The Cursed American Presidency

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CHAPTER II: Dick & Rummy
12:14 PM EST, Monday, May 5th, 1975
White House, Washington, DC.

President Ford with US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld & White House Chief of Staff Dick Cheney.
​

While President Ford was building up foreign policy, domestic & other achievements, he had two particular Ford loyalists whom some were either fans of or afraid, scared, intimidated & deeply depised: the two young ambitious men I'm referring to are US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (who became US Defense Secretary in the Fall of 1974 after Ford abruptly removed then-US Defense Secretary James Schlesinger, naming him as US Ambassador to NATO) & White House Chief of Staff Richard Cheney, otherwise known to some folks as Dick & Rummy.

It was no surprise as Cheney & Rumsfeld always interjected themselves in Cabinet meetings, micromanaging Cabinet Secretaries to the point of annoyance; an example of this was when Rumsfeld aggressively lobbied President Ford to naming US Air Force Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft as National Security Adviser (effectively sending US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to multiple overseas trips).

Rumsfeld also undermined & clashed with US Defense Deputy Secretary William P. Clements, Jr., & they clashed almost over pretty much everything with Clements threatening to call press conferences if Rumsfeld had him removed & moved to a different department. In a personal PoV Clements summed up his time at the Defense Department:

"When I began working as Deputy Secretary of Defense under Defense Secretaries Richardson and Schlesinger, everything was going great, getting along great including working together. However, all of that changed in mid-August of 1974 when President Ford abruptly announced during a Cabinet meeting that he was naming Schlesinger as the new US Ambassador to NATO, replacing him with that jackass Rumsfeld as the new Secretary of Defense.

It became a fucking disaster as I strongly felt and to this day, Rumsfeld manipulated the United States Senate into a quick confirmation process to become Secretary of Defense, which he was confirmed in mid-September of 1974. Almost immediately, Rumsfeld and I quickly clashed on pretty much everything inside the Pentagon; the pencil-pushing jackass even tried to have me fired as Deputy Secretary of Defense by having his cronies leaking false information and all that nonsense bullshit!

My time serving under Rumsfeld was very unpleasant. However, I didn't want to let Rumsfeld alert the President that I was unhappy so, I decided to hunker down and keep pushing along doing my job....."
----Personal PoV from TX Governor William P. Clements, Jr., (R) May 16th, 1979.

 

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COMING UP IN CHAPTER II OF THE CURSED AMERICAN PRESIDENCY
Segment on William P. Clements, Jr.,

​

 

[49ersfootball]

COMING UP IN CHAPTER V OF THE CURSED AMERICAN PRESIDENCY
Queen Elizabeth II visits the United States

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May 6th, 1975:
MEXICAN PRESIDENT GENERAL OSCAR ROBLES MAKES FOREIGN VISITS TO FRANCE, CANADA, US.

Mexican President General Oscar Robles made several key international trips as President by visiting France (May 6th-9th), Canada (May 9th-13th) & the United States (May 13th-15th).

Robles met with French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing in Paris at the Elysse Palace where they discussed French-Mexican diplomatic relations; new Economic Trade Agreement between both countries & signing memorandum of understanding agreements.

In Canada, Robles met with Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau & addressed a Joint Session of the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa. Robles also met with personnel of the Mexican Embassy complex during his visit.

In the US, Robles met with US President Gerald Ford at the White House during a Working Visit; discussing bilateral relations, trade & investment between both countries; coordinating with the Organization of American States, etc., Robles also visited with personnel employees of the Mexican Embassy in Washington, DC & Mexican Consulate General in Houston, TX.

 

[49ersfootball]

William Perry "Bill" Clements, Jr., (R)
42nd Governor of TX
January 16th, 1979 to January 18th, 1983
The Blunt-Talking Texan
11:27 AM EST, Tuesday, May 6th, 1975
The Pentagon, Arlington, VA

​

He was blunt, sometimes his opinions on most issues were harsh, sucker-punching including plain-spoken aggressive which annoyed some people, but excited others. That man was William Perry Clements, Jr., who came from humble beginnings & rose to become one of the most influential people inside the Pentagon & eventually making his mark in TX politics (more on that later in the TL). Born on April 13th, 1917 in Highland Park, a wealthy enclave of Dallas. His father, Perry Clements had once upon a time been a small-time lease broker in the North TX oilfields. Like many other TX farmers when the Great Depression broke out, his father informed the family that he was broke & for his son, William, Jr., the odds of following his friends going to college would be completely impossible. Following graduation from Highland Park High School in 1934, Clements attended college at the University of Texas at Austin for a few years before dropping out of college for good in light of the Great Depression, which was still gripping the country even further.

