James, James, James
Ike was a conservative? He appointed two of the most liberal judges in the history of the Supreme Court. Remember back in the 60s it changed so cops most always needed a search warrant even when it made no sense? Remember, ?You have the right to remain silent? and all that? Ike?s judges were responsible for those things and lots more. During his term in office the 82nd Airborne was sent into Little Rock to protect black kids so they could go to school with whites. Conservative???
As far as diplomacy, he was Euro-centric. A place like Indo-China he could have given a damn about it. What he was concerned with was France and keeping what was left of Europe free from communism. We helped the French in south east Asia, then took on a larger role but don?t you remember that the entire world viewed the U.S.A. Vs. U.S.S.R as the center piece of all foreign affairs? Communism, it turns out, was not a monolith, neither were the democracies and dictators who opposed it. Looking back 50 years we can Monday morning quarterback but that?s a lot different from being in that time and place. Do you remember how Ike got lambasted by the true conservatives for not doing something about Castro? Yes the Dulles boys were responsible for the Bay of Pigs and several other bad ideas. Kennedy was responsible for okaying that plan then pulling back the air and naval support they were supposed to get. Was that Kennedy being liberal, conservative or dumb?
Now let?s talk about the ??tight ass Ivy League?. All the Kennedy?s, Clintons, Al Gore, etc. are Ivy League people. LBJ?s Great Society was based on the sociological writing of two guys named Cloward and Owland. Ideas that JFK proposed and LBJ was able to get through congress after the assassination. (The Ivy League gave us AFDC, Food Stamps, welfare for teenaged girls, legal abortion, etc.) JFK and LBJ also gave us the Vietnam War, they were Democrats right, so was that a liberal or conservative thing? Is this some sort of California thing, to think the Ivy League is tight assed = conservative? Several years ago Mikhail Gorbachov visited Boston and did a symposium at the Kennedy Center, part of Harvard. After listening to him for a week a large number of professors from Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, etc. came to the opinion he was a reactionary and was a sell out who damaged the socialist movement. Would that be the opinion of a tight ass?
I?d suggest that the anti-Vietnam war movement didn?t start in California, it started in the Ivy League schools. Black studies departments, Woman?s studies departments, the call for Nixon?s impeachment, in large part, where did they start? Are gay marriages legal in California or are Ivy League alumni making those decisions here in the northeast? My state is managed by the Ivy League. We are sometimes called Taxachusetts, why? It?s all about the re-distribution of wealth, a conservative idea? To state that the Ivy League is anything but leaning to the far left, Very Liberal, is way out of line.
Have other issues with some of your other comments but this is too long and I?d like to hear your reply.
Stay healthy,
Andy
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