To Bork, Or Not To Bork – October 11, 1987

Eyes rolled like slot machines.

Click on the link here for Audio Player – ABC World News This Week – October 11, 1987 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

News for this week, ending on October 11th in 1987 had much to do with the brouhaha on Capitol Hill over Pres. Reagan’s nomination of Judge Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. Failing to win the approval of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bork and Reagan vowed to bring it to a vote. But Judge Bork was just a little too-too right-of-right to win much in the way of scale-tipping support. So adamant was Reagan’s support of Bork that, when asked if he would consider withdrawing Bork’s name from nomination, answered “Over my dead body”.

In the end, support had dwindled down to very few Senators, while the overwhelming majority expressed disapproval, or just didn’t vote.

And the beat went on.

Meanwhile, trouble in the Persian Gulf, when fighting erupted between U.S. Navy Helicopters and Iranian gunboats, when the gunboats began firing on patrolling Navy Helicopters passing overhead. The ensuing confrontation didn’t last long with all but one of the gunboats sunk. The incident provoked an outcry on Capitol Hill, demanding the President invoke the War Powers Act over the incident, but Reagan decided against it, saying it was an isolated incident and that parts of the War Powers Act were unconstitutional. Joining in the sentiments against invoking the Act over the incident was Arizona Senator John McCain, saying it would just cause more trouble. . . .(?).

And Central America was winding up in the discussion this week in1987. As President Reagan voiced support of the Contra rebels fighting in Nicaragua, asking for a $270 million dollar military aid package to the Contra’s. Passing approval on Capitol Hill for that funding didn’t seem likely. But as we all know . . . .

And Wall Street was going through its October jitters, with the Dow dropping more than 158 points, or 6% of the Dow’s value by the end of the week. Harbinger of things to come as Black Monday was coming up. Fasten seatbelts.

And that’s just a small sample of what went on during this rather skewed and haywire week, ending on October 11th as reported on ABC’s World News This Week.

Adding Frigid To An Already Cold War – October 10, 1948

Amid the squabbles, the ones stuck in the middle.

Click on the link here for Audio Player – Mutual Broadcasting System – 11 o’clock News with Carl Caruso – October 10, 1948 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

The frigid parts of the Cold War were becoming more apparent on this 10th of October in 1948. Reports of Supreme Court Justice Fred Vinson being recalled, practically mid-air en route to Moscow for Peace talks, whipped up more controversy between East and West. Vinson, appointed as a special Peace envoy to try an iron out differences between Washington and Moscow, had to abort plans for talks, and this was seen as a serious upset in the already precarious balance of negotiations with the Soviets.

The repercussions were swift. With the Paris Peace Talks in a state of turmoil as the result, and more notably tossing further complications in the Berlin Blockade negotiations, this was seen a major blow in our Foreign Policy and questions arose as to whether President Truman and Secretary of State Marshall were on the same page. Capitol Hill assured everyone they were, and the abrupt cancellation of the Peace mission was the result of the report Marshall received from the UN and that Truman was in complete support of Three Power diplomacy in the area of European reconstruction. The Vinson mission was viewed by the other Allies as something of a usurp of power and that the other members of the Paris Peace Talks weren’t notified of the Washington’s intentions. The Russians claimed it was the State Department‘s attempt at sabotaging peace talks with Russia and that Truman and Marshall weren’t on the same page. Capitol Hill made political hay out of the situation, saying it was the biggest diplomatic scandal to hit in over two years, and the Republicans claimed it was Truman’s lack of diplomatic skill that created the problem. And on and on . . . .

Meanwhile, the situation remained the same and the ones suffering the ice flows of Cold War were the people, the refugees and the displaced; the ones struggling to recover. Ain’t it always that way?

And delicate moves were also on the plate for the Presidential campaign. Since it was an election year, a lot could be made of the latest diplomatic flap. But Dewey decided against it, much to the urging of his campaign team. Dewey felt the whole Cold War atmosphere was so tense and delicate that any political benefits to be gotten out of capitalizing on the situation would be moot and counter-productive. It was a sentiment not necessarily shared by other Republicans, most notably Senator Arthur Vandenberg, formerly silent on the issue, lashed out at the Truman Administration for creating an embarrassing situation for the U.S.  Vandenberg was speaking at a meeting of the Washington think tank Freedom House, from which he received an award.

