Capitol Ideas/Bonn Mots
Bethell, Tom
CAPITOL IDEAS ;mss----.., .-i,__ 7„ , -=42=-4:6 ip,r,i;;Il,..,... L.—. -,-',(,1$ - -1_ -- - rhi/rt,;:-,--------------- BONN MOTS by Tom Bethell R ounding out a peripatetic year, I...
...and the country with the third biggest population decline was Austria, he said...
...The Club doesn't offer best sellers that come and go...
...Is Germany in the process of disappearing...
...The Classics Club is quite unlike any other book club...
...If you're not careful it will meretiously about our business on yet Beichman, a licensed pilot, who said he The danger as I see it is not so much ly confirm what's already in your mind...
...After a week's examination, I will either keep my books and pay $1 (plus shipping) or return them...
...spending as a percentage of GNP American Spectator's Washington travel often tends to mislead because Included was an interesting chapter on (about 48 percent) is higher than in the correspondent...
...These books include Utopia by Thomas More...
...the traveler understandably places great one Sheryl Hirshon from Boston, who U.S...
...of American true believers toiling for Moreover, West German government at the Hoover Institution and The George Gilder mentioned once that the revolutionary cause in Nicaragua...
...To force you to buy a classic would be barbaric...
...And for every one of those 12 months she gets 600 Deutchmarks, tax free...
...I set forth from the hotel at 8 o'clock jamin Franklin's Autobiography...
...As a great Beethoven fan this was a rare treat for me...
...and the Wall of "insulation" between the two grows thicker and less permeable every year...
...Sale Prices: Each Silver Dollar in this release is priced at $80.00 plus $2.50 for postage, handling, and insurance...
...and Canada only...
...is a visiting media fellow "International Sex Shop...
...In response, the government has adopted a pro-natalist policy...
...In case you have a suspicion that Arnold and I fell down on the job, may I record that the mayor's name is Eberhard Diepgen, and, my notes confirm, he was born in Berlin on November 13, 1941...
...Indeed, as far as I could see, it merely our potentially flagging enthusiasm for imitation leather topcoats (or do I Recently I was reading Ron Riden- lacked the bombed-out city centers and new adventures in remote parts of the simply mean plastic...
...Total: $82.50) Special Discounts: The following discount prices apply for customers placing quantity orders: Three Silver Dollars for $225.00 plus $5.00 (Total: $230.00) Five Silver Dollars for $345.00 plus $5.00 (Total: $350.00) Ten Silver Dollars for $670.00 plus $5.00 (Total: $675.00) Order Instructions: All mail orders must be accompanied by a check or money order for the full amount...
...Alarmed by this seeming indifference to the Quadripartite Agreement and the future of East-West relations, I asked Hizzoner the question myself...
...PLEASE PRINT) CO2D7X ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP 87-ARA THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR FEBRUARY 1987 15...
...Video Erotik—non-stop programm...
...Interested...
...All three books (regularly $34.35) can be yours for only $1.00 as your introduction to the Classics Club...
...The selections themselves are remarkable values...
...Nearby were numerous (WWII) bulletriddled buildings...
...He had the radio on softly and he asked me, as though to start a conversation, what a "honky tonk woman" was...
...You never have to buy any of these books...
...It is necessary for Berlin to solve the problems in the middle of Europe...
...tions...
...Likewise, he said, the population of East Germany has declined from 17 to 16 million...
...This sounded all too familiar to us...
...As Owen Harries of the National Interest said after we crossed Checkpoint Charlie, it would be hard to create anything so ugly "unless you were trying...
...In Berlin, Beichman kept askingabout the city's 750th anniversary celebrations, to be held in 1987—in particular whether the mayor of West Berlin would be meeting the mayor of East Berlin (thereby "recognizing" Fast Berlin as a legal entity...
...And so there is a and not me...
...The figures do suggest a seriously declining national vitality...
...Arnold Beichman, you can I was unable to perform my normal risk, as Gilder said, that "travel nar- What can she have seen in Cuba that be sure, was among the select company...
...There was more in this vein...
...Note: Members accepted in U.S.A...
