JFK ASSASSINATION - POSSIBLE OVERLOOKED SOURCE - Hugh Murray

     Is it possible some info re the Kennedy assassination has lain dormant for over 70 years?  I grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana, and it was rather conservative politically in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s.  One example: during one summer, a La. legislative committee devoted at least 3 hours of radio time to their history of the American Civil Liberties Union.  The conclusion of the legislative committee - the ACLU was founded in the era of WWI by communists and it remains a red organization today, pushing communist programs like race mixing.  As school was out, I got to hear the whole program.

     The American Legion was a popular organization, and its members dominated LUAC, the Louisiana Un-American Activities Committee.  The Legion also sponsored civic educational programs like Pelican Boys State.

     In May of 1955 I completed my 2nd year at Warren Easton Senior High (grades 10, 11, and 12) with only one more to go to graduate.  I was also invited to represent Easton at Boys State that summer, which would be held in Baton Rouge.  We were to create a new state government and on the last day, debate a proposed law, which all hoped might influence the real legislators to do the same.  Informally, word got round that the Legion thought it wise to have a law promoting Reserve Officer Training in all public schools.  If Boys State passed such a "law," perhaps the real legislators would follow and do the same.  I was 16 years old, and most of us were about the same age.

     I did not know another young man at this conclave; I think all of us were essentially alone.  We had no programs of our own.  We would stay in the LSU dorm rooms in the football stadium, and work on policy at the State Capitol building or other state offices. At one of our first meetings for business, we had elections for this and that, speaking for or against someone we barely knew.  I was elected to the BS La Senate.  The next order of business - what would we debate on the big night at the end of the week?.  Most assumed it would be ROTC.  I rose and suggested another topic - just one year ago the US Supreme Court had overturned 60 years of precedent, with racial segregation, to rule that racial segregation should now end "with all deliberate speed".  Why not debate that?  My question was quickly answered when another Senator rose and declared we should not debate that, as I was the only one who favored it.  Then, I, and I'm sure many others, were similarly shocked when other senators rose to support my resolution.  I had not spoken with anyone prior, had not lobbied, yet there was support for this debate topic.  We decided to debate integration in summer 1953 in the Louisiana Senate.  I suspect that the American Legionnaires were not pleased.

    For the last night of that week, we all marched through the streets of Baton Rouge from LSU to the state capital, built under one of Huey Long's administrations.  In the real statte Senate we debated integration.  I wondered how the vote would go.  If we won, this would not be just local news, but international news.  I assume Legionnaires were wondering too.  At a certain point, a Legionnaire took the roster to announce that the Senate Chamber had to be evacuated immediately; there was no time for a vote on the debated measure!

     Skip to October  3, 1963.  I was teaching 5th grade to a small wonderful class at a new school.  After work that day I had arranged a game of tennis with a friend, so I did not get home till somewhat later.  My mother greeted me, "Hrmph, I thought they had rounded you up too."  My mom was not as sharp as she had been, but I wondered what she was talking about, and rushed to turn on tv news.  LUAC with the help of the new DA, Jim Garrison, had arrested the leader of the Southern Conference Education Fund (a pro-integration small organization, and I subscribed to its newsletter) and civil liberties attorney Ben Smith.  A good friend of mine from Tulane U. Jack Peebles, had joined Smith's law firm.  The media was happy with the raids on the subversives.  And though Garrison, the only elected official to try to expose the BS of the Warren Commission on JFK, his early actions as DA were not liberal.

     My question, where was LUAC during the summer of 1963?  That summer on WDSU radio Lee Oswald had an hour to discuss his politics.  Not a communist, but a Marxist he said, and more for an hour.  Oswald handed out Fair Play for Cuba leaflets, and even had a fight with an anti-Castro refugee from Cuba, for which Oswald was arrested.  Of course, the strange thing: Oswald was working on that project with staunch anti-communist Guy Banister, former leader of the FBI in Chicago, former Acting Superintendent of the NO Police, then his own detective agency, where the pro-Castro leaflets used by Oswald were stored, etc.  Why didn't the LUAC (Am Legion leaders) go after Oswald, instead of Ben Smith, SCEF, or possibly me!

