Interesting Op-Ed in Santa Barbara News Press Re RFK Jr./CIA

[Benjamin Cole]

https://newspress.com/joe-biden-is-no-match-for-robert-f-kennedy-jr/

Joe Biden is no match for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

by Robert Eringer May 20, 2023 0 comment

0 comment

3 

“R.F.K. JR. SAYS HE CAN BEAT BIDEN IN 2024 PRIMARY”

He can. 

And he will.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said, “It was my father’s first instinct that the agency (the CIA) killed his brother.”

Indeed. After President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy went straight to CIA Director John McCone and asked him point-blank: “Did your people kill my brother?”

Mr. McCone replied ”no.”

Mr. McCone was telling the truth.  As he knew it. 

Because, truth is, Mr. McCone was kept out of the loop and deceived by his most senior intelligence officers who regarded Allen Dulles (whom President Kennedy fired in 1962 after the agency’s Bay of Pigs debacle) as their true leader — and who later directed the Warren Commission coverup.

But R.F.K. knew the truth. And he planned to do something about it when elected president in 1968.

And of course, the CIA could not allow that to happen because it would mean its very existence as an institution was at stake.

So the big question now: What will the agency do about R.F.K. Jr.?

What will CIA do about a presidential contender with the guts to tell the truth to the American people — from a highly public platform as a presidential contender — about how in November 1963, senior officers of their agency staged a coup d’état and murdered a U.S. president? 

The good news: Today’s CIA is run by personages somewhat more politically correct (they must be if they support Joe Biden) and gentler, kinder (Director William Burns) than the likes of James Angleton, Cord Meyer and Bill Harvey, who were cutthroat characters. The current crowd does not — thankfully — have the gumption or guts to assassinate American leaders as their agency once did to protect what they believed was their mission to perpetuate American dominance (for corporate masters) around the globe. 

The new form of assassination is manipulating mainstream media to ensure that its contrived narrative is what American sheeple choose to believe.

For example: This, from The Washington Post earlier this week…

“R.F.K. JR.’S CAMPAIGN IS PURE TRUMP”

The mainstream media’s newest narrative is about slamming anyone who gets in the way of their chosen (if highly tarnished) golden boy, Joe Biden, by fabricating a connection, however loose, with Donald Trump.  Permanent Washington simply cannot abide R.F.K. Jr. in the White House.

And this from The Daily Beast one day later …

“R.F.K.’S LONG LEGACY OF SUPPORTING CENSORSHIP”

The “substance” that should support this headline is a nothing-burger that soon morphs into a rant about R.F.K. Jr.’s “long history of promoting conspiracy theory and other unhinged views.”

“Hinged” means “attached.”  

American sheeple are attached to a news narrative produced by a corporatized mass media in cahoots with whatever politically weaponized government agencies feed them to spread like manure.

Expect to hear the word “unhinged” a lot in the coming months. You can be certain it will increase in volume commensurate with R.F.K.’s rising poll numbers.

“R.F.K. JR. SAYS HE WILL ‘MAKE BORDER IMPERVIOUS’ IF ELECTED”

It is not only disgraceful, but utterly astounding that the United States does not secure its borders. 

No civilized country in the world is without a strict system for entering, much less residing, within its borders without first applying for and receiving proper permission and paperwork.

Another R.F.K. Jr. stance: “We are now reaping the whirlwind of years of misguided foreign policies, of warmongering foreign policies.”

As such, he invokes the “military-industrial” complex President Dwight Eisenhower warned about before leaving office.

We are witnessing this in many parts of the world as our governments pays Raytheon (your money) to produce weaponry even while we continue to bury ourselves deeper in debt.

“THE COURAGE OF R.F.K. JR.”

“R.F.K. Jr. pleads with liberals to safeguard the First Amendment, defend civil liberties, reject cancel culture and defeat ‘lockdown liberalism.’”

Yet the Democratic Party machine perceives him as a threat?

The fence-sitters will know which way to fall on this one.

“R.F.K. JR. IS THE CANDIDATE TO HEAL THE GREAT DIVIDE”

If there is still hope, it is personified by R.F.K. Jr. 

“R.F.K. JR’S UNORTHODOX PRESIDENTIAL BID EXPOSES AMERICA’S DEEP SATISFACTION WITH BIDEN”

No-brainer.

How could anyone in their right mind — Democrats included — be satisfied with President Joe Biden?

Not only is he the most corrupt president in the history of the United States, but he is also a fraud. 

I recall reading a newsmagazine in the 1970s about a relatively new U.S. senator who was one of the first wave of vain males to sign up for hair plugs. They had a picture of Joe Biden, then in his mid-30s, with rows and rows of plugs planted like rows of corn across his scalp. That was his first coverup — disguising a bald pate. And little doubt he has since complemented those planted tufts with at least one facelift, which explains Joe’s skull-like countenance.

My point is, Joe Biden was a fake half-a-century ago — and he’s never stopped being a fake. This extends to his policies, which through the decades blasted like flatulence in whatever direction the wind was blowing, enabling him to amass his own power and money.

Watch as President Biden refuses to debate R.F.K. Jr. 

Because Joe knows that if he dares he will be torn to pieces worse than falling into a Fellowes Powershred.

That’s because R.F.K. Jr. not only talks facts but has them as his command.

President Biden talks nonsense and has next-to-nothing at his command. 

So, instead, Joe will hide out in his basement just as he did during the last election campaign, believing at least 50% of the voting public is hornswoggled by arrogant BS (excluding those who don’t need ID to vote along with absentee ballots of dubious origin).

Meantime, watch and wonder as the mainstream media narrative (think CIA and FBI) continues to bash away at R.F.K. Jr. as a “conspiracy theorist” when, in truth, R.F.K. Jr. is a conspiracy factualist. 

