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Today's Stories February 15, 2007 Patrick Cockburn Saul Landau Stephen Lendman Evelyn Pringle Kevin Zeese Dave Lindorff Pete Shanks Peter Rost
February 14, 2007 Tao Ruspoli Dick J. Reavis Margaret Kimberly Christopher Brauchli Paul Craig
Roberts John Ross Michael F.
Brown Dave Lindorff J.L. Chestunut,
Jr. Don Fitz Michael Donnelly Dr. Susan Block Website of
the Day
February 13, 2007 Uri Avnery Patrick Cockburn Ralph Nader Marjorie Cohn Col. Dan Smith Col. Douglas
MacGreagor Thomas Power Nicola Nasser David Swanson Columbia Coalition
Against the War Website of the Day
February 12, 2007 Patrick Cockburn Paul Craig
Roberts John Walsh Dr. John Carroll,
MD Greg Moses Nicole Colson Dave Lindorff Ray McGovern Doug Giebel David Swanson Website of the Day
February
10 /11, 2007 Alexander Cockburn Gabriel Kolko Patrick Cockburn Jeffrey St.
Clair Kevin Alexander Gray M. Shahid Alam Greg Moses Paul Craig
Roberts George Ciccariello-Maher Kevin Zeese Turner / Kim George Duke Walter Brasch Shepherd Bliss Missy Beattie Peter Harley Pat Wolff Poets' Basement Website of the Day
Conn Hallinan Gary Leupp Lee Sustar Nikolas Kozloff Newton Garver Yitzhak Laor Dave Lindorff David Swanson Website of the Day
February 8, 2007 John V. Walsh Marjorie Cohn Trish Schuh Ron Jacobs Laura Carlsen Ramzy Baroud Brenda Norrell Bryan Farrell Judith Scherr Website of
the Day
February 7, 2007 Daniel Wolff Tao Ruspoli Tony Swindell Sharon Smith Ken Couesbouc Jeff Cohen Col. Dan Smith Tom Kerr Joshua Frank Adam Elkus Stephen Fleischman Website of
the Day
February 6, 2007 Diana Johnstone Gregory Wilpert Norman Solomon Dave Lindorff William Blum Mike Ferner CP News Service Evelyn Pringle Christopher Brauchli Alan Cabal Website of the Day
Dave Zirin Uri Avnery Ron Jacobs Paul Craig Roberts Newton Garver Bruce Anderson Saul Landau Ralph Nader James T. Phillips Mike Whitney Kenneth Rexroth Website of the Day
Alexander Cockburn Tao Ruspoli Jeffrey St.
Clair Patrick Cockburn P. Sainath Sen. Russell Feingold Diane Christian Brian Cloughley Diana Barahona Timothy J. Freeman Conn Hallinan John Ross Greg Moses Missy Beattie Joshua Frank Evelyn Pringle Stephen Fleischman Muhammad Idrees Ahmad Poets' Basement Website of the Day
Chris Kutalik R. Gibson /
E. W. Ross Pam Martens John Feffer Daryll E. Ray Ronald Bruce
St. John Mitchel Cohen Website of
the Day
Diane Farsetta Marjorie Cohn Mark Scaramella Ranni Amiri Christopher Ketcham Winston Warfield Corporate Crime Reporter Thomas P. Healy Website of the Dau
January 31, 2007 Patrick Cockburn Jean Bricmont Tao Ruspoli James T. Phillips William Johnson Tim Wilkinson Evelyn Pringle Joshua Frank Ramzy Baroud Mickey Z. Website of the Day
Werther Kathy Kelly Uri Avnery Franklin Spinney William S. Lind Pariah Mike Whitney Rev. William
E. Alberts Fran Shor Anthony Arnove Website of the Day
Nurit Peled-Elhanan Patrick Cockburn JoAnn Wypijewski Ron Jacobs Dave Lindorff Kevin Zeese Reza Fiyouzat Pat Williams Website of the Day
January 27 / 28, 2007 Diana Johnstone Eliza Ernshire Patrick Cockburn David Rosen Greg Moses Bernard Chazelle Tao Ruspoli Hermán
