The Self-Absorbed Saga of Shea Allen

I think the thing that really bothers me about Shea Allen is her attitude.That is a tough thing for me to say because journalism is my love. Well, I guess my love is really writing, but it led me into journalism as my college major and most of my professional activity.And, believe me, I have known some reporters — some were colleagues, some were competitors — who had really atrocious attitudes.But I would hire any one of them over Shea Allen, the...

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Richard Nixon's S.O.B.

"Every president needs an S.O.B. — and I'm Nixon's."H.R. HaldemanMy family was still out of the country when former White House chief of staff H.R. Haldeman took the witness stand at the Senate Watergate Committee's hearings 40 years ago today so I didn't see him testify, but I'm sure he was quite a sight.He always was in those days. He was kind of a Mephistopheles with a crewcut, I guess; with the German surname, he always seemed more sinister than...

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They Call the Wind Korea

"Out here they got a name for rainFor wind and fire onlyBut when you're lost and all aloneThere ain't no word but lonely"They Call the Wind MariaFrom Paint Your Wagon (1951)Sixty years ago today, the final armistice was signed in Panmunjom, putting the Korean War (which had been labeled a "police action" by then–President Harry Truman) on hold.As James Ragland of the Dallas Morning News observes, the war/conflict/police action in Korea is often called...

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A Force of a Different Color

"It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale."Executive Order 9981Issued by President Harry TrumanJuly 26,...

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A Man's Home Is His Castle

Sen. Herman Talmadge of GeorgiaThere were many memorable moments during the Senate Watergate Committee's hearings in the summer of 1973. They call them "sound bites" today, which isn't a bad description since such quotes almost always bite someone.If you talk to folks who remember the Watergate scandal, you'll get a lot of responses — but no clear consensus — to the question, "What was the most memorable moment (or sound bite) for you?"That is kind...

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Death at Six Flags

A Dallas woman was killed while riding a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas last Friday evening.The investigation into the case is ongoing, and I prefer not to jump to any conclusions before all the facts are in, but it sounds like the woman's safety belt was not fastened correctly.It's been a long time since I was at Six Flags Over Texas — longer, in fact, than it has been since the Texas Giant, the ride on which the incident occurred, made...

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The Footsteps of a Pioneer

"I don't speechify. I know the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. And that's what I ask. But they get mad at the straight line. I just want to ask a tough question."Helen ThomasHelen Thomas died yesterday.Many things were said about her during her lifetime. Many things have been said in the hours since her death at the age of 92.To me, she has always been one thing — a journalist. You could modify that, I suppose. Make that...

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The National Debut of the Comeback Kid

"I felt as if the speech was a 200–pound rock I was pushing up a hill. I later joked that I knew I was in trouble when, at the 10–minute mark, the American Samoan delegation started roasting a pig."Bill ClintonMy Life (2004)When this day dawned 25 years ago, it is probably safe to say that most Americans did not know who Bill Clinton was.I did because I lived in Arkansas. I grew up there, and, on this day in 1988, Clinton had been governor of the...

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Don't Apologize for Me

"I'll just tell you one thing and I'm speaking now for all white people but especially those who have tried to change in the last 50 or 60 years — and a lot of them have really tried to change — I'm sorry for this stuff. That's all I'm saying."Chris MatthewsMSNBC's Chris Matthews took it upon himself Thursday to apologize for "all white people" for the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial.Hey, Chris. Do me a favor. Don't apologize for me, OK? Leave...

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Born With a Silver Foot in His Mouth

"I'm a grandmother now. And I have one nearly perfect granddaughter named Lily. And when I hold that grandbaby, I feel the continuity of life that unites us, that binds generation to generation, that ties us with each other. ... And as I look at Lily, I know that it is within families that we learn both the need to respect individual human dignity and to work together for our common good. Within our families, within our nation, it is the same."Ann...

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Spilling the Beans

A pretty convincing case can be made that what happened 40 years ago today was what marked the beginning of the end for Richard Nixon.Three weeks earlier, Nixon's claim to have been uninvolved in — in fact, to have been unaware of — either the planning of the Watergate burglary or its coverup took a severe (but hardly lethal) blow when his former counsel, John Dean, spent a week testifying before the Senate Watergate Committee.Nixon's defenders insisted...

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Politics and Justice

Trayvon Martin makes his purchase minutes before his death.From the start, I have felt that the Trayvon Martin–George Zimmerman matter was being made into much more than it was.Please don't misunderstand me. I am not being flippant. A young man is dead, and that is a terrible thing — on several levels.But legally the prosecution had no case. The whole thing was driven by politics.What it is is a situation in which things rapidly got out of hand....

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The Centennial of a 'Humble Healer'

"I am a Ford, not a Lincoln. My addresses will never be as eloquent as Mr. Lincoln's. But I will do my very best to equal his brevity and his plain speaking."Gerald FordToday would have been Gerald Ford's 100th birthday. He didn't miss being here for it by much, either. He was 93 when he died in December of 2006.He lived longer than any other president. So far.As nearly as I can tell, not much of a fuss is being made about the centennial — except...

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