     I suspect Banister must have told the Legion leaders of LUAC, NOT to go after Oswald.  Perhaps, he said more like, he's one of ours, or he works for one of the American agencies.  Could something like this still be in the dusty files of LUAC??

If Oswald were one of ours, was his defection to the USSR a fake one?  And was he being set up to be a PATSY?

HUGH MURRAY

For many in the South, race-mixing, integration was communism.  The American Legion conducted Bayou Boys State for black high school boys and in accord with Louisiana's segregation laws.

The LUAC raid in New Orleans occurred October 3, 1963.  November 2, 1963, South Vietnam's President Diem was killed and his regime in Saigon overthrown in a coup approved by America's CIA.  On November 22, 1963, another President was killed and his leadership overthrown in a coup.

I have no idea about the views of the American Legion nationally, but in NOLA, they tended to be conservative.  They were unhappy with Pres. Eisenhower when he supported statehood for Hawaii and Alaska.  Clearly they were not white enough to join the union.  Even after admission to statehood, the Legion's social group retained the name "40 and 8".  Like many others of that era, the Legion seemed to view integration as subversion. 

REMEMBER WORKING AT THE OLD WORLD TRADE CENTER -- HUGH MURRAY

  Re 9/11  2001

     I returned to NYC in the late 1970s from teaching for a year in Europe.  Had to find a place to stay and a job.  Luckily I quickly found a post with the state government, Workers Compensation agency, located on a number of floors of #2 World Trade Center.  The 2 huge sky scrapers were the tallest in the world for a time, so impressive, that Hollywood made a new King Kong film to show the world the new structures, that were higher than the Empire State Building which still stood further north on Manhattan.  the WTC was right by the southern tip of Manhattan, and the treat of where I worked, in winter the sun would set in the background while we could gaze down on the Statue of Liberty on the small island to the south.

     Perhaps around 1982 the Workers Comp agency, of about 5 floors, had a fired drill on the 35? floor.  I worked on the 38th.  We all gathered round the expert who spoke to us by the elevators.  I recall little of his discussion of what to do in case of fire, - except one very important point.  The elevators for the new buildings included an easier method to call the elevators.  Instead of pushing buttons, just the heat of your finger was sufficient to call the elevator to your floor.  Then the catch - the instructor informed us, in case of fire Never use the elevator as the heat of the fire would bring you to the floor with the fire.  A shocker.  Not too bad as we were on the floors of the 30s; what do you do if you work on the 110th floor?  I did not ask; but was happy I worked on the 38th.

     This is a problem we can assume the authorities knew of, and must have fixed before other problems drove in or flew in.

      All humans are much alike, and yet, we are all different.  I admit, I am somewhat off the beaten track.  It was the early 1980s, and sometimes, rather than take the subway to work, I would walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and the sun and clouds would engulf the 2 twin towers sometimes, sometimes making the appear almost purple.  Other days I took the tube for a short, hot, sweaty, smelly ride across the East River to the WTC stop.  One day got out the subway, went to the lower floor of the WTC to get a "local" elevator (for higher floors, there were other banks for those express lifts to the higher floors, fast.  This day, none of the elvators were working, and the area was packed with all the people wanting to get to their jobs up stairs;    I looked.  How long would it take for all the people waiting ahead of me before I could get near an elevator.  On occasion, I had walked down the 38 flights, so I knew where the stairs were.  Should I walk up?  I might be really late for work if the elevators begin to work.  Or stay?  I chose to walk up.  All was usual, until I reached the 9th floor; I looked up and there seemed to be no lights above me.  I kept walking up.  By the 11th floor, I put my hand in front of my face, and could not see it.

      On ground level there were many eateries for tourists and workers, but many who worked in the WTC chose to save money by bringing their own sandwiches and soda and ate on the stairs, which were no wider than average stairways.  Often paper plates and soda bottles were left on the stairs.  Now in total darkness, I had to use my foot and try to make sure each step up was safe.  To fall in this darkness could be catastrophic.  Meanwhile, I could still hear the swaying of the tower with the wind, a sound not heard on the floors, but in the stair wells, you knew it was not a ship but the tower build to sway.

