Was J. Edgar Hoover a Transvestite

In “Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover,” author Anthony Summers quotes Susan L. Rosenstiel as saying she once observed Hoover in a black dress and high heels at the Plaza Hotel. The story isn’t very credible. Rosenstiel’s husband was involved in organized crime, and Susan was once convicted of perjury in an unrelated case. Additionally, why would the head of the FBI put himself in a position to be easily blackmailed?

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The Advantages of Heaven and Hell

This entry is part 14 of 36 in the series Deep Thoughts

We started our series on Smart Thoughts with Mark Twain, so it shouldn’t surprise you that I love many of his writings, and have lots of his sayings on this site. On of my favorite writings by Twain is his “The War Prayer.” It’s a short essay, and if you have never read it, you should.

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Meet Tom Wells-Candidate for Congress and President

Wells is the president and, if I?m not mistaken, founder of the Family Values Party. He is currently attempting to qualify to run for both houses of Congress from Florida for the 2006 election. Where he gets real interesting is when you check out his homepage. His site shows all the hallmarks of an extreme right wing page that has little or no budget. But if you click on the link entitled ?To find out who can and who cannot give money to the Family Values Party or to Tom Wells? Campaign,? what you get is what appears to be a basic html web form with check boxes. It isn?t actually, since the closing sentence is: ?If you qualify and want to contribute to The Family Values Party, or to the Tom Wells campaigns you must download this web sight, fill it out, sign and date the completed form. Remember all applicable Federal and State laws concerning federal campaign laws apply.? So what looks like an interactive web form is actually a ?sight? that you have to print out and mail if you want to use.

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Which Kids Grow Up to Be Liberals and Which Become Conservative

University of California at Berkley professor Jack Block and his late wife, Jeanne Bock, tracked almost one hundred children for two decades. From nursery school on, the kids were studied and interviewed–without any sense of political bias. The whiniest, least confident kids were those who grew up to be uncomfortable with ambiguity, who toed a rigid line on social issues, and who were, for the most part, right wingers. The kids who were loose, interesting, and willing to challenge authority ended up being liberals.

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