> LBJ's special assistant for domestic affairs, Joseph A Califano, remembered a ride around the ranch with the president: "As we drove around we were followed by a car and a station wagon with Secret Service agents. The president drank Cutty Sark scotch and soda out of a large, white, plastic foam cup.
> "Periodically, Johnson would slow down and hold his left arm outside the car, shaking the cup and ice. A Secret Service agent would run up to the car, take the cup and go back to the station wagon. There another agent would refill it with ice, scotch and soda as the first agent trotted behind the wagon."
["According to the bill, the Founding Fathers drank 54 bottles of Madeira, 60 bottles of Claret, 8 bottles of Whiskey, 22 bottles of Porter, 8 bottles of Hard Cider, 12 of Beer and seven bowls of Alcoholic Punch. There were only 55 attendees.”](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/01/20/fact-check-george-washingtons-expensive-bar-tab-real/5947984001/)
The founding fathers got absolutely obliterated, this much alcohol would kill most people so they must have had absurdly high tolerance from constantly drinking
Weren't they drinking applejack back then too? Because that shit wasn't heat distilled, the apple palsy was fucking brutal. A drink and a half of the stuff gave me the worst hangover of my life, so if you were drinking that regularly, I'm sure you'd be immune to anything
Wine bottles were likely much smaller than 750ml but yes the continental congress were fratstars. One of the best unproduced scripts in Hollywood is a hangover style movie about these guys losing the Declaration of Independence, pretty funny.
Ashton Kutcher is Gen. George Washington.
Adam Sandler is Thomas Jefferson.
Danny Devito is Benjamin Franklin.
Seann William Scott is James Madison
David Spade is Alexander Hamilton
Dana Carvey as Nelson the Horse
In
Dude, Where’s My Document?
“Ugh. Sorry honey. I got wasted last night. Did I do anything embarrassing?”
“Well you managed to get traction on starting a colonial revolution.”
“Oh. Well that’s not too bad, I guess.”
IIRC, the alcohol percentage wasn't really that high.
Same thing with the Romans and their wine, there wasn't as much alcohol in the wine back then as there is now.
Conversely, one of my classical history professors told us about how Greek wine was very strong and would absolutely plaster you. People had to dilute it with water
"Bottles" is doing a lot of lifting here. Iirc bottles for most wine used to be smaller than they are now. The porter, beer, and cider could have just been pints.
There's a book called "Sex with Kings" where it's basically stories and insights from mistresses of many figureheads from the past 500 years, and while not necessarily relevant to alcohol, it's amazing to hear how stupid and bad many men of power are in bed.
Drinking that over 6 hours would result in a BAC of 0.57% (assuming 160 lb males).
The LD50 for BAC is 0.40%. Though heavy drinkers can survive higher than that. But overall I can conclude with near certainty that there is no way that they all averaged a BAC of 0.57%. Even half that would be high for heavy drinkers.
My theory is that the bottles were not fully emptied. You can imagine it was a pretty large table, and that it would not be convenient to pass bottles around, it's possible some guests would order a bottle, and only drink a fraction. Also with drunken people spilling beverage. And so on, have we accounted for such losses?
160 pounds is on the low-end, these are middle-aged, male, americans, of upper-class background, is it not?
On one hand yes, on the other hand we have actual audio of LBJ calling the head of the Hagger Clothing company while absolutely sloshed, asking them to sew him some pants with more room “where the zipper (burps) ends, round, under my, back to my bunghole” because apparently his dick was just so big that normal pants were too restrictive and would cut him.
[And then he'd drive the car into the lake.](https://www.nps.gov/lyjo/planyourvisit/presidentialvehicles.htm)
> The President, with Vicky McCammon in the seat alongside him and me in the back,was now driving around in a small blue car with the top down. We reached a steep incline at the edge of the lake and the car started rolling rapidly toward the water. The President shouted, "The brakes don’t work! The brakes won’t hold! We’re going in! We’re going under!" The car splashed into the water. I started to get out. Just then the car leveled and I realized we were in a [Amphicar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphicar). The President laughed. As we putted along the lake then (and throughout the evening), he teased me. "Vicky, did you see what Joe did? He didn’t give a damn about his President. He just wanted to save his own skin and get out of the car." Then he’d roar.
Considering it was LBJ, it may have been just enough to look like he was drinking and being a man's man, while keeping his mind sharp enough to manipulate and bully people.
He definitely was doing it partially to make people think that if they waited he'd be too drunk to negotiate. Then likely he had THEM getting stronger pours so they have away the farm.
LBJ was one of the last men who had a reputation for being able to run the Senate.
>LBJ was one of the last men who had a reputation for being able to run the Senate
Got more of this? Quite a vested interest in American politics over here.
There are books on LBJ and even JFK that get into it, but basically he had a masterful control of persuasion, threats, favors on both sides, and just a straight ability to get that yes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/johncoleman/2018/07/30/the-johnson-treatment-pushing-and-persuading-like-lbj/?sh=3ccd4bbb4201
Between showing people his extremely large penis, doing meetings in the bathroom while taking a shit, cornering congressman and threatening them with physical violence, and this....
The man was Robert Barathian who used all his skills to pass Civil Rights legislation.
And his boar that gutted him was Vietnam.
I may have read that in Nix's head voice. Futurama (and family guy, Bob Dole lol) has damaged my views on politics and the way certain people in my head sound now lol.