     

When I reached the 38th floor, I had not trouble opening the door.  When I appeared, the early bird group, who had arrived prior to the elevator problem, was working normally.  Phones, everything was going smoothly.  The elevators were still not running, and I was the only one from the 9am group to arrive.  But I was shocked - how can the elevators be out, and there areno lights in the stairs?  To me this was dangerous.

     Workers Comp was about to move to a different location, one I wanted to avoid, so I planned to leave the job.  I spoke to our union rep about contacting OCEA  and hoped both of us would write them about this problem.  I left in 1983.

     A decade later, I was watching the nightly news and the big story was about an attempt to blow up the World Trade Center.  Apparently, explosives were in a truck in a parking garage below the buildings.  I was shocked to learn that the lights on the stairways were out (at least in some places), slowing evacuation.  As a result of the terror attack from below, there were many injured, as some deaths, and the need for costly repairs to the buildings.

      From Milwaukee I wrote a letter about the problems on the stairs, and sent it to 4 large newspapers, the NY Times, the NY Post, the NY Daily News, and Long Island Newsday.  3 of those papers printed my letter, all except the Times.  Still, with circulation into the millions, one can assume many read my letter, and would have demanded improvement on the stairs.

     I was still in Milwaukee when 9/11 occurred.  Truly shocking.  Afterward, a friend of mine of that era, Clark Rowley, wrote me:

Dear Hugh:  Read an article about the evacuation of the wtc.  Following quotes: "After the bombing, however, batteries were added to every other light fixture in stairwells in case power went out.  Handrails were painted with glow-in-the-dark paint, which also was used to mark a continuous stripe down the middle of the staircases. A public address system was added."  An earlier paragraph said: "In 1993, it took six hours to evacuate most of the Trade Center after terrorists detonated a bomb in an underground garage, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000.  This time, despite missteps, evacuation was cut by several hours.:  Your old letter helped urge them on."

    I do not maintain that my letter was the only impetus that pushed change in the stairs, and saved lived on 9/11, but I do think it helped.   Hugh Murray

    My letter to the NY Post was published Mon. 8 March 1993, p. 16.  The NY Daily News and Newsday published it on the same day or around that date.

FROM RT - MORE ON THE FAUCI FRAUD AND HIS ATTEMPTS TO HIDE HIS LIES

Fauci aide admits conspiring to hide Covid records

David Morens admitted using private email to conceal communications tied to US-funded coronavirus research in Wuhan

Published 20 Aug, 2026 02:26 | Updated 20 Aug, 2026 03:30

David Morens, former top adviser to former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci. © Getty Images / Andrew Harnik

A former senior official who worked under US Covid czar Anthony Fauci has pleaded guilty to conspiring to hide government records concerning coronavirus research and the origins of the pandemic.

David Morens served as a senior adviser at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which Fauci headed, between 2006 and 2022. He was indicted on April 28 on charges including conspiracy against the US, destroying or falsifying federal records, concealing records, and aiding and abetting, over an alleged scheme to evade public-records requests concerning Covid-19 research.

On Tuesday, Morens pleaded guilty in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, to one count of conspiracy to commit offenses and defraud the US. He admitted that he and others had deliberately used his personal Gmail account to evade Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

He now faces up to five years in prison and is due to be sentenced on November 12.

In emails previously released during the investigation, Morens wrote that he had learned from an “FOIA lady” how to “make emails disappear.” In another, he said he could send material to “Tony,” an apparent reference to Fauci, through private Gmail or deliver it personally, adding that “Tony” is “too smart to let colleagues send him stuff that could cause trouble.”

The records concerned US-funded coronavirus research carried out at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The funding was cut in 2020 as scrutiny grew over whether Covid-19 could have emerged from the Chinese laboratory.

READ MORE: What was Dr. Fauci hiding at the Covid hearing?

Prosecutors said Morens worked with associates behind the scenes to restore the funding, push back against the lab-leak theory, and exchange nonpublic government information through private channels.

In his plea, Morens further admitted involvement in an illegal gifts scheme. The head of the nonprofit behind the Wuhan-linked research grant had sent him wine for his “behind-the-scenes shenanigans.” Prosecutors said Morens also discussed writing scientific commentary supporting a natural origin of Covid-19 as something he could do to “earn” the gift.

