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First I read this…


“These broads are millionaires…reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by griefparrazies. I have never seen people enjoying their husbands death so much.”

-Ann Coulter talking about the women who lost their husbands on 9/11.
Her books are national best-sellers.

Then I heard this…


“He’s moving all around and shaking and it’s purely an act…This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox.”

Rush Limbaugh accusing Michael J. Fox of making up the severe effects of Parkinson’s Disease.
10 million people listen to his program daily.

Now I see this…


OJ Simpson has a new book, ‘If I Did It’.

He allegedly received a $3.5 million dollar advance, and a two-part ‘interview’ with his editor will be broadcast on Fox.

And people still keep asking me why I moved…


UPDATE: Both the interviews and the book have been cancelled.

For an interesting perspective, the editor of ‘If I Did It’, Judith Regan, explains why she took on this book project. Read her story here.

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23 comments

    • David

    David,

    I understand your frustration. I returned to the US after 20 years in Italy. I found a completely different nation. I think it all boils down to the collusion between big business and politicians. It has somehow corrupted every sector of US life. I write for quality over quantity and the exclusion of business from politics. Yes, I am fighting the windmills…

    • Diva

    oh my god!

    I wish i didn’t know this!

    • Karla

    You wouldn’t happen to have room for a family of 4 in your small Paris apartment would you?

    We’ve been ready to leave for several years now. Glad you got out when you did!

    • Nan

    Hear, hear. My heart really sinks over that stuff (it’s barbarism and very shaming) and I wish I could move to Europe too (France is, of course, my crazy dream).
    Thanks for showing others that it’s possible to live your dreams!
    Fantastic website. And many thanks for all of the fabulous recipes and how-to’s and advice…really great!

    • Mark

    And that is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. More than 2,000,000 people are in prison. We have 12,000,000 illegal aliens, primarily Mexican who instead of adapting to us, expect us to adapt to them. We are a two party system constantly at war with one another, and that cannot help but have an effect our psyches. My partner and I feel like second-class citizens in our own country. There is a saying that people get the government they deserve. We deserve whatever we’ve got because while Americans are kind enough to be robbed blind, they are stupid enough to have turned the country into a warring christian power hungry, capitalist obsessed machine. Get me off this merry-go-round! ;-)

    • s’kat

    Coming back to the States after 2 weeks in Europe was one of the most difficult and heart-wrenching things that I’ve done in awhile.

    These people are freakin’ crazy!!

    • Tana

    David (et al):

    There is a rousing discussion among the (delightfully) liberal community at Readerville.com. You have to register to read it, but many authors and seriously smart bookish types have insights and lots of links to more information and discussion online.

    Here is a link to its first mention in Publishing News & Issues.

    http://www.readerville.com/webx?14@@.f414c54/2070

    • Janet

    We are celebrity worshippers and suffer the consequences of same everyday. Why don’t people just get a life of their own?

    • Judith in Umbria

    I have to defend myself all the time from people who are incensed that I moved here. They think expatriate means ex-patriot. And I didn’t even know what was wrong until I went back the first time!
    Hey, they said love it or leave it, right? Or I could love it and leave it anyway. Or go back where you came from.. that means Brittany.
    I don’t blame this crap on corporate America! Americans find it wondrously easy to call people towel heads or dagos or faggots or slopes with no help from corporations.
    I am much better off here where what passes for a celebrity is YOU.

    • shauna

    Um, is that invitation to Thanksgiving in Paris still open?

    • Christine

    All the previous comments pretty much express my own feelings about my country. I don’t recognize it anymore. If my husband and I could make a living in France we’d move there in a minute.
    Thanks for giving us a much needed perspective David. I know I don’t have to tell you to keep us posted. :)

    • Lisa

    Is there any hope for us? This ride has got to crash sooner or later and it’s gonna be catastrophic.

    • Lisa

    Oh, and I heart David Lebovitz:)

    • Katie

    Yes, they still ask, after 10 years! I just smile. These are 3 very scary examples…I’ll learn to deal with French paperwork…

    • adrian

    I’m with you David…

    • Alicat

    Personally I think that bad sh*t happens everywhere. Everywhere there is corruption. Everywhere there is depravity. I’d never leave the USA — for all the bad, I have found amazing good. :) Just my two cents.

    • David

    Well, good things happen everywhere, and bad things as well. I think I’ve done my fair-share of documenting some of them here!

    But I guess things have changed as to what and who’s acceptable to critique since I moved. As far as I’m concerned, widows who have lost husbands on 9/11 are above criticism, as well as people with severe physical handicaps. It is simply not acceptable to use them as targets.

    I also think the families of murder victims (and the memories of the deceased) deserve a little more respect than book editors, media companies, and Mr. Simpson himself are demonstrating. I’m happy for folks to make a buck whenever they can, but I would hope they would be able to do it without profiting off a horrendous crime.

    • bryan

    You’ll be happy to know that FOX put the kibosh on the OJ book and show. People were really outraged about it. Talk about bad taste.

    • Alicat

    I hear you David. I just don’t buy that what a few people say in the media should be presented as what America stands for as a whole. I really dislike it when some people present it in such a way– forget the good people of the USA that work hard and live their lives minding their own business, striving for a better life. The media is ridiculous yes, but that doesn’t make the United States so. Do you get what I’m trying to say? :)

    • David

    Bryan: Yes, cheers to Fox for cancelling both the book and show. It’s nice to see decency triumph. Now let’s hope that Mr. Simpson will devote all his time and efforts, as he stated, to finding the real killers of his ex-wife and Ron Goldman.

    Alicat: Yes, there’s good and bad everywhere, and the US (and France, for that matter) is no exception. Thankfully I get to take my pick of the best of both!

    • Debbie

    I have to think you had better reasons for moving than the blown-out-proportion comments of a few stupid people. I can’t believe no one in Europe ever said or did stupid things. However, each to their own. It sounds like you’ve learned to thrive over there.

    D

    • Julie

    Thanks for this, David. I heart you too. As a blogger, it doesn’t matter whether you’re here or there. By simply putting out these three examples for people’s consideration, you too, in your own delightfully sardonic way, are fighting the good fight.

    • debbie

    1. Limbaugh, the thinking conservative’s oxycontin addict of choice.

    2. Ever take a look at Ann Coulter’s web site? Look for the “my so-called life” section and photo tour and you’ll get new insight into her true ambitions. I don’t know what’s sadder, her bio and picture gallery, with so little personal life, or the inescapable conclusion that she sits up nights waiting for the phone to ring, convinced that this time it really will be Ann Taylor Loft begging her to be their next spokesmodel. And that they’re adding black leather vests to their new fall line, just for her.

A

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