tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post1000631098273839486..comments2024-03-29T02:03:49.151-04:00Comments on History Unfolding: Nixon and TrumpDavid Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05020082243968071584noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-324238794888383182018-03-18T22:03:01.082-04:002018-03-18T22:03:01.082-04:00. . . every previous President recognized that he ...<i> . . . every previous President recognized that he and his office stood for something bigger and had a dignity that he had to try to preserve. </i><br />.<br />Yeah, sure. That is why George W Bush lied the country into the invasion of Iraq and the botched occupation that followed. Why Obama presided over a huge financial crisis brought on by rampant fraud and could find almost no one to prosecute. Why Clinton turned his post-Presidency into a perpetual shakedown to finance his Foundation. Dignity. Hah.<br />.<br />We did not fall off a cliff from some high plateau of normal; we slid down a long, slimy slope to get to Trump. <br /><br />The nation's modern foreign policy establishment -- founded in effect by Woodrow Wilson -- has become a deranged Blob (are you familiar with this reference?). Trump, as personally unprepared as he is, could not be worse than Hillary Clinton, who learned the lesson of Iraq and applied it in Libya and wanted to do so as well in Syria, and who thought Saudi funding of America's enemies a PR problem. <br /><br />As bizarre as the spectacle of Larry Kudlow may be as an economic advisor, the Democratic Party establishment is owned by the financial sector and that is just a fact.<br />. <br />There are many precedents in history for earnest liberals failing to behave responsibly or with even minimal integrity and what followed was authoritarian reaction. We may be experiencing something similar in this generation's incapacity responsible public action or even bare sanity. The fecklessness with which Dems "oppose" Trump scares me as much as Trump himself.<br />Bruce Wilderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09631065564839959376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-54131109759301007542018-03-18T06:40:42.240-04:002018-03-18T06:40:42.240-04:00https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northam...https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8196249/Richard-Nixons-scorn-for-Jews-blacks-Irish-and-Italians-revealed-in-new-tapes.html<br />Nice article from 2010 on Nixon's relatively moderate opinions on various ethnic groups. Trump seems to be insensitive, abrasive. Nixon's comments, opinions about his fellow Americans of various ethnic origin seem based on experienced obsrvation of how the situation was then. Maybe things have changed. Is one allowed to speak about 'the Irish', 'Italians', 'Jews', or'Blacks'in a group sense without an accusation of racism being made. Often I compare my parents, poor Irish catholic father, middle class English mother to discern how I came to my present emotional makeup. My wife's russian/german makeup with its emotional vs. very exacting temperament is similarly disparate. People are not just individuals any more than robins, crows or parakeets are. Of course I enjoy astrology and can analyze anyone to death over their horoscope and ignore sex/race completely. Many friendships/marriages succeed due to personal issues. My parents were virgo/capricorn, my wife's parents, cancer/scorpion and me and my wife have very close astrological connection. In muslim countries many marry cousins, earlier was very typical, Einstein for example. This makes for less social stress. However, as you professor, with your mixed background can attest to, this would be less stressful, less interesting personally. Unfortunately for society as a whole when all of us are constantly looking for contacts the situation can be more difficult when we are all mixed ethnic/ mixed racially and self segregating in times of economic stress in almost paranoid ideological groupings based on precisely the discussion of whether or not our personal ethnic background is discussable or not. Once we get to know people personally background can be overcome, at least partially, thougb never fully. One must take everything into account. As a politician policeman, teacher stereotypes form over time. This helps for quick decision making, basic survival. A group of young white women well dressed, approach me on the street. I feel attraction perhaps. A group of young black men in leather jackets, or young white tattooed muscular types then I could be afraid. <br /><br />I think the current atmosphere is one of crisis mode where everyone is reacting instinctively, atavisticallly, purely out of fear, childhood programming. In generational theory we are at our end. Trump is like a NYC cab driver, born for such times. He can take the stress without batting an eyelid and cuss with the best of them. Nixon was average middle class neurotic conservative white male. Both had probably identical racial stereotypes ingrained and observed personally. Both had strong ties to jews, Israel, despite probable massive mistrust. One overcomes ones fears of any other group one lives with closely but as Lenin said 'trust but check'. A mixed society can be chaotic. The risk of civil war is clear as in yugoslavia or shia/sunni areas. The old majority Northern European 'Whites' are losing predominance in USA and a backlash against leftwing minority oriented politics, southern European, African base ethnics is result. Dems vs. Repubs is north/south divide ethnically. Ed Boylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01753383765150492163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-76575943905061489332018-03-17T18:29:15.461-04:002018-03-17T18:29:15.461-04:00Professor
Very interesting and thought provoking ...Professor<br /><br />Very interesting and thought provoking article.<br /><br />Regarding Nixon's anti Semitism, which came out later, I would just note that he apparently was, and remained, in close contact with the relatively new neocon movement, a movement as you yourself have noted, was started by Orthodox Jews re Israel's plight.<br /><br />Nixon created the Israel US Alliance, singlehandedly, actually; this has been huge in American international relations..... that continuing millstone around our necks.<br /><br />See the book Jewish Power, Index, Nixon.<br /><br />All the bestBozonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18078858723231122013noreply@blogger.com