Wow, Jeff....really great article all the way around. As you well know, the Israeli politicians lied to JFK about what they were doing in Dimona in the 1960s. Wonder what would have happened had JFK decided to bomb Israel's nuclear locations like Israel and the USA have done to Iran's? When LBJ became president, Dimona was blithely ignored and Israel became a nuclear power. And wonder what Americans would have thought of Iran if Iran had overthrown our government in 1953 as the CIA led by Kim Roosevelt did in Iran in 1953 when the CIA re-installed the Shah. None of this is to say that the ayatollah and the IRGC, Hezbollah, Hamas, etc wear white hats...they don't. But not only WHAT was done but HOW is still important in our 250th year. Those who benefitted from JFK's assassination included LBJ, the military/Congressional/industrial complex, the Mafia, anti-Castro Cubans, Texas oil barons, steel barons, the CIA and FBI, the Secret Service....and oh, yeah, Israel!! Those who lost were peace-loving individuals all over the world as the reason JFK was killed was that he was trying to get the US out of Vietnam and to prevent the nuclear threats we were facing then...and still face today!
"The once debatable notion that we live in a democratic republic, governed by the Constitution of the United States, has been definitively debunked by the bombing of Tehran. We do not."!Jefferson Morley
It is ironically hypocritical for Morley to oink the sentence above as Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran in the 1950s were attacked in the same fashion as what has happened this week. discounting history is always mistaken disingenuous rhetorical sophistry.
And it needn't be a Democrat to become a genuine Peace Candidate, it always depends on the man or individual person and their principles. This collectivist mentality that Morley displays in as troubling to me as Trump's false promises.
Per Lance's comment below: exactly. my hot take on the the last 75years is not very interesting or important. More important, in that time frame, the American belief in a constitutional Republic, once widespread, a point of pride, has faded over the years and is now gone. If you think this is disingenuous sophistry, so be it.
I am speaking to the importance of understanding the critical issue of the National Security State that was signed into law by Harry Truman in 1947. THIS act crushed the constitutional republic by lowering an Iron Curtain between the People of the United States and constitutional governance by replacing the "Right to Know" with the military concept of the "Need to Know". Wherein critical information is classified in a series of Classifications. GOVERNMENT SECRECY was codified. And this Act spawned many agencies born of secrecy and deceit, like the CIA, and NSA. America became a Panoptic Maximum Security State out of the meager beginnings of the 'Military Industrial Complex that Eisenhower warned of. A key moment in this long strange trip was the assassination of President Kennedy, that most here realize was a military coup d'état.
A sophisticated analysis of our current dilemma would recognize that the only sure way to extricate ourselves from this dire situation is to repeal the National Security Act. In one fell swoop that would delegitimize all of these corrupt agencies and their corporate and congressional sponsors. Of course this would be a most difficult thing to achieve without an awakening by the American people in vast numbers.
Oh boy...whenever I read "collectivist," it is invariably in the service of right-wing ideology. Any critique of imperialism is ultimately very shallow and superficial if there is no critique of capitalism. Jeff may be basically a New Deal liberal, but at least that allows for some understanding of the corrupting influence of the oligarchs that capitalism cannot but produce and reproduce.
My gosh, Mr. Whitten, Mother Superior Good and I were trying to keep that a secret! Damn! How did you find out?
That said, I'm thrilled to see someone out here who shares my values. I hear your alarm that our once wonderful, capitalist country is threatened by radical Marxists.
Among First World countries, the USA has the highest maternal mortality rate, the highest infant mortality rate, the highest childhood poverty rate, etc. But that's not the bad thing Marxists say it is. If we wealthy shared the money we have with the poor and the working classes, that would have lessened the motivation of the the lesser breeds to lift themselves up by their bootstraps.
Unaffordable health care bills are the No.1 cause of personal bankruptcy in America, a type of bankruptcy that occurs in no other First World country. Marxists believe that bankrupting the sick is a bad thing. It's not. The business of America is business, not healthcare. The only obligation a corporation has to society, my former patient Milton Friedman (RIP) has explained, is to enhance shareholder value. The healthcare business has enriched us shareholders beyond our wildest imaginations, a happy outcome unique to America and one that's unavailable in all other First World, Marxist countries.
Two of our most reliable bulwarks against radical Marxism are now putting out pro Marxist propaganda: the Wall St. Journal and Scientific American.
For, against the experiences of us uber wealthy, they have reported that if one starts out out poor, one's chances of rising to prosperity are worse here in capitalist America than they are in any other First World country. The latter, of course, practice Marxism, with govt. funded health care, free university education in public universities, secure retirement benefits for workers, govt.-assisted child care for the working poor, and a host of other anti capitalist, Marxist practices.
(It should shock the conscience that no First World country but America makes debt peons out of poor smart students trying to get a university education. We are NOT our brothers' keepers. Why should we wealthy be forced share our wealth with poor shlubs trying to get a leg up in life? Glad I don't live in any of those other First World countries!)
The Right Wing thinktank, the Rand Corp., reported that between 1975 and 2023, $79 trillion of wealth moved up from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1%, as if the riches the uber wealthy get when money is moved upward from the poor and working classes to us is a bad thing. It's not; it's a great thing.
[Do you know how much my first class airfare tickets cost these days?!!! It's outrageous! I absolutely need the dough, or I might be forced to sit in steerage with the lazy and unambitious.]
"USA has the highest maternal mortality rate, the highest infant mortality rate, the highest childhood poverty rate"~Gary A
And you and people like Aaron Good blame all of this on, "capitalism"?!?!?
How trite, confused and ridiculous. It is the corruption of capitalsim by cabals of powerful elites that cause such dire problems, not only in America, but globally. This corruprion is worse in America simply because America generates the most material wealth.
Capitalism is merely the use of tokens, monitary units for trade rather than barter, plus private ownership, profit motive.
ANY system can be corrupted by the greedy sociopaths of any society. this is one of the most blatant lessons of history.