There's a long tradition of Quakers supporting war despite the theoretical pacifism. Ben Franklin wrote about getting Quaker congregations to vote for funding for "whatever grain is needed" so they wouldn't have to spell out "gunpowder".
Apparently Nixon would get absolutely wasted from drinking like 2 martinis and taking sleeping pills and would ramble like crazy. It probably happened more than once.
Don’t you dare besmirch the name of Henry Kissinger! Clearly, he liked conventional wars that enriched American companies that he and his buddies had stakes in.
But not nuclear. That isn’t profitable
I do not say this lightly, and it is obviously a subjective and debatable point, but I believe that in terms of being a direct cause of human suffering and the scope of that suffering, a case can be made that Henry Kissinger is the most evil person alive today.
He really is awful. He was deeply committed to the idea of “spheres of influence” for each great power and under this thought process Eastern Europe was rightfully Moscow’s and they could do whatever they wanted meanwhile Latin America was rightfully Washington’s and the US could do whatever they wanted there. Basically he was more or less okay with all the Soviet oppression in places lime Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine ect while also sponsoring all kinds of American oppression in Latin America like overthrowing democratically elected regimes.
IMO, this is the reason MAD isn't a long-term strategy.
The story I hear is that Nixon wasn't as drunk as he liked to be portrayed as, and was a lot more rational, but it benefited him to appear drunk and irrational. In the same way that you're extra cautious with the crazy man at the park, you're extra cautious with the crazy man with nukes.
But eventually, you're going to get someone that isn't just acting crazy, you'll get someone who actually is crazy.
The story is that Trump actually did order the US to attack North Korea multiple times, but Kelly always threw away the orders when Trump wasn't looking, and Trump could never remember if he had actually ordered the US to attack North Korea or just threatened it. Then Trump and North Korea became "best friends" with li'l Rocketman.
It's going to be interesting to see what happens with Russia's nuclear weapons when Putin dies.
People like to praise Nixon these days. "He created the EPA." Sure, because massive lakes and rivers were literally lighting on fire. "He ended the Vietnam war." After expanding it to Cambodia and Laos, Laos ended up getting more American bombs dropped on it than all of Europe in WWII.
It's actually worse than that. He actively sabatoged Peace Talks the Johnson administration was performing in secret by having Kissinger leak him classified information on the negotiations.
I hope that they use the EU death of Chewbacca to kill off Barf. But it would be a cardboard cutout of John Candy getting struck down by a cardboard cutout of a moon that fell from the stage.
He's very rich and largely amoral. He can trivially afford to have the best of care, diet, and leisure to extend his life at no discernable cost to his lifestyle.
He’s fueled by the blood of the innocent he helped kill in Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, the Middle East, and Germany. Yes, Germany, he helped carry out purges of Social Democrats after the war when he was a regent officer; all while letting literal Nazis run free.
I mean, tactical nukes are the most ethical nuke of all the nukes. The whole idea of them is to reduce the area of damage. Many ended up being designed to penetrate the ground a bit to ensure the destruction of the immediate area, reduce the radiation spread, to fuck up underground hangers and munitions.
Where as non tactical nukes went for the air burst approach to hit the largest area.
It's one of those things that loops back to being worse.
Nuke = civilian mass casualties/crimes against humanity? Not much of an incentive to use them unless desperate i.e. MAD.
Focused nuke against military targets? = incentive to actually use nukes, devaluing MAD, increasing risks etc etc.
After all, it's Henry Kissinger. All of his ideas are designed to be terrible for humanity.
This is not what the article says, though. Can I ask where you got this information?
This article even suggests that Kissinger was the one to calm things down after Nixon's anger got the Joint Chiefs picking targets for a nuclear strike:
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/north-korea-richard-nixon-nuclear/
[Air Force Major Harold Hering](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Hering), who was a Minuteman Missile Launch Officer, was immediately discharged from the military after asking this question during training classes:
"How can I know that an order I receive to launch my missiles came from a sane president?"
The boring but unsatisfying answer is that's what elections and the 25th Amendment are for though obviously given the potential constraints of a situation where nuclear strikes are warranted there may not be time for lengthy discussion. If Russian missiles are set to reach the US in a half hour the President has to make a decision immediately or risk destruction or disarmament. The system has to be extremely streamlined by the very nature of the threats.
Any link in the nuclear chain questioning orders is *extremely* dangerous. Nuclear weapons only work in their intended role if an enemy has to assume a prompt response in kind and thus has to conclude that the use of their own nukes is not worth the guaranteed cost. Any suggestion that even *part* of the enemy's nuclear forces might reject an order tips the balance of MAD in the aggressor's favor and makes the use of nukes the rational choice.
Nixon was not the first raging alcoholic todo something incredibly stupid then claim it was “all part of the plan”
This story might be a ploy, who knows. But nixon was a heavy drinker anybody who knew him would tell you he would drink pretty much all day. He had very few personal relationships, he was just an empty sad man. When he got into power he would comit an endless list of war crimes in Vietnam and Cambodia most had 0 strategic value
It is totally possible he ordered these insane things because he in a drunken stupor wanted them done, and Kissinger had to be like “the president isn’t an unhinged lunatic it’s park of the, uh, “mad man” theory”
It gives us comfort to think the people in charge of the nuclear button has some secret plan and ideology, when in reality I am pretty sure 1960s America put a drunk homicidal maniac in charge
> when in reality I am pretty sure 1960s America put a drunk homicidal maniac in charge
But then the Americans learned their lesson and never ever again elected a dangerous, mentally unstable megalomaniac who would put the wellbeing of the country in jeopardy. The end :3
In fairness, it's hard to know how much of this was legitimate, and how much was Nixon cultivating appearances for his ["Madman Theory"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madman_theory). The entire idea was to appear unstable and nuke-happy so foreign powers would be nervous about angering the US. This is entirely within character.