...They went to two other locations in Bonn, both destroyed by World War II bombing...
...Just fill in the coupon below, now, while you're thinking about it and while the invitation still stands...
...We'll bill you later...
...These legendary Silver Dollars (bearing the denomination 8 Reales) were struck at the famed Mexico City Mint, the first mint in the Americas, and then shipped to the 13 colonies...
...Cologne Cathedral survived World War II pretty much intact, but it was dreadfully chilly inside and I had the uneasy suspicion that it was naturally deteriorating more rapidly than it was being maintained...
...MR./MRS./MS...
...In an American city, in so central a location, it would have been packed...
...urban life...
...I chose Burger King, not McDonald's, and sat with a few disconsolate (not rebellious) youths...
...But the catch is that the corporations have to pay this subsidy, not the government...
...I know how he felt, too...
...A recently rediscovered private cache of 4,375 historic Silver Dollars from our nation's colonial period has now been authenticated and certified...
...The Washington Mint, one of America's foremost private mints, fully guarantees satisfaction with a 30-day, money-back policy...
...We spent most of the time having lunch in a new, Swedish-built hotel...
...Oddly, one or two brightly-lit beauty parlors were already open for business...
...We are no doubt already close to the maximum tolerable level...
...Have you actually "confirmed" this...
...They immediately wanted to know what was going on in Washington, and what were the chances that it would turn into another Watergate...
...They are Plato, Aristotle, and Marcus Aurelius...three of the wisest, wittiest, most stimulating minds that ever lived...
...On the Kurfurstendamm in West Berlin—more aimless youth...
...The predictable result, said another journalist, is that businesses now tend to avoid marriageable women at hiring time...
...NW Washington, DC 20009 © 1985 The Washington Mint 14 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR FEBRUARY 1987 THE CLASSICS CLUB ROSLYN, Please enroll me as a member and send me at once Plato, Aristotle and Marcus Aurelius...
...But when we actually met the mayor of West Berlin, in a building called the Rathaus, or town hall, Beichman seemed to have dropped the topic from his agenda...
...CAPITOL IDEAS ;mss----.., .-i,__ 7„ , -=42=-4:6 ip,r,i;;Il...
...Germans with slightly nomic dynamism in South Korea, and be no different from the United States...
...of books about it...
...clearing the air, the rivers, environmental things...
...Someone said it was like New York...
...It was pitch dark...
...I tried the doors of two large and centrally located Catholic churches...
...GerDo you have room in your home for three wise men...
...Talk about regulation...
...but not, unfortunately, with the Greens, the eco-elitists, whose fundamental disagreement, I submit, is with the twentieth century itself...
...But it didn't have the energy...
...Resulting in...
...I took the train to Cologne one evening but was surprised to find every shop shut by 6 p.m...
...The specifications for this special public sale are as follows: Historical Data: England ignored the colonists' requests for Silver coins, so the enterprising Americans turned to the Spanish Piece of Eight as a primary means of exchange...
...Silver Dollar that it inspired...
...The only problem is that I don't recall his reply, other than that it was on the vague side...
...They're carefully printed on expensive paper stock...
...Coin Description: The obverse of each coin bears the profile of Charles III, King of Spain, and the year in which it was minted...
...A couple of workers were crouched on the ground smoothing out fresh concrete in the silent dawn...
...For each preserved, but were old Ludwig to return today he would hardly remember the place because he was only four years old when his family moved...
...In Bonn we met with a group of German journalists...
...Well let me tell you, course...
...And that is the problem with airport as seasoned travelers, conscien- thick fog, much to the amazement of I spent two weeks there . . .") travel...
...but then reminded him, in hushed tones, that this was the city of Beethoven's birth, and that it was hardly appropriate to be discussing such profane matters...
...We went to meetings with the CDU, the FDP, the SPD, and others...
...They're hardbound in matched wheat-colored buckram, worked and stamped in the colors of crimson, black and gold...
...Offer slightly different in Canada...
...It has been lovingly America's First Silver Dollar In Accordance with Its Established Policy, The Washington Mint Hereby Announces a Limited Release of 4,375 Silver Dollars from the period 1772-1821...
