Written by King Lizzard on 14 December 2005
On the eve of George W. Bush’s inauguration, an otherwise pleasant lunch with Cato Institute scholar Ian Vasquez was befouled by breaking news. About 1:15 p.m., Dan Rather popped up on TV screens at the Capitol Brewery near Union Station to report that then-President Clinton would walk away from his legacy of perjury and malfeasance with a mere massage on his wrist. Special Prosecutor Robert Ray obligingly patted Clinton with a $25,000 fine and five-year suspension of his law license.
“He’s not finished,” I warned Vasquez. “Bill Clinton’s final insult will come about 11:00 tomorrow morning.” I predicted that about the time George W. Bush rang the doorbell to begin the transfer of power, Clinton either would surrender Alaska to Greenpeace or pardon every registered Democrat in America.
Sure enough, the next day Clinton pardoned or granted clemency to 176 people including Susan Rosenberg, a former Weather Underground radical convicted of hauling 700 pounds of explosives and weapons for use in terrorist attacks in 1984. Former Illinois Democratic congressman Mel Reynolds, convicted of defrauding a bank and having sex with an underage staffer, also walked, thanks to Bill Clinton’s forgiving pen.
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Tags: Bill-Clinton, Cato Institute, Chappaqua, Clemency, Democratic Congressman, Denise Rich, End Tables, Final Insult, funny, George-W.-Bush, Hail-to-the-Chief, Hillary-Clinton, Malfeasance, Marc Rich, Robert Ray, Septe, Soft Money, Special Prosecutor, Susan Rosenberg, Tax Debt, tax evasion, Time George, Tv Screens, White-House, Zug Switzerland
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Written by King Lizzard on 08 December 2005
He was a prophet of peace and an alleged wife-beater.
He was a stubborn individualist who did his best work in a group.
He was a groundbreaking artist who failed in art school.
He grew up in a loving household and was filled with rage over his childhood.
Twenty-five years after his murder on Dec. 8, 1980, John Lennon is still a man who cannot be folded into tidy boxes or categories. It is an unruly legacy, which is probably how he would have wanted it.
Indeed, the world still seems undecided on which Lennon it wants to remember. Is it John Lennon, the Beatle, the rocker who changed music and popular culture in ways that still echo today? Or is it Lennon the hippie saint, the rock ‘n’ roll Gandhi whose reputation as a peace activist is perhaps more relevant than ever?
Even those who have studied his life don’t necessarily agree.
Bob Spitz is the author of “The Beatles: The Biography,” a massive, nearly 1,000-page new book that delves into the rise of the band in almost exhaustive detail, down to their respective childhoods.
He believes Lennon the icon has triumphed over Lennon the musician.
“I definitely think that Lennon the hippie saint is the dominant figure in the popular imagination, no doubt about that,” Spitz says. “That’s only because people have not gotten a very clear picture of John so that they understand his contribution to music.
“It’s basically one of things that I wanted to clear up in writing the book. I spend an inordinate amount of time on his childhood only because I think it’s so critical to understanding John and what he brought to music, . . . the relationship to his parents and also to the fact that he felt so isolated from anybody else who was creative and enhanced his spirit. The one person who was able to do that – Stu Sutcliffe (his friend and band mate) – died like his mother died.”
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Tags: Art School, assassination, Band Mate, Beatle, Bob Spitz, Bob Sullivan, Dec 8 1980, Dominant Figure, Editorial Director, Gandhi, Hippie, Individualist, John Lennon 25th Anniversary, John-Lennon, Lennon 25th Anniversary, No Doubt, Peace Activist, Remembering John Lennon, Stu Sutcliffe, Twenty Five Years, Wife Beater
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