Watergate was this, as Heather so clearly describes - but so much more. Nixon and his close staff and allies were building an imperial presidency, similar to what SCOTUS has just ordained with its presidential immunity decision. Had the Supreme Court 50 years ago been as open to authoritarianism, bigotry, and corruption as the current court, Nixon might have been able to serve out his term, and possibly beyond. We were saved by many people, especially including Frank Wills.
SCOTUS then: [E]xecutive privilege “must be considered in light of our historic commitment to the rule of law. This is nowhere more profoundly manifest than in our view that 'the twofold aim (of criminal justice) is that guilt shall not escape or innocence suffer.'... The very integrity of the judicial system and public confidence in the system depend on full disclosure of all the facts….”
There were many scoundrels, but quite a few heroes. In addition to those mentioned in this post (Wills, Woodward, Bernstein, Cox, Richardson, Jaworski, Sirica, Ervin, Dean, Butterfield) one could add Peter Rodino, Barbara Jordan, Ben Bradlee, and the Baltimore prosecutors who uncovered the Spiro Agnew bribery scandal that forced him to resign (which led to Ford becoming VP and subsequently President. God only knows what might have happened had Agnew remained as Nixon’s VP.
"....but quite a few heroes. " Yes, then and now such men and women serve this country with wisdom, with great inherent goodness, with their lives and amazing gifts of mind and character!
May God bless and protect each and everyone!!!!
May we too stand up against tyrants who would take this beloved country....this place that offers hope to refugees who long to be free...who long to find work and a place for their families....who long to worship as they choose or not to worship....to live safely with being who they are as human beings. Each and every person should be valued. Each of us make up this nation. We are great due to those who were here before us (Indian nations) and those who have since faced hardship to leave from a place of poverty or dictatorship to come to a place where they are willing to take the most humble jobs to start and build a new life.
We must work within our beings constantly to be persons...to be a country of people who strive to be truth tellers....to respect law and order mixed with compassion. We must each and all work to value and live out these ideals within many of our lives and to expect this type of character to be found and lived out by the leaders who stand as our leaders or we will fall to predators who only care for profit NOW, for themselves.
In order to continue as a great people, as a caring people we must protect our land and the air and the space we are exploring outside of our earth home. We must think of the future we are leaving for the children of this world.
If Agnew had remained as VP, we'd have a better approximation of what it will be like if Vance becomes VP. Ford, I still believe, was a good guy with a strong moral compass.
Maybe that’s why Vance was chosen—knowing the public would never want him as President, it would give us pause to throw Trump in jail (should he be elected and still found guilty of treasonous plots.)
Also, sending the Southern ‘boys’ home may not have been a great idea either. What if we had let the South secede? Their belief of white male superiority was never squelched or even moderated. And now here we are back at the beginning, fighting the same damned fight. Of course all the what if’s in the world don’t amount to a hill of beans. We are served the realities of today and must use our knowledge of past mistakes to make a better country tomorrow than it was or has been up to this point. Harris and Walz seem to be smart and honest. They project ideas of fairness for all citizens, not just the ones willing to pay for power. I am all in on this ticket, hoping they will be elected along with members of Congress devoted to justice. Given that ideal, real positive changes could be made in our laws to prevent another Nixon or Trump from stealing the heart of our country— liberty and the pursuit of happiness for every citizen, no matter their color, religion, age, or economic status—ever again!
Keep going..... our formerly respected Supreme Court has managed to shoot itself in the foot at the bidding of the Federalist Society and the GOP Senate, especially Mitch McConnell. They used to be largely non-partisan and used to respect precedent. Now they rule as though they were beholden to the RNC.
This bit of humor about seceding might tickle your funny bone:
————
Red States Want to Secede? Go Ahead. Make Our Day.
Nearly 1 million Americans have signed petitions calling for secession including over 100,000 in Texas and over 50,000 in Georgia. So, here's a response.
(A poll from Public Policy Polling reports that 25 percent of Republicans would like their state to secede from the Union. Nearly 1 million Americans have signed petitions calling for secession including over 100,000 in Texas and over 50,000 in Georgia. So, cribbing from a viral email that's been making its way around the internet in the spirit of fair use and adding my own evil satiric thoughts, here's a response.)
So some of you patriotic Americans in Red States are so mad that a Kenyan, Muslim, socialist black man got elected President of the USA for a second time that you want to demonstrate your patriotism by seceding from the United States of American? Go ahead. Make our day.
But be careful what you wish for. Here's how it could go down, and it might not be so pretty for you after all is said and done.
We would get the West Coast, all of the Northeast and the upper Midwest.
You would get Texas, Oklahoma and all the former slave states.
We would keep Hawaii too, the foreign country with warm water and beautiful beaches where Barack Hussein Obama was born without a birth certificate.
You can have Alaska and stare at Russia from your front porches.
To be fair, we may have to split up some states.
You get North Florida. We get South Florida. After all, what would you want with all those gay people in South Beach and old Jews in Miami?
We get North Virginia. You get South Virginia. To be fair, we'll let you keep the University of Virginia. Go Cavaliers! Plus you need at least one place to educate some leaders who believe in science.
But Austin, Atlanta and New Orleans get to be their own Blue city/states, sort of like West Berlin before the Wall came down. We'll even pay to move the capital of Texas from Austin to W's hometown of Midland, where as one native recently put it, "There used to be one Democrat in town, but I think she died".
We might even merge with Canada. That way we get single-payer healthcare, solvent banks, the Royal Canadian Mounties, and Ryan Gosling (eat your hearts our Red-nation women).
To sum up briefly:
We get Bruce Springsteen, Jay Z and Beyonce. You get Ted Nugent and Meatloaf.
Plus Willie Nelson gets to park his bus anywhere he likes in the Blue America.
We get Elizabeth Warren. You get Todd Aiken. (Hey, we'll even keep Chris Christie. He's too large to move, anyway.)
We get the Statue of Liberty. You get OpryLand.
We get the New York Philharmonic. You get the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
We get Oprah. You get Paula Deen.
And Blue America will have an easy repatriation policy for the ancestors of slaves still stuck in the former Confederate states, as well as a path to citizenship for undocumented workers and their children from both Red and Blue America who have worked hard/studied hard and put down roots. We'll even have a 21st century version of "40 acres and a mule" with education, job training and work at a fair wage for those who need it. (But here's a warning: good luck getting your crops picked, your kids asses wiped, and your pools cleaned without a bunch of low-paid undocumented workers.)
Any Red-nation NBA team that wants to gets to move to a Blue state city without its own team. Hey, how about them World Champion Pittsburgh Thunder?
And the New York Jets will send you back Tim Tebow for a player to be named later.
We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs.
You get backwoods crystal meth labs.
We get Intel, Microsoft and Apple. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.
We get two-thirds of the tax revenue. You get to pay your fair share for once.
Speaking of all those federal taxes you love to hate. Most of it comes from us and goes to you. So stop talking nonsense about how "It's our money, not the government's money". Of the 19 states that send more money to Washington than they get back in benefits, 14 are Blue. And of 31 states that get more money back from the Feds than they pay in taxes, 23 are Red. It's not your money. It's our f**cking money. So from here on out, you can pay for your own damn roads and bridges.
Which state do you think has the lowest divorce rate? It's Taxachusetts, the first state to recognize gay marriage. Think that's some aberration? How about this? 9 of the 10 lowest divorce rates are in the Blue states. And where are the highest divorce rates? 10 of the top 10 are Red.