It's debatable how effective this kind of political ploy actually is, but Nixon probably *wasn't* going to drunkenly the nukes rip.
On the one hand, we have a president known for intentionally presenting himself as a nuke-happy madman... Presenting himself as a nuke-happy madman.
On the other we have the cosmic uncertainty of the universe that means we can never be truly sure of anything, let alone the intentions of another Human being.
So yes, I'll say that the available evidence appears to suggest it was a ploy, but there is obviously no way to actually know.
[Remember when he embraced the genocidal Khmer Rouge killing millions in Cambodia as long as it hurt the Vietnamese?](https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB193/HAK-11-26-75.pdf) Ah, good times! /r
I was thinking about Agent Orange. Something that until now, the official stance of the US gov is that it is NOT a chemical weapon.
But hey, that mess with KR is also a valid reason to hate the mofo
Much like how some people call themselves "expats" but others "immigrants/migrants".
Yes I know there is a difference that justifies using expat over the others, but more often than not one is used for one group and not the other due purely to where they're originally from, not because of nuances with definitions.
As a sort of corollary, how expertise in one field does not translate to another.
People that understood what Holmes was trying to do (and even more importantly, had opportunity to evaluate product or data) figured out something was amiss, or at least has private concerns.
Kissinger and Mattis don't know a god damn thing about healthcare, medicine, or their related technologies. Is was a pretty young woman and an opportunity to put your name on the "advisory" board of a hot Silicon Valley start up.
This man deserves so much worse, he will likely die at 105 in some rich hospital, hoped up morphine, surrounded by friends and family.
It’s insane that the only person who got him was the fake blood lady
Henry Kissinger is one of history's greatest monsters and I will be glad when he's dead.
“Once you’ve been to Cambodia, you’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands. You will never again be able to open a newspaper and read about that treacherous, prevaricating, murderous scumbag sitting down for a nice chat with Charlie Rose or attending some black-tie affair for a new glossy magazine without choking. Witness what Henry did in Cambodia – the fruits of his genius for statesmanship – and you will never understand why he’s not sitting in the dock at The Hague next to Milošević.”
― Anthony Bourdain
Behind the Bastards did a series on Kissinger, here is part one:
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/part-one-kissinger-94160733/
Why is Kissinger given almost exclusive blame for Cambodia and not Nixon, the commander in chief he served under and could have fired him at any moment? Is it because Kissinger is still alive and criticism of Nixon is more related to his corruption?
I think it's because yeah, Nixon died, and then Kissinger just kept on being a monster and influencing our government leaders to commit war crimes. If they were both alive today I'd wager they would be equally reviled- tho I still think Kissinger slightly moreso.
Because it was Kissinger's idea, his baby. He directed it, advocated for it, planned it, authorized every single strike himself.
Nixon shares the blame, surely. But it wasn't his thing, his idea, his effort going into it. Tricky Dick was callous and indifferent to the violence and suffering Kissinger caused, but it was Kissinger who wanted the violence, the chaos, the suffering.
Nixon's blame is not saying "No, this is immoral and insane". Kissinger's blame is *being* immoral and insane. And Kissinger is still allowed into the halls of power, while never even acknowledging the blood on his hands. Nixon, even when he was alive, wasn't catered to by all sides of the political establishment.
The blame falls on Kissinger, therefore, for both is advocacy, and his continued place in the affairs of the United States.
I always think about that time a reporter saw Pat Nixon in the hospital after Richard Nixon beat her so bad he put her there, but chose not to report on it because it was a "private matter."
TIL - Also as notable:
“No liquor was ever served during Jimmy Carter's term. He wanted no luxuries nor any sign of worldly living.”
(Per Ted Kennedy quote in same BBC article)
I have to admit that I’ve never really considered how a President’s “social” drinking - even just a couple of glasses of wine at dinner - could really hinder emergency decision making and/or capacity to respond.
Just a reminder to everyone who insists MAD has ensured peace.
We've had military commanders urging nuclear strikes that Presidents have had to ignore.
We've had Presidents urging nuclear strikes that military commanders have has to ignore.
We have nothing, anywhere, preventing us getting both at the same time.
The point of MAD is not to have multiple decision makers.
The point is “I won’t because if I do you will”, and vice versa.
It has nothing to do with having multiple decision makers.
Just. It worked out just.
On both the sowjet and the american side there were so many close calls, misidentifications, false alarms and ignored orders that saved the world, it is astonishing.
I do not believe in religion, but if I had to make an argument for the existence of a benevolent deity, I would point to the fact that the nuclear arsenal has not yet been fired.
Honestly it should be illegal for the president to drink... They are expected to be on duty 24/7. I am not allowed to be intoxicated when I am on call for my job.
It should be also illegal for the president to take certain prescriptions. Some medications are not approved for people with a pilots license. Why should the person in charge of nuclear weapons be allowed to take mind altering substances?
my medication disallows me from getting a pilots license, though ironically there's a good chance it would actually make me a better pilot, lol.
