RiverJun 17, 2023
Kevin Russell

President Carter, now in his last days, home to be with his family as he passes, once personally saved Ottawa from a Nuclear Disaster, at risk, and cost, to his life, suffering from radiation poisoning all his life.

Canada had a Nuclear Accident in the 50s, asked the US for help, Lieutenant Jimmy Carter lead a team out of NY.

The future President Carter, had his team lower him into the reactor.

I had no idea

I have no idea why this isn't widely known.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/chalk-river-nuclear-accident-1.6293574

How a future U.S. president helped avert nuclear disaster near Canada's capital | CBC News

In 1952, an experimental nuclear reactor in Chalk River, Ont., about 180 kilometres northwest of Ottawa, partially melted down, becoming the world's first nuclear reactor incident. Disaster was averted, in part, with help from future U.S. president Jimmy Carter.

CBC
Jun 16, 2023 at 8:46pmWeb
Show threadMike Nelson PeddeJun 16, 2023
@kevinrns Jimmy remains one of the good ones. 🫂
Show threadKevin RussellJun 16, 2023

@wolfnowl

Even better than we were let know.

Show thread🇳🇿   💉*9 RogerJun 16, 2023
@kevinrns top bloke
Show threadEd SandersJun 16, 2023
@kevinrns So many of today’s pols will never be 1/5 of the man Carter is.
Show threadKevin RussellJun 16, 2023

@EdSanders

Jimmy Carter was sabotaged, and all his work erased. Jimmy covered the White House in solar panels and reduced rhe highway speed to 55 to save the use of oil. A proto-Biden.

Show threadRuth O’DayJun 16, 2023
@kevinrns @EdSanders
Nixon reduced the speed limit to 55.
Show threadEd SandersJun 17, 2023

@RuthODay @kevinrns Carter didn’t do that, but he did so much more including the 1980 Olympic Boyctt and spearheading environmental cleanup.

To be fair, he definitely didn’t take on racism as a candidate for office, a triangulation that stands as a real blot on his record. At the same time, he definitely did use the power he had after winning office to create laws and regulations that were among the most anti-racist conceivable.

Edit: I stand corrected. Thanks @kevinrns .

Show threadKevin RussellJun 17, 2023

@EdSanders @RuthODay

Yes, yes he did.

"President Carter Wanted Us To Prevent Climate Change"

https://slate.com/technology/2019/09/jimmy-carter-climate-change-malaise-speech-1980-backlash.html

The President Who Wanted Us to Stop Climate Change

The public was with him when he gave the “Malaise” speech in 1980.

Slate
Show threadSteve's PlaceJun 17, 2023
@kevinrns @EdSanders @RuthODay But oil barons made deals instead. Some guaranteed the election of the man who sent us into a downward spiral, Ronald Reagan, the cheesy actor who represented dirty money in the White House and who ended his reign of deceit being unable to even represent himself. He was used and tossed. Oil barons bought our country as angry white racists cheered and cheered. Carter was mugged by the 1% to bring us hell on earth for a fast buck.
Show threadKevin RussellJun 17, 2023

@stevesplace @EdSanders @RuthODay

Yes indeed.

Show threadGrandpa DonJun 17, 2023

@stevesplace @kevinrns @EdSanders @RuthODay

Well put. I have sometimes felt like a voice in the wilderness over the decades as republicans and complicit media praised their Saint Ronnie while mocking and denigrating arguably the best POTUS in history. Now they have turned against RR in favor of inarguably the worst, and JRB is working toward that "best" title but RRs legacy threatens to just put it all in the dust heap.

Show threadRichie EnamellerJun 17, 2023
@kevinrns @EdSanders @RuthODay yes, I agree: Fuck Reagan.
Show threadRaymond Scott PertJun 17, 2023

@kevinrns @EdSanders @RuthODay

Jimmy Carter wanted us to stop climate change.

>This address, which became known as the “Malaise” speech, was cited by 1980s champions of hyperconsumption as a key reason for Carter’s political demise. But it was well-received at the time—Carter’s approval ratings went up by 12 percentage points, with 61 percent of the public saying the speech inspired confidence.
https://slate.com/technology/2019/09/jimmy-carter-climate-change-malaise-speech-1980-backlash.html
#jimmycarter #climatecrisis

The President Who Wanted Us to Stop Climate Change

The public was with him when he gave the “Malaise” speech in 1980.

Slate
Show threadannie grayJun 17, 2023
@kevinrns @EdSanders @RuthODay Then along came Reagan, who ripped the solar panels off the WH to send a big wet smooch to fossil fuel businesses.
Show threadauthor_is_ShrikeTron🔠💉x5Jun 17, 2023
@snooze_cat @kevinrns @EdSanders @RuthODay Then surprisingly, Bush and later Obama put newer panels back in again:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/obama-is-actually-the-third-president-to-install-solar-panels-at-the-white-house-111247/
Obama Is Actually the Third President to Install Solar Panels at the White House

Jimmy Carter's 1979 solar panels were stripped down by Ronald Reagan, while no one noticed when the Bush administration installed panels to heat the pool

Smithsonian Magazine
Show threadGrandpa DonJun 17, 2023
@EdSanders
You also omitted the Camp David accords.
Show threadEd SandersJun 17, 2023

@dbc3 oh, there’s plenty of things I left out, not the least of which was changing the ridiculous laws that prevented home brewing. Everyone who enjoys a good beer today owes that to Carter.