But gay people getting married is going to ruin the family for you? Seems like you're ruining it pretty well on your own.
So we get a bunch of happy families, straight and gay. You get a bunch of single moms and deadbeat dads.
With the Blue States in hand we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve Texas wines at state dinners) 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech, UC Berkeley, and MIT.
With the Red States you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans and their projected health care costs, 92 percent of all US mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, and Bob Jones University.
So, as we said at the start. You want to secede? Go ahead. Make our Day. But be careful what you wish for. You might not be so happy if you actually got it. If you ask nicely, we might even take you back.
Keep UVa (Charlottesville and Albemarle county), Richmond, and Williamsburg (WIlliam and MAry as well as Colonial WIlliamsburg the actual history of the US that is celebrated there, we don't need anhistorical version of The Ark Adventure placed there). The DC - Tidewater crescent is too vluable to give up easily (Norfolk Naval Base, Newport News Shipbuilding, and NASA at Langly)!
I think Trump chose Vance, the most radical of those in the running, as a hedge against impeachment. The cost of removing Trump from office would be putting Vance in office.
Ah, yes and today? It reads like a nursery school tale. Those innocent times when having a moral compass was not only alluded to, it was necessary. And a Supreme Court that honored the rule of law instead of the rule of oligarchs. We thought that would be the worst this country would have to bear. Little did we know.
I was in maybe 7th Grade when the teacher explained the Electoral College. I recall my confused, negative reaction, having previously been led to believe that "We the People" selected our highest office holder. President (and VP) are the one office that for whom we are ALL constituents.
And being reminded of GOP attacks on Waltz's military record (and calling hm Tampon Tim), when you've got noting to attack, make it up; the wrong object lesson taken from Putin and "Tailgunner" Joe. McCarthy.
It's not out, but it's flickering. I like term limits, I like an enforceable code of ethics, I like expanding the Court to 13 or 15 justices, and I like expelling Thomas and Alito, and I like a Chief Justice with back bone.
I was 15 at the time (in 1973) and I remember Watergate as the first serious political event that I really paid attention to. I can still call to mind the photograph of Nixon's secretary, Rose Mary Woods in the stretched position to show how she had "inadvertently" erased 18 minutes of tape.
Thank you for the link and the reminder! Love it . Methinks the days of pithy truth-telling political songs are over….or am I just not listening anymore?
I was 11 in 1973. My brother and I made a life-size witch for Halloween, with a paper maché head. I remember my dad laughed and laughed, saying it was brilliant we had made her with Agnew’s face. The resemblance was inadvertent, but it added a little dark humor to an otherwise bleak historic moment.
Nixon blamed the press for doing their job. Today's press and media give Trump a free ride (refusing to call out his lies, even today, or to interrupt him when he refuses to answer a question), as Lawrence O'Donnell pointed out this evening in a heated report blasting the reporters. But the papers printed endless op eds trashing Biden, when they should have been focused on the SC rulings. The press corps doesn't hesitate to give grief to Biden's WH press secretary, but they don't push back on Trump when he lies. Thank goodness we have historians like you, Heather, and Joyce Vance and other legal and history experts who explain the details of what is happening in the courts and in the campaigns. We need to hold the courts, the former president and the members of Congress accountable, but we also need to demand that reporters do their jobs, and do so fairly. I love the surge of energy for Harris and Walz, but I have yet to see anyone in the press fact check the former president or call out his lies in real time.
Lawrence O’Donnell was on absolute fire tonight, calling out a compliant and ’stupid’ (his word) press when it comes to the Yam and contrasting their behavior with the same press and their reaction to Biden’s Press Sec’y.
I really like watching/listening to O'Donnell - he's always on point. And I also noticed the WTF about the reporters and tr***. WHY are they that way? Are they told they won't get to be in the room again if they speak up? Or are they all tr*** supporters under the guise of "news reporters"?
The NABJ did a major service interviewing tRump, despite the blowback from a number of organizations. They gave us a chance to hear the REAL talk directly from him. It was so real that 45's handlers pulled him early before he totally imploded on camera.
The major news outlets blew the opportunity to do their job by not following up on his statements to highlight his BS but rather turning them on Harris to prove herself. (N.B. Phyllis Wheatley's ordeal for writing poetry while being a black woman.) Shows a true level of hypocrisy in reporting, a lack of integrity based in greed, and contempt for their responsibility to inform the public as needed for our system to work as intended.
The firehose makes that difficult so they just ignore. We have the technology to “beep” at every lie. Or maybe his nose could grow and he could become a pretzel by the end of every tirade
The fire hose is a challenge, but the press doesn't hesitate to harass and interrupt other speakers. And yes, they could beep or beep or blast a blow horn every time he lies.
I remember that period well. What a difference that Supreme Court was which acted swiftly to allow justice to be served, essentially affirming that no person was above the law. Compare that to today’s Supreme Court loaded with political hucksters with no integrity.
Acted not only swiftly but unanimously. Like you, Donald, I remember that period very well. The Watergate hearings took place in my summer between college and grad school, and I watched them nonstop. The entire country understood clearly then that the question before SCOTUS was whether the president was above the law. We held our collective breath waiting for the ruling.
Fifty years is a long time. But the people can still recognize it when the rule of law is in the Supreme Court's hands. This time, the Court failed. It broke the Constitution. Where we go from here is unknown.
Fortunately, Judge Tanya Chutkan is well suited to be today's John Sirica. She must have strong public support.
I wonder how Nixon would have fared in today’s political climate of see-no-wrong Republicans in Congress and a corrupt, hyper-ideological Supreme Court. Safe bet that he would not have resigned or been removed from office.
Nixon might well would be a Democrat, what with the creation of the EPA, and other environmental legislation.
“In 1970, he signed the National Environmental Policy Act and established the Environmental Protection Agency, which was charged with coordinating and enforcing federal environmental policy. During his presidency, Nixon also signed the Clean Air Act of 1970, and the Clean Water Act. He signed the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the primary law for protecting imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation".[83][84]”
Soaked in brain-cell killing Rupert bullschittery non-stop. Repub family I was close with once had Fox on 24-hours a day. No exaggeration. They were up all hours but still. Not stupid, although most are I”ll have to say. The educated can be so ignorant about so much. Plenty of evidence in chump’s crowd.
I did and do appreciate the good he did for whatever reason (build support like mobsters did in their neighborhoods), but even the very best of anything he did doesn't excuse the implied immunity he expected in all other things large and small. (Some day you can do a favor for me.)
Gee, back when the worst thing the GOP would do was cheat and steal and when caught, do the “honorable” thing and resign. No one had any idea we’d have a 34x felon on their ticket in 2024. No more Grand Ole Party, they have become the government of Putin.
Exactly. The irony is astounding. An American political party that had always been strong on defense became a tool of the enemy. Shamelessly. Embracing power and money over patriotism and honor.
Y'all it goes way back farther than that. Way back. Back to the creeping subjection of women by males through every means possible and necessary for dominance. These are all iterations of the same theme. That's probably why they're harder to shake, they have buried in so deep, with many many women denying their demands in every way possible singly and in
groups for effing ever. Now, blessedly, men are even becoming tired of it too. What a shift.
I live with 4 women all of whom are wiser than I am. They all keep me in my place and call me out when I cross the various "red" lines.
As a white man, I have never feared walking down the streets of any city at night or saying hello to a woman on a secluded beach. This is a gift I received at conception and many man don't understand how privileged we are to be free from these negative emotions.
