The Anderson Valley Advertiser in northern California picked up my Miami Herald piece on where to find the JFK smoking guns. It brought back happy memories of reading Alex Cockburn.
Cockburn, a British expat, wrote Beat the Devil, a terrific column for The Nation, in the 1980s. A good communist, Cockburn escaped the clutches of New York high society (which he rather enjoyed) for the more laidback vibe of Medecino County. When it came to the Cold War he could be lamentably Stalinist like his fellow class traitor Kim Philby. He was also mercilessly accurate about respectable war criminals like Jeanne Kirkpatrick and convicted felons like Elliot Abrams. As a rogue, Cockburn might not thrive on social media, a platform more congenial to divas (eg Glenn Greenwald). But he would be viciously funny about the absurdities of the secrecy state. Which is why I’m glad to be reprinted up that way.