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The Girl Who
Looked Like Marilyn
Chapter 11 of a Mystery Novel
by Claude Hall
Several things bothered me about the conversation with
Dr. Stabbler. But my mind was so clouded with dislike
for him that I couldn't sort the facts out in my mind.
Baked Alaska had nothing to do with it; I don't think
I've ever tasted baked Alaska. Or if and when I did,
I wasn't in any condition to taste anything.
Finally, I couldn't tolerate him or his conversation
any longer. He kept contradicting everything I said
or "explaining" what I really meant.
I excused myself and went to unpack my "toy."
In a moment, I had the computer out of its box and
separated from the packing foam.
It took a moment more to insert the special auxiliary
card inside the computer itself, plug in the "card"
I'd purchased, and hook the computer up to the world
via telephone. Marshall McLuhan spoke once or a few
thousand times about the information age. The
computer was turning all of that upside down and
sideways. Of course, I hadn't kept up with "ages" in
an age and perhaps something else was the big fad in
the academic world these days. Nobody else is
concerned with "ages" because they're too busy trying
to live one. And perhaps the computer was even
screwing that up pretty fast.
When I had arrived at the college at Brockport, there
was only a small computer lab on campus and it was
mostly used by local high school students who sneaked
in to play games on the rows of Apple IIes. I
introduced a few of my students to the lab and wrote a
handbook that demonstrated how the Apple could be used
for typing papers. Suddenly, a lot of typewriters
around the campus became ancient history. By the time
I left Brockport, there were four computer labs on
campus and the majority of the computers were in
constant use. High school students had to find
another place to play their bootlegged versions-Ms.
Krac Man-of Pac Man.
At the moment, I didn't have a lab. My new laptop
would have to sit on my "table" in the camper. That
left barely enough room for eating, but barely enough
was probably plenty enough for all that I usually
ate-a cup of instant oatmeal in the morning, a hotdog
at lunch, corn chips and salsa for dinner if and when
I had salsa.
I plugged in the power cord. Nothing happened.
For a moment, I thought somebody at IBM had sabotaged
my computer. Then I realized sheepishly that I'd
forgotten to hook up the camper to electricity.
From a cupboard, I took out an extension cord. It was
long, it was a horrid orange, and it was
three-pronged, but I had a two-pronged adaptor.
Outside, I plugged it into the camper and then walked
over to the veranda and asked Zanzibar if she had an
electrical connection on the porch. She did. I ended
up parking the camper closer to the verandah because
my telephone extension cord was too short to reach
inside the house.
"Zandy tells me you were shot at yesterday," Dr.
Stabbler said, head tilted slightly. He also tilted
his rocking chair as he leaned forward to hear
whatever my answer would be. I was growing rather
irritated at the noise from his chair.
"It was nothing," I said. "Someone hunting deer, I
suppose."
His head tiled more to the left.
"I hope no one is attempting to tell you something."
"If so," I lied, "it was in a language that I don't
understand too well."
"Your military experience. It doesn't come back to
haunt you now and then as it used to?"
"I was never in the military. I told you that. And
that's the truth."
"Strange," said Dr. Stabbler. "I heard otherwise."
"Who from?"
"From whom, you mean. No one you would know."
"I've never worn a uniform in my life," I said.
"Once at least. For example, when you were presented
the Bronze Star."
"You've obviously talked to someone who made up a
bunch of lies," I said. "I've never won a medal and
don't intend to. The opportunities for cowards to
earn medals is rather limited, I understand."
"Strange," said Dr. Stabbler and his head tilted even
more.
Zanzibar looked at both of us with a puzzled
expression on her face.
"Are you a hero?"
"Not me," I said and headed back to my camper before
the conversation got me into deeper trouble.
After I hooked up to electricity, the computer worked
fine. I booted up "Montezuma's Revenge" and played it
for at least half an hour. Until, in fact, I was
rudely interrupted.
I'd been so engrossed in the game that I hadn't heard
Dr. Stabbler quietly open the door of the camper and
look inside.
"Ah, the one thing that I never appreciated in you,
Smitty, was the tendency to involve yourself in play."
"My next doctoral dissertation is going to be on game
playing among the computer intelligentsia," I said.
"The tendency to flipness also bothered me, I'm
afraid."
"Funny, professor, but I found a sense of humor quite
handy when I realized that there were people in this
world who stole research data from unsuspecting
doctoral candidates."
"Ah, you're assuming that I purloined the information
I used in my book. Actually, ah...that research was
done, better I might add, by another student after you
left the campus."
