Up on the High Wire

Clinton and Trump, up on the high wire,
Once side's ice and one is fire,
Putting on a show for you and me.

by Gaius Publius

I'm preparing for a month-long haitus (vacation, finally), and while I'll be reading the news I won't be commenting on it. Ahead of that, I'd like to offer these thoughts.

1. Our "Look Ahead" series will continue as the fall campaign kicks off. The outcome of the election, though, is very hard to predict. Each campaign seems determined to drive its own car into the ditch. Last car with wheels on the road will win this one. Plus there's those ever-present black swans, like this one.

As to what happens after the election, it gets more predictable. Whoever ultimately wins, we'll know enough in the fall to know nearly every player's fate for the next few years — Trump, Clinton, the progressive-hating Democratic leadership, the Koch-bossed Republican Party, Sanders-supporting progressives themselves; all of their Tarot cards will be laid out for reading, up to the moment when the climate throws its own card into the mix. We just have to be willing to look at what those cards say.

If you're interested, the parts so far of the Look Ahead series are these:

A Look Ahead: Neither Party Can Win Without Winning Independents

A Look Ahead: Coming to the Philadelphia Crossroad

A Look Ahead: "Event Risk" and the Remaining Presidential Candidates

2. Clinton is looking more and more vulnerable, according to the latest Economist / YouGov poll (pdf). Whatever you think of the outcome of the Trump-Clinton contest, so far no one has a real lead, and both are playing high-risk game of highwire, a tightrope act without a net.

Surprising Poll Results

The following look at some of the poll results comes from poster Vraye_Foi at the Reddit site r/Kossacks_for_Sanders. The poll itself is long and worth a further look, if you're so inclined. My thanks for this summary of just a a few of its findings (my emphasis except where noted):

Pages 12 and 13 of the report [the "enthusiasm" pages] are full of interesting data, some of which I'll highlight -

• 25% of Democrats are either Dissatisfied or Upset [Clinton] is the Democrat candidate for President
• 62% of Independents are either Dissatisfied or Upset that she is the Democrat candidate for President
• 43% of those polled across the board (includes all demographics and party affiliations) are "Upset" that she is the Democrat candidate for President

When it comes to Independents' view of Donald Trump, only 44% are Dissatisfied or Upset that he is the Republican nominee.

Enthusiastic Support for Trump within his party is at 51%. Hillary's Enthusiastic support within her party: 34%. 

The choices for this question are: Enthusiastic, Satisfied, Dissatisfied, Upset, Not Sure. The wording of the most extreme categories is Enthusiastic and Upset. So Trump starts the pre-convention head-to-head campaigning with more enthusiasm within his party and also with independents than Clinton does, by a lot if the poll is right.

When looking at support among women:

And continuing on the theme of "Enthusiastic Support", how about this surprise:

• 18% of female respondents are Enthusiastic for Trump
• 19% of female respondents are Enthusiastic for Clinton

So just an aside and speaking as a woman here, can the HRC campaign cut the shit bout how it's sexist if you don't support or vote for Hillary? Please? Because this poll shows that women are about as enthusiastic and thrilled about Hillary as they are about Trump. ...

On the negative side, when it comes to Hillary being the Democrats' candidate, 12% of the women polled feel "Dissatisfied but not Upset" and 42% are UPSET.

It must be troubling news for the HRC campaign to see Enthusiastic/Satisfied combined numbers (45%) linger behind the Dissatisfied/Upset numbers (54%). A lot of women are not happy that Clinton is the nominee.

We're not saying that situation is right or wrong, just that it is. Now about enthusiasm by age (emphasis in original):

The other shocker is that 49% of respondents age 45 - 64 are "Upset" she is the Dem's candidate. But wait - it gets even more shocking: 53% of respondents over the age of 65 responded "Upset" as well.

Hasn't the narrative been that HRC has solid support from the over 45s and women? This poll raises some questions about that. Just as with the women respondents, the 45 and older crowd's negative sentiments towards HRC's candidacy are HIGHER than the positive ones.

That "over 65" polling number is across all genders and party identifications, but so is the general election.

Gary Johnson and Jill Stein

There's Johnson and Stein polling in the report as well. The reddit poster quoted above notes this (regarding data on pages 21 and 23):

General Election | Johnson Preference

Would you say you are mostly voting FOR Gary Johnson, AGAINST Hillary Clinton or AGAINST Donald Trump? Asked of those who would vote for Gary Johnson

• I’m mostly voting FOR Gary Johnson 38%
• I’m mostly voting AGAINST Hillary Clinton 37%
• I’m mostly voting AGAINST Donald Trump 23%
• Not sure 2%

General Election | Stein Preference

Would you say you are mostly voting FOR Jill Stein, AGAINST Hillary Clinton or AGAINST Donald Trump? Asked of those who would vote for Jill Stein

• I’m mostly voting FOR Jill Stein 36%
• I’m mostly voting AGAINST Hillary Clinton 42%
• I’m mostly voting AGAINST Donald Trump 8%
• Not sure 13%

Page 25 of the poll gives data in general on whether people are voting For a given candidate or Against a given candidate. Those general results are mainly a wash. The split in voting for vs. against Clinton is 28%–23%. The same split for Trump is 23%–20%, with 2% each saying they're voting FOR Johnson or Stein.

But it's the Against Clinton number in the Johnson and Stein polling that should cause worry in the Democratic camp. The Johnson+Stein combined Against Clinton total, as shown above, is 79%. The Johnson+Stein combined Against Trump total is just 31%. In other words, prospective Libertarian+Green voters, as a group, are much more strongly against Clinton than against Donald Trump, at least prior to the start of the fall campaign.

Pages 27–30 are also interesting. The question is, "Would you consider voting for [Clinton/Trump/Johnson/Stein]?" Possible responses are Might, Would Never, Not Sure, with overall totals and cross-tabulated breakdowns by gender, age, and so on. The Might vs. Would Never breakdown for Clinton among Democratic primary voters who prefer Sanders is 59%–38%. The same breakdown  for this group (Democratic primary voters who prefer Sanders) for Johnson is 45%–28%, and for Stein is 44%–20%.

