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Watergate & My Crazy Aunt


clueliss

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So The Impeachment of Trump 2.0 - and my ability to pay attention to it due to Covid Pandemic Work From Home World is generating some memories for me.  And I'm returning to my long neglected blog here to record (and share) this one.

I was 9 or 10 years old in 1974.  Fourth Grade.  My parents marriage was dying - Mom Divorced Dad that year.    We moved that summer.  But before we moved, I have this very vivid memory of being highly upset one Saturday morning, because the next Saturday morning cartoon should have been Josie and the Pussycats.  Only it wasn't.  We had live coverage of Watergate Hearings.  Being a fourth grader, I couldn't care less.  And in 1974 small town, wide spot in the road Kansas you had only a few over the air options for TV.  And all of them had the one thing on.  Watergate.  I didn't understand.  Granted, I had no idea how much life was going to change later that year either. 

I also remember my Crazy Aunt.  The maiden aunt who never married, was a teacher at the school for the deaf being rather 'into' all of this.  I remember her cutting out newspaper and magazine articles about Watergate and perhaps Nixon and everything going on.  And hey, 10 year old, thought it was over the top.  I didn't say anything.  I wasn't raised that way.  Mouthing off about that would have gotten me grounded. 

And right now.  At 56 years old.  Watching all of this.  This time.  Because of the world gone sideways.  Because I can pay attention.  And because I am THIS upset about what happened.  About the Insurrection.  About the Abomination that OFM is.  I understand my Crazy Aunt and those Watergate Hearings. 

Now to be honest, part of my wants to say "How many times do you get to watch an Impeachment Trail during your life?"  But then I have to stop myself.  Because the answer is now THREE.  And Nixon came very close to being a fourth.  But I was repulsed by what Clinton did, and the lies - but rather ambivalent about the whole Impeachment.  And the first Trump Impeachment, I checked out on mentally because deep down I didn't want to get invested in something that I didn't think was going anywhere.  And something I didn't think they could prove or change minds about. 

But this time?  This time I'm angry.  And I am invested.  I'm invested because I sat here listening to and later watching during Work From Home on January 6, 2021.  And I cried that day.  And I called out to God - many times.  And I felt fear and confusion I hadn't felt since September 11, 2001.  And because as 2020 wore on, I became increasingly angry at that disgusting excuse for a President and so much time asking in prayer for his removal from office that this time - I'm invested and I'm here for it.

So to my aunt - that because of Covid and her dementia  - I can't explain any of this to - I'm sorry for my 10 year old self not getting it.  Because I get it now.

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HerNameIsBuffy

Posted

I get your aunt, too.

But I also totally get 4th grade you because I still want "long tails and ears for hats" to be business casual so I could live my dream of growing up to be Melody.

I won't even discuss my childhood crush on Richard Nixon.

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MrsBeasley

Posted

I do so wish you would blog more, as does our lovely friend Buffy.

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47of74

Posted

1974 was a year before I came along. 

In Iowa back when I was 9 to 10 in the mid 80s we had four channels - ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS.  Occasionally more if the weather conditions were just right.  My mom said back when Reagan got shot I wasn't too happy because news about the attempt was all that was on all the channels.  She said five year old me was upset that Mr. Rogers got pushed off TV to cover Reagan.

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turquoise

Posted

I was also 10 that summer. My dad watched as much of the hearings as he could and at the time I thought they were sooooo boring. But I get it now.

 I was at a friend's house the day Nixon resigned and I remember her mom's surprise as she learned the news from the afternoon paper. I also remember my mom's reaction when Ford pardoned Nixon. It was rare to see her get angry, but she was furious.

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PennySycamore

Posted

I was glued to the Watergate hearings and an active member of the Committee for the Impeachment of Richard Nixon at UGA.  I  recall the day that Nixon resigned very well.  I was at work at my summer job doing phone interviews about Georgia public tv for my sociology prof when we heard the news that Nixon was resigning at noon the next day.  A bunch of my friends and I went to the Spaghetti Store in Athens to toast Nixon's resignation at noon.   

Ford should definitely not have pardoned Tricky Dick.  

Harry Truman said of Nixon that Nixon could talk out of both sides of his mouth and lie of them both.  

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47of74

Posted

6 minutes ago, PennySycamore said:

Ford should definitely not have pardoned Tricky Dick.  

Harry Truman said of Nixon that Nixon could talk out of both sides of his mouth and lie of them both.  

It's why I think the pardon power needs a real going over to prevent abuse like we saw with pcff.  I think it should be locked down so that it's not a get out of jail free card like it was with pcff.  And no President should ever be allowed to pardon a predecessor.  That should be left up to Congress.  Maybe if Ford hadn't pardoned that SOB Nixon we wouldn't have had all these problems because Presidents would have learned that they were not above the law.

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clueliss

Posted

@PennySycamore - by the time he resigned/left office -  we had moved and my parents were divorced.  74 was a defining year in my life for many reasons.

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This is bringing back an informal and saucy Nixon-era campaign slogan:  Vote for Nixon in 72! Don't change Dicks in the middle of a screw! 

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  • Posts

    • theotherelise

      Posted

      I agree, Shiloh being in the room alone struck me as isolation. 

      The boys bunk has Simon, Ezra, honor, and Theo. Shiloh is in the little bedroom alone  

      The girls bunk has Della, Nola, and Evie. 

      Toby and Titus are in the closet nursery. 

      The boys hangout room could be Simon and Ezra’s with the middle three in the bunk and the twins in the little room. Brother dad could still be in place for helping all of them in that arrangement. 

