A 40th Anniversary

40 years ago today we lost the no good, low down, dirty, lying, rotten scoundrel that was Richard Milhouse Nixon.  I said it then, I think it now---thank goodness.

Besides lying to the American public, I think it will be shown one day that this low down scallawag kept us, kept the United States, kept our American soldiers in Vietnam beyond the election in 1972, to insure his re-election.  No, I certainly can't prove it and no one has yet but it absolutely always looked as though that was the case to me and he surely showed, in lots of different ways, he was capable of it.

I don't believe in Hell but if I did, I should think there would be an especially hot corner of it for this man.

Remember "Tricky Dick's" 18-1/2 minute gap?

Remember that? The 18-1/2 minutes of tape that was somehow magically erased by his secretary in some cockamamey contortion she showed us, later, in a picture for the magazines and newspapers at the time? Remember? Well, good news history buffs. It seems we may find out what was in those missing minutes after all. According to Tricky Dick's now-famous former White House Counsel, John Dean yesterday: "A key piece of Watergate history that remains shrouded in secrecy -- former President Richard Nixon's grand jury testimony of 1975 -- should be made public, historical experts have told a court," the press release from Public Citizen stated earlier this week. Public Citizen's Litigation Group, representing a number of prominent American historians and archivists, is seeking this information under a developing body of law that has led to the release of historically-important information, freeing the material from the bonds of traditional grand-jury secrecy when its significance outweighs the reasons for secrecy. And here's the juicy part: While the content of the testimony is not known precisely, news reports from that time suggested the general areas explored: what was said during the infamous 18.5 minute gap in the first recorded conversation Nixon had with his chief of staff following the arrests at the Watergate and whether Nixon was involved in erasing the material; Nixon's role, if any, in the alterations of the White House transcripts of the recorded conversations that were submitted to the House Judiciary Committee during its impeachment inquiry; the extent to which Nixon used the IRS to harass his political enemies; and the $100,000 campaign contribution from Howard Hughes to Nixon's friend Bebe Rebozo, which was never received by the campaign, but purportedly instead went to Nixon's brothers and his secretary Rose Mary Woods. This could be very enlightening, even if it is about 40 years late. Link to original post: http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20100917.html

Betty Ford: One cool, smart, tough, beautiful person

Think about it: Republican First Lady Betty Ford--for the Equal Rights Amendment, a true announced feminist--and not afraid to say and live it--for women's abortion rights, went through and survived breast cancer and then went on to help other women deal with their own cancers, overcame prescription drug and alcohol addiction, started a clinic that bears her name to help others overcome their addictions and a whole lot more, after having national American politics and all it entails thrust upon her.

What a gal.

Betty Ford, we salute you.

If you didn't see any of the series on Betty Ford on PBS, you really missed something. There's a link to last evening's segment here:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bettyford/act4.html

Giving credit

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