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Ed Koch was the outspoken mayor of New York City for twelve years. He never minced words. The following is his New Year Commentary prepared for Bloomberg Radio (which, coincidentally, is owned by the current mayor).Koch's 2003 Resolutions are worth heeding -- perhaps even following to the letter ourselves. Read this sobering yet in a way optimistic analysis by one of our own "elder statesmen."
- - - - - - - - - -We are now going through the most virulent anti-Semitic period since Hitler and Stalin. Nearly 60 years after the end of World War II almost every country on the European continent, including England, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium and the Scandinavian countries, has seen major outbreaks of physical violence against their Jewish citizens, and against Jewish institutions, including synagogues and cemeteries. At the same time, open hostility toward the State of Israel is at an all-time high.
Only in the United States have we seen a full acceptance of Jews as citizens and the Jewish state treated as a friend and ally by an overwhelming number of fellow citizens. In the U.S., Jews have been permitted to rise and fall based on their individual talents, virtues and faults. In one elite bastion after another, Jews have been selected to head institutions heretofore seen as beyond their reach. Today the presidents of Harvard and Yale Universities are Jews, as are recent former presidents of Columbia and Princeton. Having been elected three times as mayor of the City of New York, I have been the beneficiary of this country's generosity and freedom from bigotry, and I will be eternally grateful.
Americans traditionally make New Years resolutions. Before I list my own resolutions, I want to thank President George W. Bush and his advisers, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice for their support of the State of Israel. They could easily have jettisoned Israel as a liability in their efforts to forge an international coalition against worldwide terrorism. I will be forever grateful to them, and I hope that many other supporters of the State of Israel will recognize and appreciate what they have done.
Fortunately for Jews and the State of Israel, American support of the Jewish nation has been bipartisan. Particularly helpful has been the Democratic leadership in both houses including Senator Tom Daschle, outgoing Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, as well as former President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Clinton. There are many others on both sides of the political aisle who deserve similar praise.
In the religious sector, I am grateful to the Reverends Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, both of whom have stood up time and again in support and defense of the Jewish nation. Regrettably, there have been many clergy who have unfairly attacked Israel for attempting to defend itself against near-daily terrorist acts against its citizens. We were made privy to the true thoughts of Rev. Billy Graham caught on tape telling President Nixon his real feelings about Jews and Israel. He has since apologized, but what is an apology without contrition and efforts to right the wrong done? Worthless.
Now to my personal New Years resolutions. I will avoid France as a place to vacation. France leads those countries in the Security Council who are the enemies of the State of Israel. So too is Mexico, joining as a consistent supporter of resolutions unfairly denouncing Israel at the U.N. Security Council.
I will not support National Public Radio in any way. NPR¹s reporters and management delight in unfairly attacking Israel.
I will no longer lend financial support to New York¹s Channel Thirteen public television station. That station recently showed a documentary that was blatantly biased against Israel and has refused to acknowledge the bias or to try to correct it.
I will not watch ABC¹s World News Tonight anchored by Peter Jennings. For many years, Jennings has specialized in vicious and unfair portrayals of Israel intended to injure the Jewish state and lionize Palestinians.
BBC News is horrifically anti-Israel and I will shun it completely.
Susan Sontag will occupy the Ninth Circle of Hell for her outrageous assaults on Israel. I will no longer read her works.
Regrettably, there are many others whom I could include on this list, but I will leave that for another day. I must confess I got enormous pleasure from the defeat of Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and her father in the recent primary elections in Georgia. In my view, both are anti-Semitic and anti-Israel. No longer able to feed at the public trough, I doubt that either will make a comparable living in the private sector.
I must close now to get ready for my Chanukah and Christmas shopping. I enjoy celebrating those holidays with Jewish and Christian friends whose goodwill and affection I will always cherish.
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The Uncertainty Principle teaches that we can never know the results of our actions on the future of the world. Forward these messages to as many friends of the Jewish Nation as you know with the wish that they do the same. Perhaps, in some small way, it will eventually make a difference. What is certain, however, is that if you do nothing, nothing can happen.
Again, we think it's fake, but we're willing to be corrected.
Update: We may stand corrected immediately, we just came across this and this.
Second Update: Instapundit reports that one of his readers heard the radio show and former Mayor Koch did make the comments.
