Retro Garlic: Deep Throat Now Goes Deep Six ... Mark Felt Obit

We had the "BREAKING NEWS" this morning, that the infamous icon of the Watergate Scandal, Mark Felt, aka "Deep Throat", passed away - at the age of 95.

Obituaries - 'Deep Throat' Mark Felt Dies at 95

W. Mark Felt, Watergate Deep Throat, Dies at 95

Leaving aside the "breaking news" aspect of it, it was heady times, the all-consuming early 70's, when the man who was a crook, President Richard Nixon, was doing a soft-tap dance on the laws of the nation, and Constitution (as opposed to the sledgehammer The Bush Grindhouse has taken to it), and the FBI Agent Felt would soon make two young reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, mega-journalistic superstars.

Adding to the intrigue of "Deep Throat" was the agreement that he would not be revealed until his death.

Well, that got blown a couple of years ago.

Felt wasn't dead, but pretty far gone with dementia, and memory-loss.

So, it was "BREAKING NEWS" when Felt was identified as being the ever-mysterious "Deep Throat", ending the decades-old guessing game.

Who Is W. Mark Felt? ...Man Who Admits to Being 'Deep Throat' Breaks His 30-Year Silence

DEEP THROAT REVEALED

And when that news broke, we had a number of days here on The Garlic, where we had quite a bit of fun with it, hence, a Retro Garlic today.

The Retro Part

Top Ten Cloves: Things G. Gordon Liddy Would Like To See Happen Now That "Deep Throat" Is Exposed

News In Brief - Haig Stood In-The-Ready If Felt Backed Down; Former Nixon Staffer Okay To Take "Deep Throat" Rap

More Revelation Bombshells ... Felt Admits To Being 'You're So Vain' Target; Simon Confirms "Brief Affair" With Former FBI Man

Top Ten Cloves: Other Things Mark Felt Is Admitting

Burnett To Sign Deep Throat For New Reality Series; Felt To Host Show On Real-Life Whistle-Blowers

New Felt Leak of Novak "Deep Throat' File; Wild Guesses Often Traded With Fellow Conservative Buchanan

Under Fire, Woodward Offers Reason He Didn't Write Plame Story; Not Comfortable With Public Meetings; Didn't Have High-Level Secret FBI Source

Libby's Hope

This must have given The Scooter a woody today.

Or, at least, it may have turned his aspen.

Bush Awards Presidential Citizen Medal To Watergate Crook Chuck Colson

Established in 1969, the Presidential Citizens Medal is the second highest honor for a civilian, recognizing Americans “who have performed exemplary deeds of service for the nation.” Past recipients include boxer Muhammad Ali, baseball great Henry “Hank” Aaron, civil rights icon Dorothy Height, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Today, President Bush honored 24 recipients of this year’s award, including actor Gary Sinise and Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp. Also included in that mix was Chuck Colson, “the first member of the Nixon administration to serve prison time for Watergate-related offenses.” Colson was President Nixon’s counsel from 1969-1973 and pleaded guilty in 1974 to obstruction of justice. Colson received a one to three year sentence, but served just seven months.

Snip ...

On October 3, 2002, Colson was also one of the co-signers of a letter from prominent evangelical leaders supporting an invasion of Iraq. More recently he has spoken out in favor of California’s Prop. 8, accusing the LGBT community of “anti-religious bigotry.”

I mean, if The Commander Guy is going to go around duking the old Nixon cronies, it may very bode well for the convicted felon I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, and, perhaps, some of the other Bush Grindhouse cronies.

Christmas is just over two-weeks away ...

A pardon, or two, tucked under the tree?

Interestingly, the Grindhouse Press Office promulgated this info on Colson;

Charles W. Colson

For more than three decades, Chuck Colson has dedicated his life to sharing the message of God’s boundless love and mercy with prisoners, former prisoners, and their families. Through his strong faith and leadership, he has helped courageous men and women from around the world make successful transitions back into society. The United States honors Chuck Colson for his good heart and his compassionate efforts to renew a spirit of purpose in the lives of countless individuals.

Too bad they didn't use "The Google", or, they could have been a bit more descriptive;

Colson was known as President Nixon's hatchet man. Slate magazine writer David Plotz described Colson as "Richard Nixon's hard man, the 'evil genius' of an evil administration."[4] Colson has written that he was "valuable to the President ... because I was willing ... to be ruthless in getting things done".[5] This is perhaps complimentary when read in comparison to the descriptions of Colson which pepper the work of Rolling Stone National Affairs' Political Correspondent, Hunter S. Thompson during the period. Colson authored the 1971 memo listing Nixon's major political opponents, later known as Nixon's Enemies List. A quip that "Colson would walk over his own grandmother if necessary" mutated into claims in news stories that Colson had boasted that he would run over his own grandmother to re-elect Nixon.[5] Plotz reports that Colson sought to hire Teamsters thugs to beat up anti-war demonstrators.[4] John Dean maintains that Colson proposed firebombing the Brookings Institution and stealing politically damaging documents while firefighters put the fire out.[6][7]

Recognition delayed?


Bonus Riffs

David Plotz: Charles Colson - How a Watergate crook became America's greatest Christian conservative

Charles Colson - The Watergate Story

SourceWatch: Charles Colson

All I Want For Christmas Is My Presidential Pardon

Well, That Wasn't Much Of A Wait ...

Libby Trial Update - The Scooter and Cheney Show Theme Song

Of Sports, Politics, Constitutional Crises and Yesteryear ... I'd put my money on Sam Ervin ...

These arguments are, typically, always centered around sports, of who's better, the athletes of today, or the athletes of yesteryear.