Wow Gary-you’ve characterized the impact that race and gender can have on individuals and groups well. It’s truly a “gift” to be free from racism and sexism.
The Harris/Walz campaign’s focus on “freedom” is so important in so many ways including freedom from being exploited and dominated by greedy capitalists and fake Christians.
We don’t need leaders who want to “conserve” the status quo. Some may think “progressives” are enemies but we truly need leaders who can help us to progress beyond caste. Thanks for clearly recognizing privilege as a gift that defines our life choices and experiences.
Love Heather's final lines, on how Republican views of Dems, the press, haven't changed in 50 years.
Some commenters here may observe that at least U.S. Senate Republicans then had a modicum of decency, respect for the Constitution, and for the republic as a field governed by law.
For those tempted to such sentimentality, I recommend a recent talk Joe Conason gave at Politics and Prose (interviewer being his new friend, George Conway). Conason had just published his book, "The Longest Con," on how the Republican party in the past 50 years (or more, counting the Richard Viguerie and Roy Cohn 1950s) sank into nothing more than a nihilist grifters' game.
I don't think it is sentimentality to observe significant changes, even though there was never a golden age. Certainly corruption has been a constant companion of American politics, and different segments of society are impacted more than others; but fake electors, sketchy money trails, Jan. 6th, Trump trying to extort Ukraine, non-stop lies, and many more frankly high crimes and misdemeanors have peppered and characterized the modern "GOP" as unique. I don't believe that Nixon could have said or done one tenth of the egregious things that Trump has done in the 1970s if the public had known about it and had even a remote chance of reelection.
Love Lawrence!! He was so angry tonight. Despises Trump with a passion and truly has the goods on him. He showed Kamala at her best when she was interrupted during her speech yesterday by Pro-Palestinian supporters. She shut them down and then stared them down for about 3 minutes. The funny thing was that she had met them prior to her getting on stage. They wanted to talk to her and she said she wanted to speak with them afterwards. She arranged, with her staff, for that to happen. Then they blurted crap out and she wasn’t having it!
Kamala didn’t meet with “them”, she met with two representatives of @uncommittedmvmt, one important pro Palestinian group working hard to change US policy in Gaza. Protesters against US policy are not a monolith.
Protesters are cretins?! People who are horrified that their government aids and abets the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians and the near total destruction of their homes, hospitals, and schools - are cretins?
I think there are extremists of all sorts, but left, right and/or theocratic seem to be the main ones. Gaza is trickier, and natural self-defense is being conflated with crimes against humanity. There is an array of disparate positions associated with left and right, and a lot of ambiguities between extremes, but to me the extreme positions seem to be marked by some of the positions that left or right wing folk I have read or encountered take on property. The extreme left was closed to ANY private property or service and the right closed to ANY public property or service, including roads, schools or military. I have not encountered anyone of the left extreme variety since the 1970s.
Looking at what is real rather than hypothetical, it seems to me that both extremes encourage authoritarianism to try to force the public into unnatural behaviors. It seems to me that trade is a human evolutionary trait (as is cooperation) and that a "free society" enables private enterprise, as well as a robust private sector. Some social functions are too important and/or too dangerous to be left to private whim.
And if we are to take government of, by and for we the people seriously, we get to define the responsible boundaries of behavior for commerce, not vice versa. It's just plain nutso to reserve it as some sort of ethics free, social responsibility free, accountability free zone.
Equal time, as I experienced it, did not create very engaging discussions. I may not be being fair here, but it always seemed the TV stations dug up some utter nitwit to state the outlier position rather than an expert. That did not seem equal since the there was usually quite a bit of money and momentum behind the view being challenged and for which I wanted to see more balance. Be that as it may, it seems to me that "equal time" performed a far more important service by inhibiting All Lies, All the Time radio and TV, that has much to do with the growth of anti-democratic attitudes in our society.
The second bulwark against fascist propaganda was, so far as I understood it, rules that prevented over-concentration of ownership of media, including newspapers in any one area. At least that was how my father described it. He worked for as an announcer/program director for a small town radio station in the 1940's and early '50s. Anti-trust and worker/consumer protection was far more of a thing pre-Reagan.
Of course, it was deliberate, and mega-well-funded by all the worst on the far right -- the perversion of the playing field following 1971's Citizens United.
Love the note on your dad in the 1940s and early '50s. At that time my father was a car designer, immediately after the war for Kaiser Fraser at the former Willow Run bomber plant outside Detroit, and then through the '50s for Ford.
I loved all the metal emblems for cars he designed, plus that glory days of chrome and tail fins. So much good rock'n'roll on it then, too.
I have long since then had decidedly hostile feelings toward car culture, and what it did to American land and American cities. But I do recall that boyhood heyday.
"His disappointed supporters embraced the idea that there was a “liberal” conspiracy, spearheaded by the press, to bring down any Republican president."
And then there were the many who voted for him and never voted for a Republican again!
Those of us who experienced Watergate can remember the disbelief and anger at these acts by Nixon, so similar to Trump's disregard for the rules. Yet one must wonder if this current Supreme Court would have given Nixon a pass, as they seem to now for Trump. I don't think the average voter wants any president to have a total cloke of immunity, and I hope Biden's efforts to clarify this are successful
In reality, Nixon did get a pass. I believe government officials should be held to an even higher standard. They are responsible for ALL THE PEOPLE of this great nation. The persons who work with them to make it possible for our "leaders" to get away with crime....and that is what it is "CRIME" should receive the most severe punishment.
It is pathetic, in my opinion, that Donald Trump is even allowed to be a candidate for ANY position in our government!
Also, men and women who are voted into office should also be held to a higher standard. I am thankful for those currently being tried for using their elected positions in Congress for their own personal benefit.
Being a "servant leader" for every citizen of this nation especially for our children and the elderly is most important! Being a global partner in working together to control illegal activities throughout our world dealing with drugs and shipping and monetary illegal activities is vital for the stability of our future. These are serious problems needing to be addressed NOT to be used for the opportunity to gain personal, monetary benefit from ANY of our leaders!!!
Yes! Candidates shoud be required to release 10 years of tax returns and be required by law to place their investments in a blind trust. Refusal or failure to do so would be disqualified from having their names on the ballot or serving in the office.
'72 I was in some sort of "election club" in junior high and was outraged when Nixon won. My dad told me he was known as "Tricky Dick" and that he had a sign that I think quoted Barnum, saying "there's a sucker born every minute" on his desk. Or maybe it was hanging on the wall next to his toilet?
The politics of my country, from the assassinations in the 60's to the Vietnam War and Women's Lib and the protests against the war, have always seemed to be part of me. One of my first drawings, that I really worked on, was of the Vietnamese girl screaming in pain from Our napalm, running naked down a dirt road.
I have to say, I am exhausted. I feel that my visceral reaction to our country's perfidy and the election of a Rapist braggart in 2016 has had a negative effect on my children. We have suffered enough.
Thank you Patrice. I can add that I have diagnosed myself as having battle fatigue, with roots of my own going back, depending on what I'm counting in today as a kind of battle, eight decades, from age nine. My political body, channeling its stored experience in a variety of ways, has been giving me readings on its own scale of stress tolerance at shall we say the highest level, to my evaluating brain. Have been posting reminders especially around the kitchen area, one of which says “Slow The Zen Down". Another says “Kindness Begins at Home” - and I live alone 😘. Hope any of this helps and feel free to use it.