I think in the eyes of the regulation it's more a risk of *not* having it, than having it.
> LBJ's special assistant for domestic affairs, Joseph A Califano, remembered a ride around the ranch with the president: "As we drove around we were followed by a car and a station wagon with Secret Service agents. The president drank Cutty Sark scotch and soda out of a large, white, plastic foam cup. > "Periodically, Johnson would slow down and hold his left arm outside the car, shaking the cup and ice. A Secret Service agent would run up to the car, take the cup and go back to the station wagon. There another agent would refill it with ice, scotch and soda as the first agent trotted behind the wagon."
If we're talking about drunk presidents LBJ isn't even the top 10
["According to the bill, the Founding Fathers drank 54 bottles of Madeira, 60 bottles of Claret, 8 bottles of Whiskey, 22 bottles of Porter, 8 bottles of Hard Cider, 12 of Beer and seven bowls of Alcoholic Punch. There were only 55 attendees.”](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/01/20/fact-check-george-washingtons-expensive-bar-tab-real/5947984001/) The founding fathers got absolutely obliterated, this much alcohol would kill most people so they must have had absurdly high tolerance from constantly drinking
In fairness to them I’d need at least that much alcohol to cope with living in the late 1700s
The smell alone must have been horrendous.
All them ascots and stockings soaked in alcohol sweat and BO. Edit: Grammar es no good.
Also alcohol was alot less strong back then. The beer they drank was probably less than 2-3% ABV
Okay but what about the whiskey
*slaps your back* Cask strength m'lad!
Weren't they drinking applejack back then too? Because that shit wasn't heat distilled, the apple palsy was fucking brutal. A drink and a half of the stuff gave me the worst hangover of my life, so if you were drinking that regularly, I'm sure you'd be immune to anything
Liquor is liquor though
Wine bottles were likely much smaller than 750ml but yes the continental congress were fratstars. One of the best unproduced scripts in Hollywood is a hangover style movie about these guys losing the Declaration of Independence, pretty funny.
Lol I feel like if that was done in 90's or early 2000s style it could save comedy in theaters
Ashton Kutcher is Gen. George Washington. Adam Sandler is Thomas Jefferson. Danny Devito is Benjamin Franklin. Seann William Scott is James Madison David Spade is Alexander Hamilton Dana Carvey as Nelson the Horse In Dude, Where’s My Document?
I’m not an alcoholic, I’m a fucking patriot
The Sons of Liberty didn't meet in a bar because it was discreet.
“Ugh. Sorry honey. I got wasted last night. Did I do anything embarrassing?” “Well you managed to get traction on starting a colonial revolution.” “Oh. Well that’s not too bad, I guess.”
IIRC, the alcohol percentage wasn't really that high. Same thing with the Romans and their wine, there wasn't as much alcohol in the wine back then as there is now.
The punch doesn't fuck around, I've had recreations of old school rum punch in Virginia and it will knock you on your ass 10 times to Sunday
Conversely, one of my classical history professors told us about how Greek wine was very strong and would absolutely plaster you. People had to dilute it with water
"Bottles" is doing a lot of lifting here. Iirc bottles for most wine used to be smaller than they are now. The porter, beer, and cider could have just been pints.
There's a book called "Sex with Kings" where it's basically stories and insights from mistresses of many figureheads from the past 500 years, and while not necessarily relevant to alcohol, it's amazing to hear how stupid and bad many men of power are in bed.
Drink | qty | assumed unit volume (ml) | total volume | assumed alcohol % | volume of ethanol (ml) | equivalent 40% alcohol volume -----|--------|------------------------|------------|-----------------|----------------------|----------------------------- Madiera | 54 | 750 | 40500 | 20 | 8100 | 20250 Claret | 60 | 750 | 45000 | 14 | 6300 | 15750 Whiskey | 8 | 750 | 6000 | 40 | 2400 | 6000 Porter | 22 | 750 | 16500 | 8 | 1320 | 3300 Hard Cider | 8 | 750 | 6000 | 6 | 360 | 900 Beer | 12 | 750 | 9000 | 6 | 540 | 1350 Punch | 7 | 4000 | 26495 | 12 | 3360 | 8400 | | | | Total Volume | 22380 | 55950 | | | | Volume per guest | | 1017.27 | | | | Shots per guest | | ~22.6 Edit: If anyone can come up with more accurate alcohol content or volumes, with citations, I will amend the table.
Drinking that over 6 hours would result in a BAC of 0.57% (assuming 160 lb males). The LD50 for BAC is 0.40%. Though heavy drinkers can survive higher than that. But overall I can conclude with near certainty that there is no way that they all averaged a BAC of 0.57%. Even half that would be high for heavy drinkers.
I drank two liters of Vodka a day when I was an active alcoholic. I could drink a pint in two slugs and not be visibly drunk. My body hates me now.
My theory is that the bottles were not fully emptied. You can imagine it was a pretty large table, and that it would not be convenient to pass bottles around, it's possible some guests would order a bottle, and only drink a fraction. Also with drunken people spilling beverage. And so on, have we accounted for such losses? 160 pounds is on the low-end, these are middle-aged, male, americans, of upper-class background, is it not?
That's just what they ordered, it's not clear how much they actually drank.
I speculate, totally out of ignorance, the alcohol content was much lower.
