The JFK Assassination Records Act Discussion

[Mike Aitken]

13 hours ago, Benjamin Cole said:

The pinned JFK Records Act thread has devolved into Water Cooler sniping, so let's try a fresh thread. 

1. There are many within the D-Party establishment calling for Biden to step down. Maybe he will. Or, sadly, maybe Biden will become incapacitated. Happens to us all. 

2. Kamala Harris is the Vice-President, relatively young, and the legal and constitutionally designated successor to an incapacitated President.  

3. The Biden Administration, according to legal scholars and lawyers from the Mary Ferrell Foundation, is engaging in an illegal snuff job on the JFK Records Act. To the layman it certainly seems the spirit of the JFK Records Act has been undermined by rank chicanery.  

4. So, should Biden become incapacitated, and is replaced by President Harris...is there a chance President Harris would change administration policies regarding the JFK Act?

I have no feel for this. Harris not Biden, but she is also something of a non-entity. A curiosity of the current hub-bub about Biden's mental capacities is that no one---no one even in the vast Donk blabber-sphere---is touting Harris as a ready replacement for Biden. 

Will Harris also tumble, should the D-Party stage a intra-party coup, and throw Biden under the bus? Seems likely. 

---30---

There is a strange parallel in the Nixon story to the Harris situation.  Way back when, it was more or less decided by the powers-that-be in DC that Nixon was going to vacation in San Clemente for good. But...Spiro Agnew was the vice president. Oooof. 

In that long ago time (1973), Spiro Agnew was chased out of office on aging Maryland corruption charges, and then WC'er Gerald Ford was installed into the White House, via the Vice Presidency.

Will we see Harris removed from office soon? Who knows? If you do see that, then Biden will tumble next. 

What will that mean for the JFK Records Act? I don't know, but this is a topic very much worth following. 

 

 

 

 

 

As attorney general of California, Harris opposed the appeal by Sirhan Sirhan for parole, so I wouldn’t imagine it would be any different with the JFKA records.

 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rfk-sirhan_b_1251410/amp

 

“On February 1, 2012, California Attorney General Kamala Harris officially recommended that the latest appeal of Sirhan Sirhan, convicted in the 1968 murder of Senator Robert Kennedy, should be denied.”

[Cliff Varnell]

3 hours ago, Kirk Gallaway said:

Again Cliff, yes the stakes are high!

Higher by orders of magnitude compared to 28 hours ago.

3 hours ago, Kirk Gallaway said:

Does that make it inevitable that the American voter will wake up to that fact?

Trump acts like he's already won and he's laying out his second term agenda -- "televised military tribunals."

We need to help him spread the word.

3 hours ago, Kirk Gallaway said:

of course a big question is who wouldl replace Biden?

Biden caught a cold and liberal pundits wet the bed.

[W. Niederhut]

28 minutes ago, Cliff Varnell said:

Higher by orders of magnitude compared to 28 hours ago.

Trump acts like he's already won and he's laying out his second term agenda -- "televised military tribunals."

We need to help him spread the word.

Biden caught a cold and liberal pundits wet the bed.

They aren't merely "pundits," Cliff.

They are the leading liberal intellectuals in the U.S.-- e.g., Krugman, Kristof, Norman Soloman, et.al.

Needless to say, any Democrat would be a vastly superior choice for 2025 than the Orange Psychopath-- the worst POTUS in American history, by scholarly consensus.  But a second Biden inauguration could play out like Weekend At Bernie's.

And, now that the Koch/Federalist Society SCOTUS has hijacked the U.S. government and blocked Trump's prosecutions, our democracy is hanging by a thread.

Arguing obsessively about the JFK records in July of 2024 is a bit like fretting about a piece of burned toast while the entire house is burning down.

The JFK records are important, but America's house is currently on fire.

Edited July 2 by W. Niederhut

[Cliff Varnell]

42 minutes ago, W. Niederhut said:

They aren't merely "pundits," Cliff.

They are the leading liberal intellectuals in the U.S.-- e.g., Krugman, Kristof, Norman Soloman, et.al.

Needless to say, any Democrat would be a vastly superior choice for 2025 than the Orange Psychopath-- the worst POTUS in American history, by scholarly consensus.  But a second Biden inauguration could play out like Weekend At Bernie's.

Is Biden going to catch a cold again?  He gave a rousing speech in North Carolina the next day, and a strong denunciation of the immunity ruling yesterday.  He raised $33 million within 48 hours of the debate.  An aggregate of post-debate polling shows a 2% drop -- hardly a collapse. 

Four factors in Biden's favor:  abortion on the ballot in Nevada, Florida and probably Arizona; the GOP get-out-the-vote effort is led by rank amateurs, Lara Trump and Charlie Kirk; Biden's masterful intrusion into the global oil market should result in significant price drops at the pump this fall; Trump will become even more unhinged as he tastes victory.

42 minutes ago, W. Niederhut said:

And, now that the Koch/Federalist Society SCOTUS has hijacked the U.S. government and blocked Trump's prosecutions, our democracy is hanging by a thread.