The Power-Greed Feedback Loop: Power and wealth often corrupt, but corrupt individuals also actively seek power to advance their interests, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the "dark triad" of personality traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, and sociopathy).
Incentive Structures: Many systems, including capitalist, socialist, or autocratic structures, can inadvertently reward ruthlessness. When the pursuit of profit overrides ethical constraints, systems become vulnerable.
Lack of Empathy: Sociopathic individuals, who often lack empathy and guilt, are well-equipped to manipulate systems and people, using charm or intimidation for personal gain.
Normalization of Greed: When a culture or economic system equates success with infinite accumulation, it can lead to the "depersonalization" of the economy, making unethical behavior easier to justify.
Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective
Historical Examples of Corruption
Roman Republic (Crassus): Marcus Licinius Crassus amassed wealth through "fire brigades"—buying homes for pennies while they were burning—and by influencing political proscriptions (hit lists) to seize property, using the chaotic system to become the richest man in Rome.
The Gilded Age (19th Century): In the United States, railroad companies (Crédit Mobilier) bribed congressmen with stocks to inflate costs for federal infrastructure projects, a classic example of private interest corrupting public office.
The 2008 Financial Crisis: Unregulated, greedy, and predatory lending practices—which targeted vulnerable communities with subprime mortgages—ultimately caused a global economic collapse.
Corporate Fraud (Enron/Madoff): In the modern era, fraudulent accounting (Enron) and Ponzi schemes (Bernie Madoff) demonstrated how individuals can manipulate financial systems for immense personal profit, destroying the livelihoods of many in the process.
Political Machines (Tammany Hall): Leaders like "Boss" Tweed in 19th-century New York manipulated municipal systems to embezzle millions of taxpayer dollars.
The following is the totality of what I said in reference to the term "collectivist,"
*This collectivist mentality that Morley displays in as troubling to me as Trump's false promises.*
You consider this to be "in the service of right-wing ideology," while you are critical of capitalism; which is the same ideological critique made by Marx and Engles in the "Communist Manifesto", published back in 1848. You may recall the "Cold War" being waged agains the Soviet Union by the Western world led by the United States of America. This just so happens to be the time that there was the military coup d'état that killed President Kennedy.
Are you now telling the forum under the pretense of this so-called "corrupting influence of the oligarchs" that you prefer the Communist regime that the Soviets maintained until 1991, to the constitutional republic established by our Forefathers begining with the Declaration of Independence in 1776?
JFK tried to end the Cold War because the Cold War a stupid, human-existence-threatening contrivance. It was deemed necessary by USA's capitalist overlords so they could have an excuse to dominate the world and to kill all those who oppose being exploited by Western capitalists.
The Cold War entailed the institutionalized abrogation of the Constitution. Therefore, you need to either fetishize the Constitution *or* the Cold War---it really can't be both.
"The Cold War entailed the institutionalized abrogation of the Constitution. Therefore, you need to either fetishize the Constitution *or* the Cold War---it really can't be both."~Aaron Good
Your entire reply is one of the most astonishing declarations I have ever read from an American. The term "USA's capitalist overlords," again harkens back to the work by Marx and Engels, the ever despicable, 'Communist Manifesto'.
You offer me the choice ; "to either to either fetishize the Constitution *or* the Cold War," So to support the US Constitution is to "fetishize" that document in your view?!? The Cold War in essence was a struggle against the brutal Communist tyranny of the USSR by patriotic Americans. President Kennedy was one of those patriotic Americans. As anyone knows who has followed Mr. Morley's work, it was not the Soviets who killed Kennedy. It was traitors in the unconstitutional National Security State who staged a military coup d'état, not the "USA's capitalist overlords". Yes this coup was supported by elements in the corporate arms industry, and oil barons, but to refer to them as "capitalist overlords" is simplistic and trite. It is America's capitalist system that has made America an economic powerhouse lifting up American citizens' lifestyle as the envy of the world.
Now as I explained earlier in this very thread, it was the passage of the National Security Act in 1947 by President Harry S, Truman that created the crisis in the American republic we still suffer from. This act spawned a militaristic state based on secrecy and covert governance. Rather than the Right to know of the constitutional civilian state. Suddenly it was the militaristic "Need to know" demanding classification of once fully public information by rules made in secret by military and their corporate sponsors.
Now this is a situation that you have offered the trite characterization as "capitalist overlords". This is the *military industrial complex* That president Dwight D, Eisenhower warned of in his farewell speech.
I reject your Marxist interpretation of the past century. I reject it entirely with prejudiced vigor.
I am a Christian and an American Patriot forever. God Bless America.
It's against Substack rules for you to huff paint for 60 minutes and then start posting comments here like this. I'm going to report you to the authorities.
You need to read the paragraph again, it is undeniable that a large swath of Americans did and do believe we live in a Democratic republic, at no point is Mr. Morley saying we did or do.
You are both totally wrong, the United States is a 'National Security State, and has been since 1947 when Truman signed the National Security Act. An authoritarian curtain fell between the People and the US Constitution. The civilian 'right to know' was crushed by the military 'need to know' and all important information was deemed a National Security secret and put in a scale of Classified documentation. The Act created a panopoly of covert agencies such as the CIA, NSA CIA, DIA, and various specialized military and departmental intelligence agencies and their corporate sponsors. This was referred to by President Eisenhower as, the Military Industrial Complex.
The only way to restore the republic is to repeal the National Security Act.
But this will never happen with all the autoritarian nutballs in the federal government at the current time.
Ayatollah Khamenei is dead. Airstrikes have killed the 86-year-old supreme leader of Iran, prompting a wide range of reactions both internationally and at home.
No friend of freedom should weep for Khamenei, a wicked dictator whose 37-year reign was marked by brutal crackdowns on dissenters, the fostering of Islamic extremism as the dominant form of government in the country, and stubborn conflict with America and its allies. This was an evil man, and the people of Iran would be better off with better leadership.
