It seems Social Security is always in some grave danger and Medicare isn't too far behind. So it was during this Face The Nation episode from August 21, 1983 featuring HHS Secretary Margaret Heckler where she explains her take on the Social Security/Medicare crisis of 1983.

Margaret Heckler: “I think the Social Security crisis was a subject of more doom and gloom in the political rhetoric than probably any other issue ever discussed. What we learned that, despite that doom and gloom, that Social Security did survive. And I would say that, at this point, Medicare is as important a fixture in our statute books as any program yet devised. I do think there are problems. There has to be a bi-partisan solution to the problem, but yes I would reassure people that the Medicare program will survive to meet the needs of the elderly in the future as it has the last twenty years, in the sense that the program is important, it will be restructured with a bi-partisan debate but it will survive.”

Considered part of that extinct breed of Republican known as a Moderate, and according to some reports, Heckler had a rather stormy relationship with the Reagan White House, one which eventually lead to her being "promoted" to Ambassador to Ireland in 1985.

But during her tenure Heckler was not only faced with yet another crisis with Social Security and Medicare, she was also faced with the onset of AIDS which, by her own admission, took HHS by surprise and would become something of a political football in the process.

Another chapter of the Reagan years.

(Clarence Manion - an eye for interesting "tableware")

I had always wondered just when it was the conservative movement took a dramatic, screeching shift to the right. What was that moment, who was the spark. I have on a number of occasions heard that the catalyst was a fellow named Dean Clarence Manion (the Dean comes from his tenure as Notre Dame Law Professor) and it was Manion who gave us Barry Goldwater and was quoted as saying Ronald Reagan was the perfect example of the Modern Conservative Movement.

But I had never heard him speak - as I am sure most readers haven't either. So needless to say, when I discovered this disc (sadly not complete and partially deteriorated) I was pretty excited to hear just who this guy was.

I wasn't disappointed.

Clarence Manion: “Now we have heard a lot about American equality. We have been twitted with it by our subversive enemies. Taunted with the alleged hypocrisy of what we profess to be equality and which is, in their jargon ‘not equality at all’. We hear a lot about the rich and the poor and the exploiters and the exploited,, and the malefactors of great wealth and the underprivileged and the this and the that. Let’s see what the doctrine of America is as it is stated and set forth in the blueprint. All men are created equal, they are equal in God’s sight. And for that reason and for no other reason that I can ever find in any law book, they are equal before the law of the land. Equality before God and the equality before the laws of this country. That is the sum and the substance, the beginning and the end of American equality.

”

I have heard some strange interpretations of the Bill of Rights, but this interpretation nails it on the head why there is so much misguided righteousness floating around. It all came from someplace.

Unfortunately, there is only part one and two and the address goes on, I suspect for at least another half hour, but the rest of it is missing and I don't think recorded. So we don't get to hear the summation of this argument and I'm not going to venture to guess where it goes. Important to at least hear part of where so much of our confusion comes from. And just how ingrained it is. Remember, this address was made on December 17, 1951, almost sixty years ago.

That is a very long time to misrepresent something.

While tonight's Primaries are still fresh in everyone's mind, I thought would run a quick comparison to another June Primary - June 1976. The race was between Jimmy Carter and Gov. Gerry Brown on the Democratic side and Ronald Reagan and President Ford on the Republican side.

Here is a 90 minute snapshot of Primary Night, Tuesday June 8, 1976 as reported locally in Los Angeles by CBS Radio affiliate KNX-AM with returns from Primaries all over the country.

Still a horse race. Still down to counting ballots. Still confounding the polls, thirty-six years later.

Starting off the Month of June with a bang in 1980.

First, it was the economy - with reports that the Recession had come back with a vengence on top of double-digit inflation. Still, no tax cuts in the foreseeable future.

The GOP Presidential race was now down to one with George Bush dropping out and leaving the field open for Ronald Reagan. This ahead of Super Tuesday.

Fears of racial unrest surfaced when news of the assassination attempt on Urban League President Vernon Jordan, shot in the back by a sniper's bullet came to light. The fears were allayed when it was learned Jordan survived the attack and was doing well, but a stepped up investigation and search for the sniper was underway.

Some in South Korea were blaming the U.S. for being behind the recent violent crackdown on dissidents there. The U.S. vehemently denied any role or influence on the moves, even though the U.S. Ambassador and Military Adviser were not held in high esteem with the people of South Korea.

The hostage situation continued in Iran with a shift in political power signified by the opening of Parliament and a majority of members aligned with the Khomeni regime. The fate of the hostages was now in Parliament's hands.

