"Wow..."
Posted on 10/26/2007 8:20:18 PM PDT by Former Military Chick
One night in 1973, I was sitting in an old armchair my parents had cast off in a little tiny house I was renting in Georgetown, D.C. Maybe I shouldn't say "cast off." They generously gave it to me. I lived in that little house with my girlfriend Pat. We had very little money and lived very modestly. But Pat had gone to bed and I was up reading John Gregory Dunne's great novel, Vegas: A Memoir of a Dark Season. Or maybe it's a memoir and not a novel, but I think it's a novel.
But anyway, the phone rang. It was Bob Tyrrell. He wanted me to write for The Alternative. I had never heard of it. He wanted me to write movie reviews. He said he had read my op-ed pieces in the Wall Street Journal and the N.Y. Times and liked them. But he also said he thought that since my mother and father were so smart, I would probably be smart, too.
My recollection is that he offered to pay me $40 per column. I accepted.
- - -
Now, it is 34 years later. I have been with The Alternative, now called The American Spectator, all of that time.
The Spectator and Bob have been incredibly good to me. They published my diary for the last twenty years or so. They put Wlady in my life, an astounding gift. Wlady has been the author of some of the best advice I have ever gotten. In 1994, I asked him if I should fly coach or first class to Ireland to be an expert witness in a trial. "What kind of expert witness flies coach?" he asked, and from then on it was always first class to Ireland.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
"Wow..."
Giggled silly at the image of Tyrell shoveling spadeful after spadeful on the coffin....
When did he meet Al Franken?
Ben Stein is a great American who has probably gotten loads of grief for standing conservative among a near-total liberal Democrat social strata (not to mention the publishing and Hollywood environments). I wish those who feel free to label me a racist nativist knew how much I admire folks like Ben, Thomas Sowell and everyone else brave enough to speak up for truth rather than kowtow to the PC/plantation line their respective minority groups try to shove down their throats. They’re courage is truly inspiring while their intelligence proves that learning is the only real path to emancipation.
There was nothing better than Ben’s columns in the tabloid Spectator (was it a fortnightly?), when he wrote month after month about the joys of being a father to his son. Not tearjerker stuff, but simple, straight-ahead, and definitely feel good stuff that cut right through the cynicism of politics.
I might take a pass on the scandal of the month, but Ben kept me loyal for a very long time.
After giving money to Franken, I cannot believe he is serious about his positions. If he was serious, he would not be able to finance someone who would destroy everything he stands for!
I believe Stein to be a liar at this point.
A couple of days ago there was another forum on FR about
Ben Stein and his donation to Al Franken. Perhaps this story will explain how that is possible. Ben is nothing if not loyal to his friends, and Ben is a big enough man to befriend Al Franken without sacrificing his principles.
“Ben give’s an amazing tribute to a friend. We should be so lucky. A friendship that continues after 34 years, bravo.”
That still doesn’t explain his support for Al Franken. I mean, Ben come on, WTF man...
I would agree.
Beuller..... Bueller
What are you talking about?
Stein claims to be a conservative but gave $2,000 to the Al Franken for Senate campaign! He claims he did it because Al is a “Friend.” But, Al stands for EXACTLY the opposite of EVERYTHING that Stein claims he stands for. So, that begs the questions: If Stein will give thousands of dollars to someone who would go out of his way to destroy everything Stein believes in.... HOW much can Stein REALLY believe in any of what he claims to believe in?
The old broadsheet edition of The American Spectator was a long-time reading companion
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/555138/posts
The Life and Death of the American Spectator
The Atlantic Monthly ^ | November, 2001 | Byron York
which introduced me to two of my favorite writers- Ben, and Mark Steyn.
” HOW much can Stein REALLY believe in any of what he claims to believe in?”
“Al, we have been friends for a long time. I know you are going to get your clock cleaned and you know that I think your whack job friends are lunatics out to destroy this country. But since we are friends and you asked, here’s 2 large. Good luck.”
Stein: “Well, Al, you are a friend, so I can excuse your attempts to destroy every principle I hold dear. After all, I like you so my principles are in second place. Here’s 2K to help you destroy what I stand for.”
No, Mr. Stein. If you are going to try and convince me that you hold your principles dear, it doesn’t work. It just doesn’t work.
2grand as a gesture to a friend is admirable. I doubt Franken would have done the same thing if the tables were turned, but you never know.
Is it admirable to assist in the destruction of things you claim are fast held principles?
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