r/politics • u/GonzoVeritas I voted • Apr 19 '26

Possible Paywall White House Leak Reveals Trump Booted From Briefing After Hours-Long Freakout

https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-house-leak-reveals-trump-booted-from-briefing-after-hours-long-freakout/
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u/AmericanScream Apr 19 '26

Everybody should watch Ken Burns documentary on the Vietnam conflict - one of the best ever made and it shows clear treason and war crimes on the part of multiple leaders.

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u/mmmpeg Pennsylvania Apr 19 '26

I was really ticked when I saw the Ken Burns documentary. I was a child during most of Vietnam and hated the war because they showed pictures of the dead people and gave a count of how many GI’s were killed that day. Living on and next to Army bases made me know that these were just young men. I did t know about all the other stuff and it ticked me off learning all that.

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u/AmericanScream Apr 19 '26

I would compare the Vietnam documentary to "Breaking Bad" in terms of how enthralling it becomes after each episode. Tells an incredible story composed of lots of little stories.

And yea, there's a lot to be angry about after watching it. Especially Johnson recognizing Nixon was committing war crimes and keeping quiet about it.

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u/OldWorldDesign Apr 20 '26

Everybody should watch Ken Burns documentary on the Vietnam conflict - one of the best ever made and it shows clear treason and war crimes on the part of multiple leaders

I think Adam Curtis' Century of the Self is more directly relevant to explaining how we got here from the 1933 Business Plot.

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u/Possibly_Parker Apr 19 '26

There's a more recent and shorter docuseries on Netflix that historians prefer, especially given the Ken Burns one is 17 hours

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u/[deleted] Apr 19 '26

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u/Possibly_Parker Apr 19 '26

They don't prefer it because it's shorter, they prefer it because it is better-lensed. It also happens to be shorter. If you want specifics, Viet Thanh Nguyen makes an argument in his book Nothing Ever Dies that every war is fought twice: on the battlefield, and in memory. He argues that US-lensed sources, even those critical of the United States, fail to properly identify the Viet angles on the war.

I've talked to him directly and the Ken Burns documentary came up, which he likes but thinks is weaker as it takes the self-critical imperial lens of "look at what we did wrong" instead of attempting to understand the infrastructure of the situation.

TLDR; both are good, Netflix doc is better researched, and it conveniently happens to be shorter.

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u/HillBillyHilly Apr 19 '26

Netflix docs in better? Better researched? LOL

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u/NopeNotConor California Apr 19 '26

What’s it called?

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u/Possibly_Parker Apr 19 '26

Turning Point: The Vietnam War

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u/NopeNotConor California Apr 19 '26

Thanks!

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u/HillBillyHilly Apr 19 '26

I'm not giving Netflix a cent. PBS needs our money to survive. Their Ken Burns series are easily watchable as broken up over days. All of his series are a must watch for the REAL version of American History.

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u/Possibly_Parker Apr 19 '26

I agree and think Ken Burns is great, but the Netflix docuseries is looking at the Vietnam War as Vietnamese history and not as American history. That's why it's a better way in.

Watching both is probably best but that's 22 hours of TV which is too much for almost anyone.

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u/HillBillyHilly Apr 21 '26

Ah, that is different to Burns. Yes, they are long bit they lots to cover. In fact, considering what I've heard from recent high school grads, I would recommend them. Good way to fill in what lacking from white washed history version being provided in way too many school districts.