The Cursed American Presidency

[49ersfootball]

Chapter IX: The Invasion....

May 16th, 1978

BREAKING NEWS: AIR STRIKES LAUNCHED IN VALPARAISO
*Argentine President Isabel Peron gives the Argentine High Forces Command the green-light to begin the invasion of Chile.
*Reports of casualties rising in aftermath of airstrikes hitting main key areas of Valparaiso.
*Chilean President Captain General Augusto Pinochet breaks off diplomatic relations with Argentina.
*Eyes of the World turn to South America.

During the late evening HRS of May 16th, 1978, loud sirens began ringing in Valparaiso & Santiago, Chile as hundreds, possibly thousands of Chileans ran for cover due to seeing missiles being launched into several buildings in Valparaiso, where the Chilean National Congress Building was located including other government agencies, local law enforcement agencies, etc.,

Reports indicate that at least 13,000 Chileans have been killed by airstrikes launched by the Argentinean Air Force F-16 fighter jets & sources on the ground indicate according to eyewitnesses of seeing 29,000 Argentinean military personnel troops rolling into the southern part of Chile with large tanks & opening fire at everyone in sight as people tried to flee the carnage.

ABC News broke into regular programming to deliver an ABC News Special Report about the Argentinean invasion of Chile. Over at the White House, US President Jerry Brown was alerted by White House Chief of Staff Gray Davis about the invasion & immediately held a closed-door meeting of the National Security Council.

ABC NEWS: ARGENTINEAN TROOPS HAVE GAINED TOTAL CONTROL OF PUNTA ARENAS; FORCIBLY REMOVE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS FROM OFFICE

Argentinean military personnel troops have gained full control of the city of Punta Arenas in southern Chile & have forcibly removed all of the local government officials from office altogether. Eyewitness accounts revealed an absolute horror of proportions: Argentinean soldiers kidnapping, torturing & killing men, women & children, then dumping their bodies in mass graves.

Reports indicate that the Argentine Navy warships have encircled at least the majority of the southern part of Chile with large tanks of fuel, gas, etc.,

Allegations have surfaced that some Argentinian soldiers have raped the dead bodies of young Chilean women ages 17-29 routinely, even more heinous that some of the soldiers kept the bodies in secret labs at undisclosed locations.

 

[49ersfootball]

Reflection: A Look Back......
....."The situation regarding the Argentinian invasion of Chile had been escalating for less than two years since it was revealed that Pinochet had backed the unsuccessful coup attempt against Mrs. Peron's government. Following a long dragged-out bloodbath between the Peronist government and rebel forces which were led by Videla, etc., the Peronist government not only crushed the coup plotters and their rebel troops, but the government forces launched airstrikes and the like: killing Videla, Massera in the process while Galiteri, Viola and Bignone were arrested and imprisoned for their insurrection plots against the Argentinian government.

It was then once those eager-beaver idiots in the Associated Press included those bozos in the Washington Post leaked out that the Rockefeller administration and the Central Intelligence Agency was also involved in the botched coup attempt, these revelations enraged Mrs. Peron, who vowed vengeance against those who plotted to undermine her government and she was going to name names. Rumor was that a rogue element of the Argentinian government systematically rigged the 1976 US Presidential election in favor of then-California Governor Jerry Brown, whom many considered a novice on foreign policy and someone to exploit. I strongly disagreed with these allegations because I NEVER thought these allegations were anything but distractions because the election was fair and Jerry Brown won the presidential election fair and square. They wanted to aggressively undermine then-Vice President Edward W. Brooke's presidential campaign, so the Peronist government hired former Nazi intelligence officials to use derogatory coded messages and other vicious methods sabotaging Brooke's campaign in the critical swing battleground states, which proved successful, especially once Texas decided the 1976 Presidential election in Brown's favor very narrowly.

Now the events which led to the Invasion of Chile had been about the disputed islands consisting of Lennox, Picton and Nueva. I believe what that crazy astrologer freak Lopez Rega, the man who was running the Peronist government from Madrid, Spain in the first place, was to undermine the Chilean government with the goal of toppling it altogether. Once Mrs. Peron aggressively and viciously scrubbed the Argentine High Forces Command and replaced opponents with Peronist allies including cronies in all branches: Navy, Marine Corps, Army and Air Force, she ordered a deployment of somewhere between 29,000-57,000 military personnel troops toward the Chilean border in what the Argentinian Foreign Affairs Ministry described as "military exercise drills", but the Chileans and everyone knew better.

With the Brown administration proposing diplomacy efforts in attempts of resolving an escalating situation from spiraling out of control between the two rival South American nations, neither Chile or Argentina were interested in diplomacy or any peace agreements regarding the disputed islands because any alternative approaches were considered hopeless. What was also odd was that Bolivia abruptly cut diplomatic ties with Chile just days before the onset of the Invasion. I found that one quite disturbing and to this day, couldn't grasp why the Bolivians did that.

