Downtown Los Angeles, circa 1983

Downtown Los Angeles, circa 1983
STMcC in downtown Los Angeles, circa 1983

Saturday, February 24, 2018

WHAT THE MANGY DOGS DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW!

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McCARTHY AND HIS ENEMIES:
The Record And Its Meaning
by William F. Buckley Jr. and L. Brent Bozell
copyright: 1954
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In a very recent email to an Amazon.com friend, I recommended McCARTHY AND HIS ENEMIES: The Record And Its Meaning by William F. Buckley Jr. and L. Brent Bozell. Then I added: “I should post a review of Buckley's book on Ammyland, too, one of these days.  But I'm always thinking: Who's gonna read it now?  Old out-of-print book about a subject that everyone thinks is dead and decided.” But the fact is that recently I DID submit a review for Roy Cohn’s excellent book, McCARTHY, and I got to thinking: If I don’t inform the public about these outstanding old books that sort out the myths and the lies of the Liberal spinmeisters from the truth and the hidden history, who will? Should I wait for Al Franken, Al Gore, or Alan Colmes to do it? It seems al be waiting a very long time if I do!
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Along with Cohn’s aforementioned title, it was the extraordinarily well-documented information in McCARTHY AND HIS ENEMIES that transformed me years ago from being just another sheep in the flock of American Sheeple (who assume that the broadly used but seldom understood pejorative catchword “McCarthyism” stands for some injurious black mark on the American psyche) into a well-informed but heartbroken fan of the most unfairly maligned and tragically heroic character in our country’s history. 
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Heartbroken? As I said to a different Pal not long ago in referring to my Amazon review of the movie Good Night, And Good Luck: “When it comes to Senator McCarthy, my heart is in a perpetually broken state.  I loathe what the powers did to him and his good name. ... It is a national disgrace that the American people don't know the true McCarthy story and have instead been brainwashed (quite literally) into believing that he was some kind of evil and a menace to American society and American principles.  He was a flawed hero, but far more heroic than flawed!”
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Before using the term “McCarthyism” (or allowing someone else to use it in your presence) you owe it to yourself to get acquainted with the facts of the case. Would you pronounce a man guilty of a crime before hearing the evidence? McCARTHY AND HIS ENEMIES will provide you with the information necessary to render a judgment either for or against the infamous Senator from Wisconsin. The book is meticulously researched and flawlessly organized, and to the best of my knowledge, remains the most comprehensive examination of McCarthy’s part in the so-called “Red Scare” that is bound between covers. [*This changed with M. Stanton Evans’ magnum opus, BLACKLISTED BY HISTORY: The Real Story Of Joseph McCarthy And His Fight Against America's Enemies. Get your nasty, politically incorrect hands on a copy!*]
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Buckley and Bozell have herein addressed nearly every one of the oft repeated liberal complaints against McCarthy: unsubstantiated accusations; “smearing” innocent people; publicizing his charges; hiding behind Congressional immunity; impugning the loyalty of his critics; and even the assertion that “McCarthyism” represented some rogue “Reign of Terror” to enforce a strict conformity upon the country.
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The authors make a concerted effort to bend over backwards in making the most of the Liberal positions (e.g., in Appendix D, they state: “We have selected those of McCarthy’s characterizations that are the most derogatory, thus those that make out the strongest case for a charge that he is a reckless smearer.”) While this approach leads Buckley and Bozell to give the benefit of the doubt to the anti-McCarthyites in an instance here and an instance there (where I would not necessarily concur), I’ll state unhesitatingly that they chose the right tactic, as this invalidates the predictable bitching from the Leftists that McCARTHY AND HIS ENEMIES is a mere unfounded polemic.
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Did you know that the derisive epithet “McCARTHYISM” was coined by a man later found by the Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security to be “a conscious articulate instrument of the Soviet conspiracy”? [pg. 62] (Something you might want to consider before using it yourself or affixing too much value to it when you see it in print.) 
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Did you know that McCarthy was once blamed by a New York Rabbi for “undergarment raids” committed by college men in women’s dormitories? [pg. 308] (Give those Libs credit for fantastic imaginations that nearly match their inability to process facts and reach “reasonable” conclusions.) 
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Did you know that McCarthy made public only 9 of the 110 security risks he named before the Tydings Committee (and only because his opposition, for all intents and purposes, pressured him into it), and that during his “Reign of Terror”, the Grand Inquisitor of the 20th Century publicly accused only 46 persons of questionable loyalty or reliability? [pg. 273] According to the authors, “With the two exceptions of Drew Pearson and George Marshall, not a single person was accused by McCarthy whose loyalty could not be questioned on the basis of a most responsible reading of official records.” [pg. 277]
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I, however, do not agree with Buckley on every point: On page 313 he writes, “Impulsively, and absurdly, McCarthy denounced government sponsorship of books which follow the Communist party line.” I would suggest you wait to read Roy Cohn’s account of this episode in McCARTHY before assuming the Wisconsin Senator’s stance was “absurd.”
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In chapter XII, Buckley over intellectualizes and renders unnecessarily convoluted the arriving at an acceptable definition of a “loyalty risk.” The plain truth of the matter is that the USA was designed as a Constitutional Republic, and the Constitution proclaims itself to be “the supreme law of the land.” (Article VI) Our elected leaders are sworn to uphold and protect our Constitution, and therefore, anyone who undermines, or enables another individual to undermine, the clear intent of the Constitution and/or our constitutional republican form of government is a “loyalty risk.” (And, yes, the Constitution IS clear; only judicial activists -- usually Socialists / Communists -- muddy its meaning.)
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And in Appendix F, Buckley explains why he believes that McCarthy deserved to be criticized for his imputation of treasonable motives to George Marshall’s policies regarding China. While Buckley concedes that Marshall probably deserves the title of “America’s most disastrous general”, he is willing to attribute his inordinate number of major foreign policy blunders (17) to “irrationality”. And yet, in citing Dorothy Kenyon’s involvement with 28 Communist front organizations, Buckley infers that her loyalty status was at least suspect. Sorry, Buckley Boy, but you can’t have it both ways. I tend to agree with McCarthy: “If Marshall were merely stupid, the laws of probability would dictate that part of his decisions would serve his country’s interest.”
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Nevertheless, McCARTHY AND HIS ENEMIES is profound; a remarkably well-researched and revealing study to which I give my highest recommendation. Roy Cohn’s 'McCARTHY' might be a better starting point for the neophyte student of “McCarthyism” as it is more personal and therefore more accessible. This book, being primarily a recitation of cold, hard evidence, may seem a bit “dry” to the uninitiated, but once your interest in the subject is whetted, I’m sure you’ll devour every fascinating fact with the same relish that I did. (For a brief but accurate overview of the subject, click HERE.)
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“McCARTHYISM”: Communist propaganda term or a scandalous period on a formerly great country’s record? Examine the evidence for yourself and render your verdict. While the uninformed may think that this is all just ancient history, I tell you this: The Communist threat is NOT dead, only the vilified Wisconsin Senator is.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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Tuesday, February 20, 2018

