Media Enabled Poppy's Attacks on Maddow, Olbermann, Yet Continue to Ignore Bush Family's Sordid Past

[Octafish]

Part of what former GOP strategist Kevin Phillips called
"a multigenerational family of fibbers."



Sick puppies, wot? The story from a very brave writer, Russ Baker:

Media Enabled Bush 1's Savage Attacks on Maddow and Olbermann, Yet Continue to Ignore Bush Family's Sordid Past

By Russ Baker, AlterNet
Posted on October 21, 2009, Printed on October 21, 2009

The other day, George H.W. Bush fired a salvo against mean media liberals who savaged his son. Soon, brickbats were flying to and fro about who said what about whom. But this mini-controversy is nothing more than a distraction from the real story: even the most animated of Bush critics on television have not gotten around to acknowledging the full, unspeakably dark nature of the Bush enterprise. Bush41, it turns out, has nothing at all to complain about.

The kerfuffle began last Friday, when CBS ran a story on its website about George H.W. Bush criticizing MSNBC hosts Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow for edgy rhetoric and name-calling, in which he then … called them names -- specifically, “sick puppies.”

"The way they treat my son and anyone who's opposed to their point of view is just horrible," Mr. Bush said. "When our son was president they just hammered him mercilessly and I think obscenely a lot of the time and now it's moved to a new president," he added.

Of course, this is ridiculous on many counts. First is the absurdity of the man who employed the political assassin Lee Atwater (look up Willie Horton) and gave Karl Rove his first job, whining about incivility. Then there is the way the former president glided over the snapping trash- mouths and conjurers of the Right, from Limbaugh to Hannity to Beck, who dominate and influence the media’s vast market of vulnerable and hurting Americans. And finally, it is hard to recall criticism of H.W.’s son that was wildly inaccurate, truly out of bounds, or not reflective of the awful reality of W.’s presidency.

SNIP...

Here is a little taste of what Family of Secrets reveals about the “very good, very private” lives and thoughts of George Bush, father and son, not brought to you by NBC or Comedy Central:

• Proof that the senior Bush, far from being the outsider CIA director in 1976 he claimed to be, had actually worked with the intelligence services in “very private” capacities for his entire adult life.

• Overwhelming and painstakingly documented evidence that the senior Bush lied when he claimed not to remember where he was on Nov. 22, 1963, the day JFK was shot, and that, in fact, he was in Dallas, working for the CIA, and closely associated with a small web of figures directly tied to Lee Harvey Oswald, the control of JFK’s motorcade, the Texas School Book Depository, and other crucial aspects of the events of that day.

• Source interviews and paperwork that show the junior Bush lied when he claimed to have completed his obligatory service during the Vietnam war, and that he was, in effect, AWOL, a crime with no statute of limitations.

• Documented assertions from a Bush family adviser suggesting that W. cynically adopted the mantle of Jesus to clean up a spotty past and to win over the crucial fundamentalist vote without which he would have lost badly in 2000.

• Evidence that the man the junior Bush put in charge of handling the domestic emergency response to attacks and natural disasters, Michael Brown, was even far less qualified than previously understood—and why such a person ended up being in that incredibly important position as Hurricane Katrina descended on the Gulf coast.

• Testimony that the junior Bush’s principal personal motivation for invading Iraq was not WMDs, or Al Qaeda, or neoconservative aspirations, or geopolitical goals, or even oil, but because he was convinced that a successful presidency requires a war.

• A body of facts strongly indicating that the same interests, working through the CIA, that removed JFK from power—a group that appears to have included the senior Bush—also took action to cause Richard Nixon to be removed from power. This is of urgent importance because it helps to provide some sense of why Barack Obama has continued to kowtow to major power centers—CIA, military, defense contractors, oil companies, Wall Street—because, simply put, he has absolutely no choice.

CONTINUED...

http://www.alternet.org/story/143410/

If you want to know who's who and what's what in the fascist reaction to progress, "Family of Secrets" is a must-read.

[AzDar]

1. As always, Octafish...

K&R

:hi:

[Octafish]

22. Hiya, Arizona! What the critics are saying about Russ Baker...

From our good friends at Buzzflash.com:

“Prodigiously industrious investigative journalist Russ Baker…connects the dots between the Bushes and Watergate.”—Time

“ a man on a mission, desperate to stop the methods of stealth and manipulation that…reflect a deeper ill: the American public’s increasingly tenuous hold upon the levers of its own democracy.”—San Diego Union-Tribune

“Shocking in its disclosures, elegantly crafted, and faultlessly measured in its judgments, Family of Secrets is nothing less than a first historic portrait in full of the Bush dynasty and the era it shaped. From revelation to revelation, insight to insight—from the Kennedy assassination to Watergate to the oil and financial intrigues that lie behind today's headlines—this is a sweeping drama of money and power, unseen forces, and the emblematic triumph of a lineage that sowed national tragedy. Russ Baker's Family of Secrets is sure to take its place as one of the most startling and influential works of American history and journalism.”

