November 18, 2011
BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND
The news as I see it and the views as I want them.
November 18 is … Occult Day
My annual occult conference is coming up. I will be away from my computer until Thanksgiving. Have safe travels as you traverse the hills and dells on the way to grandma’a house. See you on Thanksgiving morning.
Bill O’Reilly bloviates all the time about how others are constantly wrong or have their facts wrong. It appears O’Reilly does not practice what he preaches. Bill O'Reilly is no stranger to controversy. This time, though, his new book is the focus of intense criticism. As Salon's Justin Elliott first reported, "Killing Lincoln", which he co-authored with Martin Dugard, is riddled with factual inaccuracies. The National Park Service outed the mistakes in a recent review and recommended that Ford's Theater bookstores not sell the book. One of the bookstores banned, while the other continues to sell it.
In one instance, the book claims Ford's Theatre was burned down in 1863 when it was actually destroyed in the end of 1862. The book contains multiple references to Lincoln in the Oval Office, which wasn't built until decades after his death. It also includes the line "He furls his brow"; furl is a nautical term, the correct word is furrows.
Despite being second on the New York Times' bestseller list, "Killing Lincoln" has taken heat from a slew of critics. Christian Science Monitor's Jackie Hogan chastises the book for covering up negative aspects of Lincoln's presidency in favor of a good story. As she puts it, "style and image often take precedence over evidence and substance." She also calls the book "sensationalized, suggestive, and overly simplistic." Noted historian Eric Foner told the Washington Post that, “I would not be surprised if there were historical errors as [O’Reilly] is better known as a TV polemicist than as a scholar."
In September, O'Reilly told Fox and Friends that he didn't want to write just another "boring history book." Mission accomplished, then.
Keep bloviating, Bill.
The real bloviating on Wednesday took place at a parole hearing for Charles Manson follower Tex Watson. The self-described right-hand man of cult leader Charles Manson, who was convicted of orchestrating the Tate-LaBianca slayings 42 years ago, has his latest parole hearing scheduled Wednesday in a California prison.
Charles "Tex" Watson, 65, has been denied parole 13 times but will try again during a hearing at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, in the Sierra foothills 50 miles southeast of Sacramento. Four relatives of Watson's victims plan to ask that his parole be denied for killing actress Sharon Tate, who was eight months pregnant, and four others at her Beverly Hills home on Aug. 9, 1969. The next night, he helped kill grocery owners Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.
"There's no question these were some of the most horrific crimes in California history in terms of the brutality, the multiple stab wounds, the gunshots, the large number of victims over a two-day period," said Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Patrick Sequeira. "For a group of people to just slaughter strangers in hopes of igniting a race war is extremely horrifying."
Watson's attorney, Cheryl Montgomery, did not return repeated telephone messages from the news media. What could she say that has not been said or that will not upset law abiding citizens. If someone wants Tex Watson paroled, they better be willing to give him a place in their home to live and a job to make a living.
The website says he was raised in Copeville, Texas, north of Dallas, and headed to California in 1967 after dropping out of college. A brief biographical sketch on the site said Watson believed Manson "offered utopia, but in reality, he had a destructive world view, which Charles ended up believing in and acting upon. His participation in the 1969 Manson murders is a part of history that he deeply regrets."
A book he wrote while in prison is titled, "Manson's Right-Hand Man Speaks Out!" In the past, Watson has argued that he is a changed man who has been a model prisoner and no longer is a danger to the public.
He did not attend his last parole hearing in 2006 but was portrayed in a psychiatric evaluation at the time as "a very devout fundamentalist Christian ... a young, naive and gullible man (who) got into drugs and bizarre company without appreciating the deviance of the company he was keeping."
Watson was denied parole by the two member parole board that heard his request through the routine parole system.
Just a couple of thoughts I had and you should too or at least think about.
BRUCE A. BRENNAN
DEKALB, IL 60115
COPYRIGHT 2011
VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.
Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com
Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book should be available later this year, in late 2011. More information will be forthcoming.
www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)
www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search.
Book Titles:
Holmes the Ripper
A Revengeful Mix of Short Fiction
"Never go to excess, but let moderation be your guide." - Cicero
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