And October 10th also signaled the home stretch for the 1948 Presidential campaign as candidates took to the road the begin the final criss-cross of the country in search of votes.

But it was also World Series season. And on this day it was heading into Game 6 with the Boston Braves defeating the Cleveland Indians 11-5 the previous game, upsetting all predictions of an Indians sweep.

All that, and a lot more for this October 10, 1949 as reported on The 11 o’clock Report from Mutual.

 

The Little Coup That Couldn’t – October 9, 1989

Why is this man smiling?

Click on the link here for Audio Player – CBS World News Roundup – October 9, 1989 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

News for this October 9th in 1989 had to do with the growing protest movement in East Germany and the rioting going on in East Berlin. The riots erupted when East German police broke up a demonstration urging reforms from the hardline regime of Erich Honecker. Western Press were barred from the goings on, but word leaking from eyewitnesses said the Police reaction was swift and deadly. Demonstrations had been going throughout East German all week, as a reaction to the 40th anniversary celebration of the East German government. A mass exodus of some 50,000 East Germans to the West was an embarrassment to the Honecker regime and this latest round of repression of demonstrations was a brutal reaction to what many observed as a loss of any international as well as domestic credibility the East German government had.

Meanwhile, Hungary officially became independent of Moscow and quickly established themselves as committed to multi-party elections and a market-based economy. Reformers were still urging more changes, since the “shiny-new non-Communist government” was still run by the same faces as before. Old Leopards – new spots.

Elsewhere in the East. Violence had broken out in Armenia and bloody fighting was taking place in Azerbaijan, the result of a ban on transport strikes and railroad workers defying that ban. Azerbaijan guerrillas took to the streets and the Soviet army was called out to counter the protests and attacks.

On this side of the hemisphere. Panamanian strongman Col Manuel Noriega was consolidating his power since thwarting an attempted coup that had taken place in Panama City just six days earlier. U.S. troops were on alert and poised to join in, but were told not to . . .for now, anyway. And Manuel Noriega was unscathed for the time being.

All that and it was looking like a Commuter World Series with the Oakland A’s winning the American League pennant. It would mean the first time a World series would be played between two Bay Area teams – The Oakland Athletics and The San Francisco Giants.

This day in a nutshell for October 9th 1989, as reported by The CBS World News Roundup.

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Body Bags In Vietnam – Mock Funerals In The Haight – October 7, 1967

The funeral was mock. The sentiments were real.

Click on the link here for Audio Player – ABC News Around The World – October 7, 1967 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

Another day with the world slightly askew, this October 7th in 1967. Reports that, despite claims the rebels in Biafra were a thing of the past, explosions were heard in the Nigerian Capitol of Lagos and speculation all the fighting was not over.

In Vietnam, continued bombing missions over North Vietnam and fighting on the ground. No losses claimed and no downed aircraft, but 9 claimed losses in ground fighting.

Squabbles between the President and vice-President of Vietnam escalated. Seems the powers surrounding President Thieu and vice-President Ky were at each others throats, thus making for no harmony in Saigon.

Renewed calls on Capitol Hill for an invasion of North Vietnam, but with the increasing disenchantment with how the war was being waged, those calls were only wishful carps from a rapidly shrinking minority.

And the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco was scene of the Death Of Hippie funeral and march. The funeral, held the day before on October 6th, was a reaction to what was seen by many in the movement as an end to the ideals and sentiments of The Summer of Love only months before. Trivialized in the mainstream media, the serious underpinnings were very apparent. The Hippy Movement, once a popular concept behind social change was becoming corrupted and hi-jacked by those with less-than-virtuous ideals,not to mention increasing protests to the Vietnam War. The criminal element was getting involved in the Drug culture and a creeping violence was taking over the once-peaceful streets. It was time to bid all that farewell and go on to other things. However, a lot of people didn’t get the memo and the onslaught of people, tantalized by the concept of Free Love and “it’s free because it’s yours” continued their trek towards Mecca on the West Coast, and things just started to slide south.

And that’s how October 7th rolled in 1967 as reported over ABC Radio’s News Of The World.

A Word From John Paul II From The United Nations About A World Gone Askew – October 5, 1995

The solution was simple – it was the problem that was complex.