"Isn't it interesting how some information stays the
same, regardless of who does the, quote, research?"
"That research project was basically my idea in the
first place, Smitty."
"That's a bunch of crap, doctor."
"That very tone you're expressing is another thing I
found disturbing. Not quite appropriate, I'm afraid,
in a doctoral candidate."
"What you really mean, professor, is that I never
learned to say yes very well...nor lick ass."
"Because of that military experience you say you
didn't have, I suppose. My information on that came
from the highest sources."
"Crap on your sources. I was never in the military."
"And you never lie."
"Me? Lie? Never. Lick ass? Again, never."
"Your vernacular is quaint. But, yes, a certain
amount of conformity is necessary. In academics. One
cannot have free spirits floating about like lost
butterflies. They tend to obliterate or obscure the
academic modus operandi."
"The stagnant, hidebound methodologies, maybe, and
archaic ways of thinking of a few tired old
academics."
"You may have been some kind of secret weapon with the
government, Smitty, but that doesn't necessarily
correlate to academic standing."
"Someone once mentioned your I.Q., Dr. Stabbler.
Mine's higher."
He tugged at one mustache.
"Intelligence, ah, isn't everything. It's how one
applies intellect that matters. The quality of
research, the quality of thought."
"Dr. Stabbler, when it comes right down to it you're
nothing but a petty data thief."
"I don't, ah, feel like endeavoring in another
name-calling incident, Smitty. Can't we just drop the
topic of your unfortunate Ph.D. experience. Not
everyone is qualified for a doctoral degree. That is
the truth."
"I assure you, I will get that Ph.D."
"And I assure you that I wish you the best of luck. I
don't dislike you, honest I don't. After all, I
recommended you for this, ah, job."
"I said thanks."
"Yes. Rather hesitantly during your phone call. I
gathered from your tone of voice that it was not an
easy call to make."
"I only called because I was desperate."
"So I assumed." He tweaked at the ends of his
mustache. "What has your research turned up so far on
Ms. Monroe?"
"I haven't started yet. I've been checking the
computer out. Sometimes an IC won't be quite kosher.
Or a board needs to be seated firm."
"Are you going to began your research project today?
I would be most interested in your results."
"Actually, my preliminary search will be on the
diamond. Did it exist? Where did it come from? Who?
That sort of thing."
"Fascinating. Fascinating. And it will all show up
here?"
"Right on this screen."
"Keep me posted on Ms. Monroe. I would appreciate
that."
He ducked his head out and closed the door of the
camper.
I opened it and shouted after him: "I was never a
secret weapon for the government."
Both Zanzibar and Nepi stopped and looked our
direction.
Dr. Stabbler turned, tilted his head.
"Strange," he said.
He climbed the steps to the verandah and poured
himself another cup of coffee.
I closed the door of the camper and retreated to my
computer.
His request bothered me; I guess I owed him something,
so I would do it. But that didn't make it easy to do.
Mostly, I wondered why he was interested.
For a moment, I sat there wondering if the man had any
guilt about what he'd done to me. I could not believe
that he did not feel at least slightly guilty. By
refusing me a Ph.D., he'd doomed me-and not just
temporarily-to an academic never-never land. Most
colleges and universities have a policy against hiring
professors without "terminal degrees." Without that
degree, someone such as me only landed fill-in
positions: a year here, a year there.
Did the man have any redeeming factor at all? I doubt
that anyone would have considered him a good teacher.
Nepi nuzzled open the screen door of the camper to
check on me.
"A man without at least one redeeming aspect to his
life is about as necessary to this world as a pile of
dog shit, Nepi."
Nepi quickly deserted me to return to his torrid love
affair with Zanzibar and the horses.
"Sorry. No offense intended, Nepi," I yelled after
him.
With my long telephone extension cord, I followed him
from the camper. Zanzibar had two phones. She showed
me where a telephone was located in the kitchen. I
unplugged the phone from the wall and plugged in my
extension cord, strung the cord through a window and
replaced the screen, then in my camper plugged in the
phone to the other end of the extension cord and
dialed a former student of mine who now worked on a
newspaper in Oklahoma.
He was on a deadline, but he came to the phone.
"Buddy, this is the legendary Smitty."
After a few random cuss words, which may indicate the
kind of relationship I had with a few of my students,
Buddy added: "Quasi-legendary would be a more
accurate description."
"How can you say horrible things like that about your
former professor...your former mentor."
"You taught me to be honest, Smitty."
"That was a mistake. Lie now and then. It will
improve our relationship."
"I'll think about it."
