http://stonezone.com en-us http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=475 Richard Nixon was many things -- crafty, criminal, self-pitying, vengeful, paranoid. But gay According to a book to be released Tuesday, "Nixon's Darkest Secrets," the former president and his best friend, Charles "Bebe" Rebozo, had a relationship of a "possibly homosexual nature." But author Don Fulsom, a former radio reporter who covered the White House from Lyndon Johnson's presidency to Bill Clinton's, provides scant evidence for this claim. No new White House tapes. No love letters, incriminating pictures or diary entries. No recently declassified government documents. Just a recollection from retired journalist Bonnie Angelo, who, in an interview with me, confirmed the story she told Fulsom: In 1972, she saw a tipsy Nixon pull Rebozo into a group photo at a Florida restaurant and hold his hand for "upwards of a minute." ... January 30 2012 08:45:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=474 HIALEAH, FLORIDA -- Ran into Roger Stone at a Mitt Romney rally, which isn't THAT surprising considering that a) the man is a political junkie and b) he spends a lot of time down in the Sunshine State. Here are the ODT (Original Dirty Trickster)'s quick-hit thoughts on Tuesday's vote. ... January 30 2012 08:40:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=473 ... January 30 2012 08:30:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=472 In what has been one of the few unforced errors of Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign, he will release his tax returns this Tuesday hoping to put the rest what on its face is a campaign misstep. On the other hand, if every deduction and tax treatment in Romney's tax returns is legal he should pay no penalty. What is he supposed to say? Let me voluntarily pay 10% more. ... January 24 2012 08:00:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=471 On the eve of the presidential nomination of Barry Goldwater at the 1964 Republican National Convention, Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton released a letter to the Senator accusing him of "nuclear irresponsibility" and "supporting a whole crazy-quilt collection of absurd and dangerous positions". In his last-minute attempt to wrest the Republican nomination from Goldwater, Scranton handed Lyndon Johnson the cudgel the Texan then used to beat Goldwater to death. Governors Nelson Rockefeller and George Romney (Mitt's father) piled on and then stood by as Johnson and the Democrats depicted Goldwater as a "trigger-happy extremist". Thus, Republicans supplied the ammunition used to kill their chances of regaining the White House. ... January 16 2012 06:00:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=470 Running for the President of the United States is not a sprint; it's a marathon. General Eisenhower said, "Plans are worthless but planning is indispensable." Mitt Romney has meticulously planned his path to the White House; while his newest challenger Santorum has been methodical, patient and hardworking; his campaign is still being run by the seat of his pants. ... January 09 2012 09:15:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=469 Mr. Blackwell of Hollywood sat as an arbiter of fashion by publishing a yearly list of the 10 Best and Worst Dressed People in the Demi-monde. Although best known for his "Worst Dressed"list, he maintained a successful career as a fashion journalist. Richard Blackwell was a powerful syndicated columnist who wrote features in newspapers and lifestyle magazines. Matrons and starlets, stockbrokers and models, politicians and prize-fighters all jockeyed to be included. Blackwell's critiques could be cutting. Being included in Mr. Blackwell's Best Dressed list could quickly improve one's social standing in New York, Miami or Hollywood while being included in his worst dressed list could doom one to social Siberia. ... January 02 2012 10:00:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=468 There is a Hispanic Republican who, as the Republican candidate for Vice President in 2012, would pave major inroads into the Hispanic American vote and help put the Republican ticket over the top. He's handsome, conservative and well spoken. He is fluent in Spanish and English. He could be the Republican's secret weapon. And he is not Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. ... December 21 2011 10:15:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=467 "Plans are meaningless but planning is indispensable." -General of the Armies Dwight D. Eisenhower. "Discipline is nine-tenths of politics." -John P. Sears, Campaign Manager for Ronald Reagan and aide to President Richard M. Nixon. Ike was probably the greatest President in my lifetime. Eisenhower gave America four years of peace and prosperity, avoided foreign military entanglements and adamantly refused pressure to create deficits to fuel increased military spending. Eisenhower also sent the National Guard to Little Rock to enforce a new Civil Rights Law and was vilified by segregationists across the south for doing do. ... December 21 2011 09:05:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=466 When veteran Democratic political operative Kelly Conlin was caught stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the NARAL, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance limited the charges against Conlin to only a limited period of her thievery and did not examine the entire period during which Conlin was ripping off her employer. Conlin, influential in Manhattan's liberal Democratic and abortion rights circles, was allowed to plead guilty in return for no jail time. ... December 21 2011 09:00:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=465 Former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu, who served as Bush 41's White House Chief of Staff, is a piece of work. When he served as Governor in the waning days of Ronald Reagan's final term, I was quietly scouting the Granite State for a Presidential bid by Congressman Jack Kemp. Sununu insisted to me he was entirely uncommitted on a