Topic: Gerald Ford dead at 93

[falsealarms]

Just heard Ford died tonight.. he was 93. I obviously don't remember him, so how do people here remember him? Reagan was in the middle of his term when I was born, but Clinton is the first president I really remember well.

[shemps#1]

History will remember Ford as the asshole who pardoned Nixon first, and the first (and so far only) un-elected President in US History second.

[falsealarms]

That's funny. Here I thought Bush 43 was un-elected 

[Bangsmith]

Just heard Ford died tonight.. he was 93. I obviously don't remember him, so how do people here remember him? Reagan was in the middle of his term when I was born, but Clinton is the first president I really remember well.

Fuck him! I barely remember Ford, but he and Nixon were the two who created a permanent mistrust of the Presidency. Carter is the only one from then who is still alive, and he happened to be a decent president. Coincidence?

[JazzBill]

[youtube=425,350]rPSJJwZUmik[/youtube]

[JazzBill]

Sorry, but I have to disagree with you Bangsmith. Carter was a lousy President. Those hostages would never have been held for as long as they were, if Carter had any balls. Carter's biggest fault was that he was too nice of a guy. Say what you want about Nixon, but those Iranian (so called students) would of never got away with that shit on Nixons watch.

[locoboymakesgood]

With the exception of Watergate, Nixon was one of the better Presidents of the 20th Century. He got us out of Vietnam and improved relations with China. Other than his own stupidity right before his re-election, he was definitely one of the better ones.

All I know Ford for was his clumsiness.. Chevy Chase's impersonations of him on SNL are all I've seen. That and his cameo at the end of that one episode of The Simpsons when he moves in across the street from them.. but then again, I don't know if that was his real voice or not.

[jrvass]

I am with JazzBill.

Pardon me, Shemps#1, your nuts! Do you really think the country would be better off with Nixon in jail with his cohorts, because the Democrats wanted more blood? Not only did Ford pardon Nixon, but also the Vietnam draft-dodgers. He also allowed Kissinger to continue "Peace Accords", or whatever they were called. Ending the Vietnam War for the U.S., and eventually S. Vietnam.

There were bigger "fish to fry" than Nixon, for our political "leaders" at the time. How about inflation and avoiding OPEC embargoes? He did that too.

And Bangsmith:

Fuck him! I barely remember Ford, but he and Nixon were the two who created a permanent mistrust of the Presidency. Carter is the only one from then who is still alive, and he happened to be a decent president. Coincidence?

You must have learned about John F. Kennedy. Before your time but not mine.

The Kennedy Center recently gave Ford a "Profiles in Courage" award for pardoning Nixon. His approval rating dropped by 50% after, at the time. Explain that.

Carter was decent? Are you smoking crack? Or are you easily fooled by the media? I won't go into Carter's international faux pas' since leaving the presidency (N. Korean nuclear deals; Hugo Chavez' Venezualan (1st) election; Selling-out Israel consistantly, etc.). Let's delve into my memory of his presidency...

1. No ability to handle the economy. Home mortgage rates hovered at 20%. National unemployment at 8-9% Stagflation (Stagnant economic growth + inflation).

2. 1978(?) OPEC oil embargo #2. "Let's all wear sweaters and think positively" was a televised address he gave. Gas lines (if you could find it) a 1/4 mile long! No Bullshit!

3. No support for the Shah of Iran (Reza Pehlovi?). Yeah, he was a bastard with the SAVAT in his country. But he was our bastard. And what did we get in return? Ayatollah Khomeini and almost 30 years of Muslim extremism. Including the hostages (thanks JazzBill), that the day of Ronald Wilson Reagan's Inauguration... were released. BECAUSE THEY FEARED HIM!

Break that crack pipe! Right now! Betty Ford will help you with your addiction.

But falsealarms asked about Ford. What do I remember?

1. WIN lapel buttons. Although not as bad as under Carter, inflation was a problem. WIN meant "Whip Inflation Now". Useless, unless you owned a lapel pin factory.

2. The first few seasons of Saturday Night Live. Chevy Chase would imitate Ford falling down steps, etc. Funny stuff that should be available on DVD. Get it now before the price spikes this week on Amazon. (As a footnote, it is said he had bad knees from being the MVP center on the U. of Mich. football team. Offered a contract by Green Bay and the Lions, he went to Yale Law school instead.)

3. The only President from Michigan... but he was from the other side of the state from me.

When Fox News cut off Michele Malkin last night filling in on the O'Reilly Factor at 11:5?, to tell the news of Ford's death, I was like "Damn, couldn't they show the end? Michele is a MILF!"

"Too bad about Ford... but at 93... and failing health..."  

"Jimmy Carter should be next "up to the plate""  :^D

James

[jrvass]

With the exception of Watergate, Nixon was one of the better Presidents of the 20th Century. He got us out of Vietnam and improved relations with China. Other than his own stupidity right before his re-election, he was definitely one of the better ones.