...man dragging anyone away), poverty in West Germany fell into this category the political discussion in Germany on Frankfurt was gray inside the ter- ameliorated by hope in China, eco- as far as I was concerned...
...Most of the pols we spoke to seemed only dimly aware of the recent U.S...
...How about a tax-cut, guys...
...the works of Shakespeare...
...It was a cold evening...
...Next to the halfdestroyed, fully preserved Kaiser Wilhelm Church stand two modern monuments of exceptional ugliness...
...He could teach Thus I saw repression in Moscow (al- find and force oneself to report them...
...Lots of things, of He and I took off from San Francisco because we landed (at Frankfurt) in been to Angola...
...Orders will be filled on " a strict FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED basis according to the POSTMARK date of mail orders and the TIME AND DATE of telephone orders...
...have a way to go yet in catching up with the West European level of government spending are mistaken...
...Instead, it offers its members a chance to stay young through great books that will never grow old...
...Beethoven left for Vienna when he was 21, never to return...
...Remarkably, these Silver Dollars continued to be a legal coin in the United States until 1857...
...Thomas Kielinger, the editor of Rheinischer Merkur, mentioned the declining population of West Germany, down now to 58 million from 60 million in the 1960s...
...Certification of Authenticity will accompany each Silver Dollar in this release...
...Arnold had I. (A week later I sat next to a Pan Am that what you see is very much deterhis usual window seat...
...As I looked from my hotel window out at Bonn, with its modern government buildings and its endless rivulets of automobiles, I wondered what Beethoven would recognize from the same vantage point...
...modern instruments...
...1 out for things one doesn't expect to from the stewardess...
...As a member, take only those books you really want to own...
...Ben-many in the twentieth century has been the center-of-origin of so much of this modernist nihilism—thought to be creative so long as it is flaunted...
...pre-landing aerial reconnaissance rows the mind...
...Next to the cathedral there was a well-lit shopping mall, Hohe Strasse, but with hardly anyone in sight...
...L.—.-,-',(,1$ - -1_ -- - rhi/rt,;:-,--------------BONN MOTS by Tom Bethell R ounding out a peripatetic year, I globe...
...The Germans are going to have to do better than this if they are to reverse their birth-dearth...
...Here, then, was a challenge to too-long hair were standing about in so on...
...From this I conclude that, as in THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR FEBRUARY 1987 13 Japan, West Germany benefits from an ethnic or national cohesion which makes it possible for people to live at the expense of one another to the extent that they do, without creating serious economic disruption...
...Restrictions: This special release of America's First Silver Dollar is restricted to private citizens only -- No dealer orders will be accepted...
...Check and money order customers should send their orders directly to: The Washington Mint Dept...
...The ushers sent us all packing at 7 p.m...
...Back in Bonn I took a taxi to the hotel...
...He spoke as follows: "The most important idea of Berlin is to be a city of dialogue—a dialogue between Fast and West...
...For every child born the mother gets an entire year off with a guarantee she gets her job back," one journalist told us...
...The reverse bears the crown and shield of the Spanish Empire, the 8 Reales denomination, and the Mexico City mintmark...
...And through direct-to-the-public distribution, NY 11576 volume I choose, I pay only $11.45 (plus shipping...
...A limit of ten coins per order will be strictly enforced, and all orders are subject to acceptance by The Washington Mint...
...It seemed to the eve of the upcoming national elec- minal and out...
...We're betting that you'll be so taken by them that you'll want to stay in the Club and meet some of their friends, including the greatest story tellers, philosophers, poets, and historians the world has ever known...
...As a new member, I will get a complete list of titles from which to select the books I want...
...Someone should write a book about it...
...553, 1718 Connecticut Ave...
...and other fresh, spontaneous, even outspoken works that stretch your mind and sweep away the mental cobwebs that hold back most men...
...We went to Bonn and Berlin...
...or, T suppose one should be on the look-deftly extracted an extra bottle of wine such landings were child's play with if you like, by what you expect to see...
...In Bonn we mostly attended meetings—rather more of them than I can precisely recall...
...Alas, I sensed that he would rather be in New Orleans...