The guilty plea comes amid renewed scrutiny of Fauci, whom critics have accused of helping fund risky coronavirus research in Wuhan, concealing what he knew about a possible lab origin, misleading Congress and the public over the pandemic and vaccines, influencing intelligence agency assessments, and leading them away from the lab-leak theory, and personally profiting from his government role.

Last month, Fauci appeared before a Senate committee, where he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times while being grilled about Wuhan research, Covid’s origins, and his conduct during the pandemic. The Republican-led panel later voted to hold him in contempt of Congress.

Shortly before leaving office, former US President Joe Biden granted Fauci a broad pardon covering any potential federal offenses committed between 2014 and January 2025. Fauci has described efforts to prosecute him as an “unhinged” campaign.

READ MORE: Scientists create viruses with AI

Meanwhile, Covid-19’s origins remain unresolved. The FBI and CIA have both assessed a lab incident in Wuhan as the most likely source. Other US agencies have insisted on natural transmission from animals. China rejects the lab-leak claim.

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STATE FAIR, INVASION OF THE BARBARIANS, AND MEDIA COVER-UP

When I was young, many years ago, I had a happy image of State Fair, as there was a popular film with wonderful music, the kind you never hear any more, like "It's a Grand Night for Singing."  Dick Haynessang that and other songs I can no longer hear (I bought a new computer last October, saved a few hundred dollars, and lost all my collected tapes.)  I think in the 1960s another State Fare movie hit the theaters with Pat Boone; so-so.  But in my mind, a state fair remained like California, land of sun and surf, of dream fulfillment, of a place to go.

     I finally made it to California for some exciting times, even playing soccer in Keezar Stadium for a short time as a sub, but my 2 trips to Cal. totaled  only about 3 weeks.  When I got to Milwaukee, I finally made it to a state fair, as Wisconsin's was located in a near-by suburb, still in Milw. County.  Enjoyed it, but much older and the glow had gone.

The Wisc. State Fare just finished its run for 2026, losing a day due to some heavy rains.  As the Fair was about to close, barbarians broke through the entrance without paying and then rushed to create chaos, and beat white people.  The intruders were young blacks, who had previously attacked local malls enmasse, and even a large gathering on July 4 this year, to ruin the nation's anniversary with their disrespect for the occasion, and threats to the others in that park.  Local tv stations had some videos of the chaos, and while the announcer tells us no one was hurt, a police officer suffered a broken leg trying to halt the invasion.  Also, even with my poor eyesight, I saw in the video, laying motionless on the ground what appeared to be a young white male.  Was he knocked out by a punch?

If a group of whites had invaded say a large family union of black people, causing chaos and injuring some, that would be national news, with many lectures by Al Sharpton and others on the evils of racism.  But when blacks invade, it is brushed off.  Brushed off when police in Milw. have to go to certain public schools where guess who is starting fights and causing chaos.  On weekends in a drinking area near the Deer District, fights and trouble.  The Dems, who run the city and county, blame the food trucks, and demanded they leave the area early.  I argued the trucks serve as unpaid helpers to the city, providing food and time so it can be eaten by the drunks, who on empty stomachs would be more likely to have accidents.  But Dems never want to blame young black hoodlums for problems, so they pretend it is the Hispanic or other food providers who cause chaos downtown.  The food vendors are probably saving lives, not just of drunks, but of others who drunken drivers might run over, if they had not stopped to eat before driving.

Who is in charge of the mess in Milwaukee?  The County Executive, Mr. David Crowley, last week won the Democratic primary for Wisc. governor, by about 3,000 votes over the radical Fran Hong, each having about 200.000 votes.  Crowley, a young black man, won the Executive office of the county, a full time job, and then enrolled in courses at U. Wisc. Milwaukee, a full-time student, and was granted a degree.  Now, another major county official has been found to have all kinds of drugs and drug accessories in her home, and has been arrested.  I think including 100 kilos of fentanyl.  Did the County Executive know of this?  Will the media ask Mr. Crowley that question? The homicide rate for the county has increased under Crowley to over 1,000 during Crowley's term in office. 

