I’ve been sending these newsletters for nearly twenty years. If you go to my website SteveAlten.com and click on NEWSLETTERS you will find the last 15 years archived by our talented webmasters Doug & Lisa McEntyre. If I need a good joke or recipe for the newsletter I am working on I may randomly click on a year and month and go back in time … often amazed at how much sewage I had to wade through to get out of my own Shawshank (The MEG Redemption?).

If you have been a fan since 1997-2001, you might have received a printed hardcopy of a quarterly newsletter I used to mail … what a time-consuming endeavor that was! I can’t recall how many I used to mail … maybe 400–700 readers signed up … but they remain among my most cherished and loyal fans.

What follows may put that to the test for some of you.

I’ve spent the last two weeks writing, editing, venting, crying, rewriting, and debating whether to send commentary about the mass killings that have stolen so many precious American lives. My wife reminded me, “Steve, your fans don’t read your newsletters to be reminded of these terrible things, they read them to get a break. Besides, nothing you write is going to change anything. I've read posts from women who own AR-15s. Every time there is another shooting, they buy more weapons and ammunition because they’re afraid Biden is going to take away all of their guns.”

She’s right. And I tried to let it go … and after a day spent back writing LOCH-3: Heaven Lake, I thought I had. And then early this morning, I woke up with a solution that would allow my hero to flush out my antagonist before they struck. Since this complex character suffered from the same Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD) that all of these AR-15 mass shooting killers have in common I wondered if this new plot point could be used to flush out potential AR-15 killers in the real world?

The answer? You tell me … everything is explained below and includes all sources cited. It’s simple, cost-effective, and should easily get the necessary Republican votes in the Senate. If you are one of my cherished readers in law enforcement, please note: I purposely left out key details about the catalyst that makes this work.

If you do not want to read it simply scroll down several pages and past my name to get to the entertainment.

by Steve Alten, Ed.D. - N.Y Times best-selling author

In the wake of the 2020 Presidential election, the votes of which were tallied, counted, and recounted (and in some cases counted again) each yielding the same results, our country remains divided by the lies and fear-mongering of the former president, all of which make it extremely difficult to get bills passed in a Senate evenly divided. Nowhere is this more evident than in regard to AR-15 mass shootings where an overwhelming majority of voters support common-sense gun control laws and mandatory background checks. And yet, despite an increase in violence, nothing ever changes thanks to a Republican party that committed its future to Trumpism and ended up inviting extremists groups like White Supremacists and QAnon conspirators into the fold. How does this affect gun control laws? To compete with extremists’ candidates in the primaries, conservatives have become even more dependent on the gun lobbies and NRA to garner votes.

While not every Sociopath will go on to commit mass murder using an AR-15, every mass murder using an AR-15 was committed by a Sociopath.

According to the International Association of Chiefs of Police:

SOCIOPATHS HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL AS CHARMING, INTELLIGENT, SUPERFICIAL, OUTWARDLY FRIENDLY, AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. SOCIOPATHIC, PSYCHOPATHIC, AND ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITIES ARE ALL CLOSELY RELATED AND HAVE BEEN DEFINED AS PERSONALITY TYPES EXHIBITING A PROFOUND AND USUALLY UNTREATABLE FORM OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR. MANY MASS MURDERERS, RAPISTS, AND A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF HABITUAL CRIMINALS EXHIBIT THE LACK OF GUILT AND NEED FOR INSTANT GRATIFICATION WHICH IS CHARACTERISTIC OF THIS BEHAVIOR TYPE, AS DO MANY HIGH-PRESSURE SALESMEN AND BUSINESS FRAUD CRIMINALS. DEPENDING ON THE AUTHORITIES QUOTED, SOCIOPATHS MAY CONSTITUTE UP TO 35 PERCENT OF THE PRISON POPULATION AND ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR AS MUCH AS 80 TO 90 PERCENT OF ALL CRIMES. PRISON EVALUATORS ARE WARNED NOT TO BE FOOLED BY THEIR CHARMING MANNER, THEIR WILLINGNESS TO COOPERATE, AND THEIR EFFORTS TO WIN FAVORS AND RELEASE. TIME ALONE CAN CURE THE SOCIOPATH, OR AT LEAST TURN HIS BEHAVIOR AWAY FROM VIOLENT ACTIVITIES. LONG-TERM INCARCERATION IS URGED FOR THE PROTECTION OF SOCIETY FROM SOCIOPATHS WHO COMMIT VIOLENT CRIMES.