Will there be another Russia hoax? Maybe this time a China hoax? Or maybe R.F.K. Jr. will have a “car accident.” 

Can’t wait to find out.

About COVID, R.F.K. Jr. has consistently hit the nail on the head as he points out that an overplayed pandemic resulted in “a militarized and monetized response” that deprived our children of schools and took away our ability to live our lives for much too long. 

That’s a lot to answer for, Dr. Anthony Fauci. 

John Lennon must have had a premonition of Dr. Fauci when he sang, “Instant karma’s going to get you. What are Earth are you trying to do? Who do you think you are? A superstar? Well, we all shine on.”

And we shall.

“JOHN BRENNAN SHOULD BE IN PRISON”

Amen, brother.

“Former CIA Director John Brennan knew there was no ‘Russia collusion,’ and yet he kept lying to the public.” 

This was Mr. Brennan’s actual testimony to a congressional committee.

Turns out “Russia Collusion” was a Biden campaign operation all along, aided and abetted by 51 intelligence stooges who signed a lying letter ordered up by then campaign adviser Anthony Blinken.

“THE FBI’S ANTI-TRUMP KEYSTONE COPS, THE CIA’s 51 LAPTOP TRASHING STOOGES,  THE NYT’S BIASED PULITZER LAPDOGS — IN THE DEMS’ POCKETS AND DERAILING DEMOCRACY”

Some headlines say it all. But I’ll add this:

There is no better example of collusion than this: Politically weaponized government agencies colluding with mainstream media and digital platforms to frame a sitting president and waste taxpayer money while desperately (and effectively) concealing the truth about Hunter Biden’s laptop.

---30---

You won't read that in the WaPo. 

 

[Michael Griffith]

It will be curious to see what happens when the ultra-liberals in this forum discover that RFK Jr. is not a radical leftist and does not share their rabidly partisan mindset.  Perhaps they will simply ignore reality and pretend that he agrees with them, just as they have done with JFK. 

[Pete Mellor]

No civilized country in the world is without a strict system for entering, much less residing, within its borders without first applying for and receiving proper permission and paperwork.

Well then, the U.K. is completely un-civilised.

[Michael Griffith]

1 hour ago, Pete Mellor said:

No civilized country in the world is without a strict system for entering, much less residing, within its borders without first applying for and receiving proper permission and paperwork.

Well then, the U.K. is completely un-civilised.

Uhhhh, the UK is an island. Right? That's a much different situation than sharing a border hundreds of miles long with another country or countries.

And are you saying that the UK has no system for entering and residing in its territory? When my wife and daughter visited the UK four years ago, it took them nearly two months and lots of paperwork to get a visa to enter the country for one week. 

Having a border that anyone can cross at will without proper authorization is like owning a house but having no control over who enters your front door and your back door and having no control over how long they stay in your house. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Michael Griffith

[W. Niederhut]

Question.   Why is this latest Biden-bashing Ben Cole thread on the JFK Assassination board?

It belongs on one of the Political Discussion or Water Cooler boards.

[Greg Doudna]

2 hours ago, Michael Griffith said:

It will be curious to see what happens when the ultra-liberals in this forum discover that RFK Jr. is not a radical leftist and does not share their rabidly partisan mindset.  Perhaps they will simply ignore reality and pretend that he agrees with them, just as they have done with JFK. 

Michael, some of your analyses on some things strikes home, but not here. I might be in your (ultra-?) liberal category, as a Bernie Sanders Democrat, formerly Nader Green and Kucinich Democrat. RFK Jr. as "radical leftist" is a red herring since I don't think anyone has ever claimed that, but what I do believe is defensible is that RFK Jr. is true traditional moderate left in continuity with the rhetoric in his father's 1968 presidential campaign and the idealism surrounding progressive support for JFK before that. 

Specifically: willingness to confront and if necessary attack large corporations and institutionalized powers of wealth against capture of government and regulatory processes (not as in the libertarian non-sequitur as an argument for abolishing regulatory mechanisms and oversight of corporate behavior as in oligarchs' wet dreams, but for non-captured actual regulation in the public interest).

Specifically: an anti-imperialism, anti-colonial ideological stance in foreign policy.

Specifically: strong action involving the power of policies of big government toward ending poverty and blight of tens of millions at the bottom end of an unequal society.  

Specifically: no racism, no bashing of minorities, no "othering" and demonizing of minorities.

Specifically: stance favorable to labor unionization

Specifically: strong stance on civil liberties

Specifically: a politics of compassion for the left-behinds domestically and in the world. 

Specifically: regulation of "the commons" as e.g. in the matter of global warming

I have looked at RFK Jr. recently (specifically among others the Crystal Ball interview). All of the above are traditional progressive and RFK Jr. is there. 

The Democratic power-brokers should carefully consider that RFK Jr. may become the antiwar candidate, speaking of Ukraine which is becoming a Vietnam redux issue. RFK Jr. I think got it right in his Crystal Ball interview: the motive to help Ukraine against the unconscionable invasion of Putin started out right. But the continuing war is horrible in its effect on the people of Ukraine now and needs to be ended (which although he did not say so, means cutting a deal and probable partition, as less horrible than continued war).

RFK Jr.'s call for border control is a distinct issue from bashing of immigrants who come in legally or who have come in illegally in the past and should have a path to legal residency and/or citizenship. His call for border control is actually the mainstream Democratic position as well as a Republican one, despite bashing of Democrats with straw man representations otherwise--the issues concern effectiveness and competence and policies in achieving that agreed objective.

Therefore your "radical left" is a straw man, but if that is rephrased to mainstream "progressive left", RFK Jr. is there and I do not see that as a false front. He may have gotten it wrong on the science of autism and the mercury theory. But he is no alt-right conservative, no Trumper, no proto-fascist from the populist right. 

RFK Jr. is the closest thing to the 1968 RFK Sr. campaign and values on the map today as I see it. I don't know where this is going to go. The nightmare scenario, from my point of view, is a Trump presidency in 2024 in which Trump this time would get control of the executive branch which he did not last time, and an era of an American form of real fascism in full bloom.  

I come from Akron, Ohio and know people, Quakers and others, who knew Kucinich personally and long supported Kucinich in Kucinich's earlier campaigns. Now RFK Jr. has picked Kucinich to be his campaign manager, a natural alliance given the antiwar issue on the Democratic side. Of course Kucinich had problems getting votes, unlike Bernie Sanders who got lots of votes. 

I realize there is a spectre of a third-party run by RFK Jr. if he does not get the Democratic nomination which from all rational expectations is practically a certainty. And third-party runs by a "good" candidate result in electing the relatively worse of the two major-party candidates, due to the winner-take all electors' policies of 48 out of 50 of the states who have made individual state choices to run elections that way. 

Here is how I would address the third-party issue if I were part of the RFK Jr. campaign: publicly set up this policy in advance and early. If at the end of the campaign (for the Democratic nomination) RFK Jr. is behind in polling in matchups against the Republican nominee (e.g. Trump), compared to the Democratic nominee (e.g. Biden), and if RFK Jr. is behind in polling of grassroots Democrats' support for the Democratic nominee, RFK Jr. will stand down and endorse the Democratic nominee while continuing as an antiwar voice internal to the Democratic Party struggling for the soul of the Democratic Party within that Party. 

But if RFK Jr. is ahead in polling of grassroots Democrats, and ahead in matchup polls nationally in the general election against Trump, the Democratic Party should stand down its nominee and endorse RFK Jr. in the general for the presidency, for the good of America (if a Trump presidency is the alternative).

Again I do not know where this is going to go. But this is how it looks to me at this point.  

[Kirk Gallaway]

Ben: in an earlier post to me.

Ben: We can do better than that, and should show a better face to readers and prospective members. 

And reposting your same opinions in the same subjects over and over again will attract new prospective members , Ben?

Your opinions have never contributed anything to the knowledge base of this forum.

And I suspect whatever entertainment value they may have had dies after continued repetition. If it ever had any at all.

I'm into talking about the RFK Jr. Presidency in a special thread made specifically for it. My advice to the mods; just do it!

But this article:Re Biden:Not only is he the most corrupt president in the history of the United States, but he is also a fraud. 

And this coming after the Trump presidency. This person is so anti Biden, and so obviously partisan, like Ben..

If you want some real entertainment. This was Ben's posts for an approximate 2 week period  at the beginning of Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Ben was the foremost Ukraine hawk on the forum, but that was fine because it was in the 56 year thread where we could freely state our political opinions. Outside of 4 lines, this is all Ben. Tell me if you don't see a theme here. And now he's trying to do this in the JFKA forum.

Maybe you agree with him, fine, but do you really need this much talking down to? Is this really going to attract more "prospective members". Is this what they came for?

 

*******

Ben:Personally, I favor a no fly zone over Ukraine, and some real military gear for Zelensky. C-130 gunships, and destroy the convoy.

 

Ben: So...Biden is a muddle. He doesn't know what to do.  A convoy is headed to Kyiv and the civilians who live there and Biden is...doing what?  Deciding that, "Oh no! We can't allow Poland to send fighter jets to Ukraine. What if Putin gets angry?"  I think you need to mention the 1/6 scrum again. That will absolve Biden.

 

******

Ben: Biden-globalists did nothing. When the tide turned to Zelensky's favor (thanks to Ukrainian resolve and Putin's image, one that cannot be rehabilitated), they half-heartedly backed Zelensky.

Which is where we are today. In a muddle. 

ah, but Trump is history.

Biden is president now. 

Are you satisfied with Biden? Putin has a lethal convoy headed to Kyiv. Biden promised not to intervene militarily, before Russia's invasion.

But Biden has declared a no fly zone...over the US.

Biden has called out the Army to deter the convoy...well, not that convoy, but a trucker convoy of US citizen-protestors, near DC somewhere. 

It seems to have escaped people on this forum, the story is not what Trump would have done, or what he said, or the 1/6 scrum. Trump is a nobody now, deservedly so. 

Biden is the president, and foreign-military policy is one area in which the president is supreme. What is Biden doing?

*******

 

Ben: The latest reports are the Ukrainians have blown up bridges that enter Kyiv, obviously in preparation for an assault. 

In response, Biden is proposing that Russia be stripped of its "most favored nation" trade status. 

Biden has not looked strong or shrewd, but rather resourceless, flat-footed and dull. Even feckless. 

Nations such as Greece and Turkey seem to show some spunk. 

It is no secret globalists run US foreign-military-trade policy, although sometimes the bureaucratic imperatives of the Pentagon are asserted. 

Biden has been told to sit on his hands, and so he is.  Who is the Putin stooge now? 

*******

Ben:Seems to me the fix was in from the start. The globalists (including Biden), at bottom, said Putin could take Ukraine if he could.

Biden promised not to interfere, even before a Putin-boot had set foot in Ukraine.

Biden did not think to arm the Ukrainians a few months ago with the Stingers and RPGs and other useful equipment. 

Ukraine was a woeful failure of diplomacy and military preparedness--on Biden's watch.  

Biden may not be a Putin-stooge, but the results are the same. 

We can only hope that the Russians themselves decide to call this off. And yes, Putin is a thug. But we knew that from Chechnya, from Georgia, from his treatment of political opponents.

So why was Biden so flat-footed, so weak? 

******

Kirk:Ben suggests the U.S. confronting the Russians directly in Ukraine to Matt.

 

 

Matt: The only way to stop Putin would be to attack him. That's war. Nuclear war.--Matt

 

Ben:But this defeatism in your sentiments, evidently adopted by the globalist-Biden camp, gives carte blanche to the thug Putin. 

Can't you come up with any better approaches?  

Are not you repeating Putin-speak of the RT types? That it is too risky to challenge Putin and level-headed people must compromise? 

****

But the issue today is: How has Biden performed, in the one area in which the President ascendant? Foreign-military policy? 

Biden has been president for more than a year. Did he deploy the diplomacy and military tools available to blunt or dissuade a Russian occupation of Ukraine? 

Seems to me Biden has been flatfooted, unimaginative, sterile. A failure. 

The fix was in, and if Putin wanted Ukraine then he can take it. Putin took Chechnya, Georgia, Crimea, and the Donbas. An obvious thug.

But Biden is going to try to revoke Russia's most favored nation status. China has MFN status. 

*******

Kirk:Ben, now warmongering far  beyond the most vocal hawks in Congress.

 

Ben: Oh, so ugly. 

Basically, Putin is raining missiles and bombs into Kharkiv. 48 schools flattened, hospitals hit. 

Biden will not honor Zelensky's request help create a No Fly Zone. But Biden did declare No Fly Zone for Russians...over the US. 

Biden made sure the convoy was stopped.;.well, the trucker convoy headed to DC. Not the Russian convoy pointed at Kyiv. 

Note: None of the usual whining from the globalists. "America cannot be trusted as an ally!"  "America looks weak, and invites further aggression."  

Biden appears feeble, woefully unprepared, unimaginative. Whatever one says, what has happened to Ukraine is a diplomatic and military failure. Happened on Biden's watch. 

*******

 

Ben:I stand by my assessment that Ukraine has been a huge US diplomatic and military failure, given the horrid results we are seeing unfold. I hope you are correct, and Putin has misjudged circumstances. 

******

Ben:And perhaps the West should have been more diplomatic regarding what happened in Ukraine. The mucking around in Ukraine of Biden and son during the Obama years, and the rearrangement of leadership there under Biden/Obama was provocative. Incidentally, the Bidens help loot Ukraine. 

That said, IMHO when the Russian armored column went into Ukraine...whatever moral ground Putin had was lost. 

Seriously, no one can invade Russia again as they do have nukes.  The "fear of the West" argument is overdone. The Ukrainians, unlike the Crimeans, do not appear to want to be a part of Russia. 

The result of Putin's armored columns has been a humanitarian disaster, and a humbling failure for Biden diplomatic and military policies. 

That brings us to today. Biden's leadership has led the US into a dead end. For Putin to prevail in Ukraine is a crime. But the US invents reasons to not enforce a No Fly Zone in Ukraine, bowing to Putin threats.  

The US is in a muddle, with only bad options. 

JFK endorsed co-existence and detente, but not abject capitulation. Also he was largely speaking about the US not joining the colonialists all over the world, on behalf of globalist-multi-nationalist interests. 

I wish there was an answer on how to resolve the Ukraine mess. It looks like Biden will choose to be very brave with Ukrainian lives. The Ukrainians may prevail, but they will have to choose to live like Afghanies. 

*******

Ben: Shooting down aircraft over Ukraine, if it comes to that...not over Russia. It may be Russian pilots choose not to test a NFZ. 

Agreed, very unpleasant options available.

On the other hand, where do you draw the line? Putin threatens to go nuclear and reabsorbs Poland and East Germany? Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia? 

See Ron Bulman's post regarding Maruipol.  Jeez. 

Biden looks feckless. 

Why is it those who oppose a NFZ are not characterized as Putin tools, or Moscow stooges? 

  **********

Ben: Putin says a No Fly Zone over Ukraine is a provocation. 

Some US citizens, and Biden, echo that a No Fy Zone over Ukraine is a provocation.

So...who are the Moscow stooges and Putin puppets?  

Funny what becomes a M$M narrative or meme and what does not.  

*******

Kirk:Now of course the biolabs in Ukraine... another Tucker rumor.

Then there are stories that get buried as they not PC at the time. Bio-labs in Ukraine? With dangerous pathogens? Why?

I happen to be hawkish on Ukraine, and would prefer going to No Fly Zones. That does not mean the bio-lab story is fake news. 

I guess the Biden Administration knew about the bio-labs, and kept them going. Trump probably did too, and probably Obama. 

Biden has been on his back foot all along on Ukraine, and the result is a horrible diplomatic, military and humanitarian catastrophe. 

This does not absolve Putin at all. I hope Putin is toppled yesterday.  

*****

Ben:The globalists seemed to give Putin a green light on Ukraine. Before the invasion, promising no boots on the ground, and then abstaining from a No Fly Zone as Putin said it would be provocative.  

I think the globalists were fine with partitioning Ukraine to Putin, but then lost control of the narrative due to stiff Ukrainian resistance, and Putin's foul image (in large part a deserved image, but also a residual of the Trump-bashing regimen).

Now there is the scramble to come up a Plan B. De-escalate somehow. No Fly Zone! Open to negotiations!  I do not see how Western values will prevail if Putin takes over Ukraine.

The spooky thing is how tight the US multinational-globalist set is with the CCP. Do globalists have Western values? Or something else?

Is international stability (a good commercial climate), rather than Western values, really the top priority in the DC-globalist set?

******

Ben: The globalist-Biden approach to Ukraine appears to be a failure. Certainly, a humanitarian catastrophe.

The situation in Mariupol appears particularly grim, but of course that scenario may play out across Ukraine, in every contested city, in the months ahead. 

The West is encouraging the Ukrainians to fight, but is not providing a No Fly Zone. Not targeting Russian vessels with submarines, and still buying Russian oil. 

My take is the globalist-Biden Administration pretty much consigned Ukraine to Putin, and signaled as much pre-invasion. The globalists lost control of the narrative due to Ukrainian resistance, and Putin's foul image (deserved, and also a residual from Trump-bashing). 

The globalists want stability and commercial relations above all. See how they kow-tow to the CCP. Human rights is low on the agenda. Ukraine is dispensable, and Russia has fossil fuels to sell. 

The globalist plan presently appears to be to give the Ukrainians enough tools to make the Russian occupation miserable for Moscow.  From a cynical perspective, that might work.  The cost in human carnage is too horrible to contemplate.

Biden appears poorly counseled. Seems to have no ideas. Flat-footed. 

********

Ben: Well, when Russia promised to not invade Ukraine, the West had a chance to say they would establish a No Fly Zone over Ukraine as a prophylactic against anyone starting a war. 

I think it is still a good idea, though riskier. 

Stop the sale of Russian oil. 

Declare the port of Odessa a free port, that will be kept open. 

Zelensky has asked Biden for tougher sanctions. I don't know all the details, but it  this is not time for anything except maximum economic sanctions in all regards. How can Zelensky be asking for tougher sanctions? 

True, the globalists have lost control of the Ukraine narrative.  They still want to situation resolved so that business can resume with Russia ASAP, and nothing changes with Beijing. 

I prefer a victory for the Ukrainians. Biden seems to have no plans for a Ukrainian victory, or a decoupling from Beijing. 

 

********

Ben: Like I say, the globalists lost control of the Ukraine narrative.

So...we are seeing limited support for Ukraine from elements within US and Nato.  Just enough to make occupation miserable for Moscow (well, maybe not in Moscow, they still have heat and caviar, but for Russia's soldiers). 

This war could drag on for years. 

You are not  hearing globalists warning, "If Russia can cause this much damage...should we not de-couple from China too?" 

******

 

Ben: The globalists were fine with Putin (see all those McDonalds?), happy to do business in Russia, and even OK with partitioning Ukraine to Putin. See Biden essentially promising to do nothing prior to the Putin invasion of Ukraine. 

The globalists and Biden lost control of the narrative when the Ukrainians showed unexpected resolve, and Putin's image could not be rehabilitated. After all, Putin was a Trump-pal, the worst sin of all. 

Now, the globalists just want the war to end and terms are unimportant.

But No Fly Zone. That is an executive decision, made by Biden, a globalist lackey.

So...looks like a humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine. Prolonged war and death. 

Certainly, Putin is the villain. Is Biden an accomplice? Accessory after the fact? 

*******

 

Ben: Biden is a creature of the Washington establishment, in which the globalist framework is ascendant. The Biden Administration has made clear they will not draw a line in Ukraine. 

If Ukraine falls to Putin, so be it. The Biden Administration might ship small arms to Ukraine, but no jets, no big stuff. No "No Fly Zone." 

The Q: Is Biden an accessory before, or after, the fact when it comes to Ukraine? 

Putin is a thug. The images from Mariupol...surely, this kind of assault cannot be endured.

The Biden Administration seems lost. Feeble. Directionless. Clueless. 

The Ukrainians look tough. 

********

Strong NATO, weak U.S., puzzled China: Ukraine war hints at new order

********

 

Ben:But seeing the shelling of civilian areas in Mariupol, and the column of armored vehicles and tanks pointed at Kyiv, has changed my mind.  I now advocate a No Fly Zone for Ukraine, and possibly even NATO boots on the ground. 

Times change and so yes, I have moved to a more-hawkish position on Ukraine. 

Biden has floundered, looks weak.  NATO has dithered somewhat. Biden and NATO have allowed Putin to dictate terms of battle.

Russia can fly jets over Ukraine, but not NATO. Really? This is your idea of the right course? 

  **********

Ben: Biden's Policy: The Russians can fly jets over Ukraine, but NATO cannot.

******

Ben:I do not agree with the de facto Biden-NATO position, that Russian jets can fly over Ukraine, but NATO jets cannot. 

Biden has been underwhelming on Ukraine. Confused. If Putin is a war criminal, then why no air cover for Ukrainians? 

********

 

Ben:Well...Biden is a globalist puppet, that hardly needs debate. DC is afloat in globalist money.  

And, in fact, the initial globalist response was to partition Ukraine to Putin. Biden promised in advance of the Russian invasion to not get involved. 

But the Ukrainians showed resolve, and the globalists lost control of the narrative.  

Now, the Biden-globalist pathway forward is very foggy. They really did not have a Plan B. They will give small arms to the Ukrainians, and with such arms and a lot of deaths, the Ukrainians may bog down the Russians for years. 

The Russians can fly jets over Ukraine, but Biden/NATO cannot.

Biden has agreed to those terms of battle.  Seems a bit muddleheaded, no? 

********

Ben: Biden and globalists were willing to partition Ukraine to Putin. Offered Zelensky passage out of the Ukraine. Biden signaled he would not fight for Ukraine.  The globalists were fat and happy doing business with Putin. See the Koches presently.  

*****

Ben:

Egads. Biden/NATO need to do a lot more on Ukraine. If Putin dictates terms of war...a civilian slaughter will ensue. Which it is. This carnage could go on for years, unless there is meaningful interdiction. 

Biden appears muddled, unclear, resourceless. 

********

Bob Ness: Give it a break Ben. Gets boring.

 

 

Ben:Probably life is not boring for those on the ground in Ukraine.

Biden and the NATO have failed. 

Sure Putin looks to have bogged down, a "stalemate."

That outcome is perhaps the worst result for the people of Ukraine. How boring!

1. If Putin tanks had simply rolled into Kyiv, then bad, but nobody's dead and Ukrainians can wait for Putin to die and maybe better times. 

2. If Biden/NATO had offered stiff resolve pre-invasion, perhaps no invasion. Good. 

3. (The option chosen). Globalists and Biden decide Ukraine is not worth fighting for, and publicly invite Zelensky to leave. Signal they will not fight for Ukraine, and all but invite a thug like Putin in. 

Ukrainians stole the narrative by showing the stiff resolve lacking in Biden/NATO.

So now, what is antiseptically called a "stalemate" is daily death and dis-membering for thousands of Ukrainians and Russian soldiers weekly, and incredible damage to Ukrainian housing stock and infrastructure. 

But if you drink the blue kool-aid, you must cheer this result? 

 

******

 

Ben:How will this death end the Ukrainian slaughter more quickly? 

The Western press seems off-point.

Ukrainians and Russian soldiers are dying by the hundreds daily, and Biden/NATO seem to have no real plans other than to watch and (perhaps unintentionally, but nevertheless) prolong the conflict. 

But we chortle at the death of replaceable officers? 

*******

Ben:The WaPo chortles that Russia is no longer a superpower.

How delightful!

This is the globalist point of view.  Russia has bogged down in Ukraine, a stalemate and that is a good outcome. Whew! That's a relief. 

The M$M chimes in. 

As for the people of Ukraine....

The thug Putin has the bombs coming....while Biden/NATO are on a vowed, permanent standby. 

*******

Ben: I will say it appears the Russians have bogged down, but that also appears to be have been the result of Ukrainian resistance, not Biden/NATO, who all but invited Putin into Ukraine, have not issued a no fly zone, or given weapons to the Ukrainians such a A-10 attack planes.

The consensus seems to be that Ukrainian resistance combined with Russian battlefield incompetence is leading to a stalemate. 

The Biden/NATO position appears to be that a stalemate is a good result, and will drain Putin. It may, but in the meantime Ukrainians, and Russian soldiers die by the hundreds every day. 

In humanitarian terms, the Biden/NATO result is a cruel debacle. 

Like you, I wish for a putsch in Moscow. But Stalin stayed in until he died. 

*******

 

'Ben: Biden's European trip will be heavy on displays of Western unity but could be light on actions to stop Putin's Ukraine war"

 

If the Donk in-house mouthpiece CNN says that....

******

 

Ben:

Have Biden-NATO shown any resourcefulness, any imagination, any capacity for warding off what now appears inevitable? 

Was essentially partitioning Ukraine to Putin---the pre-invasion Biden-NATO position---a mistake we can learn from?

*******

 

I only know what is on the internet. It appears the Russians are taking heavy losses, in equipment and people. (The thought of youthful Russian conscripts being killed or sent home without body parts is saddening also).  

I have no idea how long Putin will persist in Ukraine, which many Russians (rightly or wrongly) regard as part of Russia, and important to Russian national interests.

It appears Biden/NATO have engineered a cruel stalemate, and globalists cheer that result as a victory. 

I guess it is non-PC to even discuss or ask if there are better options on the table. 

*****

Ben:Unfortunately, even the bad guys adopt tactics to situations. 

It appears  Russians units, aware that standing in the open is dangerous, are "digging in", literally digging trenches and placing artillery and tanks behind berms etc. 

Winter is receding, so there are months of mild and even warm weather ahead. 

It may be the days of Russian troops blithely advancing and occupying are over, along with the higher death rates. Instead they will dig in and shell from safe, protected positions, and then advance when advantageous. 

Biden/NATO are flatfooted? Seems so. No new plans, no initiatives, no means to deliver some real losses to Russians. 

As they say, a stalemate.  

******

I doubt this will do any good because Ben might be the  one writer among all the writers in the world who could never get sick of reading his writing. Just our luck!

 

*

 

Why is it those who oppose a NFZ are not characterized as Putin tools, or Moscow stooges?

********

Ben: Putin says a No Fly Zone over Ukraine is a provocation. 

Some US citizens, and Biden, echo that a No Fy Zone over Ukraine is a provocation.

So...who are the Moscow stooges and Putin puppets?

 

Hell no- we won't go! Take your 60's deep state brinkmanship mentality and cram it up your ass, old man! You had your chance to be a hero!

*******

If Ukraine falls to Putin, so be it. The Biden Administration might ship small arms to Ukraine, but no jets, no big stuff. No "No Fly Zone." 

 

Matt: The only way to stop Putin would be to attack him. That's war. Nuclear war.--Matt

 

Ben:But this defeatism in your sentiments, evidently adopted by the globalist-Biden camp, gives carte blanche to the thug Putin.

 

Biden/NATO are flatfooted? Seems so. No new plans, no initiatives, no means to deliver some real losses to Russians. 

 

Biden may not be a Putin-stooge, but the results are the same.

But the US invents reasons to not enforce a No Fly Zone in Ukraine, bowing to Putin threats.

 

 

I happen to be hawkish on Ukraine, and would prefer going to No Fly Zones.

I now advocate a No Fly Zone for Ukraine, and possibly even NATO boots on the ground. 

Times change and so yes, I have moved to a more-hawkish position on Ukraine.

 

 

The West is encouraging the Ukrainians to fight, but is not providing a No Fly Zone. Not targeting Russian vessels with submarines, and still buying Russian oil.   

 

Now there is the scramble to come up a Plan B. De-escalate somehow. No Fly Zone! Open to negotiations!  I do not see how Western values will prevail if Putin takes over Ukraine.

 

If Ukraine falls to Putin, so be it. The Biden Administration might ship small arms to Ukraine, but no jets, no big stuff. No "No Fly Zone." 

 

 

[Michael Griffith]

1 hour ago, Greg Doudna said:

Michael, some of your analyses on some things strikes home, but not here. I might be in your (ultra-?) liberal category, as a Bernie Sanders Democrat, formerly Nader Green and Kucinich Democrat. RFK Jr. as "radical leftist" is a red herring since I don't think anyone has ever claimed that, but what I do believe is defensible is that RFK Jr. is true traditional moderate left in continuity with the rhetoric in his father's 1968 presidential campaign and the idealism surrounding progressive support for JFK before that. 

Specifically: willingness to confront and if necessary attack large corporations and institutionalized powers of wealth against capture of government and regulatory processes (not as in the libertarian non-sequitur as an argument for abolishing regulatory mechanisms and oversight of corporate behavior as in oligarchs' wet dreams, but for non-captured actual regulation in the public interest).

Specifically: an anti-imperialism, anti-colonial ideological stance in foreign policy.

Specifically: strong action involving the power of policies of big government toward ending poverty and blight of tens of millions at the bottom end of an unequal society.  

Specifically: no racism, no bashing of minorities, no "othering" and demonizing of minorities.

Specifically: stance favorable to labor unionization

Specifically: strong stance on civil liberties

Specifically: a politics of compassion for the left-behinds domestically and in the world. 

Specifically: regulation of "the commons" as e.g. in the matter of global warming

I have looked at RFK Jr. recently (specifically among others the Crystal Ball interview). All of the above are traditional progressive and RFK Jr. is there. 

The Democratic power-brokers should carefully consider that RFK Jr. may become the antiwar candidate, speaking of Ukraine which is becoming a Vietnam redux issue. RFK Jr. I think got it right in his Crystal Ball interview: the motive to help Ukraine against the unconscionable invasion of Putin started out right. But the continuing war is horrible in its effect on the people of Ukraine now and needs to be ended (which although he did not say so, means cutting a deal and probable partition, as less horrible than continued war).

RFK Jr.'s call for border control is a distinct issue from bashing of immigrants who come in legally or who have come in illegally in the past and should have a path to legal residency and/or citizenship. His call for border control is actually the mainstream Democratic position as well as a Republican one, despite bashing of Democrats with straw man representations otherwise--the issues concern effectiveness and competence and policies in achieving that agreed objective.

Therefore your "radical left" is a straw man, but if that is rephrased to mainstream "progressive left", RFK Jr. is there and I do not see that as a false front. He may have gotten it wrong on the science of autism and the mercury theory. But he is no alt-right conservative, no Trumper, no proto-fascist from the populist right. 

RFK Jr. is the closest thing to the 1968 RFK Sr. campaign and values on the map today as I see it. I don't know where this is going to go. The nightmare scenario, from my point of view, is a Trump presidency in 2024 in which Trump this time would get control of the executive branch which he did not last time, and an era of an American form of real fascism in full bloom.  

I come from Akron, Ohio and know people, Quakers and others, who knew Kucinich personally and long supported Kucinich in Kucinich's earlier campaigns. Now RFK Jr. has picked Kucinich to be his campaign manager, a natural alliance given the antiwar issue on the Democratic side. Of course Kucinich had problems getting votes, unlike Bernie Sanders who got lots of votes. 

I realize there is a spectre of a third-party run by RFK Jr. if he does not get the Democratic nomination which from all rational expectations is practically a certainty. And third-party runs by a "good" candidate result in electing the relatively worse of the two major-party candidates, due to the winner-take all electors' policies of 48 out of 50 of the states who have made individual state choices to run elections that way. 

Here is how I would address the third-party issue if I were part of the RFK Jr. campaign: publicly set up this policy in advance and early. If at the end of the campaign (for the Democratic nomination) RFK Jr. is behind in polling in matchups against the Republican nominee (e.g. Trump), compared to the Democratic nominee (e.g. Biden), and if RFK Jr. is behind in polling of grassroots Democrats' support for the Democratic nominee, RFK Jr. will stand down and endorse the Democratic nominee while continuing as an antiwar voice internal to the Democratic Party struggling for the soul of the Democratic Party within that Party. 

But if RFK Jr. is ahead in polling of grassroots Democrats, and ahead in matchup polls nationally in the general election against Trump, the Democratic Party should stand down its nominee and endorse RFK Jr. in the general for the presidency, for the good of America (if a Trump presidency is the alternative).

Again I do not know where this is going to go. But this is how it looks to me at this point.  

I agree with much of what you say here and appreciate your thoughtful comments.

FYI, based on your comments, I would not classify you as an ultra-liberal. Also, a person can be ultra-liberal without embracing the nutty 9/11 Truther claims, fake Moon landings, suspicious Israel bashing, etc., etc. That's why I limited my comments to the ultra-liberals "in this forum," most of whom embrace various nutty claims, at least most of the ones I've seen here.

I believe that Dennis Kucinich would be willing to speak at Hillsdale College, whereas I doubt that Bernie Sanders would. RFK Jr. not only spoke there but praised the college for its defense of freedom. In case you don't know, Hillsdale College is a very conservative private Christian college.

I dearly hope that RFK Jr.'s campaign gains traction in the Dem primary. If RFK Jr., by some miracle, were to get the Dem nomination, and if the GOP were foolish enough to renominate Trump, I'd almost certainly vote for RFK Jr. The only way I could see myself not voting for RFK Jr. in that scenario would be if he picked someone as radical and shallow as Kamala Harris as his running mate. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Michael Griffith

[James DiEugenio]

William,  I don't think this is Biden bashing.

He is quoting  a third party, not Bobby and not himself.

That editorial makes me wonder, is RFK Jr. now perceived as a serious threat?

I mean this editorial is not only endorsing him but it is blasting his critics one by one.

And it leads off with the JFK assassination!  I mean, whew.

[Pete Mellor]

3 hours ago, Michael Griffith said:

Uhhhh, the UK is an island. Right? That's a much different situation than sharing a border hundreds of miles long with another country or countries.

And are you saying that the UK has no system for entering and residing in its territory? When my wife and daughter visited the UK four years ago, it took them nearly two months and lots of paperwork to get a visa to enter the country for one week. 

Having a border that anyone can cross at will without proper authorization is like owning a house but having no control over who enters your front door and your back door and having no control over how long they stay in your house. 

Michael, I was answering a quote from Ben's original post in his thread, I quote once again here:-

"No civilized country in the world is without a strict system for entering, much less residing, within its borders without first applying for and receiving proper permission and paperwork."

My reply to that quote here:-Well then, the U.K. is completely un-civilised.

My reply is based on Home Office figures that state here in the U.K. in 2022, 45,755 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats, all without applying for and receiving proper permission and paperwork.  Yes, we may have a strict system of entry, but it is being bypassed by illegal migrants.

 

[James DiEugenio]

Can we get to the point which I tried to. state:

Is RFK Jr. gaining momentum?  And are the people who back him starting to hit back?

If that is what this indicates then he is doing better than I thought he would and the MSM's attempts to crush him are not working.

[Benjamin Cole]

This post is about a candidate, RFK Jr., who is the only real hope to open the JFK Records. We know Biden won't do it, and very strongly suspect, even if re-elected, Trump won't do it. 

I also re-posted an excellent stack column from Morley on how Trump lied about the JFK Records and will likely lie again. I do not support Trump for President. 

RFK Jr. also says the CIA had a role in the JFKA. That is germane to the EF-JFKA and again he is only the candidate speaking so bluntly. You won't hear that from Biden or DeSantis. 

Some ardent partisans regard every post, probably every conversation, through red/blue kool-aid pissing war lenses.  

I support RFK Jr. for President, as he will open up the JFK Records. I also support him for his blunt conversation on the role of the CIA in the JFKA, and their role in global politics. 

I am somewhat taken aback by the cool reception afforded RFK Jr. in the EF-JFKA. Really, does nothing trump partisan dogma? 

[Michael Griffith]

13 hours ago, Benjamin Cole said:

 

Some ardent partisans regard every post, probably every conversation, through red/blue kool-aid pissing war lenses.  

Exactly. Many of them seem to care more about their partisan politics than about the JFK case.

I am somewhat taken aback by the cool reception afforded RFK Jr. in the EF-JFKA.

Let's hope that changes if his poll numbers become serious, i.e., if he starts polling at over 30%. Right now, he seems to have maxed out at 21%. 

[Benjamin Cole]

 

It is hard to imagine RFK Jr. losing to Joe Biden in any fair fight. The JFK Records get opened up? 

Maybe Biden plans to dump Harris, to run on a Biden-Feinstein ticket. 

My layman's opinion is RFK Jr. would beat the odious Trump too. 

[Joe Bauer]

My own predictions:

Biden will not be the 2024 Democratic candidate.

He is getting through this term remarkably well considering his age but anyone who has viewed his public appearances and speeches has seen how slow he is and with scary stops in his verbal and even walking pacing.

Slow to the point that you sense a cognitive brain freeze or misstep falling at any moment.

One's gut feeling is that he could not take the rigors of another major media campaign on top of his already demanding job and schedule.

I am amazed at his ability to actually make some wonderful speeches up to now. Even inspiring. There are flashes of his old sparky self.

But there is still another year and a half to go to Nov.2024.

I also don't believe Robert Kennedy Jr. will be the candidate.

In just one area alone he will be brought down before he gets any traction. You don't accuse one of our sacred cow agencies of killing their own president and get away with that kind of charge.

I am sure many here remember the Democratic Primary debates of 2008.

Moderator Tim Russert started off that debate with this question to Dennis Kucinich:

Russert pressed Kucinich about whether Shirley MacLaine’s claims in an upcoming book were true, Kucinich ( caught off guard and embarrassed ) confessed the sin of having seen a UFO.

The audience laughed.

From that second on Kucinich was ruined as a viable candidate.

How Russert got away with that reputation ruining crazy UFO person question to Kucinich to start off that debate sickened me.

Kucinich should have blasted Russert for proposing such a silly, irresponsible question to him in a presidential debate like he did. If an audience member had submitted such a question to the moderators to ask, they would have tossed it in the trash.

I mention that primary debate historical event to propose I believe the same would happen to Robert Kennedy Jr. regards his public statements of CIA involvement in his Uncle's death. And also RFK Jr's past comments about Sirhan Sirhan.

The Dems will come up with a whole new slate.

An outsider. Maybe California Governer Gavin Newsom.

There's a lot of money behind Newsom. Read his Bio. The Getty family of San Francisco has sponsored him since early on. He is very articulate. A very good speaker. A younger fresh face. Attractive as well.

He would beat DeSantis.

Trump knows he'll never be the candidate. Too much criminal investigation and indictments. He is now known for this more than any other thing.

He is a center of attention craving addict.

He'd resort to NYC subway station nut case yelling if he thought it would get him more press.

The nation is exhausted with his 6 years of angry, insulting ranting, posturing, gas lighting.

America doesn't have another year and a half left in them to keep listening to "The Election was Rigged!" Trump.

And what's the deal with Diane Feinstein?

Anyone can see she can't do the job. Even in a rest home she would be in the highest incapacitated category of patients. 

Must be some very powerful people in her priority agenda world who are keeping her in there...imo anyways.

 

 

 

Edited May 29, 2023 by Joe Bauer