a world of laughter a world of tears

A World of Laughter, A World of Tears

1952 All of this effort on the part of Eisenhower's campaign came to a disappointing end one month before the beginning of the [1952 Republican] convention. The General suffered a minor heart attack while campaigning in Detroit, MI. While the episode never put his life in immediate danger, pre-existing questions regarding his health could not be easily swept under the table anymore. Instead, following the advice of his physicians, General Eisenhower bowed out of the campaign one week before the convention itself, but without pledging his delegates to either Taft or Dewey, his two nearest competitors. Dewey was barely up for consideration by the movers and shakers in the party: Having shown himself unable to beat an unpopular president previously, he was seen as damaged goods. Taft, while a more sympathetic character, lacked the essential charisma for the new media environment. Also, his anticommunist credentials were not considered powerful enough for the McCarthyite faction.

Eisenhower attended the convention with all of his delegates uncommitted. This threw the GOP into turmoil. After three ballots, it looked like the tide was turning towards Earl Warren, Governor of California. Eisenhower's political differences with Warren made this state of affairs unacceptable to the General. Calling together some of the most influential men in the party behind closed doors, he informed them that he was open to suggestions.

-From Supreme Commander: A Life Of General Dwight David Eisenhower, McGraw-Hill, 1973

Fact is, I wasn't even supposed to be there. I had paperwork to go through for the Committee, and the Senator knew how to crack the whip. But he also knew an opening when he saw it.

"Here's what I want you to do, Roy," he said. "Now, that son of a bitch Ike can't be seen with me after his Green Bay speech, since those boys at the Times got a hold of what he wanted to say about my crusade. But that's fine. What I want you to do is go as my personal representative. Let 'em know that Tailgunner Joe is there in spirit," He winked there. He always did that before he pulled me in close, like he was telling me a secret. "Let 'em know that I still hold the cards at this table." The fumes on his breath nearly made me drunk, but I got the message.

That's how I got to meet the general. I have to admit, even after the run-ins we had with him years later, and even though he was just out of the hospital, he was an impressive man...gravitas. That's the word I want. He sat there at the head of the table, surrounded by people whose names I'm not at liberty to reveal almost thirty years later. I'll say this much: If a bomb had gone off in that room, then the GOP would have gone out of existence as a party.

Other than the stakes we were playing for, it was like any other political get-together back then. Cigars were passed around, Cuban, and plenty of whiskey. The typical assortment of dirty jokes and fishing lies that we'd all heard dozens of times. Then business: Taft's people didn't want Dewey, and Dewey's people didn't want Taft. Neither wanted Warren. After some

shouting, we all came to the conclusion that we needed someone new. Well, they came to that conclusion. I sat near the end of the table and recorded my observations.

Someone saw me writing, and asked me to start taking notes. Well, I figured, why not? I didn't have anything to say for once, and I figured there were worse things than playing secretary to my political future. They came up with the ideal candidate: An outsider, like the General, either from the world of the military or business. Strong anti-communist...a well-placed glance from me to one of our allies in the room put that at the top of the list. Well-known. Successful. Able to reach out to a major audience on television as well as radio. Smart as a whip. Already popular.

"Walt Disney," one man joked.

Now, a lot of people have tried to take credit for that joke over the years, and most of 'em weren't at that meeting. I don't remember who it was, and even though I know what the reds in the press have said about me, Mrs. Cohn's little boy isn't enough of a liar to take credit, either.

So it was just a joke at first. But if you've ever been in a meeting like that, sometimes someone'll make a joke like that just to test the waters. Then it picks up steam, and after a while, people are discussing the ins and outs of it. Me? Hell, he'd testified before HUAC as a friendly witness, and named names. Not a touch of pink on Walt. Joe was going to be like a pig in slop. They all went back and forth. You could see Dewey's lobbyists giving in, then Taft's people slowly backing down as the tide turned pretty obviously. Finally, there was a knocking sound. Made me jump. We all looked up to the head of the table, where the General was rapping on the wood.

"Make the call," he said.

-Retired Senator Roy Cohn (R-N.Y.), quoted in Magic Kingdom: America in the 50s, by Studs Terkel

"It was...interesting."

Ward Kimball leans back in his chair, fingers steepled, as he looks to the ceiling as if the memories are playing across its stucco surface. Railroad ephemera surround him, along with several of his more famous creations. By the tone of the man's voice, you'd think that he was speaking of a movie he'd seen once, or a pleasant song he'd heard, perhaps one he'd played on the trombone in the corner. But no, this is Ward Kimball, one of Walt Disney's famous "Nine Old Men" animation team, and a witness to a pivotal moment in history.

"Walt and I were outside the studio," he says, his brow furrowing. "He could be a bear at times, and sugar sweet at others. I'd managed to get him on a good day. He was having a cigarette, and we were talking trains. He'd been going on about the ideas for the park for years, and was explaining in detail about how he planned to have a train running all the way around it. That's when a messenger popped up out of nowhere with a telegram. Walt took it, I tipped the boy. I never saw Disney as confused as he was on that day. He read it and scowled.

"'Walk with me to the office, Ward, someone's playing a damned joke.' he said. What could I do? We went to his office. He picked up the phone and asked for a Chicago extension. He talked for a while...I wasn't really listening; instead I was glancing at some doodles of Mickey he was doing while he talked. Finally he looked up at me. I knew that look, and skedaddled out of the office to the waiting room. He walked out a few minutes later. Never seen the man

quite that shook up.

"Walt walked over, shaking his head, and clapped me on the shoulder like he needed me to steady him.

"'Well, Ward,' he said after a bit.’Looks like I've got a new job offer.'"

-"Ward Kimball's World Of Whimsy", Animation Age Magazine, v.1 issue 9

"And so, my fellow Americans, I urge us to look neither solely to the future nor the past, but rather to find the best in our own spirit, and to determine with God's good will what we shall take with us on this distinctly American journey. From the past, we have the frontier spirit. From our own minds and hearts, we have the gift of fantasy and imagination to create our own destiny. And with these American traits, we shall build the world of tomorrow upon these shores, until every city is a shining example of democracy, every town a community where god-fearing citizens may live in peace and prosperity, every street the Main Street where industrious merchants may sell their wares unimpeded by the corruption of those who claim to represent their workers, or the heavy burdens of an onerous government.

"In the eternal struggle for justice and freedom in America, towards a more perfect union, we have but one goal that unites us in brotherhood: To make this nation not only great, for great it is, but to create in our land the happiest place on Earth."

-Excerpt from Walter E. Disney's speech accepting the Republican nomination for President.

STEVENSON GRABS DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION, SLAMS GOP PICK

CHICAGO-Gathered in the same city where their political rivals met only a few weeks ago, delegates of the Democratic party listened as their nominee Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois took the opportunity to denounce the Republican Party for their nomination of famed businessman, artist, and entrepreneur Walt E. Disney as their standard-bearer.

"We stand today at a crucial moment in our nation's history," the nominee stated in his acceptance speech. "We face domestic uncertainty as we attempt to secure rights for Americans as a whole without trampling upon the rights of Americans as individuals. On foreign shores, a nation claiming devotion to the rights of workers instead turns to dreams of empire. In Korea, our brave soldiers and sailors fight and die in the name of keeping the world safe for democracy, and not allowing a continent to fall to the madness of a few.

"At this time, in this moment, when the nation cries out for serious leadership, who did our colleagues in the Republican party nominate? Was it a general who could lead us to victory abroad while ensuring domestic security? It was not. Was it a statesman skilled in diplomacy and the workings of Washington? It was not. Was it a man who could stand atop the tide of history, guiding us towards greatness? It was not.

"To the American people, I say this.

"You asked for wisdom, and you were given glib charm.

"You asked for leadership, and you were given a nickel show.

"You asked for strength, and you were given a cheap joke.

"You asked for a man to represent America, and you were given Mickey Mouse.

While Governor Stevenson's speech received a positive response, there have been questions regarding the party's ability to adapt to what many observers are calling a "curveball of a candidate".....

-Associated Press bulletin, 8/26/52

CONFIDENTIAL

ANIMATION DEPARTMENT TO BEGIN WORK ON PATRIOTIC SHORTS FEATURING MICKEY, DONALD, GOOFY, AND ENTIRE STABLE OF CHARACTERS ASAP. MARRY THE DAMNED MOUSE AND THE FLAG. WALT MAY NOT BE RUNNING THINGS AROUND HERE FOR NOW, BUT WE'RE NOT LETTING THE BASTARDS SLAM HIM AND MICKEY AT THE SAME TIME. DESTROY AFTER READING, DO NOT REDISTRIBUTE.

ROY O. DISNEY

-Internal memo of Disney Corporation, August, 1952

Further proof of the capitalist tendency towards corruption of the political system can be seen by the American Presidential election of 1952. Anti-union businessman Walt Disney ran against Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois. After accepting the nomination of his slightly less odious political organization, Stevenson commented that a man known best for creating a cartoon mouse was hardly qualified to lead such a powerful nation. Rather than respond directly to these accusations, Disney exploited his workers to create fascist propaganda, which he then placed in every movie theater in the country. Also, his financial influence over the news media was enormous, and he leveraged this influence to undermine the independence of editorial pages across the country, and slant supposedly "objective" news coverage in a manner favorable to him.

-University essay by "Laura B.", recovered from her psychiatric file in 1980 during a class-action suit against the government on behalf of hundreds of former college students committed to asylums under the 1960s mental hygiene acts. DISNEY MAKES ANOTHER ELEPHANT FLY - GOP Surges In Polls.

-New York Daily News Headline, 9/13/52

"While we would be loath to accuse Mr. Disney of using his influence over the corporation he founded to promote his own candidacy, the recent spate of Disney cartoon shorts promoting patriotic ideals do come close on the heels of Mr. Stevenson's mockery of his opponent's credentials."

-Sacramento Bee editorial, 9/15/52

The month of October was make-or-break time for the Stevenson campaign. With Walt Disney ahead in the polls, and Vice-Presidential candidate Everett Dirksen effectively neutralizing many of the experience arguments put forth by the Stevenson camp, the Democrats decided on a bold strategy: Convinced that Disney's California lead was weaker than the newspapers were predicting, Stevenson made a mad dash along the Golden State, giving speeches during a grueling week at the from the third of October through the tenth. Political observers of the time saw this as a useless gesture, a crazed attempt at gaining

media attention against his more charismatic and folksy opponent.

Despite the naysayers, Stevenson's plan seemed to work. While he was still far behind in the rural areas of the Central Valley, and the conservative Orange County, highly populated urban centers such as Los Angeles and San Francisco flocked out to hear his speeches. Even the conservative Los Angeles Times under the stewardship of the Chandler family gave grudging acknowledgment of the effectiveness of Stevenson's Hail Mary pass.

However, Stevenson's campaign didn't account for the effectiveness and adaptability of the Disney organization. Far more than the GOP itself, Disney's people took all of the imagination and marketing genius that they had originally dedicated to the benefit of the company, and focused it towards the election of a single candidate.

When Governor Stevenson returned to California later in the month for another round of campaign stops, it was already too late. Every scheduled campaign stop of his from San Diego to Crescent City was suddenly in competition with a parade being held on the Main Streets of towns across the state. Promoted by newly-created "Mickey Mouse Clubs" made up of youths between the ages of 6-15, the parades combined all of the most attractive features of a carnival, a midway, a zoo, and a day watching Disney cartoons. The Democrats cried foul, to be sure, but more than one Democratic official in the state could be seen guiltily attending these events, dragged by his children insisting on a day of fun and frolic over one of dry speeches and hoarse cheers.

The local media simply ate it up. Newspapers, radio stations, and the fledgling local television stations all gave top coverage to the Disney parades, and short shrift to the comparatively dull political news of the day. In this manner, Walt Disney became the first presidential candidate of the day to effectively promote his own candidacy in a state without ever mentioning a word about politics. Not that the implications were subtle: One of the most iconic photographs of the era is of an obviously uncomfortable Senator Richard Nixon smiling gamely at the camera, arms around two beaming tykes as he wears one of the recently-developed Mickey Mouse hats.

In an example of unintended success in marketing, the Mickey Mouse Club concept soon spread far beyond the borders of California. Requests came in from children asking how to start their own chapters from Michigan, Ohio, Florida, and nearly every other state and territory in the union. Soon after that, airmail arrived from Canada, then England, then Germany....

-Magic, Mice, and Marx: The Campaign Trail, 1952, Craig Cassidy, 1994.

"It was all very patriotic and solemn when the meetings started. First we'd have the Pledge of Allegiance, then we'd sing the Star-Spangled Banner, and sometimes we'd have a prayer. I mean, of course we looked awfully silly in those hats and sweaters, but we were just kids, for gosh sakes! Then we'd sing the song, you know the one, someone in Burbank came up with it in about an hour, I learned later: "Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me....” Then we'd have some sort of game or organized sports activity, and sometimes we'd do charades or shadow puppets. And of course the talent shows, and square dances, and hayrides every so often, and every week we got to see a Mickey Mouse cartoon! I loved it. Highlight of my life, no matter what they said about it all later on."

-Former "Mouseketeer" Barbara "Babs" Lehmann quoted in Let Us Hold Our Banner High, Documentary Prize winner at the Cannes International Film Festival, 2002.

DISNEY IN LANDSLIDE: GOP Picks Up Senate and House Seats, Leadership Promises "New Day For America"

-Washington Post headline, 11/5/52

My fellow Americans,

I just received a phone call from Governor Adlai Stevenson.

(Scattered boos)

Please, please. As I was saying, I just received a phone call from Governor Stevenson in which he graciously conceded the presidential race to me...

(Loud cheering)

...and, more importantly, to you, all of you who have worked so hard and so tirelessly to re-establish on our nation's shores our values of individual liberty, the work ethic, and the constant progress towards a bright future, one that our founding fathers envisioned in which we would all have the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

For far too long, we have been held hostage to the aims of those well-meaning souls who have said that the American working man must sacrifice his hard-earned money to the whims of the bureaucracy, even if it means putting less food on the table for his family. To those who have said to the successful entrepreneur that he must be punished for his success, so that those who have not shown the same spirit, the same courage, the same ability may eat, live, and play as he does. I say, no more!

(Cheers)

A new day is dawning in America, my friends. A new day. These social experiments in which we have entangled ourselves, we have seen where they inevitably lead. We have seen it in the totalitarian empire of the Soviet Union. In the fields of China, now sadly lost to the world. And even now, we fight it on the hills and in the rice paddies of Korea, where at this very moment our fighting men are laying down their lives in service to the noble ideal of democracy and freedom.

While we shall continue to press on in the service of freedom internationally, we cannot relax our eternal vigilance at home. It has been conclusively proven in congressional hearings that fifth columnists within the United States itself have taken advantage of our system to rise to high ranks within our government. Therefore, my first order of business as your president....

(Cheers)

...my first order of business will be a thorough review of all personnel in the State Department and other governmental institutions to ensure that their loyalty to our country is unquestioned and beyond reproach. In this administration, there will be no room for the fellow-traveler, the foreign sympathizer, the dupe of alien interests.

My second order of business, once we are confident in our diplomatic security, will be to address the Korean conflict in a manner that leaves no doubt as to our moral and military superiority.

My third order of business will be to ensure the superiority and constant progress not only of our scientists and manufacturers, but also of our consumers. To that end, I am proposing tax

and other incentives to our businesses so that they will be able to provide the highest-quality goods at the lowest possible prices. I will additionally propose to congress that we select certain communities that most exemplify the American spirit as test grounds for the latest in technological wonders, to be held up as inspirations for the rest of the country

My fourth order of business involves a prodigious leap of imagination, to the heavens themselves. I propose that we accelerate our exploration of space....

-Excerpted from President-Elect Walter E. Disney's acceptance speech, delivered in Burbank, CA, 11/4/52

And so, my kids and kidettes, let's poke our ever-so-nosy noses into the house the mouse built: Exclusive! It seems that while the (head) cat's away, the mice will play! Even though big bro Walt is off to be our fearless leader, keeping us safe from the pinks and the punks, Roy boy has having a hard time casting off the shadow of the man upstairs (and we don't mean God, though some in Burbank don't see the difference!). No, instead Roy's moving ahead with Walt's big plans for some acreage down in the land of Orange, in the Nazi-lovin', beer-swillin' town of Anaheim! Think they can get the military tots in the mouse ears to build it for lollipops and Mickey's autograph? Would anyone say "boo" if they tried? Hollywood Dirt says no way, my lovelies, since that company is now connected from the bottom up! However, since the kids have to be in bed by nine, it's more likely that they'll use scab labor, with a payoff to mob boss o' bosses for L.A. Mickey Cohen to keep the unions on the QT....

-"Hollywood Dirt" column, Celebrity Secrets, December, 1952

1953 "My God...to think that this is going to be in the hands of the man who did 'Steamboat Willie'"

-Harry S Truman, 1/7/53 to an anonymous aide immediately before announcing that the United States successfully tested a Hydrogen Bomb on 11/1/52. Quoted in "Geopolitical Ramifications of the Uncontrolled Dissemination of the American Image In The Media In The Atomic Age," by the Rand Corporation.

"It begins with a single idea. By holding on to this idea, the America we dream of shall come to pass."

-From the inaugural speech of President Walt Disney

ALL EMPLOYEES ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT TO LOYALTY SCREENING SESSIONS. YOUR IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR WILL INFORM YOU OF THE TIME AND DATE OF YOUR SCHEDULED APPOINTMENT. PLEASE ARRIVE ON TIME AND BE PREPARED TO ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS FULLY AND HONESTLY.

-Memo to State Department employees, 1/23/53

It was such a thrill! President Disney had all of these important places that he could visit, all these large towns, and he decided to visit our sleepy little housing development in Nassau County instead! We all gathered at the local park to hear him, and of course the children in

the mouse ears got to stand in front as an honor guard. Little Billy Rawlings got to hold the flag, and let me tell you, he was beaming for weeks! President Disney got up there, with all sorts of Secret Service agents around him, and he gave his speech. The President said that Levittown was the ideal community for the new America, and that we would be an inspiration to the whole country.

That's when we found out that we were going to be the first "community of the future". What an honor! It was like winning the sweepstakes! All of a sudden, we had trucks pulling up to our homes with a brand new garbage disposal, and a modern television set, and a hi-fi, and all sorts of new gadgets! And of course the Mickey Mouse clubs just took off like gangbusters after that, with every child wanting to join.

Our own Timmy joined up after that, and we were pleased as punch with the values that he was learning. It was on the very first day that he came back from a meeting that he told us he wanted to be an FBI agent when he grew up, since the local field office has sent around an agent to give a lecture on the dangers of Communism. Pretty soon, he was seeing Reds around every corner and under every bush!

-Madge Evans, quoted in Levittown: The Future Is Now

As Americans, we should all be supporting the President. Thank the stars that we've found one so easy to support. President Disney is the first political figure in years who truly seems to comprehend the possibilities inherent in space exploration, and how vital it is that we stay several steps ahead of the Russians and their allies in our scientific and technological progress.

-Science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein, personal correspondence with fellow author L. Ron Hubbard

"It is with great honor that find myself once again called to serve my country. I shall do my duty faithfully and completely, and entrust that each and every one of you shall do the same"

-General Douglas MacArthur (Ret.), addressing his staff upon his confirmation as Secretary of Defense.

Joe was ready to dance when Disney got the job. His power had been slipping for a while: The newspapers were on his ass, and his old friends in the Senate suddenly had other things to do when Joe wanted to get together for a drink. So when we suddenly got someone he saw as one of "our boys" in the Oval Office, it was a real triumph. And he was right. Unlike the insiders who claimed to know better, Disney had no problem being seen with McCarthy, or inviting him to the White House for private conferences. The senator's stock was rising from his association with the president, and the president's stock was rising among the anti-red crowd from his association with Joe. What's that word? Symbiotic, yeah.

Joe came back one day from one of these conferences with a funny gleam in his eye. He said "Roy, we're gonna talk about your future here. Now, I know you don't plan to get hitched anytime soon, and I know why." Which, uh, had to do with my enjoying the bachelor life. "But I'm saying this, my friend: Get yourself a girl now, and get her to the altar lickety-split. If you manage to get married soon enough, I've got a real future for you."

-Retired Senator Roy Cohn (R-N.Y.), quoted in Magic Kingdom: America in the 50s, by Studs Terkel.

KHRUSCHEV AND MALENKOV ASSUME POWER IN SOVIET UNION FOLLOWING STALIN'S DEATH

-AP Bulletin, 3/6/53

We barely had the time to catch our breath before the world demanded our immediate attention. You have to understand: Running a government is simply unlike any other enterprise in existence. First, of course, we had to get our technology bills through congress. We were worried that the President wouldn't know how things work inside the Beltway, but he was a quick study. His business acumen was invaluable in the wheeling-and-dealing that we had to do in order to get the bills passed. The South got a good chunk of the aerospace industry despite the fact that most of our scientists were in the north. Fine, they could move. Then we had to give and give to the industrialists in order to get them to sponsor our Levittown experiments, which we'd code-named "EPCOT" under orders from the Oval Office. They only wanted one thing, and that was the weakening of labor protections. Problem was, they wanted that one thing over and over again, and there was only so far that the President and Congress could go. However, we managed to get half a loaf where we were expecting none, and three-quarters where we were expecting half, and finally G.E. and Westinghouse and Ford and all the rest of the companies realized that they were saving millions in advertising what the media attention they were getting from all of the major networks and the newsreels.

Also, events were moving quickly on the international front. Stalin died shortly after the president took office, an event that caused some dark humor considering how quickly the one historical event had followed the other. Then, in June, Elizabeth II was crowned Queen of England. We tried to talk the President into sending a representative, but he seemed tickled pink by the idea. "Jimmy!" he said to me. "When I was just a boy in Missouri, I used to dream of going off to foreign lands and meeting all the high muckety-mucks, and nabobs and such. Now that I'm president, what makes you think I'm going to pass up the chance?" He laughed. Disney was a serious man, to be sure, but at times like that you could see the childlike wonder that had somehow led him along a winding path to the very top of American life.

-The Truth of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir, Former White House Press Secretary James Dodd

A Mousketeer Is:

Patriotic: This means that a Mousketeer loves his country. When a Mouseketeer sees his flag, he salutes, and when he hears the national anthem, he stands respectfully. A Mouseketeer will always rise to the defense of his nation, whether the enemies are around the world or just down the block.

Reverent: A Mouseketeer believes in God, and is humble before him. He attends his church on a regular basis, and says his prayers before he goes to bed.

Obedient: A Mouseketeer obeys the law at all times, and reports it to the local policeman when he sees someone breaking the law. He understands that a safe community is his responsibility.

Polite: A Mouseketeer respects his elders, and is kind to those younger than him....

-The Mouseketeer Handbook, 1953 edition.

"White House, White Mouse. Got Hope? You Dope!"

-Graffiti spotted in Harlem, July, 1953

DISNEY PROPOSES NATIONAL SPACE AGENCY: CONGRESS LIKELY TO AUTHORIZE CREATION.

-Sacramento Bee, 8/1/53

Secretary Dulles:

Submitted for your approval and per your instructions, we have taken the liberty of terminating 153 individuals from the State Department for insufficient loyalty and/or suspected ties to left-wing and otherwise untrustworthy organizations. Additionally, 89 more employees are currently under investigation, and may be have their employment discontinued at our discretion if it is determined that they pose any type of security risk.

Our legal department has informed us that we are unlikely to be held actionable for this, as national security is at stake, and departments besides our own including Defense, Veterans Affairs, Justice, and Treasury are undergoing the same rigorous scrutiny.

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, acting under direct orders from Director J. Edgar Hoover, have been made available to me and my staff in order to continue to root out troublesome elements in State. This has caused some minor interdepartmental friction, but I trust that it will be resolved quickly. My experiences with my former employers at the Agency have shown me that anything is possible in the service of one's nation.

Please let me know if I may be of any further assistance.

Sincerely,

E. Howard HuntUndersecretary for Internal Affairs In many ways, Walt Disney can be considered to be the first president of the media age. Not only did he use the traditional print, newsreel, and radio outlets to full advantage for his political platform, but he also had a specific knack for television. This was shown on the one hand with his constant appearances on the relatively new medium, and on the other hand with his push to place more television receivers in more American homes. This served a purpose above and beyond Disney's visions of a space-age technological utopia: While he legally had no authority over the Disney Corporation, having handed over the reins of the business to his brother Roy, it was well-known that the President kept informed as to the progress of his corporation through a select group of unofficial advisers, and that his thoughts and opinions were sent back through the same people. This meant that anytime the Disney corporation had a financial hold or other controlling interest in an outlet, it automatically became a mouthpiece for the current administration.

Walt Disney himself also knew how to play to the cameras. When he originally visited the ruins of Waco, Texas following the decimation of the town by tornado on May 11, 1953, he contacted congressional representatives to see if emergency funds could be made available for the reconstruction of the town through his EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow) program. When Congress balked at the extra expense, President Disney invited the national networks to view the rubble of the once-vibrant town, and gave a speech from the ruins in which he asked Congress for the same funds without mentioning his previous request.

Within a week, the financial outlay was approved. Waco joined Levittown, NY under the EPCOT program.

-Our American Leaders, 1995, Scholastic

Even as the Korean War meandered to a conclusion based largely on General Eisenhower's constant and welcome advice to the President, we had domestic security issues to contend with. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, already mentioned, were slated to die. President Disney was receiving international pressure for clemency for at Ethel Rosenberg at least, as many in the world community refused to believe that the United States would intentionally make orphans of their children.

The President was steadfast. As he saw it, the Rosenbergs had betrayed their nation for the false god of communism, and had to pay the ultimate penalty. I had my own, differing opinions, but I also knew to keep them to myself lest I be seen as somehow less than fully supportive of the administration. Disney was more perceptive than I thought, though.

It was June 18th. We were in the President's private office. He'd invited me to sit as we went over the press releases for the following day. The first one had to do with the Rosenbergs. He glanced at me as I read it off, then held up his hand in a signal to pause.

"You don't think that we should kill them." he said softly.

My tongue was tied. I'd thought that I had done a better job of masking my thoughts. While I don't recall exactly what I said in response, I must have come across as stammering in terror.

"It's okay, Jimmy." he said softly and sadly. I took the risk of glancing at his eyes for a split second. They were slightly bloodshot, with thick dark circles under them, showing how little sleep he'd managed to get since he'd moved into that house. "I know that you have your doubts about this." With that, he reached into a desk drawer, pulling out a thick sheaf of letters and documents.

"You're in good company," he said. With nimble fingers, he turned over the first letter. I saw the red seal. "The Pope." he mumbled, placing it to the side. "Here's Einstein, and a number of other scientists. Nobel Peace Prize winners. Clergy. Doctors. Politicians. And thousands of citizens just like you." He looked at me sharply. "You can always be honest with me, Jimmy. And I'll always be honest with you. The fact is this: These two people, given all of the benefits of the finest system of government in the world, and trusted with the most sensitive secrets of that government, chose to sell out their country in the most insidious manner possible. For that, there is no punishment great enough. Death is all that we have. And that, Jimmy, that's why tomorrow they're going to be led down a hall, and hoods will be placed on their heads, and a switch will be pulled, and they will die as thousands of volts of electricity are shot through them. And that's why tomorrow," He seemed to steel himself. "Someone is going to have to walk up to their children, and kneel down, and try to explain to those two poor boys that they don't have a mother or father anymore."

The strength seemed to leave his body, and he slumped, dismissing me with a wave of the hand. I left. Closing the door behind me, I heard a slight sound, and thought that it was a hiccup, the result of stress and overwork.

It was only some hours later that I realized that I'd heard a sob.


When asked what the major factor was in the North Koreans' willingness to call for an armistice, an anonymous diplomat said "Officially? MacArthur scared the living hell out of the bastards after he got Defense. Unofficially? Their leader's kid is a cartoon freak, and didn't understand why they were fighting Mickey and Donald."

-The Korean War: A People's History, McGraw/Hill

"...and all the ships at sea. Washington! The Kinsey Report, controversial bestseller, has been banned from the White House. Any employee found with it in his office is subject to serious disciplinary action. Two secretaries have already been reassigned! Broadway! The Caine Mutiny Court Martial is scheduled to open...."

-Walter Winchell's weekly radio broadcast, September, 1953

While this newspaper thoroughly agrees that Governor Warren will be a fine choice as Chief Justice during a time in which our nation faces such great challenges, this selection does raise questions regarding President Disney's independence from the Eisenhower wing of the Republican party. It is well-known in Washington circles that despite the political differences between the military man and the Governor, it was General Eisenhower and his advisers who suggested Governor Warren's name to the President....

-Los Angeles Times Editorial, 10/6/1953

I set up my shop that day, just like I did every other day. I'd been selling Playboy for about a week as a favor to Hef, who I'd known for a while as a customer. I suppose that it was about 3 p.m. or so on Friday, shortly after the local schools let out. Was standing outside the shop and having a smoke break. That's when they all came down the block, ears bobbing above their heads, all fresh-scrubbed and beaming. They'd been around for about a year, the Mouse Clubs, almost right after the whole nonsense got started in California during the elections.

Anyway, I didn't think much of it. They were singing their theme song real loud, so I figured it was just some sort of impromptu parade, like kids will do. But then I saw the signs they were carrying: "Stop the Filth", "Keep Our Neighborhood Clean", "A Mouseketeer is Pure", and all that garbage. They stopped right in front of my stand. One of 'em took a photograph, I saw it later, of my expression at the time. Downright comical I looked, with a cigarette dangling out of my ugly mug, and my eyes nearly popping out of my head. This one girl walks up to me and says "Mr. Jablocki, my name is Mary Beth Goodling, and I represent the local Mickey Mouse Club. We have heard that you are selling obscene material at this stand, and we ask you on behalf of the youth of this neighborhood to stop it immediately." They all cheered. Well, I sputtered and said that I'd call her parents, but it turned out that her parents were across the street applauding. So I called the cops, but they said that as long as they weren't blocking my doorway, there wasn't a thing that they could do.

I tried to sell them over the weekend, but hell, even my stubborn streak only goes so far. Finally gave up when I found out that pretty much every newspaper and magazine stand outside the ghettos was getting a bunch of apple-cheeked kids politely telling people that they were visiting a house of perversion if the store was selling Playboy. I'll tell you, when Mrs. Panek down that block heard that when she was coming by to pick up her Good

Housekeeping, she nearly fainted right there on the street! So I gave up, and handed all the issues off to the club, and they thanked me real politely and said that they'd burn 'em right away.

Course, I saw a couple of the boys stuffing copies under their sweaters when they thought that no one was looking, so I guess maybe they weren't so innocent as all that.

Poor Hef never spoke with me again. He went back into advertising, I heard, and never tried to start another magazine. Said that the times just weren't right for it, and that America was what he called "Incurably puritanical".

-Oscar Jablocki, retired Chicago newsstand owner, quoted in Let Us Hold Our Banner High, Documentary Prize winner at the Cannes International Film Festival, 2002. When asked about the claims that President Disney's administration was, as claimed by Governor Adlai Stevenson, "The Eisenhower Administration with the Disney brand", White House Spokesman James Dodd replied "While General Eisenhower has provided invaluable advice to this administration along with many other prominent leaders in political, military, and civilian life, he and the president do politely differ on certain issues relevant to the American public. As we all know, the General has lobbied for an extensive highway system to be built as part of the nation's infrastructure. President Disney approves of this, but believes that a national mass transportation system must be part and parcel of this effort, whether it involves an expansion of our existing train system, or a more advanced technology. Towards this end, he has instructed the Department of Transportation to press for research into how such a project may be accomplished at the lowest cost and greatest benefit to the American people."

-Washington Post, 12/15/1953

7:00 p.m.: Entrance of President and Mrs. Disney. Remarks to the nation by President Disney.

7:15 p.m.: Lighting of White House Christmas Tree.

7:30 p.m.: Performance of Christmas standards by entertainer Bing Crosby, backed by Mickey Mouse Club choir.

-White House Christmas Celebration Program, December, 1953

And so with the moral mouse malcontents popping their peepers over the scandalous salacious pics of one Miss M., it seems that her days of winsome wedded bliss will wait! Joey D., he of the furious fans, has decided that his best gal's appearance in the late and unlamented Playboy skin mag out of Chicago means that he has a choice between a shining reputation (read: money!) or a sinful honeymoon (read: sex!), and a man can always use the former to get more of the latter, but not the latter to get more of the former outside of the lavender crowd! Also, the Terrible Tots are joining forces with the Catholic League to boycott each and every film that Miss M. appears in, saying that she sets a "bad example" for the youth! Look, kiddies! It's a falling star!

-"Hollywood Dirt", Celebrity Secrets, December 1953

1954

MOUSE MAKES HOUSE AT CBS-Disney Corp. To Bring "Disney's Wonderful World" to Network

-Variety, 3/1/1954

"It is therefore with a heavy heart that I submit this resignation. For far too long, we of the fifth estate have been forced to answer to the moneymen, to those who would betray the public trust in the name of the almighty dollar. Despite your protests of your desire to avoid legal action, it is obvious to those of us who make it our business to notice such things that your refusal to allow See It Now to broadcast our investigation of Senator McCarthy reeks of political opportunism and the odious scent of financial incentive...."

-Resignation letter of Edward R. Murrow to CBS President William Paley

"Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Weinberg of New York, N.Y. are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter Priscilla to Mr. Roy Cohn of Washington, D.C. The wedding ceremony will be on June 6th at the home of the bride. The couple plans to reside in Georgetown, where the groom currently makes his residence as a staff attorney for Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-WI)."

-Social Page, Washington Post, 3/15/54

Shortly following the [Puerto Rican Independence] attack on Congress, security clamped down hard in the White House. Guards who would once wave me through the gates on sight would now politely stop my car, ask for my identification, and check it closely before allowing me to proceed to work.

My major concern beyond my job was the state of the President himself. It wouldn't be too much to say that I saw him as a sort of father figure; The man seemed to invite such through his demeanor and general kindness to those in his immediate circle. However, as the year progressed, I grew concerned for him. The pressures of the office were not too great for this man, and yet he visibly aged before my eyes.

Two major issues preoccupied the President during the early part of the year: The first was the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Now, I hadn't thought of the Negro issue much previous to my entering politics, and while I was somewhat well informed regarding the various actions and boycotts taking place around the country, I didn't see this as something that would affect my life in a direct manner.

President Disney took a longer view than my own. His major concern was that this would lead to complications regarding what he saw as the uneasy mix of two essentially different cultures. A product of his time and his place, the President had little contact with the Negro population. He was especially sensitive to accusations of racism since the negative reaction of the NAACP to Song Of The South in 1946. However, while not an ardent segregationist at the time, he did see the potential for trouble on the horizon in the form of clashes between the white and black populations.

"That damned Warren laid down the law," he snorted to me once. "Let him enforce it."

Then, of course, Senator McCarthy decided that he wanted to stir up some trouble....


Neither Prissy nor I wanted the traditional marriage. She stayed in New York with her parents and concentrated on her charity work. I stayed at my townhouse in Georgetown. Most days I spent with the Senator working on research for the committee. Recently, we'd uncovered evidence of communist sympathizers in the United States armed forces. Our initial feeling was that this had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the light. With the assistance of my friend David Schine, who had been so helpful during my tour of American Embassies and Consulates in Europe, we managed to put together what I thought would be a powerful indictment of the current and past military leadership.

The White House caught wind of what we were doing rather quickly. That's when the Senator was invited to one of the President's informal get-togethers in the Rose Garden. He and Joe sat and talked for quite some time while I cooled my heels near the appetizers and made small talk with various Washington hostesses. Finally, the Senator came back and whispered in my ear.

"The Army hearings are off," he told me. "Don't worry, we've given all of the evidence to MacArthur, and he'll take all the necessary steps. The president says he's concerned about the effect this would have on the morale of the Army. Bullshit. He's concerned about the effect this'll have on his camera-loving ass. But Roy, this ain't about him, or me. It's about your future. I'm not planning on running again, and it's time that you started thinking about where you're going from here."

I took a look at Joe. My friend and mentor was beginning to show the signs of too many late nights, too many sips from the flask that he always had on his person. His eyes were yellow, his nose a permanent state of red. I wasn't a doctor, but it was pretty obvious to anyone looking that he didn't have too many more years ahead of him.

"Understood, Senator," I told him. "Just tell me where I go from here."

"Well, Roy, first you're packing your stuff into a box," he replied. "You've got a new job waiting. Just a temporary berth for you, since I've got a deal that you're moving up right quick."


ROY COHN WILL BE LEAVING SENATOR MCCARTHY'S OFFICE TO TAKE A NEW POSITION AS ASSISTANT CHIEF OF STAFF AT THE WHITE HOUSE. WE ALL WISH HIM WELL.

-Internal Memo to the staff of Senator Joe McCarthy (R-WI) "And, oh Lord, we are truly grateful for President Disney, who has so courageously insisted upon your acknowledgment in our nation's pledge so as to boldly state that the forces of atheism and communism have no place within our country's borders...."

-The Reverend Billy Graham, opening invocation of the first national Mickey Mouse Club convention, 7/4/54

ACLU Lawsuit Against Mickey Mouse Clubs Thrown Out of Court: Justices Defend Right of Free

Speech of "Private Organizations"

WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Supreme Court awarded a victory to the Mickey Mouse Club youth group on Thursday, stating that while President Disney's former company may have sponsored their creation, his lack of any official standing within the society means that the group must be considered a private organization, allowing it to continue public protests against materials deemed obscene or politically undesirable by the organization's leaders.

In a stinging dissent, Chief Justice Earl Warren stated that as the group is named after a character originally created by President Disney in his former capacity as a private citizen, and now inextricably linked with his name, the protests carry with them a de facto "seal of approval" from the current administration.....

-Los Angeles Times, 7/11/54

"The recent testing of an atomic weapon by the Soviet Union shows that despite their supposed desire for peace and amity, their true motivation is to expand their military power until the entire world falls to their totalitarian madness. The President has therefore asked congress to approve an increased military budget for next year, with an eye towards improving our defensive capability in the case of an atomic war. Currently, we are behind in our capabilities. The President has stated that this is unacceptable.

"Additionally, the President has instructed that our space exploration research be placed under military jurisdiction for the time being. The Soviets have indicated an enthusiasm towards exploring this frontier, and we cannot allow them to stake a claim before America does. Towards this end, President Disney has asked members of the scientific community to take part in a joint advisory panel with several noted futurists in order to create a plan for our future beyond this globe."

-White House Press Secretary James Dodd, press conference, 9/21/54

Of course, the President used the term "noted futurists" because it sounded better than "pulp science fiction writers". I learned three things at grandpappy's knee: Never draw to an inside straight, never draw your weapon unless you mean to use it, and never work for Washington. However, my country needs me in a fight against the greatest menace this world has ever seen, and they have promised me time to write enough to pull in checks from the magazines....

-Personal correspondence of Robert A. Heinlein to Hugo Gernsback

"It was hard on Dad. He'd been fighting for civil rights all his life, and was especially interested in opportunities for minority children. When the Boy Scouts desegregated, he naturally assumed that other youth organizations would follow suit. The Mickey Mouse Clubs were probably the most popular organization in the country for children, so he asked for a meeting with their leadership. Nothing. No response. He went to the press. They didn't care. He spoke from the pulpit. It was like preaching to empty air. He finally decided to save his energy for boycotts and the like.

"Sure, they weren't officially anti-Negro. They let you make your own chapter for your own race. But when you looked at the white neighborhoods, you saw the kids with the ears holding all sorts of fun events and enjoying themselves, with whoever was running the local organization showing up to help out. When my brother tried to start a chapter in our

neighborhood, they sent him a handbook, but said that any financial assistance would have to come from local churches and civic organizations. Fine. We got together a few dollars and some space in the church basement. Then we'd hold meetings and try to talk with the local Mickey Mouse Club representatives to get cartoons for the events, or hats for our uniforms, or anything that we needed in order to be a functioning club. We couldn't even get in the front door. Finally we gave up. Dad told us not to let it get us down, that we were still Americans, but you know what? I had to quit when I couldn't live up to 'A Mousketeer is patriotic' with any sincerity in my heart. Finally, the club just folded. We never tried again."

-Yolanda King, quoted in Let Us Hold Our Banner High, Documentary Prize winner at the Cannes International Film Festival, 2002.

1955

COFFEE HOUSE RAID: Bohemian Artists at Vesuvio's Held On Marihuana Charges

Vesuvio's, a popular social setting for members of San Francisco's so-called "Beat" artists, was raided last night by members of the San Francisco Police Department's Narcotics division. Among the arrestees was artist Wally Hedrick....

-San Francisco Chronicle, 1/15/55

The President had gone through about three or four Chiefs of Staff in his administration. Disney was a bright man, shrewd, but temperamental. They'd work for him anywhere between eight months and a year, then the message would go out that they wanted to pursue opportunities in the private sector, or needed to spend more time with their families, or some bullshit story like that. The fact was that Disney blew through them like crazy. Here's what I figured: You've seen the old tapes of him on the news and such. Nice enough gentleman, right? Even when the reporters would ask him the rudest questions possible, he'd wave them off with a shrug and a smile. Masterful. But, see, you can only do that for so long before you start to pay a price. The price Disney paid was that he started getting difficult to deal with once the microphones and cameras were off. He'd get short with his staff, snapping at them and asking them to do the impossible.

Me? Hell, I worked for Tailgunner Joe. I knew how to deal with difficult personalities. Stroke the ego a bit, and if they're confused about what to do next, then just come up with a brilliant idea and act like it's theirs. Child's play. Of course, Disney was used to the business world where he got things done in a snap, and Washington moves like a turtle. But there are ways around that, too....

So anyway, the last in the line had just resigned. I'd been writing speeches and playing advance man here and there for a while, biding my time. Finally, the President called me into his office. The Oval Office, not his private one. Sat there behind the desk, staring at me as I stood there calmly. Trying to make it clear who was in charge. Hah! There isn't a politico out there who can impress me with the razzle-dazzle. So he sits some more, and stares some more, and finally says "Okay, Roy. I know this is what Joe brought you in for, and you've finally got it. Chief of Staff."

I was thinking of acting surprised, but I didn't want to insult the man's intelligence, so I just nodded and said "I'll get to work immediately, Mr. President." He dismissed me with a wave,

I gave the "Thank you, Mr. President," and went back to my office to pack my things.

The second call I made was to my Mom. The first was to the Senator. Hey, she brought me into this world, but he gave me life.


While I hadn't agreed with the President in all ways at all times, we had generally managed a good working relationship based upon mutual respect and (I must admit) a certain awe of the man on my part. Certainly, he'd shown himself as fallible, giving in to fits of temper, or making decisions based more upon what I saw as pipe dreams than political realities. However, I could never fault the man's sincerity or desire for the best for the American people.

Unfortunately, we now entered what I still somewhat uncharitably refer to as the "snake in the garden" years in the White House: Roy Cohn was named Chief of Staff. I am well aware that my opinions regarding Senator Cohn are well-known, and have caused me and my family to be targets of the most scurrilous attacks from the radical right. Be that as it may, I cannot be less than honest regarding Cohn's unfortunate influence over the President, and also regarding the overtly manipulative behavior he engaged in order to gain and maintain power within the Executive branch.

Roy Cohn cut his teeth as a member of Senator Joe McCarthy's staff. While Senator McCarthy is a figure of sainthood to the right wing and a demon to the left nowadays, at the time he was seen as just another politician on the make within the Beltway. He had done us a great service by ferreting out undesirable influences within the State Department, but recent investigations of his record seem to indicate that he also managed to persecute some innocent citizens as well. McCarthy finally had overreached when he decided to investigate "red" influence in the Army. The President had talked him out of it, and in return for the Senator dropping the subject, had agreed to take on Roy Cohn as his Assistant Chief of Staff.

Frankly, the President was outmaneuvered. It took me several years to realize that Cohn had made the job of Chief of Staff impossible from the moment that he set foot in the White House. Bills that we were attempting to push would suddenly be stalled in committee, important documents would turn up missing, and scheduled appointments would suddenly fall through at the last minute. After I left the White House to return to the private sector some years later, I learned through contacts in Washington that Cohn's fingerprints had been all over this series of events. Instead of using his influence on the Hill to promote the President's agenda, he was using it in order to score points against his own bosses.

I should note that Cohn himself pleads innocence to this day, and claims that the various COSes that preceded him left due to President Disney being difficult to work for. Bah. I worked for the man for several years, and found him to almost always be a pleasure to deal with.

The wolf was loose among the lambs, and I was spending all of my time trying not to smell like mutton.


ROCK AND ROLL RIOT: Juvenile Delinquents Damage Theater During Movie, Police Called,

Several Injured.

LOS ANGELES- Police responded to reports of a riot at the Rialto Theater in Pasadena on Monday night during a showing of the new "rock and roll" film Blackboard Jungle. Pasadena Police Department spokesman Mitch Connelly stated that two officers and an undetermined number of youths were injured in the ensuing melee.

According to eyewitnesses, the trouble began during a performance of the song "Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets, when several teenagers began dancing in the aisles of the theater. When they refused entreaties from the management to return to their seats, the projector was turned off in response, leading a pack of delinquents to begin causing damage to the theater....


11:00 a.m.: Meetup at the Clubhouse.

11:15 a.m.: Recitation of Pledge of Allegiance. Singing of National Anthem. Singing of Mickey Mouse Club Anthem. Opening benediction led by Rev. Charles Wright, First Presbyterian.

