(no subject)

[spatch]

The AP is reporting that Jeanne Kirkpatrick, the first woman U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has died at 80.

And my first reaction, swear to God, was "Bill The Cat must be crushed."

Sure, I've previously eulogized Caspar Weinberger with Opus' tender ode, but this kinda just hammers the point home to me. I can now face facts and admit that everything I know about US foreign policy in the 1980s I learned from Berke Breathed.

Comments

[babs-the-nymph.livejournal.com]

Holy crap on a stick, that was my first thought too.

I'm now supplanting my knowledge of politics in the 80s with the book "A Generation of Swine" by Hunter S. Thompson. I think he thankfully killed himself before Reagan was hailed as a hero while he was buried with full honors, although I'm sure he came back from the grave just to shoot himself again.

You know how some people are fully disgusted with the Bush administration? That's mild compared how Thompson felt about Reagan's party of swilling pigs.

[spatch]

I'll have to grab that at some point. The best collection of political writings I've ever read was Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. Most of '72 deals with the Democratic primary, including Ed Muskie's "Sunshine Special" whistle-stop tour and his on-camera meltdown, but there's a great deal to do with "the incumbent." Thompson may have hated Reagan (and honestly, the Reagan canonization had already begun before HST's suicide) but he outright loathed Nixon -- and was surprised when he found himself engaged in a friendly discussion with Nixon about football, of all things.

Amazing stuff.

[babs-the-nymph.livejournal.com]

Yup, read that. There's a funny bit in "Generation of Swine" where Thompson dons a t-shirt with a picture of Nixon that encourages a comeback.

The bit about him discussing football with Nixon really got me too. Can you imagine Bush having a chat with someone like Thompson? It wouldn't happen in a million years.