By James Perry
Part II of my coverage of America’s slide from the most respected nation to the America of today is also keyed to the 1970s. One helping person who was a Democratic supporter of Richard M. Nixon being re-elected for a second term was George Wallace, the long time governor of Alabama. George Wallace was a “Dixiecrat,” was very conservative and did not have any use for Richard Nixon’s competitor who happened to be a liberal Democrat, George McGovern, a senator from South Dakota. According to H.R. Haldeman’s diary which he kept daily while serving as President Nixon’s chief of staff, whenever McGovern happened to pull up close to Nixon in the polls, Nixon would tell Haldeman to call George Wallace and get him to start campaigning harder, which would always effectively lower McGovern’s poll numbers. This can be confirmed in H.R. Haldeman’s book, published after Nixon’s second term was terminated because of the Watergate debacle. The book is “The Haldeman Diaries” published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons in 1994. This book is a good read for those who want to know what really went on in the second Nixon presidency.

Moving into the 1980s, Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the new President of the United States on January 20, 1981. Some Americans breathed a sigh of relief and had expectations of a brighter future after four years of the Jimmy Carter presidency, along with the long yawn of Gerald Ford’s years, and before that the fake hypocrisy of the Watergate comedy. By the way, the 52 American US Embassy hostages which were taken during Jimmy Carter’s Presidency on November 4, 1978, were released the early morning of January 20, 1981, when Ronald Reagan was sworn in as President of the United States. Ronald Reagan had given Iran strict orders to release the hostages or get ready for a real show of force, and it would not be hampered by a sandstorm.

On May 1, 1981, President Reagan nominated Clarence Thomas as Assistant Secretary of Education for the Office of Civil Rights and he was quickly confirmed at the age of 32. This led to his being nominated, and after a strong resistance from Senator Joe Biden and his committee, Thonas was sworn in as a justice to the Supreme Court after retirement of Justice Thurgood Marshall in 1991. President George Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to be the next Supreme Court Justice on July 1, 1991. Thomas received his Supreme Court commission on October 23,1991.

Also, on July 7, 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to be the first female justice of the Supreme Court. She was confirmed September 21, 1981, by the Senate with 99 to 0 vote. O’Connor announced her retirement on July 1, 2005.

Other things that happened during the ’80s: the CD replaced the cassette and 8-track tapes, Mt. Saint Helen erupted in May of 1980, the Iran-Iraq war started on September 1980, the Columbia Space Shuttle arrives in 1980, the Falklands War starts between the United Kingdom and Argentina in April 1982, HIV/AIDS shows its ugly self in September 1982, Michael Jackson’s Thriller is released in November 1982, The internet starts operation in January 1988, The Titanic is found in September 1985, the Challenger explosion happens over Texas in January 1986, Chernobyl happens in April of 1986, Pan Am flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland December 21, 1988, killing 259 passengers and 11 on the ground, and the Berlin wall which separated the city of Berlin falls, and the city is reunited.

The so-called Iran-Contra started August 1985. The war was actually caused by Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega who was the Soviet-backed leader of the Nicaraguan Sandinistas trying to overthrow the Honduras Contras, who were favorable to and backed by the United States. Ortega’s plan was to take Honduras and eventually all of Latin America and install his socialist government throughout. If Ronald Reagon, with the help of Ollie North, had not countered Ortega and the Russians there would today be Russian troops, T-72 Russian tanks and Hind gunship helicopters along the US-Mexican border.
On May 18, 1952, a baby boy was born in Poteet, Texas. The proud parents were John Byron Strait and Doris Jean Couser Strait. Little did they know that 30 years later their son would start a career from Texas that put their son on top of the most successful musical career in country-western music. This started in Texas with no help from Nashville, Tennessee. The country scene in Nashville had changed from the good country western music to a new sound that most did not like. This Texas singer put together one of the best bands of all time. He could sing and the band could play any style music from Bob Wills’ western swing to the great Hank Williams blues and heartbreak music.

As the former greats of country-western began to retire or pass on during the early 1980s this 30-year-old newcomer to country-western music was getting fans by the millions across the USA. In 1982 he had his first #1 country hit which was a double #1 hit both in the US and Canada. He went on and charted sixty #1 hits from 1982 ’til 2016. He has sold over 120,000 records during his career. His nickname is “King George.” His given name is George Harvey Strait, Sr., or plain George Strait. George is quietly leaving the stage and will be sorely missed by his millions of fans worldwide. Like George Jones sang, “Who is going to fill their shoes.” A lot of good things happened during the 1980s. George Strait has to be one of the top things.

A few of the long list of George’s hits you may want to listen to online are:
Fool Hearted Memory
You Look So Good In Love
You’re Something Special To Me
All My Ex’s Live In Texas
Baby Blue
If You Ain’t Lovin’
Drinking Champaigne
I Cross My Heart
Amarilla By Morning

By the way, Sunday afternoon on May 18 at 2 p.m. at the Roy Acuff Union County Museum and Genealogical Library, Ken and Sandria Failing will conduct a highly informative presentation on their mission trips to the Dominican Republic and Haiti about the plight of the sugar cane workers on that island. All are welcome.
See you next month.