The microbrewery revolution would never have gotten off the ground without him.

Show threadBretCahillJun 17, 2023

@EdSanders @RuthODay @kevinrns

There is one and only one way to protect minority rights that can be taken seriously: campaign on tax hikes on the rich [majority rule on the economy] get elected then appoint RBGs to the bench.

Main shill media get paid by the rich to weaken majority rule on the economy [to get those precious tax cuts] so M$M try to dupe Democrats into believing that campaigning on majority rule on the economy isn't necessary to protect minority rights.

Biden knows better.

Show threadBretCahillJun 17, 2023

@EdSanders @RuthODay @kevinrns

https://mastodon.online/@BretCahill/110525999115284595

BretCahill (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image Damage control by the AP was so fast and so inept it confirmed the postcard.

Mastodon
Show threadKevin RussellJun 17, 2023
@RuthODay @EdSanders
Show threadRamJun 17, 2023
@kevinrns
@EdSanders
proto-Biden? that's selling him a bit short. Biden is... fine
Show threadKevin RussellJun 17, 2023

@fringd @EdSanders

Taxed the untaxed, untaxed for several Presidents, he used the almost billion dollars of, sorry I mean almost trillion dollars of fairness, on climate, in the largest climate action in history, while lowering home energy costs, is fine.

Having the highest employment in history is fine. Creating 330,000 MORE jobs, growth, during the same months tech bros are rando firing 300,000, is fine.

Oh and he beat Trump, which is fine.

Show threaddontonyJun 16, 2023
@kevinrns
Show threadBronMason For Kamala 2024Jun 17, 2023

@kevinrns

Thank you for sharing—this is SO interesting! I loved President Carter and am proud to say I voted for him twice. The American people didn’t see what a brilliant and moral man they were lucky enough to have be willing to be their president, and now we learn that he was heroic as well. #jimmycarter

Show thread(((JaneinNJ)))Jun 17, 2023
@kevinrns There should be a superhero comic about him — superhero whose cover identity is that he’s this kind of milquetoasty US president, as Carter was. The man is just incredible.
Show threadKevin RussellJun 17, 2023

@JaneinNJ

That was a smear on President Carter. Republicans arranged with terrorists in Iran to hold American hostages and not release them until carter was defeated on an election( hes so weak!)

Just one of the many filthy things Republicans have done with terrorists.

Iran Contra is a subject to learn.

Show thread(((JaneinNJ)))Jun 17, 2023
@kevinrns Wasn’t attempting to smear him at all, was just alluding to his low key genial persona when he was president. He came into his own as a powerful public figure after his presidency. And yes, Reagan and cronies (Atwater) certainly did set the stage for today’s R party.
Show threadKevin RussellJun 17, 2023

@JaneinNJ

Great, leaping to his defense unbidden, sorry.

He was smeared constantly, the smears continued long after office.

Show thread(((JaneinNJ)))Jun 17, 2023

@kevinrns For a little bit of contemporaneous satire, I give you these two #SNL sketches…first, the real Reagan (Phil Hartman z”l) and second, the inner Carter (Dan Ackroyd).

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b5wfPlgKFh8

https://www.cracked.com/article_37044_dan-aykroyds-jimmy-carter-was-a-counterculture-hero-on-saturday-night-live.html

President Reagan, Mastermind - SNL

YouTube
Show threadKevin RussellMay 25, 2024

@JaneinNJ

Movie, Chris Pine as Jimmy

Show thread(((JaneinNJ)))May 28, 2024
@kevinrns Á la Chris Reeve.
Show threadDomenickJun 17, 2023
@kevinrns Wait. What?!
Show threadKevin RussellJun 17, 2023

@domenick

Right?

Like a damn movie fer crackers and cakes.

Show threadJohn Watson 🇺🇸🇨🇦Jun 17, 2023
@kevinrns He’s a Ramblin’ Wreck…
Show threadferricoxideJun 17, 2023
@kevinrns

Really good video about the incident on YouTube. Watched it a few days ago. Had known for a while he'd been involved in a nuclear incident, but hadn't known the details.

