Free Republic

HOW AN OUT-OF-CONTROL MEDIA INDICTED NIXON WITHOUT A TRIAL May 18, 2008 -- Swarmed by photographers, former Attorney General John Mitchell - once President Nixon's closest adviser, an awesome figure, with his wintry demeanor and trademark pipe, throughout the capital - emerged shaken and unsmiling from a three-hour grilling before the grand jury. It was April 20, 1973, and the Watergate cover-up was fast unraveling. Federal prosecutors and reporters smelled blood. "Mitchell had good reason to be grim," reported Daniel Schorr. "CBS News learns Mitchell admitted to the grand jury that he authorized payment of legal fees and expenses for...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new book on the scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon alleges that White House counsel John Dean ordered the infamous Watergate break-in in 1972, a charge Dean strongly rejected. James Rosen, a Fox News Channel correspondent in Washington, made the charge based on interviews and an exhaustive review of documents for "The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate." Dean called Rosen's assertion "pathetic." Rosen quoted from a 1990 interview from another central Watergate figure, Jeb Magruder, that "the first plan that we got had been initiated by Dean." To help build his...

In case you somehow missed it, Venezuelan dictator, Hugo Chavez, provided entertainment for the UN body this week. After Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad clearly disappointed the UN body with his uncharacteristically (and ridiculously) sappy “we love everyone, even Jews – so why can’t we have nukes” speech, the UN was desperate for fireworks and entertainment of some sort from somebody. Since Ahmadinejad had been muzzled by France, who is hoping to keep Iran’s nuclear ambitions off the UN Security Council table, enter Cindy Sheehan’s President of choice, Hugo Chavez, stage right…

After a UN speech in which he called US President Bush "Satan," Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez got a standing ovation with another anti-Bush speech at a New York college. The South American leader spoke at Cooper Union last night before a packed audience including professors and union organizers. Chavez proclaimed himself "a friend" of the people of the United States, but said he hopes next time, they'll choose, in his words, an "intelligent president." He got the standing ovation for comments accusing Bush of committing genocide in Iraq. Chavez compared the Bush administration's actions to those of the Nazis and...

1.CHAVEZ MAKES WAR, NOT LOVE. The left has repeatedly condemned the right for being militaristic. It has pressed for disarmament in the region, deeming it immoral that resources should be used to buy weapons when so many people are hungry. Hugo Chávez has started the biggest arms build-up in Latin America in a long time. He is buying $2 billion plus worth of Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters, Mig-29 fighters, C-295 transport planes, patrol ships, and corvettes. He has knocked every door, from Brazil to Spain, from Russia to China, lusting for weapons.2. CHAVEZ IS A HEAVY PRIVATIZER. The left has...

CARACAS, Venezuela, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday his government would take legal action against Pat Robertson and potentially seek his extradition after the U.S. evangelist called for Washington to assassinate the South American leader. Robertson, who later apologized for the remark, said he was expressing his frustration with Chavez's constant accusations against the administration of President George W. Bush. "I announce that my government is going to take legal action in the United States ... to call for the assassination of a head of state is an act of terrorism." Chavez said in a...

"Our praises are our wages" Shakespeare's "Winter's Tale" Adulators often appear in countries where total political power is in the hands of a strongman. Longing for approval from the master, adulators will do or say whatever it takes. This has happened in Venezuelan history since Boves and Guzman Blanco walked our geography. The people objects of adulation do not have to be particularly distinguished, as long as they have power. They can be louts like the Monagas brothers or Cipriano Castro or Juan Vicente Gomez or Marcos Perez Jimenez, but this poses no problem for the invertebrate members of the...