Retro Raunch Revisit

This month marks the 45th anniversary of the publication debut of WHITEHOUSE magazine (UK 1975). It was deliberately titled after Britiain's conservative moral crusader, Mary Whitehouse, inspite of the magazine's disclaimer saying its name had nothing to do with her. She railed against TV, films (a vast majority of which she never even saw), music, and XXX. In 1980, a British electronic/noise/industrial band took their name from her in mock tribute. As a staunch advocate for public & national decency she was fodder for comedians, is regarded as having led a sad end, and was heavily ridiculed for her calls for censorship and her prosecutions of what she deemed as obscene & blasphemous (resulting in backlash often denouncing her charges as blatant homophobia). Lastly, she was equally criticized when similar colleagues (politicians and clergy) who took their cue from her, would themselves be revealed as hypocrites when exposed in sex scandals and corruption. Mary died in November 2001. The final print issue was Jun 2008.


JANUARY 1975 ON THE WORLD STAGE The mother of a former Army Medic said that the Army was responsible for her son's being indicted on charges of murdering his family five years ago. Criticizing the Army for failing to find the "real killers," Mrs. Dorothy MacDonald said the pressure had come from her slain daughter-in-law's family. Her son, Dr. Jeffrey L. MacDonald was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation after having been indicted by a federal grand jury in Raleigh,NC in the February 1970 slayings of his wife and two daughters. The grand jury reopened its inquiry into the deaths of the doctor's wife, 26yr old Colette who was pregnant, and their daughters, 2yr old Kristen & 5yr old Kimberly, at the request of Colette's stepfather, Alfred Kassab of Stony Brook, Long Island,NY. Kassab was originally supportive of MacDonald but became convinced of his guilt and crusaded to have the case reopened. Blaming military authorities for failing to secure the crime scene and mishandling evidence, Mrs. MacDonald in visiting her son's home said that the Army, unable to catch the real murderers, felt that it had to take some action in the case, and that her son had been indicted on the same evidence used against him in May 1970, when he faced 3 counts of 1st degree murder. An Army judge however ruled after a 5-month hearing that the charges were untrue to which they were dropped and saw him honroably discharged. MacDonald, the hospital director of emergency services at St. Mary's Medical Center in Long Beach,CA for the last three years, was stationed at Fort Bragg,NC as a Green Beret physician at the time of the murders. His wife and children were found brutally stabbed to death early on Feb. 17, 1970, in their base quarters. The word "pig" was scrawled in blood on the headboard of a bed which at the time, seemed similar to the notorious Tate-LaBianca murders which were carried out by members of the Charles Manson Family in August 1969. There was some questioning if the deaths were copycat killings as MacDonald himself was found with a punctured lung, told police of a mysterious blonde woman in a floppy hat, and that a band of drug-crazed hippies had slaughtered his family. He further claimed that he fought 3 male attackers before passing out. The Army said his story was dubious as there was no forced entry into the home, and found his far less minor injuries deeply suspicious. Prosecutors had speculated MacDonald went on a fatal rampage after an argument with Colette. Her sorrow still visible, Mrs. MacDonald lastly stated, "It has been a 'Catch-22' existence for the last five years and now it's starting all over again. My son is caught up by impenetrable forces." An extradition hearing for MacDonald is scheduled for Feb. 3 while he is being held in Orange County jail in Santa Ana in lieu of $500,000 bond.