The Georgia Peach

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Voronwë the Faithful
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The Georgia Peach

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »



I thought I would start this thread after seeing this news, as it appears that America's longest living president is likely to transition soon. Has there ever been a chief executive so unpopular in his term of office that became so beloved and celebrated afterward?
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River
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Re: The Georgia Peach

Post by River »

I kinda forgot he was mortal. Just like the rest of us. :(
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Re: The Georgia Peach

Post by N.E. Brigand »

The Wikipedia entry on the "October Surprise Conspiracy Theory" doesn't even mention the name Ben Barnes.

The conspiracy theory, which my mom explained to me when I was eight years old in January 1981, held that Ronald Reagan had secretly asked the Iranian government not to release U.S. hostages until after the 1980 election, in which Reagan defeated incumbent president Jimmy Carter.

Today the New York Times has published an article in which Barnes, formerly the Lt. Governor of Texas, says that he was part of a team who traveled to "one Middle Eastern capital after another" in the summer of 1980, delivering this message to various Middle Eastern leaders that they wanted sent to Iran: "Don't release the hostages until after the election. Mr. Reagan will win and give you a better deal."

Upon their return, Barnes says this was reported to William Casey, who was then Reagan's campaign chair and later became director of the CIA.
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Re: The Georgia Peach

Post by N.E. Brigand »

Elaine Shannon, who was then a reporter with Newsweek and flew with then-former President Jimmy Carter to meet the 52 American hostages upon their release to West Germany (an assignment which some had seen at the time as an indication of the decency of brand-new President Reagan), says that the hostages weren't happy to see him, having been told by their captors that Carter hadn't tried to get them released. The Iranians probably would have said that regardless, but I wonder what the former hostages think now that we've learned it was actually Reagan who was working to keep them locked up.
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Re: The Georgia Peach

Post by N.E. Brigand »

The Times story notes that they have no corroborating evidence for Barnes's story, but also that there seems to be no reason for Barnes to make it up: it doesn't reflect well on him or his party. Even so, David Frum throws some cold water at this story, noting that the only specific leader Barnes names, Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, was not on good terms with Iran's leaders. Frum suggests that Barnes's boss in this trip, former Texas Governor John Connally, was a bit of a hothead who'd previously been in trouble for corruption, so he may have been freelancing, seeing this as a way to improve his profile.

- - - - - - - - - -
I saw today that in Our Dumb Century, a 1999 book published by the Onion, an article about January 1981 had this title:

"Hostages Released: Reagan Urges American People Not to Put Two and Two Together."

As I said, it has long been suspected that Reagan did something like this (even if today's news may not completely confirm that he did).

- - - - - - - - - -
I appreciate Marcy Wheeler noting that one of Donald Trump's national security aides, KT McFarland, when interviewed by Robert Mueller's investigators in September 2017, tried to justify incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's clandestine talks with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak in December 2016 by arguing that what Flynn did was no different than what Reagan's people were suspected to have done with Iran in 1980 and Richard Nixon's people were believed to have done with Vietnam in 1968 (undermine the peace talks so that the Democratic candidate, Hubert Humphrey, would be saddled with the war). And thus, McFarland said, Flynn's actions sounded "no alarm bells" for her. But those were both cases of private citizens undermining American foreign policy!
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Re: The Georgia Peach

Post by RoseMorninStar »

I have a great deal of respect for Pres. Jimmy Carter. I have a book signed by him.
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Re: The Georgia Peach

Post by N.E. Brigand »

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter Has Dementia (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
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Re: The Georgia Peach

Post by Frelga »

Seven months later, he is still here
Kyle Griffin wrote:Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter were spotted today at the Plains Peanut Festival in his Georgia hometown — a week before his 99th birthday.

The outing comes seven months after Carter entered hospice care at his home.
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Re: The Georgia Peach

Post by Sunsilver »

:shock: That's amazing! People receiving palliative care generally don't go out to local festivals! And 'palliative' patients do NOT live for 7 months after being declared palliative! Usually, it's a month or two at most. As a matter of fact, many palliative care venues require the doctor to state that in their opinion, you have less than x amount of time to live before you can be admitted, because the number of beds is quite limited.

Are there pictures?

I have a feeling the main reason for him going into palliative care was his wife's dementia. She could no longer look after him, and they needed additional help.
When the night has been too lonely, and the road has been too long,
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Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows,
Lies the seed, that with the sun's love, in the spring becomes The Rose.
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Re: The Georgia Peach

Post by RoseMorninStar »

I believe the definition of palliative care has changed in the US in the last couple of years and differs from Hospice care. National Institute on Aging, palliative care & hospice.
Jimmy & Rosalynn at the Peanut festival.
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Re: The Georgia Peach

Post by Sunsilver »

Thanks for the picture, Rose! They are looking surprisingly well.

I specialized in palliative care nursing, and what I was taught focused on hospice type care. Palliative was defined as someone who was definitely very close to the end of their life, and wasn't seeking active treatment anymore. So, yeah, a different definition from the above.

When I wanted Roger to go into palliative care because I couldn't manage him safely at home anymore, there was some pushback, as they didn't think he was really that close to the end.

They were wrong. He died less than 3 weeks after being admitted.
When the night has been too lonely, and the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows,
Lies the seed, that with the sun's love, in the spring becomes The Rose.
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Re: The Georgia Peach

Post by RoseMorninStar »

Aww. I'm sorry for your loss Sunny, even though I know it was years ago.

I think far too many people try to make a go of it at home when it's past time that it's good for both the person in need of care and the caregiver. It's a hard decision to make.
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Re: The Georgia Peach

Post by Sunsilver »

I could handle helping him with his bath, meds, incontinence and getting dressed/undressed, but when it reached the point where he couldn't walk or do stairs safely due to overall weakness, that was it. I knew he would try, and I already had a live-in caregiver to help out. There was no way that just the two of us could keep an eye on him 24/7, and not wind up being totally exhausted, which was what was needed to keep him safe. The palliative care ward had a bed alarm. If he lost contact with the bed for more than a certain number of seconds, it would go off, and a nurse would come running.

The palliative care doctor asked if I wanted him to die at home. My response was, "I've been his nurse ever since he suffered the stroke 10 months ago. It will nice to just be his wife again."

It was the right decision. They did an excellent job of looking after him.
When the night has been too lonely, and the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows,
Lies the seed, that with the sun's love, in the spring becomes The Rose.
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RoseMorninStar
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Re: The Georgia Peach

Post by RoseMorninStar »

:hug:

Yeah, that's got to be rough. There's an older man in our neighborhood whose wife has dementia and when he gets out for a walk I wonder who is keeping an eye on his wife. It's impossible to be a caretaker 24/7.
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Voronwë the Faithful
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Re: The Georgia Peach

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

Looks like Rossalyn has transitioned first. I expect that Jimmy will not be far behind.

"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
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Re: The Georgia Peach

Post by RoseMorninStar »

From what I knew/know of them, they were good people. We could use more like them.
My heart is forever in the Shire.
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