Understanding America - The Venture Capitalist Coup Against FDR in 1934

Previously, we discussed that America was colonized by venture capitalists to create massive profits. When the King of England started to cut into these profits by asking the venture capitalists to start sharing the burden for their security, they responded with the Declaration of Independence.

Fast forward to 1934 in the middle of what was then called 'The Great Depression.' President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a member of the venture capitalist class and cousin of reformer president Teddy Roosevelt, was accused of betraying his class by enacting several measures to ease the suffering of working class Americans.

FDR's perceived betrayal lay primarily in three parts. First, FDR abandoned the Gold Standard. Second, he instituted a minimum wage law. Thirdly, and possibly the last straw, he authorized collective bargaining among federal workers.

The venture capitalists were convinced FDR had gone socialist. From their perspective, nothing cut into their profits more than social programs that helped workers. They felt they needed to 'take their country back.'

In Germany and Italy, international venture capitalists were funding Fascist movements led primarily by groups of WWI veterans. American venture capitalists decided to try the same thing (many American bankers and industrialists were funding German re-armament and supporting Hitler's rise to power).

In 1932, around 40,000 veterans and their families marched on the capital, demanding payment of the bonuses they had been promised. The veterans were led by much decorated retired Marine Corps general Smedley Butler.

Then president Herbert Hoover ordered the army to disperse the protesters. Gen. Douglas MacArthur was in command of the operation, assisted by Major Dwight Eisenhower and Major George Patton.

Gen. Butler was a hero to many veterans for leading the march and supporting their efforts (one can speculate as to what the veterans thought of MacArthur, Eisenhower and Patton). So it was Butler that the venture capitalists approached to lead the military coup against FDR.

Butler, approached with the possibility of leading a military dictatorship with the president left as a mere figurehead, responded by secretly contacting a journalist. Butler went along with the coup long enough to collect credible information verified by multiple sources, which he then turned over to Congress.

Congress launched an investigation which concluded the coup attempt was credible. The venture capitalists responded to the charges by ridiculing Butler through their media outlets.

FDR said nothing. However, he was able to enact a multitude of social programs from that point forward with only token opposition. At the time, it was speculated that FDR cut a deal with the venture capitalists.

If the venture capitalists dropped their opposition to FDR's social programs, it was said that FDR would insure that no charges would be brought against the conspirators. If true, it was a brilliant move. It would have been difficult to prove treason against the venture capitalists as they contacted Butler through intermediaries.

FDR's programs helped contribute to the recovery from the depression and fueled working class prosperity after WWII the likes of which the world has never seen. Since FDR, the venture capitalists have sought to repeal these programs.

To this day, collective bargaining and minimum wage are measures the venture capitalists are seeking to contain, diminish or repeal. The problem they face is that these programs are popular with American workers.

It needs to be pointed out that the military coups led by WWI veterans were successful in Germany and Italy. In America, the venture capitalists in their coup attempt failed to anticipate that a Marine general cared more about his country than money and power.

We need to ask why hardly anybody knows who Smedley Butler is and what he did for our country. I don't know, but I'm going to keep watching the History Channel. Maybe between the programs on Hitler there will be one on Butler. Stay tuned.

Understanding America, Land of the Free, Home of the Brave - The Beginning

I tell people I became a history major because I got good grades without working hard. That is partly true.

But the mostly true answer is I want to understand what is going on around me. To do that, I had to understand history. Over time, patterns reveal themselves. Identifying patterns is one of the few things I'm good at. I wanted to be good at baseball. I wasn't.

Let's be honest, it's not an exciting or sexy skill. You get standing ovations for singing songs or scoring touchdowns or hitting home runs. Analysts toil in obscurity. But it is the hand I've been dealt, so there it is.

First, forget everything you learned in school about American history. If you didn't learn anything about American history, that's actually good. I'll make it simple and brief.

The British colonies were primarily venture capitalist enterprises. The English monarchy could not afford the cost of colonization. Private companies took the risks, which were enormous, and footed the bill. Many ventures failed. Roanoke Island is one example of a failed venture.

The colonies were created in America to make money for venture capitalists. In order to make money, colonists were needed.

First, to subdue the native population. Second, to establish trading outposts. Third, to provide security for the trade outposts. Fourth, to make money through commerce.

The venture capitalists (mainly bankers, merchants and landed nobility) used religious freedom as an incentive to recruit colonists. From the beginning, an alliance was formed between venture capitalists and religious leaders.

This alliance exists to this day. It is not new. Religious conservatives and Republican conservatives are the labels for these groups today, but they have always been the same two groups.

The Declaration of Independence, when read from this perspective, lists the ways the English monarch is preventing the venture capitalists from making the kind of profits they feel they are entitled to.

For example, it has been shown that "all men are created equal" does not refer to all men. Nor does it refer to women. The phrase "Safety and Happiness" refers to the ability to make profits and the means to keep wealth secure.

