Tommy Jacks "My View" Newspaper columns
The Muckraker series is about Tommy Jacks, a newly minted journalist, who falls into the middle of a newspaper war in the heartland of America. Jacks has a unique background based on his father once being the chairman of the Democratic party in this Bible belt state; Oklahoma. This history and the need for a “hook” to attract readers to the newspaper, Tommy Jacks becomes a political columnist. In the books these columns are published at the end of most chapters and convey both a story line related to the books plot but also a point-of-view about various subjects. This is the first of a series of excerpts from those columns as written by Tommy Jacks in his “My View” columns for the OK Journal.
OK Journal Daily Newspaper
"My View"
Tommy Jacks
It’s clear, now: this is all my fault. Since my first day, or even further back than that, I’ve labored under a grand misapprehension that murder is a serious crime. That’s my fault, I’ll admit. People just get killed all the time, and probably a hundred times a day on TV. It’s a natural thing, so what’s the big deal?
Just ask Air Force Lt. Jeff Davis, the affable and photogenic Information Officer at Tinker Air Force Base. I’ll quote what he said after reporters summoned the gumption to show up and ask him about a tip they’d received concerning a death on the base that might be a murder: “At any given time, we may have as many as 8,000 soldiers and airmen on this base, and on occasion, someone will die.”
Well, shoot. Who’d have thought? And besides, Davis continued, whatever happens on the base, even if it might be murder, is the base’s business, and not that of local police, local press, or anyone or anything else local. It’s kind of like the Air Force’s own little country there, south of town. Which is odd when you remember that they’re here to protect our country. Or so we’re told every time it seems convenient for someone to say so.
Murder So Strange, page 56
There are three books in the Muckraker series, Murder So Wrong, Murder So Strange and the soon to be released third book Murder So Final.
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