BOVARD: Ford’s expansive use of the pardon helped pave the way for George H.W. Bush’s Iran-Contra pardons which largely demolished the investigation of Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh. On Christmas Eve 1992, Bush pardoned six Reagan administration officials for their roles in Iran-Contra,

Nixon resigned because he knew that he would be demolished in a Senate trial. But President Gerald Ford compounded the damage from Nixon’s presidency when he issued a sweeping pardon of his predecessor that practically condemned future generations of Americans to being governed by lawless presidents.  --Jim Bovard

Nixon’s Resignation and America’s Impunity Democracy https://t.co/gSyjpO0W3B via @libertarianinst

— St. Michael, the Archangel (@aveng_angel) August 13, 2024

August 8 was the fiftieth anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s resignation. Unfortunately, that anniversary spurred little reflections or lamentations on how lawless the federal government has become in the subsequent half-century.

Aside from his Watergate abuses, Nixon was guilty of illegally invading a foreign country (Cambodia), perpetuating the war in Vietnam for political purposes and his 1972 reelection campaign, violating the rights of tens of thousands of Americans with the illegal FBI COINTELPRO program, sanctioning CIA violence and subversion around the globe, and many other offenses. Nixon also created Amtrak. 

Nixon resigned because he knew that he would be demolished in a Senate trial. But President Gerald Ford compounded the damage from Nixon’s presidency when he issued a sweeping pardon of his predecessor that practically condemned future generations of Americans to being governed by lawless presidents.

Ford’s rationale for the pardon deserves a place in the pantheon of American political bullshit. In his televised announcement of the pardon, Ford declared that, if Nixon were put on trial, “the credibility of our free institutions of government would again be challenged at home and abroad.” Ford also claimed that prosecuting Nixon would banish “the tranquility to which this nation has been restored by the events of recent weeks” after Nixon resigned. But Ford’s action made it easier for subsequent presidents to disturb “tranquility” and practically everything else.

Many people assume that President Ford pardoned Nixon only for Watergate. In reality, Ford’s pardon was so sweeping—forgiving Nixon for any and every possible crime he may have committed—that it would have exempted Nixon even from charges of genocide, 

“Now, therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States, pursuant to the pardon power conferred upon me by Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 20, 1969, through August 9, 1974.”

Continue reading this excellent piece by James Bovard.

Find more by Bovard on Nixon here.

Find Bovard's books here.

Last Rights: The Death of American Liberty https://t.co/yBWhGdSQQH via @amazon

— St. Michael, the Archangel (@aveng_angel) August 13, 2024

KIM DOTCOM: Kamala Harris was the single vote majority to increase tax enforcement against tips in the hospitality industry. As a result the IRS introduced a tip reporting program. Now she’s calling for tax free tips because Trump did.

Kamala Harris was the single vote majority to increase tax enforcement against tips in the hospitality industry. As a result the IRS introduced a tip reporting program. Now she’s calling for tax free tips because Trump did. pic.twitter.com/S3h3uxnvwS

— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) August 13, 2024

CDC DIRECTOR, MANDY COHEN: We need to get better at real-time vaccination data, so we know who's not vaccinated and we can target resources in the appropriate way

CDC Director, Mandy Cohen, wants to know who is not vaccinated so they can “target resources”. “Does that mean they’re going to send out the vaccine police? This has already been done in China, the testing ground.” --Sudden and Unexpected

The vx database of every state is used ONLY to target the unvx’d.

It is never used for the health of the public. Every state and the CDC have the ability to analyze safety and effectiveness of vaccines. They purposely do not do so.

They have the ability to end all debate in one… https://t.co/QC24FozMJy

— John Beaudoin, Sr. aka, Coquin de Chien (@JohnBeaudoinSr) August 13, 2024

MASTERJOHN: Multivitamins have almost no effect on lifespan but are good for health span

from Chris Masterjohn, "Will Multivitamins Help You Live Longer?" August 12, 2024.

He opens with a new observational study on how multivitamins might actually slightly decrease your lifespan. 

I like the opening, 

THE SHORT ANSWER

The best way to get all your micronutrients in is to have an average daily intake of one or two ounces of liver, one or two oysters, a tablespoon or two of unfortified nutritional yeast, several servings of something rich in vitamin C such as bell peppers or strawberries, and a large volume of potassium-rich foods, such as the lean portions of meat, eggs, and milk; legumes, such as lentils, peas, and beans; tubers such as potatoes; and fruits and vegetables. If you don’t follow these rules of thumb, track your diet in Cronometer (see How to Track Your Diet in Cronometer) to make sure you are hitting all the micronutrient targets. If you cannot meet your micronutrient targets with foods, use a high-quality multivitamin such as Adapt Naturals and Seeking Health Optimal Multivitamin Chewable. If you really want to optimize, run the Comprehensive Nutritional Screening and use the screening and Cronometer to keep tweaking till everything is fully on target.

If you have a loved one who is not motivated to do any of this, have them take a run-of-the-mill drugstore multivitamin. The data support that it has almost no effect on lifespan but is good for the health span.

MULTIVITAMINS ARE FAR FROM USELESS

The Benefits of a Multivitamin:

They reduce high blood pressure [1] and they provide a number of brain-boosting benefits, ranging from improvements in short-term memory [2] to reductions in stress, anxiety, fatigue, and confusion.[3] Older adults who take multivitamins spend 2.5 fewer weeks a year being sick than those who don’t,[4] and there’s some evidence that multivitamins can even reduce the risk of cataracts,[5] a common cause of cloudy vision. 

Multivitamins are especially important in pregnancy when women are medically advised to take a special formulation known as a prenatal vitamin. Use of multivitamins during pregnancy reduces the risk of miscarriage[6] and birth defects,[7] and it may even reduce the risk of childhood cancers.[8] Multivitamins also seem to prevent preeclampsia,[9] a condition that causes nausea, vomiting, high blood pressure, and headache, and when left untreated can lead to seizures and even the death of the mother.

At this point, the benefits of multivitamins come to a screeching halt. 

Multis do nothing to reduce the risk of heart disease or cancer,[10] the leading causes of death,[11] and as a result, they don’t make us live any longer.[12] Although most studies show that multivitamins are safe,[13] they appear to worsen the risk of age-related macular degeneration,[14] the leading cause of blindness in older adults.

Keep reading . . . 

Will Multivitamins Help You Live Longer? by Chris Masterjohn, PhD

Here are the facts.

Read on Substack

DR. SHAWN BAKER: Could a low carb/ketogenic/carnivore diet prevent arthritis?

Could a low carb/ketogenic/carnivore diet prevent arthritis? pic.twitter.com/jdHALPaQjJ

— Dr Shawn Baker 🥩 (@SBakerMD) August 11, 2024