In the meantime in Buenos Aires, Mrs. Peron had her eyes set on Chile and she was very much in tune with what was being said about her in other countries, and the ongoing debate in Brazil, where Brazilian President Ernesto Geisel referred to her as "That Nightclud Dancing Bitch" outraged her, to the point she finally gave the green-light for the Argentinian High Forces Command to invade Chile------while we were all asleep here in the States at that------she also opened her arms to Bolivian, Cuban and Soviet volunteers, anyone who wanted to cleanse Chile of what she called "That CIA Puppet Jackass" in reference to Pinochet, who was backed by the Nixon, Ford and Rockefeller administrations. In her view, she was hell-bent to getting rid of Pinochet and anyone who supported him. No matter what we tried to do, the Argentinian Foreign Affairs Minister told Secretary Mondale that "Argentina will do whatever is necessary to taking what is ours and doing everything in our power to defending ourselves by any means necessary!" I just couldn't believe we were caught flat-footed like this and almost immediately, the criticism ranging upon us from both sides of the political aisle was like a sneak attack. Sadly whatever favorable ratings that the Brown administration was hoping for regard to the Cuban State Visit, Argentina State Visit and the trips to Venezuela, Brazil, Nigeria and Liberia, pretty much evaporated overnight once Mrs. Peron launched the invasion into Chile. It was all downhill for the Brown administration afterwards which pretty much killed any chance of President Brown getting reelected in 1980."
-Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew J. Young (D-GA)
*Interview with ABC News; April 8th, 2004
Member, US House of Representatives from GA's 5th Congressional District (Janaury 3rd, 1973-March 3rd, 1977)
14th US Ambassador to the United Nations (March 3rd, 1977-September 23rd, 1979)
55th Mayor of Atlanta, GA (January 4th, 1982 to January 2nd, 1990)

 

[49ersfootball]

May 23rd, 1978:

ABC NEWS BULLETIN: Intelligence reports confirm Soviet military personnel troops assist Argentina in the Invasion of Chile.
*Unconfirmed reports from Associated Press about Soviet Air Force fighter jets encircling around Chile for potential air raid bombing campaign.
*Argentinean Foreign Affairs Ministry justify the invasion as "defending the homeland by any means necessary"
*US President Jerry Brown & National Security Council monitoring the situation.

"Weakness on the world stage: Jerry Brown's Detente foreign policy gambit blows up in his face"
Newsweek: May 24th, 1978

"America needs new leadership in 1980: Reagan signaling political comeback as foreign policy crises engulf the Brown administration."
Washington Post: May 25th, 1978

"Bipartisan group of Senators demand meeting with US Secretary of State, US Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."
New York Times: May 27th, 1978

"Chilean Army ground forces make progress in pushing back Argentinean Army personnel troops during the Battle of Southern Chile; Pinochet calls on the international community to support Chile."
The Santiago Informer: May 29th, 1978

BREAKING: GALTIERI ESCAPES FROM PRISON; WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN

May 30th, 1978: Former Argentinean Army Lieutenant General Leopoldo Galtieri, who had been serving a long prison sentence due to his involvement in the failed 1976 coup attempt against the Peronist government, reportedly escaped from prison in the middle of the night. Sources state his whereabouts are unknown at the moment.

Speculation has swirled that Galtieri & several close loyalists hatched an escape plan while everyone was distracted by the Peronist government launching a full-scale invasion of Chile.

Details & more developments about this escape will come in later as more information, according to Argentinean TV news stations, the Argentinean Federal Police & federal law enforcement agencies are searching for capture Galtieri & his co-conspirators.

 

[49ersfootball]

@stevep @TheRomanSlayer @Zyobot @gral @Zachowon @Buba @Typhonis @Airedale260 @Carrot of Truth @History Learner @Ibanez @The Whispering Monk

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE LONGEST-SERVING CA GOVERNOR 🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂

Howdy from the Alamo City folks. I want to personally give a Happy Birthday message to the longest-serving CA Governor Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr., (D) for his 4 terms in the CA Governor's Mansion in Sacramento.

Celebrating his 85th birthday! What an amazing life & long decades of public service.

 

[49ersfootball]

June 18th, 1978:
BREAKING: FORMER ARGENTINIAN ARMY LIEUTENANT GENERAL LEOPOLDO GALTIERI, 24 OTHERS CAPTURED BY ARGENTINIAN FEDERAL POLICE OFFICERS
*Unknown witness informs federal law enforcement agencies of Galtieri's location near the Uruguayan border.
*Manhunt ends after long dragged-out search for disgraced Argentinean Army Lieutenant General & several of his close fellow Army officers, etc.,

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we've got him!" boasted Argentinean Federal Police General Fausto Tacher during a press conference at the Federal Police Headquarters in Buenos Aires. It was almost nearly three weeks since disgraced former Argentinean Army Lieutenant General Leopoldo Galtieri & 24 others escaped prison during the late evening HRS of May 29th.

Eyewitness accounts confirmed one courageous person called law enforcement to alert them Galtieri & his cohorts were attempting to crosd the border with Uruguay; allegations detail he was attempting to plot an overthrow of the Peronist government, which is currently in the midst of the Invasion of Chile.

Galtieri & 24 of his Army loyalists were given the public perpwalk before the cameras & on live TV across Argentina; it's reported Galtieri will be sent to a heavily-armored maximum security prison somewhere in the outskirts of the country town called Peron City; sources confirm he might get the death penalty for an attempted insurrection.

 

[49ersfootball]

June 29th, 1978
Will President Brown seek reelection in 1980 ? Numerous signs are pointing toward absolutely NOT!
*Dreadful approval ratings following recent foreign policy debacles damaged the President's popularity.
*VP Carter seen as Brown's potential handpicked successor due to recent campaign stops in FL, SC, IA, NH, IL, MI, MN, WI, NC & PA.
*President Brown's recent trip to West Germany seen by foreign policy analysts & political observers as "saving face".

