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Mark G, read this link about the way Lyndon and Ladybird acquired their first radio station, and how they made millions from it and the way they went about building their media empire, they bought radio and TV stations that had FCC restrictions that were soon lifted, Johnson used his political power to strong arm businesses to advertise on his stations, strong arm the FCC, strong arm CBS.
Mark G, read this link about the way Lyndon and Ladybird acquired their first radio station, and how they made millions from it and the way they went about building their media empire, they bought radio and TV stations that had FCC restrictions that were soon lifted, Johnson used his political power to strong arm businesses to advertise on his stations, strong arm the FCC, strong arm CBS.
The article reinforces what I said earlier. Johnson took advantage of his political position in Congress to purchase radio station KTBC and make it into a profitable enterprise. However, viewing the whole thing today, in the worst possible light, no laws appear to have been broken in the process. Is in unethical to use a position of power to profit in this fashion? Yes, but plenty of people besides Lyndon Johnson have done just that. Also, Johnson did this long before he was President of the United States.
Other Presidents, besides Nixon, did things that were unethical and perhaps illegal. What was different about Nixon is that he did things as President that were 100% illegal and easy to prove. He was not "singled out". Rather, his violations of the law couldn't be ignored because they were contemporaneous with his holding the office of the presidency and were there in black and white.
However, I'll make this point too. Its hard to take someone seriously who wants to rant and rave about presidential ethics who won't acknowledge the Watergate Scandal was a serious blot on the record of the sitting President. Until you are willing to do that, I don't think you have anything to do say about the ethics of other presidents.
We know you like Nixon. You've told us that in endless posts. Hero-worship is not to be confused with history though.
I would be interested to see your grades and opinions on EVERY president, as you seem to know history quite well, and also know 19th century better than most.
I have not assigned grades of any sort to any president. I have not done so because that is the sort of bumper sticker history I tend to disdain. If I am going to write about a president, it would be at length and in depth. I couldn't stand Nixon while he was in office because I have no use for liars, I view them as thieves of my time. In retrospect I have a more balanced view.
Oh yeah that Watergate thing was so easy to prove MarkG, piece of cake, lol. What was Nixon supposed to do, roll over and die? Of course Watergate was a big scandal at the time, and it resulted in Nixon's resignation which I do not deny. Nixon wasn't as careful as Johnson (and some other presidents) at covering things up. The Johnson's would not have any money at all, if Johnson did not use his political position to maneuver all the variables in his favor to capitalize, he cheated other bidders on those radio and TV stations and rigged it in his favor, using the FCC, that is a serious abuse of power when you consider the sums of money involved.....a millionaire by 1948 off one little radio station? You make me puke MarkG, that Johnson crap was worse than Agnew's little 250K chump change racket that Sinatra bailed him out of, and Agnew resigned, Johnson kept on going like the energizer bunny.
Grandstander, I hope you're working on a nice post, grading each and every president from Washington to Obama. Give us an honest opinion, don't be afraid, I know there is no public poll in this forum that you don't hide from, why are you afraid to let us see your opinions? That's a good part of what this site is all about, the opinions of others on various topics. It's fun to look at a public poll and see the other members views, come on out of the bunker Grandstander.
Oh yeah that Watergate thing was so easy to prove MarkG, piece of cake, lol. What was Nixon supposed to do, roll over and die? Of course Watergate was a big scandal at the time, and it resulted in Nixon's resignation which I do not deny. Nixon wasn't as careful as Johnson (and some other presidents) at covering things up. The Johnson's would not have any money at all, if Johnson did not use his political position to maneuver all the variables in his favor to capitalize, he cheated other bidders on those radio and TV stations and rigged it in his favor, using the FCC, that is a serious abuse of power when you consider the sums of money involved.....a millionaire by 1948 off one little radio station? You make me puke MarkG, that Johnson crap was worse than Agnew's little 250K chump change racket that Sinatra bailed him out of, and Agnew resigned, Johnson kept on going like the energizer bunny.