Thank you, Robin, for this analysis. So many of us are suffering from battle fatigue. Perhaps this is why there is such an outpouring of joy over the current Democratic ticket. 💙🌊
Thank you, Robin. You are very wise. I like the idea of posting signs as reminders. Your's are perfect. If we are lucky enough to be in it for long haul, we need these reminders.
My dad was a reporter. I’m not sure if it was the LA Daily News or the Mirror ( I think before times-mirror. When he quoted Nixon, Nixon said it was untrue and tried to have dad fired, but several reporters from other papers had the same quote in their files.
Thank you Heather for the reminder. I was 14 and at summer camp at the time. My mom sent me a daily postcard which I received the next day and I remember reading it to all my friends there telling them Nixon had resigned.
I don’t know enough presidential history to know what Ronald Reagan thought of Richard Nixon, but this reminds me to be appalled that Reagan nominated someone who was willing to weaponized the justice department and potentially violate the law on behalf of the president to the Supreme Court, meaning Robert Bork. I listened to the confirmation hearings for Bork at the time and while it’s been a long time, I don’t recall his actions on behalf of Nixon being a reason to disqualify him. Fortunately, there were plenty of other reasons.
In may estimation, Reagan was a far worse president than Nixon, and enjoyed accolades. Apart from loathing environmental protection, Reagan concertedly undermined faith in a government of, by and for the people, and sold the idea that we should let the richest although us do whatever they pleased. Still waiting for that high tide that will lift all boats because the rich got richer.
I agree. Between the ravages if supply side economics and trickle down economics and his disastrous environmental policies, we see still dealing with the fallout.
Reagan, while he was an actor and the host of GE Theater, was the head of the Screen Actors’ Guild. So he was a union man. Ironic, considering he busted PATCO, the air traffic controllers union as President.
That change often comes with money. Elizabeth Warren started out as Republican and wound up a progressive Democrat. She studied her way out of the lies.
I would agree; And he did it all and more with Hollywood style along with clever quips for a while. Along with flushing the "Fairness Doctrine" - taking a necessary 'leash' off the media. Cursed G.E. lapdog.
"...Flooding is getting worse, and not just from hurricanes or rising tides, but from increased heavy rainfall. In this episode, we dive into the changing landscape of flood hazards. First, we journey to New York, to visit Hoboken, New Jersey, and Hollis, Queens, two communities facing different flood challenges. Then, we explore First Street's groundbreaking new risk map, pinpointing high-risk areas..."
The real threats of higher rainfall in shorter periods is more often overwhelming even the best flood control measures that relied on historical data and methods of assessing risks.
Notice Sarasota still flooded 3 days later (so far), no flood insurance required, and now not affordable even if still offered.
Even Tricky Dick established the EPA, and promoted finding a less polluting alternative to carbon-fueled engines. Reagan tried to close the EPA and appointed Watt and Gorsuch.
The trick to establishing a cult is to demonize the authority of evidence and critical thinking and substitute the dictates of some authoritarian person. It's like metal malware. Look at how bonkers some classic cults have become; and dangerous.
From 2012 Platform of the Republican Party of Texas
"Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority. "
I remember that summer well...the trial was on our TV all day long...to an 11 year old it was torture...years later when I was in high school I read All the President's Men and was fascinated by all of it..slightly wishing I had paid closer attention to the trial. It was a HUGE deal when he resigned. Now look at the firestorm we are in, and I'm thinking maybe we should be paying a little closer attention to "Combover Caligula" ( not my nick name but I think it's priceless) when he says if he doesn't win there's going to be a bloodbath. From "I'm not a crook" to bloodbath...wow.
The other telling comparison is that the gop of 1974 could recognize and remove the stain from within its own ranks. Today’s gop has only a scattering of such integrity and every one of those is out or nearly out of office, rejected by the gop.
The balance of power (something democracy is meant to achieve) but does not tell the whole story. We were not so inured to non-stop lies. Not such blatant ones anyway.
Watergate was this, as Heather so clearly describes - but so much more. Nixon and his close staff and allies were building an imperial presidency, similar to what SCOTUS has just ordained with its presidential immunity decision. Had the Supreme Court 50 years ago been as open to authoritarianism, bigotry, and corruption as the current court, Nixon might have been able to serve out his term, and possibly beyond. We were saved by many people, especially including Frank Wills.
SCOTUS then: [E]xecutive privilege “must be considered in light of our historic commitment to the rule of law. This is nowhere more profoundly manifest than in our view that 'the twofold aim (of criminal justice) is that guilt shall not escape or innocence suffer.'... The very integrity of the judicial system and public confidence in the system depend on full disclosure of all the facts….”
SCOTUS now: Presidents are kings.
Can't "like" this, but it's dead on.
"Presidents are kings."
And not constitutional monarchs, autocrats. While Grey Eminences among the Justices of the Supreme Court are... kingmakers.
Peter, to steal someone else’s moniker for Trump the king…..to be addressed as “your Heinous”. Perfect!
So perfect that it made me smile in spite of myself.
Wasn't the film about the Watergate break-in called "All the King's Men"?
Taken from the old nursery rhyme:
Trumpty Dumpty sat on his Wall...
When could "All the King's horses, all the King's men" EVER put Trumpty together again?
Some things just can't be mended...
All the President's Men, based on the non-fiction book written by Bernstein and Woodward.
Roberts, Thomas, and Alito. Look what they've done.
There were many scoundrels, but quite a few heroes. In addition to those mentioned in this post (Wills, Woodward, Bernstein, Cox, Richardson, Jaworski, Sirica, Ervin, Dean, Butterfield) one could add Peter Rodino, Barbara Jordan, Ben Bradlee, and the Baltimore prosecutors who uncovered the Spiro Agnew bribery scandal that forced him to resign (which led to Ford becoming VP and subsequently President. God only knows what might have happened had Agnew remained as Nixon’s VP.
Shudder at the thought. I’ll add Everett Dirksen. He and Barbara Jordan were the heroes to me. I was so proud of the process that nailed the perp.
And Mark Felt.
Indeed, he had a lot to lose
Bluchek Mark,
"....but quite a few heroes. " Yes, then and now such men and women serve this country with wisdom, with great inherent goodness, with their lives and amazing gifts of mind and character!
May God bless and protect each and everyone!!!!
May we too stand up against tyrants who would take this beloved country....this place that offers hope to refugees who long to be free...who long to find work and a place for their families....who long to worship as they choose or not to worship....to live safely with being who they are as human beings. Each and every person should be valued. Each of us make up this nation. We are great due to those who were here before us (Indian nations) and those who have since faced hardship to leave from a place of poverty or dictatorship to come to a place where they are willing to take the most humble jobs to start and build a new life.
We must work within our beings constantly to be persons...to be a country of people who strive to be truth tellers....to respect law and order mixed with compassion. We must each and all work to value and live out these ideals within many of our lives and to expect this type of character to be found and lived out by the leaders who stand as our leaders or we will fall to predators who only care for profit NOW, for themselves.
In order to continue as a great people, as a caring people we must protect our land and the air and the space we are exploring outside of our earth home. We must think of the future we are leaving for the children of this world.
If Agnew had remained as VP, we'd have a better approximation of what it will be like if Vance becomes VP. Ford, I still believe, was a good guy with a strong moral compass.
Maybe that’s why Vance was chosen—knowing the public would never want him as President, it would give us pause to throw Trump in jail (should he be elected and still found guilty of treasonous plots.)