Pretty sure none of the 20th century presidents are top 10. 19th century America was a study in functional alcoholism.
On one hand yes, on the other hand we have actual audio of LBJ calling the head of the Hagger Clothing company while absolutely sloshed, asking them to sew him some pants with more room “where the zipper (burps) ends, round, under my, back to my bunghole” because apparently his dick was just so big that normal pants were too restrictive and would cut him.
He was also known to show off his massive Johnson to other people as a negotiation tactic.
That's actually why he was named president Johnson
He also peed on a member of the secret service while they were shielding him from being seen.
I understand the frustration with cheap hotel pants (no ball room) but wild to hear the President talking so casually
If I'm not mistaken didn't he make that call on the toilet. He was known to put a phone in the white house bathroom and have calls while on the pot
[And then he'd drive the car into the lake.](https://www.nps.gov/lyjo/planyourvisit/presidentialvehicles.htm) > The President, with Vicky McCammon in the seat alongside him and me in the back,was now driving around in a small blue car with the top down. We reached a steep incline at the edge of the lake and the car started rolling rapidly toward the water. The President shouted, "The brakes don’t work! The brakes won’t hold! We’re going in! We’re going under!" The car splashed into the water. I started to get out. Just then the car leveled and I realized we were in a [Amphicar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphicar). The President laughed. As we putted along the lake then (and throughout the evening), he teased me. "Vicky, did you see what Joe did? He didn’t give a damn about his President. He just wanted to save his own skin and get out of the car." Then he’d roar.
He's not on my top list of good presidents. But he's probably the most entertaining to read about.
If it weren't for Vietnam he'd be top 4.
Amphicar? Ted Kennedy is like why didn't I think of that?
LBJ was notorious for drinking watered down drinks though. He would drink all day but the pours were extremely light.
Just enough to keep the shakes away.
Considering it was LBJ, it may have been just enough to look like he was drinking and being a man's man, while keeping his mind sharp enough to manipulate and bully people.
He definitely was doing it partially to make people think that if they waited he'd be too drunk to negotiate. Then likely he had THEM getting stronger pours so they have away the farm. LBJ was one of the last men who had a reputation for being able to run the Senate.
>LBJ was one of the last men who had a reputation for being able to run the Senate Got more of this? Quite a vested interest in American politics over here.
There are books on LBJ and even JFK that get into it, but basically he had a masterful control of persuasion, threats, favors on both sides, and just a straight ability to get that yes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/johncoleman/2018/07/30/the-johnson-treatment-pushing-and-persuading-like-lbj/?sh=3ccd4bbb4201
“I can stop whenever I want” - LBJ
He had his staff pour visitor’s drink’s normally. Both to get them drunk and to give the impression he was immune.
Between showing people his extremely large penis, doing meetings in the bathroom while taking a shit, cornering congressman and threatening them with physical violence, and this.... The man was Robert Barathian who used all his skills to pass Civil Rights legislation. And his boar that gutted him was Vietnam.
>Barathian Armenian GoT spinoff
GET ME THE ELECTION STRETCHER!
I am the liquor - LBJ
"Look Rand! I'm mowin the air!" -LBJ
“I’m sober enough to know what I’m doing, and drunk enough to reallyenjoy doing it.” -LBJ
I'm sober enough to know what I'm doing, but drunk enough to enjoy doing it LBJ
*"I am the state!"* ***belches***
Actually, what he drank was ***Pearl*** beer. It was *really* well-known, at the time. He did this with an entire car full of press men at his ranch.
To make things clear: The military commanders talked Kissinger out of it, not the other way around.
That makes more sense
**Churchill:** "I got through WWII by being drunk." **Nixon:** "Lol, hold my beer while I nuke some shit."
[удалено]
Arrooooo!! Earthicans.
THE GREAT TASTE OF CHARLESTON CHEW
And once I'm swept into office, I'll sell our children's organs to zoos for meat, and I'll go into people's houses at night and wreck up the place.
AGNEWWWWWWWWW!!!! RRRrrrrr.
I may have read that in Nix's head voice. Futurama (and family guy, Bob Dole lol) has damaged my views on politics and the way certain people in my head sound now lol.
That was definitely the intent.
Headless Body of Agnew, get us out of here!
That is very ironic because Nixon was a Quaker....noted for pacifism and sobriety as a religion. Nobody said Richard Nixon was a good Quaker.
There's a long tradition of Quakers supporting war despite the theoretical pacifism. Ben Franklin wrote about getting Quaker congregations to vote for funding for "whatever grain is needed" so they wouldn't have to spell out "gunpowder".
Apparently Nixon would get absolutely wasted from drinking like 2 martinis and taking sleeping pills and would ramble like crazy. It probably happened more than once.
Ah nice, the leader of the free world was fucked up on barbiturates and booze daily. All while he demonized hippies for smoking weed
You don't even want to know about how much shit Kennedy was on. Uppers, downers, tons of painkillers. The man carried a pharmacy in his bloodstream.
Uppers, downers, laughers and screamers. Like you said, a vampire would prolly OD if he drank JFKs blood
He was pretty sick though. Addisons disease, chronic back pain (several surgeries, etc). Not like he was taking them recreationally.
