Biden calls gun violence "an epidemic"
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Quick point of order: Lusitania was a British-owned Royal Mail Steamer (RMS), not a United States Naval Ship (USS). But your main point is still true. In fact, to further bolster your, the Zimmerman Telegram was sent a full year before it was leaked to the public, and they knew that the Mexicans response to the Germans had been "ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS?! No, absolutely not! And do not attempt to contact us again!"
But they waited until the public was at a point where they would be sufficiently angry (which ended up being "German restarted unrestricted submarine warfare, and had sunk a few US merchant ships"), and then they dropped it.
Another point to note - the Zimmerman Telegram also heavily involved British intelligence, who were the ones to get the intercept. Part of the reason for the delay was the elaborate parallel construction necessary to be able to provide the Zimmerman telegram without telling the US that the British were tapping everything sent across the Atlantic.
You're right. My mistake. RMS.
The Lusitania always bothered me. Wilson went to war, using the Lusitania as an excuse... 2 years after it sunk. It's such a clearly half-assed propaganda effort. And they were actually putting people in jail for opposing the war. With SCOTUS affirmation.
Our modern day interpretation of Free Speech comes about from those early anti-Speech laws. The 2nd amendment used to not protect people from what we now all demand that it does.
It is definitely kind of weird. At the time it sank, there was absolutely genuine anger. You had people howling for blood, you had people attacking Germans in America in retaliation for it, you had freaking Teddy Roosevelt saying he was going to get the Rough Riders back together to go kick Germanys ass (and initial reports were that he would have a million man army to do it with), and all of that. Then Wilson decides to ignore it, calm everyone down, and run for reelection on an isolationist platform. Ironically, using Lusitania as an example of "This is why we should be isolationist."
Then, on the orders of the Kaiser, Germany starts doing unrestricted subs again, they sank a few US Merchant ships before the call really got out to watch their backs, and British Intelligence leaks the Zimmerman Telegram (as I said, a year late). Then you have Wilson suddenly getting as worked up as Teddy did, and even going "You know what?! We should have smashed them the first time!"
Just in case people thought voters having the memory of a goldfish is a recent issue.
I love TR, but he might have been a little bit fucking crazy on the whole war-mongering aspect.
That being said, I'd take TR over Wilson every day of the god damned week.