Uribe Ralph Nader Paul Craig
Roberts Fred Gardner Brian Cloughley James Abourezk John V. Whitbeck Seth Sandronsky Alan Cabal Pam Martens Website of
the Weekend
Charlotte Laws Mike Ely /
Linda Flores Joe DeRaymond Phil Donahue Zia Mian Jeb Sprague Evelyn Pringle Missy Beattie Martha Rosenberg Website of
the Day
Patrick Cockburn John Ross Jeremy Scahill Frida Berrigan Paul Craig Roberts Jason Yossef
Ben-Meir Christopher Brauchli Holger W. Henke Dave Lindorff Julia Landau Website of the Day
January 24, 2007 Tao Ruspoli Paul Craig
Roberts Lt. Gen. William Odom Sharon Smith Brian M. Downing Heather Gray Ron Jacobs James Brooks Robert Day Website of
the Day
Trish Schuh Robert Bryce
Stephen Soldz John Blair Gloria La Riva Joshua Frank Patrick Cockburn Ralph Nader Dave Lindorff Uri Avnery Website of the Day
January 22, 2007 Manuel Garcia,
Jr. Jen Marlowe George McGovern Paul Craig
Roberts Norman Solomon Amira Hass Mike Whitney Ramzy Baroud John Walsh Website of
the Day
January 20/21 2007 Alexander Cockburn
Gail Dines
Newton Garver
Gilad Atzmon
Seth Sandronksy
Raphaelle Bail
Jim Goodman Larry Portis
Website of
the Weekend
Jonathan Cook
Glen Ford Dave Lindorff
Larry Portis
Website of
the Day
William Peace
Virginia Tilley
Michael Donnelly
B.R. Gowani
Larry Portis
Jason Hribal
Website of
the Day
Franklin Spinney John Ross Susan George Paul Craig
Roberts Joshua Frank David Lindorff
Col. Sam Gardiner
Marjorie Cohn
Saul Landau
Ron Jacobs
Susan Block Ken Couesbouck Website of
the Day
Roger Morris Paul Craig
Roberts Kathy Kelly William Blum Ralph Nader Saul Landau January 12 / 14, 2007 Patrick Cockburn David Rosen William S.
Lind Laith al-Saud Paul Craig
Roberts John Ross George Ciccariello-Maher Christopher Brauchli Robert Buzzanco Evelyn Pringle Peter Rost,
MD. Mike Whitney Yifat Susskind Saul Cohen Missy Beattie Stephen Lendman Website of
the Weekend
January 11, 2007 Ismael Hossein-Zadeh Paul Craig
Roberts Kathy Kelly Dave Lindorff Jeff Leys Richard W.
Behan Col. Douglas MacGregor Website of
the Day Speech of the Day
Peter Linebaugh Robert Fantina Patrick Cockburn Paul Craig Roberts Col. Dan Smith Ben Tripp Evelyn Pringle Ron Jacobs Mike Ferner Dave Zirin Website of
the Day Bootleg of the Day
R. T. Naylor Jonathan Cook Mike Ely and Linda Flores Joshua Frank Norman Solomon Sen. Russell
Feingold Joe Allen James T. Phillips Brian Concannon Leonard Peltier Website of the Day
January 8, 2007 Werther Jeff Leys Paul Craig Roberts Shulamit Aloni Dave Lindorff Sunsara Taylor Seth Sandronsky Dr. Susan Block Website of the Day
Alexander Cockburn Franklin C.
Spinney Paul Craig
Roberts Ralph Nader Walden Bello Marleen Martin Brian Cloughley Uri Avnery Saul Landau Ron Jacobs Joseph Nevins William S. Lind Gary Leupp Elisa Salasin George Ciccariello-Maher Beyond Chavistas and Anti-Chavistas: Deepening the Bolivarian Revolution Stefan Wray Michael Leonardi Richard Rhames Jeffrey St. Clair Barbara LaMorticella Website of the Weekend Song of the
Weekend
Jorge Mariscal John Walsh Christopher Brauchli Travis Sharpe Tom Barry Linda Schade
/ Kevin Zeese Tiffany Ten Eyck Mahmoud El-Yousseph Lucinda Marshall Website of
the Day
Patrick Cockburn Winslow T.
