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February 21, 2008

A Toast To You Hunter

Hi! We are winding down from a lovely evening with friends and family at Owl Farm standing around the semi-legal bonfire and ultimate Lunar Eclipse toasting to our sweetheart.  Thanks sweetie. We toasted to your spirit Hunter, which is strong as ever.

 

I meant to check in earlier, but much has been happening. Yesterday was a dark and depressed day for me, preparing for the 3rd anniversary. Let’s just say I wasn’t handling it very well yesterday, until I heard the kind of news that couldn’t get any better:  My nephew Ridley, 9 lbs, was born 16 hours ago. Congratulations to our webmaster Peter B and Sarah. A new life came at a good time this year. Hunter was so good for young people not for his lifestyle, but for setting an example that you can do what you want in life, be fulfilled and not have to sell out to the greedheads. He got away with it, and we love you and admire you for it Hunter.

 

I’m a little sleepy and giddy from drinking Hunter’s favorite biffs.  But, I think you’ll appreciate the following wisdom:                                                                

 

 

 

PLAYBOY: What if the unthinkable happened and Hunter Thompson went to Washington as a Senator from Colorado? Do you think you could do any good?

 

 

HST: Not much, but you always do some good by setting an example — you know, just by proving it can be done.

 

Until next time, your friend,

Anita Thompson

 

 

 





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February 14, 2008

Valentine’s Day

 

 

Happy Valentine’s Day Hunter.  I miss you…. a lot.

Love, Anita

 

 





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February 12, 2008

Riding a Media Wave

Walter Isaacson wrote a lovely review of Benazir Bhutto’s new book on Huffpo today(with excerpts):


"When I reached the age of puberty, my mother asked me to wear a burqa," she writes. "Suddenly the world looked gray. I felt hot and uncomfortable breathing under the confines of the cloth. My father took one look at me and said, ‘My daughter does not have to wear the veil.’"
Bhutto goes on to recount the inspiring story of how she took up her father’s mantle as leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, after he was deposed and executed, and went on to become, from 1988-1990 and 1993-1996, the first woman to lead a Muslim country.
— Walter Isaacson on Huffpo re: Bhutto’s book Reconciliation.


Funny, Pakistan was founded (as the Dominion of Pakistan) in 1947, under the leadership of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League, and was renamed the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 1956. Pakistan was a founding member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Developing 8 Countries (D8) and Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). It is also a member of the United Nations (UN), World Trade Organization (WTO), G33 developing countries, Group of 77 developing nations (G77) and is a nuclear power. 

It took Pakistan 41 years for a woman to lead the country. The United States can’t manage to do it after 200+ years. The misogyny robust here that so many people would rather have a barely-experience guy, who preaches “hope,” rather than electing a woman with more experience and skill to actually create change than his entire staff combined. But maybe I’m being overly sensitive because her campaign is looking bleak right now. But I if anyone can snap back, it’s her. We’ll see how long Barack and McCain can ride this media wave.  I’m no media or political expert, so I’m just bracing myself and sticking by Hillary nonetheless. 

I remember the media wave in 2000, debating how we should spend the massive SURPLUS in the U.S. treasury that one Clinton managed to accrue. Now, 8 years later, congress is wondering how it is going to face the consequences of a sliding economy and a looted treasury. Anyway, today’s HST wisdom comes from an interview Hunter did with “Studio For Men” in February 1989. It’s about how the press as a whole reacted to Watergate:
Studio For Men: I thought that maybe there would be a sense in which the office of the President itself is not infallible. And I just wondered, because it’s not entirely clear from your writing, I just wondered how you feel about the fallibility of the office of President.

 

HST: With Watergate, what we took great pride in here was that it didn’t really have much to do with the President himself, or the office. It was more the fact that the people, and the press, actually did run the country and that we could throw out a crooked President, and there was a great amount of pride in that, not that the President was infallible. We’ve had some real bastards and I’m sure you have too down there. We took great pride in that we could throw him out.
You know, chase the bastards out of Washington. And somehow there was a great celebration of the power of the people after Watergate. Hell, I did it myself; I was proud of all of us. And somehow that has not carried over. There was a great celebration but it was honored more in the spirit than the reality.

 

SFM: Don’t you think that whatever forces they were that you exposed simply closed their ranks?

 

HST: I’m not sure they closed theirs. I think we got lazy and we congratulated ourselves…

— Hunter S. Thompson, 1989

 

Until next time, 

Anita Thompson

 

 

 

 





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February 06, 2008

Obama’s Sweet Message of Hope

Goodmorning! It’s still snowing here at Owl Farm. We had a record snow-fall January (more snow since 1983) now it looks like we’re going to have a record February.

You may have heard that The Woody Creek Caucus selected Hunter as an alternative delegate for Obama. I had left before that point, being a registered Independent (and hissed at for not wearing an Obama sticker on my sweater).

