On March 7, 1965, during a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama

The Mick

Disneyland Circa 1965

The government tested the effects of LSD on unwitting U.S. and Canadian citizens.

Under the code name "MKUltra," the U.S. government ran a human-research operation within the CIA's Scientific Research Division. Researchers tested the effects of hypnosis, sensory deprivation, isolation, torture, and most memorably, LSD, on U.S. and Canadian citizens. Most had no idea.

To conduct these experiments, the CIA paid prisons, hospitals, and other institutions to keep quiet. The department even enticed heroin addicts to participate by offering them heroin, according to documents from a joint hearing to subcommittees of Congress, where President Kennedy spoke.

That day, he regaled Congress with "chilling testimony." Over 30 universities became involved in various studies. Notably, many lacked oversight by medical or scientific professionals. At least one participant, Frank Olsen, died, reportedly from suicide after unknowingly ingesting LSD.

In January 1973, then CIA Director Richard Helms ordered the destruction of all documents pertaining to MKUltra. When Congress looked into the matter, no one, not even Helms, could "remember" details. Through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, more documents were located, but the full timeline remains incomplete.

The events inspired investigative journalist Jon Ronson's best-selling book, "The Men Who Stare At Goats," now a movie of the same title starring George Clooney

Military leaders reportedly planned terrorist attacks in the U.S

Military leaders reportedly planned terrorist attacks in the U.S. to drum up support for a war against Cuba.
In 1962, the joint chiefs-of-staff approved Operation Northwoods, a covert plan to create support for a war in Cuba that would oust communist leader Fidel Castro.
Declassified government documents show considerations included: host funerals for "mock-victims," "start rumors (many)," and "blow up a U.S. ship in Guantanamo Bay and blame Cuba." They even suggested somehow pinning John Glenn's potential death, should his rocket explode, on communists in Cuba.
The advisors presented the plan to President Kennedy's Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, according to investigative journalist James Bamford's book, "Body of Secrets." We don't know whether McNamara immediately refused, but a few days later, Kennedy told Army Gen. Lyman L. Lemnitzer, the plan's poo-bah, that the U.S. would never use overt force to take Cuba.
A few months later, Lemnitzer lost his position.
"There really was a worry at the time about the military going off crazy and they did, but they never succeeded, but it wasn't for lack of trying," Bamford told ABC News.

Parts of the Gulf of Tonkin Incident

photo of three Vietnamese boats taken from the USS Maddox (on Aug. 2).


 Parts of the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, which led to U.S. intervention in Vietnam, never happened.
After evading a torpedo attack, the USS Maddox reportedly engaged three North Vietnamese boats in the Gulf of Tonkin on both Aug. 2 and 4, 1964, according to the Pentagon Papers. Although without U.S. casualties, the events prompted Congress to pass a resolution allowing President Lyndon John to intervene in the Southeast.
Talk of Tonkin's status as a "false flag" for U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War has permeated public discourse almost since the time of the attacks, especially after the government admitted that the second incident may have involved false radar images.
But after resisting comment for decades, the National Security Agency finally declassified documents in 2005, admitting the incident on Aug. 4 never happened at all.
Those involved didn't necessarily intend to cover-up the incident to propagate a war. But the evidence does suggest "an active effort to make SIGINT fit the claim of what happened during the evening of 4 August in the Gulf of Tonkin,"according to NSA historian Robert J. Hanyok.

More than 500,000 people are expected at the parade in 2014

More than 500,000 people are expected at the parade in 2014
Thousands are expected to celebrate the swinging 60s in London's traditional New Year's Day parade.
More than 500,000 people are expected at the event, which the parade organisers say will be the "grooviest New Year's Day in over 50 years".
The 2.2 mile parade, which will begin at midday in Piccadilly, will see 17 marching bands and 1,500 cheerleaders.
The procession will end in Parliament Square. Eighteen London councils have submitted their plans for the parade.
There will be about 5,000 overseas performers at the event and the acts will include a tribute to the Rolling Stones.

