Interview with Nazi could pass as comedy

10/9/2005

Six molasses-coated Lemmon Drops to nibble on while waiting for the TomKat baby buzz to subside:

  • I was listening to Glenn Beck's nationally syndicated radio program the other day and heard his interview with Bill White, a spokesman for the National Socialist Movement. The neo-Nazi organization is planning to march through a North Toledo neighborhood Saturday in response to crimes and threats allegedly committed against whites by two local black gangs.

    The interview could have passed as a comedy routine because Mr. White made some truly preposterous statements. Mr. Beck asked "straight" questions, knowing Mr. White would step into the trap. Mr. White's "straight" answers -- such as the Holocaust is a "Jewish lie" -- made the exchange seem like a self-parody of a world-class bigot.

    "Way to go, Glenn," I said to myself. "You did a masterful job of making this guy sound like a fool."

    Later that morning, before Mr. Beck's three-hour show had even ended, Mr. White, on a Web site that he maintains, posted his version of what had taken place. It was written as a news story, accompanied by the provocative headline "White Destroys Glenn Beck on Air."

    The first paragraph:

    "Former drug addict and current libertarian-leaning Mormon radio talk show host Glenn Beck was stunned into silence and forced to end an interview with National Socialist Movement spokesman Bill White after White stated, on air, his belief that Adolf Hitler was the living manifestation of God on Earth and that the Third Reich was a fulfillment of prophecy."

    Yes, Mr. White thought he scored a slam-dunk.

    Just goes to show that there are two sides to every story.

  • Not that the National Socialist Movement cares, but Toledo taxpayers will be stuck with a hefty bill for Saturday's march. Last year, it staged a rally in Lincoln, Neb., and various law-enforcement agencies combined to spend about $45,000 providing security, according to the Lincoln Journal Star.

    The University of Nebraska's student newspaper described the rally this way:

    "About 25 neo-Nazis, some dressed in Ku Klux Klan garb, lined the top of the Capitol steps, waving Nazi and Confederate flags. They shouted their group's rhetoric through a speaker system at a crowd of hundreds, almost all of whom showed up to oppose them."

    According to news reports, about 430 people were at the two-hour rally. That works out to more than $100 per person in law-enforcement expenses.

  • I've read several heartwarming stories about northwest Ohioans who opened their arms and provided relief for victims of Hurricane Katrina. But my ticker's temperature cooled considerably Wednesday after reading a story from Henry County. In a classic "not in my backyard" move, the Ridgeville Township Board of Zoning Appeals rejected a request to convert the second floor of a church into temporary housing for hurricane evacuees.

  • Memo to Toledo Mayor Jack Ford: Like it or not, the Clean Campaign Committee rebuked your re-election campaign over recent statements by your supporters about challenger Carty Finkbeiner. Won't you do the right thing and publicly retract those statements?

  • The price of admission isn't your problem, Cedar Point. It's the cost of parking and concessions.

  • Welcome to Toledo, Allegiant Air.