As I’ve said before, I love the sound of Obama’s gorgeous voice, even it consists mainly of vacuous rhetoric. My friend David Frank, who wore an Obama t-shirt yesterday, sent me Obama’s most recent campaign message and thought I should post it for you, just to be fair:

We can’t go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
We are all a part of
God’s great big family
And the truth, you know love is all we need

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let’s start giving
There’s a choice we’re making
We’re saving our own lives
It’s true we’ll make a better day
Just you and me

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let’s start giving
There’s a choice we’re making
We’re saving our own lives
It’s true we’ll make a better day
Just you and me

 — Barak Obama’s campaign message

 Aw! That is just so sweet. In the meantime, here is Hillary’s platform.  

 Until next time, your friend,

Anita Thompson  

 

 

p.s. I forgot to mention two days ago,  that I just read  George Stranahan’s latest phlog, which I recommend because it’s quite moving, plus it’s a nice to get away from politics. (George was one of the few neighbors who doesn’t hate Hillary. He’s for Obama, but likes all three candidates – George is not a bandwagon kind of guy.)

 

 

 

 

 

 





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February 05, 2008

California…Yes!

The most important states for this race just came in for Hillary: California, Massachusetts, New York(after last week’s Florida).  Obama is a very alluring sparkly figure: Congratultions to him for the other states!   But nonetheless…

Congratulations Hillary!

-AT

 





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February 04, 2008

Why George McGovern Supports Hillary

"Well Anita, she knows more."

– George McGovern. 

Hi. Sorry I haven’t checked in since the Film Fest. I’ve had friends and family in town during the Xgames: Hunter’s editors and execs from ESPN. Had a nice dinner with John Walsh, then spent some time with my sweetheart Paul Oakenfold whom I haven’t seen since we worked together a few years ago with Hunter in L.A. It’s been a very busy few weeks as I prepare to study abroad in Geneva for a semester, finish the manuscript, watch the most amazing Super Bowl since 1972…. Hey, 1972…that reminds me… I promised you I would tell you about what George McGovern thinks about the candidates for this election.

As I wrote before, we had a nice long phone talk after the premier of Alex’s Gibney documentary about Hunter. You are well aware that Hunter spent the rest of his career   looking for a politician that even resembled George McGovern. He and Hunter shared a political view and friendship that lasted to the end. You know from my blog that I’ve supported Hillary for over a year now, but when I didn’t have Hunter to turn to for political advice, I turned to our beloved senator.

For some dumb reason, like laziness, I just assumed that he was on the Obama bandwagon. NO! He fully supports and has endorsed Hillary. George has been in this game for many years and knows a thing or two about Washington politics.  When I asked him why he endorsed her, he said in his melodious voice, “Well Anita, she knows more.” I smiled. Then he went on to say how she knows more about domestic policy and politics. She knows more about International Policy and politics. She is better equipped and the better person to take the white house for the democrats than Obama. Despite the glamour and glitz beaming out of Obama’s speeches and endorsements, he’s not ready yet.  We both share a love for Obama, and both agreed that we hope he would be president in 8 years.

Simple. So, tomorrow, I’m going to caucus for our girl, Senator Hillary Clinton, and hope the rest of her supporters do too. 

Some people have written me arrogant emails claiming they know who Hunter would have supported. Hunter believed recovery is one of the most important characteristics for any human being. Hillary is a come-back kid if there ever was one. She’s been bashed and beaten for 35 years yet remains compassionate, passionate and tough as nails. I doubt Hunter would have been madly in love with Hillary (they had their personal differences), but McGovern gives us a pretty big clue as to who the best candidate is. Hunter isn’t here to write this, but we have his books, interviews and memories to give us a clue as to who he would be supporting today, reluctantly or not.

Here is a brief bit of interview out of the upcoming book of interviews. This is from 1972. A radio interview with an excerpt about McGovern:

Jerry Williams (radio interviewer): Well, this is the way I look at it. He couldn’t have possibly put this together without the one issue – the war – as the center and core…

HST: No… I think one of his main problems, which is also one of his main strengths, is the fact McGovern is a vehicle for a lot of people who have different notions, like me. And he’s barely acceptable to me. I like him, personally. I think he’s a good, very straight politician.  For a politician, he’s one of the most honest people I’ve ever seen.

Until next time, your friend,

Anita Thompson

 

P.s. Recently I was talking to my mom about so much Hillary bashing regarding the amount of money she takes from corportations for her campaign. My mom replied with "Well, I doubt Mr. Obama gets his money from his grandma in Kenya."

She’s right. Check out Sunday’s NYTimes article explaining Obama’s too-close relationship with the power companies. Since he’s been taking their money (particularly Exelon) and staff members to his campaign, gee, his legislation turned out supporting power company polution tactics instead of protecting the people. Sounds like he needs some time to learn to stand up to these companies while still working with them.





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