IMO, you guys are being a little tough on Nixon. Sure, the Watergate thing. Tricky Dick loved to play hardball. but he lost that time. but remember, he got us out of Vietnam and opened trade with China which was huge at that time.
Not unlike them at all but. Kennedy took a hardline don't help the French approach as a senator and then changed his tune when running for POTUS because he couldn't be seen as soft on communism. LBJ was a little different. He took over a mess and then the south Vietnam government was collapsing...he had to escalate. But he had also tee'd up peace by the time he left office....something history has never credited for. Nixon took a shit on that would be peace and expanded into Laos and Cambodia...committed a fuck ton of war crimes doing so.
I get your point. But we went into those two countries because we had to. That's where the enemy was. They'd cross the boarder, attack and run back. They did this for years. Nixon had enough of that and said, "go get 'em". But, in the end, he got us out of that mess. He called it "peace with honor". I don't know about that, but still, he got us out. Gotta give Nixon some credit. Have you ever seen the Ken Burns series about the Vietnam war on PBS ?? If not, watch it !!!! It's great !!!!!
We didn't have to. Nixon could have began his withdraw and Vietnamization in 69. He didn't have to wait until 72. He got us out of a mess that he made bigger. It wasn't peace with honor...it wasn't really peace. As, as mentioned, our forces there committed a ton of war crimes. I give Nixon credit for the things he deserves credit for. Giving him credit for Nam would be like giving someone credit for putting out a fire that they purposely started. Loved the Ken Burns series....I thought he navigated the political divide of the war very well. The overwhelming feeling I got from it though just reinforced my long standing opinion of just how unnecessary the war was.
I remember seeing the list of dead soldiers every night on the news. I was born in 64, so was a child then.
The problem with wars back in the 60’s is they were done under the guise of saving the world from communism. The best way to skirt communism was to just watch it economically implode.
The things I saw/heard on the series completely changed my mind on the whole thing. I AGREE WITH THAT STATEMENT.
We know that now. Communism/socialism doesn't work. It looks good on paper. But in reality ???? Nope !! It's the government in charge of everything. Name me a government that's ever been able to pull that off in the history of the world !!!!!
I was born in '56. I was a sophomore/junior?? in high school when they ended the draft. I would have gone but was not looking forward to it.
I had to register for the draft when I graduated high school in 1982. And if I didn’t I would have been screwed later when I needed certain benefits and they asked for proof that I registered.
I didn't register until I was 19. (a year late) And oh, did they give me shit about that !! My response to it was "your not drafting anyone". They didn't seem to care about that. They said "it's the law". They didn't do anything to me but I still got an ear full.
I heard it through the grapevine Not longer would you be mine I bet you wonder how I knew I heard through someone you knew
We have our Reagan/Nixon mixed. One of the things I give Nixon credit for is enabling kidney conditions to be covered by medicare. I'm more "no" than "yes" on how well he handled foreign relations at the time. Reagan's positives (immunity/one shot path to citizenship, 92 months straight of an economic boom before taking the toilet, increased spending on education, and expanding federal wildlife areas to avoid corporations ripping it all down for highways, Walmarts, and gas stations). These push him just outside my top 5 worst. Don't get me wrong, "trickle down"/voodoo economics, Iran Contra, Cobra, how he ignored the AIDs epidemic, stepping on a federal union with a contract when air traffic controllers went on strike, his vilification of most social programs, and how he opposed extending the Civil Rights bills/fought against MLK holiday--along with what you pointed out aren't good things. The United States. You know, the times we say we need to revert back to to "make America great again." Most European nations, Japan, Australia, and Canada today too. I want approach the topic of "socialism" objectively, not passionately. We know what right winged pundits want you to think about it (as well as what's been eaten up by voters without examination of the topic on their own accord), but I'll bite here. I don't see socialism or "big government" as the boogeyman, nor should most normal people. Government is something we created and we fill the entity with people, some of which are inherently bad. Because where I get lost in the conversation of "socialism being bad for America" is fallacy 1: shitbag A politician is a greasy, corrupt SOB who fucks shit up, takes a ton of money under the table, and