Douglas Caddy

North Korea's Crypto Hackers Are Paving the Road to Nuclear Armageddon - CNET

Michelle Obama and Bayard Rustin have something in common, so it makes sense although I must admit it is also startling.

David Talbot posted this on Facebook today: Transformational Politics... That's what we desperately need today. And that was the title of a 250-page treatise that young Barack Obama co-wrote in the early 1990s when he was a student at Harvard Law School. Thanks to a forthcoming book by historian Timothy Sherik (excerpted in the Sunday New York Times), we know that young Obama had a radical vision for transforming the Democratic Party and American politics, inspired by the gay, ex-Communist, civil rights leader Bayard Rustin. Rustin had a class-based vision for reviving the New Deal coalition of working-class whites and racial minorities, calling it "the March on Washington coalition," even though the other organizers of that legendary 1963 protest (which featured Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have Dream" speech) shunted Rustin to the side because of his radical and sexual politics. Like Rustin, young Obama believed that America's racial and cultural fractures were exploited by Republicans. The way around this was to put class interest first, uniting working people against the power elite rather than dividing them. Today, as Sherik points out, taxes aimed at the super wealthy, strong labor unions and a livable minimum wage are hugely popular issues with the American people. While phony Trumpian populists cling to cutting the capital gains tax, a revived March on Washington coalition would eat the rich -- and thereby undercut Trump's white nationalist appeal. But instead of taking the political path to solid majority rule that he laid out as a law student, President Obama sold out working people of all colors, continuing Bill Clinton's disastrous Wall Street tilt and filling his administration with banksters like Larry Summers and Timothy Geithner. Obama said later that he also learned about "the intricacies of power" at Harvard. Too bad that Obama, who was so good at quoting 1960s revolutionaries like King, didn't take to heart a line from Italian novelist Ignazio Silone that Tom Hayden was fond of quoting: "What would happen if men remained loyal to the ideals of their youth?" Today Obama and his wife, Michelle, are bringing a biopic on Bayard Rustin to the Netflix screen. But they are doing nothing to advance Rustin's working-class vision within the Democratic Party. Last week, the media celebrated the life of country singer Loretta Lynn, who died at age 90. I know nothing about Lynn's politics. But she was a strong woman, a coal miner's daughter. The Democratic Party should be attracting her hard-scrabble fans, too

From research: The slim, dark-haired Mr. Lawford was known as a light-hearted, romantic actor in M-G-M films during the late 1940's and early 50's and as a member of the Kennedy family during his 12- year marriage to Patricia Kennedy, a sister of President John F. Kennedy. They were divorced in 1966.Dec 25, 1984

This is not the time to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by giving Putin an offramp for hm to save face and salvage his disastrous policies to return to battle later.

Uplifting read. William Shatner: My Trip to Space Filled Me With ‘Overwhelming Sadness’ (EXCLUSIVE) (yahoo.com)

Best videos yet of what happened. Crimean bridge: Excitement and fear in Ukraine after bridge blast - BBC News

I agree with you. This headline from today's New York Times shows what a weakening hand Putin has in the debacle of the war he initiated against Ukraine: A Distracted Russia Is Losing Its Grip on Its Old Soviet Sphere Russia’s domination of Central Asia and the Caucasus region is unraveling as the Kremlin focuses on the war in Ukraine — and border violence is flaring. Give this article 59

From the article: "Managing this peculiar mix of ambition and fear poses a formidable challenge. It requires a delicate balance between pushing back against Russian belligerence – as we have been doing quite effectively in Ukraine – and engaging diplomatically to prevent a descent toward a direct conflict – which we have largely neglected. The resolution of the Cuban missile crisis, which involved both an American ultimatum threatening a military attack and a parallel offer to trade the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba for the removal of American missiles from Italy and Turkey, provides an example of how that balance can work."

Why Elon Musk is right - Responsible Statecraft

John F. Kennedy's Final Days Reveal A Man Who Craved Excitement (forbes.com)

Jm: I am sorry that you find reality upsetting. Someday there may appear a movie or documentary that examines all the infidelities that JFK engaged in of which the one with Marilyn Monroe is in the spotlight now. Brace yourself for this possibility. I believe JFK was one of our greatest presidents as reflected in the foresighted policies he espoused and enacted and in the leadership charisma he exuded. However, his unabated sexual appetite, which may have stemmed from the medicine he had to take, was a grievous flaw and caused distress and worry among those entrusted with our national security. Reality is especially tough today and many choose to ignore it.

I have no idea why there was a leak in the Hunter Biden case if such be the case. I do believe that Trump at different times in his four-year administration provided U.S. Classified Documents to Putin at their meetings and also to his handler in the U.S. who acted upon orders from Putin. I think this is a national security case that ultimately will reveal violations of the Espionage Act. It is already acknowledged that Trump provided classified information to the Russian Foreign Minister and the Russian Ambassador at their meeting in the White House the day after Trump fired Comey as FBI Director. No one knew the meeting took place until Tass published the photograph of the three having a hearty laugh at Comey's and America's expense.

Judge Laurence Silberman died this past Sunday at age 86 Laurence Silberman, influential U.S. appeals judge, dies at 86 | Reuters I met Judge Silberman in 1984 at a Philadelphia Society meeting in Washington, D.C. My guest at the affair was Edward Miller, former Associate Director of the FBI. Judge Silberman knew Miller and came over to join us. Because of Miller's background Silberman began talking about his assignment after FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover died to examine Hoover's closely held secret files on what he had uncovered about prominent persons. Silberman said he was sickened by what he read and outraged at Hoover having compiled these files that had the scent of blackmail about them. The Wall Street Journal earlier this week had an editorial in memoriam of Judge Silberman in which it noted that Silberman had examined Hoover's secret files and had the same reaction to them that I recount above. Undoubtedly one of the files was JFK's sexual relationship with Ellen Rometsch. Ellen Rometsch - Wikipedia

Here is another story of an extramarital affair JFK had. Vanity Fair published an article about it after I wrote a letter to its editor that appears in the article. A Claim to Camelot | Vanity Fair

Blonde as a movie has even attracted the attention of The Smithsonian Magazine. Its article is excellent. The True History Behind Netflix's 'Blonde' | Who Was the Real Marilyn Monroe? | History | Smithsonian Magazine

The U.S. Attorney for Delaware was appointed by Trump. If Hunter Biden is indicted, his trial will be in Delaware, home of the Bidens. The alleged counts against him seem weak to me and could be defended against by a persuasive and credible defense. Would a jury of citizens in Delaware convict a home boy under such circumstances if the indictment was announced by a Trump appointed U.S. Attorney? Based on the public information available, which is not complete, the odds would be against conviction. The U.S. Attorney would resign afterwards, and he would be portrayed by history as being a partisan hack. He knows this and may not want to pursue an indictment that would negatively affect his future practice of the law. I should add that there could be a plea deal that would allow both Hunter Biden and the U.S. Attorney an off ramp with Hunter pleading guilty to a minor infraction of the law and getting a sentence of probation. In such situation, the whole years long investigation would be characterized as much ado about pretty much nothing.

Pluto was considered a planet until 2006. Many believe it still is. Ray Grasse's article on the role of Pluto in history is here, including his predictions as an astrologer for Pluto's role in America history. The United States' Pluto Return - Astrodienst