To put that more simply, 38% of Sanders supporters would never vote for Clinton. Where would they go? An even split — 45% would vote for Johnson and 44% would vote for Stein.

Independents Still Control this Election

It looks like it's still true, that this year's "radical independents," people who were attracted to Trump and/or Sanders as a way to raise a "pronounced middle finger" to the powers that be (Norman Solomon's phrase in a slightly different context), are likely to decide this election. They may not know who they're for, but they're pretty sure who, or what, they're against. For far too many voters, there is no good outcome.

 "Le Pendu," the one left hanging, suspended in time and awaiting the outcome (source).

Enjoy the rest of the summer. I'll be back with more in a month.

GP
 

Andrew Levine — The Dream is Over: Bye, Bye Bernie

Bernie Sanders has gone over to the enemy side; it is now written in stone. Everyone who felt the Bern will have to deal with that as best they can. The dream is over.

Well, the dream may be over regarding Bernie, but the dream itself lives on.

My view is that it was a mistake to view Bernie as representing "the Left." He was not representing the actual Left anymore that Barack Obama was, and progressive Democrats bought into that, too.

There is no Left in mainstream American politics. The so-called Left in the mainstream are poseurs.

That's not to say that Bernie would not likely be a better president from the prospect of the Left. Moreover, polling shows that he is the most popular choice if a direct election were held now. The other two candidates have very high negatives.

But America needs a real mainstream alternative on the Left that gets media coverage. The mainstream media even shut out Bernie, who was only somewhat left of center.

Counterpunch
The Dream is Over: Bye, Bye Bernie
Andrew Levine

No, Bernie Sanders supporters won"t flock to Donald Trump

Bernie Sanders Endorses Hillary Clinton

To no one"s surprise aside from some deluded Trumpkins Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., delivered a robust endorsement of Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire Tuesday:

"I have come here to make it as clear as possible as to why I am endorsing Hillary Clinton...This campaign is not really about Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders ... This campaign is about the needs of the American people and addressing the very serious crises that we face. And there is no doubt in my mind that, as we head into November, Hillary Clinton is far and away the best candidate to do that."

That message was deftly crafted make the race about bigger issues and remind Democrats they may not love Clinton but she is "far and away" the best choice for his former followers. He preserves his principles by slyly reminding voters that it"s virtually inconceivable liberals would prefer Trump to Clinton.

The amateurish Trump camp then exploded with a series of news releases (they hired a rapid response staffer, so I suppose he needs to show he"s working) to remind voters Sanders said mean things about Clinton in the race. Shocking, I know. Whom is this aimed at? Surely the Sanders people are not going to be wooed by Trump"s nasty accusation that Sanders" endorsement is now "Exhibit A in our rigged system the Democrat Party is disenfranchising its voters to benefit the select and privileged few." Calling Sanders a hypocrite is no way to make friends, but then, Trump cannot manage to solidify his GOP support as Clinton has now accomplished. Moreover, the Trump adviser"s description of Clinton bizarrely accusing her of launching a war in Iraq (!?!) should suffice to remind us that if conservative, internationalist, pro-free-trade Republicans are looking for a candidate, they"d do better with Clinton than Trump.

It was ludicrous from the get-go to think Sanders" followers pro-gay rights, pro-choice, pro-immigration, pro-environmentalist, pro-nationalized health care supporters, pro-Black Lives Matter would rush to the candidate who has insulted women, minorities and the disabled, wants to build a wall and deport millions (while keeping all Muslims out) and has suggested women should be punished for abortions. Indeed, as The Washington Post"s Greg Sargent details, the pro-Clinton super PAC has a series of ads highlighting many of those stark differences (e.g., on minimum wage, education, immigration).

"Bernie voters will choose Trump" is another morsel of self-delusion the Trumpkins have been munching on as they head toward electoral defeat. Other lies they tell themselves Trump will rewrite the map; Hispanics love him; he"ll self-fund; he hires the best peoplehave likewise evaporated. You wonder how they imagine he"s going to win the election. More important, you wonder if the Republican National Committee delegates seeing Trump"s electoral "plan" (if he ever had more than "go on TV") fizzle will start wondering just how big a loss the GOP would suffer with Trump at the head of the ticket. Could they lose both houses of Congress? Would he drag down GOP gubernatorial candidates as well?

In short, Sanders" endorsement should remind onlookers that for all her faults, Clinton is running a comparatively competent campaign and successfully unifying her party. That"s more than Trump can say. Sad!

Washington Post

Jennifer Rubin writes the Right Turn blog for The Post, offering reported opinion from a conservative perspective.

Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-donald-trump-bernie-sanders-supporters-20160713-story.html

Why Bernie Sanders is backing a $1.5 trillion military boondoggle

Bernie Sanders: Election must bring people together

A closer look, however, suggests that the senator has just been doing what he was elected to do: seeing to it that his state enjoys a steady flow of jobs and dollars. He"s also bolstering Vermont"s reputation as a good place for the aerospace sector to do business, even if that"s not the first thing that comes to mind.

"People don"t think of Vermont as an aerospace state; they think we"re all cheese, maple syrup and skiing," said Patricia Moulton, secretary of Vermont"s Agency of Commerce and Community Development. "We have a very robust aerospace sector, and we have a number of advanced tech firms that find Vermont a great place to do business."

She said that the two largest aerospace companies in Vermont are GE Aviation and UTC Aerospace Systems, and she also noted the presence of another 30 small to mid-sized companies. Altogether, she estimated that this accounts for more than 2,000 jobs, which the F-35 program is positioned to complement.

