Dead Gerald Ford

[maryportfuncity 10,654]

If they were fighting for his life there'd be more news than this, tests and thinking about how to treat a potentially life threatening problem I reckon.

 

He could still see mid-November and that long-living record.

[Guest Guest_iain_*]

Had a strange dream about Gerald Ford last night. Basically, it was the duty of myself, along with my best friend and his sexy mother, to take Gerald out for the day and entertain him. After some rock climbing and some escapades with my friend's mother trying to seduce him, we decided to head down to the beach. There, in surf shorts and all, we treated Gerry Ford to a day at the beach.

 

Just then, though, the sky and the sea turned black and rumours of a monster in the ocean spread around. Waves crashed and we couldn't avoid them, so we all got soaked. The beast was upon us, and it was none other than Cthulhu and his servants. Battleships and aircraft carriers were being tossed about mercilessly in the black-green sludge that was once the shoreline. I went to wake the old captain at the docks, and all he said was that the tidal waves coming in were "disaster force" and he crawled back into his hovel. Before I could catch up to him, the U.S. military came and blasted the enemies to pieces. Many died and the docks were ruined, but the four of us survived.

 

Later on, in a suit and tie, Gerald Ford was ready to leave. I shook his hand and said "you'll need quite a few drinks after today." He agreed and said that this was one of the worst days he'd ever hand. Then I pulled out a toy, which he thought was a smoke and quipped "I could use one of those too." Then he left and I woke up.

 

Wonder what it means? Where's Banshees when you need him?

 

 

it means you need to get off the LSD mate

[Guest Guest_iain_*]

A statement regarding the condition of president Ford is imminent.

[Guest Guest_iain_*]

Should Gerald Ford die this was just added onto his wikipedia page today strangely enough.

 

Gerald Ford

 

Funeral plans for former presidents are written out by the Presidents themselves and kept by the Military District of Washington, which oversees state funerals until their death and then the funeral is performed to their wishes. Ford the oldest of the living ex-presidents, has requested a state funeral and plans to be buried at his Presidential Library honoring him in his former hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan called the Gerald R. Ford Library

 

So Gerald Ford will get a state funeral, it will be interesting to compare media coverage and attendence of that event with Reagan's funeral considering he was President for a much shorter period, didnt capture the public nor the world's attention as much and was President so long ago that a sizable percentage of the population wasnt even born yet. I am 25 years old and its interesting to think he was defeated by Carter about four years before I was even born! Reagan's death was a media circus as was Nixon's about a decade earlier but will Ford's death be as big of a deal? I have alot of respect for Ford myself, as a democrat he is my favorite republican president of recent decades.

 

 

I think Ford is taking a liberty requesting a staTE funeral considering he wa s never even elected to the post and only served 2 years in it.Clearly he is a very arrogant man

[CarolAnn 926]

I think Ford is taking a liberty requesting a staTE funeral considering he wa s never even elected to the post and only served 2 years in it.Clearly he is a very arrogant man

 

Ummmm......he was the President of the United States. Presidents get state funerals if they want them. Doesn't matter how they get to be President. Vice Presidents exist in case something happens to Presidents. Something happened to Nixon. Ford was a legitimate President according to the U.S. Constitution.

 

Legit President = State Funeral.

 

Oh - by the way, Ford isn't any more arrogant than any other politician and probably less arrogant than many.

[Guest Guest_iain_*]

I thin ewe're talking hours for him to live rather than days if he is stil alive.I could be wrong though...

[Octopus of Odstock 2,201]

How strange that you, a UK student, should have the scoop to all these sightings, rumours, hearses, funeral plans & deaths, over the entire press corps of the world.

[maryportfuncity 10,654]

Maybe another Gerald Ford lives round the corner from Iain and is very ill.

 

I think all the evidence for the former president suggests he'll see out a few of the other DL candidates and some of the current forum favourites.

[Phantom 2,534]

I thin ewe're talking hours for him to live rather than days if he is stil alive.I could be wrong though...

 

I suspect the statement will be that he is due to be released from Mayo Clinic in the next couple of days.

They kept him in over the weekend for "testing & evaluation".

