Alexander Cockburn
writing about Sheldon Adelson's financing of Newt Gingrich:
"Some things don’t change in American politics, and
rich people sitting in Las Vegas with pots of cash is one of them. Joel
McCleary, a friend, remembers fund-raising in Las Vegas when he was
working for the Jimmy Carter campaign in 1976. The crucial Pennsylvania
primary was coming up and the Carter people (their chief fundraiser
was Morris Dees) needed a big wad of cash for the final push against
Henry “Scoop” Jackson of Washington, known as “the senator from
Boeing,” also running for the Democratic nomination and favored by
powerful labor chieftains in Pennsylvania.
Joel was told the go-to guy for untraceable campaign cash was Hank Greenspun, publisher of the Las Vegas Sun.
Greenspun was a notoriously tough egg, former gun-runner for the
Haganah, the man who, in the midst of the Cold War witch hunts, outed
Senator Joe McCarthy in the Sun as a homosexual. Joel was told
to act manly. Greenspun duly received him in his office. “Why the hell
should I get money for Jimmy Carter?” he asked.
“Because Jimmy Carter is going to be president,” Joel answered boldly, “and if you don’t support his campaign he’ll fuck you.”
Greenspun told Joel to come back in two hours. He returned to find
Greenspan sitting at a table surrounded by other toughs. In the middle
of the table was a paper bag. “So the Baptist fuck wants money,”
Greenspun growled, as he pushed the bag over to Joel. “Remember, this
comes from the state of Israel. Don’t you ever forget it"
There is a
thread at JFK Lancer on Breck Wall, who worked in Jack Ruby's club and
met with David Ferrie in Galveston the day after the assassination.
Posting by Russ Tarby (my emphasis in red):
"entertainer Breck Wall died Nov. 15, 2010, in Las Vegas,
after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's disease.
We may never know what he was really doing in Galveston on Nov. 23, 1963...pity...
we DO know that by 1964, he had his partner, Joe Peterson, had earned decent gigs in Vegas with their show "Bottoms Up,"
and later appeared on national television on "Hollywood Palace" variety show.
despite it's low-class nature and decidedly mediocre performers,
"Bottoms Up" continued running in one form or another in Sin City for more than four decades. Curious...
Russ Tarby"
Forty years of gigs for keeping your mouth shut.
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