Yes, it was a bit harsh, lol, though the funny took a little rough off for me .. lol, easier reading the 2nd time round ..
Kennedy, yes, he was my first concept of hero and the easiest 'what were you doing at the time' recollection for me .. have told the story before here, so briefly .. at UBC, BC there were mutterings in a Chemistry class and some stirring .. on leaving the building the campus, normally full, was empty .. student union building was packed .. on tv?. well you know .. was reminded just now of something in Kennedy which illustrated his true compassion for his fellow beings .. ............................................................... However, Kennedy ordered the invasion to take place without U.S. air support. [...]
Many military officials and cabinet members pressed for an air assault on the missile sites, but Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine in which the U.S. Navy inspected all ships arriving in Cuba. He began negotiations with the Soviets and ordered the Soviets to remove all defensive material that was being built on Cuba. Without doing so, the Soviet and Cuban peoples would face naval quarantine. A week later, he and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev reached a basically cordial, lasting agreement. Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles subject to U.N. inspections if the U.S. publicly promised never to invade Cuba and quietly removed US missiles stationed in Turkey. Following this crisis, which brought the world closer to nuclear war than at any point before or since, Kennedy was more cautious in confronting the Soviet Union. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy ............................................................... Carter, again i agree, true compassion for all his fellow men. ............................................................... Jimmy Carter aspired to make Government "competent and compassionate," responsive to the American people and their expectations. His achievements were notable, but in an era of rising energy costs, mounting inflation, and continuing tensions, it was impossible for his administration to meet these high expectations. [...]
Carter worked hard to combat the continuing economic woes of inflation and unemployment. By the end of his administration, he could claim an increase of nearly eight million jobs and a decrease in the budget deficit, measured in percentage of the gross national product. Unfortunately, inflation and interest rates were at near record highs, and efforts to reduce them caused a short recession.
Carter could point to a number of achievements in domestic affairs. He dealt with the energy shortage by establishing a national energy policy and by decontrolling domestic petroleum prices to stimulate production. He prompted Government efficiency through civil service reform and proceeded with deregulation of the trucking and airline industries. He sought to improve the environment. His expansion of the national park system included protection of 103 million acres of Alaskan lands. To increase human and social services, he created the Department of Education, bolstered the Social Security system, and appointed record numbers of women, blacks, and Hispanics to Government jobs.
INSERT: fuagf, Ecostate, you mentioned Ron Paul and the reference to Carter establishing the Department of Education which i understand Paul would like to dismantle, brought Paul back to mind .. ACTUALLY, there was an article in my Saturday paper which i was going to post which brought Paul to mind, too .. since this post is long enough i'll put that in reply.
In foreign affairs, Carter set his own style. His championing of human rights was coldly received by the Soviet Union and some other nations. In the Middle East, through the Camp David agreement of 1978, he helped bring amity between Egypt and Israel. He succeeded in obtaining ratification of the Panama Canal treaties. Building upon the work of predecessors, he established full diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and completed negotiation of the SALT II nuclear limitation treaty with the Soviet Union.
There were serious setbacks, however. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the suspension of plans for ratification of the SALT II pact. The seizure as hostages of the U. S. embassy staff in Iran dominated the news during the last 14 months of the administration. The consequences of Iran's holding Americans captive, together with continuing inflation at home, contributed to Carter's defeat in 1980. Even then, he continued the difficult negotiations over the hostages. Iran finally released the 52 Americans the same day Carter left office. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/jimmycarter ............................................................... Briefly on On the hostage crisis .. (lol, is quite a world, EH WHAT? .. just had a morning bowl of spaghetti left overs .. love 'em) .. anyway on the Reagan-Khomeini deal???
Carter Waited in Vain
Then came a whole series of Israeli insults and even provocations against US Middle East policies: "Annexation" by Menachem Begin of Syria's Golan heights and a public dressing down of the American ambassador who complained about it. The invasion of Lebanon in 1982, which ended a US-brokered Israeli cease-fire with the PLO, followed by Begin's refusal to stop bombing West Beirut until the US sent in Marines to supervise the withdrawal of its PLO and Syrian defenders. Then followed the violation of Sharon's pledge not to invade undefended West Beirut, but rather to let the Lebanese Army take it over. There was also Begin's instant rejection of the "Reagan Plan" for Mideast peace, and the simultaneous proclamation of 10 new Jewish settlements on the West Bank, although Jimmy Carter had called them illegal and Ronald Reagan had agreed they were an obstacle to peace.
The Reagan administration maintained an astonishing silence in the face of such calculated public rejection of stated US Middle East policy objectives. George Shultz, Reagan's new secretary of state, instead toed the Israeli line. He reinstated the policy of "strategic cooperation," which conferred unprecedented privileges on Israel and unprecedented responsibilities on the US. He also increased US economic and military aid to Israel, and provided it all on a grant rather than loan basis. Even after the Reagan second term began, Shultz criticized European allies who sold weapons to Khomeini, but seemed oblivious to large-scale Israeli arms shipments by air and sea to Iran.
Ecostate, i need revision, and share these with you in hopes they might offer you something, too .. the last one on the Reagan-Khomeini deal question?? .. well, it feels pretty objective .. as articles go it felt a good one to me.
One other thing here i feel moved to say .. Ecostate, your reply was about the most courteous and civil of all those i have ever received from a Ron Paul person here. NO BS, lol, you were pleasant and straight. SERIOUSLY, IT'S TRUE! Hate to say it, but it is. LOL, so if you ever read any of my little references to pseudo-Libertarian Ron Paul people, :) .. please .. YOU are not included.
Ok, in reply find the article i read two days ago which brought Ron Paul to mind. The article is written by, Ross Gittins, a well respected economist in Australia.
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