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Octafish

(55,745 posts)
65. Thank you, Sir. It would be an privilege for me.
Wed Dec 21, 2011, 05:38 PM
Dec 2011
Here's one of many things I'd be honored to hear you expound upon, the guy who pegged the One Percent before it was cool:


The Origins of the Overclass

By Steve Kangas

The wealthy have always used many methods to accumulate wealth, but it was not until the mid-1970s that these methods coalesced into a superbly organized, cohesive and efficient machine. After 1975, it became greater than the sum of its parts, a smooth flowing organization of advocacy groups, lobbyists, think tanks, conservative foundations, and PR firms that hurtled the richest 1 percent into the stratosphere.

The origins of this machine, interestingly enough, can be traced back to the CIA. This is not to say the machine is a formal CIA operation, complete with code name and signed documents. (Although such evidence may yet surface — and previously unthinkable domestic operations such as MK-ULTRA, CHAOS and MOCKINGBIRD show this to be a distinct possibility.) But what we do know already indicts the CIA strongly enough. Its principle creators were Irving Kristol, Paul Weyrich, William Simon, Richard Mellon Scaife, Frank Shakespeare, William F. Buckley, Jr., the Rockefeller family, and more. Almost all the machine's creators had CIA backgrounds.

During the 1970s, these men would take the propaganda and operational techniques they had learned in the Cold War and apply them to the Class War. Therefore it is no surprise that the American version of the machine bears an uncanny resemblance to the foreign versions designed to fight communism. The CIA's expert and comprehensive organization of the business class would succeed beyond their wildest dreams. In 1975, the richest 1 percent owned 22 percent of America’s wealth. By 1992, they would nearly double that, to 42 percent — the highest level of inequality in the 20th century.

How did this alliance start? The CIA has always recruited the nation’s elite: millionaire businessmen, Wall Street brokers, members of the national news media, and Ivy League scholars. During World War II, General "Wild Bill" Donovan became chief of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the CIA. Donovan recruited so exclusively from the nation’s rich and powerful that members eventually came to joke that "OSS" stood for "Oh, so social!"

CONTINUED...

