Who Killed the Kennedys?

The night Barack Obama was elected president, people danced in the streets of New York. Our man had beaten the GOP. I looked into the eyes of a man my age and we started crying, not out of joy, but in relief of having endured the lost years since November 22 1963.

Obama was one of us. He took office two months later. The presidential limousine drove him from the inauguration stage to a series of parties. Thousands of supporters glad-handed their president and at the end of the festivities Barack Obama found himself in the White House.

He had it all.

The Oval Office.

The Red Phone to Moscow.

The Briefcase.

They were his along with two wars in Asia and a shattered economy by billionaire tax breaks.

That evening he must have looked at his wife and said, “What now?”

If I was Michelle, I would have said, “What about the Kennedys?”

"What do you mean?"

"Who killed the Kennedys?"

"That's a dangerous question." And he dropped the subject.

The President had eleven years of access to the deep, dark secrets buried by various agencies; Roswell, Martin Luther King, Pearl Harbor et al. We had too many questions, yet nothing new came to light during his administration and considering the body count for asking the wrong questions, I can appreciate his patience.

It takes time to unbury the truth and even fifty years after the fact and it doesn't look like Obama is going to get it for us either before his access is gone.

So who killed the Kennedys?

Someone knows, but they ain't saying, but according to the Rolling Stoners, "It was you and me."

Oi Vey Hanukkah

For centuries Hanukkah has traditionally celebrated the victory of the Maccabees over the Alexandrine Empire, although the real battle was between the orthodox Maccabees and the secular Jews favoring the social liberalism of the Greeks. The latter were the losers and the former rededicated the Temple by lighting the eternal flame. Miraculously the oil burned eight days, instead of the expected one day, and menorah candles are a lasting reminder of that victory for the the forces of conservatism

This rite born out of conflict remains a contentious holiday.

My Jewish friends fight with their family throughout the eight days of Hanukkah. They curse those members who don't give gifts and old ills are brought up at the festive tables like the ghosts of Scroogestein.

After eight years of Obama the far right galvanized the religious fundamentalists to accept Donald Trump as the Orange Jesus. They ignored his affairs, piss perversity, financial corruption , and bald-faced treason, and so many sins, since he backed the Zionist State of Israel to the hilt with the blessing of the Hassidim. The goy celebrated Hanukkah, serving tref from McDonalds. And no one cared, since Trump pledged his support to our influential ally in the Mideast.

Go Zionist death squads.

Get revenge on the Palestinians, even though no one of them or their brethren had operated the ovens at Dachau, unlike the Sonder Commando burning their kindred souls.

Kill all the Palestinians on Hanukkah to bring back the Messiah.

What a Hanukkah Cabal.

Who Killed the Kennedys?

The night Barack Obama was elected president, people danced in the streets of New York. Our man had beaten the GOP. I looked into the eyes of a man my age and we started crying, not out of joy, but in relief of having endured the lost years since November 22 1963.

Obama was one of us. He took office two months later. The presidential limousine drove him from the inauguration stage to a series of parties. Thousands of supporters glad-handed their president and at the end of the festivities Barack Obama found himself in the White House.

He had it all.

The Oval Office.

The Red Phone to Moscow.

The Briefcase.

They were his along with two wars and a shattered economy.

That evening he must have looked at his wife and said, “What now?”

If I was Michelle, I would have said, “What about the Kennedys?”

"What do you mean?"

"Who killed the Kennedys?"

"That's a dangerous question." And he dropped the subject.

The President has had eleven years of access to the deep, dark secrets buried by various agencies; Roswell, Martin Luther King, Pearl Harbor et al. We have too many questions, yet nothing new has come to light during his administration and considering the body count for asking the wrong questions, I can appreciate his patience.

It takes time to unbury the truth and even fifty years after the fact and it doesn't look like Obama is going to get it for us either before his access is gone.

So who killed the Kennedys?

Someone knows, but they ain't saying.