[Phantom 2,534]

I think Ford is taking a liberty requesting a staTE funeral considering he wa s never even elected to the post and only served 2 years in it.Clearly he is a very arrogant man

 

He may have only served 2 years, but he is entitled to a state funeral.

There have been much worse presidents and some have served even less than Ford

 

 

From The Simpsons

 

We are the mediocre presidents!

You won't find our faces on dollars or on cents

There's Taylor, there's Tyler, there's Fillmore and there's Hayes

There's William Henry Harrison, "I died in thirty days"

We are the adequate, forgettable,

Occasionally regrettable

Caretaker presidents of the USA!

[chicago103 41]

Its Monday afternoon and there is still no press release about the condition of Gerald Ford. I think this is strange because when he was in the hospital in December, January, and July they had pretty frequent reports on his condition, the first two he was there for about 10 days. I think something serious is going on and the family is trying to keep it a secret until something must be said.

 

Hypothetically if Ford is dying and the family wishes to keep it a secret until he dies how difficult would that be to keep it from the press and all? When Nixon had his fatal stroke in 1994, there was a media vigil at the hospital for the few days until he died, Reagan had a very public decline with Alzhiemers but the pnemonia that actually did him in was pretty much unknown by the media until the death announcement was made. However Nixon and Reagan were much more larger than life world figures than Ford is. Its possible that the Ford family just doesnt want a media death vigil and would prefer to just announce his death when it happens and since the media isnt as obsessed with Ford's persona there isnt a need to get a scoop about it by reporters.

 

This secrecy is quite strange though and thats what makes me wonder, he could be going the Reagan route and have a private dying process and then a public death, media coverage, and state funeral. I mean he has been in the hosptial for six days now, who goes to a hospital for that long, even ex-residents, just for routine tests?

[Guest Guest]

BREAKING NEWS- President Gerald Ford has just undergone surgery at the Mayo Clinic to implant a cardiac pacemaker to improve his heartbeat. CNN is reporting that Ford is resting comfortably with his wife Betty and his children at his bedside. It is hoped that this will help him be more comfortable in the weeks and months ahead.

[Octopus of Odstock 2,201]

Iain was right in one sense. There was a statement due immimently.

Iain was wrong in the other sense. It is not to announce Ford's demise.

 

Ford "stable" in Mayo hospital.

 

Ford has pacemaker fitted. "President Ford comfortable & will be released in about a week."

 

iain, just F**k off. It's not even mildly amusing now to read your posts.

[maryportfuncity 10,654]

There's no hard evidence anywhere on line. But it could be some long term condition, like maybe calcified heart valves, where his life isn't in immediate danger but they'd have to monitor and check before intervening. In which case the visits could be part of a process where they're wondering whether to operate - dodgy at his age but maybe the only option - or look at the impact of drug treatments in the hope of avoiding the operation, just guessin' here like, but it fits with the information we have.

 

Oi, I know my posting lacks the immediate impact and all round entertainment value of Iain, but this was a passable call a few days back. Guessed the heart bit right and probably the monitoring and guessing ahead of the decision. Just made a bad call on exactly where the 93 year old ticker was deficient.

[chicago103 41]

A 93 year old man having a pacemaker installed? I guess thats what the testing and evaluation was for, to see if surgery was advisable for someone of his advanced age. I have a grandmother who is 89 and had a heart attack recently and the doctors said getting a pacemaker installed at that age is quite risky and so far she doesnt have one. I guess Ford got lucky and the surgery went just fine, however I wonder what the risks are with someone of his advanced age and a new device like that in his body, is there a chance of rejection by the body, complications from the surgery? It would have been pretty odd if something would have happened during surgery, imagine the headlines "Gerald Ford dies while attempting to have a pacemaker installed" especially after hearing nothing about his condition for days. It still begs the question why the secrecy?

 

I imagine his condition had to be pretty serious to the point that he needed this pacemaker to survive, I imagine when he was in the hospital in July for shortness of breath that his doctors told him that he just nearly missed the big one and that he should have a pacemaker installed, hence why the appointment to the Mayo Clinic was made. This device may ensure that he breaks Reagan's record but it still doesnt bode well for his overall longevity, he must be suffering from congestive heart failure, there might even be a chance he might die from complications from this surgery. Stroke, pnemonia, congestive heart failure survivor, he is pretty lucky to have survived all of that for as long as he has.