"The F-35 accounts for over 1,400 direct and indirect jobs, with an economic impact of over $124 million in Vermont," said Eric Schnaible, F-35 International Communications Manager for Lockheed Martin. This figure accounts not only for 1,100 jobs with the Vermont Air National Guard, but with jobs within the aerospace sector and other local businesses. While 45 states and Puerto Rico are involved in the production of the aircraft, Vermont specifically is home to three supplier locations, and according to Business Insider, the plane"s bay doors and GAU-22/A gun system are both produced there.

The 1,400 jobs may not sound like a lot, but Chittenden County, where Burlington is located, has a population of only 161,382 people. It would have an enormous negative impact on the local economy if 1,400 of those people all simultaneously become unemployed.

The jets will also play a role in the state"s economy in 2019, when 18 are scheduled to be stationed at Burlington International Airport as part of the Vermont National Guard program to grow its active-duty maintenance force. Gene Richards, the airport"s director of aviation, said that those F-35s represent the future of the Guard"s relationship with Vermont. The program extends the financial contribution of the Guard well into the future by picking up where the widely used and soon to be replaced F-16 will soon leave off.

Richards said that it"s not only Sanders who supports keeping the hardware in Burlington. He said that Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, Sen. Patrick Leahy and Rep. Peter Welch have all done their part to keep the program where it is, and he characterized their attitudes as "very supportive." A look at the numbers makes it easy to see why.

"There"s at least 1,100 Air National Guard jobs involved with F-35," said Moulton of Vermont"s Agency of Commerce and Community Development. "We estimate there"s about $50 million in direct payroll, and the program will involve some pretty decent upgrades to the Vermont airport."

She added that her agency expects the program to stimulate growth in the aerospace sector by creating business for local suppliers. So what would happen if the program didn"t have a home in the state?

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/12/why-bernie-sanders-is-backing-a-15-trillion-military-boondoggle.html

CNN — Bernie endorses Hillary — Reactions

"I have come here to make it as clear as possible why I am endorsing Hillary Clinton and why she must become our next president," Sanders said at a joint rally here.CNN

Bernie Sanders endorses Hillary Clinton
MJ Lee, Dan Merica and Jeff Zeleny, CNN

Updated 2:19 PM ET, Tue July 12, 2016

What is most disappointing is that Sanders has refused invitations to speak to the Green Party, a truly democratic national party that has long championed the progressive stands that lifted the Sanders campaign to the top of national polls.

Fortunately, this November voters across America will still have the choice to cast a revolutionary vote to cancel student debt, achieve full employment and stop the climate meltdown through a Green New Deal, provide universal healthcare with Medicare for All, provide a welcoming path to citizenship, end mass incarceration and create a foreign policy based on international law and human rights. We need to commit to improving the lives of all Americans, not just the wealthy and special interests.

Counterpunch
Revolution Undermined: On Bernie Sanders’s Endorsement of Hillary Clinton

Jill Stein

Bernie Endorses Hillary.

How disgusting is that?

Not surprising. Predictable in fact. But disgusting nonetheless.

Brilliant Bernie Burns It Down

Russell Mokhiber

Alex Christoforou — Despite Corruption And Scandal, Bernie Sanders Will Endorse Hillary Clinton Tomorrow

There was a time a few months back where many Americans thought that Bernie Sanders was a different type of politician. A person of higher moral fabric…with a sense of integrity, sorely missing in US politics.

It was “Bernie of Bust” for many. A mantra that captured a country’s desire to break free of the corruption that plagues its political system, from top to bottom.

Forget about all of that. Come tomorrow Bernie Sanders will kiss the ring of the most corrupt, scandal infested politician ever to run for the office of US President.

Maybe Bernie is being pragmatic. Maybe he is willing to do anything to stop Donald Trump from having a chance at winning the elections. Or maybe, just maybe, Bernie cut a deal…and like so many other people and institutions that come in contact with a Clinton, he too got infected with the corruption virus.

A true man of integrity would never endorse Hillary, no matter what party lines dictate. A man who supposedly stands up for the 99%, would never endorse a candidate who just used her 1% status to avoid an indictment, that would have landed anyone of normal, ‘earthly’ status, into prison.…

The Duran

Despite Corruption And Scandal, Bernie Sanders Will Endorse Hillary Clinton Tomorrow
Alex Christoforou

Andrea Germanos — Green Party's Jill Stein: Sanders Can Lead My Party's Ticket

Presumptive Green Party candidate for U.S. President Jill Stein has reiterated her offer for Bernie Sanders to head that party's ticket instead, where—unlike in the Democratic party—she says he'd be able to continue to "build a political movement."

Stein's new comments to the Guardian US come as the Vermont senator has signaled he may soon offer an endorsement of rival Hillary Clinton.

Stein, who also ran for president on the Green Party ticket in 2012, told the Guardian US: "If he saw that you can't have a revolutionary campaign in a counter-revolutionary party, he'd be welcomed to the Green party. He could lead the ticket and build a political movement," she said.

It's a suggestion she's made already this campaign season.…

According to Stein, "in many ways, the Democratic Party creates campaigns that fake left while it moves right and becomes more corporatist, more militarist, more imperialist.

This is why we say it's hard to have a revolutionary campaign inside of a counterrevolutionary party. That's why we're here as the Green Party to build a place where a revolutionary movement can truly grow with a political voice."

Is Bernie a real revolutionary or just another bag of hot air?

Common Dreams

Green Party's Jill Stein: Sanders Can Lead My Party's Ticket
Andrea Germanos, staff writer

The Importance of Lehman Brothers of Wall Street to American Life

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                   

Former Lehman Brothers New York City Headquarters,
an investment banking worldwide firm.
Now owned by Barclays

Bernie Sanders, Independent Party, Senator from Vermont though born in Brooklyn, New York City, NY, has been knocking Wall Street as if it is the worst place that has happened to the USA. "Wall Street is a 0.7-mile-long (1.1 km) street running eight blocks, roughly northwest to southeast, from Broadway to South Street on the East River in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City.  Donald Trump is from Manhattan.  On Wall Street one can also find "other major exchanges in the Wall Street area, including the New York Mercantile Exchange, the New York Board of Trade, and the former American Stock Exchange."