​

Clements decided to head to South TX, in the town of Sinton, where he got a job as an oil roughneck & over the next 16 months, he worked regularly at $150.00 per month & also send money home to his family in Dallas. Once things got better for his family, Clements then attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, attending the Engineering School for two years before returning to the oilfields. When World War II broke out, he served in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, helping constructing defense installations around the Lone Star State.

In 1940, he married Pauline Gill of Terrell, TX, whom he met during his time at the University of Texas at Austin. They would be the parents of two children: Nancy & Gill. This marriage would later end in divorce sometime in 1975 & Clements would marry Rita Crocker Bass in March of 1975, a longtime GOP volunteer leader whom he met during his work on the 1972 Nixon reelection campaign.

At the age of 28, in 1947, Clements founded Southeastern Drilling Company (SEDCO, Inc.,) with just two used drilling rigs bought on credit. In the midst of the post-World War II years, Clements continued building SEDCO into a world-wide contracting corporation, which was listed on the New York Stock Exchange; he also served as the Dallas-based company's Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer. He also took time to participate in civic organizations: being active in the Boy Scouts of America, serving as president of the organization's Circle Ten Council in the Dallas area; he also served as a member of the Southern Methodist University's Board of Trustees for 20 years including serving eight years as the chairman of the university's Board of Governors.

In 1973, Clements continued to serve the people, when then-President Richard Nixon called him to Washington, DC., to serve as US Deputy Secretary of Defense which the Dem-controlled United States Senate overwhelmingly confirmed Clements' nomination by a vote of 74-11 & took office as the 15th US Deputy Secretary of Defense on January 30th, 1973. In this position, he was the day-to-day manager of the Defense Department's three million employees & $100 billion budget during his two years of service under two Presidents: Nixon & Gerald Ford; he was awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service in 1975. One of his most significant responsibilities was the development of new major weapons systems. Clements helped lead the development & operationalization of a new generation of fighter aircraft, including the F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Falcon, & the F-18 Hornet. Also on his watch, the Pentagon continued the development of the Airborne Warning & Control System (AWACS), an airplane carrying advanced surveillance capabilities.

Clements' staunchest supporters called him direct & outspoken; they praised him for his clarity of purpose & straightfoward pursuit of goals. However, his blunt aggressive approach stirred lot of heat from the Washington DC press corps. Tension quickly developed between Clements & Defense Secretaries James Schlesinger (1973-74) & Donald Rumsfeld (1974-75), as well as members of Congress. However, Presidents Nixon & Ford both kept Clements as the Deputy Secretary of Defense, in large part because of his knowledge, work ethic, including the strength of personality which allowed him to pursuing his work & goals.

 

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COMING UP IN CHAPTER V OF THE CURSED AMERICAN PRESIDENCY
Polls, Polls, Polls ​

 

[49ersfootball]

Coming up over the weekend in Chapter 2: I'll be working on the following stories:
*National & International highlights from Spring 1975.
*National & International highlights from Summer 1975.
*Accomplishments of CA Governor Jerry Brown (D).
*The Mayaguez Incident

 

[49ersfootball]

CBS News Polling Survey (April 26th-May 11th, 1975)
Do you approve or disapprove the job President Gerald Ford is doing ?
Approve: 27%
Disapprove: 59%
Undecided: 13%

Do you approve or disapprove the job Congress is doing ?
Approve: 56%
Disapprove: 20%
Undecided: 16%

1976 US Presidential Election
***(GOPers only)
Who do you want to be the Republican nominee for President in 1976 ?
Former CA Governor Ronald Reagan (R): 55%
President Gerald Ford (R): 31%

***(Dems only)
Who do you want to be the Democratic nominee for President in 1976 ?
Former GA Governor Jimmy Carter (D): 19%
CA Governor Jerry Brown (D): 12%
United States Senator Scoop Jackson (D-WA St): 6%
AL Governor George Wallace (D): 5%
Undecided: 56%