The 'long train of abuses' attributed to the English monarch can be traced to measures that cut into their profits. Basically, the King of England wanted the venture capitalists to help pay for maintenance.

Please note how the document concludes:

"... we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

They all had fortunes, they were all very wealthy people. Because they were venture capitalists, they understood risks, and if they felt it necessary, were capable of taking risks more cautious leaders would not.

America exists to create and maintain Fortunes for a select group of people. Laws, institutions, and customs in America are designed to protect and promote the Fortunes of the families of venture capitalists who founded this country and run it today.

U.S. presidents all come from families that came to America in the 1600s. Four hundred years later, most of them are related to each other. For example, Sarah Palin is related to President Obama. They all belong to the same secret societies. For example, President Bush II and Sen. John Kerry, opponents in 2004, went to Yale and belong to Skull and Bones.

Next: FDR, why the people loved him and the venture capitalists hated him.

Celebrating Simon and Garfunkel's 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' Forty Years Later

I was 12 years old when the single Bridge Over Troubled Water was released. The first time I heard the song on the radio I felt it was the best song I had ever heard. Early Sunday morning before church, the local radio station did a Top 40 countdown.

I listened every week and it didn't take long for the Simon and Garfunkel song to break into the top ten. I danced a jig when it got to number one, where it stayed for several weeks.

When the album came out, a buddy of mine and I went to the local record store and 'liberated' some albums. The one I freed from the capitalist grips of its owner was the Bridge Over Troubled Water album.

I snuck upstairs our attic and played it on a small phonograph player. The first song was the title track, I had heard it many times.

The second song, El Condor Pasa, was an Incan/Peruvian melody that Simon had written lyrics for. It was haunting where Bridge had been uplifting. Cecelia, also a hit single, followed. It was sheer fun and included some lyrics that were, for 1970, quite risque.

Another buddy said his dad told him the fourth song, Keep the Customer Satisfied, was about a drug dealer. This, for me, lent an air of danger to the blaring brass sounds. I loved the line "I hear words I never heard in the Bible."

The last song on the first side was far too mellow for my soon to be thirteen soul to enjoy. Garfunkel's delicate voice crooning about a dead architect meant nothing to me at the time.

But after that, one flipped the album over and the first song was The Boxer.

"I am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told, I have squandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles, such are promises; All lies and jest, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest."

I was blown away by the opening lyrics, and the song just kept getting better as it spun on the turntable. The conclusion left me drained but spiritually uplifted.

The funny and fun Baby Driver followed, also with some wonderful cheeky lyrics. "I'm not talking about your pigtails, but I'm talking about your sex appeal."

The Only Living Boy in New York was a song I was not prepared for, it was delicate, beautiful, full of longing and loss. The vocals were probably the most striking I had heard.

Why Don't You Write Me hit a chord in my adolescent heart, visiting feelings of unrequited affections and rejection.

I knew that the Everly Brothers were a big influence for Paul and Artie, but I still couldn't stand the next song, Bye Bye Love. I realize now it's because even then I didn't like audiences that clapped or sang along to the songs. Most people can't sing AND don't have any rhythm, so for me most concerts are unbearable. More on this later.

But after eight truly incredible songs and the architect song, I forgave them for this boo boo. Besides, I am told there are people that like that kind of thing, my partner being one of them. Ahem.

The song that closes out the album, Song for the Asking, is an offertory of love that to this day, moves me. Maybe because it is about giving and not taking.

When I went to Boy Scout camp that summer in 1970, I took Bridge and my portable record player with me. I played the album every night over and over again. To this day, I have the lyrics to the album (except Bye Bye Love and Frank Lloyd Wright) memorized. It's a part of my soul, it inhabits every fiber of my being.

Last year (2010) the 40th Anniversary edition of Bridge was released. I didn't think I needed another copy until I discovered the new edition came with a dvd of the 1969 Simon and Garfunkel TV special. That TV special deserves its own pages. Until then,

"If you need a friend, I'm sailing right behind."

Thank you, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. Thank you.

Divide and Conquer, Collective Bargaining, and the Tower of Babel

"Let us build a city and a tower ... lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."

This verse from Genesis Chapter 11 gives the motive for those who built the Tower of Babel.

The LORD comes down to see the city and tower the children of men had built and reaches this conclusion:

"The people are one ... and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do."

The LORD consults with advisers. They declare "Let us go down and confound their language so they may not understand each other."

The result of the divine intervention in the affairs of the children of men was exactly what they feared. "The LORD scattered them abroad upon the face of the earth."

The Tower of Babel story, besides being one of the many interesting stories in Genesis, also illustrates the method used by those in power to frustrate the plans of the children of men: Divide and Conquer.