September 15, 2008, day of Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy
Chapter 11

Products	Financial Services Investment Banking Investment management
Number of employees	26,200 (2008)
Subsidiaries	Lehman Brothers Inc.,Neuberger Berman Inc., Aurora Loan Services, LLC, SIB Mortgage Corporation,Lehman Brothers Bank, FSB, Eagle Energy Partners, and the Crossroads Group

Financial Services
Investment Banking
Investment management

26,200 (2008)

Lehman Brothers Inc.,Neuberger Berman Inc., Aurora Loan Services, LLC, SIB Mortgage Corporation,Lehman Brothers Bank, FSB, Eagle Energy Partners, and the Crossroads Group

                                                                               

Socialist Bernie Sanders: Most of his big contributors were the Unions.

On his website is an article that says: "Less than a year before the 2008 collapse of Lehman Bros. plunged the global economy into a terrifying free fall, the Wall Street firm awarded nearly $700 million to 50 of its highest-paid employees, according to internal documents reviewed by The Times."  Ahh yes, I remember when the stock market collapsed in 2007 and my Oppenheimer A account-made mostly of bonds and just a few stock, collapsed and I lost my savings I was just beginning to live on being I had recently retired from teaching.  I found out later that my bonds were worthless bonds showing loans to people for homes they could not afford.  That was not supposed to happen!  It's a wonder I didn't have a heart attack right then, but waited till 2009 for open heart surgery.  Meanwhile, the Lehman elite of 50 people were due to get $700 million.  Evenly divided, that would be $14 million per person. On September 15, 2008, they declared bankruptcy. 

 However, " documents, which were among the millions of pages submitted in Lehman's bankruptcy, show the list of top earners each were pledged $8 million to $51 million in cash, stock and other compensation. How much, if any, of the stock was cashed in before the bankruptcy wiped out its value couldn't be determined.

The Lehman documents provide a rare peek into Wall Street compensation practices, because federal regulations require salary disclosure of only the five highest-paid officers of a corporation. The documents reveal, to the dollar, the pay packages promised to individual traders and investment bankers at Lehman - a well-kept secret up to now.

                                                                                   

 I think he's just jealous.  On September 11, 2001 (9/11), Lehman occupied 3 floors of the World Trade Center.  One employee was killed in the terrorist attacks of that day.  Its global headquarters was in Three World Financial Center which were severely damaged and rendered unusable by falling debris.  This displaced over 6,500 employees.  The bank recovered quickly and rebuilt its presence.

Trading operations moved across the Hudson River to its New Jersey facilities where an impromptu trading floor was built in a hotel and was brought online less than 48 hours AFTER the attacks.  When stock markets reopened on September 17, 2001, Lehman's sales and trading capabilities were restored.
                                                                   

Wall Street in Manhattan, New York City, NY

Lehman Brothers is an investment bank.  They did not move back to its former headquarters in lower Manhattan.  Only Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, of the major firms, remained in the downtown area.  Lehman, though committed to stay in New York City, decided that the new headquarters represented an ideal circumstance where the firm was desperate to buy and Morgan Stanley was desperate to sell, and that when the new building was purchased, the structural integrity of Three World Financial Center had not yet been given a clean bill of health, and that they would have had to wait until May 2002 for repairs to end.

After the attacks, the management placed more emphasis on business continuity planning.  Unlike its rivals, the company was unusually concentrated for a bulge-bracket investment bank.
                                                                         

Henry and Emanuel Lehman

Who was Lehman Brothers?  It was started  in 1844 by a 23 year old immigrant from Bavaria, which is part of what we call Germany today.  His name was Henry Lehman and he was the son of a Jewish cattle merchant.  He didn't stay in New York City where he must have landed but lived in Montgomery, Alabama where he opened a dry-goods store called H. Lehman.  By 1847, his brother, Emanuel Lehman,  had joined him and the firm became H. Lehman and Bro.  Then their youngest brother, Mayer Lehman, arrived in 1850 and the firm changed its name again and Lehman Brothers was founded.

The 3 brothers began to accept raw cotton from customers as payment for merchandise during the 1850s. They started a 2nd business trading in cotton.  This grew within a few years to become the most significant part of their operation.   Henry died from Yellow Fever in 1855, but the other 2 brothers continued to focus on their commodities-trading/brokerage operations.  By 1858, the center of cotton trading shifted from the South to New York City.  Factors and commission houses were based here.  Lehman opened their first branch office at 119 Liberty Street.  Emanuel, now 32 years old, moved here to run the office.

The Civil War started on April 12, 1861.  As a result, they ran into difficulties.  The firm teamed up with a cotton merchant named John Durr and formed Lehman, Durr & Co.  The war ended on June 2, 1865 and the company helped finance Alabama's reconstruction.  They finally moved their headquarters to New York City, where they helped to found the New York Cotton Exchange in 1870.    Emanuel sat on the Board of Governors until 1884.  The firm also dealt in emerging the  market for railroad bonds and entered the financial-advisory business.  Herbert H. Lehman, US Senator,  is descended from Emanuel's  brother, Mayer Lehman.   

Lehman became a member of the Coffee Exchange as earl as 1883 and then the New York Stock Exchange in 1887.  In 1899 it underwrote its 1st public offering, the preferred and common stock of the International Steam Pump Company. 

 Their real shift from being a commodities house to a house of issue began in 1906.  Under Emanuel's son, Philip Lehman, the firm partnered with Goldman, Sachs & Co to bring the General Cigar Co. to market.  They were followed by Sears, Roebuck and Co.  The next 20 years almost 100 new issues were underwrittenby Lehman, often in conjunction with Goldman, Sachs.  Among those were F.W. Woolworth Co, May Dept. Stores Co., Gimbel Brothers, Inc., RH Macy & Co, The Studebaker Corp, the BF Goodrich Co, and Endicott Johnson Corp.  These are all famous companies that have been able to put thousands of people to work.  Such enterprises are businesses that made America a great place to live. Without such enterprising brothers, perhaps more people would just be busy baling cotton today for a living. In business, one thing can lead to another.  One rule of thumb is, according to my father, that a business has to keep growing.  Lehman Brothers must have heard that rule, too.  Their father in Bavaria was a cattle merchant, and mine founded a wholesale meat Co.  with my father being the cattle buyer.  