But that does not mean Khamenei will be succeeded by better leadership. The CIA's assessment was that an equally rapacious figure would be likely to replace the ayatollah. One may hope that the people of Iran will rise up, overthrow the regime, and install a freer system. But if the previous 25 years of U.S. involvement in the Middle East are any lesson, American dreams of seeding democracy in the region often come up short.
Not certain DJT has “visions of sewing democracy” in the Middle-East. So far, he has demonstrated a first-rate capacity for un-sewing democracy in the Country he presides over. My first inclination is that the Epstein drama is getting too hot for DJT AND Israel, what a timely diversion. Second, Iran’s looming nuclear capability presents the “perfect excuse” to accelerate the already stalled disarmament negotiations. I’m certain the USA can and will create an untenable scenario for the Iranian’s on the street, if our history since Nicaragua is any indication of our political genius. Finally, I want to applaud Jefferson for stating that Vietnam was a waste of 50,000 American souls!! That number represents those lost on the battlefield. If you are cognizant of the many thousands that bring their battered bodies and minds to the VA for treatment as a result of their participation in Vietnam, that number is insufficient, especially to the extended families and working-class communities. I would advance that number closer to 250,000 who did not die on the battlefield but returned to American soil, often to families who could not cope with the family member they once knew. Tens of thousands more did die from self induced suicide. I believe war is “overrated!” Thank you Jefferson for your acknowledgement!!
It’s my understanding that a narrative proclaiming that Iran is days away from achieving a nuclear weapon is being promoted by the Trump Administration, if that is accurate.
This war like every war since WWII is unconstitutional. WWII was the last time there was a Congressional Declaration of War. The President has no authority to declare war. President Trump should be impeached for disregarding the Constitution.
"So far, he has demonstrated a first-rate capacity for un-sewing democracy in the Country he presides over. My first inclination is that the Epstein drama is getting too hot for DJT AND Israel, what a timely diversion."~Eldon Krugman
I do not share such unfounded views as these. Domestically President Trump gets my full endorsement. His handling of the illegal alien crisis created by the corrupt Biden regime has ended the crisis at the southern boarder, and ICE is doing an excellent job Under Tom Homan who has handled things well in confronting the veritable Bolshavik revolution in Marxist Minnesota under the Marxist governor Tim Walz.
No, my critique of President Trump sits soley on his unfathomable ultra-Zionism and his attatchment to the war criminal Netanyahu in supporting the terror state of Israel.
Trump has and never has had anything to do with Jeffery Epstein's illicet sexual escapades.
A jury in New York strongly disagreed with your statement that Trump had no involvement in Epstein crimes. And Trump and his Gestapo ICE agents need to be prosecuted and jailed.
You are totally full of the proverbial "It" Mr. Main,
Based on available records, there is no indication that a jury in New York has found Donald Trump to have been involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes.
2021 Maxwell Trial: In the 2021 trial of Ghislaine Maxwell (Epstein's associate), a federal jury in New York convicted her of sex trafficking. While that case involved evidence of abuse, Donald Trump was not charged or found guilty of any involvement in those crimes.
Documentation and Testimony: While court records and unsealed documents have documented that Trump and Epstein were acquaintances and ran in the same social circles in the 1990s, no public evidence has emerged from court proceedings or investigations, including testimony from survivors, that connects Trump to the illegal, criminal conduct of Jeffrey Epstein.
Lawsuits and Denials: Past lawsuits alleging misconduct by Trump in connection with Epstein were either dismissed or withdrawn. Trump has consistently denied any knowledge of or involvement in Epstein's criminal activities.
PBS
PBS
+8
While there have been intense political discussions, media speculation, and demands for the release of all files related to the Epstein case, a guilty verdict or finding of fact by a jury regarding Trump's involvement in Epstein’s criminal network has not occurred.
I’m talking about E Jean Carroll. He lost that one - a jury trial. Trump has had more women accuse him of sexual assault than I can count. And girls who were minors at the time. Do you want to deny that?
Yes!!! E Jean Carroll is a known liar who couldn't even state when this alleged assault occurred, neither the date or even the year. You haven't seemed to notice that the New Your judiciary is almost exclusively Democrat and totally biased against Trump. They even allowed the case to proceed even though the statute of limitations had passed.
____________________________
E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit against Donald Trump proceeded despite expired statutes of limitations because of New York’s Adult Survivors Act (ASA). Signed in May 2022, this law created a one-year window allowing sexual assault victims to file civil claims for, at that time, long-past events. Carroll filed her lawsuit on the day this law took effect. They created this act specifically to get Trump.
WW, my military service was in defense of the First Amendment, therefore your views are wholly your views and the cadre of citizens who agree with you. My service from 1967-1970 gave me first-hand experience to not believe the official narrative coming out of DC. I believe we are on a “Thelma and Louise” mission, both internationally and domestically. The high prices of goods, in part due to tariffs (that have been collected) that have been passed on to consumers by small business is bringing this economy to a screeching slow down, if you are paying attention.
My view of history is a long one. And that view shows me that the reason for high prices for everything comes from Woodrow Wilson who in 1913 established the unconstitutional 'Federal Reserve'. The dollar has lost 97 percent of its value since the 1913 creation of the Federal Reserve System.
A 1913 dollar had the same buying power as over $32 today.
Blaming inflation on the president du jour is preposterous.
I haven't has a phonograph record since the 1970s. I have CDs and YouTube music videos now in the postmodern dystopian fantasy world of Lash LaRue with a hoolahoop for a whip.
One of the best statements I’ve seen about our proxy war. Thank you Jeff. We also need to look to the Silicon Valley faux libertarian support given to JD Vance’s rise to the VP. See the latest “Atlantic” article describing a one Rod Dreher as the brains behind JD Vance etal neocons.
"This is a war on Israel’s behalf with the specific intent of preserving Israel’s monopoly on nuclear weapons and advancing its plans to dominate the region with regime change ambitions. Its why JFK sought to bring Israel into the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1963 and establish a nuclear-free Middle East: to forestall such a war."