BAH, HUMBUG!

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THE ORION PROPHECY
by Patrick Geryl
published: 2001
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Hi, it's me again! I've just finished reading (all that I intend to read of) THE ORION PROPHECY by Patrick Geryl.

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Now, I certainly never thought of myself as a genius, but evidently I'm a bigger maroon than I ever suspected because, frankly, by page 28, I was hopelessly lost and didn't have CLUE ONE what the author was "doing somersaults" about! It seems he had just "indisputably" proven something, but I had no idea what that was, let alone what proved it!
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You see, the author's writing style struck me as being convoluted, and when you're trying to explain complex theories such as this to the common layman (especially THIS ONE, whose math skills are south of deplorable), you had better write crystal clearly. Unfortunately, our author was not up to the task. He might thoroughly understand his subject, but he would have been better served by finding someone else to explain it to us.

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Almost from the beginning, I felt as though I had entered a theater in the middle of the second act of a three act play. After page 57, I was skimming because I had realized that actually comprehending this book was beyond my capabilities. All that I knew for certain was that, based on the translation of the Egyptian 'Zodiac Of Dendera' hieroglyphs (which I was expected to assume had been correctly deciphered), and a series of intricate computations, "THE EARTH WILL BE DESTROYED ON 21-22 DECEMBER, 2012". Forget proving it to me; I'll just take the author's word for it. My brain hurts and my ego is bruised!
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I don't mean to imply that I was unable to relate to ANYTHING that Mr. Geryl had written: On page 73, while postulating on the Age Of Aquarius, he wrote, "In the musical HAIR they sing the praises of it..." I could relate to that because as a kid in the early 1970s, I owned that Broadway musical soundtrack and played it often (although I now hate to admit that!) On page 186, he states that "2,664 - 2,627 = 37". I fetched a pencil, a piece of paper, and a large pink eraser, and I tested it, and sure enough, he was exactly right. I was now a big believer... in THAT! Also, on page 207, he wrote, "Dogs started barking and howling..." and I could relate to that too, because one of my neighbors has a canine friend who keeps it up all day long!
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But what I found most interesting was this tidbit from Room 222-- er... I mean, PAGE 222: "It's about 24,000 miles around the earth at the equator. Since the earth makes a complete revolution every 24 hours, that means we travel 24,000 miles every 24 hours. Divide 24 hours into 24,000 miles, and you'll come to the shocking realization that we are whirling around the global axis at about 1,000 miles an hour."

