There’s no reason to think the following is a fabrication. But two days ago Bill Clinton painted a pretty dramatic picture of his involvement in the aftermath of the 1968 D.C. riots brought on by Martin Luther King’s Assassination:
Then, I was in Washington at Georgetown, the city exploded into flames and I turned my car into an ambulance and I took supplies to the African Americans that were burned out of their homes and were hiding in church basements basically trying to stay alive, and surrounded by national guardsmen protecting them.
Clinton gave that account in Indianapolis on Wednesday. In reporting on Bill’s appearance in North Carolina today, the Winston-Salem Journal describes him recalling a less colorful narrative of his heroics after King was shot:
“He later joined with Red Cross volunteers to take supplies to inner-city Washington,” the paper simply reports.
Might someone have suggested Bill tone the tale down a bit after Snipergate?
Here’s something to talk about with the wife: Why Commentary, that chronicler of Jewish life and culture in America and your dual-citizen country, Israel, has not produced a single staff-written word about the biggest Jewish story in America, the stupdendous Bernie Madoff financial fraud.
Why is that, Mr. Podhoretz? Commentary doesn’t generally withhold its opinions from the world. But this time is has. What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?
The lead article of our February issue is entitled “The Madoff Scandal and the Future of American Jewry.”
I wish Mrs. Jpod could persuade the stock market to like the speech a little more. Oh well, the next couple years will be an awesome buying opportunity (wink).
Halfway seriously, I hate to agree with the doom-and-gloomers like Chang here and Derbyshire over on the Corner. I really wish Kudlow was right and happy days will soon be here again.
Unfortunately, I see a grinder like the first two years of Reagan’s presidency. Only worse, because there will be little or no meaningful tax relief to cushion the grind. Meanwhile there will be giant deficits, only giant-er, and resulting tax hikes like Reagan’s TEFRA debacle, only more debacle-ish.
But the sun doesn’t stay hidden forever. After the next couple years all those reinvested dividends will pay off. At least that’s what I tell myself to avoid nightmares and ulcers.
The lead article of our February issue is entitled “The Madoff Scandal and the Future of American Jewry.”
Fair enough. It will be interesting to read it, and it’ll be even more interesting if it doesn’t try to pin Madoff on the Evil Left because he spread around some dough to the usual suspects in New York.
To #1 Mr. Hartless- Why is Madoff a “Jewish” story except that it has brought a tidal wave of anti-semitism among people who had their negative opinions about Jews confirmed?
It was painful reading blogs when people threw their scorn towards Madoff’s Jewish victims as much as they did towards him. Greedy bast**ds got what they deserved etc.
To #1 Mr. Hartless- Why is Madoff a “Jewish” story except that it has brought a tidal wave of anti-semitism among people who had their negative opinions about Jews confirmed?
It was painful reading blogs when people threw their scorn towards Madoff’s Jewish victims as much as they did towards him. Greedy bast**ds got what they deserved etc.
Since Herr Hartland incessantly brings up the issue, he must have an opinion regarding the significance of the Madoff affair. So step right up, Hartland. Here’s the soapbox you’ve been clamoring for:
What’s your interpretation of “the biggest Jewish story in America, the stupdendous Bernie Madoff financial fraud?”
Casey Abell:
A phenomenal buying opportunity. There are literlly dozen of stocks out there, representing the equity of large, well known companies which grossly undervalued and which will triple or better in the next 4 to 8 years, irrespective of the good and/or (unfortunately probably in many cases) bad policies of the Obama regime. Now if one could only determine which ones they are….
Madoff’s story is first of all the story of a huge Democratic donor, who is as corrupt as other Democratic donors, Rezko, for example, and a lot of Democratic politicians, especially from Chicago: Blago, Obama, Emmanual. They are corrupt regardless if skin color or Religion.
JPod — much too much attention paid, by your #2, to “John Hartland.” His whole anti-Semitic construct is worthless in terms of civil dialogue. I’m sure Commentary will have something useful to say about Madoff. I’m equally sure Madoff is not anything “Jews” need to apologize for, any more than “Muslims” need to apologize for Saddam Hussein or Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
Who should apologize for “Hartland” is another question, though. It would be unfair to vermin to ask them to undertake it.