An American Tradition

After 9/11 the GW Bush administration declared war on Al-Qaada. The Pentagon aided Afghanistan's Northern Alliance in ousting the Taliban from the cities. The foreign mujaddin warriors attempted to flee the country, but hundreds were captured by the US-supported warlords and sent to Fort Qala-i-Jangi for questioning. These prisoners were immediately subjected to torture by the CIA under direct orders from the American government.

Faced with death from vengeful Americans the jihadist seized their guards' weapons and attacked the temporary torture center, killing a CIA interrogator attached to that agency's Special Activities Division. After a vicious battle to retake the fortress over 400 of the foreign fighters were killed by bombs, fire, bullets. Amongst the 87 survivors was an American, John Walker Lindh, who had been fighting with the Taliban against the Northern Alliance.

Faced with a fanatical opponent spanning the globe the US government under Bush opened clandestine torture camps in numerous countries one being Thailand, where the 'enhanced interrogation techniques' were practiced at the Voice of America relay station in Udon Thani. All This prime ministers have denied existence of this safe house, where prisoners "were thrown against fake walls, forced into stressful physical functions, involuntarily stripped naked and slapped." according the Bangkok Post.

The Geneva Convention states in articles 2 and 4 that No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat or war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.

And secondly each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offenses under its criminal law. The same shall apply to an attempt to commit torture and to an act by any person which constitutes complicity or participation in torture.

Americans were rightly angered after 9/11 and as a nation wanted blood for blood.

The Thais turned a blind eye to the operations at the black sites.

Waterboarding was legally green lighted by Bush's lawyer John Yoo.

Abu Zubaydah and And al-Rahim al-Nashiri were subjected to the modern adaptation of the Spanish Inquisition's water torture scores of times, despite protests from the FBI.

All records of these sessions were destroyed at the end of the Bush regime.

President Obama condemned the practice and banned water boarding after his election, however the Defense Department refuses to say whether they are adhering to the ban and his CIA director appointment of chief torturer John Brennan has raised concerns within the Senate about ongoing black sites under CIA or Defense Department jurisdiction.

"In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, we did some things that were wrong. We did a whole lot of things that were right, but we tortured some folks. We did things that were contrary to our values," said President Obama and those two words 'some people' is entirely inaccurate.

The USA tortured thousands of Iraqi, Afghanis, and anyone caught in the War of Terror.

Most without any concrete evidence as to their guilt other than confessions exacted under pain and duress.

I hope those safe houses in Thailand are closed, but no one is admitted on the premises, so it would be safe to surmise they are open for business of torture.

I googled the name of the military coup leader and CIA torture camps and was informed that those items matched no news items.

Secrets are best kept a secret, when no one tells them.

Foto is of the Chinese Water Torture from Sing Sing Prison in New York.

Torture.

The American tradition.