"You've got that New York Times data service, don't
you, Buddy?"
"Sure."
"I need to tap my computer into it for an hour or so."
"Can we do that? I'll have to check with our computer
guy and get back to you as soon as I whip this
deadline into shape. Take a couple of hours."
I gave him my phone number, hung up, and dialed Los
Angeles information. Turned out I needed another area
code for the San Fernando Valley area I wanted. I got
that and dialed Delphi Information Services. A data
coordinator was more than pleased to take my order for
a random search on: Minerals--diamonds, Americas. I
placed the phone onto the modem and sat back and
scratched some notes into a notebook I keep in the
camper. When the light went out, I picked up the
phone and the coordinator asked if I'd received the
information. I called it up onto the monitor screen.
It was there for me to look at anytime I wanted. I
told her where to send the bill.
As an afterthought, I asked what she had on a Dr.
Charles Stabbler. She mentioned a list of academic
papers he'd written. One was on creative forces in
the movie industry. Sort of an odd subject for an
academic paper. Especially, when you consider the
topic of my ill-fated Ph.D. dissertation. I thanked
the girl on the other end of the phone and hung up.
As I glanced at my scribbling, it dawned on me that
the best place to find out about diamonds would be a
dealer or a trade magazine covering the gem industry.
A phone call to the library at UCLA in Los Angeles
induced a work-study student to look up a list of
trade magazines that might have something on diamonds.
He draggingly read me their titles and phone numbers.
Next, I placed a call to what looked like the
most-promising publication, a magazine dealing with
rare gems. I explained that I was a college professor
from Arizona and doing a study on diamonds and
wondered if anyone there knew anything about the
Zanzibar diamond.
An oldtimer, who knew more about diamond sales than I
wanted to know, assured me that the Zanzibar diamond
existed. Or a similar diamond.
"Or did. It disappeared from view about 30 years ago,
give or take a few months. It was last owned by a
sheik. Whether it was stolen or he lost it or sold
it, he would never say. Newspaper reporters had a
field day at the time with stories about Rita
Hayworth, as I recall, and the sheik."
"Could those newspaper stories have been Marilyn
Monroe, not Rita Hayworth?"
"Yes. I suppose so. Or Betty Grable or anyone of
dozens more. That was the era of the big movie star.
Everyone catered to them. They were gods and
goddesses. As I recall, the stories were about Rita,
though. But, I may have read all those stories in
some fan magazine. There were lots of movie fan
magazines then. You don't see fan magazines on the
magazine racks these days much."
"Do you have any history on the diamond?"
"Just what I have off the top of my head. Nothing on
paper. We don't have a morgue on this magazine. But,
I recall that it was a rare 136 and a third caret
rhombic dodecahedron. That is, a stone with 12 faces.
Natural. Uncut. The most unusual thing about the
Zanzibar is that it's an American diamond."
"It's owned by an American now? I thought it was
lost."
"The diamond originally came from the Americas. In
fact, it may have been originally part of the treasure
looted by the Spaniards out of the Americas."
"There aren't any diamond mines in the United States."
"Sure are. The diamonds out of Arkansas, for example,
are a crude industrial quality. Diamonds have been
found in Georgia, Kentucky, Wisconsin, California, and
elsewhere. This diamond, according to some of the
stories told about it, may have been found in a river
bed in the Tejuco valley area in Minas Gerais or the
Baia area in Brazil. Some really superb diamonds have
come from Brazil, including the Star of the South
found in 1853 that weighed 254 and a half carets."
"I thought diamonds were just stones until they were
cut."
"The skill of lapidary was not developed much before
1746, that's true," he said. "But the diamond has
been around since before Christ. Phiny, circa A.D.
100, spoke of the rarity of the stone, 'the most
valuable of gems...known only to kings'. Found in its
natural state, some diamonds are quite beautiful. The
hexakis-octahedron shape, a 48-faced stone and
rounded, is quite stunning."
"How would the diamond have got into the hands of the
Indians in Central America from Brazil?"
"Not Central America. According to legend, the
diamond came to light in the southwest. There was a
lot of trading among Indians. Somehow, the diamond
ended up in what is now Arizona. When an expedition
by the Spaniards, hunting Cibola, the seven cities of
gold, came across the diamond in an Indian village, it
literary drove them into a frenzy. Check out a
Spanish priest named, let's see...Fray Marcos de Niza.
Time of Coronado."
I called back the UCLA library and a librarian told me
about a book service and the phone number.
Books on Computers Inc., Dallas, had a few books and
articles about Marilyn Monroe on their mainframe,
including ones by Normal Mailer and Gloria Steinem.