Click  on the link here for Audio Player – Pope John Paul II Addresses United Nations General Assembly – October 5, 1995 – NPR – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

Billed as the last address he would give at a gathering of the United Nations General Assembly, Pope John Paul II delivered an impassioned plea for peace in a world rapidly spiraling out of control . . . . or continuing to spiral out of control, on October 5, 1995.

With news that a tenuous peace had been struck in the powder keg of the Balkans only moments before the Pope was to give the address, his speech made that plea all the more urgent.

Pope John Paul II: “We need to clarify the essential difference between an unhealthy form of nationalism, which teaches contempt for other nations or cultures, and patriotism, which is a proper love of one’s country. True patriotism never seeks to advance the well-being of one’s own nation at the expense of others. For in the end, this would harm one’s own nation as well: doing wrong damages both aggressor and victim. Nationalism, in its most radical forms, is thus the antithesis of true patriotism, and today we must ensure that extreme nationalism does not continue to give rise to new forms of the aberrations of totalitarianism.”

Although both the message and the messenger were, and continue to be, subject to ironies, the spirit of peace and the necessity to work things out, rather than engage in continuous war was more crucial in those closing years of the 20th century than ever before. That we were slowly slipping into a world of factions, ideologies and terrorism would become abundantly clear in the coming years.

That this address by the Pope had more ominous overtones for the future than we could have imagined at the time is still being scrutinized. That we are becoming the thing we have feared the most is yet to be fully played out.

Brave new world, indeed.

Here is that address (in progress) from Pope John Paul II to the United Nations General Assembly, on October 5, 1995.

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Henry Wallace Has A Word Or Two About America – October 4, 1948

Had more than a few prophetic words for our state of affairs, even in 1948.

Click on the link here for Audio Player – Henry Wallace Campaign Address – October 4, 1948 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

October of 1948, aside from everything else going on in the world, was also a Presidential campaign month. The Democrats had Harry Truman running for re-election (actually, election since he had assumed the Presidency when Franklin Roosevelt died in office in April 1945) and the Republicans had Thomas Dewey, running again after a devastating loss to FDR in 1944. Henry Wallace was FDR’s vice-President in 1940 and prior to that was Secretary of Agriculture.

But Wallace broke with the Democratic Party over Truman’s leadership and struck out on his own as a third party candidate. Since Third parties have never really been recognized much in the mainstream media, or even considered viable alternatives by the D.C. establishment, Wallace had an uphill battle.

But there was always that hope something would change, some miraculous event that would alter the course of history. In the case of 1948, it was the stunning upset by President Truman over Thomas Dewey – but that was the DC establishment.

Wallace followed his own course, and was roundly lambasted by both established parties as being pro-Socialist, pro-Moscow, a subversive bent on destroying the fragile fabric of American politics with radical ideas.

Trouble was, we were rapidly falling into a Cold War with the Soviet Union, coupled with a wave of newly independent nations and we needed some new thinking of our Foreign Policy to go along with these new problems. The danger was, there were many on Capitol Hill who were urging an armed confrontation, and the possibility that this new confrontation would inevitably lead to nuclear war was a terrifying prospect to most Americans.

So in this campaign talk, Wallace discussed the issue of America in danger of losing the peace and what could be done about it. As someone who didn’t feel Russia was either equipped or had the desire to engage in another war, Wallace felt it was urgent to engage in negotiation, to find a settlement to the question of Germany and to find some enduring path to peace not based on armed aggression.

Needless to say, Wallace’s case made great fodder for both Democrats and Republicans who felt strongly that Wallace was playing into the Communist hands and he was largely dismissed as being a Communist sympathizer.

But for all the accusations of Wallace’s motives and ideas, the one fact remained true; we were rapidly growing into the Military-Industrial complex Eisenhower would later warn us about, and our fear of Communist domination blind-sided us from the real issues taking shape and into a state of perpetual fear and anxiety, and it shaped our society and our political motives for decades.

If Wallace had, by some miracle, won the Presidency, his vision would have been almost impossible to accomplish just by the sheer frustration of having a Congress uniformly against you. If Truman complained of a “do-nothing Congress” in 1948, Wallace would be relegated to figurehead status, since a third party majority in both houses, or in either house, would have been practically impossible to achieve. Which may give some indication as to why certain fringe parties, like The Tea Party, decided it was best to join an established base (like the Republicans) and hijack that party, rather than establish themselves as a Third Party, realizing what the outcome would be.

