Dean's statement on the anniversary of JFK's assasination

[pruner]

DETROIT--Governor Howard Dean, M.D. issued the following statement on the anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy:

"Forty years have passed since President Kennedy was assassinated, but we still remember the shock and pain of that awful day. We lost a president, and our country grieved, and yet we knew that we could not lose the hope that Kennedy represented and instilled in an entire generation.

"When he was running for president, Kennedy spoke of offering America not a set of promises, but a set of challenges. This was his greatest legacy: his willingness to challenge each one of us to do better for ourselves and for our country, bolstered by his faith that we were ready for the challenge.

"He spoke often of America's ideals, and we honor his memory when we strive to live up to them. Our future depends upon the work that each of us must do to build a better nation and a better world. Let us make this anniversary more than a day of mourning -- let us make it a day of hope, as we dedicate ourselves to the citizenship and challenge that Kennedy lived and died for."

http://blog.deanforamerica.com/archives/002360.html

[slinkerwink]

1. that's nice he released that statement....

I think that we should get Secret Service for both Dean and Clark before the primaries...I wouldn't put it past the Republicans to try for an assasination on either one of them.

[mojowork_n]

2. RE: Secret Service

I don't often confess to having been impressed by much of anything on The History Channel, but after having watched 2 shows last night (Friday), on the J. Edgar Hoover/Clint Murchison/H.L. Hunt/LBJ/John Connely/R.M.Nixon theory of the assasination of JFK, there's not much that's likely to be of any help, if 'The Fix' is IN. They showed video of the secret service ordering their own people, who were running up, alongside the car, to keep back. The Secret Service people in charge kept the police motorcycles back, away, too. Sickening. I think it's called "The Guilty Ones", and it's being repeated later this afternoon, if you've got basic cable.

The program that followed that one was actually even more incredible, with an hour-long interview of Lee Harvey Oswald's old girlfriend/C.I.A.-junior-scientist... A lot of the material directly contradicted 'evidence' presented in a much longer documentary produced by PBS, the night before.

Watch both shows, if you can.

I've never been much of a conspiracy person--I've never seen the Oliver Stone movie, because I didn't think there was anything to see-- but I'm finding that the more I learn, the more disgusting, frightening and overwhelming the whole thing seems to be.

L.B.J. only lived 4 years after he resigned from office. A lot of that time was apparently spent on a coach, talking things out with therapists...

Have there been any other threads on the board about any of this stuff?

[Zomby Woof]

3. there is some (limited) provision for that

From the U.S. Treasury website, on who the Secret Service protects:
Link: http://www.ustreas.gov/usss/protection.shtml

Today, the Secret Service is authorized by law to protect:
the President, the Vice President, (or other individuals next in order of succession to the Office of the President), the President-elect and Vice President-elect;
the immediate families of the above individuals;
former Presidents, their spouses for their lifetimes, except when the spouse re-marries. In 1997, Congressional legislation became effective limiting Secret Service protection to former Presidents for a period of not more than 10 years from the date the former President leaves office.
children of former presidents until age 16;
visiting heads of foreign states or governments and their spouses traveling with them, other distinguished foreign visitors to the United States, and official representatives of the United States performing special missions abroad;
major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates, and their spouses within 120 days of a general Presidential election.

Granted, that won't cover all of the candidates, and that 120 days begins in July, so the conventions are about underway. But there you have it.

[slinkerwink]

4. Ten years of Scret Service protection?

Good christ---that's stupid.

[Zomby Woof]

5. yeah, agreed

Which means Clinton will need his own protection after January 20, 2011. I am no tinfoiler, but 1997 was the beginning of his second term, and Congress was firmly in the hands of the repubs when they passed that law. I wonder if Clinton signed it (if so, why?), or there was enough of a majority to override a veto (more likely). In any event, he is in good health like most of the other living former presidents, so he will (hopefully) live a long time after 2011 - he'll turn 65 that year.