The Trump Presidency | Biden Inaugurated
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Johnson wasn't a bad president. He got derailed by the Vietnam War. If you have ever listened to audio recordings of him, he was legitimately torn up by what was going on. He couldn't reconcile what was happening in Vietnam on a humanitarian level, with the USA "losing", as in, he couldn't find a way to get out of the war, or end the war. It might seem like a simple solution, just walk away, but it wasn't that simple, it was a catch-22. Just walk away, America suffers potentially an irreparable of loss of face and prestige. Walk away and the South falls (they did actually believe the domino theory), vs staying in and trying to find a path forward. Ultimately, instead of continuing with that struggle, he walked away. However you view it today, you have to understand their decision making from their point of view. What they thought, believed, knew, and considered. What is apparent when you look at two of the most maligned characters in the war, Johnson and McNamara, they didn't want what happened. McNamara especially wanted the USA to get out once he realized what was happening, but he shut his mouth and didn't undermine the war. It came out much later, the 80's I think, what McNamara actually thought and did. Johnson as well, was very clearly distraught over the humanitarian issues.
Then consider what he wanted to do domestically. Sweeping liberal reforms. He wasn't a bad president, he was a president who got handed a shitty deal, and had the war not been going on, he might have been a great president.
Did he get a shitty deal though ? He didn't inherit the complete mess like Nixon did. Johnson did intensify the US deployment to SE Asia drastically. Correct me if I am wrong of course.
Prolonging the Vietnam war was was a Nixon strategy with which to beat Johnson up with. Kissinger informed Nixon a peace plan was in the pipeline and Nixon scuttled it by telling voters Johnson can't get us out of Vietnam, but I can. At the same time he had a deal with the South Vietnamese to stall the peace talks. Messy. 30k Americans had died by this point. Over 58k were dead by the end. Did 28k die so help Nixon win a Presidency?
These machinations took place near the end of his term. The issue is he deployed hundreds of thousands boots on the ground long before that point.
I agree with much of what you say, except that he reversed Kennedy's decision to leave Vietnam.
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NSAM 263.
https://whowhatwhy.org/2017/09/26/jfk-ordered-full-withdrawal-vietnam-solid-evidence/
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Correct. The point remains is that there might not even have been a Vietnam by the next election, but for Nixon meddling. We will never know that.
However it's interesting to me that many more people died, because Nixon wanted to win an election. That's as downright unpatriotic, traitorous as you get, yet Nixon essentially gets a pass on it because he is Republican. Same reason Trump does for his flirtations with the Russians. I will never understand the Republicans making peace with this and "supporting our troops".
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/05/opinion/sunday/trump-impeachment.html
Decent opinion piece on why Trump is not just another corrupt American politician.
Decent opinion piece on why Trump is not just another corrupt American politician.
His support is definitely the worrying part, or rather the amount of support. That his approval rating is still hovering around 40% blows my mind every time I see it. The thing is that I don't really blame Trump for being Trump, we all knew he would be a complete trainwreck and he obviously isn't capable of doing it in any other way. However I don't think a lot of us expected that two years later so many people would still be ok with having such a monumental moron leading their country and it's downright scary to see his supporters twist and turn every single one of their moral fibres to defend him.
It's a 'the end justifies the means' mentality on a level I've never seen before and it's come to a point now when I'm just waiting for Trump to suggest something like boosting American car sales by sending attack submarines to sink cargo ships with European cars heading over the Atlantic and 40% of the US population will go "YES, it's great to have a president who cares about American jobs!"
Wait till the markets properly sink from "Trumponomics" and those people getting a "little extra" in their pay cheques end up paying more again... that's when the tides turn.
However you still have supporters who blindly follow the GOP no matter who is President or even just Trump's base which makes up at least 30% of the population.
However you still have supporters who blindly follow the GOP no matter who is President or even just Trump's base which makes up at least 30% of the population.
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Mainly due to racism and ignorance.
Presumably this been asked before, but how do most Americans feel about the shutdown? I get that it doesn't have much impact on the day to day citizens, at least in the short term, and if it doesn't impact on them then they're ambivalent from that perspective.
The bit that I don't get is it seems people are ambivalent about the fact it makes 800k people temporarily unemployed, and for purely political reasons. Does the average American not empathise with this people, or is that empathy just not broadcast in the media? Doesn't it signal how little politicians care about the average American worker?
It's not like they were forced to do it, or they don't have other tactics they can employ for their legitimate political goals. They just think their lives matter so little that they can be a political weapon whenever they fancy it.
The bit that I don't get is it seems people are ambivalent about the fact it makes 800k people temporarily unemployed, and for purely political reasons. Does the average American not empathise with this people, or is that empathy just not broadcast in the media? Doesn't it signal how little politicians care about the average American worker?
It's not like they were forced to do it, or they don't have other tactics they can employ for their legitimate political goals. They just think their lives matter so little that they can be a political weapon whenever they fancy it.
Well if you're going to by some of the Trump supporters on social media,overall,I dont think they really care about the shutdown.And those who are effected should,quoting some of Trump's fanbase, "get real jobs".
Yeah, the majority I've read essentially said that those government workers are on cushy jobs with 'Cadillac' healthcare so they should quit crying.Well if you're going to by some of the Trump supporters on social media,overall,I dont think they really care about the shutdown.And those who are effected should,quoting some of Trump's fanbase, "get real jobs".