Instapundit says that MADD has "morphed from an anti-drunk-driving organization to an anti-alcohol organization." He thinks MADD should be fact-checked: "Most of the anti-alcohol claims being peddled in the media are, to put it bluntly, lies. Journalists need to start checking these claims, rather than mindlessly repeating them. The fact that claims come from a group that styles itself "non profit" doesn't make them trustworthy."
We've been leery of MADD for a while. They've certainly come a long way from their original purpose. Here is our recent take on the group.
It's time to remind the Washington Press Corps that they're there to do a job, not make best friends with the administration that they're supposed to be covering objectively. We at Take Back The Media urge you to email, fax or phone these correspondents and let them know that their utter lack of hard work is not going unnoticed. Tell them that the way to get information out of Ari is to stand up to him, not to let him obfuscate. Tell them that they're supposed to be covering the White House, not trying to befriend those who work there. Tell them that their journalistic ancestors are watching their actions with horror and disgust.
Welcome back Media Whores Online --and we thank them for including TalkLeft on their list of recommended blogs.
MWO is the ultimate source for who's using the media to tell the truth and who's using it to spin their own political agenda. We recommend visiting MWO daily, if you aren't doing so already.
Joan Didion has been our favorite author since she wrote Play It As It Lays. Since then, we've read everything she's written, before and after. Her newest article Fixed Opinions, or The Hinge of History, taken from a speech she gave in November, 2002, appears in the Jan. 16 issue of the New York Review of Books. It has to do with September 11 and its aftermath, and with the politicizing of the tragedy.
While we will always be partial to Maria and Inez (from Play it as it Lays and Democracy, respectively), we think everything she writes is outstanding, so go over and give her a read.
(link found on Wood s Lot)
Update: Avedon Carol at Sideshow posts a great section of Ms. Dideon's article here.
Hesiod at Counterspin reminds us to go over to MWO and vote for Media Horse of the Year. There is a wide selection. Hesiod votes for Bob Woodward, we're still making up our minds.
We find ourselves agreeing with columnist George Will that the Jury Room Is No Place for TV. The issue is allowing television coverage of a jury's deliberations in a death penalty case.
"In a society saturated by entertainment values, "the public's right to know" can be an excuse for voyeurism tarted up as a journalistic imperative. However, the public's fundamental right is to good government, and the function of juries is to produce justice, not entertaining journalism.
Here is some background on the case, which involves a request by Frontline, a show we much admire, to tape deliberations in a Texas capital murder trial - with the permission of the defense--and the reasons we oppose it.
Atrios informs us that Susan McDougal has written a book on why she wouldn't talk in the Whitewater case and on her treatment in jail. We've heard her speak on these topics a few times in recent years, and we still keep our "Free Susan McDougal" button on prominent display.
"At 47, her life is now dedicated to raising awareness about the plight of women in prison, an issue that became dear to her after hearing the stories of the women who shared her various cellblocks. She travels around the country giving speeches on the issue, visiting prisons."
Atrios has posted the quotes from the article on the details of her prison life.
The "winners" of the Best of the Notable Quotables of 2002 awards have been announced.
For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are awards by conservative journalists, through the auspices of the Media Research Center, for the worst reporting by liberals during the year. The list of Judges includes the she-pundit-with-blond-hair-who- hails-from-Connecticut-and-writes-books. See if you can make it through the whole list of judges without wincing.
This is the 15th year of the awards. We are proud to say that we won one of these awards in 1999 for comments made during a MSNBC interview with anchor Gregg Jarrett about Hillary Clinton and Rudy Guiliani during their antagonistic Senate campaign. Runners-up in our category included Larry King, Sam Donaldson and Dan Rather. We still haven't figured out what was objectionable about the exchange--so we thought we'd reprint it here. (you can watch the actual ten second video here):Politics of Meaninglessness Award for the Silliest AnalysisRudy Giuliani joking on the Late Show about running for the Senate from Arkansas: "I?ve never lived here. I?ve never worked here. I ain?t never been here. But I think it would be cool to be your Senator."
Jeralyn Merritt, MSNBC legal analyst: "That?s just so unfair."
MSNBC anchor Gregg Jarrett: "It?s ugly."
Merritt: "It?s ugly and it?s unfair because she has spent a lot of time in New York and she has the desire to help and she is bright. She?s the best of the group."
