The Hell's Angels: They laid a beating on Hunter, and now the courts are going to lay a beating on them

Hell's Angel member Paul Magnan has been arrested after 3 years of being on the run. He was captured in the Outaouais region which is west of Montreal last friday. He is reportedly being charged with murder, gangsterism, and drug trafficking. The police have had enough and are cracking down on the motorcycle gang more than ever.

Hunter published a book about the notorious gang in 1967 after spending a year hanging out with them. The book goes into detail about things such as murder, fights, sex, and most definately, drugs. It was a miracle that Hunter was able to get as close to the Hell's Angels as he did. Despite how accepted he was, one day Hunter crossed a line with one of the members when he confronted a man who was talking about beating his wife. Apparently Hunter said " only a punk beats his wife." This lead to a savage attack on Hunter. I guess you could say he really got the royal treatment while spending time with the gang. But in a way, would Mr. Gonzo journalism have had a complete experience if he had not been beaten? In a sick way, I think he would have been grateful for the experience. Not many journalist can say they got the crap kicked out of them by the Hell's Angel and lived to tell about it.


CBC's article on the arrest of Paul Magnan ...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2012/06/23/magnan-arrested-hells-angels.html

Colorado Wildfires: Would Hunter S. Thompson have made a good sheriff under fire?

There are some areas of the world that seem to be plagued by natural disasters. Colorado has been added to that list with the recent forest fires that have destroyed over 350 homes in the Colorado Springs area. Firefighters say that it may take till mid July to have the fire fully under control. The FBI is currently investigating the cause of the fires. President Barack Obama plans to visit Colorado to look at the damages, thank rescue workers, and to bring the issue to a national level.

In 1970 Hunter S. Thompson ran for sheriff of Aspen, Colorado. He didn't win the election, but lets say that he did for a moment. How would he handle the pressure of the disaster at hand? He most likely would have done all the normal protocol but aside from that it wouldn't be surprising to see him do something quite radical as well. Perhaps he would have taken many of the refugees who have lost everything to the flames into his "Owl Farm" in Woody Creek, Colorado. Owl Farm is where Hunter lived for the last years of his life.

Hunter's ashes, along with red, white and blue fireworks, were shot out of a cannon in Colorado on August 20, 2005. At his funeral the songs "Spirit in the Sky" and "Mr. Tambourine Man" played as the cannon exploded. A strange request by a strange man. Good thing the timing doesn't match with the recent fires. Can you imagine if somehow Hunter had been responsible? That would have been irony at its finest.

Fire officals have said that calmer winds and lower tempertures will help firefighters in fighting the blaze. Maybe someone should play "Spirit in the Sky" and ask god and Hunter S. Thompson for some rain.

For your listening pleasure, here is a link to Norman Greenbaum's Spirit in the Sky ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZQxH_8raCI

CNN's article on the wildfires in Colorado ...

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/28/us/western-wildfires/index.html

Drugging Race Horses: Is the Industry Decadent and Depraved?

This topic would have been right up Hunter S. Thompson’s alley. Horse racing and drugs. A new performance enhancing drug called “Frog Juice” has surfaced in the horse racing world. Great. That is actually what the industry needs: more bad press about drugging race horses. The people from PETA are probably losing their minds right now at the injustice to not only one, but two animals. I can see them making signs to picket with now. Maybe a cartoon of a race horse with a frog as a jockey.

The drug is derived from the skin of a frog that is found in South Africa. It is said that the new drug is 40 times stronger than morphine. The drug is called dermorphin and is a powerful pain killer that makes the animal “hyper”. Craig W. Stevens, a professor of pharmacology, said that “For a racehorse, it would be beneficial. The animal wouldn’t feel pain, and it would have feelings of excitation and euphoria.”

So why would pain killers, and feelings of excitation and euphoria, be good for a race horse? Like any athlete, horses get ailments such as knee, ankle, back and shoulder pains. When they are in pain, they don’t want to run or can’t run as fast. Those pains than start to affect them mentally. Even after their injuries heal, mentally the horse might not want to exert his or herself again because he or she is afraid of getting reinjured. That’s where the feelings of “excitation and euphoria” would come in. The horse would now be pain free and brave as he or she was being loaded into the starting gate.

When Hunter wrote his article "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved", he said he had come to the race “to watch the real beasts perform”. Speaking as someone who has been in horse racing for her entire life, I found that comment brilliant. Sometimes in horse racing it's true: the humans are the beasts, not the horses. Greed, corruption and ego are the dark side of the industry. But just like anything in life, there is the good and the bad. The good side of the sport is hard working, kind, and honest. These are the type of people who would never drug their horse to win a race. That’s the side I’ve always been on, and will always be on.

A link to the New York Times article on "Frog Juice" is below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/20/sports/horse-racing-discovers-new-drug-problem-one-linked-to-frogs.html?_r=2&hp

Suicide: Hunter S. Thompson did it because he was bored with life, but why are U.S. Troops committing it?

An article in The Boston Globe says there has been an increase in suicides in the army. But how can this be? Isn't Obama bringing the troops home soon? Why do these men and women feel so desperate to end it all even though seemingly good news is on the horizon? The article says the reason is due to long deployments, multiple deployments, the nature of combat, and the stress of whatever is going on back home, including financial and family needs. An interviewee who serves in the military has said that is it unfortunate that they don’t know anything about a persons past before he or she joins the military or even just before any overseas duty. He thinks it has a strong impact on how a person manages their issues. All the same though, it’s still tragic and a major problem. A young Hunter S. Thompson might have been intrigued by this, even though later in his life, he would commit suicide as well. His gonzo style of journalism could have been put to use here. He would fly to Afghanistan and sit with the troops and not only interview them about this topic, but live the life, with them as well to gain perspective. Hunter would be able to articulate how the troops feel about war, why they joined the service in the first place and the pressure that these men and women are under.

The article in The Boston Globe has shocking statistics. Suicide deaths exceeded combat deaths in 2008 and 2009. Wow. Really? Maybe its because some people who join the military join for the good side of it: the government pay cheque, the free education, the discipline. Hey, maybe they join because they think it’s cool to know how to fire a gun and drive a tank. But when the dark side of the military hits them, and they are being deployed to a war-stricken country, the pressure and intensity is too much for some. The tragedy is that these people who are committing suicide most likely had the best intentions when they joined the service. But as the old saying goes … The road to hell is paved with good intentions.


Check out The Boston Globe article:

http://bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/06/10/suicide-prevention-must-become-military-core-mission/Wpdm32uj0dbAmhDBvoUMLM/story.html

Hunter S. Thompson Biography for your reading pleasure.

http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/huntersthompson.html

THE KENTUCKY DERBY IS DECADENT AND DEPRAVED - By Hunter S. Thompson

This is one of my favourite articles that Hunter S. Thompson ever wrote. Since I am such a huge horse racing fan, and have also been to Churchill Downs in Kentucky, this story is hilarious to me because of how real and raw it is. If you haven't read this I strongly recommend that you do. I have posted a link to the article below. Enjoy :)

http://www.kentuckyderby.ag/kentuckyderby-party.php

Mr. Gonzo Journalism himself doing what he did best ... telling the truth.