South Avenue And Watergate

Last month, the Town of Oriental issued a "press release" ostensibly announcing a settlement agreement between me and the Town of Oriental ending my law suit against the Town concerning the closing of South Avenue. I have no direct knowledge of the anonymous author of the "press release," but that person inadvertently hit on the essence of my suit by tying it to Watergate.

The connection? Neither Richard Nixon in 1972 nor Mayor Sage and the Town Board in 2012 wanted their hands tied. Mayor Sage put his concerns in writing here. I called my post of July 3, 2012 "The Heart of The Matter." It remains the heart of the matter.

I was seventeen years old, learning to be a naval officer, when it was first impressed on me that government officials, even naval officers, were constrained by law. That's what Rule of Law is about - tying government's hands. That's what Senator Sam Ervin thought, and I am proud to join his company.

For what it's worth, I served in the Pentagon from 1972 through 1975, had a good friend on Vice President Ford's staff, three friends on the National Security Council staff, and was good friends with some Republicans in high places. I had no inside knowledge, but knew a bit more than the Washington Post printed. It was about Rule of Law.

"PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—March 17, 2015—Oriental, NC

To paraphrase Gerald Ford, “Our long David Cox nightmare is over.” A full release including a dismissal with prejudice of all lawsuits and appeals filed against the Town by Oriental resident David Cox has been executed by Cox and Oriental Mayor Bill Sage on behalf of the Town...."

I'm not sure the author of the Town's press release, who concealed his or her identity, really understood Watergate. For those whose memory is a bit hazy, here's a link to a musical account of the scandal.

Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean

Performed by The Creep
Recorded 1973
Written by Bob Warren

We're Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean
The way we've been treated is really obscene
To think that a bug worth hardly a shrug
Could end up by getting us tossed in the jug
We all got the gate for no reason or rhyme
You'd think we committed some horrible crime
Our minds may be dirty but our hands are clean

We're Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean

We're Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean
Our job was to see that the White House stayed green
We might have had flaws, like bending the laws
But God only knows it was for a good cause

There's no power shortage where we were concerned
And what little profit resulted we earned
For lovelier fellows you never have seen
Than Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean

We're Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean
Our pasts have been fat but the future looks lean
With back to the wall, we're taking a fall
But dammit we only robbed Pete to pay Paul

Just when we were getting to be well-to-do
The Watergate turned into our Waterloo
And now everybody is out to demean
Poor Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean

Yes we're Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean
We're perfectly willing to spill every bean
We've nothing to hide, with God on our side
He knows we were only along for the ride

And so it will come as a terrible blow
There's one little thing that we think you should know
Whatever we say isn't quite what we mean
We're Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean

Oh yes we're Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean
Things won't be the same when we're gone from the scene
But people will still recall with a thrill
A sell-out performance on Capitol Hill
It just isn't fair to take all of the blame
When all we were doing was playing the game
Now all of Washington's caught in-between
Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean

[lyrics transcribed by listening. Send corrections via the contact link on the main page]