cannabisnews.com: Writer of Recalled Bush Biography Apparent Suicide





Writer of Recalled Bush Biography Apparent Suicide
Posted by FoM on July 20, 2001 at 14:02:02 PT
By Steve Barnes
Source: Reuters
James Howard Hatfield, whose biography of President Bush won national attention before its publisher withdrew it over the author's criminal past, died in an Arkansas motel in what police on Friday called a suicide. Police said Hatfield, 43, died of an apparent drug overdose. His body was found by a maid on Wednesday, the day after he checked into the motel in Springdale, near his native Bentonville and about 200 miles northwest of Little Rock.
Detective Sgt. Mike Shriver of the Springdale Police Department said there was no question it was a suicide.``He left a note and everything,'' Shriver said of Hatfield. ''It's really cut and dried.''Hatfield's unauthorized biography, ``Fortunate Son: George W. Bush and the Making of an American President,'' made headlines in October 1999 when Bush was campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination, with allegations based on unnamed sources that Bush had a record of cocaine use in the 1970s.Bush declined to comment directly on the cocaine allegations, saying only that he had made mistakes in his youth but had not used illegal drugs since at least 1974. No witnesses came forward to support the allegations.Bush's father, former President George Bush, denied the book's allegations that his son was arrested for cocaine possession in 1972 and that a Texas state judge wiped the arrest off the younger Bush's record in return for political favors.Hatfield's credibility was quickly called into question and publisher St. Martin's Press recalled all unsold copies after revelations that Hatfield had pleaded guilty in 1988 and served prison time in Arkansas for attempted murder.Hatfield denied he was the ex-convict with the same name, but Arkansas state parole officials said he was the same man.Shriver said Hatfield had checked into the motel the night before his body was found. He said a suicide note near the body referred to financial problems, and that friends had told investigators Hatfield was becoming increasingly depressed in his last days.Hatfield lived in nearby Bentonville, where he was born.Shriver said prescription drug bottles were found at the scene, but declined to identify the pharmaceuticals pending a toxicology report from the Arkansas medical examiner that could require three months to complete.Source: ReutersAuthor: Steve BarnesPublished: Friday, July 20, 2001Copyright: 2001 ReutersRelated Articles:Second Wind for Bush-Basher http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9963.shtmlAuthor Alleging Bush Drug Arrest Reportedly Felon http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread3359.shtml
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Comment #26 posted by J. Torres on August 26, 2001 at 14:26:44 PT:
Apparent Suicide?
I think kaptinemo is right on with his comment. The Bush name has been wrapped up in framing our society since Prescott Bush (George Sr's father) introduced some German contacts of his to the US to aid them in Eugenics. These same contacts of course ended up working for Hitler years later in his quest for a superior race.
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on July 21, 2001 at 17:51:35 PT
lookinside
I don't think the posting of other news would be much more work then I'm doing but getting it developed, if that's what it's called, would be hard. MapInc. is expanding and they are working very hard on their projects. Since I don't pay anything for what I do I am careful not to ask for much. One thing for sure is when I yell help Matt he comes and helps me as fast as he can. We are all growing and evolving and heaven knows where all this could lead in time. I never expected Cannabis News to grow like it has. It amazes me and I am very appreciative too.
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Comment #24 posted by lookinside on July 21, 2001 at 17:39:56 PT:
FoM..
i can understand the amount of work involved...i wasn'tsuggesting YOU do it...i'm amazed at the number of hours through the day that youspend posting new articles as well as reading everything WEwrite...i've seen your posts from very early to very late(a20 hour work day?)i was thinking in terms of someone else doing the otherpage...referring the appropriate articles back andforth...hopefully making your job easier instead of tougher...as for webmasters, they are all masochists...they love a 30hour workday...(just teasing, and a big thank you to Matt...)
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on July 21, 2001 at 17:21:13 PT
dddd and Everyone
I went ahead and posted this article from the Miami Herald. It seems to be the most current. I haven't heard anyone on the news mention his arrest but maybe they did because I haven't been watching the news all day like I have been recently with this bizarre case. I thought I shouldn't post it to the front page because it is really out of line with what is normally posted and if anyone new saw this article on the front page they might wonder what does this have to do with drug policy reform. It really has nothing to do with drug policy reform but this is important and I wanted you to have a say if you want too and this way you can. It is archives so it will appear on search tools etc. just not the front page.Condit's Brother Nabbed in S. Floridahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10373.shtml
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Comment #22 posted by dddd on July 21, 2001 at 16:47:41 PT
I think it would be fine
FoMI love going off the main topic into related areas,,especially political.I've been following the Levy thing too.after all....political /law /law enforcement issues are definately relevant to our cause...dddd
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Comment #21 posted by Lehder on July 21, 2001 at 12:45:16 PT
Bush for Pope
here's a long list of anti-Bush sites. somebody really has a lot of extra time:http://news.messages.yahoo.com/bbs?action=m&board=37138446&tid=nmpeopleauthordc&sid=37138446&mid=28I kinda like this one:http://www.BushForPope.com/
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on July 21, 2001 at 11:59:22 PT
lookinside
That's a very good idea lookinside. I just don't know how to do it. Making different features sometimes is harder then we think. I know from just the little pages I make. What seems simple can turn into a huge task. When I first started making web pages I would work on them almost all night. I think the latest I stayed up was 5 am and then forced myself to stop. Now I know it will wait until tomorrow. The archives work nicely for topics that are a little off the beaten path for Cannabis News. I don't want to bother Matt with any new features at the moment. I know the poor man is overworked. I don't know how he does it but he sure does a great job.
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Comment #19 posted by lookinside on July 21, 2001 at 11:46:43 PT:
FoM..
personally, i'd like to see a seperate "front page" witharticles that don't quite fit in cannabisnews, with a biglink on your front page...anything to do with what might beperceived as indirectly related to this mainpage...constitutional issues, government improprieties,etc..what do you think?
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on July 21, 2001 at 11:31:51 PT
New Mexican 
Thanks New Mexican,I find this whole Chandra Levy case very sad and I am disppointed in our elected officials now more then ever. I'll wait a little while because his arrest doesn't have anything at this time to do with the case but I know that we must all have some strong feelings and might want to have a place to say what you feel. It would be more for a venting then anything else. I can wait and see if more details surface. I'll try to find the most detailed article is what I'm trying to say. I think making exceptions sometimes are a good thing but I don't want anyone to think that I am posting news that isn't important to drug policy reform. It really isn't but it still is interesting. I could post it to the archives and then activate it by posting. That way it wouldn't appear on the front page but could be talked about. Let me know.
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Comment #17 posted by lookinside on July 21, 2001 at 11:31:14 PT:
FoM..
yes...post it...modesto is only about 40 miles fromhere...condit's dad lives on the same block as one of mycoworkers..the media are driving them nuts...
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Comment #16 posted by Lehder on July 21, 2001 at 11:30:20 PT
Richard Brautigan 1967 
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving GraceI like to think (andthe sooner the better!)of a cybernetic meadowwhere mammals and computerslive together in mutuallyprogramming harmonylike pure watertouching clear sky. I like to think(right now, please!)of a cybernetic forestfilled with pines and electronicswhere deer stroll peacefullypast computersas if they were flowerswith spinning blossoms. I like to think(it has to be!)of a cybernetic ecologywhere we are free of our laborsand joined back to nature,returned to our mammalbrothers and sisters,and all watched overby machines of loving grace.   
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Comment #15 posted by New Mexican on July 21, 2001 at 11:10:43 PT
Post It!
Chandras dissapearance is a Republican 'dirty trick' and if there is anyone who doesn't think so, your head is in the sand and may as well stay there.
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on July 21, 2001 at 10:18:36 PT
I Have a Question
Hi Everyone, The news is really slow and I wanted to ask a question about an article that I could post. I try really hard to stay within a certain area of news and yet I am not sure if anyone of you have any desire to talk about the Chandra Levy case. I have been following it very closely. They arrested Condit's brother. If you want me to post this article I will if not just tell me and I won't.Thanks for any advice.
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Comment #13 posted by kaptinemo on July 21, 2001 at 08:28:37 PT:
For a short review of the subject
I recommend the following:THE OCTOPUS http://www.scruz.net/~paul/Octopus/Inslaw/bixman.htmlAs I said in another post, after reading this and (for the more inquisitive of you) following the references to other incidents, personages, etc. you have a hard time sleeping, don't blame me.But it also explains why, when every person capable of rational thought weighs the arguments of pro-and-con and comes out on the side of cannabis re-legalization, and lobby for that, those in power remain steadfast in their obstinance. They simply have way too much to lose. 
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Comment #12 posted by kaptinemo on July 21, 2001 at 08:14:25 PT:
This smells too much like another "suicide"
That the Bush family had been involved in crooked deals in international venues is a matter of historical fact:http://www.tarpley.net/bushb.htm#3 --Precipitating financial crises, hobnobbing with Hitler, building up Saddam Hussein and giving him the green light to invade Kuwait, et al were all in a day's work for this 'family'. ('Family' in the mafiosi sense, I mean).In 1991, a journalist named Danny Casolaro was found dead in Martinsburg, WV hotel of an 'apparent' suicide. Casolaro had been working on a book that he intended to call The Octopus which would have documented the connections of prominent public figures, secret societies, government agencies engaging in illegal activities, mobsters, and events in recent hostory which would have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that such connections are not only frequent, but part of a de facto conspiracy whose goal was the esatblishment of a Corporate State even more globe-spanning than that which presently existed.Given that much of the planned book's time reference relied heavily upon the Reagan/Bush years, it can be surmised that a large portion of this book would have dealt with Bush Prime's political and corporate machinations...Such as the October Surprise:http://cjr.org/year/91/6/octopus.aspAnd so Casolaro, a man said to become faint at the sight of blood, deeply slashes his own wrists in a hotel bathtub. His body is embalmed without the families' permission, making a more detailed autopsy difficult. How very convenient...Yep, the names may change, but the game continues.
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Comment #11 posted by New Mexican on July 20, 2001 at 23:08:11 PT
Read this if you have ANY doubts!
