Saturday, May 20, 2006

Blast from the Past - Bloom County on the disappearance of Hoffa

The location of Jimmy Hoffa's body is one of the great mysteries and conspiracy theories of all time. Proclaiming that you have found it is almost cliche. The recent news that the FBI is actually digging in Milford Township near Detroit for the body is exciting , but we shouldn't get our hopes up yet, it could take weeks. The rumor is that an informer in federal prison remembers meeting in that location thirty years ago.

I remember back in the eighties, that Milo from Bloom County was obsessed with pinning the rap for Hoffa's disappearance on a fictional, aging Senator Bedfellow. Bloom County is timeless. I hope Berkeley Breathed will agree that the use of these few comic strips are fair use and very appropriate for the occasion. (click for larger images, from Loose Tails)

I wonder if Milo is more interested in muckraking journalism than in actually breaking the story. The Potomac is far from the current search area in Michigan.

Now Milo suspects Bedfellows pond (which is in Iowa, according to the fans). I like the questioning tactics, neither yes nor no is the correct answer. His tactics are verging on yellow journalism.

The last is a classic and the best one. Milo suspects he sees Hoffa's teamster's ring in the pond and then writes,"slowly this reporter recoiled in utter moral disgust..."

tags: , , ,

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Being from Tennessee, I must say that Jimmy Hoffa was first prosecuted in Nashville. I guy who grew up on the farm next to me was the prosecutor in the early 60's. His favorite story is this. During a trial in Nashville, a man broke in to the court room with a gun. The man said he was looking for Hoffa and pointed the gun at my friend. My friend said, "Hoffa is over there!" The guy pointed the gun at Hoffa and shot -- it was just a BB pistol.