Who do you want to control Congress in the 1976 elections ?
Dems: 60%
GOPers: 20%
Undecided: 16%

 

[49ersfootball]

Starting during Christmas holiday break:
*National & International highlights of the Ford Presidency (Spring 1975)
*National & International highlights of the Ford Presidency (Summer 1975)

 

[49ersfootball]

National & International highlights from the Ford Presidency
[May 1st-11th, 1975]

January 15th, 1975: US President Gerald Ford delivering the 1975 State of the Union Address before Joint Session of Congress.
​

*Thursday, May 1st, 1975:
Hank Aaron breaks the career record for RBIs runs batted in which his Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Detriot Tigers 17-3. Aaron, who had already broken Babe Ruth's career home run record, surpassed Ruth's RBI mark with the 2,210th RBI.

*Friday, May 2nd, 1975:
*The last remaining South Vietnamese soldiers, in the last fight against North Vietnamese invaders surrendered at 9:00 AM in the battle of Long Xutan, An Giang.

*Saturday, May 3rd, 1975:
*The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Nimitz, the first of the Nimitz class group of the ten largest supercarriers in the world was commissioned.

*Sunday, May 4th, 1975:
*Weeks after taking control of Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge began a fight with the new communist regime of Vietnam by seizing control of South Vietnam's Phu Quoc Island, which resulted in the Cambodian-Vietnam War.

*Monday, May 5th, 1975:
*Television broadcasting begins in South Africa as the first test broadcasts of the SABC (South African Broadcasting) TV Systems were being made.

*The Busch Gardens Williamsburg Theme Park opens in Williamsburg, VA.

*Tuesday, May 6th, 1975:
*The first moon-tree gets planted because it was grown from a seed that had been part of a 500 seeds which had been taken to the moon on the Apollo 14 mission, was placed at Washington Square Park in Philadelphia, PA.

*Wednesday, May 7th, 1975:
*US President Gerald Ford proclaimed the end of the Vietnam Era for purposes of certain veterans' benefits.

*Thursday, May 8th, 1975:
*Last group of foreigners remaining in Cambodia about 500 occupants of the French Embassy in Phnom Penh crossed over the border into Thailand.

*Friday, May 9th, 1975:
*The Constitution of Cameroon gets amended by creating the office of Prime Minister, who is first in line of succession to the Presidency.

*Saturday, May 10th, 1975:
*US Treasury Secretary William E. Simon announced the federal government would not provide federal aid to providing the 1.5 billion to meet two months of expenditures for New York City. The request had been made by NYC Mayor Abraham Beame (D).

*The Beatamax home videotaping system is introduced by Sony with the LV-1901 going on sale in Japan.

​

 

[49ersfootball]

38.)
Gerald Rudolph Ford (R-MI)
August 9th, 1974 to September 5th, 1975

Betty tried to talk Jerry into not to accept being Nixon's Vice President & she had good reason: Jerry originally was planning not to seek reelection to his House seat in 1974 & heading into retirement from politics when he got the phone call from President Nixon: Ford accepted the call to serve as the 40th Vice President of the United States, plus many House Dems were aggressively pushing for Ford to get the Vice Presidency; following confirmation hearings in both the House & Senate, Ford was overwhelmingly confirmed as the 40th Vice President of the United States on December 6th, 1973.

Of course, during his time as Vice President, the Watergate Scandal continued to unfold & escalate. Once the dam broke & the inevitability of Nixon's downfall was imminent, US Army General Alexander Haig, who was the White House Chief of Staff phoned Jerry on August 1st, 1974, telling him to be prepared in serving as the next President. During that period, the Ford's were living in suburban Alexandria, VA, originally planning their move into the Number One Observatory Circle (Residence of the Vice President of the United States). Informing his wife & most trusted adviser Betty, "I don't think we're ever going to live in the vice president's house."

Fast forward to August 9th, 1974, Nixon resigned from office which automatically made Jerry the 38th President of the United States, taking the Oath of Office during a special ceremony inside the East Room of the White House, making him the first person to become America's chief executive without ever being elected to either the Vice Presidency or Presidency.

