Our cable provider's news channel tried to tell us that today was the 50th anniversary of the Watergate break-in. NOT. The break-in at the Watergate headquarters of the Democratic National Committee occurred on June 17, 1972.
The news "anchors" who "reported" this were way too young to remember the actual events. But it's still concerning that they were misleading viewers on the basic facts of history — particularly since the burglary was a direct result of the Nixon Administration's fixation on Daniel Ellsberg's leak of the Pentagon Papers (the White House "plumbers" having been convened to stop leaks and other espionage on the conduct of the Vietnam War and other nefarious escapades).
So no, today is the 51st anniversary of the night that the plumbers were arrested at the Watergate DNC — thanks to Frank Wills, the security guard who discovered them. Thank you, Frank, for doing your bit to protect American democracy.
We cats are ambivalent on Ellsberg, by the way, since he worked for DOD and had clearances that he abused. (And we're not big fans of Edward Snowden, so it's complicated.) What we do support is the right of The New York Times, The Washington Post and other newspapers to publish what Ellsberg provided them. Also, the fact that the Nixon Administration's reaction to Ellsberg sowed the seeds of its own destruction is pretty satisfying. It's worth remembering all this while we judge Benedict Donald for betraying our nation's secrets. Bearing that in mind, and saluting Frank Wills, we cats PURR.
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