Grandstander, I hope you're working on a nice post, grading each and every president from Washington to Obama. Give us an honest opinion, don't be afraid, I know there is no public poll in this forum that you don't hide from, why are you afraid to let us see your opinions? That's a good part of what this site is all about, the opinions of others on various topics. It's fun to look at a public poll and see the other members views, come on out of the bunker Grandstander.
Perhaps, more than any other poster here I have attempted to respond intelligently to your endless posts about Nixon. Rather than giving you glib "one liners" I have attempted to explain the good and the bad about Nixon.
I am now done. You apparently can stand anything, but validation about your most unlikely hero.
If there is anyone else here who shares your bizarre views, I haven't seen them yet.
If Grandstander is smart, he won't waste his time replying either.
Perhaps, more than any other poster here I have attempted to respond intelligently to your endless posts about Nixon. Rather than giving you glib "one liners" I have attempted to explain the good and the bad about Nixon.
I am now done. You apparently can stand anything, but validation about your most unlikely hero.
If there is anyone else here who shares your bizarre views, I haven't seen them yet.
If Grandstander is smart, he won't waste his time replying either.
Well, I think you give too much weight to the remarks Nixon made about Jews on the tapes, those remarks were just off the cuff locker room talk between him and his staff, never meant to be public. Let's get down to the nitty gritty about which president supported the Jews, and which ones did not, I would like to persuade you to rethink your position on Nixon regarding this matter. You gave him a C so I think you are worth the effort. He supported Israel in just about every way he could in the 1973 war, and had some very high caliber Jews on his staff, especially Henry Kissinger, whom was his star player on the world stage. Nixon gave Israel more than they asked for in the 1973 war. Nixon supported the Jews, the record is clear, actions are louder than words.
What about your buddy Johnson? He did the very least he could in the 1967 Israel war, it is believed by many that Johnson was sharing military intelligence info about Israel with the Arab states, IE Saudi Arabia. This is the reason why the USS Liberty was bombed by Israel, because Johnson was using ships like this to spy on Israel, and pass it along to the Arabs. Don't you think it's a little odd the Saudi's offered little protest to US policy in the '67 war, but threw a huge fit in the '73 war and strongly denounced US policy, imposing an oil embargo and showing great fury with Richard Nixon?
You gave Wilson a good grade to which I agree with, and we both know he was a product of his time. We did not diminish his grade because of his racism, but because of his accomplishments. Rich people need to pay taxes, in one form or another, for the prosperity of the nation. He won WW1, he started DST, he was a great man, but he also made reference in a letter to a friend, about a "greasy junk shop Jew" that he once knew. We do not give him an F because he said that, or for many Lincoln fans, they do not dismiss him for some of his racial remarks as well.
Now concerning Barack Obama, he has been both anti Christian and anti Jew. Beginning with his "clinging to guns and religion" remark, he later cemented his anti Christian views by supporting the homosexual agenda to a degree so absolute, that under his watch the Supreme Court forced Christian businesses to close. Those that supported traditional marriage and refused to cater and perform weddings to gays, because they take the bible seriously, were forced out of business because they would not go against the words that are written in the bible for financial gain. That rubs me the wrong way, forcing a business to close because gays want to lord it over on them for their beliefs, when any gay person could easily find an alternative place for catering and wedding ceremony. It's wrong, and it makes gays look like bullies for what they did to those Christian Business owners.
Concerning the Jews, Obama gave Netanyahu the shaft. He has been very pro Muslim and anti Jew thru his entire administration. It was amusing for the first couple years but really seems kind of silly to make that a long term policy, and drive Israel into the hands of the Russians, when really Israel is the only true ally we have in the middle east. Throw in the stuff he did with Iran, the troop pullout in Iraq that led to the rise of ISIS in Iraq, his attempts to flood our county with refugees that are hostile to Jews as we can plainly see from what is going on in France, and Europe as a whole, we cannot say Obama has been a friend of the Jews. And concerning these refugees, there will be millions more of them in the years to come, when the oil hits the fan and Arab money dries up. We should not allow them to immigrate here, as they will cause nothing but trouble in the long run.
