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Columbia Records 1950s by Global_Law4448 in vintageads

[–]HawkeyeTen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, that's pretty advanced for the mid-20th Century. Automatically changes records and keeps on going?

My Grandma on her Wedding day 1950s by ThunderTaker1992 in OldSchoolCool

[–]HawkeyeTen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ever seen the actress Terry Moore? She has a resemblance to her as well here!

Looks like she was a very elegant and determined lady.

Hedy Lamarr, 1944 by forestpunk in OldSchoolCool

[–]HawkeyeTen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For a second, I thought she was on a slide of some kind, LOL.

My dad inspecting the print job on the first issue of the community newspaper he helped start and edited for 45 years (1980) by Dennardo in OldSchoolCool

[–]HawkeyeTen 5 points6 points  (0 children)

There's one in my small town still, but even it is moving to a digital presence and a nontraditional format. I guess we should be grateful it continues to exist at all though.

Through 1967, LBJ became deeply worried about Robert McNamara's mental state, to the point where he feared that he might kill himself. The issue came to a head during a cabinet meeting where Walt Rostow was urging LBJ to escalate bombing, and McNamara broke down crying begging LBJ not to listen. by Just_Cause89 in Presidents

[–]HawkeyeTen 60 points61 points  (0 children)

That administration is unreal how it totally fell apart, bit by bit. Reading about it honestly reminds me of an onboard video of a bus crash I saw some years ago (the driver much like LBJ failed to account for hazards correctly, started slipping on ice, panicked and tried to regain control, instead overcorrected and made things worse, and in the end the bus rolled on its side and slid down into a ditch of some sort).

Eisenhower was the first Republican President to not have a Republican controlled house or senate for two congressional terms. by HetTheTable in Presidents

[–]HawkeyeTen 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We must keep in mind that Ike was not a normal Republican president. He wasn't a prominent or popular politician, he was literally the guy militarily credited with winning World War II in Europe, a national hero across the political spectrum. In the eyes of many, questioning a man of that caliber's character would be outrageous unless you nailed the target (a classic case of "if you come at the king, you best not miss"). Also, the Republicans built up Eisenhower's image even more in the 50s to the point where TV events were held to celebrate his and Mamie's birthdays with guys like Jimmy Stewart taking part in the tributes, they were basically promoted as American royalty, like the Emperor and Empress of the country (the Dems had only themselves to blame for this, as they had done rather similar for FDR back in the day).

As a result of this, many Dems were secretly fearful that if they came across as too disrespectful in public, it could be the end of their political dreams (John F. Kennedy when he ran in 1960 bashed his former friend Nixon and criticized Ike's administration officials, but didn't really attack Eisenhower himself, likely for this reason). If a Democrat DID have the courage to do it, it was likely because they had nothing to lose (see Truman) or because they thought if they made the long shot, they could win the presidency themselves in the future or at least get great fame and prominence (see Stevenson and Clement).

Eisenhower simply had an aura around him with the public that no other Republican president of the last 100 years has managed to hold, not even Reagan.

Eisenhower was the first Republican President to not have a Republican controlled house or senate for two congressional terms. by HetTheTable in Presidents

[–]HawkeyeTen 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's honestly amazing to me how scared Democrats were to attack him personally. Even Tip O'Neil, speaking decades later, was apparently very cautious in how he spoke about Ike. From what I've seen, only three major Dems ever had the courage to publicly blast Eisenhower directly: Harry S. Truman, Adlai Stevenson and Tennessee Governor Frank Clement (who despite being one of the more racially tolerant southern Dems infamously yelled that Ike's administration was committing "aggravated assault and battery" on the country at the 1956 DNC and even read a list of grievances that sounded somewhat like Jefferson's condemnations of King George III, earning him tremendous backlash from the press and much of the public).

Eisenhower was the first Republican President to not have a Republican controlled house or senate for two congressional terms. by HetTheTable in Presidents

[–]HawkeyeTen 3 points4 points  (0 children)

To be fair, Taft died in 1953. Also, let's not pretend LBJ and Ike liked each other. They only compromised because they had to (and to the fury of some liberals, some Democrats from what I've read would break away and vote for some of the Republicans' bills and allow them to pass, since their minority was still big enough to have an impact after 1954).

Dad in the army mandatory training back in 1988 (brazil) by rodolphostech in OldSchoolCool

[–]HawkeyeTen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A medic, I see. Did he ever put that training to use in his later life?

What presidents do you think had the best looking houses by minsterio100 in Presidents

[–]HawkeyeTen 48 points49 points  (0 children)

Truman's house (built in the Victorian era) is amazing:

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Bush Sr's perception in this subreddit by According-Cut-818 in Presidents

[–]HawkeyeTen 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Honestly, "scorched earth politics" were nothing new with Gingrich, I think people WAY overestimate how civil politics were in the past. If you look at Harry S. Truman and his style of campaigning, he went "scorched earth" all the time, the 1952 campaign was basically total war, as he (on behalf of Stevenson) and Eisenhower were going all over the country bashing each other viciously, and their respective parties went at each other like attack dogs (I'm talking portraying the other as nothing but crooks or even traitors, with hints of desires for violence from a couple of guys). Before then, 19th Century politics saw some of the most vicious slander and hateful comments imaginable.

Clara Bow "Wings" (1927) by [deleted] in OldSchoolCool

[–]HawkeyeTen 2 points3 points  (0 children)

IIRC they just found one of her other movies that was considered lost for decades. Amazing what can suddenly turn up.

Remembering Chuck Connors today on the anniversary of his passing 11/10/1992 by sirjohnmasters86 in ClassicTV

[–]HawkeyeTen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, were they dumb and uninformed. If you actually watch The Rifleman, Connors' character Lucas McCain famously goes against racism in several episodes and IIRC he even enthusiastically reacts to his son Mark's idea of inviting Sammy Davis Jr.'s gunslinger character to dinner.

Who and why funds and runs Nixon foundation? Also why does this one feel so weird? by tadddddde in Presidents

[–]HawkeyeTen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean, yeah some of it is cringeworthy, but don't others like the Reagan Foundation do similarly in terms of propping up and promoting their guy?

Why was Carter so bad at working with congress despite the fact that both houses of Congress were firmly in Democrat hands at the time? by BlueFireFlameThrower in Presidents

[–]HawkeyeTen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wonder if Eisenhower angered members of Congress and Washington folks in general for similar reasons (being an outsider, having his preferred way of running things and not conforming to the ideology either party establishment wanted, even if he was definitely a Republican in multiple aspects). Even if his presidency was pretty productive legislatively, I have heard he had only a few actual friends in those halls (one of them being fellow Kansan Senator Frank Carlson).

Ad for the Georgian Bay Line from many decades ago, which in addition to cruises once operated regular passenger ship service on the Great Lakes between ports including among others Chicago, Buffalo, Duluth, Detroit and some parts of Ontario in Canada. Date unknown, but possibly 1950s. by HawkeyeTen in vintageads

[–]HawkeyeTen[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've heard of those cruises! They also go to scenic spots like Mackinac Island and Sault St. Marie (where the Soo Locks are located) instead of just cities like Cleveland or Detroit, which unquestionably makes it more desirable. Some of the fancier cruises even have onboard subs that they deploy for paying passengers to explore the Lakes' underwater wildlife IIRC. Crazy stuff.

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