date my partner Lee Atwater confirmed to me was after the Governor had privately pledged his allegiance to Vice President George Bush. In other words, Sununu lied to my face. Lied without blinking. Lied like a rug dealer. ... December 13 2011 11:00:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=464 The current surge by former speaker Newt Gingrich puts him in strong contention to wrest the Republican Presidential Nomination from previous frontrunner Mitt Romney.Gingrich is the" last man standing” among the candidates who were drawing from the pool of voters who will not support Romney. ... December 09 2011 08:30:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=463 Imagine the government was prosecuting you a second time after failing in its first try. That's right. The government prosecuted you for a crime it claimed you committed. The government failed. Then the government wants to prosecute you again, hoping to get it right the second time around. ... December 09 2011 08:00:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=462 In 1971 I was in College at George Washington University, a hot bed of student opposition to the war in Viet Nam. Needless to say Cassius Clay AKA Muhammad Ali was a revered figure for his attacks on the white power establishment and the Viet Nam War. " No Viet Cong ever called me a nigger" was his most famous quote. ... November 21 2011 13:45:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=461 As it dawns on voters that they may well have a choice between Barrack Obama and Mitt Romney a majority of voters favor a 3rd choice, if not a 3rd party. A stunning Washington Post/ABC News poll recently showed 61% of American voters wanted another choice in addition to these two standard bearers. ... November 21 2011 13:30:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=460 Former New York Senator Alfonse D'Amato ripped into former Speaker Newt Gingrich today in the New York Post. D'Amato dismissed Gingrich's chances in a general election telling the Post the former Speaker's "past history in government and in his personal life make him unelectable". D'Amato went on to say Gingrich's" business relationships" would prevent him from being elected. ... November 21 2011 13:00:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=459 Herman Cainâ??s unlikely rise to the top of the polls this late in the GOP primary is one of the most fascinating campaign stories in past years. A successful private businessman and radio personality, Herman Cain had only scant recognition among Republicans and Republican leaning Independents going into this past May upon formerly announcing his candidacy. ... November 02 2011 13:25:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=458 Texas Governor Rick Perry has $55 Million in his Super PAC and will have $20 million in his campaign to spend and exceed expectations in the early states of Iowa and New Hampshire. He must also hope for the decline of Herman Cain, who has deftly grabbed the outsider mantel and Tea Party enthusiasm. ... October 24 2011 10:00:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=457 Iowa is a rural State not representative of America today. It has no significant African-American, Hispanic, Jewish, or Asian communities. The number of Catholics is well below the national average and the state is completely agricultural. ... October 12 2011 11:45:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=456 Texas Governor Rick Perry's soaring poll ratings when he first entered the race set a bar that would be hard to live up to. A weak debate performance and a predictable fall back in the polls may have obscured the more significant fact that when Rick Perry was red-hot, he raised money like a maniac, posting a stunning $17 million war chest. Count on him raising $3 million more just out of Texas. ... October 12 2011 11:40:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=455 A New Hampshire poll shows both former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson at 1% yet the Bloomberg / Washington Post debate in New Hampshire includes little Rickie and excludes a two-term Governor whose job creation record is better than Governor Rick Perry or Governor Mitt Romney. ... October 12 2011 11:35:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=454 I am a Libertarian Republican and have written in favor of both same sex marriage and abortion rights. Mitt Romney once agreed with me. In his 1994 race for the US Senate, he supported gay marriage and abortion on demand. I was there and I remember. Romney's opponent in the Massachusetts Republican primary, supply-side banker John Lakian, firmly recalls Romney's stout liberalism on social issues. ... October 12 2011 11:30:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=453 This column is about hypocrisy. As a libertarian, I support marriage equality for gays and abortion rights although I admit I have struggled mightily with the latter and my views have changed after the birth of my grandchildren. I have always been and remain a Second Amendment man. ... September 26 2011 12:40:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=452 One of the key reasons why Governor Rick Perry faired poorly in the FOX Florida Debate was the gang up of other "conservative" candidates on Perry, the front runner. This, of course, plays into Mitt Romney's hands but does nothing to enhance the candidacies of Rick Santorum, Michelle Bachmann or even "moderate" Jon Huntsman Jr. ... September 26 2011 12:30:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=451 Congressman Charles Rangel, who is guilty of tax evasion and illegally having three rent controlled apartments but was prosecuted for neither, unveiled a stunning oil portrait of himself that will hang forever in the House Ways and Means Committee hearing room in Washington, DC. ... September 26 2011 12:20:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=450 A brewing battle surrounding disgraced former Florida GOP Chair Jim Greer, and who knew what among the party insiders, has so far come down to "he said-she said". ... September 12 2011 