Stone metaphors too numerous to name -- a landslide of them? -- came to mind when I learned that rightwing political hit man Roger Stone had joined Lotus land lefty director Oliver Stone in the JFK conspiracy corps. The rightwing Stone, a former Nixon confidante, has co-authored a new book on JFK's death.
See also: - Roger Stone for Governor
In an interview with the website JFKfacts.org, Stone claims that "a conspiracy funded by Texas Oil and assisted by elements of the CIA and the Mob" was behind Kennedy's assassination. Oh yeah, and that the plot's mastermind was JFK's successor in office, LBJ.
(It's hardly a new theory, and one that was taken a good deal further more than forty years ago by the genius Paul Krassner, whose flair for outrage far surpasses Stone's.)
Stone, his short-lived campaign for Florida Governor having petered out, is milking this cow for all it's worth. And so, he's forsworn bespoke tailoring and going cowboy for a Texas personal appearance tour behind the new tome. The self-anointed fashion expert and "dandy" is stretching the term, as you can see in the picture on the left. Ugh.
"I will wear the same hat in Dallas on Nov, 22 2013 as Gov. John Connally wore in the JFK death car," Stone tweeted earlier this week. Why? "Symbolism. Covering up my head like Govt covering up truth in JFK assassination."
Antics like this have endeared Stone to many, including many in the press. Palm Beach Post political writer George Bennett and others have bantered chummily with Stone on the latter's Twitter feed about the ten-gallon look. (Stone one-up'd him.)
Stone's certainly a change of pace from the usual run of stick-up-their-ass politicos, and his entertainment value has blinded some usually perceptive people. I don't buy it. I'd say the net result of Roger Stone's life work -- like that of his political heroes -- has been to increase the sum total of human misery in the world.
True enough, Stone on one occasion showed some slight regret (War in Iraq? Oops.) about his thug-like role in the 2000 Recount, when he helped organize the Brooks Brothers Riot, shutting down the Miami elections office. (Would you like some fascism with that?)
But Stone's bullshit rolls on. Recent evidence: Applauding the "birther" scam in 2010 and pushing a smear job on New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez early this year.
Even more recent was Stone's admiring citation of Nixon in his JFKfacts.org interview:
"The difference between me and LBJ was, we both wanted to be President but I wouldn't kill for it" Nixon told me in 1989.
Right. Nixon wouldn't "kill for it." He'd only, in order to win election in 1968, sabotage peace talks that might have ended the Vietnam War, giving us several more years of carnage, blood and pain -- for Americans, Vietnamese and Cambodians alike. Some hero. But don't tell that to Roger Stone.
Fire Ant -- an invasive species, tinged bright red, with an annoying, sometimes-fatal sting -- covers Palm Beach County. Got feedback or a tip? Contact [email protected].
Follow @NewTimesBroward