In Wisconsin's election race for governor, it is now David Crowley and the Barbarians (that is NOT a boy band) vs. the Republicans.  Why is it that County Executive Crowley, and the Mayor of Milwaukee, and the Chief of Police, do not crack down on the  barbarians?  In reality, the barbarians are the Storm Troopers of the Democratic Party.  I may not agree with all the Republican agenda, but we cannot maintain our civilized society when the  government caves to the barbarians.  And what is true in Wisconsin, may be true in many states.  Enforce the laws, put the criminals in jail or deport them, so freedom can flourish in the USA.

Your vote can help determine the future; will you vote for the barbarians? Or a law-abiding civilized future?---------HUGH MURRAY 

     

A SHORT NOTE ON THE DEATH OF CAMBRIDGE PROFESSOR JASON ARDAY

It is sad that Prof. Arday found it necessary to commit suicide recently, but his lies had caught up with him.  The youngest professor at Cambridge U. in the UK had been hired and publicity followed his amazing life stories.  I am not interested in if all his marathon runs were true or fantasy, I am interested in his academic writings.  One, and then another scholar found clear evidence that Arday had plagiarized from other scholars.  This means he basically copied from their writings, put it in articles and books, and pretended that it was his original work.  That is stealing from another scholar so that you get the credit.

     When Arday was exposed as a fraud, his family denounced the mis-information floating around, and blamed his critics on racism.  Indeed, when he knew scholars were beginning to inquire about his scholarship, he complained to the police in UK, who are super sensitive about being called racist.  Were I still living in the UK, I might be cautioned about this post.  Earlier this year, when a white guy asked the police for help, that a person of color had stabbed him, the police listened instead to the POC who said he had been insulted by the white who used racist language.  The super sensitive police, ignored the white and inquired more from the POC about the racist insults.  When they got back to the white guy's plea and considered arresting him for racism.  The white guy, now lying on the ground, had bled to death from the stab wound made by the POC.  We must be sensitive!

      Prof. Arday was a jewel in the Cambridge U. crown.  Suddenly, with allegations of copying other's research rather than doing his own, the crown was looking like tin.  But the method of hiring him still continues.

     The madness began after passage of the Civil Rights Act in the US, a law meant so all would be treated equally.  But to speed things up, the ADL came up with a proposal to the EEOC; instead of suing each individual company for racist violations of hiring, etc., use a broad approach.  The unquestioned  hypothesis, since all large groups of people are all alike and share the same basic intelligence, physical endurance, susceptibility to disease, etc. the simplest method to uncover discrimination, look at the stats.    If a city is 40% Negro,  but only 20% of the Negroes have jobs, compared to 55% of the whites who are 60% of the population, that would be a red flag for discrimination in hiring in that city.  Though it was not that simple a statistic, that was the starting point, and the reason for Affirmative Action, hiring a Negro even if he or she was not the best qualified.  The American law was extended to women, then Hispanics, and then to more and more.  To show the effectiveness of the new implementation of the law, one did not want to hire the best qualified, as he might be another white male.  The age of a new racial discrimination had begun.  Make the work-force look like America.

     Suppose we applied that same rule to basketball?  Whites are still the majority, so of 5 players, 3 should be white, 1 Hispanic, and 1 Black.  Now and then an Asian might replace the only Black on the team.  The Team would look like America.  But would it be a better basketball team?   Has this quota system made a better America?  A better Cambridge?

     Hugh Murray

        THE PROBLEM REMAINS, MORE ON THE ISSUE

The American Civil Rights Act passed and everyone assumed equal rights would follow. The Senate debates indicated job applicants would be treated equally. However, to get faster change the EEOC, the committee to implement the law, foolishly accepted an ADL notion to hasten hiring of Blacks, using quotas as the method to determination. Simply, if Blacks were not employed in a field according to their numbers of the population there (or who had a high school diploma, etc.) the stats then proved discrimination, and hire by quotas to overcome it. The implementation of this has resulted in hiring lesser qualified and unqualified in many fields for decades. The UK joined the Woke madness, and a fraudster, or someone unaware of the rules on writing a dissertation, got exposed as unqualified. Harvard had to fire its Black woman President a year or so ago for similar reasons.. Quota hiring results in lesser and unqualified employees. Meanwhile white men, and now men of all colors face discrimination in many Human Relation offices. Oh and Eleanor Holmes Norton did a great job at preventing use of exams as part of the application process. If her favored groups did poorly, she had the exams banished as racist. So the paths were clear for weak candidates like Jason Arday. He was exposed, but the system which hired him over better qualified candidates, still rules the halls of hiring.