During June 16th-19th, President Jerry Brown traveled to Panama, where he was greeted by Panamanian President William Alvarez Guardia at the Panama City International Airport before traveling to the Presidential Palace, where he & his wife, First Lady Linda Ronstadt Brown spent the night.

On the 17th, Brown & Alvarez signed protocol confirming exchange of documents ratifying the Panama Canal Treaty; Brown hailed it as one of the landmark foreign policy successes of his administration including commending the Panamian people for their guidance of democratic values following the revolution that toppled former military strongman Omar Torrijos in the Fall of 1977 in a US-backed coup d'etat.

Brown also met with Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez; Colombian President Alfonso Lopez Michelson; Mexican President General Oscar Robles; Costa Rican President Rodrigo Carazo Odio & Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley, who invited Brown to visit the Caribbean nation which Brown confirmed he'll be visiting in the Spring of 1979.

July 14th-17th, 1978
President Brown visits West Germany
*Snubbed by West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, President Brown meets with West German President Walter Scheel instead.
*Visit comes less than a year following Brown's controversial decision to withdrawal of all nuclear forces military personnel troops out of West Germany.

Next on the agenda included the biggest international trip of all: West Germany.

President Brown arrived in Frankfurt, where he was greeted by West German President Walter Scheel & was given full state honours including the Honor Guard inspection on July 14th. Due to poor relations with West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, who blasted the Brown administration's incompetence on foreign policy, Schmidt blatantly snubbed the President of the United States openly & defiantly by not showing up at all for the remainder of the time that Brown is visiting West Germany.

Despite some snubs along the way, President Brown addressed both US & German military personnel troops; he also visited Bonn, Wiesbaden-Erbenheim, Frankfurt, West Berlin. On July 16th-17th, Brown attended the 4th G7 Summit conference in Bonn, where President Scheel stood in for Schmidt at the annual conference.

President Brown addressed the 4th G7 Summit by strongly pushing them to find diplomatic solutions including prospects of a peace plan in ending the ongoing deadly conflict between Argentina & Chile, which is now in the month of July with no signs of stopping anytime soon.

July 17th-21st, 1978
President Brown visits Spain
*Meets with King Juan Carlos I & Queen Sofia.
*Addresses Joint Session of the Spanish Parliament.
*Meets with Spanish Prime Minister Rodolfo Suarez.

The final international trip was in the Kingdom of Spain, where President Jerry Brown & First Lady Linda Ronstadt Brown met with King Juan Carlos I & Queen Sofia at the Royal Palace, where a State Dinner was held in President Brown's honor during the evening HRS of July 17th; President Brown thanked King Juan Carlos I for his gracious hospitality & the people of Spain for overcoming dictatorship & seeing the return of democracy.

On July 18th, President Brown delivered a special address before Joint Session of the Spanish Parliament.

 

[49ersfootball]

August 6th, 1978:

BREAKING: POPE PAUL VI DIES OF CARDIAC ARREST AT THE AGE OF 80
*Pontiff was leader of the Roman Catholic Church for 15 years.
*Failing health for some time according to media reports.
*Condolences from all over the world.

Pope Paul VI died following suffering a heart attack at his Summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome. He was 80 years old. The frail & ailing 80-year-old Pontiff was stricken with what had been described as a mild heart attack while he was listening to Mass being said by his personal secretary inside the Papal apartment. Less than 4 HRS later at 9:40 PM, the Pontiff was pronounced dead.

Condolences have come from all over the world ranging from US President Jerry Brown, who said "Meeting Pope Paul VI during my visit to the Vatican last year and getting to listen to great spiritual advice will be one of the most cherished memories I will carry with me forever. My deepest condolences to the fairhful of the Roman Catholic Church and alll over the world."

Mexican President General Oscar Robles, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, British Prime Minister James Callaghan, Panamanian President William Alvarez Guardia, Brazilian President Ernesto Giesel, Chilean President General Augusto Pinochet, Argentine President Isabel Peron also gave condolences.

 

[49ersfootball]

NFSW DISCLAIMER: This is Part I of the Segment Series of how a botched embalming of the late Pontiff resulted in gruesome results. Plus it'll include grisly & graphic, gory methods from one particular embalming expert. Viewer discretion is strongly advised & NOT for the squeamish folks!

Personal Diary: Victoria Gallego
*SNAP, CRACKLE & POP: The gruesome smell inside the halls of St. Peter's Basilica!

August 7th, 1978:

"It was quite late on the evening of August 6th in the outskirts of Rome when the bells began tolling, I turned on the television at 10:25 PM to discover that Pope Paul VI had died at his Summer residence at Castel Gandolfo following a long illness. I prayed on my knees before going to bed.

The early next morning, I was busy with putting together some last minute documents in place before deciding on planning to attend an early viewing of the late Pontiff in the coming days because I knew that lots of the faithful were converging into Rome for the upcoming Papal funeral service and according to local news reports, many of the attendees were foreign dignitaries such as Mexican President General Oscar Robles and his beautiful wife, Mexican First Lady Fernanda Arizmendi, Argentine President Isabel Peron (who was likely to get the side eyes from certain people for obvious reasons) among countless others.