I wonder if Behrend Lehmann was an ancestor of the Lehman Brothers.  Also known as Issachar Bermann (1661-1730), he was a German financier.  He supplied Frederick august I of Saxony with money needed to be elected as king of Poland in 1697.  This sounds like something Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump  disapproves of today, so it has a long long history.   Behrend was granted the title of Royal Commissioner and used his influence to improve the legal position of the Jews who were something like 2nd-3rd citizens.  In 1696, he was responsible for reprinting the Babylonian Talmud and distributed over 5,000 copies to students.  Later, he lost all his wealth.  

Another ancestor of the family could have been Rabbi Marcus "Meyer"  Lehmann (1831-1890) of Germany.  From 1854, he officiated at Mainz, a famous Rabbinical and Jewish learning center in the Rhineland.  In 1860, he founded Der Israelit which he published attacks against the Reform movement and Jewish historical romances with  a religious moral content.  The Lehman Brothers could have come from his family as Bavaria  was a southern German state and Jews lived there from the 10th century on.  This is the state where Nuremberg and Munich is.  It was in the first half of the 19th century where unfavorable conditions in Bavaria led to a particularly large Jewish emigration to the USA.  
                                                                       

Herbert Henry Lehman (1878-1963)Herbert H. Lehman was born to a Reform Jewish family in New York City, the son of Babetta (née Newgass) and German-born immigrant Mayer Lehman.  He served from 1933 until 1942 as the 45th governor of New York and represented New York State in the United States Senate from 1950 until 1957.

As for today's Lehman Brothers, they were in business employing many people for a long period of time.  One descendant was Herbert Henry Lehman  who was a US Statesman.  
                                                                                   

1929 Stock Market Crash on Wall Street

He had been a partner in the banking and investment firm of Lehman Bros, and became the Democratic lieutenant-governor from 1928 to 1932, yes, throughout the Stock Market Crash of 1929.  Then he was the governor from 1932 to 1942 of New York State, and that wasn't the end to his service to this country.  He served as 1st director-general of the UN relief and Rehabilitation Agency (UNRRA) from 1943 to 1946.  He was the US senator from New York from 1949 to 1957.  His political career was marked by backing the New Deal philosophy of Roosevelt.  

As governor of New York, he furthered social security, unemployment insurance, and public regulation.  He must have been well-liked as he was re-elected 3 times.  During his Senate days, he was noted for his efforts in civil rights and FREER IMMIGRATION.  He opposed political hysteria of the day.  In his later years, he worked in supporting Israel (born May 14, 1948).  

Another Lehman descendant was Irving Lehman (1876-1945) who was Herbert's brother.  He was a US jurist being justice of the New York Supreme Court from 1908 to 1923, and then of the State Court of Appeals (chief judge from 1939.  He was a judicial liberal who believed that the scope of the law must expand in keeping with the social necessities of the time.  He was active in Jewish affairs as well.  

I suppose that if the Socialists take over, there will be no one to help new businesses get started.  The days of birth and growth of business will be over in the USA.  No one will create another Wall Street again.  It looks dismal.  "Anchored by Wall Street, New York City has been called both the most economically powerful city and the leading financial center of the world."  

Bernie, the Lehman Bros. is part and parcel of what made America great.  They erred at a very old age, having been born in 1844 and died in 2008.  That's  164 years of prosperity for a lot of people employed by them as well as themselves.  That's why people came here; for better prospects.  

Resource:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehman_Brothers
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/american-civil-war-ends
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/must-read/lehman-elite-stood-to-get-700-million
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_H._Lehman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street

Democrat From Vermont: Senator Patrick Leahy's Chutzpa Towards Israel

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                                              

Senator Patrick Leahy

Senator Bernie Sanders

"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday responded to U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-Vt.) letter to the U.S. State Department that asked for an investigation into Israeli and Egyptian human rights abuses.

What chutzpa this Vermont Senator has!  Israel has been touted since its inception as the ONLY state in the Middle East that is Democratic!  They have gone to great lengths to regard human rights as the highest priority, and here he charges Israel, the country who invented human rights, with violations.

The first thing I noted is that the other senator in the news daily has been Bernie Sanders, also a Democrat from Vermont, who has also spoken harshly of Israel, and he himself is a Jew!  Is the harsh weather of Vermont affecting these senators' minds?  Has Bernie started this doubt about Israel?

The letter was signed by 10 others of Congress. They listed “extrajudicial executions” of Palestinians, Politico reported. That language on executions echoes the controversial criticism of Israel voiced earlier this year by Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom.  By ignoring this letter, they are being threatened to invoke the Leahy Law.  "The “Leahy Law” stipulates a reduction in U.S. military aid for foreign countries whose security forces are found to have committed abuses. "  This seems to me that coming from the Democrats, who do not join the Republicans as much in cutting expenses in order to bring down the $19 trillion the USA owes as a debt to China, that they are picking on the Republican's preferred state in helping to fight against terrorism.  Israel needs to be defensive.  

May I remind people that the 10 Commandments, brought to the Israelites by Moses from G-d were a set of human rights?  They were the fountainhead of all the other laws given to the Jews, all 613 more.  They are found  in Exodus 20:2-14 and repeated again with slight variations in Deuteronomy 5:6-18.  

