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Former President Gerald Ford Dead at 93

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the to-many-submissions-to-ignore dept.

Rancid Altoid was one of a large number of readers to tell us that "Former U.S. President Gerald Ford, who was swept into office after the Watergate scandal and later pardoned Richard Nixon, died at age 93, his widow said on Tuesday."

68 of 367 comments (clear)

  1. Cnn does it best by BoomerSooner · · Score: 2, Interesting

    CNN Special coverage

    He was pretty interesting! I didn't realize he was a Michigan football player who turned down the NFL to go into Yale law!

    Not sure I agree with the Nixon pardoning but it did get the messiness behind us. However, it allows presidents to seem to operate with out regard to legality (ie, current war crimes, etc...)

    1. Re:Cnn does it best by afidel · · Score: 2, Informative

      I heard on NPR this morning that there were two assassination attempts against Ford. One of them was a result of a local paper publishing his complete travel itinerary when he was in town, when this was discussed with Ford not long ago he remarked that he was not aware that the paper had published that information! It's interesting that the attempt against Regan that injured Brady gets so much notoriety but the two attempts against Ford are never talked about.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    2. Re:Cnn does it best by teflaime · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Bias? I'm not sure where you are seeing bias in CNN's coverage. They portrayed him as a kind and honest man who did what he thought was best for the country, as opposed to what was best for himself or the Republican party. Which, to be accurate, was pretty much how Ford said he wanted to be remembered.

    3. Re:Cnn does it best by eln · · Score: 2, Informative

      The wiki article on Gerald Ford currently has several areas where a word in the article has been replaced with the word "wank," or where that word has been inserted. Fairly subtle, but easy to catch if you actually read the article start to finish.

    4. Re:Cnn does it best by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 5, Informative
      It's interesting that the attempt against Regan that injured Brady gets so much notoriety but the two attempts against Ford are never talked about.

      I know /. skews young, so it's possible you may not remember Reagan getting shot.

      That's the thing: unlike Ford, he actually got shot, as did Brady and a Secret Service guy, Tim McCarthy. Missed killing Reagan by about an inch. We had to wait in suspense to see if he would survive or not. So, yeah, that stands out in people's memories. (I was 11 when it happened.)

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    5. Re:Cnn does it best by Reziac · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Please take my respects with you. From all that I know of him, Gerald Ford was a good and honest man who did the best he could even in a tough situation, and always had his countrymen's best interests at heart. I am saddened by his passing, but glad that we had him in life.

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
    6. Re:Cnn does it best by Vicissidude · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Bias? I'm not sure where you are seeing bias in CNN's coverage. They portrayed him as a kind and honest man who did what he thought was best for the country, as opposed to what was best for himself or the Republican party.

      There's your bias right there. Honest? That's completely laughable. Best for the country? Pah-lease.

      Ford is a man who let a crook go free for the benefit of the Republican party. Just imagine Nixon, a dirty Republican, and 4-5 years of a trial where everyone knew he had broken the law. Reagan would have never made it into office in a political climate like that. And all of Nixon's cronies such as Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Bush Sr, would have had their careers ruined.

      No, Ford's actions were for the benefit of the only person who elected him to the position of President of the United States: Richard Nixon.

    7. Re:Cnn does it best by WillyPete · · Score: 3, Informative

      He was also aware in advance of the plan by Indonesia to massacre the East Timorese with U.S.-provided weaponry (~200,00 killed). Now, I'm not certain that we really needed to act militarily, but if the Indosesians wanted to kill a third East Timor's population I fail to see why we got to provide the weapons.

      http://www.chris-floyd.com/index.php?option=com_co ntent&task=view&id=975&Itemid=135
      http://redstateson.blogspot.com/2006/12/gaw-in-act ion.html

      --
      Shaw's Principle: Build a system even a fool could use, and only a fool would want to use it.
  2. Forgive and forget? by cyberon22 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    He should never have pardoned Nixon.

    1. Re:Forgive and forget? by tomhudson · · Score: 2, Insightful

      He should never have pardoned Nixon.

      Definitely agree. His excuse at the time was lame, and paved the way for future excesses.

      Part of the responsibility of the highest office in the land is to make the tough calls, and he totally failed it on that one. No wonder people kept asking if he had played football without a helmet.