But something told me to get over to the Summer residence at Castel Gandolfo for some strange reason. It was a very uneasy feeling because some incompetent medical expert stupidly was chosen as the main embalmer of the late Pontiff. Keep in mind, I was only a year old when Puis XII died in 1958 and the disgusting botched embalming of his body from an infamous fellow, who should remain nameless botched the embalming that it well.....caused some people to get sick during public viewing.

Fast forward to 20 years later, I had naively assumed whoever was tasked with embalming the late Pontiff had learned some lessons to avoid similar mistakes. When my cousin, Antionette and I arrived to pay our respects inside the Summer residence at Castel Gandolfo......I was rudely mistaken.

The incompetent medical expert I am referring to was none other than Marco Saltinetti, whose methods of embalming Pope Paul VI included a very weird novel process of his version of embalming: Saltinetti used the same system of oils, wrapping the body in some weird light gold plastic wrapping thing or something and to top it all, he didn't even try to remove the organs: which is the main rule of embalming.

When I viewed the Pontiff's body, I was repulsed by what I saw: Pope Paul VI looked like he was sweating somewhat due to some perspiration on the upper lip plus I noticed two fans blowing hard, I was curious why did they need to have fans blowing inside. Antoinette also found it unusual, she asked "I see there's two fans blowing hard here, when the procession to the Vatican begins, what could possibly go wrong?"

Auugust 9th, 1978: Snap, Crackle & Pops: The foul smell that caused faithful & others getting sick.

​

Fast forward to August 9th, 1978: During the public viewing inside the halls of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, where the late Pontiff was lying in state: the sweltering heat inside the halls were so strong, it caused chemical reactions which required the idiot jackass Saltinetti to attempt another embalming job sometime during the night of August 9th. He assumed it would get rid of the smell...... NOPE!

The next day, August 10th: Mexican President General Oscar Robles and his beautiful wife, Mexican First Lady Fernanda Arizmendi, US Vice President Jimmy Carter and his wife, US Second Lady Rosalynn Carter including King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain were paying their respects to the late Pontiff when loud, disturbing and thundering popping sounds occurred: POP! POP! POP!

According to eyewitnesses, the ugly decomposition of the late Pontiff was happening before their very eyes including some of the foreign dignitaries in attendance; some of the audience quietly whispered "What's those loud popping sounds?" And one young teenage girl was so repulsed by the awful smell, she vomited on the floor.

Inevitably autoplysic plus putrefaction caused by the gut bacteria were soon gathering which included large amounts of gas inside the body to release foul odor. At this instance, Arizmendi fainted by collasping into the arms of her husband, President Robles who carried her out of the Basilica while the Carter's and the Spanish King and Queen were rushed out of there. Effective immediately, the public viewing inside the halls of the St. Peter's Basilica was officially terminiated. It didn't help that some of the Swiss Guards guarding the Pontiff's body also fainted."

 

[49ersfootball]

NSFW SEGMENT DISCLAIMER: The following segment will be extremely grisly graphic, gory & erotic. Viewer discretion is strongly advised & NOT for the squeamish folks!

August 17th, 1978:
Irene Evanggeliou: Secret Personal Diary (Part I)

"It was 8:00 PM in the evening HRS of August 7th, 1978. I was hired by one of the senior level higher-ups of the Vatican, who requested my personal services.

Being an island girl from Greece, I was amazed and honored by this job and I was given full access to this secret job. Upon arriving in Italy during the evening HRS of August 11th, I set up my underground secret lab at an undisclosed location including making wax copy of the late Pontiff when I heard about some incompetent medical expert named Marco Saltinetti, whose botched embalming attempt was so disastrous, it caused well awful results.

The official story publicly was that the late Pontiff was entombed in a private ceremony inside St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City following the Papal Funeral on August 12th.

However, what really happened was that my team of assistants and I secretly placed the wax copy look-alike into the new casket and lowered it into the tomb and had concrete poured on top of the vault forever, while we placed the casket containing the late real Pontiff into a large hearse covered with large curtains before driving away to our secret undisclosed location.

While my team of assistants carefully placed the casket on a stand by wheeling it into the large underground tunnels, I began to prepare for the long deep thorough and eccentric process of perfecting the masterpiece."

 

[49ersfootball]

August 17th, 1978
10:00 PM
Somewhere in an undisclosed location in Italy

Irene Evanggeliou: Secret Personal Diary (Part II)

"Once the group of assistants left to go to bed, I was wearing an all-green medical surgery gear from head to toe inside my extra large secret lab. The time was 10:00 PM and I was wearing a mask including gloves while I slowly opened the coffin, which took at least five minutes or so.

After I removed all of the clothing off of the "Secret Project" which I referred to him from head to toe, I applied some of my secretive formula by injecting it on the right lower side of his hip, which didn't take too long. Lathered him up from head to toe, he looked completely bloated and greenish all over the place, so it was time to do more adjustments.

The time was 10:29 PM when I used a special shining incision knife across the entire backside: then carefully slowly thoroughly removed the entire skin off of "The Special Project" from head to toe, revealing him completely skinless.

I then removed all of the following organs: the entire brain; cerebellum; brain stem; thyroid; Adam's apple; larynx; thymus; heart; lungs; kidneys; pancreas; stomach; intestines: placing them into a large trash bag, which I tied t up and put into a furnace which burned it into ashes across the hall.

Once that was done, I sewed up "The Special Project" from head to toe and used another lathering up all over his naked body including massaging his feet and legs including everywhere else. Typing up his hands, I then lifted him off of the cold steel-slab table, I placed "The Special Project" into an extra large glass container pool which had bright reflecting yellow lights inside before pressing the button to eradicate further foul smells altogether as this special tub began its work.

