It depends on the quality of the report

Bob Woodward, right, and Carl Bernstein in the newsroom 
of the Washington Post in 1973. Photograph: AP 

Thinking like a degenerate fool, living in the past, 

looking for a story-telling witness

By late February 1974, the special Watergate prosecution force had obtained guilty pleas from Jeb Magruder, Bart Porter, Donals Sergretti, Herbert Kalmbach, Fred LaRue, Egil Krogh, and John Dean. Eight corporations and their officers had pleaded guilty to making illegal contributions to the CRP. In Washington, Dwight Chapman was under indictment for perjury. In New York, John Mitchell and Maurice Stans, were on trial, charged with obstruction of justice and perjury.
On March 1, the Washington grand jury that had indicted the original conspirators and burglars of the Democratic Headquarter in 1972 handed up its major indictments of in the Watergate cover-up case. It charged seven of the President's White House and campaign aides with conspiracy to obstruct justice.
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“To those who will decide if he should be tried for 'high crimes and misdemeanors'
-the House of Representatives-
And to those who would sit in judgment at such a trial if the House impeaches -the Senate-
And to the man who would preside at such an impeachment trial -the Chief Justice of the United States, Warren Burger-
And to the nation...
The President said, 'I want you to know that I have no intention whatever of ever walking away from the job that the American people elected me to do for the people of the United States.'
wrote Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, in "All the President's Men."
***
From Bob Woodward's book, "Fear."
Trump on Attorney General Jeff Sessions: "This guy is mentally retarded. He's this dumb Southerner. ... How in the world was I ever persuaded to pick him for my attorney general? ... He couldn't even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama. What business does he have being attorney general?"
***

The number of illegal activities were so large that one was bound to come out and lead to the uncovering of the others. Nixon was too willing to use the power of government to settle scores and get even with enemies.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/bob_woodward_289939

The number of illegal activities were so large that one was bound to come out and lead to the uncovering of the others. Nixon was too willing to use the power of government to settle scores and get even with enemies.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/bob_woodward_289939

“The people of the United States are entitled to assume that their President is telling the truth. The pattern of misrepresentation and half-truths that emerges from our investigation reveals a presidential policy cynically based on the premise that the truth itself is negotiable,” said Carl Bernstein.
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“We are watching a president, whose back is to the wall,” trying to grab a “get-out-of-jail pass,” the Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein says.
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“Rage-aholic” Donald Trump has initiated what amounts to a “coup” against the rule of law by ordering Jeff Sessions to resign as attorney general and replacing him with Trump loyalist Matthew Whitaker, warned Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein.
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“The White House had decided that the conduct of the press, not the conduct of the President’s men, was the issue.”
― Carl Bernstein, in "All the President's Men"
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Mueller’s investigation was triggered by a break-in at the Democratic National Committee, this time in digital form. Trump fired his acting attorney general and FBI director, just as Nixon first ordered his attorney general, and then the deputy, to fire the Watergate special prosecutor; they refused and quit on what became known as the Saturday Night Massacre. Trump, like Nixon before him, has gone to war against the media and displayed paranoia about perceived enemies.
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Tweeted by President Donald Trump, Aug. 29, 2018: CNN is being torn apart from within based on their being caught in a major lie and refusing to admit the mistake. Sloppy @carlbernstein, a man who lives in the past and thinks like a degenerate fool, making up story after story, is being laughed at all over the country! Fake News
***
“It depends on the quality of the report. In Watergate, one of the great lessons for me personally was you need a storytelling witness; you can’t just say: ‘I overheard’ or ‘I speculated’.
“John Dean, Nixon’s counsel, testified before the Senate Watergate committee on live national television: it was on every network, gavel to gavel coverage for four days. ‘I met with Nixon. He said, how much do we need to pay to silence the burglars? What about this? What about that?’ And it was devastating. Then you had the second punch which was the tapes which validated it, made Nixon his own narrator. So I’m not sure whether that’s going to happen,” said Bob Woodward in an interview with David Smith of "The Guardian."

The number of illegal activities were so large that one was bound to come out and lead to the uncovering of the others. Nixon was too willing to use the power of government to settle scores and get even with enemies.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/bob_woodward_289939

The number of illegal activities were so large that one was bound to come out and lead to the uncovering of the others. Nixon was too willing to use the power of government to settle scores and get even with enemies.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/bob_woodward_289939

Richard Nixon as a 'green giant'

 

Rare convergence looks for common ground on Earth Day

In the current political and social environment, it is pretty hard to say anything without setting someone off. The Pandemic complicates the algebra even more.

As Bob Dylan lamented, “Well, they'll stone you when you're trying to be so good. They'll stone you just like they said they would.They'll stone you when you're trying to go home. And they'll stone you when you're there all alone.”

Stacks of stones may break my bones, and I do recognize I have a right to remain silent, but not necessarily, the ability.

Every year since 1970, people around the globe have marked Earth Day, April 22, in various ways.

Interestingly Climate Central wrote an engaging defense of an unlikely hero for the environmental movement years ago, that has taken on legs of its own.

The odd ‘green giant’ in this case — Richard Nixon. The organization sites their mission as: “Communicate the science and effects of climate change to the public and decision-makers.”

Odd praise indeed. In support of Nixon’s green efforts, they mentioned the following:

— The National Environmental Policy Act(1969), which among other things required that all federal agencies produce environmental impact statements on the possible negative effects of any and all regulations. It also created the President’s Council on Environmental Quality.

— The Environmental Protection Agency(1970). Self-explanatory. Amazing.

— The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, 1970). Proposed by Nixon “...for better protection of life and property from natural hazards...for a better understanding of the total environment...[and] for exploration and development leading to the intelligent use of our marine resources...” That's what he wanted, and that's what the agency does.

— The Clean Air Act (1970). Before the act, America’s skies were filthy. Afterward, they weren’t exactly pristine, but they were dramatically better, and later amendments cleaned the air up even more.

— Earth Week (1971). OK, something of a gimmick, but still, Nixon endorsed it to commemorate the first anniversary of Earth Day. He may not have sported Birkenstocks, but in some ways the man was practically a tree-hugger.

— The Clean Water Act (1972). If this is beginning to sound like the green legislation hall of fame, it’s not just you.

— The Endangered Species Act (1973): Even if this was all Nixon had achieved, he would rank among one of our greenest presidents.

In truth, maybe it was the congressional staffs and perhaps as unlikely as Nixon, Members of Congress, who wrote all the bills.

“Men like Mo Udall, John Dingell, Pete McCloskey, Gaylord Nelson to name a few.

Nixon simply signed the bills into law, argues Helen McCloskey.

According the Earth Day Network, “The idea for a national day to focus on the environment came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, he realized that if he could infuse that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a ‘national teach-in on the environment’ to the national media; persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair; and recruited Denis Hayes from Harvard as national coordinator. Hayes built a national staff of 85 to promote events across the land. April 22, falling between Spring Break and Final Exams, was selected as the date.”

Earth Day On April 22,1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. “Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values,” notes various historic accounts, including a history by the network.

The stars lined up back then on Earth Day 1970.

The event had proved to be rare convergence, supported from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, urban and rural, educated elite and blue collar folks that had become concerned that river could catch fire.

The legacy of that cooperation is difficult to argue with. If it sets someone off, (in a good way), here we go.