Bob Bone, Parade executive director, said: "They say if you can remember the Sixties then you weren't there - so we are giving the world a little reminder of just how cool it all was."

Goodbye, Mr. Chips

William Henry Balgarnie (May 12 1869 – c. July 1951) was a schoolmaster at Elmfield College and The Leys School, and is believed to have been the inspiration for the character Mr Chips in the book Goodbye, Mr. Chips, written by one of his students at The Leys, James Hilton.

“The Addams Family Musical” making Idaho premiere at the Morrison Center

 “The Addams Family Musical,” based on the beloved television show of the 1960s, is making their Idaho premiere at the Morrison Center on Dec. 14 and 15 for a total of three performances.

“It’s definitely an Idaho premiere,” said James Patrick, executive director of the Morrison Center. “We’re always trying to bring in new product whenever we can. The fact that this is a recent hit on Broadway is exciting. The fact that it has not been here before is exciting as well.”

“The Addams Family Musical” was chosen by the Morrison Center under the Fred Meyer Broadway in Boise series.

“Part of our mission is to bring the very best that Broadway has to offer that is on tour to Idaho and to Boise. Which show gets selected depends on a lot of different factors, obviously expense and cost, risk and reward or which shows just happen to be on tour and we can secure for Boise,” Patrick said.

This musical will not stray far from the television show of the mid-1960s that ran for two seasons. The show is centralized around a macabre peculiar family made up of a diverse group of individuals and their trials in fitting in.

Later on, “The Addams Family” was made into a series of three feature films throughout the 1990s.

“The musical is based on the comedy TV series with all the traditional and popular characters involved in the plot including Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Grandma, Wednesday, Pugsly, and Lurch,” Patrick said.

The show will cover the grown-up “princess of darkness” daughter, Wednesday Addams, and her attempt to introduce her normal boyfriend to her outlandish family.

Tyler Hawkins, a senior mass communication major, is a fan of “The Addams Family.”

“I think all of the characters are diverse and interesting in their own way. Probably Gomez is my favorite though; he reminds me of a good used car salesman and he’s pretty smooth in a goofy way,” Hawkins said.

For Hawkins, seeing “The Addams Family Musical” is reminiscent of his youth.

“My mom had some videos from the 1960s and I watched those. I liked the movies from the 1990s because they were supposed to be this scary family, but they weren’t. They just did weird dark stuff,” Hawkins said.

This musical showcases the talents of many critically-acclaimed individuals. This new musical comedy was authored by the same folks, Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, did the “Jersey Boys” which was very popular. They’ve won a lot of different awards. The composer, Andrew Lippa, also did “The Wild Party” which is another popular hit.

This is a new musical nationally.

“The Addams Family” was first produced on Broadway in 2010, and started touring nationally in 2011 and the American tour will end mid-2014,” said Virginia Treat, the Events and Marketing manager for the Morrison Center.

The Morrison Center  hopes to attract a wide variety of audiences to this event.

“It’s a comedy so it has a very wide-reaching audience and it comes in the right time for the us, mid-December, so it is perfect for the holidays, too,” Patrick said.

This musical is advertised as an ages eight and up event, so families are encouraged to attend.

“The Addams Family” is sure to be a fun family event. We like to offer a variety of productions in our Broadway season, from classics like ‘Hello Dolly,’ to blockbuster hits like ‘Wicked,’ and family friendly productions like ‘The Addams Family,’” Treat said.

Student prices are discounted for this show.

“They are at a very steep discount. Tickets cost $20.75, including all fees,” Patrick said.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit mc.boisestate.edu.

Minneota Museum Preserves Vietnam War History

 

It's been nearly forty years since the end of the war with North Vietnam.

By Jason Davis

For many it could be called the "Forgotten War,” but not for two men from southwestern Minnesota.
Charlie Hettling, 72, and his 60-year-old brother Royal are both veterans of that long conflict in southeast Asia and they are determined that it will not be forgotten.

The two men have created their very own "Vietnam Museum and History Center" in the tiny town of Minneota, Minn. It's not hard to find, located between the post office and Bubba's bar. 

