Volume 264 | No. 23

2014—Ferguson, Mo. cop Darren Wilson shoots unarmed Michael Brown, whose body is then left uncovered on the street for four hours. 1997—New York cop Justin Volpe sodomizes Haitian immigrant Abner Louima with a broomstick. 1989—George Herbert [Hoover] Walker Bush signs the Savings and Loan bailout. Among the bailees: his boys Neil and Jeb. 1974—Richard Milhous Nixon vacates the White House — finally. 1945—In Nagasaki, the boss of Hiroshima blast survivor Tsutomu Yamaguchi doubts his account of the devastation. Then an A-bomb explodes. 1936—Lincoln Steffens, one of the original muckrakers, dies at 70. 1892—Reacting to a fatal disagreement two days earlier, a group of Hatfields tie …

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1989—E. Robert Wallach, a close pal of Ed “Meese is a Pig” Meese, is convicted of racketeering for accepting $425,000 to influence Meese and others to win defense contracts for Wedtech Corp. 1980—Rep. Jon Hinson (R-Mich.), running for re-election, admits he’s been accused of committing an obscene act in a “gay haunt” in Virginia and once barely escaped a fire in a gay movie theatre; but he denies he’s gay. 1974—Rep. Earl Landgrebe [R-Ind.], says “Don’t confuse me with the facts. I’ve got a closed mind. I will not vote for impeachment. I’m going to stick with my President even if he and I have …

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2016—Verrückt (German for “insane”), the world’s tallest waterslide, built in Kansas City by men who later admitted that they didn’t know what they were doing, and exempt from state licensing, decapitates the 10-year-old son of a Kansas state rep. 1974—Three GOP bigwigs tell Nixon he’s through. About to pardon the Watergate conspirators, Nixon backs off on advice from Len Garment. Al Haig—Nixon’s man—bends Gerry Ford’s ear for an hour in a meeting unrecorded in the V.P.’s official logs. 1964—Congress falls for the Gulf of Tonkin hoax and gives L.B.J. unprecedented (and unconstitutional) power. Sen. Wayne Morse (D-Ore.) votes no, saying “I believe that within the …

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2016—“One of my proudest moments,” says Sen. Mitch McConnell [R-KY], “was when I told President Obama, ‘You will not fill this Supreme Court vacancy.’” 2011—An RPG downs a Chinook in the Tangi Valley, killing all 38 on board­—the most (30) Americans to die in one incident in Afghanistan. 2001—The CIA hands the President a report—“Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in U.S.”—which he ignores. 1991—Tim Berners-Lee introduces the World Wide Web to the world. 1970—Disneyland closes as 300 Yippies smoke pot, chant V.C. slogans & demand freedom for Mickey Mouse. 1957—Carol Burnett becomes an overnight sensation by singing on the Jack Paar show, “I Made a …

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2011—S&P lowers the U.S.’s credit rating because the GOP says it might not let the government pay its bills. 2007—On Lake Winnipesaukee, the President of France, clad only in swim trunks, jumps into the boat of AP photographer Jim Cole and berates him for doing his job. 2004—“Our enemies,” says George W.[MD] Bush, “never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.” 1981—Ronald Reagan fires 12,700 air traffic controllers. 1974—Cornered rat Richard Nixon releases the “smoking gun” tape. 1971—ITT makes a $200,000 “donation” to the GOP Convention. In return the Justice Department overlooks ITT violations of antitrust …

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2003—Lightning strikes a Bardstown, Ky., warehouse, sparking a fire; 19,000 barrels release 800,000 gallons—a flaming river of Jim Beam; thousands of fish die as high winds whip up a 100-foot firenado. 1992—Republicans re-nominate the Bush/Quayle ticket. Snicker. 1991—The captain and officers of the sinking Oceanos abandon the ship—and its passengers. Entertainers organize a successful rescue of all aboard. 1987—The FCC jettisons the Fairness Doctrine, declaring it “restricts the journalistic freedom of broadcasters.” 1964—The U.S.S. Maddox and U.S.S. Turner Joy report a second torpedo attack in Gulf of Tonkin. There are no casualties; nor is there any damage. Defense Secretary McNamara withholds from President Johnson warnings …

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