America - The Official Thread

[mustafur]

What is weird is he was the one that came up with the idea.

 

[TexRex]

Arlington National Cemetery

Resting place of many civil war casualties. During the civil war, the Union had so many casualties that they ran out of room in existing cemeteries. The US government tasked Montgomery Meigs to select a place for a new cemetery. Meigs had served under Robert E. Lee prior to the war, and sided with the Union when war broke out. He developed a hatred for the Confederacy, so during the war, when asked where a new cemetery should be, he immediately picked the site of Robert E. Lee's former home (pictured in the 2nd photo). He picked it so that the bodies of the dead soldiers that Lee killed could be laid at his doorstep, and close enough that he would never be able to live in his house again.

rekt

 

[UKMikey]

Isn't that what we vote politicians for?
To do what they say and what the voters want?

Even if it's unworkable and will waste a lot of money?

What is weird is he was the one that came up with the idea.

Perhaps he's looking for a scapegoat.

 

[ryzno]

Even if it's unworkable and will waste a lot of money?

Not the first time and won't be the last.

 

[UKMikey]

Not the first time and won't be the last.

Then it's a good thing that you have all these checks and balances to prevent abuse of power like SCOTUS, the Senate and the House of Reps... oh wait.

 

[Dotini]

Then it's a good thing that you have all these checks and balances to prevent abuse of power like SCOTUS, the Senate and the House of Reps... oh wait.

Yes. Good post. Our system of checks and balances was carefully designed to prevent the tyranny of the majority, or mob rule. Democracy was always an experiment, and a dangerous one. Packing the Supreme Court, one-party rule, corruption at high levels, great distress in the low and middle classes are what may lead to extreme behavior; crime, riot and revolution. Here or anywhere.

 

[Biggles]

Yes. Good post. Our system of checks and balances was carefully designed to prevent the tyranny of the majority, or mob rule. Democracy was always an experiment, and a dangerous one. Packing the Supreme Court, one-party rule, corruption at high levels, great distress in the low and middle classes are what may lead to extreme behavior; crime, riot and revolution. Here or anywhere.

In fact, it's generally been pretty easy to control "the mob". Armed force & intimidation works well. However, more subtle techniques have also proved consistently effective: religion, patriotism, misinformation, deflection & that old favourite: "external threat". Trump's done a great job of harnessing those ...

 

[PocketZeven]

Yes. Good post. Our system of checks and balances was carefully designed to prevent the tyranny of the majority, or mob rule. Democracy was always an experiment, and a dangerous one. Packing the Supreme Court, one-party rule, corruption at high levels, great distress in the low and middle classes are what may lead to extreme behavior; crime, riot and revolution. Here or anywhere.

A multi party system would also help preventing the "tyranny of the majority".

 

[Danoff]

Packing the Supreme Court

FDR doesn't get enough crap for single-handedly undermining an entire branch of government and crippling the US with court packing threats. He should have been working to bolster the supreme court, rather than destroy it. Probably the worst president in the history of the US.

 

[Dotini]

FDR doesn't get enough crap for single-handedly undermining an entire branch of government and crippling the US with court packing threats. He should have been working to bolster the supreme court, rather than destroy it. Probably the worst president in the history of the US.

Not sure if this is tongue-in-cheek or not. (But I always dig the chance to use this nifty emoticon.)

Outwardly, he was one of the most successful and popular, the only president elected to 4 consecutive terms. He directed the US during the Great Depression, led the US in WWII, defined liberalism in the era, is celebrated by scholars as one of our 3 greatest along with Washington and Lincoln. His face features on dimes. On the other hand, he is widely blamed for inciting the Japanese to attack, and this my father fervently believed. He interned the American Japanese, ignored the Holocaust, approved the Atom bomb project, and probably mismanaged the Depression.

The dubious honor of worst US President is most often given to John Tyler, namesake of my birthplace in Texas, and the only president in US history who refused to go to war. Which makes him the best IMHO.

 

[Danoff]

Outwardly, he was one of the most successful and popular, the only president elected to 4 consecutive terms.

Another thing he doesn't get enough crap for. That was the reason we put a stop to that nonsense.

defined liberalism in the era

That's for sure.

is celebrated by scholars as one of our 3 greatest along with Washington and Lincoln.

Like I said, doesn't get enough crap for trampling an entire branch of government. He's the most anti-American president in the history of the nation, crippling the very foundation of what the country was supposed to be based on. The Supreme Court (and government debt) has not recovered from FDR.

He interned the American Japanese

You know I hadn't thought to blame him for that, but I'll take it.

Edit:

I'm completely serious on worst president claims. I'd entertain alternatives though.

 

[Dotini]

I'm completely serious on worst president claims. I'd entertain alternatives though.

McKinley is the very worst, IMHO.