After cleaning up the floor inside the large secret lab, I checked to see how "The Special Project" was doing as I watched the last remaining purges of gas leaving his entire body (he was face down in the glass container pool).

Soon afterwards, I went across the hall and removed all of my clothes from head to toe: completely naked and barefoot as I went into the bathroom to take a long shower which lasted 37 minutes before I left, but went back to the secret lab to check on my special masterpiece. Once I did that, I turned out the lights of the lab and went all the way to my bedroom, where I went to sleep, methodically planning the next steps of my eccentric process of perfecting the masterpiece."

 

[49ersfootball]

August 22nd, 1978:
ABC NEWS BULLETIN: SANDINISTA REBELS SEIZE NATIONAL PALACE IN MANAGUA
*Growing unrest with the Somoza family's 42-year control of the Central American country seriously escalates to point of no return.
*Backlash grows due to possible government involvement in the assassination of Pedro Joaquin Chamorrow Cardenal, most prominent critic of Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle on January 10th.

Nicaraguan President General Anastasio "Tacho" Somoza Debayle, the son of the late Anastasio Somoza Garcia & brother of then-Nicaraguan President Luis Somoza, came from a wealthy family who had been controlling Nicaragua since 1936, where the Somoza family had enjoyed considerably strong support from the US including then-Presidents Franklin Roosevelt (1933-1945), Harry Truman (1945-1953), Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961), John F. Kennedy (1961-1963), Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969), Richard Nixon (1969-1974), Gerald Ford (1974-1975) & Nelson Rockefeller (1975-1977).

Somoza, who graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point & his son, also named Anastasio, attended Harvard University; took over the Presidency in 1967 that included a 2-year period when he temporarily gave up the Presidency but continued running Nicaragua through a three-man Military Junta.

However, things weren't always what they seemed because signs pointed to trouble for some time according to foreign policy experts & Latin American analysts.

Upon his inauguration as the 40th President of the United States on January 20th, 1977, US President Jerry Brown strongly criticized the Somoza government for the human rights violations & threatened to cut off US economic & military aid if the Nicaraguan President didn't make moves to democracy.

Following the shocking assassination of Chamorro on January 10th & plus a lacking non-conclusive investigation into the murder, Chamorro's supporters retaliated by leading general strikes which lasted for 2 weeks & instigating anti-government demonstrations, which led to armed ugly clashes between the demonstrators & government forces.

Suddenly, things came to a head when on August 22nd, heavily armed Sandinista rebels (disguising themselves as National Guard members) raided the National Palace in Managua, the capital city. It resulted in the deaths of 6 National Guardsmen, who tried to push back the rebels.

The Sandinistas held more than 1,000 hostages: government officials, members of the Chamber of Deputies & government workers until the Somoza government met their demands of freeing 59 political prisoners; plus providing safe passage to leave the country for them & for the insurgents including paying large cash ransoms.

The Somoza government retaliated with vicious precision: violently putting down attempted uprisings in Matagalpa, Masaya, Leon, Chinandega, Diriamba & Esteli. Estimation of civilian deaths ranged from 1,500 to doubling that number in major increase.

Thousands of Nicaraguans left the country altogether & with them, the flight of capital & to other countries was estimated to have amounted more than $100 million.

The US tried unsuccessfully calling for motion that the Organization of American States mediate the ongoing conflict. This proposal was rejected by the foreign ministers of the OAS countries during a meeting that had been called by Venezuela in September. In response, the Somoza government agreed to accept friendly cooperation of outside countries & the OAS sponsored a visit to the troubled Central American country by team composing of representatives of the Dominican Republic, Guatemala & the United States.

US Secretary of State Walter Mondale recommended a nationwide plebiscite be held to determining the desires of the Nicaraguan people on the resignation of President Somoza, who refused to leave office saying his term expires in 1981. Somoza did agree only to a referendum that would determine whether opposition members will be included in serving as Cabinet members of his government. In response, the opposition rejected any considerations of a plebiscite.

By adhering to the Brown administration's policy conditioning economic aid upon acceptable human rights performances, the United States severely reduced Nicaragua's share of its foreign aid budget severely to small amount earmarked for non-military purposes. By November 17th, the Human Rights Commission of the Organization of American States reported that the Nicaraguan National Guard committed widespread atrocities during the August-September fighting. Once again, Somoza strongly denied these allegations.

 

[49ersfootball]

August 26th, 1978:

NEWS FROM THE VATICAN: LUCIANI ELECTED NEW POPE
*Albino Cardinal Luciani elected Pope of the Roman Catholic Church by Sacred College of Cardinals.
*Luciani succeeds the late Pope Paul VI, who died on August 6th.

News coming out of Vatican City as Albino Cardinal Luciani, the Patriarch of Venice, was elected as the 263rd Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church by Sacred College of Cardinals. Observers & experts viewed the choice of the 65-year-old Italian prelate surprised many Vatican observers because this occurred on the 2nd day of the secret conclave & Luciani wasn't even considered a contender for the Papacy to succeed the late Pope Paul VI, who died 20 days ago. He chose the papal name John Paul I.

 

[49ersfootball]

COMING UP IN THE CURSED AMERICAN PRESIDENCY
The assassination of Chilean President General Augusto Pinochet
& the ugly ramifications as the Argentinean-Chilean War escalates into full-blown chaos!