—Roger Morris, former senior staff member, National Security Council, and author of Richard Milhous Nixon: The Rise of an American Politician and Partners in Power: The Clintons and Their America

“In an era dominated by corporate journalism and an ideological right-wing media, Russ Baker’s work stands out for its fierce independence, fact-based reporting, and concern for what matters most to our democracy…A lot of us look to Russ to tell us what we didn’t know.”

—Bill Moyers, author and host, Bill Moyers’ Journal (PBS)

The dark underside of the Bush family dynasty.

An online reviewer:

French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre said that "words are loaded pistols." In the hands of Russ Baker, they are hydrogen bombs. On each and every page of his masterpiece, "Family of Secrets," he exploses the myths and lies that powerful forces have perpetratred on the American consciousness. He digs beneath the surface in a form of journalistic archeology to reveal the hidden history of one of America's most powerful families, leaving no stone unturned. Moreover, he names all of his sources and documents the materials he relies on to unmask the hypocrisy behind the myth. From Prescott Bush's ties to Nazi Germany to Poppy Bush's secret role in the Watergate scandal that ousted Richard Nixon, which was, in fact, a "silent coup," to George W. Bush's deceit in launching the war in Iraq, Russ Baker unmasks the truth with a relentless brilliance unmatched by his peers. His publisher, Bloomsberry, is to be congratulated for its confidence in Russ Baker at a time when most publishers are hedging their bets and looking over their shoulders in acts of self-censorship. Baker's revelations about George W. Bush's private life is worth the price of the book alone. Here is Bush, forcing himself on a Danish beauty, stripping to the nude, while getting another girl friend he knocks up an abortion, and then later, as president, opposing abortion and cutting funding for organizations that provide information about birth control. How he managed to get the Danish beauty to go on record, as he does with other key players in Watergate and the Kennedy assassination, is nothing short of astonishing. He traces the true history of Poppy Bush's career, from his early ties to the CIA he pretended never existed while declaring himself "out of the loop," to his strange phone call from Dallas to the FBI on the day of Kennedy's assassination, pointing a finger at a suspect who was in fact totally innocent, to his manipulation of Watergate to get rid of Nixon, is a secret story forced out of the shadows by the powerful documentation by Baker in this tour de force that keeps you turning the pages in asonishment. What he discloses is America's War of the Roses, as powerful families fight to the death for ultimate power. The history of Lee Harvey Osward in the world of wealth, power and intelligence that was Dallas, Texas at the time, is amazing. The anodyne courses in political science and history at American colleges and universities need very much to inject Family of Secrets into the curriculum so that young Americans can be more able to understand what America is truly about as a new president strives to change and reform it. It puts the dots together in a way that makes any further naivety amongst Americans impossible. What he tells us simply cannot be ignored. One can fully expect the Establishment media to go after this book in typical fashion, as they make their usual attempt to cover up what can no longer be denied. Family of Secrets takes to what Cyril Connolly so aptly descibed as the "blood crossroads of literature and politics." After Family of Secrets, neither will ever be the same.

SOURCE w Links to Goodies:

http://www.buzzflash.com/store/items/1421

Really appreciate that you get it, my Friend, no where near as much as I appreciate your friendship.

[SpiralHawk]

2. "Smirk" - Skull & Boner Bush Boy-Os (R - Occultists)

[MinM]

14. Sick Poppy...

Poppy Bush’s rambling and bizarre eulogy...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x389879

Poppy phoned in a tip to the FBI, ostensibly to create an alibi...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=389832&mesg_id=390064

Octafish(11-26-05): The OCTOPUS in Dallas: Poppy involved in JFK Assassination

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=389832&mesg_id=390834

:dem: & R

[merh]

3. K&R

[BrklynLiberal]

4. The media enabled the entire administration of pres shit-for-brains. Why stop now?

[polly7]

5. George Jr. sort of looks insanely evil there .........

[MisterP]

8. JR.? what about his dead-eyed father, in the process of turning into Barb Bush?! n/t

[grasswire]

6. Russell Baker wrote "The Man Who Knew Too Much"...

...about Richard Case Nagell, a lesser-known figure in the JFK assassination story. It's a must read, too.

[Octafish]

15. I believe you're thinking of Dick Russell...

Agree totally, my Friend, it's a must-read. While not perfect, it adds a lot of light to a most dark subject.

Russell, a former FBI agent, wrote one hell of a book. In it, Richard Case Nagell claimed he did not want to be accused of treason, so he shot up a bank ceiling a few days before the assassination of President Kennedy in order to be arrested and incarcerated and, thus, abosolved of involvement. After his arrest, the guy spilled the beans and asked the police to contact the FBI, CIA and Secret Service.

