#Presidential Recordings

[deadpresidents]

"We've just got to go after him. And...put him right where he belongs: with [Barry] Goldwater] around his neck...He's got a better television personality and he's more effective. But he's more dangerous."

-- President Lyndon B. Johnson, telling California Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, that the Democrats needed to portray Brown's opponent during the 1966 California Gubernatorial election, actor Ronald Reagan, as an extremist and link him with LBJ's unsuccessful opponent in the 1964 Presidential election, Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, during a phone call recorded by LBJ's White House taping system on June 13, 1966.

[ceilidhtransing]

If you hear Republicans speak to other Republicans, you'll hear a lot of them say that they really don't like Trump for whatever reason (many of them aren't fans of the felony convictions, his personal manner, his business dealings, his family life, or whatever else) but that they'll still be voting for him because he'll get them closer to what they ultimately want. They're pragmatic; they don't demand purity in their candidate. They recognise him as their strategic choice so they'll set aside the issues they have with him and vote as a bloc. That's what makes them effective at getting their way. That's how they win elections.

And boy I wish we had more of that attitude on the left. Imagine what we could get done.

[thashining]

You all don’t seem to understand, they are going to amendment 25 trump and put Vance in office! THIS is what the heritage foundation wanted all along. VOTE BLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!💙

[libraryjournal]

Never mess with an archivist.

[thelesbianthespianposts]

18 minutes in and he’s just mentioned Reagan for the first time

[jessica-marie-baumgartner]

I scoured Vance's X timeline for this one. Mainly to get my husband no board since he doesn't trust anyone but Trump.

[notyournightsky]

That was exhausting

[weremuttz]

I'm less on team "what if more people voted" more "what if uninformed voters stayed the hell home."

The fact that so many people were googling in their booths "did joe biden drop out." The fact that so many progressive bills passed despite the advertisement campaigns against them in the same areas by the same margins that trump won. There were a lot of people this election cycle who checked the fuck out and voted based on name recognition. So many people who vote republican down the ballot out of ignorance, not because they align with those beliefs.

It reminds me of when my hometown had someone on the ballot who DID NOT LEGALLY EXIST because their name was first on the primary ballot, and people just voted for them because their name was listed first. (Guess who was listed first on most ballots....?)

Its still as useless as any other "what if," but still. More realistic than blaming people who didn't vote.

[more-flotsam-and-jetsam]

[fishbonedotcom]

I think people need more faith in the d20 gang to tell a interesting story. Yah the bad kids are having a rough time rn, thats how conflict works. Like yes absolutely Fabian could pay for Riz to go to college. And he would. But thats not a story that takes 2 months to develop, its not interesting

[deadpresidents]

what is the best way to find the full transcripts of speeches by presidents? is there a site that you use for that sort of research?

Yes, there are two particular sites that I tend to use whenever I'm researching speeches or Presidential messages and they are both excellent sources.

The American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara is an invaluable resource. The UCSB site has archived hundreds of thousands of speeches, press conference transcripts, messages, and declarations from every President in American history. It's amazing how much information they have available for researchers, and how easy they've made it to navigate the site and find specific speeches or documents. As an example, f you felt like finding the transcripts for the 200+ press conferences that Herbert Hoover did while he was in office, UCSB's American President Project has them ready for your reading pleasure. And they don't just provide easy access to the major speeches that Presidents made while in the White House. You can find transcripts of quick remarks that Presidents made from train platforms during whistle-stop campaigns or radio addresses or signing statements. It's really an indispensable resource for researchers of the Presidency.

The Miller Center at the University of Virginia also has an incredibly useful website with archives of Presidential speeches, but also in-depth essays and features about the Presidency and each of the Presidents. There are extensive oral histories on Presidents dating back to Jimmy Carter, with fascinating insight from scores of people. And the Miller Center has also created a site within their website focusing on the tapes from the White House recording system that eventually helped bring down Richard Nixon. Nixon wasn't the only President who secretly recorded conversations in the White House, and there are tapes available from Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson, as well as Nixon. Instead of having to search for those recordings at each of those Presidents' respective Presidential Libraries, the Miller Center has made it possible to search their archives for all of those Presidential Recordings. In most cases, they've also helpfully provided transcripts as the tapes are frequently difficult to clearly understand.