      When a president who nobody voted for pardons his predecessor and former "boss" for criminal activities, it stinks. The "National Nightmare" was over when Nixon resigned - putting him on trial would have sent the message that there aren't 2 sets of rules - one for white-collar elites and one for the rest of us.

      To paraphrase it - "Fuck someone over, go to jail - fuck the whole country over, retire and write a book. Fuck it!"

      On a side note - how is Ford's death "News for Nerds?"

    2. Re:Forgive and forget? by Pharmboy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      He should never have pardoned Nixon.

      He didn't do it for Nixon, he did it for us. It isn't like Nixon was going to run for any other office, and if you are old enough to remember, with Vietnam, JFK, Bobby Kennedy, MLK, Kent State, and everything else that had happened over the last decade, we really didn't need another investigation to tell us what we already knew.

      Everyone knew Nixon was guilty, and because he was ex-pres, he wasn't going to go to "pound you in the ass federal prison" regardless of the outcome. We did not need 5 years of court hearings at that time.

      --
      Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
    3. Re:Forgive and forget? by afidel · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Nope, pardoning Nixon was the single greatest thing the man accomplished, and it cost him a lot both politically and personally. Most historians agree that the nation would have been much worse off with the protracted political fight that would have resulted from the trial. Sure there are many who think he should have been punished, but I think resigning in shame and having that as his legacy is probably one of the greatest punishment for a man with the drive to become president. Look at the guys involved with Iran-Contra, they served their piddly sentences for much worse crimes, and today are back serving in the highest reaches of government.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    4. Re:Forgive and forget? by NorbrookC · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Part of the responsibility of the highest office in the land is to make the tough calls, and he totally failed it on that one.

      Considering that every one of his advisors recommended against the pardon, and he still did it, I'd say that was a tough call.

      The other thing that all the people that froth at the mouth about this (still) forget is that an article of impeachment |=criminal charges. In fact, Nixon hadn't been indicted in the legal system, when the pardon was issued. Now, whether he would have been, and whether he would have convicted is something that can be argued (and probably will be) for a long time.

    5. Re:Forgive and forget? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Nope, pardoning Nixon was the single greatest thing the man accomplished, and it cost him a lot both politically and personally. Most historians agree that the nation would have been much worse off with the protracted political fight that would have resulted from the trial. Sure there are many who think he should have been punished, but I think resigning in shame and having that as his legacy is probably one of the greatest punishment for a man with the drive to become president.


      No, it wasn't. It has given idiots like Bush carte blanche to run amok with just about zero fear of being taken to task in a meaningful manner. Nixon should have gone to the fucking slammer.

      My favorite part of the Wikipedia article on Watergate:

      "The White House blamed this on Nixon's secretary, Rose Mary Woods, who said she had accidentally erased the tape by pushing the wrong foot pedal on her tape player while answering the phone. However, as photos splashed all over the press showed, for Woods to answer the phone and keep her foot on the pedal would have required a stretch that would have challenged a gymnast. She was then said to have held this position for the full 18½ minutes. Later forensic analysis determined that the gap had been erased several -- perhaps as many as eight -- times over, refuting the "accidental erasure" explanation."

      This is third world level stuff... they should have tried and executed Nixon's ass right then. Just the fact that he tried to invoke executive privilege to cover it up is enough for me. Unfortunately, our leaders are not afraid of this, and so they'll continue to do their thing with the fear of serving a token sentence at most... all thanks to Ford's "greatest thing" in your words.

      Look at the guys involved with Iran-Contra, they served their piddly sentences for much worse crimes, and today are back serving in the highest reaches of government.


      Yeah, funny how that works. If the powers that be were worried about having their nuts in a sling this wouldn't have happened. Tell me again how your vaunted pardon helped matters? Everybody is so concerned about "smoothing things over" and "moving on" instead of holding people accountable that it really removes the motivation to work within the law for a lot of these folks.
    6. Re:Forgive and forget? by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Sure there are many who think he should have been punished, but I think resigning in shame and having that as his legacy is probably one of the greatest punishment for a man with the drive to become president.

      Shame? What shame? He's still defended as a hero by neocons. His people are still to be found in power in D.C.

      The fact the Nixon didn't go to jail is what let Reagan and Bush II get away with their subversions of the Constitution.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    7. Re:Forgive and forget? by jafac · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Most historians agree that the nation would have been much worse off with the protracted political fight that would have resulted from the trial.

      How would it be better had justice not been served?