What’s your interpretation of “the biggest Jewish story in America, the stupdendous Bernie Madoff financial fraud?”
I haven’t settled on one yet. There has been a remarkable lack of coverage in general, that much I can say. This isn’t just any fraud. We’re talking $50 billion here. That’s bigger than a breadbox. The S.E.C. has thus far put the kibosh on publicly tracing the money. Where’d it go? What banks were involved? How did the S.E.C. manage not to do anything when they had been repeatedly warned about what was going on?
What is Madoff’s full story? Does he have ties with gangsters, either here or in the other country? What about the family? My guess, and it’s only that, is that the sons might be the real culprits here, and that dad’s taking the fall because he’s not long for this world anyhow. What about the network? You don’t steal $50 billion on your own lonesome.
There are all kinds of unexamined angles here. And yes, what are the Madoff family’s ties to Jewish community in general? He obviously was running a lot of Jewish money. How did that happen? Who helped him? Seems to me that a Commentary magazine is pretty well-positioned to add a whole lot of color to the story, if it so chooses.
My guess, though, is that Commentary will offer up a two-dimension tale of Democratic political corruption and nothing else. And, for the record, if Democrats protected and facilitated this, then off with their heads. I don’t care where the chips fall, as long as they all fall. Thus far, I am not encouraged.
>>A phenomenal buying opportunity.<<
That’s what I keep telling myself. My dividends roll back into the market automatically, and they’re buying lots of good companies cheap right now.
But it’s still going to be a nasty couple years.
I’m equally sure Madoff is not anything “Jews” need to apologize for, any more than “Muslims” need to apologize for Saddam Hussein or Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
Ooooh, that’s rich. What has the neo-con Bund been doing for the better part of the past decade but hanging ever renegade around the necks of the Muslim world? It would seem that what’s been good for the goose is now not so good for the gander.
What exactly did your wife like about the speech? Its gloom and doom, the gratuitous swipes at President Bush?
I’m with your wife. I also liked it.
The situation could have been much, much worse … imagine having to listen to Bill Clinton or Jimmah Carter give an inaugural speech.
Its gloom and doom, the gratuitous swipes at President Bush?
Obama gave your lying, floor-crawling drunken war criminal of a president quite the kid-glove treatment. He should have been much tougher.
Hmmm.
@ John Hartland
“Fair enough. It will be interesting to read it, and it’ll be even more interesting if it doesn’t try to pin Madoff on the Evil Left because he spread around some dough to the usual suspects in New York.”
Another post. Another comment. Another instance of Mr. Hartland jamming his foot deeply into a personal orifice.
Why don’t you try Googling: “commentarymagazine” madoff
It only comes back with 12,100 hits.
Why don’t you try Googling: “commentarymagazine” madoff. It only comes back with 12,100 hits
#18, you can’t even tell the truth about something that’s instantly verifiable. Run that search term and you’ll get 1,330 hits, only one of which was to anything on Commentary’s site, something in Contentions published in late December. But there was a link to an insanely funny profile of Podhoretz Jr. and his career. It would seem that humility is not his strong suit, nor loyalty his subordinates’ defining value.
Come on, who can do anything but have a chuckle at this:
The brilliance of Podhoretz will always be appreciated by someone, however. John’s parents will always happily listen to their son, although they may tune out when he gets to the part about Mary Tyler Moore. And if they happen to be engaged in some war of words over Hannah Arendt or Alger Hiss or the perfidy of Lillian Hellman, there’s always the comfort of a soft couch and a remote control.
Yow!
“Obama was not evoking Valley Forge, but Washington crossing the Delaware to fight at Trenton in 1776. Which was also a good thing to evoke.”
Why? What has Obama ever done that’s similar in any way, shape or form?
Hmmm.
@ John Hartland
That’s very odd. I ran that search last night and got 12,100 hits.
*shrug* perhaps Google is making changes.
All that aside though the fact that Commentary Magazine actually -did- address the Madoff scandal in December, as you pointed out, does indeed deflate your contention that they hadn’t addressed it yet.
Thank you for proving yourself wrong.