Watergate and Nixon, Talarico and the border, Dodgers out plus I love Lucy 1951

 

Watergate and Nixon, Talarico and the border, Dodgers out plus I love Lucy 1951......

Watergate a hoax?

Watergate a hoax?:

The conduct of the DOJ and media deserves a second look.

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If you are a baby boomer, you remember The Beatles, Henry Aaron hitting #715, and President Nixon resigning over Watergate.  It was our soundtrack, as they like to say.  It gave us words like "Nixonian" and "The Saturday Night Massacre" and Oval Office tapes.  It turned the 37th president into an evil man, and everyone took a shot at him.  Even the GOP took down his pictures at the party's convention.

As someone who admired President Nixon, bought and read all of his post presidency books, and volunteered as a student for his 1972 reelection campaign, I do believe that revisiting Watergate is a good idea.  Maybe The Washington Post will end up returning that Pulitzer?  Don't bet on that, but who knows?

What if Watergate was a hoax, as we say these days?  Honestly, after watching Russiagate, the New York trials, and everything else, the idea is not so crazy.  I'm not ready to call it a hoax yet, but I'm open to a conversation, as they say these days.

Well, some people think so, such as John D. O'Connor:

Many citizens today, with varied sources of information, understand the highly unethical lawfare waged against President Donald Trump, as exemplified by the Russiagate hoax. By contrast, the more restricted media environment of the early 1970s made prosecutorial misconduct during Watergate harder to scrutinize. With fresh eyes now taking a closer look at the reporting and prosecution of Watergate, it is becoming clear that DOJ investigators should sanction prosecutorial misconduct and set the historical record straight on Richard Nixon’s innocence.

As a refresher, Watergate refers to a political scandal stemming from the June 17, 1972, burglary of the Democratic National Committee’s offices in the Watergate building by burglars with known CIA ties. After two years of investigations, committee inquiries, and trials, over 40 government officials were convicted or jailed, and President Richard Nixon was forced to resign from office.

Recently, former Nixon aide and historian Geoff Shepard presented his case to the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), arguing that the proceedings against Richard Nixon amounted to dishonest, partisan “lawfare” enabled by prosecutorial and Congressional misconduct. Hopefully, the OPR will follow up with a vigorous investigation and clear the record of this unfairly maligned former president.

Clear the record of this unfairly maligned former president?  Yes, it's time for a second look at that whole story.

As the article points out:

Why, fifty years later, should we investigate any flaws in Nixon’s prosecution? Because key questions remain: 1) was the prosecution of Nixon and aides (with Nixon as an unindicted co-conspirator) so clearly unethical that the OPR should conclude formally that the prosecution was fatally and unethically flawed;

and 2) were the Senate investigation and Majority Watergate Report false in material particulars, constituting a willfully false official Report to the public? In light of the attempted replay of Watergate and the Russiagate hoax, these questions are existential.

Bring it on. Maybe it's time to revisit that whole episode that consumed the country for years. I do recall people back then, such as a neighbor historian, saying that there was a lot of hypocrisy in these attacks against President Nixon.  I do believe that the collapse of Vietnam and the betrayal of the Shah of Iran would have turned out differently if President Nixon had been in the Oval Office.

So, let's open up the case and hear more about this.

P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Memories of Mark Holtz (1942-97) on the radio

Maybe I'm old fashioned but baseball is best on the radio.  Of course, I like to watch the games on TV but a good radio announcer is still my favorite.

Mark Holtz was born in October 1942 and passed away in 1997.   He was added to the Rangers' Hall of Fame a few years ago.   Holtz was the radio voice of the Rangers from 1982 until 1997, or when he died of cancer.

Holtz made a very bad team interesting.   Mark had terrible Rangers' teams for much of his broadcasting career.    Yet, it was fun to turn on the radio at 7 PM and hear Mark introduce the starting lineup.

Sadly, Holtz passed away and was not around for the '98 and '99 division titles or the back to back trips to The World Series in 2010 and 2011.   

Holtz did broadcast the '96 season, including the Friday night pennant clincher, the first one in team history.   The Rangers clinched in the 10th inning of the 160th game when the news came in that Oakland had beaten Seattle. It was pure joy to hear Mark Holtz say that the Rangers were the AL West champs for '96. It was just great!

I remember 3 of Mark's greatest radio calls:

First, it was Nolan Ryan's 6th no hitter in Oakland. ("The Ryan Express has done it again"....screamed Holtz as the team mobbed Ryan)

Second, Ryan's 7th no hitter. ("He struck him out swinging" was the last line of the game)

Third, Kenny Rogers' perfect game from the summer of '94.

