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"Murder
at the Busted Bird Cafe"
by Claude Hall
Chapter 22
I chased Sawyer upstairs with Maxcy and her father and
mother. None of them wanted to go. But us disc
jockeys are experts in the skills of persuasion.
Begging also helped. Actually, it was Sawyer who
talked them into being "sensible." He used me as the
perfect example of someone who isn't. Unfortunately,
I had to agree with him. They went upstairs anyway.
"I hear shots, I'm calling in the storm troopers and
to hell with your stick and Krazy Glue," said Sawyer
as he followed them up the stairs.
"You should go up there, too, Darby."
"I'm quite comfortable here, Mr. Coffee."
"If you see someone going up those stairs and it isn't
me, shoot. Okay?"
"How will I know whether it's you or not in the dark?"
"Shoot anyway."
"Very good, Mr. Coffee."
"You know to duck if bullets start flying?"
"I duck very well," he said.
I cut off all of the lights as I went through the
house into the kitchen again.
The broom was in a closet near the refrigerator.
At first, I thought it was a crazy idea. Second
thought, too. But I shrugged my shoulders and took it
with me out the door, cutting off the last of the
downstairs lights and the floodlight on the backyard.
The night had turned cold. Low coastal clouds held
off Santa Monica Bay by off-shore winds during the
day, now swept inland and the result was a fog that
swelled and ebbed in the dark. Now you saw the tennis
court in the faint glow seeping through from an almost
invisible moon and a moment later, it disappeared in
solid gloom.
My boots made a soft clunking sound on the concrete by
the swimming pool. The fog probably absorbed some of
the noise, but I couldn't take a chance. I moved over
to the grass.
Sawyer was right. Musashi's techniques related to an
ancient time and an ancient place. However, many of
the precepts were the kind that will never fade away
as long as some humans crawl the earth. Make that
creeps. Creeps crawl the earth.
In this case, of course, one of the creeps was a
woman. For maybe good reason, maybe a lousy reason,
she was evidently out to avenge a father wounded years
ago when he'd tried to push one too many of his
"employees" around. Somehow, she'd discovered Maxcy's
real name. The slaughter at the Busted Bird Cafe had
been ostensibly to kill Sherbert in some kind of drug
thing; it reality, that had merely been a cover to
kill Maxcy. When that failed, Tricia kidnapped Maxcy
to use as a tool to get to Travoti. I'd messed up
that plan when I'd rescued Maxcy. Now, in the typical
fashion of the Mafia, she would try to do the job
herself.
A few moments ago, I'd stood still in the hard cold of
the night and took several deep breaths in order to
more or less pacify the mind. I've never been able to
do that sort of thing properly, but it helped a
little.
My major problem, of course, is that I'm a really a
coward. None of that fake stuff for me. The real
thing. Sawyer thought I was kidding. And Maxcy, a
typical groupie if there ever was one, would never
believe that sort of thing about one of her disc
jockey "heroes."
I realized that didn't make much sense...a hero who
was also a coward. I just hoped that I'd get either
damned lucky or something miraculous would happen like
when Gary Cooper captured all those Germans as
Sergeant York or Audie Murphy did it for real a war
later. Had Sergeant York and Audie Murphy really been
heroes? Or had it been a rash, spur-of-the moment
sort of thing? I'd settle for rash.
Musashi preached that the Way of the warrior is
resolute acceptance of death, i.e., the philosophy
expounded in "Ha Gakure"-"Hidden Leaves."
Essentially, this means choosing death whenever there
was a choice between life and death. This was not
easy. The coward and the teachings of Musashi waged
war in my mind.
I couldn't help but wonder what a mere disc jockey was
doing out here in the cold waiting for a psycho and
her hirelings to come through the night. Perhaps I
was as crazy, after all, as everyone else in the
world. Me, with just a stick.
One window of an upstairs bedroom showed a light, but
Travoti or Sawyer had drawn pulled the curtain to.
The backyard, my "no man's land" for a moment of
truth, was shrouded in darkness.
The grassy area was too exposed. I went to stand by
one of the old oak trees, a tree where no bird sang
and no wind stirred tonight. I tried to see what time
it was, but there wasn't enough light to even make out
the face of my wrist watch. More than an hour passed.
I tried to stay alert, but also to keep my mind from
dwelling on the fact that I might get killed out here.
To keep from growing stiff, I performed some isometric
exercises, tensing the muscles as I moved my hands
slowly up and down. The exercises didn't help much.
