"Old Secrets, New Secrets!"

Who was "Jack the Ripper?" What happened to Amelia Earhart? Where did Judge Crater go? Has anybody seen Jimmy Hoffa lately? These are all "unsolved mysteries" that people have been talking about for years. Even today, I wonder what happened to a 3/4 sleeve shirt that disappeared when I was 13 years old. The Bermuda Triangle holds the curiosity of millions of minds. What happens in there? We all want to see hidden secrets revealed. There are records from the Kennedy murder that are supposed to remain sealed for at least another 40 years! I wonder what's in there? Americans are a curious lot, we ask a lot of questions, we want to know what's going on. I was privileged to information that remains secret while I was in the service. This has yet to be shown to the general public, as it would hurt the images of some celebrated Americans. It would accomplish little except to hurt families and reputations at this stage.

It seems that a historian, Stanley Kutler, wants to release the testimony that Richard Nixon made to the Grand Jury, in secret, 35 years ago. Nixon was under oath and was subject to perjury law if he attempted to deceive the jury. A petition was filed before Chief Justice Royce Lambreth of the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C., in an attempt to finally find out what the former President knew and when he knew it in regards to the Watergate scandal and cover-up. As someone who grew up with Richard Nixon in the news, I'll admit that I'm curious as to the content of his "secret testimony". After all, don't you all want to know what was on that missing 18 minutes of White House tape?

This sort of investigation certainly tickles our imagination and curiosity. The question we must ask ourselves is: are there other current issues that merit investigation more than 35 year old testimony? The fact that a health-care bill was assembled behind closed doors seems to be more pressing than what Dick Nixon knew 35 years ago. The fact that an obvious disregard for voters' rights has been ignored in the "New Black Panther" non-prosecution seems to merit investigation. Closed door meetings at the White House with big bankers seem oddly curious in this "transparent administration", how about that?

It's only human nature to want to know what has happened in past mysteries. It's fun to think about those things and have our own theories of what actually took place. We can all have a lively conversation after a dinner or family gathering about all of those things. We must now concern ourselves with what is of immediate importance to America today. We need investigation into our current practices, our current agendas. Looking to the past will do little to remedy the questions that are being raised today about our present administration.

Old secrets are interesting, they tweak the imagination; they are an old itch we want to scratch. We cannot spend too much energy on that old itch; we have a real infection to take care of now. Let us concentrate on the NEW SECRETS that are being kept from the American people. Nixon is interesting; Obama is relevant; who do you want to know more about?