International Assoc of Chiefs of Police

44 Canal Center Plaza, Suite 200,

Alexandria, VA 22314, United States

DEFINITION: A Sociopath is an Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD) caused by a childhood of neglect or abuse which manifests later in life as extreme antisocial attitudes, impulsive behavior, and a complete lack of conscience. A sociopath often attempts to control others with threats or aggression, rarely learns from their mistakes, lies compulsively for personal gain, can turn on the charm and charisma to manipulate, bullies through threats of physical violence, and is not beyond committing criminal acts. A sociopath’s relationships tend to be superficial.

What influences a troubled teen suffering from an ASPD to seek out an AR-15?

In 2005, President Bush signed into law something called PLACAA. Essentially, the law prevents gun manufacturers like Remington Arms who make AR-15 assault style weapons from being sued. Let’s call it what it is – payback to the gun industry for all those “donations.” The attorney who represented the parents of the kids gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary didn’t know about PLACAA but he did some investigating. He found that sales of AR-15s jumped from 100,000 in 2001 to 2.1 million in 2012. This increase had nothing to do with PLACAA or politics – it was all about marketing.

Remington had signed a deal with the company that makes the video game CALL OF DUTY where the player gets to experience the look and feel of a real AR-15 while gunning down his enemies. Watch the CBS Sunday Morning segment (link below) targeting teens – it’s criminal. Essentially Remington is encouraging and training our sons and grandsons and nephews and the neighbor’s troubled teen how to gun down their enemies using a weapon that you need only be eighteen (Texas) to purchase. Granted, the majority of teens playing the game (we hope) would not take things into the real world, but for those with an ASPD – the combination of easy access and the game can be lethal. As with any practiced activity, scores rise as muscle memory improves and at some point, the participant’s inner voice may entertain the thought: Could I do this? The difference between an ASPD and a non-ASPD is the latter has a conscious that serves as a guardrail, whereas an ASPD has none.

SOURCE: CBS SUNDAY https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sandy-hook-shooting-the-unprecedented-73m-settlement-with-gunmaker-remington/

How bad could this potentially become? I’ve tried to locate a reliable study that estimates the percentage of people with anti-social personality disorder living in the U.S. I’ve come across 5% to 8% of the population as an estimate for sociopaths and psychopaths (hereditary caused). The problem is that we only know when an individual has an ASPD after they are tested.

Since we do know the population of the U.S. (330 million), as well as the approximate number of AR-15s sold (100,000 sales in 2001 rising to 2.1 million in 2012), let’s reduce the 5% to 8% estimate to one-half of one percent of the general population (it’s almost assuredly higher but let’s pray it’s not). The U.S. population (331 million) x 0.5% = 1,655,000 (one million and six hundred fifty-five thousand) sociopaths in our general population. If only one percent of these individuals lost themselves to this disease – we’re looking at 16,000 individuals capable of committing a mass shooting.

From a weapons standpoint, there are more than enough AR-15s out there to arm these 16,000 individuals even if the weapon was forced off the market tomorrow. Somehow, I seriously doubt the authors of the Second Amendment (whose definition of “guns” probably amounted to single shot pistols) could have imagined our current nightmare, let alone this.

My two cents: As a NY Times and international bestselling author of 20 fictional thrillers, it is my job to paint my characters into crisis situations requiring desperate solutions. I happen to be working on a novel at the present time where the antagonist is a sociopath. What follows is a potential solution that – if implemented correctly – could potentially reduce, through prevention, the number of mass killings using AR-15 rifles (or any type of gun).

Our goal is not to ban the weapon (as not enough Senate Republicans will join the Dems to get the required 60 votes to pass), the goal is to set up Mandatory Background checks, along with a Mandatory Questionnaire required of all applicants between the ages of 18-25. The Questionnaire (which would contain some control questions designed to counteract the ASPD tactic to lie in order to obtain the desired weapon) would be accessible online on the website of a new government entity established to A) Create a national ASPD database where identified individuals can receive the help and therapy they need to live more fulfilling lives. B) When an APSD is identified, local police are contacted. A visit (impromptu) allows the police officers to meet the parents/guardians to evaluate the situation and see if other weapons are kept in the home.