The vast majority of our politicians are Israel First. Almost every member of Congress has an AIPAC babysitter monitoring every vote and every policy position according to Rep. Thomas Massie.
Not certain we’re solving “who killed Kennedy” here, but I don’t believe there is a more important issue to critique and understand in 2026 than the tangled USA/Israel alliance. I believe Massie and MTG are the canary in the coal mine. We often use the phrase, “Trump only cares about Trump.” I believe we can extend that to “Israel only cares about Israel.” As a relatively small country, surrounded by hostile nations and severely outnumbered by Arab populations, intent on eliminating Jews, this certainly looks like a “winnable situation” or NOT! I do not believe American citizens should be entering this fray any more than we are entering Ukraine. I am not in favor of the massive financial impact this “not a war” special military engagement is going to place on working class Americans. WAKE UP! Israel and Trump are invoking Armageddon!
It has been estimated that the Iran war will add $10 trillion to the national debt, all for another war against a faraway country that poses no threat to us.
Great article, but I have a hard time thinking the last paragraph is possible. You know the old saying, "party differences disappear at the shoreline". I don't believe someone w the foresight and strength of JFK to break that saying can obtain the presidency in this country anymore, and look what they did to him for doing so.
The Trump War Plan. The US attacks Iran. Iran attacks the Gulf States. No shit, Sherlock. The US military conveniently runs short of ammo and can’t finish the job in Iran. Oil prices soar and the Saudis, the UAE and the rest of the oil-rich states have to kowtow to Trump for years after he ‘saves them’ from an attack he orchestrated. People get killed, but others get rich. Very rich. The End.
Oh, and maybe some regime change in Iran thrown in for window dressing. None of this is about religion, or Israel, or anything deep. It’s all about the money - it’s one big kids’ board game where the US feels threatened by China, India, Russia, even Europe and the UK, and need to strategically reposition themselves on the board. Trump has rolled the dice…
And now Baku gets hit. Anyone now smell the whiff of oil, control and many riches? And going one step further, why would Iran drone-strike Azerbaijan? Makes no sense, they are denying it which makes no sense either, and now another oil-rich nation gets hit. Who ya gonna call? DT.
It was debunked way before the bombing of Tehran but that’s another story. Great article.
I’ve especially found it funny watching our “old friend” Luna gleefully act as the admin’s mouth piece, attempting to justify what cannot be. We were foolish to ever believe that she had a genuine interest in exposing power. She does not and never has. Her limited hangout accomplished exactly as they’d hoped. She is a very embarrassing person. It’s to the point where simping for the imperialist evil that is the U.S. terrorist state signals a lack of an ability to think critically. Our “politics” is surrounded and consumed by such people. But such people are perfect for protecting and pursuing the interests of the ruling class, to the detriment of the vast majority of people generally and of the working class. It’s rotten to the core. There is no reforming this.
Nice work here for what that is worth coming from me. I like your effort here.
You bring up the National Security Act of 1947. This is another huge story too many Americans have little understanding of.
Would you agree the Congress was severely overwhelmed by sheer volume of work, the types of law they were faced with authoring, reviewing, debating and delivering as a final product?
Setting up the scene calls for understanding the U.S. Congress finished Atomic Energy Act of 1946 the previous year. Followed immediately by the creation and passing the National Security Act the next year.
The OSS dissolved Oct 1, 1945 as CIA is conceived and Officially charged with the Passing of the U.S. National Security act of 1947.
As it turns out the country was very vulnerable to opportunistic foreign entities to engaging in espionage against the U.S. All things industrial to all things military, including the nuclear industry. . All the while congress and special interests lined up at the feed troughs in D.C.
Happening in the hey days of American post war expansion during the swap to a peace time/cold war economy, the CIA communist fighters were doing a booming business.
J. William Fulbright it is true harshly criticized for his racist views. Some said he was forced to honor the politics of his constituency. He was considered an outsider by his cohorts.
He tangled with AIPAC. His expressed opinion was congress was controlled by Israel's specifically AIPAC. He was, of course, correct and paid for telling the truth.
Your being a historian I'm thinking your take on this time period would interest others as well as myself.
Criticize Israel and the Zionists and you are labeled an antisemite. How do we account for Max Blumenthal, Glenn Greenwald, Katie Halper, Russell Dobular, and Keaton Weiss?
President Donald Trump and top surrogates of his 2024 campaign — people like JD Vance and Tulsi Gabbard — said “America First” means sidestepping the quicksand of foreign intervention and stanching the flow of Americans’ blood and money to faraway conflicts in which they have no obvious stake. Never forget this....
Wow, Jeff....really great article all the way around. As you well know, the Israeli politicians lied to JFK about what they were doing in Dimona in the 1960s. Wonder what would have happened had JFK decided to bomb Israel's nuclear locations like Israel and the USA have done to Iran's? When LBJ became president, Dimona was blithely ignored and Israel became a nuclear power. And wonder what Americans would have thought of Iran if Iran had overthrown our government in 1953 as the CIA led by Kim Roosevelt did in Iran in 1953 when the CIA re-installed the Shah. None of this is to say that the ayatollah and the IRGC, Hezbollah, Hamas, etc wear white hats...they don't. But not only WHAT was done but HOW is still important in our 250th year. Those who benefitted from JFK's assassination included LBJ, the military/Congressional/industrial complex, the Mafia, anti-Castro Cubans, Texas oil barons, steel barons, the CIA and FBI, the Secret Service....and oh, yeah, Israel!! Those who lost were peace-loving individuals all over the world as the reason JFK was killed was that he was trying to get the US out of Vietnam and to prevent the nuclear threats we were facing then...and still face today!
Hear, hear!
"The once debatable notion that we live in a democratic republic, governed by the Constitution of the United States, has been definitively debunked by the bombing of Tehran. We do not."!Jefferson Morley
It is ironically hypocritical for Morley to oink the sentence above as Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran in the 1950s were attacked in the same fashion as what has happened this week. discounting history is always mistaken disingenuous rhetorical sophistry.
