With Marty Peretz, Love Means Always Having to Say You're Sorry
When we last checked in with The New Republic's Marty Peretz, he was apologizing at his blog "The Spine" to Ms. Liza (with a Z!) Minnelli for repurposing somebody else's joke at her expense.
She is one of those paradigmatic entertainers who gives of herself–her ample brain and enchanting personality–in the cause of human rights, a cause not as popular as it once was was.
As it happens, my movie director son, Jesse, cast her in his film of three years ago, "The X." I am biased: the film was very very good and so was Liza in it.
And, by the way, what an exemplary private life she has had.
Now Peretz is back with another apology for a "vociferous" statement about Muslims that, it turns out, he didn't really mean. The clear light of reason came to him after his comment was flagged by The New York Times. Peretz wrote:
"I wonder whether I need honor these people and pretend they are worthy of the privileges of the First Amendment, which I have in my gut the sense that they will abuse." I wrote that, but I do not believe that.
No word yet if Daisy Khan or Imam Rauf will be getting cast in any family movie projects.
Hat tip: Jack Shafer's Twitter feed. Shafer documents that Peretz has hated Muslims for "20+ years."