      How is sticking our head in the sand as a nation "better for us"?

      That justice was not done, set the stage for the future. The Iran-Contra traitors are all back on the job, instead of jail, where they belong. Karl Rove actually served on Nixon's campaign, and his poisonous brand of divisive politics or character assassination is still turning our nation's political discourse into something akin to pro-wrestling.

      I think in the short term, yes, it would have harmed the country. But in the long run, we would have been much better off had we, as a nation, faced the corruption of our political system, drew a line in the sand and said "No more. There will be justice this time, and every time henceforth."

      --

      These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
    8. Re:Forgive and forget? by catfood · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Nixon was so obviously guilty that bringing him to justice would have been a mistake.

      I'm really failing to see the logic in that. Would it have been okay to try Nixon if he'd been just kinda-sorta-somewhat guilty of lesser crimes instead?

    9. Re:Forgive and forget? by Vicissidude · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Ford was a crook. He was an accessory to Nixon's crime, preventing justice from prevailing. Ford hurt this country by letting everyone know loud and clear that the rich, powerful, and connected are above the law.

    10. Re:Forgive and forget? by anaesthetica · · Score: 2, Interesting
      He's still defended as a hero by neocons.

      Not really. There's very little about Nixon that fits either the neocon mold or the mold of their various heroes. Nixon was a liberal Christian--a Quaker--rather than an observant Jew or Christian like the neoconservatives. He adopted a policy of decline (along with Kissinger) rather than one of a powerful, resurgent America like Reagan or Bush. In fact, the neoconservatives are explicitly against the kind of Nixon/Kissinger realism, eschewing it for a "muscular idealism." (That Kissinger has being advising the current White House says less about any neocon affinity for realism than it does Kissinger's characteristic position as an indiscriminate courtier to power.) In domestic policy Nixon was also quite liberal, doing little if anything to undo LBJ's Great Society policies, and pursuing conservationism quite actively. The division within the Republican party between the Nixon/Ford wing and the Reagan wing, and the neocons taking the Reagan wing side, has been a defining characteristic of the rise of the neocons.

      --
      The Rise and Fall of Online Community
  3. The King is Dead, Long Live the King by thermopile · · Score: 5, Informative
    Interestingly, President Ford is the only person to have served as both Vice President and President, and been elected to neither position.

    Obligatory wiki quote.

    --

    "Diplomacy is something you do until you find a rock." --Richard Pound

    1. Re:The King is Dead, Long Live the King by Dachannien · · Score: 4, Funny

      And in response, an obligatory Futurama quote:

      Bill Clinton's Head: (to Leela) Hey, sugar cookie! You know, legally, nothing I can do counts as sex anymore.
      Gerald Ford's Head: I apologize for his rudeness, ma'am. He gets this way around meaty looking women.
      Fry: (to Clinton) Hey, I remember you. I was gonna vote for you one time. But voting isn't cool, so I stayed home alone and got trashed on Listerine.
      Gerald Ford's Head: Frankly, I've never felt voting to be all that essential to the process.
      Richard Nixon's Head: No kidding, Ford!

    2. Re:The King is Dead, Long Live the King by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Ford was also the last surviving member of the Warren Commission.

      --
      No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  4. Requiescat In Pace by Ginnungagap42 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I guess the wolves finally got him.

  5. But the real question is... by Ubergrendle · · Score: 2, Funny

    Was he eaten by wolves?

    --
    John Maynard Keynes: "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?"
    1. Re:But the real question is... by Average_Joe_Sixpack · · Score: 5, Funny

      Completely inappropriate

  6. He was by dl107227 · · Score: 3, Funny

    He was delicious.

  7. The Accidential (Accident Prone?) President by Iphtashu+Fitz · · Score: 4, Interesting

    A lot of people, especially younger ones, weren't aware that Ford was the only US president who was never elected to office. When Nixon's vice president, Spiro Agnew, resigned over charges of tax evasion, Nixon chose Senator Ford to replace him. Then when Nixon resigned over Watergate, Ford took the top job. I think most people these days only know of Ford through accident-prone appearances on shows like the Simpsons and impersonations by Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live reruns. Some people believe that his unremarkable term of office was just what this country needed after the previous administraitons focus on Viet Nam, Watergate, etc.

  8. So farewell then, by E.J.Thribb · · Score: 4, Funny

    So.
    Farewell then, Gerald Ford.
    Many said you were not the sharpest tool in the box.
    How wrong they are, now.