And I'm going to guess that part of why it's not a widely known story, is because of how poorly the Canadian government treated the survivors.
Show threadpadraigdJun 17, 2023
@kevinrns Carter gets regularly trashed as President, but either way, a good man.
Show threadkaty ✨Jun 17, 2023
@kevinrns Still the best and most decent president ever
Show threadbubbajetJun 17, 2023
@kevinrns Truly brave people, true heroes, don’t brag about it. They just *are.*
Show threadDave3307 🥑Jun 17, 2023
@kevinrns there is a reason that our most top secret submarine is the USS Jimmy Carter
Show threadDavid W. JonesJun 17, 2023
@kevinrns
So *unlike* the #Republicans' idea of a president! #vote #no #RepUblicanSSIANS
@Nichelle
Show threadKevin n3kaJun 17, 2023
@kevinrns @thegibson carter was a badass who was vilified because of bad timing
Show threadR2DoucebagJun 17, 2023
@kevinrns I think this is a case of actions speaking louder than words.
Show threadRoy Brander🍁Jun 17, 2023

@kevinrns

Jeez, everybody's forgotten the other thing that distinguishes him from modern presidents: money.

Carter was a peanut farmer, the last president, probably ever, that will come from a farm, or any work with their hands.

He put it into a complete blind trust for his presidency, and only found out four years later that it had gone under, the family farm would have to be sold, like so many others.

He didn't make a lot of money in retirement, save by writing books.

Show threadRusty RingJun 17, 2023
@kevinrns In the 70s SNL did a Three Mile Island satire where he did much the same thing there. It was played as farce. So I guess both Lorne and Dan don't know, either
Show threadAdella1961Jun 17, 2023
@kevinrns Thanks for sharing. I hadn’t heard of this before. Pres Carter is one of the most empathetic and intelligent Presidents the USA has had; brave as well.
Show threadlobokai 🌍 🇺🇦 🌳 🌲 🌿🔬🔭⚡Jun 17, 2023
@kevinrns
What a wonderful, brilliant and kind person he is.
Jimmy ... you will be missed by many, but your legacy will live on. We thank you for your service to mankind.
Show threadanniemo71Jun 17, 2023

@kevinrns

How interesting. Thank you for sharing this. I had no idea

Show threadDaniel QuinnJun 17, 2023

@kevinrns he also spearheaded the near-eradication of Guinea worm disease:

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/02/23/1158358366/jimmy-carter-took-on-the-awful-guinea-worm-when-no-one-else-would-and-he-triumph

and dedicated his post-presidency to Habitat for Humanity:

https://www.grunge.com/738738/the-truth-about-jimmy-carters-work-with-habitat-for-humanity/

Show threadBlueDot🇺🇦Jun 17, 2023

@danielquinn @kevinrns

If we're going to review the man's life, we should also remember his support for right wing dictators. Here's a 1977 photo of him welcoming the Shah of Iran, a brutal dictator who took power when the democratically elected government of Iran was overthrown.

The Shah is seen here dabbing tears from his eyes, because police used tear gas on the pro-democracy demonstrators nearby, and the gas drifted across the South Lawn of the White House.

Show threadKevin RussellJun 17, 2023

@BlueDot @danielquinn

This is of course horseshit.

Show threadBlueDot🇺🇦Jun 17, 2023

@kevinrns

Feel free to look it up yourself. The search terms are "carter shah."

We could also talk about Carter's support for the brutal Somoza regime in Nicaragua, which was only withdrawn when Somoza's soldiers murdered an American reporter on camera.

@danielquinn

Show threadKevin RussellJun 17, 2023

@BlueDot @danielquinn

Yes of course, in a similar way Kennedy was president for the bay of pigs so its his fault.

Republicans ADMIT they arranged for Iran to keep hundreds of American hostages until after Reagan won.

Lawmaker Confirms ‘October Surprise’ Plot to Sabotage Jimmy Carter’s Reelection

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/03/lawmaker-admits-1980-gop-plot-to-prolong-iran-hostage-crisis.html

Iran Contra and other Republican conspiracies are worth looking up.

Again this is horseshit from the northbound horse's own southbound end..

Show threadBlueDot🇺🇦Jun 17, 2023

@kevinrns

Here's the fallacy in your argument: Nothing the Republicans have done wrong (and there's plenty) justifies anything wrong that's been done by Democrats.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism#Usage_in_the_Soviet_Union_and_Russia

I'll be voting Democratic, obviously, because the Republicans are will nominate fascists. Also, the Democratic Party has some sins to answer for. Both of those things can be true at once.

@danielquinn

Whataboutism - Wikipedia

Show threadKevin RussellJun 17, 2023

@BlueDot @danielquinn

Heres why youre wrong. Carter didnt arrange for the Shah to be put in power, didnt arrange for his removal. He has worked to increase democraxy his ENTIRE life, including being an election observer in conflict countries, at risk to his life.

Your excuses are "pretty lame" - a technical term for poor research and presentation of facts. Or an intentional need to misinform.

Go on, throw disinformation elsewhere. FO

Show threadJoanna CzechowskaJun 17, 2023
@kevinrns Jimmy Carter is a saint.
Show threadTatzelbrummJun 17, 2023
@kevinrns https://youtu.be/egLLwPFjlUs
Game Of Thrones - It Is Known

YouTube
Show threadGerard Cunningham ✒️Jun 17, 2023
@kevinrns
That's his superhero origin story