Visiting Richard Nixon Again (his ghost this time)

If you've known me long, you probably know that I am a life-long Richard Nixon afficionado. Not that I actually liked the misanthropic thug. . .but I respected him, despite his many many faults. I spent a little time at his house (albeit standing in the cold outside)--see the post below on Visiting Richard Nixon. Some recent posts here on President Nixon:

Jackie Gleason, President Richard Nixon And The Men From Mars

President Richard M. Nixon decommissioned, resigns in disgrace

Visiting President Richard Nixon

32 Years Ago Today, Richard Nixon Walked Away

Thirty-four years ago today, The Watergate burglars were arrested. . .

Alien Lore No. 39 - Presidents (And Near Presidents) Who Believe In Or Have Seen UFOs: Carter, Nixon, Reagan, Ford, Goldwater, Truman

Early next week, I will be in Newport Beach, California on business, and I have arranged an afternoon to achieve a lifelong dream. . .I am going to the Nixon Library and birthplace in Yorba Linda. And I even get to see the Elvis-Nixon exhibit, which has been running since January. I well remember the numerous times we stopped by Nixon's townhouse on the upper east side, and how the Secret Service never even hassled us, despite our loud laughter and brewski tilting. I guess President Nixon didn't want any "incidents." Maybe on our trip to NYC this spring, I can revisit the scene of that old crime! Below this is an article from the Nixon Library on the Nixon-Elvis Exhibition I will be seeing next Tuesday. . .

The Day Elvis Met Nixon

The historic 1970 White House meeting of Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon will be commemorated in a special exhibit opening on Elvis’ birthday, Monday, January 8, highlighted with the sartorial choices of the President and the King.

Opening day events included a lecture by special guest Egil “Bud” Krogh, the assistant to President Nixon who staffed the Elvis-RN meeting and recalled the events in his book, The Day Elvis Met Nixon, writing: “I had prepared a memo for the President with a summary of Elvis’ letter and some talking points for their visit, but who knew where this was going to go? We got the memo back from Bob Haldeman – he’d written on it, ‘You Must Be Kidding,’ but approved the meeting anyway, and I called Elvis back over.”

On special loan from Graceland, the exhibit will highlight the black velvet suit, boots, wing-collared white shirt and gold, diamond-studded belt worn by Elvis Presley during his White House drop-by December 21, 1970. The statesmanlike gray suit and tasteful tie worn by the 37th President also will be displayed.

Elvis would have been 72 on January 8, and President Nixon 94 on January 9. The iconic photo of their White House meeting is the most requested image from the National Archives.

The King requested the meeting in a hand-written letter on American Airlines stationery, which he presented to a startled guard at the northwest gate of the White House. Dear Mr. President, he wrote: First, I would like to introduce myself. I am Elvis Presley and admire you and have great respect for your office . . . Sir, I can and will be of any service that I can to help the country out…

The display also will include the gifts exchanged by the two iconic figures, from Elvis a commemorative World War II Colt 45 pistol in a presentation case, as well as family photos, and from RN, a set of Presidential cufflinks and an honorary Bureau of Narcotics Special Assistant badge requested by Elvis for his collection.

The exhibit closes April 9, 2007.

---o0o---

Poem: Changes 46/Pushing Upward

Pushing upward is a vertical ascent
A direct line from obscurity
To power and influence

Bending around obstacles
The wood in the earth grows up
Never stopping

Wood draws strength from its roots
For the upward push so too the power
To rise comes from below this lowly station

You push upward into an empty city
The obstructions fall away
But how long can unobstructed success last?

As good as life gets—
And it gets this good every day—
You can't become drunk with success

You may push upward blindly
And enjoy the climb
And the view from the top


But be prepared to end up
Right back
Where you started.
---o0o---

Another attempt at Faces 3.0 identikit software

This was about the best I could come up with. Let's face it. . .if this was the mug on my Wanted Poster, I would still be at large!

On the other hand, the pros seem to actually know what they're doing:

---o0o---

Not now deer! Wisconsin man punished for necrophilia and beastiality--at the same time!

A Wisconsin man who argued that he could not be prosecuted for having sex with a deer because the animal was dead at the time, has been convicted. 20-year-old Bryan James Hathaway received probation and jail time after he was convicted of having sexual contact with a dead deer.
Hathaway was found guilty in April 2005 of felony mistreatment of an animal after he killed a horse with the intention of having sex with it. He was sentenced Tuesday in Douglas County Circuit Court. "The type of behavior is disturbing," Judge Michael Lucci said. "It's disturbing to the public. It's disturbing to the court."

It's a bit of a twist on the old political adage, "Never be caught in bed with a dead woman or a live man."

Other recent posts on beastiality:

Further ruminations on Enumclaw

Horsin' around: update on Enumclaw

Another shocking revelation

Beastiality in south King County

The final horse/beastiality update

Enumclaw Story To Become A Movie
---o0o---

Blowups on the I Heart Huckabee's set between David O. Russell and Lily Tomlin

You can read about the battles between Tomlin and Director Russell in an article in the New York Times from 2004. It is only in the last few days that the long-rumored video clips of some of the blowups have surfaced on the video sharing sites. A couple of the clips are below (at least until Tomlin or Russell's "people" remove them.