The damp cold seemed to penetrate my bones. Another
hour ripped by with the speed of a dead snail.
Musashi said to perceive those things which cannot be
seen. He also said to pay attention even to trifles
and do nothing which is of no use. I wondered what he
meant by that.
So, I waited by the tree, trying to become a part of
it, listening for even the slightest sound out there
in the dark.
I instinctively jerked as some noise came from my
right out by the tennis court. It was impossible to
tell what caused the sound. The fog was too dense to
see anything moving out there.
"Over here," I whispered, putting a sharp penetrating
rasp to my voice.
Someone came my direction from the fog. Holding the
broom in two hands, handle forward, I used the broom
as a battering ram directly into his stomach. He
immediately collapsed at my feet, clutching for
breath. His gun fell somewhere on the grass. He
wouldn't be able to use it for a while.
A man ran toward us from the direction of the shed. I
didn't have time to do anything but whack him across
the knees with the broom handle. I hit him as hard as
I could. The broom handle broke in my hands.
He stumbled. When he stumbled, I helped him with a
push. He hit the tree trunk head first and fell to
the ground unconscious.
At that point, I figured I'd used up all of the ha
gakure I had available. I groped for the two guns,
found them, and took off across the grass for another
tree just as gunfire erupted from near the shed.
Bullets plowed into the tree trunk. The man I'd hit
with the broom handle in the stomach obviously took a
bullet because I heard him cry out just as I reached
the shelter of the other tree.
Someone was just climbing over the wall alongside the
shed. I threw one of the guns at his head at close
range. I probably missed, but it kept him busy long
enough for me to grab him by the hair and yank. He
fell over the wall onto the grass. The grass probably
broke his fall and kept him from being hurt. But then
I slugged him on the ear with the gun in my hand.
That probably hurt. At least, he stopped cussing.
I ran on toward the tennis court just as the moon
broke through the clouds and fog. The tennis court
was a mistake, because I attracted a lot of attention
along with several bullets.
Keeping low, I dodged toward the garage. Just as I
did, I ran into someone and knocked them down.
I tried to regain my balance and fell against the
garage.
The other person came to their feet with amazing
agility! Like opening the lid to a jack in the box.
At that moment, a gun exploded inside the house. It
sounded like Darby's shotgun at work. It didn't
startle me as much as my antagonist. He dodged in a
graceful move to the left.
Lights suddenly came on in the house. The floodlight
came on. That caused my opponent to freeze for just
an instant.
I made a mistake, however, when I thought the fight
was over. The jack in the box turned out to be the
young punk from night of the slaughter at the Busted
Bird Cafe.
I immediately caught a Reebok alongside the head. The
only thing that saved me from having my head torn off
was the fact that I instinctively-or maybe it was pure
luck-raised my hand. My forearm absorbed a great deal
of the force of the blow.
Hand-to-hand combat is mentioned by Musashi in his
chapter "Go Rin No Sho." But not very much. The
major form of combat during his day was Kendo, the Way
of the sword. I'd studied the teaching of Musashi to
a great extent for the phenomenal philosophies on
strategy. I don't know a karate from a carrot. I
thought Bruce Lee was probably a dancer at
Chippendale's.
And I didn't even have Musashi's proverbial stick any
longer to defend myself.
I don't think the stick would have helped anyway. The
youth did one of those dancing steps like you might
see in a ballet performance and all of a sudden a foot
crashed into my side, knocking the wind out of me. I
managed to keep on my feet.
The youth with the punk hairdo balanced on one foot,
the other extended out like a boxer getting ready to
jab.
I ducked under the thrown foot, grabbed his trousers
by the ankle and threw him into the swimming pool.
People started coming from everywhere. A vast barrage
of floodlights suddenly hit the house and the backyard
from all directions, including a helicopter that
roared to a halt high overhead.
I was just about to yell for help when I noticed that
just about all of them wore uniforms. Some had the
word SWAT across their bullet-proof vests.
Sawyer ran over to the edge of the pool to help the
youth out. First, however, he fastened a pair of
handcuffs around the kid's wrists.
"Forget his hands," I said. "Watch out for that
right
foot. It's wicked."
"You mean her foot," said Sawyer.
"Well, well, well," I said. "Isn't it amazing what
a
good bath with do for some people."
A uniformed police officer helped Sawyer lift Tricia
Rizzo, alias Tricia Giancana, alias whomever she was
at the moment, dripping from the swimming pool. It
turned out that the man I'd conked near the back wall
was Jones. He was standing up now, his hands in
cuffs, trying to rub at a spot on his head. He glared
my direction. I waved cheerfully back at him.
