Tag: Richard Nixon

May 09 2010

May ’70: 9. Violent Backlash

I was there when the reactionary “white terror” kicked in.

After the Kent State shootings, a New York City-wide demonstration had called for Wall Street on Friday-that was 40 years ago today, on Friday, May 8, 1970. I have no idea who called the demo, though it targeted the financial center of US capital and was around the three demands: US Out Of Southeast Asia, End Campus Complicity With The War Machine, and Free Bobby Seale And All Political Prisoners.

A small crew of us from NYU Uptown were there-I can’t swear to it, but I think it might have been Lon E. Bich and maybe Jim Bean. I remember the big banner for Bobby, and I remember how many high school kids seemed to be in the crowd of a couple thousand, crammed into the narrow streets of downtown Manhattan.

Suddenly, just before noon, as Wall Street types on lunch further crowded the area, there was a big stir about 20 feet from us. A tight column of dozens of guys wearing construction helmets with a couple American flags was wading through the crowd. Almost immediately it became clear that they were not just pushing protesters out of the way, but slugging them, beating them to the ground and kicking them. (Some Wall Streeters helped the injured. More joined the attacks.)

Photobucket

May 01 2010

May ’70: 2. Nixon Kicks It Off!

I want to continue this review of May, 1970 with a deeper look at Richard Nixon’s speech, broadcast 40 years ago tonight. It was that speech, announcing that US troops were invading Cambodia, which triggered the eruption of protest that was May 1970. Actually, you could say Tricky Dick predicted it:

My fellow Americans, we live in an age of anarchy, both abroad and at home. We see mindless attacks on all the great institutions which have been created by free civilizations in the last 500 years. Even here in the United States, great universities are being systematically destroyed.

The US High Command had known since 1967 that the Vietnam War was unwinnable, as the leaked Pentagon Papers later showed. Nixon had been elected in 1968 with the promise that “new leadership will end the war” and giving wink-and-nod no-comment replies to reports he had a “secret plan” to do so.

Apr 30 2010

May ’70: 1. Finally On Our Own

Tin soldiers and Nixon’s coming, We’re finally on our own… Forty years ago today, on Thursday, April 30, 1970, Richard Milhouse Nixon, the president of the United States, appeared on television for a special announcement about the Vietnam War. He told us that US troops, tens of thousands of them, had moved into Cambodia, expanding an already prolonged and costly war into another country. He claimed it was a necessary step toward ending the war, and toward insuring that the US would not be perceived in the world as “a pitiful helpless giant.”

Today that incredible upsurge, which pretty much shut down the 1969-70 school year throughout much of the American higher education system, is remembered mainly through one of its most dramatic events–the killing of four students at Kent State University by a sustained fusillade of gunfire from Ohio National Guard troops occupying their campus.

For forty years, the veterans of those days and younger activists have struggled to keep alive the memories of Kent State and of the subsequent police murders of two more students, this time at a traditionally Black college in Mississippi, Jackson State. We have succeeded in this, helped in part by that amazing mnemonic, Neil Young’s heartbreaking song, “Ohio,” which opens with the couplet at the start of this piece.

Apr 16 2010

PA-06:Fool Me Once, SOY, Fool Me Twice, SOM

Fool Me Once, Shame On You, Fool Me Twice, Shame On Me

I just saw this today, about PA-06,  http://www.dailykos.com/story/… at GOS, and since I have relatives who live in this district, plus I spent part of my life very close by, I thought I’d comment.  First, some background on Southeastern Pennsylvania politics.

In 2006 a former career Navy admiral named Joe Sestak(D) decided to run for Congress in nearby PA- 07.  It was a traditionally Republican district, but he managed to win.  Sestak was a Netroots candidate.  

After he won his second term, he became bored or more ambitious, and decided to run for the Pennsylvania Senate against Arlen Specter, who had switched parties from Republican to Democrat.

Even though he was still in the House, Sestak’s campaign donations jumped dramatically until he officially announced he was out of the congressional race and into the Senate.  This happened during the height of the health care debate in the spring of 2009, and during that, the issue was, for many activists, whether or not we would have a bill with a Public Option.

In spite of my online, public queries as to whether or not Sestak supported a Public Option, his online coordinator remained coy and merely directed me to links on Sestak’s campaign site, which did not supply that information. I also searched elsewhere.  From those links, it seemed that Sestak was for the concept of health care reform in general, but which sounded like mostly private plans, managed differently.  Since Sestak had campaigned on his family’s personal health care struggles, this was rather annoying.

