"American Idiot" song on chart for Trump's visit

[Herlock Sholmes]

Thanks HS
I did! I spent the day knitting and watching old Lawrence Welk reruns. It was outta control!

Abby, are you sure you aren’t Keith Richards?

[Abby Normal]

Abby, are you sure you aren’t Keith Richards?

yes Im sure-but I did just recently read his autobiography!

[Mayerling]

RJ,

I was living in the USA (Ohio) when Jimmy Carter was President, and a little afterwards, and the impression I had was that the people didn't think much of him. Up in Ohio, at least. When Reagan was voted in, it seemed to me that he was far more popular, even though to me and other non-Americans he didn't quite seem the full shilling. But at least neither of these gentlemen went about bad-mouthing other countries and the citizens of other countries. And incidentally, you missed out mentioning Margaret Thatcher, who was actually admired by most Americans that I knew and conversed with.

I suppose the true colours of any national leader only come out after he/she has been voted into high office - in 1933 most Germans genuinely believed that Adolf would be just the job for Germany.

It's a funny old world......

Graham

Every President, good, mediocre, or poor, will have supporters and critics. It is inevitable. It's true (as you observed in Germany in the 1930s) in other countries as well. There were plenty of "Chamberlain Men" in 1937-1939, who though highly of Nevil, until he proved poor at confronting Adolf, and in fighting World War II. And they too could point to somethings to back them.
Chamberlain wanted to reform the health care and education systems in Britain. It was a family tradition going back to his father Joe. I sometimes wish he had been Prime Minister at another time - he probably would have been an effective and good one. He was just lousy in foreign policy decisions. Sought of like (in a different context) Herbert Hoover in the U.S., who was terrific in some Progressive ideas he had regarding the nation, but did not really know how to handle the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression because of his "laissez faire" economic background. But he did try to.

Jeff

[DirectorDave]

Ronald Reagan "Evil Empire" speech.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcSm-KAEFFA

You don't get much more bad-mouthing than that.

All in the cause of "Keeping America Great" according to Ronnie.


Funny thing is....a year or so later Reagan sat down with the leader of that "Evil Empire" and forged peace.

There is a lot of all our yesterdaying about Reagan but he seemed to be able to build bridges with his charisma alone.

I don't believe QAnon is real, I think it's someone just larping....but the idea of an establishment that never thought they'd lose power again like they did with Kennedy and Reagan does make sense even if it is ultimately untrue.

[Limehouse]

Every President, good, mediocre, or poor, will have supporters and critics. It is inevitable. It's true (as you observed in Germany in the 1930s) in other countries as well. There were plenty of "Chamberlain Men" in 1937-1939, who though highly of Nevil, until he proved poor at confronting Adolf, and in fighting World War II. And they too could point to somethings to back them.
Chamberlain wanted to reform the health care and education systems in Britain. It was a family tradition going back to his father Joe. I sometimes wish he had been Prime Minister at another time - he probably would have been an effective and good one. He was just lousy in foreign policy decisions. Sought of like (in a different context) Herbert Hoover in the U.S., who was terrific in some Progressive ideas he had regarding the nation, but did not really know how to handle the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression because of his "laissez faire" economic background. But he did try to.

Jeff

On the other hand, some people argue that Chamberlain's 'peace in our time' agreement with Hitler bought us time, allowing us to build up our arms and train up our armed services for possible war. Perhaps he was not so much weak, as pragmatic.

Regarding Trump, if he was one of my students aged 16-19, I would suspect he had some form of 'social and emotional' problem. His lack of human warmth, his egotistic behaviour, his failure to observe even the most basic of 'personal space' rules and his tendency to blame everything he can't readily understand or respond to as 'fake news' add up to a personality disorder.

[Graham]

Someone on UK TV last week described Trump as appearing to believe he is an ongoing reality show. Sums him up, I think.

Hi Julie,

great to see you posting, and I hope you're keeping well!

I agree with you about Chamberlain - history hasn't been kind to him, but he was very well aware that in 1938 Great Britain was in no position to militarily challenge Adolf. He bought us time, even if by doing so other European countries were to suffer under the Nazis, and he himself was accused of 'appeasement'.

Something else largely forgotten these days is that he was not a well man at the time of Munich, and in fact died in November 1940, leaving Winston as very much the Man of the Moment.

Graham

[Limehouse]

Someone on UK TV last week described Trump as appearing to believe he is an ongoing reality show. Sums him up, I think.

Hi Julie,

great to see you posting, and I hope you're keeping well!

I agree with you about Chamberlain - history hasn't been kind to him, but he was very well aware that in 1938 Great Britain was in no position to militarily challenge Adolf. He bought us time, even if by doing so other European countries were to suffer under the Nazis, and he himself was accused of 'appeasement'.

Something else largely forgotten these days is that he was not a well man at the time of Munich, and in fact died in November 1940, leaving Winston as very much the Man of the Moment.

Graham

Hi Graham,

Thanks for your warm greeting. I do pop in from time to time but don't really have the mental energy for vigorous debate these days.

I agree, Chamberlain has been judged harshly and Churchill (in my opinion) has been given far too much credit. However, what difficult jobs they had to do - in very difficult times - so who am I to judge?

Yesterday was the birthday of that great American folk singer - Woody Guthrie. I wonder what he would have made of President Trump?

Kind regards,

Julie

[Graham]

Yesterday was the birthday of that great American folk singer - Woody Guthrie. I wonder what he would have made of President Trump

Mincemeat.

Graham

[Harry D]

Where was the public backlash when the Turkish president or the Saudi crown prince visited the UK?

Hate Trump all you want, I don’t care. It’s the hypocrisy and doublethink that gets me.

[Limehouse]

Where was the public backlash when the Turkish president or the Saudi crown prince visited the UK?

Hate Trump all you want, I don’t care. It’s the hypocrisy and doublethink that gets me.

Well Harry, there WERE protests when both of these people visited the UK! There has been especially strong protest against the Saudis in particular and certainly I know personally many people who have been opposing Ergodan, one of them a British journalist based in Turkey.

The media do not tend to cover these protests very much but protest we certainly do.

I don't hate Trump. I pity him. He is almost certainly and tragically mentally deficient.

[Graham]

It’s the hypocrisy and doublethink that gets me.

Why should it? It's something Americans have excelled at for at least the last century.

Graham

[Sam Flynn]

Where was the public backlash when the Turkish president or the Saudi crown prince visited the UK?

Quite, but Turkey and Saudi Arabia aren't exactly renowned for being bastions of freedom and democracy, unlike the USA. When Trump, the leader of the most allegedly "advanced" nation in the world, behaves in such a regressive, rude and ignorant manner, it's all the more shocking. Indeed, the very fact that such a buffoon was even allowed to run for office amazes me - if he'd applied for any other job, he'd have been sifted out before the interview stage.

[Abby Normal]

Why should it? It's something Americans have excelled at for at least the last century.

Graham

Now im no social scientist but i do beleve that is an overgeneralization.

[Pcdunn]

I don't hate Trump. I pity him. He is almost certainly and tragically mentally deficient.

I agree, but to hear Trump tell it, he is "a very stable genius"!

[Mayerling]

Why should it? It's something Americans have excelled at for at least the last century.

Graham

Possibly. I think we learned it from our forebears - Britain. However, to be perfectly fair, I believe "doublethink" (a term invented by one of my favorite Englishmen) is used by every country.

Jeff