Republicans tried to sneak a provision into the Omnibus Budget Bill that would have permitted the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Senate and House Budget Committees, and anyone they designated, to gain access to the tax returns of any American.
Democrat Kent Conrad caught the provision and started making a stink. At first, Republicans tried to say that the provisions was a simple error but it soon became known that the provision was the work of Republican Ernest Istook.
Republicans then tried to distance themselves from the measure. For instance, Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa noted that the provision would "bring us back to the doorstep to the days of President Nixon..."
Is it possible that the GOP Congress is trying to send a message to President Bush? Consider that the very same spending bill also contained a provision setting aside more than two million dollars to repurchase the Presidential Yacht, Sequoia.
Here is a photo gallery of the yacht.
Many Presidents used the Sequoia until it was sold in 1977. No President is more associated with the Sequoia than Richard M. Nixon. This Sequoia preservation site notes that Nixon used the yacht more than any other President.
The Sequoia has a one particular place in history:
President Nixon decided on board the Sequoia on August 5, 1974 to resign the Presidency and it was also upon the Sequoia this evening that he informed his family of the decision to resign . Usually, on each cruise, the President had two drinks of 20 year old Ballantine Scotch on the rocks , however this night, he told the crewmember for the first and only time to "Leave the bottle"... In the dark and alone (except for the bottle of scotch) President Nixon sat in the main Salon playing on the piano "God Bless America".
So, do you think the Congress is trying to send a message to President Bush? Nah, me neither.
haha, DM you crack me up with the last line.
Posted by: Peatey at November 21, 2004 11:13 PMPeatey:
I have long had a strange fascination with Richard Nixon (it must have been some long forgotten childhood trauma).
I posted that because the line "leave the bottle" is so completely out of character. I have had it bookmarked for ages and was looking for an excuse to link to it.
The message wasn't from Congress to Bush, it was from the Republicans to Arkansas Democrats. Early in 2001 some businessmen from Little Rock tried to purchase the Sequoia with the intention of parking it next to the Clinton Presidential library. Turns out it was Republican Congressman Bill Young from Florida who was responsible for the line item reagarding the Sequoia. His spokesperson said he was afraid that it would be used as a riverboat casino somewhere. Considering it costs about $500,000 a year to run and only holds 49 passengers I think the riverboat scenario is unlikely.
Posted by: Kathy at November 28, 2004 04:22 PMLadies & gentlemen,
Please do not continue to violate the copyright of our website. You will note that both of our Yacht websites are copyrighted and we will prosecute further violations. Thank You
Posted by: Col. Timothy Besmer at November 30, 2004 02:28 AMP.S. After the week of very bad press our National Historic site the USS SEQUOIA has received through no fault of our own, and all of the mis-use of our website (s) content(s) we must ask the copyright violations to now stop. We have endeavored to preserve and protect the Sequoia for all Americans both Republican, Democrat and any other political philosophy. We do not use public funds. I am sure you all understand why we make this simple request to please respect our copyrights. Thank You all very much.
Posted by: Col. Timothy Besmer at November 30, 2004 02:52 AMMr. Bessemer:
I don't have a problem with the Sequoia or your organization (perhaps you are confusing this site and with the Free Republic). I think it is a great national treasure and I am happy that you and Mr. Silverman have dedicated so much of your time and resources to her. My point is you are doing a very good job so where does Bill Young get off putting $2 million into the Congressional Budget to repurchase her? He claims to be afraid that you will allow her to be sold and used as a riverboat casino.
http://www.changeforamerica.com/community/node/view/2048
It seems that comments like those are much more harmful to your organization than the links to your website which are generating interest in the Sequoia.
Col. Besmer:
I made no derogatory comments about you, the Sequoia, or your organization. In addition, in no way did this site violate your copyright as the link to your site and the brief quote from your material is clearly fair use.
As I noted above, I have kept your site bookmarked for some time now as I enjoy it and appreciate the fact that you help preserve the history of the Sequoia.
If you or your organization received any bad press, it was not here.
Kathy & Dwight,
Thanks for the quick replies. You were caught up in a day full of answering emails and reports of web abuse of our sites. I apologize if I offended you. You both must believe only 1/10th of the propoganda you read in the paper or elsewhere.
In a press release I issued last Saturday to the (AP) and major networks, I reinforced our position that the Sequoia is not for sale for 2 Million Dollars to anyone including the United States Government. We just had a survey of the Yacht and the value was in excess of 9.5 million. Why would we settle for 2 Million?
So many rumors of "profit" abound. We have invested millions to preserve and protect the Sequoia for all Americans. We just recently gave three "pro bono" cruises for disabled and injured Iraq war veterans as a special "thank you " to these men and women. We asked nothing of our Government.
We would never, EVER sell her for a casino. I do not like the way the press portrayed this as a "perk" or "boon" for President Bush. We extend use of the vessel to the administration and members of the House no matter which party. Bill Clinton was our guest on board Sequoia, during the last night of the 2000 Bush / Gore debates, which he viewed on big screen televisions in our Main Salon. Please feel free to email me directly at sequoia_artifacts@yahoo.com and I would be happy to send you a copy of my press release. Only a few papers carried it. Sadly, the rest wanted innuendo and gossip instead of fact.
Thank you for your support ofour National Historic site that will never be a casino as long as I am involved with her. No hard feelings Kathy.
Posted by: Col. Timothy Besmer at December 2, 2004 01:01 AM