Also, sending the Southern ‘boys’ home may not have been a great idea either. What if we had let the South secede? Their belief of white male superiority was never squelched or even moderated. And now here we are back at the beginning, fighting the same damned fight. Of course all the what if’s in the world don’t amount to a hill of beans. We are served the realities of today and must use our knowledge of past mistakes to make a better country tomorrow than it was or has been up to this point. Harris and Walz seem to be smart and honest. They project ideas of fairness for all citizens, not just the ones willing to pay for power. I am all in on this ticket, hoping they will be elected along with members of Congress devoted to justice. Given that ideal, real positive changes could be made in our laws to prevent another Nixon or Trump from stealing the heart of our country— liberty and the pursuit of happiness for every citizen, no matter their color, religion, age, or economic status—ever again!
Keep going..... our formerly respected Supreme Court has managed to shoot itself in the foot at the bidding of the Federalist Society and the GOP Senate, especially Mitch McConnell. They used to be largely non-partisan and used to respect precedent. Now they rule as though they were beholden to the RNC.
“What if we had let the South secede?“
This bit of humor about seceding might tickle your funny bone:
————
Red States Want to Secede? Go Ahead. Make Our Day.
Nearly 1 million Americans have signed petitions calling for secession including over 100,000 in Texas and over 50,000 in Georgia. So, here's a response.
(A poll from Public Policy Polling reports that 25 percent of Republicans would like their state to secede from the Union. Nearly 1 million Americans have signed petitions calling for secession including over 100,000 in Texas and over 50,000 in Georgia. So, cribbing from a viral email that's been making its way around the internet in the spirit of fair use and adding my own evil satiric thoughts, here's a response.)
So some of you patriotic Americans in Red States are so mad that a Kenyan, Muslim, socialist black man got elected President of the USA for a second time that you want to demonstrate your patriotism by seceding from the United States of American? Go ahead. Make our day.
But be careful what you wish for. Here's how it could go down, and it might not be so pretty for you after all is said and done.
We would get the West Coast, all of the Northeast and the upper Midwest.
You would get Texas, Oklahoma and all the former slave states.
We would keep Hawaii too, the foreign country with warm water and beautiful beaches where Barack Hussein Obama was born without a birth certificate.
You can have Alaska and stare at Russia from your front porches.
To be fair, we may have to split up some states.
You get North Florida. We get South Florida. After all, what would you want with all those gay people in South Beach and old Jews in Miami?
We get North Virginia. You get South Virginia. To be fair, we'll let you keep the University of Virginia. Go Cavaliers! Plus you need at least one place to educate some leaders who believe in science.
But Austin, Atlanta and New Orleans get to be their own Blue city/states, sort of like West Berlin before the Wall came down. We'll even pay to move the capital of Texas from Austin to W's hometown of Midland, where as one native recently put it, "There used to be one Democrat in town, but I think she died".
We might even merge with Canada. That way we get single-payer healthcare, solvent banks, the Royal Canadian Mounties, and Ryan Gosling (eat your hearts our Red-nation women).
To sum up briefly:
We get Bruce Springsteen, Jay Z and Beyonce. You get Ted Nugent and Meatloaf.
Plus Willie Nelson gets to park his bus anywhere he likes in the Blue America.
We get Elizabeth Warren. You get Todd Aiken. (Hey, we'll even keep Chris Christie. He's too large to move, anyway.)
We get the Statue of Liberty. You get OpryLand.
We get the New York Philharmonic. You get the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
We get Oprah. You get Paula Deen.
And Blue America will have an easy repatriation policy for the ancestors of slaves still stuck in the former Confederate states, as well as a path to citizenship for undocumented workers and their children from both Red and Blue America who have worked hard/studied hard and put down roots. We'll even have a 21st century version of "40 acres and a mule" with education, job training and work at a fair wage for those who need it. (But here's a warning: good luck getting your crops picked, your kids asses wiped, and your pools cleaned without a bunch of low-paid undocumented workers.)
Any Red-nation NBA team that wants to gets to move to a Blue state city without its own team. Hey, how about them World Champion Pittsburgh Thunder?
And the New York Jets will send you back Tim Tebow for a player to be named later.
We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs.
You get backwoods crystal meth labs.
We get Intel, Microsoft and Apple. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.
We get two-thirds of the tax revenue. You get to pay your fair share for once.
Speaking of all those federal taxes you love to hate. Most of it comes from us and goes to you. So stop talking nonsense about how "It's our money, not the government's money". Of the 19 states that send more money to Washington than they get back in benefits, 14 are Blue. And of 31 states that get more money back from the Feds than they pay in taxes, 23 are Red. It's not your money. It's our f**cking money. So from here on out, you can pay for your own damn roads and bridges.
Which state do you think has the lowest divorce rate? It's Taxachusetts, the first state to recognize gay marriage. Think that's some aberration? How about this? 9 of the 10 lowest divorce rates are in the Blue states. And where are the highest divorce rates? 10 of the top 10 are Red.
But gay people getting married is going to ruin the family for you? Seems like you're ruining it pretty well on your own.
So we get a bunch of happy families, straight and gay. You get a bunch of single moms and deadbeat dads.
With the Blue States in hand we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve Texas wines at state dinners) 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech, UC Berkeley, and MIT.
With the Red States you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans and their projected health care costs, 92 percent of all US mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, and Bob Jones University.
So, as we said at the start. You want to secede? Go ahead. Make our Day. But be careful what you wish for. You might not be so happy if you actually got it. If you ask nicely, we might even take you back.
Keep UVa (Charlottesville and Albemarle county), Richmond, and Williamsburg (WIlliam and MAry as well as Colonial WIlliamsburg the actual history of the US that is celebrated there, we don't need anhistorical version of The Ark Adventure placed there). The DC - Tidewater crescent is too vluable to give up easily (Norfolk Naval Base, Newport News Shipbuilding, and NASA at Langly)!
I think Trump chose Vance, the most radical of those in the running, as a hedge against impeachment. The cost of removing Trump from office would be putting Vance in office.
Ah, yes and today? It reads like a nursery school tale. Those innocent times when having a moral compass was not only alluded to, it was necessary. And a Supreme Court that honored the rule of law instead of the rule of oligarchs. We thought that would be the worst this country would have to bear. Little did we know.
Yeah, I thought Nixon would be the top holder of presidential infamy for my lifetime.
Some time during Trump’s presidency, I saw a poignant bumper sticker, “I NEVER THOUGHT I’D MISS NIXON.
Ed, this is apropos of nothing, but I love the bumper sticker.
"We decided not to have kids. The kids are taking it pretty hard."
Don’t forget his VP Spiro Agnew who actually received bags of influence dollars IN HIS OFFICE! Justice did nab him.
Rachel Maddow on Bag Man, Spiro Agnew.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OoIab13RfA0
But he didn't go to prison.
No he didn’t but lord knows he should have. I don’t remember now the deal made that kept him out of the slammer but there was one made.
Go read Rachel Maddow's book, "Bagman."
I listened to her podcast but it was a while ago so forgot the details.
At least he never got to be President.
A very important and close call, that "at least."
In thise days the humiliation of being removed fron office seemed to be enough. Trump and Co. have no shame, so the lesson didn't take.
Did he accept the graft before or after he committed his his malfeasance? The Supreme Court wants to know.
If only...The popular majority of the USA never ever considered the possibility of tump beating Hillary Clinton.ĺ
Only with the help of the Electoral College, he will never win a popular vote (unless unimaginable levels of voter suppression succeeded).
I truly believe he is well past his peak, and as some old friends would say, "Stick a fork in him, he's done" (indeed overdone).
