GMontag's Journal: Montag Review of the TNR Review of My Dear Mr. Stalin

A Montag review of
Allies and Enemies
A Review by István Deák of The New Republic
freebie copy here

Clearing things up, István Deák reviews the work of Susan Butler, editor of My Dear Mr. Stalin: The Complete Correspondence Between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph V. Stalin
by Franklin D. Roosevelt

Basics: Ms. Butler thinks FDR should have given Stalin a blowjob on top of all of the Lease-Lend (not the other way) crap and Eastern Europe.

Deák seems to think that FDR tried really hard but was unable to give Stalin a blowjob because Stalin never showed up for the date.

The two men met only twice, in Tehran in November 1943, and in Yalta, in the Crimea, in February 1945. Both meetings were preceded by lengthy and complicated negotiations in which Roosevelt consistently played the role of the ardent suitor. He proposed several meetings to Stalin, not always with the participation of Churchill, at locations including Newfoundland, "either ... side of [the] Bering Straits," Fairbanks, Alaska, and Khartoum. Stalin turned down most of the proposals with the somewhat questionable argument that his presence was needed at the front. In the end, the places where they met were much nearer to Stalin's home than to Roosevelt's and Churchill's; and in Tehran, Roosevelt chose to reside at the Soviet Embassy compound, for security reasons, and not at his own embassy. The trips were arduous for the American and British leaders, involving lengthy flights and travel on warships. The pilgrimage to Yalta may well have contributed to the death of the already exhausted president.

Now, let's get real. Both of these guys were Socialists, FDR of the National flavour, Stalin of the International variety. Still, FDR dumped equipment and goods on Stalin like Anna-Nicole's late husband dropped money on strippers, like Anna-Nicole. FDR did his best to Socialize the USA, in spite of the Supreme Court knocking down is most extreme measures (NRA). Don't forget, Alger Hiss was an FDR guy AND a Stalin guy.

Note: neighbor is a former TNR subscriber, stopped reading it long before the Stephen Glass deal.
(edit 9 December 2006, I have no idea why I left that note in here after deleting whatever my neighbor contributed to the story)

Don't worry, the Deák review is as devoid of bias and full of facts as my paragraph above.

Apologists of Socialists truly annoy me.

Also, Eve Fairbanks also writes for The Examiner

We Lied; Soviets Died.

[fejta]

I have very conflicting thoughts about FDR, but here's what I got out of your post and that article:

1. You have a knack for finding freebie copies of TNR articles. Note to self: What am I paying that subscription for?
2. It was funny that Deák confirms that Russians drove around in US tanks [tnr.com]--hybrid ones no less!
3. His most curious point was that the US had no choice but to humor Stalin in order to win the war...Don't know enough history to have an opinion on that one
4. I love this stuff:

   Today it is hard to un