Since 1938 was a Mid-Term election year, President Roosevelt embarked on a 28 day tour of the U.S., bringing his message of the accomplishments of his second term and a few words about The New Deal and the Recovery taking place in the country. The NRA had undergone a challenge in the Supreme Court and many of the programs initiated during FDR's first term were in jeopardy. So in an effort to bolster support and to campaign for incumbents, FDR did a series of whistle-stop appearances.

This one, on July 7, 1938 was from an appearance in Covington, Kentucky and was broadcast nationwide to a capacity audience.

Here is the complete address.

With the news surfacing (or rumors depending on your news source) of defections among the ranks of Republicans in the Wisconsin State Senate, I'm reminded that Wisconsin, not only having the dubious distinction of giving America Joe McCarthy, also gave us a Progressive Republican by the name of Robert M. LaFollette Jr. - son of that other notable Wisconsin Senator, Robert M. "Fighting Bob" LaFollette Sr., who established the Wisconsin Progressive Party during the first years of the 20th Century.

LaFollette Jr. , though not the firebrand his father was, nonetheless was a staunch supporter of President Roosevelt. Although he was a man of many contradictions, he more often than not aligned himself with New Deal legislation. When the subject of revising the Supreme Court came up, LaFollette was a huge supporter, as is evidenced by this address given at a Labor conference in 1937.

Robert M. LaFollette Jr.: “Stalling of our government on dead-center, by judicial fiat in recent years is not a defect in the Constitution, it is a defect in the Supreme Court. We do not need to amend the Constitution, free the processes of the democratic principle in this country. We simply need to amend a majority of the Supreme Court and its interpretation of the Constitution. In its exercise of the judicial veto it has taken onto itself powers which it was never intended to have by the founders of our Constitutional government. If Congress continues to yield to this false doctrine it will betray the people into the hands of a judicial oligarchy, governing for property rather than humanity."

It's almost inconceivable that such a member of Republican Party would be around and kicking today. He would no doubt be ostracized and tossed out of the party. Particularly saying things like this:

LaFollette: “The question is simply whether a handful of judges ought to be allowed to exceed their lawful authority by paying more attention to their personal, economic and social beliefs than to the Constitution itself. The issue is between special vested interests, dodging behind an economic theory of days gone by on the one hand, and the will of the people to govern themselves on the other. When a judge sets himself squarely athwart the peoples path to progress, it is time for the true defenders of Democracy to take action.”

So it came as no small surprise that LaFollette lost his re-election bid to a certain Junior Senator from the same party - Joseph McCarthy, whom the Republicans in Wisconsin threw all their support behind. And it probably also makes sense that, given his disillusionment and his radical ideas, even then, he would wind up committing suicide in 1953.

But still, they did exist and even up until recently there was that Moderate Wing of the Republican Party. Perhaps this new wrinkle in the ongoing story of Wisconsin gives a glimmer of hope that some sanity still lurks around.

(Justice Warren Burger - replaced Earl Warren and then some)

Going back to the Nixon Years today with what was hoped to be a yearly event, but never quite accomplished, a State Of the Judiciary address delivered by Chief Justice Warren Burger in 1970.

Burger was a Nixon appointment, after the failed attempt at appointing Abe Fortas to the position during Lyndon Johnson's last months in office. Fortas was the object of a filibuster by Republicans and Warren stayed on until Nixon came to office.

Burger received a decidedly mixed review of his time as Chief Justice. He was instrumental in delivering many of the decisions regarding Nixon and Watergate, but he was also largely instrumental for the trend in deregulation from which we are suffering under today.

In his State of The Judiciary, he decried the lack of funding for the Court and how the Judiciary has changed considerably since the beginning of the 20th century.

Chief Justice Warren Burger: “The Federal courts need, and they need it immediately, a court executive or administrator for each of the eleven circuits and for every busy trial court. We need them to serve as the traffic managers and a sense as have hospitals used Administrators for the past forty years to relieve doctors and nurses of Management duties. We are almost a half century behind the Medical profession. In our basic principles it is indeed important that we maintain our links with the past and build carefully upon those foundations because they are the result of thousands of years of human experience in the evolution of the law. There is great value in stability, predictability and continuity. But the procedures and the methods of the law ought to respond more swiftly. Hospitals, doctors, farmers and businessmen have changed their methods and we must change ours and bring them up to date.”

Ironic that he cites the Medical Profession as a model of efficient advancement, since it was his decision to relax the regulations on Physician Owned Hospitals. And we all know where that headed.

At the end of the address, George Herman of CBS News hosts a round table discussion/assessment of Burger from Senator Sam Ervin, former Attorney General Ramsay Clark and Ernest Friesen. Sam Ervin, as you'll remember, achieved prominence if not pop-star status as Head of the Watergate Hearings in 1973.

(Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes - Senator Alben W. Barkley - Message bearers)

(Note: This is a repost from 2009 - the memory jog continues)

1937 was the year President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a bill which would raise the number of Justices sitting on the Supreme Court bench from 9 to 15. He also added mandatory retirement at 70. Since many of the sitting Justices were at or beyond that age, Roosevelt foresaw a wholesale revamping of the court. Critics (among whom were former President Herbert Hoover) were hostile to the bill and its ramifications, calling it "Court Packing" and claiming it would would give FDR limitless power to enact more New Deal legislation.

Nonetheless, FDR set out to establish a series of "Townhalls" which were set up all over the country to get public support of his plan. Cabinet and Senate members who were loyal supporters of FDR and judicial revamping put forth the Presidents case for the bill.

