Comments on: Here And Now

By: gecannonphd

gecannonphd — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 16:47:00 +0000

And with Kerry Kennedy in the news, it is proper to look at some recent history.
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In a new book, The Obamians: The Struggle Inside the White House to Redefine American Power, author James Mann discusses a possible scenario for Obama choosing Hillary as Sec. of State.

He suggests that Obama wanted to remove Hillary from the Senate, where she could have developed into a major opposition power to the White House, a la Sen. RFK to POTUS LBJ.

In analysing Obama’s thinking on appointing Hillary, Mann delicately uses LBJ’s description of keeping J.Edgar Hoover on as FBI dictator: “It’s better to have him inside the tent pissing out, rather than outside pissing in.”

LBJ had to keep Hoover as FBI chief because Edgar was the blackmailer par excellence.
Hoover, and his fellow tyrant Clyde Tolson, were rightwing tyrants,quasi-fascists, blackmailers, crooks to name just a few choice adjectives, nouns and verbs.

Hoover and Tolson were dangerous twits that campaigned for close to 40 years to destroy the American liberal,progressive movements.

Ideally, Hoover’s name should be removed from the DC FBI building, but it will not happen. There was a vote on this some years ago, but Congress had to stomach to do the right thing.

To get some background on the Hoover/Tolson tyranny, a good read is Darwin Porter’s J. Edgar Hoover and Clyde Tolson: Investigating the Sexual Secrets of America’s Most Famous Men and Women,

This book is a fast read; and will easily make you ill as you see how these two tyrants ruled the land for decades; and worked to tilt the US to an extreme rightwing position.

By: gecannonphd

gecannonphd — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 16:30:00 +0000

After pleading not guilty to a drugged driving charge, Kerry Kennedy said she has “never had any history of drugs or alcohol abuse” and blamed her erratic behavior on a possible partial seizure
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And the media should leave her alone.
She has made significant contributions to public life in her role as RFK Human Rights director.

By: gecannonphd

gecannonphd — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 16:27:00 +0000

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned of dire economic consequences if Congress lets the country drive off the so-called “fiscal cliff” in January. (WP)************Our senior Senator Charles Schumer told Fed. Chair Bernanke to “get to work” in getting the stagnant US economy moving.
LOL.I’m on the floor, curled up in spasms of guffaws.I feel like Jack Benny, who would collapse to the floor in laughter when his close friend George Burns cracked a funny.
Bernanke is the charisma-challenged banker, the powerful, bright, incruitable buttoned-down CPA in charge of the central bank.
Schumer is a major player in the Senate. He knows how this conservative Senate bureaucracy works (or more accurately, doesn’t work).He told Bernanke that expecting the DC political elite to break the partisan gridlock before Jan. 1 is a pipe dream. It would happen when pigs fly, so to speak.
The gridlock includes the expiring Bush 2 tax cuts; the increase in the debt ceiling; the huge budget cuts that will kick in by next year; and entitlement reform.
Nothing will happen before Jan; and even then it may still be a deadlock.
Dressed in his conservative black suit, Bernanke told the politicos that the Fed. will be watching the economy carefully. But he also implied that the Feds .monetary toolbox is empty.
It’s enough to support Ron Paul’s call to eliminate the Fed .entirely.
Schumer could have mentioned the still existing, on the books, Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment law, which requires serious steps when unemployment goes over 5%.Humphrey was of course Hubert H. Humphrey, the happy liberal warrior. What has happened to happy liberal warriors?
There is another idea floating out there.It would have the Fed .issue a $2000 debit card LOAN to all adults, which would have to be spent within say 60-90 days. This would be a super stimulus, costing perhaps an initial $400 billion; and wouldn’t need Congressional approval. And the loans would have to be paid back, slowly , to the Fed
If Schumer had suggested either of the above options, like Jack Benny, Bernanke would likely have collapsed to the floor in spasms of laughter.