7 ms·

Former US President Teddy Roosevelt’s Drunken Rampage in Nairobi

71 points by BonfaceKilz 5y ago

pyetya 5y ago
I have no respect for this guy as he sold out the whole Eastern Europe to Stalin at Yalta.
- twelve40 5y ago
  Apparently he did that after dying in 1919 :facepalm:
- donclark 5y ago
  What was his other option (and effort/cost/etc)?
  - twelve40 5y ago
    not the OP but probably to instantly launch another bloodbath in Europe to get some "respect"? But then again, it always amazes me how strongly opinionated some people can be when they don't even read which person this whole post is about.
gnat 5y ago
This is all good, but the best was last imho. > Two years after his Africa trip, an assassin shot him [Roosevelt] while he climbed a podium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The bullet went through his reading glasses cases, a thick sheet of papers bearing his speech, and into his chest. Undeterred, the badass ex-president climbed to the podium and started a 90-minute speech with “Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose.”
sneeeeeed 5y ago
Not a huge fan of this nattering, stream-of-consciousness screed. But thanks for posting, got another domain and family to add to my organization’s PiHole.
mam4 5y ago
This is awesome
mrlonglong 5y ago
They don't make them like that any more
- krapp 5y ago
  Yeah, nowadays, when you shoot a President from across the street, they actually die. Teddy got shot point-blank in the chest and didn't even stop his speechifying.
  - disneygibson 5y ago
    Reagan survived an attempt. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempted_assassination_of_Ronald_Reagan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempted_assassination_of_Ron...
  - basementcat 5y ago
    In 1974, South Korean President Park Chung-Hee survived an assassination attempt while delivering an address. His wife was mortally wounded and carried away to an ambulance and he finished the speech. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mun_Se-gwang https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mun_Se-gwang President Park was eventually assassinated five years later. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Park_Chung-hee https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Park_Chung-...
tyingq 5y ago
Apparently he successfully sued a publication for libel after they said "Roosevelt gets drunk, and that not infrequently, and all his intimates know it." https://www.nytimes.com/1913/05/24/archives/roosevelts-libel-case-begins-monday-colonel-going-to-michigan-to.html https://www.nytimes.com/1913/05/24/archives/roosevelts-libel... More: https://vinepair.com/articles/roosevelt-drinking-habits/ https://vinepair.com/articles/roosevelt-drinking-habits/
_doiw 5y ago
As people grow into maturity and are taught the minimal slivers of history they're required to know, it all comes off as so dry, just names and a condensed series of reforms. Then they form their models of the universe on that. What's lost is the irrational, the continuum of grit, the human condition, and then bizarre that's always been normal. And with that, here's an illustrated recording of president LBJ ordering pants: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR_myjOr0OU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR_myjOr0OU
- sandebert 5y ago
  Slightly off topic, sorry. I just have to ask if the hilarious LBJ call is authentic or fake?
  - zxv 5y ago
    LBJ's home office in Texas was preserved, and is still on display as-is to this day. On the couch is a pillow embroidered "This is my ranch, and I do as I damn please!"
  - _doiw 5y ago
    Authentic. And by all accounts, he was drunk-dialing in '64. Think you can hear a belch at some point. Edit: if I recall correctly, he liked to drive people around his ranch while drinking whiskey out of a styrofoam cup, with lots of ice. When he needed a refill, he'd stick his hand out the window and shake the cup, at which point a secret service agent would sprint from the car pacing behind him to fetch him a refill. And then there was the thing where he liked to drive new guests into a lake to scare them, since they didn't know about his amphibious vehicle, but that's a different story.
- pomian 5y ago
  that's a brilliant piece of history to save for posterity. also it can lead you to a rabbit hole of further recorded phone discussions with Kennedy about MLK, and so on. what a treasure.

71 points by BonfaceKilz 5y ago

pyetya 5y ago

I have no respect for this guy as he sold out the whole Eastern Europe to Stalin at Yalta.

twelve40 5y ago
Apparently he did that after dying in 1919 :facepalm:
donclark 5y ago
What was his other option (and effort/cost/etc)?
- twelve40 5y ago
  not the OP but probably to instantly launch another bloodbath in Europe to get some "respect"? But then again, it always amazes me how strongly opinionated some people can be when they don't even read which person this whole post is about.

gnat 5y ago

This is all good, but the best was last imho. > Two years after his Africa trip, an assassin shot him [Roosevelt] while he climbed a podium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The bullet went through his reading glasses cases, a thick sheet of papers bearing his speech, and into his chest. Undeterred, the badass ex-president climbed to the podium and started a 90-minute speech with “Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose.”

sneeeeeed 5y ago

Not a huge fan of this nattering, stream-of-consciousness screed. But thanks for posting, got another domain and family to add to my organization’s PiHole.

mam4 5y ago

This is awesome

mrlonglong 5y ago

They don't make them like that any more

krapp 5y ago
Yeah, nowadays, when you shoot a President from across the street, they actually die. Teddy got shot point-blank in the chest and didn't even stop his speechifying.
- disneygibson 5y ago
  Reagan survived an attempt. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempted_assassination_of_Ronald_Reagan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempted_assassination_of_Ron...
- basementcat 5y ago
  In 1974, South Korean President Park Chung-Hee survived an assassination attempt while delivering an address. His wife was mortally wounded and carried away to an ambulance and he finished the speech. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mun_Se-gwang https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mun_Se-gwang President Park was eventually assassinated five years later. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Park_Chung-hee https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Park_Chung-...

tyingq 5y ago

Apparently he successfully sued a publication for libel after they said "Roosevelt gets drunk, and that not infrequently, and all his intimates know it." https://www.nytimes.com/1913/05/24/archives/roosevelts-libel-case-begins-monday-colonel-going-to-michigan-to.html https://www.nytimes.com/1913/05/24/archives/roosevelts-libel... More: https://vinepair.com/articles/roosevelt-drinking-habits/ https://vinepair.com/articles/roosevelt-drinking-habits/

_doiw 5y ago

As people grow into maturity and are taught the minimal slivers of history they're required to know, it all comes off as so dry, just names and a condensed series of reforms. Then they form their models of the universe on that. What's lost is the irrational, the continuum of grit, the human condition, and then bizarre that's always been normal. And with that, here's an illustrated recording of president LBJ ordering pants: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR_myjOr0OU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR_myjOr0OU

sandebert 5y ago
Slightly off topic, sorry. I just have to ask if the hilarious LBJ call is authentic or fake?
- zxv 5y ago
  LBJ's home office in Texas was preserved, and is still on display as-is to this day. On the couch is a pillow embroidered "This is my ranch, and I do as I damn please!"
- _doiw 5y ago
  Authentic. And by all accounts, he was drunk-dialing in '64. Think you can hear a belch at some point. Edit: if I recall correctly, he liked to drive people around his ranch while drinking whiskey out of a styrofoam cup, with lots of ice. When he needed a refill, he'd stick his hand out the window and shake the cup, at which point a secret service agent would sprint from the car pacing behind him to fetch him a refill. And then there was the thing where he liked to drive new guests into a lake to scare them, since they didn't know about his amphibious vehicle, but that's a different story.
pomian 5y ago
that's a brilliant piece of history to save for posterity. also it can lead you to a rabbit hole of further recorded phone discussions with Kennedy about MLK, and so on. what a treasure.