I suppose that says something about the Two-Party system. But even more, it gives some idea how difficult it is to promote real change, particularly in Washington, and why subverting an established political party is easier than slugging it out on your own.

And in 1948 we had some indication just how impossible that could be.

Here is that address by Progressive Candidate Henry Wallace, given on October 4, 1948.

Isn’t history something?

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Excursions Into Darkness – Recognition Of Red China And A Steel Strike – October 3, 1949

Who was this Mao and what did he want?

Click on the link here for Audio Player – ABC Radio: Baukhage Talking – news for October 3, 1949 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

A nervous October day in 1949. News of strikes dragging on, news of a creeping paranoia over Communists, news of Capitol Hill gamesmanship.

Starting off was news that Associate Justice William O. Douglas was recovering from a fall while riding his horse on a steep trail near his home. Thirteen broken ribs and a punctured lung, but still he was expected back in Washington for the opening of Supreme Court later on in the day. The Senate Judiciary Committee was engaged in hearings over the appointment of Senator Sherman Minton, as replacement for the late Associate Justice Rutledge. His appointment was assured, but he still had to answer questions regarding his former role as a New-Dealer, much as hearings over the reappointment of Federal Power Commissioner Leland Olds. Seems the past is always a popular subject on Capitol Hill.

The big worry was recognition of the newly-formed People’s Republic of China by neighbor Russia, which would mean Nationalist China would be expelled from the United Nations and the Communists would have one more voting member. There was also some speculation, bordering on fear that recent changes and upheavals in the French government could see that country falling in line with Moscow. And there was the question of Yugoslavia and the Balkan region coming under Communist influence. All those new revelations could possibly lead to a Communist majority voting block at the UN – and that was cause for a few sleepless nights around Washington.

And there was always the matter of Germany to consider. Seems the move to create an Eastern Germany, under direct influence of Moscow was imminent. The matter of Berlin and the Peace Ceremony staged by Moscow to celebrate the alignment of eastern Germany had an underwhelming reaction. Seems Moscow decided to open the border between eastern and western zones, allowing West Berliners to come and see what was going on.  The result was a mass exodus by East Berliners to West Berlin in search of food and relocation.

All this lead up to calls for some sort of peace settlement between Russia and the West, or one of the biggest arms races in history was about to take place.

And The Cold War raged on.

Meanwhile, the labor situation in the U.S. wasn’t looking hopeful. The Steel Strike was continuing. Labor leader John L. Lewis ordered his hard coal miners back to work, but it didn’t do any good, since it left some 400,000 soft coal miners on strike, and without soft coal, the steel mills couldn’t operate. Catch 22. The Auto industry was siding with the Steel Industry and the railroads were laying off workers. And Dock workers were joining in. A mess was rapidly taking shape.

So the air on this October 3rd in 1949 was filled with politics – both domestic and foreign. And not a lot of it was not very good.

And that’s how this day rolled as presented by ABC Radio’s Baukhage Talking with commentator H.R. Baukhage for October 3, 1949

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Corpses In Beirut, Brokering In Damascus, The Passing Of An Icon – October 2, 1985

All that, and Star Wars too.

Click on the link here for Audio Player – CBS Radio – The World Tonight – October 2, 1985 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

Busy day in the world, this 2nd of October in 1985. The Middle East factored in, with reports that the body of a missing Soviet diplomat was discovered in Beirut, and additional reports disclosed the discovery of a second missing diplomat was found behind the Soviet Embassy.  And if that weren’t enough, warnings were issued by the fundamentalist Muslim (The Islamic Liberation Organization) group responsible for the kidnapping/executions, that the Soviet Embassy would be attacked next. All this as retaliation for Soviet-backed Syrian assaults on the PLO and Sunni Fundamentalists in Tripoli.

Meanwhile, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrived in Paris in what was called “French seduction”, en route to Gorbachev’s meeting with President Reagan. The Soviet leader tried to not let the Middle East drama get to him, but it was apparent it was on his mind. Gorbachev had a lot on his plate during this first series of visits since assuming power.

There was also the sad news that film icon Rock Hudson died of AIDS earlier in the day, a little over a year after his disclosure of contracting the disease.

 

If anything, brought the subject of AIDS home to just about everyone.