-- Exchange on MSNBC?s InterNight, June 25.
We'd say the same thing again, and actually, we hope to in 2008.
"Next semester the whole country can get a lesson in Bill Clinton."
"The C-SPAN public affairs cable network will broadcast every class of "The Clinton Presidency," a new course at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock that will examine the former president's achievements and scandals."
"Guest lecturers will include longtime Clinton lawyer David Kendall, Clinton confidant and counsel Bruce Lindsey, former NATO commander Wesley Clark and the former president himself. Clinton critics, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, also have been invited."
The class, which begins January 16, will be taught by political science professor Margaret Scranton and will focus on "Clinton's impeachment, his campaign style and his rise from a Southern governor to a political powerhouse, as well as issues such as foreign policy, health care and the economy."
Link via Drudge to Newsday: Gary Condit has sued writer Dominick Dunne for $11 million -- for slander over comments Dunne made on tv and elsewhere during the Chandra Levy disappearance.
" Former Rep. Gary Condit sued Dominick Dunne for $11 million on Monday, claiming the author slandered him in interviews about the Chandra Levy case. Dunne "made false and defamatory statements accusing (Condit) of involvement in the crimes of kidnapping and murder," said the lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan."
"The suit cited radio, television and newspaper interviews in which Dunne linked Condit to the disappearance of Levy. Dunne "transformed an allegation of sexual misconduct into criminal accusations," said Condit's attorney, L. Lin Wood."
Lin Wood is the excellent Atlanta libel attorney who has been representing John and Patsy Ramsey in their civil suits--successfully, we might add.
Who will represent Dunne? Dan Petrocelli, who successfully sued OJ in the (civil) wrongful death case? Maybe, but then again, maybe not as he later represented ex-cop Steve Thomas who wrote a book accusing the Ramseys of killing their daughter and Lin Wood prevailed and got a settlement from Thomas (paid by his publisher) in that case. From the Denver Post on August 9, 2002:
"The libel suit brought by John and Patsy Ramsey against former Boulder police detective Steve Thomas is over. The case, which was settled in May, was formally dismissed on Wednesday, said Ramsey attorney Lin Wood. 'Obviously, the Ramseys are pleased with the settlement and are glad the case was successfully resolved in their favor,' Wood said."
"John and Patsy Ramsey sued Thomas for libel and defamation in March 2001 in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. The civil suit said Thomas made false claims about the couple in a book he co-wrote titled 'JonBenet: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation' and during interviews promoting the book. Publisher St. Martin's Press and co-author Don Davis were part of the settlement, Wood said."
"The lawsuit sought $ 80 million in damages, but Wood declined to disclose the amount paid. 'The terms of the settlement, including the amount, are confidential,' he said. The book theorized that Patsy Ramsey killed 6-year-old JonBenet during a fit of rage in their Boulder home on Dec. 26, 1996, and that John Ramsey helped his wife cover it up by making the death look like a botched kidnapping. Thomas, who left the Boulder Police Department in 1998 over frustrations with the unsolved case, could not be reached for comment."
"His attorney, Dan Petrocelli of Los Angeles, who won a $ 30 million civil verdict against O.J. Simpson after Simpson was acquitted in the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole, and a friend, Ron Goldman, also could not be reached for comment Thursday."
We'll stay on top of this as more details come out. Findlaw will undoubtedly have the full text of the Condit/Dunne suit up shortly. Look for it here.
I've been waiting for something to happen For a week or a month or a year
With the blood in the ink of the headlines
And the sound of the crowd in my ear
You might ask what it takes to remember
When you know that you've seen it before
Where a government lies to a people
And a country is drifting to war
And there's a shadow on the faces
Of the men who send the guns
To the wars that are fought in places
Where their business interest runs
On the radio talk shows and the T.V.
You hear one thing again and again
How the U.S.A. stands for freedom
And we come to the aid of a friend
But who are the ones that we call our friends--
These governments killing their own?
Or the people who finally can't take any more
And they pick up a gun or a brick or a stone
There are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire
There's a shadow on the faces
Of the men who fan the flames
Of the wars that are fought in places
Where we can't even say the names
They sell us the President the same way
They sell us our clothes and our cars
They sell us every thing from youth to religion
The same
Released February 19, 1986, Elektra/Asylum Records
(link via What Really Happened)
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