HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_015436.jpg

On top of that, my name was on a list of sixty-five “radical” campus speakers, released by the House Internal Security Committee. The blacklist was published in the New York Times, and picked up by newspapers across the country. It might have been a coincidence, but my campus speaking engagements stopped abruptly. When | was assigned to write a piece for the Los Angeles Times, | titled it “| Was a Comedian for the FBI,” because | mentioned that | had once recognized a pair of FBI agents taking notes while | was performing at the Community Church in New York. My FBI files later stated that | “purported to be humorous about the government.” Since when did taxpayers provide the funds to cover the FBI’ s theater critics squad? The banner headline on the cover of that LA. 7imes Sunday Calendar section blared out: Paul Krassner-- “1 Was a Communist for the FBI.” \|n the San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen wrote, “Fearing Krassner would sue, the 7imes recalled and destroyed some 300,000 copies at a cost of about $100,000. Krassner would have laughed, not sued.” Or maybe | would've sued and laughed my ass off. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_015436