Today is our daughter Kim’s birthday. Since it is Sunday, we are having fun helping her celebrate. While they were here for brunch this morning, we brought out the “box” and inspected the mementos from her childhood.
I saved the Time magazine and Topeka State Journal published on the day she was born.
As one might expect on November 9, 1970, the Vietnam war is the biggest part of the news. The headline in the Topeka paper is, “High Court Rejects War Suit Action.” The first paragraph reads, “A divided Supreme Court refused today to hear a suit by Massachusetts questioning the legality of U.S. military action in Vietnam.”
Again quoting from the article, “The Nixon administration counseled the court against granting the Vietnam War hearing. Justice Department officials said a judicial inquiry into the legality of the war would hamstring the President, insult the Congress and embarrass the nation.”
The article continues to list other actions by the Supreme Court:
Ruled that mental patients who are new to a state may not be sent back to their old home states by hospital officials.
Declined to review the conviction of Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman for resisting arrest in Chicago in 1968 [Democratic National Convention]. He was accused to having a vulgarism written across his forehead.
Rejected a challenge to a provision of the 1968 Gun Control Act that prohibits unregistered possession of firearms by convicted felons.
Another front page headline in the 1970 newspaper is “Airplane’s Thieves Iranian Fugitives.” The article tells of nine Iranian men who hijacked an airline for an escape to Iraq.
War, politics, health care, Gun Control, Iran and Iraq. Yes, I said this is November 9, 1970 edition newspaper.