GOP Shutdown

The GOP's hard-right members have refused to relent on their demand that Obamacare be delayed for one year or else they will not approve a budget to finance the government. House Speaker John A. Boehner has attempted to reason with the Tea Party representative, whose leaders are adamant on their stance against any form of public health care, which they consider a step toward socialism. As reported in the New York Times President Obama said Saturday: “Republicans in the House have been more concerned with appeasing an extreme faction of their party than working to pass a budget that creates new jobs or strengthens the middle class. And in the next couple days, these Republicans will have to decide whether to join the Senate and keep the government open, or create a crisis that will hurt people for the sole purpose of advancing their ideological agenda. The American people have worked too hard to recover from crisis to see extremists in their Congress cause another one.” Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers retorted, “The president is now demanding that we increase the debt limit without engaging in any kind of bipartisan discussions about addressing our spending problem,” she said. “He wants to take the easy way out — exactly the kind of foolishness that got us here in the first place.” The government has been shut down seventeen times and here are those occasions; Shutdown #1: Sept. 30 to Oct. 11, 1976 when Gerald Ford vetoed a funding bill for the Departments of Labor and Health, Education, and Welfare in order to stop spending. Shutdown #2: Sept. 30 to Oct. 13, 1977 was against abortion, although more about funding for Labor and HEW. Shutdown #3: Oct. 31 to Nov. 9, 1977 was another dogfight about abortion. Shutdown #4: Nov. 30 to Dec. 9, 1977 was the GOP refusing to fund Medicaid payment for abortion of rape victims. Obviously there's a trend here. Shutdown #5: Sept. 30 to Oct.18, 1978 Carter regarded funding for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier as wasteful along with more pork to Congress. Shutdown #6: Sept. 30 to Oct. 12, 1979 Carter fought against a pay raise for Congress, while the GOP wanted to cut funding to abortion. How long did it last? 11 days Shutdown #7: Nov. 20-23, 1981 reagan refused to approve any budget that didn't include his wish for $8.4 Billion. Shutdown #8: Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, 1982 Congress forgot to fund the government. Opps. Shutdown #9: Dec.17-21, 1982 Jobs were cut to finance nuclear missiles. Shutdown #10: Nov. 10-14, 1983 Reagan wanted money for Israel. The Democrats wanted money for schooling. Guess who won? Shutdown #11: Sept. 30 to Oct. 3, 1984 Crime versus college funding. Police won and black students lose under Reagan and every other president. Shutdown #12: Oct. 3-5, 1984 Reagan wanted it his way or no way, especially if the case of money for the anti-Sandinista forces fighting an illegal war in Nicaragua Shutdown #13: Oct. 16-18, 1986 Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill of the Democrats faced off over Big Oil versus education. Once more Big Oil won. Shutdown #14: Dec. 18-20, 1987 More money for the Contras who shipped cocaine to America which was then processed into crack. Thank you very much, Mr. Reagan. Shutdown #15: Oct. 5-9, 1990 Daddy Bush wanted to cut the deficit. No one thought about shutdown of the Pentagon. Shutdown #16: Nov. 13-19, 1995 Clinton versus Ginrich. The GOP wanted to cut health benefits to the people in order to give tax cuts to the rich ie the trickle-down effect. Shutdown #17: Clinton v. Gingrich Part II Dec. 5, 1995 to Jan. 6, 1996 The GOP wanted to cut more money from social services. Same as now. Fuck the GOP. They suck. But not the Beach Boys' song SHUTDOWN. To hear the live version please go to this URL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxXWjR6q5u4

Beautiful Weekend

The sun is shining on Fort Greene. The sidewalks are crowded with young people. The bars are serving drinks to football fans. There is not a cloud in the sky. New York is at peace. Syria is at war. cnn.news headlined 'Men sprawled on a tile floor, shirtless and convulsing. Children, too, seemingly unable to control their flailing. These are the images Obama has shown some senators in closed-door briefings.' Having been burned by GW Bush's WMD and two long brutal wars Americans are as desirous of isolation as a Trappist monk. Silence. The Huffington Post reported that 'a decent society would put people to work -- even if this required more government spending on roads, bridges, ports, pipelines, parks and schools....yet while attention is focused on Syria, food stamps for the nation's poor are being cut. House Republicans would eliminate food stamps for more than 800,000 Americans who now receive them but still do not get enough to eat or have only a barely adequate diet.' This is all true. The Atlantic published a badly-written article on Arab thinktanker William Polk's view on the civil war. The venerated politician cast doubt over blame for the gas attacks and asserted that the insurgents are corrupted by Al-Qaada, echoing the opinions of naysayers in the Land of the Free. No one wants another war. Not me and neither do most generals in the Pentagon, because the military's fragility matches that of the USSR after Afghanistan. Mutiny. Defeat. Dissolution. And then Putin, but no one can believe the truth, until they are ready to reject their belief in lies. And the truth is more obvious than a dog's balls. Someone bombed Syrians' with gas. My money is on Assad. Why? Once scum, always scum. FREE SYRIA, FREE PALESTINE, FREE THE WORLD