       

      • Upvote 1
      • I Agree 2
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    • ptm6114

      Posted

      16 minutes ago, Cults-r-us said:

      So now we know from where duck biologist Botkin got his 200-year family plan theology. It must have been pervasive thinking in their little corner of the world.

      “The blessing given by Liberty Phillips to her sister Jubilee on her wedding day to her groom Adam:

      ’Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.’ Genesis 24:60”

      What in the actual psychopathy, backwoods-brainwashing do these people think they’re doing?! 🥴🤯😂

      • Upvote 3
    • thoughtful

      Posted (edited)

      On the evening of Sunday, March 10, some members of the pastor's family sang a special - God Wants to Hear You Sing. It opens with the lyrics:

      Quote

      Their chains were fastened tight
      Down at the jail that night
      Still Paul and Silas would not be dismayed

      According to the captions, the chains:

      Spoiler

      image.thumb.png.31d479b80ca43b6bf72173fd72f59e55.png

      Nothing worse than fuzzing chains.

      Baker announces the winners of the March Madness competitions from the last two weeks:

       - most tracts handed out: "Dad Baker." Dave's father, maybe?

      - most people led to Christ - a young woman who isn't there because she's in the nursery.

      In case you want to guess what their prize is before I tell you, I'll put it under a spoiler.

      Spoiler

      A gift card for Chik-fil-a.

      Baker reminds them that this is much better than three-pointers and anything else in that other March Madness.

      "Blessings neat special good encouraging?"

      A man is called on, and begins to weep as he talks about his son (who is 23) telling him he felt lost. He says he told his son to beg God to give him a purpose, and to make it so obvious that it can't be missed.

      This just breaks my heart. First of all, just because this man really sounds frightened for his son - regardless of the reason, I'd feel for him. But the idea that one's "purpose" has to come from a supernatural source just burns my hide. Their religious teachings make the already difficult experience of being a young adult and choosing your path even harder, burdening their kids with a sense that other people have gotten a message from God, and wondering why theirs hasn't come.

      This is something I hear a lot listening to religious apologists talk to non-believers; "How do you find your purpose in life?" Or even, "You can't possibly have a purpose in life, because you don't have God to tell you what it is." Some of them are (or pretend to be) oblivious to the idea that a person's life can be self-directed, that we can make our own purpose.

      I really hope this young man is not waiting around for a sign from God, in order to know what to do with his life.

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      * He says another young man's name here.

      Did that make sense to you? Me either. He's probably thinking "It's Sunday night, not Wednesday night - didn't you hear me say blessings neat special good encouraging? Don't bring the room down, man."

      A young woman (who Baker makes sure to mention used to be "a bus kid") thanks Baker and his wife for what they taught her when she was little.

      Becky tells them that their missionary friends have gotten all of their support and the husband found a house in Africa that has five bedrooms and four bathrooms. Baker asks what country, and Becky tells him Uganda. So the screaming Bryants are finally going to Uganda.

      A man says it's been a blessing to learn so much in church. He was talking to a co-worker, he says, who asked him if he ever worried that he was wrong. Baker laughs at the very idea. The man says that so many things come to mind when he's asked that - of course, all of them are from the bible and what Baker has told him.

      Baker comments on that.

      A woman talks about a recently released inmate from the women's prison, who'd had trouble finding a place to live. But God found her one (this woman actually mentions the woman's case worker trying to find her a place while telling the story, but no - it was God that actually provided).

      Baker comments on that.

      Pastor's wife says she talked to a woman who recently moved to their area from Mississippi, where she'd attended a Baptist church all her life. She says she asked the woman if she knew she was going to heaven, and the woman said "I hope so." Mrs. Baker says she showed her, in the bible, how she could know for sure and said she thought it was "so sad that she hadn't gotten it" from her many years in church. But now she knew.

      Baker comments on that. If you're getting the idea that Baker seems to feel the need to cap off everyone's statements, to interpret them, add his two cents, and somehow make them his, you are getting the feeling of this part of the service.

      One of Baker's sons got to go swimming - oops, captions, that's soul-winning - with one of his brothers. It didn't start out well - nobody answering doors except for one guy who said he was going back in to take a nap. But two men "got saved."

      That's enough for now.

      Edited by thoughtful
      riffle
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    • Cults-r-us

      Posted

      18 minutes ago, ptm6114 said:

      So did I interpret this right—the article from the SPLC says Rushdoony, whom Howard Phillips was a follower of, supported the death penalty for gays?!
       

      And one of the links went to another article about Howard stating “Christian Reconstructionists' plans for dominion are multigenerational; families are encouraged to build dynasties with 200-year plans and to see their families as central to God's plan for history.”

      😵‍💫🤐🤐🤐 

      So now we know from where duck biologist Botkin got his 200-year family plan theology. It must have been pervasive thinking in their little corner of the world.

      • Upvote 2
    • ptm6114

      Posted

      2 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

      Howard was born & raised Jewish and converted to Christianity in the 1970s. According to this profile by the SPLC, Howard was very close to & a follower/supporter of Rushdoony. 

      Doug was pretty much raised in that shit and absolutely worshipped his father. So, I would guess that Howard's beliefs & activities had a lot of influence on VF

       

      So did I interpret this right—the article from the SPLC says Rushdoony, whom Howard Phillips was a follower of, supported the death penalty for gays?!
       

      And one of the links went to another article about Howard stating “Christian Reconstructionists' plans for dominion are multigenerational; families are encouraged to build dynasties with 200-year plans and to see their families as central to God's plan for history.”

      😵‍💫🤐🤐🤐 

      • Upvote 1


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