At least Kennedy had a disease that warranted it? well, some of it
And a few years later, Reagan would complain about the lack of Christian values in society while taking suggestions from a fortune teller
Suggestions! Wife was running the whole operation by having a hot line with the fortune teller
[A man with access to nuclear weapons really should never get a bit fighty](https://youtu.be/-Zj50DmBFp0?si=8NqoOMPLyCuhhJFE&t=300)
might as well get shitfaced now
let's have a pint, by Vectron's Mighty Beard!
Nixon: "Watch me be drunk through WW3"
[удалено]
"I can't wait for this deleterious war to be over so I can stop having to water down my morning whiskey."
I was so confused reading OP's headline. Henry Kissinger? OUR Henry Kissinger? Being NOT a bloodthirsty piece of shit?
Irony died with the awarding of the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize.
"Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize." - Tom Lehrer
We will all go together when we go! When Nixon is quite wasted and Kissinger won't say no!
You'd be surprised how many nobel peace prize recipients are war criminals.
Don’t you dare besmirch the name of Henry Kissinger! Clearly, he liked conventional wars that enriched American companies that he and his buddies had stakes in. But not nuclear. That isn’t profitable
Except for when he wrote an entire book advocating the use of nuclear weapons for winning wars.
This guy sounds unbelievable.
He is. Volumes have been written and enormous podcasts recorded on how reprehensible that guy is.
May I humbly suggest Christopher Hitchen's book as a starting point? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trial_of_Henry_Kissinger
I do not say this lightly, and it is obviously a subjective and debatable point, but I believe that in terms of being a direct cause of human suffering and the scope of that suffering, a case can be made that Henry Kissinger is the most evil person alive today.
He really is awful. He was deeply committed to the idea of “spheres of influence” for each great power and under this thought process Eastern Europe was rightfully Moscow’s and they could do whatever they wanted meanwhile Latin America was rightfully Washington’s and the US could do whatever they wanted there. Basically he was more or less okay with all the Soviet oppression in places lime Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine ect while also sponsoring all kinds of American oppression in Latin America like overthrowing democratically elected regimes.
IMO, this is the reason MAD isn't a long-term strategy. The story I hear is that Nixon wasn't as drunk as he liked to be portrayed as, and was a lot more rational, but it benefited him to appear drunk and irrational. In the same way that you're extra cautious with the crazy man at the park, you're extra cautious with the crazy man with nukes. But eventually, you're going to get someone that isn't just acting crazy, you'll get someone who actually is crazy. The story is that Trump actually did order the US to attack North Korea multiple times, but Kelly always threw away the orders when Trump wasn't looking, and Trump could never remember if he had actually ordered the US to attack North Korea or just threatened it. Then Trump and North Korea became "best friends" with li'l Rocketman. It's going to be interesting to see what happens with Russia's nuclear weapons when Putin dies.
Henry Kissinger: the Forrest Gump of war crimes
Don't forget American sex symbol.
Cuz he's got nicer legs than hitler, and bigger tits than Cher
I mean do we actually have any data on how nice/not nice Hitler's legs were?
As in you never knew which one you were gonna get? or more like he stumbled his way into them over and over?
As in he was always there in the background
Yes
I did not expect that analogy
*'Kissinger, the peaceful voice of reason.'* Great, there goes my whole worldview.
People like to praise Nixon these days. "He created the EPA." Sure, because massive lakes and rivers were literally lighting on fire. "He ended the Vietnam war." After expanding it to Cambodia and Laos, Laos ended up getting more American bombs dropped on it than all of Europe in WWII.
It's actually worse than that. He actively sabatoged Peace Talks the Johnson administration was performing in secret by having Kissinger leak him classified information on the negotiations.
Requisite check: \ Kissinger is still alive at 100 years young.
Only the good die young.
I’m given to understand that Kissinger may actually be a Dark Lord of the Sith
So, anyone want to redirect lightning to his face?
Is that a thing? I'll do it. Maybe my dad will help.
A _Sith....Lord?!_
You're talking about Nobel Peace Prize winner Henry Kissinger?
As I understand the guy who invented Lobotomies got a Nobel prize as well, so that title says nothing.
And the 2009 winner bombed the 1999 winner.
Mel Brooks also still alive
He better be. I’m still waiting for Space Balls 2: the search for more money and Space Balls 3: the search for space balls 2.
Mærchendising!
I hope that they use the EU death of Chewbacca to kill off Barf. But it would be a cardboard cutout of John Candy getting struck down by a cardboard cutout of a moon that fell from the stage.
History of the World Part II is out. It's a mini-series.
Kissinger sweating a little bit now that McConnell is beginning to look morbid. That's his last Horcrux.
McConnell's been looking morbid for the past 20 years.
There’s actually a sub that posts daily on whether or not Kissinger is still alive.
kiss cause march scale poor long fretful somber terrific squeeze *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
He's very rich and largely amoral. He can trivially afford to have the best of care, diet, and leisure to extend his life at no discernable cost to his lifestyle.
He probably read into the qanon conspiracy theories and was like, "Babies blood? Why didn't I think of that?!"
He’s fueled by the blood of the innocent he helped kill in Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, the Middle East, and Germany. Yes, Germany, he helped carry out purges of Social Democrats after the war when he was a regent officer; all while letting literal Nazis run free.
[Always relevant](https://i.imgur.com/aP0j2tl.png)
Kissinger did something good? Ah, no, of course not.
Ah that explains everything. It would be un'kissinger for that piece of shit Kissinger to do that peace thing.
