The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

[Kirk Gallaway]

Jeff said: Absolutely the world would have been perennially changed if JFK had served two terms.  Are you arguing that Nixon would have won in 1968 regardless?

No I don't think Nixon.. But Jeff, you're enough of an American" Deep State" guy to know that LBJ would have been no more of a "dove' in Viet Nam than Nixon, given what LBJ as President eventually did do!

Maybe I'm getting ahead of your thinking, but It sounds like you're making a lot of assumptions.

Why are you so sure that JFK would have been so successful? . Do you really think that JFK would have been such a slam dunk as a President that for example, the blacks would have forgotten all their cares and not rioted through out the mid to later 60's purely on the power of JFK's charisma? Even that was done after LBJ's civil rights legislation that JFK probably could  never have accomplished.

JFK wouldn't have gotten tremendous popular support for avoiding Viet Nam because we never would have known what a disaster VIetnam was until we actually went there. It's only through living through that war , that we can give JFK credit, but that's in hindsight!

I'm not sure where you're going Jeff. You probably think Bobby would have been a shoo in. I might have liked that. But you realize the only reason Bobby was first considered as an executive at all, was the through the incredible power of martyrdom through his brother's death, as you saw through the huge ovation at the 1964 Demo convention. Remember, by 1964, Bobby had never even  run for public office and eventually was rather timid and late to even challenge LBJ.in 1968! (after Eugene Mc Carthy) Even after it was so obvious how badly LBJ had botched things in Viet Nam! But there wouldn't even have been  that martyrdom factor if JFK hadn't been assassinated!

 

 

[Jeff Carter]

47 minutes ago, Kirk Gallaway said:

Jeff said: Absolutely the world would have been perennially changed if JFK had served two terms.  Are you arguing that Nixon would have won in 1968 regardless?

No I don't think Nixon.. But Jeff, you're enough of an American" Deep State" guy to know that LBJ would have been no more of a "dove' in Viet Nam than Nixon, given what LBJ as President eventually did do!

Maybe I'm getting ahead of your thinking, but It sounds like you're making a lot of assumptions.

Why are you so sure that JFK would have been so successful? . Do you really think that JFK would have been such a slam dunk as a President that for example, the blacks would have forgotten all their cares and not rioted through out the mid to later 60's purely on the power of JFK's charisma? Even that was done after LBJ's civil rights legislation that JFK probably could  never have accomplished.

JFK wouldn't have gotten tremendous popular support for avoiding Viet Nam because we never would have known what a disaster VIetnam was until we actually went there. It's only through living through that war , that we can give JFK credit, but that's in hindsight!

I'm not sure where you're going Jeff. You probably think Bobby would have been a shoo in. I might have liked that. But you realize the only reason Bobby was first considered as an executive at all, was the through the incredible power of martyrdom through his brother's death, as you saw through the huge ovation at the 1964 Demo convention. Remember, by 1964, Bobby had never even  run for public office and eventually was rather timid and late to even challenge LBJ.in 1968! (after Eugene Mc Carthy) Even after it was so obvious how badly LBJ had botched things in Viet Nam! But there wouldn't even have been  that martyrdom factor if JFK hadn't been assassinated!

 

 

FDR’s New Deal reforms were extremely popular, but the New Deal representatives began to be squeezed out of the Democratic Party starting in 1944. Donald Gibson set out the case in “Battling Wall Street” that JFK’s domestic economic policies were an updated version of New Deal style reform - with the federal government serving as a countervailing power against private interests in the pursuit of policies which prioritized human and social development ahead of elite profit-making. So its a question of politics, not personality. If allowed to follow its natural path, JFK’s policies could have initiated a brighter future for many people, and the popularity such policies would help cement New Deal style reform and the Four Freedoms into the fundamental structure of US economy (rather than merely represent a temporary defunct measure from the depths of the 1930s as imagined by the captains of industry). This scenario can perhaps be disputed, but I have yet to see a refutation of Gibson’s premise or scholarship.

Internationally, two JFK terms would have likely meant: no wide scale Vietnam War, no overthrow of Sukarno in Indonesia, and probably no Middle East war in 1967. The negative consequences of these three events have been profound and lasting. Perhaps as well the seeds of true nationalist development-prioritized governments across Africa and Latin America are established.

And a somewhat idealist reform program would find itself pulled by the baby-boomer wave, itself an idealistic generation (or so it appeared). The old-line conservative imperialism/ interventionism of Eisenhower years could have quite possibly been permanently set to pasture, rather than coming back through the neo-conservative / Reagan counter-revolution.

[Douglas Caddy]

What happens if a president-elect dies before inauguration?

 

 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/happens-president-elect-dies-inauguration-165736616.html

[James DiEugenio]

Battling Wall Street is a neglected oasis in a desert of alleged scholarship about Kennedy.

To this day, I think it is the best explication of Kennedy's economic policies there is. Considering it was first published in 1994, that is saying something.  I have the original hard cover which Don signed for me.

His opening chapter on the Steel Crisis is worth the price of the book.  Gibson introduced me to John Blair, the guy who wrote what I think is the best book ever on the so called oil crisis of the seventies.