Nagell seemed like he was some kind of intelligence agent, stating he worked for CIA and KGB and that he was charged with tracking Lee Harvey Oswald. Going by memory: Some say Nagell's job was to eliminate Oswald, others say it was to inform Oswald of the coming plot. Either way, no one in the FBI or Secret Service warned President Kennedy.

BTW: Russell Baker is the retired The New York Times columnist. Russ Baker is a different writer. He uncovered important evidence chronicling Poppy's early CIA career as an oil man. After reading "Family of Secrets," I thought he must read DU.

[grasswire]

17. oh of course

Not the first time I've made that mistake. Can't keep those names straight.

It has always been interesting and frustrating to me that Nagell lived a long private life after Kennedy's death, apparently having made a deal to keep his mouth shut forever in exchange for safety.

I read that book more than a decade ago. I think I'll get it from the library and read it again.

[blm]

7. Keith and Rachel also only popped up recently. Rush is everywhere, even ArmedForces radio

and BushInc representation on EVERY news program and network wasjust about DOUBLE that of the Dem left throughout Bush's term.....just as planned.

[redqueen]

9. K&R

[Blue_In_AK]

10. Hooray! An Octafish post!

I agree with you on "Family of Secrets." Great book. A little dense in places, but very, very informative.

[spanone]

11. our media is our major problem

[malaise]

12. Of more interest to me is that M$NBC appears

more concerned with Obama calling out Fux than with attacks on their two most popular hosts.

[formercia]

13. TRUST OR HUSTLE: The Bush Record

http://www.campaignwatch.org/more1.htm

TRUST OR HUSTLE: The Bush Record

David E. Scheim



BACKGROUND ON THE S&L BAILOUT. The failure of hundreds of U.S. Savings and Loans during the 1980s, as detailed in such sources as Stephen Pizzo’s Inside Job1 and Pete Brewton’s Untold Story,2 cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $500 billion.3 A U.S. House committee concluded that over three-quarters of all S&L insolvencies appeared to be linked to serious misconduct by senior insiders or outsiders.4 In 1988, the comptroller of the currency found that less than 10 percent of recent bank failures had been caused solely by economic factors.5

One indication of the role of criminal conduct in S&L losses was the workings of just one New York figure, Mario Renda, who worked in conjunction with the Mob, according to a sworn federal deposition.6 Renda brokered as much as $5 billion per year in deposits into 130 S&Ls across the county, all of which failed.7 As Kwitny noted, “many of these deposits were made on the specific condition that the S&Ls would lend money out to borrowers Renda would recommend, who turned out to be local Mafia people or strangers from out-of-state.”8

The Bush family’s dealings illustrate some of the ways this S&L loot was extracted. In some loan transactions, money was simply siphoned out fraudulently to outsiders under lucrative arrangements with bank directors; Neil Bush’s record illustrates these type of transactions. In other instances, as exemplified by Jeb’s S&L dealings, loans were made for speculative investments or ventures without attempts to secure repayment if they were not profitable. Political connections often helped protect S&L misconduct;9 in the Bush’s case, George senior’s record demonstrated laxity toward the perpetrators, several of whom were in his own social circles.

--snip--

Lots more dirt at the links.

[Octafish]

16. Two Americas -- The Haves, who get away with everything.

The Have-Nots, who get to carry the load for everybody.

Don't remember if I posted this, formercia, but it's a treasure trove of PDFs of a long-ago discontinued media monitor:

http://www.liesofourtimes.org/

Good history for those who care about such things.

[Echo In Light]

19. +1 (and a majority of a populace that considers that a crazy "conspiracy theory")

God help us

[formercia]

27. Thank You

Bookmarked.

[grasswire]

18. kick

and bookmark

[MinM]

20. kick @ 1:36

:dem: :patriot:

[Bobbie Jo]

21. Indeed. K&R

:kick:

[Chemical Bill]

23. * did lose badly in 2000...

but Diebold and the supremes pulled a fast on on us.

As always, thanks for the info, Octafish. When talking about the Bush family, I always like to mention Prescott Bush and Union Bank of New York and the "trading with the enemy" charge that slipped away into darkness.

As I write this, I'm listening to the Monterey Pop CD set, with David Crosby announcing from the stage that President Kennedy was shot by a number of guns from different directions, witnesses have been killed, "...and this is your country."

Bill

[Swamp Rat]

24. k&r

:hi:

[HCE SuiGeneris]

25. Thank you for the continued efforts

in keeping these criminals from slithering under the nearest rock.

[Initech]

26. W deserves all the criticism he gets. His "election" began our downward spiral.