Insight on the News: China Throws Hillary a Curve; the Legend of Gen. Shelton Grows

Byline: INSIGHT

Not since Claude Raines as the corrupt prefect of police in Casablanca declared he was "shocked, shocked," to learn there was gambling in the back room at Rick's has there been a more disingenuous denial. Having allegedly been paid handsomely for the Chinese rights to her book, Living History, Hillary Clinton expressed amazement that the Chinese-government publisher, Yilin, cut out even her perfunctory criticism of the People's Republic, from whom her husband's friends solicited huge sums of illicit campaign money. Said Sen. Clinton: "I was amazed [amazed] and outraged [outraged] to hear about this" censorship.

* The Hillary deal with the Chinese government was made by her publisher, Simon & Schuster, which spent so much fronting her advance and pumping the U.S. edition of her book that it had to lay off 75 people.

* A Chinese edition of Bill Clinton's forthcoming autobiography, fronted with even more millions, also has been sold to a Chinese-government publisher for sums unspecified. No doubt he too will be shocked/shocked, amazed/amazed and outraged/outraged.

* Insiders note the passing at age 87 of Wesley McCune, who as head of Group Research made up tales of vast right-wing conspiracies that he peddled to gullible liberals for 30 years, finally selling his witch-hunt "files" to Columbia University in 1996 for undisclosed sums of cash. His smears, alternating between febrile and silly, were financed over the years by the AFL-CIO and the Democratic Party.

* The sensitive vegans of FARM report that with PETA and In Defense of Animals they have sponsored the 20th annual World Farm Animals Day on Gandhi's birthday. This project, which includes "mourning festivals," laments the 10 billion mammals and birds raised and then slaughtered to feed the blood lust appetites of carnivorous Americans. The celebrants charge that during your lifetime you will be responsible for the deaths of 11 cows, 32 pigs and sheep, 2,660 turkeys, chickens and ducks and uncounted numbers of our finny friends as well. The Mahatma may have been given to a little incest now and then, but imagine what he might think of that bed of nails!

* Meanwhile, animal-rights activists have whelped a 240-page report claiming Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey are abusing their circus elephants. It is based on allegations by a former manure shoveler who has changed sides and contends the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has conspired in a cover-up.

* Unlikely. The USDA is so circumspect about protecting animals from cruelty and abuse that under Clinton it flew Washington gumshoes to Boston to check out American Vivisection Defense, a prank group claiming to be seeking pet owners wishing to donate their kitties and doggies to science. The prankster's answering service took names and offered veal recipes.

* Among Democratic candidate Wesley Clark's advisers, say insiders, is Bill Clinton himself. Makes sense: Clark is as naive as Monica Lewinsky and spent years on his knees to Clinton.

* After 38 years in the military Gen. Hugh Shelton retired as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Recently he was asked in a question session what he thought of Wesley Clark and if he would support him for president. Shelton took a long drink of water and replied, "That question makes me wish this were vodka."

* Then Shelton (pictured below) laid it on the line: "I've known Wes for a long time. I will tell you the reason he came out of Europe early [in effect being fired by Shelton] had to do with integrity and character issues. ... I'll just say Wes won't get my vote."

* The 6-foot-6-inch Shelton is a straight shooter. Three days after he assumed command as chairman of the Joint Chiefs his integrity was tested by a member of Congress who suggested sending a U.S. spy plane so low over Iraq that Saddam couldn't miss downing it and providing an excuse for invasion. Shelton responded to the congressman that he would order that very thing "just as soon as you are qualified to fly" it.

* More on Shelton. Shortly after he left the Pentagon he was paralyzed from the neck down in a nasty fall. Shelton was told by his doctor that he never would walk again or use his hands. The general says he checked the doctor's name tag to see if it said "God." It didn't, and 84 days later Hugh Shelton walked out of the hospital and is almost completely recovered. If character counts, the wrong general is running for president.

* Dumbbells at Southern Methodist University shut down a bake sale sponsored by Young Conservatives of Texas

at which white males were charged $1

a cookie, white females 75 cents, Hispanics 50 cents and African-Americans

a quarter.

* And, finally, the nation got a lesson in hiding bad news when Hurricane Isabel hit the nation's capital. With the government shut down and bureau chiefs and watchdogs having abandoned the federal city, the Treasury Department announced that under Sec. 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act banks would now accept as identification the "matricula consular" cards often used by illegal aliens to access U.S. services. The current issuer of these Mickey Mouse credentials is Mexico, but 20 other nations are preparing to turn them out like postage stamps, and U.S. law enforcement has called their widespread acceptance a direct threat to U.S. national security.