Dan Baum, writing in support of drug legalization at Harper’s, has unleashed a frank 1994 quote from former Nixon policy advisor John Ehrlichman, and as inadvertently salient an argument for legalizing drugs as any I’ve ever seen:
I’ve become obsessed with the movies that US presidents watched while they were in office. So much so that I recently compiled my own list of all the movies Jimmy Carter watched in the White House. [Update: Here’s Clinton’s list.] And now I’ve pored over Nixon’s complete list, compiled by author Mark Feeney. Nixon…
What do you suppose the most requested photo from the U.S. National Archives might be? Troops raising the American flag on Iwo Jima? That sailor kissing a random woman at the end of WWII? Nope. It's Richard Nixon shaking Elvis Presley's hand.
The latest entry in Jason Heuser's badass presidents series sends Richard Nixon back to the ice age, where he takes on a Smilodon with his not-quite-bare fists.
When many American citizens cast their vote this November, they'll be choosing between the lesser of two evils. But why choose the lesser evil when you can choose a supervillain as your president? After all, supervillains can be effective leaders, provided you can get past the lying, unilateral decision-making,…
On a dark and stormy night, two liberal kids named Brad and Janet seek help at a mansion after their car breaks down. But they quickly discover that the occupants want to seduce them — to become conservatives. That's the premise behind the bizarre Rocky Horror spoof, The Ronnie Horror Picture Show.
The 1969 moon landing was one of humanity's most impressive achievements, but there was always a chance that things could go terribly wrong. But if the worst happened, and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were commended to the void of space, Nixon had a stirring speech prepared, one that celebrated the spirit of…
In honor of Election Night 2010, let's remember the bizarre historical minutiae comic books have taught us about the ol' U.S. of A. You know, like the time Henry Kissinger met Doctor Doom.
In 1971, the National Emergency Warning Center accidentally told US radio stations to suspend all broadcasts, presumably because the world was ending in a nuclear fireball. It took them 40 minutes to correct this apocalyptic gaffe.
If 24 has taught us anything, it's that the presidential succession can be the stuff of riveting, wildly implausible drama. Here are five presidential might-have-beens that would make for some fascinating alternate history stories.
Watchmen takes place in an alternate America of 1985, complete with Cold War references like the Doomsday plot and nuclear paranoia, along with more subtle changes. The history of Watchmen's world mirrors our own until the 1940s, when "costumed adventurers" - the book's name for superheroes - started to appear (This…
The latest Futurama movie, The Beast with a Billion Backs, found Richard Nixon's head still president of an increasingly crappy Earth, and Nixon will again take the highest office in next year's Watchmen. In fact, if there's a vaguely dystopian alternate history or future, chances are there's a Nixon to run it. But as…
