ustxtxb_obs_2003_07_04_50_00002-00000_000.pdf

JULY 4, 2003 Texas Observer FEATURES A RADICAL IN THE FAMILY 4 Rosenberg son Rob Meeropol creates a home for the children of activists struggling with their parents’ choices. by Michael Erard STREET OF THE SEVEN ANGELS 8 An excerpt from a previously unpublished novel inspired by the author’s landmark censorship battle. by John Howard Griffin DEPARTMENTS DIALOGUE EDITORIAL Roll Over George Wallace 2 3 POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE 12 MOLLY IVINS 14 The Gold Diggers JIM HIGHTOWER 15 All the News That’s Fit to Own ARIANNA HUFFINGTON 16 WMDs and the Psychology of Fanaticism LAS AMERICAS 18 Arrested Development by Gabriela Bocagrande BOOKS & THE CULTURE DIALOGUE ABORTION BILLS Just thought you’d be interested to know that rider 11 in HB 1. will most likely be cutting Travis County’s funding for first trimester abortions for residents on Medicaid and MAP \(Medical County has been financing low-income women’s abortions for many years at Austin Reproductive Servicesthe women pay a copayment of $25, the clinic pays a little, and the county covers the rest. \(“Your Right to Not I am also tired of hearing over and over again about the purported risk between breast cancer and abortion as being one of the worst parts of HB 15. Many clinics already warn patients of a possible link between the two, and I have never seen that change a woman’s mind. Yes, it’s completely unsupported by medical evidence but it does not change the issue of access. By far the more offensive parts of HB 15 are the waiting period and the requirement that 16+ week abortions take place at surgicenterswhich will severely hinder a poor woman’s access to abortion. Middleand upper-class women will not have to worry about their right to choose after this session. Melissa DeHaan via E-Mail YOU CAN CALL HER MOLLY Thank you, thank you, thank you. Maybe Molly Ivins would cringe at the cliche “national treasure,” but I am sure glad that she is out there doing what she does: trying to understand the unintelligible and offering something other than the constant corporate din. I watched the C-Span 2 piece on was the most entertaining and enlightening piece of television I have seen in a long, long time. And I really had to smile hearing Molly Ivins say that she is Molly Ivins. She is not some group that O’Reilly and his ilk love to dis parage at any public gathering. She is a person. An American. And a damn good one, at that. Please thank Molly Ivins for me, and please tell her that I read her columns eagerly. And tell her she can email me anytime if I can help her spread the word a little more. Thank you, Texas Observer and Molly Ivins. Matt Woolery Via e-mail DECONSTRUCTING IRAQ Can someone please explain to me why nobody is SCREAMING about the “reconstruction” of Iraq? Iraqis constructed Iraq. Americans deconstructed Iraq. We should be paying them for the damage. They should be using their own “oil revenue” to stimulate their own economy, to hire their own contractors, to get the disgruntled masses back to work, rebuilding their own country, the way they want to do it. What we are doing is armed robbery on behalf of Bush Buddies who won’t even be paying taxes to fund the occupation. I for one do not want our children in harm’s way a moment longer than necessary: I certainly don’t want them playing security guards for Dubya’s profiteers on the taxpayers’ dime. God save America. Ree Van Vleck San Diego, CA A LIE IS A LIE IS A LIE IS A LIE I concur with Arianna Huffington \(“Fluent in the Language of Fanatics,” and his men play so fast and loose with the truth is not because they are conscious liars. It’s because they are ideologues driven by grand illusions of changing the world to fit a radical agenda. But, the moral is clear:Whether it’s a lie and you don’t know it, or you’re a means-justify-the-ends president who believes it, it’s still a lie. Ted S. Corin Austin POETRY 21 by Jill Essbaum Alexander THE MASTER MANIPULATOR 22 by James McWilliams WHEN PETER MET DENNIS 24 by Steven G. Kellman AFTERWORD 30 Countee Cullen and the 4th of July by Lorenzo Thomas THE BACK PAGE 32 Tulia,June 16, 2003 by Alan Pogue Cover photos: Robert Meeropol, personal collection; Michael Erard 2 THE TEXAS OBSERVER 7/4/03