Free Republic

'The CIA plotted twice to assassinate President Richard Nixon during the years before the Watergate scandal because the agency was angered when 'Tricky Dick' turned dovish and began to withdraw troops from Vietnam, according to an explosive book from a longtime Nixon confidant due for release on Monday. One hit was planned to occur at Nixon's Key Biscayne, Florida vacation house. A second plot to kill him was to culminate during a Miami speech in 1972. When both plots failed, writes best-selling author Roger Stone in 'Nixon's Secrets: The Rise, Fall and Untold Truth about the President, Watergate, and the...

During his farewell remarks in the White House East Room on August 9, 1974, President Richard Milhous Nixon told the truth. Nixon remains a controversial and tarnished historical figure. But his impact on America was significant. Only Franklin Roosevelt’s name appeared on as many national ballots (five). His presidency, though now remembered by many for the way it ended, was actually filled with great achievement and success in many ways. Nixon was a brilliant visionary. But he also had a weakness. It was a failure to tell the truth that became Nixon’s undoing. The highly publicized tapes of what he...

On the occasion of this week's 40th anniversary of Richard Nixon's resignation from the presidency, The Washington Post sponsored a reunion featuring Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the Watergate reporters who "brought down" the 37th president. In fact, Nixon committed political suicide. He thought he could get away with what other politicians had done, but forgot the rules are different for Republicans. The Post event resembled a celebration with much laughter and stories about how Publisher Katharine Graham and Executive Editor Ben Bradlee had told the newsroom "no gloating" when it became apparent Nixon would resign. But gloat they did...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania We meet to celebrate the birthday of America. The coming of a new life always excites our interest. Although we know in the case of the individual that it has been an infinite repetition reaching back beyond our vision, that only makes it the more wonderful. But how our interest and wonder increase when we behold the miracle of the birth of a new nation. It is to pay our tribute of reverence and respect to those who participated in such a mighty event that we annually observe the fourth day of July. Whatever may have been the...

In a Quinnipiac University poll released today, Americans rated Ronald Reagan as the best US President since World War II, while the current White House occupant, Barack Obama, was listed as the worst. The same revealed that for the first time since his term began, Americans consider former President George W Bush to have done a better job than President Obama. The poll also provided Obama with some of the worst approval ratings of his presidency, and an overwhelming number of Americans believe the nation would be better off had Mitt Romney won the election of 2012. Only 40 percent...

Those of us in the 99 percent have had few encounters with the one percent of wealthy elites we keep hearing about. We did find a good place to start looking, though: the front office at your local state university. The Chronicle of Higher Education shows us who belongs to the millionaires’ club—presidents of public colleges who made more than a million dollars this school year: *E. Gordon Gee, Ohio State University, $6,057,615 *R. Bowen Loftin, Texas A & M at College Station, $1,6363,274 *Hamid A. Shirvani, North Dakota University, $1,311,095 *Renu Khator, University of Houston main campus, $1,266,000 *Sally...

ackie Kennedy’s marriage to JFK was headed to a divorce when his life was cut short by an assassin's bullet in November 1963. She was about to become the only First Lady to divorce a sitting president. That's the shocking bombshell in a new book Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A life Beyond Her Wildest Dreams by Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince from Blue Moon Productions publisher. Jackie had had enough. Fed up with his constant womanizing, and having her own dalliances that fueled the fire of her desire for liberation, Jackie told her confidantes that she wanted out. Her anger amped...

It is well known that Senators and Congressmen enrich themselves through book deals, speaking engagements, campaign finance cash, etc. When Lyndon Johnson was president, he was open in stealing money from the public treasury, a fact that even his strongest supporters acknowledge. Johnson left office with a net worth of tens of millions of dollars (if not more), which was a lot of money in 1969. When Nixon told the American people that he was not a crook, he was referring to Lyndon Johnson's corruption. Is Lyndon Johnson the only person who enriched himself during the presidency, or are there...

There is an internet site called WatchMojo.com. It has numerous top ten videos - top 10 Queen songs, top 10 nominated actors who never won an oscar , top ten Marvel movies, etc. I like going there to see various top 10 lists and such. Yesterday while browsing through it, they had a Top 10 U.S. Presidents. I watched it to see if I would be disappointed and to no surprise, I was. Why? Two things. One - President Reagan was not in their top 10. They had one term James Polk in there - #8 I believe - but...