I was in maybe 7th Grade when the teacher explained the Electoral College. I recall my confused, negative reaction, having previously been led to believe that "We the People" selected our highest office holder. President (and VP) are the one office that for whom we are ALL constituents.
No one considered the possibility of the FBI director being a fool.
Same. We assumed incorrectly, sadly.
Little did we dream that the same party would learn from it's mistakes, and move to up their filthy game so patiently and near completely.
They learned the wrong things, just don’t get caught until you can buy the judge
And from Goebbles. If to you are going to lie, lie bigly, and never ever admit.
And being reminded of GOP attacks on Waltz's military record (and calling hm Tampon Tim), when you've got noting to attack, make it up; the wrong object lesson taken from Putin and "Tailgunner" Joe. McCarthy.
Roberts, Thomas, and Alito. Not the place to look for any moral leadership. Or any honoring of precedent. What once was great, now has fallen.
The flame is not out, but we need to hustle.
It's not out, but it's flickering. I like term limits, I like an enforceable code of ethics, I like expanding the Court to 13 or 15 justices, and I like expelling Thomas and Alito, and I like a Chief Justice with back bone.
The long-gone days when expletives were deleted (in brackets).
Now it's expletive retweeted.
(appreciative chuckle)
I was 15 at the time (in 1973) and I remember Watergate as the first serious political event that I really paid attention to. I can still call to mind the photograph of Nixon's secretary, Rose Mary Woods in the stretched position to show how she had "inadvertently" erased 18 minutes of tape.
If I had a friend like Rosemary Woods
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-bcsF7rtfo
That was great. Thanks for the link!
Thank you for the link and the reminder! Love it . Methinks the days of pithy truth-telling political songs are over….or am I just not listening anymore?
I was 11 in 1973. My brother and I made a life-size witch for Halloween, with a paper maché head. I remember my dad laughed and laughed, saying it was brilliant we had made her with Agnew’s face. The resemblance was inadvertent, but it added a little dark humor to an otherwise bleak historic moment.
Nixon blamed the press for doing their job. Today's press and media give Trump a free ride (refusing to call out his lies, even today, or to interrupt him when he refuses to answer a question), as Lawrence O'Donnell pointed out this evening in a heated report blasting the reporters. But the papers printed endless op eds trashing Biden, when they should have been focused on the SC rulings. The press corps doesn't hesitate to give grief to Biden's WH press secretary, but they don't push back on Trump when he lies. Thank goodness we have historians like you, Heather, and Joyce Vance and other legal and history experts who explain the details of what is happening in the courts and in the campaigns. We need to hold the courts, the former president and the members of Congress accountable, but we also need to demand that reporters do their jobs, and do so fairly. I love the surge of energy for Harris and Walz, but I have yet to see anyone in the press fact check the former president or call out his lies in real time.
Lawrence O’Donnell was on absolute fire tonight, calling out a compliant and ’stupid’ (his word) press when it comes to the Yam and contrasting their behavior with the same press and their reaction to Biden’s Press Sec’y.
Thanks Maria, I am GLAD to hear O'Donnell and here's the link: https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/lawrence-stupidest-candidate-trump-did-not-answer-reporters-questions-216787525948
Thank You. This made my day. Thank You.
I really like watching/listening to O'Donnell - he's always on point. And I also noticed the WTF about the reporters and tr***. WHY are they that way? Are they told they won't get to be in the room again if they speak up? Or are they all tr*** supporters under the guise of "news reporters"?
Thank you for the link.
The NABJ did a major service interviewing tRump, despite the blowback from a number of organizations. They gave us a chance to hear the REAL talk directly from him. It was so real that 45's handlers pulled him early before he totally imploded on camera.
The major news outlets blew the opportunity to do their job by not following up on his statements to highlight his BS but rather turning them on Harris to prove herself. (N.B. Phyllis Wheatley's ordeal for writing poetry while being a black woman.) Shows a true level of hypocrisy in reporting, a lack of integrity based in greed, and contempt for their responsibility to inform the public as needed for our system to work as intended.
The firehose makes that difficult so they just ignore. We have the technology to “beep” at every lie. Or maybe his nose could grow and he could become a pretzel by the end of every tirade
The fire hose is a challenge, but the press doesn't hesitate to harass and interrupt other speakers. And yes, they could beep or beep or blast a blow horn every time he lies.
Just don’t understand why his nose doesn’t grow longer than that ridiculous tie
Ah, the good old days, when the president wasn’t above the law and everyone agreed. Except Bork.
And proto-billionaires.
Thank goodness Bork was not confirmed as a Supreme Court justice.
I remember that period well. What a difference that Supreme Court was which acted swiftly to allow justice to be served, essentially affirming that no person was above the law. Compare that to today’s Supreme Court loaded with political hucksters with no integrity.
At least on the Republican side.
Acted not only swiftly but unanimously. Like you, Donald, I remember that period very well. The Watergate hearings took place in my summer between college and grad school, and I watched them nonstop. The entire country understood clearly then that the question before SCOTUS was whether the president was above the law. We held our collective breath waiting for the ruling.
Fifty years is a long time. But the people can still recognize it when the rule of law is in the Supreme Court's hands. This time, the Court failed. It broke the Constitution. Where we go from here is unknown.
Fortunately, Judge Tanya Chutkan is well suited to be today's John Sirica. She must have strong public support.
I wonder how Nixon would have fared in today’s political climate of see-no-wrong Republicans in Congress and a corrupt, hyper-ideological Supreme Court. Safe bet that he would not have resigned or been removed from office.
Nixon might well would be a Democrat, what with the creation of the EPA, and other environmental legislation.
“In 1970, he signed the National Environmental Policy Act and established the Environmental Protection Agency, which was charged with coordinating and enforcing federal environmental policy. During his presidency, Nixon also signed the Clean Air Act of 1970, and the Clean Water Act. He signed the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the primary law for protecting imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation".[83][84]”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Richard_Nixon#:~:text=During%20Nixon's%20tenure%2C%20spending%20on,to%2011.1%20percent%20in%201973.
His negatives far outweighed any good he did.
But CFDT has done NOTHING to make America great and yet his followers think he will do a better job than Biden has done especially with the economy.
Are they just fucking stupid or what?
Soaked in brain-cell killing Rupert bullschittery non-stop. Repub family I was close with once had Fox on 24-hours a day. No exaggeration. They were up all hours but still. Not stupid, although most are I”ll have to say. The educated can be so ignorant about so much. Plenty of evidence in chump’s crowd.
I did and do appreciate the good he did for whatever reason (build support like mobsters did in their neighborhoods), but even the very best of anything he did doesn't excuse the implied immunity he expected in all other things large and small. (Some day you can do a favor for me.)
Imperial Presidency ?
Gee, back when the worst thing the GOP would do was cheat and steal and when caught, do the “honorable” thing and resign. No one had any idea we’d have a 34x felon on their ticket in 2024. No more Grand Ole Party, they have become the government of Putin.
Even more so, the party of Koch, Leo, and Crow, etc. Putin just plays the "GOP" as useful idiots.
Exactly. The irony is astounding. An American political party that had always been strong on defense became a tool of the enemy. Shamelessly. Embracing power and money over patriotism and honor.
Yep.
Y'all it goes way back farther than that. Way back. Back to the creeping subjection of women by males through every means possible and necessary for dominance. These are all iterations of the same theme. That's probably why they're harder to shake, they have buried in so deep, with many many women denying their demands in every way possible singly and in
groups for effing ever. Now, blessedly, men are even becoming tired of it too. What a shift.