His second book, The Kennedy Assassination Cover Up, is pretty good also.  There he makes the connections between New Orleans' upper classes and the Power Elite.

Both of these books came back into print a few years ago.  Combined, you can get them both for about forty bucks.  Well worth it.  Don had a unique angle on both Kennedy and his assassination.  No one elucidated the power structure of the USA, at that time, like he did.

Edited December 15, 2020 by James DiEugenio

[Kirk Gallaway]

2 hours ago, Jeff Carter said:

FDR’s New Deal reforms were extremely popular, but the New Deal representatives began to be squeezed out of the Democratic Party starting in 1944. Donald Gibson set out the case in “Battling Wall Street” that JFK’s domestic economic policies were an updated version of New Deal style reform - with the federal government serving as a countervailing power against private interests in the pursuit of policies which prioritized human and social development ahead of elite profit-making. So its a question of politics, not personality. If allowed to follow its natural path, JFK’s policies could have initiated a brighter future for many people, and the popularity such policies would help cement New Deal style reform and the Four Freedoms into the fundamental structure of US economy (rather than merely represent a temporary defunct measure from the depths of the 1930s as imagined by the captains of industry). This scenario can perhaps be disputed, but I have yet to see a refutation of Gibson’s premise or scholarship.

Internationally, two JFK terms would have likely meant: no wide scale Vietnam War, no overthrow of Sukarno in Indonesia, and probably no Middle East war in 1967. The negative consequences of these three events have been profound and lasting. Perhaps as well the seeds of true nationalist development-prioritized governments across Africa and Latin America are established.

And a somewhat idealist reform program would find itself pulled by the baby-boomer wave, itself an idealistic generation (or so it appeared). The old-line conservative imperialism/ interventionism of Eisenhower years could have quite possibly been permanently set to pasture, rather than coming back through the neo-conservative / Reagan counter-revolution.

I like what you say, Jeff, but I think it's pretty hopeful. I just don't think JFK was ever going to be that powerful. What I thought you were going for was 16-20 years of Kennedy rule. That would have been an interesting  chunk, but would have involved steering through 4-5 elections! Which in reality, is very hard to do.

It might be just terminology, but I'm not sure America needed a New Deal in the 60's. It was the economic peak of the greatest economic power in the history of civilization. Working class people made it into the suburbs! But what I would take would be that there was a greater movement toward making it for more diverse groups of people being given a  chance to assimilation.

I think the 60s were going to be a turbulent time that politicians would have to navigate through with or without JFK.

The times were so interesting, yes it would have been fascinating to see a JFK second term. But you mention the "4 Freedoms" which I've always thought was John Lenon's "Imagine" 30 years before him. (Except for their  clash on the second freedom-"no religion too") heh heh

I'm probably more interested in seeing what the world would have looked like if  FDR could  have filled out his final term and establish his imprint into the Post War era.

 

[Steve Thomas]

Don't be so quick to celebrate Bill Barr's departure

Analysis by Chris Cillizza, December 14, 2020

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/14/politics/bill-barr-donald-trump-ag/index.html

"Consider:

* According to The Wall Street Journal, Barr went out of his way this past fall to ensure that the federal investigation into Hunter Biden's financial dealings never went public in the course of a presidential campaign in which Trump sought to make the son of his Democratic opponent a major issue.

* Earlier this month, Barr directly contradicted Trump's repeated claims that there was widespread voter fraud in the presidential election. "To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election," Barr told the Associated Press in an interview.

Trump has previously expressed his preference for "acting" officials in key roles. "I like acting because I can move so quickly," he said in 2019. "it gives me more flexibility."

It also gives him more control over the broader government apparatus as he can place unquestioning loyalists in posts without having to worry about those people being confirmed by the Senate.

What that means for the DOJ is that Trump is very likely to enjoy something close to unfettered control over the department between now and January 20.

That could mean the appointment of a special counsel to ensure the Hunter Biden investigation continues beyond the Trump presidency.

It could mean increased pressure on special counsel John Durham, who is investigating the origins of the Russia counter-intelligence probe in 2016, to announce his findings and/or bring charges.

Or 1,001 other things that Trump has unsuccessfully pushed the Justice Department to look into -- virtually every one of them involving his political enemies -- over his four years in office.

Most presidents before Trump understood that while the attorney general -- and the wider Justice Department -- work for him, that it was important for the rule of law to ensure that the AG had significant autonomy. Trump never seemed to understand that need for independence. And now, with Barr gone, the last major obstacle to him doing (or at least trying to do) whatever he wants is now gone."

Steve Thomas

 

Edited December 15, 2020 by Steve Thomas

[Steve Thomas]

Trump fires Chris Krebs, Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Two weeks later, the U.S suffers what has been described as the most consequential Russian cyberhacks in U.S. history.

I don't believe in coincidences.

Steve Thomas

[Douglas Caddy]

White House Official Recovers From Severe Covid-19, Friend Says

Jennifer Jacobs 16 hrs ago

 

(Bloomberg) -- A White House official who fell ill with Covid-19 in September is recovering after three months in the hospital, though he lost his right foot and lower leg in his battle against the virus, according to a friend.