I can be contacted via my email listed at www.SteveAlten.com

Go back and reread the definition of a sociopath and see if any public figure in recent history carries a persona that clearly defines him as an ASPD. If you need the history that sadly caused the ASPD, read “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man” by Mary Trump. To learn the truth about how close this sociopath brought us to losing our democracy, please watch the January 6 hearings (investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol in 2021) beginning Thursday June 9 at 8 p.m. EDT.

Thank you for hearing me out, I hope you enjoy the rest of the newsletter …

Steve

Six-Year-Old Boy Finds Giant Megalodon Shark Tooth Dating Back Million Of Years On UK Beach Megalodon lived approximately 3 million to 20 million years ago.

This isn't CGI, it's a real-life creature known as a sea angel (Clione limacina) found in the cold waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans. Sent in by Gordo Goodman (thanks).

I staggered back to the underground And the breeze blew back my hair

I remember throwing punches around And preaching from my chair…

This image (my personal favorite) was created by MEG artist Erik Hollander for me for a limited paperback release by Bantam-Doubleday. These mass market paperbacks are almost impossible to find (I only own one) and the image has never been offered as a poster.

MEG Helicopter Attack: 24 x 36 inches Limited Edition (only 200 printed).

Price: $34.95 plus s & h. Mailed in a sturdy poster tube.

To Order: go to www.SteveAlten.com

Watch Fantastic Fungus with Paul Stanets - it's on youtube & NETFLIX

There is a mushroom called Lion's Mane - it heals the brain, adds neural pathways, and strengthens the myolin sheathe. It is not a hallucinogenic.

One day in the no-so-distant future an interviewer may ask, “Steve, what is the most challenging novel you ever wrote?’ And I will say, “The most challenging? Definitely The LOCH-3: Heaven Lake.”

“What made that book so difficult to write?”

“Every novel begins with a premise which led to research which led to characters and a Hero’s Journey. What makes Loch-3 so unique and challenging is that it has an antagonist’s (villain’s) Journey, which is further complicated by her multiple personality syndrome.

UPDATE: I’m approaching 80% complete, better update in July-August on a delivery date to A&M’s printer. The LOCH-3: Heaven Lake will be printed by A & M Publishing, the entity that published MEG: Generations. Copies must be preorder on www.SteveAlten.com before we go to print.

Reserve your spot with Kelly at kelly@seamonstercove.com

What’s brown and sounds like a bell?

Dungggggggg.

IF YOU HAVE A JOKE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE, please e-mail to me at MEG82159@aol.com Put JOKE in the subject line.

1 pound linguine pasta, uncooked

1 tablespoon oil

2 tablespoons butter

4 chicken breasts (skinless, boneless, and thinly sliced

2 cups Italian-seasoned or Panko breadcrumbs

4 oz, fresh lemon juice

¼ cup chicken broth

½ cup heavy whipping cream

a cup butter

¼ teaspoon of salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Set aside. Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Coat the chicken in the bread crumbs. Sauté the chicken in the skillet until browned and cooked through, about 4-5 minutes per side. The chicken should be 165 degrees F in its thickest part. Transfer the chicken from the skillet and set it aside. In the same skillet, heat the lemon juice and chicken broth over medium, bringing it to a boil and scraping up any browned bits at the bottom with a wooden spoon. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the cream and simmer until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the butter a few cubes at a time, slowly stirring until incorporated. Add the pasta to the lemon butter sauce and season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken on top of the pasta. Garnish with parsley and serve!

*IF YOU HAVE A RECIPE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE, please e-mail to me at MEG82159@aol.com Put RECIPE in the subject line.

As you know, I take great pride in close each newsletter with a video tribute to the 3 Stooges.

Here’s a preview of Thursday’s hearings – Rudy Guliano taking the witness stand – soitantly!

Stay well, and please stay safe… and know I appreciate you.

Steve Alten, Ed.D.

Steve Alten's Books