This strategy has worked so well for those in charge over the millennium that it has remained largely unchanged. Let's look at the efforts to destroy collective bargaining in Wisconsin. Those in charge in the United States have always feared unions and collective bargaining (anybody seen the film 'Matewan?')

There is a good reason for this. It is the same fear the LORD expresses in Genesis. Collectively, the children of men are capable of accomplishing whatever they desire.

We leave aside for now the obvious question of "what is wrong with that?" and move toward the Divide and Conquer strategy used against unions in the United States.

I was still in college when President Reagan declared war on the Air Traffic Controllers Union. The same arguments, almost word for word, used against the Air Traffic Controllers were employed against public workers in Wisconsin. Since 1980, the wages of blue collar Americans have dropped. Most of this has been due to loss of blue collar jobs overseas and the destruction of blue collar unions in manufacturing.

So when apologists for those in power point out that most American workers earn less than the public employee (largely white collar) unions it is classic Divide and Conquer. Pit blue collar workers against white collar workers.

The end result is that all American workers wages and benefits drop.

The prosperity of blue and white collar workers in the United States following WWII combined with the socialist policies enacted by Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt previously, scared those in charge.

They feared the same thing the LORD feared in Genesis, that the children of men would have the means to fulfill all of their dreams. Employing their strategy of Divide and Conquer, efforts to destroy the prosperity of workers in America have been extremely successful.

Racial Equality, Sexual Equality, Abortion Rights, Immigration Rights, and Marriage Rights are examples of social issues that have served this strategy well.

Popular culture plays a role, serving as a Distraction Machine that keeps workers from spending time thinking about who their real enemies are and what they are doing to them.

Let's return to the earlier question. What do we wish for our children? What is wrong with wishing their dreams will come true?

What is wrong with workers in this country doing well? What is wrong with teachers, fire fighters, policemen getting paid well? What was wrong with Air Traffic Controllers having good benefits?

I don't know, I'm going to check out what Charlie Sheen is ranting about today and complain about how greedy school teachers are to my favorite radio talk show host. I'm sure that it will please the LORD.

It Was a Moving Experience

Moving is stressful. Right up there with grieving and divorcing. The top three stressers, yessir.

I have moved so many times I've lost track. I can only remember two phone numbers, and neither of them are mine. Most of the moving occurred when I was single.

In the last eight years, the three moves have been with a family. Big difference. Four people have way more stuff.

Three years ago, we moved from a suburb in central Jersey to a small community five miles from Manhattan. It was a stressful move. We had to sell our condo and find a place to rent and get moved within a two week window.

If you want to sell quickly, you need to hire a realtor. A good realtor. We were fortunate to have a great realtor. On her advice, we rented storage space and de-cluttered and de-personalized our condo. It worked, we sold our condo in three days.

The move itself was tough, though. Two weeks is just not enough time.

So last December when we decided to downsize, I vowed to make this move less stressful. Renting storage space works well. You can pack stuff up and store it so when you move the furniture you don't have a lot of stuff in the way.

We decided to move over three months and three phases, overlapping one month where we would have two apartments. Phase one - spend a month filling up storage space. Phase two - move everything from apt to apt. Phase three - unload storage space. It made all the difference.

We also took the advice of one of our friends, a former nun who has been a mentor for my partner in the rehab field. Her philosophy is to hire young people whenever possible. We asked Max, the 18 year-old high school senior we live with, to convince three of his friends to help us move. Max is a big, strapping young lad and so are his friends. My partner and I are AARP members who don't do the heavy lifting well anymore. It was a good move.

Young people bring great energy and spirit to their endeavours. It changed the whole chemistry of the move. We rented a 16-foot truck, bought them pizza and had a blast. It didn't matter that there was a couple of feet of snow. I'm from Minnesota and my partner is from Ontario. Snow is no big deal.

Max and his friends came up with a name for their group (The Partial Moving Company) complete with slogans. We just had to take a photo of them in the back of the truck (you can see the snow). They are thinking of using the picture as an album cover for their band.

The most gratifying part came when we had finished unloading the truck and paid them for their efforts. It was wonderful to see their faces light up. They would have done it for just the pizza. We paid them well. They earned it.

I have a tradition going back to my Radford University days where I give away vinyl albums to those who help me move. Max told me his friends were huge Pink Floyd fans. I had several of their albums, including the early Syd Barrett stuff as well as 'Dark Side.' They were well pleased. It made my day. Good music is meant to be shared.

We just finished phase three, unloading the storage space. Now if we can just get everything unpacked ... whew!

One Day in the Deep South in 1966

The scene was a hotel lobby in the Deep South. The year was 1966. A white woman holding an infant entered the lobby with five other children trailing her. The oldest child kept busy keeping track of her siblings while the woman, still holding the infant, waited in line to get a room.

She noticed a black couple in line ahead of her trying to get a room.

"We're sorry, we don't have any rooms," the black couple was told.