Holtz was not smooth like Vince Scouly but he was great.

P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

1983 World Series: Scott McGregor beat Phillies 5-0

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The Orioles played in their second World Series in 5 years.   They lost to the Pirates in 1979 but beat the Phillies in 1983.    Scott McGregor pitched beautifully and Eddie Murray hit a couple of home runs.    

Great win for the O's.

P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

A look at Texas politics with George Rodriguez from South Texas...

 

Maybe Greta needs to live under a budget

Maybe Greta needs to live under a budget:

So, here's one for Greta to think about: get a life like a real person.

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Greta Thunberg is back in the news. She has a new cause, a new movement to join, and something to blame Europeans for. Let's catch up with Greta:

Greta Thunberg, the Swedish activist known for her climate alarmism, joined French students protesting school conditions Tuesday, praising their movement as France grapples with weeks of demonstrations and violent clashes.

Thunberg appeared outside a high school near the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, where students gathered early in the morning with placards and megaphones, chanting slogans. The 23-year-old activist, who first gained recognition for her own school strike over climate change in 2018, said she is there to support the teens protesting their “basic rights.”

“The whole world is watching with awe for these students who are fighting back, reclaiming their future that has been taken away from them,” Thunberg said at the protest. “We are also seeing this spreading across the country and internationally as well — young people looking at this as an example.”

“Many people here, especially the young people, are told ‘Oh, you are just being problematic, you’re just causing trouble, and you don’t really know what you’re doing,’ which are narratives defined by extremely racist media and politicians,” she added.    Thunberg said the protestors “don’t need me at all,” but argued that her “privileged” position gave her a duty to support them. 

“I am an extremely privileged person. I am a white person from Sweden. I am very much part of this very destructive system that systematically benefits people like me,” she said.

A system that benefits people like her? Really, Greta? Privileged position? Greta has been reading too much about the 1619 Project.  

Teens protesting their basic rights? Protesting by injuring 700 police officers? You can't make this up.  

"The whole world is watching"? Weren't they chanting that at the 1968 riots during the DNC convention in Chicago? Get a new chant, Greta.

As I understand it, France is facing an "argent" problem, or French for money. That's what I remember from that quick French class that I saw on the internet. No matter what the word is, the problem is that France, like many countries, has to address budget concerns, and bloated education bureaucracies are one place to start. Too many bureaucrats at the main office writing memos and handbooks to justify their existence. France can't afford that anymore, and some cutting is inevitable.  

That's life, Greta! That's the way it is for people, unlike Greta, who have to live within a budget. You can't always get what you want, as that old Rolling Stones song goes.

Of course, that's not what Greta wants to hear or attempt to understand. She lives in the land of victims or the corner of promoting herself. Greta knows that the media loves a young woman who blames everything in her culture. What does a shortage of teachers or lousy classrooms have to do with French culture? I don't know, but it sounds good in this age of quick fame and X posts.

So, here's one for Greta to think about: get a life like a real person. Maybe you'll be happier if you stop going from cause to cause to seek happiness.

PS: Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos.

Mike Cuellar and Orioles won game 5 and the 1970 World Series

On this day in 1970, Mike Cuellar pitched a complete game and the Orioles took the World Series in 5 games.

During his brilliant career, he won 185 games, a 3.14 ERA and completed 172 starts! Without question, one of the best Latino pitchers ever.

Mike died in 2010.    He was voted # 27 in the Top 40 Orioles of all time.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

We remember Mario Puzzo (1920-99)

We remember Mario Puzzo who was born in New York City on this day in 1920.  He died in 1999.  

His book "The Godfather" was published in 1999 and the story turned into a movie in 1972.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

We remember Tim McCarver (1941-2023)

We remember Tim McCarver who was born on this day in 1941.     Tim broke with the Cardinals in 1959 and became one of the best catchers in the game.   He retired with a .271 batting average in 1,909 games.   After baseball, he became a great TV analyst.

He died in 2023.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

October 15, 1951: The first "I love Lucy" episode in the US

  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

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"I love Lucy" aired on US TV on this day in 1951.    

It was the most popular situation comedy TV show of its day.    In fact, 72% of US household watched the episode when Lucy went to the hospital to give birth to Little Ricky.

The plot was different or a Cuban bandleader in New York married to one of the craziest housewives in the planet.    Add to that Fred & Ethel and you had all of the ingredients for a very funny episode.

"I love Lucy" lives on thanks to reruns and very funny episodes.   I think that I've seen