1. The belief in one G-d.                                        6. Prohibition against murder

2.Prohibition of idolatry                                          7. Prohibition against adultery

3. Prohibition of taking vain oaths                          8. Prohibition against kidnapping (or steal)

4. Observe the Sabbath                                         9. Prohibition against bearing false witness

5. Honor your parents                                          10. Prohibition against coveting     

The Israeli army services (IDF) Israel Defence Forces, were started  in 1948 during the War of Independence on the basis of the Hagana and the other voluntary underground organizations that operated during the Mandatory period when Britain had been in charge of the land for the past 30 years.  Also, it included veterans of the Jewish Brigade and other units which fought with the Allies during WWII.  Because of the protracted conflict, kept up by the Arab States, Israel must maintain a highly trained defense system, with modern equipment, alert to protect life and property and meet any possible aggression.   My 3rd cousin, STANLEY GOLDFOOT from South Africa, was the Chief of Intelligence for the Stern Group of Palestine at the time.  Another cousin,  STEPHEN GOLDFOOT,  became a Flight Lieutenant in the SA Air Force during WWII.  Stephen died as a result of his plane being shot down over the Egyptian western desert when the allies were firing on Rommel's troops on the 12th of December 1941.    Was there ever another army like this in the world put together as they fought?  They've turned out to be examples for others to follow.  

                                                                     

Serving in the army is something both male and females do in Israel.  When I lived in Israel from 1980-1985, males served for 3 years and women for 2 years.  They were then placed on reserve status until the age of 55.  At least by 1973, women served in all 3 forces as non-combatant personnel, replacing men, who are thus made available for duty in combat formations.  Today they are probably included in more things.  "But a closer look shows Israeli women are not in direct combat special operations such as the Green Berets. Nor are they in front-line combat brigades mobilized to engage in direct heavy combat.

In the infantry, virtually all of Israel’s female combat soldiers are confined to two light battalions — the Caracal and the Lions of Jordan — which are assigned to guard the borders with Egypt and Jordan, the only Arab countries that have peace treaties with Israel."  Again, thinking of human rights, Israel is not willing to put a woman in more than harm's way is called for. Her enemies are known to be more than ferocious and without the ethics they have. Logic prevails.                                                                                   

Yoni Netanyahu, the brother of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, lost his life
when serving in the army.  Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu was an Israel Defense Forces officer who commanded the elite commando unit,  Sayeret Matkal,  during Operation Entebbe, a operation to rescue hostages held at Entebbe Airport in Uganda in 1976.  He was only 30 years old at the time.   The mission was successful, with 102 of the 106 hostages rescued, but Netanyahu was killed in action—the only IDF fatality during the operation.

  "The Israeli army has a strong ethical and moral code based on the laws and institutions of the State of Israel, the traditions of the Jewish people and democratic principles. The army guarantees basic rights for its soldiers and maintains a level of morality in the conduct of war and military operations. For example, during training, the army has a commitment to guarantee a minimum of six hours sleep a night for soldiers and seven hours before soldiers undertake a combat operation, grant regular breaks to soldiers, guaranteed meals with a minimum diet and to provide clothes and housing."

Evidently Leahy has little respect for the Jewish ethics and moral codes and the laws of Israel, or even our Jewish traditions and democratic principles to send such a letter.  Big brother (the United States) is always watching Israel, and Israelis know they are always being criticized through the UN as well, so they are more than sensitive to such watching and know that they of all people can never make a mistake.  They, like the Chinese have always felt, know they cannot bring disrespect to their family.  The Israelis are the strictest of all on their own behaviors.  They have more than enough on the left to criticize them for any mis-step, so they are always on their toes.  

It's enough that the UN is made up of enemies of Israel who pounce all the time on the little state, but now we have Leahy and his 10 joining in the fray.  

                                                                              

Ethiopian Jewish IDF

"Soldiers also have certain obligations. The first is the concept of 'personal example.' Being in uniform means that the soldier is a representative of the army and State and therefore both soldiers and officers are expected to set a 'personal example' by obeying the law of the land, appearing in orderly dress and not causing any public disturbance. The military police have the right to caution and even arrest any soldier deemed behaving inappropriately. The concept of 'personal example also extends to the battlefield. An officer is always expected to lead from the front. The famous cry of the officer is "aharai", after me. The fact that senior officers take front line combat positions means Israel suffers, proportionately the highest officer to soldier casualty rate in the world. However, the IDF believes that leading by examples increases respect for the officer corps and instills greater motivation among soldiers. Soldiers are trained to take over command in a situation where an officer is killed or injured."     

"Israel has a principle that weapons and force can only be used for the purpose of a military operation and not to harm human beings who are non-combatants or who are prisoners of war. This involves avoiding at all costs damage to human life, dignity and property. Enemy troops and civilians in areas under the control of the IDF have to be treated with the letter and spirit of the law. Soldiers have to show respect for the beliefs, values and historical sites of all civilians and military personnel."                   

This letter has followed several weeks of  Palestinian belligerence of stabbing pedestrians in Jerusalem with knives as they walk by or ramming into crowds waiting for a bus with their cars.  Yet, where is the letter about human rights to them?   It's always the same, whether it comes from the UN or our Obama government; blame Israel--not the Palestinians.  After 67 years, I can see that the Palestinians are not ALL eager to make peace with Israel.  They want to take over the country.  This has been the plan since 1948, and the die-hards are still aiming for it.  They're just like ISIS who wanted their own state and have achieved part of Iraq and Syria now.  Palestinians have been offered their own state since 1948-taking a small piece of Israel that was left after giving away 80% of it to Jordan as a state-but NO, they want all of Israel's 20%.  .  

"The IDF faces a number of major challenges. Both the threat to Israel and the nature of warfare and weapons systems is shifting. The Israeli security perimeter has extended outward, toward Iran and beyond. As a consequence, the IDF is expanding its planning over a large radius. This means, for example, that the importance given to the tank in Israel's defense concept is giving way to ballistic and radar systems and weapons research."