"But we have reservations. We made our reservations over the phone last week," the black man stated.

"We're sorry, we don't have any reservations with your name," the person behind the desk repeated. "We don't have any rooms."

The couple left the hotel lobby.

The woman with the infant moved to the lobby desk.

"Yes, ma'am, can we help you?"

She gave her name and received her room keys.

"I know what's going on here. You don't think I know what's going on here?"

A porter moved to help the family carry their bags. He was also black.

"It's not right. It's not right," the woman exclaimed to the person behind the desk.

"We can carry our own bags, thank you," she said to the porter.

The porter watched as the family collected their belongings. A nine-year old boy struggled to carry a suitcase bigger than he was. Somehow, the woman and her six children made it to their rooms. The woman gave the infant to the oldest daughter and sat on the bed and wept.

Eventually, the woman dried her tears and set about the business of getting her children washed and ready for dinner. They were to meet her husband in the hotel restaurant for dinner. He had spent the day in a job interview.

Their rooms were at end of the hall. It was a long way to the elevator. As the family made its way down the hall, the hotel maids, who were all black, came to every door, lining the hall way.

"Good evening, Mrs. Barker, have a nice evening," the maid said.

"Good evening, Mrs. Barker, lovely children," another maid said.

"Good evening, Mrs. Barker, have a nice stay," another said.

The family filled up the elevator and went downstairs to the restaurant. The restaurant staff, who were all black, helped the woman and her six children to their table. When her husband joined them, the chef, who was black, came out of the kitchen and took the family's order for dinner.

One day in the Deep South in 1966. A day in the life of a family. A day in the life of a country struggling to treat all people with dignity and respect. A couple denied a room. A porter. A maid. A chef. A nine-year old boy. A woman whose memory lives on in the hearts and minds of her husband and children.

A Love Worth Waiting For ...

Besides being a heretic, a misanthrope, and a cynic I also admit to being a romantic. A hopelessly optimistic and delusional romantic. If that makes sense to you, it doesn't to me. I don't understand myself at all. This prevents me from thinking I understand other people.

I grew up reading the classics. 'Readers Digest Condensed Classics for Young People' to be precise. My parents had ordered the set and we would get a book every month or so. Each book had four or five abridged classics. I read them all.

Captain Horatio Hornblower, Great Expectations and Beau Geste were my favorites.They were stories about adventure, honor, and romance. I cried the first time I finished Great Expectations. I could relate to Pip's broken heart, his dashed expectations.

Reading these books as a youth I developed a code of ethics and honor that might seem archaic. I was definitely more influenced by these classics than I was by the culture I grew up in the 60s and 70s.

It should be no surprise, then, that I was totally unsuited and unprepared for modern warfare, excuse me, modern dating.

My views on romance were also informed by growing up with a strong-willed, highly intelligent mother and three strong-willed highly intelligent sisters. My brothers and I learned how to not argue at an early age.

I became convinced that a woman would not do anything she didn't want to do. I considered romantic novels and movies where men had the upper hand as utter nonsense and rubbish.

I also believed that if the intelligence that created the universe entrusted the females of our species with childbirth then that was telling. It established a spiritual/biological priority which I strongly felt had to be respected.

My approach, which failed utterly for decades, was to be friends with all the intelligent, strong women I met and someday one of them would find me worthy of their company. I strove to conduct myself in such a way that respect and admiration of the opposite sex were my default settings.

After decades of disappointments, heartaches and frustrations, I was starting to think I might have been mistaken. When I went to seminary in New Jersey my plan was to be an ordained minister, get a small rural charge in western Virginia and bounce around the hills in my pickup truck with my two dogs.

I was not prepared for what actually happened.

I met a child of immigrants. Her father was half Sri-Lankan and half British. Her mother was German. Her parents met in London in a class where they were learning to speak English. She was born in England but moved to Ottawa, the capital of Canada, when she was four.

That meant she had a Canadian, not a Monty Python accent. Although she was one quarter Indian, she passed for white. She had two highly intelligent and wonderful children. She was going through a divorce.

She belonged to a heretical Christan denomination. She worked as an intern at a drug rehabilitation residential facility in Newark, New Jersey.

She had a radical, egalitarian approach to social justice. All of that was stunning. But the most incredible thing was she found me good company.

We never really dated, which was a good thing because I was terrible at dating (see above). We just kept on enjoying each other's company. We took walks. We ate at diners (New Jersey has awesome diners). We talked.

In December 2002 we got married. We didn't have a wedding. We did that justice of peace thing. Afterwards, we ate at a diner and went to a bookstore.

Every day with her has been Valentine's Day. I don't think about the past much anymore, but when I do I realize that for me, it was worth the wait. We have romance, adventure, mutual admiration and mutual respect. Maybe I was right about some things, after all.

"Come with me, go places, once more for the ages."