     one more thing: If the problem is the Straight of Hormuz, perhaps Trump should talk to the gay of Hormuz.

A QUESTION TO PROVOKE YOUR THOUGHTS - HAS THE USA EVER HAD A DICTATOR?

 Has America ever had a dictator?  I may not be the best to answer this question, so think about it yourself for a few moments before going on.  I would say, to some extent yes, America has had at least one dictator.  Remember Abraham Lincoln was elected with less than 40% of the popular vote.  A nice majority in the Electoral College, but over 60% of the voters went against Lincoln in 1860.  Suddenly a large portion of the nation seceded, forming a 2nd nation, and one with which the USA  was soon at war.  Lincoln, a minority President, suddenly had the majority of the Congress with him, as many left to join the CSA against the USA.  Lincoln's Adm. confiscated newspapers, deported some opponents to Canada, curtailed free speech, etc.  It was a time of war, and many assumed Lincoln would be defeated in 1864 and a Democrat elected would make a peace-treaty with the new neighboring nation to the south, the CSA.  But the war in 1864 began to change, as Vicksburg fell and opened the entire Miss. River to the Yanks, and Yankee armies marched into the Carolinas and took Atlanta, slicing the CSA into smaller pieces.  Lincoln won the 1864 election, but elation was short-lived as Lincoln was assassinated, and a large plot to kill many American leaders was discovered.  Perhaps Lincoln had allowed too many freedoms to continue so a major conspiracy could succeed in part.

     Still, some of you may contend Lincoln was simply a war President, doing what any President would do in the circumstances - certainly NO Dictator.  Look again, for on Jan. 1, 1863 Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared henceforth all slaves in rebellious territories would be freed.  This freed no slaves on the day propagated, but it was effective propaganda in Europe, making foreign intervention in the war more difficult if it seemed they were barging in to defend slavery.  This was NOT a law passed by Congress; but a proclamation of a war policy from the Commander in Chief, Lincoln.  And though no slave may have been freed on the first day of enunciation, in time, with Yankee victories, all the slaves were emancipated.  Lincoln's proclamation just happened to be the largest confiscation of private property in American history.  The property owners were never compensated for their losses.  All this happens without a law being passed.  On this most important point, Lincoln was a dictator.  And a reminder from Google AI "Civil War Death Toll: The American Civil War remains the deadliest conflict in U.S. history. Combined Union and Confederate military deaths total between 620,000 and 750,000, surpassing the total U.S. military deaths of all other wars combined up through the mid-20th century.'

     Woodrow Wilson, the first Southerner elected Pres. after the Civil War was a staunch segregationist.  An academic, for a time Chancellor of Princeton u., he prided himself that during his tenure there, not one black was admitted to the prestigious university.  Elected Pres. in 1912, he quickly moved to segregate the American armed services, and the national civil service.  Really, he hoped to prevent any blacks from entering the civil service, and a new requirement of a photograph was to accompany all applications.  The photos would prevent hiring of the blacks.  Those already hired, were segregated.  WWI had broken out in 1914, and continued.  Wilson sought to join in and make the world safe for democracy.  Once in, Wilson did everything to prevent free speech opposition to the war, refusing to allow Socialist newspapers in the US Mail (the SP opposed the war), arresting Eugene Debs, leader of the SP, which had received 6% of the national vote in 2012.  Germans were forced to learn English.  I suspect prohibition of alcohol was a byproduct of the war-inspired hatreds.  Blatz, Schlitz, Budweiser, and other German names were associated with beer, and Irish names with pubs and bars.  The Easter Rebellion in Ireland showed many Irish were leaning toward the Germans.  Prohibition will punish Germans and Irish in America.  Results of the war for democracy were the Communist revolution in Russia, Bela Kun's short lived Comm. govt. in Hungary, a Soviet govt. in Bavaria, and a little later, Fascism in Italy, and after that Hitler in Germany.  Wilson had pushed hard for a League of Nations, but was horrified when the Japs proposed a resolution declaring equality of the races.  Wilson was horrified at such insanity might infect his pet project of the League. 