All I know Ford for was his clumsiness.. Chevy Chase's impersonations of him on SNL are all I've seen. That and his cameo at the end of that one episode of The Simpsons when he moves in across the street from them.. but then again, I don't know if that was his real voice or not.

NO NO NO!

It was Kissinger who got us out of JFK's & LBJ's follies in Vietnam! Ford kept him on "the team". A great foreign policy President. But one of the better Presidents of the 20th century? Sorry. Nixon ain't it.

But the demoncrats prevent us from winning wars then, and wars now. Unless they are quick wars. Before the demoncrats can get everyone marching in lockstep against the greater good of the U.S.

On towards "UN Government" on the Earth! Where UN soldiers rape Africans, while their leaders, overlooking Turtle Bay, in Manhatten NY, steal money!

Hooray!!!

James

[jrvass]

By the way, to Shemps#1 and Bangsmith (who admits to not knowing Ford... other than through the liberal-controlled school system.)...

We are still Pals, because...

Friends are Friends and Pals are Pals!
Butt Buddies go to Bed!

 

James

[Curley91]

I'm not going to touch this one!! 

[jrvass]

I'm not going to touch this one!! 

Smart man. Curley91 gets an A+++++++ from the teacher and never needs to write an essay again.

Go collect your "Red Ryder BB gun, with the compass in the stock, and the thing that tells time." Don't shoot your eye out.

http://www.dontshootyoureyeout.com/

(I hate the url "paste" interface here... Rob, I need to test this, there. Actually all the "buttons"... in a week or 2 (or when you are ready), when I am less "busier than a cat in shallow sand".

James

[shemps#1]

You talk as if there is an actual difference between Demicans and Republicrats! Both sides are nothing more than inbred, silver spoon fed trust fund babies who fuck over everybody that isn't making at least six figures annually.

Nixon absolutely should have rotted in jail for his transgretions. If Nixon were to have paid for his crimes then perhaps some trust in the Oval Office would have restored. Also, I'll have to take umbrage with your comparison of what Nixon did with the Vietnam Draft Dodgers. First of all, Carter pardoned the Draft Dodgers in '77, not Ford. Second, they did what they did on moral grounds, while Nixon did what he did because he was a paranoid fucktard who wiped his ass with the Bill of Rights in the name of keeping tabs on his percieved enemies. Why else would he spend millions spying on and trying to deport John Lennon?

As an aside, the hostages weren't freed on Reagan's Inauguration because the Iranians feared Reagan, they did so because they hated Carter so much.

[shemps#1]

PS: It wasn't only the "Democrats" who "wanted blood", it was the majority of the fucking country. That's why Ford lost his re-election bid.

[jrvass]

PS: It wasn't only the "Democrats" who "wanted blood", it was the majority of the fucking country. That's why Ford lost his re-election bid.

By a percent or 2. Get a clue!

(not that I accept your previous points, I have to go to work early. To help pay for demoncratic "entitlements".)

And BTW, the current crop of Demican's and Republicrat's, disappoint me greatly.

James

NEWT in '08!

[jrvass]

As an aside, the hostages weren't freed on Reagan's Inauguration because the Iranians feared Reagan, they did so because they hated Carter so much.

Why? Because the pussy lost to Reagan? Carter was, and still is, their best friend!

[Giff me dat fill-em!]

I'm not gonna touch the current political debate either, but I especially remember Ford because he was one of the few Presidents who was never elected. Nixon and Agnew won in '72, then Agnew resigned, then Nixon appoints Ford, then Nixon resigned in '74, leaving Gerald holding the reigns 'til '76. He didn't win, of course.

[shemps#1]

You need to get a fucking clue, not me. All of this bullshit rhetoric about how evil the Democrats are when Republicans are just as evil. Why? Because they are the exact fucking same. They both lie, both increase taxes and spend like it's going out of style, both blatently disregard the Constitution and its amendments and both plain fucking suck.

Oh yeah, the hostage takers took one look at Reagan's Alzheimers and shit their pants. Give ME a break! You must be one of those fools who wants to put Ronnie's Alzheimers riddled kisser on the $10 bill. It would actually make sense seeing as though he flushed billions of $10 bills down the shitter during his 8 year reign of terror. "Go ahead, spend money you don't have". "What I'm going to do is give massive tax breaks to the richest of the rich, and whatever money they can't grab goes down to the next level and so on". "Only fags and junkies get AIDS, why should I put any effort towards research?" He was a worse President then he was an actor, and that's saying something!

With GW soon exiting office (thankfully) it's time to start thinking about a replacement. How about Jeb? After all, we can't seem to get enough of the Bush family. Perhaps we should bend the rules and let Arnold in. If it can't be another Bush, why not another shitty actor? Or maybe, just maybe, one of those holier than thou proselytising wack jobs that permeate that RNC. That's the ticket, we can become a Christian Extremist Nation!