Police were everywhere. Some were in the house.
Darby was in the living room, hands raised; a cop had
taken his rifle.
"Someone ought to tell the police that Darby's one of
the good guys," I said. "Who'd he shoot?"
"I think he got Davidson in the leg as he tried to go
up the stairs. Buckshot."
"Poor Davidson. I'm beginning to feel rather sorry
for him."
Travoti and Maxcy came out of the sliding glass doors
of the living room. Maxcy ran over to where we were
standing. She put her hand in mine.
"Giancana's daughter?" asked Travoti.
"I guess," I said. "Hell, who knows?"
"He had no children," said Sawyer.
"His wife," said Tricia. "I've spent years trying
to
find you."
"I checked Giancana out thoroughly," Sawyer said.
"His wife is almost his age...sixty-two, in fact.
Anyway, Giancana is confined to a wheelchair.
Immobile and impotent...from a bullet wound years ago.
Been in that wheelchair for more than a dozen and a
half years."
"I was just as good as his wife," Tricia said with a
defiant tone in her voice. "Until this two-bit
underling ruined my life."
She glared at Travoti, then tried one of those karate
kicks at him. Sawyer grabbed her arm and jerked her
away.
"Put something around her feet," said Sawyer.
"What?" asked one of the officers.
"How should I know?" Sawyer said. Then, "Aw, hell!
Throw her in the van. Let her try to kick her way out
of that."
In spite of the handcuffs on her wrists, she managed
to get a ball-point pen out of her jacket pocket and
was just pointing it at Travoti when I knocked it from
her hand.
"She writes with a pencil," I explained.
Sawyer picked up the ball-point and handed it to a
uniformed officer. "Different pen, I think," he said.
Several youths had been rounded up and were now
handcuffed.
A detective waved his hand and the prisoners were
taken away.
"Be careful with Jones," I said. "Tricia does
karate.
I think he does bombs."
"Your pickup?" asked Sawyer.
I nodded. "Read it in the Daily News."
"Murder then?"
"As well as the bomb in my apartment, though I think
it was Tricia who wrote the note."
"Who were the others?"
"Locals, from the looks of it," said another
detective. "A couple of them scooted down the alley
before anyone could catch them. Probably still
running."
Darby had been set free. His shotgun had been
returned. I could see a woman in a white uniform
attending to Davidson's leg. He was yelling something
I couldn't quite understand at Darby. Darby merely
smiled at him.
"Darby's having a good time," I said.
Travoti nodded. "I think I'll buy him a membership in
one of the local gun clubs so he can learn to shoot a
little better."
"Sounds good to me," I said.
In a few minutes, we were virtually alone. Tricia was
gone, along with Davidson and Sorrowful Jones and the
others. The police, who'd evidently been scattered
around out of view without my knowledge waiting for
word from Sawyer to come to the rescue, had
disappeared again. I realized that a few would
probably still be out there somewhere for a few days.
I was grateful for that.
"Is it over?" Sawyer asked me.
"Just about," I said. We walked through the sliding
doors into the living room.
"You did a good job, Darby."
"Thank you, Mr. Coffee."
"Speaking of coffee...."
"I have plenty left in the Thermos."
"That would be great. I got awfully cold out there."
"What's left?" Sawyer asked me.
I drank half a cup of coffee before answering. It
wasn't Nescafé. Must have been the real stuff. But
it was hot and sometimes the real thing is okay.
"Breakfast in the morning," I said. I gave him the
address.
"I'll be there," he said. Then, he, too, was gone.
Maxcy and I and her mother and father spend the rest
of the evening talking in the game room. They seemed
to know an awful lot about me. I tried to catch up.
e-mail claude@claudehallonline.com
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Commentary
by
Claude Hall
October
6, 2003
Barbara and I have always welcomed diverse elements in
our house. Even a Christmas gathering might appear
like a hodge podge of the different religions/cultures
of the world. To call us liberals would be an
understatement. While I may be super liberal, and my
wife, too, we think of ourselves as merely human (as
opposed to animal). To not care for all of your
companions on this ball of mud flung through a dark
universe is uncomprehensible to me, just as is the
concept of killing people to "save" them.
However,
however much I might not appreciate what you do or not
do or how you think or not think, I will always, I
hope, make every attempt to appreciate you as a
person, neither less than me nor more than me.