During his administration, President Gerald Rudolph Ford had been experiencing a continually worsening relationship with the Democratic-controlled Congress. In 1974, Congress had overrode four of his fifteen vetoes: the highest percentage since five out of nine of then-President Franklin Pierce's vetoes were overridden in 1853-57. During 1975, Ford aggressively exercised his veto repeatedly in an effort to preventing Congress from extending price controls on oil & gas because he believed higher prices would force reductions in fuel consumption.

The President also used his veto in trying to keep Congress from passing appropriations for health, education & social services that had exceeded his budget. Supporters of the President strongly commended the vetoes as stopping Congress from overstepping their legislative authorities & overreaching; critics blasted Ford's moves as nothing more but political gimmicks for an upcoming reelection campaign in 1976.

Ford also repeatedly vetoed legislation supported by environmentalists seeking to curbing the operations of strip mines & force strip mine owners to restoring the environment. One person took offense at Ford's aggressive vetoes on environment legislation, Lynette Fromme (more on her in Chapter 3 following the Christmas holiday break), who decided at this point, "The President is a threat who needs to be exterminated."

Turning to foreign policy in an effort to revive his flagging leadership as well as boosting his dreadful approval ratings, President Ford went on a week-long trip to the Far East in late November of 1974. Making history as the first American President visiting Japan: Ford emphasized the friendship between the United States & Japan, which has developed since Japan's defeat in World War II. He then traveled to the Republic of Korea, where he strongly reaffirmed continued American support to preserving the Northeastern Asian nation's independence.

Main objective of his Far East tour, President Ford flew to the Soviet Union on November 23rd, 1974 for his first summit meeting with Soviet President Lenoid Brezhnev. In talks held at Vladivostok, Ford & Brezhnev reached agreement on the basic terms for a new treaty that would limit the production & deployment of atomic weapons for the period of 1977-86. In a report to the American people, President Ford declared the agreement "put firm ceiling on the step towards arms reduction which had herethereof, eluded us since the nuclear arms race began."

Fast forward to Monday morning, May 12th. President Ford was in the middle of a briefing at the White House when National Security Adviser USAF Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft alerted him "Mr. President. We have a situation with the USS Mayaguez....."

 

[49ersfootball]

The Moonbeam Governorship
12:56 PM PST, Monday, May 12th, 1975
Sacramento, CA

Upon taking office as CA's 34th Governor on January 6th, 1975, Brown refused many of the privileges & perks of the CA Governorship: snubbing the newly-constructed 20,000 square feet governor's residence in the suburbs of Carmichael. Instead, Brown rented a $275-per-month apartment at 1228 North Street adjacent to Capitol Park in downtown Sacramento. He also refused to ride in the gubernatorial chauffeured limousine as previous CA Governors had done: he walked to work & drove in a Plymouth Satellite sedan.

He gained a reputation as a fiscal conservative. His fiscal restraint surprised many conservatives & liberals, leading to one of the biggest budget surpluses in CA history, roughly $5 billion producing 25% of the nation's jobs from the Golden State.

Showing a strong interest in environmental issues, Brown appointed J. Baldwin to head the California Office of Appropriate Techonology, Sim Van der Run as State Architect, John Bryson as chairman of the California Arts Council. He boosted its funding by 1300 percent supporting efforts of the council. Brown also appointed more women, Asians, Latinos & African Americans to high government positions than any other previous chief executive.

Gubernatorial Chief of Staff Gray Davis summed it up in a personal PoV regarding examples of Brown's frugality in maintaining austerity including saving money for Californians, etc.,: "Another example of the governor's frugality occurred about three months into his administration. We were just finishing our morning meeting, when I mentioned to the governor that I had asked General Services to come over and not replace, but repair a 10-inch hole in the rug adjacent to his desk. "Why would you do that?" he asked. I responded "Because it's unheardof to have a hole in the governor's rug." The Governor answered: "That hole will save the state at least $500 million, because legislators cannot come down and pound my desk demanding lots of money for their pet programs while looking at a hole in my rug."
---Former CA Governor Gray Davis (D)
March 17th, 2004
Los Angeles, CA
38th Governor of CA from January 4th, 1999 to November 17th, 2003
44th Lieutenant Governor of CA from January 2nd, 1995 to January 4th, 1999
28th CA State Controller from January 5th, 1987 to January 2nd, 1995
Member of the CA State Assembly from the 43rd District from December 6th, 1982 to November 30th, 1986
White House Chief of Staff under then-President Jerry Brown from January 20th, 1977 to January 20th, 1981
Gubernatorial Chief of Staff under then-CA Governor Jerry Brown from January 6th, 1975 to January 17th, 1977