"Do you wish each entire book?"
"Yes, and I'd like a book called 'Goddess--the Secret
Lives of Marilyn Monroe' by Anthony Summers."
They told me that they would op-scan the book onto
computer and have it available later in the day. The
Mailer and Steinem volumes were fed onto my hard disc
drive, as well as an article titled "The Metamorphosis
of Marilyn Monroe" by Helen M. Stark printed in the
winter l985 issue of Central States Speech Journal, an
academic publication, and "Marilyn Monroe: The Girl
With the Three Blue Eyes" by Ezra Goodman printed in a
man's adventure magazine called Cavalier in August
1961. There were several articles in Life, including
an article by Clare Booth Luce in the Aug. 7, 1964
Life, another by Fred Lawrence Guiles in the July 1969
Good Housekeeping.
Shortly afterwards, Buddy Ward called me from
Oklahoma.
"We can do this, but it's not going to be easy. Our
service comes in by satellite dish and feeds directly
into our mainframe computer used in our typesetting.
But we can give it a shot. We've juryrigged to hook
you up through my VDT terminal and see what happens."
Now, like Dr. Stabbler, I had become a petty data
thief, but in this case I didn't think the New York
Times would mind. Or find out.
An hour or so later, I had more information stored on
my hard disc drive regarding diamonds, the early
Spaniards who invaded the Americas, early Indians, and
Marilyn Monroe than I could have dug up in 20
libraries in 200 days. I'd even gotten a callback and
fed onto the hard disc the entire "Goddess" book.
As I was scrolling through a paragraph of the
"Goddess" book, my screen suddenly went blank.
Then the screen turned vivid yellow and, scrawled in
red across the screen was the message:
"WHY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR ME?"
As I was staring it, wondering what the message meant
and who was communicating with me and why and if it
was really meant for me, the screen went blank and
stayed that way for a while.
Finally, I snapped out of my frozen state and used the
mouse to restart the computer.
I booted up a dictionary program and started a content
analysis of some of the material on Marilyn Monroe and
while that was being done by the computer, left the
camper and locked it and joined Dr. Stabbler,
Zanzibar, Nepi, and Skyfoot among the pines down by
the stream.
Nepi didn't know how much I disliked Dr. Stabbler. He
was chasing a stick and bringing it back to the
professor.
Something must be wrong with that damned dog's
pedigree.
Chasing a stick!
(continued next week)
e-mail claude@claudehallonline.com
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September 11, 2006
Commentary
by
Claude Hall
David Rothfeld, record buyer for
E.J. Korvettes, 60s. Don't know where I took the picture. Could
have been in Mallorca. Billboard did a music industry conference
on the island. The lady? Quien sabe? I always had a camera with
me in those days. Wasn't much good with it. But I took a lot of
pictures. You cannot possibly imagine how big Rothfeld was at
this point in the record industry. Korvettes sold a lot of
albums! In all probability, the store in central Manhattan sold
more records than any store in America and the chain more than
any chain in America. At the time. My first LP in New York City,
however, was purchased at the Colony on Broadway in central
Manhattan. Before my Billboard days. And it was more than likely
Louis Armstrong on Audio Fidelity, i.e., a stereo LP. And a
damned good one! This was earlier in the game and most LPs were
still mono. I wouldn't know what happened to the LP, but I
played that record for years and the better the sound system,
the better the sound. My first stereo unit was a little Emerson
console (poor unit). Magnificent record acoustically and
artistically. When I later had a Sansui with JBL speakers,
viola! One of the greatest records ever! (Photo by Claude Hall;
David Rothfeld identified by Tom Noonan)
Ian Wright: "Your
mystery, 70s, solo, celebrity,
photograph is that of Australia's Frank Ifield. As a
singer and yodeler he had a string of hits (at least
'down under') including 'I Remember You', 'The Wayward
Wind', 'She Taught Me How to Yodel', 'Lovesick Blues',
'Please' etc, etc. I only saw Frank interviewed in the
last couple of months on our '60 Minutes'. A hell of
a nice guy. Unfortunately, his singing voice is no
more, due to a medical condition, however, he's still
involved in show biz, producing variety concerts and
nurturing up-and-coming talent!"