David O. Russell screams at Lily Tomlin
Uploaded by omgfrank

Sharon Waxman wrote in the New York Times article: "To get the performances he was after, Mr. Russell did all he could to raise the level of tension on set, unapologetically goading, shocking and teasing his actors. Sometimes these techniques prompted reactions that were less than photogenic. And in perhaps the most un-Hollywood move of all, Mr. Russell allowed a reporter to watch."

IDontLikeYouInThatWay.com - Lily Tomlin
Uploaded by caseofthemondays
---o0o---

President Bush Announces Iraq Exit

Bush Announces Iraq Exit Strategy: 'We'll Go Through Iran'

WASHINGTON, DC-Almost a year after the cessation of major combat and a month after the nation's first free democratic elections, President Bush unveiled the coalition forces' strategy for exiting Iraq.

Poem: Changes 45/Gathering Together (a/k/a population explosion)

If the water in the lake

Gathers until it rises above the earth

There is danger of a breakthrough.

---o0o---

President Bush Paints Himself Into A Corner Over Not Firing Gonzales And Insisting His Aides Can Only Testify Without Taking An Oath

The President And Advisor Karl Rove During Happier Times

The Associated Press reports that The White House on Tuesday offered to make political strategist Karl Rove, former counsel Harriet Meiers, and a couple of lesser-knowns available for congressional interviews in the investigation of the U.S. Attorneys firing scandal. The President proffered Congress some face time with his two closest aides, but will not allow testimony

—in public

—under oath

—under subpoena

—recorded (or, at least they said, no transcripts)

—more than once. No follow-ups, or additional interviews.

The White House move was announced after the Senate voted by a large margin to end the administration's ability to unilaterally fill U.S. attorney vacancies. The vote came as blowback over Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' firing of the prosecutors. Gonzales—or, more likely, his soon to be named successor—can no longer name attorneys to fill the vacancies. They must now be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The spanking measure passed the Senate with only two no votes!

All This Is That translation: The president says they can only testify if they can't be prosecuted for lying. He learned his lesson with Scooter Libby.

Gonzales got a morale boost with an early-morning call from President Bush. It was their first conversation since a week ago when the president said he was unhappy with how the Justice Department handled the firings. The President took his old friend, Gonzales, to the woodshed and yet because he is an old friend, POTUS said he would stand by him. And he told it to all of America last night. So we see The President again leaps to the aid of yet another morally bankrupt P.O.S. Of course, who knows what that really means? You saw how long he stood by Harriet Meiers when the chips were down? The President's show of support for Gonzales paints himself into the corner. Can he tiptoe his way over around and through this one?

---o0o---

Poem: Changes 44/Coming to Meet

Darkness, after having been eliminated,
furtively and unexpectedly obtrudes again

from within and below.
When heaven and earth

come to meet each other,
all creatures prosper.

Does the wind blow over the earth
or does it blow under heaven?

Heaven is far from the things of earth
But sets them in motion by the wind.

---o0o---

Poem: Changes 43/Breakthrough!

1
You achieve breakthrough
Like the river breaches its dikes
Or rain is freed in a cloudburst

Danger—
It does not further to take up arms
It is time to notify the city

2
Resolution is based on strength and friendship
Compromise with evil is impossible
Evil must be swiftly discredited or worse

If we do evil the favor of fighting it
Blow for blow we lose in the end
Entangled in hatred and intrigue

With no opponent
The sharp weapons of evil are dulled
The best way to fight evil

Is to strengthen the goodness
When the lake's water rises to heaven
There is reason to fear a deluge

3
All gathering
Is followed
By dispersion

To plunge blindly ahead is wrong
It is at the beginning
That unexpected setbacks

Have the most disastrous results
Fear nothing and be watchful at all times
For a cry of alarm

Be on guard against what is not in sight
And on the alert for what is not within hearing
If reason triumphs

4
The passions withdraw
You walk alone in the rain
And encounter insuperable obstacles

Victory is a sham
Evil can be concealed
And the remaining seeds will fluorish.
---o0o---

President's good friend A.G. Gonzales is on his way out the door

click the new White House Flag to enlarge

The Politico broke the news today that "Republican officials operating at the behest of the White House have begun seeking a possible successor to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, whose support among GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill has collapsed, according to party sources familiar with the discussions."


On the short list to replace Gonzales are Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff (it looks like he survived the Katrina blowback); the White House anti-terrorism coordinator, Frances Townsend; Ex-Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson; and Ex-Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson (whose wife, Barbara, you may remember was killed on the jet that crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001).


Perhaps the strongest sign that Gonzales's goose is cooked was Press Secretary Tony Snow's feeble defense when asked if Gonzales would stay on the job: "We hope so," Snow said. "None of us knows what's going to happen to us over the next 21 months." Least of all, The Administration.

Gonzales's fatal move was lying to Congress over the eight dismissed U.S. Attorneys, on top of general ineptitude and an inability to effectively manage the Justice Department.

---o0o---

Harry Truman on what the Presidency really is. . .

"All the President is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway. "

- Harry S Truman

---o0o---