08:00:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=449 The STONEzone was the first publication to report on former Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer's lavish spending of party money to enhance his lifestyle. Greer spent regularly on five star resorts, luxury charter aircraft, enormous bills at gourmet restaurants, tickets to sporting events ,imported wines and cigars, spa services and stretch limos. Consequently we were not surprised when Greer was arrested after it was revealed that he had hooked up a phony fund-raising in order to embezzle even more Republican Party of Florida ( RPOF) funds. ... September 06 2011 10:50:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=448 There are a few things you can always count on. The sun will always rise, water will always be wet and Veteran Republican operative Ed Rollins will always attack his own candidate once it becomes it clear they cannot win. Now he's done it again. ... September 06 2011 11:00:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=447 The Stonezone is back from a brief vacation. Now tanned , rested and ready, the observations and punditry resume. ... August 25 2011 08:40:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=446 The disastrous record of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance will likely result in a serious Democratic primary challenge to his re-election. ... August 25 2011 08:15:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=445 As Attorney General, Eliot Spizter blackmailed insurance giant Marsh & McLennan into acquiring Kroll and Associates, a private investigative firm, at a greatly inflated price. He also required M&M to hire his protégé, Michael Cherkasky, as CEO despite his complete lack of any insurance industry experience. ... August 25 2011 08:10:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=444 In the 40 years I have been in American politics, I have never met a more obnoxious or distasteful individual then Albany lawyer Warren Redlich. ... August 25 2011 08:00:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=443 Nick Loeb, the local banking scion and boyfriend of of Modern Family TV star Sofia Vergara, is once again considering jumping into the Florida Republican US Senate Primary. But now a second multi-millionaire who could potentially self-fund a Senate bid is also seriously considering the race. Conservative Publisher Christopher J. Ruddy, the owner of Newsmax is considering a run and could reportedly put as much as $25 million into a Senate bid. ... August 01 2011 10:00:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=442 Last month, 40 years after Richard Nixon declared America's war on drugs, the UN's Global Commission on Drug Policy declared it a failure and said that "policies need to change now." Two bizarre cases from neuroscience help explain why it hasn't worked. ... August 01 2011 09:00:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=441 In a 2008 letter to the editor, when he was merely an ambitious lawyer and not yet Manhattan's District Attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr unknowingly wrote a prescient warning to his future self: "Success must be measured not simply by the number of convictions achieved by a prosecutor's office, but also by a prosecutor's ability to effect long-term crime reduction." ... July 12 2011 10:00:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=440 The New York Post's Fred Dicker isn't a journalist. He's a publicist for politicians who leak to him. He has little regard for facts or accuracy. In fact, when Fred doesn't have a source he just makes one up. Few reporters are less well liked and none are less respected among their Albany and New York City peers. ... July 06 2011 10:13:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=439 The collapse of the case against French banker and politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn has focused attention on the competence of the Manhattan District Attorney. Cyrus Vance Jr. may have planted the seeds of his next legal defeat long before the DSK case, egged on by Assistant District Attorney Dan Alonzo - the same assistant who pushed for a rush to judgment in the DSK case. After just 37 days in office, he indicted John Haggerty Jr., a well-liked and much respected Republican political operative. ... July 06 2011 10:16:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=438 In 2000, when Al Gore out polled George W. Bush in the popular vote but was bested by Bush in the Electoral College to become President, it became clear we need Electoral College reform. In Adams vs. Jackson in 1824, Hayes over Tilden in 1876 and Harrison over Cleveland in 1888, the loser of the Electoral College won more popular votes than the candidate who became President. ... June 22 2011 11:10:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=437 One thing Donald Trump's flirtation with a Presidential bid showed us is that you have to take Obama on frontally to compete with him. The John McCain tactic of praising Obama as a great American and great Senator "with whom I disagree" is a loser. You've got to call him out as what he is- a fraud and disaster. He doesn't understand economics, has no business or free-enterprise experience, and is spending trillions in Libya and Afghanistan without having a goal other than re-election. ... June 22 2011 10:00:00 http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=436 If tax cheat Rep. Charlie Rangel can remain a member of Congress after evading Federal income taxes and lying in official documents to hoard three cheap rent controlled apartments in violation of State and City law, how can the Democrats demand the resignation of Rep. Anthony Weiner? There is no proof Weiner used public funds or resources in his indiscretions or, unlike Rangel, that he broke any laws. He is guilty of narcissism, horniness and lying. Now that he has fessed up to the lies, he is guilty of bad judgment and excess testosterone. The is no evidence Weiner's proclivities interfered with his ability to be an effective Congressman. ... June 15 2011 11:22:00