    --
    (Age 17 1/2)
  9. Funny thing about Ford... by Warbringer87 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    A very decent human being, was the only president to not have been elected to either of the executive positions he held (appointed by nixon to VP, later president in wake of Nixon's resignation). Apparently, elections make candidates into jerks.

  10. Minor typo by SNR+monkey · · Score: 3, Informative

    Not to be a grammar nazi, but it should read "from the too-many-submissions-to-ignore dept"

  11. Re:I will never forgive him by Frumious+Wombat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    In all likelihood, given the political climate of the time, you still wouldn't have gotten to the bottom of everything Nixon did, and only put up with months of political grandstanding and butt-covering. On the other hand, Nixon's henchmen were publicly tried, their crimes exposed, and most of them did time. Unfortunately, being shameless (*cough* G. Gordon Liddy *cough*), they didn't quietly disappear as would have been appropriate. (that includes you, Henry K.) Exiling Nixon to Fairbanks, rather than California, would have been appropriate as well, but as the Stones put it, "you can't always get what you want". Having seen what drips out over the years about Nixon's time in office, you can only imagine what would have been vomited up at the time if it all came out at once. Ford seems to have done close to the right thing.

    So don't complain. Personally, I wanted to see Ronbo, G. H. W. Bush, and Co. brought to task over Iran Contra, but with those last minute pardons for the perpetrators as the investigators finally got near GHWB, my generation got diddly/squat. You at least got something, even if it wasn't RMN in San Quentin.

    --
    the more accurate the calculations became, the more the concepts tended to vanish into thin air. R. S. Mulliken
  12. Also he is the only Eagle Scout to ever be by Mycroft_514 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    President. No Wiki quote, look it up yourself. But he joined 6 of the 12 men who walked on the moon with that distinction. (Why do you think Apollo 11's lunar module was called "The Eagle"?)

  13. Re:This is here why? by KingNaught · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Certain news items trancend news genres. On Sep 11th their were lots of news stories on Slashdot about it, even though the stories weren't nessessarly tech related. Basiclly anything a nerd would be interested in knowing is news for nerds. And most US nerds would be interested in the Death of a former president. Heck I'm sure theres a few political science nerds on slashdot.

  14. from the to-many-submissions-to-ignore dept. by Boone^ · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is why digg is so very popular, guys. There's no cranky /. editors to bust through! :)

  15. And we thought it would never happen by FreshnFurter · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Hola bambe, hungala dimba Gerald Ford.. *click* *click* *click* *click* ..hola bambe, allah bumba bubba hulla humba hey."

  16. Dana Carvey's SNL skit by Liberaltarian · · Score: 3, Funny

    as Tom Brokaw immediately came to mind when I heard the news. There are audio bits on Dana Carvey's website, and occasionally someone will upload the entire skit to YouTube (before it's inevitably taken down by the copyright police).

    Tom Brokaw: Gerald Ford dead today at the age of 83.
    Producer: Good, now one for next year.
    Tom Brokaw: Gerald Ford dead today at age 84.
    Producer: Now one for if he's shot.
    Tom Brokaw: Gerald Ford shot dead today at age 83.
    Producer: Add the word senseless.
    Tom Brokaw: Okay, Gerald Ford shot dead at the senseless age of 83.
    ...
    Tom Brokaw: Alright, we got it?
    Producer: No. We've got "eaten by wolves".
    Tom Brokaw: What? Now, come on!
    Producer: Just read it!
    Tom Brokaw: Gerald Ford isn't gonna be eaten by wolves!
    Producer: Taft was.
    Tom Brokaw: Really? Taft?
    Producer: Uh... yeah.

    --
    The Fight for Student Power on Campus: www.forstudentpower.org.
  17. Reminds me of this . . . by Slithe · · Score: 4, Funny
    http://snltranscripts.jt.org/96/96dbrokaw.phtml

    Tom Brokaw: Alright. "Gerald Ford is dead today, and I'm gay." Now, wait a minute!

    Voice of Producer: What? That'd be a huge story - Ford dying, and you coming out!

    Tom Brokaw: But I'm not gay!