And despite faded hopes for finding some 50 missing people in the wake of the eruption of the Mt. St. Helens volcano, 75 year old Ray Jennings and his four dogs surfaced relatively unscathed.

And that's how this month got started, June 1st 1980 as reported on The World This Week from CBS Radio News.

This day in 1982 was about shooting wars. British troops landed on The Falkland Islands and the shooting war started. Amid reports of casualties and both sides claiming the upper hand, the propaganda wheels were in motion. The diplomatic wheels however were not, and even though Pope John Paul II appealed to Britain to show restraint and seek a peaceful solution, Margaret Thatcher said "thanks, but no thanks". And the war was on.

Likewise in the Middle East, only this time it was Iran who boasted major gains in territory over the Iraqi's, but it didn't look as though this thing would be over anytime soon. Terrorist bombs went off in Beirut, this time at the French Embassy and with scores of casualties.

Meanwhile, in other parts of the world. Successor to the ailing Leonid Brezhnev was looking more and more like Yuri Andropov, head of the Secret Police.

On Capitol Hill - Pres. Reagan's Fiscal spending plan for 1983 goes to battle at the House. Reagan also pushed for The Department of Energy to be merged with the Department of Commerce. The Supreme Court ruled people on Nixon's Enemies list did not need to be revealed. The Abortion question was also back on the docket, this time via State's rulings on abortions.

The DeLorean Auto plant in Ireland was ordered closed by the Irish government, citing no buyers in the foreseeable future.

All that, and a lot more on this May 24th in 1982 from the CBS World News Roundup and the 9:00 am (PDT) network news.

How this day in 1987 was going to end up was anybody's guess, but in the morning, when this newscast went on the air, everything was up for grabs.

First off - President Reagan was getting ready to give his first press conference since November of '86. And since that one was such a nightmare, he was going into serious overtime rehearsing his appearance before the Fourth Estate, making sure no gaffes would come back to haunt him.

And for good reason; the Iran-Contra scandal was burned into everyone's consciousness and it showed no signs of letting up. Even vice-President Bush was fending off inquiries over a $1,000 contribution made by financier/pop-maven Adnan Khashoggi, who claimed the elder Bush was twisting arms like pretzels in search of cash for the Contras.

However, that didn't stop Congress from approving yet another $40 million outlay for the Contras, seeing as Reagan was holding the Veto card over everyone's head if they dared say no.

And to make sure things were going smoothly, the CIA was found to be supplying the Contras with maps and blueprints of all the dams, power systems and ports in helped put together in Nicaragua, just to be safe.

In other news, newly disgraced former White House aide Michael Deaver was trying desperately to stay out of jail, even though all signs were pointing to it. Seems his influence peddling was getting the best of him no matter what he was trying. The House passed the 65 mph speed limit with 55 mph advocates painting dire pictures of highway littered with bodies as the result.

And Bristol-Myers was optimistic that it may have developed an AIDS vaccine and wanted Capitol Hill permission to start testing it on humans.

And that's what March 19th sounded like in 1987, as presented by The CBS World News Roundup.

The world spun oddly, this February 28th in 1981.

While Prime Minister Thatcher and President Reagan exchanged toasts and cordialities at a dinner hosted by the British Embassy in Washington, the rest of the world was going off on its own direction.

The Soviet newspaper Pravda labeled lies over reports from the State Department claiming Russia was sending arms to El Salvador. Had they known. . .

Meanwhile earlier, President Reagan asked for funds to reactivate two WW2 era Battleships, based on information the Soviet Navy was stepping up warship production. This, hot on the heels of Reagan presiding over additional government budget cuts to the tune of $10-13 Billion. A budget and Tax cut battle were heating up.

In the rest of the world - An Islamic Peace Mission landed in Tehran to try and settle the 6 month old Iran-Iraq War. Three British Missionaries were released from captivity by the Iranians. John and Audrey Coleman and Mrs. Gene Wadell were glad to be home. Still, there were more to worry about. Speaking of hostages, the Basque Separatists ETA released hostages snatched from the consuls of Austria, El Salvador and Uruguay after 8 days of captivity.

Domestically - violence was threatening to loom between Vietnamese and American Shrimp fishermen in the Texas Gulf Coast. The Vietnamese were reported to be stocking up on arms for protection and the Americans were seen at various KKK meetings, espousing the virtues of immigrant bashing. The Shrimp had no opinion one way or the other, and no doubt preferred they just went away.

And so went this rather skewed February 28, 1981 as reported on the CBS World News Roundup.

