Comments on: Into the Storm: Leadership Lessons From Winston Churchill

By: Bill

Bill — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 14:40:15 +0000

“Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’”
We should never forget that we are the inheritors of the British Empire and building on its rich and strong foundations. The coming wars will be fought with as many skills but hopefully without the destructiveness of the past. Terrorism is not unexpected nor are other economic and environmental challenges and they should be put into perspective with the challenges of the past like Churchill faced. The key to success is continuing our resolution to remain free and foremost by wise and economic management. In peace we should have maximum freedom of the press and a willingness to put something aside for a rainy day. The future Fund of this country should be used wisely and not splurged on unwanted pink bats.

By: Faustino

Faustino — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 04:37:25 +0000

Jim, that’s Clement Attlee, with two t’s, not Atlee. And you’ve misquoted Churchill: not “never before has been much been owed by so many to so few” but “never before has so much …” Mere typos, I hope, in an interesting piece.

By: Gavin Robinson

Gavin Robinson — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:36:15 +0000

The original of this quote of yours was, I understand, not Churchill but a French politician (of considerable repute there, but I cannot remember his name). It dates to the first decade of the last century.

Churchill’s quotes are so brilliant that good quotes are often attributed to him when one is not quite sure exactly who should be credited (as with myself not being quite sure of the exact author of your quote, though I do know where it came from). Some of those contributed by others above probably come into this category also. FW Smith, a brilliant barrister and intimate friend of Churchill’s has been credited with the two rather “catty” jokes concerning women that are among them.

By: Oh Come On

Oh Come On — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:52:18 +0000

I wish the favorite quote of those who use an interesting and well-produced documentary as an excuse to bash Obama was, “The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.” One truth overlooked is that in peace time, both Winnie and his Dad were slightly right of center moderates who fought tooth and nail with the extreme right wingers in Parliament, correctly stating that colonialism will lead to the bankrupting of the country. The decline was already underway before the war started. The war only magnified Britain’s economic woes.

Kudos to Alex for correctly quoting Winnie, “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” Most people erroneously put “capitalism” were “democracy” should be. This has happened so frequently that for years I believed the misquote to be factual.

By: sandy stewart

sandy stewart — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:58:36 +0000

Churchill was indeed a great war leader but was a disastrous peacetime leader. Unfortunately, once back in office, hubris meant that Churchill clung on to power while he was almost totally incapacitated by strokes and did not allow a capable replacement from his own party to take over. Attlee’s Government and policies did not bankrupt Britain but I should not expect objective commentary from this site. Read Roy Jenkin’s biography of Churchill and you will understand

By: The Historian

The Historian — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:49:08 +0000

LESSONS FROM THE CURRENT OBAMA POWER GRAB
Czars only lead to tyranny.

http://greensrealworld.blogspot.com/2009/06/czar-crazed-obama-executive-power-grab.html

By: WhyamInotsurprised?

WhyamInotsurprised? — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:35:13 +0000

Mr. Kearney, thank you for a great writeup. I look forward to viewing the referenced documentaries and learning even more about truly larger than life characters who came to the forefront in time of desperation. I can only pray that America will also have people like that rise to the occasion as our country devolves into a chaotic mess even worse than currently exists.

By: WhyamInotsurprised?

WhyamInotsurprised? — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:18:52 +0000

#17 Another Chuck – I think it is rather senseless to be blaming Britain for coming out of the war anything less than a superpower. Keep in mind that everyone was coming out of the Great Depression. Germany, against the armistice of WWI, was taking over mineral resources for it’s war machine and arming up. Once the Nazi onslaught began, Britain, as an island nation, was cut off from it’s usual supply of “everything.”

Hence, the American efforts to supply everything needed by ship convoy to keep them alive, e.g. Lend-Lease. The Nazi U-boats were effective early on at blockading the supply convoys and delayed Britain from getting to a war footing. Poor decisions by Hitler in not invading Britain, letting British and French troops to escape Dunkirk, and in opening a two front war cost Germany dearly in their efforts.

I for one don’t minimize the fact that coming out of a depression, being cut off from all means of supply, and refusing to capitulate to such a strong aggressor was no mean feat. Coming off that kind of war, they were just lucky to still exist as a country, much less emerge as a continuing superpower.

By: Big Red

Big Red — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 05:40:30 +0000

8 Rita. “He loved his country and was willing to take all the heat in the press to do what he thought was the right thing to do.”

That guy left town Jan. 20, 2009

By: The Historian

The Historian — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:29:24 +0000

A UTOPIAN PRESIDENT IS A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY
Reality trumps ideology every time. Obama is out of touch with human nature and how the world works.

http://greensrealworld.blogspot.com/2009/06/utopian-obama-in-disconnect-with.html