Those two sites are pretty much perfect for Presidential history researchers, particularly if you're seeking transcripts of speeches or Presidential messages. I'd also strongly recommend checking out the Presidential Library websites if you're researching someone who has a library. In my opinion, the Presidential Library system is one of the treasures of the National Archives and a treasury of research potential. Almost all of the 15 Presidential Libraries in the network officially maintained and operated by the NARA have extensive research materials that can be accessed online.

[windandwater]

who's gonna tell tumblr that public figures saying violence is bad isn't "centrist" it's just how our culture expects decent people to behave when someone is nearly (or actually) assassinated

edit: oh and yes, everyone, people can care about the state of US politics *and* the state of the world! imagine! making a statement about this does not mean people don't care about violence overseas!

FUCK I'm tired

[juniestar]

How on earth is harris v trump a tight race??? How do ppl look at donald trump having SEEN the way he acted in his presidential term, seen his LENGTHY criminal record, seen the fact that NOBODY else in his party aside from some loose hanging cultists wants to associate with him, seen the way he literally incited riots after losing an election which resulted in at least seven deaths, seen his total lack of coherent policy plan, and think yeah well but Kamala is a cop. Which isn’t even fucking true

[rattenmann]

i swear i tried to watch the debate, i just couldn’t. i had to full on leave my house and go on a walk because trumps arguments were so bad.

[clothedinblack]

It is INSANE to me how yall (referring to the media and a large swath of mainstream public opinion, not my beautiful mutuals) are blaming Jill Biden for Joe's disastrous debate last week and his ongoing candidacy. First of all, for all we know, she could be urging him to drop out behind closed doors, but of course they have to put up a united front publicly even if they're having those conversations in private. Secondly, when has the media ever given a First Lady credit when the President does something good? Or is acknowledging the First Lady's relevance only reserved for when something goes wrong? It's amazing how many people are putting this all on her rather than Joe himself and his entire campaign team.

[pcttrailsidereader]

The Harris Public Lands Policy - What We Might Expect

By and large, the track record of the Biden-Harris contrasts with the Trump administration record and the 2025 Project outline as it relates to public lands. For decades, the federal government has prioritized oil and gas drilling, hardrock mining and livestock grazing on public lands across the country (for that reason, some have referred to the BLM as the Bureau of Logging and Mining). The Biden administration recently issued a far-reaching Interior Department rule that puts conservation, recreation and renewable energy development on equal footing with resource extraction.

This represents a huge shift in the management of roughly 245 million acres of public property — about one-tenth of the nation’s land mass. The extent to which this change will withstand the inevitable legal challenges from fossil fuel industry groups and Republican officials is unclear. It will be intensely contested.

It does open the door for the BLM to auction off “restoration leases” and “mitigation leases” to entities with plans to restore or conserve public lands.

The Biden administration has conserved more than 41 million acres of land and water. This includes restoration of some of the National Monuments reduced under the Trump administration (Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monuments). He also cancelled the leases granted by the Trump administration to explore for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve.

Biden also established a national goal to conserve at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and freshwater and 30 percent of U.S. ocean areas by 2030, in an initiative commonly referred to as 30x30. This is an ambitious initiative that has received significant pushback as a government 'land grab'.

Although Biden has disappointed some in the environmental movement, the Biden-Harris administration has acknowledged that climate change is real and requires action, has significant achievements in land and water conservation, and has undone a number of the Trump administration decisions.

Whether Harris would continue this trend is likely but not a certainty. However, in her campaign speeches she has been pragmatic but aggressive in her support for the environment and careful stewardship of natural resources. And Walz has promoted a $2B initiative to help the State of Minnesota reduce its carbon footprint.

Although the Trump administration does have to its credit the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), the legacy of Trump is one that should be of concern to most of us who love the PCT, the wilderness, and are concerned about our climate. In looking at the record of both candidates, it seems clear based upon their respective records and stated plans, that it is very important that you get out and vote . . . and consider carefully the Trump and the Harris commitment to caring for the planet and how they fit with your values.

It is imperative that those of us who use and love the land, make our voices heard by voting!