I mean, everyone knows that Alex Rodriguez can't hold a candle to Mickey Mantle ... Or that Bill Russell would have Lebron James for lunch ...

Yesterday, such wistfulness filled me, longing for a United States Congress that truly, and legitimately, responds to a Constitutional Crises.

For yesterday, October 20th, was the 34th anniversary of the infamous "Saturday Night Massacre", perhaps, arguably, the tipping point of the Watergate Scandal.

On Oct. 20, 1973, in the so-called Saturday Night Massacre, President Nixon abolished the office of special Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox, accepted the resignation of Attorney General Elliot L. Richardson and fired Deputy Attorney General William B. Ruckelshaus

The U.S. Congress of 1973 did respond, within days, by pumping out Articles of Impeachment against Richard M. Nixon and the rest, as they say, is history.

And what do we have today?

Senate and Bush Agree On Terms of Spying Bill; Some Telecom Companies Would Receive Immunity

The Congress of today would rather endorse, and be complicit with the abuses of the Constitution by a lawless, corrupt Executive Office, rather than to knock their teeth out and get them the hell out.

I'd put my money on Sam Ervin kicking Harry Reid's ass ...

Bonus Links

Daniel Ellsberg: 'A Coup Has Occurred'

William Fisher: Executive Privilege Used to Expand Government Secrecy

John Fabian Witt: A Declaration The President Ignores

Top Ten Cloves: Things About Fred Thompson Participating In His First Republican Presidential Candidates Debate

News Item: Thompson survives his first debate

10. Very surprised, since CNBC and MSNBC were televising the debate, they didn't throw in the 'Law & Order' sound effect every time he spoke

9. Prepared by taking a nice, long nap

8. Was relieved, seeing the all the other candidates on the stage, that he didn't mistakenly show up at a Black College

7. Was overly-conscious of tapping his foot

6. Kept his cellphone on, hoping his wife would call during the debate

5. Had trouble stifling the urge, to report back to former Nixon Administration staffers, dirt on the other candidates in the debate

4. Lobbied before the debate to allow him to have his red pick-up truck parked behind him on-stage

3. Forgot to give some of his answers in the persona of SNL's Darrell Hammond, doing his imitation of himself

2. Sweating bullets, hoping none of the other candidates caught the news of the Nixon Tapes, and start asking him if he really is "Dumb as Hell"

1. Tired ... Expended too much energy beating away Debate Moderator Chris Matthews, who was drooling, asking if he could lick the Aqua Velva off his neck

Bonus Links

Michael Scherer: What you missed while watching "Oprah"; Salon watches the latest Republican debate (economy special) so you don't have to. Chevron down! Alcoa up! And Fred Thompson goes public.


SNL Skit On Fred Thompson

A Further Embellishment On The Appropriately Named CREEP

Boy, we all know what Nixon was, and the people around him ...

But man, it is a little jarring, thanks to some old, archived film, to realize just how much of the cream of the scum they had ...

Joan Walsh of Salon has a doozy ...

Young Karl Rove

And to see the full report, from the CBS Evening News of January 18th, 1972, you can check out Karl Rove, GOP College Director of the Republican National Committee, third pillar of the Nixon Campaign tripod (the other two being the White House and the Campaign for Re-Election of the President).

Rove-Nixon

To twist an old adage, the apple, with the razor blades in it, doesn't fall far from the tree

Or, as Joan writes;

"Yes, it reminded me why (many readers are too young to remember) the Committee to Re-elect the President was routinely referred to as "CREEP."

Bonus Links

The Committee to Re-elect the President (CREEP)

The Watergate Story

Watergate Plumber Chief Passes Away; E. Howard Hunt, Watergate Figure, Dead At 88; Nixon's Chief of Dirty Tricks Was Ex-CIA; Hand In Everything From Guatemala To Bay of Pigs













What lessons do you think the Young Karl Rove learned while working for Nixon's CREEP? How to turn out the vote, or how to run a scandal?

News In Brief - Watergate Plumber Chief Passes Away

E. Howard Hunt, Watergate Figure, Dead At 88

Nixon's Chief of Dirty Tricks Was Ex-CIA; Hand In Everything From Guatemala To Bay of Pigs

E. Howard Hunt, one of the key figures of the historic Watergate scandal, died on Tuesday at the age of 88.

Hunt, a former CIA agent, headed up President Richard Nixon's infamous "White House Plumbers", the group of Cuban exiles who Hunt recruited to break into the the Watergate Hotel back in June 1972, where the offices of the Democratic National Headquarters were located. Their subsequent arrest, with information, such as telephone number and address books, led investigators back to Nixon's Committee To Reelect The President (ironically referred to as CREEP) and kicked off what soon became known as the Watergate Scandal.

In his over 20-years in the CIA, Hunt was involved in operations ranging from the overthrow of governments, to break-ins, to the Bay of Pigs invasion, to breaking into Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist over Ellsberg's release of the Pentagon Papers.

As the Watergate Scandal was unfolding, Hunt's wife, Dorothy, was killed in a plane crash in Chicago, with over $10,000 in her purse. While rumors circulated that the crash was related to the Watergate Scandal, investigators ruled it an accident.

Hunt served nearly three-years in prison for his participation in Watergate and remained bitter that Nixon didn't help him and resigned, and President Ronald Reagan refused to pardon him.

Hunt then became a prolific author of, what else, spy novels, publishing over 80 books before becoming overcome with health problems.

In accordances with his wishes, Hunt will be buried in a brown paper bag, and in an unmarked grave.

Links

E. Howard Hunt, 1918-2007; Ex-Spy Crafted Watergate, Other Schemes

The Watergate Story