So, I think it only fair to print all sides of the
emails, unedited, that were in response to my last
week's Commentary. I've separated those For Bush and
those Against Bush, although some might belong
elsewhere and vice versa. Some were non-political and
these, too, I have separated because it seemed to me
some appreciated my wit or lack of it or words more
than my politics. That's perfectly okay. All emails
were quite interesting and a great many quite valid.
Even the character assassinations because I've always
figured that's the last gasp of a person who knows
they've lost the argument already.
Because I consider Bush a cottonpickin' mistake and
less than fit as a president and, in fact, robbing the
nation through his stupid mistakes (matter of fact, I
don't think either Bush or Cheney would be welcome in
my house), I will put those emails Against Bush first.
AGAINST BUSH
Jaye Albright, Jaye@RadioConsult.com,
a programming
consultant, emailed a statement from the MoveOn
organization that called on "elected representatives
to hold President Bush accountable for his misleading
statements and his mismanagment of the war in
Iraq...asked members to phone their senators.
Perry Allen, fnortney@adelphia.net:
"Claude...would
that I had it within my power to respond in kind to
your nothing-short-of-magnificent commentary. It all
needed public statement...and, it's my hope that
others will do as I have done...forward same to every
available recipient. Thank you. And thank you
again."
Jerry Atchley, Jerry@SouthernSkies.com:
"Bravo,
Claude! I hope someone can stop that idiot. Maybe
Wesley Clark, Howard Dean, or John Kerry. Keep the
faith, and keep writing with great passion."
Nan Bostick, rtnan@earthlink.net:
"Fantastic
commentary. I couldn't agree more. We're disgusted
with watching/reading the news out here in California.
Here's Japan with an 8+ earthquake, and do we see any
coverage? No. All we get is Arnold and the stupid
recall campaign news. (Same thing when France had a
heat wave that killed 15,000 people. Did we see any
front page coverage on that? Nope.) I'd like to blame
the American people, but did we really elect the Bush
Administration? Nope. It was a coup, and reminds me of
So. American politics. BTW: Had no trouble pulling up
the article from your wonderful website. You're the
best, Claude, and maybe the internet will save us. Who
knows. Want some good news? Seems Ken Burns wants to
use two cuts from our CD in an upcoming documentary on
the famous prize fighter Jack Johnson (of ragtime
era). He's asked to use: "Indian Summer' and 'Borneo
Rag'. Ain't that something? Cross your fingers the
footage where he wants to use our music doesn't end up
on the cutting floor."
John M. Glavin, soundout@hotmail.com,
wrote: "Claude I
have enjoyed your columns in the past but I am
disturbed by your tone, and I believe once I point out
a few things you could have written differently,
you'll to some point agree. First of all, I am a
conservative. George W. Bush is not. There's not a
lick of difference between Bush and any of the
Democratic candidates. I just wanted to explain that
up front. I think he's not fit for the office he
occupies. I did not vote for him (nor any Republican
for quite a few years). I am one of many
conservatives who was absolutely distressed when he
began beating the war drum. I wasn't convinced that
it was in the best interest of the US to invade, and I
believe I was right. The argument back then didn't
convince me, and I believe more than ever that we made
a huge mistake. A mistake we must pay for in treasure
and blood. Yes, he must not be allowed to be
re-elected. But we must now, like any mature adult,
pay for our mistake and make it right. And you need
to keep in mind that the infrastructure of Iraq was
terrible long before we invaded. The billions and
billions of dollars we will spend to rebuild will be
spent mainly on a country that has been allowed to
decay because of Hussein's neglect of his people. The
damage we caused was minor compared to the incredible
neglect that man allowed. Calling Bush and Americans
Nazis is bombastic, it's sensational, and it's below
you. It's self-flagelation at it's worst.
Leave
that to the marchers who are busy trying to relive
the 60's. I'm not saying that all the protesters out
there are like that, but there is a certain
percentage who take a perverted glee in
self-loathing. I don't understand it. I am proud of
America, warts and all. And when we make a mistake
we need to admit it and correct it instead of
indulging ourselves in beating ourselves over it. We
made a HUGE mistake in getting into Iraq. Let's get
rid of Bush, correct our mistakes (so we can show the
rest of the world that we don't cut and run like we
did to the Sunnis in 1991--when we make mistakes we
own up to them and try to correct them), and get the
hell back home to work on problems here. MF'ing our
country is a tired exercise that does nothing
positive. Let's throw the rascals who did the damage
out in the streets and try to learn from our
mistakes. But name-calling lowers you to Bush's
level. You're better than that. The media?