And the last thing we need is a Democratic Party squabbling over another nominee over the next two months.

42 minutes ago, W. Niederhut said:

Arguing obsessively about the JFK records in July of 2024 is a bit like fretting about a piece of burned toast while the entire house is burning down.

The JFK records are important, but America's house is currently on fire.

Spread the word, my brother!

Edited July 2 by Cliff Varnell

[Cliff Varnell]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/one-three-democrats-think-biden-should-quit-race-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2024-07-02/

WASHINGTON, July 2 (Reuters) - One in three Democrats think U.S. President Joe Biden should end his reelection bid following last week's debate against Republican Donald Trump, but no prominent elected Democrat does any better than Biden in a hypothetical matchup against Trump, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Tuesday.

 

The two-day poll found that both Trump, 78, and Biden, 81, maintain the support of 40% of registered voters, suggesting that Biden has not lost ground since the debate. Election Day is Nov. 5. 

</q>

 

An earlier poll showed 45% of Democrats thought Biden should drop out.

 

The post-debate backlash against Biden appears to be fading.

[Cliff Varnell]

16 hours ago, Benjamin Cole said:

The pinned JFK Records Act thread has devolved into Water Cooler sniping, so let's try a fresh thread. 

For someone who self-righteously decries any partisan framing of the JFK Records Act, Ben Cole sure seems fond of politicizing the JFK Records Act.

[Kirk Gallaway]

3 hours ago, Mike Aitken said:

As attorney general of California, Harris opposed the appeal by Sirhan Sirhan for parole, so I wouldn’t imagine it would be any different with the JFKA records.

 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rfk-sirhan_b_1251410/amp

 

“On February 1, 2012, California Attorney General Kamala Harris officially recommended that the latest appeal of Sirhan Sirhan, convicted in the 1968 murder of Senator Robert Kennedy, should be denied.”

Yeah, Mike but guess what? No politician cares to do that.

There's absolutely no pressure to. Gain 1% from  the conspiracy crowd to upset 10% of the law and order crowd?

It's that simple, it's not in the top 40 of any politician priorities. It's not even as politically actionable as the "Q" in the LGBTQ.

I don't particularly like her, and she hasn't done much to make her stand out. But that's kind of the job.!

Biden's going on with George Stephanopoulos this Friday, maybe to watch on Sunday.

Interesting, Steve Banon  curses that Trump accepted an early debate, because now they could  switch candidates.  I thought it was another horrible miscalculation by Biden, (as well as turning the mics off.) that I was sorry to see, but I'm  now grateful for.  Was it more Hubris?  This left 7 weeks before the convention!

 Imagine Biden failing so miserably in October! We'd probably be dead!

 

 

[Matt Allison]

6 hours ago, Mike Aitken said:

As attorney general of California, Harris opposed the appeal by Sirhan Sirhan for parole

So did Gavin Newsom.

And the Kennedy family.

[Matt Allison]

 

Btw, if any of you are feeling a sense of deja vu, it's because you are...

 

[Bill Fite]

13 hours ago, Matt Allison said:

Btw, if any of you are feeling a sense of deja vu

I am.   I wanted Hillary to step down or the Democratic Party to nominate someone else at the convention.

I was sure Hillary would lose to Trump and disaster would ensue.  

 

[Kirk Gallaway]

13 hours ago, Matt Allison said:

So did Gavin Newsom.

And the Kennedy family.

I agree Matt, Kamala Harris, Newsome, weren't even born. Talbot credits himself as first informing RK, as he had never even seriously looked into the JFKA  or his Father's death  himself until he was 50!

All these people are polarized to career achievement. They don't look back!

As far as Biden's excuse about recent travel. It's true as you get older, extensive travel does take a toll on you. But Joe isn't scrunching his knees, packed like a sardine in coach like we are. He's in Air Force One and can nap any time he wants to.

My guess is we're already giving up a lot of campaigning time to Trump, whose robust, but a burnout who someday will probably just drop dead, and probably would have if he caught Covid at Mar Lago and wasn't President!  Still I think Biden caught a huge break in 2020 because of Covid. Will he really be able to go from Grand Rapids to Lansing to Ann Arbor in a typical  day? And then keep doing it?

To Biden's credit, he seems open to the idea that he's going to have to prove he has the vitality, acuity and communicative skills to continue.  He may do well, but I don't expect agreement, and it doesn't address his stamina and his ability to perform over the next few months.   JMO

[Joe Bauer]

17 hours ago, Kirk Gallaway said:

Yeah, Mike but guess what? No politician cares to do that.

There's absolutely no pressure to. Gain 1% from  the conspiracy crowd to upset 10% of the law and order crowd?

It's that simple, it's not in the top 40 of any politician priorities. It's not even as politically actionable as the "Q" in the LGBTQ.

I don't particularly like her, and she hasn't done much to make her stand out. But that's kind of the job.!

Biden's going on with George Stephanopoulos this Friday, maybe to watch on Sunday.

Interesting, Steve Banon  curses that Trump accepted an early debate, because now they could  switch candidates.  I thought it was another horrible miscalculation by Biden, (as well as turning the mics off.) that I was sorry to see, but I'm  now grateful for.  Was it more Hubris?  This left 7 weeks before the convention!