...Credit card customers are advised to place their orders by calling: Toll Free 1-800-228-2323 (24 Hours a Day) No lottery mechanisms will be utilized for this sale...
...Let's see if we can't at least store by what he sees (with his very own "became emotionally disgusted with set off again on my travels in De- simplify the political discussion: the eyes), without realizing that what he everything in the United States . . . I cember, this time to West Germany, CDU is connected to the . . . CSU, sees may not be at all representative...
...The high precious metal content of these Silver coins made them an immediate favorite with the Americans, and they remained extremely popular even after our nation began to mint its own currency...
...I could easily understand the discontent of the Greens, without feeling any sympathy for their proposed remedies, which seem to entail surrender to the Russians...
...A small group of won't bore you with the details, plenti- home, who may not have visited the Cuba and was impressed...
...I had a doppel whopper but even that didn't cheer me up...
...Don't send any money now...
...I is better informed than the stay-at- nating comment: "I also saw some of Kohl's CDU party...
...But both were firmly locked...
...Berlin was interesting—the juxtaposition of freedom and slavery every bit as dramatic as expected...
...Nor had that you give weight to the atypical as a trace of world-weariness...
...W e went to Beethoven's birthplace in the center of Bonn...
...Republic...
...tax rate reductions, and it is sad to report that tax-cutting has not been an issue in the German election campaign...
...The letter of invitation promised an me to fly a Boeing 747 "in half an though I never actually saw a police- The high level of economic prosperity opportunity "to personally experience hour," he said...
...We were unable to discover how much the West German government spends ransoming out approximately 20,000 Fast Germans each year, but we were told it is "in the billions...
...we are able to offer to our members these deluxe editions for only $11.45 each, plus shipping...
...So you see that successful policy for Berlin is only possible in more dialogue and more treaties with the East...
...Berlin itself is filled with museums documenting the decline of Western civilization: From Beethoven to Stockhausen...
...After 9 a.m...
...We'll send you the first three selections, Plato, Aristotle and Marcus Aurelius — all three for only $1.00 plus shipping...
...I told him something of the New Orleans origins of the honky tonk, and of the kind of women who frequented such establishments...
...Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat...
...Mail coupon to The Classics Club, Roslyn, New York 11576...
...The Rhine, the surrounding hills, and not much else I fear...
...They still live...in the Five Great Dialogues of Plato, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, and Aristotle's On Man in the Universe...
...In the lower our's Yankee Sandinistas (Curbstone conspicuous welfare degradation that concourse shopping area there was an Press), with very sympathetic portraits so mars U.S...
...Thus a pro-natalist policy threatens to turn into a full-employment program for lawyers...
...I was surprised by swinging construction cranes...
...Metal Content: Each one of these Silver Dollars contains 27.67 grams (427 grains) of .900 Fine Silver...
...Each coin was minted between 1772-1821, and each measures 39.5mm in diameter (slightly larger than the U.S...
...Kohl is sup- country in question but has read a shelf that the problem was the United States fact-finding tour of the Federal posed to win...
...We know what charmers these three wise men are...
...I may return any book, for full credit within 21 days and may cancel my membership at any time...
...another tour of inspection, with hardly had never seen anything like it...
...I enclose no money now...
...one Saturday morning...
...I conclude also that those who argue that we in the U.S...
...We told them we wanted"to know the same thing...
...We went into East Berlin for a few hours...
...Walden by Thoreau...
...And, at any time, you may cancel your membership, without penalty or hurt feelings...
...knew the United States was killing peocourtesy of the Konrad Adenauer which is connected to the . . . FDP, Thus he is liable not merely to be mis- ple all over the world . . ." She visited Foundation, which is government which is not connected to the . . . SPD, led, but to be utterly convinced that he Mexico, and adds the following fascifunded and affiliated with Helmut which is opposed to the . . . SDI...
...But it is an interesting place for that reason...
...I confirmed journalists was invited for a six-day fully available elsewhere...
...At luncheon he pilot, as it happened, and he said that mined by your general worldview...
...More pressure to pass anti-discrimination laws...
...The driver was a very polite, earnest youth...
Vol. 20 • February 1987 • No. 2