And it needn't be a Democrat to become a genuine Peace Candidate, it always depends on the man or individual person and their principles. This collectivist mentality that Morley displays in as troubling to me as Trump's false promises.
\\][//
Per Lance's comment below: exactly. my hot take on the the last 75years is not very interesting or important. More important, in that time frame, the American belief in a constitutional Republic, once widespread, a point of pride, has faded over the years and is now gone. If you think this is disingenuous sophistry, so be it.
I am speaking to the importance of understanding the critical issue of the National Security State that was signed into law by Harry Truman in 1947. THIS act crushed the constitutional republic by lowering an Iron Curtain between the People of the United States and constitutional governance by replacing the "Right to Know" with the military concept of the "Need to Know". Wherein critical information is classified in a series of Classifications. GOVERNMENT SECRECY was codified. And this Act spawned many agencies born of secrecy and deceit, like the CIA, and NSA. America became a Panoptic Maximum Security State out of the meager beginnings of the 'Military Industrial Complex that Eisenhower warned of. A key moment in this long strange trip was the assassination of President Kennedy, that most here realize was a military coup d'état.
A sophisticated analysis of our current dilemma would recognize that the only sure way to extricate ourselves from this dire situation is to repeal the National Security Act. In one fell swoop that would delegitimize all of these corrupt agencies and their corporate and congressional sponsors. Of course this would be a most difficult thing to achieve without an awakening by the American people in vast numbers.
\\][//
Oh boy...whenever I read "collectivist," it is invariably in the service of right-wing ideology. Any critique of imperialism is ultimately very shallow and superficial if there is no critique of capitalism. Jeff may be basically a New Deal liberal, but at least that allows for some understanding of the corrupting influence of the oligarchs that capitalism cannot but produce and reproduce.
Amen, Aaron!
What Gary,
Is Aaron Good your 'Mother Superior'?
\\][//
My dear Mr. Whitten,
My gosh, Mr. Whitten, Mother Superior Good and I were trying to keep that a secret! Damn! How did you find out?
That said, I'm thrilled to see someone out here who shares my values. I hear your alarm that our once wonderful, capitalist country is threatened by radical Marxists.
Among First World countries, the USA has the highest maternal mortality rate, the highest infant mortality rate, the highest childhood poverty rate, etc. But that's not the bad thing Marxists say it is. If we wealthy shared the money we have with the poor and the working classes, that would have lessened the motivation of the the lesser breeds to lift themselves up by their bootstraps.
Unaffordable health care bills are the No.1 cause of personal bankruptcy in America, a type of bankruptcy that occurs in no other First World country. Marxists believe that bankrupting the sick is a bad thing. It's not. The business of America is business, not healthcare. The only obligation a corporation has to society, my former patient Milton Friedman (RIP) has explained, is to enhance shareholder value. The healthcare business has enriched us shareholders beyond our wildest imaginations, a happy outcome unique to America and one that's unavailable in all other First World, Marxist countries.
Two of our most reliable bulwarks against radical Marxism are now putting out pro Marxist propaganda: the Wall St. Journal and Scientific American.
For, against the experiences of us uber wealthy, they have reported that if one starts out out poor, one's chances of rising to prosperity are worse here in capitalist America than they are in any other First World country. The latter, of course, practice Marxism, with govt. funded health care, free university education in public universities, secure retirement benefits for workers, govt.-assisted child care for the working poor, and a host of other anti capitalist, Marxist practices.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB111595026421432611
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/economic-inequality-it-s-far-worse-than-you-think/
(It should shock the conscience that no First World country but America makes debt peons out of poor smart students trying to get a university education. We are NOT our brothers' keepers. Why should we wealthy be forced share our wealth with poor shlubs trying to get a leg up in life? Glad I don't live in any of those other First World countries!)
The Right Wing thinktank, the Rand Corp., reported that between 1975 and 2023, $79 trillion of wealth moved up from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1%, as if the riches the uber wealthy get when money is moved upward from the poor and working classes to us is a bad thing. It's not; it's a great thing.
[Do you know how much my first class airfare tickets cost these days?!!! It's outrageous! I absolutely need the dough, or I might be forced to sit in steerage with the lazy and unambitious.]
Right on, Mr. Whitten, right on!
"USA has the highest maternal mortality rate, the highest infant mortality rate, the highest childhood poverty rate"~Gary A
And you and people like Aaron Good blame all of this on, "capitalism"?!?!?
How trite, confused and ridiculous. It is the corruption of capitalsim by cabals of powerful elites that cause such dire problems, not only in America, but globally. This corruprion is worse in America simply because America generates the most material wealth.
Capitalism is merely the use of tokens, monitary units for trade rather than barter, plus private ownership, profit motive.
ANY system can be corrupted by the greedy sociopaths of any society. this is one of the most blatant lessons of history.
The Power-Greed Feedback Loop: Power and wealth often corrupt, but corrupt individuals also actively seek power to advance their interests, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the "dark triad" of personality traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, and sociopathy).
Incentive Structures: Many systems, including capitalist, socialist, or autocratic structures, can inadvertently reward ruthlessness. When the pursuit of profit overrides ethical constraints, systems become vulnerable.
Lack of Empathy: Sociopathic individuals, who often lack empathy and guilt, are well-equipped to manipulate systems and people, using charm or intimidation for personal gain.
Normalization of Greed: When a culture or economic system equates success with infinite accumulation, it can lead to the "depersonalization" of the economy, making unethical behavior easier to justify.
Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective
Historical Examples of Corruption
Roman Republic (Crassus): Marcus Licinius Crassus amassed wealth through "fire brigades"—buying homes for pennies while they were burning—and by influencing political proscriptions (hit lists) to seize property, using the chaotic system to become the richest man in Rome.