Another challenge are people such as Leahy who charge-UNFAIR!  Every person living in Israel is acutely aware of their precarious position and of all the surrounding enemies, yet maintains more than expected in the line of "HUMAN RIGHTS'' OF OTHERS.  They have even put themselves in harm's way to protect this principal.  This is probably what brought on the harsh criticism of any soldier in the IDF of breaking such laws.  

Resource:  http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/64714/netanyahu-blasts-u-s-senators-request-probe-israels-human-rights-record-jerusalem/?utm_source=Breaking+Israel+News&utm_campaign=c3d409a239-BIN_morning_3_16&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b6d3627f72-c3d409a239-83518689#gKugQOUP5pbC7mb1.97

http://www.mahal-idf-volunteers.org/information/background/content.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yonatan_Netanyahu

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/may/25/womens-combat-roles-in-israel-defense-forces-exagg/?page=all
Update: 1:51pm PST. http://forward.com/opinion/337841/i-wrote-the-idf-code-of-ethics-heres-my-take-on-the-hebron-shooting/?utm_content=daily_Newsletter_TopSpot_Title_Position-1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=New%20Daily%202016-04-06&utm_term=The%20Forward%20Today%20Monday-Friday  On Hebron shooting of terrorist.
Update: 4:32pm http://unitedwithisrael.org/bernie-sanders-accuses-idf-of-killing-10000-palestinian-civilians/?   utm_source=MadMimi&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Sanders+Accuses+Israel+of+Killing+10%2C000+Palestinians%3B+US+Jewish+Leader+Warns+Israel+of+Obama+Harm%3B+Trump%27s+Jewish+Son-in-Law&utm_campaign=20160406_m130693623_Sanders+Accuses+Israel+of+Killing+10%2C000+Palestinians%3B+US+Jewish+Leader+Warns+Israel+of+Obama+Harm%3B+Trump%27s+Jewish+Son-in-Law&utm_term=more_btn_light_png 

Socialism Versus Capitalism For USA

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                       

Socialist Party Icon of USA
Workers of the World-Unite (Where have I heard that one before?) 

The United States has been a capitalistic country from its beginning.  "Capitalism is an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.  .Bernie Sanders, presidential candidate from the Democratic party, offers us a  socialist society to replace our capitalistic one.  He comes to us from the Independent Party and has held these views for the past 35 years since being elected to an office.
                                                                       

Bernie Sanders, going from Brooklyn, NY to Vermont in New England
Time out on a kibbutz in Israel and honeymooned in Russia

Why is what he offers called socialism?  What do these 8 platforms have in common?
1. Free college for all.  Taxpayers would have to shell out $70 billion dollars for this.
2. No private health insurance-only one single-payer for healthcare.  Cost to us:  $14 trillion dollars.
3. Higher taxes-spreading of wealth-taking from rich, giving to poor; expansion of social security benefits
4. Blames failure of captalism and investors on Greed of wealthy
5. Higher minimum wage in 4 years to $15 per hour
6. Higher estate taxes on wealthy: inherit more than $3.5 million dollars
7. Ending free-trade which Trump also agrees with.
8. Reverse Supreme Court decisions about allowing freedom of speech, 1st amendment restrictions

9. No plans to pay down the $19 trillion we owe to China to run our country in the manner we are accustomed to;   only offers of needing more money to give to the massive society we have today.  The people who will suffer will only be the wealthy ones who had the most imagination and guts to make their money in the first place.  They are being punished for their achievements.

Sanders wants to copy Sweden's Socialism.

Socialism is a different way of viewing our financial and social systems by using social ownership and democratic control as the means of production.  It includes political ideologies, theories and movements to get these established.  This means our lives would not be centered around profit in business.  Enterprises would be socially owned by groups.  Profits would go to the society at large in the form of a social divident or directly to the workforce of each firm.

Such ideas started in the late 1700s out of concern for social problems associated with capitalism.  The theories they came up with are state socialism versus libertarian socialism.  Democratic socialism is used by those who consider themselves democratic and highlights its advocates' high value for the democratic processes.

Karl Marx in the late 19th century came in the world seeing technological development had more power than the economic dynamics of capitalism.  Socialism became the opposition to capitalism.  He advocated for this idea with social ownership as the means of production.

By the 1920's social democracy and communism were the 2 dominant political tendencies inside the international socialist movement.  The 20th century saw socialism emerging as the most influential secular political-economic worldview.

The Soviet Union was born as the world's first nominally socialist state.  This turned into a dictatorship.  Today, some socialists have also adopted other causes besides their economy such as environmentalism, feminism and liberalism.

Socialists include: general criticisms of the social effects of private ownership and control of capital (money).  They say capitalism causes:
1. poverty
2. low wages
3. unemployment
4. economic and social inequality
5. lack of economic security

Solution
1. Collective control over production, distribution and exchange agreement that outcome of this collective control in a society based upon social justice:
  a. social equality
  b. economic protection of people
  c. satisfying life

Most people compliant to Socialism believe that history is progressive and creates positive change on the condition that humans work to achieve such change.  Notice the word; change, change, change.  They are advocating a change in how we have operated.

This can also be called Communism.

One must ask oneself, why has the USA been so successful all these 240 years since 1776?  It's been that the poor and inconsequential people from other lands can come here and make a name for themselves.  They have not been followers but leaders.  They have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and have risen in society.  For all people want of an equal society, all earning the same amount of money and being given the same amount of education, we are not robots.  We come to this world as a unique person with our own talents, not like everyone else.  We either take to our education as it stands or we don't.  We either prefer cake or pie, and some prefer both.  Some people like blondes, others like brunettes.

Face it, straight socialism that has hit England, Sweden, Denmark and Norway  and other states have great problems.  Swedes pay 55% of their income to taxes to cover all the freebies offered in their country.  Entrepreneurs are treated like pariahs in Sweden, so it's not a country if you want to start up a new business, though that has gone up by 25% since laws have eased up a bit.  "Ikea founder,  Ingvar Kamprad,  told Forbes magazine that the Swedish tax bureaucrats would frequently accuse him of using people and "only wanting profits".   " The state subsidizes Swedes to live in optimal conditions and to provide little work - and if they are put into labor, it's in a public enterprise run by the government, to help reduce the official share of unemployed people."  