 Imagine Biden failing so miserably in October! We'd probably be dead!

 

 

Kirk Galloway: "There's absolutely no pressure to. Gain 1% from the conspiracy crowd to upset 10% of the law and order crowd?" 

Exactly.

Surely the biggest behind the scenes promoters of Harris as Biden's replacement are Biden himself and his family, the high level financial and political groups and individuals who are benefiting the most under Biden/Harris and the hundreds of Biden/Harris appointees that are there because of them and don't want to lose the best jobs they have ever had in their lives. If Harris is the candidate and she wins, they keep those jobs.

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times described the last group as opportunists.

The push for Harris is instantly big time.

I think us 77 million Democrats deserve to not have Biden's replacement chosen for us.

I like other potential candidates more myself.

Whitmer.

Newsome.

Beto O'Rourke.

I have always liked Elizabeth Warren. Still do.

She and Bernie Sanders were neutralized in the 2020 primaries after they had surpassed Biden in the polls ( especially during and after the primary debates - where Biden was looking and speaking weakly even back then ) by the mind boggling record amount one BILLION dollar expense, 2 month only long late entry of Michael Bloomberg ( who was quoted telling his Goldman Sachs people that Warren and Sanders were more a threat than Donald Trump ) and who took 10% of the following primary votes ( away from Warren and Sanders ) after he joined the race and as well by secret deals with state parties made to back Biden just before Super Tuesday if Biden promised to choose a black woman as his VP ( Harris ) which he did.

Lots of secret agenda and big money Machiavellian shenanigans behind the scenes to neutralize the primary polls leading Warren and Sanders and get Biden as the candidate.

It seems to me that Michael Bloomberg more than any one individual got Biden in the presidency.

Again, his and the rest of Wall Street hierarchy's greatest fear was a Warren or Sanders candidacy.

Both Warren and Sanders were going to crack down on Wall Street and it's self- regulated gold mine. 

Reminds one of JFK's threat to the richest men on Earth ( Texas oil barons ) with his proposal to get rid of the Oil Depletion Allowance which made them even wealthier.

No way was Kennedy going to be allowed to push that plan through.

[Kirk Gallaway]

I agree Joe, I don't want Harris pushed down my throat.

In this article by Pollster Nate Silver, founder of 538.  Biden polls behind the current Dem Senator in all the major battleground states.

-In 46 of the 47 polls, the Democratic Senate candidate polled better than Mr. Biden.

-None of the 47 polls — not a single one of them — showed the Democratic candidate trailing in the Senate race, though two showed a tie.*

So he's a hindrance to their campaigns. The Dems need to hold on to the Senate and hopefully gain control of the House and Biden currently stands in the way.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/03/opinion/biden-democrats-senate-polls.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20240703&instance_id=127837&nl=the-morning&regi_id=61798350&segment_id=171199&te=1&user_id=48552702f942aacb0810b9de5ca41c55

 

*So we're to assume  all 6 of these battleground  state Senate races are up for grabs. Hmmm

[W. Niederhut]

1 hour ago, Kirk Gallaway said:

I agree Joe, I don't want Harris pushed down my throat.

In this article by Pollster Nate Silver, founder of 538.  Biden polls behind the current Dem Senator in all the major battleground states.

-In 46 of the 47 polls, the Democratic Senate candidate polled better than Mr. Biden.

-None of the 47 polls — not a single one of them — showed the Democratic candidate trailing in the Senate race, though two showed a tie.*

So he's a hindrance to their campaigns. The Dems need to hold on to the Senate and hopefully gain control of the House and Biden currently stands in the way.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/03/opinion/biden-democrats-senate-polls.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20240703&instance_id=127837&nl=the-morning&regi_id=61798350&segment_id=171199&te=1&user_id=48552702f942aacb0810b9de5ca41c55

 

*So we're to assume  all 6 of these battleground  state Senate races are up for grabs. Hmmm

Kirk,

    This Slate article today references Open Labs polling data showing that Newsom, Harris, Buttigieg, and Whitmer are all out-polling Biden v. Trump in multiple swing states.

Joe Biden withdrawal: Why Democrats should have an open convention. (slate.com)

     And Joe Bauer hit the nail on the head (above.)

     There should be a democratic process for picking the nominee-- as opposed to Biden and "the Party" choosing the Democratic nominee for us.    

     The current Democrat who reminds me the most of Jack Kennedy is Pete Buttigieg, but I don't know how well Buttigieg would fare with American homophobes in November.

    

[Matt Allison]

4 hours ago, Bill Fite said:

I wanted Hillary to step down or the Democratic Party to nominate someone else at the convention.

Do you think that kind of circus, "we're not organized or united" type of behavior inspires confidence among swing voters? Undecideds and conservatives looking for a reason to vote Dem? IMO it does not.

The collage of the BS headlines from 2016 about Hillary is meant to show you can't always trust the media's motives.

Hillary's health was and is perfectly fine, and the only thing that bedwetting accomplished was to hurt her candidacy.