You're
correct on every count. I have very little regard for
them, either conservative or liberal. They're easily
fascinated by the flashiest object in front of them,
and they have a terribly short attention span. They
do a tremendous disservice to everyone."
My personal response to John: You're absolutely right
about the name calling. And I apologize to you
personally. I did the name calling, of course, on
purpose. Shock treatment, I guess. Out of anger more
than with reason. For this was not an academic
article, per se. But you should have seen what I
deleted, for I rewrote this item more than a dozen
times. Thank you for your excellent comments. They
are extremely valid and well said.
Bill Pearson, witzend13@hotmail.com:
"Thanks for
sending your commentary. I was a little afraid you'd
lapsed into complacency and were just daydreaming
until your next cruise...but I can tell from this
passionate outcry that you're as feisty as ever, and
as concerned about the world as ever. I knew (along
with millions of others) that four years with Bush as
president would set the country back dramatically, but
even I have been startled by the depth and
consequences of his misguided policies. He's just
about brought this country to ruin in TWO YEARS! It's
simply mind boggling. I don't know how long it will
take to repair everything he's mishandled. Until I'm
disillusioned by things I'm unaware of, my hopes right
now rest with General Clark. His main qualification
is that he's NOT a politician. They'll probably find
a way to sabotage him, but I'm hoping there are enough
outraged citizens like you and me to insure we get a
genuine leader, with a real brain, two years from
now."
Jay Rudko, jrudko@webtv.net:
"My God, you hit the nail
squarely on the head. The media, dominated by
conservative views, has painted Dubya as the valiant
prince, charging into Iraq on his white steed, to rid
the world of now-known-to-be-nonexistant weapons of
mass destruction. If anything, I see his decision to
charge into Iraq, trying to finish the job his daddy
started. He claimed Iraq had ties to the terrorists
who were behind the 9/11 disaster, but no one has
proven that they did. So we ended up invading Iraq
under false pretenses. Yes, we did take the role of
the Nazis, as you pointed out. We have never done this
before. That we did it this time sickens me. The Iraqi
civilians did nothing to us. While we did get Saddam
out of power, at what cost? Were all of the American
lives lost there worth it? No! Now we're in it up to
our posteriors. And there is no end in sight. I am
Jewish, and in my profession, I deal with people of
all races, creeds, and nationalities. This includes
Islamics, and they are fine people. The Muslims I've
met are peaceful. They don't condone any of what the
Al-Qaida terrorists are doing, and detach themselves
from any of it. One of the people I worked with when
9/11 occurred was of Iranian decent, and he cried
along with me as we watched the news coverage. Bush
should be impeached. Cheney, however, wouldn't be any
better. We need to find a good Democratic candidate to
run against Dubya and get him the hell out of there!
Even then, the damage done will take years, even
decades, to repair."
Scooter Segraves, hawg@kxkc.com:
"Claude, amen! And
God bless you for your courage in writing what you
did. Being at a country station, I've had to endure
the deification of Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld, while
watching as our morning team made a crusade of
vilifying the Dixie Chicks. The one time I begged to
differ, and tried to point out that the freedom to
voice unpopular views was what this country was all
about, you'd have thought I had gone on the air and
espoused violent overthrow of the government. I only
hope we're both wrong in our fears that Dubya and
Rumdumb have let the ultimate genie out of the jug,
and that there will be no getting it back in."
FOR BUSH
Ken Dowe, Kdowe@aol.com:
"I like you, and have for
many years. But, I could not disagree with you more.
Politics has been a nearly full time study of mine for
decades now. Those Americans who put in office the
likes of Hillary and Bill Clinton are guilty of being
blinded by superfluous rhetoric that is about as
insincere as is humanly possible. That's Bill.
Clinton's been as transparent to another Southern boy
(like me) as a store front window.
"Hillary, on the other hand, appears to actually
believe what she says and thinks. That's scary. Her
Holiness Hillary may know what's best for you, and be
smarter than the lemmings who follow her, but to me
she's a reprobate liar with a vulgar mouth whom the
media lip-locked on the rear end. Socialism isn't
clever and brilliant to me, but she and her left-wing
friends believe it's the panacea for the world. It
isn't just peachy keen for England. Nor, France. Nor,
Sweden. It wasn't for Russia. (I don't have time to
count the ways...it's failed.) It isn't for the
U.S.A. despite Hillary's blatant program of,
'Government is good for you. Government by ME, is
GREAT for you!' That's not for Ken. I'll do my own
thinking, thank you.