Mel Phillips: "Please thank Joey Reynolds for
directing you to my blog. After leaving WCBS-FM two
years ago I decided to go in a different direction and
have discovered a new voice in writing. I'm going
into my second year of writing my daily blog called
'Mel Phillips Remembers' and although it documents
what happened in news, music and entertainment in
general on each day of the year, I take a different
approach to it. Rather than making it a 'Yesterday
and Today', 'Then and Now' daily log, I reverse it by
mentioning the subject or subject matter today and
then go back on why I'm writing about it. In each
case it was an event that happened on that particular
date. That, along with my commentary, timeline
memories of that day, number one hits of the day,
birthdays, etc., is what a typical blog is composed
of. I've also recently started a 'Love to Hate' Top
10 list of sports figures. The feedback has been good
and as I say in my masthead: 'This blog is dedicated
to those who remember the past, choose not to repeat
nor change anything about it but just enjoy the
memories from it'. Please feel free to say hello to
all my friends and invite them to pick up my link:
http://melphillips.blogspot.com
And now that I have your website, I'm looking forward
to reading your ebook and commentary. It's been a
long time Claude. I'm glad we reconnected."
Gary Bridges: "This is a half-assed way to let you
know how touched I was with your commentary of this
morning.but it was important for me to NOT let the day
go by without saying, 'Thanks!' I'm forwarding a note
I dashed off this morning to an old friend of some 35+
years who thoughtfully shared your column with me.
I've marveled for years at how something so key as the
limited ownership rules, something so important to the
preservation of a diversity of voices in the
media, something so fundamental that I had to learn it
to just to get my cheesy 3rd Class Radiotelephone
License, could be overlooked and even ridiculed by the
so-called experts who took over the FCC in the last
decade. Thanks for at least beginning what I hope
will become a dialog on the issue and build toward a
reversal of those 'new freedoms' unleashed on our
industry by corporate interests with no other focus
but their own bottom line. Silly, I know, but at 18
years of age I really took it to heart, all those
things I had to learn to get my 3rd ticket. Chief
among them was the faded principal that 'the airwaves
are OWNED by the public', and that companies had to
earn our permission to fill them by promising to
program their stations (entertainment, news, music, et
al) IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE. It's nice to know, also,
that you're still doing well, Claude."
Gary Bridges, who operates Winning Sounds in Bala
Cynwyd, PA, wrote Ira 'Eye' Lipson: "Yo, Eye! My
deepest thanks for passing this along. I've never had
a clue where Claude stood with the world. I
remembered him just last week in a little missive to
your pal Bob Shannon, recalling late-night visits to
WAYN (Wayne State campus radio) where I could finally
lay my hands on the latest Billboard, unimpeded, and
read Vox Jox, gradually memorizing by repetition lots
of names I'd never heard before, which would
eventually give me a leg up in the fascinating new
business I'd discovered. I'd just assumed (guilt by
association) that, given his friendship with my
long-time boss & mentor George Wilson, he shared
George's rather right-wing views on things political.
What a remarkably cool thing it is to hear that voice
from so far in my past saying the things many of us
have been yelling about for years. All the best,
Senor!"
Just FYI, Gary, I can make old George fume and fuss
and dance around a room with my political views. But
I love him anyway! One of my heroes. He called the
other day, claiming he was the FBI, but I recognized
that great, compelling voice! I don't talk to the
FBI. George, Ron, Joey, Bobby, Lou, yes. And, of
course, the Magnificent Montague. We have, as they
say, definitive history.
Ira 'Eye Lipson can be discovered at
http://www.Eye.Lipson.com
or
http://www.Eye.Lipson.com/tour
Tanya Tucker
with MCA Records promotion executive Vince Cosgrave. Taken in a
day when country music recording artists were among the nicest
people in the world. Someone such as Tanya Tucker and Tex Ritter
and Sonny James knew you personally by name. And always had time
to talk with you. And appeared to like you. And it was never
just an act. (Photo courtesy of Vince Cosgrave)
Timmy Manocheo:
"The first photo you have posted, the
one that looks like a typical 'hip' cocktail party
from the 60s...that guy seems to be a certain Jimmy
Carl Black. He was a member of Frank Zappa's first
incarnation of The Mothers of Invention. He was a main
star of the film '200 Motels'. He was also quite an
accomplished musician. Attached is another photo of
him, you tell me."
Timmy sent me a photo of the Mothers of Invention.
The photo I ran last week certainly appears to be
Jimmy Carl Black. I didn't interviewed Frank Zappa
until years later in Los Angeles once; by then he'd
cut his hair. Different person from the Mothers.
Somewhere in this house, I also have a cassette of an
interview with John Mayall. Impressive! Just wish
I'd taken a few color slides that day. John sat down
and played me some classical music on a 200-year-old
piano. Amazing musician, that one!