Wheeler M. Shahid Alam Raed Jarrar Bert Sacks Kathy Rentenbach Stephen Fleischman George Bisharat Peter Rost, MD Evelyn Pringle Website of the Day
January 3, 2007 Kathy Kelly Paul Craig
Roberts William Johnson Stan Cox Trita Parsi Declan McKenna Joe Bageant Nicola Nasser Missy Beattie Website of
the Day
Michael Watts Amina Mire James Brooks Alevtina Rea Al Krebs Peter Rost Niranjan Ramakrishnan John Stanton Website of the Day
January 1, 2007 Patrick Cockburn Uri Avnery Joshua Frank
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February 15, 2007 Is the Joke Over?An Evening with Ralph SteadmanBy MICHAEL SIMMONS I'm sitting in an epic traffic jam on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood on early evening October 31st, 2006 as George W. Bush staggers in front of my car, accompanied by Harry Potter and Paris Hilton. I slam on my brakes to keep from mowing them down, as tempting as it is, and repeatedly blow my horn to express my displeasure. "Whatsa matta, sweetie? Havin' a bad day?" asks Ms. Hilton, who displays a three-day growth and an Adam's apple. In fact, I'm having a bad century thus far. President Bush flips me the bird as she passes by and I'm rendered deaf and jumpy by the ubiquitous, hovering LAPD helicopters policing the annual Halloween parade. My loathing for this spectacle looms on a list just under Los Angeles, the United States of America, and the human race in vehemence. The relegation of the act of celebration to specific holidays has always mystified me. Spontaneity does not fit into capitalism's schedule and these costumed junior studio executives will need to cram in as much acceptably aberrant behavior as possible tonight before they return hungover to their cubicles tomorrow. Daily life in the 21st Century, from micro laptop crashes to the macro cluster bombs in Basra, is unbearable. I think often of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson and his decision to relieve himself of a beating heart. Lately I ponder that option and wonder whether it's just what the Doctor ordered. As Hunter warned sometime prior to his demise, "NO MORE FUN," and he wasn't referring to a lack of wage slaves in drag on a Tuesday night, for they are visibly in supply. Despite this solitary respite to trick-or-treat, the everyday "wild epidemic of Dumbness and overweening Greed" is considered acceptable, even normal. I'd contemplated hiding out in bed with the covers drawn, but I'm seeking out the last of the authentically spontaneous like a parched man seeks water. I'm determined to meet Steadman. Three blocks and forty-five minutes later, I pull into the parking lot of Book Soup, a literary oasis in the dumbest major city in the continental United States. "Uh, Ralph. You filthy little animal. You dirty little beast. Hi Ralph, it's Hunter. I have a job for you." Thirty seconds after meeting each other, Ralph Steadman, the Father of Gonzo Art, and I are seated at a table in the bookstore for an interview while hundreds of fans wait in line outside. He has mounted his microcassette recorder on top of mine doggie-style, and it's ejaculating into mine a message he'd received from Hunter about the assignation of a paying gig. For thirty-four years, the seventy-year old Welshman was Sancho Panza with a sketchpad to the Kentucky native's Don Quixote with a typewriter. From "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved" to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Curse of Lono and other books and articles, Ralph illustrated Hunter's obsessive theme of The Death of the American Dream. His satirical trademarks -- the misshapen or skeletal monster with a hole for a mouth -- embody The Ugly American, unable to ever shut the fuck up, especially when he has nothing to say, which is usually always. Ralph's written a memoir of his years as Hunter's collaborateur called The Joke's Over. He's here at Book Soup tonight to read from it and flog signed copies. I devoured it in one furious sitting the night before, howling with laughter, fascinated by the tales of two mavericks who leap without benefit of parachute. The concept of 'nostalgia' can be hideous but it left me longing for a time I remember well: when a critical mass of our brothers and sisters refused to bay like sheep. Steadman is one of the greatest and most popular artists of the last half-century. He's also a dangerous subversive whose target is that person who stares back at us from a mirror. Saddled with a squat pit bull physique, and despite his unforgiving portraits of grotesque archetypes, he's kind, gregarious, and a relentless instigator of unruly mischief. In exchange for giving me Hunter on tape, I gift him with a Rowan Atkinson mask, which he eagerly, if not nimbly, attempts to place on his face. Unable to get the cheap cardboard to stay put, he cuts the mask's strings, re-ties it over his mug and lapses into a passable Mr. Bean imitation. "Notice how I am very practical," he triumphantly admonishes with pride. "I notice. You must be an artist," I reply. "Yeah. Some say not a writer." "Au contraire," say I, praising his book. "Tell Hunter," he advises. "He warned me, 'Don't write, Ralph. You'll bring shame on your family.'" I ask about his characterization of the command "DON'T" as "the American mantra." "AH! It's not about what you should do or are allowed to do; it's about 'thou shalt NOT.' The Americans adopted that from the Christian ethic of pioneers who crossed America. 