In the rent-free property, the two vets have filled several rooms with artifacts and mementos as a tribute to the men and women who served in Vietnam. Perhaps just as importantly, they also recognize the sacrifices the Vietnamese people suffered during the conflict.

There are many colored engravings depicting the war as seen from both sides, photographs and letters from the young men from Minneota who never came back and a large array of artifacts, both American and Vietnamese collected by Charlie Hettling on his 21 trips to Vietnam since the war ended in 1975.

Charlie and Royal don't charge a fee to visitors to their unusual museum, but they do hope for donations.


Also anyone planning to visit should call Royal first at 507 872-6326 as the museum is only open when one, or both of the brothers are in attendance. After all, the two veterans are very much part of the exhibit.




Available on amazon

Almost 50 Years Later, 'Rudolph' Is Still A Holiday Powerhouse

By Ed Martin

How can it be that a Christmas special produced in the Sixties continues to dominate holiday programming almost 50 years after it was first telecast?

Last Tuesday, CBS’ presentation of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” -- a stop-motion animation classic that was first seen on NBC back in 1964 -- was, according to the network, the No. 1 program of the night among adults 25-54 and tied NBC’s red-hot “The Voice” on one of its Twitter nights as the evening’s top show among adults 18-49. Furthermore, “Rudolph” in its 8 p.m. time period was No. 1 in total viewers, children 2-11, children 6-11, adults 18-34, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54.

I’m as big a fan of “Rudolph” as anyone else. I have been since I first saw it in the Sixties. For me, the Christmas season officially began with its annual telecast. I remember how excited I would get -- an excitement shared by my brother and our friends in the neighborhood -- when the opportunity to watch “Rudolph” drew near. I remember the urgency of it all: We had to be in front of our (black and white) TV sets when it was on, lest we miss a minute of our only opportunity to see it that year. And I remember the wistfulness that followed when “Rudolph” ended and the realization that we had to wait another 12 months to see it again would set in.

But that was TV way back then. At least since the mid-Eighties, when VCRs began to spread across the land and high-priced videos of movies and television specials became available, most kids (and grown-ups who are young at heart) have been able to watch “Rudolph” whenever they want via an ever-expanding selection of viewing platforms. The unique excitement that once accompanied the limited opportunities to watch “Rudolph” has long since passed (which is also true of everything else).

Consequently, there should be nothing special about watching “Rudolph” on CBS or anywhere else. And yet, as the ratings indicate, the annual network telecast is still a special event -- perhaps not as titanic an event as in decades past, but a significant one nevertheless. Does this speak to the power of broadcast television to turn almost anything into a must-see program, or to the enduring quality of “Rudolph” itself? I suspect the answer is “both.”

Regardless, “Rudolph” remains a marvel of simple basic family entertainment that continues to be enjoyed by people of all ages, even though it is growing very old. It is certainly easy to understand why: The characters are iconic and the songs are seasonal classics that will always be with us.

The greater question here is, how can it be that with two lone exceptions -- “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” first seen in 1965 on CBS and now telecast every year on ABC (and widely regarded by critics as the best Christmas special of all time), and “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!,” first seen in 1966 on CBS and now telecast on TBS and elsewhere -- no other Christmas special produced since the mid-Sixties (animated or otherwise) has achieved anywhere near the same level of timeless creative quality and enduring popularity as “Rudolph”? Indeed, with the exception of these three productions, and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” -- the Peanuts Halloween special first seen on CBS in 1966 and now telecast every year on ABC -- no other special connected to any holiday has achieved similar classic status.

I’m mindful of other holiday treats, including “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol” (1962), “Frosty the Snowman” (1969), “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” (1973) and “The Easter Bunny is Comin’ to Town” (1977). But it would seem that there haven’t been any truly special animated holiday specials in decades. Surely there are more ideas out there waiting to be developed and more properties ready to be produced.

The Rifleman!

Johnny Crawford today (He's on Facebook, you can join his site if you like)