Gates We Have Known – A Quiz – Throwback Thursday

Yesterday the initial hearing was held in the law suit between the National Football League and the Player’s Association which centers around the punishment for footballs being under-inflated in a football game.  At one point, the judge was reported to have said, “This ‘Deflategate’. I’m not sure where the ‘gate’ comes from.”

No doubt the judge was being facetious as the word “gate” is commonly used to denote scandals in politics, sports and other arenas.  Its use started with the granddaddy of them all, the Watergate scandal of the early 1970’s. Since then it has been used scores of time, the latest being the continuing National Football League scandal dubbed “Deflategate”.

Today my Throwback Thursday post is in the form of a quiz, where the names of some “Gate” scandals can be matched with the description of the scandal.

Scandals

1. 2015 – Sports – The New England Patriots allegedly deflated footballs to be used in a game below the league regulations for required air pressure for game balls.
2. 2014 – American Politics – The administration of New Jersey governor Christie is accused of causing a road construction traffic jam in retaliation to the mayor of Fort Lee who did not endorse Christie in his re-election bid.
3. 2012 – Sports – The New Orleans Saints was found to have a bounty system where players were paid for bad hits and injuries to opposing players.
4. 2011 – American Politics – A New York congressman was found to text indecent photographs of himself.
5. 2010 – Journalism – A collection of classified State Department cables are published by WikiLeaks.
6. 2009 – Sports – A professional golfer admits to a series of extramarital affairs.
7. 2008 – American Politics – Alaska Governor Sarah Palin allegedly fired the state’s public safety director for failing to comply with the governor’s demand to fire her ex-brother-in-law.
8. 2007 – Sports – The New England Patriots were punished after illegally filming signals from the sideline of an opposing team.
9. 2006 – Journalism – Two published photos from the Lebanon – Iran conflict were digitally altered.
10. 2004 – Entertainment – A wardrobe malfunction during the half time show at the Super Bowl resulted in Janet Jackson’s breast being briefly revealed to the television audience.
11. 2004 – Journalism – Forged memos were used to discredit George W. Bush’s military record which led to the resignation of the CBS Evening News anchor.
12. 2003 – American Politics – The name of a CIA spy is made public after her husband criticized the Bush administration in a published editorial.
13. 2001 – American Politics – President Clinton pardoned 140 persons and commuted 36 sentences on one day before he left office.
14. 1998 – American Politics – The U.S. President is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with an intern.
15. 1993 – American Politics – The revelation that presidential nominees for attorney generally had illegally employed immigrants which led the individuals to withdraw their names from consideration.
16. 1980 – American Politics – In the presidential campaign, Ronald Reagan gained access to Jimmy Carter’s briefing papers to be used in their only debate.
17. 1972 – 1974 – American Politics – a burglary of the Democratic National Party headquarters started a series of revelations leading to the ultimate resignation of President Nixon.

And the names attached to the scandals:

• A. Bountygate
• B. Bridgegate
• C. Cablegate
• D. Debategate
• E. Deflategate
• F. Lewinskygate
• G. Nannygate
• H. Nipplegate
• I. Pardongate
• J. Plamegate
• K. Rathergate
• L. Reutersgate
• M. Spygate
• N. Tigergate
• O. Troopergate
• P. Watergate
• Q. Weinergate

Answers: 1 – E. Deflategate; 2 – B. Bridgegate; 3 – A. Bountygate; 4 – Q. Weinergate; 5 – C. Cablegate; 6 – N. Tigergate; 7 – O. Troopergate;  8 – M. Spygate; 9 – L. Reutergate; 10 – H. Nipplegate; 11 – K. Rathergate; 12 – J. Plamegate; 13 – I. Pardongate; 14 – F. Lewinskygate; 15 – G. Nannygate; 16 – D. Debategate; 17 – P. Watergate

Tom Brady and Watergate – Throwback Thursday

A recent headline in the world of the National Football League has been the punishment meted out to Tom Brady, the New England Patriot’s quarterback, for his alleged involvement in deflating game footballs and the suggested coverup. Last week the NFL commissioner announced that he was upholding the 4 game suspension of Tom Brady. The matter has been dubbed “Deflategate”.

This post isn’t about whether the suspension is proper or not or even if Brady was actually involved. I will let others sort that out.

There have been headlines and articles that compare Deflategate to Watergate, the political scandal of the early 1970’s that led to the probable impeachment and subsequent resignation of President Richard Nixon. Last week I saw headlines like “Brady’s Deflategate the Nixon to Watergate”; “Tom Brady and Richard Nixon: Gates of a Feather”; and “Tom Brady and Richard Nixon Share More Than Just the Word ‘Gate’.”

