Every U.S. president dragged

[beschizza]

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/08/29/every-u-s-president-dragged.html

…

[anon75430791]

Related:

(btw, what’s the deal with Joco’s line about Carter?)

[Papasan]

[Grey_Devil]

Jimmy Carter is a sell out. He was in the committee that oversaw ones of the Venezuelan elections when Chavez was running, and despite plenty of proof of fraud Jimmy Carter signed off on the election saying it was legitimate. I can only respectfully say that he’s a punk ass bitch, respectfully of course.

[Wanderfound]

@Grey_Devil

Jimmy Carter is a sell out. He was in the committee that oversaw ones of the Venezuelan elections when Chavez was running, and despite plenty of proof of fraud Jimmy Carter signed off on the election saying it was legitimate. I can only respectfully day that he’s a punk ass bitch, respectfully of course.

Amongst other sins, Carter also shared in the responsibility for the Indonesian genocide of East Timor.

Jimmy Carter's Blood-Drenched Legacy

After the democratically-elected President Sukarno of Indonesia was overthrown with the assistance of the CIA in 1967, mass-murderer Suharto assumed power as military dictator and a strong ally of the US government.

In late 1975, Henry Kissinger and Gerald Ford gave the green light to Suharto to invade neighboring East Timor. After occupying the capital city Dili, Indonesian troops systematically rooted out resistance by the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (FRETILIN) and the civilian population across the island. Residents of occupied areas were subjected to massive re-education brainwashing campaigns. The death toll from violence by Indonesian forces, malnutrition and disease quickly climbed into the tens of thousands.

The genocidal slaughter reached its peak in 1977, On March 1, 95 members of the Australian Parliament sent a letter to Carter claiming the Indonesian troops were carrying out “atrocities” and asking the American President “to comment publicly on the situation in East Timor.” [3]

The response was crickets. Carter ramped up aid with funding and weapons to the murderous Indonesian regime, brazenly flaunting the human rights requirements imposed on American aid.

As journalist Richard Dudman reported at the time: “amid all the talks about human rights, the country with perhaps the worst record has been getting increased amounts of economic and military aid from the Carter administration,” which is attributed to the “bonanza enjoyed by American oil companies and multi-national corporations since the present military regime came to power.” [4]

Precise statistics on the death toll of East Timorese at the hands of the Indonesian forces – who enjoyed the unconditional support of the US government – are hard to come by, but FAIR noted in a 1994 article that “by the time Carter left office, about 200,000 people had been slaughtered.”

[anon61833566]

Presidents are human beings. No person is perfect, and the position of POTUS, unfortunately, involves a lot of compromise and diplomacy.

Was there ever a perfect POTUS? Can anyone name a POTUS that isn’t guilty of some great sin or misjudgment in someone’s eyes?

I guess I am not really seeing the point here. No one bats 1000. And in comparison to our current POTUS, I am fairly certain nearly EVERY one prior to him might as well be considered tied for best POTUS ever…again comparative to what we have today.

[Akimbo_NOT]

Snarky History 101™

[SamSam]

I’m going to assume that “drag” here is a Twitterati word, because it appears as in the manner used here in urbandictionary.com but not in dictionary.com.

I saw the headline and assumed it was portraits of the presidents as if they were wearing drag.

[euansmith]

You and me too.

[Pensketch]

[Papasan]

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!

jdkajkbv.bfv.an.bananb;jkbn;j

[GulliverFoyle]

@anon75430791

(btw, what’s the deal with Joco’s line about Carter?)

Jimmy’s family owned a peanut farm. His presidential campaign pushed his image as a peanut farmer to establish his political outsider image. However, Jimmy Stewart as Jefferson Smith he was not.

[Pensketch]

Thank you I didn’t have time to plump him up to his true running weight.

[anon75430791]

It just occurred to me that I’d gravely misheard that lyric. Thanks!

[Bernel]

@anon61833566

And in comparison to our current POTUS, I am fairly certain nearly EVERY one prior to him might as well be considered tied for best POTUS ever

Trump may be the most corrupt, but in body count he is far down the list. He mostly speaks and twitter a lot of shit. I rank Kennedy as the most dangerous for doing his best to start WW III. (The Russians backed down fortunately, but the blockade of Cuba was a clear act of war)

[PaddyBeeSting]

It’s healthy to piss on our own myths, to remind ourselves that no matter how bad things are now, they were never all that good.

As I write this, it occurs to me that I may need to find a better therapist.

[MaiqTheLiar]

They aren’t?

…hm, would that they were, I guess.

[mallyboon]

Nobody bats 1000, but isn’t it reasonable to expect 250, with an OPS around 675? Maybe WAR* is a better statistic by which to evaluate PsOTUS.

I don’t think anyone is demanding perfection, but I think the thread does show how Native americans, blacks and the working class have constantly been thwarted by US leaders. Seems that those groups are always the ones having to do the compromising.

*in this case, Wars Above Replacement - how many more wars did a president start than a generic president would? A lower WAR would presumably be better…

[anothernewbbaccount]

I am unfamiliar with the use of the word ‘drag’ here. Is this some new trendy young thing thing? Or just another new and dispiriting fork between US and UK English? Can someone elicudate its meaning in this context, please? I’ve only ever dragged things behind me or dragged things through things (like mud - both literally and metaphorically), and I may have inhaled after having a drag on something smokable.

(Sorry, I am in a lawn defence mood today, it seems.)

[wysinwyg]

The point is probably entertainment. That’s the only point of reading Boing Boing in the first place, right? Not sure why you’re expecting something extra from a random twitter thread.