 

 https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/white-house-official-recovers-from-severe-covid-19-friend-says/ar-BB1bV9tN

 

[Douglas Caddy]

As Biden won the presidency, Republicans cemented their grip on power for the next decade

Democrats lost big in state elections which could cost them when new political maps are drawn

 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/15/gerrymandering-republicans-map-charts-states

 

[Douglas Caddy]

An Expert Analysis of a war with China

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/12/fred-reed/an-expert-military-analysis-of-war-with-china/

 

[Steve Thomas]

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump 12/15/20

“This Fake Election can no longer stand.”

 

Fake, fake, fake.

Everything around Donald Trump is fake.

Fake News. Fake Elections. Fake pandemic.

I wonder what it’s like to go through life knowing that everything around you is unreal.

Must be weird.

I wonder if he feels like Alice in Wonderland.

Steve Thomas

[Douglas Caddy]

Trump surrogate: Trump packing Defense Dept. with ‘loyalists’ for ‘wartime phase’ of overturning election

 

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/12/trump-surrogate-trump-packing-defense-dept-with-loyalists-for-wartime-phase-of-overturning-election/

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Steve Thomas]

Senators Fail To Reach Deal On Compromise Version Of COVID-19 Lawsuit Ban

"Democrats disagree with a watered-down version of Mitch McConnell’s proposal to stifle lawsuits over coronavirus exposure at work and elsewhere."

By Arthur Delaney and Dave Jamieson 12/15/20

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coronavirus-relief-liability-shield_n_5fd7d150c5b689a6230d0b28

“Worker safety advocates said they are alarmed at how the McConnell-Cornyn proposal would weaken the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is charged with protecting workers on the job. To avoid citations and fines due to infections and deaths, employers would only have to demonstrate that they were aware of the relevant safety guidelines and “exploring options to comply” with them ― regardless of whether they actually did. 

Under the Trump administration, OSHA has doled out relatively small fines for coronavirus hazards, even in cases where multiple workers died from COVID-19. The McConnell-Cornyn language would make it all but impossible for OSHA to do even that, said Debbie Berkowitz, a former OSHA official under Obama now with the National Employment Law Project. It would also hinder OSHA from enforcing critical whistleblower protections for workers who speak up about coronavirus dangers.

But the proposal goes well beyond safety. It would also protect employers from coronavirus-related claims stemming from discrimination law as well as minimum wage and overtime laws. Jennifer Mathis, deputy legal director at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, said it was troubling to see the Americans with Disabilities Act included among the laws from which employers would gain some immunity.”

Steve Thomas

[Kirk Gallaway]

Did you guys hear? The President has declared Biden can't have the vaccine until he becomes President! Should he become President!!!!

 

Man that guy is cold!

Just out to seek every advantage!

But his base loves it!

 

 

 

 

heh heh  Just kidding

 

 

 

Kilt him Bill Barr, when he was only 3.

W.D.

[Steve Thomas]

Smartmatic Demands Justice for Defamation

https://www.smartmatic.com/us/media/article/smartmatic-demands-justice-for-defamation/

Boca Raton, Florida - December 14, 2020 - Smartmatic announced today that it is issuing legal notices and retraction demand letters to Fox News, Newsmax and One America News Network for publishing false and defamatory statements. The demand letters identify dozens of factually inaccurate statements made by each of the organizations as part of a “disinformation campaign” to injure Smartmatic and discredit the 2020 U.S. election.

According to Smartmatic’s demand letters, these organizations could have easily discovered the falsity of the statements and implications made about Smartmatic by investigating their statements before publishing them to millions of viewers and readers. Smartmatic had nothing to do with the “controversies” that certain public and private figures have alleged regarding the 2020 U.S. election. Multiple fact-checkers have consistently debunked these false statements with stunning consistency and regularity.

“They have no evidence to support their attacks on Smartmatic because there is no evidence.  This campaign was designed to defame Smartmatic and undermine legitimately conducted elections,” said Antonio Mugica, CEO of Smartmatic. “Our efforts are more than just about Smartmatic or any other company.  This campaign is an attack on election systems and election workers in an effort to depress confidence in future elections and potentially counter the will of the voters, not just here, but in democracies around the world.”

Since its founding in 2000, Smartmatic has designed and implemented secure election technologies in twenty-five countries and helped election management bodies record over five billion votes without a single security breach, and where every single vote is auditable.

Smartmatic’s only involvement in the United States in the 2020 election was as the manufacturing partner, system integrator, and software developer for Los Angeles County’s publicly owned voting system.  Election processes conducted using Smartmatic technology have been praised by The Carter Center, The Organization of American States (OAS), the European Union (EU), and the United Nations development Programme (UNDP).  Smartmatic is an approved vendor of the United States Department of Defense and a founding member of the Department of Homeland Security Council for the Election Infrastructure Subsector. 

In its demand letters, Smartmatic informed the organizations that it is reserving all its legal rights and remedies, including its right to pursue defamation and disparagement claims.

 

Steve Thomas