"I am surprised that with your southwestern roots you
could be duped by the liberals, but it seems to me
that many Americans can't feel 'intellectual' unless
they march to that band. I like the values and morals
Bush is preaching. I don't like Osam Bin Laden, and
murderers like Hussein. Where was the left when he
was butchering Kurds? Did they puff that up in the
Washington Post? Hardly. When did the New York Times
lead day after day with stories on the savagery that
took place in Rawanda? Never? Is that good for you?
"No politician is perfect, and I left politics because
I cannot abide the necessity of compromising any
value. Most politicians will service themselves at the
expense of the taxpayers anytime they have a need to
garner one more perk for self. But, I do not choose to
believe that Bush is a bad man. He's making a
difference. Bush is no dummy despite the medias desire
to force feel that lie to Americans just as they
succeeded in misleading many on Ronald Reagan. And, if
you were to seriously study the economics of this
administration vs. the previous one, you could not
seriously believe that Bill Clinton did anything
positive. Bush is head and shoulders above Clinton as
a leader and as a man. We know who he is, and like it
or not, he'll have the character to stay the course
and to do what his staff thinks is best for America.
We know that. And, we know that today, he didn't have
some mother's young child under his desk performing
oral sex. (Sorry. Was I supposed to say, "That
wasn't...sex.")
"To say what you did about him in your letter is an
untrue statement of typically strident liberal bias. I
won't call your opinion obtuse, but you are working
from a limited fact base, Claude. I'm pleased Bush is
a man's man. A Texan. An American. Your grandparents
and most of your ancestors would doubtless have an
argument that's the antithesis of yours if they were
here today. Point of fact, I'll bet they'd be glad
they didn't live to hear you say what you have...'
"This will really anger you: Read Ann Coulter's two
books. In between, read Bernie what's-his-name
(forgot) tale of CBS ('Bias') and it's faux 'news' of
the left-leaning opinion makers. Duplicity is the
norm. For the life of me I do not understand how any
thinking person can offer the opinions you've
expressed. I'm very disappointed. Do you like Al
Franken, too? Please don't tell me, 'Yes'. I don't
think I could stand it. Still your friend, Ken"
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 17:51:15 -0400 (Eastern From:
"Keith" Keith, agamakc@comcast.net:
"Our fight was
not and is not with the people of Iraq. We did not
attack them, and they as a whole are not the ones
attacking us. Our fight was with Saddam Hussein and
the evil and repression he and his regime
represented, and threatened us with. The aggression
that is being carried out against our troops now is
being done by his loyalists and other 'imported'
forces. I would feel it a safe wager that the Iraqi
people, if given the opportunity, could and would find
a peaceful way to transition from the Hussein era
allowing us to leave their country. Hussien loyalists
and the other imports will not allow this to happen
and we must remain there to protect the fragile seed
of freedom and give it a chance to grow. Our struggle
will continue to be against these forces...not the
people of Iraq. We attacked the government of
Hussein...as the world should have attacked the
government of Hitler. I suppose the author would have
berated our president for attacking the poor people of
Germany, too. The German people would have fought,
German people would have died but would the attack, to
stop Hitler's aggression been justified? We're
supposed to learn from history. I think the author of
this piece missed class the day they covered this
one."
My response to all: Funny, but I was in Germany and I
had a quite different view of "history"; it's amazing
how many Germans didn't know anything about the
crematoriums. And I admire like old billy heck the
use of your term "the fragile seed of freedom."
If
"our struggle" is against these "forces" you
mention,
how come we're killing them all? All I can say is
that you seem to have a very strange freedom in mind.
AGAINST CLAUDE
Paul W. Plack, paul@voiceswest.com,
wrote: You
arrogant fool. Your inability to manage your website
notwithstanding, how did you determine you had the
right to invade my e-mail with this ignorant rant?
Please make sure I am off your list immediately."
Larry Ryan, arryryan@sport.rr.com:
"I just read your
commentary. You may have grown up in Texas, but your
ideology comes from somewhere in La La Land. In all
the years that I've read your articles and comments,
you've never bounced off the walls so much. If it
helps people that live in this country to be an
American, or to show the least little bit of
patriotism, let them fly their flags, on their cars,
their front porch, or their golf carts, let them.
There are more killings in your neighborhood in
California every night than there are in Iraq. I
served in the military, I flew the flag on my car, and
at my home. I've been doing it since 9-11. You say we
need to get someone in there to beg forgiveness for
the horrible crimes we have committed in Iraq? Did
you lose someone on 9-11? I did. We are Nazi's? Have
you ever talked to someone that escaped from Iraq to
live here in the United States of America? I have and
they are grateful that we are doing what we are doing.