Rob Moorhead: "You misread my email. Hugg's funeral,
according to the Times, is this coming Friday, not
last Friday. Seems odd to wait a week and a half for a
funeral. FYI. Quite the media rant. What, no
mention of John Stewart's Daily Show? Sometimes the
media can be it's own best critic. A mirror isn't
always flattering, but it certainly reveals the
flaws."
You're right, Rob. I don't watch Jon Stewart, but my
wife Barbara and my son Andy watch him at every
opportunity as well as the guy who follows him on "The
Colbert Report." Sadly, Jon Stewart and Molly Ivins
and the others are not enough to make a real
difference. Small voices in a wilderness of
confusion. The smoke and mirrors technique of
Buchenwald and his cronies diffuse reality.
Lynn Woolley says
"Thank GOD for Lou Dobbs. Adds:
FOX, which is all liberal on the immigration issue all
the time -- as it is on global warming and other
issues -- would leave the US in the lurch were it not
for Lou Dobbs. Our insane immigration policy, which
is NOT to enforce existing laws, has left our nation
as little more than a supermarket where anyone can
enter illegally and shop for free stuff like ER
services or schools (in the gatecrasher's own
language, of course), or worse yet, new targets for
terrorism. It's hard to believe that there are
actually Americans who have your view (and FOX's) on
this issue. It also hard to believe that FOX incurs
the wrath of the leftist extremists when actually it's
to the left of CNN on the issues I mentioned."
Thanks for your view, Lynn. I suppose one thing in
which we definitely differ is medicine and medical
treatment and education. The ramifications of
refusing anyone medical treatment or education could
be vast, serious, and quite deadly. These things, in
my opinion, should be free. Absolutely free. To
everyone at all times. The doctor or the teacher who
becomes a doctor or a teacher for the money should
take up ditchdigging instead. And many such do even
though they may do it in the operating room or the
classroom. From the time of the early Greeks,
medicine has been a rather unique occupation based on
service, helping. Just FYI, you infer that people from
foreign nations are coming here strictly for free
medical treatment. If so, God bless them. Treat them
and they will honor us and America. I think their
primary reason for coming to the United States,
however, is because they have relatives here. And
some of those relatives have been here eons. You want
to hear something funny? A good radio buddy of mine
has been sneaking into Cuba for medical treatment
because he can't get that particular treatment in the
United States. Regarding teaching: I have endeavored
as a teacher and I taught hopefully well. One of my
greatest accolades was not a commendation from the
president of the university (though, yes, I got one),
but when a mother of Puerto Rican descent thanked me
for rescuing her son from the gutters of New York
City; shortly after he graduated, Ed Esposito became a
rock music writer and photographer and was doing quite
well last I heard. Great photographer! What I'm
telling you - and I believe so adamantly - is that
education is a superb lifting tool. It was even so in
my own case, I'm sure. Best of all, educated,
knowledgeable people have a tendency to bargain and to
compromise rather than go to war. To help their
fellow human being rather than shoot them. If
Buchenwald and those guys had been educated in
anything other than outright thievery, they wouldn't
have placed America in this terrible, terrible world
mess in which we find ourselves at this time. Yes,
you're going to tell me that Buchenwald has a college
degree. I've oft wondered why no one has investigated
that degree. Like his two daughters, certain aspects
of Buchenwald's life seem to be off limits. Ach!
Media control proof positive!
Anyway, to refuse medical treatment to anyone is not
logical. At the time Buchenwald was advocating the
attack of Iraq, I argued that weapons of mass
destruction were illogical because of lack of delivery
methodology and "mass graves" even more so.
Absolutely stupid claims by Buchenwald! And you
cannot believe how many people attacked me because I
pointed these things out. Three guys in radio that
I'd known for more than 30 years decided not to talk
to me anymore. One college friend decided not to know
me. Too many Americans thought Buchenwald wouldn't
lie to them even after he pulled that outrageous and
quite ridiculous stunt of landing on an aircraft
carrier and announcing on television that the war had
been won. Let me assure you that to refuse medical
attention to anyone is even more than illogical.
Someone is sick and they die, you have a body. Has to
be picked up and buried somewhere. A mess! But let's
suppose that particular person had an untreated
illness. A contagious illness. Without proper
medical treatment, the illness spreads. Seventeen
people die instead of one. Maybe more. Maybe it's
the plague. Thousands die. Logically, a doctor could
have treated that one person and no one would have
died. Case in point: HIV. To refuse medical
treatment to anyone, young or old or foreign, is not
only illogical, but inhuman. There is no need to let
anyone in America suffer from anything - illness, lack
of food, lack of housing, etc. Unless we are the Good
Samaritan, in whatever shape, whatever form, whatever
extent, you and I are more animal than man. As
animal, we are confined to earth. As man, we have
vast reach, vast possibilities. Perhaps the stars.
