Gerald Ford

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Cops: Couple on Skateboards Vandalized President's Grave

'Extreme vandalism' carried out at Ford gravesite

(Newser) - It's not clear whether they were random vandals or persons with a grudge against the 38th president, but a couple in Michigan could be in very serious trouble for defacing the gravesite of former President Gerald Ford and wife Betty Ford. Police in Michigan say the young man and...

Listen to Manson Follower 'Squeaky' Fromme's Mental Evaluation

She sounds calm and in control talking with psychiatrist before trial

(Newser) - The Sacramento Bee is out with a fascinating bit of history regarding Manson follower Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme. A judge agreed to the newspaper's request to release audio recordings of her psychiatric evaluation on Sept. 21, 1975, made just weeks after she was arrested for pointing a gun at...

Romney Was Wrong to Ignore Troops, War
Romney Was Wrong
to Ignore Troops, War
Bill Kristol

Romney Was Wrong to Ignore Troops, War

Bill Kristol says candidate made mistake skipping the soldiers

(Newser) - Despite having 68,000 Americans serving in Afghanistan, Mitt Romney made no mention about the war in his acceptance speech Thursday evening, earning him a harsh rebuke from conservative Bill Kristol in the Weekly Standard . "Leave aside the question of the political wisdom of Romney's silence, and the...

Republicans Brace for Brokered Convention

Leaders dusting off rule books, readying for big fight

(Newser) - For much of American history, brokered conventions were the norm, but the two big parties have not had one since Democrats chose Adlai Stevenson in 1952. The Republicans' last brokered convention was 1948 when they picked Thomas Dewey (Gerald Ford beat Ronald Reagan on the first ballot in 1976). But...

Gerald Ford's Compound For Sale

Former president's desert home offered for $1.7M

(Newser) - A dream come true for wealthy Gerald Ford fans: The California home he lived in for decades after leaving office is up for sale at $1.7 million. The six-bedroom Rancho Mirage desert compound sits on the 13th fairway of the Thunderbird Country Club, and was designed by architect Welton...

Long Live the Chief: Presidents Usually Do

Longevity expert debunks myth that White House duty shortens life

(Newser) - President Obama's graying hair has set off the typical chatter that serving as president is so stressful it's bound to take years off a person's life. Not so, says a longevity expert in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In fact, our presidents tend to live...

Gerald Ford's First Lady Passes Away
 Betty Ford Dead at 93 
obituary

Betty Ford Dead at 93

Gerald Ford's widow helped found the Betty Ford Center

(Newser) - Betty Ford has died at the age of 93, with her family at her bedside. CNN did not have additional details. From 1974 to 1977, she served as the first lady to President Gerald Ford, but she made headlines a year after leaving the White House when she announced she...

It's Tough to Be Conservative Enough in 2010

Bob Dole, Gerald Ford, and more wouldn't be: Dana Milkbank

(Newser) - When Dana Milbank had the temerity to call Lisa Murkowski and Bob Bennett “faithful conservatives,” readers let him have it. These weren’t conservatives, they argued—just look at their American Conservative Union scores! So Milbank did. “What I found was astonishing,” he writes in the...

Justice Stevens: I May Retire
 Justice Stevens: I May Retire 
Interview

Justice Stevens: I May Retire

Supreme Court's liberal leader says he'll leave within three years

(Newser) - John Paul Stevens would like to make a decision about retiring from the Supreme Court within the next month, he reveals in a new interview. “I still have my options open,” he tells Jeffrey Toobin in a lengthy New Yorker profile. “You can say I will retire...

Hey, Obama: Embrace the Dissidents
 Hey, Obama: 
 Embrace the 
 Dissidents 
opinion

Hey, Obama: Embrace the Dissidents

Obama risks repeating Gerald Ford's big mistake

(Newser) - How can Barack Obama give voice to the voiceless? With a simple photo op, writes William McGurn in the Wall Street Journal . Dissidents under “nasty” governments in China, Iran, Cuba, and elsewhere—thus far dissed by the White House—are wondering: “‘Where is the president of the...

