Friday, October 24, 2008


In the closing weeks of this year's historic Presidential election we've all been hearing a lot about Barack Obama's ties to Weather Underground co-founder, Bill Ayers. For those who don't know, the Weather Underground was a radical student activist group that carried out (among other things) a string of terrorist bombings on Government buildings from 1969-1975. Typically the bombs were detonated at night so as to focus on the buildings themselves and not any their personnel.

Without fueling any more hype around the overblown controversy that continues to haunt Mr. Obama, the Mulberry Bend wishes to take notice of an inconspicuously quiet, leafy block in Greenwich Village and the footnote in history that transpired there.

It was March 7th, 1970 - A thunderous explosion from within No. 18 West 11th Street suddenly rattled the entire block. Fire immediately broke out amidst the the thick smoke and building wreckage. Two soot-covered young women emerged, one completely naked after narrowly escaping her shower. Confused neighbor, Dustin Hoffman stumbled out on the street...

A concerned neighbor saw the nude woman and took her in to get her something to wear. The stunned neighbor then returned to the street briefly, when she looked back the two women had disappeared. Three bodies were discovered in the ruins, all members of the Weather Underground.

No. 18 West 11th was discovered to be a Weather Underground safe-house and bomb factory. Someone had been tinkering with a pipe-bomb when it accidentally exploded. Police later found blasting caps, pipe-bombs, and anti-tank shell, and 60 sticks of dynamite in the house, enough explosives to "level both sides of the street."

Nowadays, if you find yourself walking along West 11th, look out for the somewhat angular building jutting out from the flat-facades of the 19th century row houses. It is a chilling reminder of this haunted house of American terror.

One cannot help but think that Bill Ayers was a pretty despicable person for advocating this kind of thing, but the idea that Mr. Obama would for some reason secretly hold some allegiances to this group or its dead ideas requires something of an overactive imagination.

Nevertheless, I don't think Mr. Ayers will do anymore damage than he has already done, and Barack Obama can remember like the song does,

You dont need a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows...