New York Magazine Swings Hatchet Low-Blow Into RFK Jr. (And JFK Records?)

[K K Lane]

If the topic is the narrow issue of whether JFK Jr. is getting harshly critical press because he is a threat to release the JFK files, then I assert that is not the reason.   In another thread I've argued that the release of the remaining JFK files isn't a significant threat.   But there's another reason to doubt that RFK Jr's "potential presidency" isn't the problem.

RFK Jr. wrote a best-seller about Fauci and big Pharma two years ago.    It was a well-researched, serious and relevant book -- whether or not all his conclusions were justified -- but that book got zero mainstream coverage/reviews despite it being substantive, timely and a bestseller.   Furthermore, many independent reviews of the book focused not on the substance of the book, but rather ad hominem attacks on RFK.  That artificial embargo (when nobody could have known he would be running for president) shows that the msm hostility to RFK Jr isn't rooted in fear of his releasing the JFK files as potus.

Note: I have zero interest in debating the contents of his Fauci/big Pharma book.    I've critiqued the good and bad of that book elsewhere and long ago.

[Benjamin Cole]

7 hours ago, W. Niederhut said:

Reality check, Ben.

I.  Which political party stacked the courts with the pro-corporate judges who voted 5-4 in the Citizens United and Shelby v. Holder rulings?

A.  The "billionaire donor" Donks

B.   The 'Phants

C.    Both

D.     Not sure.  Please post this question on another board.

Interesting question and on-topic: 

Are Biden and Garland "Accessories After The Fact" in the JFKA?  

Of course, that was the title of Sylvia Meagher's still-great book on the Warren Commission.

I contend the purpose of the WC was to pose an expedient answer to the JFKA. So the WC helped conceal the true assassins---they were accessories after the fact. 

Today, President Biden and Merrick Garland are the accessories after the fact. They have suppressed the JFK Records in perpetuity, through a claim of executive authority to keep documents from the public forever, if need be. As decided by the executive. 

Biden and Garland are concealing evidence that likely points to the true assassins of JFK. 

Biden and Garland are accessories after the fact in the JFKA. No? 

 

[W. Niederhut]

40 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

Interesting question and on-topic: 

Are Biden and Garland "Accessories After The Fact" in the JFKA?  

Of course, that was the title of Sylvia Meagher's still-great book on the Warren Commission.

I contend the purpose of the WC was to pose an expedient answer to the JFKA. So the WC helped conceal the true assassins---they were accessories after the fact. 

Today, President Biden and Merrick Garland are the accessories after the fact. They have suppressed the JFK Records in perpetuity, through a claim of executive authority to keep documents from the public forever, if need be. As decided by the executive. 

Biden and Garland are concealing evidence that likely points to the true assassins of JFK. 

Biden and Garland are accessories after the fact in the JFKA. No? 

 

That was quite the pivot, Ben, in the context of our discussion here (above) about RFK, Jr. and the relationship between the state and corporate capitalism.

You completely dodged my multiple choice question about which political party has stacked the U.S. courts with pro-corporate judges-- including the five SCOTUS judges who wiped out a century of campaign finance reforms in the U.S. with their Citizens United ruling.

Was it the Donks or the 'Phants that opened the floodgates for unlimited dark money advertising in U.S. elections-- facilitating further corporate plutocratic control of our state and Federal governments?

Then, instead of answering the question, you reminded us, for possibly the 30th time in recent weeks, that Biden has pulled a Donald Trump by declining to release the JFK records.

[Benjamin Cole]

3 minutes ago, W. Niederhut said:

That was quite the pivot, Ben, in the context of our discussion here (above) about RFK, Jr. and the relationship between the state and corporate capitalism.

You completely dodged my multiple choice question about which political party has stacked the U.S. courts with pro-corporate judges-- including the five SCOTUS judges who wiped out a century of campaign finance reforms in the U.S. with their Citizens United ruling.

Was it the Donks or the 'Phants that opened the floodgates for unlimited dark money advertising in U.S. elections-- facilitating further corporate plutocratic control of our state and Federal governments?

Then, instead of answering the question, you reminded us, for possibly the 30th time in recent weeks, that Biden has pulled a Donald Trump by declining to release the JFK records.

Thanks for your comments.

I am not required, in a thread about hatchet jobs on the one (and likely only) serious candidate who would open up the JFK Records---RFK Jr.---to answer general questions about party politics and policies. Such conversations usually lead nowhere. 

Perhaps RFK Jr. would appoint judges more to your liking. 

Trump failed to open up the JFK Records, IMHO caved into CIA pressure. Trump is a famous "transactionalist," likely bereft of guiding principles. 

I have a fresh post up on Biden and Garland you will enjoy. No politics involved. I wonder if Biden and Garland have guiding principles---if so, they are well-hidden regarding the JFK Records....

[W. Niederhut]

44 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

Thanks for your comments.

I am not required, in a thread about hatchet jobs on the one (and likely only) serious candidate who would open up the JFK Records---RFK Jr.---to answer general questions about party politics and policies. Such conversations usually lead nowhere. 

Perhaps RFK Jr. would appoint judges more to your liking. 

 

Newsflash, Ben.  If 80,000 more votes had been counted for Hillary Clinton in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania in 2016, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett would not be sitting on the SCOTUS today, and Roe v. Wade would still be the law of the land.

Worth thinking about.

And if 5 Republicans on the Rehnquist court had not voted in Bush v. Gore to urgently shut down the Florida re-count in December of 2020, the multi-trillion dollar U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq would probably never have happened-- and the 5-4 Citizens United ruling would never have happened.

Ergo, flawed judicial appointments by Republican Presidents have been monumentally important in the 21st century.

Edited April 12, 2023 by W. Niederhut

[Benjamin Cole]

34 minutes ago, W. Niederhut said:

Newsflash, Ben.  If 80,000 more votes had been counted for Hillary Clinton in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania in 2016, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett would not be sitting on the SCOTUS today, and Roe v. Wade would still be the law of the land.

Worth thinking about.

And if 5 Republicans on the Rehnquist court had not voted in Bush v. Gore to urgently shut down the Florida re-count in December of 2020, the multi-trillion dollar U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq would probably never have happened-- and the 5-4 Citizens United ruling would never have happened.

Ergo, flawed judicial appointments by Republican Presidents have been monumentally important in the 21st century.

Thanks for your comments. You may be correct. 

In general, I am focusing on the JFK Records, and why they are being suppressed currently. 

The MFF and Larry Schnapf are attempting to resurrect the records. I find this a compelling topic, especially for the EF-JFKA.

You might want to research who appointed judges to the current DC District Court and DC Court of Appeal. 

It may be that it will be largely be GOP, or D-Party, appointees who will torpedo the MFF and Schnapf, and send the JFK Records back into oblivion. Or a joint effort. 

That would be a meaningful area to research and post about. 

 

[Paul Brancato]

8 hours ago, W. Niederhut said:

Paul,

     If you think that a Republican POTUS is going to promote a progressive regulatory agenda for corporate capitalists you haven' been paying close enough attention to modern American history.

    Consider the process used by the Republicans to stack the U.S. courts with pro-corporate, anti-labor judges in modern history-- Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, et.al.  And the GOP SCOTUS judges were the guys who voted 5-4 in critically important rulings like Bush v. Gore, Citizens United, and Shelby v. Holder.

      Citizens United abolished a century of campaign finance reforms in the U.S.  Shelby v. Holder abolished enforcement of the Voting Rights Act.

     Republicans like George W. Bush and Trump are also the Presidents who repeatedly sabotaged environmental protections and other regulations on corporate polluters and fraudsters, while cutting taxes for billionaires and corporations (in Trump's case.)

     So, RFK, Jr. fans who are appropriately concerned about the vital role of government regulation of corporate capitalism in the public interest need to understand the facts about the GOP/Koch agenda to put "democracy in chains."  They have done it through the courts, and through Congress-- in the teeth of Democratic opposition.  They'll do it again, if they get the opportunity.

     Ben Cole is simply wrong about this issue regarding historic policy differences between Donks and 'Phants.

     Nor is RFK, Jr. saying anything that hasn't been said for years by experienced, progressive Democratic legislators like Elizabeth Waren and Bernie Sanders.

    

I recall Biden voting for Clarence Thomas. I think one has to lower their sights to call Biden a progressive.

in a race between RFK jr and Donald Trump who would win?

[Paul Brancato]

58 minutes ago, W. Niederhut said:

Newsflash, Ben.  If 80,000 more votes had been counted for Hillary Clinton in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania in 2016, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett would not be sitting on the SCOTUS today, and Roe v. Wade would still be the law of the land.

Worth thinking about.

And if 5 Republicans on the Rehnquist court had not voted in Bush v. Gore to urgently shut down the Florida re-count in December of 2020, the multi-trillion dollar U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq would probably never have happened-- and the 5-4 Citizens United ruling would never have happened.

Ergo, flawed judicial appointments by Republican Presidents have been monumentally important in the 21st century.

Why didn’t Biden nominate additional justices when he had Congress? Why didn’t the democrats impeach Thomas? 

[Paul Brancato]

5 hours ago, K K Lane said:

If the topic is the narrow issue of whether JFK Jr. is getting harshly critical press because he is a threat to release the JFK files, then I assert that is not the reason.   In another thread I've argued that the release of the remaining JFK files isn't a significant threat.   But there's another reason to doubt that RFK Jr's "potential presidency" isn't the problem.

RFK Jr. wrote a best-seller about Fauci and big Pharma two years ago.    It was a well-researched, serious and relevant book -- whether or not all his conclusions were justified -- but that book got zero mainstream coverage/reviews despite it being substantive, timely and a bestseller.   Furthermore, many independent reviews of the book focused not on the substance of the book, but rather ad hominem attacks on RFK.  That artificial embargo (when nobody could have known he would be running for president) shows that the msm hostility to RFK Jr isn't rooted in fear of his releasing the JFK files as potus.

Note: I have zero interest in debating the contents of his Fauci/big Pharma book.    I've critiqued the good and bad of that book elsewhere and long ago.

Yes, and neither did The Devil’s Chessboard. 
i do wish the hardline Democrats on this thread like William and Matt would at the very least admit their frustration with that party, and with the Democratic arm of the msm. 

[Matt Allison]

23 minutes ago, Paul Brancato said:

Why didn’t Biden nominate additional justices when he had Congress? Why didn’t the democrats impeach Thomas? 

??? I explained earlier in the thread- The GOP in the Senate has veto power; until the Senate is at least 2/3 Dem, the corruption of the U.S. Supreme Court will go unchecked.

 

21 minutes ago, Paul Brancato said:

do wish the hardline Democrats on this thread like William and Matt would at the very least admit their frustration with that party, and with the Democratic arm of the msm. 

That's the 2nd time you've referred to me as some sort of partisan Democrat; I'm asking you to stop it. I am an independent and an American first. I have no choice at the moment but to vote for Democrats; the Republican Party has been taken over by pro-authoritarian, anti-American zealots. That's not my fault. I didn't ask for that situation. If you don't understand that reality, I question what your news sources are; the "MSM" is certainly the least of your problems in that case.

[W. Niederhut]

36 minutes ago, Paul Brancato said:

Why didn’t Biden nominate additional justices when he had Congress? Why didn’t the democrats impeach Thomas? 

Paul,

    You seem to be buying into some sort of false equivalence about the history and agendas of 21st century Republicans and Democrats.

    Do you understand the extent of the 21st century GOP/Koch/Federalist Society chicanery involved in stacking the courts with pro-corporate GOP plutocrats?

    For example, are you familiar with the stats about Mitch McConnell's historic obstruction of President Barack Obama's judicial nominees?  The problem went far beyond McConnell's historic refusal for 300 days (following the death of Scalia) to conduct Senate hearings to confirm Obama's SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland-- on the grounds that 2016 was an election year.

    Then, one week before the 2020 election, McConnell confirmed Trump's SCOTUS nominee Amy Coney Barrett-- just 30 days after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg!

     Can you smell the Koch/Republican sleaze here?  It's the Democracy in Chains GOP game plan, described in detail by Duke University historian Nancy MacLean.

    As for Biden, he has done an excellent job with judicial nominees-- as with most executive decisions-- although, to date, he has had only one opportunity to appoint a SCOTUS justice.

   

Edited April 12, 2023 by W. Niederhut

[Ron Bulman]

50 minutes ago, Paul Brancato said:

Why didn’t the democrats impeach Thomas? 

Paul, they didn't have public support at the time of having a congressional majority.  In addition not enough votes in the senate, I think it requires a 60 or 2/3 votes.

[Paul Brancato]

For an impeachment to succeed yes, but not to make some public show. 

[Paul Brancato]

Let’s bring this back to RFK jr. I still have the feeling most here have formed their opinions on news coverage, not on his words or his organization’s purpose. Say it ain’t so.

i don’t need lessons in the calumny of the Republican Party. Seriously. Or in how things work in Congress. When you fight for what’s right you don’t just make political calculations. 

long segment today on npr about our declining health outcomes and longevity. Anyone else hear it? Vaccines have been useful, but they are not the answer. My beef is that we push vaccines on a population that is suffering in so many ways which we as a nation barely address. RFK Jr sees that and talks about it as loudly as he is able, but everyone shoots him down. Please let go of the vaccine argument. He is completely right about the failure of this country to take care of its people. 

Edited April 12, 2023 by Paul Brancato

[Benjamin Cole]

4 hours ago, Paul Brancato said:

Let’s bring this back to RFK jr. I still have the feeling most here have formed their opinions on news coverage, not on his words or his organization’s purpose. Say it ain’t so.

i don’t need lessons in the calumny of the Republican Party. Seriously. Or in how things work in Congress. When you fight for what’s right you don’t just make political calculations. 

long segment today on npr about our declining health outcomes and longevity. Anyone else hear it? Vaccines have been useful, but they are not the answer. My beef is that we push vaccines on a population that is suffering in so many ways which we as a nation barely address. RFK Jr sees that and talks about it as loudly as he is able, but everyone shoots him down. Please let go of the vaccine argument. He is completely right about the failure of this country to take care of its people. 

I am a one-issue voter. I want RFK Jr. to be president as he will open up the JFK Records. 

I have deep reservations about both political parties, and I am deeply uncertain either party will adopt policies to preserve and enhance the middle and employee classes. 

Elites always want cheap labor. 

Elites will always gut any leverage employee classes generate, by any means necessary. 

Elites always strive to divide the employee class, fracturing by race, religion, and any other divisions that can be created. 

Globalist elites think globally---not what is in the interest of US citizens. 

Elites always want to control information.

RFK Jr may not be a g-d-send, and due to the two-party system, he may accomplish nothing even if he is elected--except for opening up the JFK Records.

At least that is something. 

BTW, the polls show Biden very weak, and the GOP has no one interesting running. 

Who says RFK Jr. can't win? 

Edited April 12, 2023 by Benjamin Cole