In one major speech, for example, the President explained why we had to rid Iraq of Saddam Hussein. He equated the Iraqi tyranny with 9/11 no fewer than seven times. But the fact is that as of this writing, not a single piece of evidence has surfaced to link Iraq with the 9/11 terrorists. There wasn’t one Iraqi among them although there were lots of Saudi Arabians and we have now confirmed information that members of the royal family of Saudi Arabia were and are big contributors to Al-Qaeda.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a much more vicious government than was Iraq. Its people are much more exploited and terrorized. Why then not war against Saudi Arabia? Well, for one thing, George Bush Sr. collected millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia as a “public relations consultant.” Prominent Saudis have boasted that “the Bush family is in our pocket.”

Okay. So the next major excuse to justify our ill-timed, ill-conceived, and illegal attack against Iraq is that that nation possessed “weapons of mass destruction.” (This from a country that warehouses an arsenal of hundreds of nuclear warheads and bombs.)

Where are those “weapons of mass destruction?” Wouldn’t you think that as a last desperate measure, Saddam would have used them against the invaders? Hmmmm….

Courageous Senator Byrd

On February 12, United States Senator Robert Byrd addressed his colleagues on the floor of the United States Senate. His speech went unreported by most of the press.

He said, “We stand passively mute in the U.S. Senate, paralyzed by our own uncertainty.this nation is about to embark on a revolutionary doctrine applied in an extraordinary way at an unfortunate time.

“It is the doctrine of presumption – the idea that the United States or any other nation can legitimately attack a nation that is not imminently threatening but may be threatening in the future. This is a radical new twist on the traditional idea of self-defense.”

“Radical” and “revolutionary”? Who would have believed that these labels would be applied to one of the most reactionary politicians ever to sit in the White House?

The Insolated President

President Bush knows less about American tradition than Tara, our seven-pound toy poodle. As Governor of Texas, for three consecutive years, he proclaimed a “Jesus day” — being totally insensitive to the feelings of people who practice other religions or no religion and totally ignorant of the American tradition of separation of church and state. On April 3 at Camp LeJeune, he had a minister introduce him with a prayer of “thanks to sweet Jesus.”

Simon Schama, writing in The New Yorker, points out that in America, the only true church is the church of the dollar Almighty. Our country was founded on the robbery and rape of the native Indian population. Schama quotes the English radical Thomas Day who wrote in 1776, “If there is an object truly ridiculous in nature, it is an American patriot signing resolutions of independence with the one hand, and with the other, brandishing a whip over his affrighted slaves.”

Let’s talk more about life and death insurance. The announced noble goal was to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. But the record shows that the materials to make such weapons were bought from American companies and were destroyed. Our official goal was to overthrow a tyranny. But look at our history. Juan Jose Arevalo, once told me that during the four years he was Guatemala’s democratically elected president, the CIA sponsored no fewer than 32 attempts to overthrow his government. They all failed but the CIA effectively overthrew Arbenz, the next democratically elected president.

We conspired to destroy the democratically elected government of President Allende in Chile. We replaced him with Fascist military man Pinochet who then slaughtered thousands of his fellow citizens. Victor Jaras, one of the world’s outstanding guitar players was held in a stadium along with hundreds of other believers in democracy. There, while CIA agents looked on, his fingers were broken one by one before he was killed.

Crusade for Democracy?

We have never before pretended that we were proselytizing for democracy. On the contrary, we have supported virtually every bloody tyrant from Batista to Trujillo and Papa Doc to Pinochet. The truth is that we’ve shored up with guns and money every savage dictatorship spawned in Latin America during the past century. We have spoon-fed such dictatorships, flying their military officers to schools in the States to be trained in the art of torture. And now we are the world’s bully and Americans are the most hated people in the world.

The government issues statements to soothe the voters but never explains the real motives of the people in power. Like a slick magician who uses diversion to fool you, you are told one thing but see something else. An example is John Ashcroft, the man selected by the President to oversee and protect our civil liberties. He is an evangelical Christian who, when he ran for public office, couldn’t defeat an opponent who was dead! He exhibits total contempt for press freedom, the right of privacy, the right to equal treatment under the law, etc. It’s like putting a shark in the pool to protect the flounders.

It’s wonderful that we won this war so quickly. As a World War II veteran (I still wear my dog tags) I have great empathy for those 18 and 19-year-olds who did the fighting for us.

As a former journalist I sympathize with all those “embedded” newsmen and newswomen. It’s good that the American people got a partial close-up of the war. It’s too bad that we didn’t have more realism, like a four-year-old with his head blown off or a G.I. with one arm and an eyeball hanging out.

Epilogue

Albert Einstein had a theory. He believed that if only two percent of the population of the world flatly refused to participate in war, there could be no wars. He had all kinds of mathematics to shore up his theory, such as how many people would be required to imprison, feed and care for that 2%.

