1. NYC2012, RIP: The New York Olympic bid is dead, long live the New York Olympic bid. I'm glad it didn't happen, and I'll be happy not to hear about it anymore. And while it would've been embarrassing to lose to the French, I'm quite happy with London.
2. Admiral James Stockdale, one of the great heroes of the Vietnam War- a man who as a POW once mangled his own face as to not appear unscathed in an enemy propaganda video- died Tuesday at the age of 81. And THAT should be the first line of his obituary, not his disastrous stint as Ross Perot's running mate in 1992. Still, his existential question "who am I? Why am I here?" ranks as the second-greatest moment in the history of vice presidential debates.
3. Former FBI director L. Patrick Gray, a man long suspected but ultimately vindicated of being Deep Throat, died Wednesday, the exact date of the release of Bob Woodward's book about his former informant. I happen to be re-reading "All the President's Men" right now, and just last night got to the part about Gray accidentally blowing the investigation wide open during his own confirmation hearings. Gray was 88.
Posted by Stephen Silver at July 6, 2005 10:32 PMBLOGGER! these are TUPID choices..you forgot LUTHER VANDROSS!!!
Posted by: A at July 7, 2005 01:09 AMOK, I'll bite ... was "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." number 1?
Posted by: Joe Grossberg at July 8, 2005 12:13 PMOK, I'll bite ... was "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." number 1?
Posted by: Joe Grossberg at July 8, 2005 12:14 PM"A," I usually ignore your remarks, but Admiral Stockdale was a Medal of Honor recipient and pretty much the first guy in and the last out of Vietnam. He may have made a great butt of SNL jokes, but good grief, for once could you have some fucking courtesy?
Posted by: Dave J at July 8, 2005 06:02 PMDave J, Have you ever heard of free speech?...and you want me to have courtesy for the NYC2012 BID??? Get over yourself.
Posted by: A at July 9, 2005 12:48 AMOf course I've heard of free speech. That's a completely ridiculous non sequitur. Was I calling for the government to censor you? Free speech means you can say what you want and I have just as much right to call what you said asinine and rude.
Posted by: Dave J at July 9, 2005 08:39 PM