​

 

[49ersfootball]

August 29th, 1978
BREAKING: PRESIDENT JERRY BROWN INVITES SADAT & BEGIN TO CAMP DAVID
*President Brown's biggest foreign policy gamble: working aggressively to have peace treaty between Egypt & Israel.
*US Secretary of State Walter Mondale has been working behind the scenes of making this diplomatic coup happen.

President Jerry Brown, Vice President Jimmy Carter, US Secretary of State Walter Mondale & White House Chief of Staff Gray Davis at Camp David.

One of the biggest foreign policy challenges facing the Brown administration was achieving peace in the Middle East between neighboring countries Egypt & Israel. Despite a 1974 truce, both sides continued arming for future conflicts. To make matters worse, the Arab nations refused to recognize Israel's right to exist as an independent nation or even negotiating with Israeli diplomats on working out lasting peace.

This was one of the top foreign policy priorities of the Brown administration.

When Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat, the largest of Israel's Arab neighbors, visited Washington DC in April 1977 to visit President Brown, the two Heads of State found the basis for mutual respect & friendship during their private discussions. In the following months, Brown & Sadat kept in touch with each other in private letters that Sadat later credited with influencing dramatic turnaround in his thinking. In November 1977, Sadat announced he would be willing to visit the State of Israel if it would help bring peace & Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin immediately issued an official formal invitation.

On November 19th-21st, 1977, Sadat visited Israel; addressing the Israeli Parliament & meeting privately with Prime Minister Begin in their first face-to-face talks between Arab & Israeli leaders.

Formal peace conference began in Cairo on December 14th, 1977 with Israeli, Egyptian & American representatives in attendance. However, other Arab nations refused to send their diplomats by denouncing Sadat as a traitor to the Arab world, calling it "Slap in the face" for even talking to the Israelis. Begin flew to the United States in mid-December 1977 to discuss his bargaining position with President Brown at the White House & then flew to Egypt on Christmas Day 1977 for another meeting with Sadat, but the talks didn't bring specific results.

Finding a way of breaking the ongoing deadlock, President Brown personally invited both Sadat & Begin to join him at the Presidential retreat, Camp David in MD.

September 25th, 1978:
TRIUMPHANT CAMP DAVID SUMMIT
*Major foreign policy accomplishment of the Brown administration.
*Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat & Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin sign peace treaty at the White House on live television.
*More details to be worked out on later date.

Completely sealed off from the entire world by massive walls of secrecy for nearly 13 days: US President Jerry Brown, Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat & Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin bargained with each other while the world had anxiously were waiting the outcome of the Camp David Summit.

Finally on September 25th, 1978, the three leaders emerged from seclusion at Camp David announcing the successful conclusion of their negotiations. Due to the specific prerequisites, Sadat had given up his adamant demands of an independent Palestinian state while Begin agreed to return the Sinai Peninsula to the Egyptians, which the Israelis had captured from the Third Arab-Israeli War of 1967.

After flying on Marine One to the White House, Brown, Sadat & Begin appeared on live television to sign two agreements, which established frameworks for final conclusion of a peace treaty between the Egyptians & Israelis including principles for general peace in the Middle East.

Final agreements will be detailed at a later date.

ABC News Poll: September 25th, 1978
(Job Approval of President Jerry Brown)
Approve: 53%
Disapprove: 42%

 

[49ersfootball]

 Chapter X: The Announcement with Ramifications

October 1st, 1978:
BREAKING: Speculation brewing that President Jerry Brown will NOT be seeking reelection in 1980.
*Sources caution President Brown hasn't made final decision.
*White House Press Secretary Jody Powell confirms President will hold press briefing in a few days.
*VP Jimmy Carter notified of the President's decision during daily lunch at the White House.
*Political observers view Carter as front-runner for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 1980.
*GOPers ecstatic that Brown isn't seeking reelection; vow to win back the Presidency in 1980 & flip control of Congress.

With the 1978 Midterm elections less than a month away, Americans woke up to one of the major political bombshells in American politics when President Jerry Brown released a statement that read the following: "I'm excited about the future that America has to offer and the challenges ahead. However, in order to keep the Presidency from being hamstrung by partisanship. I believe it's time to pass the torch to a new generation of leaders in the new decade.

Today, I am announcing that I will not be seeking reelection as President of the United States. I pledge to spend the next twenty-seven months left in my term working on balancing the federal budget with zero-based budgeting, improving our economy with job creation for all Americans in all 51 States, pushing for Health Care Reform, getting our government working for the American people and so much more to get done.

Serving as the 40th President of the United States has been the honor of my life. I want to thank you, the American people for the honor of serving you. New leaders by January 20, 1981 will pick up the torch and lead this great nation of ours into the new decade with more optimism and integrity."

Sam Donaldson of ABC News reported that President Brown's bombshell changing retirement announcement came completely out of nowhere considering Brown had several key foreign policy victories such as the Camp David Summit, which resulted in the signing of major agreements by Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat & Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, that will set up the framework of potential peace treaty between Egypt & Israel.

The political ramifications of Brown's retirement announcement has both political parties jockeying for the Presidency. Among Dems: VP Jimmy Carter is likely viewed as the heavy favorite for the Democratic Party presidential nomination & United States Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) appears likely to run as well.