11:45 a.m.: Review of demonstration plans.

12:00 Noon: Lunch provided by Kathy Johnson's family. Cold chicken, macaroni salad, punch, and pie. Signs handed out after eating.

1:00 p.m.: Walk to Bijou Theater. Keep your partner in sight at all times!

1:30 p.m.: Demonstration during ticket sales for first showing of "Blackboard Jungle". March and protest to continue until closing of theater, or until management agrees to stop showing film.

6:00 p.m.: Junior members return home.

10:00 p.m.: If management has taken no action, Senior members return home.

Please remember to obey all laws during the demonstration, and be polite and cheerful to passers-by. Respect your elders. If a member of the press approaches you, please politely guide him to your chapter leader or other adult associated with the demonstration. Do not give a quote of your own!

-Mickey Mouse Club "Fun Activity Schedule!" for St. Louis, MO, Club Chapter #342, 4/3/55 DOWTOWN FRACAS: Young Hoodlums Attack Mickey Mouse Club Rally, Dozens Injured.

-St. Louis Post-Dispatch headline, 4/4/55

"It is therefore the policy of this office that considering the unprovoked attack by delinquent elements of society against our membership, all Mickey Mouse Clubs will be required to encourage self-defense training, and provide qualified instructors for such, preferably trainers with a military background. If you are having difficulty finding a qualified individual in your community, please contact the Main Office in Burbank, CA for assistance."

-Nationally distributed memo to Mickey Mouse Club Leaders, 5/7/55

DISNEY MEETS WITH BIG CITY MAYORS TO PUSH FOR LOCAL MONORAIL SYSTEMS


Mr. President,

Thank you for your thoughtful letter. I know that I can speak for all of us in the space program when I say that your constant efforts to encourage scientific research and progress in this field have been greatly appreciated.

Per your suggestion, we have settled on "Davy Crockett" as the name of the satellite scheduled for launch next year.

My best to you and Mrs. Disney.

Sincerely,

Robert A. HeinleinAdvisor For Communication ProtocolNational Space Research Council

DISNEYLAND OPENS TO GREAT FANFARE-President, Mrs. Disney among honored guests.

-The Orange County Register, 7/18/55

"For quite a while now, boys and girls across America have been joining the exciting new Mickey Mouse Clubs. Well, folks, the good folks at Disney have realized that not every child has the opportunity to share in the magic of this experience, so we're using the wonderful medium of television to bring the clubs to you personally! In just a minute you're going to meet my friends Tommy, Annette, Cubby, Darlene, and a whole bunch of wholesome, patriotic children just like you...."

Head Mouseketeer Ronald Reagan, host of The Mickey Mouse Club, first broadcast.

There were those who accused President Disney of being detached from domestic matters, especially those regarding the Negro issue. Nothing could be further from the truth.

On August 28, 1955, a young Negro named Emmett Till was killed in Money, Mississippi for the alleged "crime" of flirting with a white woman. Some say he directly accosted her with crude comments, others claimed that he simply whistled at her. Whatever the case may have been, the results were swift and deadly: Mr. Till was taken that night, killed, and sunk in the Tallahatchie River while weighted down with the fan from a cotton gin.

Mr. Till's grieving mother insisted upon an open casket funeral against the advice of her local mortician. The pictures made national news, and reached the President's desk. It was during our morning briefing that I gingerly approached the subject about how best to address this issue, if at all.

"Jimmy, my boy," he sighed. "This one weighs on me. Used to be that I didn't give the matter

much thought one way or the other. Growing up in Missouri, the Negroes had their place, white folks another, and I figured that this was just the way that the world worked. Then I finally came out to California, where they're still separate, but more by their own choice. Never thought that it would make much difference if they finally got their full share of rights. Now I'm rethinking it. Take a look at this." He tossed a photograph of Till's badly mangled body into my lap, then stood and faced away from me. "That poor boy made a single stupid mistake, and paid the price for it. When something like that can happen, when one race gets the death penalty for a childish mistake towards another race, you have to ask one question: Are we really ready to live side by side as Americans?" The President seemed to shrink into himself. He'd been doing that a lot lately.

"Jimmy, I don't think that we're within a mile of being ready. I don't think that we ever will be. If I ever make the mistake of thinking that integration of anything will lead to peace and amity, all that I have to do is take a look at that picture to remind myself of the bestial depths of bigotry, and of what chaos would inevitably result."

-The Truth of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir, Former White House Press Secretary James Dodd.

Be advised that CI [REDACTED] has informed this office that the arrest of Mrs. Parks was planned in advance by Negro agitator and so-called "clergyman" Martin Luther King, Jr. Subject is currently under surveillance per orders from the office of the Director, and has been observed agitating for the creation of a communist-inspired "civil rights" group to be formed under the name "The Montgomery Improvement Association".

-Excerpted from FBI Memo, 12/7/55

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES: TAKE THE BUS TODAY!

-Flyer distributed by Montgomery, Alabama Mickey Mouse Clubs

BURBANK, CALIFORNIA CLEARED FOR EPCOT FUNDING

-Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, 12/15/55

"...[T]hat was when they brought up the subject that had been weighing on their minds. Of course they knew the answer, or thought that they did. All the bosses were there for him. They all knew that the governor wanted the White House so bad that he could taste it, understand? So one of them, a big fat fellow, he leaned forward and said 'So, Governor, exactly when are you planning to announce?'"

And the Governor? Never heard the man cuss till that day, when he says "Go to hell. Get yourself another stooge." So they all say "Adlai!" in shock, and he just gets up in disgust and walks out of the room."

-Washington Banks, former butler to Governor Adlai Stevenson, quoted in Magic Kingdom: America In The 1950s

1956

ESTES KEFAUVER ANNOUNCES "READINESS TO LEAD", CANDIDACY FOR DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION

-Washington Post, 1/2/56 As I've stated before in these pages, President Disney was very much a product of his upbringing. While this was a great boon to the country in that he held on to the most basic ideals of liberty, independence, the work ethic, and the power of imagination, it also meant that he had occasional blind spots when it came to matters outside his personal experience.

This became evident during the first part of 1956. On the whole, the President was feeling upbeat. His approval ratings were at a record high, largely due to the infrastructure programs that he had managed to get through an initially reluctant Congress. I should state that despite my differences with Chief of Staff Cohn, I had to admit that his contacts in the legislative branch were invaluable when it came to getting our bills passed. Also, Disneyland was doing a booming business, meaning that President Disney's company seemed to be in good hands.

Unfortunately, General Abdel Nasser of Egypt was making noises regarding Israel, or "Palestine". All of our intelligence indicated that the General was an up-and-coming figure in Egyptian politics, and President Disney's advisers warned him of a possible instability in the Middle East if the United States did not take a strong stand regarding the defense of Israel. Sadly, the President remained unconvinced.

It was during a semi-official meeting in the Oval Office that he slipped into one of his unguarded moments. "Folks, I'm a big supporter of the United Nations," he started. This was true. The President wasn't a fan of the idea of one world government, but he did like the idea of peaceful agreements among different cultures. "I have to say, though, that the idea of Israel never did sit well with me. Oh, don't get me wrong, we're their allies, and we'll do what we must in order to make sure that things go well. However, I'm not going to let the Jews dictate American foreign policy. We're talking about a people that will take a mile for every inch you give them. I'll let our embassy in Egypt know that they need to keep an eye on Nasser, but I'm not going to lose sleep over the Arabs wanting their land back."

I sneaked a peek at Cohn during the President's comment about Jews. He stared straight ahead, unblinking, like he didn't recognize the insult. Or maybe he didn't see it as one. It was always hard to tell with Roy.

-The Truth Of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir, Former White House Press Secretary James Dodd.

Dear Col. Parker,

We regret to inform you that due to further input from our sponsors, we have determined that your client Elvis Presley is not an appropriate act for our television program Stage Show. Naturally, you and Mr. Presley will be compensated for the inconvenience as per your contract with CBS.

We apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your time and interest.

Sincerely,

Donald FrithBureau of Standards and PracticesColumbia Broadcasting Corporation

FORMER ACTRESS FOUND DEAD

LOS ANGELES- Former actress Norma Jean Mortenson, aka Marilyn Monroe, best known as the former fiancée of baseball great Joe DiMaggio, was found dead last night from an apparent intentional overdose of barbiturates. While no note was found at the scene, friends of the deceased Miss Mortenson stated that she had been unusually depressed lately following a string of career difficulties....


"My fellow Americans, we have been on a disastrous course for the past three years, led by a showman, a carnival barker. Oh, he'll give you sights that are wondrous to behold, but they're little more than fantasy. Get close enough to the President's policies, and you will see the glue on the bearded lady, smell the greasepaint on the Wild Man of Borneo. These are serious times, my friends, and they call for serious men of good will to solve them."

-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, announcing his candidacy for the Democratic nomination.

"We now go to our reporter on the scene, Howard Riggs. Howard?"

"Jim, I'm standing in front of what was once the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in downtown St. Louis. Firemen valiantly battled the blaze, which nearly consumed the entire two-story structure. From what we have been able to determine, this tragedy began during the club's weekly meeting, when according to witnesses, several youths described as "tough-looking" blockaded the door from the outside and threw Molotov cocktails through the windows into the lower levels of the building. One moment, Jim, we're getting some movement through the door, the firemen may be bringing out some of the children...

"Oh. Oh, no. Oh, this is a tragedy. Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, I...

"I'm so sorry. The firemen are bringing out the bodies of the victims. There may be some small hope, but the blaze has taken what looks like at least five children so far. From what I'm overhearing, there may very well be no survivors at all."

-Breaking News Report from St. Louis radio station KTRS, 2/28/56

PRESIDENT PROPOSES THAT "STRONG NEW MEASURES" BE GIVEN TO FBI TO BATTLE RISE IN JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

-New York Times, 3/5/56

"Look at that bastard GO!"

-Overheard at launching of satellite Davy Crockett on 3/15/56, quoted in Land of Tomorrow: The Space Race In The United States.

MOUSEKETEER RALLY DRAWS THOUSANDS AT STATE FAIR TO WATCH SATELLITE LAUNCH -Ronald Reagan Featured Speaker

Calling the launch of the satellite Davy Crockett "A triumph for America against the forces of Communism," Mickey Mouse Club host Ronald Reagan entertained a crowd of thousands of youths from all over the state at yesterday's state fair.

-Little Rock Democrat-Gazette, 3/16/56 "The President accepts the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education as the law of the land. However, he also accepts that the signatories to the Southern Manifesto have legitimate concerns regarding their various states and districts, and does not wish to make any sort of statement against them or the Manifesto at this time."

-White House Press Secretary James Dodd, 3/18/56

"Now I'm going to tell you about an exciting opportunity for all of the Mickey Mouse Club chapters out there. Roy Disney has teamed up with J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI, and your local police force to create the Disney Defenders! Yes, the Disney Defenders will work with local law enforcement authorities to keep our streets safe from the criminals who prey on helpless Americans. Only the top level of our Mouseketeers will be accepted into this group, but you can all play your part by obeying the law, and by reporting those who don't!

"Now it's time for the New Adventures of Spin and Marty. When last we left off, Spin had uncovered a Communist agent at the R and R Ranch, and was rushing off to tell Marty about this new danger...."

-Ronald Reagan on The Mickey Mouse Club, 3/30/56

ELVIS SNUBBED BY TELEVISION, GOES GOLD ANYWAY

-Music Maker Magazine, 4/12/56

I couldn't believe the incompetence of Disney's people when I first took over the COS job. I mean, my God, I was tempted to check for signs of Red infiltration at first, but I slowly came to realize that the man had buffoons working for him. Oh, the old crowd like Dulles, they weren't too bad. But the staff? Jimmy Dodd? Who the hell puts an actor out front as press agent? And poor Walt was actually taking this clown into his confidence! Yeah, yeah, I know that Dodd did okay during the campaign, and that he didn't sign up for the press agent job so much as he had it thrust on him, but really...you gotta know your limits.

Anyway, word from State had it that Nasser was thinking of recognizing Red China. Ouch. Last thing we needed was a Red-leaning government in the area, what with the Soviets already sniffing around. So I took Disney aside. He was letting the office get to him, so it was just a matter of stroking his ego at first, then laying the groundwork.

"Look, Mr. President," I said to him. "You have a choice here. You can listen to Dulles spout off his threats and take it as advice, and you'll have a nice little crisis on your hands. Or you can get Nasser on the phone, talk to him man-to-man, and see what the hell he wants. If I learned anything working for the Senator, it's that there's a time to attack, and a time for sweet talk. The Senator didn't know how to sweet talk the people who mattered. You're

smarter than that, sir."

He looked annoyed by me, but I guess he took my advice, 'cause he was on the phone to Egypt for a couple of hours after that, and he walked out smiling. Disney says "Well, Roy, looks like we might be okay. It cost us some money, but nothing we can't afford."

"How so, Mr. President?" I say back.

"We're picking up the price tag on the Aswan Dam, or at least more of it than we were. It's a bribe, but hell, I don't mind greasing the skids if it gets us where we need to go to. Push this one through Congress. Tell them that it's vital to our national interests and to stability in the region. Drop a word to our friends at the Big Three car companies, and let 'em know that without oil, no one's buying their machines. They'll put pressure on the right people to fall into line."

For the first time since I'd set foot in that godforsaken place, I understood just how Disney had managed to make it to the top.

-Retired Senator Roy Cohn (D-N.Y.), quoted in Magic Kingdom: America In The 50s, by Studs Terkel

DISNEY DEFENDERS STORM POOL HALL, MAKE CITIZENS' ARRESTS OF LOCAL HOODLUMS

DOWNTOWN-A number of badly bruised and bleeding members of a local street gang were brought before a local judge today after having been placed under citizens' arrest by members of the Disney Defenders, an offshoot of the popular Mickey Mouse Club. Facing charges ranging from possession of an illegal switchblade knife to narcotics use, most of the arrested youths were released into the custody of their parents....

-St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4/20/56

"Hey, hey, LBJ! Beat the mouse and show the way!"

-Campaign slogan, 1956 Presidential race

"It's bad no matter where we go or what we do, dig? With the mouse in the house, this man's on the lam. Ginsberg and I, we tried going down south across the border, but the cops are crazy, and we spent more than a couple of nights in jail with some mean characters before skipping town across the ocean. So Ginsberg, he gets this Hemingway/Gertrude Stein thing going and decides that we have to go to Paris. But, see, they don't like Americans in France anymore, since we're barbarians to them, which is sad, because you should see what they're doing with movies nowadays. So we try the Netherlands, and Italy, and we skip Spain of course, and here we are now in Berlin, where believe it or not, it's all hip. There's a new scene developing here, and I think it would be cool if you could find your way over. Bring a thousand or two of our nearest and dearest. America is dead. Berlin is the future of art, literature, reefer, and all the other things that make life worth living."

-Personal correspondence of "Beano" to Wally Hedrick

INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION BILL SIGNED: Federal Highway System To Be Built Alongside Expanded Commuter Rails.

Washington Post, 5/29/56 Grieving gamester Joey D seems to be sadly socking it to the sappy sycophants and mangy mousters of Burbank! The ex-fiancée of the Divine Miss Monroe has come to Tinseltown to drum up support for a Free Speech League! Flash, Mr. East Coast Athlete! Out here in Hollywood, one thing pops louder than the crack of a bat, and that's the sound of the cash register! Or don't you remember that's why you left your former flame in the dust? Poor Joey D! Shoved out of the limelight by one Mickey, and loses his love to the toppermost popularity of another! So, Joey, unless you plan on putting your money into a new studio, you can forget your politics, because the Mouse is squeaking louder than you!

-Confidential Magazine, 6/8/56

JOHNSON SURPRISE WINNER IN CALIFORNIA PRIMARY, KEFAUVER WITHDRAWS


"My fellow Americans, for far too long we have been led down a road of pie-in-the-sky promises, of dreams and fantasies with no basis in reality, no stake in them for the common man. Domestic strife has been met with fancy gadgets and talk of rockets to the moon. We have turned our back on our closest of allies in the Mideast in order to canoodle with a military dictator sworn to their destruction. In our streets, despite endless empty promises, our youths run rampant with a total disregard for the rule of law.

"I say this to you: In a Johnson administration, you will see all of our cities treated equally in regards to government funds, rather than seeing a few fortunates receiving manna from on high while the infrastructure crumbles in the rest.

"In a Johnson administration, we will not forget those for whom we sacrificed much, for whom we suffered so much in the name of freedom, nor shall we sacrifice them to the plots and schemes of mad sheiks

"In a Johnson administration, we shall see all Americans afforded their full share of Constitutional rights, regardless of their religion, race, or color."

-Excerpt from Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson's speech upon receiving the Democratic nomination.

"Aw, hell, who put the Negro comment into the speech? I want his ass fired now!"

-Robert F. Kennedy, heard backstage at the 1956 Democratic National Convention

Hell, it was like the Democrats didn't want to win! Sure, of course the civil rights mumbo-jumbo played well to the comsymp libs up north, but you would have thought that they'd learned their lesson a couple of elections before that. But Johnson ok'd it.

I was watching the speech with the President when LBJ made the "full share" comment. Disney groaned. It was almost like he felt sorry for Johnson. Not sorry enough to not sit back with some glee as the Southern contingent bolted the party for the second time in ten years, mind. You could hear the boos start in the convention hall that night, and they pretty much didn't stop till November. If a Northerner had said it, hell, they wouldn't have cared. But one

of their own? I think it took all of a day before the "Lyndon Baines Judas" buttons started appearing.

-Retired Senator Roy Cohn (R-N.Y.), quoted in Magic Kingdom: America In The 50s by Studs Terkel

SEVEN INJURED IN MOUSEKETEER/STREET GANG BRAWL

-Miami Herald, 7/1/56

In the wake of recent adverse publicity, the Central Office has deemed it advisable to withdraw Disney Defender groups from active patrol until such time as a more comprehensive training process can be completed. Said training will include but not be limited to: Unarmed combat, baton combat, and a thorough grounding in legal matters related to self-defense and the correct manner in which to perform a citizen's arrest. Firearms training may be appropriate in some areas of the country, but it is important to state for the record that Disney Defenders must never be armed on patrol unless all legal matters have been cleared with the local authorities, and unless the Defenders bearing arms are well-trained in their use and over the age of 16.

The training should be complete by the end of November, at which time we hope to resume active patrols.

-Mickey Mouse Club Memo, 7/6/56

SECRETARY OF STATE DULLES MEETS WITH NASSER: Nasser Calls Canal Nationalization Rumors "Zionist Propaganda"

-The New York Times, 7/26/56

SEN. JOHNSON: Therefore, I believe that it is in the best interests of this great nation to take a close look at both candidates before you, and make your decision based on the simple facts. You have before you a President who has done many great things for this country, as I will be the first to admit. He did these great things in his home of Hollywood, California, among the glitz and glamour of that town. Now he's attempted to run an entire country on the same moonshine and fairy dust.

PRESIDENT DISNEY: Before I respond to the rest of the honorable Senator's comments, I would like to make one minor factual correction: The Senator referred to Hollywood as my home. Now, it is true that I worked near there for quite a while, though I was actually in Burbank. However, my home is in Kansas City, Missouri, and it's from that fine city that I draw the dreams, values, and inspiration that drive me every day of my life. I'm sure that the Senator remembers Missouri: It's where my predecessor President Truman came from. The land of Mark Twain, of simple times, happy dreams, and ice cream socials. That's the America I grew up with. That's the America I believe in to this day, no matter where I may live, whether it be in Burbank or the White House."

-Excerpt from first Presidential Debate, 1956

"Tell this Colonel Whoever-he-is that I don't show pornography on this program."

-Ed Sullivan, quoted in Mad, Bad, And Dangerous To Know: Rock And Roll In America After the polls came out a couple of weeks before the election, you would have thought that President Disney would have been on top of the world. You would have been incorrect in that assumption. Instead, on October 23rd, 1956, riots broke out in Hungary. The Soviet backed government looked as if it was going to topple. Cohn was beside himself with glee, but the rest of the President's advisers were more hesitant.

One major, if unofficial adviser was General Eisenhower. He was now recovering from his most recent heart episode. His advice was to hold off: The Soviets were bound to interfere at some point, and an invasion could lead to a nuclear showdown in Europe. When Cohn heard of this, he went insane with rage. The Chief of Staff pulled out all of the stops to get the President away from the General, but Eisenhower was too canny and too well-connected for that. Therefore, the President now had his two most trusted advisers at odds with each other, with the General advising caution and his right-hand man advising something close to an invasion in support of the uprising.

A compromise was reached wherein the United States publicly supported the new government of Hungary, but took no military action to defend or support the revolutionaries. However, I was reasonably certain that our intelligence people were working night and day to assist our Hungarian brothers and sisters in their struggle for liberty.

-The Truth Of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir, Former White House Press Secretary James Dodd

SOVIET ARMY CROSSES BORDER INTO HUNGARY, SABOTAGE RAMPANT


"We shall not stand idly by as our friends in Hungary are brutalized by the forces of International Communism. We shall not turn our heads as the flower of youth is crushed in the streets of Budapest."

-President Walt Disney, address to the nation, 11/1/56

"The peace-loving people of the Soviet Union are not intimidated by the empty rhetoric of the fascist showman who runs the United States."

-Pravda Editorial, 11/3/56

"And I'll tell you Wally, it's wild and wooly out here in the streets of Berlin. On the one side you have the young and crazy Communists, and I mean Communists, not what President Mouse and his gang call a Red, the so-called parlor pinks who vote union and bust open the heads of scabs. No, these are the real McCoy, or real MarxCoy, cats and chicks who'd rather read Engels than get laid. They're out in the streets yelling about "imperialist aggression", and I can dig, but they're so into the revolution that they forget about what comes next, or even what comes now. Then on the other side you have the old folks who'd put on a swastika right now if it wouldn't mean a kick in the ass from the Army folks who still walk around like Uncle Sam owns the place, which he does, and who's caught in the middle but yours truly. So Alan's heard of this cat Elvis who does some crazy things with Negro music,

and I'm hip, because we hear that he's going to be in London any time now for a series of shows since he can't get booked even into a jail cell in the U.S. since the Mouse Clubs came along. So if you get to Berlin before we get back, talk to Jack, since he's over here till the heat dies down from that auto theft rap."

-Personal Correspondence of "Beano" to Wally Hedrick

DISNEY IN LANDSLIDE-Johnson strong in Northeast, but fails to capture home state of Texas.


SOVIETS BOGGED DOWN IN HUNGARY-Western Powers call for ceasefire.


Hey, the Reds knew that they were screwed. They didn't want it spilling over into the neighboring states, since they weren't any more fond of all out atomic hell than anyone else. But if they stayed in Hungary, there was no guarantee that they'd get anywhere, and they just didn't want to deal with being bogged down for years...the army had lost their taste for it, for all their talk of solidarity and defeating the imperialist aggressors. So they called in their people, and we called in our people, and we managed to work something out where they were still kind of part of the Warsaw Pact in name, but didn't actually add diddly squat to the defense forces, and they sure as hell weren't NATO. And Nagy's people just sat in the background and stewed. But they knew that they had a choice between getting their asses kicked five ways from Sunday by a fuckload of divisions, or going along with the plan like good little boys and getting some breathing room from the Kremlin.

Hell, it worked out for the Soviets, since they could always point to the free and fair elections in Hungary to prove that they were all for these things. Never mind Poland, or Yugoslavia, or Romania, all still under their thumb....

But at least we got the Army out, even if they were still right on the border. That's probably the proudest moment of the administration.

-Retired Senator Roy Cohn (R-NY), quoted in Magic Kingdom: America In The 50s by Studs Terkel

"As many of you know, we here at Disney have been keeping a pretty close eye on America lately, since we've been faced with all sorts of challenges. We've come out on top, though, so we're ready to announce the National Mickey Mouse Club American Pride Day! Yes, boys and girls throughout this great land will be holding parades and get-togethers up and down the Main Streets of places from the smallest of towns to the biggest cities. We'll even have special appearances from the Disney Defenders, and from all of your favorite characters, including Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and all the gang! So watch for the parades coming your way on December 15th!"

-Ronald Reagan, The Mickey Mouse Club Hour, 11/30/56 "I'll tell ya, it was quite a sight and a real thrill when we marched down Pennsylvania Avenue right in front of the White House. President Disney was out there as an honored guest. As a

Disney Defender, I got to wear the special uniform with the Mickey armband, and my buddies and I all snapped off our salutes in unison as we passed by.

"That's when all hell broke loose. A bunch of scruffy looking red protesters came up through Lafayette Park. We couldn't see them right off, but we could see the signs they were holding: "No Fascist U.S.A." "Get Your Mouse Off Of My Bookshelf!" "You're Not Defending Me, Disney!". You know. That sort of nonsense. They were yelling and shouting, and trying to break through the crowd watching the parade. One of them managed to shove through, and bumped into Timmy, who was a few rows in front of me. Now, we were taught self-discipline, but we were also taught that a fellow who throws the first punch probably isn't ready to sit down and talk reasonably. Timmy figured that he'd been attacked, so he socked the fellow a good one in the jaw. The other guys with the pickets, they let up this huge howl, and stormed right through the spectators to get at us. I heard someone yelling 'Get the President out of here!' and saw a bunch of Secret Service agents surrounding him and shoving him off the grandstand. Then one of the reds came up to me screaming and swinging a picket sign, so I took out my baton and used the self-defense techniques Sergeant Watson had taught me to bop him a good one on the side of his skull..."

-Harold "Whitey" Whitmore, quoted in Let Us Hold Our Banner High, Documentary Prize winner at the Cannes International Film Festival, 2002.

PRESIDENT SURVIVES ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AT DISNEY PRIDE CELEBRATIONS IN WASHINGTON: Other, Lesser Protests Also Evident At Nationwide Celebration


1957

"Our evidence will show the following: That my clients sitting here before you were peaceably exercising their constitutional rights as guaranteed under the First Amendment when they were set upon by corporate-sponsored paramilitary youths acting under the protection of the United States government. Also that the gun supposedly owned by Mr. Kunstler here, a respected attorney from New York, was not only not in his possession at the time of his arrest, but was planted by overzealous agents of the same federal government..."

-Opening Statement in United States v. Kunstler, Dwight, and Lange

"We're pleased to announce that due to the January 6th show meeting such a powerful response from the English listening public, we're going to be adding a few more dates and going out on a national tour. He'll also be at the opening of the Cavern Club in your fine city of Liverpool. Of course, Mr. Presley will be giving interviews to established and respectable journalists, as he's an established and respectable performing artist."

-Col. Tom Parker, press conference, 1/8/57

CONGRESS PASSES ANTI-RIOT LAWS: ACLU Promises To Fight Law "To The Highest Court"


ISRAEL PROTESTS INCREASED FOREIGN AID TO EGYPT, MIDEAST


"Yes, I believe that this trip is appropriate. As the foremost fighters of fascism in the world today, the peace-loving people of the Soviet Union naturally support those who suffered the most at the hands of the madmen who nearly destroyed Germany. As my first act as foreign minister, I am looking forward to visiting Israel, and to improving relations between our people and the Jewish people."

-Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, 2/21/57

KUNSTLER GUILTY OF ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT, INCITEMENT TO RIOT: Facing Life In Prison, Defiant Lawyer Vows Appeal

-The New York Times, 3/6/57

The President was in as bad of a condition as I'd ever seen him in. He'd always had some nervous tics, but ever since the assassination attempt, he couldn't stay at his desk for more than half an hour before getting up to wash his hands. Also, his drinking had increased noticeably. I'd thought that his typical lunch of fresh doughnuts dipped in whiskey to be an amusing affectation brought over from California. Then he started drinking the whiskey afterwards. Then I noticed that the bottle was being pulled out somewhat regularly, though he did his best to keep it from the rest of the staff.

Somewhat worried, I took the unusual step of approaching Roy about the situation. He snorted derisively when I brought it up. "So what?" he snapped back at me. "A bunch of 'em drank. Truman. Roosevelt loved his martinis. Hell, Grant's remembered for it, and not badly, either. Think his drinking is a problem? Unless we get the Soviets and Israel to stop acting like school chums, I'm going to have to look at getting my name changed if I want to keep working here."

-The Truth Of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir, Former White House Press Secretary James Dodd

KUNSTLER ERUPTS DURING APPEAL HEARING, HELD FOR PSYCHIATRIC OBSERVATION

-The Washington Post, 3/17/57 HOFFA ARRESTED ON BRIBERY CHARGES

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Union Leader James Hoffa was arrested by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation yesterday on charges of bribery....

...Speaking for his client, Attorney Raymond Seale stated "This is obviously a politically motivated arrest on the part of an anti-union administration. President Disney was well-known as a union-buster during his time in the private sector, and he is now using the powers of his office in a manner designed to cripple them once and for all."

-Chicago Tribune, 3/14/57

"Now, I won't speak as to the charges regarding Mr. Hoffa. I will say this, though: The President has been given every opportunity in the world to be a great leader. Some of his projects have even leaned towards greatness, such as the space program. However, when given the opportunity for moral leadership, he has consistently refused to rise to the occasion. We still have riots in our streets between underprivileged youths and the youngsters in the so-called "Disney Defenders". In the face of open and honest disapproval of his policies, he has shoved unconstitutional measures through congress, measures certain to not be upheld by the Supreme Court. And, yes, millions of American citizens down south are still denied their rights to vote, their rights to shop where they will, to attend school where they will, to drink from the same fountains and use the same facilities as those of lighter skin.

"In all of these matters and many more, the man who brought us some of the most delightful creations of animation has, quite oddly, suffered a total failure of imagination."

-Speech by Senator John F. Kennedy (D-MA) to the American Civil Liberties Union

"It is therefore the opinion of this court that Mr. Kunstler is mentally incapable of defending himself or assisting in his own defense, and will be remanded to the State Hospital for the Criminally Insane until such time as he has been determined to not be a danger to himself or others..."

-Judge Horace Wright, 3/27/57

Problems? Hoo, boy, I'll say we had problems. They had to put extra security on me after the Anti-Defamation League started calling me a traitor. They were comparing me to the Jews in Germany and Poland who sold out their neighbors for a little protection, calling me "Walt's pet Jew". See, I didn't see myself as Jewish. I'd even started going to the Episcopalian Church and getting religious instruction. It didn't matter. Because of my last name, they saw me as a turncoat.

On the other hand, I did have one of my better inspirations during this time, even if the eventual repercussions couldn't have been foreseen. See, at first Walt was mad because Kunstler had gotten off with his lawyers calling him crazy, paranoid, seeing a frame job where there wasn't one, which is a better defense than his first team gave him. The President would rant and rave about how being a communist didn't make someone crazy, it just made 'em idiots.

It hit me then: The President was wrong. Of course it was crazy to be a communist. Of course it was the sign of a mental defect. I mean, maybe not when you're poor and uneducated, but when you're a successful professional? It's like being a fashion designer who advocates nudism, or a cop who advocates crime. Communism was a mental illness, and Kunstler was in a hospital getting treated for it. Beautiful.

Of course I didn't bring any of this up to him immediately, but I did bide my time until he calmed down a bit. In the meantime, he was letting the pressures of the office get to him, and I needed to isolate him from the staff members who were causing distractions.

-Retired Senator Roy Cohn (D-NY), quoted in Magic Kingdom: America In The 50s, by Studs Terkel

The first change that I noticed was that Cohn was always there. Morning briefings, staff meetings, walking through the halls, he never gave the President a moment alone. He'd even speak up during the times that I asked President Disney a direct question, like the man couldn't speak for himself

During one such meeting, I brought up a simple question regarding the space program. We were slated to send a man into space for a short hop, and I wanted to know if the President had any specific words to say on such an occasion. Instead of answering me directly, he looked at Roy.

"Make up something and the President will sign his name" Roy said.

"I thought..." I managed to get out before he interrupted.

"Next item" he snapped.

I went through the remainder of the morning meeting, a bit taken aback by the President's uncharacteristic lack of communication with me. As I said goodbye, I leaned forward slightly as I arose from my chair. The answer came to me then and there as I caught the scent of whiskey on the President's breath.

Cohn had already managed to manipulate one drunken politician. Now he was pulling the strings of the most powerful one in the world. I was aghast at the prospect. Disney had been a father figure to me for some years, as I'm sure I've established by now.

I was able to get him alone just once, when the President graciously invited me over to the private residence to watch Julie Andrews in Cinderella on television one night. I tried to talk with him then, but he just smiled at me blankly, said "Jimmy, my boy, can't you ever think of anything but business?" and sat enraptured by Miss Andrews' performance for the rest of the evening.

-From The Truth Of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir by Former White House Press Secretary James Dodd

Dear Sir:

It has come to the attention of Mickey Mouse Clubs nationwide that you are planning to export a book to the United States called Heulen, by the so-called "poet" Alan Ginsberg.

Having been informed of the contents of this book, we are sworn and determined to not allow this degenerate and obscene material to touch the hallowed shores of our great country. Ginsberg and his cronies have left the United States to spread their filth elsewhere, and quite frankly, we are happy that they left.

We therefore ask you to reconsider your intent to sell this book in the United States, as you will be met with every legal means at our disposal to stop you.

Sincerely,

Anita BryantYouth Morals DirectorMickey Mouse Clubs of America

Wally, my pal, I am in London and it is hipsville here, though we seem to be at odds with a group of kiddos calling themselves "Teddy Boys", even though I can't see where or how or why we offended them. They all show up at concerts for Elvis and worship him like the golden calf or one of those Oriental idols Alan's always drooling over. But what is done is done, and as long as we stick to a couple of Jewish neighborhoods in the East End where we have some youngsters calling themselves "Mods" on our side, we're safe, nay, we're nearly idolized since they want to know all about our beat lifestyle and take bennies with us. So it's been rap session after rap session, though Alan keeps tugging at his beard and whining that the distinctly non-groovy mouse kiddies have ruined him, and it's downhill from there till we remind him that great artists are never appreciated in their own time then send him upstairs with a bottle of cheap muscatel and a young boy with green eyeshadow. Hope you got in touch with Jack and please let him know that he's sure to find a publisher for his magnum opus if he can just get someone to sit down with a giant roll of paper without wanting to wipe his ass with it first.


ANTI-AMERICAN RIOTS ERUPT IN TAIWAN

-London Times, 5/25/57

ISRAEL, USSR TO INCREASE TRADE, CULTURAL EXCHANGES

-Jerusalem Post, 5/27/57

The former governor stops and looks down, as if this most obvious of questions has taken him by surprise. "No," he says softly. "No, I do not believe that I will enter government service again at any point in my life. Quite frankly, having seen what they are capable of inside the Beltway, I am loath to ever approach politics again. Instead, I expect to remain in my law practice for the rest of my working life, and to occasionally fight for the rights of the oppressed when an interesting enough case crosses my desk."

-"Stevenson In Repose," Look Magazine, 5/57

"President Disney's attempt to build bridges with the Jewish community may have been dealt a fatal blow today during his speech to the Chamber of Commerce in Baltimore, Maryland yesterday afternoon. During his opening remarks, the President was interrupted by demonstrators in the back of the room who loudly protested his support for Egyptian leader Nasser. Sources have informed this reporter that as the protesters were removed by security personnel, the President could be heard leaning over and saying in a joking manner to Chamber President Clancy Johnson 'Tell your security men to watch their wallets on the way out.'

"The White House has not confirmed or denied the President's comments, but a highly placed administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity stated 'If the President said that, it obviously had nothing to do with the religion or heritage of the protesters, but was rather an expression of concern for the well-being of the security guards.'

"In response to this alleged incident, the Anti-Defamation League has issued an official protest with the White House."

-Reporter Tyrone Lansing, WBAL Baltimore

"It was a lovely time to be alive. You had Elvis coming to Liverpool, and that was all that we needed to go stark raving mad. Think I put so much grease in my hair that I could have stood on my head and slid all the way to the Cavern Club to see him. Don't know how they managed to book the man, since he was the hottest ticket in England, no, in Europe. So I showed up with stars in my eyes and lust for the birds in my heart, but instead of making time with one of them, who should I meet but a young incorrigible named Paul. He refused to leave me alone when he found out that I played guitar, though to be fair, he says that I refused once I found out that he played guitar. It's all a bit murky, truth be told. But that's how we met up, as Elvis sang "Jailhouse Rock" on the stage above and the girls around us in the balcony screamed their lovely little lungs out."

-Musician John Lennon quoted in "Mods, Rockers, and Those Bloody Beatniks". Major Music Magazine, 12/10/94

"And now, here's Pat Boone with 'Kiss Me Again', the number one song on our charts!"

-Dick Clark, American Bandstand premiere

GOVERNOR FAUBUS PROMISES TO CALL UP NATIONAL GUARD TO PREVENT INTEGRATION

-Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 8/30/57

"Please note that the President is very concerned about the developing situation in Little Rock, and wishes to find a way to resolve the issues involved within the rule of law while maintaining a respect for the unique traditions and culture of the South."

-White House Spokesman James Dodd, 9/1/57

There was no way around it. If we weren't going to look like fools, then we had to go up against Faubus in the courts. Hey, I'm all about states' rights, but the Civil War determined that you don't get to pick and choose the federal laws you follow. At least not if you're a governor.


Please note that while the Mickey Mouse Clubs take no specific position regarding the issue of integration, we are mindful that various members in certain regions have strong opinions on the matter. Therefore, we only ask that when exercising your right to free speech that you refrain from any clothing, action, or comment that would cause bystanders to believe that you are speaking on behalf of our organization.

-Memo to Mickey Mouse Clubs of Little Rock, AK from Head Office in Burbank, CA

GOVERNOR WITHDRAWS NATIONAL GUARD, NEGRO STUDENTS FORCED FROM BUILDING


"Yes, we have received a request from the Mayor of Little Rock to provide federal troops for crowd control. The President has considered this request at great length. Unfortunately, while he sympathizes with Mayor Mann in this matter, President Disney also believes that the military has no place in enforcing laws within our borders. It is the position of this administration that the people of Little Rock will be best served by their local law enforcement officers. President Disney will keep a close eye on this developing situation, however, and act as it becomes appropriate.

[Question not comprehensible]

"Yes, he is aware that General Eisenhower has recommended federalizing the Arkansas National Guard. President Disney is mindful of the increased strain on the General due to his recent stroke, however, and understands that the constitutionality of such a move would be uncertain at best."

-White House Press Secretary James Dodd, 9/22/57

"It didn't seem to be that big a deal at the time. They were Negroes, though we didn't use that word, oh, no. We figured that they had no place among decent white folk. Didn't see why in the world they'd even want to be in one of our schools, or stray so far from their own. Didn't understand that "Separate but equal" is anything but equal. So we went down to join the crowd, but took off our uniforms and hats first, dressed like regular old students.

"We were at the back of the school, since they'd managed to sneak 'em in that door previously. Then a whisper went up, then a murmur, like the whole crowd was saying 'They're coming in the side!'. So we all surged around the building. I wasn't thinking at the time, none of us were, we were all just caught up in the excitement of protecting our state, or the virtue of white southern womanhood, or some kind of nonsense like that. Hell, for me it was probably just a day off from school, more or less.

"Somehow or another I got pushed around enough to be near the front, and got to see what happened next. First off was a ring of scared-looking local police, yelling at the crowd and telling them to stay back. Southern white folk protecting the black man. Didn't enter my head at the time, though, since I was too busy watching what happened next. First off, the police line broke when some yokel yelled out 'Lynch the niggers!' and there was a huge surge in the crowd. Most of the kids made it to the door. One of them, Ernest I found out his name was later, he pushed the others ahead of him, protecting the younger ones and the women. Someone clocked him on the back of the head. Don't know what the man was thinking when he turned around and hit back. Guess it had just built up too much for him.

"I saw the crowd rip him apart. Literally. I mean, they pulled him on each side like taffy, and what was left after five minutes wasn't recognizable as human anymore. Couldn't even tell what race he was.

"That day changed everything for me. Changed it even more for him."

-William J. Clinton, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, quoted in Let Us Hold Our Banner High, Documentary Prize winner at the Cannes International Film Festival, 2002.

RACE RIOT IN LITTLE ROCK

-The New York Times, 9/26/57 "A six p.m. curfew is in effect for the entire city of Little Rock. I have also instructed the National Guard to shoot to kill anyone found rioting, looting, or otherwise causing a breach of the peace. I have the full assurance of the President that the administration will be providing whatever support and assistance is required by our great state of Arkansas, and I promise that this situation will be resolved shortly."

-Governor Orville Faubus, 9/26/57

"Don't know exactly what happened. We'd been told by the local NAACP that we had to stand tall, politely demand our rights, and make everything nice and legal. So we did that. Then we were told to ignore the rednecks who were yelling at and spitting on our children, and that the truth would win the day. So we waiting for the truth to come save us, and put our faith in God, and prayed every day for deliverance.

"Then they killed our boy.

"There was a meeting at First Baptist after we heard the news. It was kind of the center for anyone who was keeping up with the integration movement, the kind of place where nice old ladies would print up leaflets and we'd hold real civilized meetings on how to politely confront the white folk. Walked in that day, though, and the whole church was full to busting with folks crying and wailing and screaming to the heavens. So Reverend Walker, he gets up there and says 'Let us pray,' and we bow our heads but there's still sniffling and sobbing all over. And then the NAACP head--I forget his name, he was an old fella and a cousin of someone high up in the community--he stands up and starts to talk about healing and love and forgiveness. And he's halfway through the opening, and there's this feeling that I've never felt in the church, like a burning. So he says something about acting with dignity, but the words ain't hardly out of his mouth before some young man in the back stands up and shouts at the top of his lungs 'They killed him! They ripped him apart!'

"There's this shock, then it's like the whole crowd moans at once. Something's getting released, something ugly, like we cranked that Jack in the box to the last note, and now a demon's popping up. The NAACP man, he says something about Christ's love and forgiveness, and reasoning with people, but the sounds, they hit the air, and no one's listening.

"So the man in the back yells 'They tore 'part his body! Ain't no reasoning with these people!' And when he says people, it's like he almost laughs, but in an ugly way. 'I'm goin' out there and showin' them that we ain't backin' off this time! I been scrapin' and bowin' my whole life to the crackers! I'm standing up!'

"And then there's this chorus of 'Amens', but with a real harsh edge. So the NAACP man, he stands up straighter, and reaches out his arms saying 'Brothers...sisters', but he can't hardly get above a whisper as the crowd gets louder and starts shouting. And then somehow one person marches out of the church, and another, and another behind him, till I find myself getting pushed along. And when I get outside, it's like every colored person in Arkansas is walking down the street, yelling and screaming as they make their way towards the white section of town."

-Reginald Lyman, quoted in For Want Of A Nail: Race, Riot, and Revolutionaries, 2006

At one point, Cohn and the President were arguing so stridently that I believe that they forgot that I was in the room. Cohn kept restating his position that we could still salvage something, that the Reds had instigated the riots, that the President had done nothing wrong. Finally, seeing the fury in President Disney's eyes, he made an uncharacteristic slip-up when he said "Look, Mr. President, this is an opportunity...."

I'd seen the President lose his temper before, but never to this degree. Picking up an ashtray from the desk, he flung it at Roy, who ducked. He was unable to avoid being covered with cigarette ashes in the process, though.

"Opportunity?" the President yelled. "A boy just got ripped apart by a mob. You want to see the pictures?" He grabbed Cohn by the shoulders, his face twisted into something maniacal, then shoved him towards the desk. Much as he'd done during the Till situation, the President had asked for photographs of the carnage. "Look at this!" he snapped, physically pushing Cohn's head downwards. I thought of attempting to restrain him, then realized that the Secret Service was only a shout away, and besides, I didn't much care of Roy got injured in the process.

Cohn stood there, breathing hard as the President gripped him by the neck. "Look at this, you kike bastard. Look at this." Disney growled. "The goons down there did this to that poor boy. And do you know why? Because when you said that we needed to keep out of it, I was fool enough to listen to you. And now this is on my hands. My hands. Now I'm tempted to let that city burn to the ground." The strength seemed to leave him. Crossing around his desk, he collapsed into his chair as Cohn stood there, paralyzed, for once at a loss for words.

"Get out of my sight," he snapped hoarsely, then looked up and saw me with my back pressed against the wall. "You, too, Jimmy," he said in a softer voice. "We'll have a...a statement of some sort later. Condolences to the family. Support for that idiot governor while he tries to get it under control."

He glanced over at Cohn, who was still leaning against the desk, eyes wide. "Didn't I dismiss you?"

Cohn left without a word. "Thank you, Mr. President," I murmured, nodding to the stone-faced Marines flanking his office as I left. As the door closed behind me, I heard the clink of a bottle.

-The Truth Of Fantasy: A White House Memoir, by Former Press Secretary James Dodd

Yeah, the President and I, we had some heated discussions over the whole Little Rock thing. I finally got him around to seeing things the right way by asking Hoover and his boys to show Walt the evidence that Reds were behind the rioting. I mean, yes, maybe it would have been better to send in the army, but hell, that would have raised a whole new set of issues. The genie was out of the bottle. Best to let Faubus settle things his own way.

-Retired Senator Roy Cohn (R-NY), quoted in Magic Kingdom: America In The 50s, by Studs Terkel

AT LEAST 45 DEAD IN THIRD DAY OF LITTLE ROCK RIOT

LITTLE ROCK-At least forty-five people have been reported killed in the fourth day of rioting that has gripped the community of Little Rock. The riots began after the alleged murder of

high school student Ernest Green at the hands of segregationist protesters.