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Wow!! I had never thought about it in that way before! Boy, that really puts the INDY 500 in a new and disappointing perspective for you, doesn't it? Of course, I question whether it was really worth $11.87 for me to gain this new perspective.
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True, I am being a real MENSA-donkey [smart-ass] in this review, when in fact, this book may contain brilliant theories and rock-solid science. I don't doubt that it MAY be authentic and over my head (kinda like my cowboy hat). I'd love to have it explained to me... more carefully (and with smaller numbers). Meanwhile, I'll assume that the author really knows his stuff, and I just won't plan on doing any Christmas shopping in 2012.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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Monday, February 12, 2018

ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD

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AMERICAN GARAGE
Pat Metheny Group
released: 1979
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I spent some time in a particular record shop in Los Angeles as a twenty-something. In 1984, I kept examining a 2-disc live Jazz set called 'TRAVELS' because something about the album cover really intrigued me. One day, I finally broke down and purchased it even though I'd never heard of THE PAT METHENY GROUP. Every once in awhile you roll the dice and win big. Since then, Pat Metheny has enriched my life like no other musician!
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It wasn't long before I discovered that some purely magical quality [I still don't know what it is!] about his compositions made them conducive to stress-free driving and seemingly transformed life seen through the windshield into some kind of imaginary movie. Oddly, everything one sees seems to be the ideal visual accompaniment to the music that is playing at all times. (I'll never forget listening to 'TRAVELS' through headphones while traveling by locomotive through the deep woods between Fort Bragg and Willits, California. It was a nearly mystical experience!)
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After awhile I acquired other P.M.G. recordings like his elaborately textured, Brazilian-accented sets 'THE FIRST CIRCLE', and 'STILL LIFE (TALKING)', and 'LETTER FROM HOME' (my favorites) and found that I could put any one of them into my car's compact disc player and let it repeat for -- LITERALLY -- a month or more without ever tiring of it.
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Because Metheny's sound DID gain a deeper and richer resonance over the years and because I never owned 'AMERICAN GARAGE' on LP, I didn't realize that this disc was poorly mastered, as several other reviewers have pointed out. But it's true: the sound has a pronounced high-end jangling to it, and while it won't entirely infringe on your listening pleasure, it does leave something to be desired. (Like a little bass perhaps!)
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The first two tracks, (CROSS THE) HEARTLAND and AIRSTREAM, are great open road pieces, evoking images of corn and wheat fields seen flashing by at 65 miles an hour from the interstate, and the titles indicate that, early on, Metheny realized that his music inherently expresses a sense of motion.

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THE SEARCH features some very delicate and pretty piano work from Metheny's longtime musical collaborator, Lyle Mays. The title track, AMERICAN GARAGE, shows the Group in a revved up mood and employing some distinct Gospel inflections. This is closer to Rock than Jazz. And although I do enjoy THE EPIC -- aptly titled at 13 minutes -- it tends to meander just a bit. The whole album times out at just under 36 minutes -- about half of the musical content found on most of Metheny's later releases.
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'AMERICAN GARAGE' would be worth having if just for that great album cover: The deep blue, cloud-kissed sky and soft Autumn light reflecting off of an Airstream dealership. (Are you old enough to remember those large silver bullets being pulled all across the heartland? And the yearning to travel the countryside that they instilled in the mind?) Even so, I would have to place 'AMERICAN GARAGE' into Metheny's Second Tier of music. In my subjective opinion, the "Metheny Must-Haves" are the aforementioned titles, plus 'SECRET STORY'. If you dig those, then you may want to explore this disc, also 'WE LIVE HERE' (in which his trademark guitar-synthesizer finds a funky groove thang), '80/81' (for more traditional and improvisational Jazz), and 'BEYOND THE MISSOURI SKY' with Charlie Haden (for those late night / early morning super-mellow hours at home).
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[*WARNING: Make sure you've already heard what you're buying if it is labeled "Pat Metheny" without his "Group." I don't necessarily like every album he's produced, even with the "Group", but a few of his solo projects are nothing more than "experiments" in dissonance!]
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Just as a dog has never really experienced a walk until it has ditched its leash, you, my friend, have never really experienced a "road trip" until you've traveled with the Pat Metheny Group. If Stephen T. McCarthy is driving, you can be sure that Pat is playing!
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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Monday, February 5, 2018

H-ARK! THE HERALD ANGELS' WINGS!