'You must not invoke the anger of God.' He may have been in a covered wagon too, somewhere up ahead. He knew the way and they all followed. Americans have kept that part of the Christian ethic because it was a positive quality of survival to NOT do something, but to do the one thing they had to do, which was to cross the Great Divide." "Sort of a way of saying 'Don't fuck up," I suggest. "Exactly. Don't ruffle feathers. Don't sleep with your father's wife." This leads to a discussion of the wild frontier spirit in conflict with blind social and religious obedience, how that established a schizophrenic nature in the American character, and how suppression of questioning authority in pursuit of the Protestant work ethic deified entrepreneurship and created acquiescence to the modern corporate state, leaving many citizens impoverished. "Poverty was one of the things that upset Hunter. He thought his Constitution represented something worthwhile. He wholeheartedly believed in the Rights of Man Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson bringing over basic principles from the French Revolution." "But why did Hunter have empathy for the poor?" I interrupt. "Because they had no chance!" Ralph's voice rises with passion. "It was unjust! He actually believed in justice for all! 'All of you guys out here, you have a voice, you can vote. Vote for somebody you can trust, who's fighting for your rights.'" Ralph developed what he calls "corrosive contempt" as a youth, during his "terrible experiences in school when I realized that authority was the mask of violence. Authority does not mean decency, honesty, and fair play. Authority means keeping you in line and we can be violent if we wish to. When I draw, I'm trying to rip the mask off. Get down to the skin and bones. Get down to the flesh underneath. All those wonderful veins, arteries, sinew and bone. If people think I'm being sick by drawing just sinew and bone and keeping the face down to skeletal proportions, I'm actually trying to unmask a pleasant face, a so-called respectable face. "Hunter thought he had to change things, take on the worst in society, and bring about change by being rude, unflinching, and intense in order to overcome the stern, conservative stance. To do that, you have to do something outrageous. That's what Gonzo is. Thinking the unthinkable and doing the impossible. The problem with America at the moment is its total conformism." That Ralph survived Hunter's outrageousness is a testament to his ability to paraphrase his partner to turn pro when the going got weird. The duo managed to infiltrate the front lines of journalism, scare the horses and enrage the gentry and return with classic stories that revealed truths about the American psyche from political campaigns to sporting events. Like a deranged Buddhist teacher, Hunter also tested Ralph's mettle, from macing him in the eyes to dosing the novice with mescaline. "He was fascinated by what I might do. Hunter was equipped to deal with American life, but I was an innocent abroad and I trusted him," the whipping boy ruefully cops. "We were so different. Chalk and cheese. There was an uneasy resonance between those differences. I came to America to reveal what I saw and I ended up becoming part of the hideousness, the screaming lifestyle of it all. Tried to outdo Hunter with his drinking, but I had a thing about drugs because I have a rather tender inside. I would freak out on the edge, but freak out in the best possible way, that is draw weird things. Do things he'd never even imagined. To his words, I was his eyes." The Joke's Over ends with a letter from Ralph to Hunter in the afterlife in which he writes "But you leave us with a blueprint, ole sport." I ask him what he means. "The blueprint is that he expanded peoples' idea of how they can have a vision and gave them the opportunity that most forgot they had. Like H.L. Mencken or Mark Twain. He's one of those guys. He could be mean, desperate, horrible, vicious and pernicious. All those 'iciouses!' But he actually had a sense of honor about people who have no way of fighting back. He was going to protect them come hell or high water." We finish our interview and Ralph gives a delightful reading to an adoring throng, sings a song he wrote (he's a fine singer and songwriter), plays an exotic wind instrument and decorates body parts. Afterwards, along with his beautiful wife Anna and friends, we repair to the Sunset Marquis Hotel for dinner. As we consume more liquor, the noise from the Halloween celebrants on the streets outside becomes musical rather than oppressive and I realize that while I have no desire to join them, I've permitted my justifiable revulsion at the low ebb of contemporary events to embitter me. I shall not become a raging optimist in the near future and I'll always respect Hunter's decision to choose his destiny. He was one of a kind, and so is Ralph. I see the seventy-year old artist sitting across from me laughing, drinking, singing and relishing the battle for justice and I realize that I have more than one option. For a moment I'm not only grateful, but I'm actually having fun. This article, in a different version, runs in the March 2007 print edition of Artillery Magazine [www.artillerymagcom]. Michael Simmons is an award-winning journalist and
currently filming a documentary on the Yippies. He can be reached
at guydebord@sbcglobal.net.
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