According to eyewitness reports, while the official death toll stands at forty-five, this does not include numerous rioters allegedly killed at the hands of National Guardsmen. Sources have indicated that these incidents could conceivably bring the death total past one hundred.

-AP report, 9/30/57

"They're shooting us down in the street! Please help!"

-Anonymous caller to Washington, D.C. branch of the NAACP, allegedly from Little Rock

"Yes, this Reverend King has offered to provide his assistance in calming down the community. No, we have not accepted his supposed assistance, as he is a well-known agitator among his people"

Governor Orville Faubus, 10/1/57

KING STAY OUT. WE AIN'T TURNING ANY MORE CHEEKS.

-Graffiti spotted during Montgomery riots

The BARBARIC ACTS perpetrated by the INFERIOR RACES backed by INTERNATIONAL COMMUNISM show that SEGREGATION must now and forever remain the POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.

-Leaflet distributed in Jackson, Mississippi

127 ESTIMATED DEAD AS LITTLE ROCK FIGHTING CEASES-Much Of City In Ruins, Governor Requests EPCOT Funding

Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 10/4/57

COLORED SECTION OF MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA BESIEGED BY WHITE VIGILANTES

Montgomery- The Negro communities of Montgomery, Alabama were placed under a state of siege today by numerous self-proclaimed representatives of White Citizens' Councils. Speaking for the councils, spokesman Wilbur Edison stated "Montgomery has suffered enough due to the red agitators coming into our communities to stir up our coloreds. We're telling the residents that if they stay indoors and have no history or association with the recent boycott, then they have nothing to fear. It's simply the troublemakers that we're eliminating from the neighborhood. We ain't seeing another Little Rock around here."

New York Times, 10/1/57

KLAN ACTIVITIES, MEMBERSHIP INCREASE IN NUMBER

-ACLU Bulletin, 10/57

In the wake of recent unrest in the Negro communities spilling over into the white areas, Disney Defenders in the southern areas of the United States are now encouraged, whenever possible, to provide assistance to local law enforcement organizations upon requests. Said assistance should include, but not be limited to, patrols, report of serious crime, and citizens' arrests of agitators when and where appropriate.

Additionally, we will be releasing a new set of "Fun Activity Guide" suggestions targeted towards communist and communist-inspired front groups. Tell your kids to get ready for a whole new challenge!

-Mickey Mouse Club Memo, 10/57 I was sitting behind and to the side of Martin during his speech that day. It was rather warm for November, and I had loosened my collar slightly, wishing that I could take off my blazer. Instead, I concentrated on listening to his speech, though I'd heard numerous repetitions of it on the previous night as he practiced. He'd told me that it was the speech of his life, and that if he couldn't make people see the need for real peaceful change, then he didn't see what else he could do for the movement.

He had just quoted the words of Jesus Christ, "Blessed are the peacemakers", when I saw the object flying through the air. My mouth gaped open, I can tell you, but I had no time to react before it hit Martin. Egg splattered all over the good Reverend's face. The crowd was shocked, but they didn't seem surprised, if you understand the difference. Indeed, while security was escorting out the silent troublemaker--a young black man, defiance on his face, something that we were seeing more of as the days passed--the audience seemed to lose interest in Martin's words.

Martin himself, he simply wiped the egg off of his face after a second and continued as if nothing had happened. Unfortunately, everything had changed at that moment. Others say that it was Till, or the integration of the Army, or Little Rock. Personally, though, it was a previously respected reverend standing there dripping with egg yolk while a crowd looked on in silence that did it for me. On that day, the movement as we'd known it was finished. A younger, angrier generation wanted to speak its piece now, and we were only standing in the way.

-Ralph Abernathy, quoted in For Want Of A Nail: Race, Riot, and Revolutionaries, 2006

ROCK AND ROLL RIOTS! TEDS, MODS CLASH IN EAST END!

-London Guardian, 11/2/57

JAVITS CLAIMS ISRAEL, CIVIL RIGHTS "TOP PRIORITIES"-Junior Senator Unable To Find Traction With Colleagues

-New York Herald, 11/2/57

SEVEN KILLED IN MONORAIL DERAILMENT IN LOS ANGELES -Fifteen Injuries as "African Brotherhood" Claims Responsibility


"The Honorable Elijah Muhammed tells us that we cannot serve the white man at the same time that we serve ourselves. It is only through self-sufficiency, pride in our great African heritage, and humility before Allah that we know who we are as a people. Let me say this: They may call us violent. They may call us savages. But it is no more savage to stand up to those who mutilate and destroy our youth than it would be savage to put down a mad dog threatening our children."

-From The Collected Speeches Of Malcolm X

Reverend King,

I read with great interest your concerns regarding recent IRS activity focused towards your organization. I am well aware of the progress that the Southern Christian Leadership Conference has made in the advancement of civil rights, and would, if such a thing were possible, make every effort to assist you in this matter.

Unfortunately, tax law is not my area of expertise, and I would prefer that you be represented by someone well versed in the subject. I have taken the liberty of forwarding your name to several prominent tax attorneys in your immediate area in the hopes that you will be able to find good representation among them.

-Personal correspondence of Adlai Stevenson to Martin Luther King, Jr.

KING, OTHER MINISTERS ARRESTED ON TAX EVASION CHARGES

-Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/13/57

The Cohn-Hoover relationship can be seen as one of the most perfectly symbiotic connections in the history of American politics. Whereas Roy Cohn had the direct and unfiltered ear of the President, J. Edgar Hoover had access to whatever scandalous dirt Cohn needed in order to sway the president his way, whether or not said dirt had any basis in reality. In turn, Hoover saw in Cohn the perfect vehicle to maintain his position as the nation's top law enforcement officer, and to increase his influence over American politics and culture.

-A Secret History Of The FBI by Carl Bernstein, Revolution Press, 2008

Momma,

I'm sorry for how this has got to hurt. Prison is not so bad, though, and I am making good use of my time. I am not sending this through regular mail because it would be censored and I do not want the Warden or the screws knowing what I am writing to you or what I am thinking.

Right now I am busy taking a course in writing from one of the white ladies who teaches classes here. She is very nice but nervous. Whenever she looks at me or any of the other black inmates she has a look in her eyes like she's wondering where the nearest exit is. I would try to put her at ease but I have resolved to not talk to white folks at all unless I have

to.

I forgot to mention that. Currently I am with a small study group of other black inmates. We are talking about the best way to improve our lives. A couple of the older ones want to go the King route but it looks like he might be just another con soon so I do not see the point. We have a Muslim here who makes a lot of sense but I like pork so that isn't for me either. What we have decided is that this is not the time for us to be ripping off our own. Instead we will concentrate on striking a blow for the black man when we are out until the old white power structure is overthrown completely. So far we have a couple of the prison gangs on our side and have negotiated a peace treaty between the black leaders. Things are happening pretty fast and I have hopes for when I am out.

-Personal correspondence of Eldridge Cleaver

Wally, my man, by the time you get this I will probably already be in Berlin with you, and will have updated you on all of the latest crazy cuckoo antics of the British bobbies, so let's just put this down to keeping it for posterity if you haven't been using my letters as rolling papers when you run shy. It seems that Her Majesty's Government is getting antsy about all these fine young Yanks bopping about London and affecting and infecting their precious youth, so there's been a bit of beat bopping going on at the end of the constables' nightsticks against the noggins of yours truly, Alan, and a couple of others. Alan had to spend a night in the clink when he was caught with his trousers down in a public restroom with the son of an M.P., but they've promised not to press charges if he leaves. He's tempted to stand his ground, but I've been getting him to see the point in the amscray by accusing him of being jealous of Wilde, and telling him that Ballad of Reading Gaol has already been written. So back to Berlin, and kill the fatted calf (though make it a carrot for Alan, what with this vegetarian kick).


INCREASED ATTACKS ON POLICE IN WATTS-Chief Parker Denounces Actions of "Hoodlums", Promises Increased Patrols


1958 MERCURY LAUNCH SCRUBBED

CAPE CANAVERAL- Plans for the first suborbital launch of a human being were canceled shortly before takeoff today when anti-government demonstrators outside Cape Canaveral created what a military spokesman called an "untenable security situation" near the base....


SENATOR MCCLELLAN TO PRESIDENT: "LEAD OR GET OUT OF THE WAY"

LITTLE ROCK- Standing on the ruins of what was once Little Rock High School, Senator John

McClellan (D-AK) gave a speech in which he attacked the Disney administration's record on combating the recent unrest in the Negro community.

"It is obvious that the President seems incapable of rising to the occasion," Senator McClellan stated while surrounded by both American and Confederate flags. "We are at a point of crisis between the races in this country, and we require strong leadership to protect our white citizens from the violence of Negro mobs with no respect for the law. The current administration sat by helplessly as our city burned. If it had not been for the noble actions of our brave governor, Little Rock would no longer exist as a city. Therefore, with respect, I must say this to President Disney: Please, either lead us with strength, or step aside for someone who can."

-Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 1/15/58

CITY ON FIRE- Riots Break Out In South Central, Watts

WATTS- The city was awakened to the sounds of sirens this morning as reports came in of developing unrest in Watts and South Central Los Angeles. According to witnesses, the unrest began during a raid on Bosco's Tavern on Normandie, a local saloon popular with the Negro community. During the raid, one customer allegedly stated that an officer had assaulted him while he lay helpless on the ground. A crowd soon gathered....


Wally baby I am sorry like a sap to have missed you while you were in Berlin. Don't take Jack personally, he's just sad, mad, and bad because you get to go hopping around the world whilst he sits and broods in the back room, popping bennies and mumbling about Gestapo tactics (but not too loud lest the locals take that the wrong way), but I can certainly see why you'd feel the need to beat your feet and see what wonders the Continent has to offer. We'll be getting Neal over here soon, since it's not looking too cool for any white cat into the jazz scene, what with each of the races looking at each other like school kids sizing each other up on the yard. So we're trying to see what we can do otherwise.


Oh, God, when McClellan made that grandstanding play, I thought that I'd go nuts. I'd never been a fan of the man. In fact, when I worked for Senator McCarthy, he'd gone so far as to complain about the tactics we were using against the Reds. Like we were supposed to feed them tea and cookies or some such thing. And this was the same guy whining that the President wasn't doing enough? My God, what the hell? Hey, I've done my share of backroom deals, but I'm not a hypocrite, no matter what the parlor pinks have said about me.


I am not recommending violence, oh no. I am not condoning violence. But the violence that I am not condoning can be seen hanging from the branches of trees down South. It can be seen in the eyes of our women as they are forced to degrade themselves into prostitution. It can be seen in the damage done to our crumbling communities.

Against violence such as this, there can be no defense too extreme.

-From The Collected Speeches of Malcolm X

NATIONAL GUARD CALLED OUT AS WATTS RIOTS ENTER SECOND DAY


SENATOR KENNEDY APPEALS FOR CALM AS BOSTON NEGROES PROTEST CONDITIONS

-Boston Globe, 1/25/58

Yes, that's when it started to get scary. At first, we were just being patriotic citizens. But then all of the racial issues started coming up. See, I thought that I was safe from that sort of thing. I'm not sure that I'd ever seen a black person in my life except the school janitor and a couple of others like him. But we were told that it was time to start protesting Communists, and that the organization that we were going to be going up against was a front group for them.

So we all had our lunch, then carpooled a few miles away. I was confused. It looked like we were going to be protesting a church. Now, I wasn't really religious...mostly a go to Sunday school then forget about it the rest of the week type of girl. But it didn't seem right to be doing that. But we were told that the church, even though it was in the white section of town, was doing work for the Communists who were stirring up trouble in Boston. Also, they were Unitarians, which wasn't really Christian. Or at least that's what we were told. So we stood up there and started singing "God Bless America".

The minister...we were told he was the minister later, he looked more like one of those expatriate beatniks the newsreels were always having fun with...the minister came out and looked at us sadly. Then a group of young black people a few minutes later. The minister talked to them. They seemed to argue. Then the man who looked like he was in charge walked over to us. They stood in front of our club staring us down.

I lost my place in the song. It was five or six big black men staring at us. I mean, right in the eye, which I'd never seen before. The adults finally corralled us together and took us home kind of quickly after that. Pretty soon the word came down that we were going to stick to the moral issues, and stay out of the whole race thing.

-Sally Procter, quoted in Let Us Hold Our Banner High, Documentary Prize winner at the Cannes International Film Festival, 2002.

GALLUP POLL SHOWS INTEGRATION, CIVIL RIGHTS LOSING SUPPORT IN NORTH


Looks like we're losing some major market share. If we don't want to start signing the likes of Patti Page and Doris Day, we may have to look overseas for sales. Chuck's already thinking about picking up and taking off to London.

-Unsigned internal office memo, Chess Records

HARLEM MUSLIM TEMPLE RAIDED BY FBI- Police Report One Agent Dead, Nation of Islam Founder In Critical Condition, Numerous Injuries


Cohn had spent his time in the doghouse, and now he was slowly working his way back into the President's favor. The first hint that Cohn was back in the game came in early 1958, when the President pulled several military advisors out of Indochina and sent them to assist the Batista regime in Cuba. This had Roy's fingerprints all over it: I knew from reading his files that he had some low-level contacts with the "gentlemen" who ran various casino enterprises around that area. Also, Director Hoover was more concerned about Cuba's revolutionary potential, and Cohn gave him the chance to express this indirectly to the President when his domestic sphere of influence made it inappropriate to state his concerns directly.

Of course, Cuba was just beginning to heat up, and we barely had a clue as to what was to become of that. The major concerns were domestic, mostly due to the increased rioting and other racial unrest that had been occurring for the past several months.

The one positive thing that could be said about our party's response to the crisis was that whatever our differences, we were attempting to make up for lost time, and attempt to understand the point of view of the Negroes. Not so much Cohn, but several other prominent leaders from the liberal wing of the party. Nelson Rockefeller, candidate for Governor of New York, spoke movingly of us as being the "Party of Lincoln", and of the need to couple tough anti-riot measures with a hand extended in friendship towards the Negro community.

Then Hoover sent his agents into the Harlem Mosque of the Nation of Islam. Ten wounded, one dead. One by the name of Elijah Muhammad, head of the Nation of Islam. The information that we received at the White House was that as the FBI moved in to arrest Mr. Muhammad on various federal charges (since thrown into legitimate dispute), a bodyguard drew his weapon. An FBI agent shot in self-defense, killing the bodyguard immediately, but also wounding Muhammad in the process. The aged cleric was already in poor health, and the extra trauma caused him to perish the next day despite heroic efforts on the part of paramedics and doctors.

Of course, the facts of the situation mattered little to Muhammad's followers. After a brief power struggle, a single young minister named Malcolm X rose to lead the Nation of Islam, and immediately set his people on fire with a series of speeches laying the blame squarely at the feet of a conspiracy including President Disney, Roy Cohn, Director Hoover, and all white people for that matter. Also, a single word was now being introduced into his speeches, one that the Attorney General's research indicated as having never appeared in any Nation of Islam material in the times before the unfortunate death of Mr. Muhammad. Our operatives even had to go to a translator to find the exact meaning of the term (it had several definitions, as it turned out).

That single word, soon to set America on fire, was jihad.

-The Truth Of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir, by former White House Press Secretary James Dodd

One thing that all boys and girls should keep their eyes out for is the "front group". Unfortunately, many otherwise intelligent people will join an organization claiming to

promote peace, or equality, or to fight for the rights of the unfortunate. Sadly, many of these organizations are nothing more than methods by which young and impressionable people can be corrupted into supporting Communist ideals.

Before you join any group like this, ask yourself the following questions: Are the people who surround me generally pro-America? Do they support the government, or do they criticize it unfairly? When they talk of peace, do they really mean that, or are they really saying that America should be defenseless? When they talk about equal rights, are they giving rights to one group at the expense of the freedom of another?

A Mouseketeer knows what the answers to these questions should be. If you have any problems regarding a group that you have joined, or are suspicious of one in your community, then immediately speak to a trusted advisor such as your minister, teacher, parent, principal, or Mickey Mouse Club Group Leader.

-Mickey's Guide To Patriotism, 1958 Mickey Mouse Club Pamphlet, by Youth Morals Director Anita Bryant

The American Zone of Berlin has many fine sights and unusual places to see. One of the most popular recent additions for homesick Americans has been Emma's Place, a jazz club and cafe reminiscent of the former Bohemian nightlife that could be found in New York City and San Francisco. Located next to the bookstore Jack's Stacks, Emma's Place combines excellent coffee, good wines, and some of the best up-and-coming jazz musicians in the world. Owned by American expatriate Wally Hedrick. For a more unusual experience, attend the Friday night poetry readings hosted by Alan Ginsberg, but do not under any circumstances bring the children to this event. Adults only!

-Berlin On Pfennings A Day, 1958

SLAY TWO IN NEGRO TERRORIST RAID

-Los Angeles Herald, 3/19/58

"Well, what are they going to do? They say that they're for freedom of speech? Great. I'm saying that they're communists and should go back to Russia. Are they going to defend that?"

-Anonymous Mousketeer, archival footage of anti-ACLU protest, quoted in Let Us Hold Our Banner High, Documentary Prize winner at the Cannes International Film Festival, 2002.

PRESLEY TO GIVE ROYAL COMMAND PERFORMANCE

-News release from Colonel Tom Parker, 3/58

It was approximately 8:30 a.m. when J. Edgar Hoover's car rounded the corner and pulled up in front of the headquarters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a group to which he was scheduled to give a speech on the threat of alleged communist influence on the American labor movement. As Hoover's driver opened the door and the Director lifted himself from the car, a man stepped forward, managing to fire two shots before Hoover's FBI bodyguards shoved the Director back into the car, firing enough shots to immediately kill the

would-be assassin. Struck in the lower stomach and the left upper thigh, the Director was immediately transported to Bethesda Naval Hospital where he underwent life-saving surgery.

The attempted assassin was Harvey Lange, a sharecropper's son originally from Norfolk, Virginia. Lange was well-known to local law enforcement authorities as a drunk and a braggart who had been run in several times for vagrancy and public intoxication. Recently, he had claimed to have given up drinking as a member of the Nation of Islam, though no records existed of his membership, and no FBI reports of the period mention him as belonging to the organization in any capacity whatsoever. Additionally, The Nation of Islam itself disavowed any knowledge of Lange's plans, and stated that while he had been seen at a few of Minister X's talks, he had never taken steps to become a member of the faith.

All of this was lost on a vengeance-ridden Director and increasingly fretful President Disney, both of whom found themselves taking drastic steps as the Spring of 1958 turned into a racial crisis unseen in the United States since the Civil War.

-Our America, Scholastic Books, 2002 AMERICAN TROOPS ATTACKED BY CUBAN REBELS OUTSIDE HAVANA


You may tell me, my brothers and sisters, that you are uneducated. That the schools of the white man have left you barely able to read, unable to do math beyond one plus one, ignorant of the unspeakable evils committed by the white devil in the name of "democracy" or "liberty". I say to you, good! The less brainwashing you underwent at their hands, the more open your minds will be to the truth. And here is one important truth: Since World War II, the United States has not sent a single soldier out to fight another white man. They've divvied up the pieces amongst themselves. Now a group of Cubans has decided to say "No more!", and to fight against the United States-backed criminal government in their land.

Now, they say that these soldiers are communists. That they go against the ideals of freedom. I say to you this: If they are against the exploiters and white businessmen currently running Havana, then they are on the side of Allah, whether they recognize it or not.

If you are a Black soldier in the White man's army, I only ask that you think. Think about who you are fighting against. More importantly, think about who and what you are fighting for. If you walk away from your post, they will call you a criminal and traitor. A criminal by whose standards? And a traitor to what? To a people who have enslaved us, who have raped our women, and who are to this day murdering our children and martyring our prophets.

Think about this, and think about what God has commanded us to do.

-Taped message from Malcolm X distributed in black communities, 4/58

MALCOLM X TOPS "MOST WANTED" LIST


Wally, you know that I think that politics of any sort is a drag, but I had to get out for what I thought would be the greatest show I've seen since I walked in on Alan, the rent boy, and that mechanical toy he'd bought in the Village. So I took a hop up to London to check out the

swinging scene thinking that some chicks would be around the march and that I'd be able to quote enough Sartre and Camus to get them back to the fleabag hotel room I'd found. Instead, I found myself in the middle of a distinctly ungroovy scene as a bunch of professor-looking squares started marching with their anti-nuclear weapons signs and chanting rhymes that must have made the Bard spin in his grave in despair. I was flying off too many bennies, no sleep for a couple of days, and some powerful grass I'd smoked before the march, so when the trouble started, I thought that it was just paranoia. But like a Zen man I heard say once, it's all in that first thoughtless thought that you find truth, and sure enough it wasn't too long before we were set upon by some all-too-familiar leather jacketed rough trade yelling and screaming about how we weren't going to be pushing that sort of thing in their neighborhood, and I'll be damned if I didn't see a couple of mouse ears being worn off to the side on their squiffs before I caught a crowbar across the mouth So it looks like Der Maus has made it over here in a big way, and as soon as my jaw sets I am beating feet back to the old homestead where I can listen to jazz and whisper "ich liebe dich" into the whispers of the buxom locals all night long.


PAUL ROBESON ANNOUNCES "RETIREMENT" AFTER PASSPORT REFUSED AGAIN

-The Hollywood Reporter, 4/58

Wow, that was a hell of a time after that crazy radical took a pop at Hoover. First off, J. Edgar always had this specific sort of walk, kind of prim and proper, really fast. Once he got a cane, it was like he was a whole different purpose, like all of that energy that used to go into the steps was going towards something else. I told this to Schine, and he said "Yeah. Revenge. Slow, deliberate revenge." David always had a poetic thing going. Anyway, we'd all get together in the private office, me, Edgar, and Walt, and they'd stare at each other then get to work. First off was the executive order about integration. Disney wasn't much for jokes, but he used to call his animators at the company "The Nine Old Men" after the Supreme Court. Now he'd repeat "I dealt with the Nine Old Men back in Burbank, and these Nine Old Men aren't any scarier."

Hey, I said it was a joke, not that it was any good.

Anyway, the executive order. Yeah, he shoved that one right down the public's throat, and they begged for more. No more integration till the "time of crisis" had passed. Existing laws to be reviewed. States to implement their own programs depending on the needs of the locals. All recent civil rights decisions to not be implemented in the interim. Kind of like Lincoln freeing the slaves, one Negro leader said, only in reverse. No review by congress, no fighting it to the Supreme Court, just BAM! Take that, Martin. Take that. Hell, we actually begged him to do more, but he said he'd hold off till he saw what the results were. National emergency and all, though, no one over in legislative or judicial was going to say "Boo!"

Man could have run for another term if he'd wanted it, or even put off elections if he'd played his cards right. I suggested it to him, though, and you'd think that I suggested that he hop into bed with his dead mother. Said that it wasn't necessary for the functioning of America, that there was a reason for the 22nd amendment, and that he was getting sick of the job, anyway. Disney was a great guy and a decent president, but he lacked the killer instinct.


PRESIDENT DISNEY REQUESTS MORE TROOPS TO BE SENT TO ASSIST BATISTA REGIME


ACLU IN CRISIS, BOARD OF DIRECTORS RESIGNS

WASHINGTON, D.C.-With all of their main offices beset by demonstrators from the Mickey Mouse Club and other organizations, the entire governing board of the American Civil Liberties Union resigned yesterday morning, stating in a press release that the group was in need of "new leadership".


It was below the dignity of the Executive Branch of government to get involved in a criminal trial, not to mention that it was utterly inappropriate on every conceivable level. Of course, dignity was a term unfamiliar to Roy. I could never prove anything, but the expert witnesses testifying that Kunstler was insane due to his beliefs at the time that he shot the president had all been part of his social circle in Washington. The one thing that I couldn't fathom was his motivation in encouraging the court system to see the President's would–be assassin as anything more than a common criminal. However, as Cohn never tired of pointing out, I can be woefully naive at times.

The Supreme Court refused to hear the case. Due to the fact that Kunstler had attempted to assassinate the president with a motivation of socialist beliefs, he was declared mentally unfit to stand trial. Kunstler himself was under a regular Thorazine regimen at this point, so his opinion on this matter went unstated. Roy even had the brilliant idea of involving Dr. Fredrick Werthram as a witness. Best known for the seminal work Seduction of the Innocent, no one could accuse the aged civil rights advocate of being beholden to the right wing.

Cohn played politics like chess, willing to make a minor sacrifice in exchange for an aggressive move five turns down the line. None of us could see where he was going with this, and by the time we found out, there was little that we could do.

-The Truth Of Fantasy: A White House Memoir, by former Presidential Spokesman James Dodd

MASSACRE AT DISNEYLAND: Amusement Park In Turmoil Following Moslem Attack On Visitors

ANAHEIM- Disneyland, the amusement park that has come to be the symbol of the success of President Walt Disney's former entertainment company, was attacked yesterday by five armed Negroes who claimed to be acting on behalf of the terrorist group The Nation Of Islam. Seventeen people are thought to have died in the attack, including two children and the gunmen themselves.

Carrying automatic weapons, the alleged terrorists are thought to have gained entry to the park by posing as members of the janitorial staff. According to police sources, the attack began when one of the team shouted "For Elijah Muhammad!" before opening fire near the Sleeping Beauty Castle attraction....


There once was a cartoonish mouseWho lived in a large and white houseHe dealt with attacksFrom angry young blacksBy staying perpetually soused

-The Big Book Of Political Limericks, 1998

While this university is mindful of its duties to ensure the Constitutional rights of all students, staff, and faculty, the recent proliferation of posters with the face of wanted criminal Malcolm X on dorm room walls, common walls, and various public spaces cannot be considered as appropriate for an institute of higher education, especially considering certain recent violent acts carried out by his organization. The trustees of this institution have therefore issued a directive prohibiting the display of any material that could be considered to glorify criminal behavior and/or terrorist acts.

-Chancellor's Office, University of California, Berkeley, 5/25/58

All that we knew that night was that the president had been taken to the hospital complaining of shortness of breath at three in the morning. I'd been awakened out of a sound sleep by some random assistant of Roy's to put something together for the morning briefing. I blearily wrote out the typical reassuring words that somehow said nothing in particular over three cups of coffee and countless cigarettes (a nasty habit I'd picked up since working there), went to my office, and waited for the morning papers. They were full of follow-ups to the terrorist attacks on Disneyland. The reward for Malcolm X had blossomed to a million dollars, an unheard of sum for the capture of a criminal.

Roy showed up at six and tossed some papers on my desk before turning to walk out. I stopped him.

"What are these?" I asked.

"Things that the President wanted you to look over. In case you couldn't tell," he sneered at me. "Disney's preoccupied right now."

I opened my mouth, then shut it again with a shrug. They were the typical announcements of various social events, most of which would obviously have to be postponed at some point. However, at the moment, it was important to give the impression that we were going ahead as if nothing was wrong. I gave the morning briefing, glossed over the nighttime incident as simple hyperventilation, and kept a calm and happy face on at all times.

Early in the afternoon, the word came down that the President was allowed to receive select visitors, with family coming first. First Lady Lillian Disney and their girls were on the top of the list, with select staff and cabinet officials following close behind. The Vice-President was at the top as well, but as he was currently making nice with some recalcitrant sheiks in the Mideast, this wasn't a relevant matter. I wasn't on the list, but my duties demanded that I go to the hospital so that I could find out just what in the world I was supposed to be telling people.

After an extensive Secret Service check by agents who already knew me (another bit of fallout from the recent attacks), I was let into a waiting room filled with cabinet officials, all of whom were trying to pump each other for nonexistent information. Whenever one of them

came up to me, I'd simply give a sincere helpless shrug. This response satisfied no one, least of all myself. Finally, Roy entered the room, looking around as various VIPs crowded around him. He spotted the person he was looking for: Me. He crooked a finger imperiously at me, I stood, and he ushered me out the door, down a hallway, and into a broom closet. Closing the door, he turned to me, his face inches from mine.

"The President's sick. Really sick." he said simply. I nodded in return.

"How bad?"

He threw up his hands. "No idea. But the disease itself is bad if the doctors' suspicions are right, and he's dealing with a world of shit already. I'm telling you so that the fucks in there don't start jockeying for power before we can figure out how we want to run with this, and so that you can make sure that the press doesn't get wind of it."

This made sense. Maybe ten percent of my job involved giving information to the press. The other ninety percent involved putting our own take on bad news, or holding back on it entirely while plans were made.

"Got it" I said. His eyebrows rose. He put his hand on my arm, and got the cunning look in his eyes again.

"Look, Jimmy," he started, and I refrained from flinching. Only the President got to call me the hated name. "The world's going down the can right now. We can't let anyone know that we're weak, and you know that the people in that room all want to be the top dog. That's chaos. We don't need chaos in the White House right now. You've heard that shit runs downhill? Yeah. That's what we're looking at right goddamn now." His eyes gleamed, words shooting rapid fire from his lips, running off of caffeine, nicotine, and adrenalin. "So here's the thing, Jimmy-boy. You keep a wall between us and the public, especially the press. The president just had a false alarm as far as they know. I'll handle the schmucks in the other room. Hell, we can't even have Dirksen involved, since he'd want to kiss the ass of every damned Negro radical till they shut up."

I paused as he looked at me expectantly, and remember thinking that there should have been a smell of brimstone. But Roy was right. The country needed to know that the leadership was strong, and couldn't afford its leaders engaging in a power struggle.

I nodded in reluctant agreement. What else was I supposed to do?

-The Truth of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir by Former White House Press Secretary James Dodd

FIVE HELD IN MUSLIM BOMB PLOT

-Tacoma News-Tribune, 5/31/58

PRESIDENT DISNEY RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL FOLLOWING ASTHMA ATTACK


Well, boys and girls, it's been a pleasure to have this chance to come into your living rooms every day and have a chance to talk with you, and maybe bring a smile to your face every

once in a while. Now, I'm still going to be doing wonderful things with Mickey and the gang, so don't worry about me. Now I'm going to introduce you to a lovely young lady who's going to take over for me on this stage as the head of the Mouseketeers: Boys and girls, let's have a big hand for Anita Bryant!

-Ronald Reagan, Mickey Mouse Club Hour, 6/6/58

REAGAN VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF PRODUCTION FOR DISNEY STUDIOS

-Variety, 6/10/58

ROCKEFELLER MEETS WITH NEGRO LEADERSHIP-Governor, Reverend King Appeal For Calm


CHESS: CAN YOU PLAY THE GAME?

-Promotional Material for Chess Records, London, 6/58

Hey, yeah, we had a lot to deal with, and I don't think that anyone really knew how sick Disney was. Jim? Hey, I read that trash he called a memoir, and I'm not the kind of guy to do my business in a closet. The President didn't know how to tell us he was sick, since he was a private guy, but I kind of figured that something was wrong since he wasn't as active as usual. But I did my job, the cabinet was there to pick up the pieces, and we were off and running. No problems.

-Retired Senator Roy Cohn (R-NY) quoted in Magic Kingdom: America In The 50s by Studs Terkel CUBAN LEADER CASTRO CAPTURED BY AMERICAN FORCES


FBI DIRECTOR HOOVER REQUESTS EMERGENCY FUNDS TO FIGHT MOSLEM TERRORISM


So, Wally, as you know I decided to take the stir crazy Jack on the lam across Europe to see what we could see as the song goes. He's had to keep it cooler than usual since we have folks in some countries that will make the craziest Southern Sheriff look like Gandhi in comparison. Case in point: We decided to take a hop through Italy to check out the sights. Went down, down, down, to the places where the grapes grow thick on the vine and the sun beats down on you till the world is spinning in a glorious green wave of heat. Jack and I, we stopped by the side of the road for some wine and some sandwiches. One of the locals came by. Rifle in his hand, he looked at me a long while through squinty eyes, looked at Jack, spit on the ground.

"Communista?" he asked, and there is no mistaking that word, and no mistaking what someone thinks when they say it. This wasn't the secret, kind of shameful gleeful way that

some say it, like they say "Do you smoke tea?" This was half question, half accusation based on our work shirts and blue jeans, with the underlying message that the rifle would be pointed in our direction if we started yapping about the rights of oppressed workers. Jack started to open his mouth, but I spoke up, yelling "No, no! American!" and started singing the Star Spangled Banner with Jack looking at me like I'd gone buggy on him. The man, he looked at me, then cackled and showed a mouth of yellow teeth. He gestured for us to come with, and we both know that it is bad mojo to refuse the man with the gun, so off we went traipsing through fields of bright purple grapes to a little vine-covered shack that was old enough for one of the Medicis to have used it as an outhouse.

We went into the shack, which was one bed, a desk, a trunk, a stove, a chair, and about twenty cases of wine stacked against the back wall. Topping it all off was a picture of our very own President hanging right above his bed. He popped open a bottle, grabbed three glasses that had seen better days, poured us all a good tote, and said some gibberish as a toast that I responded to with a smile and an "Up yours!" which he took nicely. So we drank glass after glass of good Italian red with this old reactionary, and he starts going off with the only word I understand being "Disney". So we smiled, and we nodded, and the next thing you know Kerouac and I were up on our feet dancing and singing "I Got No Strings" which is the only Disney song I know by heart, having taken my nephew to see it every day for a week when my sister needed time alone with her new man. Then we're several glasses into the night, and the old man feeds us some sort of stew from his stove, and it was so good that I didn't have the heart to ask what was in it. Finally, to top things off, he took out a picture from the trunk and looked at it, and started weeping, and then took out an old army uniform, and I know my World War history well enough so that I knew it was an old Italian army uniform. He sat on the chair looking at the picture, and it slipped off to the side, and there was Benito M. staring up at me while his follower to this day sang the Italian National Anthem, and so Jack and I said our goodbyes and went off to sleep in the fields....


WALT DISNEY PICTURES is proud to present a new series of patriotic feature length animated pictures that will portray the lives of famous American heroes. The first on the list is The Tale of George Washington, the story of our first president, and how he became the figure beloved by young and old alike.

-Press Release from Disney Pictures, signed by Ronald Reagan

Man, it was 'round about that time that the police were showing up in our neighborhood all the time, acting crazy. Now, we were used to them stopping us and searching us without any real reason other than wanting some fun, but it was always kind of casual cruelty, just boys out for a good time. Didn't like it, wasn't nice, but we all figured that'd pass someday. It was different now. Cars were stopped on every corner, people in 'em got rousted out, heads got cracked if we looked at 'em sideways.

Colored folk and the police never got along, but most of us, we just wanted to keep our heads down and stay out of the fight. Now they weren't letting us do that. So it got real bad real quick, and the young folk started gettin' ugly looks in their eyes, even the ones who used to want to go to school and make something of themselves. Didn't look like a possibility no more.

Worst thing was the Uncle Tom program, what they called "Community Outreach". What this meant was that if you informed on your black brothers or sisters, said that you saw 'em goin' into a mosque, or heard 'em talkin' about blowing shit up, you got fifty bucks for talkin' to

the police about it. Lot of folks took the money, lot of folks wished they hadn't when people found out what they'd done. I ain't saying that they died, I ain't saying that they didn't.

-Ulysses Wilder, quoted in For Want Of A Nail: Race, Riot, and Revolutionaries, 2006

CHE GUEVARA PROMISES TO CONTINUE "FIGHT FOR LIBERATION" IN CUBA


SEN. MCCLELLAN TO BE FEATURED SPEAKER AT NATIONAL MMC CONVENTION- Arkansas Senator To Encourage "Clean Living, Clean Thinking"

-Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 7/4/58

Cohn would take the bills into the President.

Minutes later, he'd walk out. The President's signature would be on all of the bills, except for the vetoed ones.

Who was to say that anything was wrong?

It was on or about this time that I would look at the guitar in the corner of my office, and wonder what might have been. All of my dreams of acting, of singing, of the record deals...instead, the only song I'd written that anyone had heard was a little ditty that I'd whipped up for the clubs during the campaign. Now the tune echoed nightmarishly in my head as I read of the latest atrocious activities that they were involved in.

-The Truth Of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir, by Former White House Press Secretary James Dodd

GOVERNOR ROCKEFELLER: PRESIDENT HAS FAILED THE COUNTRY, RENEGED ON GOP PRINCIPLES.

New York- During a speech to the Rotary Club of Manhattan, Governor Nelson Rockefeller accused President Walt Disney of having failed in his leadership of the country, and of having abandoned Republican principles of freedom and equal opportunity for all Americans.

His words, the strongest yet from a member of the President's own party, are only the latest in a series of controversies surrounding the Disney administration....

-New York Times, 7/11/58 Look, yeah, Walt was sick, okay? We all knew it. But he was doing just fine in his own way, and was still sharp as a tack. People were getting annoyed that they were getting squeezed out of the access, but hey, that's just how the game gets played in D.C. Some people get to be in the inner circle, others don't, and when you're the Chief Of Staff, you get to figure out who those people are going to be. So I was pretty disappointed to hit my office one day and see "PRESIDENT GRAVELY ILL" splattered across the front page of the Post.

The article made it sound like I was some sort of Grand Vizier like in those old Arabian Nights stories, like I was pulling all the strings and guiding his hand while he signed all the bills.

Then I got to the place where the writer said that I'd given a "No comment" to the accusations. Yeah, some little gnat from their political desk had called me a couple of days before to ask about the President's health, and I'd given him the same "The White House does not discuss the President's health as a matter of policy" line that I gave to every other muckraker out there. This was getting serious, though, and whoever was talking outside of school was causing some major damage to the administration.


"With full respect to President Disney and the office that he holds, it has become evident to me and my constituents of the great state of Mississippi that the current administration is in a state of crisis. We are currently beset by skyrocketing juvenile delinquency rates, Negro terrorism in its most virulent form causes our women and children to feel unsafe in our public gathering places, and our fine and brave servicemen are currently bogged down in Cuba, where the current government begs for assistance in the name of freedom while we haphazardly attempt to decide exactly what we are attempting to accomplish.

"And where, I ask, is the President in all of this? If the Washington Post is to be believed, he is facing serious illness, and is unable to perform the duties of his office. Instead, the administration of this great nation has been given over to an unelected official, a young man with no real experience in foreign policy, whose only previous work experience in politics was for my distinguished colleague Senator Joseph McCarthy, and who in his daily work managed to ruin the lives and fortunes of thousands of people who were innocent of any actual crimes.

"I am not calling for the resignation of the President, no. However, I will state here and now for the record that the President must address these accusations personally and in full view of the American people, so that our concerns may be allayed.

-Sen. John Stennis (D-MS), speech on the Senate floor, 8/10/58

"My fellow Americans.

I've asked this time from our radio and television broadcasters to come before you tonight in order to address certain questions that have been raised regarding my ability to lead this great nation during a time of such great challenges and opportunities. Specifically, some issues have been raised by irresponsible elements in our national press about my health. The White House Communications Office has been flooded by cards and telegrams from well-wishers in response, all expressing concern for my health, and asking for God's gentle hand to guide me and protect me during what they have been told is a time of crisis.

Tonight, I tell you that America has nothing to fear regarding either my health or the health of the nation as a whole. It is true that due to the advice of my physicians, I have curtailed my activities. This is simply due to some minor overwork on the behalf of the American people leading to some physical symptoms, none of which have significantly impacted my ability to continue the honor of serving as your President.

Additionally, it has been rumored that elements within this office have taken over a number of my Constitutional duties, and that I have been unable to fulfill them to the best of my abilities.

My fellow Americans, I took an oath in 1952 to faithfully execute my duties to the best of my ability. I have done so, I am doing so, and with God's grace I plan on continuing to do so until the completion of this term....

-Excerpt from President Walter E. Disney's address to the nation, 9/1/58

FIDEL CASTRO EXECUTED BY FIRING SQUAD: Terrorist Attacks Grip Havana and Outlying Areas


You know, I'd been pretty apathetic when it came to politics. Dad had been governor, sure, but even though I saw the need for change in the world, I thought that it could be better accomplished through spiritual practice and action rather than through the political bureaucracy. I'd even entered the seminary with the intent to become a Jesuit priest, though that didn't last for long.

Then I came to Berkeley. At first, it was just like going to any other school, just a little foggier, and you saw more cigarettes than pipes being carried around. But it turned out that a couple of the undergrads had a crush on Malcolm X, or at least thought that he and the Nation of Islam had a point regarding the Negro problem. So they'd hung posters on their dorm walls. Well, the Resident Adviser to one dorm saw one of the posters hanging up, and she reported it to the Campus Disciplinary committee, and all of a sudden the whole place was in an uproar.

Now, this made me think: What did it mean to be an American? I didn't have any love for the terrorists who had opened fire at Disneyland, but I didn't have any love for the people who had killed their leader, either. I wasn't going to put up a Malcolm poster, but if we had the right to free speech, didn't that also mean unpopular speech? Even speech that made me roll my eyes and want to find a wall to punch?

That's when I started to attend the rallies. Before too long, I was putting my academic career at serious risk by speaking at them as well.

-Former President Jerry Brown, interviewed in Cat And Mouse: Radical Movements In The Late Twentieth Century, Starr King Press, 2004

The dog-and-pony show that we put the President through had a profound effect on my psyche. Seeing him wheeled to the microphone, unstrapped from his oxygen tanks, made up until he had a false rosy glow, and then restrapped after the cameras were turned off was too much for me.

I'd never been a drinker, but I was drinking. I'd never been a smoker, but I was smoking. I'd never done any one of a number of things before I got to the White House, but now I was doing them all. What was the point, I thought? Why bother taking care of myself when I couldn't even do my job? Instead, I lost myself in a whirlwind of self-pity and guilt over my seeming ineptitude.

The one thing that did occasionally lift my spirits was Roy's insistence on catching the person who leaked the information. He called me and his assistant Schine into his private office one day, and delegated to us the task of finding the culprit. I sent Schine off to raise havoc in the COS office while I took to my own quarters and poured a belt of whiskey. With a slight smile on my face, I lifted the glass to my reflection in the mirror on my wall, and gave

a salute.

"Caught you." I whispered.

-The Truth Of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir by Former White House Press Secretary James Dodd.

Wally I have got to say to you that if Italy was a fascist playground then our hop and skip up north was a thing of beauty and joy. The Netherlands are a wonderland of delights both sacred and profane, and you will find yourself on your knees in gratitude, or in Alan's case in pleasure. Yes, Alan decided to join us on this jaunt, since a couple of the Holland bookstores asked him to speak on Buddhism and the Jewish soul, and since it wasn't too long before now that the very word "Jew" would get you a knock upside the head around here, he couldn't resist. Also, he couldn't resist the idea of taking a gander through the red light district, since he had heard rumors that they had sights for people of all tastes to enjoy.

It was in these wanderings that we ran across a small house, stuck between other houses, but this one with a line outside of grim-looking folks. I figured it for a funeral, but Alan got this look in his eyes, and the smile left his face while he read a plaque on the outside of the building. I walked up, and he was murmuring something in another language, so I asked him for the skinny on the speech.

"Saying kaddish" he rasped, like he could barely talk. "It's the Anne Frank House".

So I let him be, since while I have respect for the Hebrew soul, I do not understand the ins and outs, and did not want to be the kind of goy who tramples on the sacred experiences of the chosen people. Instead, we made a promise to meet up later at the hotel. So I walked back to the whores and reeferheads, and had what would be a grand time if I could have gotten over the picture in my head of that little girl stuck up in the attic while madness and savagery reigned down below. Instead, I went back to the hotel, where I found this note on my bed:

Beano,

The fascists destroyed something beautiful here. Now they're doing it in our own land. I can no longer run. Back to the land of the once-free. I love you, my brother, my comrade in arms.

Never Again,

Alan

So we have lost one of our merry players to the struggle for freedom and liberty, and Wally, I am not so sure that his choice was the wrong one when all is said and done.

-Personal correspondence of "Beano" to Wally Hedrick ROCKWELL ACCUSES ROBERTSON OF "SOFTNESS" ON RACIAL QUESTION

In a campaign stop in Richmond, Virginia, businessman and Republican Senatorial candidate George Rockwell accused incumbent Senator A. Willis Robertson of "softness" on racial issues.

"Certainly, the Senator was smart enough to sign the Southern Manifesto," Rockwell

declared to an estimated crowd of one thousand. "And yes, he has the sense that God gave a mule, so he's been pro-segregation of the races since before the nigra attacks on the White Race. But what has the distinguished gentleman done lately for us? Has he called for an investigation of the foreign interests and international bankers who fund the attacks on our White Christian brothers and sisters? He has not. Has he called for a solution to the nigra problem? He has not.

"No, my friends, the Senator thinks that we can somehow find our way back to the status quo before the Little Rock riots, that we can keep them in their own communities in America without fear of attack or retaliation. He refuses to see that those days are gone, that the only question that remains is if the White Race will kowtow before the aggression of the African race, or if we will stand up and fight for our survival!

"I say this to you: The nigra will not peacefully return home, no matter how many times we have to crack his head open. He lacks the mental and moral capacity to do so, now that Jewish Communist interests have subjected him to their vicious and vile propaganda. No, instead he needs removal from this great nation, and to be placed with his own people in Africa. Then we can root out the anti-American traitors who have so warped his mind, and deal with them in the most effective and efficient manner possible.

"I have challenged Senator Robertson to a debate on these topics, and what has he done? He has shunned me, certain that as a Democrat, his seat is safe. He has mocked me in the Jewish-run media, making certain that you all know my middle name, calling me a carpetbagger. I'll tell you my name right here and right now, to show that I have nothing to hide: My name is George Lincoln Rockwell, and I am proud to be your Republican candidate for Senator from Virginia!

