Short History Of…. The White House. Like many others, I’ve been transfixed with horror at Trump’s circle of adoration in the Oval Office and the increasing tide of gold tat that is encrusting the walls. But Trump is not the only President to make changes to the White House, with Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft constructing the East and West Wings and expanding the Oval Office, and Truman constructing the balcony. Under Jacqueline Kennedy, the White House was actually proclaimed a museum. The original Presidents Palace, based on Leinster House in Dublin, was built between 1792 and 1800, so the paint was barely dry by the time it was burnt and sacked by British troops in the War of 1812. It was a mixed- use building: both the President’s house and workplace. The White House originally had its own staff who worked only at the White House, but today Presidents tend to bring their own supposedly-loyal staff. George H. W. Bush was the most popular president amongst the traditional White House staff, supposedly because he was accustomed to having servants. Interesting… but it still doesn’t make me feel any better about Trump’s decorating taste. At least it can be taken down when he leaves, unlike the East Wing which no longer exists.
The Rest is History Episode 639 Revolution in Iran: Death in the Desert (Part 4) After mocking Jimmy Carter mercilessly over the previous three episodes, Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland finally express some sympathy and grudging admiration for President Carter in this episode. After the release of the black and female hostages, there were 52 male hostages left in Iran, and after showing restraint for months, Carter became more hawkish and finally in April 1980 he imposed sanctions on Iran. Cyrus Vance was still urging diplomacy, but that same month Brzezinski (in Vance’s absence) gained Carter’s approval of a military rescue of the hostages. It all sounds very Christian: the commanders assembled in a hangar before taking off, where they prayed, read about the story of David and Goliath and sang ‘God Bless America’. (Sheesh). It was a disaster: there was a dust storm, they encountered civilian pilgrims, and the helicopters malfunctioned, leading them to pile into a smaller number of helicopters. The attempt was aborted. By now, the 1980 Presidential election was afoot, and Iran held out until Reagan’s inauguration, despite and to spite Carter’s obsession and hard work in trying to get the hostages home. And look where we are now, invading Iran again.
Journey Through Time Episode 65 The Spanish Civil War: Orwell V Stalin (ep. 4) The Republicans were not one united group. There were communists, supported by Russia on one side. On the other side were anarchists, who were not part of the International Brigade, who wanted revolution within Civil War. This is the side that Orwell chose, when he joined POUM (Workers Party of Marxist Unification). They began fighting against each other. The communists took over the Telephone Exchange, which was controlled by POUM, and after POUM was defeated, it was seen as the ‘enemy’ and ‘facists’ just as much as the Nationalists were. He was in real danger, and after he escaped he wrote ‘Homage to Catalonia’, which he had trouble getting published. Spain was by now a laboratory for Stalinist repression, as well as a laboratory for fascism.
The Resident Judge of Port Phillip 