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IN SEARCH OF THE LOST ARK OF THE COVENANT
by Robert Cornuke and David Halbrook
published: 2002
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I was just poking around in a little Christian bookshop at Lake Arrowhead Village in August of 2001, when I happened upon Robert Cornuke's IN SEARCH OF THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD. I was intrigued by the photos right away and bought it. I've now read 4 of Cornuke's books in 4 years. Not too bad for a dude who turns his nose up at the Indiana Jones movie series!
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Ol' Cornuke really accumulates those "frequent flyer" credits. He's traipsed all over the world in search of archeological evidence supporting the historicity of The Holy Bible: Egypt and Saudi Arabia in search of the real Mount Sinai; Turkey in search of Noah's ark; Malta, seeking signs of the lost shipwreck of Saint Paul; and Africa, looking for the mysteriously missing Holy Ark Of The Jewish Covenant. Man, by now Ol' Cornuke's dogs must be really barking! OK, so what if he has to soak his feet in Epsom salts from time to time -- what a cool ride he's taken us on, eh?
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I'll confess that I wasn't overly impressed with the first half of IN SEARCH OF THE LOST ARK OF THE COVENANT, as it chronicled the legend of the Ark's removal to Ethiopia from ancient Jerusalem (which I was already somewhat familiar with) and Cornuke's first excursion into Africa in search of answers. It was in the second half of the book, as the archeology of Bible passages turned up clues, that I really got sucked into the story.
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This is not surprising, as I am really fascinated by Bible study. I consider the Holy Book to be the cosmic crossword puzzle -- an exciting source of mystery which, for the person willing to deeply study and contemplate it, slowly unveils far-reaching answers to Man's most urgent questions.
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One thought that leads me to believe that the Ark still exists somewhere is that there is no written record of an invading army capturing it from the Jews and removing it from their Temple. The Ark would have been a prestigious prize for an enemy to boast of possessing -- certainly the world's most noteworthy booty at least until KC And The Sunshine Band came into prominence in 1975 and '76. To my knowledge, no ownership claim was ever made by another nation. And if the Ark does still exist, Ethiopia must certainly be considered the most likely location, for reasons outlined in Cornuke's book.
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An Ethiopian man named Haile, serving as an official government museum curator, gives Cornuke a firsthand account of the Ark's appearance after he and two companions stole a peek at it. According to Haile, all three of them were immediately knocked to the ground by an unseen force. The other two died shortly thereafter, and Haile was quickly losing his eyesight. I found this interesting in that it seems to closely parallel the experience of the soldiers who, in trying to impose their will on Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, were unexplainably knocked to the ground. (See John 18:3-9) And yet, at the same time, I find this curious because, considering that the Life, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus supplanted any other representation of God in the physical world, I would expect the Ark, if it still exists, to now be devoid of any mysterious power, and serving merely as a symbol. I don't know what to make of Haile's account... if it is truthful.
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The most original idea put forth in Cornuke's book is that the "Mercy Seat" -- the gold covering with its cherubim (angels) and their downward sloping, outstretched wings that sit atop the Ark -- will actually serve as the Throne for Jesus when it is brought back to Jerusalem at His return. That's a pretty wild concept, to be sure, but read the book, and you'll see that it actually does have some merit. A very intriguing theory worth considering!
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If, like me, you really enjoy exploring the intricacies of The Bible in search of its greatest nuance, you will undoubtedly find IN SEARCH OF THE LOST ARK OF THE COVENANT well worth reading. If deep Bible study does not particularly interest you, you probably won't make it to the end of the book. Either way, I recommend starting with Cornuke's best book, IN SEARCH OF THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD, then read THE LOST SHIPWRECK OF PAUL, and finally, this one. I suggest skipping IN SEARCH OF THE LOST MOUNTAINS OF NOAH altogether.
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So, do I really believe that the ancient Holy Ark of The Covenant resides in the Chapel Of St. Mary Of Zion in Axum? I'd say that there's a very strong possibilty of that. I don't know that I'd go so far as to bet my life on it, but I'm fairly certain that I'd be willing to bet YOURS!
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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