"I'll ask you this, citizens of the great state of Virginia: Who would you rather have in office? A Democrat native of Dixie who refuses to do what is right for his own people, to take the actions necessary to preserve his very race? Or an adopted child of this great state who will do his utmost to stand against creeping Zionism, against nigra terrorism, against those who would do their utmost to destroy not only the South, but the American way of life?

"I leave the answers to you."

Recent polls show Mr. Rockwell as running a surprisingly close second to Senator Robertson. Observers have noted that much of the Senator's rural support has grown leery of his perceived inaction on racial matters, and his middle-class backers are turning towards Mr. Rockwell as a law-and-order candidate. Additionally, the Senator has been accused of complacency in his campaigning.

If Mr. Rockwell wins, he will be the first Republican to represent Virginia in the Senate since 1889.

-Richmond Times-Dispatch, 10/5/58

The craziness that was starting on the Berkeley campus, I helped out a bit, but didn't really take a leadership role for a couple of months out of deference to my father. Instead, I mostly organized behind the scenes and kept my face out of the campus paper while the campaign was going on. They seemed to appreciate my input. I was grateful for that, as since giving up on the priesthood, I'd been at odds as to how best to make a positive impact on society. Blame the Jesuit training: We're a bit like the Catholic version of Talmudic scholars in being able to get at the heart of an issue, even if it takes arguing all through the night.

Then November rolled around, and it got really strange....

--Former President Jerry Brown, interviewed in Cat And Mouse: Radical Movements In The Late Twentieth Century, Starr King Press, 2004

DEMOCRATS MAKE GAINS IN ALL STATES BUT VIRGINIA, ROBERTSON-ROCKWELL RACE STILL TOO CLOSE TO CALL

In a stunning turn of events on a night heavily dominated by Democratic electoral victories across the nation, insurgent populist George Rockwell has mounted a surprising Republican challenge to Virginia Senator A. Willis Robertson......


So Alan has written to me from the depths of the Village or the depths of despair and according to his missives the two are nearly as one. The mafia bars safe for pinks have nearly disappeared with the new morals laws, he says, and it is not safe for man nor queer nor Jew and he is all three in one unhappy pappy package. The Negroes have stopped being happy to have hip white cats in their dens of iniquity no matter who is buying the reefer or how much they're paying so the jazz scene is out. Instead Alan is trying to get the few artists and poets remaining on the scene to stage what he calls "happenings" to freak out the squares, but they seem to think that between the rats and the pigs that any display of grooviness will lead to distinctly ungroovy stomping and smashing on their heads.

In the meantime, Berlin and London are swinging, and just like fifteen years ago, France can't help but be caught in the middle. The French lasses are not opening up their arms and legs for any old American, no, but if you have a touch of facial hair and a pair of shades they will take you back to their place for a little wine, a little cool jazz on the Hi-Fi, and a little Camus before things get sweet and intimate. So all of this is fun but I keep looking away across the waters to my homeland, to the chaos and bad vibes, to the psychotic madmen who seem to turn everything they touch to ashes, and I fear for Alan in the middle of it....

-Personal correspondence of "Beano" to Wally Hedrick, 11/15/58

I knew that the games had to end at some point, and that it was only a matter of time before Cohn discovered that I was the mole in the White House. In preparation for that day, I had acquired certain relevant information. Sure enough, it was mere weeks after the midterm elections before my contacts in Roy's office informed me that the investigation had turned towards the Communications office, and that I was one of the top suspects.

It was late in November that I requested a meeting with the Chief of Staff. He agreed with some surliness: President Disney had been taking him to task for our major losses across the country on election day, and even gaining the governorship of Virginia did little to ease Disney's mood due to rumors about Senator-elect Rockwell's flirtation with Nazi ideologies in the earlier part of the decade.

Cohn remained standing as I walked into the office and approached his desk. Breaking protocol, I seated myself comfortably first, placing a manila folder onto the desk in front of me. A slight twitch at the implied insult crossed his face, but he composed himself and settled into his chair.

"I can give you five minutes" he snapped. "Whatever this is, it'd better be important."

"Of course," I agreed, keeping my voice as level as possible. Frankly, I was well aware that I was in over my head, and was mentally reciting prayers that hadn't crossed my mind since Sunday School. "I'll get to the point. Word has it that you're investigating my office as the source of the leak. I'd like for you to stop immediately."

He gave a puzzled smile. This wasn't the Jim Dodd he knew, the cheery young man who was known for leading the staff in sing-alongs to keep up the morale on long winter nights.

"I can't affirm or deny where the investigation is leading, Jim-boy," he nearly purred, his fingers steepled close to his lips. "Of course, if you have any information to share, it would be your duty...." He trailed off as I picked the manila folder back up, and tossed it across the desk to land in front of him.

"Just this," I said, keeping my voice as steady as was possible under the circumstances. "If this investigation into my office continues, I will be forced to share all of the information that I have regarding dangers to the White House, including what is in this folder. Keep it, it's a copy," I said as he opened it. "Not only will I have to report this to the President, but also to the FBI, the Secret Service, and of course in the interests of the country, I will have to inform the media that a top adviser to the President has opened himself up to blackmail due to a number of careless and thoughtless actions in his private life. Naturally, everyone in the Beltway already knows this. But, Roy-boy, how will this play in the Midwest?"

I watched the color drain from Cohn's face as he perused my meticulously prepared dossier on his personal life. Finally, he looked up and growled.

"You son of a bitch..."

"Fine," I snapped back. "I'm a son of a bitch. Never was this way till I worked here, but now it's all that I know. Hell, I don't even know if I want the goddamned job anymore. But here's the deal: As long as I work here, you stay the hell away from the Press Office. You also stop blocking me from seeing the President. That's it. Deal?'

Roy opened his mouth, then closed it again. He'd played this game with others. In fact, I'd managed to collect most of my information from his trail of victims. Finally he looked me straight in the eyes and gave a curt nod. I walked out without a further word.

Did he keep his promise? Yes. And I'm keeping mine, so I won't say what information I'd managed to piece together. Suffice it to say that Roy had cast a good number of moral stones while living in a see-through house.

--The Truth of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir, Former White House Press Secretary James Dodd

Yeah, it was disappointing that we never caught the mole. No, I know what Dodd said, but it wasn't him. That was a pack of lies written to make him sound like he had some sort of inside info. A load of crap. And Roy Cohn doesn't back down to blackmail. Hell, I would have had him arrested if he'd tried to pull that kind of shit on me. Not even that! I would have ripped his guts out then and there. It's all lies. What a pathetic excuse for a human being.

--Retired Senator Roy Cohn (R-N.Y.), quoted in Magic Kingdom: America in the 50s, by Studs Terkel FREE SPEECH RALLY TONIGHT AT SPROUL PLAZA

The current administration of UC Berkeley has interfered with the freedom of expression of the student body for far too long! In the belief that dangerous and unpopular speech is as important to the developing mind as any other information or beliefs, the Free Speech Committee has organized a rally to take place at Sproul Plaza on Sunday, December 7th, at 12:00 noon.

FEATURED SPEAKERS

Famed poet and writer ALAN GINSBERG

Hollywood screenwriter DALTON TRUMBO

Free Speech Activist JERRY BROWN

And many others!

Please note that this will be a peaceful demonstration of our rights! At no point will we engage in violence, vandalism, or other displays of hooliganism.

-Berkeley Barb full-page advertisement, 12/4/58

To this day, if you ask five people who were at that rally exactly what occurred, you'll get ten different answers.

The poet Alan Ginsberg was the first to take the stage, and he was welcomed as a conquering hero by the assembled student body. With a melodious voice, he covered the rise of the Nazi party in 1930s Germany, and compared it to the implementation of Disney's policies, especially as they related to the recent election of George Rockwell to the Senate. He then spoke of the "groovy scene" happening over in Western Europe, where he said that a mixture of young American expatriates and children of the Second World War were building a new underground society of happiness. Finally, he topped it off by weaving everything that had come before into Indian religious philosophy as explained in the Vedas. Some of the students looked confused at this point, but I sat in rapt attention, making a mental note to speak with him later.

Dalton Trumbo came up next. This was an act of enormous bravery on his part, as despite the strength of the Free Speech Movement on campus, the anti-communist groups were known to be far more vicious. Most of their members had experience in the Mickey Mouse clubs, and had been filled with Disney brainwashing since the president's first term in office. However, Trumbo gave a slow and thoughtful speech regarding the consequences of limiting free expression, and gave a thorough account of time that he had spent in jail as a direct result of his testimony before HUAC.

It was my turn. Clutching my prepared speech in my hand, I approached the microphone, hearing my soles echo on the cheap plywood stage. I looked out over the audience. As I opened my mouth, a flash of color caught my eye. Two students from the Free Cuba committee had unrolled a poster of a stylized picture of rebel leader Che Guevara. Standing near the back of the crowd, they began to chant "Free Cuba! Viva Che! Viva Castro!"

A few of the anti-communists who had been watching the events with amusement (and had been unusually silent during Trumbo's speech) chose this moment to take action. With a few quick strides, a large man walked up to one of the sign-holders, a small blond woman, and

began to berate her. A spirited argument broke out between the two. Soon both of them were surrounded, with the Free Speech advocates on one side, and the heavily outnumbered anti-communists on the other. The police decided to intervene. An officer broke through the crowd and asked the young woman and her friend to put away the sign. They refused. He grabbed at it. They pulled. The students began to scream at each other. Finally, in desperation, the young woman pushed the officer.

He immediately brought out his nightstick and sent it caroming off the side of her head. She hit the ground, bleeding.

Something erupted in the crowd, something that had been contained under polite disagreement with the administration, under late night "rap sessions" of whether or not there were limits on speech. This was the voice of a generation that had been told for the past six years that the proto-fascism of the Disney administration somehow had something to do with the American dream that our ancestors had fought and died for.

All of this was released in a single wave of anger. Not the anger of the oppressed racial minorities in the United States, who were still in the midst of often violent actions against their tormentors. Rather, this was the rage of a generation betrayed and lied to, the privileged few realizing not only at what cost their comfort came, but also how brutally the system would react when questioned and confronted.

They didn't have the heart for direct confrontation, and for that I was eternally grateful. I had no desire to see any more blood that day. Instead, they scattered at my direction as Ginsberg sat beside me and chanted "OM".

Dad called me later and complained at some length about my choices in life, but I took it in stride. I understood that he had his political career to watch out for. However, I was beginning to see that the problems in America went beyond a single issue of free speech, and were inherent in a system that saw violence as the tool of first resort when confronted with any social issue.

The next day, I teamed up with Arnie Davis, Kathleen Corman, and some others to form the Progressive Students' Alliance. It was decided that our first course of action would be designed to peacefully yet forcefully draw attention to what was happening at our university.

-Liberation: A Memoir, by former President Jerry Brown

BERKELEY STUDENTS STRIKE- Chancellor Threatens Mass Disciplinary Actions

-San Francisco Chronicle, 11/15/58

"After the dinner, the President and Ambassador Smirnov will retire to privately discuss matters relevant to our two nations. And yes, before you ask, the Israel/Palestine question will be a topic of major import. The sufferings of the Palestinians at that hands of elements of the Israeli government weigh heavily on the President's mind."

[Question unintelligible]

"Yes, the President was gracious enough to invite me due to my new title and responsibilities."

-White House Communications Director James Dodd, 12/3/58

PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL MEMO. DESTROY AFTER READING:

The recent friendliness between the Soviet Union and Israel has caused some Jews (both religious and secular) in the United States to begin to harbor unfortunate sympathies towards the communist government in Moscow. While we caution our leaders against any display of anti-Semitism, and remind them that our organization is open to people of all God-fearing religious backgrounds, it is deemed prudent for Clubhouse Mouseketeer Group Leaders to observe our members of the Jewish faith to ensure that their highest loyalty is to America, and to the Mickey Mouse Club laws and oaths.

Any overtly pro-Israel statements on the part of these members shall be immediately reported to the Home Office in Burbank.

-Internal Mickey Mouse Club Memo, unsigned (but attributed to Anita Bryant)

"Yeah, I was up for Division Leader, but suddenly the brakes were put on. It was strange. My brother had been put in the same position, and I had way more Mouse Medallions than he did at my age. Our Division Leader never said it outright, and it was obvious that he felt bad, but he kind of hinted that I should be wearing the beanie with the ears on it more often, and the one without 'em a lot less...."

-Benjamin Meyer, quoted in Let Us Hold Our Banner High, Documentary Prize winner at the Cannes International Film Festival, 2002.

"I'm dreaming of a White Christmas...through my gunsights"

-Bathroom wall graffiti seen in Watts, 12/19/58

1959

USC RADICALS THREATEN "SYMPATHY STRIKE" IF BERKELEY DEMANDS NOT MET-Los Angeles Times, 1/5/59

The harassment and exclusion of Jewish members of the Mickey Mouse Club is a troubling development in the short history of this youth organization. As their Jewish members are patriotic, God-fearing citizens of the United States of America, it is far more puzzling that the Mickey Mouse Clubs would choose to act in a manner far more befitting our recent adversaries on the battlefields, and not in a manner befitting the principles that this nation was founded on.

We therefore officially protest these actions on the part of the Mickey Mouse Clubs, and by extension, we protest these actions on the part of the Walt Disney Company. If our concerns are not addressed and allayed in a reasonable amount of time, we will have no choice but to advise all current Jewish members to resign their posts, and all those considering membership to not join in the first place.

-Official statement, Anti-Defamation League, 1/10/59

KENNEDY ANNOUNCES BID FOR DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION- Massachusetts Senator Given Little Hope Due To Civil Rights Ties

-Boston Globe, 1/15/59 Today's Capitol Hill swearing-in ceremony for newly elected incoming Senators was nearly disrupted by protesters from the Jewish Anti-Defamation League when a single member of the protest attempted to storm the Capitol steps, shouting claims that newly elected Senator George L. Rockwell (R-VA) had Nazi sympathies.

Rabbi Meir Kahane (27) of Brooklyn, NY, was briefly detained by local officials before posting bond. Upon his release, he stated to waiting journalists "My frustration got the better of me. This man, this Rockwell, he gets elected to a high office, and all we can do is march? Did marches keep us out of the death camp? Did paper signs stop the madmen from marching across the Polish border and massacring our people there? Never again!"

The Anti-Defamation League has disavowed any advance knowledge of Rabbi Kahane's activities, and has stated that he will be expelled from the organization if he takes any other unauthorized actions against Senator Rockwell.

In a statement released to the press on behalf of Senator Rockwell, spokesman John Patsalos stated "Senator Rockwell has no issue with the vast majority of Jewish people in the United States. Instead, he has problems with Communism, and with the Jews who have chosen to insinuate themselves into positions of power in the United States in order to stir up racial unrest in the hopes of eventually imposing a Communist system of government in our great nation."


It was cold that winter, nasty cold. People in Manhattan, they were still going out to their fancy restaurants and keeping warm in their heated theaters, but we colored folk didn't have a pot to piss in, much less any money to pay for the radiator to be running all day...if it worked in the first place, mind you. So we'd do our best to all pack into the same smoky bar or dance hall, hoping that we'd manage to dance ourselves warm. Other ways of keeping warm, too, and there were a lot of babies born around October every year.

This year got even worse. There was this feeling that we'd been so close to something real, to something good, and somehow we'd let it get taken from us. A number of the young men got angry and joined the Black Muslims, but most of us were Christians. Leastaways, most of us showed up to church on Sunday, and called ourselves that.

That's when Eldridge came to town.

You have to understand about Eldridge: He wasn't no bowtied Nation of Islam type, telling folks to trust Allah, or saying "The Honorable Malcolm X says..." before anything that came out of his mouth. He also wasn't one of those preachers crying for peace, one of the discredited Uncle Toms leading our people to the slaughterhouse.

No, Eldridge was a fine black man, young, self-educated, and streetwise. He'd managed to escape from jail a few months back, and he'd been making the rounds of black communities in the Northeast, giving talks to small groups of people, folks getting invited through word of mouth to some basement or storeroom. We'd sit there shivering and grumbling, and then he'd come out and talk, and we were spellbound, let me tell you. He'd start off with some joke about how he couldn't see if any white folks were tailing him because they blended in

with the snow, and we'd laugh. Then he'd talk about his time in jail, and what it had done to him, and how he'd started realizing that the problem was what we were doing to ourselves and our own communities, and that we couldn't wait for white folks to sit up and hand us our rights. Instead, we had to live like we had rights, and defend ourselves by any means necessary...we knew he took that last line from Malcolm, and he knew that we knew, because we all saw that twinkle in his eye as he aped the Minister's speaking style.

So he'd talk about revolutionary structure and a whole lot of other stuff that would have been boring coming from anyone else's lips, but we'd get into it, and by the end of it, I was part of a Revolutionary Cell of the African Brotherhood. He gave us some ideas, left some leaflets and pamphlets on guns and bomb making, and then disappeared into the night one step ahead of the police.

I went back home that first night and read his prison memoir Soul On Fire all in one sitting. Next day, I applied to New York University, knowing that the revolution would need people with active minds. I was bound and determined to make my mind as active as possible before they started cutting off our education in the north like they were already doing down south.

-Former African Brotherhood member Aaron Erickson, quoted in Magic Kingdom: America In The 50s, by Studs Terkel

Much to my surprise and gratification, I arrived at London's Heathrow Airport to no little fanfare. One would have thought that while my first self-imposed exile might have been newsworthy, my second one would have no more interest than a second run of a situation comedy. As I alit from the airplane and made my way across the tarmac, my eyes were greeted by the welcome yet undeniably scruffy sight of a crowd of Fleet Street's finest ink-stained wretches, all clamoring to ask questions of that rarest of creatures, a Hollywood celebrity. Flashbulbs popped and sparkled like fireworks in the gloomy London fog as I responded with an off-the-cuff statement of my purposes and intent:

"America is under a shadow," I intoned gravely. "A shadow that crossed Europe not so many years ago, and yet it seems that we as a nation have forgotten exactly what we fought and died for in that worldwide carnage. We are run by venal madmen, and those in positions of prestige and influence in Hollywood have turned their backs upon their heritage and religion to dance to the atonal strains of creeping fascism. There is no longer a place in America for the artist, the dreamer, for those who would offer a differing and humane perspective on the possibilities of tomorrow, or for those who would stand up to the racists and anti-Semites to say 'No more!'

"Therefore, I have taken the kind offer of Pinewood Studios to direct a film for their company, and currently plan to stay in Europe until America regains her senses. Thank you."

With that, I swept into a waiting automobile, and removed myself to the suite awaiting me at The Strand. Not only did I have the expected note of welcome from my employers at the front desk, but also an invitation from Charles Chaplin to take tea with him during a planned visit to London next week, and a message from Jean Cocteau inviting me to meet a young filmmaker named Godard.

I'd barely been back in town for an hour and half, and already it was proving more artistically and professionally fruitful than the past two years that I'd frittered away in Hollywood. First, though, I needed a bath to wash away the airplane smell, and to nourish myself with an appropriately large repast.

-Through A Lens Darkly: The Autobiography of Orson Welles, Orson Welles, 1973

FROM THE DESK OF RONALD REAGAN

Dear Anita,

I wanted to drop you a personal note to let you know that I couldn't be more pleased with the show. Your bright smile and chipper disposition are just the tonic for what ails any child across the land.

On another note, we're looking at some uniform changes for the Disney Defenders. The armbands are bringing up some unfortunate implications, and we'd hate for unfair and unjust insinuations to be thrown at the brave lads who have chosen to help out their communities. Therefore, we're looking at a new badge of honor, the coonskin cap. Our people will be sending you samples shortly.

If there is any way that I can help you, please let me know. Say hi to your mother and father for me, and let them know that we should all get together for lunch someday soon.

Sincerely,

Ronald ReaganChief Executive OfficerDisney, Inc. During the winter of 1959, the racial issues in America seemed to be slowly returning to a point of equilibrium. Other than a few ranting "communiqués" from leader Malcolm X, the Nation of Islam hadn't been heard from in several months. It was generally thought that a combination of stricter segregation laws combined with an overwhelming show of force from the FBI had led to the demoralization of Islamic terrorists. Instead, the attention of law enforcement had now focused on campus radicals who were strongly protesting what they saw as unconscionable limits on their freedom of expression.

This changed in February of 1959. On the second day of that month, between 11:00 p.m. and 1 am EST, explosions rocked twelve government office buildings from Montgomery, Alabama to Roanoke, Virginia. The African Brotherhood, a new organization, claimed responsibility for the terrorist attacks that caused the death of one night watchman, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage.

Not all of the attacks were successful. Weston Rich, a career criminal with a long record of arson and insurance fraud was captured by a vigilante "White Citizens' Council" while attempting to fix the fuse on a dynamite bomb in Jackson, Mississippi. He was immediately set upon by the mob and lynched.

The morning following the attacks, newspapers, radio stations, and television stations throughout the nation received a communiqué from the African Brotherhood in which it was stated that they had directly targeted "oppressive institutions" of the government, and that while they regretted the death of a security guard, they would shed no tears in the "fight for justice". Additionally, they stated that the lynching of Mr. Rich would be met with reprisals, and that ten white citizens would be killed as a result of his death at the hands of the "racist mob". In the following weeks, nearly every mysterious death of a white person in the south was whispered to be the result of the actions of the Brotherhood, though little evidence was seen tying them to the crimes.

Membership in the African Brotherhood increased dramatically in the days and weeks following the attacks. However, so did membership in the Ku Klux Klan and other white racist organizations, though infighting among the leadership meant that their ranks never swelled to the degree seen in the 1920s.

-For Want of a Nail: Race, Riot, and Revolutionaries, 2006

Yes, I shall vote for the bill proposed by the honorable gentleman from Mississippi, and shall attempt to convince my colleagues to do likewise. In these days of terror and intimidation on the part of the Negro population, it is incumbent upon us to assert our natural superiority, and to show them that if they continue to act like mad dogs, then we shall put them down as we do mad dogs.

However, these increased security measures are hardly sufficient in the face of the threat we now face. What I now say has been met with little approval from members of my party, but say it I must: It is time for the White race and the Negro race to go their separate ways, and to find their own destinies. Towards that end, I am asking that we consider how to most effectively go about the resettlement of the entire Negro population of the United States to an appropriate place in their homeland of Africa. Until that day, I ask that the President suspend habeas corpus in criminal proceedings for Negroes. Constitutional protections are limited to fully evolved human beings, and the Negro has shown that he does not qualify as such.

-Senator George L. Rockwell (R-VA), Senate floor, 2/12/59

"This court believes that it has been conclusively shown that Mr. Hall's continued advocacy of a dangerous doctrine, and his avowed approval of those who would attempt to overthrow the United States government by force, show that he suffers from significant mental impairment, and that he should be immediately put under the care of the state until such time as qualified mental health professionals pronounce him to no longer pose a threat to himself or others."

- The State of New Jersey v. Gus Hall, 1959

You know, no matter what the politically correct thing is nowadays to say, I gotta tell you that the court made the right decision there. In my heart of hearts, like I already told you, it's obvious that anyone who can live in this country and see how great it is, but still think that the reds have the answer? Bughouse crazy.


The New Jersey decision, that was a disaster. Once the California courts saw what they could get away with, it was all over for anyone with an unpopular opinion. Even my dad couldn't do anything about it from the governor's office.


Wally my boy,

I am stone tired and crazy cuckoo and all sorts of things that one cannot imagine. It is tearing me apart to write this but I think that it is time for me to put my toe in those wild American waters once again and see if I can stand fighting against the fascist undertow. Mayhap it is age or the wine talking or the bennies or the reefer but the grooviness of the scene here is turning decadent like Rome and I am no longer satisfied with sitting back and letting a lovely lass pop peeled grapes into my mouth. I am setting foot on a tramp steamer and working my passage over to Boston and I will be a baked beano by the time that I land but I am sure that it will all be good and for the best and that I will find some great cause to serve.

I am also sending down two likely lads I found in my last visit to England. Paul and John are rough Liverpudlians who were raised by the docks but both have sweet hearts and beautiful souls and are talented musicians. Try to get them off of this rock and roll kick and introduce them to the real music of Miles, dig?

Love,

Beano

-Personal correspondence of "Beano" to Wally Hedrick Wally my boy I am here in Greenwich Village on a quick trip South to check out the old neighborhood and I will say that it is a sad, mad, and bad scene to be experiencing. Every corner I turn leads me to another half-forgotten memory of what once was, every block a boarded-up coffeehouse, every storefront a formerly hip jazz club turned into an upscale long-haired joint where they sit and drink wine and clack their pearls together and rap about Mozart and Beethoven.

And yet this experience does not compare to the oddity of coming across the briny deep on a tramp steamer full of Portuguese fishermen and one old Italian. My Portuguese does not go beyond drink ordering and telling the chicks that they are cute but I picked up fair Italian during my travels with Jack and I figured that hey, this is an opportunity to practice a bit because American ladies still swoon at the sound of a foreign tongue. So I talked to this man and I was first given the cold shoulder. But I remained friendly in between deck-swabbing and bad food so eventually he warmed to me a bit and even invited me to play chess. It was then that I found that his English was good, nay, better than yours or mine. Wally, my boy, I realized in short order that I was talking with a legend of the underworld, a man who could get us both killed with a nod in one direction, Mister Lucky Luciano himself. So I do not pry as a rule and much less when the wrong question could mean that I end up at the bottom of the Atlantic with a Portuguese anchor as a belt, but Mr. Luciano seemed to want to talk since the fishermen had little to say beyond orders for me to swab the deck again or to talk about how they were planning to get laid once they reached port. He asked me about America, and about my travels in Europe, and though he and I disagreed on everything he was always the old-world gentleman type like you see in the movies and very polite. He said that yes, he was going back to America, and that he had it arranged so that there would be no legal trouble, and that everything had been taken care of for him.

We docked in Nowhere Mass where Mr. Luciano was met under the cover of night by a limousine. Two men got out and they seemed all too Mutt and Jeff to me, one large Italian who screamed of garlic and violence, and one fussy little man with a briefcase who did not make me think of violence so much as the men who work at the county clerk's office where I grew up. Mr. Luciano gave me a "Good luck, kid" and a clap on the shoulder and told me to look him up if I ever needed anything which was a very nice offer that I will not take for the life of me because the mob is violent but one knows how to avoid them, but if I know a government type when I see one (and I do) then the other man on the docks makes me

realize that the strangest of bedfellows are pulling up the sheets and I do not want to be anywhere near that combination.

Love,

Beano


Oh, Birmingham was never what you'd call cold once spring came around, but that March seemed hotter than usual. We'd been just trying to go 'bout our usual lives, church, work, family, trying to keep the young ones out of trouble. Lord, though, the pass system was making it hard for us, and Bull Connor, he was coming down hard on those of us who accidentally left it at home, and the judges were setting bail so high that there's wasn't a soul in the colored section who could pay it. Now, you combine that with the heat and the bad feelings going on between the white folk and the colored folk already, and you got a recipe for trouble.

Think that it was around March 25th that it all started to go wrong. The boy across the street, Marcus Cuttle, his daddy had been picked up by Connor's boys on a pass violation, and he was doing some serious time what with it being his fourth violation and all. One of those men who'd forget his own head. Now, this meant that Mrs. Cuttle wasn't able to pull in enough money to keep her family fed, and Marcus, he wasn't able to find enough work. The neighborhood and the church tried to do what was right by them, but it does something to a man's pride to have to rely on handouts.

So Marcus, he started associating with Wally Solomon, and Donny Vincent, and they got in contact with some other folks from up North for advice somehow. No one knew what they were up to.

Understand, these weren't bad boys. They were good, but like young men all over, they had a touch of the devil in them, and not the sense that God gave 'em on their birth.

So one day I find myself on break from cleaning out the rooms at the Orpheus Lodge, and I decide to take a walk around the park in front of City Hall seeing as how's it's shadier there than in other places, and maybe I could find a colored bench that wasn't taken. And I'm walking right by the hall itself when who should I see but Marcus and Wally and Donny standing right in front of the building. So I'm about to walk up and ask them what in heaven's name they think they're doing when they all whip out their pass cards, and light matches, and put the matches to the paper. I remember Donny's didn't burn quite right immediate what with his hand shaking so bad, but he mumbled something to himself and finally got it blazing. I just stood there struck dumb, knowing that this was sure as suicide.

Sure enough, a couple of officers come up to them, one of 'em yelling "What do you think you're doing, boy?" to Marcus, who was standing in the middle. And Marcus looks at him, looks him right in the eye and says "Officer, my name is Marcus Cuttle, and I am expressing my First Amendment rights." And the officer gets all purple in the face, and he smacks Marcus across the head with his nightstick. I give a little shriek as Marcus falls, but I clamp my mouth tight right after, 'cause I don't want Connor's boys looking my way.

So the other two, they're asked the same question, and they're knocked down one right after another just like Marcus, and they're taken to the jail without a stop at the hospital. No, instead one officer looks at a local colored gardener watching it just like I am and says "Clean up that nigger's blood." And the gardener, he just nods and gets the hose.

Let me tell you, I walked back to the Lodge as fast as my tired legs could carry me. Walked right into one of the rooms, and sat down on the bed shaking till I nearly had a fit, then went and got myself some water from the bathroom. Had a good long look at myself in the mirror.

Now, I was...48 at the time. That meant that I'd been cleaning out white bedrooms and bathrooms for near on thirty-five years, since my Momma pulled me out of school to go to work. Since then I'd been nodding, and bowing, and scraping, and cleaning up after their children, and gritting my teeth in thanks whenever they couldn't finish a meal and handed their half-eaten food to me.

My children were grown. My Dwight had passed to glory a couple years ago. All I had left was myself, and my pride, and not as much of that last one as I would've liked. Seemed it was time for me to do something before I laid myself down for good.

First thing was to get myself the addresses of the folks up North Marcus had been writing to.

-Florence Griffin, quoted in For Want Of A Nail: Race, Riot, And Revolutionaries, 2006

When asked of rumors of Negro unrest in the area, Public Safety Commissioner Bull Connor responded "No, we had a few malcontents around City Hall a couple weeks ago who we ran off. They get their Communist filth from places up north, then try to import it down here. Our population is docile, though."

-The Birmingham News, 4/4/59

Roy,

The Italian package has been delivered to Chicago. His friends have promised to help us with the issues discussed previously.

Sincerely,

E. Howard Hunt

-Government memo from Undersecretary for Internal Affairs E. Howard Hunt to Disney Chief of Staff Roy Cohn, 4/59, declassified in 1982

TO SOUTHERN REGIONAL OFFICIALS:

FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

The "Disney Defenders" will be performing a recruitment drive throughout the Southern region of the United States for the month of April. Due to recent domestic unrest, many young men have asked for the opportunity to wear the coonskin cap in the service of their local communities. Now is their chance!

Due to the dangerous times that we live in, we are expanding the self-defense courses available to DD members. Additionally, in a pilot program being worked on in conjunction with local law enforcement officers, many Disney Defenders over the age of eighteen will be allowed to work as auxiliary members of their local police departments! Towards this end, participating police officials will be offering extensive firearms safety training and target

practice.

Also, all Mickey Mouse Clubs are to invite local officials to give lectures on the most prominent social issues facing their communities.

See you real soon!

Sincerely,

Anita BryantHead Mouseketeer

It was easy once Lucky came back. See, New York was a real favorite for the coloreds, so you had a whole bunch of 'em moving in to take up jobs, and you had a bunch of the commies coming along with 'em to rile 'em up against the U.S. Now, I'm no angel, but I'm a patriot who supported President Disney, so when you get a bunch of dirty Reds trying to organize behind our backs, you gotta send 'em a message. This meant that our union boys, they'd stop working on any project that Mayor Wagner insisted on integrating. Finally got to the point where all the work in the city ground to a halt 'cause the mayor wouldn't budge and our boys wouldn't budge. Then the coloreds started protesting in front of the union offices, and they were just waiting to get their heads caved in. It was like going into a pumpkin patch and smacking them open with a crowbar when our boys came out of the building. Hah!

-Jimmy "One Punch" Maldonado, quoted in The House Report On Organized Crime In America, 1978 I suppose that you could say that I considered myself a good Republican at the time, if only because they were the only ones still willing to look at civil rights. It seems strange, doesn't it? It was a Republican president who dropped the ball in Little Rock, and I saw the results of that up close and personal. But the Democrats who ran Arkansas, they were even worse. The Republicans, they wanted civil rights, but they didn't know how to go about it, since the whole white population had been stirred up against the Negroes. The Democrats used to have a pretty strong civil rights record with FDR and Truman, but the Southern contingent was taking over with their superiority nonsense. Despite Rockwell being GOP, that party seemed like the best bet to make a real difference. Rockefeller was pretty much leading what was left of the liberal wing of the party.

Of course, I was only thirteen years old, so I wasn't quite sure what I was one way or the other. I did have some leadership skills, though--I was still teased about how in kindergarten I'd said that I'd be president someday--so I started gathering around me a group of students who were pretty scornful of the Disney Defenders. They were mostly the rebel crowd, what we called juvenile delinquents back then. They didn't care about the race issue, in fact most of 'em didn't question the conventional wisdom about segregation. They just hated anyone in a uniform.

Didn't matter. My point was to cause trouble for the Mouse Clubs, and they did a fine job of that. I'll credit myself with the nickname, though. Someone in the Disney Company had noticed that "DD" were the initials of Donald Duck, so they were trying to spread the nickname "Ducks", and even gave 'em lapel pins with the bird's face on 'em. Me, I was going through the typical interests of a thirteen year old, so "DD" didn't make me think of ticked-off ducks.

Boy, were they mad when everyone started calling 'em "tits".

-William J. Clinton, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, quoted in Let Us Hold Our Banner High, Documentary Prize winner at the Cannes International Film Festival, 2002.

Allan,

I know that you've been awfully shorthanded lately between the issues in Cuba on one end, and Diem yelling for our help on the other. Still, I need a favor: One of your boys has shown an interest in working closer to the action, and he's been awfully helpful to the administration's interests in foreign affairs.

Tell you what: You go ahead and pick any member of my staff who looks like a likely candidate for your end of the bargain, and I'll let you know whether or not I think it's a fair trade.

I'd try to talk you into Jimmie Dodd, but even I'm not that good a horse trader!

Sincerely,

Roy

-Memo from White House Chief of Staff Roy Cohn to Secretary of State Allan Dulles, 1959, declassified 1982

WACO SEWER SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONS, THOUSANDS EVACUATED

A sanitation disaster of epic proportions affected the EPCOT neighborhood of Waco, Texas yesterday, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate the town in the early morning hours.

The problem occurred when the controls for the drainage system malfunctioned at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Monday morning, causing thousands of gallons of septic waste to back up. Despite what Sanitation Commissioner Bud Leary referred to as "heroic measures" to repair the control system, this eventually resulted in the waste spilling onto city streets shortly after 4:15 a.m., sending residents fleeing their houses and neighborhoods.

City officials are still uncertain as to the cause of the malfunction. A Negro janitor named Clyde Washington was seen near the main controls shortly before the malfunction occurred, raising the possibility of Negro sabotage. However, various officials of the sanitation department vouched for the man they called "Uncle Clyde", repeatedly referring to him as "a harmless old coot". Currently, investigators suspect a simple malfunction in the routing system, and are focusing their efforts towards determining what may have occurred there.

This, the latest in a long line of disasters to befall the Waco area, has led some residents to question the wisdom of the acceptance of Waco into the Disney administration's EPCOT program As housewife Virginia Thackery stated to this reporter, "My husband's an engineer, and he says that the fancier the gadget, the easier it is to break. Well, we've got nothing but fancy stuff around here, and I can tell you that it's been pure torture trying to keep up with it!"

-The Waco News-Tribune, 5/5/59

"We were under the impression that as a former labor leader, Mr. Reagan would be sympathetic to our claims, or at least more sympathetic than either Walt or Roy Disney had been. We were obviously incorrect in this matter. Most of our team has gone on to other job offers, with Warner Brothers happily accepting them. We wish the Disney Company well with their future in live-action entertainment, and mourn the end of an era in animation."

-Statement from Ub Iwerks following the "Disney Massacre" in which Disney President Ronald Reagan fired the animation staff rather than give in to their demands. U.S. ASTRONAUT ORBITS EARTH - Astronaut Grissom To Be Given Ticker-Tape Parade.


The success of Grissom's flight seemed to revitalize the President. The past few times that I'd seen him, President Disney had kept the face mask for the oxygen tank over his mouth for nearly the entire duration of our conversations, only moving it to give brief one-word responses to my queries regarding action. Nearly everything else in the form of communication was either typed and sent to my office, or (if the President was feeling exceptionally puckish that day) was delivered by Cohn.

After Grissom's orbit of the Earth, however, the President seemed more lively, more energetic. A bit of color came back into his cheeks, and he even managed to acknowledge the White House domestic staff with a smile. At the ceremony to honor the brave young astronaut, the President even managed a Honeymooners-based "to the moon" jest that Grissom responded to with a polite chuckle.

However, as his physical health seemed to improve, President Disney still seemed beset with uncertainty and insecurity. More than once during discussions regarding the issue of Negro terrorism, he would get a faraway look in his eyes, shake his head, and murmur "I don't know". The hard-headed and competent businessman I'd known during the '52 and '56 campaigns had seemingly disappeared, replaced by a man haunted by the legacy of his past decisions, of terror regarding the possible implications of his past actions and inactions. I tried my best to reassure him that he had made the best choices possible given the information that he had to work with (and Roy, in his own inimitable style, assured the President that his fight against the "Negro commies" was in the right), but nothing seemed to crack the depression that hung over the man night and day.

--The Truth of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir, Former White House Communications Director James Dodd

It was during a fine brunch with Cocteau at a Paris bistro whose name escapes me that I was introduced to the man who would be my most trusted aide, the keeper of my legacy. We had just finished a more than adequate vichyssoise, and were preparing for the next course, when Cocteau's young friend Godard approached the table with a friend in tow. Shabbily dressed, the young filmmaker's companion cut less than a fine figure, but his appearance was hardly vulgar or outlandish by the standards of the bohemian spirit infecting France that year.

The man--somewhat haggard, with the bloodshot eyes and rosy glow of the habitual drinker--sat down at our table and began to "pitch" an outlandish concept for a screenplay. I barely recall any of the specifics at this late date, but I do remember that it had something to do with an invasion of aliens who promised a utopia for the Earth, but instead ended up

creating a fascist dictatorship. The protagonist would be the leader of a gang of juvenile delinquents who would be skeptical of the alien plans from the very beginning, and who would rise in open revolt against the alien menace once the leadership of the invaders began to turn the human populace into mindless zombies. Additionally, for some reason, the male lead would spend half of the movie dressed in women's clothing. Interspersed with this plotline were comments regarding the gentleman's avid appreciation of my work, ones that went beyond the typical Hollywood reassurances and ego-boosting into the rarefied realm of utter sincerity.

Convinced that I was the victim of a tasteless prank, I waited until the young man excused himself to the restroom, and turned on Godard with a single raised eyebrow. The budding young director chuckled and held up a hand. "I know, Orson, I know," he said in thickly accented English. "But, mon ami, he is so eager to please that to spurn him would be to kick a puppy. Besides, he is more enthusiastic about our art than anyone I have met! No, I do not joke! His films, I have seen them, and they are horrible beyond my ability to say in English, but there is something of the line between genius and madness there as well."

Naturally, this description of the man intrigued me, and I spoke with him further upon his return to the table. He stated that his name was Edward Wood, and that he had recently come to France after being released from an asylum in the United States where he had been held for treatment of what the doctors termed "sexual degeneracy". "I stormed the beaches in Normandy wearing women's underwear," he sputtered resentfully. "And now they say that I'm sick because I dress a little differently? Because I like the feel of angora? Besides, all of the great filmmakers have left America." Here he gave me a pointed look, which I modestly ignored. "Europe is where it's at, and I was lucky enough to fall in with Jean-Luc and his gang. They're giving me some work around the edges, but I really want to work at Pinewood." Here he gave me a pleading, hopeful look, one that would have turned my stomach had it been on the face of a lesser manipulator.

Godard was right, and I hadn't the heart to introduce this puppy to the toe of my shoe. Mr. Wood soon found himself on the next boat to England with our merry crew, and soon became a trusted member of our organization, even if he was somewhat eccentric even by the loose standards of the film crowd. By the time we had reached the other shore, he had somehow eked out a promise of employment as my personal assistant for at least the duration of the filming of Faust.

-Through A Lens Darkly: The Autobiography of Orson Welles, Orson Welles, 1973

THEFT OF WEAPONS REPORTED AT ARMY BASE - Fort Irwin Commander Called To Washington To "Explain" Theft of Automatic Weapons and High Explosives.

--Los Angeles Times, 6/9/59

"While it would be a mistake to jump to hasty conclusions, the evidence implies that Negro terrorists now have their hands on some of the deadliest weapons known to mankind. This is more than a failure of the Army. This is a failure of leadership, and it goes all the way up to the White House."

-Senator John Stennis (D-MS), speech on the Senate Floor

"It wasn't like this should have come as a shock to anyone. Every time we were asked who our influences were, we would always mention The Weavers, Leadbelly, and Woody Guthrie.

It wasn't our fault if these names were a little too obscure to most. So when we stopped singing songs about teenage romance and started singing songs questioning what was happening in the country, we were pretty surprised to find ourselves blacklisted by the radio stations, even if it did take them a while to figure out that "This Cat Ate The Mouse" wasn't a song for children.

"Interesting thing, though, is that our records keep on selling like crazy. It drives the marketing people up the wall!"

-Dave Guard of the Kingston Trio, quoted in Folk Sounds of 1959, New American Music Press

ISRAELI GOVERNMENT FALLS - PM Resigns, Red-Leaning Government Expected To Take Control

-San Diego Union, 6/15/59 If you'd ask me for a word that could sum up my feelings towards Israel going Red, I'm not sure that I could come up with one. There was a word that I was throwing around my office pretty regularly, though, and that was "bullshit". Look, like most American Jews, I wasn't that good at the religion thing, and I only hit Temple during the High Holy Days. Of course, I was even worse as an Episcopalian, but that's not the point. Point is, I still identified as a Jew in some ways--living with Mother was a major part of that--and I couldn't stand it that they'd gone over to a philosophy that was dedicated to destroying America and everything that it stood for.

So, yeah, that's what led up to what happened at the meeting. You know the story...incoming freshmen Republican Senators and Representatives being given a dinner at the White House. Walt hadn't been up to it for months, but he was feeling his oats pretty shortly after Grissom's shot into space, and decided to make a party out of it.

So there we were, with me acting like a butler, making sure that these wet-behind-the-ears types are doing okay. The President eats his dinner, then retires early after a couple of remarks about the party and how everyone there is a good representative of the ideals. Got a couple of remarks in there about Lincoln, too.

Not that there were many there. We didn't even have to use the big banquet table for this one. So anyway, I glance over to the side, and there's a couple of our staff talking with Senator Rockwell. And so I walk over, and he's going on about foreign policy. Of course I listen in while acting like I'm not there. It's a talent you learn when you're on the make in D.C. He was going on about Israel, of course.

I'd been dealing as the go-between with State all week when it came to Israel. I'd also been in touch with our ambassador. Of course, we didn't have much pull in the nation since they'd decided that we were too close to the Arabs, but we still had a couple of sympathetic types there, mostly former U.S. citizens who went over after the founding. They were trying real hard to keep things from spilling over into total anti-Americanism. Hell, they were putting their futures at risk, and maybe even their lives depending on how things went. So it burned in my gut to hear this man going off about this crap.

Anyway, I walked up behind him, and said "Senator" in a friendly voice, but one just sharp enough to make him jump a little. He turned and gave me that grin, the one that they practice once they realize that they'll always be running for office. He greets me with "Roy!" and puts an arm around my shoulders, and steers me to his companions who were a couple of oil men. He shows me off like his pet yid, and says "Now, boys, this is an example of a

good Jew. He's anti-Red, and pro-American. If more of his people were like this, we wouldn't have a Jewish-Communist conspiracy threatening the United States."

Well, I slipped out from under his arms, and said "Senator, don't you think that this sort of talk is dangerous? Don't you think that it'll lead to anti-Semitic violence?" He put on this sad look like politicians wear at funerals for people that they don't know, and came back with "I regret that, Roy, I really do. But unfortunately, a large number of your people have decided that their loyalty lies with Israel and not America, and now we're seeing the result of that. They've been giving every opportunity by this land, and now they've gone over."

Now, I sent the Rosenbergs to the chair. You don't need to tell me about how some Jews haven't done right by this country. But, hell, was Benedict Arnold a Jew? Or Klaus Fuchs? And I thought of my mother and how she'd tried to keep up appearances in a society where she couldn't even move up, or my father toiling away in his chambers and never being allowed into the sorts of clubs that would have let him live up to his potential, or my Uncle going to prison because his bank failed when the Gentiles wouldn't help prop up a Jewish institution. And I guess while I was thinking this, I wasn't paying enough attention to my fist, because I looked up just in time to see it connect with the Senator's nose with a nasty cracking sound.

There was a lot of blood, and a bunch of shouting, and the lobbyists dropped their cigars and pulled away Rockwell who kept yelling "You son of a bitch! You goddamned kike!" Somebody else was pulling me away. I didn't even see who it was until I got yanked into the next room by security, and I saw Jimmie Dodd saying to a White House guard "I was there, Tony. He was provoked. He'll be okay now."