Before his presidency, we were a national republic. After, we were a global empire.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I don't think you'll get very many proud Libertarians speaking highly of FDR @Dotini

He's kind of the point where it all went wrong, if you happen to think like Dagny Taggart.

 

[Dotini]

I don't think you'll get very many proud Libertarians speaking highly of FDR @Dotini

He's kind of the point where it all went wrong, if you happen to think like Dagny Taggart.

Unfortunately, it was in high school 53 years ago that I read and forgot about Ayn Rand. I follow Ron Paul, a little more in the real world for me these days. But I'm the guy who brought up the packing of the court as a first class sin.

Packing the Supreme Court, one-party rule, corruption at high levels, great distress in the low and middle classes are what may lead to extreme behavior; crime, riot and revolution. Here or anywhere.

 

[Joey D]

I'm completely serious on worst president claims. I'd entertain alternatives though.

I seem to recall Warren G. Harding and James Buchanan often ranking as the worst. But I'd offer up Woodrow Wilson. He's responsible for not managing WWI correctly, a boatload of tariffs, income tax, and the Federal Reserve.

 

[Liquid]

Another mark against FDR: he made private ownership of gold a federal crime through an executive order.

Wilson was a racist who kept federal buildings segregated (i.e. work spaces, canteens and bathrooms) when they shouldn't have been, although this was started by Roosevelt and maintained by Taft as well. Additionally, the Pentagon has twice as many toilets than it needs because of these reasons although it was built in the late 1930s and FDR expressly did not want it to be segregated and was furious when he found out.

Buchanan, Johnson and Harding are the scholars' choices for "worst" Presidents for their respective mishandlings leading to the civil war, their mishandlings implementing reconstruction after the civil war and impeachment, and generally being a huckster whose kleptocracy with pals decimated the public purse amongst other run of the mill financial scandals.

The dubious honor of worst US President is most often given to John Tyler, namesake of my birthplace in Texas, and the only president in US history who refused to go to war. Which makes him the best IMHO.

He was also the only independent President other than arguably Washington because his party, the Whigs, abandoned him about a year into his term. Funny, that...

When did he refuse to go to war? That does indeed make him the best President, or at least give him the accolade of best Presidential manoeuver.

Extra Tyler trivia: the 10th President of the United States has grandchildren alive today. John Tyler fathered a son, Lyle, in 1853 aged 62. Lyle also fathered two sons later in life; Ruffin in 1924 aged 71 and Harrison in 1928 aged 75. The two are 95 and 91 years old and both are still alive today as far as I know.

 

[Dotini]

When did he refuse to go to war? That does indeed make him the best President, or at least give him the accolade of best Presidential manoeuver.

For his entire term, Tyler refused to attack Mexico, to the great annoyance of seemingly everybody else in the country. Immediately upon gaining office, Polk set about rectifying that.


United States states and territories when Polk entered office

United States states and territories when Polk left office

 

[Liquid]

Texan independents must love Tyler.

 

[Dotini]

Texan independents must love Tyler.

We saw fit to name a pleasant small city for him in the verdant eastern edge of the state not far from Louisiana. But in the pantheon of heroic pioneers, Tyler is a nobody for most Texans.

Every so often, you'll hear Texans brag they have right to secede. It won't happen, but if it did, it could work. Texas uniquely has its own electric energy and power grid independent and separate from all other states.

 

[Liquid]

But in the pantheon of heroic pioneers, Tyler is a nobody for most Texans.

Probably the opposite for independents because a bit of quick reading shows that whilst he didn't go to war with Mexico, he still believed in that turgid manifest destiny and signed the deeds to begin Texan annexation three days before leaving office.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Trump trolls Iran with picture he seemingly took on his iPhone. Classified material? Some seem to think so, but I'm way past being surprised any more.

 

[user3392345]

USA Epidemic incomming.
http://outbreaks.globalincidentmap.com/

 

[Shaun]

USA Epidemic incomming.
http://outbreaks.globalincidentmap.com/

I like how you have to move that map to even see New Zealand.

 

[TenEightyOne]

USA Epidemic incomming.
http://outbreaks.globalincidentmap.com/

USA epidemic of what is incomming?

 

[TexRex]

USA epidemic of what is incomming?

Yes.

 

[Imari]

I like how you have to move that map to even see New Zealand.

You're lucky they even remembered to put it on there.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MapsWithoutNZ/

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

If you scroll the map to the right, the epidemics disappear.

 

[Danoff]

Epidemics never make it to Madagascar.

 

[TenEightyOne]

If you scroll the map to the right, the epidemics disappear.

The whole thing's a load of pants. Dengue fever appears as "PLAGUE" in the key, possibly what prompted the appearance of the link in this thread. In any case the map is really a density map of disease reporting efficiency - no report, no icon. It doesn't give a true reflection of incident quantity/location.

 

[PocketZeven]

Can someone please explain Trump's claim that China is paying for the tariffs?

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49505781