Grandstander, I'm sorry for pushing you. I keep forgetting you are from California, and especially if you are a state employee, that you may be under the watchful eye of El Jefe Jerry Brown and could be wire tapped. If he sent the Mexicans over to your house to work you over for giving Polk an A, I am soooo soooo sorry my friend. Forgive me.
Well, I think you give too much weight to the remarks Nixon made about Jews on the tapes, those remarks were just off the cuff locker room talk between him and his staff, never meant to be public. Let's get down to the nitty gritty about which president supported the Jews, and which ones did not, I would like to persuade you to rethink your position on Nixon regarding this matter. You gave him a C so I think you are worth the effort. He supported Israel in just about every way he could in the 1973 war, and had some very high caliber Jews on his staff, especially Henry Kissinger, whom was his star player on the world stage. Nixon gave Israel more than they asked for in the 1973 war. Nixon supported the Jews, the record is clear, actions are louder than words.
What about your buddy Johnson? He did the very least he could in the 1967 Israel war, it is believed by many that Johnson was sharing military intelligence info about Israel with the Arab states, IE Saudi Arabia. This is the reason why the USS Liberty was bombed by Israel, because Johnson was using ships like this to spy on Israel, and pass it along to the Arabs. Don't you think it's a little odd the Saudi's offered little protest to US policy in the '67 war, but threw a huge fit in the '73 war and strongly denounced US policy, imposing an oil embargo and showing great fury with Richard Nixon?
You gave Wilson a good grade to which I agree with, and we both know he was a product of his time. We did not diminish his grade because of his racism, but because of his accomplishments. Rich people need to pay taxes, in one form or another, for the prosperity of the nation. He won WW1, he started DST, he was a great man, but he also made reference in a letter to a friend, about a "greasy junk shop Jew" that he once knew. We do not give him an F because he said that, or for many Lincoln fans, they do not dismiss him for some of his racial remarks as well.
Now concerning Barack Obama, he has been both anti Christian and anti Jew. Beginning with his "clinging to guns and religion" remark, he later cemented his anti Christian views by supporting the homosexual agenda to a degree so absolute, that under his watch the Supreme Court forced Christian businesses to close. Those that supported traditional marriage and refused to cater and perform weddings to gays, because they take the bible seriously, were forced out of business because they would not go against the words that are written in the bible for financial gain. That rubs me the wrong way, forcing a business to close because gays want to lord it over on them for their beliefs, when any gay person could easily find an alternative place for catering and wedding ceremony. It's wrong, and it makes gays look like bullies for what they did to those Christian Business owners.
Concerning the Jews, Obama gave Netanyahu the shaft. He has been very pro Muslim and anti Jew thru his entire administration. It was amusing for the first couple years but really seems kind of silly to make that a long term policy, and drive Israel into the hands of the Russians, when really Israel is the only true ally we have in the middle east. Throw in the stuff he did with Iran, the troop pullout in Iraq that led to the rise of ISIS in Iraq, his attempts to flood our county with refugees that are hostile to Jews as we can plainly see from what is going on in France, and Europe as a whole, we cannot say Obama has been a friend of the Jews. And concerning these refugees, there will be millions more of them in the years to come, when the oil hits the fan and Arab money dries up. We should not allow them to immigrate here, as they will cause nothing but trouble in the long run.
Grandstander, I'm sorry for pushing you. I keep forgetting you are from California, and especially if you are a state employee, that you may be under the watchful eye of El Jefe Jerry Brown and could be wire tapped. If he sent the Mexicans over to your house to work you over for giving Polk an A, I am soooo soooo sorry my friend. Forgive me.
This being the History forum, not Politics or Religion, we should try to keep these ratings based, not on personal political or religious beliefs, but on the President's accomplishments and long-term impact. A good example would be Truman, who was quite unpopular in his day, but his decision to drop the bomb and his implementation of the Marshal Plan had huge impact on the post-War landscape for years to come.