Or we can have Hillary become the first female President, maybe she'll take that nutsack Lieberman along for the ride as VP like Gore wanted to. That way we can have our entire lives controlled by the US Government! Yippie! Or we can get Obama in office only to have him assassinated shortly thereafter, them thar yokels won't put up with a darkie in the White House after all. At least he won't have time to do too much damage, that'll be reserved for his VP (please let it be Liebertwat, oh pretty please!).

No matter which "side" you look at on the Two Party Political Tree all you're going to see is a trunk  with branches stuck to it. Those evil "demoncrats" you are screaming about are in fact you and your ilk. If we continue to elect either 1A or 1B you'd better be used to a society straight out of an Orwellian nightmare and acquire a taste for Soylent Green.

[Bangsmith]

The only difference between the two parties is that they swindle us in different ways. The 'Demogogues' want Big Government, and the 'Retardlicans' want Big Business. Does it matter who is screwing us out of our paychecks? Businesses just happen to be more efficient about it.
I said that Carter was a decent President. I meant that in relation to the other bozos around him. As far as Carter not supporting the Shah---Good for him! Granted, the Ayatollahs have a skewered foreign policy to say the least, but the Shah was no better. He was so corrupt that the Iranians supported the 1979 revolution, which is an event I do remember. The hostages being released on the day of Reagan's inauguration was backroom politics, as far as I'm concerned! If Carter's biggest fault was that he was a nice guy, that makes him a better human being than Kennedy, Nixon, Ford, or Reagan! The Shah may have been "Our bastard", but so was Augusto Pinochet, and so is Saudi Arabia now, and that nation supplies us with almost ALL of our terrorists (Osama Claus included) and is a much worse country all around than Iran. Oh well, I guess I just have no faith in political parties at all.
And Shemps#1, that is the most thought-out and accurate assesment of Reagan I've heard! He was the one who made ME distrust the Presidency!

[jrvass]

Shemps#1 and Bangsmith...

I don't want to get into a pissing match with either of you. I won't win. I stated I wasn't happy with the current crop of politicians. Except history professor Newt.

And Newt, like Hillary ;p , will have to make it through their respective primaries in '08 if/when they decide to run.

So you are not happy with the 2 (or any) choices. Name who you would support for President/VP. I've shown my cards.

Tell us who you would support and why. Or go wild and advocate the overthrow of the government. Whatever.

(Politics & Religion)

James

[jrvass]

I'm not gonna touch the current political debate either, but I especially remember Ford because he was one of the few Presidents who was never elected. Nixon and Agnew won in '72, then Agnew resigned, then Nixon appoints Ford, then Nixon resigned in '74, leaving Gerald holding the reigns 'til '76. He didn't win, of course.

Something that gnaws at me about the continual mention of Ford being unelected, aside from it is factual, is that is not complete historically.

It gives the impression that Nixon gave his unemployed brother-in-law a job as his aide... then left the "company" and his aide in charge.

Ford was elected to the House of Representatives several times. Rising to the position of House Minority Leader. Was appointed to replace Agnew as VP and was confirmed by Congress for that position and sworn in, according to the provisions set forth in the 25th Amendment of the Constitution.

Then ascended to the presidency, according to the provisions of the 25th Amendment when Nixon resigned.

No wiping of asses with the Constitution required, S#1.

James

[JazzBill]

Ford never had aspirations of becoming President and Nixon never thought Watergate would bring him down. When Nixon replaced Agnew with Ford, he just wanted someone who was clean and and wouldn't cause trouble. The fact that he became President was a accident. It really wasn't supposed to happen. I'm glad he pardoned Nixon, because like most of America, I was sick of hearing about Watergate and wanted to move on.

[JazzBill]

Speaking of politics, I heard they figure to hang Saddam by the beginning of the new year. I also heard they are going to tape it, to prove to the people that he is really gone.  I can hardly wait till that hits "You Tube".

[Bangsmith]

Now THAT I can agree with!!!

[shemps#1]

Well I would support Jesse Ventura if he ran for President, and here's why:

1. He wouldn't suck Saudi cock for oil like the Bushes. Instead he would actually look for alternatives instead of blowing smoke up our asses, like GW has.

2. He would put an end to "The War on Drugs" since it is an unwinnable "war" and has been a huge drain on the economy for almost 100 years.

3. End the Federal Income Tax in favor of a flat Sales Tax, which thusly would not favor the richest of the rich. In fact, they would have to pay more because they purchase more.

4. He believes in individual responsibility for unhealthy life style choices (smoking, drinking, narcotics), meaning no Govt restrictions on what someone wants to do with their own body.

5. Put an end to pork barrel spending and return any surplus to the people automatically.

6. Most importantly, Ventura would lessen Govt influence on private life, which means cutting back on the power that Govt. wields.

I never said Ford becoming President was unconstitional. I referred to Nixon "wiping his ass with the Constitution" by wiretapping that room in the Watergate to spy on his "enemies". He disregarded the Constitution in an effort to keep tabs on and silence anyone that didn't agree with him (John Lennon for example) and overstepped his bounds. Nixon paved the way for all of the dictatorial assholes we have had since, and for that he deserved to pay for his crimes.