I have a simpler solution. Pass an international law that if someone orders young men to die in battle and is ten miles or more away from that battle, he (or she) shall have one finger cut off for each of the first ten young men killed in battle.

That would end war like a shot!

Publishing News:

We have just shipped the first three books on our Spring list:

Conversations With a Pedophile (In the interest of our children) by Dr. Amy Hammel-Zabin is only available at certain shops. The Waldenbooks stores didn’t buy any. And although the Barnes & Noble stores are usually pretty good about controversial titles, in this case, only their college chain has stocked this most important book. We’re hoping this will change. If you have or know anyone who has children under the age of twelve or thirteen, this book is an absolute must read.

Psychology Today will publish an excerpt from the book and will feature it on its cover. The Kirkus Report has already given it a rave review and we are receiving a steady stream of orders from libraries. (By the way, instead of the normal $25 or $26 price for a cloth volume of this size, we’ve priced it at $21.95 to get it into the hands of as many parents as possible.)

Mala Femina by Theresa Dalessio with Patrick Picciarelli tells the story of a woman’s life as the daughter of a Don. To say that Terri Dalesso is an unusual woman who led an unusual life would be an understatement. If you have any interest in the underworld, this story will fascinate you. Contains an 8-page photo section. 256 pages. $24.95.

Celebrity Lies by Boze Hadleigh. is more than a 1,000 of the most outrageous myths, fabrications and falsehoods ever uttered by Hollywood celebrities. Hadleigh’s titles are good sellers and there is continuing demand for his backlist items such as Bette Davis Speaks; Hollywood Lesbians; Hollywood Gays; Sing Out; and In or Out. 256 pages. $16.95.

Salvador Dali (continued):

Carole and I enjoyed many amusing experiences with Dali, but this one always brings a smile to my face. Dali wouldn’t fly. He was afraid of airplanes although he did pose in an airplane seat for Braniff Airlines for one of their ads headed by their slogan, “If you’ve got it, flaunt it!”

One day Dali and his wife Gala were dining in a restaurant in Barcelona when a bomb exploded in the kitchen. Certain that it was meant for them, the Dalis were on the next plane to New York. They locked themselves in their suite at the St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan. But always publicity-hungry, Dali agreed to be interviewed by a lady we knew who was an Associated Press reporter.

I happened to mention this to my daughter, Sandra Lee, and she responded with: “What about me? Remember me? I’m your daughter and I’m also a reporter.” She was working for the Trenton Times which was then owned by the Washington Post.

So I arranged an interview for her one day before the AP reporter was scheduled to meet with the artist.

Dali was wary about opening his hotel door, wanting to be assured that only Sandy and I were outside. Finally we settled on his couch and Sandy asked her first question: “Maestro Dali, how does it feel to be a Fascist on the run?”

A stricken Dali turned to me. “Mr. Stuart, pleasssse!!!”

Sandra Lee has always been fearlessly direct. Once the two of us were guests on the Joe Franklin Television Show.

Joe, being his usual pleasant self said to her, “I guess you became a newspaper reporter because your father was a newspaper reporter?”

“No,” Sandy replied, “I became a reporter because my mother said the work offered lots of opportunities to meet interesting men — and it does.”

It was the only time I ever saw Joe speechless.

Mailbag:

“I really enjoy your Hot News. I’ve lost touch with most of my business friends –- outlived a lot of them — 19 years away will do that to you.

“I dropped all of my subscriptions to related stuff years ago, so I count on your Hot News.”

—Bud Tobey

“I must tell you how deeply moved I was with your comments about Allen Schwartz and especially your epilogue.—

Our daughter Jane introduced me to Allen many years ago and I was deeply

impressed. I’m sorry I didn’t get to know him better.

— Oscar Dystel

Legal Fund Update:

Checks continue to arrive for the McLoughlin & Stern Escrow Account –- our legal fund to fight Steve Wynn in our defense of the First Amendment.

The latest contributors include a prominent Hollywood film producer, a nationally known talk show host (conservative!), the retired corporate head of a large food importing business, and a wonderfully talented man who is a legend in the history of radio and film. Also, we received a handsome check from some old friends now living in Munich.

As I explained before, my instinct is to name names but I don’t do it because I don’t have permission to, and I certainly don’t want to embarrass anyone. Again, to each and every contributor to what we consider a critical First Amendment battle, our heartfelt thanks.

This most encouraging response will allow us to import an expert from Britain to testify about the perjury committed by Steve Wynn’s retired Scotland Yard Commander. The latter died shortly after lying to the jury under oath.

Our new trial is scheduled for September 6 in Las Vegas. Once again it will be before a judge who accepts contributions from Steve Wynn for her election campaigns.

Popular Songs:

In the January Hot News I named five songs by major songwriters that I love but which will never get the popularity they deserve. I’ve since remembered a sixth favorite. After Jerome Kern’s sudden and untimely death, his widow sent a Kern melody to Dorothy Fields. She wrote a lovely lyric to it and it’s called April Fooled Me.