Heads Or Tails

Koln was devastated in World War II. The US Army Air Force stated that the bombardiers avoided hitting the famous medieval cathedral. In truth they used the stone church for a point of reference and the cathedral was struck on many occasions. The massive structure only remained standing thanks to the workmanship of Middle Age masons. Since WWII America has sought to resolve conflict with bombing. Korea, Viet-Nam, the shock and awe in Iraq, and now President Obama is proposing a bombing campaign against Syria's dictatorial regime in revenge for its use of Sarin gas on its people. The UK PM was rebuffed by Parliament on any participation in this 'humanatarian' mission and now America stands with France in sharing the desire to get involved in yet another overseas war. My opinion is to wait it out. Assad's troops are at the end of their tether. But the hawks want to strike out at an enemy, even though Assad helped the CIA rendition hundreds of torture victims throughout the War on Terror. But no one is talking about that now. Only war.

A Wanted Man

George W. Bush cancelled a planned trip to address the United Israel Appeal in Switzerland in response to requests for his arrest on charges of torture. Amnesty International's Secretary General stated, “To date, we’ve seen a handful of military investigations into detentions and interrogations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo. But none of these has had the independence and reach necessary to investigate high-level officials such as President Bush. Meanwhile, there has been virtually zero accountability for crimes committed in the CIA’s secret detention program, which was authorized by then-President Bush.” 147 nations condemn torture around the globe. The USA is not one of them. But none of them have bothered to arrest Obama or Tony Blair or Henry Kissinger as a war criminal either. Hypocrites.

An Apathetic Apocalypse

Two years the GOP forced the White House to accept a $85 billion sequester from the US federal budget. Barack Obama has attempted many compromises with the Republican austerity hawks. The countdown ticked to zero at midnight. The forced cuts will swiftly effect the US economy, especially the military. The newly appointed Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warned, "Let me make it clear that this uncertainty puts at risk our ability to effectively fulfil all of our missions." And the Pentagon had many missions across the globe after ten years of the War on Terror. While I haven't heard a single New Yorker talking about the cuts, the right-wing pollster Gallup reported that the president's approval rating has slipped to 45%. Their election prediction had Romney a winner with 49% of the vote, but Gallup's errors and public ignorance doesn't minimize the sequester's danger to the nation. The Speaker of the House and his compatriots refused to discuss any increases in taxes. They prefer a doomsday scenario, but this is not the end of the world. I looked out the windows of the Fort Greene Observatory. Lights marked the Brooklyn Skyline, Duke outlasted Miami in an ACC basketball showdown, and I have a cold beer in the fridge. Skyward a few stars shine in the night sky. They care nothing at all and neither do most Americans, for apathy is the only freedom left when all freedoms are gone.

Drone Sweet Drone

General Curtis Le May defended his indiscriminate bombing of German and Japanese civilians by saying, "If you kill enough of them, they stop fighting." The much-decorated Air Force general proposed bombing the Vietnamese into 'the Stone Age'. Presidents Johnson and Nixon bought his high horizon thought. And Nixon actually thought that the 1972 Christmas Bombing campaign had forced Hanoi to the point of surrender. 1975 proved him wrong and the same is true for Barack Obama with his continued advocacy of drone missile attacks in the recent State of the Union Speech. I voted for him this election, but I will never approved the indiscriminate killing of civilians. Not in Afghanistan and not in Pakistan. It is wrong. Always. Fuck Obama. He is one of them.

All Inclusive

In his 2008 inaugeral speech Barack Obama declared that the USA was a country of Christians, Jews, Muslims, and non-believers. "Non-believers." I hadn't ever heard anyone mention 'non-believers' without adding 'hang em' and for the first time in my life since renouncing the God of my ancestors I realized that I was part of the mix of this great country. Today Obama righted another inequity by announcing from the steps of the Capitol, "We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall." Stonewall? The first rebellion of gays against the repression of the straights. Squares throughout America asked themselves, "Did he say Stonewall?" They didn't have a chance to get an answer, because the President upped the ante by saying, "It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law, for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well." The Tea Partyers asked themselves, "Did he say 'gay'?" And the answer is yes, because we are America. All of us together. E pluribus unem.