Nevermind the fact that average wage for gov workers is distorted a lot by VA doctors, or many of them are on tempt contracts etc. It does explain a bit their antipathy to anyone outside of the US when they even treat their own countrymen that way.
If there is one thing I know since 16 is that trump supporters haven't got a clue of how shit works, especially the government.
I wrote out a long-winded reply to this but then realized that "empathy is in short supply in America" was the better response.
sometimes a few words are all that's needed. That in itself is a genuine tragedy.That's the wrong way of looking at it. The country is divided into factions, one that definitely doesn't care (Trump supporters) and the rest are either ambivalent or too busy making ends meet to get upset about something that doesn't affect them.
Why waste time say lot word when few word do trick?
Part of the “I’m alright Jack” culture that seems to be endemic in the US. It’s also evident in their attitude to healthcare for one thing, which is something you don’t see in many...if any...other parts of the world.
Yeah I kinda thought the same when I was writing it. There is no average American. But then you can extend that argument all the way down to Trump supporters - are they really one faction? They don't think so.
If we can generalise to that degree, why is it that Trump supporters definitely dont care? Beyond pure partisanship, I mean. I know most republicans don't like big government, but I assume that doesn't mean they dislike government workers. Just the institution. Or is that totally wrong?
I've no doubt a large portion of the UK would care a lot more about it than the US seems to. In Northern Ireland the public sector is about 65% of the economy, so it's unique in the UK never mind elsewhere, but the vast majority are unhappy about our own version of the government shutdown over partisan bollocks. And these people still get paid! (to work elsewhere in the civil service)
I can't imagine what would need to change culturally for us to think it was ok to use public servants as political pawns.
the only person who is using public servants as political pawns is the idiot in the WH.
Wall? There is no such thing. Its the race card. To give in to this is give a pass to pure racism.
The Mueller findings will need to be acted on.
And the full force of the law applied....
without mercy.
Wall? There is no such thing. Its the race card. To give in to this is give a pass to pure racism.
The Mueller findings will need to be acted on.
And the full force of the law applied....
without mercy.
In the US it's closer to 15%. Also, there's a bit of an inversion of how public servants are perceived in Europe vs the US. Europeans tend to look at public services as an expected return on their taxes and as such, the public servants who work to provide them services are viewed as fundamental. In the US, where entrepreneurship is allegedly held in high esteem, public servants are often viewed as people who are reliant on other people's taxes to sustain themselves and therefore if a shutdown happens, public sympathy isn't nearly where it would be if something like this happened in another country.
Don't underestimate the pure partisanship from either the Republicans or Democrats in the US. Reality is that the Democrats blame Trump 100% for the shutdown thus absolving themselves of any guilt. And the reverse for the Republicans, the shutdown is 100% the Democrats fault. Its simple, ask any of the Democrats why they don't feel empathy to compromise during the shutdown. Its clear the Democrats care more about not allowing Trump a win on the wall than they do the plight of any workers.
Because Trump's fanbase works a lot, right? They spend most of the time on Twitter licking Trump's ass.Well if you're going to by some of the Trump supporters on social media,overall,I dont think they really care about the shutdown.And those who are effected should,quoting some of Trump's fanbase, "get real jobs".
@Brwned
To shed more light on this fact, a common phrase conservatives like to throw out is, “those who can, do... and those who can’t, teach”, when talking about public school teachers.
Naw, its technically not the same font. You can't sue someone for using similar imagery.
Are the FBI classed as federal (government) employees?
And theCIA, Navy, the Air Force, the Army and the police?
And theCIA, Navy, the Air Force, the Army and the police?
Sure , but not every federal employee has to go home.
The Secret Service arnt being paid i believe.
Then they should leave him alone at the WH or wherever he is atm. I’m sure if these workers all downed tools he’d find a way to pay them pretty quick.
Shame that for the rest Egypt isn't that free. But it's another dictator loved by Donald.
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53000 TSA employees.... What does that entail for airport operations ? Even bigger queues I presume
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Put together like this, it’s actually hard to believe any normal, thinking person wouldn’t look at this abomination and go ‘yeah, he’s full of shite’.
They are meant to work on through the shut down but "coincidently" enough everyone has called in sick53000 TSA employees.... What does that entail for airport operations ? Even bigger queues I presume
bit of the flu going around i suspect.https://www.theroot.com/tsa-agents-want-no-parts-of-unpaid-work-during-governme-1831527815
Apparently these guys don't even get backpay what the majority of federal employees usually get in a shutdown situation (allegedy)
Imagine if a terrorist sneaks through in the midst of this flu epidemic.They are meant to work on through the shut down but "coincidently" enough everyone has called in sick
https://www.theroot.com/tsa-agents-want-no-parts-of-unpaid-work-during-governme-1831527815
Apparently these guys don't even get backpay what the majority of federal employees usually get in a shutdown situation (allegedy)
And it's only a "partial" government shutdown.They are meant to work on through the shut down but "coincidently" enough everyone has called in sick
https://www.theroot.com/tsa-agents-want-no-parts-of-unpaid-work-during-governme-1831527815
Apparently these guys don't even get backpay what the majority of federal employees usually get in a shutdown situation (allegedy)
The US seems to have useless Unions too. Where are the Union officials now! They should call everyone out on strike. No pay then no working.They are meant to work on through the shut down but "coincidently" enough everyone has called in sick
https://www.theroot.com/tsa-agents-want-no-parts-of-unpaid-work-during-governme-1831527815
Apparently these guys don't even get backpay what the majority of federal employees usually get in a shutdown situation (allegedy)
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