I looked up at Jimmy, who was breathing heavily in his rumpled evening dress, and then looked down to the bloodstains on my shirt.

"Surprised you pulled me away" I mumbled. "Two more hits, and I would've been arrested for murder. You could've had me out of the White House."

He grinned in that infuriating way that he had, and said "Yeah, I thought of that. But, see, you would've killed Rockwell, and I figured it's a little too late in the day for me to start liking you over something like that." We looked at each other, and he chuckled, and I did too, and pretty soon we were laughing like maniacs together. He's a little shit, sure, but hell, he had his moments.

I had to apologize, and we kept it out of the papers, but it still hit the rumor mill inside the Beltway. Crazy thing is, it only helped the reputation. The Jews who had been avoiding me since we'd started having issues with Israel were suddenly inviting me to speak at their banquets again.

--Retired Senator Roy Cohn (R-N.Y.), quoted in Magic Kingdom: America in the 50s, by Studs Terkel

GIG OF THE WEEK: All interested cats should check out The Quarrymen, five young men from Liverpool, England who have arrived in Berlin just in time to explode onto the scene with a mix of jazz, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and a bit of folk music. They're still rough, but frontman John Lennon has a way of rapping with the audience that makes for a crazy evening out of music and mirth, dig?

-Berlin Beat: The Expatriate Scene, 5/59

Following Cohn's physical assault on Senator Rockwell, I became even more concerned regarding the state of the White House. It seemed that ever since President Disney's illness, we'd been rudderless, and that we had only managed to keep from going completely astray due to the competent if Machiavellian efforts of Cohn and his allies. Now Roy seemed to be losing control of himself. Oh, he would threaten that he was losing control on occasion, or bluster about ruining people, but he largely kept himself in check when it came to action.

So here was the question: As the President seemed to be removing himself from all day to day decision making, was it better to have a would-be Napoleon like Roy running things? Or was it preferable for the most powerful administration in the world to devolve into a state of anarchy?

No, Roy had to be supported, if only because the alternative was simply unacceptable. I immediately plugged all of the leaks coming from my office, and put on a happy face for the media.

-The Truth Of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir by former White House Communications Director James Dodd.

I fear that as the school year continued, I was proving to be a political issue for my father. Sworn in just recently as governor, he was attempting to deal with major racial issues and campus unrest. Having his son in the middle of the action was proving to be a matter of some difficulty, and I was a target of mockery in his circles. Several times he threatened to have me committed, but on some level I believe that he respected my desire to stand up for what I believed in.

Unfortunately, the efforts of our students were scattered. What we needed was a nationwide organization that could coordinate actions over social issues that we found to be of import.

This was the birth of the SCLU, or Student Civil Liberties Union. As the American Civil Liberties Union had fallen on hard times, they welcomed an infusion of youthful energy into their organization. Also, as an independent group operating under their umbrella, they could wash their hands of us if they found any of our actions to be too untidy or controversial.

This old guard of the progressive movement had let us into their house, and were expecting to be able to kick us out if we raised our voices. Little did they know that we would be taking over the house, putting our feet up on the furniture, and painting the walls with revolutionary slogans.

For now, however, they gave us a veneer of respectability in all eyes except for those of the most overbearing Mouse Clubs. And if those clubs entered Berkeley, they would find fierce resistance from progressives who were tired of being pushed around by the self-appointed representatives of an oppressive and unjust system.

--Liberation: A Memoir, Former President Jerry Brown MALCOLM X: We're going to keep this short, because, you know, I don't know who might be listening or anything, or if they can trace it. I think that I'm safe, but I don't know for sure.

JOHN "BIMBI" BEMBRY: Yes. I understand.

MALCOLM X: So I wanted to discuss this African Brotherhood situation very quickly. Eldridge, he's a brother, but he's a criminal also. Now, I know that people could say the same about me [LAUGHTER] and you know where we met, but it's different. See, I'm on a path....

JOHN "BIMBI" BEMBRY: Right...

MALCOLM X: ...I'm on a path of righteousness, just like all of our fine brothers and sisters in the Nation. And this man, this boy fresh out of jail, he's doing the work of Allah, but he hasn't submitted.

JOHN "BIMBI" BEMBRY: No, Minister, he has not.

MALCOLM X: So we have to ask ourselves, he's doing good work, but is this the face that we want for our people? A godless man? I don't think he's even a Christian, or any other person of the book. Even that house Negro King had some moral force. So talk to some people and see what we can do about an understanding.

JOHN "BIMBI" BEMBRY: Yes, Minister. It will be done.

MALCOLM X: Assalaamu alaikum.

JOHN "BIMBI" BEMBRY: Alaikum salaam.

DISCONNECT

--Transcript of FBI phone tap on John "Bimbi" Bembry, 6/59

GOLDWATER, NIXON, STENNIS VISIT IOWA -None Admit To Presidential Ambitions, Goldwater "Won't Rule Out Anything".

-Des Moines Register, 6/12/59

Wally I am here in Boston and it is not just nowheresville but downtown nowheresville on a Monday night. There is nothing to do but watch the tourists as they visit the various chapels and battlegrounds soaked with blood almost two centuries ago. Instead I am taking a cue from Alan who has said that something interesting is happening out in the Bay Area, mostly around the campus at Berkeley. Ever since Lawrence got his bookstore closed down, I was afraid that the Mouse Clubs had taken over, but Alan says that there is a new record shop opening up, and they have rare finds from Europe, including Elvis, and supposedly the Quarrymen (though he has not put together this crazy underground sensation with the two boys who kept spurning his advances in Liverpool). Also they have everyone from Chess who made the move, and other wild craziness from the rock and roll, jazz, and R&B scenes.

So maybe West beats East and I will put up with Alan's obnoxious incense and deathly dull chanting for the sake of a groovier scene than this one.

Take care,

Beano

-Personal correspondence of "Beano" to Wally Hedrick, 6/59

LOS ANGELES POLICE CHIEF REQUESTS FURTHER AUTHORITY AGAINST MINORITIES - Claims "hands tied" by allowing potential terrorists into white neighborhoods.

-Los Angeles Times 6/30/59

RACE RIOT OUTSIDE POLICE DEPARTMENT

A demonstration outside of the Los Angeles Police Headquarters turned into a racially charged riot today as Negro demonstrators attacked a line of policemen when the officers attempted to disperse the illegal gathering. Seventeen demonstrators were injured following the fracas, with twenty of the crowd taken into custody on charges ranging from trespassing to assault on a police officer.

At a press conference held immediately following the melee, Police Chief William Parker stated that trouble began when protesters defaced the building. At that point, officers moved in to clear the sidewalk, and were immediately met with resistance from the gathered crowd.....


The Los Angeles situation was unfortunate, but hopefully I can be forgiven for seeing an opportunity in the offing. My sources in the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office--really, even college students can have sources provided their fathers are high up enough in the hierarchy--had informed me that the "defacement" of the "building" referred to by Chief Parker was actually a slogan scrawled in pencil across the driveway. Not only that, but the writer of the graffiti had run as soon as the police charged, meaning that the person who had given them the excuse to charge wasn't even the person who had been taken into custody.

With finals over, I packed my bags and caught a ride to Los Angeles. For the next several days, the local branch of the SCLU and various affiliated and sympathetic organizations held peaceful demonstrations outside City Hall demanding the release of the arrested demonstrators and referring to them as political prisoners. It was a bit of remarkably effective theater. Soon, news organizations from up and down the coast were interviewing the young, white, affluent students who had chosen to take the side of African-American demonstrators.

The District Attorney asked for bail for each of them in the amount of $50,000. Stating that he did not see the defendants as any threat, Judge Whitley released most of them on their own recognizance, with only the man accused of assaulting a police officer being required to post bond.

This was seen as our first victory. I began to see how the legal system, as shaky as it was, could be used to fight for justice. My major went from undecided to pre-law at that point.

-Liberation: A Memoir, former President Jerry Brown

"My brothers and sisters, I have nothing but respect for the Honorable Malcolm X. He has been a true inspiration to those of us who strive and struggle for our fair share of rights in the white man's world. However, I am not Minister X, and I am not a Moslem. They approach the racial question from a religious angle, and that is all very well and good, though it doesn't speak to me. I approach it from the inevitability of history. As the oppressed, we will rise up, and we shall do so unencumbered by either the mindset of the slave that would have us beg for scraps, or the poison of religious dogma that would have us trade the lies of

the American government for the lies of the Mideast.

-"Communiqué from Eldridge" circulated among African-American newspapers nationwide, circa 6/59 So John and I, we found ourselves deep in the madness and badness of Berlin on the verge of the 1960s, and it was a fab time though dangerous for apple-cheeked young innocents like ourselves, don't you know? (Laughs) Pete [Best] came down after a while to knock us up, and we would sit and practice and talk about putting together a combo in between chasing birds and drinking whatever was placed in our hands at gigs. So there we were, the new Quarrymen, covering whatever Elvis was coming up with, or Buddy Holly's latest from back in America, and barely scraping by. We had another young man come by in the name of one George Harrison, but he had to go back to England once the Germans realized that he was a wee bit too young to be traipsing around the red light district with a group of professional bad influences such as ourselves.

There we were, Me, Pete, John, all trying to get a group together, but the rock and roll thing didn't quite get the crowds up and dancing, mostly Yanks who thought that Miles Davis was the beginning and the end of music. So we listened to some jazz and blues, and decided that we needed something different happening. My mate Stu Sutcliffe was ready to try, but he was so far into the beat scene that we could never track him down. Instead, we realized that in order to find what we were looking for, we'd have to resort to bloody robbery.

First off, we needed someone who could play a decent guitar for the sound we needed. This happened when Tony Crane followed along with his friend Howie Casey to Hamburg, where we were playing a set at a club that hasn't gone down in history. Howie was the leader of Howie Casey and the Seniors, a Mersey beat band, and he blew an amazing sax, the best I'd heard. Tony played a bit of guitar, and luckily, he hero-worshipped just about anyone who actually stepped onto a stage and belted out a tune or two for the few deutschmarks that the pubs were throwing our way.

Casey had a falling out with his group--I don't recall over what, something about one of the members getting homesick--and after a few rows, the group broke itself into pieces. There he was looking for a new gig, there Tony was looking to be the worshiped and not the worshiper, and there we were looking for blokes desperate enough to join a third-rate pub band. So we had the jazz sound, we had the saxophone, and everything was just lovely, don't you know?

-"The Quarrymen at 30: Still Rocking, Still Bopping" Music Maker Magazine, 9/89

Dear Wally,

Well here I am in California but no sooner do I set my bag down after the bus trip (no hitchhiking for me, not with everyone who looks like part of the scene getting hassled from the East to the West if found out after dark) than Alan says that he needs to go to Los Angeles where crazy things have gone down and he has promised to perform at a benefit for some poor schlubs who got themselves tossed into the pokey for saying that maybe the local police shouldn't be out beating up Negroes. So we go down there where he introduces me to his friend Jerry who is the son of the governor, which Alan points out in the introduction as a way of saying "Look at how I'm moving up in the world", and we all go down to Santa Monica to walk along the Boardwalk and eat ice cream while discussing deep thoughts about the future of the country. Well, I am happy with the ice cream and leave the politics to Jerry and Alan, and am instead amusing myself by watching four young men in striped shirts singing barbershop standards for a small crowd. Now, I am not up on music like

you are, or like most of the Berlin crowd is, but I will tell you that these four freshly-scrubbed types had harmonies like one imagines the angel choirs could get after a couple of years of practice, though their song selection was wanting. I went over after they wrapped up their set to tepid applause and a few coins grudgingly thrown into the hat and talked to them. Brian, who seemed to be the leader through no fault or desire of his own, was shy but willing to talk a bit about his music and his desire to make it big since his father had written a couple of tunes that he constantly boasted of despite the fact that you and I and God have never heard of any of them.

I took my leave of Jerry and Alan with a promise to meet up at the hotel later, and talked with Brian and his brothers and his cousin (the other members of the quartet) who called themselves the Four Waves. After a while under the pier, I broke out the reefer, and after convincing the frightened young lads that it would not lead to brain damage nor immediate arrest, we smoked some and laughed and had a good time. Then I gave Brian some names of some groups to check out if he could find them at the record shops. Hopefully he'll make it, since these kids deserve a break. I tried to talk him into skedaddling to Europe after graduation, but his eyes grew dark and dim and he whispered about how angry his father could get and my buddy my pal there are some lands that are too dark to travel into.....

Love,

Beano

-Correspondence of "Beano" to Wally Hedrick

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL POLICE

Mouseketeer Roll Call!

As you kids all know by now, the brave men of the Los Angeles Police Department are being unfairly attacked by subversive elements who are trying to bring that city to its knees. All Disney Defenders in the Los Angeles and Orange County districts are invited to a "We Support The Law!" rally to be held in front of Los Angeles Police Headquarters (map and address at the bottom!) on 7/8/59. Please, all of you come out to show your support for these fine men who are all that stand between us and total anarchy!

See you real soon!

Anita BryantHead MousketeerBurbank, CA Adlai,

We're thin on the ground in New Orleans, but I've found a case that might be of interest to you. Or is this more the ACLU's territory?

At any rate, we have a young man by the name of Lee Oswald down in the Big Easy. He's a dyed-in-the-wool Marxist and ex-Marine. Recently, he's been checking out books on the U.S.S.R. from the library, and allegedly nosed around asking questions about how to defect. He's been picked up by the FBI on suspicion of attempting to give aid and comfort to the enemy. The excuse they're using is that he had access to sensitive information.

I dropped a word in the ear of some contacts at El Toro, and frankly, the boy wouldn't know a classified secret if it bit him on the posterior. It looks more like another one of Hoover's boys is looking for commies under every bed. Blame Disney for letting it go on this long, and Cohn for encouraging the man.

The poor kid was given some overworked soul from the Defender's office, and word is that he's being advised to plead guilty. I think that we could make a point if we offered our services. Interested?

Sincerely,

R. Jess Brown

I'll tell you, I already had my doubts about the club by the time the L.A. fiasco rolled around. Me and my cousins, we'd been the local chapter for a while, but we were never that into it. It was mostly my uncle who pushed us, since they had an opening for a singing group, and it meant that our barbershop quartet could get some serious exposure at local county fairs and the like, even maybe get noticed by a talent agent if we were lucky enough.

We showed up outside the police department that day. Chief Parker himself introduced us to the crowd from this rickety makeshift stage that they had. I looked out over the crowd, maybe about a thousand kids like me wearing the ears with a line of coonskin caps in the front of the stage facing front. Crazy.

We started off with the Star-Spangled Banner, then moved into the theme song. That's when I heard other voices, people singing to drown us out, doing the theme with their own lyrics. I still kind of remember it. Let's see....

Who's the ones who hold the clubsThat knock down you and me?M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E!

Hey there, please don't hit there,We just want our rights, you seeM-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E!

Mickey Mouse,What a louseForever let his fascist movement die!Die! Die! Die!

Someday soon his reign will end,And we will all be free,M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E!

I had to turn away from the mic. I looked pissed, but really I was trying not to laugh, and I could see that Dennis was doing the same. Mike just looked stunned. I followed his eyes, and out there in the crowd, we could barely make out a guy we'd met last night at the front of the protesters. We'd hung out with him, and he was pretty much everything that we wanted to be...he'd been around the world, he'd been on the scene in Europe where he knew Ginsberg and Kerouac, and holy shit if Ginsberg wasn't standing right next to him. Jerry Brown, too, I found out later, even though he wasn't as famous as he was later.

Anyway, it was a bad scene, since we were near Burbank and Hollywood, which meant that

we'd managed to get some real names for the rally. Reagan was there, and he was going to give the opening invocation, and then there was going to be a speech by Anita Bryant, and a sketch by Annette and Cubby, and Spin and Marty were supposed to do some sort of cowboy show. Of course, none of that could go off with the protesters shouting and yammering. I guess there were maybe about twice as many of them...found out later that they'd gotten word, so they'd scoured the state for people to come down and support them.

So Reagan comes up and bows his head, though rumor had it that he hadn't set foot in a church since his second marriage, and then he says "Let us pray", and the chants and voices get louder, and boy does he look pissed. Anita's sitting off to the side of the stage. Some cops are already on their way to the back, but when Anita gives a nod, the coonskins shove their way through the crowd and finally make it before the police do. There's screaming, and then pushing, and I see our friend from last night get a baton to the side of the head and fall down bleeding. That sets something off, and all of a sudden everyone's pushing and shoving back there, and the whole crowd is surging back to confront the protesters, and the protesters are moving forward to confront the club members, and me and the boys decide that we want no part of it.

Me and Brian and Dennis and Carl, we hop down off the stage. As I do this, I look back at Anita, because I still have that thing about watching out for women, okay? And she stands there with this weird gleam in her eyes, and she grins.

Anyway, that's when I took off the ears for good, and my cousins did the same. There was something going on there that didn't jibe.

-Mike Love, quoted in Let Us Hold Our Banner High, Documentary Prize winner at the Cannes International Film Festival, 2002.

I was with the President when we got word of what was happening in Los Angeles. One of the local radio stations had managed to convince the national people that this was worth following, so we were kept constantly updated. Fucking Mouseketeers. They'd been useful at the beginning of the campaign, but now it was out of hand. Not that Walt was listening to me. He had a soft spot for any kid, especially the ones willing to put on the ears.

Anyway, it was real bad. Word had it that students at USC and UCLA were on strike in response. Then Stanford, and of course Berkeley. Not that we expected anything different from Berkeley, those kids spent more time cutting class in protest over some sort of half-assed ideals than they did chasing girls.

Anyway, we called in Jimmie, gave him the "President strongly deplores, communist influence, trusts the governor, blah, blah, blah", and had him go off to feed it to the press. We talked to Brown, and he said that he was thinking of calling out the National Guard, we promised to back him up.

God, what a schmuck. We all knew that his own kid was right in the middle of this bullshit. So, yeah, he was proving to be an issue, and we figured that it was time to teach a lesson to California. We just had to wait for the ashes to cool.

I don't regret a damned thing about it, either. If that man had managed to stay in office, he would have dragged California down with him, and the rest of the country would have followed.

-Roy Cohn, quoted in Magic Kingdom: America In The 50s, by Studs Terkel

DISNEY TO BE "HONORED GUEST" AT ARAB LEAGUE CONFERENCE


RIOTS IN SECOND DAY, SPILL OVER INTO WATTS, SOUTH CENTRAL L.A.

-Los Angeles Herald, 7/19/59

"The continuing civil unrest in Los Angeles is not the fault of the state government so much as it is the fault of a culture of disrespect and fear fostered by President Disney and his cronies. I fully support Governor Brown's attempt to drag our political process back into the clear light of sanity."

-Rotary Club speech by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, 7/19/59

"While it is always comforting to hear a political leader standing firmly on the side of sanity, one must remember that the current racial unrest between the Negroes and the labor unions in this very state may be laid firmly at the feet of Governor Rockefeller himself. There is a line in Scripture regarding stones and those who live in glass houses, and I do believe that the Governor would be well-served by refreshing his memory of this passage."

- "Political Phantasmagoria", by William F. Buckley, Jr., National Review, 8/59 We knew that the governor didn't have a shot at the nomination, since it was all that he could do to keep a lid on the issues going on between labor and the Negroes without having to call in the National Guard like they were out in California. Damned stupid kids. Hell, we were getting some of that, since NYU was threatening a "sympathy strike" like we could call up Brown and tell him to get his head out of his ass. Not that we cared too much, since a student strike during the summer is like running out of ice cubes in February. But there we were.

Frankly, I would've been happy to stay around Albany. My whole life was there, and really, who wanted the country when it was going to hell in a handbasket? Anyone who got in was going to have to make like Sisyphus for the next four to eight years.

I guess it was around midsummer when it finally got to be too much. Things were falling apart all over New York City. The garbagemen were on strike so that they wouldn't have to work next to Negroes, and the Negroes were setting the trash on fire to protest everything else. Add to that the heat wave. Everything was getting ready to pop. Rockefeller was spending so much time in the office that he'd forgotten what home looked like. And then, on top of all of that, we have to deal with that bastard Cohn coming up to say hi.

The governor, he knew that Cohn was no good, but like he told those of us who were close, it was always smart to find out what he wanted, that way you could figure out a way to say "no" without finding yourself smeared as a Red in the papers. So he invited him to the mansion.

Cohn showed up an hour late, carrying all his stuff in one of those paper bags that they give you at Bloomingdale's. Without apologizing, he nearly took the governor by the elbow, and they were off into the next room to gab. I stayed outside. Didn't try to listen. Roy walked out about a half-hour later, gave me this real curt nod, and took off. The Governor followed,

wiping his glasses. He was...it was like he was pissed and laughing all at the same time. The governor, he looked over to where I was standing by the desk, and said...let's see...."Cuius testiculos habes, habeas cardia and cerebellum" and laughed even louder, shaking his head.

"Deal with the devil" he finally murmured. "And there I was without the gumption to say 'Get the behind me'."

Now, I'm not saying that this had anything to do with the Governor's sudden success story...but I'm not saying that it didn't, either. All that I know is that suddenly the unions were willing to step up to the bargaining table. Hell, the leaders started coming out with statements about how it was time to put the past behind us, and how they were all workers trying to put bread on the table and feed their families, and they were ready to hold hands and sing hymns with the Negro leaders until I wanted to retch from the sugar sweetness of it all. And suddenly everyone who'd been writing off the governor as a serious contender was rallying around him to save the party from itself.....

- Uncertain Tomorrows: The Campaign Trail, 1960, by Craig Cassidy

I didn't give up on my work as the summer rolled along with the usual amount of Washington chaos, but I will admit that I was doing it by rote by then. It wasn't like we could get anything through Congress: Not only were the Democrats unwilling to even consider passing any useful Republican legislation proposed by a lame-duck president when elections were coming up next year, but I have to admit that the Disney name didn't carry the cachet that it had previously.

Cohn was acting as an unofficial adviser to Governor Rockefeller in New York regarding the labor crisis there, and despite the fact that he had previously been unsympathetic to even the nonviolent civil rights activists, he seemed to be doing a remarkable job at getting people to the table. It was well-known that he planned to go back into private legal practice at the end of the President's final term, and who can blame him if he was allowing himself to be courted a bit?

I was hardly immune to the blandishments of corporate America. The President himself had hinted that I would be welcome in any capacity whatsoever at the Disney Corporation. Indeed, he had gone so far as to say that he was certain that Roy Disney and Mr. Reagan would allow me to "Write [my] own paycheck". Upon reflection, though, I found myself wary of the offer. I couldn't say exactly why. Somehow, the Disney brand had paled in my eyes. It was possible that I was simply exhausted after so many years of serving the man. Possible. However, there was something within me that was instinctively repelled by joining that organization, and I chose not to investigate my motivations too deeply.

- The Truth Of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir, former White House Communications Director James Dodd.

"After careful consultation with my family and advisers, I have decided not to run for President of the United States. Due to the ongoing crisis in California, I believe that my state needs a full-time Senator to represent its interests in Washington."

- Senator Richard M. Nixon, press conference, 7/25/59

"Obviously, it is an interesting question. Would I better represent the interests of the people of the United States in Congress? Or in the White House? However, if I am to be realistic,

then I would have to say that the Jewish-led media would never allow me the exposure necessary to run for such an exalted office. It would take the mobilization of millions of people across this country before I would be comfortable with a campaign for the Presidency."

- "Rockwell Ascendant", Time Magazine, 7/59

USSR BROKERS TALKS BETWEEN ISRAEL, PALESTINIANS


I was sitting in my room when it happened, actually lying down, supposedly sleeping but really listening to this kit radio that I'd cobbled together. I was picking up the local popular music station, fully thinking that I'd be lulled to sleep by Doris Day, or Pat Boone. Then this voice...the DJ said it was a record from Europe, which made my heart skip a beat, since "European music" had the same connotations as "French postcard", and it was beautiful. Elvis Presley. I can even remember the words: Love me tender, love me true...this was like nothing I'd ever heard. This was what they were listening to on the radio over in France, and England, and Germany and all of those other places that Pastor Rickards said were dens of iniquity.

So like everyone else in my local club, I promised to remain pure and right during the day, and listened to the latest wickedness from overseas at night, now that the radio stations were finally playing it. Oh, they had complaints, I'm sure, but I heard later that the more complaints they had, the more records the company sold.

- Nancy Blankenship, quoted in Let Us Hold Our Banner High, Documentary Prize winner at the Cannes International Film Festival, 2002. MOMMA SAYS THE PICNIC IS ON AUGUST 12TH. BRING THE BASKET.

-Found on the corpse of unidentified bomber of the Birmingham City Hall, 8/12/59.

"Investigations continue into the explosion at the Birmingham City Hall on Wednesday at 9:27 a.m. While Safety Commissioner Bull Connor claims that the blast that killed two including the bomber is, quote, "An obvious case of nigra terrorism", it is uncertain if the action was the responsibility of the African Brotherhood, the Nation of Islam, or another, unknown organization. So far no group has taken responsibility...."

-WSGN Birmingham, 8/14/59

DISNEY SIGNS HOFFA PARDON


LOS ANGELES POLICE CHIEF PARKER ASSASSINATED


Hell, I don't mind telling you it was getting crazy. Seemed that no matter where you looked, someone was getting shot, or blown to bits, or there was some sort of riot in the ghettos. Wasn't safe for anyone. So I gotta tell you that when it came down from headquarters that we didn't have to drive into affected areas, and that management could take a flying leap if they didn't like it, it was kind of a relief. Meant that I didn't have to deliver to Watts. Not only that, but they knew that if they hired scabs, they'd get all the forces of hell coming after 'em.

Didn't really think about what it was going to mean to the Negroes. I just knew that I wouldn't have to worry about catching hot lead when I pulled my rig out of the Bakersfield yards in the morning. Had buddies up and down California who felt the same.

-Tony Montelli, For Want Of A Nail: Race, Riot, And Revolutionaries, 2006

Hello Mouseketeers!

It's been a pretty tough time for any law-abiding American, especially those who live in areas where those who would threaten to destroy our way of life are committing acts of horrific violence against our beloved institutions.

Now, we know that all of you are just as angry as I am over the bombing in Birmingham and the tragic slaying of Los Angeles Police Chief William H. Parker. I'm especially sad, since Chief Parker was a personal friend of my family. However, we've been receiving reports that some Mousketeers and Defenders have been going into Negro neighborhoods to look for terrorists, and some of you have been hurt in the process.

I'm afraid it's a new rule, boys and girls! All Mouseketeers and Disney Defenders are hereby instructed to stay out of the Negro areas of their cities and towns until further notice. You can best help the police by keeping a vigilant eye out in your own neighborhoods, and reporting it to the police when someone who doesn't belong there is spotted on your street.

See you real soon!

Anita BryantHead Mouseketeer

"Can't find food to buy around here 'less it's half-rotten or five times what white folk are paying. Can't go elsewhere to shop 'less you ready to get picked up and beat just in case you know who shot Parker. They ain't built gas chambers yet, but I'm thinking that they ain't far off."

-Anonymous Watts resident quoted in "A Change Is Going To Come: Racial Attitudes and Associations In Context", prepared for the SCLU Racial Justice Coordinating Committee, 9/59

"You knew him as Senator McCarthy. I knew him as Joe. Joe will be remembered as a Senator, yes. He will be remembered as a patriot. He will be remembered as a war hero. He will be remembered as one of the pantheon of great Americans. Mostly, however, I will remember him as my friend, my mentor, and my brother. Rest in peace, my good friend, and know that your name shall be passed through the ages as an example of all that is right with America."

-Eulogy for Senator Joe McCarthy, Roy Cohn

I don't mean to speak ill of the departed, but McCarthy had been nearly dead for a couple of years by then. It was well known inside the Beltway that the only thing keeping him alive was regular visits to the sanitarium to dry him out. Fortunately for him, as he'd stepped out of the limelight for some years, he had the time and energy to occasionally do something positive for himself.

Roy was a wreck, though. This may have been the first direct evidence that I'd seen (outside of another Senator's broken nose) that the man was capable of actual human feeling.

-The Truth Of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir, by former White House Communications Director James Dodd

Your Honor,

I am petitioning the court to let me represent myself as my own attorney. Even though Mr. Stevenson is a smart man I do not believe that he has my best interests at heart. He is a representative of a government that has been killing people with my beliefs for years now.

Also I believe that he is too close to one of the prosecutors. Even though Mr. Carlyle is supposed to be prosecuting on behalf of the government, his team is getting assisted by Assistant District Attorney Jim Garrison who is well known for having supported Mr. Stevenson in his past political races. Mr. Stevenson and Mr. Garrison are far too chummy, and I am afraid that I am being made out as a patsy.

Please take my request under advisement.

Sincerely,

Lee Oswald

"It is therefore the opinion of this court that Mr. Oswald is incapable of defending himself, and shall be removed to the appropriate psychiatric care facility until such time as he is deemed competent to stand trial..."

-United States of America v. Lee Harvey Oswald, 1959 That's what we were saying about the President around the White House come late October. While those of us in the know were aware that President Disney was still ailing from the dreaded "C" word, no one who was not in that loop would have thought that anything was wrong with the man. Indeed, on his trip to New York to attend a private reception before the opening of the Guggenheim Museum, the President seemed to be bursting with new life, charming the socialite crowd, gravely shaking his head and intoning comforting words to those who brought up the recent troubles in California, and joking with the curators that is was a shame that they hadn't seen fit to include one of his Mickey drawings in the collection.

With no major elections in the offing except for the one to replace Senator McCarthy's seat, President Disney seemed to be enjoying his lame duck status. It was clear to everyone that the responsibilities of the office had been trying for him. He was now looking to the future, wryly commenting that he was looking forward to returning to Burbank and taking control of

the company he had founded if he could "wrest it out of Roy and Ronnie's hands".

As we exited through the front door (despite security concerns, the President insisted on being seen by the public at every opportunity), I noticed what seemed to be an odd, hurried movement on the part of the Negro doorman. The Secret Service noticed it, too, as one of the agents turned and began to draw his weapon. It was far too late even for our highly trained and competent security staff. The man's face froze, and as he reached into his pocket, he gave a strangled cry of "For Elijah! For Malcolm! Allah Akbar!" Our agent, one Jack Mulroney, managed to pull his trigger just as the terrorist pushed something inside his pocket.

My world exploded in a flash of red and white.

I somehow managed to remain conscious for long enough to see the President buried under a pile of Secret Service agents who had successfully put their lives on the line to protect their major charge. Another glance to the side, and I saw Roy lying on the floor and mouthing curses. Odd. I'd never known him to be shy about saying them out loud. It was then that I realized that I wasn't hearing anything: Not Roy, not the cries of the wounded, not the shouts of alarm.

The last thing that I heard before the explosion was the desperate cry of one who wished harm upon me and the man who I saw as my father.

Barring a major medical advancement before my death, it was the last thing that I will ever hear again.

-The Truth of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir by former White House Communications Director James Dodd

TO ALL SACS

PRESIDENT DISNEY SLIGHTLY INJURED BUT ALIVE IN PROBABLE NEGRO TERRORIST ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT IN NEW YORK, NY. UNKNOWN NUMBER OF INNOCENT BYSTANDER CASUALTIES, INCLUDING MEMBERS OF PRESIDENT'S STAFF.

ALL OFFICES TO IMMEDIATELY ROUND UP SUSPECTED NEGRO TERRORISTS, TERRORIST SYMPATHIZERS, AND STUDENT RADICALS FOR DETAINMENT AND QUESTIONING. LOCAL POLICE FORCES ARE BEING ASKED TO PROVIDE ALL NECESSARY ASSISTANCE UPON REQUEST. ANY RETICENCE ON THEIR PART SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY REPORTED TO HQ.

THIS ORDER IS TO BE PUT INTO EFFECT IMMEDIATELY.

J. EDGAR HOOVERDIRECTOR, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

We were just sitting down around the table for dinner when the news came on the radio. Now, I wasn't a big fan of having anything playing during what was supposed to be a family time, but my Loretta was a fan of having some music in the background, saying that it helped the digestion. So I gave in like a good husband is supposed to, and tried to ignore the racket as I helped myself to a serving of hamhocks.

I hadn't but lifted my fork to my mouth when the news came in. Put my fork back onto the plate, and caught my breath. See, somehow I knew it was going to be one of us who did it.

The President, he had plenty of enemies to choose from, but this wasn't the kind of thing that the Jews would have done, or the Communists. This was gonna be a Negro thing. This was gonna be a Muslim Negro thing. And though I didn't have no truck with the Muslims, I knew that a nigger was a nigger was a nigger to most white folk.

Looked around the table. Loretta had her napkin lifted to her mouth and tears in her eyes. Gloria, my oldest, she looked sick. Her younger brother Marcus, looking all of his sixteen years, he just looked puzzled and scowling. Only the baby Tabitha didn't know what was going on, and kept lapping up her food like she was never gonna eat again.

'Bout a minute passed before anyone said anything, not counting Loretta murmuring "Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord." into her hand. Then everyone started talking all at once, yelling and arguing, with Loretta wanting us to pray for the survivors, Gloria saying that this was a setup by the white folks, Marcus shouting that he wasn't going to pray for no crackers, and me yammering that I wanted everyone to shut up so that we could hear the rest of the report.

We all crowded around the radio, 'cept Tabitha who we put down to bed after she finished off her food. Sure enough, it was a black man who did it. We listened to the news over and over, with all those folks saying that they didn't know much more than that in as many ways as they could figure out how to say it.

'Bout an hour later, the sirens started. At about the same time, we heard yelling and hollering coming from around the block. Windows gettin' smashed. People screaming.

"Everyone get down in the basement!" I yelled, and for once the young ones didn't protest. I ran into Tabitha's room, picked her up, and hauled her down to the cellar with her still asleep in my arms. Locked the door tight behind us. We sat down there silently, barely moving even when we heard our own windows caving in, and footsteps up above us. Furniture breaking. Loretta cringed when we heard the cabinet with our wedding china go over. Weren't even breathing other than that.

Sirens got louder, going all over the neighborhood, loud enough to hear even down where we were sitting. Heard someone upstairs trying the door handle to the basement. We froze, all except Marcus who stood up and got into the boxing stance he'd learned at the gym. Like that was going to do that fool boy any good against the white folk upstairs. Cursed myself that I hadn't thought to take my gun with me.

Then there was this shout of "Police!" up above. "Thank Jesus" Loretta whispered, but I wasn't feeling all too thankful right about then. Sure enough, we didn't hear no arrests or scuffles, but just some mumbling and laughing between the cops and the robbers.

The rioting folks left. Couple minutes passed, feeling more like a couple of days, and suddenly the basement door caved in, with police in helmets and masks rushing down into the basement. They shone their flashlights on us as everyone started screaming. One of them asked "Is this the one?" with his light on Marcus, and after some joke about how hard it was to tell us apart, another one said "Grab him" and they did just that very thing.

Loretta jumped forward with Tabitha in her arms, screaming that they weren't going to hurt her baby, and one of the police closed his fist and knocked her to the ground with little Tabby still being held by her. I don't know what I was thinking, but a man sees his woman and baby girl knocked down, he acts, and I jumped forward only to feel something crack my skull open.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw Loretta lying on the ground, her eyes blinking open real slow. Gloria was holding Tabby, crying and rocking back and forth. Didn't see Marcus

nowhere.

Didn't see him again till they released his body.

-Cassius Spencer, For Want Of A Nail: Race, Riot, And Revolutionaries, 1996

TEN DEAD, DOZENS INJURED IN PRESIDENTIAL ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT - Riots Erupt Across Nation, President Appeals For Calm

So I'm at the hospital with this goddamned broken leg, and I'm trying to yell into a phone that they finally brought me after an hour while the doctor's setting the break, and nobody can tell me what the hell's happened to the President until the man himself gets wheeled into the fucking room. Turns out that he'd bruised a rib or two. That's two assassination attempts he'd survived with barely a scratch. Two! I tell ya, it's too bad that he only drove an ambulance during the first war, because that man had the luck of the devil. Yeah, the luck of the devil and a couple dozen Secret Service agents around him at any given moment.

Poor bastard who didn't manage to fire before the crazy radical blew himself up got the brunt of the blast. He was dead. A bunch of New York society, including a couple of my wife's childhood friends? Dead. And Jimmie Dodd was lying unconscious a couple of rooms over, so we didn't even have a way to tell anyone else what was going on. Hoover had taken matters into his own hands, and while I'm not a huge fan of his making a move without Department of Justice approval, I have to say that he did the right thing in this case. It was obvious to me and to anyone with half a brain that we were at war, here, and that we didn't have time for the bureaucrats to pussyfoot around the situation.

First thing we did was, we got some numbnuts kid from Press to make a statement about the situation, and to tell the Mouse Clubs that the President his high holy self was telling them to calm the fuck down and to stop beating up Negroes on the street. Not that it did much good: By that point, only Anita had any real pull over them, and I found out later that she was calling the goon squads an "understandable reaction to this terrible tragedy". She was a bitch on wheels. She'd been a few years older, Anita might have been a better match for me than Prissy was, nothing against my late wife. But, hell, we managed to team up later with some historic results.

Anyway, the President wanted to go on television immediately. Bad idea. Wanted to show the American people that he was okay, avoid a repeat of that "gravely ill" bullshit he'd been dealing with a while back. Still, bad idea. He was shaking, he was angry, he was breathing heavy, and he didn't look right. Instead, we kept it to the press release, and let him get his way when he insisted on walking out of the hospital in the full view of several security-screened reporters the next morning.

The riots kept going, though. Every time we thought that the Mouse Clubs had run out of steam, they'd go rampaging into another Negro neighborhood, smashing windows and burning storefronts and homes to the ground. Any Negro found in a white neighborhood ran the risk of being attacked, pass or no pass. The Disney Company must have been feeling like Frankenstein by then.

And then there was Rockwell. Fucking Rockwell. The son of a bitch played it up to the cameras for all it was worth, looking serious with his pipe dangling out of the corner of his mouth as he bemoaned the "Negro troubles" and "Communist/Muslim front" that of course was supported by the Jews. Yeah. According to him, the Jewish/Muslim enmity was just a front to hide our real alliance to take down "White, Christian, America".

Hell with it. If that was Christian America, I was going to be a good Jew. Stopped going to the Episcopal Church, and started showing up at temple to make nice with my Rabbi.

-Former Senator Roy Cohn (R-NY), quoted in Magic Kingdom: America In The 50s, by Studs Terkel

Wally,

My boy and friend and buddy and pal I do not know if you will ever be getting this letter, for I have had to hand it over to the tender care of a young man who has been in and out of this hospital on many an occasion, and while it is comforting to know that the powers that be in the white coats do consider him sane enough to leave it is not so comforting to know that he has been crazy enough to return so I am leaving this in the arms of God and Alan's Buddha and the Virgin Mary that I was taught to pray to in my youth.

It was a crazy lazy time in Palo Alto which seemed safer than Los Angeles with Negroes still being picked up left and right as I found a cheap room and a decent coffeehouse. Jerry Brown was visiting Alan in between tests over at Berkeley so I was in charge of entertaining the governor's son while Alan ran errands and Alan entertained him while I went to my job building houses for rich people, for I am not an intellectual and have a fondness for working with my hands and creating something solid and real. So I was with Jerry who is not into reefer after trying it but is not such a bad cat since he does like jazz and red wine and he was trying to talk up politics while I tried to pretend to understand what he was saying while really listening to a demo tape from my new young harmonizing friends when there was a knock at the door with the very distinct police sort of feel behind it. So I opened it and was taken into custody despite not knowing what was going on while two plainclothes dicks talked to Jerry very politely and he went with them under protest and then we ended up in front of a judge and now I do not know what is happening for they said that I am insane but I do not feel insane or did not until they put me here and Jerry is in a private room upstairs I am told and they keep giving me medicine that I do not want so I pretend to swallow it and play their game until I can figure out how it ends.

-Correspondence of "Beano" to Wally Hedrick, circa 11/59

SENATOR JOHN STENNIS ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIAL BID - Claims Need For "Law And Order" and "Racial Realism"

-Jackson Clarion-Ledger, 11/17/59

It wasn't until filming was underway that I truly began to understand both the magnificence and the indispensability of Mr. Edward Wood. A thoroughly competent Assistant Director, he followed my orders completely and to the letter, and accepted it in good grace when his outlandish suggestions regarding the film were met by me with either stony silence or a string of angry curses, depending on my temperament and physical condition at the given moment. However, it was not in his official capacity that he truly became an invaluable asset to me and to my crew, but rather in his dealings with the more aggressive and impolite members of Fleet Street. Indeed, whenever my artistic reverie was interrupted by yet another Pinewood executive timorously inquiring as to whether or not the great Orson Welles would possibly be available for an interview, Wood would immediately offer to act as my spokesman, and proceed to take the reporter or reporters in question out to the local pub,

where he would proceed to drink them under the table while telling the most outlandish stories. It was in no small part due to his efforts that I managed to bring in a film on time and under budget for the first time in my life, and I am eternally thankful to him for this.

-Through A Lens Darkly: The Autobiography Of Orson Welles HUNDREDS NABBED IN NATIONWIDE RED-MUSLIM SWEEPS-Governor Brown's Son Arrested, Held For Psychiatric Observation

SACRAMENTO- Hundreds of alleged Moslem terrorists and student radical leaders were arrested yesterday morning in a series of raids carried out by a combination of federal agents and local police forces nationwide. Among the arrestees was Jerry Brown, son of California Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown.

The arrest in Palo Alto of young Mr. Brown, prominent SCLU chapter head at the University of California, Berkeley, has further called into question the governor's ability to lead his state in a time of racial and political crisis. This morning, members of Mickey Mouse Clubs from across the state are scheduled to rally in front of the Capitol Building in Sacramento demanding that the Attorney General launch an investigation of the Governor for "radical ties".

Through a spokesman, Governor Brown stated "At a time of great trouble for this state and for my family, I am deeply grateful for the letters and telegrams of support that we have received. I plan to fully investigate exactly why Jerry was arrested, what evidence they have against him, and why they are calling my boy 'insane' for having strong and uncompromising views, no matter how much I may disagree with him on some issues."

While some mayors and legislators have leaped to the defense of Governor Brown, there are strong concerns in Sacramento regarding his ability to effectively govern the state at a time of crisis for his family....

Los Angeles Times, 11/20/59

If it hadn't been for the effect on my poor father's political future, I might have found the whole experience quite refreshing. Isolation in a single room with nothing more than a bed and a washbasin reminded me of the monks in the Zen books that Alan had been lending to me. I resolved to make the most of my isolation from the rest of society, and began an intensive practice of meditation, often lasting for hours. While I never reached the satori mentioned in the texts I'd been reading, I did feel more refreshed and optimistic upon completing the meditation cycle. Then, having nothing else to do--my requests for pen and paper having been refused on the grounds that the pen could be a "dangerous instrument"--I would usually sink blissfully back into meditation until meal time.

I was also concerned for Beano, the poor vagabond who had been keeping me company at the time of our arrest by Hoover's forces. The orderlies and nurses, while polite, seemed to have no knowledge of his fate, and the doctors who came by for cursory interviews stated that patient confidentiality prevented them from divulging any information about any other patient.

Of course, by telling me this, they had let me know that he was another patient at the facility, but I still had no idea how he was being treated.

Unfortunately for me--and for Beano, as it turned out--I was not to know of his fate for some time. One day approximately a week into my incarceration, I was led downstairs, told to sign

for my belongings, and escorted outside to a waiting limousine. Sure enough, my father was in the back, but to my surprise, he was not surrounded by various lobbyists and hangers-on. Instead, he had come alone, and seemed honestly concerned for my well-being above and beyond his reputation. How much so, I didn't find out for a day or two afterwards.


INITIAL REPORT

Subject named [REDACTED] currently being held in a local mental health facility for antisocial behavior was brought to Stanford University testing facilities on 11/28/59. After a series of psychological tests to determine his fitness for the project (see attached documentation), subject was asked if he understood the nature of the experiment.

Subject responded "Hey, cats, I dig that you're part of the man's machine, and it ain't hip for me to say no if you say yes, and I will frog hard if you say jump, just let me out of the looney-tuney place so I can get back to life and music and sunshine." At first Agent [REDACTED] was concerned that the subject was showing schizophrenic symptoms, but was assured by Dr. [REDACTED] that the subject was speaking in a manner common to the European "Beat" exiles. A check of the subject's history showed that he had indeed spent time with this subculture in Europe.

The subject was placed in a neutral environment, and subjected to a dosage of 150 micrograms of Lysergic acid diethylamide before Agent [REDACTED] approached him with the proper stimuli after a period of 45 minutes had passed.

-CIA Report, 1982, declassified during Kennedy Commission Inquiry Into Domestic Intelligence Operations, 1984

"Look, man, it's easy to say that we were wrong now. You weren't there. You didn't see the President nearly get blown up by some crazy terrorist. You didn't see that it was impossible for white children and women to go through colored neighborhoods without worrying about getting shot or worse. You weren't reading some new "communiqué" from some nutjob in the paper every day about how many white people were going to die in exchange for some criminal who got shot by a White Citizens' Committee.

"So, yeah, we attacked, but it sure as hell looked like self-defense to me. We had a whole race of people who wanted nothing more than to destroy our race, or that's how it looked at the time, and we weren't going to sit down and take it. Hell, even our Division Leader kind of looked the other way, saying "Hey, boys, don't do anything illegal, but remember that we keep the baseball bats in the equipment shed at the clubhouse". So we put on the ears and the sweaters, and we avenged the hell out of the president in Darktown.