Ickes: “ What have the President’s opponents been able to say to you? The Chief Justice and two other justices, the three averaging the age of 78, have told you that a court of nine judges is more efficient than a court of more than nine judges. But at the same time they serve notice that they would refuse to answer questions which might reveal whether a court of nine judges efficient in torturing the Constitution, might possibly be less desirable to the people of America than a court of more than nine willing to give men, women, children and democracy a chance to live.”

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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.

The controversy surrounding the Pentagon Papers, and their release to the public was unprecedented in history. Putting it in contemporary perspective, it most closely rivaled that of Wikileaks and the release of sensitive and potentially embarrassing government documents to the public.

The Pentagon Papers basically exposed (or confirmed) a vast series of coverups, deceits and falsehoods during the Vietnam War. The papers were damning to our Foreign Policy, our Military complex and the White House.

Key to the release of those papers was a former Pentagon Official, Daniel Ellsberg, who presented them to The New York Times, where excerpts were published. The resulting storm brought under fire and repercussions, not only Ellsberg and The New York Times, but the whole question of censorship and National Security and the Public's right to know, especially where it concerned the lives of so many of its citizens.

In the end, The Supreme Court sided with Ellsberg and The New York Times. and this broadcast, aired shortly after the decision was given, attempts to cover those bases.

Here is the special program, originally aired on June 30, 1971 from NBC News "The Supreme Court And The Pentagon Papers"

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.

Breaking news on this day in February, 1988. After an all day debate on Military funding for the Nicaraguan Contra rebels, the house voted 219-211 to deny the Reagan request. Since it had already given over $36 million in aid opponents called on the House to "give peace a chance", a phrase that was widely mocked and ridiculed by the hawks and the White House.

Meanwhile - The Senate approved by a vote of 97-0 the confirmation of Justice Anthony Kennedy to the Supreme Court. Speaking of courts, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that Surrogate Mother contracts were akin to baby selling, which were considered illegal, so the Baby M controversy got a major set-back. On the matter of Election 1988, Presidential hopeful Bob Dole was being accused of handing favors to friends in the form of fat government contracts. Dole feigned amnesia.

Speaking of amnesia; Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega was to be indicted by the U.S. government for drug trafficking, even though it was casually revealed Noriega was on the CIA payroll to the tune of $200,000 a year for well over a decade as some sort of anti-Communist operation. The G-Man giveth - the G-Man taketh away.

An oil slick from a spill of some 300,000 gallons of crude was making its way to the Brittany coast of France. The uproar in Paris was palpable. And on the subject of uproars, it was discovered Brazil had entered into a very lucrative arms deal with Libya. That little bon mots didn't sit well with Capitol Hill.

And so it went, spinning quietly out of control this February 3rd 1988 as reported by CBS News and CBS Special Reports.

January 20th in 1980 came on a Sunday and most of the news this day had to do with events of the past week, with one notable exception.

News from the White House made it clear that Jimmy Carter would indeed impose a boycott on the Moscow Summer Olympics if the Soviet Union didn't withdraw from Afghanistan within the month. A scramble was on to suggest alternative sites, including a suggestion the Olympics have a permanent site in Athens. Aside from tacit support from the UK and a few other allies, the majority opinion was dead-against a move on such short notice.

Meanwhile, the UN unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the Soviet incursion. The Soviets in turn went on a Public Relations campaign, beginning with ejecting all foreign press from Afghanistan. This hot on the heels of expulsion of American press from Iran, based on "unkind portrayals" of the new regime. Last dispatches from Tehran did indicate growing dissatisfaction with the Khomeni government and news of rioting breaking out in various towns around Iran.

From Yugoslavia, word that Tito had to have his leg amputated and the operation was moderately successful. Still, it was a waiting game in Belgrade as there were no happy endings in the foreseeable future.

And to end the week, on a sad note. It was learned former Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas had passed away at age 81. A much admired and respected member of the Court, Douglas had been appointed by FDR when Justice Brandeis retired and was the longest serving member of the Supreme Court, from 1939-1975 and was, as Time Magazine said "the most doctrinaire and committed civil libertarian ever to sit on the court".

Some week. And it was reported on CBS Radio's The World This Week for Sunday January 20, 1980.

If you were somehow jettisoned back in time and woke up this morning, realizing it was 1978 . . .and you had the misfortune of living on the East coast, you'd be blanketed in snow and contemplating wind chill factors of up to -50 degrees as you staggered out of bed.

And that's what happened on this particular January 10th in 1978. A massive Cold Wave hit the Eastern United States covering just about everything in snow and buffeting everything in its wake with freezing temperatures, as low as -26 in some parts - a veritable heatwave where it got up to -6.

And joining the misery, only in a wet way, was the West coast with torrential rains, flooding and landslides complicating just about everyone's morning.

All in all, the inclement weather was responsible for 8 deaths with the number certain to rise in the coming hours.

But in the rest of the world . . . .The Shah of Iran was flying to Saudi Arabia to make the pitch on behalf of Egypt over Anwar Sadat's Middle East Peace initiative. Sadat was getting a lot of flak from Arab countries over engaging in a peace mission with Israel and supporters were doing their best to paint a positive picture to the suspicious. In Israel through, Menahem Begin denied rumors of a land swap as part of the peace settlement. And so it went between Cairo and Tel-Aviv.

In Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) racial violence continued with deaths mounting, primarily among White farmers.

The Supreme Court was getting down to business today, reviewing a mountain of cases before them, including one which argued over the legality of a Mother having her teenage daughter sterilized and whether or not a judge can be held libel for actions not permitted by law. It promised to be interesting year at SCOTUS. And Justice William Brennan had been diagnosed with Throat Cancer and was receiving Chemo and expected to recover.

And that's how this day went, January 10, 1978 as reported on the CBS World News Roundup.