Johnson had great success in getting programs through Congress which continue to impact us to this day, but his accomplishments are balanced against the Vietnam War, which impacted the nation in a negative way for years. Nixon had his accomplishments, but will always be known for Watergate and the distrust of government that engendered. I feel sort of bad for George W Bush, because 911 happened during his term and he showed good leadership in dealing with it. But the decision to invade Iraq blew up the deficit and led to the rise of ISIS.
By definition, the long-term impact of Obama's term is unknown. Certainly legalization of gay marriage, since you brought it up, had very little to do with Obama and everything to do with an evolution in societal attitudes which would have happened regardless of who was President. Regarding his approach to Israel, time will tell whether it has positive or negative effect, but I doubt it will be remembered as a major impact of his administration.
The second line I wrote in the paragraph about Wilson was not worded right, we should grade him on his accomplishments and I admire those accomplishments, especially DST which made WW1 totally worth it, otherwise, the war would be for nothing. Just wanted to correct that.
Yes Leo58, don't want to go in depth about P & OC topics in here about Obama, but just using it in this thread about the presidents as it relates to the grade of D+ that I gave him. I probably would have thrown in the trans-ginger bathroom thing and showdown with governor of North Carolina as a bad policy he has shoved down our throats..... that many people, religious or not, did not like. Let's talk a little bit about Obama's position on presidential pardons. Back in 2008 he says he will not abuse his power of pardon, and sticks with that until now. I'm not yet clear on the numbers but I hear he is pardoning between 500 and 100,000 criminals and illegal aliens. I am waiting for the real tally on that but it doesn't look good for him to flip flop on this issue. Presidents should not abuse the power of pardon, Obama has said that, had the opportunity to set a good example and perhaps set a new trend of making this unacceptable in the future. He has really disappointed me on this, for I had hoped he would be good to his word. He lied, and I bet he is very busy today with his pen.
With Truman, he already used nukes twice on Japan and should have been open to the idea of using them in North Korea. A few strikes behind the enemy lines along the border between NK and China to stop them from sending in troops and to set up a formidable barrier behind the nuke zone to stop future troop movements from China and Russia into the Korean peninsula. Mine fields, bunkers, the whole works, a line of death that they would never dare to cross. Russia just barely had the bomb at that point, but they had no missiles to deliver it, and knew the US had all the nukes needed to lay waste to the whole of Russia and China should they attempt to use it at that time. A few years later it would be unwise to do that as Russia advanced their capabilities, as did China, but in 1950 we could have still used nukes like we did in Japan and there was nothing they could do, but retreat from Korea.
A few words about FDR and lend lease, he had the chance of saving Eastern Europe from communism by reduction or suspension of lend lease to Russia, it would have bought FDR 12 to 18 extra months to defeat Germany and secure parts of Eastern Europe, especially Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia. I just don't think FDR understood that Stalin could not be trusted, and the public wanted the war to end ASAP. It makes me sad to think about those people in Eastern Europe that had to live 40 years in hell because a president could not correctly judge the character of a vicious powerhouse like Stalin and react properly to the situation. No four freedoms for Eastern Europe, just doom. There is a lot to the good side of FDR, we won the war and people that lived thru that time liked him, including Ronald Reagan whom called himself an FDR democrat at one point, but I knock him down to a C for his errors on economics, the supreme court packing, seeking 4 terms, blowing off Eastern Europe and liking Stalin too much.
Hey, I have been worried about Grandstander and sent him an IM two days ago, just a short message asking him if he was OK and hoping he gets well soon, I got no reply. Can the mod please try and contact him to make sure he is OK? Wait until tomorrow before you contact the FBI, Obama is still running things and he is in league with M13 Brown.
Hey, I have been worried about Grandstander and sent him an IM two days ago, just a short message asking him if he was OK and hoping he gets well soon, I got no reply. Can the mod please try and contact him to make sure he is OK? Wait until tomorrow before you contact the FBI, Obama is still running things and he is in league with M13 Brown.
Knock it off, okay?
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