 

[49ersfootball]

The Field Poll Polling Survey (April 30th-May 12th, 1975):

Do you approve or disapprove the job CA Governor Jerry Brown (D) is doing ?
Approve: 71%
Disapprove: 16%

Do you approve or disapprove the job United States Senator Alan Cranston (D-CA) is doing ?
Approve: 59%
Disapprove: 20%
Undecided: 13%

Do you approve or disapprove the job United States Senator John V. Tunney (D-CA) is doing ?
Approve: 50%
Disapprove: 34%
Undecided: 12%

Do you approve or disapprove the job the California State Legislature is doing ?
Approve: 36%
Disapprove: 55%
Undecided: 7%

 

[49ersfootball]

COMING UP IN CHAPTER III OF THE CURSED AMERICAN PRESIDENCY
May 31st, 1975: US President Gerald Ford visits Spain

​

 

[49ersfootball]

The Mayaguez Incident with ramifications.....
May 12th-15th, 1975

US Air Force General David C. Jones, acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff briefing the National Security Council at the White House on possible military options on the Mayaguez Crisis during the afternoon of May 12th, 1975.
​

Less than a month after taking over the Cambodian government, the Khmer Rouge launched a seizure of the USS Mayaguez. It began on the afternoon of May 12th, when the US container ship SS Mayaguez, which was also owed by Sea-Land Service Inc., was passing nearby Poulo Wai from Hong Kong to their next destination in Sattahip, Thailand when the seizure occurred.

One Khmer Rouge Navy swift boat fired across the bow of the Mayaguez, which resulted in Captain Charles T. Miller ordering the engine room to slow down by maneuvering speed because he wanted to avoid gunfire hitting the ship via machine-gun fire. All of a sudden, the Khmer Rouge fired a rocket-propelled grenade across the bow of the ship: which escalated the situation. The Mayaguez was carrying 107 containers of routine cargo, 77 containers of government & military cargo & 90 empty containers, all insured for $5 million.

Upon being notified of the seizure of the Mayaguez during his morning briefing by National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, US President Gerald Ford ordered a meeting of the National Security Council, which was convened at 12:05 to discuss the situation. Meanwhile, US Navy Admiral Noel Gayler, who was serving as Commander of the US Pacific Command, was ordered by the NMCC to launch reconnaissance aircraft in locating the Mayaguez. It was well-known that the members of the National Security Council were aggressively determined to putting a stop to the crisis immediately by any means necessary; the fall of South Vietnam less than two weeks earlier as well as the forced withdrawal of US troops from Cambodia in the aftermath of Operation Eagle Pull including South Vietnam in Operation Frequent Wind, both damaged the international reputation of the United States. Because the United States had no diplomatic contact or any relations with the Khmer Rouge regime of Cambodia, President Ford gave specific instructions to US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on urging the People's Republic of China by persuading the Khmer Rouge to release the SS Mayaguez & her crew at once.

President Ford gave the order for the United States Navy to rescue the 39 American crewmen. Operating from US bases in Thailand, US Marines landed via helicopter on May 15th, attacking an island where the crewmen were believed to be held prisoners, & boarded the SS Mayaguez.

The crisis ended later that day when Cambodia freed the freighter's crewmembers. 41 American servicemembers were killed during the action & 50 were wounded. US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger summed up the Mayaguez incident by bluntly declaring: "The impact ought to be to make clear that there are limits beyond which the United States cannot be pushed."

However, not everyone was satisfied with the rescue operation.....

Angered, enraged & furious because they weren't even consulted by President Ford, the Thai government demanded the United States withdraw ALL of their military personnel including its planes from Thai soil. The backlash also resulted in anti-American demonstrations at the US Embassy in Bangkok, where protesters burned effigies of President Ford chanting derogatory epithets.