For the GOP: Expect a heavy crowded field running for the Republican Party presidential nomination such as former CA Governor Ronald Reagan (R), former CIA Director George HW Bush, US Reps. John B. Anderson (R-IL) & Phil Crane (R-IL), United States Senators Bob Dole (R-KS), Howard Baker (R-TN) & Lowell Weicker (R-CT) including former US Treasury Secretary John B. Connally (R-TX).

To Be Continued: President Brown holds press briefing.

 

[49ersfootball]

October 5th, 1978:
ABC NEWS SPECIAL REPORT: OFFICIAL MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT BY PRESIDENT JERRY BROWN NOT SEEKING RE-ELECTION IN 1980

President Jerry Brown officially announcing he will not seek reelection in 1980 during press conference in the White House.

Less than 4 days after releasing a statement with his shocking retirement announcement, President Jerry Brown held a press conference inside the Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC. He discussed several of the daily topics of the day: Ongoing War between Argentina & Chile; Inflation Crisis; ongoing battles with Congress over the Federal Budget, etc.,

President Brown: "Good afternoon my fellow Americans. Just about four days ago, I released a statement announcing that I won't be seeking reelection to another term as your President in 1980. Now I want to explain to many of you why...

First, America is facing lots of challenges both at home and also abroad. As I elevated my decision on the future with my wife and your First Lady, Linda Ronstadt Brown, we prayed, elevated and discussed the future going forward; even members of my family have been involved in the evaluation process about the path forward for our nation. However, over the course of the last few months, I have been debating about whether to undergo another exhausting political campaign, which is making things very difficult for me in fulfilling my duties as the 40th President of the United States. And while I am very grateful to all of your passionate support throughout the years including those supporting our administration's efforts, it's becoming more evident that with hyper political partisanship, I cannot let the Presidency go under vicious partisan attacks with the international and foreign policy challenges we're tackling right now. Now therefore, I am deciding to NOT seek reelection as President of the United States. Neither did I make this decision lightly, nor did I shrink from it because this was an extremely difficult decision to make.

I carefully weighed the options available over the course of the past few months, especially during the Summer as the world is watching a horrific deadly onslaught and an illegal invasion into Chile by the Argentinians, which has taken hundreds to thousands of lives. Now isn't the appropriate time for the Presidency being pigeon-holed by hyper partisanship especially at a time when the international community is watching what's happening in Chile including other foreign policy hot-spots.

I will continue doing the people's business, serving as a full-time President every day and every night. Until January 20th, 1981, when a new chief executive will be taking the solemn Oath of Office.

The Brown-Carter years have been a time of renewal and incredible progress of changing the political discourse that had infected our nation's trust in government. America is more respected in the world more than ever before. And still, there is a lot of business which remains to be finished, to forming a more perfect Union. Every single day, step by step and minute by minute. With the next twenty-seven months left in my term, that's exactly what I intend on doing and beyond my presidency. I shall always be forever grateful to you, the American people, for giving me the chance to serve. Thank you very much."

As President Brown left the Briefing Room, several questions were being pestered & thrown out, to which he didn't respond. However, White House internal sources said that Brown made the final decision of not seeking re-election late last week following vacation with his wife, First Lady Linda Ronstadt Brown at Camp David. Sources also confirmed that the President reportedly informed VP Jimmy Carter on the morning of September 29th during their daily White House lunch. Accordingly, Carter was shocked, as neither he nor the Presidential Cabinet actually expected the shocking move & already began preparations for a whirlwind campaign swing in several key states for the 1978 Midterms. It was based on the assumption of a Brown re-election in two years, that Carter would have a cleared field for 1984, the prospect of re-election in 1980 was Brown's. However, following the controversial withdrawal of US military personnel troops out of Thailand including nuclear troops from West Germany, Brown began bleeding political support from all sides during his first year in office which continued throughout his second year with the Midterms around the corner. While Carter was seen as less liberal than Brown, he was always seen as a loyal VP for the past two years.

According to White House circles, Brown plans to make an official endorsement of Carter following the 1978 Midterms, sometime in the late Fall. With his shocking retirement announcement, Brown faces the prospect of being the first sitting President not to seek re-election since Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880. So far, it's quite unclear what Brown intends on doing after leaving office on January 20th, 1981. Confidants expect him to do either of the following: pursue construction of a presidential library (location not announced at this time); writing memoirs & possibly plot a campaign for the United States Senate in his home state of CA either in 1982 or 1986 in the future. It's unknown what Brown intends on doing as guessing game of his future endeavors will be quite intriguing.

 

[49ersfootball]

November 7th, 1978:
MIDTERM ELECTION RESULTS: DEMOCRATS MAINTAIN MAJORITIES IN CONGRESS
*Republicans pick up 15 seats in the US House of Representatives; 3 seats in the United States Senate; 6 Governorships.
*Democrats win popular vote in the US House by margin of 8.9 percentage points.
*Rising stars Bill Clinton elected Governor of Arkansas; Newt Gingrich flips Georgia's 6th Congressional District.

The 1978 Midterm elections resulted in the Democratic Party keeping both houses of Congress; maintaining their majorities in both the US House of Representatives & United States Senate including US State & Territory Governorships in 51 States including several of the US Territories, which occurred during the middle of President Jerry Brown's term in office.