    Voice of Producer: Today you're not gay, you know.. but then one day you wake up, you like men, and Gerald Ford dies, and we're screwed. Everyone's hearing about it from Dan Rather!
    --
    ---- "XML is like violence. If it doesn't fix the problem, you aren't using enough."
  18. Yes, the East Timorese with sorely miss him by MrSteveSD · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Ford and Kissinger visited Jakarta in 1975 and gave approval for the invasion of East Timor. Kissenger told Suharto...

    It is important that whatever you do succeeds quickly.

    Well it did succeed and over 200,000 East Timorese died during the invasion and subsequent occupation. It's strange that neither Ford nor Kissinger mentioned they gave the green light for the East Timor invasion in their memoirs. It must have slipped their minds. Fortunately details of their meetings with Suharto are now available (released by the National Security Archive in 2001). Yes Ford will be sorely missed by the people of East Timor.
  19. Just a bit of reminiscing.... by jbarr · · Score: 5, Interesting

    When I was 17, I received an Eagle Scout award. Our local Scout council was holding a benefit dinner, and President Ford (by that time, former president) was the guest of honor, who was a former Scout himself. I was asked if I wanted to be in the color guard, and I readily accepted. I also had the honor of sitting next to him at the head table for dinner. He was a very gracious man, and was happy to talk with us about him and Scouting. Being young, I was quite nervous, but he interacted with us in a comfortable, casual, yet respected manner.

    One thing that I'll never forget is that for dessert, we were served a "grasshopper pie", which was a mint ice cream and chocolate pie. Interestingly, they served him a bowl of three simple scoops of vanilla ice cream. When I asked him about it, he said that he loved vanilla ice cream, and didn't like the other fancy stuff.

    Anyway, it was a pleasure to have had the honor of spending a short time with him.

    --
    My mom always said, "Jim, you're 1 in a million." Given the current population, there are 7000 of me. God help us all!
  20. Nixon pardon was the right thing by tomhath · · Score: 2

    The country had way more serious problems than letting congress have a blood-letting, including Vietnam and the economy. He also argued against impeaching Clinton.

  21. Betty Ford.. by aapold · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I think Ford may be the only President whose wife left a longer-lasting legacy and larger impact on our consciousness than he did. I mean, he was pretty bland other than dealing with things he didn't start...but the Betty Ford clinic is practically part of our national vocabulary.

    --
    "Waste not one watt!" - CZ
    1. Re:Betty Ford.. by Doctor+Faustus · · Score: 2, Funny

      What were you expecting her wife to do?

  22. Nope, the played-too-hard President by ScentCone · · Score: 2, Informative

    I think most people these days only know of Ford through accident-prone appearances on shows like the Simpsons and impersonations by Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live reruns.

    It's worth mentioning that Ford was actually very athletic (more so than probably every other president, though Dubya liked to jog and now bikes when he can, and of course Teddy Roosevelt was Action Guy). Ford played very hard in his younger years and it really took a toll on his knees, which is why he had trouble on stairs later on (it may seem quaint to kids today, but they really didn't have the cool knee-joint replacement tech back then).

    --
    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
  23. Backroom negotiated pardon? by wasted · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Not sure I agree with the Nixon pardoning but it did get the messiness behind us. However, it allows presidents to seem to operate with out regard to legality (ie, current war crimes, etc...)

    I always wondered if Nixon's resignation was a negotiated deal with other members of the Republican part, with the pardon being part of the deal.
  24. Messiness in front, though by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    When Ford pardoned Nixon, it did not get the messiness behind us, it just pushed it all in front of us by a few decades. The end of the 20th Century needed to see a crooked American president dragged before a court and sent to jail. If it had been done back then, we might not be seeing the kind of lawlessness we're getting from Jackass 2 in the White House today.

    Instead, we came to a near constitutional crisis because a President cheated on his wife. It gave a free pass to presidents for generations to come.

    Face it, when Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon, the only Americans he was sparing were the pissant Republicans that were hanging on by their fingernails anyway back then, and the paranoid, drug-addled fuck that had vacated the White House months before (see, history repeats itself!). He was doing the sleazebag political version of "Paying it Forward".

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
    1. Re:Messiness in front, though by JavaLord · · Score: 2, Insightful

      When Ford pardoned Nixon, it did not get the messiness behind us, it just pushed it all in front of us by a few decades. The end of the 20th Century needed to see a crooked American president dragged before a court and sent to jail. If it had been done back then, we might not be seeing the kind of lawlessness we're getting from Jackass 2 in the White House today.