The Gilded Age (19th Century): In the United States, railroad companies (Crédit Mobilier) bribed congressmen with stocks to inflate costs for federal infrastructure projects, a classic example of private interest corrupting public office.
The 2008 Financial Crisis: Unregulated, greedy, and predatory lending practices—which targeted vulnerable communities with subprime mortgages—ultimately caused a global economic collapse.
Corporate Fraud (Enron/Madoff): In the modern era, fraudulent accounting (Enron) and Ponzi schemes (Bernie Madoff) demonstrated how individuals can manipulate financial systems for immense personal profit, destroying the livelihoods of many in the process.
Political Machines (Tammany Hall): Leaders like "Boss" Tweed in 19th-century New York manipulated municipal systems to embezzle millions of taxpayer dollars.
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Mr. Good,
Did you perhaps post comments on "Truth and Shadows" hosted by Craig McKee back in the 1990s?
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Mr. Good,
The following is the totality of what I said in reference to the term "collectivist,"
*This collectivist mentality that Morley displays in as troubling to me as Trump's false promises.*
You consider this to be "in the service of right-wing ideology," while you are critical of capitalism; which is the same ideological critique made by Marx and Engles in the "Communist Manifesto", published back in 1848. You may recall the "Cold War" being waged agains the Soviet Union by the Western world led by the United States of America. This just so happens to be the time that there was the military coup d'état that killed President Kennedy.
Are you now telling the forum under the pretense of this so-called "corrupting influence of the oligarchs" that you prefer the Communist regime that the Soviets maintained until 1991, to the constitutional republic established by our Forefathers begining with the Declaration of Independence in 1776?
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JFK tried to end the Cold War because the Cold War a stupid, human-existence-threatening contrivance. It was deemed necessary by USA's capitalist overlords so they could have an excuse to dominate the world and to kill all those who oppose being exploited by Western capitalists.
The Cold War entailed the institutionalized abrogation of the Constitution. Therefore, you need to either fetishize the Constitution *or* the Cold War---it really can't be both.
"The Cold War entailed the institutionalized abrogation of the Constitution. Therefore, you need to either fetishize the Constitution *or* the Cold War---it really can't be both."~Aaron Good
Your entire reply is one of the most astonishing declarations I have ever read from an American. The term "USA's capitalist overlords," again harkens back to the work by Marx and Engels, the ever despicable, 'Communist Manifesto'.
You offer me the choice ; "to either to either fetishize the Constitution *or* the Cold War," So to support the US Constitution is to "fetishize" that document in your view?!? The Cold War in essence was a struggle against the brutal Communist tyranny of the USSR by patriotic Americans. President Kennedy was one of those patriotic Americans. As anyone knows who has followed Mr. Morley's work, it was not the Soviets who killed Kennedy. It was traitors in the unconstitutional National Security State who staged a military coup d'état, not the "USA's capitalist overlords". Yes this coup was supported by elements in the corporate arms industry, and oil barons, but to refer to them as "capitalist overlords" is simplistic and trite. It is America's capitalist system that has made America an economic powerhouse lifting up American citizens' lifestyle as the envy of the world.
Now as I explained earlier in this very thread, it was the passage of the National Security Act in 1947 by President Harry S, Truman that created the crisis in the American republic we still suffer from. This act spawned a militaristic state based on secrecy and covert governance. Rather than the Right to know of the constitutional civilian state. Suddenly it was the militaristic "Need to know" demanding classification of once fully public information by rules made in secret by military and their corporate sponsors.
Now this is a situation that you have offered the trite characterization as "capitalist overlords". This is the *military industrial complex* That president Dwight D, Eisenhower warned of in his farewell speech.
I reject your Marxist interpretation of the past century. I reject it entirely with prejudiced vigor.
I am a Christian and an American Patriot forever. God Bless America.
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It's against Substack rules for you to huff paint for 60 minutes and then start posting comments here like this. I'm going to report you to the authorities.
Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good one Good!!!
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You need to read the paragraph again, it is undeniable that a large swath of Americans did and do believe we live in a Democratic republic, at no point is Mr. Morley saying we did or do.
Well Arrowood,
You are both totally wrong, the United States is a 'National Security State, and has been since 1947 when Truman signed the National Security Act. An authoritarian curtain fell between the People and the US Constitution. The civilian 'right to know' was crushed by the military 'need to know' and all important information was deemed a National Security secret and put in a scale of Classified documentation. The Act created a panopoly of covert agencies such as the CIA, NSA CIA, DIA, and various specialized military and departmental intelligence agencies and their corporate sponsors. This was referred to by President Eisenhower as, the Military Industrial Complex.
The only way to restore the republic is to repeal the National Security Act.
But this will never happen with all the autoritarian nutballs in the federal government at the current time.
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That's it, in a nutshell.
"believe we live in a Democratic republic,"~arrowood
He did not say that he said, "a Democrat"
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I want to thank Margot Williams for grasping what I meant in my reply to Mr. Morley by "liking" my comment.
What potential Democrat nominee is anywhere near as capable as JFK was?
Khana and Massey are demonstrating that a couple of the current cadre of elected members possess the necessary morals to oversee the dumpster cleanup.
I'm thinking about starting An Ohio Democrats for Massey campaign
How about Americans for Massie? Think big.
GREAT! Perhaps non-republicans for Massey, especially if Ohio has a significant voting block of Indepentents.
Maybe just Ohioans for Massey. I figure his district includes all the Cincinnati suburbs on the Kentucky side of the river
And thank you for serving
Ayatollah Khamenei is dead. Airstrikes have killed the 86-year-old supreme leader of Iran, prompting a wide range of reactions both internationally and at home.
No friend of freedom should weep for Khamenei, a wicked dictator whose 37-year reign was marked by brutal crackdowns on dissenters, the fostering of Islamic extremism as the dominant form of government in the country, and stubborn conflict with America and its allies. This was an evil man, and the people of Iran would be better off with better leadership.
But that does not mean Khamenei will be succeeded by better leadership. The CIA's assessment was that an equally rapacious figure would be likely to replace the ayatollah. One may hope that the people of Iran will rise up, overthrow the regime, and install a freer system. But if the previous 25 years of U.S. involvement in the Middle East are any lesson, American dreams of seeding democracy in the region often come up short.
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Not certain DJT has “visions of sewing democracy” in the Middle-East. So far, he has demonstrated a first-rate capacity for un-sewing democracy in the Country he presides over. My first inclination is that the Epstein drama is getting too hot for DJT AND Israel, what a timely diversion. Second, Iran’s looming nuclear capability presents the “perfect excuse” to accelerate the already stalled disarmament negotiations. I’m certain the USA can and will create an untenable scenario for the Iranian’s on the street, if our history since Nicaragua is any indication of our political genius. Finally, I want to applaud Jefferson for stating that Vietnam was a waste of 50,000 American souls!! That number represents those lost on the battlefield. If you are cognizant of the many thousands that bring their battered bodies and minds to the VA for treatment as a result of their participation in Vietnam, that number is insufficient, especially to the extended families and working-class communities. I would advance that number closer to 250,000 who did not die on the battlefield but returned to American soil, often to families who could not cope with the family member they once knew. Tens of thousands more did die from self induced suicide. I believe war is “overrated!” Thank you Jefferson for your acknowledgement!!
There is currently no nuclear to deter We had a good treaty that Trump tore up
It’s my understanding that a narrative proclaiming that Iran is days away from achieving a nuclear weapon is being promoted by the Trump Administration, if that is accurate.
I just saw a video showing that Netanyahu has been saying that very same thing since the 90s.
This war like every war since WWII is unconstitutional. WWII was the last time there was a Congressional Declaration of War. The President has no authority to declare war. President Trump should be impeached for disregarding the Constitution.
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"So far, he has demonstrated a first-rate capacity for un-sewing democracy in the Country he presides over. My first inclination is that the Epstein drama is getting too hot for DJT AND Israel, what a timely diversion."~Eldon Krugman
I do not share such unfounded views as these. Domestically President Trump gets my full endorsement. His handling of the illegal alien crisis created by the corrupt Biden regime has ended the crisis at the southern boarder, and ICE is doing an excellent job Under Tom Homan who has handled things well in confronting the veritable Bolshavik revolution in Marxist Minnesota under the Marxist governor Tim Walz.
No, my critique of President Trump sits soley on his unfathomable ultra-Zionism and his attatchment to the war criminal Netanyahu in supporting the terror state of Israel.
Trump has and never has had anything to do with Jeffery Epstein's illicet sexual escapades.
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A jury in New York strongly disagreed with your statement that Trump had no involvement in Epstein crimes. And Trump and his Gestapo ICE agents need to be prosecuted and jailed.
You are totally full of the proverbial "It" Mr. Main,
Based on available records, there is no indication that a jury in New York has found Donald Trump to have been involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes.
2021 Maxwell Trial: In the 2021 trial of Ghislaine Maxwell (Epstein's associate), a federal jury in New York convicted her of sex trafficking. While that case involved evidence of abuse, Donald Trump was not charged or found guilty of any involvement in those crimes.
Documentation and Testimony: While court records and unsealed documents have documented that Trump and Epstein were acquaintances and ran in the same social circles in the 1990s, no public evidence has emerged from court proceedings or investigations, including testimony from survivors, that connects Trump to the illegal, criminal conduct of Jeffrey Epstein.
Lawsuits and Denials: Past lawsuits alleging misconduct by Trump in connection with Epstein were either dismissed or withdrawn. Trump has consistently denied any knowledge of or involvement in Epstein's criminal activities.
PBS
PBS
+8
While there have been intense political discussions, media speculation, and demands for the release of all files related to the Epstein case, a guilty verdict or finding of fact by a jury regarding Trump's involvement in Epstein’s criminal network has not occurred.
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I’m talking about E Jean Carroll. He lost that one - a jury trial. Trump has had more women accuse him of sexual assault than I can count. And girls who were minors at the time. Do you want to deny that?
"Do you want to deny that?"~Paul Main
Yes!!! E Jean Carroll is a known liar who couldn't even state when this alleged assault occurred, neither the date or even the year. You haven't seemed to notice that the New Your judiciary is almost exclusively Democrat and totally biased against Trump. They even allowed the case to proceed even though the statute of limitations had passed.
____________________________
E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit against Donald Trump proceeded despite expired statutes of limitations because of New York’s Adult Survivors Act (ASA). Signed in May 2022, this law created a one-year window allowing sexual assault victims to file civil claims for, at that time, long-past events. Carroll filed her lawsuit on the day this law took effect. They created this act specifically to get Trump.
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WW, my military service was in defense of the First Amendment, therefore your views are wholly your views and the cadre of citizens who agree with you. My service from 1967-1970 gave me first-hand experience to not believe the official narrative coming out of DC. I believe we are on a “Thelma and Louise” mission, both internationally and domestically. The high prices of goods, in part due to tariffs (that have been collected) that have been passed on to consumers by small business is bringing this economy to a screeching slow down, if you are paying attention.
Mr. Krugman,
My view of history is a long one. And that view shows me that the reason for high prices for everything comes from Woodrow Wilson who in 1913 established the unconstitutional 'Federal Reserve'. The dollar has lost 97 percent of its value since the 1913 creation of the Federal Reserve System.
A 1913 dollar had the same buying power as over $32 today.
Blaming inflation on the president du jour is preposterous.
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I believe your record is cracked. It’s playing the same line over and over?!
I haven't has a phonograph record since the 1970s. I have CDs and YouTube music videos now in the postmodern dystopian fantasy world of Lash LaRue with a hoolahoop for a whip.