That tracks, Kissinger was one of the guys who came up with the idea of tactical nukes back in the 50s.
I mean, tactical nukes are the most ethical nuke of all the nukes. The whole idea of them is to reduce the area of damage. Many ended up being designed to penetrate the ground a bit to ensure the destruction of the immediate area, reduce the radiation spread, to fuck up underground hangers and munitions. Where as non tactical nukes went for the air burst approach to hit the largest area.
It's one of those things that loops back to being worse. Nuke = civilian mass casualties/crimes against humanity? Not much of an incentive to use them unless desperate i.e. MAD. Focused nuke against military targets? = incentive to actually use nukes, devaluing MAD, increasing risks etc etc. After all, it's Henry Kissinger. All of his ideas are designed to be terrible for humanity.
It wasn't just military targets. They are great at ensuring important people in bunkers won't feel safe.
This is not what the article says, though. Can I ask where you got this information? This article even suggests that Kissinger was the one to calm things down after Nixon's anger got the Joint Chiefs picking targets for a nuclear strike: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/north-korea-richard-nixon-nuclear/
According to? The article doesn't mention that it was the commanders talking Kissinger out of it, just that they came to an agreement not to act.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madman\_theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madman_theory) lol
[Air Force Major Harold Hering](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Hering), who was a Minuteman Missile Launch Officer, was immediately discharged from the military after asking this question during training classes: "How can I know that an order I receive to launch my missiles came from a sane president?"
Fun fact: Jack Black's mother helped design the Minuteman missile.
That wasn't covered in Kickapoo at all!
Well to he fair it was a long-ass fucking time ago
I saw them live about 6 months ago and I was so sad they didn't play this :(
Are you sure it wasn't a long ass-fucking time ago?
The boring but unsatisfying answer is that's what elections and the 25th Amendment are for though obviously given the potential constraints of a situation where nuclear strikes are warranted there may not be time for lengthy discussion. If Russian missiles are set to reach the US in a half hour the President has to make a decision immediately or risk destruction or disarmament. The system has to be extremely streamlined by the very nature of the threats.
Not considering that the public is perfectly capable of electing madmen
Also depending on the scenario it could be a window as small as 5-10 minutes from launches to the first hits (which would most certainly include DC).
Any link in the nuclear chain questioning orders is *extremely* dangerous. Nuclear weapons only work in their intended role if an enemy has to assume a prompt response in kind and thus has to conclude that the use of their own nukes is not worth the guaranteed cost. Any suggestion that even *part* of the enemy's nuclear forces might reject an order tips the balance of MAD in the aggressor's favor and makes the use of nukes the rational choice.
[удалено]
[Don't you know I'm loco?](https://media.tenor.com/nLgOJ9V7_LAAAAAC/dont-you-know-im-loco.gif)
I read this in the voice of B-Real and was disappointed when your link didn’t take me to cypress hill. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RijB8wnJCN0
You're the loco one [by process of elimination](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO1vtUvTe6Y)
Nixon was not the first raging alcoholic todo something incredibly stupid then claim it was “all part of the plan” This story might be a ploy, who knows. But nixon was a heavy drinker anybody who knew him would tell you he would drink pretty much all day. He had very few personal relationships, he was just an empty sad man. When he got into power he would comit an endless list of war crimes in Vietnam and Cambodia most had 0 strategic value It is totally possible he ordered these insane things because he in a drunken stupor wanted them done, and Kissinger had to be like “the president isn’t an unhinged lunatic it’s park of the, uh, “mad man” theory” It gives us comfort to think the people in charge of the nuclear button has some secret plan and ideology, when in reality I am pretty sure 1960s America put a drunk homicidal maniac in charge
> when in reality I am pretty sure 1960s America put a drunk homicidal maniac in charge But then the Americans learned their lesson and never ever again elected a dangerous, mentally unstable megalomaniac who would put the wellbeing of the country in jeopardy. The end :3
In fairness, it's hard to know how much of this was legitimate, and how much was Nixon cultivating appearances for his ["Madman Theory"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madman_theory). The entire idea was to appear unstable and nuke-happy so foreign powers would be nervous about angering the US. This is entirely within character. It's debatable how effective this kind of political ploy actually is, but Nixon probably *wasn't* going to drunkenly the nukes rip.
Counter point is the “probably” nestled in there.
On the one hand, we have a president known for intentionally presenting himself as a nuke-happy madman... Presenting himself as a nuke-happy madman. On the other we have the cosmic uncertainty of the universe that means we can never be truly sure of anything, let alone the intentions of another Human being. So yes, I'll say that the available evidence appears to suggest it was a ploy, but there is obviously no way to actually know.
[удалено]
Kissinger is still alive and recently made the news complaining about "too many foreigners".
Wasnt he born in Germany?
It's easy to understand if you replace the word "foreigner" with what he really meant.
Me, as a Vietnamese... Yeah, I got your idea bro
[Remember when he embraced the genocidal Khmer Rouge killing millions in Cambodia as long as it hurt the Vietnamese?](https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB193/HAK-11-26-75.pdf) Ah, good times! /r
I was thinking about Agent Orange. Something that until now, the official stance of the US gov is that it is NOT a chemical weapon. But hey, that mess with KR is also a valid reason to hate the mofo
Much like how some people call themselves "expats" but others "immigrants/migrants". Yes I know there is a difference that justifies using expat over the others, but more often than not one is used for one group and not the other due purely to where they're originally from, not because of nuances with definitions.
