Barbara Briemer

Hi -- Rather a late reply -- But, I just came upon this site -- And wanted to comment on what I consider your very able insights. Re your comment on the "popular notion that many great artists were insane" . . . I'm sad to relate that right now PBS is running a series on artists and the first one I saw was on Van Gogh and the host described his most celebrated works as having been based on his insanity/delusions!!! That's not verbatim. I haven't gone back to look at the rest of the series. These days, I think that we have broadened our ideas about what "art" is -- there was a very interesting book -- an piece of art in itself -- written a few years ago about the beautiful quilts made by African-Americans during the years of slavery -- especially those intended to anonymously direct run-aways along the trail to freedom! They were coded messages; each symbol directing the aware African along the path. Also agree on "ego" and when there isn't appropriate mentoring in the schools then I think it is more difficult for anyone to identify as an "artist." I was just speaking with an art teacher who is only now first going to dedicate herself full time to her art and given her many talents in photography and oil painting, I asked why she didn't head in that direction in her youth? She said she was constantly told that it was too difficult to make a living as an artist.

From what I've read elsewhere . . . the Joint Chiefs were generally overly zealous and required even a stronger hand that Eisenhower's. Evidently, they engineered the U-2 shoot down [which wasn't] in order to stop the Paris Peace talks. Eisenhower had instructed that the U-2 flights were to be stopped months before the meetings. He was ignored. This wasn't unusual. Both Eisenhower and Kennedy saw their words and instructions ignored. On the other hand, Eisenhower's musings about toppling Castro evidently led to the Joint Chiefs designing and signing off on "Operation Northwoods." The American public was unaware of "Operation Northwoods" until recently, but had they been aware of it at the time it probably would have led the Joint Chiefs to be reassigned to psychiatric wards. Eisenhower rejected the plan. Evidently, later, so did JFK. Meanwhile, because of Ike's illness, Nixon had been involved with plans to attack Cuba/Operation 40 and seemingly more in tune with the Joint Chiefs devious plans. When Kennedy -- and not Nixon -- was elected, their plans were frustrated again and resentment grew and presumably Nixon, feeling his own resentments, would have been a sympathetic ear.

It's difficult to tell whether Talbot is trying to defend JFK or add onto the heap of right-wing propaganda . . . Meanwhile, Christopher Hitchens, is mostly noted now for his drunken stupors and loss of any talent he may have once had. The right-wing propaganda re JFK's affairs -- which no doubt happened -- were as exaggerated as the right-wing propaganda re JFK's health. And, regarding that question of health, let's remind ourselves that: JFK was healthy as compared with IKE who had a heart attack while in office, resulting in Nixon being given powers which led to his heading up Operation 40/Bay of Pigs planning. JFK was healthy enough to do the job physically -- and he was far and away more psychologically fit that the paranoid and criminally-minded Nixon.

Probably. But what has that got to do with this book? Do people have to pass some litmus test in order to be credible? Should we apply that litmus test to yourself as well? I, for one, suspect the world did benefit from forcing Saddam from Kuwait, stopping Milosevic's reign of terror, and overthrowing the Taliban. Are you really defending these regimes, or are you merely questioning the U.S.' right to use force for any reason, good or bad? Yes, people do have to pass a personal litmus test, unless we want to really confuse ourselves. How does an over the top "hawk" come to be writing a revelation of JFK vs hawks? We drove Saddam back from Kuwait? We winked at Saddam's plans to invade Kuwait and we had supplied the chemical weapons he used. See: April Glaspie and the cables Also, Talbot's original comments are either intended to deceive or they're naive. "....destroy the terrorist occupation of Afghanistan...."? Basically America/CIA set up the TALIBAN and invented Al Qaeda post 2001. As Zbigniew Brzezinski began telling the story a few years ago, America went into Afghanistan 6 months BEFORE the Russians in order to bait them into Afghanistan . . . "in hopes of giving them a Vietnam type experience." In other words, our CIA recognized that religous fanatics make excellent warriors and we organized them and armed them. Our presence in Afghanistan has more to do with our control of drug production -- and seemingly the profits. Our invasions and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq -- "to protect US interests" -- and that would be OIL which we are now privatizing -- has only increased terrorism in the area and worldwide. We've killed 655,000 innocent Iraqi civilians to protect private oil interests . . . See: Brig. General Smedley Darlington Butler's "War is a Racket" and to enrich warprofiteers. But, nothing new in any of that! Talbot's comments ... "From the Gulf War on, the hawks have been on the right side in all the major debates about U.S. intervention in the world's troubles." are startlingly arrogant and brutal when we recognize that our CIA has been creating coups all over the world and controlling elections of other nations to keep right-wing governments in place post-WWII. And those tactics have been brought to bear against American citizens, as well. There is much to be told of the Kennedy's and their battles against warmongers, especially as we are reliving this history today -- but with the warmongers totally in charge!

My full name is Barbara Briemer - Westfield, NJ - Union County. Though I'm a native New Yorker. Currently, unemployed/seni-retired from real estate. I became alarmed a while ago about growing fascism in America. I am anti-war - and anti-pre-emptive strikes. I've been invovled with the Democratic Party - and lately, the Green Party. Also as a candidate in Union County.