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Go research Marxism
Trump thinks Iran will be like Afghanistan and Iraq We see what happened there. Plus Iran has a much stronger leadership infrastructure
👍
One of the best statements I’ve seen about our proxy war. Thank you Jeff. We also need to look to the Silicon Valley faux libertarian support given to JD Vance’s rise to the VP. See the latest “Atlantic” article describing a one Rod Dreher as the brains behind JD Vance etal neocons.
"This is a war on Israel’s behalf with the specific intent of preserving Israel’s monopoly on nuclear weapons and advancing its plans to dominate the region with regime change ambitions. Its why JFK sought to bring Israel into the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1963 and establish a nuclear-free Middle East: to forestall such a war."
Spot on.
I don't think this is a war on Israel's behalf Trump is going along but he only thinks about Trump
The vast majority of our politicians are Israel First. Almost every member of Congress has an AIPAC babysitter monitoring every vote and every policy position according to Rep. Thomas Massie.
Not certain we’re solving “who killed Kennedy” here, but I don’t believe there is a more important issue to critique and understand in 2026 than the tangled USA/Israel alliance. I believe Massie and MTG are the canary in the coal mine. We often use the phrase, “Trump only cares about Trump.” I believe we can extend that to “Israel only cares about Israel.” As a relatively small country, surrounded by hostile nations and severely outnumbered by Arab populations, intent on eliminating Jews, this certainly looks like a “winnable situation” or NOT! I do not believe American citizens should be entering this fray any more than we are entering Ukraine. I am not in favor of the massive financial impact this “not a war” special military engagement is going to place on working class Americans. WAKE UP! Israel and Trump are invoking Armageddon!
It has been estimated that the Iran war will add $10 trillion to the national debt, all for another war against a faraway country that poses no threat to us.
Do they care what happens to us?
https://youtu.be/uwlrKyoYCa8?si=Oa9LS1Aj5a03Ueq8
Great article, but I have a hard time thinking the last paragraph is possible. You know the old saying, "party differences disappear at the shoreline". I don't believe someone w the foresight and strength of JFK to break that saying can obtain the presidency in this country anymore, and look what they did to him for doing so.
Isn’t it just an international white nationalist agenda. A kind of fourth Reich.
The Trump War Plan. The US attacks Iran. Iran attacks the Gulf States. No shit, Sherlock. The US military conveniently runs short of ammo and can’t finish the job in Iran. Oil prices soar and the Saudis, the UAE and the rest of the oil-rich states have to kowtow to Trump for years after he ‘saves them’ from an attack he orchestrated. People get killed, but others get rich. Very rich. The End.
Oh, and maybe some regime change in Iran thrown in for window dressing. None of this is about religion, or Israel, or anything deep. It’s all about the money - it’s one big kids’ board game where the US feels threatened by China, India, Russia, even Europe and the UK, and need to strategically reposition themselves on the board. Trump has rolled the dice…
And now Baku gets hit. Anyone now smell the whiff of oil, control and many riches? And going one step further, why would Iran drone-strike Azerbaijan? Makes no sense, they are denying it which makes no sense either, and now another oil-rich nation gets hit. Who ya gonna call? DT.
It was debunked way before the bombing of Tehran but that’s another story. Great article.
I’ve especially found it funny watching our “old friend” Luna gleefully act as the admin’s mouth piece, attempting to justify what cannot be. We were foolish to ever believe that she had a genuine interest in exposing power. She does not and never has. Her limited hangout accomplished exactly as they’d hoped. She is a very embarrassing person. It’s to the point where simping for the imperialist evil that is the U.S. terrorist state signals a lack of an ability to think critically. Our “politics” is surrounded and consumed by such people. But such people are perfect for protecting and pursuing the interests of the ruling class, to the detriment of the vast majority of people generally and of the working class. It’s rotten to the core. There is no reforming this.
Nice work here for what that is worth coming from me. I like your effort here.
You bring up the National Security Act of 1947. This is another huge story too many Americans have little understanding of.
Would you agree the Congress was severely overwhelmed by sheer volume of work, the types of law they were faced with authoring, reviewing, debating and delivering as a final product?
Setting up the scene calls for understanding the U.S. Congress finished Atomic Energy Act of 1946 the previous year. Followed immediately by the creation and passing the National Security Act the next year.
The OSS dissolved Oct 1, 1945 as CIA is conceived and Officially charged with the Passing of the U.S. National Security act of 1947.
As it turns out the country was very vulnerable to opportunistic foreign entities to engaging in espionage against the U.S. All things industrial to all things military, including the nuclear industry. . All the while congress and special interests lined up at the feed troughs in D.C.
Happening in the hey days of American post war expansion during the swap to a peace time/cold war economy, the CIA communist fighters were doing a booming business.
J. William Fulbright it is true harshly criticized for his racist views. Some said he was forced to honor the politics of his constituency. He was considered an outsider by his cohorts.
He tangled with AIPAC. His expressed opinion was congress was controlled by Israel's specifically AIPAC. He was, of course, correct and paid for telling the truth.
Your being a historian I'm thinking your take on this time period would interest others as well as myself.
Good stuff!
Anyone who desires war these days is insane. - JFK
https://x.com/monikawiesak/status/2027744914398973984?s=57
Those self-appointed generals & admirals who want to send someone else's son to war ought to be kept at home by the voters. - JFK
https://x.com/monikawiesak/status/2027786452004999299?s=61
https://youtu.be/V13sGGF3bU8?t=8
-- Jeffrey Sachs: 'PSYCHOPATH' Trump Makes Bibi's FANTASY Come True
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Criticize Israel and the Zionists and you are labeled an antisemite. How do we account for Max Blumenthal, Glenn Greenwald, Katie Halper, Russell Dobular, and Keaton Weiss?
Or Peter Hager and Jen Perelman of Revolutionary Change?
President Donald Trump and top surrogates of his 2024 campaign — people like JD Vance and Tulsi Gabbard — said “America First” means sidestepping the quicksand of foreign intervention and stanching the flow of Americans’ blood and money to faraway conflicts in which they have no obvious stake. Never forget this....
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