As for immigration laws, some of my ancestors were
here before there were such laws before there was a
United States as well as afterwards. Some came to
other countries, like Texas and Louisiana and were
engrained there prior to "borders," per se. The
question regarding any law is the purpose. Some of
those "border laws" were made to protect that guy who
sells tequila in the United States. Not for you and
me, per se. Certainly not to keep people in one place
or another. Happy Hare just wrote about a delightful
experience on the Baja for his website. Great story
(see his website). He thinks the United States should
have "acquired" the Baja at some point in history. I
agree with that concept. Not just the Baja, which I
love, but also Mexico, which I also love. Thus, no
reason for a border.
Just FYI: Major terrorist action will not likely come
across the Rio Grande nor the Canadian border. These
guys will fly into Enid, OK, or Carlsbad, NM, in a
chartered jet, unload into an old truck, drive to a
farm out near Hooker, OK. Everything will start from
there. Extensive. Dramatic. Dynamic. Inclusive.
Probably two dozen highly-trained ordinance experts.
And they will not tell you about it before or
afterwards. No braggadocio. Simply move on to the
next target or targets. Or, perhaps, they're already
here. Living in a suburb of Omaha or Tulsa. Waiting.
Terrorists and borders have nothing to do with your
concern. Your concern was "manufactured" by a
controlled media seeking attention. We actually have
no border problem to any extent. If it's actually
there, it has been there for decades. We have nothing
new except a blabbermouth on TV trying to stir up a
mess.
In regards to the human condition, may I recommend the
Marshall McLuhan book "War and Peace in the Global
Village?" Greatest book ever written (note to
Baptists: the Bible wasn't written, it was assembled).
At some point, in my opinion, the United States is
going to have to make a deal with Canada and Mexico.
Sort of a tri-nation with tri-presidents who work
together on an equal basis to make mutual decisions
for the common good. Augmented, of course, by bevies
of non-political advisors from major walks of life,
i.e., education, science, business, medical, etc. One
nation! Cultural progress lies not in creating
smaller nations, but in creating larger nations. Not
in walls and borders, but in shaking hands as
neighbors. Whether next door or over yonder. And,
eventually, one world under one communal governing
body. To do otherwise would hinder human development,
understanding, common growth. We must not go to the
stars as Americans or Chinese or Russians, we must go
as man.
Suzan Steinberg,
zan3@sbcglobal.net: "You have no idea
how much your words and feelings behind them mean to
me. My mother was blessed with great friends in the
industry and you were among them to really know my
mom. She was an incredible role model for me and
passed many traits onto me and my brother which has
aided us well in our successes in business and in our
relationships (some too that I am still working on).
I haven't spoken with my brother for a few weeks, but
will pass on your thoughts to him and Roger as well.
Again, thanks for keeping the stories and legend of
Jan Basham alive. I am very interested in more
recollections if you ever have the time to share them
with me. There was much of her life that was outside
the home that I would love to hear about! Perhaps
there are others as well that would like to share
their stories with me and I would appreciate you
passing on my email address to them."
Lawrence Stoler: "I read your commentary about media
and common sense. I totally agree with your
observations. What makes matters worse in my opinion
is the following. National Public Radio (NPR) was
supposed to provide an alternative place for
information and different types of music that were not
considered commercially viable. That is not the case
any longer. Many affiliates have taken music off of
their stations claiming not enough support existed
from the listeners to continue. Instead they switched
to news/talk with shows such as Talk of the Nation,
Fresh Air, etc. While these are well-produced
programs, I find that NPR sounds more commercial in
its approach through the way it handles so-called
underwriting announcements and the way they make
decisions. They were not supposed to be based on
research or how popular a program is. In summary,
they are becoming like everyone else in my opinion.
As far as the three cable news channels seem these
days, I remember when CNN started. Ted Turner took
the idea of news in a new direction for television.