      Really, and what "Lawlessness" is that, and how does it relate to what Nixon did? Are you acusing GW Bush of rigging the elections, and if so what happened this last time around? While some may question the "Domestic Surveillance" program, it is surely done for different reasons than Nixon's goons breaking and entering to try to get an upper hand in an election.

      Instead, we came to a near constitutional crisis because a President cheated on his wife. It gave a free pass to presidents for generations to come.

      Uhhh, no there wasn't anything near a 'constitutional crisis'. Also, Clinton wasn't impeached for "Cheating on his wife", it was for grand jury perjury, civil suit perjury, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power. All of these fall under 'High Crimes and Misdemeanors". While Clinton did obviously commit perjury, I personally am happy he wasn't impeached for it since it didn't really harm the country in any way.

      Face it, when Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon, the only Americans he was sparing were the pissant Republicans that were hanging on by their fingernails anyway back then, and the paranoid, drug-addled fuck that had vacated the White House months before (see, history repeats itself!). He was doing the sleazebag political version of "Paying it Forward".

      Or maybe he was just trying to do the right thing for the country? I do hope both parties get over the desire to impeach one anothers presidents for partisan discord.

    2. Re:Messiness in front, though by udderly · · Score: 4, Insightful

      But then again, why should the OP allow facts to get in the way of what he/she wishes to believe?

      The logical fallacy of Blank and White Thinking, which is a hallmark of those with Borderline Personality Disorder, seems to affect most of us when dealing with political figures.

      Maybe GWB and/or Bill Clinton are saints, sent from God himself; maybe they're full-on sociopaths. However, the most likely scenario is that they're the usual mixture of good and evil, altruism and selfishness, who through various turns-of-events became President despite their flaws.

      Likewise, their policies could be completely evil or completely good, but more likely the result of mixed motives and the general imperfection of the human intellect and psychology.

    3. Re:Messiness in front, though by calidoscope · · Score: 2, Informative

      Maybe GWB and/or Bill Clinton are saints, sent from God himself; maybe they're full-on sociopaths. However, the most likely scenario is that they're the usual mixture of good and evil, altruism and selfishness, who through various turns-of-events became President despite their flaws.
      Very well put, that's the most insightful statement I've ever seen in the politics section of Slashdot. To think that presidents may be allowed to be human...


      What's really sad to see is how little people know of abuses of presidential power by presidents before Nixon, specifically Woodrow Wilson.

      --
      A Shadeless room is a brighter room.
  25. Re:Let the SOB rot in hell by dfetter · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I agree 100%. It's not a coincidence that some of the worst bad actors of the current junta were staffers in the Nixon white house. Nor is it a coincidence that a lot of them were involved in Iran/Contra on the way to their current misdeeds.

    Rule of law has to be for everybody, not just those without the power to adjust the judicial process to their taste.

    --
    What part of "A well regulated militia" do you not understand?
  26. How is this insightful? by CyberLord+Seven · · Score: 4, Insightful
    By pardoning Nixon, Ford stopped all of the investigations and set the US up for another Imperial Presidency. Rather than putting Watergate, and it's excesses, behind the country, Ford's pardon put them into the future. Take a look around and you'll see for yourself.

    For those too young to know better; the Watergate scandal is NOT about the break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters! Watergate is about everything that happened AFTER!

    --
    We have always been at war with Eurasia!
    1. Re:How is this insightful? by coredog64 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      America has had Imperial Presidencies since Lincoln.

    2. Re:How is this insightful? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      >another Imperial Presidency

      Much as I detest the man, our current regime doesn't count as a imperial Presidency if the voters explicitly endorse it by putting him back in office, no matter how slim the margin was.

      It's the will of the peepul, curse their stupid little souls. Sit down, wipe the foam off your mouth and get over it.

  27. Scary Times for the U.S. by Hercules+Peanut · · Score: 2, Insightful

    A former President is dead and all we can comment on is the rightness or wrongness of a decision made to seek justice or move on. The comments from both sides appear pretty hot too even after all of these years. It's scary just how polarized we have become. It really seems as if you are firmly entrenched one way or the other.

    It doesn't give me a whole lot of hope for the near future. Every time we see something on slashdot it is hotly debated with no middle ground and no compromise. With that attitude, I find it unlikely that we will elect officials who are willing to walk the middle ground or compromise and that, to me, is scary.

