Where Is Richard Nixon Now That We Need Him?

Since resigning in disgrace from the Presidency in 1974, Richard Nixon has symbolized the evil in politics and the rancid Republican Party. The Current Occupant of the White House and the recent joint press conference with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin calls to mind Nixon’s early time in the spotlight.

Back in the good old Cold War days, the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, aka Russia, took a small step in an attempt to warm diplomatic relations a bit. For a “cultural exchange,” the U.S. and U.S.S.R. each set up a national exhibition in the other’s country. Vice-President Richard Nixon traveled to Moscow for the opening of the US display in July 1959. As part of the ceremony, Richard Nixon took Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev on a tour.

Nixon proudly showed off American lifestyle features like color television and automatic laundry equipment. Khrushchev sneered at the American technology and boasted Russia would soon have those gadgets. Nixon retorted that the U.S.S.R. should not be afraid of ideas, “After all, you don’t know everything.” The arguing escalated as they moved to a U.S. model home presentation. Nixon complained about Khrushchev’s constant interruptions. With rising voices and finger pointing, the two accused each other of making threats that could lead to war. Leonid Brezhnev, who succeeded Khrushchev a few years later, watched over Nixon’s shoulder.

The “Kitchen Debate” was broadcast on all three U.S. television networks. (Only edited and abridged parts of the argument reached Soviet citizens.) The confrontation raised Nixon’s profile and helped him gain the Republican nomination for president the following year. Unlike the current Russian president, Khrushchev claimed to have done everything he could to bring about Nixon’s defeat in 1960.

Richard Nixon is remembered and reviled for the Watergate scandal and general corruption in politics. He is also responsible for cognitive dissonance in liberal heads with the other part of his legacy: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Clean Air Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

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Bob and Ray

If you are no longer amused by the idiocy of the current occupant of the White House, you may be ready for some of Bob and Ray’s political humor.

Remember Bob and Ray? Of course you don’t; you’re probably not old enough. Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding made their name in radio, beginning in 1946 with their earnest, dead-pan “news reporting.” They transitioned to a new medium with a fifteen-minute program on the nascent NBC television network from 1951 to 1953. Two decades later they appeared on the “Saturday Night Live” in its early days.

They made regular appearances with Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show” and later showed up on David Letterman’s late-night program.

Don’t you feel better, now?

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Who Could’ve Predicted This?

THEN–

Arguing its case in federal court, AT&T assured the judge that its acquisition of Time Warner would, contrary to what the Justice Department’s anti-trust suit claimed, magically bring more competition to the industry and result in lower prices for its DirecTV customers.

NOW–

DirecTV is raising prices $5.00 per month. “To continue delivering the best possible streaming experience for both new and existing customers, we’re bringing the cost of this service in line with the market,” AT&T said in a statement explaining their concept of more competition.

Oh, yeah and… (from the Los Angeles Times) “The announcement comes days after an industry analyst said AT&T had quietly increased an ‘administrative fee’ on its wireless customer bills in a recent move that could generate almost $1 billion a year in additional income. The analyst speculated that some of the fee could be intended to cover the costs of the Time Warner merger.”

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Tourist’s Guide to Seattle

Paul Allen’s Vulcan, Inc. and Jeff Bezos’s Amazon are competing to impose their own redevelopment visions on Seattle. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, got started first with his very own, taxpayer funded football stadium south of downtown and his in-progress makeover of south Lake Union on the northern edge of downtown. Bezos is coming on strong, with his new Amazon headquarters taking over central downtown… unless the city tries to levy a new tax; then he’s outta there.

Seattle still has a few quirky attractions that residents are proud to show off to visitors. They demonstrate how hip and creative they are, and are serious evidence that they do not take themselves too seriously.

Continue reading “Tourist’s Guide to Seattle”

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U.S. Opposes Mother’s Milk

At a gathering of the World Health Assembly under the auspices of the United Nations, Ecuador was to introduce an innocuous resolution supporting breast feeding as a sensible alternative to manufactured baby formula. The resolution stated that research shows mother’s milk is healthiest for children and countries should discourage inaccurate or misleading marketing of non-breast milk alternatives.
The United States would not have it. With the current administration firmly aligned with behemoth corporations, including the $70 billion baby-food market, American representatives wanted language removed that called on governments to “protect, promote and support breast-feeding.” They also wanted removed a section that exhorted government policymakers to limit promotion of food products that many experts say can have harmful effects on young children.
When Ecuador did not comply, the U.S. threatened trade sanctions and withdrawal of military aid. Ecuador gave in. In the end, Russia trumped the U.S. by formally introducing the resolution in lieu of Ecuador. The U.S. dropped its demand for alterations, and gave Russia the opportunity to be the good guy and declare it was a matter of principle. “We feel that it is wrong when a big country tries to push around some very small countries, especially on an issue that is really important for the rest of the world,” said a Russian delegate.
Read the entire story in the failing New York Times.

On a lighter note…

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Where Have You Gone D.B. Cooper?

D.B. Cooper is in the news again. New claims are being made about the identity of the man who was last seen Thanksgiving eve, 1971 aboard a Boeing 727 as it was flying over southwest Washington. He parachuted from the plane via its rear exit stairs, launching decades of debate about who he was and what was his fate.

Northwest Orient Airlines flight #305 began its itinerary in Washington D.C. on November 24, 1971. After stops in Minneapolis, Missoula, Great Falls and Spokane, the aircraft was boarding passengers in Portland for its final leg, a thirty-minute flight to Seattle.

Taking a seat near the rear was a middle-aged man conservatively dressed in a dark suit and tie under a white raincoat, carrying a black attaché case. He lit a cigarette and ordered a bourbon and soda. He had paid cash for his ticket at the Portland airport counter and, in those pre-TSA days, gave his name as Dan Cooper. Shortly after takeoff, he handed a note to a flight attendant that he had a bomb. He opened his attaché to show her red cylinders attached with wires to a battery.

Continue reading “Where Have You Gone D.B. Cooper?”

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