Stories were truly covered and who got on the air was
not based on how well they looked. The anchors had
experience not like some of the people we are stuck
hearing when we turn them on today. They truly do not
cover stories. An example is what I am experiencing
regarding the topic of Net Neutrality. You probably
know that this is the attempt by the biggest cable and
telephone companies in America to regulate how fast or
slow you are able to log on to a website and what kind
of material will be accepted as long as it agrees with
the point of view from these companies. Many groups
such as Save the Internet and
www.freepress.net along
with people as diverse politically as moveon.org and
the Christian Coalition have made their support of Net
Neutrality known. When I have attempted to contact
various hosts and producers at CNN to cover this
issue, I do not even receive an automated response
acknowledging that my email was received. This is
probably because Time Warner, the parent company of
CNN, is against keeping net neutrality alive. When I
write to MSNBC, I receive a demographic survey which I
refuse to respond to. This is not making the public
aware of something that if taken away will truly
affect their lives and push communications back to a
very far distance. This is unfair to a nation that
deserves to learn what is truly going on in the
country so they can have more information to make up
their own minds. Thank you for reading this email."
Sam Gish: "Good one. A good friend of mine, who is in
the 'radio biz', pointed me in the direction of your
Commentary. I'm much impressed. Yet another angry
young man who's gone gray. Much like me. It just
goes to show that not everyone in this country has
bought into the 'I'm alright Jack, screw you all'
culture that now seems to embody most of America these
days. The piece also says to me that more than a few
people out there are aware that the emperor and his
court have no clothes. Of course, the big question is
how do we get these bastards to give up their power
short of bloody revolution? The ballot box seems to
have lost its power because if Diebold is counting the
votes, and these bastards own Diebold, how then how
can we be sure that the results of any election are
honest? And without a truly viable Fourth Estate, who
will inform the electorate that they are being cheated
and lied to? Yes, all us old liberals who actually
believe in tolerance and a fair chance for all, are
still making noise. Maybe our voices aren't as loud as
those of the reactionaries, but dammit, I think we're
getting louder. And maybe we'll be able to overcome
the corporationizing that seems to be subsuming the
world. And of course, 'The Republicans Internecine
Wars' -- as the opinion piece in the WSJ is titled --
will take its toll. The sooner the better, in my
opinion. I used to think that the Republicans who
were after lower taxes, less government, and a fair
fiscal policy weren't such bad guys. I was wrong. I
think that their agenda all along was a
reestablishment of the feudal system. Make the serfs
work for the seigneur and swear an oath of fealty. The
seigneur will protect you from all those bad people
outside the walls. In exchange for that protection,
you give up almost everything and the seigneur lives a
life of luxury. It's time to unmask these people for
the reactionaries that they are. It's time to storm
the castle and start the tumbrils rolling. La vérité
n'est pas faite pour consoler comme une tartine de
confitures qu'ondonne aux enfants qui pleurent. Il
faut la rechercher, voilà tout, et écarter desoi ce
qui n'est pas elle. - Gustave Flaubert (Truth is not
made to console like toast with jam that we give to
children who cry. You have to look for truth, that's
all, and distance from yourself all that is not.)"
Sam Gish has a website at
http://www.philacast.com
CLOSING MATTERS
I hope it was more lack of attention than lack of
knowledge. Regardless, no one commented on the faux
pas regarding checks and balances. What I said was
true about the media. Unfortunately. But the checks
and balances in the Constitution were executive,
congress, and the judicial system. No one noticed.
Maybe no one even cared! And that's a more horrible
thought than I wish to contemplate at the moment. Our
current problem is that the enemy has taken over
control of all three branches of the government.
Voila! No balance. Literally, a dictatorship exists
in the United States at this time. With additional
control of media, you and I have become, in effect,
mere slaves. No voice, no rights.
I'd like to point out to you that if you don't care
what's being done to you, it will definitely be done
to you.
This week, waiting in a nearby clinic for my monthly
blood check, I was forced to listen to the Fox News
Cable channel. It is nothing more than the mouthpiece
of the Republican Party. Lies. Slanted views. One
of the lies I heard this morning was someone claiming
the Democrats would lose the next election because
they didn't understand the danger posed by terrorists.
This, from a party headed, in effect, by cowards.
Buchenwald, believe me, has never shed a tear over a
dead soldier because he has never been a soldier. A
killer, yes. To wit: Iraq. A soldier, no. Same with
Chitchat. Same with Runnynose. Those mentioned and
probably a few others have created vast and terrible
killing fields for which we all will suffer for many,
many decades to come. The terrorists, I've come to
believe, are not the biggest threats to America. The
biggest threats are Buchenwald and his cronies.
Just FYI: I've found the project that I did for a
communications course I took under Bill Randle (circa
1983-84) and I may run some of the things I wrote for
it in days to come in Commentary. Probably the first
item will deal with KNEW-FM in New York City.
e-mail claude@claudehallonline.com
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