By the way, Dorothy Fields was the most successful woman songwriter in ASCAP’s history.

Small Press Convention:

Our sales manager, Viva Stowell, and our publicity director, Desiree Rowe exhibited Barricade Book titles on a table at the Small Press Convention which took place last month. Most tables were occupied by publishers who publish one or two titles a year — so we were the Random House of this event.

Some two to three thousand visitors attend and books are sold to the public at discounts.

Our two biggest sellers at this event were the explosive 51 DOCUMENTS: Zionist Collaboration With The Nazis edited by Lenni Brenner and the fascinating So Who The Heck Is Oscar Meyer? The latter relates the origin of those brands that are household names today.

Book Publishing for The Layman (1);

The book publishing business may be the only major American industry where merchandise is shipped on a 100% returnable basis. A customer may buy one hundred copies of a title and then, months later, ship them all back for full credit.

If only half of that hundred is returned, many returns are slightly damaged and are designated “hurt” and can’t be shipped out again.

Recently we acted as agents for another publisher. That house had accumulated 54,000 “hurt” books over the years. At full retail, and an average selling price of $20, they might have generated retail revenues of $1,080,000. At maximum wholesale discounts, they might have netted $540,000. At remainder prices (mint copies in excess of what a publisher believes he can sell) the revenue could have ranged from $45,000 to $60,000. As “hurt” books, these 54,000 volumes were sold by us for $21,600. [to be continued]

Running Scared:

Running Scared, the biography of Steve Wynn by John L. Smith is back on press for a third printing of the trade edition published by Four Walls Eight Windows. This month a Japanese translation appeared in Tokyo. Other translations are in the works.

For Hot News readers who haven’t read this controversial book that triggered eight years of legal battles, copies of the $22 cloth edition can be yours, shipped priority mail for only $12. (That’s a $14 savings!) Send check, money order or credit card number (Visa or Mastercard only) to Barricade Books, Suite 308-A, 185 Bridge Plaza North, Fort Lee, NJ 07024. Or have a credit card in hand and call Albertha O’Neill at 201 944-7600 extension #13.

Daring To Be Different:

On the death of Harry Hay at the age of 90, I mentioned that I was a charter subscriber to One and a supporter of the Mattachine Society. I don’t happen to be gay but I have always believed that consenting adults should feel free to follow their sexual preferences as long as these don’t involve children.

Syndicated radio talk show host Barry Farber sent us this amusing observation:

“Harry Hay literally invents Gay Power. He forms the first gay rights group, the Mattachine Society. Then he gets thrown out of the Mattachine Society because they discover he’s a communist. Then he gets thrown out of the Communist Party when they discover he’s gay. Poor Harry!”

Don’t Miss!

Don’t miss: An evening with Steve Ross at the Stanhope Hotel on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. Particularly if you’ve ever been to France. It’s Ross at his best. Of the foursome at our table, three were so moved that at one point they shed tears.

Don’t miss Big Fat Fake, the article about the Atkins diet by Michael Fumento in Reason magazine.

Don’t miss The Quiet American with Michael Caine. I’ve seen the stage musical of Chicago four times including once in London. I’ve seen the movie version twice. But to say that its the best film among the five Oscar contenders is silly. We reported months ago that Carole and I attended the first American screening of The Pianist in America and we loved it. But to suggest that Oscar winner Adrien Brody deserved the Oscar above Michael Caine makes Oscars seem like Barbie dolls. Incidentally, you may not find The Quiet American easily. Its release was postponed for one year after 9/11. The film wouldn’t have been released at all but for the tireless insistence of Michael Caine.

Internet Wisdom:

Making the internet rounds is a collection of 25 things you should have learned by the time you reach middle age. Here is a sampling:

1. Don’t be concerned about what people think; they don’t do it very often.

2. If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.

3. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.

4. No man has ever been shot while doing the dishes.

5. A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.

6. A conscience is what hurts when all of your other parts feel so good.

7. Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.

8. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.

9. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.

Personal Notes:

¶ Carole and I are proud grandparents again. Our youngest, Jenni, now happily married to Brad Kern, gave birth to Dylan, a 6 pound 2 ounce boy. This happened about a month ago. At the flick of an eyelash, Carole will show you the pictures.

¶ Our son, Rory, will conduct a jazz workshop in Austria this August. Coupled with that, he’ll probably arrange for jazz performances in London, Paris and Copenhagen.

¶ Sandra Lee, our eldest, resigned as editor of a group of weekly papers on Philadelphia’s main line. She’s writing promotional literature for businesses and doing some ghostwriting. The last time she ghosted a book, it got a mass market advance of $350,000, and was on the best-seller list for fourteen weeks. Don’t try to reach her today, though. She’s joining us for our annual pilgrimage to Jamaica where we’ll entertain friends for the next two weeks.

Until next time -
Lyle Stuart
lyle@barricadebooks.com