    President Ford, I was too young to know what was really happening during your term so I won't judge (I am also not a judge). You took the highest position in the world and I respect you for that accomplishment as I do every President regardless of party or policy. I remember feeling encouragement from you in the boy scout commercials and I thank you for that.

    Rest in Peace.

  28. Death Templates by nxtr · · Score: 3, Funny

    You think they came in handy?

  29. In case you forgot by mustafap · · Score: 2, Funny

    The web was designed by an Englishman. So any news, on any subject not related to Englishness in general, must first be approved by the British. Duh, I would have thought you would know that.

    --
    Open Source Drum Kit, LPLC deve board - mjhdesigns.com
  30. Re:Bush involvement by JavaLord · · Score: 3, Insightful

    We still don't have a motive for the crime -- Nixon was leading in the polls at the time of the break-in. Some suggest the motive might have been to steal the evidence that Nixon and George H.W. Bush were involved in the JFK assassination.

    So the democrats had this, and just didn't release it...and they never mentioned it publically afterwords? Please, those kinds of theories are put forward just by authors looking to sell books to marks. They broke in to place wiretaps to see what the democrats were up to. Sure Nixon was leading in the polls, but does a thief stop stealing just because he has money?

  31. Re:Squeaky Fromme - a Manson Cult member one attem by pointbeing · · Score: 2, Informative
    Wikipedia says Ford thanked Sipple. Interesting article.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Sipple

    --
    we see things not as as they are, but as we are.
    -- anais nin
  32. Wait a minute... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Look at the guys involved with Iran-Contra, they served their piddly sentences for much worse crimes, and today are back serving in the highest reaches of government.
    Nixon was undermining the Constitution, the checks and balances. I hardly think you could do any worse undermining the foundations of the USA--the whole reason for his impeachment. On that note, you wouldn't happen to see a similar situation developing these days? The Missouri Compromise didn't prevent the civil war, it only made it more inevitable. Just as you let the president usurp power not given to him in the Constitution, you will make the impending conflict inevitable. Not holding Nixon accountable is the *worst* possible thing he could have done. That's why we have presidents undermining Congress to get us into wars, and now we have one making his own court systems and writing his own laws. And you wonder why these guys aren't held accountable. You make me sick.
  33. Re:OK, I'm a cynic ... by Reality+Master+101 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If Clinton had been conviceted for lying (essentially the charge)

    Just a small correction -- the charge wasn't just "lying", the charge was the President of the United States, the protector of the constitution, lying under oath, in a court of law, a much more serious offense.

    --
    Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
  34. Helsinki Accords by Lawrence_Bird · · Score: 2, Interesting

    In fact, ultimately his most important decision was to sign the Helsinki accords against the opinion of his party and frankly many in the US at that time.  People thought it was a copout to codify the post WWII boundaries but he recognized that the human rights provisions would be a timebomb ticking inside of the USSR.  It was not long after that dissent began to appear in the combloc, specifically Poland.  These were the first cracks in the soviet empire.

  35. Re:Let the SOB rot in hell by polyex · · Score: 2, Insightful

    We are on the same page politcally, but I just wish the left would stop using exaggerations like imperialism, its so played and a turn off to moderates who the left should try and court more. Iraq is not going to become a state or commonwealth of the US. Slamming a guy personally because of tough decision you do not agree with is petty. Saying that he is a son of a bitch and should rot in hell is not only disrespectful to a man who was president, but distracts from your otherwise valid points. "There's another reason why you should love your enemies, and that is because hate distorts the personality of the hater. We usually think of what hate does for the individual hated or the individuals hated or the groups hated. But it is even more tragic, it is even more ruinous and injurious to the individual who hates." -Martin Luther King

  36. Re:Oh, Great! by ahodgson · · Score: 2, Funny

    A German guy was going to make one, but then he went on vacation for 8 weeks and forgot about it.

  37. Re:He took JFK secrets to his grave by BoneFlower · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You have a reference to Fords comment about changing the report?

    One, I don't know you from a hill of beans, so your credibility is unknown.

    Two, assuming he did change the words, it is at least as important to know *why* he did it as it is to know he did it in the first place.

  38. Re:He took JFK secrets to his grave by EGSonikku · · Score: 2, Interesting

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kEh3Kgwhk0

    http://www.jfkfiles.com/jfk/html/faq.htm

    Don't let silly facts get in the way of good 'ol paranoia.