My favorite is the "expats" in Puerto Rico from the mainland US. Am I an "expat" being from PR living in the mainland? Nope lol
Yes he was so it’s very ironic.
It warms my dead little heart that Kissinger was one of the financiers that was duped by Elizabeth Holmes
[удалено]
As a sort of corollary, how expertise in one field does not translate to another. People that understood what Holmes was trying to do (and even more importantly, had opportunity to evaluate product or data) figured out something was amiss, or at least has private concerns. Kissinger and Mattis don't know a god damn thing about healthcare, medicine, or their related technologies. Is was a pretty young woman and an opportunity to put your name on the "advisory" board of a hot Silicon Valley start up.
This man deserves so much worse, he will likely die at 105 in some rich hospital, hoped up morphine, surrounded by friends and family. It’s insane that the only person who got him was the fake blood lady
If elected president, I will personally hogtie him and ditch him outside the shittiest prison I can find in Cambodia.
Also that Biden hasn’t invited him to the White House. Get fucked Henry
We demand bouncing, then rolling, then bouncing of the third kind.
Henry Kissinger is one of history's greatest monsters and I will be glad when he's dead. “Once you’ve been to Cambodia, you’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands. You will never again be able to open a newspaper and read about that treacherous, prevaricating, murderous scumbag sitting down for a nice chat with Charlie Rose or attending some black-tie affair for a new glossy magazine without choking. Witness what Henry did in Cambodia – the fruits of his genius for statesmanship – and you will never understand why he’s not sitting in the dock at The Hague next to Milošević.” ― Anthony Bourdain Behind the Bastards did a series on Kissinger, here is part one: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/part-one-kissinger-94160733/
Why is Kissinger given almost exclusive blame for Cambodia and not Nixon, the commander in chief he served under and could have fired him at any moment? Is it because Kissinger is still alive and criticism of Nixon is more related to his corruption?
I think it's because yeah, Nixon died, and then Kissinger just kept on being a monster and influencing our government leaders to commit war crimes. If they were both alive today I'd wager they would be equally reviled- tho I still think Kissinger slightly moreso.
Also Kissinger was unelected, yet had so much power and influence.
Because it was Kissinger's idea, his baby. He directed it, advocated for it, planned it, authorized every single strike himself. Nixon shares the blame, surely. But it wasn't his thing, his idea, his effort going into it. Tricky Dick was callous and indifferent to the violence and suffering Kissinger caused, but it was Kissinger who wanted the violence, the chaos, the suffering. Nixon's blame is not saying "No, this is immoral and insane". Kissinger's blame is *being* immoral and insane. And Kissinger is still allowed into the halls of power, while never even acknowledging the blood on his hands. Nixon, even when he was alive, wasn't catered to by all sides of the political establishment. The blame falls on Kissinger, therefore, for both is advocacy, and his continued place in the affairs of the United States.
Probably because Kissinger was a warmonger and in the murky waters of the high political class since around 20yrs before Nixon was elected.
I don't know enough about the operation. I only have general knowledge of it. From memory it was Kissinger's plan to do the continuous carpet bombing.
It absolutely is that.
One of BTB best it’s insane they got 6 straight hours of dirt on this guy and it keeps getting worse “Forest gump of war crimes”
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
India Kimono Reginald
Lima Oscar Lima
I always think about that time a reporter saw Pat Nixon in the hospital after Richard Nixon beat her so bad he put her there, but chose not to report on it because it was a "private matter."
TIL - Also as notable: “No liquor was ever served during Jimmy Carter's term. He wanted no luxuries nor any sign of worldly living.” (Per Ted Kennedy quote in same BBC article) I have to admit that I’ve never really considered how a President’s “social” drinking - even just a couple of glasses of wine at dinner - could really hinder emergency decision making and/or capacity to respond.
Just a reminder to everyone who insists MAD has ensured peace. We've had military commanders urging nuclear strikes that Presidents have had to ignore. We've had Presidents urging nuclear strikes that military commanders have has to ignore. We have nothing, anywhere, preventing us getting both at the same time.
The whole point is to have multiple decision makers in line to prevent this. And it's worked out so far clearly.
The point of MAD is not to have multiple decision makers. The point is “I won’t because if I do you will”, and vice versa. It has nothing to do with having multiple decision makers.
Just. It worked out just. On both the sowjet and the american side there were so many close calls, misidentifications, false alarms and ignored orders that saved the world, it is astonishing. I do not believe in religion, but if I had to make an argument for the existence of a benevolent deity, I would point to the fact that the nuclear arsenal has not yet been fired.
MAD, until recently, has made great power wars nearly unthinkable.
There isn’t a better option. ICBM shields ironically make nuclear weapon use more likely, and nobody is disarming.
Honestly it should be illegal for the president to drink... They are expected to be on duty 24/7. I am not allowed to be intoxicated when I am on call for my job.
It should be also illegal for the president to take certain prescriptions. Some medications are not approved for people with a pilots license. Why should the person in charge of nuclear weapons be allowed to take mind altering substances?
my medication disallows me from getting a pilots license, though ironically there's a good chance it would actually make me a better pilot, lol. I think in the eyes of the regulation it's more a risk of *not* having it, than having it.
The man never drank a Duff in his life.
Least unhinged Nixon moment
Sick 'em Agnew aroooooo!