Former President Gerald Ford Dead at 93 367
Rancid Altoid was one of a large number of readers to tell us that "Former U.S. President Gerald Ford, who was swept into office after the Watergate scandal and later pardoned Richard Nixon, died at age 93, his widow said on Tuesday."
The King is Dead, Long Live the King (Score:5, Informative)
Obligatory wiki quote. [wikipedia.org]
Minor typo (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Cnn does it best (Score:3, Informative)
Nope, the played-too-hard President (Score:3, Informative)
It's worth mentioning that Ford was actually very athletic (more so than probably every other president, though Dubya liked to jog and now bikes when he can, and of course Teddy Roosevelt was Action Guy). Ford played very hard in his younger years and it really took a toll on his knees, which is why he had trouble on stairs later on (it may seem quaint to kids today, but they really didn't have the cool knee-joint replacement tech back then).
Re:Cnn does it best (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Cnn does it best (Score:5, Informative)
I know /. skews young, so it's possible you may not remember Reagan getting shot.
That's the thing: unlike Ford, he actually got shot, as did Brady and a Secret Service guy, Tim McCarthy. Missed killing Reagan by about an inch. We had to wait in suspense to see if he would survive or not. So, yeah, that stands out in people's memories. (I was 11 when it happened.)
Squeaky Fromme - a Manson Cult member one attempt (Score:2, Informative)
Sara Moore, a five time divorcee, and Patty Hearst fanatic, was responsible for the other attempt, just 17 days after the first one. Her aim was deflected by Oliver Sipple, a gay ex-marine, who never received a thank-you from the president, until Harvey Milk protested that. Mr. Sipple eventually committed suicide.
Re:Squeaky Fromme - a Manson Cult member one attem (Score:3, Informative)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Sipple [wikipedia.org]
Re:Messiness in front, though (Score:3, Informative)
Very well put, that's the most insightful statement I've ever seen in the politics section of Slashdot. To think that presidents may be allowed to be human...
What's really sad to see is how little people know of abuses of presidential power by presidents before Nixon, specifically Woodrow Wilson.
Re:Cnn does it best (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.chris-floyd.com/index.php?option=com_c
http://redstateson.blogspot.com/2006/12/gaw-in-ac