February 22nd in 1984 had a lot to do with uncomfortable situations everywhere. From the Middle East, the attempts at brokering a peace settlement in Lebanon fell on Saudi Arabia and Syria in an attempt to hammer something out in what became known as The Damascus Peace Plan. Unfortunately, it left Lebanon President Amin Gemayal in one of those "damned if you do - damned if you don't" situations. In the meanwhile, U.S. Marines, stationed in Beirut since 1982 were pulling out and turning over responsibilities to a UN Peacekeeping force. Enough of this getting shot at from both sides.

Elsewhere in the Middle East - the Iran-Iraq War was still raging on, with Iran now threatening to close the Straits of Hormuz, effectively cutting off oil shipments. That wasn't going to fly with oil interests at all.

In Europe, an uproar over austerity measures in France, Spain and Italy were causing most services to be shut down over strikes in protest.

Back home - President Reagan was set to go before microphones and cameras with his first Press Conference of 1984. The Press had a lot of questions over our Foreign Policy and that age-old malady, our Economy.

The Supreme Court ruled companies on the verge of bankruptcy could cancel union contracts at the discretion of a Federal Bankruptcy judge. And the Miranda Law did not apply to Probation Officers.

The New Hampshire primaries were set to go in a week with one last debate to go before heading to the polls. Democratic hopefuls Walter Mondale and Gary Hart were in the number one and two spot while John Glenn was seeking a change in his campaign after dropping to fifth in the polls.

And U.S.-Vietnam talks were ready to resume after hitting a few bumpy spots over MIA's, causing the negotiations to be put on hold.

All this and lots more via the CBS World News Roundup and 9:00 am (PST) network news for this Wednesday February 22, 1984.

Something of a bumpy day, this January 11th in 1988. The Stock Market was slowly recovering from it's precipitous drop the previous trading day, with the Dow Jones losing over 140 points. Nervous breaths were being held all over the world.

Questions were being raised, with proof being offered that the Libyans had nothing to do with the Berlin Disco Bombing that resulted in U.S. bombing of Libya in 1986, but rather a Palestinian terrorist group. That one got quickly swept under the rug.

Speaking of Palestinians - friction was increasing between Israelis and Palestinians in Israeli occupied territory, with 30 deaths reported so far.

The Soviet Union announced it would be participating in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul South Korea after all. This after the U.S. pulled out in 1980 in reaction to the Afghanistan invasion and the Soviet Union pulling out in 1984 in reaction to the U.S. pulling out in 1980 as a reaction to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. . . confusing, I know. All was good to go by 1988 and the athletes were happy.

To go a step further, Mikhail Gorbachev called for a Sino/Soviet Summit to be held sometime in the near future. Quoted in a Chinese interview, Gorbachev wanted an improvement in relations between the two Communist nations. The Chinese were semi-warm to the idea.

Arizona Governor Evan Mecham vowed he would not resign in wake of the scandal involving him and campaign contributions. But by the looks of it, he was destined to be dragged, kicking and screaming out of office.

And on the subject of scandals - former Reagan Press Secretary Lyn Nofziger was the latest to go under investigation for influence peddling in relation to the Wedtech Scandal.

Where would we be without a heady whiff of scandal at least somewhere every day?

And that's what was going on this January 11, 1988 via The CBS World News Roundup.

Washington and Scandal. The two just go hand in hand, and on May 23rd in 1976 yet another scandal broke. This time via the House Administration Committee, Wayne Hays and his Secretary Elizabeth Ray. It seems the story broke on this particular morning in the Washington Post with tales of favors and lip-locks and steamy innuendos all aimed at the Congressman from Ohio with promises of more to come and careers tearfully dismantled. Oh, the seats of power.

But in other news, the Presidential Primary season for 1976 was heating up with Ford and Reagan engaging in a horse race - the prize projected to be California some days away and the campaign in overdrive with barbs traded and Reagan's infamous quote with regards to President Ford as "the man with prematurely orange hair" sending waves of chuckles throughout the Press Corps. Politics. Meanwhile, relations between the U.S. and Sweden warmed considerably as Henry Kissinger went on a fence-mending trip to see Olaf Palme and clean up some wreckage Nixon left behind. They shook hands and threatened to hug. Fighting continued in Beirut with the PLO actively engaged and the French Peacekeeping overtures actively rejected. The fabled Supersonic Transport (SST) was scheduled to make it's first appearance on U.S. shores after months of wrangling - but flights were restricted to Washington D.C. only. And U.S. Steel threatened to pull up stakes and head to Texas from it's former base in Pittsburgh because . . .well, they were polluting too much and Pennsylvania was getting tired of it and U.S. Steel just hated the idea of regulations.

All in a day, this May 24th 1976 via The CBS World News Roundup.