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THIS DAY in (REVISIONIST) HISTORY -- Aug. 26
 By
John Breneman
When Iraq War enthusiasts argue that "everybody"
thought Saddam Hussein had WMDs, here's why.
Speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars on this day in 2002,
Vice President Dick Cheney told the world -- quote -- "there
is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction."
Cheney, who obtained five military deferments to weasel
out of serving in Vietnam, fired off the word "weapon(s)"
31 times and "terror(ist)" 20 times in his bid to
weasel America into Iraq.
White House untruths were handled differently back in Ben
Bradlee's heyday. The Boston-born Washington Post journalist
fought to expose government deception in Vietnam by publishing
the "Pentagon Papers" in 1971, then helped expose
a corrupt president in the Watergate scandal. He turns 86
today.
On this day in 1498, Michelangelo was commissioned
to carve the Pietà, under a contract guaranteeing
the legendary master a seven-figure advance, an executive
producer credit and 5% of future museum gift-shop sales.
With the big Lions-Gladiators playoff showdown coming up
and no Guinness on hand, Julius Caesar invaded Britain
on this day in 55 B.C.
On this day in 1883, the eruption of Mount Krakatoa
in Indonesia killed thousands while spewing almost as much
toxic junk into the atmosphere as your average presidential
debate.
Charles "Lucky Lindy" Lindbergh's luck ran
out on this day in 1974 when the aviation hero went down with
lymphoma at age 72.
The 19th amendment was certified on this day in 1920,
giving women the right to vote and raising the electoral question:
What does a modern woman wear to the voting booth.
The first baseball game was televised on this day
in 1939 (Reds vs. Dodgers at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field), frightening
many viewers with the ominous warning that "any rebroadcast,
reproduction, or other use of the pictures and accounts of
this game without the express written consent of Major League
Baseball is strictly prohibited."
Today's births
Green-blooded Boston Celtics broadcaster and Hall of Fame
player Tommy Heinsohn turns 71 today. But the team's
failure to win a title since 1987 has not shaken his belief
in leprechauns.
Ex-child star Macaulay Culkin plans to celebrate his
27th today by playing pin the tail on one of Michael Jackson's
donkeys.
Today is the 55th birthday of famed New York Times crossword
editor Will ______ (six letters, starts with S).
 Tom
Ridge, 62, as first head of Homeland Security he regularly
exposed the nation to an "elevated risk" of politically
motivated propaganda, pioneering the practice of using trumped-up
terror press conferences to distract attention from White
House screw-ups.
John Breneman's "This Day in (Revisionist) History"
appears in the Boston Sunday Herald.
Related story: Tom
Ridge's
Homeland Security horoscope
Posted on August 25, 2007 9:26 AM
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