Stevens' Exit Would Break Court Tradition
Stevens' Exit Would Break Court Tradition
ANALYSIS

Stevens' Exit Would Break Court Tradition

Tradition sees justices sticking with party that appointed them

(Newser) - Supreme Court justices have traditionally waited to retire until a member of the same party that nominated them held the presidency, writes Kate Klonick for True/Slant. The custom has prevailed even when the justice’s ideology drifted away from that party. But if the rumors about John Paul Stevens’ imminent...

Obama's Approval Rating Sinks to 50%

(Newser) - President Obama's job-approval rating slipped to 50% in Gallup poll results out today, a new low for the 10-month-old administration, the Los Angeles Times reports. The drawn-out health care reform debate apparently is dragging down the number, which hit 69% after the inauguration. The disapproval number is 43%. "It's...

Enough Already: Kennedy Was No Hero
 Enough Already: 
 Kennedy Was No Hero 
OPINION

Enough Already: Kennedy Was No Hero

(Newser) - You wouldn’t know it from the tearful plaudits in the "echo chamber of the mainstream media," but Ted Kennedy was no hero, Howie Carr writes for the Boston Herald. Kennedy was actually a ruthless partisan—he accused Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork of wanting "segregated lunch...

MoMa Shines Light on NYC's Punk Revolution

Materials by Patti Smith, Ramones showcase cultural shift

(Newser) - New York’s Museum of Modern Art is showcasing the gritty glamour of the city’s 1970s and early ’80s music scene, where punk, New Wave, DIY, and noise rock ruled, Rolling Stone reports. New Yorkers were feeling alienated—the city was bankrupt in 1975; President Ford told it...

Would-Be Ford Assassin Goes Free

(Newser) - Attempted presidential assassin and Manson Family member Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme is free after more than 30 years in prison, ABC News reports. Fromme. 60, had completed her term for the attempted assassination of Gerald Ford—she didn’t get off a shot—but was held longer because of a...

Manson Follower Who Tried to Kill Ford Leaving Prison

(Newser) - Squeaky Fromme is going free. The Manson follower who attempted to assassinate President Ford in 1975 is scheduled to be released from prison on Aug. 16, ABC News reports. Fromme, real name Lynette, pointed a pistol at Ford from about 2 feet away before an agent wrestled it away. Now...

Freed Would-Be Ford Assassin: 'It Was Wrong'

She thought it would spark revolution

(Newser) - The woman who attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975 says she was “misled” and “mistaken” to do so. “I really thought that it would trigger a new revolution,” Sara Jane Moore told NBC today after serving 32 years in prison. “I think I...

Squeamish Feds Learn From 1976 Swine Flu Debacle

Panic and Gerald Ford caused hundreds to receive unnecessary shot

(Newser) - Federal health officials are hoping to avoid a catastrophic case of déjà vu as they develop plans to inoculate Americans against swine flu, the Washington Post reports. A vaccine released during the 1976 flu outbreak left dozens dead and hundreds reporting serious side effects like blindness and paralysis. Now,...

Rumsfeld to Pen Memoirs
 Rumsfeld to Pen Memoirs 

Rumsfeld to Pen Memoirs

Proceeds will go to foundation

(Newser) - Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, one of the architects of the war in Iraq who resigned from the Bush administration when the US became mired in the insurgency, is writing his memoirs, Reuters reports. The 75-year-old former congressman won't take an advance and will donate the book's proceeds to a...

Candidates' Family Trees Have Far-Flung Limbs

Jolie-Pitt family could be split by ties to Clinton, Obama, genealogist finds

(Newser) - The Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt household might have trouble choosing a Democratic candidate: It turns out Barack Obama is a distant cousin of Pitt’s and Hillary Clinton is a relative of Jolie’s. The author of a new genealogical survey cautions voters not to be too swayed—but it seems...

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