Read Marilyn French: "Beyond Power: on Women, Men and Morals".
I live with 4 women all of whom are wiser than I am. They all keep me in my place and call me out when I cross the various "red" lines.
As a white man, I have never feared walking down the streets of any city at night or saying hello to a woman on a secluded beach. This is a gift I received at conception and many man don't understand how privileged we are to be free from these negative emotions.
Wow Gary-you’ve characterized the impact that race and gender can have on individuals and groups well. It’s truly a “gift” to be free from racism and sexism.
The Harris/Walz campaign’s focus on “freedom” is so important in so many ways including freedom from being exploited and dominated by greedy capitalists and fake Christians.
We don’t need leaders who want to “conserve” the status quo. Some may think “progressives” are enemies but we truly need leaders who can help us to progress beyond caste. Thanks for clearly recognizing privilege as a gift that defines our life choices and experiences.
There really wasn't "that" much honor involved Gwen. If memory serves me, both the house and the senate had Democrat majorities at that time.
Couldn’t find honor with a microscope
Putin is the puppeteer
Love Heather's final lines, on how Republican views of Dems, the press, haven't changed in 50 years.
Some commenters here may observe that at least U.S. Senate Republicans then had a modicum of decency, respect for the Constitution, and for the republic as a field governed by law.
For those tempted to such sentimentality, I recommend a recent talk Joe Conason gave at Politics and Prose (interviewer being his new friend, George Conway). Conason had just published his book, "The Longest Con," on how the Republican party in the past 50 years (or more, counting the Richard Viguerie and Roy Cohn 1950s) sank into nothing more than a nihilist grifters' game.
The site: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFwZazfr3fA
I don't think it is sentimentality to observe significant changes, even though there was never a golden age. Certainly corruption has been a constant companion of American politics, and different segments of society are impacted more than others; but fake electors, sketchy money trails, Jan. 6th, Trump trying to extort Ukraine, non-stop lies, and many more frankly high crimes and misdemeanors have peppered and characterized the modern "GOP" as unique. I don't believe that Nixon could have said or done one tenth of the egregious things that Trump has done in the 1970s if the public had known about it and had even a remote chance of reelection.
Remember, J L, 50 years ago the press had to observe the fairness doctrine.
That disappeared, so lying can proceed wholesale from any part of the media.
Here's Lawrence O'Donnell, today, furious at how sniveling all the U.S. mainstream press has hence become:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD-oTJ49nls
Love Lawrence!! He was so angry tonight. Despises Trump with a passion and truly has the goods on him. He showed Kamala at her best when she was interrupted during her speech yesterday by Pro-Palestinian supporters. She shut them down and then stared them down for about 3 minutes. The funny thing was that she had met them prior to her getting on stage. They wanted to talk to her and she said she wanted to speak with them afterwards. She arranged, with her staff, for that to happen. Then they blurted crap out and she wasn’t having it!
Kamala didn’t meet with “them”, she met with two representatives of @uncommittedmvmt, one important pro Palestinian group working hard to change US policy in Gaza. Protesters against US policy are not a monolith.
There are Left cretins, as well as Right cretins....
Protesters are cretins?! People who are horrified that their government aids and abets the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians and the near total destruction of their homes, hospitals, and schools - are cretins?
Ratio please? Sort of like criminal convictions. Repub outdo Dems by leaps and bounds. I’m old enough to remember. Check it out
I think there are extremists of all sorts, but left, right and/or theocratic seem to be the main ones. Gaza is trickier, and natural self-defense is being conflated with crimes against humanity. There is an array of disparate positions associated with left and right, and a lot of ambiguities between extremes, but to me the extreme positions seem to be marked by some of the positions that left or right wing folk I have read or encountered take on property. The extreme left was closed to ANY private property or service and the right closed to ANY public property or service, including roads, schools or military. I have not encountered anyone of the left extreme variety since the 1970s.
Looking at what is real rather than hypothetical, it seems to me that both extremes encourage authoritarianism to try to force the public into unnatural behaviors. It seems to me that trade is a human evolutionary trait (as is cooperation) and that a "free society" enables private enterprise, as well as a robust private sector. Some social functions are too important and/or too dangerous to be left to private whim.
And if we are to take government of, by and for we the people seriously, we get to define the responsible boundaries of behavior for commerce, not vice versa. It's just plain nutso to reserve it as some sort of ethics free, social responsibility free, accountability free zone.
OMG. The dreaded "mom" stare she gave them. DonOld just waves his hand and they haul the hecklers off. She didn't need to.
Hopefully she will do that again when she meets with DonOld at the debate he tried to weasel out of.
Might be, Marlene, the greatest bit of television in U.S. history.
"The vast well of stupidity that takes up most of his brain".
I'm only halfway through, have saved it. It's so strong!
Equal time, as I experienced it, did not create very engaging discussions. I may not be being fair here, but it always seemed the TV stations dug up some utter nitwit to state the outlier position rather than an expert. That did not seem equal since the there was usually quite a bit of money and momentum behind the view being challenged and for which I wanted to see more balance. Be that as it may, it seems to me that "equal time" performed a far more important service by inhibiting All Lies, All the Time radio and TV, that has much to do with the growth of anti-democratic attitudes in our society.
The second bulwark against fascist propaganda was, so far as I understood it, rules that prevented over-concentration of ownership of media, including newspapers in any one area. At least that was how my father described it. He worked for as an announcer/program director for a small town radio station in the 1940's and early '50s. Anti-trust and worker/consumer protection was far more of a thing pre-Reagan.
Love best your last line here, J L.
Of course, it was deliberate, and mega-well-funded by all the worst on the far right -- the perversion of the playing field following 1971's Citizens United.
Love the note on your dad in the 1940s and early '50s. At that time my father was a car designer, immediately after the war for Kaiser Fraser at the former Willow Run bomber plant outside Detroit, and then through the '50s for Ford.
I loved all the metal emblems for cars he designed, plus that glory days of chrome and tail fins. So much good rock'n'roll on it then, too.
I have long since then had decidedly hostile feelings toward car culture, and what it did to American land and American cities. But I do recall that boyhood heyday.
"His disappointed supporters embraced the idea that there was a “liberal” conspiracy, spearheaded by the press, to bring down any Republican president."
And then there were the many who voted for him and never voted for a Republican again!
Thank you for that link. Most interesting!
Those of us who experienced Watergate can remember the disbelief and anger at these acts by Nixon, so similar to Trump's disregard for the rules. Yet one must wonder if this current Supreme Court would have given Nixon a pass, as they seem to now for Trump. I don't think the average voter wants any president to have a total cloke of immunity, and I hope Biden's efforts to clarify this are successful
Bonnie MacEvoy,
In reality, Nixon did get a pass. I believe government officials should be held to an even higher standard. They are responsible for ALL THE PEOPLE of this great nation. The persons who work with them to make it possible for our "leaders" to get away with crime....and that is what it is "CRIME" should receive the most severe punishment.
It is pathetic, in my opinion, that Donald Trump is even allowed to be a candidate for ANY position in our government!
Also, men and women who are voted into office should also be held to a higher standard. I am thankful for those currently being tried for using their elected positions in Congress for their own personal benefit.
Being a "servant leader" for every citizen of this nation especially for our children and the elderly is most important! Being a global partner in working together to control illegal activities throughout our world dealing with drugs and shipping and monetary illegal activities is vital for the stability of our future. These are serious problems needing to be addressed NOT to be used for the opportunity to gain personal, monetary benefit from ANY of our leaders!!!
