Posts by Kyle Matthews
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For God's sake
How about we let people express their thoughts about significant NZers in their own way? I think it's sad that they've both died, and they both still had stuff to contribute. Michael King was taken from us by a car accident, not old age and bad health.
Or does your contrary angle not have an off switch, even when people are expressing sadness?
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When news of Hone's death struck me I asked myself - why are these things happening in pairs recently in NZ?
King and Frame both died relatively close to each other. Now Hillary and Tuwhare, almost a week apart.
Someone is chopping down our giants. Very sad.
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A lot of my friends have blogged a big 'so what' about that Facebook article.
For starters, he starts out bemoaning the whole social website thing, so he's not exactly biased.
And, Facebook owned by Silicon Valley sorts who want to make craploads of money of it. Umm, not news my friend.
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Is it just me, or is that TV page messed up to hell? I get competing embeds on both sides, loss of control of the video, and images all up the gazoo.
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An off-topic note for fans like myself who are a little behind...
Daily show is back with new shows, sans writers, but seemingly still pretty good. Normal times.
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LBJ's Great Society/War on Poverty acts were also, in a broader sense, civil rights laws
While he did stuff that was disproportionately helpful for African Americans, those things that you've listed aren't civil rights in a broad sense Danielle. Civil rights are legal rights - right to vote, redress, right to pursue legal action, freedom from discrimination.
I think his Great Society plan could have been incredibly significant for America, but it got bogged down in Vietnam - he often cursed that damned war for taking his Great Society away from him. He didn't have the money, the public support, or time to create it in any substantial way. It's now a bit of an introductory chapter to the significance of Reagan and the 80s.
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Yes (indeed Eisenhower took steps along the path when he was President, albeit reluctantly I think), but given that the alternative to Kennedy was Nixon... I don't think he would have taken it very far if he'd been in the top job.
The alternative to LBJ in '64 was Goldwater, and he certainly would have picked up the torch, but he got his ass handed to him and didn't even come close in the election (he won 6 states).
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With the Whip being less important in American politics than it is in the Westminster system, I would have thought LBJ's moral authority was as essential in mobilising the political apparatus as MLK's was in mobilising the grassroots.
I can't buy that. The significance of LBJ in advancing civil rights in America is dwarfed by MLK. By the time the legislation went through the house, its time had come across most public opinion, driven by MLK and many other people.
Yes LBJ pushed it through, and yes it was incredibly significant. But most competent (Democratic) presidents could, and would have, done the same, just as successfully. You can't say the same about MLK's influence. MLK played a big role in changing the way Americans saw each other, and creating the environment in which the legislation became viable. If you took MLK out of the picture, the changes might have taken several more years at least, and looked different. If you took LBJ out of the picture (ie, Kennedy not shot), the result probably isn't much different at all.
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It's not exactly good campaigning advice is it. When running against a significant candidate of part-African descent, running down MLK's achievements, and running up the flag for the crusty white guy who agreed to sign the actual laws, ain't the best plan.
On the list of international figures from which little good comes of talking down, Martin Luther King is up there with Ghandi, Nelson Mandela etc. Doing it when standing as a white candidate for President? Duh.
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perhaps the British media shouldn't get their sneer on too loudly while they're living in a country with an unelected upper house, the peculiar distortions of an FPP electoral system and a hereditary head of state.
I'm not sure if the Bugle counts as media. In fact, I just listened to episode 11, and it's the opposite end of the scale from serious.