"Some of us went over the line. I'll be the first to admit that. I had to pull more than one horny asshole off of more than one colored girl. But for the first time, we were giving to the darkies just like they were giving to us, and it felt good to be doing something, even if it was just smashing windows and lighting slums on fire."

-Peter van Koos, quoted in Let Us Hold Our Banner High, Documentary Prize winner at the Cannes International Film Festival, 2002

DRAFT ROCKWELL MOVEMENT GAINS MEMBERS ACROSS COUNTRY

-Press Release from the office of Sen. George Lincoln Rockwell, 11/59

It was obvious that I was going to have to go. Even I understood that. As much as I missed my hearing, as much as it saddened me to know that I would never sing on key again, or pick up the guitar and hear myself playing it, there was an odd sense of relief buried beneath the grief and sense of loss.

I felt liberated.

-The Truth Of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir, Former White House Communications Director James Dodd

"And here's a brand new spin from the beaches of California to keep you warm during these chilly winter nights, it's "Seaside Serenade" by The Waves!

-WGLX Chicago Disk Jockey, 12/59

GOVERNOR BROWN TO RESIGN-Cites "Family Concerns" in Speech

-The Sacramento Bee, 12/12/59

Brown's kid? Yeah, I know, but he'll always be 'Brown's kid' to me. I heard the rumors about my involvement in that one, some sort of 'Get out or your kid stays in a rubber room forever' nonsense. Say what you like, I know that Pat had pissed me off in the past, but I didn't have anything to do with him getting picked up, and didn't have anything to do with him getting turned loose. What am I, Machiavelli? Don't answer that! (laughs)

-Retired Senator Roy Cohn (R-NY), quoted in Magic Kingdom: America in the 50s by Studs Terkel By the time that December rolled around, the Republicans were in disarray while the Democrats seemed to be rallying around a few potential candidates. The only GOP candidate to have gained significant popular support, Senator George Lincoln Rockwell, was considered unsuitable to the party establishment due to what were thought to be uncivilized attitudes towards Negroes and Jews. However, the Senator's popularity with a certain group could not be denied: Those who had first put on a pair of mouse ears in 1952 at the age of thirteen would be reaching voting age by the time that November of 1960 rolled around. Their younger brothers and sister who had been inducted into the clubs, though they would not be reaching their majority until the next election, still constituted a significant number of potential campaign workers from the so-called postwar "baby boom" generation. These energetic youths seemed to have a fondness for Senator Rockwell, and the Senator seemed to return the sentiment by appearing at any Mickey Mouse Club gathering to which he was invited.

Only one fly remained in the Senator's ointment: President Disney himself had not been willing to meet with the man since a rumored confrontation between the Senator and Chief of Staff Roy Cohn shortly after Rockwell had been sworn into his Senate seat. Throughout the months of October, November, and part of December, Senator Rockwell continued to attempt to set up meetings with the President, with Cohn taking a seemingly vindictive pleasure in denying him access at all times. However, it would only be a matter of time before the Senator would be able to cry foul to the news media, and Cohn knew this. This weighed heavily on the Chief of Staff's mind as he left for a secret meeting in upstate New

York in mid-December.

There are a few facts that are known about this meeting: First, Cohn was ready to throw his support behind anyone but Rockwell. Second, despite this, Cohn would still want a major concession or position of power in exchange for delivering President Disney's support, as well as his own. Third, it was rare for Roy Cohn to work for anyone or support anyone who he did not have some sort of hold over.

From there, we may conjecture the following: It was rumored that Roy Cohn had certain contacts within some of the less savory organizations that ran New York from behind the scenes. It was also thought that these people had enormous influence over the labor unions, the same unions that had unexpectedly been willing to sit down at the bargaining table with Negro workers after many months of enmity and near-riots in New York State. Finally, word had it that despite all credit going to the New York Governor for this miracle of reconciliation, it had only taken place after Roy Cohn had paid him a visit and called in some favors from his associates.

This reconciliation had lasted even through the long nights of riots and police raids in the wake of the assassination attempt on President Disney. Governor Nelson Rockefeller was seen as a miracle worker to the nation as a whole. While we many never know exactly what demands were made or deals were struck at this meeting (One popular legend has it that Roy stated that the only favor that he wished for was for someone to run against Rockwell, though most believe that he had his eye on the Attorney General's office), what is known when we lead ourselves back to the harsh light of reality is that Governor Rockefeller stood in front of the might of the state house in Albany, New York on December 16th, and declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination.

-Uncertain Tomorrows: The Campaign Trail 1960, Craig Cassidy

"In this turning point in history, as American turns against American, brother against brother, and neighbor against neighbor, we have neglected to notice that this battle has led us to a precipice. Looking down, I see only violence and anarchy, chaos and despair. And yet it is not too late, my fellow Americans, it is not too late for us to change our ways.

"I am not a man given to religious exhortation, but one word that comes to mind as I stand here today is 'repent'. 'Repent', in the original Hebrew, does not mean to feel admonished, or guilt-ridden, or to cast blame upon oneself or one's neighbor.

"'Repent', my friends, simply means 'turn back'

"Turn back from the violence. Turn back from racial hatred. Turn back from acts of vengeance against those who have done you no wrong. Turn back before it is too late, and look at the land of your forefathers, see what has become of it.

"Turn back, and embrace your common humanity.

"Turn back, and remember what it is to be an American."

-From the speech of Governor Nelson Rockefeller announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President, 12/59

"Yeah, that Hebrew bit was something I'd picked up from my Rabbi. Just wanted something to stick in Rockwell's craw."

-Roy Cohn, overheard, 12/59

"Aren't any of you MEN?! Let go of me, and I swear to Christ that I will grab a gun, go down to Jew York myself, and put two fucking bullets through the backs of the heads of both of those kikes in front of every goddamned newsreel camera. I said let go!"

-Senator George Lincoln Rockwell to his aides, quoted in Tomorrow The World: The Unauthorized Biography of George Lincoln Rockwell, Anonymous

"No, I do not see any reason that the collectivist trash that Mr. Welles refers to as his art would be accepted by any American distribution company, or why any theater owner would consider this supposed "masterpiece" that he is working on to be acceptable to an American audience."

-Ayn Rand, President of the Motion Picture Association of America, 12/27/59

Aw, hell, we'd been stuck on patrol in Havana for what seemed like forever and a day...hell, five or six days. We mostly bummed cigarettes from each other and grumbled about the local food while grinning and eyeing the local senoritas. Most of 'em weren't that bad, less they had a brother off fighting with Uncle Raul, or a cousin with Che or something, but if you slipped a couple of American dollars in their hands, they'd do pretty much whatever you wanted. Not that this was allowed, but the officers who weren't complete dopes figured that it was all part of life, and the ones who were we kept busy with a steady stream of lies and horseshit.

So I was in one of these cathouses one night while on leave, and I'd just taken a drink of the local rum--one of the only good parts of being posted to Cuba, since god knows the heat and the bugs made it hell the rest of the time--when I hear shots off in the distance. Now, first I think it's a looter or something, but then there's a bunch of shouts in English, then more shooting. So I say "Oh, shit," and drop the bottle. Then I grab my rifle and leap out the window, girl behind me squawking about not being paid despite the fact that she hadn't done jack squat for me, and found myself running down the street to the base to find that they were taking sniper fire from at least seven different locations.

Anyway, I found some cover, and tried to aim the best I could. Found about five kids staring goggle-eyed at me as I ducked behind the wagon they were using as a shield. Didn't think about it, just took aim at a shadow I saw on a building, and dropped Carlos quick as I could. Another shadow, another shot--missed this time--took my time to aim, and another Carlos gone. Was taking time to aim for a third one when I felt a hand tugging at my shoulder. It was one of the Cuban kids. Had his sister standing next to him, giggling. Looked at what he was handing me. Pair of pants.

I'd run out of that cathouse bare-ass naked. Never told that to the fella that pinned the medal on me.

-Corporal Roger Hewitt, quoted in Yanqui Go Home: America and Cuba in Conflict

1960

"Godspeed, Alan Shepard, first man to successfully orbit the Earth."

-CBS News Anchor Walter Cronkite, 1/2/60 Good morning. It's a truly humbling experience to see such a wonderful display of Americanism out here today.

One week ago, the Governor of the great state of New York stated that we are on a precipice, and that anarchy and chaos reigned below us if we continued to battle with the Negro and Communist aggressors who have attacked our White Christian women and children in their beds, slain our brave officers of the law, and even attempted to assassinate President Disney, the greatest leader that America has seen in the twentieth century. My friends, he has said that we are to back down in the face of the greatest threat that this nation has ever seen.

But who is behind this ludicrous suggestion? If you look at the newsreels when the governor made his announcement, you will see behind him one Roy Cohn, Chief of Staff to President Disney and religious Jew.

I'm going to tell you something about Mr. Cohn: He had me fooled for a while, and George Rockwell is not an easily fooled man. Despite the fact that he is a Jew, a member of a race that has historically been at odds with American values, he worked in the Senate under Senator Joe McCarthy, a great American and heroic fighter against the Communist menace in government. He became Chief of Staff to President Disney, a strong anti-Communist and supporter of the rights of our states to determine their own destinies.

And yet look at what has happened to both of these fine Americans: Senator McCarthy's pursuit of Communists was nipped in the bud shortly before Mr. Cohn left to take a position in the White House. This lion of the Senate was weakened, muzzled, and died a few short years later as Mr. Cohn cried crocodile tears over his corpse. And what of President Disney? In his first term in office, he began to build a vision of the future, with model White Christian communities, an extensive revamping of our nation's infrastructure, and investment in the space program to prove our culture's superiority on this Earth and beyond her atmosphere.

And then along came Roy Cohn.

Mr. Cohn wormed--yes, wormed--his way into the White House. And ever since he gained access to our President, the nation has entered a state of racial crisis. The hands of Mr. Hoover of the FBI have been tied. Communist-backed student radicals have been allowed to spread their filth to the youth of our nation. Negroid rhythms are being played right now on the radio, with their lustful, bestial songs infecting the minds and souls of generations to come.

I say, no more!

First, and most importantly, I plead with President Disney to require the resignation of this traitor within his ranks. If he does not immediately agree to resign, then he must be fired for cause. This wolf in sheep's clothing, this parlor pink in the guise of an anti-Communist can be held directly responsible for our racial unrest, our inability to make headway in Cuba, and the poisoning of our culture by Mideastern and European influences.

Secondly, I must address an issue that has been on the minds of many people across this great land of ours.

When I first arrived in Washington, D.C., my only intention was to serve the people of the great state of Virginia to the best of my ability. Any further office or election seemed too far away to seriously consider. However, much has changed since I first took the office held by such illustrious predecessors as James Monroe, John Tyler, and James Mason.

For months now, I have been looking to the party establishment to bring forth a figure who could lead us with determination and strength at a time of such crisis. I have pleaded with them to look realistically at our racial issues, to attempt to influence our President to lead us with a firm hand, or at least to run someone for office who could do so.

They have ignored my pleas, the pleas of my constituents, and the pleas of God-fearing White people across this great nation.

Therefore, with great humility, but with a firm sense of purpose and a clear vision of our destiny, I, Senator George Rockwell, do hereby proclaim my candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States!

As your President, I shall ensure that you no longer have to cower in your beds at night, fearful of attacks from armed hoodlums. I will ensure that the banks and the moneylenders have to take their rightful place in line behind the common man when it comes to preferential treatment. And I will bring the racial crisis in this country to a swift and certain end.

Now, there are those in the press who have listened to foreign interests, and have sneered that I am nothing more than a jumped-up hater of Negroes. Nothing could be further from the truth. I do not hate the Negro. No, I feel sorry for him, as his ancestors were dragged here in chains, away from their homelands in Africa, and were made to adapt to a civilization far in advance of their capabilities and intellect.

I therefore propose a simple solution: All Negroes in the United States of America shall be given the choice between deportation to Africa or life within the confines of a reservation, similar to the Indian reservation or the camps set up for the Japanese during the Second World War....

-Speech by Senator George Lincoln Rockwell, Norfolk, Virginia, 1/60

"Never hit the Jew where he's weakest, John. He's had centuries to learn to roll with the punches. Always hit him where he's strongest. then he won't know what to do."

-Sen. George Rockwell (R-VA) to campaign worker John Patler, quoted in Tomorrow The World: An Unauthorized Biography of George Lincoln Rockwell, Anonymous

GOLDWATER ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY-Says He's Running As "The Sane Candidate"

-The Arizona Republic, 1/20/59

"I'm keeping my options open."

-Comment to reporters by Senator John McClellan, 1/30/60

LT. MARK MATTHEWS: Here we are in a foreign land where we do not speak the language,

hated and despised by all at home, looking here for answers, when home is where we should be, and yet we cannot go there, for we are here!

GLORIA: Oh, my darling, if only I could do something to help! Hold me, my darling!

LT. MARK MATTHEWS: I'll hold you, my darling, and don't worry. We will find a way to defeat the aliens who have taken over back home! We will rise from the ashes like the mythical bird! We will be triumphant! Yes, we will triumph over them!

CUT TO: EXT. WHITE HOUSE. DAY.

President WILL DASTARD is walking in the Rose Garden with GENERAL MCCANN

PRESIDENT DASTARD: You are a fool, you foolish man! Do you not understand that soon we will take over your precious Earth? See? It is going to happen whether or not you like it! We will be in control and destroy your silly atomic bombs so that you will never threaten the rest of the universe with your vile ways!

GENERAL MCCANN: I've had just about enough of you!

MCCANN SOCKS PRESIDENT

-From Alien From Washington, unproduced screenplay by Edward D. Wood, Jr. BROWN TO RESIGN AS GOVERNOR-Claims Need To Deal With "Family Issues," Requests Privacy

SACRAMENTO-In a long-expected announcement, California Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown announced his resignation today following weeks of questions regarding his son's psychiatric commitment and accusations that young Mr. Brown had ties to violent radical political groups.

Then-Lieutenant Governor Glenn Anderson immediately assumed the duties of the office of Governor upon Mr. Brown's resignation, and released a press statement thanking former Governor Brown for his "Years of work on behalf of the citizens of California."

-San Diego Evening Tribune, 2/3/60

How does one react when he realizes that the father whom he loves, the man he admires and respects above all else, has been put into an untenable position by one's own actions? As Catholics, we Browns were well acquainted with martyrdom, but I had only experienced this in the abstract in the past, with the names and lives of saints drilled into my head from a very young age. Never had I expected to see my own father sacrifice so much due to what I considered thoughtless and unreasonable actions on my part. How was I to approach him now when he had lost so much, and what was I to say? As he left the podium and went backstage following his announcement, he brushed aside his clinging advisors and headed straight towards me.

"Let's talk" he said brusquely, and grabbing my arm, he steered me into an empty conference room, where he afforded us some privacy by shutting the door behind us.

"Dad, I...."

He held up a peremptory hand. "Hold on, son. I know you, and you've got that look of guilt in

your eyes, like when I found you with cookie crumbs around your mouth right before dinner a few times. Stow the guilt, Jerry. Do you really want to make this up to me? Do you want what I just did to really count for something?"

I nodded dumbly. I may have even reached a finger to my mouth to check for crumbs.

"Then fight those bastards. Fight them with every weapon in your arsenal. Go back to school, organize effectively, and make sure that they can never do this to you, to me, or to any other American ever again. I've been dealing with these buffoons from the inside, thinking that with enough arm-twisting and legislation that I could get them to see reason, or at least to sit down and shut up. I was wrong. Or at least if I was close to the truth, you were that much closer."

He leaned in on the conference table, his voice dropping to a low murmur. "They keep on saying that it can't get worse. Nonsense. 'First they came for the Jews' and all that. Hell, now they're coming for the Jews, and if that fool Cohn doesn't see it, then he's going to be the first one against the wall when the time comes. Son, it can always get worse, and I fear deep within my heart that we have only seen the prologue to this tragedy. It will take you, your friends, and millions like you to turn this country around again.

"You must be one of the good guys, son, because there are far too many of the bad. And the bad are in control. Even if you manage to stay out of their asylums and prisons, the next several years of your life will be a living hell. Just remember: Keep focused on your goal, believe in the dream of America, and know that there are things worth fighting for. And if you find yourself despairing, or at the end of the rope, then there is one final thing that I want you to remember: You are my son, and I am proud of you."

He turned and stormed out of the room, opening the door to the endless flashes and pops of the cameras of the press.

-Liberation: A Memoir, Former President Jerry Brown

"Oh, I don't know if I have any opinion on what Senator Rockwell said, since politics is really a man's world, and it's hardly fit for a young lady such as myself to pretend to understand how it all works. I will say that I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting Mr. Cohn more than once, and he always struck me as the perfect gentleman, sophisticated without losing the common touch, and as truly American a man as I've seen. A credit to his race."

-Anita Bryant, quoted in "Who's The Most Powerful Girl In The World?", Time Magazine, 2/60

"I think that Senator Rockwell's plan is an interesting one, of course. The conflict between the White man and the Negro has reached a point where firm actions must be taken. However, with respect to my esteemed colleague, I must ask him the following: Exactly how many ships were you planning on using in order to transport approximately nineteen million Negroes to the shores of Africa? How do you propose to pay for them? If you wish to use military ships, then how will we maintain national security during this new diaspora? How were you planning on feeding them on the way? What African nation do you think would be willing to accept such an influx onto their shores? How do you think those European nations with legitimate interests in Africa--allies of ours, I should add--would view such a destabilizing boom in the population in and around their colonies?

Rhetoric is cheap, sir, and practicality is everything. Until you can come up with a more

reasonable solution to our racial crisis, I cannot see why or how any intelligent American citizen should take this proposal seriously. No, instead we must return to the days of a strict separation of the races, and make it national policy if necessary."

-Senator John Stennis (D-MS), speech on the Senate floor, 3/19/60

Hoo-boy, did the Senator ever overplay his hand on that one. He takes a cheap shot at Roy Cohn? Roy Cohn is used to cheap shots. Hell, my mother--may she rest in peace--was the master of all cheap shots, and if you've dealt with a Jewish mother after being late to dinner, then you can deal with some idiot would-be fuehrer calling you a pinko. A pinko! That was the best part. It was like calling Stalin a capitalist, or the Pope a Jew, or his hero General MacArthur a pacifist. Nobody could take it seriously! Hell, all that I had to do was talk to Jimmie, who hated Rockwell way more than he hated me, and he had plenty of free time in between sign language classes. Dodd still had his contacts in the press, and it was only a matter of time before they were running articles asking how they guy who sent the Rosenbergs to the chair could be an anti-American who was only in it for the Jews.

But I wasn't finished with Rockwell. No, that was just to save my own ass, and the lovely Anita helped out with that, and suddenly Rockwell found it real hard to get time at the Mouse Club meetings to give his patriotic spiel. And then of course I had my own plans for further down the line just in case he made any headway.

Yeah, the President wasn't doing to well at this point. The whole assassination thing had sent him into a funk. It was pretty much me and Hoover taking care of domestic, with a staffer of mine named Hunt helping out with foreign policy. He'd been at State, so I gave him some broad strokes of what we wanted done, and he sent it on to his old bosses after filling in some details. Only problem with the kid was that he had a hair up his ass about the commies in Vietnam. Why the hell was he doing that when we were still figuring out Cuba? Kept telling him to deal with one thing at a time, and maybe we'd look at that once Castro and Che were taken down, but he kept harping on it. Crazy kid.


BENEFIT FOR BEANO

SCLU DANCE FOR FREEDOM

HEAR THE MODERN HARMONIES OF "SANDSTORM", THE MASKED A CAPELLA SINGING SENSATIONS!

FIFTY CENTS AT DOOR. ALL PROCEEDS TO PAY FOR LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR THOSE HELD IN HOOVER'S ASYLUMS.

CAMPUS CENTER. DOORS OPEN AT SEVEN TONIGHT.

-Poster at Stanford University, 2/60

"We came up with the Sandstorm thing on the spur of the moment. People thought that the masks were just a gimmick, but seriously, we didn't want our father to find out that we were playing radical student benefits behind his back, and he had eyes everywhere. Had to even change our sound to a European jazz/rock one, but we never completely lost that

barbershop sound."

-Brain Wilson, quoted in Sounds Of Summer, David Jones, 1979 Thinking on Ten Thousand ThingsOf Tao; milky white dogs runningdown streets of vile ranting toughsOh, God! Oh, Yahweh! The chosenare black and white and Jew and allseem dreams of madmen slumberingin bunkers of fantasy and steelGray, cold San Francisco harmonizingsounds made along the southern shoresA nation of the insane sending sanityto white walled padded rooms of skewed perception

-"Freedom Wail", Alan Ginsberg, 1960

They are allowing me some freedom Wally but I do not know what to do with it since wherever I go it is the same insane dance of death, seeing something crawling on my skin as I glance to the side, something that is gone when I look back. God, Wally, I am not knowing what is happening to my mind or my soul, and I am terrified, but I do know from the young fellow Ken who works at the asylum that what they have given me is something called LSD, and it is the baddest of the bad news possible. Ken says that it is all in the setting and the mindset, and that is possible, but all that I know is that I keep thinking that I am followed by agents of the government, then realize that they would not care about me, then think it again, and my own mind, Wally, my own thoughts, they are no longer mine, but in the hands of the monster movie mad scientists who pull the levers and control the doses and feed me sugar cubes like a horse. I need to get out, Wally, I need to escape far across this land called America where the sun still shines and there is open space and a man can still dream of freedom without chemicals working their way into his brain and destroying what purity and goodness is left.


"As your president, I will bring the war in Cuba to a quick and decisive end, not through appeasement and unilateral withdrawal as some would have it, but through an increase in our troop presence. We cannot have a Communist government mere miles from our shoreline. We cannot have a Soviet presence--and despite the protests of Mr. Raul Castro, it is well known that the Soviets support their unlawful rebellion--threatening our life, liberty, and values on a daily basis.

"Additionally, we must take strong measures to increase our security at home. The recent attack upon the President has shown that we can no longer afford a policy that coddles terrorists and criminals at the expense of their innocent victims. Therefore, as your President, I will no longer tie the hands of the FBI in their pursuit of those who would destroy our way of life. I am currently introducing a bill that will expand the powers of the FBI to investigate and pursue any criminal act that can be tied to political radicals, rather than overburdening our local police forces with situations that they are ill-equipped to handle."

-Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson, excerpt from speech announcing his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President.

THE WALL OF BIRMINGHAM

(AP)-Citing "Terroristic threats from the local coloreds", Mayor Theophilus "Bull" Conner of Birmingham, Alabama today ordered the construction of a cement wall around the Negro section of his city. Expected to take months to build at an unknown cost, this decision has mostly been greeted with approval by the citizens of this southern metropolis.

-Associated Press, 2/4/60

CANADIAN GOVERNMENT LODGES IMMIGRATION PROTEST- Ambassador Claims That His Nation "Ill-Equipped" To Handle Negro Influx From U.S.


So Paulie, he gets word from Lucky, who isn't doing too well, but still has pull, that we're going into the junk business big time. And Paulie ain't happy about that at all, since he figured it was beneath him, but he has the contacts at the airport to take care of everything, and what the main Capo says is law. And we're not just talking about the nig--, uh, colored town, neither. Someone way up there wanted it on the campuses. NYU, I knew about that, but I also heard that we were shipping off to Madison in the Midwest, and Berkeley, and a whole bunch of places. And boy, did Paulie ever get pissed about that, 'cause it was one thing to deal to the animals, but when you got the white kids mixed up in it? No way. No chance.

But like I said, he couldn't do anything about it, so he tried to raise realistic-sounding questions, like "Hey, this is a federal matter, and we don't get mixed up with the feds." But what I heard? Lucchese laughed and told him it was covered. "What about Hoover?" "Covered." Every question he had, the answer was "Covered".

And you know what? We were. Never had a problem, not even from campus security. Hell, I was in the army, and they weren't even blinking about letting me off base. Something big was going on, something way past what I was getting paid to know. So I shut up and soldiered.

-Testimony from Henry Hill before the Nader Commission on Organized Crime, 1981

"This junk, this heroin, it is the White Man's poison. It is his way of keeping you down and out. It is his way to point and laugh at you, to say "Look at this ridiculous nigger', to deny your beauty and your humanity.

"My friends, I know from experience how difficult a monster this addiction is to overcome. But if you submit to Allah and plead your case, he will listen with compassion and love."

-The Collected Speeches of Malcolm X

"I had tried to apply to American schools, but for some reason they kept rejecting me, even though I had been told that they were looking for foreign students who were not communists. I was certainly no communist. However, despite my school marks, I could not find a university that would accept me.

"Finally my cousin came to me and laughed. 'You are a fool!' he said to me. I was insulted, but I held my tongue, as a man learns to do. Instead, I asked him what had brought him to this conclusion. 'Oh, Barack', he laughed. 'The United States has enough problems with this.' He then stroked my cheek. It took me a moment to realize that he meant my skin color.

"Well, if the United States did not want me, then I had no use for the United States. I instead worked on my education the best that I could, and applied to Oxford and Cambridge. Fortunately, I had made contacts while working at the British Embassy, and I was accepted to Oxford with some assistance from officials there.'"

- Kenyan Water and Power Commissioner Barack Obama, quoted in Rise, Africa! Tales From Four Centuries of Struggle And Liberation

ROCKEFELLER LEADS IN GOP POLLS- Rockwell's Populist Candidacy Edging Up On Presumptive Nominee

-The New York Times, 3/7/60 It was in April of 1960 when we finally wrapped shooting on Faust. What had begun as a simple lark, a manner of making a rude gesture towards the vile plutocrats who had taken over the United States film industry, had become an onerous Sisyphean task of reshoots and negotiating with the talent and egos of a stable of stars with whom I was previously unfamiliar. David Niven was nothing short of a delight to work with, but the American performers all had dreams of even greater things in their futures, and their agents all wished to ensure star billing for their clients. Exasperated, I found myself shutting out the world in the sanctuary of the editing room. Unfortunately, even that haven was constantly interrupted due to the interference of the executives at Pinewood, who felt the need to constantly send their toadies and sycophants to me with pleas to remake the movie to their liking. I sent these groveling lackeys back to their masters with reminders of the promises that had been made to me regarding creative freedom, they would come back with further suggestions, and so the game continued.

It was during one such editing session that Edward approached me with a note stating that I had visitors downstairs. I grunted at him that a garden gnome would be a better guardian of the gates than he was, to which he responded with an apologetic grin.

"I'm trying, Orson," he said. "But I think you'll want to see these guys."

I reluctantly turned from my artistic duties in order to investigate this uninvited intrusion upon my communion with the film-making muse. Following Edward downstairs, I was led into a comfortable sitting room in which I found myself face to face with some of the greats of international film. Alfred Hitchcock sat calmly in an overstuffed chair, his figure perfectly suited to the rounded frame of the furniture. Billy Wilder leaned against the bar, a twinkle in his eye. Wood, in what I can only assume was an unconscious impulse, immediately approached the man and stood by his side. Jean-Luc Goddard lounged in a corner of the room, smoking one of his foul Gauloises and staring at the world through dark sunglasses. And yet somehow, in the midst of this collection of the greats, my focus went to a thin, elderly man who stood with his back to me, staring out of the window at the gray and misty weather settling over the Pinewood lot. He turned.

"Charlie" I nodded.

Charles Chaplin smiled at me and nodded in return. "Hello, Orson. It's awfully good to see you. Please sit."

The man had walked into my studio, where I was working on my own project, and yet he was acting the potentate. I laughed inwardly. Only Chaplin could get away with such a thing.

Their "pitch", such as it was, was a rather simple genesis for what was to become a legend within the industry: All of us had been badly used and abused by American society and the studio system, or had no interest in dealing with it in the first place. Unfortunately, we had found other difficulties in dealing with the industry in other climes, and were all currently suffering from artistic constipation as a result. Therefore, as the plan was presented, it would be in the best interests of all of us to create our own studio. Wilder had the funds and the contacts within the American acting profession to find the "name" talent that we would need. Goddard was familiar with the profession all through Europe, and had been making interesting contacts in Asia. Charles had business experience through running United Artists with Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford.

"But, Charlie," I couldn't help interjecting. "That didn't work out that well for you." He simply gave me a soft smile in return.

"Indeed, Orson," he replied. "And yet I have learned from my errors. Better one who knows the business through trial and error than a young turk who has never failed."

I couldn't disagree with him, and yet the thought of taking on such an enterprise was exhausting. My questions and comments came fast and furious, each one I must admit an attempt at an excuse to say no to their mad proposition: What in the world could I provide? Artistic credibility, along with Alfred. What about my contract with Pinewood? Charles waved his hand. There would be no issues, as he had seen my contract, and it had already been repeatedly violated by them through unwarranted interference and visitations to my set, a problem which, I was assured, would not continue were I to go into business with them.

Finally, I threw up my hands in despair. "Gentlemen, gentlemen," I said. "You are asking me to participate in this scheme at the worst possible time. To be honest with you, given my recent experiences, I am uncertain if I wish to continue in the film business. Instead, I am tempted to return to the stage, to legitimate theatre, and to make my mark there. However, in fairness, I will take your proposal under advisement, and have an answer for you in one day."

Retreating from the room with only the barest pretense of polite farewells to my friends and colleagues, I retired to a local pub to sip some surprisingly drinkable brandy and ponder my future. A studio? Insanity! The very thought of it was ludicrous, no matter how much artistic freedom I was promised. No, better to finish up at Pinewood, then find some other trouble to get into.

By the time I returned to the studio, I could see the faint glow of moonlight through the thick fog. Wrapping my arms against the chill, I entered the studios and looked for Edward. Not in his office, nor the soundstage, nor my own quarters, nor the editing bay that he had been strictly forbidden to enter since his splicing fiasco some weeks previously. In confusion I wandered the hallways, finally finding an answer when I opened the door of the screening room. Wood had taken over the place, loading the projector with my old film The Third Man. I could hear him reciting the dialogue under his breath as I walked down the aisle.

"My God, Orson," he said as I stood near him, his eyes never leaving the screen. "How the hell do you do it? I mean, Jesus Christ, look at this."

Edward's face lit up in his signature manic grin as his face turned towards me expectantly, the grim figure of Harry Lime casting light over his features. I fear to say that this was a moment of revelation.

I had never made these movies for myself.

I had always made them for Edward, and for all of the Edwards out there.

They deserved more. The next morning, I sent Charles a telegram:

JUST LET ME FINISH CUTTING FAUST BEFORE YOUR MAD SCHEMES COMMENCE STOP I'M NOT LETTING YOU MAKE A MOVE WITHOUT ME STOP

-Through A Lens Darkly: The Autobiography of Orson Welles, Orson Welles

SAN DIEGO TO SAN FRANCISCO IN FIVE HOURS? YOU BET! PERFECT FOR A ROMANTIC WEEKEND GETAWAY.

-Travel brochure, MagicRail, 1960

Jeez, if you were in one of the clubs in 1960, you couldn't get a moment's rest. See, I kind of followed politics a little bit, so I didn't get why people loved Disney so much, even though I thought that he was making all of the right moves. I mean, you know, we've still got soldiers in Cuba then kicking five kinds of hell out of Carlos, but not making any real progress, and then you've got all the Negro unrest that was happening what with the walls beginning to go up around Selma, and Little Rock, and a bunch of other places. Hell, they were even talking about doing it in Watts and Harlem.

Anyway, figured that with all this trouble, maybe the President wouldn't be so popular, but my dad, he knew what was going on. "Paul," he told me. "You gotta remember that when the nation seems to be going down the tubes, people are gonna look for any sunshine and fairy dust that they can find, and the guy in charge practically invented that crap for this century." So, yeah, Disney was still popular.

Anyway, we couldn't get a moment's rest in New Hampshire. Seemed that every damned candidate through February wanted us to sing a song or something while standing in back of him, with a big old American flag behind all of us, so he could look more patriotic.

Funny thing was, we were getting them from both sides, but there was only one that we were told not to get close to, Rockwell. But that was fine. The man creeped me out.

Anyhow, we were all there when Rockefeller took the state in their primaries, which was fine, 'cause he seemed to be able to take care of the Negro issue without raising a huge fuss. Others liked Rockwell a little more, or wanted Goldwater, and they were happy with him being second. That was fine. We were all going with that "Through the years we'll all be friends" thing that was in the song. So I really wasn't expecting what happened next.

Guess that we were all hanging out at the school auditorium. They'd set up a TV for us to watch as part of teaching us about civics. It was late, the returns were just coming in, and I was full up on Kool-Aid and marshmallow squares. Then it looks like Rockefeller's gonna take it, and there's suddenly a commotion over to the side, where Lucy Green--she was a Rockwell fan--she's lying down and crying, and Tom Goren, he's for Rockefeller, he's standing over her. And she's screaming "He hit me!" and the adults all rush over to Tom, but not before Lucy's fellow Rockwell fans jump on Tom. Well, Tom's friends don't take to this too kindly, and they start fighting, but I think it's a stupid thing to get involved in, so I take off the ears and slip out the back door while they're all going at it.

Found out later that that kind of thing was going on all over the place that night, and it was always the Rockefeller people being blamed for it. Crazy.

-Paul Moreno, quoted in Let Us Hold Our Banner High, Documentary Prize winner at the Cannes International Film Festival, 2002.

"Let it be known now and forevermore that Joe Gallo and I are at peace with each other. The sins of the past are forgotten. His plans to work with the animals in Watts have approval from the highest levels, and we watch his coming career with interest."

-Joseph Profaci, FBI wiretap, 3/60 You know what stung? Here's what stung: I was being called a Negro-hater, a racist, like Rockwell or one of those clowns down South who spent more on sheets to wear than on their kids' clothes. Bullshit. Roy Cohn is no racist. I liked it when Truman desegregated the armed forces. I supported civil rights back when sane people were in charge of the movement. I didn't like the fact that the reds got involved in the movement, sure, and I didn't trust King because he didn't pay attention to who he was associating with. But voting, jobs, all that nonsense? Yeah. Had no problem with it.

Problem was, I was considered the guy who was tough on the Negroes because it had gotten out that I'd talked Walt into not sending federal troops into Little Rock all those years ago. People thought that made me anti-integration. Bullshit. What does Roy Cohn care where people go to school, so long as they're not bothering anyone? No, it was constitutional issues I was worried about, and you know what? I was right. If we'd sent in the Marines to make sure these kids got to school on time, then what was going to keep the next president from using them for other reasons? No, we have an Army and a Navy and a Marines and an Aerospace Force for really specific and limited jobs.

Unfortunately, the reputation meant that whenever I wasn't trying to calm Walt down about his legacy, I was the go-to guy for Rockefeller's people whenever they needed a "tough on Negroes" kind of guy. Made a fella want to go back to the Democrats, except that Stennis and Jackson were trying to outdo each other on who could appeal to the lowest common denominator the fastest. Not that I had a problem with doing that in principle, but their ideas were getting distasteful even for me. Stennis would talk about the walls going up around Negro slums in the South, and how this was the wave of the future. Jackson would say that it needed to be expanded up north. Then Stennis would say that it needed to be federal law, and pretty soon you couldn't tell the difference between them and Rockwell.

No, the party that my dad had introduced me to, the one that I'd been a proud member of for most of my adult life, the one that I left for the White House much to the displeasure of my mother was gone, on the trash heap of history. The only decent anti-Communist they were running was Kennedy, and he was a joke, an afterthought. Besides, I'd worked with his brother, and that was not a family you wanted to get involved with.

My point is this: When I went to Wisconsin to meet with the Negro leaders there, I went as the bad cop. It was all hush-hush and crap. But I pointed out the obvious to them: Did they want a guy who was willing to try to work with them, or did they want a guy who was going to try to stick 'em in camps or ship 'em back to Africa?

So they calmed down, and we got the Negro vote in Wisconsin. All...what, three of 'em.

(laughs)

Still, it set the stage, and I got a reputation in their community as someone they could deal with. Just so long as they didn't send the goddamned rads or Muslims my way. I'll deal with black, brown, white, or yellow, but I won't deal with red. And I don't mean Indian.

-Roy Cohn, quoted in Magic Kingdom: America In The 50s by Studs Terkel

CANADA, MEXICO ANNOUNCE INCREASED PATROLS AT BORDER


In the interests of increased solidarity with the Jewish people and the desire of the people of the Soviet Union to protect their friends in Israel from unwarranted incursions on the part of undesirable United States-backed terrorist elements, the peace-loving people of the Soviet Union will be supplying the Israeli military forces with some material and logistical support along their border with Egypt. This is entirely due to unwarranted and unprovoked challenges to the sovereignty of Israel on the part of the Egyptian government over the past few months.

Additionally, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics will be lifting all relocation limitations against its Jewish inhabitants regarding emigration to Israel, provided that said emigrants are not employed in necessary industries, and that they are willing and able to serve their required term in the Israeli Army.

-Pravda, 4/2/60

"You know what, people? I don't care about the polls! You don't need to care about the polls! All that I care about, and I know that all that you care about, is that we now have proof of what I have been saying all along: The Jewish/Communist axis is the single greatest threat to the United States of America, and the other candidates have been too beholden to their masters in the international banking cartels to take a stand against it! Well, win or lose, with George Lincoln Rockwell you know what you're getting, and what you're getting is a man who stands for America over the foreign communist interests!

-Speech, Sen. George Lincoln Rockwell, 4/3/60

With a practiced hand, I tugged my bow tie into a perfect knot, then reached over to Wood to do the same for him. I have to say that we cut a striking figure in the mirror, the sadly aging boy genius and the wonderfully mad aficionado of all things film. It almost made me wish that we had something more interesting and constructive planned than charming the recent crop of young American fools with money who had managed to land in Europe ahead of season. However, the film had been dropped off at Pinewood with strict instructions not to tamper with it lest they face the wrath of a brace of attorneys, and this was the night to look towards the future of the industry, and just as importantly, my career. For the plans of me and my compatriots to succeed, we would need far more investment money than we could possibly provide ourselves.

I gestured to Edward, and we headed towards the hotel elevator, ready to attend the party at the restaurant on the top floor. A single flick of his wrist, and a cigar appeared in Wood's

hand, already cut to my specifications. I inhaled the aroms. Cuban. Difficult to get since Disney's rabid cronies had decided to interfere in the natural political progress of that proud island nation. I smiled and nodded in appreciation, taking out a match in anticipation of its enjoyment.

A quick glance down apprised me of a minor detail: In his rush to prepare, Edward had put his trousers on too rapidly, causing his underwear to ride up slightly. Even worse, this was shown by a thin line of angora rising above the back of his pants.

"Edward," I hissed at him, whispering though no one else could hear us in the elevator. "Pull up your trousers. I have plans for us tonight, and I would hate for your taste in undergarments to become a more popular topic of discussion than this evening's actual agenda."

As the door dinged open, he made the necessary adjustment. I stared out into the sea of old and new money, a veritable playground of the gauche and tawdry.

"Why, Orson," Eddie asked with a final tug. "What are we going to do tonight?"

"The same thing we do every night, Eddie," I responded, lighting the cigar and savoring the taste of the smoke. "Try to take over the movies."

With that, we made our entrance.

-Through A Lens Darkly: The Autobiography of Orson Welles, Orson Welles Senator,

Per your request, I've been testing the waters in Mississippi and Alabama as regards voter registration. I'm afraid that I am running into several generations worth of bias here, as most of the voters I’ve spoken with do seem to be Democrats of the yellow dog variety. However, when confronted with the very real possibility of a Rockefeller presidency, some headway can be made with those voters who are familiar with your stance on the so-called "civil rights" issue. Most of this headway is made in the rural population.

Unfortunately, I have not been as successful with the civic and industrial leaders, as few of them show any fondness for your resettlement plans as regards the colored population of the South. With little regard for the long-term consequences to our racial heritage and cultural stability, the wealthier individuals have created an economic system that is entirely dependent upon a steady supply of cheap Nigra labor.

However, among the working class, one can find a resentment of the fact that the colored population has insinuated itself into so much of the workforce, and there is some suspicion and mistrust of those industrialists, politicians, and "old money" types who hire them. This has been exacerbated by the recent economic downturns.

There are also a few community leaders who are refusing to hire the Nigra out of the slums due to the justifiable fear that any young buck is a potential plant of the African Brotherhood or the Nation of Islam. While they are not willing to openly defy the Democratic machine down here, I have received some promises of financial backing for our efforts.

Therefore, I strongly suggest that we proceed apace with our registration drive. I have contacted several bus companies for discounted rates, and have organized students from campuses across the nation to participate in our plan.

I suggest that we come up with a colorful and patriotic name for this effort.

Sincerely,

Matthias Koehl, Jr.

-Private correspondence, Rockwell campaign, 5/60

"Due to the recent aggressive actions on the part of the Soviet Union in supplying arms to the Communist government of Israel, President Disney is currently in close consultation with the Egyptian government. We fully support President Nasser in his desire to protect his own historic territorial borders, and will brook no interference when it comes to protecting the interests of Americans abroad."

-Herb Klein, Acting Communications Director for the Disney administration, 5/60

WARNER BROTHERS ANIMATION DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES SLATE OF NEW FILMS

-Variety, 5/60

Well, kids and kidettes, it seems that Randy Ayn Rand, President for now of the MPAA, has decided pride over profits, and is lobbying the local movie moms and pops across the heartland to give a big raspberry to Pinewood Studios as they release the amazingly anticipated Faust from the master magician Orson Welles!

What happens if it gets released and even watched, my fellow fans of scintillating salaciousness? Why, it shows to the red-white-and-bluers over at the studios that America still cares more about popcorn than politics, which means that the higher-ups everywhere in Hollywood and Burbank will be biting their nails and watching the bottom line as their stars find their way to Merrie Old England and Foppish France! And what of your poor Dirtster? Shall I have to stalk the fogbound streets of Blighty to get the latest sin-sational scoops? Blimey!

-Hollywood Dirt, 5/60

The saddest thing is that we let it happen.

When the walls started going up, well, we'd had those riots after they tried to kill the President, and we were all scared of white folk if they came around in packs of three or more, 'cause even if you laid a hand on 'em in self-defense, you'd be finding yourself on a beatdown at the end of a nightstick. Even worse, they'd even brought back the rope.

That's right. Hanging for terrorist acts. And not in a prison courtyard either. Town square, with everyone looking on, and when the SCLU tried to complain, well, their offices somehow got caught on fire, and the FBI folks who came in to look at it just said "Negro terrorists", which didn't make no sense. So they were killing us in our neighborhood, and killing us in the town square when we fought back. So when Connors decided to put up the wall and said it was for our own protection, well, what were we gonna say? Didn't trust him at all, but it ain't like anyone else was lookin' out for us.

So there it was, this big ol' wall with barbed wire on the top, and it wasn't long before the inside was covered with all sorts of graffiti and nonsense, and so the police would come along and take nots 'bout what it said, and they'd go back to headquarters. And pretty soon you'd see more people strung up in the town square, and you wouldn't see more writin' on the walls 'cept where boys were talkin' 'bout their sweethearts.

Then it got to the point where we had to show our passes just to walk out.

Then they started checkin' every truck that came in to supply the shops, till it got to the point where a lot of drivers just didn't want to put up with the hassle since it took so long, and their bosses agreed, since it meant that they weren't able to deliver as much to the rich folks. So what we generally got was some maggoty meat, and some vegetables that were half-rotten, and we had to figure out how to make a meal of that without getting sick. And of course there was a black market for decent food, and it'd cost a week's salary, and the police knew all about it. Hell, they were running it, though you couldn't never prove a thing.

And then I realized that what that fool Rockwell was saying about reservations? It was looking like they'd managed to do that without even telling us.

-Reginald Graves, quoted in Songs From Birmingham, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1977 Wally here I am back in New York and I have never been so glad to be in a land of crowded streets and smog and rude hot dog vendors pressing their wares in my face as cab drivers yell curses at me for getting in their way on the sidewalk. At least it is real, or seems real, and that is what counts when one has seen the inside of one's own skull for far too long.

I currently am picking up some minor pay here and there working as a copy boy for an underground magazine. The owner was caught up in that comic book craze of a while back and gave testimony before congress and was given the old treatment by Bryant's crowd and the tits who protested outside his offices and threw bricks through the window of his car when he tried to keep publishing. So now we publish one magazine, called Mad, and I do not know if it is meant in the angry sense or the crazy sense but I am feeling right at home with either meaning what with what has happened to me and to Jerry and to Alan and to America and to the twilight's last gleaming before we enter this eternal night of depravity to the sickly sweet sounds of campfire tunes and God Bless America Land That I Love.

I have found some of the old crowd here and some new ones as well, those who were considered undesirable now working for a former comic book publisher and writing satire and wit in what was originally meant to be a kiddie mag. We have Gore Vidal who just did time in Bellvue being unsuccessfully treated after being picked up for "unnatural practices" and Thomas Wolfe and some young fellow named Hunter who seemed far too interested in what I told him about the treatment I got out in California and what it did to my brain and my soul.

Every week we go out and distribute this rag to certain select bookshops and the few remaining coffeehouses and a couple of known taverns and they keep it under the counter but everyone knows where to buy it. We also take it to the fag joints that Gore knows about and they are happy to buy anything that goes up against the current regime. I was wondering about the nature of some of these places when I went in since everyone knows that there are people on the margins who rule with blood and iron in Little Italy and they will not go up against the government, but then I ran into an old friend while in a cafe and I cannot mention his name even in a confidential letter but you know who I mean and he laughed and said "Put the kid's paper under the bar. He's jake." and then I hightailed it out of there after being not so rude as to refuse his offer of a drink and a cigar but I do not think

that I will keep it on my delivery route.