Yes! Candidates shoud be required to release 10 years of tax returns and be required by law to place their investments in a blind trust. Refusal or failure to do so would be disqualified from having their names on the ballot or serving in the office.
'72 I was in some sort of "election club" in junior high and was outraged when Nixon won. My dad told me he was known as "Tricky Dick" and that he had a sign that I think quoted Barnum, saying "there's a sucker born every minute" on his desk. Or maybe it was hanging on the wall next to his toilet?
The politics of my country, from the assassinations in the 60's to the Vietnam War and Women's Lib and the protests against the war, have always seemed to be part of me. One of my first drawings, that I really worked on, was of the Vietnamese girl screaming in pain from Our napalm, running naked down a dirt road.
I have to say, I am exhausted. I feel that my visceral reaction to our country's perfidy and the election of a Rapist braggart in 2016 has had a negative effect on my children. We have suffered enough.
Thank you Patrice. I can add that I have diagnosed myself as having battle fatigue, with roots of my own going back, depending on what I'm counting in today as a kind of battle, eight decades, from age nine. My political body, channeling its stored experience in a variety of ways, has been giving me readings on its own scale of stress tolerance at shall we say the highest level, to my evaluating brain. Have been posting reminders especially around the kitchen area, one of which says “Slow The Zen Down". Another says “Kindness Begins at Home” - and I live alone 😘. Hope any of this helps and feel free to use it.
Thank you, Robin, for this analysis. So many of us are suffering from battle fatigue. Perhaps this is why there is such an outpouring of joy over the current Democratic ticket. 💙🌊
Thank you, Robin. You are very wise. I like the idea of posting signs as reminders. Your's are perfect. If we are lucky enough to be in it for long haul, we need these reminders.
Peace, patrice
My dad was a reporter. I’m not sure if it was the LA Daily News or the Mirror ( I think before times-mirror. When he quoted Nixon, Nixon said it was untrue and tried to have dad fired, but several reporters from other papers had the same quote in their files.
Thank you Heather for the reminder. I was 14 and at summer camp at the time. My mom sent me a daily postcard which I received the next day and I remember reading it to all my friends there telling them Nixon had resigned.
I don’t know enough presidential history to know what Ronald Reagan thought of Richard Nixon, but this reminds me to be appalled that Reagan nominated someone who was willing to weaponized the justice department and potentially violate the law on behalf of the president to the Supreme Court, meaning Robert Bork. I listened to the confirmation hearings for Bork at the time and while it’s been a long time, I don’t recall his actions on behalf of Nixon being a reason to disqualify him. Fortunately, there were plenty of other reasons.
In may estimation, Reagan was a far worse president than Nixon, and enjoyed accolades. Apart from loathing environmental protection, Reagan concertedly undermined faith in a government of, by and for the people, and sold the idea that we should let the richest although us do whatever they pleased. Still waiting for that high tide that will lift all boats because the rich got richer.
I agree. Between the ravages if supply side economics and trickle down economics and his disastrous environmental policies, we see still dealing with the fallout.
When you see your top billing as being in D.C., please just don't leave Hollywood and make it there instead. So weird, Reagan started as a Democrat.
Reagan, while he was an actor and the host of GE Theater, was the head of the Screen Actors’ Guild. So he was a union man. Ironic, considering he busted PATCO, the air traffic controllers union as President.
A member of my family by marriage was as right wing as they come, and hated unions, except for his own.
That change often comes with money. Elizabeth Warren started out as Republican and wound up a progressive Democrat. She studied her way out of the lies.
Elizabeth Warren left the party the same time I did, and was the first candidate I ever donated over $100 to.
He was bought, it’s the Repub way
A government of the monied, not laws. The Gilded Age sucked for workers. Why did we suppose it would work any better the second time around?
A more cruel version of that time. Well, maybe
I would agree; And he did it all and more with Hollywood style along with clever quips for a while. Along with flushing the "Fairness Doctrine" - taking a necessary 'leash' off the media. Cursed G.E. lapdog.
The press liked to call him "The Great Communicator", but he was more of a pitch man, familiar with the TV medium.
Chump same
At the same time he courted Rupert. Deliberately and with malice.
That Rising Tide isn't the whole story on what you get with Creeping Climate Change.
See https://www.pbs.org/video/our-understanding-of-floods-is-all-wrong-lpvov4/
"...Flooding is getting worse, and not just from hurricanes or rising tides, but from increased heavy rainfall. In this episode, we dive into the changing landscape of flood hazards. First, we journey to New York, to visit Hoboken, New Jersey, and Hollis, Queens, two communities facing different flood challenges. Then, we explore First Street's groundbreaking new risk map, pinpointing high-risk areas..."
The real threats of higher rainfall in shorter periods is more often overwhelming even the best flood control measures that relied on historical data and methods of assessing risks.
Notice Sarasota still flooded 3 days later (so far), no flood insurance required, and now not affordable even if still offered.
Even Tricky Dick established the EPA, and promoted finding a less polluting alternative to carbon-fueled engines. Reagan tried to close the EPA and appointed Watt and Gorsuch.
Jim-Given what we’re experiencing with extreme changes in our weather isn’t it crazy that Americans would vote for a party that denies climate change?
Jim-Given what we’re experiencing with extreme changes in our weather isn’t it crazy that Americans would vote for a party that denies climate change?
The trick to establishing a cult is to demonize the authority of evidence and critical thinking and substitute the dictates of some authoritarian person. It's like metal malware. Look at how bonkers some classic cults have become; and dangerous.
From 2012 Platform of the Republican Party of Texas
"Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority. "
Bork cum Barr.
Irony....
I remember that summer well...the trial was on our TV all day long...to an 11 year old it was torture...years later when I was in high school I read All the President's Men and was fascinated by all of it..slightly wishing I had paid closer attention to the trial. It was a HUGE deal when he resigned. Now look at the firestorm we are in, and I'm thinking maybe we should be paying a little closer attention to "Combover Caligula" ( not my nick name but I think it's priceless) when he says if he doesn't win there's going to be a bloodbath. From "I'm not a crook" to bloodbath...wow.
Truly … he has hundreds of sycophants just waiting for his call to their ams…
Comparing two narcissists in power - gads.
The other telling comparison is that the gop of 1974 could recognize and remove the stain from within its own ranks. Today’s gop has only a scattering of such integrity and every one of those is out or nearly out of office, rejected by the gop.
A scattering? There's not a Republican left in either house of Congress willing to actually cast a vote to recognize and remove the stain.
The RNC is now Trump's personal politburo.
And WaPo rooted out Nixon's perfidy like a dog on the hunt.
Instead of polishing Nixon's turds, like they do Trump's.
Today's press is complicit in ways that were unthinkable then.
Josh Marshall over at TPM makes the point more succinctly than I do.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/times-and-wapo-jump-on-board-trump-camp-swift-boating-of-walz/sharetoken/b442b1a4-5776-487a-98bb-718538f2fcc6
If memory serves me, both the house and the senate had Democrat majorities at that time, 1974.
The balance of power (something democracy is meant to achieve) but does not tell the whole story. We were not so inured to non-stop lies. Not such blatant ones anyway.
I was a rookie HS social studies teacher during Watergate. Teachable moment.
Me, too. I was doing my practice teaching that summer. And every day, a question about Watergate would be a pop quiz for extra credit.