo’s funeral, Queen Cimatl asked to see her daughter. “Malinali, there is something you must know,” the Queen said. “A kingdom requires a king – and now Paynala no longer has one. So I have decided to marry the brother of my sister’s husband, Cohuixin. I must, you realize, always put the interests of Paynala and its people first.”

Malinali was so stunned she lost her composure and blurted, “The Lizard-Man? You are going to marry the Lizard-Man!? (Cohuixin meant “lizard” – obviously Malinali was not very fond of him.) Mother – how can you (more…)

NEW HOPE FOR OLD EUROPE

Europe is in crisis. It is depopulating because of birthrates well below replacement. Weighted down by oppressive taxes and onerous regulations, the economies of the major European nations are barely growing. Pessimism reigns.

Yet there are the little flickers of light in the form of bright and energetic young people pushing constructive change, and increasing public recognition from some European leaders that the present course is unsustainable.

In times of crisis, some nations find a Ronald Reagan, a Winston Churchill, or a Margaret Thatcher. If one looks closely at the increasing political divisions in France, Germany and Italy, it is (more…)

CIA ROGUE WEASEL THREATENS MURDER

You first learned in The CIA in Deep Qaaqaa last October about a group of left-wing “Rogue Weasels” that incoming CIA Director Porter Goss was purging from Langley.

It’s important to understand that the CIA has been a left-wing outfit since the 1970s. The Watergate Scandal was pretty much a coup to oust Richard Nixon from the White House conducted in a cooperative effort by the CIA left-wingers, the Democrat Party, and the Media. This same cabal thinks it can conduct a similar coup against George Bush and Karl Rove over the ridiculous Plamegate nonsense.

Problem is, Bush is smarter (more…)

Chapter Two: PRINCESS

Chapter Two: PRINCESS

Malinali giggled. It was the kind of squeal and squeak that only a little girl who is deliriously happy can have. She was hiding behind a curtain in her father’s palace.

“Ixkakuk! Ixkakuk!” her father called out, using his nickname for her, meaning Beautiful Goddess. “Where are you? I can’t find you!” He crept up to the curtain. “But when I do, I’m going to?” he grabbed the bulge in the curtain? “tickle you to death!”

The little girl’s shrieks of mirth rang through the palace. King Teteotcingo released his grip, and Malinali raced away across the (more…)