Click on the link here for Audio Player: CBS News Special Report – The Death Of Rock Hudson – October 2, 1985 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

And L.A. had another earthquake . . .

What a day – October 2, 1985, as reported on the CBS Radio program The World Tonight.

Last Time The Lights Went Out – Government Shutdown’s Greatest Hits – Dec. 1995 – Past Daily Reference Room

. . .and the definition of insanity is . . . .?

Click on the link here for Audio Player – News reports on Government Shutdown – December 16-21, 1995 – CBS Radio News – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

With word today of the impasse on Capitol Hill and the resulting shutdown of Government, the flurry of finger pointing starts. And 17 years ago it was pretty much the same thing. The faces, for the most part, have changed. The tactics have remained pretty much the same. The lunatic fringe is more vocal now and the polarization is more pronounced than it was 17 years ago.

But in December 1995 it was the culmination of events that began with the first (four day) shutdown in February of that year. The tantrums continued. The people suffered. Life went on. The Shutdown dragged on for 21 days, the second time around.

Indications are this shutdown will have bigger consequences. In 1995 no one knew what those consequences would be. And in 2013 no one really does either. There are predictions of backlash, revenge at the polls during the 2014 mid-term elections and widespread panic. Since October is historically Padded Cell Season on Wall Street, anything can happen.

But most likely as before, life goes on  – and there are bigger concerns to deal with – bigger consequences. Sometimes, the name of the game is distraction. And sometimes, people in high places just throw tantrums because they can.

Either way . . .

So here, as a reminder of the last time Capitol Hill shut the Government down, are a series of reports from December 16-21, 1995 via The CBS World News Roundup. Something to compare notes to.

And the band will surely play on.

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FDR Has A Few Words About Government – September 30, 1934

Untying the Gordian Knot.

Click on the link here for Audio Player – President Roosevelt Fireside Chat – Recovery, Banks and Government – September 30, 1934

News for this day had much to do with the continuing efforts at recovery, stability and getting America back to work – trying to undo the tangle of economic collapse and rescue distressed industry, clean up a corrupt banking system and put forth a pattern of government assistance in aiding recovery.

1934, not 2013 – although . . . .

When President Roosevelt took office in 1933, America was in the grips of the greatest economic Depression to hit the 20th Century. The banking system failed, savings were wiped out and unemployment along with poverty were rampant.

The road to recovery was a long and tortuous one – and not all programs proposed by FDR were met with enthusiasm. In fact, it was in 1934 a threatened coup was in the works to overthrow FDR and plunge the country into chaos.

Luckily, it didn’t happen and the result was a slow and steady recovery, not without dips and perils, but one which had a lasting effect. And one which has been chipped away almost consistently by the opposition since the 1930s.

But in 1934, FDR began a series of Radio talks, Fireside Chats as they came to be know, to give the American people some progress report on what was happening in Washington. It was the first time such a method of communication was used to reach a mass audience by a President. And that effort alone at transparency gave an enormous popularity boost for FDR. Of course, the message was also well received:

Pres. Roosevelt: “Nearly all Americans are sensible and calm people. We do not get greatly excited nor is our peace of mind disturbed, whether we be business men or workers or farmers, by awesome pronouncements concerning the unconstitutionality of some of our measures of recovery and relief and reform. We are not frightened by reactionary lawyers or political editors. All of these cries have been heard before. More than twenty-one years ago, when Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson were attempting to correct abuses in our national life, the great Chief Justice White said:

“There is great danger it seems to me to arise from the constant habit which prevails where anything is opposed or objected to, of referring without rhyme or reason to the Constitution as a means of preventing its accomplishment, thus creating the general impression that the Constitution is but a barrier to progress instead’ of being the broad highway through which alone true progress may be enjoyed.”

In our efforts for recovery we have avoided, on the one hand, the theory that business should and must be taken over into an all-embracing Government. We have avoided, on the other hand, the equally untenable theory that it is an interference with liberty to offer reasonable help when private enterprise is in need of help. The course we have followed fits the American practice of Government, a practice of taking action step by step, of regulating only to meet concrete needs, a practice of courageous recognition of change. I believe with Abraham Lincoln, that “The legitimate object of Government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done but cannot do at all or cannot do so well for themselves in their separate and individual capacities.”

Funny how things tend go around and repeat themselves. Even today.

And on this September 30th in 1934 we were looking to FDR for answers.

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