Saturday Night Live premiered during the Ford years, and SNL's Chevy Chase lampooned the "deathwatch" mentality of network news with updates on the health of Generalissimo Francisco Franco, fascist dictator of Spain. The first time Chase reported on Franco's death he read a quote from Nixon: "General Franco was a loyal friend and ally of the United States. He earned worldwide respect for Spain through firmness and fairness" accompanied by the picture below.
Chase as the anchor of "Weekend Update" continued to apprise his audience on Franco's health week after week with lines like: "This breaking news just in, Generalísimo Francisco Franco is still dead!" So it only seems fitting, given the wall to wall Ford funeral coverage and the fact that Chevy Chase played a major role in cementing the idea in the public's mind that Ford was a bumbling buffoon, to state unequivocally that "BREAKING: Former President Gerald Ford is still dead"
Much more serious is the state of Senator Tim Johnson's health. He will not be able to be at the convening of the new Congress. Dr. Vivek Deshmukh, head of Johnson's surgical team, stated that Johnson "continues to be responsive to both his family and physicians, following commands, squeezing his wife's hand, and understanding speech."
Johnson has been on a ventilator since his surgery due to fluid in his lungs, but according to the good doctor, "His breathing has steadily improved and now he only requires ventilator assistance at night." They hope to take Johnson completely off the ventilator next week and test his speech. He has not spoken since his December 13 surgery. They have also taken him off nearly two weeks of sedation.
I don't want to mirror the "deathwatch" mentality that Chase satirized so well in 1975. And I dont want to be gruesome because Johnson's continued recovery is great news for the Senate. The American people voted against dictatorship on November 7, and there is no way South Dakota's Republican Governor is going to reverse that. So to recap:
Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead
Former President Gerald Ford is still dead
Senator Tim Johnson is off sedation and coming off the ventilator next week.
To quote Mother Jones: "Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living"