Flashbacks: Celebs sound off on the Monica Lewinsky fiasco, Dianne Wilkerson before the fall, and a Phoenix writer's night in junta hell

THE GRISLY DETAILS
10 years ago
November 6, 1998 | Michael Crowley collected choice quotes from celebrities regarding the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

"Just when you thought there was nothing new to say about the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the latest issue of Rolling Stone offers opinions on our overfellated president from an all-star cast...

"To wit: 'It ain't his fault that he's a playa,' observes the rapper Fat Joe. 'I mean, not even Kathie Lee Gifford went through this shit.'

"'There's no reason why he shouldn't be getting laid just like a rock star would,' says no less an authority on morality than Marilyn Manson. 'That's why he's so popular: everybody likes blowjobs.' ...

"Meanwhile, detail-craving followers of the Lewinsky-scandal are encouraged to check out Slate magazine's 'Chatterbox' column, which has published excerpts from the deposition of Paula Jones's sister in Jones's sexual harassment lawsuit against the president...[A]ccording to Jones's sister, Lydia Ruthene Cathey, Jones reported that 'his dick was crooked.' In fact, Cathey tells Clinton's perturbed lawyers, 'it was hard and crooked and gross...just awful-looking.' Hail to the chief!"

BEFORE THE FALL
15 years ago
November 5, 1993 | Mark Jurkowitz profiled the now disgraced Dianne Wilkerson, back when she was "unbought."

"The NAACP lawyer and first-term state senator from Boston's minority dominated Second Suffolk District has already taken on Ray Flynn and the Boston Housing authority by challenging their public housing policies; the city's black power brokers by endorsing State Representative Jim Brett for mayor; and most recently, Senate President William Bulger by joining the rules-reform insurrection led by senator William Keating. Wilkerson may be motivated by a fear of silence, but what sets her apart are her steely determination and her ability to focus -- characteristics she honed while doing homework in a family of eight kids and getting through law school as a single mother with two young sons tossing a football around the house. Her drive is abetted by a physical aura that combines personal magnetism with the raw intensity of a woman who's seen too much injustice."

SICK DAYS
25 years ago
November 8, 1983 | With flu season raging, Dale R. Spriggs traced the origins of the term, "influenza," back to Italy, 1504 and in doing so, discovered that humans are not as tough as they used to be.

"The term influenza was actually introduced by the Italians during an outbreak in 1504. They attributed the disease to the influence ('influenza') of the stars. Few people, however, took the flu very seriously. After all, that was the heyday of all of the 'big-name' diseases, such as the plague, typhoid, and smallpox. A relatively mild disease like the flu, which only killed the very young and old, was almost a joke: writers often referred to the disease with facetious names like 'the new delight,' 'the new acquaintance,'...or 'the jolly rant.' And compared to retching blood or watching your body sprout hideous, open sores, a little aching and coughing must have seemed the medieval equivalent of a week at Club Med."

PAPER TRAIL
35 years ago
November 6, 1973 | Phoenix correspondent Paul Hoeffel recounted the events that led up to his arrest and eventual imprisonment in the National Stadium by the Chilean junta.

"I was asleep when someone entered my room. A jab in the back startled me and I turned to find the young face of a carabinero staring down from the other end of a machine gun. I slowly rose and dressed and watched as 10 of them searched the apartment...

"The house was clean, all leftist books, magazines, posters...having been meticulously weeded out weeks before -- another commonplace in Chile. I made a mental inventory, glanced over at the desk where three neat envelopes lay ready for mailing: I had just finished a 3,000 word article on the Junta, three copies, and my stomach dropped to my knees...The captain picked up one of the envelopes and ripped it open...[H]e stared at the pages. An hour later...three of us from the building...found ourselves in the bus."