The ruling Bathe party chopped up their father and
returned him in little pieces because he refused to
give one of Sadam's relatives a piece of his business.
They raped and branded the daughter when the oldest
son then refused to give Sadam's relative a piece of
the business. So the family burnt the business down
and escaped in the middle of the night to Kuwait and
then the U.S. They owned a water bottling business.
They now work in a laundry business that I helped them
to start. Did you think before you wrote this
commentary? Good. You won't mind my comment
then.
Find your old sponsor, if he or she is not dead, and
go back to AA. Sober up for about 12 weeks, re-read
your commentary. That wasn't Claude Hall. God, I'm
just amazed that I'm even responding to this."
No. One--Robert C. Savage, savage@wysl1040.com:
"Would
you kindly remove me from this e-mail list? I don't
have any interest in receiving unsolicited,
inflammatory political rants. If you hate our
President so much, and if you think the country that
protects and feeds you, and grants you the freedom to
spout off naive and mean-spirited dreck like this, is
so evil--why don't you move to Iraq, or North Korea,
or France? You might get a whole new perspective on
who the evil ones truly are. And--not that you're
listening, of course--you and the Hollywood rich kids
who spew this clueless, offensive viewpoint are
hopelessly out of step with most of American opinion."
My response to No. One: Robert, You're deleted. Just
for the record, I served my country and I know
countless vets who feel just as I do. Second, I've
been a lot of yonders, seen more in all likelihood
than you'll ever see. Third, my relatives were in
this country before your relatives; you leave.
Fourth, Bush was not elected.
No. Two--Robert C. Savage: "Good God, Claude. Are you
losing it? 'Countless vets?' Do you mean there
are
so many they're uncountable, or you haven't had time
to count? And if you were to stand up in front of a
Bob Hope-size USO crowd these days, give the boys
your Bush-talk and ask, how many of you guys agree
with Bob? And how many agree with Claude? I'd
suspect the result would be one where, you might need
an MP escort off the stage. As far as 'yonders' go,
I'm not sure what you mean, but age alone doesn't
grant you a monopoly on wisdom. Whose relatives
landed here is irrelevant. And spare me that ancient,
discredited argument about how President Bush was
'selected, not elected'. Not even most liberal
Democrats who are diametrically opposed to Bush are
repeating that one any more."
Response No. Two: Well, let's put it this way: The
veterans I know consider Bush stupid and a coward
because when there was an opportunity to serve his
country, he didn't just decline politely, but ran like
hell. He has no fear standing up before your Bob Hope
crowd and talking about "evil ones," but I assure you
that Bob Hope got much closer to a bullet than your
George Bush. One friend of mine, a Ph.D., decked with
his medals from Korea, riding his wheel chair,
protested a while back in a parade before Iraq, trying
to stop the folly. He still participates in protests
when he can. In those days, we fought. Today, we have
killing machines. For example, when U.S. troops
killed Saddam's sons, there was enormous overkill.
They blasted and blasted and blasted and no one lived.
Including children. Hell, there was enough firepower
poured into that building to wipe out an army. My war
and the wars of my friends tried to keep from killing
children. As best we could. All of those in Iraq
today are going to come back with mental problems.
Or, at least a great deal of them. The ones that come
back. Yes, Iraq was previously a mess. But war is not
very constructive, in my opinion. You want to see a
mess? Visit Creel in Mexico. I wouldn't,
however,
suggest you declare war on the 30,000 or so who live
in caves. Or did when I was there. You going to
declare war on Argentina to also help them? About
about Turkey? How about.... No, age doesn't
grant
wisdom, but it might allow the acquisition of some of
it. I didn't finish my Ph.D. Did about half of
the
coursework. But I started late at that particular
game. Before that, my game was radio. I probably
know more about that radio station you're at than you
do. Trivial knowledge. Sort of useless, in fact.
Better acquisitions include a sense of humanity, a
sense of fairness, a sense of respect for everyone.
Regardless. I hope I've acquired some of these and
the other aspects of rationality. I grant you, for
example, the right to feel the way you do. Even if I
personally think you're wrong and feel sad for you.
Conversation over.