US House of Representatives: DEM HOLD
Seats Before: 294 Dems
143 GOPers
Seats After: 279 Dems
157 GOPers

United States Senate: DEM HOLD
Seats Before: 63 Dems
39 GOPers
Seats After: 60 Dems
42 GOPers

US State-Territory Governorships
In 37 States & 2 Territories, the GOPers gained 6 seats in NV, Guam, OR, SD, NE, MN, WI, PA, TN & TX. Dems flipped ME, NH, SC & KS.
Seats Before: 38 Dems
12 GOPers
1 Independent
1 ICM
Seats After: 33 Dems (ME, KS, SC, NH)
19 GOPers (NV, SD, Guam, PA, MN, WI, NE, OR, TN, TX)
1 ICM

 

[49ersfootball]

November 27th, 1978: New Gallup Polling Survey:
President Jerry Brown Job Approval
Approve: 57%
Disapprove: 38%

December 4th, 1978: Carter announces exploratory committee in preparation of launching campaign for the Presidency in 1980

Vice President Jimmy Carter during press conference at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, confirming he's forming exploratory committee in launching campaign for the White House in 1980.

On December 4th, Vice President Jimmy Carter held a press conference that lasted more than 2 HRS inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where the Vice President confirmed he is indeed forming an exploratory committee with the likely launching of announcing his presidential campaign sometime in the next few weeks before the end of the year. Carter, who served in the United States Naval Reserves from 1946 to 1953, also served in the GA State Senate representing the 14th District from 1963 to 1967; before venturing an unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic Party gubernatorial nomination in 1966 losing to the infamous segregationist Lester Maddox (who won the Governorship that year). In 1970, Carter made a successful second attempt at the GA Governor's Mansion defeating Hal Suit (R) in a landslide carrying 151 out of 159 counties garnering 620,419 votes (59.3 percent of the statewide vote) while Suit garnered 424,983 votes (40.6 percent); Carter served as GA's 76th Governor from January 12th, 1971 to January 14th, 1975, but was prevented from succeeding himself due to the one-term rule at the time. Carter ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 1976 despite winning majority of the Southern states & Caucuses in other parts of the country, ultimately falling short in the primaries.

Observers & political analysts weren't surprised when then-CA Governor Jerry Brown tapped Carter to serve as Vice President: boosting the Democratic Party into victory that November 1976. Carter is expected to have overwhelming support from majority of national Democrats including several Democratic Governors, United States Senators & the like. When asked about Carter's likely presidential campaign launch, United States Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) had no comment, preferring to wait until after the holidays to making a decision on possible presidential campaign of his own.

 

[49ersfootball]

December 5th, 1978
BREAKING: UNITED STATES SENATOR JOHN TOWER (R-TX) KILLED IN PLANE CRASH
*Details still being worked out & investigation into the plane crash underway.
*Reports circulate no survivors aboard the twin commuter plane.
*Eyewitnesses confirm the plane hit nose first.
*TX Governor Dolph Briscoe (D) increasingly likely appointing US Rep. Bob Krueger (D-TX) to Tower's US Senate seat sometime next week.
*Special election to occur in April 1979 with runoff election in May 1979.
*Flags across TX & at the US Capitol at half-mast.
*Arrangements on funeral services to be detailed later in a few days.
*Condolences from colleagues in the United States Senate; TX congressional delegation.

Texans woke up to the shocking news when word came from Brunswick, GA that United States Senator John G. Tower (R-TX), who was recently reelected to his 3rd full 6-year term (4th term overall) on November 7th defeating US Rep. Bob Krueger (D-TX), was killed in a plane crash while the Senator along with 21 others were en route to Brunswick.

The twin-engine turboprop plane was en-route from Atlanta to Brunswick when it crashed and burned while on its destination to the Glenco Jetport.

"I saw the plane when it was in trouble. It started it on its nose and I knew it was in trouble," said James Griner, who lives a quarter of a mile from the Glenco Jetport.

"I went completely around the plane looking for people, but I couldn't find anyone," Griner said. "I went to the place but I couldn't get to it because of the fire. When I got to it, it looked compacted, it was a mess. I looked for survivors around the plane and I couldn't find a soul."

The plane crashed into a thicket of trees narrowly missing a mobile home park about a mile away. Researchers had to bulldoze 160-yard path in order to reach the site.

Leslie Konnet of WSBG-TV said the plane crashed landed nose first.

"It looks like it went right straight in," said Frank Manning, a pilot who flew over the crash site. By the time firefighters could run hoses off the nearest road & extinguish the fire, little was left of the plane.

 

[49ersfootball]

December 4th, 1978: Dianne Feinstein (D) succeeds the late San Francisco Mayor George Moscone (D), who was assassinated on November 27th, to become the 38th Mayor of San Francisco; Feinstein would win full 4-year terms in 1979 & 1983, serving until January 8th, 1988.

December 6th, 1978: The Spanish Constitution officially restores the country's democratic government.

December 11th, 1978: During the Lufthansa Heist, 6 men robbed a Lufthansa cargo facility in NYC, NY St's JFK International Airport.
2 million Iranians protesting against the authoritarian rule of the Shah in Iran, which has escalated tension with international ramifications.

December 16th, 1978: "The Mystery of Mamo" is released in cinemas in Japan.

December 22nd, 1978: Operation Soberania is launched by Argentina against Chile.

December 25th, 1978: Vietnam launches major offensive attack against the Khmer Rouge dictatorship of Cambodia.

December 27th, 1978: The Constitution of Spain gets approved in voter-referendum, which officially ended 40 years of military dictatorship.