Gaza Versis Goliath

The Old Testament has great plots; Adam and Eve, Moses freeing his people, and the classic David versus Goliath. Israel has touted their relationship to the young shepherd downing the giant throughout the wars against their neighbors without ever mentioning the help of the West. They were never really alone, but few Arab states have openly supported the PLO or Hamas on a military basis in fear of earning the wrath of the Big Dog of the USA. The most recent escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip has resulted in over a hundred dead on both sides, although the Palestinians are taking a beating from their arch-nemesis. Low-tech rockets in one direction and top of the line bombs and missiles in the other. Egypt has offered terms for a ceasefire. Israel demands no hostile fire from Gaza and an end of arms shipments to Hamas, while their fellow falafel eaters demand a cessation to the Gaza blockade and Shin Bet assassinations. While newly re-elected US President Obama attempted to reach a common ground between the combatants, he also green-lighted Israel's right to defend itself. No one wants Israel to lay down in the face of aggression, but neither will the world approve of a bloodletting such as occurred in the last Gaza incursion. PM Netanyahu has called up 75,000 army reservists and Hamas has said 'bring it on'. The IDF has superiority of arms, but as they learned in Lebanon their tanks are only good for one thing, so Israelis are rightfully worried that "Bibi' is leading them into another war without victory only more mayhem. Come on people, demand for a ceasefire. As Winston Churchill said, "It is better to jaw jaw than war war."

Nope to the Dope With No Hope

Phillie.com reported that 13 wards in the City of Obama Love cast 99% of their vote for the President. The GOP won in the traditional strongholds of the South and West, although the Republicans lost Florida, Virigina, Nevada, and Colorado due to demographics changes in the population. The country remains divided on a thin ideological batttleground, because in my eyes the nation is 90% conservative. But at least it isn't going to be run by Mitt Romney and that is a good feeling.

EASY PEASY

Those pundits weren't too embarrassed by their calls for a close race. To see Jon Stewart's take on their wisdom and the elation of marijuana legalization in two states, please go to the following URL http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/jon-stewart-mocks-fox-news-marijuana-legalization-video_n_2099896.html

Da Granite State

The fall foliage has fallen to the colding ground of Dixville Notch. The mountain resort earned the attention of the nation by casting the first votes for the 2012 ecltion. Voting in the remote hamlet resulted a tie for President Obama and Mitt Romney, however down south in Crawford Notch the imcumbent scored a landslide victory amongst the voter of Hart's Location. The thirty-three good people of that community made decision in 5 minutes. I waited in line two hours in Fort Greene. The lateest results from the Granite State are 65% O'Bama / 32% Romney. I voted for the mick. It's the Irish in me.

Da Election 2012

President Obama has been leading America since January 2009. He inherited two unfinanced laws, a tax code exempting the very very rich from a fair share of taxes, and an fractured Congress and Surpreme Court. His term disappointed those that hope for better and satisfied those praying for the worst, yet the Union of 50 States survived those travails. I am pissed at Obama for not withdrawing the troops from GW Bush's invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. The President has stuck it to the pro-weed camp and his drones murder suspected combatants in the War on Terror as well as any innocents within two hundred yards of the missile strike. The rich remain rich. The fucking rich and I mean the .00001% hiding amongst the 1%. But today I went down to Brooklyn Tech to wait two hours to cast my vote for a seocnd term by Barack Obama. I have never worried about him losing the election, because no matter how much some white voters don't want a black in the White House, something spooks them out about having a Mormon ruling America. And it ain't about the Magic Pajamas. My prediction: Obama takes Ohio and Pennsylvania, loses in Virginia and Florida, but takes Wisconsin and it's always been about Wisconsin.