[GracieJc8 3]

I suspect you are probably right Chicago. Ford is likely suffering from congestive heart failure and this procedure is just a desperate attempt to prolong his life. I'm still not sure if he breaks the longevity record in November. A 93 year old man with the heart and respiratory problems like he has had cannot be expected to last long overall. The news says that Ford is being kept in the hospital for several more days. And there are potential complications from this. You mentioned stroke and pneumonia and there's always just plain heart failure from old age. This will be a story to watch for the next week or so.

[Banshees Scream 110]

I suspect you are probably right Chicago. Ford is likely suffering from congestive heart failure and this procedure is just a desperate attempt to prolong his life. I'm still not sure if he breaks the longevity record in November. A 93 year old man with the heart and respiratory problems like he has had cannot be expected to last long overall. The news says that Ford is being kept in the hospital for several more days. And there are potential complications from this. You mentioned stroke and pneumonia and there's always just plain heart failure from old age. This will be a story to watch for the next week or so.

 

Ford just had surgery for a pace maker. If he lived untill he were 100 years old you wouldn't find a strange expression on my face.

[Guest Simfish]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Schmidt

 

Schmidt got implemented with a pacemaker in 1981 and is still alive. A pacemaker doesn't say that he's anywhere near death or anything.

 

But it still is of concern.

[Octopus of Odstock 2,201]

Ford just had surgery for a pace maker. If he lived untill he were 100 years old you wouldn't find a strange expression on my face.

 

I agree in a way. I am seriously considering Ford's place in my DDP team next year with this latest news.

[maryportfuncity 10,654]

I doubt it means he'll die right away. Invasive surgery on a 93 year old is serious but all the signs are they investigated the condition carefully. There could have been congestive problems, there could simply have been problems with the regular beating, like Tony Blair had. If he was strong enough to withstand the surgery that suggests his overall level of fitness is good and the breathlessness might not have been any indication of lung problem, just a symptom of the heart misfire. In which case, he's unlikely to be carding record breaking golf rounds anymore but he may well beat Reagan's record, and add a fair bit to it.

[Canadian Paul 97]

Ford just had surgery for a pace maker. If he lived untill he were 100 years old you wouldn't find a strange expression on my face.

 

I agree in a way. I am seriously considering Ford's place in my DDP team next year with this latest news.

 

I'm so conflicted. On one hand, I've never had him on a list before, and I'm not regretting that at the moment. On the other hand, my roommate is 2 for 3 so far with predicting the deaths of Lay, Barrett and Ford, and I'd hate to miss all three...

[Guest Don Bethel]

I'm still predicting that the death of Gerald Ford is imminent. I mean the man is 93 years old and it seems that he and his family are just grasping at straws by having this pacemaker put in. He most likely will not live long at all with this new device.They just want him to become the oldest president ever.That pacemaker could probably have gone to someone younger and who has a better chance of living a long time with it. If the 93 year old's name had been Joe Smith, he never would have gotten the pacemaker. This whole story reminds me of when Mickey Mantle got his liver transplant some years ago and his cancer had already spread and he died shortly thereafter. A perfectly good liver was wasted.Celebs seem to get first pick no matter how old and close to death they are.

[maryportfuncity 10,654]

Famous with a pacemaker:

 

Some CBS newsman called Mike

Dale Evans, Mrs Roy Rogers

 

 

Fitted years ago, none of them - like - dead.

 

Doesn't Elton John have one?

[Phantom 2,534]

Famous with a pacemaker:

 

Some CBS newsman called Mike

Dale Evans, Mrs Roy Rogers

 

 

Fitted years ago, none of them - like - dead.

 

Doesn't Elton John have one?

 

Norman Wisdom

Patrick Moore

to name a couple more

 

Oh and Gerry Marsden had several.... is that the door? excuse me please!!

[Octopus of Odstock 2,201]

Dale Evans, Mrs Roy Rogers

Fitted years ago, none of them - like - dead.

 

Err.. MPFC, Dale Evans died in 2001.