Richard Nixon

New, previously classified telephone conversations and other information by former President Lyndon Johnson have been released to the public.  They confirm "that Richard Nixon sabotaged Vietnam peace talks in October 1968 in order to strengthen his own presidential campaign...Defense Sect Clark Clifford told Johnson that the FBI had overheard a Nixon campaign adviser persuading the South Vietnamese government to withdraw from peace talks, promising them a better deal if they wait until Nixon is elected. Hanoi was offering major concessions at the time, and a settlement would have allowed Johnson to stop bombing North Vietnam".  Johnson accused Nixon of treason but kept quite for fear of alerting the South Vietnamese that their phones were being bugged by the FBI.  As this source notes, the war continued with an additional 22,000 Americans being killed.  (Source:  "Washington D.C. Nixonian guile".  In The Week for March 29, 2013)

NSA spying

During the Vietnam War era the NSA conducted surveillance on a number of high profile Americans with the knowledge of President Nixon; he wanted to know if they were receiving aid from abroad.  Those spied on included Martin Luther King Jr, Muhammad Ali, Sen Frank Church, Sen Howard Baker and Art Buchwald and Tom Wicker. What is odd about this list is that Baker was a supporter of the war in Vietnam while the others opposed it.  It is also disturbing that the last two on the list where journalists, and a intelligence historian noted, "since when did journalists become legitimate intelligence targets".  The spying went on from 1967 to 1973 and included some 1800 names.  This article notes that spying of ths nature is not something new to our political world.  The CIA and the Army were involved at some point, and the FBI provided some names.  The program was called "Minaret".  

(Source:  "NSA snooped on MLK, Ali, Buchwald, other critics" by Richard Leiby of the Washington Post.  In The Virginian Pilot on 9/29/13.

Timbuctoo in New Jersey

A recent newspaper article reported on a village of "freed and runaway slaves along Rancocas Creek" in Burlington County, NJ.  A Temple University archaeology dig at the site is turning up thousands of artifacts on the buried village.  A small cemetery off Church Road is the only thing left of the site and has grave markers of 13 soldiers of the US Colored Troops who fought in the Civil War.  It is believed the village started aroung 1825, included 125 families and ended in mid 20th century.  Besides being a site on the Underground Railroad during the Civil war is was also known for a battle to protect runaway slaves from a slave catcher and his 12 or so followers in pursuit of a runaway.  The village members fought them off with what ever weapons they could find to protect the former slave.  That incident is known as the Battle of Pine Swamp in 1860.  The township of Westampton and the Burlington County Lyceum of History at Mount Holly Library are preserving the site and displaying the artifacts.

(Source: "Enclave of former slaves uncovered in South Jersey" by Jan Hefler of The Philadelphia Enquirer.  From The Record on 12/2/14.)