-Personal correspondence of "Beano" to Wally Kedrick

GOLDWATER AND ROCKEFELLER NECK AND NECK-Experts Blame Rockwell "Spoiler Effect"


"Tell Senator Rockwell that Barry Goldwater says 'Fuck you, drop out without preconditions or you're done in the party.' No...done in politics for good. Tell him that, or that he can shove his concession up his ass."

-Sen. Barry Goldwater, overheard after Sen. George L. Rockwell's offer to step down and support his candidacy if he supported Rockwell's Negro deportation program.

We weren't really made welcome when we pulled into town. This was Democrat country. But we were there with a purpose and a cause, and we'd been warned that the powers that be wouldn't be too happy to see us. However, they weren't going to attack us, not with the news cameras that had come down, and we did a pretty good job of going door to door and explaining things to folks.

I mean, sure, the Democrats who were running were all strong Southerners except for Kennedy, and he was a fool and an afterthought. But what about the Republicans? We showed how Rockefeller and Goldwater were both unconscionably soft on the race issue. Goldwater was bad enough with his grumblings about government interference, but Rockefeller actually had coloreds in his administration working alongside him!

We talked about that, sure. We also talked about problems that they were having with the bankers, and with cheap colored labor, and about who was probably really responsible for all of that. About foreign interests. About how the money men never seemed to have names that sounded like theirs, but were named "Shlomo" and "Goldfarb". They'd laugh, sure, but we'd also see the light of truth in their eyes.

I drank my fill of lemonade that summer, and my fill of corn whiskey as well. But by the time we got out of town, cops close on our heels, we generally signed up a bunch of new Republicans who were going to be solidly Rockwell.

-Charles Manley, Freedom Rider, quoted in The Long Road Home: Freedom Ride 1960, Thomas Metzger

ROCKWELL OFFICES IN FLORIDA VANDALIZED- Candidate Blames "Domestic Agents Of Foreign Interests"

-Miami Herald, 5/22/60 I am J.P. Mullins, Chief of Police for the Tampa Police Department. I have a brief statement to make, then I'll be willing to take a few questions. Now, I'm only going to take a few, since I obviously have to get back to this situation. Also, I'm going to tell you right off that I may not be able to give you all the information you want, since this situation is still developing.

At approximately 11:30 p.m. last night, Tampa Police Officers Dwayne Wright and Billy Ray

Connor responded to reports of a possible radical meeting taking place in the new Tampa Security Zone, located in the secured and walled-off area popularly known as "Darktown". Upon entering the building at 134 Morse Ave., they were immediately set upon by four Negro men. Disarmed by terrorists, Officer Wright managed to bravely fight his way back to his radio car, from which he sent out a request for backup.

At 11:46, three backup cars arrived carrying six officers. These cars were met by a mob of approximately twenty Negroes, all of whom were armed. Officer Wright was badly wounded, and trapped inside his car. Officer Connor was nowhere to be seen, and it was later determined that he had been captured and either badly wounded or killed by the rioters. Sergeant Michael Garrison ordered the mob to disperse and fired a warning shot over their heads. This warning shot was ignored, and the mob advanced on the responding officers. An order was given to fire upon the crowd by Sergeant Garrison. The officers fired in self-defense and under orders. They were then met by sniper fire from the surrounding rooftops, wounding two officers. At great risk of his own life, and out of concern for his officers' safety, Sergeant Garrison organized a tactical retreat from the neighborhood.

Since then, the unrest has spread out to every corner of the security zone. We have received reports of arson and widespread looting. Due to constant attacks on police patrols, I have withdrawn all officers from inside the wall, and have sealed all exits with the blessing of Mayor Lane.

I have this message for those Negroes inside the security zone: Lay down your weapons. You are now only harming your own community. If you are not among the rioters, then please stay inside, remain calm, and wait until we are able to send further assistance to you. To those citizens who have workers inside the wall, we apologize for the inconvenience, and promise that we are working around the clock to resolve this issue.

I will now take a few questions.

REPORTER: What does the governor have to say about this? Will you be calling out the National Guard?

CHIEF MULLINS: The governor is being kept abreast of the situation, and will be responding as he sees fit. We have discussed the possibility of activating the National Guard, but have not made a firm decision.

REPORTER: What about the people in the security zone who aren't rioting? Are they getting any sort of protection?

CHIEF MULLINS: As I stated, we are not able to deal with unrest of this magnitude. Unfortunately, the best that I can do for the innocent, hard-working Negroes of the community is to repeat my advice to stay indoors and not participate in any acts of hooliganism.

REPORTER: There have been reports that....

CHIEF MULLINS: I'm sorry, could you speak up? Let the little lady get to the front to ask her question.

REPORTER: Thank you, Chief. There have been reports from some sources that the officers who initially responded were the first to draw weapons, and fired upon Negroes who were meeting peacefully when they were challenged to show a warrant. Can you....

CHIEF MULLINS: Ma'am, where did you say that you were from?

REPORTER: Mildred Lance, The New York Times

(Laughter from the other reporters)

CHIEF MULLINS: I am going to deny that. I am going to deny that right here and now, and state that I will not have my brave officers denigrated by your pinko rag. I'd also advise you to be very careful about what you say about my men, or I'm not sure that I can guarantee your safety any more than I can guarantee the safety of the nigra rioters in Darktown.

-Excerpt, Tampa press conference at the beginning of the "Nights Of Fire", 5/20/60

Tampa. To quote Ginsberg, who knew? While Florida was certainly part of the South, It had always been a reluctant participant at best in the racial unrest in the area. Indeed, their former governor had been a proponent of integration until events had made his position untenable, and the entry of a popular Senator into the gubernatorial race had brought his political career to a swift end. And now they had attempted to solve the issue of racial violence and police brutality by walling the so-called "troublemakers" into an area of a few square miles, and allowing it to rain on the just and the unjust alike.

It was time for me to live up to my father's plea to ensure that the good fight continued. Towards that end, I gathered up my clothes and books in a trunk, made a few calls, and led a caravan of SCLU leaders and concerned students to the very heart of Florida.


Now, I didn't see it go down, but I wouldn't trust that no-account Police Chief any farther than I could spit him. All I knew is that I was trying my best to get by day to day, and I wake up one morning to gunshots and screaming. Looked out my window to see what was going on, and it's a bunch of damn fools running up and down the street yelling and hollering about revolution this and white oppressor that.

Well, these boys knew me, so I wasn't in no danger from them. I figured I'd get to work and keep my head down like I always did. Then I got up to the gate, work pass in hand, and I see a big old crowd looking real angry. These weren't any radicals, either, no sir. These were regular working folk like me looking to get to their janitor jobs, or watching over babies, or whatever pile of shit the white man wanted them to eat that day. But the gate was locked. Gate was locked, and there were police on top of the wall, and not armed with regular revolvers, neither. These folks had something that looked like tommy guns, just whatever they called 'em nowadays. Looked behind me. Whole neighborhood looked like it was fixing to go up in flames.

Well, damn, I thought. Looks like they finally found a way to get rid of us. But I didn't have time for thinking too much, since that crowd looked like it was getting damned ugly. So I turned and went back home, and listened to the radio, and did pretty much what they said by staying inside.

Went to sleep that night to the sound of shouting and cursing. Woke up the next morning to more of the same. Went downstairs, poured myself a bowl of Post Toasties, and then heard a whistling sound, one I hadn't heard since I was over in Korea. Went pale and ducked. Think that probably saved my life.

-Otis Lincoln, quoted in For Want Of A Nail: Race, Riot, And Revolutionaries

The way that we thought of it, the mayor was doing what was best. After all, since the Negroes were the ones rioting, it was best to lock them up until they wore themselves out. My mother compared it to when they used to let me cry myself to sleep at night. We all figured that this was kind of like that. The Negroes had made their own bed, right? Now they were lying in it.

I decided to skip school on the 23rd along with a few others in the club. Turned out that it was canceled anyway due to "the developing situation", meaning that they didn't have any janitors or cafeteria workers available because they were all stuck behind the wall, and half the teachers were scared to walk out of their doors even though the mayor promised that everything was contained behind the wall.

So me and Jimmy and Lori Beth and Susie, we all made our way to the top of the Citrus Growers' Bank Building while dodging security guards so that we could look out over the roofs at Darktown. It wasn't hard to find. Just follow the huge plumes of smoke rising out of the ground like a gateway to hell had been opened. I'd thought to bring along some field glasses, and we were passing them back and forth when Lori Beth points excitedly and starts yelling. I looked over. Even after she snatched the field glasses from my hands, I could see a bunch of National Guard trucks coming down the road. They took their time, but they set up a perimeter around Darktown, and started assembling a bunch of weapons. I just figured that they were going to go in and make a big show of force, maybe shoot some rioters.

Instead, they raised up these platforms and waited. And waited.

It eventually got dark, and we all went back to our homes for dinner, making up some sorts of lies about where we'd been. We all came back early the next day once we were sure that school was still canceled.

So I heard this "thump" sound, and when I looked over into Darktown, I saw this explosion. Happened right in the middle of a bunch of people. I grabbed the glasses from Jimmy and ignored his squawking, then looked closely. A bunch of people, I don't know if they'd been rioting or not, but they weren't any more. They were lying on the ground and bleeding.

Another thump sound, another explosion, and when I looked, I saw the Colored Hospital taking a hit. I heard what I thought was one of the girls groaning "No, no, no," and when I turned to tell her to shut the hell up, I realized it was me, my voice so high that I couldn't recognize it.

So we just stood there. We stood there and watched the National Guard firing mortars into people without warning. We saw people die, didn't matter if they were doing anything wrong or not. They weren't fighting terrorists, or rioters. They were fighting a whole neighborhood, no matter what. Hell, they weren't even fighting.

They were killing. Men, women, children, I saw them all go down in blood and screams that I could hear from a mile away.

And...I can't really talk about this anymore.

-Stanley "Buster" Brown, quoted in Let Us Hold Our Banner High, Documentary Prize winner at the Cannes International Film Festival, 2002

MAYOR STATES "WORST OVER", STATES THAT POLLS WILL BE OPEN

-Tampa Tribune, 5/25/60

STENNIS, ROCKWELL IN SURPRISE FLORIDA VICTORY

(TALLAHASSEE)- In a night that proved to be much as expected for the Democrats, the Republican establishment was sent reeling by the news that Sen. George L. Rockwell (R-VA) had won the Florida Primary for the GOP nomination. Up until a week ago, Rockwell was considered to be an unlikely candidate to gain popularity in this state due to what the Jewish Anti-Defamation League has called "A history of anti-Semitic remarks and actions"

Even Senator Rockwell seemed surprised by the news, as his campaign has bypassed Florida in their voter registration drive. While no official announcement has been forthcoming, a Rockwell aide who spoke on condition of not being identified stated "The colored folks shot themselves in the foot on this one, at least the ones who aren't smart enough to see that segregation is in their interests. Even the Jewish vote couldn't save them. Hell, Jews are just as scared as anyone else right now, so I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of them slipped votes our way without telling their Rabbis."

=Associated Press report, 5/26/60

STENNIS CALLS FOR FULL INVESTIGATION OF NATIONAL GUARD ACTIONS - Governor's Office Protests "Politically Timed" Move.


U.S.S.R. MOVES TO CENSURE U.S. AT U.N. - Ambassador Ford Promises Veto

-New York Times, 6/2/60 SECOND DAY OF RIOTING IN DETROIT--Governor to Call Out National Guard, Promises "Humane Treatment" of Rioters

-Detroit Free Press, 6/2/60

"The actions of the fascist Governor Smathers in Florida were the inevitable result of the policies of the cheap showman who is in charge of the United States. We urge the United Nations to condemn the actions of Governor Smathers, President Disney, and the government of the United States. We also insist that Governor Smathers be tried for crimes against humanity in his unprovoked attack against the innocent Negro citizens of the United States, and that the United Nations convene a court to charge him with such."

-U.N. Ambassador Molotov, press release, 6/2/60

BIRMINGHAM SECURITY ZONE UNDER LOCKDOWN - Mayor Connor Promises To "Stop Colored Terrorism Before It Starts"

-The Birmingham News, 6/4/60

The aches and pains were still there. I knew what the doctors said, that it was all psychological, but that didn't make it any less real to me. Worse, in the midst of this, I was being forced to adapt to an entirely different world, new methods of communication, new ways of adapting to a life forever changed by the act of a madman who gave his life to commit an act of atrocity against my employer. The days passed, flowing into each other until I could not determine Thursday from Saturday, Sunday from Tuesday, no pattern or rhythm to my life to remind me that one hour of a day differed from the next one.

Worst of all, I no longer had music. As I stated in the opening chapter to this work, my earliest memories were of songs in church, of my first guitar, of piano lessons. Until I found myself almost accidentally caught up in the swirl and bustle of Washington politics, I had pursued a career as a song-and-dance man in Hollywood, what they once called a "hoofer". Now my inability to hear even the loudest sounds had led to my inability to reproduce them. I was able to speak after a fashion, but I was informed by one honest friend that my words sounded like the strained moans of a stroke victim attempting to form his lips around barely-remembered words.

It was while I was in this state, pondering the once-imponderable, that my housekeeper brought me news of President Disney's most recent hospitalization. A message had come from the White House that he wished to see me. I immediately threw on the suit that had sat moldering in my closet for several months since the attack, and had the housekeeper call for a cab.

Upon my arrival, I was met by a Secret Service agent proficient in American Sign Language. This was undoubtedly a thoughtful gesture on the part of the President, but I was still struggling with learning this new method of communication, so it took some time before I was able to decipher what the agent was saying.

I was whisked through the various security cordons. An occasional familiar face would appear to me in the crowds in the hallways. Some, remembering my condition, would simply smile and wave. Others would begin to utter a greeting, then stop, their faces burning with embarrassment as they realized that I could not make out a word that they were saying. Finally, I was led to the President's room.

As I entered, the first person I saw was Cohn. Slouching in a chair by the President's bed, his tie askew, he looked worse than I'd ever seen him. Dark circles under his eyes made him look as though he'd been up for weeks, and from what I was reading in the newspaper, that wouldn't have surprised me. He seemed unshaven, his usually neatly combed hair falling over his forehead in unruly locks.

Cohn looked up. His eyes narrowed. He said something to the President--from my limited abilities to read lips, it seemed to be something like "Jimmy's here"--and got up, carrying his trademark shopping bag of papers with him as he moved towards the exit. Stopping for a bit, he seemed struck by an idea.

Roy stared into my eyes for a moment, then took out a pen and jotted down a single note to me.

WE NEED TO TALK. STOP THAT NAZI FUCKER.

I nodded. He nodded back, then brushed by me and left me alone with President Disney.

I moved forward to get a better look at his face. To my untrained eye, the President looked

jaundiced, his bloodshot eyes and veined nose betraying him as a habitual drinker. However, the moment he spotted me, his eyes lit up with a hint of the old mischief and playfulness that I'd grown to love in the man.

I sat down to a limited conversation. I couldn't hear, but as President Disney was finding it difficult to speak, it hardly made any difference. Instead, he reached his hand forward and grasped mine tightly as it lay on the edge of the bed. I looked up at him.

His eyes had filled with tears, which were now streaming unashamedly down his face. I touched my own cheek to find that I was crying just as openly.

We sat for a while, and occasionally would pass notes to each other like schoolchildren, occasionally laughing or smiling at each other.

The final thing that I wrote to him was a single verse that has long affected me, by Stephen Grellet.

I expect to pass through this world but once;any good thing therefore that I can do, or anykindness that I can show to any fellow-creature,let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it,for I shall not pass this way again.

He nodded at me and seemed to sigh. With that, he laid his head back on the pillow and proceeded to sleep. I watched him for a minute, my mind still reeling with the promises that yesterday had made to tomorrow, then took my leave.

-The Truth Of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir, by Former White House Communications Director James Dodd

FAUST PREMIERE IN NEW YORK-Welles Expected To End Exile To Introduce Latest Film

-Variety, 6/60 "Of course we kept to our own community. Nobody thought that there was anything wrong with that. It's not so much that we had anything against the blacks, or the Mexicans, or the Chinese. It's just that no other neighborhood offered what Burbank did. Oh, sure, lots of kids at the local high school had dreams of being stars, and would go outside the neighborhood to try their luck at the studios. A few of them even got some small roles. But most of the kids came back after a few months, happy to return to a simple and pleasant life that you couldn't find outside the EPCOT communities.

We had everything you could ask for, like the best of yesterday and tomorrow. There was a soda fountain around the corner, a huge public library, a community theater, and a bunch of churches. Even a synagogue, though there was some controversy about whether or not they'd be a good influence in the neighborhood. We couldn't see any way around it, though, since so many of the people who worked in the Industry were members of the Jewish faith, so we just made sure that they were the kind where you couldn't tell the difference. After a while, we came to realize that they were just like us in a lot of ways, and little Luke ended up being best friends with Jacob Weisenberg, whose father worked for Universal.

The problem was that there were other elements who wanted to move in. Even though we tried to make sure that the local paper concentrated mostly on positive news, they were reporters, and they felt the need to introduce uncomfortable subjects, the kind that you

simply didn't discuss over the breakfast table.

I was on the residence committee at the time. I couldn't make up my mind whether or not the blacks should be admitted. See, I was raised as a liberal, and to be tolerant of all races, but I had to admit that the situation was complicated nowadays. I'd even served in the army with some black fellows. Good men, hard workers, if a little rough around the edges. But I was in the Shriners with Ray Carney, who was dead-set against it, and if I had any hopes of a leadership role in the organization...well, why rock the boat? I had a good job with the architecture firm, a nice house, one of the color televisions that had been made available to us, and I wasn't going to risk that for anything.

I suppose that Ray was proven right. I realized this when I was out at Tony's Cantina for a three-martini lunch with some clients. At first I thought that someone had lit one of those horrible cigars that had become commonplace after rebels started burning the tobacco fields in Cuba. We walked outside to clear our heads.

There was smoke on the horizon. Not just in one area, no. At least three or four fires had been lit, about twenty miles away it seemed, all in different locations. All from the black neighborhoods.

At the meeting that night, we talked about how there was no way to convince the Los Angeles mayor to build a wall around their neighborhoods, so we decided to build one around our own.

-Sam Winter, quoted in Cities Of Light: EPCOT In The 1960s, by William Green, 1984

RIOTS IN SOUTH PASADENA, SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES, LONG BEACH, VENICE- Rampant Looting, Arson Reported.


Naw, they weren't rioting anywhere in Arkansas. You'd think that was strange because that's where the whole mess started, but there's a psychology at work there, where the Negroes got so beaten down after their first riot that they sadly started to accept themselves as folks who couldn't look up and say "boo" in response to any atrocity. So it was up to me and my boys to start something.

-William J. Clinton, Head of the Southern Poverty Law Center, quoted in Land of Tomorrow: America In The 1960s by Studs Terkel

"Of course the President wholeheartedly rejects the ridiculous demand of Ambassador Molotov. As a sovereign nation, we have the right to deal with the actions of Governor Smathers in our own way, and rest assured that President Disney supports the creation of a Congressional committee to look into the matter."

-White House Press Secretary Walter Winchell, 6/8/60

"That's right, ladies, with Smith and Wesson's new line of personal protection handguns for

women, you can feel safe at home, while shopping, or while out with the girls for a late lunch anywhere!"

-Smith & Wesson television commercial, 1960

HOW THE CANDIDATES STAND ON THE SOVIET DEMAND FOR SMATHERS:

Senator John Stennis: "Absolutely not. Not only is America a sovereign nation, as the President has stated, but my good friend Governor Smathers reacted in the only manner possible to end the riots in the Tampa Security Zone. Those who have chosen to riot elsewhere would be well advised to look at how their fellow Negroes in Tampa ended up, and to rethink their actions."

Senator John F. Kennedy: "I do not believe that we should ever hand any citizen over to the United Nations, or any body not under U.S. jurisdiction. However, I will support the creation of a committee to look into the matter, and to see if any laws were broken."

Governor Nelson Rockefeller: "Of course we shouldn't hand him over. However, the matter does bear further investigation, as some evidence seems to indicate that the National Guardsmen were indiscriminately firing weapons of considerable magnitude into a civilian area."

Senator Barry Goldwater: "I'd rather hand over my own child to Satan than hand over an American citizen to the tender mercies of the United Nations."

Senator George L. Rockwell: "Of course not. Governor Smathers simply saw a problem and addressed it in the most effective and immediate manner. We may be of different parties, but we are of like minds regarding this situation."

-Time Magazine, 7/60

INCREASED SECURITY MEASURES AT DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION-Stennis Expected to Clinch Nomination


As I exited the theater, the world around me was thrown into what I can only call an altered state, in which issues and controversies that I had seen in the paper that day were boiled down to a question of good and evil. Not good and evil as the moralists would have us believe, but of what happens when grasping for good causes one to commit acts of evil, and when evil incarnate somehow happens to stumble across doing good. This is Faust, this is America, this is the world.

-Pauline Kael, The New Yorker, 7/60 JACK

THE OFFER IS IN STOP START TAKING A HARDER LINE ON THE NEGROES AND SHUT UP IF STENNIS SAYS SOMETHING YOU DON'T LIKE STOP

BOBBY

-Telegram from Bobby Kennedy to Senator Jack Kennedy, 7/60

"I may surprise some when I say that I do not hold the actions of the current administration to be responsible for the crisis that grips our country.

"No, instead I blame their inaction."

(Cheers)

"They acted correctly in not allowing the Little Rock situation to become a federal issue, and yet they threw up their hands in horror when my good friend Governor Faubus attempted to impose order within his city after Negro agitators started a riot and placed every man, woman, and child in Little Rock in harm's way.

"They have taken advantage of a fine youth group started by the President's own former company, and yet turned a blind eye to rampant juvenile delinquency and hooliganism in our nation's streets.

"They have built rockets to space, and yet are unable to find a way home from Cuba."

(Laughter, applause)

-Excerpted from the acceptance speech of Sen. John Stennis (D-MS) accepting the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, 7/60

That little shit Bobby screwed us. We knew that Stennis hated Jack, and that the feeling was mutual. But they smelled blood in the water for the GOP, and they were willing to bury the hatchet for a while if it meant that they could get to the White House. People don't remember nowadays, but Kennedy was still pretty popular in the North at that point. He hadn't won, but he'd been running a respectable second or third in some of the swing states, and it solved the problem of having two Southerners on the ticket. All that he had to do was start talking up a tough on terrorism line. The man was raised in a political family. He could take any side of an issue if given a chance. So he stopped hemming and hawing about the need for reconciliation, and started talking about being tough on crime. You still couldn't win up North with a "Ship 'em back to Africa" speech, but you could act like it was all about urban violence, and everybody knew what you really meant. And boy, did he ever take off with that.

A goddamned Dixiecrat with a chance for Massachusetts. Who would have thought it? And where the chowder eaters go, the rest of the Northeast tends to follow.

Still, I had my own plans to make, so I couldn't take too much time worrying about the mismatch on the Democratic ticket.

-Roy Cohn, quoted in Land of Tomorrow: America In The 1960s, by Studs Terkel

SENATOR-OUR SOURCE IN THE DISNEY CAMP SAYS THAT IT'S A GO. PRESSURE WILL BE PUT ON BG TO ACCEPT YOUR DELEGATES TO PUT HIM OVER THE TOP. WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO GO THROUGH A FEW BALLOTS TO MAKE HIM LOOK GOOD, THOUGH. CONGRATULATIONS, MR. VICE-PRESIDENT.

-Internal memo, "Rockwell For President" campaign, 7/60

Well, let's see: first you had to pass through what looked like a couple of regiments of National Guardsmen. This was after you got past the usual protesters, of course. Then there were cop cars surrounding the Amphitheater, and police every few feet wanting to check your badge. Once you got inside, there were a bunch of police, and private security guards, and I'm pretty sure that I spotted more than a few undercover types as well. And when you walked back outside, you could see why, what with smoke still rising in every direction. And all this so that democracy could go on.

-Personal correspondence of Rockefeller delegate Marcus B. Bachman to his mother.

ROCKEFELLER AHEAD ON FIRST THREE BALLOTS, GOLDWATER TRAILS SLIGHTLY-Presidential Address to Convention Postponed


THE NEW KINGMAKER?

-Caption under a picture of Sen. George L. Rockwell at the Republican Convention of 1960, Chicago Tribune, 7/26/60

"Thanks, Tom. We're receiving reports that a deal has been worked out behind closed doors at the convention. No details have been forthcoming as of yet, but I was assured by highly placed sources in the Goldwater camp that a candidate will be nominated for the Republican party tonight."

-WLS Radio News, Chicago, 7/27/60

I would have to say that of all of the conventions that I have attended in my decades of journalism, the 1960 Republican Convention ranks as one of the most eventful, if not the most eventful. I don't recall exactly how many ballots had gone through without a winner, but it had been several, and one could see fights beginning to break out on the floor between over-tired and over-drunk delegates. Supposedly it was to come to a conclusion on the penultimate night. Rumors were swirling of some sort of deal between the law-and-order candidate Senator Barry Goldwater and the populist Senator George Rockwell, a compromise that would put Rockwell in as the Vice-Presidential candidate.

The rumor had a ring of truth to it. One had to admit that it made some practical sense. Goldwater was certainly popular in the North among a certain conservative set. Rockwell had managed to take the South by storm, a feat not accomplished to this degree by any Republican since Reconstruction. And indeed, waiting backstage, I spotted Senator Rockwell waiting in the wings. Senator Goldwater had asked for time to appear before the convention in order to make a short speech. Governor Rockefeller, the front-runner, had agreed to this so long as he was able to follow Senator Goldwater with a speech of his own.

Knowing that the first person to speak with Senator Goldwater once he finished his speech would have a scoop for the nightly news, I was in the process of ensuring that we had a live hookup before the speech. That was when I first noticed White House Chief of Staff Roy Cohn. He stood about ten feet to the side of Senator Rockwell, also looking out at the stage.

Rockwell glanced to the side and gave him something between a smile and a sneer. Cohn seemed not to notice. That's when Senator Goldwater came out on stage.

-David Brinkley, quoted in What I Saw At The Circus: American Political Conventions Through The Ages, various authors, 1980

"My fellow Americans,

"Over the past several years, we of this nation have been tested by the worst that can be thrown at us, both at home and abroad. We have attempted to face these challenges with courage and compassion, with a love of liberty and a strong conviction that we are in the right.

"Unfortunately, certain elements within our society have attempted to take advantage of the violence to pursue their own ends. Rather than see the attempted destruction of our way of life as a challenge to be faced squarely and honestly, they have seen it as an opportunity to gain personal power. They have consorted with the worst elements in our society. They have engaged in the most odious behavior...."

-Excerpted from In The Right: The Collected Speeches Of Barry Goldwater, 1998

"The Senator straightened his tie. This was his cue to be introduced, he figured."

-John Patler, Rockwell campaign worker, 1970 CBS News interview

"If you look at the Democratic ticket, you will see this in its full glory. My distinguished colleagues have engaged in race-baiting. They have engaged in pointing the fingers at a few violent fools and have tarred an entire people with one brush. Rather than promote liberty, they have advanced an encroachment upon our most basic freedoms. Rather than stand on the side of strength used sparingly and only against that which threatens us, they have made excuses for an attack on innocent civilians cut to ribbons in the streets of Tampa, Florida."


I looked at Rockwell when Senator Goldwater gave that famous part of his speech. In North Carolina, we used to call that expression "Biting into an apple and coming up all worm." Of course, that was nothing compared to how he looked in the next few minutes.


"I consider America to be the greatest bastion of freedom that this world has ever seen. I consider the Republican Party to be the best defender of this freedom. Unfortunately, even within this Grand Old Party, there are those who would attempt to profit from our current tragedies.

"A man once famously said 'Laws are like sausages. It is best not to see them being made.' To some degree, this also holds true for presidential tickets. However, I feel that you, the tireless workers for freedom and democracy, deserve to see exactly what you are being

served today.

"There is an element within this own party that is dangerous, odious, and among the worst that America has to offer. It is an ideology that we fought against on the beaches of Normandy. It is a line of thought that leads from the speakers' podium to the death camps of Dachau and Auschwitz. If we allow this philosophy to make its home in our party, then the enemies of freedom will have won. What is worse, we will have deserved it.

"This element has attempted to break the deadlock at this convention. I have received an offer to take it into my household, to bathe it, to wrap it up in the flag, and to parade it in front of you under the name of Americanism. I have been told that if I promise this element a place on the ticket, then I will be your nominee for President.

"This I shall not do. I shall not betray my most sacred principles in the name of power. I shall not give in to those who would destroy America in the name of racial purity any more than I would give in to those who would destroy it in the name of a workers' paradise. Instead, I shall fight this corruption, this disease within the party to my last breath!

"I start by making one single sacrifice. Some will call it a great one, but I consider it minor in the face of this overwhelming danger to America.

"I no longer consider myself a candidate for the Presidency of the United States. If nominated I will not run, if elected I will not serve.

"My delegates are free to vote their conscience. I personally support Governor Rockefeller, but I would not tie the hands of any man to vote his conscience any more than I would have my own hands tied. I only ask that you strongly consider the future that you wish for America. Will it be one of walled cities and fearful citizens, or will it be one of peace and prosperity?

"To further assure you that no odious backroom deal has been made, I will also not accept this party's nomination for Vice-President.

"Thank you."


The speech got a standing ovation, but my eyes were drawn to Senator Rockwell rather than to the crowd. He was standing in the middle of his advisors, corncob pipe--a silly affectation copied from General MacArthur--clenched so tightly in his teeth that it seemed as if he would bite through it at any moment.

He turned to Cohn, who was grinning at him with mock innocence.

"You?" Rockwell growled.

"Me" Cohn responded.

Senator Rockwell burst forward. Fortunately I already had a camera trained on the Senator as he lunged at Cohn, striking him across the bridge of his nose, and laying him out flat. The White House staffer struggled up to his knees, still smiling as blood streamed over his lips and chin. Rockwell was immediately surrounded by security. It was only then that he seemed to notice the flashbulbs popping, the news cameras pointed in his direction.

Senator Goldwater exited the stage and nodded curtly to Roy Cohn, seemingly unsurprised by the Chief of Staff's injury. As the security forces and Rockwell's staffers were attempting to drag the Senator away, Senator Goldwater turned towards his raging colleague.

"You lost the goddamned South!" Rockwell screamed loud enough for every newspaperman, TV reporter, and radio reporter to hear.

"I removed a piece of dog shit from my shoe," Senator Goldwater responded. "Now, are you going to leave peacefully, or am I going to have to scrape you off myself?"


One thing I learned on the playground: You don't win a fight by knowing how to throw a punch. You win a fight by knowing how to take one.

-Roy Cohn (attributed)

As I saw Rockwell being dragged past me, I couldn't help it. I didn't care how ridiculous my voice sounded. I had to yell one thing in exuberance.

"Hey, Senator! Check your sources next time!" The look on his face, and the faces of his advisers...it's a vision that I will treasure forever.

It was wonderful. I hated Cohn enough to make that fool Rockwell believe that I was willing to sell my soul to him. But James Dodd is no Faust, and George Lincoln Rockwell is at best a second-rate Satan.

-The Truth Of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir, by Former White House Communications Director James Dodd

"And it is with great humility and gratitude that I accept your nomination for President."

-Excerpt from the acceptance speech of Gov. Nelson Rockefeller for the Republican nomination.

ROCKEFELLER/NIXON- Making Us Great Again

-Campaign slogan, 1960

TALK OF CENSURE FOR ROCKWELL FOLLOWING ATTACK ON WHITE HOUSE STAFFER

-New York Times, 7/29/60 Wally,

New York is a fun park of lights and noises and craziness both gross and subtle and I am

finally beginning to see the love and the joy and the happiness what with the whole city rising up now that their boy has been pushed to the top of the heap. You would think that he was Jesus returned to smite the wicked, but Wally, there is so much wickedness in this sad old lady of a nation that I suspect with full respect to my mother and my father and the priests and nuns that even Jesus would not know where to start, but would throw up his hands and say I know ye not to each and every Tom, Dick, Harry, and Sally out there.

I have spent my time distributing the magazine to various hip types and liberals who would like to think that they are hip and college students and the rest. Gaines told me that at the premiere of Faust there would be many artsy types and many fellow travelers who would dig the rag so I hoofed my way to Radio City Music Hall to see what the scene was and it was happening. People were buying the mag and showing it to their friends who would laugh or nod or grin and the friends would buy a copy and soon I was in wine money for the week, nay, the month when a beefy private dick looking fellow flashed a cereal box badge at me and told me that I couldn't be there, that I would be kicked off the property and given to the cops if I didn't have a vendors' license. I was going to slink away quietly as the natural-born and proud coward that I am, but instead a lady with pearls around her neck and a dress that must have been sewn on to her skin started yapping to the guard about Soviet tactics and fascist oppression and he kept grunting back at her, till finally she yelled "Orson!" to a grave looking man behind the police lines, and he came over, and oh Wally there I was looking at the man himself, the one who frightened my parents into locking themselves in the cellar from Martians when I was a tyke, the one who did Citizen Kane, the one who balled Rita Hayworth the goddess herself and he was there in a cloud of fine tuxedo and hair oil and gravitas with the voice, that voice that you expect to be booming from the heavens rather than emanating from a slightly overweight man with a boyish twinkle in his eye. Orson stepped in, and took the proffered magazine from my trembling fingers, and smirked at the drawings and chuckled at the articles while I stood there trying not to faint at the majesty in every movement of his and a companion of his kept tugging at his sleeve with mutterings of "It's time to go in, Orson" to be met with "In good time, Eddie." Not "Just a minute" or "Shut up" but "In good time" which is amazing and classy and he said it like it wasn't forced or a script or put upon as an air or affected but like it came from the depths of his soul, the who-he-is. And he paid me five dollars for a ten cent magazine and told me to keep the change, then told the private dick "Don't you have some terrorists to protect the rich folks here from?" with a hint of scorn, then walked back into the theater, but not before sending his assistant Eddie back to me to ask about getting a subscription overseas.

So I talked with Eddie and he and I palled around New York until he had to head back to England, and I hope that you do not mind that I gave him the address of Jack's Stacks if he ever makes it to Berlin because he is a kind soul and a man of passion and artistry even though I do not understand a word that he is saying sometimes.

Love,

Beano

FAB FAUST BOFFO BOX OFFICE

-Variety, 7/60

"I have already apologized to Mr. Cohn regarding my poor display at the convention. The matter should be closed there. However, there are those elements within our political system who wish to further tarnish my good name, and so I will state the following.

"Mr. Cohn simply manipulated me. I was outmaneuvered. In collusion with treasonous staffers and former staffers at the White House, he chose to run a con game on the Rockwell campaign rather than to allow the delegates to eventually come to any conclusion that might not benefit his interests. I will not go into the details, but he managed to fool the once-honorable Senator Barry Goldwater into thinking that I was attempting to make some sort of corrupt deal behind closed doors. He fooled me into thinking that I would be the Vice-Presidential nominee, or that it would be offered to me if I were to endorse Senator Goldwater. I wish to make this as clear a statement as possible: I rejected this deal.

"Check with any of my delegates. At no time did I release any of them to support Senator Goldwater, or any other candidate. It was my firm conviction at the time that I would have eventually been chosen as my party's candidate had the voting been allowed to proceed without interference from either Chief of Staff Cohn or the Rockefeller campaign.

"Since that time, I have been threatened with censure by my honorable colleagues in the Senate. I have been viciously libeled, slandered, and defamed by vile lies in the news media, lies that come straight from the Rockefeller camp.

"Through this entire ordeal, I have been much comforted by the presence of my supporters, by their telegrams, phone calls, and letters. They have promised to support me in my mission to establish a safe and prosperous America. They have pleaded with me to not give up the fight, to continue to root out fifth columnists and foreign interests, to continue my struggle to ensure that America is a place where our women can walk down the street at night without fear of being assaulted by doped-up negroes and their lackeys.

"I promise to them, to you the American people, that I will never give up this fight. Over the following weeks, I will be meeting with my advisors in order to determine what the next step will be.

"However, whatever path I may choose to take in this war for our nation's values, one thing has become shockingly clear to me: I will not be fighting this battle as a member of the Republican Party. As of today, I am officially resigning my membership in the GOP. What was once a proud institution devoted to maintaining American interests at home and abroad has become a corrupt monstrosity, interested in maintaining power no matter what the cost to the American people.

"It is possible that I will find like-minded people among the Democrats. However, it is not my intent to join their party, as I still support the American entrepreneurial spirit, and find their economic philosophies to be in direct contradiction to my own.

"I will not be taking any questions. Thank you for your time."

-Press statement by Senator George Lincoln Rockwell (I-VA), 8/3/60

STENNIS ATTACKS ROCKEFELLER ON SECURITY ISSUE

CHICAGO- Standing outside the same amphitheater in which Governor Nelson Rockefeller was nominated for President less than a month ago, Senator John Stennis, the Democratic candidate, lashed out at his Republican rival regarding his stance on the recent racial unrest across the country.

"If you look out at the horizon, you'll see smoke still lingering from the riots," Senator Stennis told a crowd of hundreds of supporters. "And yet Governor Rockwell believes that we

can go into these neighborhoods, shake their hands, and ask them to play fair. Now, something like this may have worked in New York City. It worked because he was able to make a deal with the labor unions that took bread out of the mouths of white children in order to ensure that Negroes got jobs that had historically gone to the white community.

"I have no issue with the Negro child being fed. I do have a problem when others are forced to pay for this feeding through blackmail. I do have a problem when instead of facing terrorism and rioting through strength and force, we kowtow to the demands of the terrorists by giving them jobs that they did not earn."


"I'm not sure that slaughtering innocents in the streets is a better solution. Unfortunately, Senator Stennis's recent statements would lead one to believe that this is his only alternative."

-Governor Nelson Rockefeller, 8/8/1960 (various sources)

RAND DECRIES "COLLECTIVISM AND PARASITISM" IN MOVIES

-Variety, 8/60

The summer of 1960 looked to be a trying time for the Stennis/Kennedy camp. While not an officially declared candidate, polls showed that Senator George Rockwell would cause an unacceptable spoiler effect in significant Southern states were he to run as an independent or third-party candidate. Several politicians had been mentioned as possible running mates for a Rockwell ticket, ranging from veteran Senator Strom Thurmond to popular Birmingham mayor Bull Connor, though it was thought that Connor had his eye on the Governor's mansion in Alabama.

Communication with Rockwell was desperately needed, but no one who represented the campaign in any official capacity could be seen talking with a Senator who was being exposed to possible censure by his colleagues. Instead, Senator Kennedy's father Ambassador Kennedy was recruited as a go-between, and set out to make some sort of deal with the Rockwell camp.

-Reluctant Prince: The Unauthorized Biography of Jack Kennedy, Kitty Kelley, 1984

"Rather than investigating the lawful actions of a Governor attempting to protect the citizens of his state, I believe that we would be better served by convening a panel in the Senate to investigate the current racial crisis in America, and to enact certain security measures to ensure our safety. We should welcome viewpoints from all sides, from those of Governor Rockefeller to those of Senator Rockwell."

-Senator Jack Kennedy, speech before the Daughters of the American Revolution, 8/13/60

"I should run. I should just make a goddamn run for it. But I can't, because if I do, that kike's puppet ends up in the Oval Office for the next four years at least, or until someone assassinates him. So I can probably make some sort of deal with Kennedy. I hear he's not as big a fan of the Jews, also. Can't blame him, the Irish have always been kept on the bottom of the heap by the bankers."

-Senator George Rockwell (I-VA), quoted in Tomorrow The World: An Unauthorized Biography of George Lincoln Rockwell, Anonymous

"I have three humane and reasonable proposals to end the racial crisis in the United States: First, I will create a new Cabinet post, the Department of Racial Affairs. This person will have wide-ranging authority over matters concerning integration, segregation, and the conflicts arising from these issues. He would additionally be in charge of ensuring tranquility between the races. In my administration, this would be achieved through their permanent separation.

"Secondly, I would authorize a payment to be determined by Congress to be given to each and every Negro willing to give up his United States citizenship, and to emigrate to another country. I will not force out anyone, but I will ensure the security of the United States.

"Thirdly, I will increase the budget of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and direct the Director to create a task force dedicated to the uprooting, arrest, and conviction of racial terrorists and provocateurs."

-Campaign speech, Sen John Stennis, (D-MS), 8/20/60

"It is with great pride in our country, and great hope for our future, that I hereby endorse my distinguished colleague and good friend Senator Stennis to be the next President of the United States! John, come out here!"

-Sen. George Rockwell (I-VA), speech at "Stennis For President" rally, Richmond, VA, 8/24/1960

"That was it. Rockwell was right when he said it to Goldwater. We didn't have a chance down south anymore."

-Retired Senator Roy Cohn (R-NY), quoted in The World Of Tomorrow: America In The 1960s, by Studs Terkel STENNIS LEADS IN ILLINOIS


America was an experience that was by turns both idyllic and grisly. While I traveled to my old haunts in Hollywood and the surrounding environs to promote my modest celluloid effort, Edward managed to get in touch with some of his old friends, mostly an odd assortment of would-be stars and starlets drawn to his enthusiastic if ultimately incomprehensible love of

the movie-making process. One such young friend was an exotic and lovely TV host who went by the name of "Vampira". This was Maila Nurmi, who had made something of a living introducing horror films on television until various "decency" organizations led by the ubiquitous Mickey Mouse Clubs managed to cause enough of a fuss at the station to have her show canceled. At loose ends, Miss Nurmi gladly joined our merry little crew as we journeyed from one place to the next. While not an intellectual giant, she was pleasant company, and we spent many hours in each others' presence discussing the great horror films and actors of the past.

It was while I was in New York to make an appearance on Jack Paar's program that the local scandal sheets began to link us in a romantic manner. While I was certainly not immune to dear Malia's charms, the thought of a committed relationship of some sort had never entered my mind. However, Malia was a canny observer of the modern press, and it soon developed that she was the one who had planted these tales, believing that the resultant publicity would be a positive boost for her career. I attempted in vain to dissuade her from this idea, explaining to her at some length that my reputation was uncertain at best, and that my current level of fame would almost inevitably be followed by an even greater level of notoriety. She refused to listen. Finally, in one last desperate gambit, I called her bluff and made an overt pass over dinner one night.

The next morning, I had inadvertently turned the purveyors of gossip and rumor in the media into tellers of a new truth. Fortunately, I had already become accustomed to her company, so allowing our relationship to develop to another level was hardly an exercise in frustration or despair. Indeed, I became rather fond of her over the subsequent months, as events would soon bear out.

What was of concern to me was the political climate in the United States. What had proven to be an intolerable situation when I began my self-imposed exile some years before had, if anything, become even worse. The presidential race was between an overtly racist aged Senator who had partnered himself with an empty-headed upper-class leading man type, and a moderately tolerable though undefined liberal Republican who had chosen a man I would have cast happily as Cassius for his lean and hungry look. No matter what occurred come election time, I realized that I would soon be departing for Europe, and that I would be staying there indefinitely. Edward bid a fond adieu to his friends (with the exception of Malia, who had decided to accompany us back to London), and we departed the shores of America for the foreseeable future.

Unfortunately for me, Edward had managed to acquire a number of phonograph recordings of some caterwauling youths from Los Angeles called "Sandstorm". He insisted on playing these recordings for me day and night, proving that the one thing more atrocious than his directing was his taste in popular music. However, he insisted that this group was a "hit" with the youths of America, and that fortune awaited him if he took the lead in promoting them in England.


Sources indicate that Rockwell considered this point to be among the lowest of his political career. Though he was the one who had resigned from the Republican party, he insisted to his circle of intimates that he had been "forced out" by a "cabal of Jews", the most prominent of whom where Senator Goldwater and White House Chief of Staff Roy Cohn. Indeed, this was a turning point in what he considered "The Jewish Issue". Rockwell's anti-Semitism, once couched in terms of "international bankers" and "foreign interests", became

more pronounced and overt. Drawing on his experience with Senator Goldwater, he stopped making distinctions between the "religious Jews" he had previously considered responsible for the ills facing America and the "atheist Jews" who he felt had the potential to be good citizens. Instead, he openly derided Jewish people in public, at one point mentioning Senator Goldwater's Jewish father as "The seed of corruption that was bred into the man".

It is rumored that when Goldwater heard of this slight against his father, he pulled aside Senator Rockwell in Senate chambers, and warned him that if he ever said such a thing again, then he would not find that Goldwater would "(G)o down as easily as Cohn did." Well aware of Senator Goldwater's past as a boxer, the story goes that Rockwell turned his back and walked away in response.

-Tomorrow The World: The Unauthorized Biography of George Lincoln Rockwell, Anonymous

"The fact is, Ron, that I simply don't have the heart to do this anymore. No matter who takes office in the next term, it won't be someone who will show the same devotion and support to the space program that we have seen with President Disney. Instead, we will either have an honorable man who I neither know nor understand in Governor Rockefeller, or an overt racist and segregationist in Senator Stennis. It's well past time to get back to my writing. When was the last time that I had a story published? The reading public has a short memory, and I fear that I've allowed the rest of you to remain prominent while I toil away under the yoke of bureaucracy.