http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-overclass.html

PS: Along with all that stuff outta Sam Adams, that Old Style is about my favorite domestic. It would be a blast... Thanks, Jackpine Radical.
I don't like conservatives. [View all] Octafish Dec 2011 OP
Big time K and R Kingofalldems Dec 2011 #1
What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" Octafish Dec 2011 #11
K & R a million. Never forget. freshwest Dec 2011 #18
Be very careful... GTurck Dec 2011 #26
"Get out there and be nice, liberal, and tolerant to a fault." mac56 Dec 2011 #30
What Mac Said` ProfessorGAC Dec 2011 #33
+100 Myrina Dec 2011 #38
Are you insane? Hawkowl Dec 2011 #64
Possibly... GTurck Dec 2011 #74
"Let the jerks on the far right punch a pillow that can't lose its shape.. mac56 Dec 2011 #78
^^^^ blm Dec 2011 #2
Did Nixon Commit Treason in 1968? What The New LBJ Tapes Reveal. Octafish Dec 2011 #12
OMG - that Seuss / Lovecraft link! klook Dec 2011 #31
Actually this new breed of "conservatives" would make even someone like truedelphi Dec 2011 #3
Read John Dean's "Conservatives Without Conscience" hifiguy Dec 2011 #7
I bought that book but just the chapters chilled my blood. I gave it away to a young person to read. freshwest Dec 2011 #19
The "new breed" PatSeg Dec 2011 #42
Conservatism's most recent champion actually stated that "Money trumps peace." Octafish Dec 2011 #63
As far as your PS - truedelphi Dec 2011 #102
and I don't like the flu. Burgman Dec 2011 #4
Who here remembers LBJ's Great Society? Octafish Dec 2011 #66
Kickety rec! hifiguy Dec 2011 #5
How Ayn Rand Seduced Generations of Young Men and Helped Make the U.S. Into a Selfish, Greedy Nation Octafish Dec 2011 #70
That's the way I feel Autumn Dec 2011 #6
They're so greedy, they're willing to help us out by stealing our Party. Octafish Dec 2011 #71
I'll tell you one thing for sure, I'm not voting for a blue dog Autumn Dec 2011 #72
Wow, talk about a purity test! Richardo Dec 2011 #8
Just stating a fact. Octafish Dec 2011 #76
We have two parties. They have their own, let them stay there and reform it. I think we sabrina 1 Dec 2011 #93
To me, it's not personal--I don't like their ideas... Bogart Dec 2011 #9
Care to expand on that? UnrepentantLiberal Dec 2011 #27
That is an odd comment isn't it? HangOnKids Dec 2011 #49
Personally, I try not to denigrate anyone; however, I don't have a whole lot of patience Bogart Dec 2011 #68
What the hell does that mean? UnrepentantLiberal Dec 2011 #85
You are not a liberal; thus, you would not understand. Bogart Dec 2011 #87
I'm not? UnrepentantLiberal Dec 2011 #89
That Isn't Necessary--We Live In An Era Where Words Can And Often Do, Bogart Dec 2011 #90
The Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary, defines liberal as: Bogart Dec 2011 #67
I thought that this is where you were going UnrepentantLiberal Dec 2011 #92
It has nothing to do with where I am going. Per your request, I "expanded on that." Bogart Dec 2011 #96
Cute. I'm not into playing silly right wing UnrepentantLiberal Dec 2011 #97
Clearly, you are more interested in playing games where words have no meanings. Bogart Dec 2011 #98
Thanks for making clear what I did not, Bogart. Octafish Dec 2011 #77
It's the whole "fact-free" thing that gets me Mopar151 Dec 2011 #10
Research indicates viewing Fox News makes people dumber. Octafish Dec 2011 #83
Faux viewers certainly don't like hearing this Mopar151 Dec 2011 #99
I know some conservatives that I like. ZombieHorde Dec 2011 #13
Good for you. Octafish Dec 2011 #82
Neither do I. K&R (nt) T S Justly Dec 2011 #14
K & R! lonestarnot Dec 2011 #15
I don't like conservatives either. Solly Mack Dec 2011 #16
Kick and recommend. luv_mykatz Dec 2011 #17
What's to like? Zorra Dec 2011 #20
K&R (n/t) a2liberal Dec 2011 #21
What a sad OP hfojvt Dec 2011 #22
If it's just about winning elections UnrepentantLiberal Dec 2011 #28
If it's NOT about winning elections Richardo Dec 2011 #40
Political parties are not unlike religions. tblue Dec 2011 #56
I assume that means you're so/so on moderates? JohnnyRingo Dec 2011 #23
+1. nt MADem Dec 2011 #35
+1 Richardo Dec 2011 #41
"Corporations are our Friends" Romney's a "moderate" Republican? HughBeaumont Dec 2011 #46
I know on our scale he's on the corporate right... JohnnyRingo Dec 2011 #48
And there you have it. HughBeaumont Dec 2011 #50
I'm with you all the way JohnnyRingo Dec 2011 #55
Polygraph would'nt work on Mittens Mopar151 Dec 2011 #100
You think Romney is a moderate? Octafish Dec 2011 #81
Of course you think he's a hard nosed conservative. JohnnyRingo Dec 2011 #86
Just to be clear, I'm a Kennedy Democrat. Eleanor Roosevelt thought him too conservative. Octafish Dec 2011 #88
a certain amount of "conservatism" is necessary human balance and stability. tomp Dec 2011 #24
Yes, that is true. hifiguy Dec 2011 #37
I know! Today's 'Conservatives' are downright radical. tblue Dec 2011 #57
people can and will say just about anything. tomp Dec 2011 #91
And You'll Prevent People From Voting For Blue Dogs? KharmaTrain Dec 2011 #25
KnR 72...you go guy..... opihimoimoi Dec 2011 #29
reeducation camps?? tatfreak79 Dec 2011 #32
I don't either. Here's the thing about the rest - You can force politicians to think and act one way bigtree Dec 2011 #34
Let's talk it over--Here: Jackpine Radical Dec 2011 #36
Thank you, Sir. It would be an privilege for me. Octafish Dec 2011 #65
I'd be most happy to hoist a few with yu. Jackpine Radical Dec 2011 #79
I do my best to try not to find out if someone is a republican so I won't take an attitude ThomThom Dec 2011 #39
You're describing a religion, not a political party Richardo Dec 2011 #43
Now that you mention it, possibly. Octafish Dec 2011 #62
Between inability to see shades of gray and inability to see and accept facts, I dislike them too. Thor_MN Dec 2011 #44
I don't either. Raffi Ella Dec 2011 #45
Word jugglery Roy Rolling Dec 2011 #47
Yep, not many actual "conservatives" ... Martin Eden Dec 2011 #53
Thank you, Roy Rolling. That is exactly right. Octafish Dec 2011 #84
A-Fucking-Men! K & R! robertpaulsen Dec 2011 #51
I don't like corporate fascists. Here in Wisconsin we have Weimar Republicans, we are at war. bobthedrummer Dec 2011 #52
What you said. And many thanks to you Wisconsinites for getting this push back started against these lib_wit_it Dec 2011 #54
A note of dissent. mojowork_n Dec 2011 #59
Well, a lot of people claim that what you say is true, but I'm not so sure. If someone supports a lib_wit_it Dec 2011 #60
Standing up to them doesn't mean you deny their humanity. mojowork_n Dec 2011 #69
My family and self were viewed as less than human for decades. We became a longitudinal "research" bobthedrummer Dec 2011 #94
I know, Octafish. tblue Dec 2011 #58
Thanks, tblue! Remember Steve Kangas? Octafish Dec 2011 #61
Putting money above people is a natural consequence of our capitalist system ChillbertKChesterton Dec 2011 #73
The conservative vs liberal paradigm no longer exists in American government mmonk Dec 2011 #75
I can't relate to this Enrique Dec 2011 #80
The majority of the American public have been brainwashed ... kentuck Dec 2011 #95
Kick! sarcasmo Dec 2011 #101
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