Bush family again, Floridagate exposer Gregory Palast and how far facsists' will go, and how many lives sacraficed for the dynasty: by Joe Conason of Salon.comhttp://www.salon.com/news/col/cona/2001/07/20/gold/index.html
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Comment #10 posted by New Mexican on July 20, 2001 at 22:56:55 PT
And NarcoNews is on trial!
This is news as reader says. Lets get Johhnie Cochran on this murder case folks, its' obvious to everyone hear who has read excerpts from his book. Coincidentally his updated edition has or is just about to be released. Mark July 20, 2001 on your calender folks, this day will be remembered for the death of Carlo of Genoa, and James of Arkansas, sacrificed at the hands of those who bring you the war 'on drugs', globalization, nuclear power, genocide, poverty and bio-engineered sickness/foods. I agree with everyones comments and would love to hear an attempted defense of shrubs global corporate crime network from Frances or whats his name.
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Comment #9 posted by Jose Melendez on July 20, 2001 at 19:12:42 PT:
three months?
"Of course, if you were busting a rave, you'd be all over the newspapers with bogus conjecture of what drugs were involved in a matter of hours. "I agree with you Dan Hillman. Three months? Malarkey, I say! Like I said, Mr. President: tell the truth now before America remembers the name Hatfield easier than the name Lewinsky.Blood stains are tougher to cleanse from your image than semen stains... just ask Bill.
Jose Melendez
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Comment #8 posted by Dan Hillman on July 20, 2001 at 18:51:12 PT
Cut and dried.
> ``He left a note and everything,'' Shriver said of Hatfield. ''It's really cut and dried.''This is a textbook case of cloak-and-dagger black ops followed by a supposedly airtight cover-up.  It's really cut and dried.Shriver said prescription drug bottles were found at the scene, but declined to identify the pharmaceuticals pending a toxicology report from the Arkansas medical examiner that could require three months to complete.Yah, sure, mr. policeman, whatever you say. Funny how processes slow wayyyyyy down when the fascists in control need time to polish the story. Of course, if you were busting a rave, you'd be all over the newspapers with bogus conjecture of what drugs were involved in a matter of hours. 
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on July 20, 2001 at 18:36:09 PT
Here's the book!
FORTUNATE SON:George W. Bush and the Making of an American President, second editionhttp://www.softskull.com/catalog/hatfield/fortunate_son.html
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Comment #6 posted by Jose Melendez on July 20, 2001 at 18:31:03 PT:
Dear Mr. President
Sir,Conspiracy theories aside, I find it very doubtful that you and your advisors would be foolish enough to kill someone like this, with today's technology. It would be way too easy to get caught, which would make him a martyr. But, on the off chance you hear or see my words, just tell the truth about your past and do your job. Respect is earned. PEACE!
Jose Melendez - owner/founder of narcosoft.com - Buy Sell Quit Drugs Online!
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Comment #5 posted by in the dark on July 20, 2001 at 15:59:45 PT
G-8 conference
Just goes to show, Our Government will stop at nothing. Same thing goes with this guy.He knew toooo much about the wrong people. Any one know where to pick up a copy of his book?I know now how the Revolutionary War Americans felt. History will repeat itself. So if you do not own a firearm, you had best be getting one, mucho pronto. 
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Comment #4 posted by Toker00 on July 20, 2001 at 15:59:30 PT
Just another victim of...
THE BUSH CRIME FAMILY!!! Whether it was intentional, or result of oppression, Bush is Guilty!! Peace. Realize, then Legalize.
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Comment #3 posted by greenfox on July 20, 2001 at 15:21:07 PT
Bodies...
Interesting, isn't it folks? The only person who (successfully) threw a slider at bush is now dead. What's next, folks? The thought police? This is sad and downright scarry. Big brother is watching you...(maybe their search dictionaries included the words "bush" and "dead") and perhaps they are going to misinterpret my words, just above? Perhaps they are comming after me now? This is scarry stuff, guys....-gf
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Comment #2 posted by reader on July 20, 2001 at 14:45:02 PT
WHOA...
...this is NEWS I had a feeling that Gestapo Bush was going to send his Stormtoopers out against Anyone who rakes up "negative" imagery of the "man."This gives me a chilling effect that's VERY unsettling.I'm sooo scared for anyone fighting this UNFAIR War on the War on Drugs.I bid MUCH PRAISE to people such as James Howard Hatfield!!And people like him. You Can Kill a Revolutionary   but.....YOU Can't KILL THE REVOLUTION!!!   -R.A.T.M & M.J.K. ((for Judgment Night- CUT from Post-Production, didn't make the Sndtrk.))((Still a kick ass song)) 
http://www.ratm.net
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Comment #1 posted by anonomo on July 20, 2001 at 14:33:55 PT
How Clintonesque!
"Detective Sgt. Mike Shriver of the Springdale Police Department said there was no question it was a suicide. ``He left a note and everything,'' Shriver said of Hatfield. ''It's really cut and dried.''"I guess Dubya is following in his predecessor's footsteps! Kill the messenger!
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