Sweden is not a utopia.  They have gotten away with horrid civil rights.  Luckily, this did not happen in 1870 when my grandmother was born in Lumsheden.  This is horrible!  62,000 Swedes were forcibly sterilized by the Swedish government over a 40 year period, until 1974, by government researchers who judged families as being "racially inferior". These sterilizations included both the parents and their children. During this time period, a Swedish Television documentary revealed that Sweden lobotomized at least 500 "undesirables", in some cases without the consent of their families, and that lobotomizations may have numbered up to 4,500 people. These practices predated and surpassed the era of Nazi Germany.  This is not saying that Socialism allows this, but how the people are now thinking.  Has their religious values gone down the drain with the innovations of socialism?  What were their religious values in the first place that have been set aside?  This would never go over in Minnesota or Iowa with the Swedish descendants.  Maybe that's why the Swedish government has taken in so many refugees from the Middle East today. They feel guilty.  

 One noticeable socialistic problem  has been healthcare in England. People who need surgery quickly have to wait for there is a long line ahead of them.

 Scandinavia is made up of small countries.  All the people up till about 20 years ago were Swedes,  or Danes or Norwegians, probably all related to each other.  We'll see how it goes with all the Arabs that have arrived as immigrants since Sweden opened its doors to them.  Bernie Sanders is pushing for Sweden's  massive welfare state  with it's cradle-to-grave public aid, ultra-high taxation, and dishonest economic policies which he considers a success.  Are you really ready to get off the highway and go down this dirt road?  

This is the first thing I heard from the lips of a friend-member of the Democratic Party.  Free education!  I can visualize such classes.  Here in the USA, a freshman in college will just be a senior of high school.  I was a year ahead of myself in school and was the youngest student in college.  I didn't take all my classes seriously and almost flunked out of English Comp because I didn't want to walk down a very long path to get to the classroom as I "already knew it all" from grade school!.  If you put an investment of your own into school, you'll pay attention.  How much will ALL the students gain out of a free education?  He's offering free to all students; no special ones like those that earn high grades and deserve a free education.  Then again, think of the teachers in the colleges.  I taught in a community college and earned very little money.  In fact, I earned more in the city's elementary school than in the college.  Now they'll need more teachers and more schools.  It doesn't end.  More money to be spent from our taxes is the result.

Bernie spent a few months on  kibbutz Sha'ar HaAmakim in 1963. A kibbutz  is a socialistic invention of Russian Jews who came as immigrants to Palestine in the late 1800's early 1900's and lived together in order to protect each other and manage to raise their own food.  He must not have had a terrific time living on one, but it was socialism as he found it then, probably as he enjoyed work in the cowshed.  It was in November of 63 that John Kennedy was assassinated and Lyndon Baines Johnson became president, both Democrats.  1963 had Prime Minister David Ben Gurion to the 26th of June, and then Levi Eshkol.  Both were with Mapai, the ""Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") which  was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the modern-day Israeli Labor Party in 1968.  Both were socialistic political parties.  

Israel's 2 main political parties are still Likud, the party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which is a capitalistic ideology, and the Labor Party, led by Isaac Herzog, based on socialistic values and principles.  It has been Likud which has offered the most physical protection for Israelis during these times of being attacked so much by the Palestinians-especially the Hamas terrorism.  Israel is the 2nd largest state of start-up businesses, as expressed in the book called Start-Up Nation.  It has socialism health for those that need something really cheap, and also offers a capitalistic side of healthcare as well.  As new immigrants in 1980, my husband and I chose free health care and found out this meant a Russian doctor who didn't speak English and wore a chef's hat on his head.  Friends of ours opted for another healthcare program where they had a doctor from the USA.  Israel's socialism has evolved but Bernie Sanders' ideas have not.  

Is the supermarket "WinCo's" a capitalistic or socialistic venture?  It's owned by all the workers of the store. It's a  worker-owned grocery chain that pays benefits, pensions, living wages, and has lower prices than Walmart, another huge chain. " Capitalism as an exclusive economic model will fail the people in whole and generally only benefit a few, says reader, Dominicus, no doubt a socialist.   While both provide value, the real value at Walmart isn't the average worker, but the consumer who supports slave wages. 19 States now have passed legislation allowing what is referred to as a Public Benefit Corporation.  I shop at both places.  

Readers need to make a big study of the long term results of socialism in all the countries who have embraced it.   The voters most interested in socialism are very young and haven't learned a thing about socialism.   Some have stated that we have become a nation of give me, give me.  It's not like when Kennedy, also a Democrat,  was president in 1961 and he said, "Ask not what can your country do for you, but what can you do for your country."  Even he was promoting capitalistic values, not socialism.  As one of the rich elite Irish families that made it big time in the USA, I'm afraid today's Socialists would blame him for their woes, too.  Instead of using the successful wealthy as heroes to try to emulate, they are now becoming the scapegoats of our economic problems.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/425800/bernie-sanders-socialist-success-sweden
http://www.paoracle.com/SocialismWORKS!/?sw=Sweden
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/capitalism-and-socialism-in-the-israeli-economy/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibbutz_volunteer
http://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2016/02/bernie-sanders-actions-about-israel-and.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Prime_Ministers_of_Israel
Book:  Letters From Israel-by Nadene Goldfoot, amazon.com for orders-
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread964581/pg4
Resource: http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/bernie-sanders-socialist-ideas-pushing/2016/02/08/id/713300/
http://www.ushistory.org/documents/ask-not.htm
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/10/12/chart-who-does-the-u-s-govt-owe-17-trillion-to/
Book: Start Up Nation:  The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle by Dan Senor and Saul Singer
Update 3/22/16:  from 17 trillion to 19 trillion dollars we owe.