Passing

On Kennedy, Andropov, and KAL 007

2009-09-03
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Over the last week-and-a-half I’ve gotten an overwhelming number of inquiries relating to the death of Senator Ted Kennedy. Why me? Because of my report back in 2006 of Kennedy’s confidential offer to Soviet General Secretary Yuri Andropov. That offer was evident in a fascinating May 14, 1983 memo written by KGB head Victor...

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Joan Clark, a 20th Century Life

2009-04-30
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Every American, obviously, has heard of Ronald Reagan, and Reagan historians have heard of Bill Clark. Clark was Reagan’s close aide, who, more than any other, laid the foundation for Cold War victory. Few historians, however, knew a 20th century figure named Joan Clark, who survived communism—and the Nazis—and joined Bill Clark as wife...

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John Updike and Me

2009-02-09
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John Updike and Me

I first encountered John Updike through his Roger’s Version, a cosmological and theological treatise disguised as a porno novel.  Updike, as he admitted in Roger’s Version, is really a Marcionite Heretic. This ancient heresy, most recently advanced by the German theologian Karl Barth, holds that God is wholly other, completely unapproachable by reason: theology...

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The Prisoner actor Patrick McGoohan meets “Number One”

2009-01-16
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“Who is Number One?” was the flatly intoned question actor Patrick McGoohan posed during the opening credits of the 1960s cult British television series, The Prisoner. The two-time Emmy Award-winning American-born actor has died at the Saint John’s Health Center, Santa Monica, California. He died on January 13, following a short illness at the...

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American author Michael Crichton dies at age 66

2008-11-05
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American author and producer Michael Crichton has died at the age of 66, according to a statement released by his family. According to Entertainment Tonight, Crichton died after a long and quiet battle with cancer. His family said that his death was “unexpected”. “While the world knew him as a great storyteller that challenged...

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DNA tests confirm bones found are Steve Fossett’s

2008-11-04
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According to California’s Madera County Sheriff’s office, DNA tests performed on bones found at the site of a plane crash in October, are confirmed to be those of adventurer Steve Fossett. The last known whereabouts of Fossett was on September 3, 2007. He had taken a small plane from a ranch in Minden, Nevada...

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American prize-winning author Studs Terkel dead at 96

2008-11-01
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Studs Terkel, an Amercian historian, radio talk show host and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, has died at the age of 96. His son, Dan Terkel, said he died peacefully in his Chicago, Illinois home. “My dad led a long, full, eventful, sometimes tempestuous, but very satisfying life. peaceful, no agony. This is...

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US Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones dies at age 58

2008-08-21
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United States congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, representing Cleveland, Ohio died on August 20, 2008 following a brain aneurysm. Jones was observed by police driving erratically on the evening of August 19, 2008. When police approached her car, they found her unresponsive. She was rushed to Huron Hospital in East Cleveland, where she remained overnight....

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Tony Snow: A Gentleman and Conservative Warrior

2008-07-14
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This past year has been a saddening one for many conservatives, who lost William F. Buckley, Jr. in February and then United States Senator Jesse Helms earlier this month, on Independence Day. The former was, in many respects, the founder of modern conservatism and its most articulate voice for over four decades. The latter...

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Compassionate release for Susan Atkins-Whitehouse?

2008-07-05
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Susan Atkins is a murderer notorious for her participation in the cruel slayings committed at the Sharon Tate residence on August 6, 1969. She has been in prison almost four decades. Her name is Susan Atkins-Whitehouse because she is married to attorney James Whitehouse. Atkins-Whitehouse is dying from an inoperable brain tumor. She is...

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Tim Russert and Fatherhood: A Father’s Day Tribute

Tim Russert, internationally respected political analyst and moderator of NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press,’ died unexpectedly and prematurely at age 58 on Friday the thirteenth of June 2008 — the day preceding the Father’s Day weekend — at work.  Russert likely best will be remembered as the longest-running host of one of television’s most...

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Tim Russert, NBC News “Meet the Press” moderator dies at age 58

2008-06-13
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NBC News’ Washington bureau chief and the moderator of Meet the Press Tim Russert has died after a sudden heart attack at NBC’s Washington news bureau. He was recording voiceovers for Meet the Press when he collapsed. Russert and his family had recently returned from Italy after celebrating his son Luke’s graduation from Boston...

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