     Pres. Wilson assured us that we were entering the Great War to make the world safe for democracy.  I mentioned that later in the war and at its conclusion communist and very radical governments came to power, not only in Russia, but for shorter periods in Bavaria, Hungary, etc., and far right wing groups were gathering to combat the left, as in Bavaria, Hungary, Italy, etc.All historians generally agree on that.  But turn the spotlight in another direction.  The most popular movie in that decade, one shown in the White House and promoted by Pres. Wilson, was "Birth of a Nation."  The first part is the birth of the Confederacy, the Civil War, and the battles between North and South.  The 2nd part - the victorious North plans to remake the South and give equal rights to former slaves.  True, many former slaves were uneducated, but many Southern states had laws making it illegal to educated a slave.  The film depicts the newly elected legislatures, composed mainly of former slaves, as representatives with shoeless feet on their desks, drinking, looking wild.  How could this be a legislature?  Worse, the film coaleses its view in making a black man pursue and innocent young white gal, chasing her, with looks so you know what was on his mind.  She saw what was coming, and rather than suffer such a fate, she jumps on her own to her innocent death.  The whites for an organization to protect their people, the Ku Klux Klan, and when they ride their horses in white sheets, the audience naturally cheers them on.  They try to show the Yankees they have no idea of the reality of the South, as they, in effect, overthrow the black/Republican Reconstruction government.  Unlike any other popular film I can think of, this film spawned a political movement, the Rebirth of the KKK.  And not  where it used to be, but in Northern states like Indiana, Illinois, Oklahoma, Maine, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, etc.  This movie and the war led to the grown of the KKK so it could hold a march on Washington in the 1920s.  It was not only in Europe where communist, and fascist groups gained power, it was also in the USA. 

     The Great War ended with a victory for the British, French, American coalition.  A flu hit America after the war, but America was tired of Wilson and the Dems. and voted for a return to Normalcy with Republican Harding in 1920.  The nation was soon flourishing, and with new inventions, people were buying automobiles, there were folks doing acrobatics on aeroplanes in the sky, you could listen to a concert on the radio, play a record of a pop jazz singer, and see Wings, All Quiet on the Western Front and Rudolph Valentino at the flickers.  In America, the age of dictators was over, despite the powerful depression that hit the US at the end of the 1920s.  FDR was popular enough that he did not have to be a dictator.   During WWII, there were rations on gas, sugar, eggs, etc., but nothing intolerable.  The government regulations may have been annoying, but there was a major war going on.  No need for a dictator here.  After the war, there were restrictions on communists and left-wingers.  Yet the govt. did not really go after some of the spies who helped Stalin develop his A bomb.  There were restrictions in free speech, and some like Paul Robeson paid a price in popularity for his attacks on colonialism, but dissidents in the US had it easier than dissidents in the USSR or in its sphere of influence.  America avoided a dictator and soon relaxed in the greatest period of growth and prosperity.

     The next possible dictator I would say was Dr. Fauci.  I do not begrudge his frolicking in the spotlight of popularity.  A small guy whom no one noticed through much of his life, now receives phone calls from Julia Roberts and other Hollywood stars.  Ok, Fauci became a "celebrity."  Nothing wrong with that.  And he would make surpirisn amounts of $$$, not too different from prominent politicians.  Perhaps we are simply jealous of  him on these grounds.

     I assume all major nations engage in biological warfare research, and try to keep quiet about it.  Lie about it.  In Wuhan, they were to make a bird virus? more deadly and more contagious to humans.  THEY SUCCEEDED.  But either by accident, or on purpose, it got out of the lab.  Amis or Chinese responsible?  Or both?  Or an accident?  Once out, I think China cancelled all flights from Wuhan to Brijing, the city with the major leaders of that nation.  However, China allowed flights to Italy. and where else, where the people on board might spread the new virus. 