    --
    - "Scientia non habet inimicum nisp ignorantem"
  39. There's a British one by A+nonymous+Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Slantfullstop

    --
    Infuriate left and right
  40. Re:He took JFK secrets to his grave by EGSonikku · · Score: 2, Interesting

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-cri43ttTo&NR Also this. Notice JFK and Connally react at the exact same instant, right after passing the sign because they were hit by the same bullet. Also shows the 3d model's positioning to be correct.

    Oswald owned the gun used to kill JFK, and there are pictures of him holding it. Marina Oswald testified in 1964 and 1978 that she took the photographs at Oswald's request.

    http://independence.net/jfk/oswaldxh300.jpg

      He had used the same rifle earlier in attempt to assassinate General Walker.

    He attempted the assassination on April 10, 1963. Though he did not leave specifics of his plans in writing, Oswald did leave a note in Russian for Marina with instructions for her to follow -- should he be jailed in Dallas, or otherwise disappear. neutron activation tests later proved that the Walker bullet was from the same cartridge manufacturer that the two bullets which later struck Kennedy were from.

    He was seen carrying what he told co-workers were 'shower rods' into the building. He was the only employee missing from the building after the assassination. He shot and killed a police officer while attempting escape, this same gun was found on him when he was arrested.

    I mean, what proof do you want?

    --
    - "Scientia non habet inimicum nisp ignorantem"
  41. Re:Turn the TV Off. by JhohannaVH · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Muwahahahahaha... Tell that to Mogadishu. Tell that to Beirut. Tell that to Baghdad, Paris, and Amsterdam. Tell that to Banda Aceh. Tell that to Indonesia. And oh yeah... remember to tell your grandkids when they get drafted to fight for Christendom, as it were. I'm sorry, but they will NOT be enforcing any kind of Sharia on this Redheaded Rebel.

    And I'm allergic to bees, so my chances are pretty good. Especially since I'm 10 miles from Tijuana.

    I don't watch Faux News... I read Das Interwebs... :P Where the hell did they come up with that anyways? A few of my favorites:

    http://www.drudgereport.com/
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/
    http://news.google.com/
    http://www.haaretz.com/
    http://www.msnbc.com/
    http://thehill.com/
    http://www.iht.com/
    http://my.yahoo.com/ - of course, customized for worldwide RSS.


    Grow up and open your eyes to the world reality. Not just the one you see in your four walls. Try working with some people from different parts of the world. Especially men from the worker caste in India that don't know anything about how to work with Females. One peed all over the bathroom IN OUR OFFICE, because the young janitorial Mexican girl knocked on the door while he was taking a leak. He was offended, so he whizzed all over all of the porcelain. Oh, and he was Muslim too... he would accost any woman he saw wearing a crucifix... and since we have a lot of Filipinas here, it was awful. Needless to say, it STILL took us 2 months of protesting to get HR to do something about him. I particularly enjoyed bringing in bacon and egg muffin sammies and eating them right in front of him. Oh, did I mention that he was in the cube next to me.. this is how I know all this.

    My favorite foreigners that I've ever worked were with practically brothers... we even shared an office. One was a Christian Iranian, the other a Sunni Iraqi, and they surfed (in the ocean) together daily. I miss them both so much... and they treated HUMANS with a dignity and respect I've never seen since. Sad. I learned a lot from them.

    It's not the terrorism I worry about, it's the FORCED IMPOSITION of Sharia on societies that are too vulnerable to know better. Women are being beaten in the public square now in Banda Aceh, and no one cares... the UN let them take it over... and now, they are beaten to death for meeting with a man in public. FUCK THAT SHIT maynard. FUCK IT ALL... I will give MY rotten ass life to make sure that NO ONE must suffer under such injustice. *sigh* Even you. Especially you... too damned ignorant to know better.. either that, or you're blinded by decades of such imposition already.

    --
    Sorry man... the Internet pooped on me.
  42. Uhm... by kitsunewarlock · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I still enjoy Nixon for everything he did OTHER than Watergate and the lying and what-not...but I mostly like what he did for cancer research and involving relations with China...

    But no man should be judged by only their worse moments. You must take ALL moments into account, and until you see everything a person did, you should not judge for yourself what they have done.

    Clinton is still loved by many despite what he did. And I don't mean the scandel. I mean acts reguarding printing so much money that the penny is now worth less than 1 cent...

    --
    Ginga no Rekshiya Mata Each page.