votes against his/her constituents' best interests in the name of lining their own pockets. Said shitbag politician then goes on an entertainment channel like Fox News and says socialism is bad. The individual corrupts the created entity, and where I get lost in this topic is that because shitbag politician A is bad, the entity is bad. That's clearly not the case because the entity was good and worked before. Many parts of America going back to the "good ol' days" were pretty fucking socialist. Eisenhower had a 90% corporate tax rate, which he unselfishly used to turn around America, create jobs to build America's infrastructure of highways/roadways, bringing concepts back from Nazi Germany. Because after WW2 and Korea while nations were rebuilding, he also created jobs through those taxes to make America the manufacturing beacon the world needed (before we outsourced all hte jobs so CEOs can make 7 figure bonuses and they don't have to pay Americans real wages with benefits). What do American companies now do? They do their banking outside the US, circumventing the system where they should pay their fair share--then we APPLAUD them for exploiting loopholes, not paying taxes, and "sticking it to the man!" It also boomed the time where dad worked, mom stayed at home with multiple kids, people had enough for 2 cars, a house, food on the table, and vacations on top of children with a pension after putting in solid time. Roadways (not the tollways) are socialist. Medicare/Medicaid are "socialist," the $1200 bucks people out of work due to Covid got from Trump was socialist. Social Security, minimum wage, public schools. The list in America goes on and on. I get it, flashy pundits or even congress/senators erase history to fit a narrative. Big government must be bad because *insert that one time something bad happened under a big government* so the argument needs to be extreme to stop those in power from getting more money. What gets lost in the talking heads screaming at eachother is that unchecked power corrupts, not a benign entity created (government) that we fill with people to work and formulate American society. I get lost when it gets argued that "government is bad" but it is the direct result of decisions made by those elected and appointed. Take away the people and government is still the same benign entity that isn't inherently evil as those would have you and I believe. Now, to the extremes. I'm sure you've saved the top talking point of bringing up Mao, Stalin, Lenin, Venezuela (the hot one recently) and TONS of other dictators being communist and socialist because that's what Fox entertainment wants you to believe. To that I again say, "power corrupts." Dictators don't run countries with the mindset of "how do I make things better for people" because it's about "me." The political party at that point is window dressing. Those who don't desire unchecked and absolute power have run very successful countries, including the United fucking States on multiple occasions in history. Let those who desire power not pay taxes, amass money, buy media corporations and control what the narrative is and you get: 2020 in America. Where "making America great again" are just words to get you thinking about the good old days without the actual policies of the good old days. The other extreme? The point where those would scream and shout about "well if you tax corporations, they won't have money for R&D, they wont be able to pay people, and you'll hinder someones work! Capitalism is the answer!" The same talking heads want you to believe American socialism = nobody working, "big brother" government takes care of all, nobody can make a name for themselves. Which again, is incorrect. Under Eisenhower and other presidents like FDR, companies still made money. CEOs made money. Shareholders made money. People could still be creative, invent things, patent them, and profit off said invention. You know who else made money? The middle/working class. Its a nice scare tactic that goes hand and hand with what is wanted to be believed. Be kind to the rich CEO class and they will repay us with jobs via "trickling down." It gives me little hope for America. People siding with those who would inflict harm upon them and their communities at all for the sake of a headline of "owning the libs."
Have a forearm shiver (or firearm if you want to risk the headaches of California law) waiting at all times. My sister lives in the heart of downtown San Fran, and homeless people there are amped up something different. They'll ask you for 100 bucks then will walk with you two blocks, continuing to ask you. Unlike Chicago, who give you the midwest passive aggressive "god bless you" after you tell them you have no money.
National Association of Police Organizations endorses Trump after backing Obama-Biden twice Here we go again. Don't believe the polls. Remember four years ago ? Don't think for even a minute that the left is going to acknowledge this. Four more years.