I will say with some pride that we have achieved much during my tenure under the Space Command, and I believe most strongly that one day we will have a leader who will continue this great work."

-Personal correspondence of Robert A. Heinlein to L. Ron Hubbard

CALIFORNIA NECK-AND-NECK-Riots, Economic Woes Give Stennis Boost In Polls

Los Angeles Times, 9/30/60 "The Stennis campaign has been willing to debate Governor Rockefeller for quite some time, but Senator Stennis has many duties in the United States Senate, and has been reluctant to take time away from his official responsibilities when the nation is in a state of crisis. However, we have come to an agreement with Governor Rockefeller's people, and are pleased to announce a series of televised debates to begin on October 11th. They will be taped in Chicago."

-Stennis campaign spokesman Evan Mecham, 9/30/60

While the 1960 campaign can be considered to be among the most pivotal in election history, at the time it seemed to be little different from those that had preceded it. Television was being used to a greater degree, though President Disney himself had pioneered the use of the medium in the previous two election cycles. Racial issues were front and center, but then again, the United States had addressed unrest among minority populations while electing other chief executives.

What stood out even at the time of the election was the degree to which people were willing to cross party lines to vote for, donate to, volunteer for, and even work for their favored

candidates. Senator Rockwell had led the way in this shift in the electorate, casting unions, civil rights activists, and "banking interests" together as the powers behind the scenes at Democratic Party headquarters. Similarly, many northern Democrats found the idea of voting for such an ardent segregationist as Senator Stennis to be morally repugnant. However, of most interest was the "law and order" Republicans of the American Midwest and Southwest. They had voted a straight Republican ticket since before the New Deal, and the addition of Senator Richard Nixon to the GOP ticket in 1960 was designed to appeal to them. However, even in Nixon's home state of California, recent uprisings among the black population in Los Angeles and Oakland were causing people to wonder if a firmer hand would be needed in dealing with racial unrest.

-The Angry 60s, 1979, Bob Woodward

MODERATOR: Governor Rockefeller, you have stated in the past that you are willing to meet with leaders in the Negro community in order to settle the racial issues in the United States with a minimum of bloodshed. However, as the history of your state of New York is entirely different from that of the South in regards to racial relations, how do you expect to be able to address the issues we face with those who have experienced a different relationship with civic and law enforcement authorities in their home cities and states?

ROCKEFELLER: That's an excellent question, and I thank you for allowing me this forum in which to address the issue. However, I would dispute the idea that the reality of racial relations in New York state are that different from those in the rest of the country. We have the same history of misunderstandings, of segregation--though certainly not to the same degree as in the South, and even of violence between the races. However, experience has taught me that there are no disputes that cannot be solved amicably by men of good will. I do not believe that this will be an easy task. Mistakes have been made by leaders within my own party, and by those in the party of Senator Stennis, especially in the past few years. However, nothing is to be gained by locking a sizable portion of our population behind concrete and razor wire, and then slaughtering them indiscriminately when they protest their living conditions.

MODERATOR: Senator Stennis, do you have a response?

STENNIS: Thank you, I do indeed have a response to the Governor. First, I would dispute his contention that the Negro situation in New York is similar to what I and my fellow Southerners have dealt with. We have a distinct and rich culture, one that has as a basis in reality the strict separation of the races. There are those who would dispute our beliefs. That is fine, it is the right of every American to believe as he sees fit. However, it is not the right of any American, whether he be President, Supreme Court Justice, or head dogcatcher of Albany to interfere in the sovereign rights of every state to set its own cultural and moral standards. Race-mixing may work in New York City. I do not know this for a fact, and the idea is admittedly a difficult one for me to swallow. However, it has been shown to be an unmitigated disaster elsewhere as our headlines show every day, and not just in the South.

Governor Rockefeller, are you seriously proposing that we sit down and speak with the leaders of the terrorist groups that continue to slaughter our women and children? Do you believe that these animals need nothing more than a pat on the head and a promise that they can use our drinking fountains and churches? And even if that unlikely scenario were the case, do you truly believe that giving in to the terrorists is a less than cowardly approach to our current crisis?

ROCKEFELLER: Senator, don't you think....

MODERATOR: Governor, with respect sir, you've had your time.

STENNIS: No, I'd like very much to hear what he has to say.

MODERATOR: Very well. Governor?

ROCKEFELLER: Thank you Senator. Thank you, Chet. Senator, sir, with respect, that is the same misrepresentation of my position on that matter that I've heard from your camp since your convention. At no point have I even hinted that I believe it to be a good idea to negotiate with anyone who has performed, been under suspicion of performing, advocated, or given aid and comfort to those who have advocated acts of violence upon the American people. This is an unfair and unjust accusation, Senator, and I quite frankly find myself astounded that a man of your integrity and honor would stoop to such a level. I can only assume, sir, that this slander does not originate with you, as I originally heard it from my former rival and your current supporter Senator Rockwell. As you may or may not know, Senator, with Senator Rockwell you have taken a viper into your nest. He is a holder of beliefs and ideologies that we sacrificed greatly to overcome less than twenty years ago. It surprises me that you would take him seriously in any way whatsoever.

STENNIS: It is indeed true that Senator Rockwell has been kind enough to support my campaign, finding your party to not be in alignment with his strong views on law and order in America. It is equally true that he is known for his high spirits and willingness to express his opinions. However, the colorful comments and beliefs of a freshman Senator are little to judge a campaign by. I would be more concerned if a candidate had as one of his closest advisers a more insidious character. For instance, Governor, it is well known within certain circles that one of the leading architects of your campaign is a notorious deviant, and a practitioner of acts so foul and loathsome that I will not mention them on national television. This is a well-known fact, sir, and while I will not mention the gentleman's name for fear of causing disgrace to fall upon his most respectable family, I must call into question your judgment in this matter.

PAUSE

MODERATOR: Governor? I believe that you have the right to respond to that statement.

ROCKEFELLER: I have no idea where the Senator is getting his information from. If he has any evidence of this spurious accusation, I would love to have the chance to discuss it with him later.

-Transcript, first Stennis-Rockefeller debate, 10/60

It was, at best, a saddened gathering around the fireplace that night. While none of us could be considered fans of either Governor Rockefeller or Senator Nixon, we thought that they represented the final hope of any possibility of racial peace in the United States. Michael

Harrington was uncharacteristically quiet. He had been one of the most prominent members of our organization to attempt to convince us to get behind the Rockefeller ticket. Tom Hayden, on the other hand, was openly anxious, speaking darkly of the downfall of the American dream. Abbie, a hanger-on, sat in the corner and would occasionally attempt to lighten the mood by offering us his off of the marijuana cigarette that he continued to smoke despite my threats to kick him out of the apartment.

It was all that I could do to keep Hayden somewhat calm. He finally flew out of the door, his usually rational and reasoned demeanor shifting into that of the committed revolutionary. Abbie followed after him shortly, stating "Whatever Tommy's got in mind, it's going to be less of a drag than this funeral." Harrington, usually the one to attempt to forestall any radical moves on the part of our organization and its members, instead stared at me bleakly for a while before going off to sleep on my sofa. I sat up the rest of the night with a bottle of wine, staring at the dimming embers of the fire, and trying to find some sort of peace with a suddenly frightening and chaotic universe.

-Liberation: A Memoir, former President Jerry Brown The South Side Civic Improvement Committee had a long history of not getting along with the mayor's office. Even more so once we made it clear that we wouldn't be supporting his favorite candidate, or that young white boy who was running with him. Instead, we managed to scrape up a banquet hall and some musicians, and set up for the rally on Halloween. Figured that we could just combine it with the party that we threw for the young folk every year, and save us some money that way.

My goodness, did we have fun at first. We'd managed to get together some of the old blues musicians who didn't manage to make it over to Europe, and a couple of jazz bands, and some ministers and gospel choirs. We had speakers. We even had one or two of the old civil rights workers before all of that went to blazes down South. It was just a lovely time. The children in their costumes, the ladies in their best hats, the gentlemen all looking so fine and handsome.

That's when I noticed a commotion going on at the front of the room. I managed to shoulder my way through the crowd, though I'm afraid that I might have been a bit rude to some people who tried to say "Hello, Miz Hattie" to me. It didn't matter a whit to me, though, since I've been able to smell trouble ever since Daddy took to the drink when I was just a child.

Now, once I got to the front, I saw Hubert Cornwall, and he was talking to a large white man, a detective if I recognized the badge that he was waving in front of Hubert's face. He was trying to tell Hubert something about an "illegal gathering" and "dangerous elements", but Hubert kept trying to explain to him all calm that this was just a party, that the gentleman was mistaken, and that still didn't work once the detective gave a sign and about two dozen police officers tried squeezing in through the doors to shut everything down. Hubert sighted and started to make for the bandstand at the back of the room, telling me on his way that he wasn't going to fight it. That he was just going to shut the whole thing down after reminding them to vote for Rockefeller come election day in a week. He'd barely managed to clear his way through half the crowd, though, when a young man I'd never seen before jumped up on stage, waving his beer bottle and screaming "Look! It's the police! They've come to shut us down, just like they shut everyone down! We gonna take this?" Only he was using more curse words, you understand, words that I don't care to repeat.

There were some screams, and a rush for the exits, but sure enough, a number of dumb young boys started rushing for the police, and there were some billy clubs that got swung, and some heads cracked open. Hubert, ever the gentleman, took my arm and made right sure that I got out a side door before it all got too bloody. Now, I knew trouble when I saw it,

and I didn't care to have no bombs dropped on me like down in Tampa, so I made my way home and went down into my basement to watch the TV that my girls gave me for my birthday, and to figure out when it would be safe to come out. And sure enough, rioting broke out. And it didn't get reported as "A few dumb as stump boys tried to attack the police, and the police took it out on a whole crowd of people minding their own business." No, it was "Negro radical" this and "Communist inspired" that until I nearly didn't believe my own memory compared to what they were saying on TV. They made it all sound so real.

Now, it all quieted down soon enough, and was never anything more than a few fools setting trashcans on fire and flapping their lips about rising up against the white man. But you wouldn't have known it from the newspapers and TV, no sir. Way they carried on, you would have thought that Chicago was on the verge of falling to what Mayor Daley called "riots and anarchy", and it was only due to the police, I suppose, that they didn't have us Negroes taking over the mayor's office and getting fried chicken grease all over the place while the men gave the eye to the white women.

Now, here's where it all came together for me, though I could never prove a thing to anyone else, and it didn't seem right to go on digging up old troubles, anyway. You see, that young man who grabbed the microphone that night, I'd never seen him before. Now, that was a little unusual, but not unheard of. Figured that maybe he was just passing through, or that he was a cousin of someone, or a boyfriend. But, listen, it wasn't the last time that I saw him, mind?

It was around the Summer of '68 that I was hurrying past City Hall to apply for my Social Security. Up at the front, there's a number of reporters, and they all crowd around this giant stretch limo that pulls up to the curb. I naturally glance around to see what's happening, and who should step out of the front of the car but that very same young man. Now, I can't prove it. I caught a glimpse of him for all of half a minute before I was snatched up and hustled out the door that night. But he goes around the car, and opens the door, and who should come out but Mayor Daley himself?

Well, I know what I think now, and I'll repeat it since I don't have many days left, and nothing to fear from people who died a long time ago.

- Hattie Hanson, quoted in For Want Of A Nail: Race, Riot, And Revolutionaries, 2006

LIES YOUR PARENTS ARE TELLING YOU:

So you've jumped on the Rockefeller bandwagon?

We understand. After eight years of the madness of Disney, and the fact that Adolf Hitler himself could not have picked a more monstrous candidate than John "Kill 'em all" Stennis, Nelson Rockefeller may seem like a return to something like sanity. Equal rights for Negroes? Sure, we all want them. We all want to see innocent women and children of all races finally safe from the monsters who are killing them in their own cities, their own neighborhoods, even their own houses.

But will Rockefeller really change anything?

Consider this: One man is truly responsible for Rockefeller's campaign. We're not talking about his campaign manager, either. Leonard Hall is a savvy operator, but he was not the one who pushed Governor Rockefeller to run for office.

No, that man was the one, the only Roy Cohn.

Roy Cohn may claim to be nothing more than the White House Chief of Staff, but in reality, he is the brains and the driving force behind Rockefeller's campaign. So what, you may ask with a shrug of your shoulders?

Consider this as well: Roy Cohn is well-known in Washington circles as the man who advised Disney on every single disastrous decision he's made on racial issues. Roy Cohn was the one who told President Disney not to take action in Little Rock, leading to the brutal murder of a young student. Before that, Roy Cohn was the architect of Senator Joe McCarthy's vicious attacks on innocent men and women in government service, leading to the ruin of hundreds of careers, and several suicides.

And why?

Because Roy Cohn likes power.

Yet we cannot blame this on Roy Cohn himself. We can only look at a system that has allowed figures such as Cohn, Stennis, Rockwell, and so many others to rise to positions of power and influence. We can only blame this system for the fact that so many soldiers remain in Cuba, killing locals who want nothing more than a say in their own destiny. We can only blame this system for the flight of our artistic pioneers to the shores of Europe. We can only blame the system for the suppression of an entire religion in America, with the freedom to worship freely snatched away from thousands of believers under the guise of "national security".

We who write this letter are students and young working-class citizens of America. While in sympathy with the aims and goals of the SCLU, we believe that Jerry Brown's organization is hopelessly mired in the do-nothing liberalism of the past. Instead, we have created a new and different organization, one that does not seek to work within the system, but rather to shatter it from without, secure in the knowledge that any temporary discomfort that results from our actions will only be the birth pangs of a new and better America.

We sympathize with the goals of the Nation of Islam, though we are not Moslem. We sympathize with the goals and actions of the African Brotherhood, though most of us are not black. We hereby propose an alliance with both noble organizations, groups that have struggled so long and so hard to free their people from the oppressive yoke of this fascist government.

We are Youth Against Fascism

You will know us by our actions.

-Unsigned leaflet found scattered on the campuses of UC Berkeley, Michigan State University, and New York University, 11/1/60

MODERATOR: Senator Kennedy, much has been made in this campaign of your relative youth and--if you'll forgive the term--inexperience in comparison with the other candidates in this race. How would you respond to those who claim that you are not sufficiently seasoned for the role that you intend to play on the world stage?

KENNEDY: Tom, you make me sound like a Thanksgiving turkey.

(LAUGHTER)

KENNEDY: No, no, I've heard this as well. First, I would like to remind those who make this claim that age is no guarantee of wisdom, and youth no guarantee of folly. During my time in the Senate, I have taken the lead on several significant pieces of legislation. I am mostly, and I believe justly, proud of my work on behalf of the American people when it comes to domestic security. I have supported legislation that has increased the power of Mr. Hoover's fine agents of the FBI when it comes to matters of domestic terrorism. I have opened up dialogues with my colleagues across the aisle in order to find that delicate balance between the rights of the states to maintain their own security and the responsibility of the federal government to ensure the rights of individual citizens.

I am, I admit, somewhat young, though not as young as Theodore Roosevelt was when he became Vice-President, or indeed when he ascended to the presidency. However, I find this to be an advantage, as I am able to approach situations with a certain vigor and energy, and to always be willing to learn something new. In a time when the very fabric of our American life seems to be changing, I believe that it is in the best interests of this great nation to elect someone who is able to adapt to changing circumstances.

MODERATOR: Senator Nixon, would you care to respond?

NIXON: Thanks, David. I will be the first to admit that Senator Kennedy has shown a remarkable adaptability during his time in the Senate. At first, he adapted by taking a strong anti-Communist stance. I even had the pleasure of knowing his brother Bobby when that fine young man did some work with the late Senator McCarthy in the Senate, alongside my good friend Roy Cohn. He later adapted by rarely mentioning Communism once Senator McCarthy's health issues caused him to step back from involvement in the day-to-day workings of the Senate. Senator Kennedy then adapted by moving on to other matters, including working with so-called civil rights leaders, none of whom were able to make any significant changes for their people, or forestall a series of riots. When the recent unrest began, Senator Kennedy no longer associated with them, though he still talked a line on equality without taking any significant action in the field of White-Negro relations. Finally, he has adapted to the Washington, D.C. climate by disavowing his support of civil rights once he was named to the current Democratic ticket. So I would say that yes, he is adaptable, in much the same manner as a chameleon.

-Excerpt from Nixon-Kennedy debate, 11/1/60

They were taking us for a ride in California and Illinois, that I wasn't expecting. I kept saying "Look, forget about Illinois, we've lost it, concentrate on the other states," but Rockefeller's people wouldn't listen to me. Ever since the first debate, I'd been out the outs, and I couldn't figure out why. That was fine, though. If they wanted to lose, then they wanted to lose, and it's not like I was lacking for job offers after Disney's term ended.

Disney himself, the old man wasn't doing too well. Rocky had the bright idea of appearing in public in California with Walt at a campaign rally, but the doctors nixed that idea right away. Instead, we kept him going through vitamins, some prescriptions from Dr. Max Jacobson, and sheer grit and willpower.

They should have listened to me. I used to be a Democrat. My father was big in the party. I know how they work, how the machine eats people up and spits them out. But like I said, that's okay, it all ended up as gravy for me later on.

-Roy Cohn, quoted in Land of Tomorrow: America In The 1960s, by Studs Terkel

"It looks like Governor Rockefeller has taken an early lead in the Northeast. With poll numbers coming in, he's taken New York as expected, and it's beginning to look like Massachusetts as well despite the addition of Senator Kennedy to the ticket. As expected, Senator Stennis is doing well down South, although Florida is proving to be closer than ever."

-ABC News Report, 11/7/1960

MIDWEST SHOWING STRONG FOR US. ILLINOIS TOO CLOSE TO CALL.

-Rockefeller campaign telegram, 11/7/60

CALIFORNIA IS OURS.

-Rockefeller campaign telegram, 11/8/60

"The South is rising again!"

-Election night chant heard throughout the South, 11/7/60 and 11/8/60

IT'S DOWN TO US

-Chicago Tribune Editorial Headline, 11/8/60

"Of course we brought in Republicans for the recounts. We had to. They didn't tell us what kind of Republicans. And there were a bunch of Rockwell's folks around who had never gotten around to switching over."

-Testimony of Jackie Cerone before the Nader Commission on Organized Crime

RECOUNT PROCESS "RUNNING SMOOTHLY" SAYS MAYOR DALEY


WIDESPREAD IRREGULARITIES REPORTED IN RECOUNT PROCESS


"My friends, my fellow Americans,

"I come before you today to say that I have heard the news of the outcome of the recount. In the interests of national unity, of the binding of wounds, I will not challenge this result.

"We have worked hard, all of us, and especially all of you. You have knocked on doors, made phone calls, spoken with your friends and families, and have gone to heroic lengths to get out our message of hope, of brotherhood, and of a brighter future for America.

"Know that I still believe in you. Know that I still believe in this great nation. And especially know that I still believe above all else in the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God.

"I congratulate Senators Stennis and Kennedy on their well-deserved victory. They have worked hard, and they ran an excellent campaign. In my capacity as Governor of New York, I promise to work with them as we forge ahead to create a more perfect union.

"God bless you all, and God bless the United States of America."

-Concession speech of Governor Nelson Rockefeller, 11/10/60 On the night of November 11th, 1960, George Lincoln Rockwell was on the top of the world. Governor Rockefeller's concession to his Democratic opponent was less a personal victory, he insisted, than it was a repudiation of the "Jews and money interests" in the GOP. Never one to shy away from self-aggrandizement, Rockwell repeated his oft-stated belief that his supporters and their machinations were directly responsible for the election of President-

elect Stennis, and he fully expected a call within the following day from the grateful Senator.

Working out of his modest home in the Norfolk, Virginia EPCOT community, Senator Rockwell made certain that his private number was in the hands of the Stennis campaign. In

preparation for his expected move to the Executive branch, he had taken the liberty of moving the majority of his private papers out of his local offices, and into a watertight

storage shed on his property. He and his staff were spending day and night going through these documents, deciding which should be moved to his new office, which to storage, and

which to the incinerator that was kept constantly ablaze in his basement.

The expected call did not come that day, nor the next. By the third day, Senator Rockwell was getting "ants in the pants", as one of his aides said later, and decided to take matters

into his own hands. Under the guise of making sure that President-elect Stennis had received his congratulatory note, Rockwell phoned the campaign. After being passed through a series

of aides, he was finally able to directly contact Vice-President-elect Kennedy, who assured him that the note had been received, and that he would be hearing from a grateful Senator

Stennis "very soon".

By the time that Rockwell returned to Washington in late November, he still had received no word from Stennis or his transition team. Polite requests for a meeting with him or Senator Kennedy were just as politely rebuffed, usually with a statement regarding how busy the

President-elect was, and stating that he would be sure to meet with "a great supporter and great American" at his earliest opportunity.

The call finally came on December 10th. Rather than a meeting with the President-elect, however, Senator Rockwell was extended an invitation to an "informal" lunch with Vice

President-elect Kennedy. The subsequent conversation was thought to be lost to history, but an excerpt from Senator Rockwell's private journal has been acquired by this author, and

can be revealed here for the first time:

"Met with Kennedy, not at his office or even at the transition offices. Flew down to Hyannisport to the gaudy and ridiculous family compound. Told to keep a low profile. Got a taxi from the airport, forced to wait outside the gates while they checked a list, then forced to wait for another hour in a tacky hallway before that vapid playboy entered with a smile

that he thought was charming. Ushered me to another room where a maid brought in soggy sandwiches and tea in the kind of cups that only old ladies and fags drink from back home.

"Kennedy started out with how much my support had meant, how he looked forward to a long and fruitful partnership, quoted some old dead Greeks and Romans like the

overeducated idiot he is. Then came to the meat of it: Not getting offered Racial Issues. Could have Interior if I want. Interior! Like I want to be in charge of rocks and trees! Had the gall to look confused when I mentioned that I thought that I'd get Racial Issues what with it

being my idea and all, said that he was sympathetic, but that someone with 'my controversial statements regarding religion' in that kind of major post could be considered 'difficult' what with Stennis trying to make nice with the kikes squatting on Arab land in the

Mideast.

"Lost temper. Stormed out. Don't think I'll be invited back. Stennis just another disappointment. Rather have tea parties with Communist yids than appoint someone who

knows what's best for America."

Rockwell's return to his Senate offices was marked by a period of gathering gloom, his dark mood not abating until December 23rd that year, the day of his annual Christmas party. Late that night and well into his cups, the Senator rallied the troops. "We're all alone, boys," he is reported to have said. "But when the bastards have you backed into a corner, well...it's time

to swing for their balls."

-Tomorrow The World: The Unauthorized Biography of George Lincoln Rockwell, Anonymous

Hello Wally it has been a while since I have managed to find the time to write and I apologize for I have been in the midst of the whirl and twirl of all that is fascinating for Rockefeller's campaign made some of the local Negroes poke their heads out of their hidey hidey hidey holes as Cab Calloway might say and begin to open a couple of doors to ofays who didn't

look ready to hang them from the highest tree given time and opportunity, and even though he has lost, my friend, the hue and the cry that whites and Negroes wailed in unison still

resounds through the streets and alleyways and up the sides of the skyscrapers of Gotham, so I know that my weeks of plastering pictures of the gap-toothed gentleman Alfred over the campaign posters of Stennis were not all in vain, for if not an Eden, then at least New York is now a civilized place where you can discuss Proust and Langston Hughes over a reefer and a bottle of wine with Sandstorm or my Quarrymen 45s playing in the background, and they are

hitting in the Negro community like you would not believe, especially the Quarrymen who my friends say sound both English and coloured at the same time. I have also brought over Chess records that you cannot get for two months of paychecks over here so I am much in demand and popular among a certain set of the dark-skinned crowd to the point that even their ladies are sometimes giving me the eye, but I am refraining as I do not wish to end up on the wrong end of a switchblade or zip gun being waved in my face by a man who does

not approve of race-mixing from the other side.

It is wild and there is talk of secession but this is from the crazies who shout anything in the street about anything from the space program being a front for our communication with mind-reading aliens to Cohn being a secret red to the industrialists being in league with

Rockefeller to smash the working man so no one takes it seriously but it does point to a separation that we feel from the rest of the country, an angry amused alienation alternating between apathy and action. There is something free and beautiful happening here like Berlin before it got stagnant and decadent and more about the tourist deutschmarks than the art and music and chicks and scene, dig? I do not know how long this will last, no, but in a town

where the expatriate Welles can be the most popular director and a black man can walk down a white street and have people nod hello without a gleam of fear and hatred in their

eyes then I am happy for now.

-Personal correspondence of "Beano" to Wally Hedrick, circa 12/60

Epilogue:1961

"It is with great sadness and a heavy heart, my friends, that I must resign the office of Mayor of the great city of Selma, Alabama. In my time here, I have attempted to serve you well, and I hope that I have helped to make the streets safe for God-fearing men, women, and children from the onslaught of northern communist-inspired racial violence, the likes of which we have not seen since the dark days of Reconstruction.

"However, I am satisfied that other souls can take on this great task of bringing peace and prosperity to our streets, and leave secure in the knowledge that the best days of Selma lie ahead of us."

-Resignation speech of Selma Mayor Theophilus "Bull" Connor, shortly after his selection by President-elect Stennis as Secretary Of Racial Affairs.

INAUGURATION SECURITY TO BE "STRONGEST EVER" SAY D.C. POLICE


STORM WASHINGTON! MEET US ON THE 20TH FOR TEA, COOKIES, AND REVOLUTION IN THE STREETS!

-Posters seen on college campuses nationwide in the month leading up to the inauguration of President John Stennis

"My brothers and sisters, it has been a long time since I have had the chance to speak with you, too long a time. Know that during the time of my absence, I have been given to prayer to Allah, the beneficent, the merciful. I have been given to study and thought. For you see, as much as tempting as it is to strike out blindly at the power structure of the white devil,

and to ignore the outer workings of his government, I cannot turn a blind eye to recent developments any more than I could turn a blind eye to whether my neighbor chooses to steal my bread or to burn my house down.

"It has been thought by many white devil reporters and politicians that the election of Stennis to the highest office in the United States would throw me into despair, or somehow cause me to throw up my hands in surrender in the face of his hatred of the black man. Nothing could be further from the truth.

"Tell me this, my brothers: Who would you rather have? A Rockefeller who makes mewling sounds of peace and protestations of brotherhood as he drags us into a system of power and privilege that we shall never attain at the hands of the white man? Or a Stennis who hates us openly and with a passion, who refuses to give us false hope or empty promises?

"I have no fear of the future president. I welcome him. Better an open struggle with an honest enemy than a master condescending to toss us crumbs from his table."

-The Collected Speeches of Malcolm X

"He's a damned fool if he thinks that this is going to get him anything but martyrdom"

-Eldridge Cleaver on Malcolm X's speech, attributed

At the meeting of January 13th, I tried to tell the remaining members of the board that it would be foolish to protest on the 20th, that Tom's people would be going crazy in the streets, and that this would be the opportunity for Stennis and his people to mount a serious crackdown. My fear was that my pleas would be ignored. It was worse: Many who were sympathetic to Tom's aims seemed to welcome the idea of open revolt in the streets, and indeed many of them left that meeting never to return, instead joining up with the forces of the YAF.


ENSURE DDS IN PLACE FOR SECURITY FOR MOUSE CLUB ENTRY IN INAUGURAL PARADE. INCLUDE PLAINCLOTHES ONES IN CROWD. SECRET SERVICE INFORMED ALREADY.

-Confidential memo from Anita Bryant to Disney Defenders My fellow Americans,

I have asked our radio and television broadcasters to allow me to come before you tonight for what you could consider to be personal reasons. Mostly I wish to thank you all for what has been the proudest experience of my life, the chance to serve as your leader for the past eight years.

Over the course of my administration, America has faced challenges both at home and

abroad unparalleled in the history of this great nation. We have experienced domestic turmoil, international tension, and the vagaries of the stock market that are inevitable in a free market economy. Through it all, I have always tried to face these challenges with a sense of what is right for our country. With a sense of stubbornness bred in me during my Missouri boyhood, with a knowledge that America's best days still lie ahead of us, and with an unwavering faith in God almighty, I have done my absolute best by this country, with the full understanding that I shall not pass this way again.

I will not say that we have fully succeeded in becoming the nation that I envisioned when we set out upon this course. Violence, both racial and otherwise, is still an issue in our communities. Our international relations remain fraught with tension, with old friends and allies now casting a skeptical eye on our desire to spread freedom to all shores. Our victory in Cuba is not yet total. It is evident that America has a long and uncertain road ahead before we become that "shining city on a hill" spoken of by our Pilgrim forefathers.

And yet when history writes its page on this defining moment in American history, let it not be said that we have fallen short for a lack of effort. Let it not be said that our intentions were less than noble, our hearts less than pure. Let it not be said that we aspired to anything less than greatness among the nations. Instead, let it be said that we strove for the stars themselves, and in the words of the poet, "Reached out our hands and touched the face of God".

-From the farewell address of President Walter E. Disney, 1/14/61

I knew who the cabinet picks were before the press did. Why? Roy Cohn has contacts, that's why. I knew people in both parties. Only place I didn't have any sway was the Vice-President's office because Kennedy had appointed that little shit of a brother of his as Chief of Staff, but who cared? Everyone knew that he was just going to use the office as a place for shtupping showgirls and smoking cigars while waiting for Stennis to fatally choke on his own bile.

Crazy choices for the cabinet, though. Thurmond as Attorney General, sure, that made some sense as a sop to the Klan sympathizers who boosted him in the first place, same went for Connor at Racial Affairs. McNamara at Defense surprised everyone, though. I knew that Kennedy would get a say in the cabinet makeup, but I wasn't expecting that serious a post. Of course, Bob and Stennis were simpatico when it came to boosting spending on the military, so it made a strange kind of sense. Gibbons at Labor...interesting. Strong Democrat, but it took about a thousand assurances from Hoover for anyone who had run on a tough on crime platform to okay him. Don't know how Stennis got the old man to go along with that, but I respected it. Besides, I was never as anti-union as Walt was, so I figured that maybe he'd be a good counterbalance to what we'd done over the past eight years.

It was the non-cabinet Surgeon General post that got into surreal territory, though. In the one nod to Democrats who still supported something like racial equality, he gave the spot to my old buddy and former civil rights worker Dr. Frederic Wertham. What with psychiatry becoming downright respectable--hell, fashionable--it made some sense. It was still a pretty controversial choice, but the country was so hungry for a change that they let it go.

Anyway, it came down to inauguration day, the big shebang that everyone was looking forward to if they didn't have a brain in their heads. Me, I got the hell out of town, holed up with an old friend, and got stinking drunk as I watched it all unfold on national television.

-Retired Senator Roy Cohn (R-NY), quoted in Land of Tomorrow: America In The 60s, by Studs

Terkel

I was initially reluctant to join in the inaugural protests due to my fear that radical elements would intentionally perform extreme actions in the hopes of eliciting a violent response from the police and other security forces. However, as the leader of the SCLU, it was my responsibility to provide a face for the movement, and to attempt to maintain some semblance of order and discipline within our own ranks. I therefore arrived in Washington, D.C. approximately one week before the festivities were to begin, and spent the next several days attempting to organize our workers and volunteers in an effective manner.


"My initial thought was that I would sit in an open convertible with President Disney. I was looking forward to waving at the crowd, and openly showing my face to the protesters in order to communicate the idea that I would not be intimidated by their empty rhetoric. However, the Secret Service convinced me that in that era of constant turmoil, it would be an open invitation to assassination. I was impressed by their ability to give an order to me despite the fact that they technically worked for me."

-President John Stennis, "One Year In The White House", Time Magazine, 1/20/1962

"And here comes the limousine carrying President Disney, Mrs. Disney, President-Elect Stennis, and Mrs. Stennis. The crowds are cheering loudly now as they round the corner."

-ABC Television, 1/20/61

I was proud of our people. They'd managed to form into a coherent group despite being shoved, insulted, and otherwise antagonized by Stennis supporters. Our group kept discipline, held their signs aloft, and made it clear to those who were watching the parade that not everyone in the country supported this shift towards government-approved racial intolerance. While I was attempting to maintain some sense of dignity, I could not help but smile at the extensive turnout by our group and other organizations. I was initially pleased to see Bernadine Dohrn, a young woman who I had thought lost to Tom's group. I had even heard rumors of distance between her and the rest of Tom's people due to what even they considered an overly militant stance. I was glad that I had been misinformed, or so I thought at the time.


"Hey, I was cool with the protests, and with showing who we really were in our leather jackets and t shirts, not trying to dress up like the squares and pretend to be something that we weren't like Jerry's crowd. But Bernie, she was a bad scene all wrapped up in one feisty teen package. She showed up with us to throw eggs and tomatoes and shit, yeah, but there was something real dangerous in her eyes, something scary. So I told Tom to watch this crazy chick, and he took her aside and talked with her, and oh boy...she took off right away, sputtering about how we were betraying the revolution. Me, I'm all about the revolution, but she wanted to get it through blood and sweat, while I thought that we could make it more fun than that."

-Abbie Hoffman, quoted in The YAF Uprising, Paul Potter, 1990

"And it looks as if the limousine is slowing now as it passes the demonstrators. I can't imagine that this is anything that the Secret Service approves of, so I can only assume that either President Disney or President-Elect Stennis has requested this. The vehicle is still moving, however, and shows no signs of stopping."

-ABC News Inaugural Coverage, 1/20/61

"I was with Kyle, he was a good friend of mine, and another Disney Defender. We decided to keep an eye on a bunch of red protesters, since they looked like they might be trouble. It didn't seem like much at first, since they were mostly just chanting stuff and yammering about peace and racial equality and shi-...er, stuff. But then the motorcade comes by, and they're yelling louder, and this wild-eyed girl pulls something out of her bag. I didn't see what it was, but Kyle was ROTC, and he yelled "Grenade!" and jumped on top of her. And the grenade, it fell, and bounced a little, and then...boom."

-Testimony of Reginald Reeves before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, 3/2/1961

Chaos. Confusion. It's been said that if you were not there, then you don't know what it was like. I've always found that phrase to be a bit trite, but then again, it does manage to sum up the utter futility of attempting to express the situation in words. What do I remember? Chaos. Confusion.

I recall a shout of a word that I couldn't make out, and a young man leaping onto Bernadine's back, taking her down to the ground. Something dropped from her hand and bounced, landing a few feet from her as both she and the man grasped for the object. I began to push my way through the crowd, thinking to summon a police officer to protect Bernadine, and then the explosion. And then nothing for several hours, until I awoke in the hospital handcuffed to a bed and watched over by two Secret Service agents.


NEWS BULLETIN

EXPLOSION IN CROWD AT INAUGURAL PARADE

EARLY REPORTS STATE PRESIDENT DISNEY, PRESIDENT-ELECT STENNIS UNHARMED.

CASUALTIES UNKNOWN


"They just waded on in, not asking questions. You had the stupid red on the ground, fuckin' gash blew herself up, and took down one of the tits with her. Hurt a bunch of other people in the process. Me? I ended up on the ground. Cops and Secret Service didn't care, though. They'd been on edge all day, and it was the excuse they needed to start bashing in all the heads they could find, even mine. Even though I was wearing my Stennis For President

button!"

-Donald Brewer, quoted in Let Us Hold Our Banner High, Documentary Prize Winner at the Cannes International Film Festival, 2002

And the children cried for justice,And the old men sat and staredTill the anger was a righteous roaring floodThen they traveled on the busesTo the city of despairAnd the alabaster streets ran red with blood

-"City of Freedom", Phil Ochs, 1962

"President Stennis was taken with President Disney to an undisclosed location, where the oath of office was administered at 1:25 p.m. by Chief Justice Warren in accordance with law and tradition. Despite the actions of those who would attempt to destroy our way of life, the orderly transfer of power has occurred."

-White House Press Secretary Evan Mecham, 1/20/61

"Walter, I believe that Washington, D.C. can best be described as a city under siege. While the Secret Service is not making any comment at this time, this is obviously a major situation for them, and we can assume that they are being fully briefed on all developments.

"In the meantime, however, there seems to be some confusion about who exactly is in charge of the near-rioting that has broken out in the wake of the assassination attempt. There have been reports of Washington, D.C. police striking out indiscriminately. At this very moment, protesters have gathered in Lafayette Park across from the White House, but are being watched closely by what looks to be an entire division of Marines standing guard. Excuse me...

"Yes, I understand, but I'm with CBS News....

"Yes. Walter, we have a situation. One of the Park Service representatives is telling us that we have to move for security reasons.

"Do you have a supervisor I can speak with?

"Wait, wait! Hold on! Hold on! You can't do that! Walter, if you can hear me, I am being forcibly dragged away by two local police officers who are threatening to arrest me and my producer if we stay here. As you may be able to see...."

(TRANSMISSION ENDS)

-CBS News Report, 1/20/1961 CBS REPORTER ACCUSES CAPITOL POLICE OF "BRUTALITY"

Washington, D.C.- CBS reporter Mike Wallace accused Capitol Police officers of "brutality"

following his arrest on charges of failure to disperse during the riots proceeding from the alleged assassination attempt against Presidents Disney and Stennis last Friday. Mr. Wallace further stated that his first amendment rights were violated by said officers, and that the police had used "thuggish tactics" against him and his fellow reporters in the chaos immediately following the inauguration.


"You go ahead and tell Congress to remember who gave 'em a President who won't veto every social program that comes his way. Remind 'em that we're in a state of emergency in this country, and that we're going to have to take some ugly-looking measures before we get back to normal, hell, if we're ever going to get there.

"First one out the door is going to be the Negro Relocation Funding Act. After that, it's going to be the Security Zone Act. Before we can do anything else, we have to clamp down on the student radicals. Tell Hoover to get his ass in here so we can deal with the damn terrorists."

-President John Stennis, quoted in Straight Furrow: The Presidency of John C. Stennis, William Pierce, 1976

As I listened to the BBC News services in between feverish bouts of writing, I realized that our merry gang had managed to extricate itself from the shores of the benighted United States in the proverbial nick of time. The loathsome "Relocation Funding" bill had passed, promising a mess of pottage to whatever unfortunate dark-skinned citizens were willing to sell their birthright and move to another country. The capital itself was under martial law for the moment. With the exceptions of New York and parts of California, the entire nation seemed to be caught in a delirious fever dream, not soon to awake from whatever nightmare held her in its furious grasp.

Of course, I had my own difficulties to deal with at the moment. Edward, usually a trustworthy soul, had been captivated by the discordant sounds of "Sandstorm", a group of masked youngsters who somehow managed to combine the worst elements of the barbershop quartet with the "rock" music currently so popular in the rougher areas of London. He even insisted on dragging me and Maila along to a performance by "The Quarrymen", a night that would prove to have fateful consequences. At the nightclub where they were playing, I found myself fortunately unable to hear the screeching of the young lads over the screeching of the bobbysoxers who had come to attend to them, and instead found myself a space at the bar, where I proceeded to while away the hours with a sampling of the local beverages.

The next morning, I awoke to find myself in bed next to Maila. Not to be indelicate, but this was not a novel state of affairs. What did strike me as an original element of my morning was the presence of a large, but tasteful diamond ring on her left hand. I awoke her to inquire further regarding this bauble. As it turned out, I had, after a mild overindulgence, discussed the possibility of making our domestic arrangements a more permanent and official one. Never one to miss a cue, she had insisted on taking me from the club to a local jeweler, where she had happily picked out a reasonably-priced engagement ring.

I say "reasonably priced", but indeed, I cannot think of any price too great to give me an excuse to leave that club and the screeching behind me, even if it meant the eventual loss of my freedom.


"Boys, this is the best Valentine gift I ever got!"

-President John Stennis to his staff on the passage of the Security Zone Act, which codified into law the rights of states to establish "secure" neighborhoods for members of races deemed "open to subversion" by local governments.

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE NARROWLY DEFEATS SECURITY ZONES


"I am concerned about the confirmation of Mr. Gibbons to the post of Secretary of Labor. Mr. Gibbons was a known associate of labor leader and convicted--though pardoned--felon James Hoffa, and I believe that members of the President's cabinet should not simply be above reproach, but should avoid even the appearance of impropriety."

-Senator Kenneth Keating (R-NY), speech from the Senate floor, 3/5/61

PRESIDENT DISNEY RUSHED TO HOSPITAL-Doctors "Fear Worst"


I was at my home, leafing through my journal and researching the very memoir you now hold in your hands when my nurse rushed in, followed closely by someone who had "official staffer" written all over him. His sign language was good, and mine had improved, so I was able to catch the gist of his message: President Disney was at death's door. Without a word, I grabbed my hat and coat, speeding towards the door and the car that awaited the two of us.

If it had been one more week, I would have been at my new digs in New York, and never would have made it there in time.

-The Truth Of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir, by Former White House Communications Director James Dodd.

Caught it on the TV. Was sitting down to a business lunch with a couple of attorneys who were trying to sell me on a partnership in their firm. Hell, I already had a better offer on the table, but there's nothing wrong with taking a couple of schmucks for a ride if there's a good steak and a couple of martinis in it for you. So I glance at the TV that they have in the corner, and see that damned red Cronkite about to do a "Special Bulletin", so I yell at the bartender to turn it up. Figured it was some more terrorist crap from the Negroes or the goddamn YAFfers. Then he mentions Disney not doing well.

Look, Roy Cohn is a tough son-of-a-bitch, and everyone knows it. But I'm not ashamed to say that my heart just about dropped down to my feet when I heard that. You know, we didn't always agree, and he wasn't the sweetest boss in the world to work for, but dammit, I loved the guy. He was a great president, a great one, I don't care what the hell history says about

him. The modern textbooks are practically straight out of Red China, anyway. You still got a couple of the EPCOT communities up and running, you got real industry happening in space, not just a couple of rockets like they had planned at first, you got an international mass transit system with high-speed goddamn bullet trains now. You think any of that would have happened without Walt? Fuck that. People say that it's just "the flow of history". Well, you know who directs the flow of history? Men. That's right, men. Big men, brave men, men like Disney and McCarthy and Hoover and Nixon and the rest who can stand up and say "We're doing it this way now." Disney was a goddamned great man, and a goddamned great president.

-Roy Cohn, quoted in Land Of Tomorrow: America In The 60s, by Studs Terkel

President Disney is a truly wonderful man, and was one of our greatest presidents of all time. The thoughts and prayers of myself and all of the Mickey Mouse Club members are with President Disney and his family in this difficult time.

-Press Statement by Mickey Mouse Club Host and Director Anita Bryant

"At 4:36 this morning, President Walt Disney--my brother--passed away peacefully in his sleep. As far as can be determined, his death was from natural causes. Memorial services will be announced within the week."

-Roy E. Disney, press conference, 3/30/61

"On March 30, 1961, former United States President Walter Elias Disney died of natural causes. A ruthless opponent of the proletariat and prominent capitalist exploiter of the working classes, President Disney led his nation to economic and moral lows previously unseen in American history. During his term in office, the United States experienced the worst racial violence in its history, blacks were consigned to walled-off ghettos not seen since the days of Nazi Germany, and his government squandered millions of dollars on foolish flights of fancy into space."

-Pravda, 3/31/61

I suppose it's my turn now.

First off, my thanks to Anita Bryant for singing one of President Disney's favorite songs. "Someday My Prince Will Come" was what we were all thinking before he entered office, and he was indeed our prince for many years, not just to those who knew him, but to all of the American people.

It is not my role as his friend and advisor to overly praise President Disney. I think that he would have disdained a memorial service of lies and hypocrisy, and would shout down from heaven to put a stop to the program if he saw anyone speaking with less straightforwardness and honesty than he himself exhibited every day of his life.

Instead, I will say this: President Disney was tough. He was fair. He was just. And, yes, he was imperfect. Most of us who worked closely with him caught the sting of his famed temper on occasion, or were subjected to his occasional darker moods. Yet that was a small price to pay to be in his magical presence. One always knew that a meeting with President Disney would be full of wonder and magic, that he would inspire you with his love of adventure, of

exploration, of fantasy, of possibility.

Of course, most of all, he would inspire you with his deep and abiding love of America, and all that this great nation represents.

President Disney always saw the best in this country. If he erred, it was always on the side of trust in the American people. This came from his upbringing in Missouri, his roots in the hayrides and church picnics of his youth, his values firmly instilled in him by the Congregational Church that he grew up in and attended his entire life.

From that history, President Disney had a dream of what America should look like, and as he always said, "All your dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them". He invited us all to have the courage to follow that dream, but with the understanding that America would never be finished, that we would always be this noble experiment, this constant work in progress.

On a personal note, he was undoubtedly the single greatest influence on my life. When I was in the hospital, he ignored his own wounds to visit me regularly. When I left my service at the White House, he would always be ready to receive me if I wanted to come by. When I was concerned about my ability to pay bills, he got on the phone and personally ensured that the paperwork went through on my pension. Imagine that: the most powerful man in the world, and he was willing to get on the phone just to ensure that an old employee wouldn't be late on his bills.

Walt Disney was my president. He was my boss. He was my friend. And in a very real way, he was my father, and was a father to all those who knew and loved him.

As we lay him to rest, we lay a piece of my heart to rest along with him.

Godspeed, Walt. I love you.

-James Dodd, eulogy, Funeral service for President Walter Elias Disney (read by Disney Corporation President Ronald Reagan on his behalf)

The End of Part One

To Be Continued...

a world of laughter a world of tears

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