Lynne Cheney has spent decades studying and admiring the nation's fourth president, James Madison. Her new book, "James Madison: A Life Reconsidered" is a labor of political admiration that began five years ago and culminated in a historical journey in which Madison, the father of the Constitution, also becomes a prophet of productive conservatism. ....She considers Madison the prophet of small government. He pushed for a strong central government early in his political career when he served in the early House of Representatives, but he started having some doubts. "Madison began to worry about too strong a government," Cheney told...

The CBS Evening News on Wednesday ignored one of the day’s top news stories: the revelation that White House aide Ben Rhodes — brother of CBS president David Rhodes — instructed Susan Rice to emphasize a false talking point about the 2012 terror attacks in Benghazi, Libya. In a White House email chain recently obtained through a lawsuit by Judicial Watch, Ben Rhodes urged Rice “[t]o underscore that these protests are rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader failure or policy” ahead of her infamous appearance on several Sunday shows. The decision by CBS to ignore the story...

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter joined nine other Nobel Peace Laureates in sending a strongly worded letter to President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, urging them not to approve construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. The letter opened as follows: "You stand on the brink of making a choice that will define your legacy on one of the greatest challenges humanity has ever faced – climate change. As you deliberate the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, you are poised to make a decision that will signal either a dangerous commitment to the status quo, or bold leadership that...

When Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Revenue Act of 1913, it probably sounded like a good idea. Most people would pay less in taxes and the prices of everyday goods would drop, he promised. And the rich would — finally! — start paying their fair share. In those days, tax collection was a highly diffuse business with various states and localities collecting taxes at various rates. The federal government mostly skidded by on exorbitant and uneven tariffs, and on booze and tobacco taxes. This was always tough and disorganized business for the federal government. Those hardships became especially acute...

Thirty-three years ago today, on the thirtieth day of the third month of 1981, a gunman attempted to assassinate President Ronald Wilson Reagan. This is not only a major historical event; it is also an American healthcare first: the only time a president was shot in office and survived.

I looked into his eyes once, and what I saw scared me half to death.In June 2001, George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin ended their first face-to-face meeting with an outdoor news conference beneath a craggy mountaintop in Slovenia. "Is this a man that Americans can trust?" I asked Bush as Putin glared at me. "Yes," Bush replied, before allowing Putin to answer a separate question. A few minutes later, the American president elaborated: "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. We had a very good dialogue. I was able to...

When Putin Met Reagan Written by Alex Selwyn-Holmes December 7, 2009 In May 1988, President Ronald Reagan travelled to Moscow for his 4th summit with Mikhail Gorbachev. The Soviets prepared a grand welcome; buildings across from the Kremlin were repainted, streets repaved and trees and flowers planted along the boulevards. The president’s schedule included attending the Bolshoi Ballet, speaking to students at Moscow’s State University and visiting Danilov Monastery, while First Lady would tour Leningrad.The visit was not without its own share of diplomatic incidents. The First Couple took an unscheduled walk through the Arbat, a Moscow shopping pedestrian street,...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is expressing concern about Venezuela's escalating political crisis and wants to meet with leaders on both sides in an upcoming trip. Carter, a mediator of past political conflict in the deeply polarized South American nation, made the offer in private letters he sent this week to President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Henrique Capriles. Expressing "grave concern" about the loss of life in recent protests and the risk of more conflict ahead, Carter in the letter to Capriles said that for dialogue aimed at easing tensions to succeed both side must...

This is amazing history. Be sure to read the quotes in BOLD at the end. Thomas Jefferson was a very remarkable man who started learning very early in life and never stopped. At 5, began studying under his cousin's tutor. At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French. At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages. At 16, entered the College of William and Mary. Also could write in Greek with one hand while writing the same in Latin with the other. At 19, studied law for 5 years starting under George Wythe. At 23, started his own law practice. At...

What are we supposed to -do- on President's Day? The Lawless One occupying the White House would no doubt make it a day to celebrate himself as one would expect from a Fidel Castro or Kim Jong Un. This President's Day, try to forget about the sabotage being daily employed by this person known as Barack Hussein Obama and instead reminisce about a time when we had a President who didn't daily work to undermine the foundation of this nation. Articles of impeachment would be the most appropriate President's Day gift this year. However, that's obviously a fantasy since John...