Plus, with Sestak running for Senate, it now left PA- 07 at risk of being retaken by the Republican Party, after a lot of people for a very long time had worked to get it out. Triple annoying.   Now it looks to be a race between a Democratic State Representative, Bryan Roy Lentz, and a former Republican US Attorney, Patrick L Meehan.  http://www.thegreenpapers.com/…   Here is Meehan’s site, http://www.meehanforcongress.com/   he’s raised over a million so far, and he’s not going to do a damned thing for that district.  Here is Meehan’s version of health care “reform”  http://meehanforcongress.com/h…      which is to give people tax credits to purchase insurance and have them use Health Savings Accounts.  He is against the current bill and would have voted against it.   On the other issues, economy, taxes, and transportation, he ignores foreign policy.   Meehan’s probable Democratic opponent, Bryan Lentz, isn’t something to get enthused about, either, he is also tacking to the right trying to keep up with the “more tax cuts will solve everything” meme.   His healthcare stance is vague other than he says he will “fight” to let Americans keep their doctor and insurance, and “fight” against insurance companies to stop discrimination against those with pre existing conditions. “Bryan will fight for real lobbying reform that includes banning all gifts from lobbyists ” to reform our government.”  “Bryan will also work to provide tax cuts to companies that take advantage of innovative renewable energy technologies like wind, solar and geothermal.”  http://votelentz.com/index.php…

So, if Lentz loses, because he is a klutz, http://www.pa2010.com/2010/04/…     Sestak has turned the seat over to the Republicans, only to run against a Democratic incumbent in a race he is also likely to lose, because he underestimated Specter’s being a known quantity state wise, and his personality seems to have some Philly area, eastern PA loyalty.

In 2006 I had travelled to the district and had talked a high school friend into campaigning for Sestak, so I was very interested in the answer to the Public Option query, as here it was 3 years later, in 2009,  since the Democrats had taken control of the House, the economy was worse, the war(s) were still going on, and we still did not have any sort of decent bills coming out of this Congress on this matter.  I take my endorsements seriously.  Especially since I was talking to somebody who told me what his life was like living in a town whose economy was not doing well, and he was now enthused about this candidate.

It was only after Senator Arlen Specter publicly said that he was for a Public Option, in 2009,  that the formerly reticent Sestak began to publicly be for one, too.  THIS is the power of the primary.  It makes candidates commit to platforms and give their stances on issues, which then we the voter can compare to their later behaviors.

Arlen Specter is a crafty old ex Democrat, then ex Republican who’s a Democrat again, who’s alway’s had a bit of a moderate- liberal streak.  If there is one thing he knows, it’s that you can’t undercut your own Party consistently.  Hence Arlen, after a bit of a fumble out of the gate, got with the program and supported Health Care Reform and the Public Option.  He also signed the “Bennet Letter”  on Feb 19, 2009,  which supported the leadership to use reconciliation to pass a Public Option.   http://www.politico.com/news/s…   Yes, I know that we didn’t get one, but we also had alleged Democratic Senators who were actively fighting against this P/O the entire way, such as Blanche Lincoln ( D, “Koch Oil, Walmart”)  of Arkansas, and a lot of alleged Democratic congressmen.   Overall, Specter has been a Democrat during his time as a Democrat.

But this isn’t about him, really, or Sestak.  It’s about Doug Pike vs. Manan Trevidi, in the Democratic Primary in nearby PA – 06 .    

Mar 26 2010

Espresso Party USA

ESPRESSO PARTY MISSION STATEMENT: The Espresso Party Movement gives voice to Americans who are fed up to fcuking here with the bullsh*t in government.

We recognize that the federal government is the enemy of the people, not the expression of our collective will, and that we must all participate in the process of tearing the system down and kicking ass in November 2010 in order make room for building something fcuking useful to address the challenges that we face as Americans.

As voters and grassroots volunteers, we will support leaders who work toward positive solutions, and we will mercilessly hunt down and politically destroy those who obstruct them.



A Message From Our Founder

Dec 12 2009

An Objection to War, From My Father to Me

Since today is my Father’s birthday, I thought I’d share a brief story about one of his experiences 40 years ago, and how learning about this experience contributed to my perspective today.

On November 15, 1969, my Father was in Washington DC for what is still the single largest anti-war protest in American history to date — the second Moratorium against the Vietnam War, in which it has been estimated that between 250,000 and 750,000 citizens arrived to demonstrate in the nation’s capital.  As a lieutenant commander in the United States Public Health Service, my Father was volunteering on site at a medical van as part of an emergency response team.  He helped treat several patients who were suffering from burns and injuries when police tear gassed a group of demonstrators who protested violently later on during the day.  In fact, he even suffered eye burns of his own from the tear gas, simply by being in the vicinity where police and demonstrators clashed.

