nocontrol

Happy Watergate Day!

Yes, friends...today is the 30th Anniversary of Richard Nixon's resignation from the Presidency following the events at the Watergate Building and their subsequent cover-up. My love affair with politics and my fascination with investigative journalism all stem from Watergate and the Woodward & Bernstein book All The President's Men, which chronicled their investigation into the Nixon-led cover-up. It was truly an amazing piece of journalism that also made a fine film.

Can you believe that, following his resignation, the American public claimed to hate Nixon more than Hitler...or Satan?!? He was deeply despised, both publicly and professionally.

I've read extensively on the life, career and presidency of Richard Nixon. He was a strange, sad and intensely private man. The parallels that I see between "Tricky Dick" and George W. Bush are both striking and scary. The similiarities between Nixon's policies in Vietnam and Bush's tactics in Iraq are eerily congruous. Perhaps most telling is Dubya's obsession with secrecy and the control of information to the media. Nixon's adversarial relationship with the Washington press corps is the stuff of legend. His manic concern about leaks led directly to the creation of the infamous "Plumbers". I'm certain that Georgie's overt disdain for the media and blatant lack of public appearances would make ol' Dickie proud.

On this, the anniversary of the day Richard Nixon was forced to resign the highest office in the land, after years of denying any wrong-doing, I think it's important to remember what has gone before. We should take a long, hard look at events unfolding before us and be sure that we hold our leaders accountable for their actions. If we do not, then the lessons of the Nixon administration were for naught.

For those interested in the subject, I strongly recommend the following:

All The President's Men

The Fog of War - Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara

President Nixon: Alone in the White House

The Arrogance of Power: The Secret World of Richard Nixon

Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail

----------------------------------------------

One of my favorite political parodies of all time...

He's tan, rested and ready!



----------------------------------------------

In other news...

Oh my god...I just found out that Lisa Gerrard has a new solo album in the can, awaiting release this fall. I'm so fucking psyched! Ahhh, I love her!

Also...there is apparently going to be "something involving Dead Can Dance ...to conclude next year"! Unbelievable! Gah, I can't wait...



I would walk from here to Australia just to kiss the ground she walks upon. *sigh*.