Will I See You in September? – A Throwback Thursday Post

There is something about the summer months that fills me with nostalgia. I reminisce and recall memories of the many summers gone by. For much of my life, first as a student and then for 11 years as a teacher, summer was a change of routine. There was a definite anticipation for the end of the school year, no matter what the summer plans might have been. The months of summer vacation were filled with different activities, some fun and some not so much. One thing was guaranteed. Over the summer I would not see many of the people who I saw constantly while school was in session. When school ended we would never again see some of the people whom we had spent more than nine months with.  Some of them we would see in September but others would be moving on to another chapter in their lives.

4th of July of My Childhood – Throwback Thursday

During this season of parades, fireworks, picnics and watermelon, I can’t help reminiscing about the 4th of July celebrations my family shared when I was growing up.

I grew up on a dairy farm where the life of family was focused on the farmwork, housework and never-ending chores. We all worked hard. There were never days that we didn’t have some work to do because the cows had to be milked morning and night, the animals had to be fed and the barn had to be cleaned even on special occasion days. There was time for fun but as kids we always looked forward to the special days where there would be bigger reprieves from all of the work.

Falsely Accused – Throwback Thursday

Last week I discussed what was going on in 1970, the year I graduated from high school. That got me doing a lot of reminiscing about what my life was like in high school. Memories came back that I have not thought about for a long time.

I had a job at a drive-in restaurant where I worked about 15 hours a week.  Along with school and school activities and chores on the farm I was busy enough.

I had a strained relationship with my mother especially during my senior year. She was a very hard-working person who was really tied to the farm and housework. She always wanted me to do more to contribute to the family. I was more interested in my school activities and my social life. We constantly clashed about that. My mom developed the belief that I was very wild, immoral and out of control. I really think she thought I would get pregnant which was not close to reality as I wasn’t sexually active.

1970 – High School Graduation Year – Throwback Thursday

Since my high school graduation 45th anniversary occurred in May, I thought it would be interesting to research and write about what was going on in the world in 1970, the year I graduated.

The most obvious newsworthy, noteworthy event in 1970 was that the Vietnam War was raging. Friends that I had in the class ahead of me were drafted into the military and were sent to Vietnam. One of them lost his life. The U.S. invaded Cambodia with the goal of hunting out Viet Cong. Troops started being withdrawn from Vietnam this year. In November, there was a week when there were no U.S. casualties, the first such week in 5 years.

Traditional Country Music – Throwback Thursday

My daughter instant messaged me last week when she was visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. She said,

This is one of my favorite places of all because of all the old school old-fashioned things. And it reminds me of dad of course.

That is all I needed to take a trip down memory lane.

My husband passed away in 2006 when our daughter was a junior in high school. Enough time has now passed that we can remember the good times with fondness, and don’t automatically get teary eyed and overwhelmed with sadness at thoughts of him. I still have my moments, of course, but the grieving process has been successful.

The Year 1952 – Throwback Thursday

I follow a blog The 1951 Club which celebrates all things associated with 1951. That blog gave me the germ of an idea to report on 1952, the year in which I was born.

The most important event in 1952 for me was being born. OK. That probably is not extremely significant to everyone else, but for me it is where everything starts. Without that event nothing else would really matter to me.

Many other significant things also took place in 1952. I very much enjoyed compiling these facts.

The president of the United States was Harry S. Truman. In November election Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected as Truman’s successor, defeating Illinois governor Adlai Stevenson. Other world leaders were Sir Winston Churchill in Great Britain and Joseph Stalin in Russia/Soviet Union. Stalin’s official title was Chairman of the Council of People’s Commisar. John F. Kennedy was elected U.S. Senator.

The One Room School-House – Throwback Thursday

I started school at a one-room school-house a few miles from our Wisconsin farm. Grades one through five were all taught in the same room by the same teacher.

I look back at the experience with nostalgia.

There were 8 students in my first grade class which was by far the largest class in the school. There were 4 second graders and three third graders. If my memory is correct there were 4 fourth graders and 5 fifth graders. Of the eight students in first grade only two of us were girls. The first graders were dismissed for recess earlier than the other grades. I had only the one girl to play with. Unfortunately, she moved away in the fall of the year and I was then the only girl. I did not look forward to recess anymore. I would have been fine playing with the boys since I had five brothers, but the six boys in my class saw no reason to include a girl in their play.

Sister, Sister – Throwback Thursday A Day Late

My sister Carol turned 65 yesterday.

I happen to be 63 so she is a much older sister. And I remind her of that every chance I get.

Carol is the sister with whom I made mud pies and with whom I shared a room when we were growing up.

She was always petite and small-boned while I was the big, strapping girl. I was taller and heavier as far back as I can remember. As younger sisters often do, I annoyed her greatly. We would get into physical scrapes. My mom told me more than once that I had to be careful with Carol. I was so much bigger than she was and I could really hurt her. Couldn’t my mom see that Carol was like a bantam rooster, fierce, stubborn and relentless? And that she had the upper hand in almost every dispute?