Sep 05 2009

Doctor tells Congress all, about Health Care Denials

Doctor Linda Peeno, a renown expert in the field of “Managed Care”, explains to Congress the dirty little secrets behind the Business of Health Care Denial:

Doctor Linda Peeno, a renown expert in the field of “Managed Care”, explains to Congress the dirty little secrets behind the Business of Health Care Denial:

THE REAL DEATH PANELS: Insurance Companies That Deny Care



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…

Linda Peeno, M.D.

In the spring of 1987, as a Physician, I denied a man a necessary operation, that would have saved his life. And thus caused his death. And I’m haunted by the thousands of pieces of paper, on which I have written that deadly word: Denied.

Jul 23 2009

Overnight Caption Contest

Jun 08 2009

Billy Graham & the Rise of the Republican South: An Interview With Historian Steven P. Miller

Photobucket The topic below was originally posted on my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal.


In the age of Barack Obama, both the Republican Party as well as the South appear marginalized and out of step with the rest of America. Yet it wasn’t so long ago that the South represented the foundation of America’s conservative hegemony. Starting with Dwight Eisenhower in 1952, the Republican Party prevailed in nine out of the next fourteen presidential elections with a reliable Southern base.


Specifically, the Republican Party exploited white Southern resentment against the cause of civil rights and integration. The “Southern strategy” as it was later called, enabled Republicans to end the Democratic Party’s previous domination of the South following the Civil War. A key figure in that realignment was the renowned evangelist Billy Graham.

May 02 2009

Condoleezza Rice avows; President is above law



Condi Rice Pulls a Nixon: If the President Orders Torture, It Must be Legal

copyright © 2009 Betsy L. Angert.  BeThink.org

Students at Stanford stood still as they listened to former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice speak.  As the scholars pondered the words of the prominent woman who presented her case for waterboarding, many mused; “Is it Richard Nixon, or Condoleezza Rice?  Which person thinks a President is above the law?” One might wonder.  Those who viewed a video taped classroom conversation with Secretary Rice, today express astonishment as well.  In her defense for actions she took to advocate for this extreme interrogation techniques Condoleezza Rice both blamed her former boss, George W. Bush and justified his decision.

“The president instructed us that nothing we would do would be outside of our obligations, legal obligations under the Convention Against Torture.”

Feb 13 2009

Respectfully, Senator Leahy, Pursue Justice

A truth and reconciliation commission for

seeking answers so that we can develop a shared understanding of the failures of the recent past.

will not achieve your objective to

make sure they never happen again

unless the Department of Justice is allowed to pursue justice aggressively.

Since J. Edgar Hoover began illegal FBI surveillance of American citizens in the 1950’s we have had repeated violations of basic Constitutional rights by the government followed by investigations by commissions. However, because no one in the government suffered any consequences for their actions the violations not only continued, they have grown worse. Justice must be pursued and laws protecting citizens’ Constitutional rights must be enforced to stop the violations. J Edgar Hoover and Joseph McCarthy abused the power of the FBI to keep files on congress and private citizens using the ruse of the red scare. McCarthy was censured and driven from the Senate but only the victims of his abuse suffered real punishment. J. Edgar Hoover continued his abuses of power, keeping files on Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders.

Nov 05 2008

I Felt Like This Once Before

It was a Friday in August 1974. Richard Nixon had boarded a helicopter on the White House lawn, flashed a “victory” sign and fled to avoid conviction on impeachment charges in the Senate.

At the local Liquor Mart, a warehouse-sized booze outlet, the aisles became so crowded by 9:30 a.m. that city police had to be called to monitor the line, which snaked out the door, around the building and down the block. They allowed more people into the store only as equal numbers came out, their arms or carts loaded with cases or kegs of beer and all other manner of alcohol. The aroma of cannabis wafted about here and there but did not spur the cops to arrest anyone as joints were passed along the line.

By 10:30 a.m., the shelves were going bare, and only the more expensive stuff was left, which seemed not to deter anyone.

After that, it was an all-weekend party. “Wasted” scarcely describes our drunkenness. Our partying was replicated around the country. In a way, that weekend marked the end of the ’60s, the era, not the decade.

Afterward came the letdown. Gerald Ford assumed the Presidency, and within a month, he had pardoned Nixon.    

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