 

[49ersfootball]

National & International highlights of the Ford Presidency
(May 12th-23rd, 1975)​

​

*Monday, May 12th, 1975:
*At 2:10 PM, the US merchant ship SS Mayaguez was stopped in international waters by the P-128, a Cambodian gunboat manned by Khmer Rouge forces. Ten minutes later, P-128 fired machine guns across the merchant ship as a warning; then at 2:25, a group of seven Khmer soldiers boarded the Mayaguez by taking captive its 39-member crew & commandeering the ship.
*With two goals from 47-year-old ice hockey legend Gordie Howe, the Houston Aeros won their second consecutive World Hockey Association championship defeating the Quebec Nordiques 7-2, sweeping the best of four series.
*Helmut Kohl was selected ahead of Franz Joseph Strauss as the Christian Socialist Union candidate for the Chancellorship in the upcoming 1976 West German elections.

*Tuesday, May 13th, 1975:
*Korean President Park Chung-hee issues Emergency Decree #9 for the Preservation of National Security & Public Order, prohibiting anyone from trying to "deny, oppose, distort, slander, revise or abrogate" the Yushin Constitution that had been adopted in 1972.
*Turkish Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel was punched in the face by a 34-year-old unemployed man, Vural Onsel at Ankara. Demirel's nose was broken as the result of the punch as the Prime Minister was leaving a cabinet meeting.

*Wednesday, May 14th, 1975:
*The first full-sized luxury electric vehicle, the Transformer 1, was introduced by Apollo Energy Systems during a press conference in Southfield, MI. Robert Aronson showed the vehicle to reporters & Aronson's friend, television personality Arthur Godfrey, drove the vehicle around the grounds of the Raleigh House. The Transformer 1 was a modified two-door 1975 Chevy Chevelle powered by a 180-volt lead cobalt battery.

*Thursday, May 15th, 1975:
*"Star Trek: The Animated Series", the Star Trek franchise's second series, wins the franchise's first Emmy Award.

*Friday, May 16th, 1975:
*Sikkim, formerly an absolute monarchy, becomes the 22nd state of India including its 200,00 residents, who became citizens, as Indian President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed signed an order ratifying an amendment to the country's constitution; Sikkimese voters had overwhelmingly approved annexation on April 14th & India's Parliament approved statehoood that same month.

*Saturday, May 17th, 1975:
*The "Wild Man of the Green Swamp" is captured by law enforcement agencies in Sumter County, FL after surviving on his own for eight months.

*Sunday, May 18th, 1975:
*Speculation swirls around CA Governor Jerry Brown (D)'s political future during a one-on-one interview with Walter Cronkite of CBS News at the Governor's Office in the CA State Capitol in downtown Sacramento, CA. Brown, of course, tamps down such talk because of the distraction from the legislative session.

*Monday, May 19th, 1975:
*Trial begins against International Business Machines (IBM) for violations of anti-trust laws, which lasted for more than six years. On January 8th, 1982, the US Justice Department would later drop further proceedings against IBM.

*Tuesday, May 20th, 1975:
*The Cambodian Genocide begins in Cambodia. This was an effort by the Khmer Rouge dictatorship purging anyone tagged as impediments in the viewpoint of the communist dictatorship; between 1975 & 1978, an estimated 1.3 million people were executed out of the population of 7.8 million.

*The Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives easily voted 303-96 in admitting women to the previously all-male service academies at West Point, Annapolis & Colorado Springs. The Democratic-controlled United States Senate would follow suit by an overwhelming margin & the bill is signed in June by President Ford.

*Wednesday, May 21st, 1975:
*76 out of the 100 United States Senators signed a letter to US President Gerald Ford, asking him to "endorse Israel's demand for defensible frontiers & massive economic & military assistance" when preparing the budget submitted to Congress.

*Thursday, May 22nd, 1975:
*Train derailment at Sid Yahya El Gharb in Morocco, results in the deaths of 50 people & injuring 200 others.

*Friday, May 23rd, 1975:
*The Indochina Migration & Refugee Assistance Act of 1975 was signed into law by US President Gerald Ford, providing for resettlement of South Vietnamese & Cambodian refugees into the United States.