Gail Scott, blossom@airmail.net:
"I don't know why you
sent this message to us. I, too, am a Texan and proud
of it. I am still here and I don't share your views
on George W. Bush...so please don't send us your
venom. Thank you. If you grew up with Texas
values,
you should also probably remember 'Judge Not Lest Ye
Be Judged Also' or 'Let he who is without sin, cast
the first stone'. 'As ye judge, so shall ye be
judged'. Have a good day."
Stan Webb, stanwebb@austin.rr.com:
"Oh, please.
Claude, you need to wear a hat...you've spent way too
much time in the desert sun."
Jim West, JIMRW@aol.com:
"Claude...till you have
served your country in uniform or paid your dues in
any agency like the Peace Corps or something
useful...then perhaps I'll bother to listen to you.
Otherwise, why don't you follow those illustrious
Americans like Jessie Jackson & Bill Clinton who have
been feeding on the public trough all their lives and
have NEVER worked a day in their lives. Stick to
radio !!!!"
Response: U.S. Army, Jim.
No. Two--Jim West: "Me US. Army, too!!! WW
2...so we
disagree!"
FOR CLAUDE
Reed Bunzel, Radio Ink, rbunzel@earthlink.net:
"Just
when I was beginning to think there were no sensible
people out there, you send me this. Wow! Congrats for
having the courage and guts to write what you think.
Bravo. P.S. Of course, with John Ashcroft checking all
emails these days, you're probably on some NSA black
list, now."
Tom Campbell, tc@tomc.org:
"Your talents are still
incredible. Thank you for including me on your list of
recipients. Keep up the great work."
Bob Dearborn, TheMagicOfRadio@aol.com:
"That's great!
Thanks, Claude."
Joe Ford, voiceman@joefordshow.com:
"Great article,
Claude, and downright scary!"
Darryl Hall, darryl551@lycos.com:
"Just finished
reading Chapter 21 and Commentary. Chapter 21 was
good. As for your Commentary, I agree with you about
Bush Jr. Time for him to go."
John Alexander Hall, Johnalexhall@hotmail.com:
"I am
not surprised about the response from some of the
people to your commentary. Mom lent me her copy of Al
Franken's book and what amazes me is that the
Right-minded folk refuse to see any other viewpoint."
Bill Hennes, president of AllAboutCountry,
BHennes105@aol.com:
"I applaud you the maximum!! You
are correct as usual. Your friend always"
Max McCombs, Maxmccombs@aol.com:
"Bravo, Claude. To
invoke an old television cliche: Sock it to 'em."
Jim Prewitt, jimprewitt@ureach.com:"Always
enjoy your
articles!"
Jimmy Rabbitt, jimmyrabbitt@hotmail.com:
"Thanks for
sending your Commentary directly to us here in
Colorado; we wouldn't have wanted to miss your insight
on a growing problem we'll all have to face one way or
another...sooner or later! As usual you've hit the
nail right on the head. The more you call attention
to what's going on with Foxxx and CNN, and the others,
the better the chances are they'll change! I know
that it already seems like more Americans are
beginning to realize that we've been led around with
blinders on for too long! Keep up the good work. Your
faithful reader...and friend."
Comment from Claude: Have you readers checked out the
Rabbitt Report lately? http://www.jimmyrabbitt.com
Mark Shands, Mark.Shands@dmxmusic.com:
"Great writing,
Mr. Hall! Thanks for getting it to me!"
Sharon Stewart Sharpe, sharpecommunications@msn.com:
Mr. Hall, I too couldn't access your online column.
Thanks for sending this. Are you perhaps saying what
many are thinking? Beware, I wrote a story about
"local boy makes good" Alliance Atlantis executive
Vice President of Mini Series Ed Gernon--a multiple
Emmy Award winner for the Joan of Arc mini series,
etc., a string of shows for ABC, CBS and NBC several
years running. He is from the Pearl
River/Slidell
area. He was making the Hitler mini-series for CBS
when, on the eve of the war in Iraq, he was pressed to
answer the question if he saw any parallels between
pre-war Germany and the US. He said something about a
society which fears for its own survival as Germany
did in the aftermath of WW1, that wrong decisions can
be made. It hit the media that he had drawn a parallel
between Bush and Hitler, he was condemned and censored
outright and he was fired--at CBS's behest. So
beware, they may not have posted your column for that
very reason. These are strange times. And being from
Texas doesn't save you--look what happened to the
Dixie Chicks. Take care."
Paul Ward, FARWESTINC@aol.com:
"Right on, Claude!"
Jason Walker, jason0047@hotmail.com:
"You nailed it!!!
Great piece."
Claude Hall
e-mail claude@claudehallonline.com
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