You've Been Trumped!

[martin48]

Along with all the rest of the world.

Burke also said "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"

[filghy2]

Donald Trump, speech to Congress, 1st March 2017
We are blessed to be joined tonight by Carryn Owens, the widow of a U.S. Navy Special Operator, Senior Chief William "Ryan" Owens. Ryan died as he lived: a warrior, and a hero --- battling against terrorism and securing our Nation....Ryan's legacy is etched into eternity. For as the Bible teaches us, there is no greater act of love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. Ryan laid down his life for his friends, for his country, and for our freedom --- we will never forget him.
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/28/po...ipt-full-text/



But as the English conservative Edmund Burke once said, Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.

Fine words from a man who graduated from military college, then avoided the draft for Vietnam through a series of college deferments and then a medical diagnosis of bone spurs in his heel that magically cleared up afterwards. And then had the temerity to criticise John McCain, who was shot down and spent 5 years in a Hanoi prison, for getting captured.

Actually, that quote about history is generally attributed to George Santayana.

[Stavros]

Actually, that quote about history is generally attributed to George Santayana.

It is one of those quotes that has been embellished as well such as 'those who cannot remember their own history are doomed to repeat its mistakes'. What Santayana actually wrote was “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" (Life of Reason, Vol 1) and some now claim Burke never wrote the quote in the exact words I cited but did say in Reflections on the Revolution in France: People will not look forward to prosperity who never look backward to their ancestors." A textual analysis of Burke's writing also reveals he never wrote "The only thing needed for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing", but there may be variations on this, the closest appears to be from Thomas Jefferson: All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent."
I am as guilty as others in poaching quotes on the assumption I know where they come from. And then sometimes it transpires nobody knows, probably because people take something from a book and twist it for their own purposes, but I guess that is the joy of writing and researching the truth...elusive as that can often be.

[Stavros]

Calamity Sean at it again:
2nd March 2017 10.58am:
The Senate confirmed @realDonaldTrump as the next Secretary of @HUDgov

Followed soon after by
The Senate has confirmed @RealBenCarson as @realDonaldTrump 's Secretary of @HUDgov

As one internet wag put it
I think someone handed him the wrong envelope pic.twitter.com/nbJxcAmShT

https://www.indy100.com/article/sean...istake-7608116

At least we can be sure Ben Carson is real...

[filghy2]

Burke also said "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"

The nearest quote that can be found in Burke's writings is "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle." (Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents) Not quite the same thing, and not nearly as punchy. http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/12/04/good-men-do/

[Stavros]

Donald Trump, 3rd of March 2017 tweeting on the day he visited St Andrews Catholic School, Orlando Florida
“I hear by demand a second investigation, after Schumer, of Pelosi for her close ties to Russia, and lying about it."

I hereby declare that Donald Trump is going to take some spelling lessons.— President Bannon (@PRESlDENTBANNON) March 3, 2017

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/03/donald-trump-runs-twitter-trouble-repeated-spelling-errors-attempt/

[martin48]

Where would we be without .....

The nearest quote that can be found in Burke's writings is "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle." (Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents) Not quite the same thing, and not nearly as punchy. http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/12/04/good-men-do/

[broncofan]

I wonder whether Edmund Burke has ever said anything that someone else didn't say better

[Stavros]

I wonder whether Edmund Burke has ever said anything that someone else didn't say better

I think you are probably right, Burke is recalled as one of the first 'conservative' 'thinkers' which is why he is used as a source. When students do a course in political theory/philosophy they have a 'canon' to get through, from Plato and Aristotle through Augustine and Aquinas to Machiavelli, Bentham, Mill and Marx, and although Burke was not a philosopher he makes it where other conservatives, like Kant do not as they did not concern themselves with government.

[Stavros]

Donald Trump 4 March 2017
How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...efore-election


You have to wonder how people react to a President unable to spell a three letter word. 'That's just Donald' some might say, just as his 'locker-room' talk was just that. But the White House is not a locker-room, and Trump is President of the USA, not the host of a late-night chat show. I don't know how anyone can take him seriously.

But don't worry, help is at hand -Tony Blair has had meetings with Trump -three so far- and Blair may become a 'special envoy'. Blair's position will probably be -the Presidency looks foolish under Trump but I can tutor him and make it look more serious. Curiously this either suggests he has repaired his relations with Trump insider Rupert Murdoch (the Dirty Digger may even have been the facilitator and Blair is godfather to Murdoch's daughter Grace but maybe the two fell out when Tony snuck into Wendi's bed a few years ago). Or, even more perversely, Murdoch may not be behind this at all, and it is Blair competing with Murdoch for influence in the White House.
Maybe this is just a late night tv show...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017...e-amid-claims/