Penelope’s Loom

Well, Nixon’s White House was not really like that!  It was rather more like this:   Alright. I know that the Custer analogy is totally obvious. Yet the important thing to remember here is that this is how Nixon perceived his situation by 1973–a general watching his command slowly being stripped away by really pissed off Indian warriors. The events leading up to Nixon’s resignation in August, 1974, became ever more dramatic, as revelations gradually revealed the extent of the coverup. So, how did those threads begin to unravel? One of the first was the death of the spouse of one of the watergate burglars, Dorothy Hunt. Married to E Howard Hunt, she was killed in a plane crash in Chicago in 1972, and yet in her purse was approximately some $10.000 in sequential bills. Some agencies, such as the FBI (and Mark Felt, whom some of you may know by his nom de plume, "deep throat") knew instantly when the money was found, that there was mischief afoot.  And, so began the long jou...

 Watergate was one of the more complicated Gordian Knots of American political history.  While it appeared to be about a break-in at the Democratic National Committee Headquarters in Washington DC (which were of course located in the Watergate complex), it was actually about so much more--a systematic series of covert actions by the men in Nixon's White House, that broke literally every political law we have in this country.  Watergate began as a weird story about some middle aged former spies, who were arrested for breaking and entering the home court of the opposing political party, one fine early morning, and ended with the resignation of a president. So, how did it begin?  Well, in a former post, I dealt with Nixon's history of political dirty tricks, particularly in terms of winning elections.  Remember ratfucking?  By 1972, Nixon was convinced that the radical Left was gunning for him.  He was obsessed with the fact that the radical Left was some...

Richard Nixon came to government at a ridiculously young age right after World War Two where he had a marvelous career as a card shark while serving in the Pacific theater.  As a young congressman, Nixon did his best to represent his rural Californian district. Oddly enough, JFK came to congress in the same year. For a brief space of time both freshmen found some comfort in the display of their staunch anti-communist credentials.  Nixon proved to be something of a genius in taking advantage of his political opportunities, and a few years saw him taking a senate seat away from liberal Helen Gehagan Douglas.  It’s also of note that Nixon s tactics in that campaign earned him the nickname of “tricky Dick” from Douglas—a nom de plume that would follow him for the rest of his political career.  What kinds of shenanigans ?  I can only refer you to the term popularized during Watergate—“ratfucking”.   Should you wish greater insight into this method of political ...

 There are few murder cases in modern history that have exercised more speculations and controversies than the killing of j f k. I would hazard a bet that this cold case and the identity of the perpetrator (s??) has warranted as much print as have the murders in white chapel. Perhaps the cases still fascinate because of their tragic qualities.   And yet there is also something of a guilty voyeurism in our preoccupation with the case of j f k. If you think about that November day in 1963, the whole affair was spectacularly dramatic, down to the way in which the president was killed, and to the blood stained pink designer suit that Jackie wore. In thinking about the end of the Kennedy administration one naturally thinks about obvious things, like lost possibilities. The what would-have-beens of any situation.  There are a few cliches that illustrate, but I am particularly fond of one—a favorite show of the president’s was a musical production called “Camelot.”  Th...

  Truly one of the more charismatic and yet troubling presidents of the last 75 years. Kennedy’s administration formed itself into an Arthurian wonderland filled with gorgeous fashion and populated by virile knights of the round table.  JFK, who comes to the presidency in 1960, in a hotly contested election with Richard Nixon, upset the republican power base when he won the presidential election with one of the slimmest voting margins in American history.       Now, how did he win?  Well that is a vexed question indeed.  First there were the televised debates. My oh my, Nixon—the poor man just sweated so profusely underneath those debate lights!!  I wonder if anyone really noticed what Nixon said versus what Kennedy said, particularly when Nixon looked like a poor man stuffed into an ill fitting suit.  And did anyone except me see the sweat line on his upper lip?  It’s really too bad that Richard didn’t use his pocket handkerchief! ...

 This is Penelope’s Loom. A place where one can read about and perhaps discuss strange, wonderful, and peculiar historic events