 

[49ersfootball]

Other National & International highlights
(Spring, Summer, Fall 1975)​

*April 5th, 1975:
*Taiwanese President Chiang Kai-shek dies from a massive heart attack & is succeeded as President by Vice President Yen Chia-kan, who ascended to the Presidency, becoming the island nation's 5th President; Yen signs executive orders, declaring a 30-day period of official mourning across Taiwan.

*April 9th, 1975:
*The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) plays its first game at the Araneta Coliseum.

*April 12th, 1975:
*Famed American-French dancer & entertainer Josephine Baker dies from a cerebral hemorrhage at Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital at the age of 68.

*May 5th, 1975:
*The Busch Gardens Williamsburg Theme Park opens in James City County, VA & VA Governor Mills Godwin (R) is among many of the dignitaries in attendance of the grand opening.

*May 25th, 1975:
*The Golden State Warriors (NBA) win their 3rd NBA championship in franchise history (1947, 1956, 1975), their first since they used to be the Philadelphia Warriors before moving to Oakland, CA & being called the Golden State Warriors; they defeated the Washington Wizards in a 4-0 sweep of the 1975 NBA Finals.

*May 27th, 1975:
*The Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) defeated the Buffalo Sabres in the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals in six games, 4-2 to win their 2nd consecutive Stanley Cup championship.

*June 5th, 1975:
*The Suez Canal opens for the first time since the Six-Day War of 1973.
*Voters in the United Kingdom voted YES in a referendum to stay with the European Union; they would go onto leaving the European Union after a 2016 referendum over 40+ years later.

*June 11th, 1975:
*After seven years of military rule including a nationwide referendum, Greece is established as the Hellas Republic.

*July 5th, 1975:
*Cape Verde gains its independence after 500 years of Portuguese rule.

*August 3rd, 1975:
*The Louisiana Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints (NFL), opens in New Orleans, LA.

​

 

[49ersfootball]

Backstory on Gray Davis
Saturday, May 24th, 1975
Sacramento, CA.

​

Joseph Graham Davis, Jr,, nicknamed "Gray" by his mother, was projecting a more aggressive, intense & often controlling personality during his time as Chief of Staff & Executive Secretary to CA Governor Jerry Brown (D). Davis wasn't as liberal as Brown, who strongly preferred a middle-of-the-road moderate-to-conservative approach in getting things done as well as being efficient to see how state government in Sacramento was being run. Davis' personality & methods also had a habit of driving several employees crazy including downright nuts, some of whom weren't thrilled or impressed by Davis in the first place.

Born in the Bronx, NYC, NY St on December 26th, 1942, the son of Doris (Meyer) Morell & Joseph G. Davis. The oldest of five children, the Davis family moved to CA in 1954; he was raised a Roman Catholic. Davis & his family were among the millions of Americans to migrating to the Southwestern United States & CA as part of the post-World War II Sun Belt Migration.

Among the diverse educational experiences at public, private & Catholic schools, which allowed Davis to take advantage of opportunities in comparing all three systems as a lawmaker. He graduated from a North Hollywood military academy, known as the Harvard School for Boys (later Harvard-Westlake School). His family was upper-middle class & was led by his domineering mother. His father, was an advertising manager at Time, Inc., but was also an alcoholic, was the son of businessman William Rhodes Davis.

These strong academic achievements earned Davis an acceptance to Stanford University, where he played on the Stanford Men's Golf Team with a two handicap. After entering Stanford, his father (due to obvious problems with alcohol & other deep issues) left the family, which forced Davis to join the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) in order to stay in school. The deal included a promise to enter the United States Army upon graduation from college. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Stanford University in 1964, where he was also admitted to the Zeta Psi Fraternity, graduating with distinction. He returned to NYC to attend Columbia University Law School, where he won the Moot Court Award & during his law school days, Davis also had a romantic encounter with actress Cybil Shepherd. He then received his Juris Doctorate degree from Columbia University Law School in 1967 & clerked at the law firm of Beekman & Bogue in NYC, NY St.