Racist Motherfuckers

I am a white male over the age of 30. My family came from pure Caucasian stock. My father's side dated back to the Mayflower and my mother's ancestor were Celts from the West of Ireland. Other than a strain of Moorish blood from the survivors of the Spanish Armada intermingling with the Irish of Galway I am as white as they get in this country. My home state of Maine is also one of the whitest in the nation, yet the 20th Maine stopped the slave staters dead in their tracks at Gettysburg. I am the last of my kind to be this white. My oldest sister married a Jew, my younger sister is wed with a black man, both my brothers have wives of Italian descent, and my children are of Thai descent. America is not 100% white if the children of the most white amonst us are not white. Which is why I get upset with how the Drudgereport.com and Fox News and the GOP play the race card year after year expecting us whiteys to turn on our young. Well fuck you, that ain't gonna play that way. Today Drudge report featured the folllowing; REPORT: Obama supporters step up riot threats... Black pastor receives death threats after reversing support... Black Americans still back Obama despite steep plunge in their economic fortunes... Not play the Ace of Spades? Damn straight they are. Racist motherfuckers. That's all they are, because they know that they aren't really 100%. No one is, except for me and mine, but then we are the last of our kind.

You Go Your Way, I Go Mine

The United States and its allies are rattling the saber in the Persian Gulf by conducting naval exercises designed to thwart any attempt to close the vital sea lane should Israel decide to attack Iran to prevent their distant enemy from developing an atomic bomb. This weekend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in New York drumming up contribution from supporters and the hardliner appeared on American TV to force President Obama to draw a line in the sand on Iran. While his GOP opponent has accused Obama of throwing Israel under the bus, Bibi was quick to tell the interviewer that he was satisfied with the President's efforts to protect his nation from attack. According to the BBC Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian expert in Israel, suggested that publicity for the exercise was primarily aimed at American voters and the Israeli leadership: "This military exercise is Obama's way of showing U.S. voters, especially Israel's supporters in the U.S., and Netanyahu that when it comes to Iran, he is not only relying on talks," he said. "To show that when he said 'I have Israel's back' in March ... he meant it." Congresswoman Michele Bachmann wasn't so sure about Obama's commitment to the Zionist state, since the President hadn't met with the Israeli PM on this trip. “And President Obama needs to get his priorities straight. What he needs to do is cancel his planned interview with David Letterman, cancel his meeting with Beyonce, cancel his meeting with Jay Z, and instead agree to meet with the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, because you see, America and Israel have a commonality of interests.” The White House said that scheduling conflicts for both men were an issue. I think Bibi feels better with the fleet in the Straits of Hormuz than shaking hands for a second with the President. And secondly Michelle Bachman, "Shut your hole."

Last Shot of WWI

Last night in Charlotte NC Barack Obama spoke about ending the war in Iraq. Our troops left that country in Dec 2011, but the USA maintains a large presence in Afghanistan. Only yesterday two soldiers were killed there. The president vowed to bring our troops home by 2014. VP Biden ended his speech with a shout-out to those serving overseas, but Mitt Romney never mentioned Afghanistan in his speech. Only Clint Eastwood said the word in his famed conversation with an empty chair. The GOP candidate was the first Republican nominee since 1952 to not mention war during his convention speech. I didn't see his speech. Nor did I see the last shot fired in WWI, which was on Lake Michigan in June of 1921, when a US gunboat sunk a German U-Boat, U.C. 97 One sailor, Ernie Pyle, later wrote that the ship was "still in sinking condition...it constantly shied to the right and once in a while felt as if it wanted to lie down." The sunken submarine lays in unknown waters. Even Mitt Romney doesn't know where.

Five More Years

Mitt Romney's presidential campaign has been beleaguered by calls for the candidate to release his tax returns for the last ten years, especially from Senator Harry Reid, who has claimed the Romney paid no taxes for most of the last decade. The ex-governor of Massachusetts has given out his 2010 information, which shows that he paid 15% of his income, but he had steadfastly refused any other returns and had told the press and his critics to believe that he has paid at least 13% per annum since leaving Bain Investments, which was derided by Texas governor Rick Perry as an institution dedicated to vulture capitalism. According to the BBC Obama has asked the Romney's to provide five years of returns and the debate can move onto the real issues. Romney's wife said that they had nothing to hide, but reiterated, "There's going to be no more tax releases given." The answer sounds like 'no' and I can't throw any stones. Good on you, Willard.