     My real problem with Fauci was his determination to prevent old malaria meds, that seemed to work effectively against the new virus, from being used.  The old meds were cheap, and for some (perhaps most) a possible cure.  But if Fauci could promote a vax, with the big pharma companies, they all could make big money.  So the elderly who were among the first infected, were told to do nothing , wait, wait for the wonder vax, wait, do nothing now, and die.  And they did die.  Denied access to the cheap old meds, that worked, they waited but the miracle vax was not ready, so they died.  Worse, Fauci's stay 6 feet apart, masks, etc., meant in reality, the old died alone.  I would argue, unnecessary deaths.  When the vax came, we were all to take it, even tho many did not want to.  Some lost jobs, discharged from Army, etc. because they did not want a generally untested vax in their veins.  To get on a plane, I had to get a vax.  For some young men there were already some results showing up unwanted side effects, even affecting the hearts of young males.  No excuse, hold out your arm!.  Not a question of what you want, this is a necessary vax.   Leading scientists assert this.  Fauci made certain that the public did  not hear the views of the scientists who questioned use of the new vax.  If big pharma is going to do a big jon with this vax, they will have to make money.  And Dr. Fauci will have to get some of it too.  NO QUESTIONS ABOUT THE VACCINE.  It works is all the people have to hear.

     Then add the unnecessary lock downs of schools, down towns (still many office building have not recovered, nor have down towns).  At the time, I said Fauci was Trump's greatest mistake.  In effect, Fauci became America's dictator, with more power than the elected President.  I doubt if any American ever had as much power as Fauci had then.  Should they attend church?  A confessional?  Receive communion?

    Oh, stay 6 feet away from others, unless you are going to a George Floyd rally.  Such a healthy gathering like that might not require a mask.  However, make sure you wear your mask to the looting that might follow.  The hypocrisy of Fauci and the Dems. and they got away with it.  Sad, 

       Dr, Fauci received his pardon in the last days of the Biden Administration.  He decline to answer many times to question by a Congressional committee.  The man who closed schools, kept folks 6 feet apart, turned down town into a ghost town, prevented use of old, cheap med that might have saved many many lives.  Lied about the origins of the virus.  I would say, Fauci was not the only dictator, but the worst dictator in American history.    I nominated him for the Josef Mengele Humanitarian Award.  Hope America has no more dictators.     HUGH MURRAY 

A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE 2026 WORLD CUP

 For the first time, American football faced International football as a real competitor. The stadia in Canada, Mexico, AND the US were filled with spectators, many quite enthusiastic, and knowledgeable about the game. When England played Mexico in Mexico, I was worried, but it was a great game, no problems, and a happy ending in one way when a popular goalie for Mexico returned to play. I saw no anti Iranian nastiness, at least shown on the tv.

My problem – was this really International football. When I played years ago, there were only 2 subs allowed for the whole game, so most played for 45 minutes, 15 min. break, and then the final, exhausting 45. Players had to endure. And it was a flow game, the ball constantly moving. This World Cup was not the same football. They played about 20 minutes, then a drink break (and tv commercials), then start up until the half. Then the half break. Then 2nd half, another drink break, and then play to the end. In was not a flow game. Worse, the refs often seemed to get in, stopping the action, unnecessarily. Is all this necessary? Yet sometimes, it seemed the refs did NOT stop when fowls did occur. I felt the refs favored Argentina, and this caused both Egypt and England to lose their chances.
Pele began playing barefoot in the streets. American football may begin for youngsters with little cost, but soon the helmet, the shoulder pads, the this and that means $$$. And for many positions in Amer. football, a chunky guy is needed. Little men nead not apply. International football was not only open to the poor, but to the small guys. How big was Pele? Port. Mid-fielder Bernado de Silva is only 5’ 8. The refs can change this by allowing big guys to literally pick up and throw small opponents. Or let the thugs loose (Argentina??)
I think International football can quickly recover from the quirks of this year. It is a living sport, and many Americans are now interested. What happened to Asian teams this year? I hope some of the flow-game can come back, …   HUGH MURRAY