After completing the program, Davis entered active duty with the United States Army in 1967, serving in the Vietnam War conflict during its height until 1969. He saw time on the battlefield during his time in Vietnam, returning home to the States as a commissioned officer with the rank of Captain along with the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service. Friends, who knew him at the time, said Davis---like many Vietnam veterans---, came back a changed man, interested in politics & also more intense. Returning from Vietnam "more serious & directed". He was also surprised to discover many of those serving in Vietnam were Latinos, African Americans & southern Anglos with very few from schools like Stanford & Columbia; Davis believed the burden of the war should be felt equally & he resolved early on to go about changing America so that would change. He became a life member of the American Legion & Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Volunteering for the successful 1970 US Senate campaign of United States Senator John V. Tunney (D-CA), Davis started a statewide neighborhood crime watch program while serving as chairman of the California Council on Criminal Justice. His initial political experience also included working to help elect Tom Bradley as Los Angeles' first African American Mayor in 1973; the historical significance of Bradley's victory further inspired Davis to pursuing a political career. In 1974, he was an unsuccessful candidate in the Democratic primary election for CA State Treasurer, losing to the more popular former State Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh, who filed to run for State Treasurer on the filing deadline.

Not to be deterred by this setback, Davis then joined the administration of CA Governor Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr., (D), who took office as the Golden State's 34th Governor on January 6th, 1975. He served as the Governor's Executive Secretary & Gubernatorial Chief of Staff from 1975 to 1977 & also served as Brown's White House Chief of Staff when the latter was elected to the Presidency in 1976. As Brown was campaigning for the Presidency, Davis ran CA in the Governor's absence & during this period, he met his future wife Sharon Ryer, while on an airplane tending to official business in 1978. Ryer, who was working as a flight attendant for Pacific Southwest Airlines, was annoyed & ticked off when Davis held up the entire departure flight from Sacramento to Los Angeles. Wanting to make amends, Davis apologized & asked her out. They later got married in 1983 with CA Supreme Court Chief Justice Rose Bird officiating.

 

[49ersfootball]

Meanwhile in Sacramento
12:28 PM PST, Tuesday, May 27th, 1975
Sacramento, CA.

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Lynette Fromme, nicknamed "Squeaky" by George Spahn, was one of the followers of the cultist Charles Manson, who along with his followers participated in the violent murders of actress Sharon Tate & six other people in Los Angeles, CA in 1969. Fromme was one of the earliest followers of Manson, had a reputation of being one of the most devoted followers to say the least. Over the years, she assumed a leadership role in keeping the cult members in communication with each other after most of them had been imprisoned. By April of 1971, she served 90 days in jail for attempting to feed a hamburger laced with LSD to Barbara Hoyt, who was one of the eyewitnesses of the Tate & LaBianca murders, in an attempt of preventing Hoyt from testifying for the prosecution in the Manson murder trial.

She lived at 1725 P Street in Sacramento in an attic apartment with Sandra Good, a close friend of Fromme's. Fast forward to 1975, where Fromme decided to kill President Ford in setting an example for those refusing to halt environmental pollution & its effects on ATWA.

On the afternoon HRS of May 27th, Squeaky drove to the CA State Capitol grounds in downtown Sacramento; She was angry & still obsessed with wanting to making a specific, clear point in becoming more notorious along with her status as one of the staunch Manson followers. "That no good idiot in the White House thinks he can win the Presidency when he's never been elected to anything? I'll show his ass real quick that the unelected President of the United States cannot ignore me or my demands!"

 

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President Ford arrives in Brussels for the NATO Summit Meeting
May 28th-31st, 1975
Brussels, Belgium

May 28th, 1975: US President Gerald Ford & King Baudouin I of Belgium during arrival honors.​

On May 28th, 1975: US President Gerald Ford & his wife, US First Lady Betty Ford stepped out of Air Force One & were greeted by King Baudouin I & Queen Fabiola of Belgium as the Ford's stepped off Air Force One. Following Arrival Honors which included a 21 Cannon Salute, performances of the National Anthems of the United States & Belgium then Honor Guard Inspection as well as remarks delivered by President Ford & King Baudouin, the official party drove to the Royal Palace in downtown Brussels, where following a brief exchange of courtesies, President Ford immediately plunged into discussions with Premier Leo Tindemans & other Belgian government officials; US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger & other American officials participated in the talks.

Main subject of the discussion: Belgium's potential purchasing of a new jet fighter; the American F-16 & French Mirage were in competition for Belgium's interest, Tindemans told journalists that he asked for clarifications on the F-16 offer.