[AGL] !Re: LBJ and Walter....

[Gerry]

Kathy,
You said: And compared to Bush and
cronies he seems extremely wholesome, straight forward and honest.
Like a Jimmy Stewart movie.

LBJ was a vulgar monster who left many a disillusioned victim in his wake,
and quite a few corpses as well. Jimmy Stewart? Come on! He was a superb
politician who knew which asses to kiss and which to kick. He was the
champion of big oil and big construction. Haliburton is typical of the type
of company he helped to create. Good for Texas? Yeah, if you are in the oil
business. While it is true that some of his policies paid off for the poor,
the trade-off was not without consequences. He had no ideological base,
posing as a liberal when it was convenient and as a racist when he needed
southern support. He and his cronies stole the first radio station (now
called KLBJ) and used political power to steal quite a few of the early TV
stations in Texas (by strong-arming the competition).

I suggest you read some of the many books about him before praising him.
"The Path to Power" by Robert A. Caro is an excellent Texas history which
should be required reading in Texas schools. "Means of Ascent" portrays his
early senatorial contests. "Master of the Senate" takes us up to his
presidency. Read these books and then make your judgment.

While it is difficult to damn him completely due to some of the good works
he accomplished, praising him unconditionally is quite naive. He was a power
mad monster who ended up as a self-loathing, broken man who committed
gradual suicide after his retirement (and loss of power).

While her legacy now seems to outstrip his, he treated Lady Bird like a dog,
often embarrassing her publicly and without apparent remorse. The remarkable
thing is that she put up with it.

Compared to Bush? No contest, LBJ was highly intelligent and ran his own
ship, down to the tiniest details. He was a poor boy who became wealthy and
schemed his way to success. As a politician Bush couldn't shine his shoes.
Let us not forget that Cheney is the real power in the Bush white house. You
might compare him to LBJ but not W.
G



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kathy" <kdoyle1 at austin.rr.com>
To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s"
<austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>
Cc: <ghetto2 at two.pairlist.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 12:57 AM
Subject: [AGL] LBJ and Walter....



> Hmm, now a story I heard, from people now dead, is that LBJ had an

> illegitimate son, Rodney, by his secretary (?) and he sent him to

> live with a  rich gay pedophile friend? relative? living off

> Enfield.  I did know Rodney.  He was one of the early aids victims.

> And he did look a lot like LBJ, but he moved and talked a little

> swishy, or sort of valley girl.  Try and picture that. Anyway, what

> if LBJ  had a hunger for men as well as women and he and Walter

> actually had a "Brokeback Mountain" kind of relationship- that would

> explain why he had to cut Walter off so abruptly  and coldly when the

> scandal broke and also how he came to be so close to Rodneys's

> guardian or whatever he was. Well, it seems far fetched-what a can of

> worms if it were true- but the pre dawn hours are good for  wild

> tales of love, lust and betrayal.

>

> no matter, I did greatly respect Lady Bird, and am so grateful for

> her development of town lake and her wild flowers. By promoting

> beauty and healthy environments and saving and propagating plants, in

> her own way she was giving peace a chance, and her beautiful legacy

> endures . I also am grateful to LBH for the good that he did Texas

> and the nation, despite the damn war. And compared to Bush and

> cronies he seems extremely wholesome, straight forward and honest.

> Like a Jimmy Stewart movie.

>

>   Do you think Laura will try to replant any of the orchards and

> fields her husband and his cronies have blown up and poisoned?

>

> here's an intriguing link about Walter Jenkins, bless his heart. If

> he had 6 children, he would be bi sexual not  homosexual right? Why

> did his daughter have a different last name, was that her married name?

>

> http://home.nyc.rr.com/alweisel/outwalterjenkins.htm

>

> Kathy

>

> On Jul 16, 2007, at 9:53 PM, Fontaine Maverick wrote:

>

> > I haven't read it. Got a copy of "The Politician" by Ronnie Dugger,

> > which I tried to read over twenty years ago. Maybe I should dust it

> > off until I can get my hands on the Caro book.

> > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gerry" <mesmo at gilanet.com>

> > To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s"

> > <austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>

> > Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 10:37 PM

> > Subject: Re: [AGL] one reason I admired Lady Bird

> >

> >

> >> The Robert Caro books give a detailed account of Walter's fall

> >> from grace.

> >> He was LBJ's slave, killing himself to serve the master. LBJ rode

> >> him hard

> >> from the time they were in college and then spit him out with no

> >> apparent

> >> remorse. Also good accounts of Lady Bird and her progression from

> >> being too

> >> shy to attend her high school graduation and receive the

> >> valedictorian

> >> award, to a player on the world stage. At some point she stopped

> >> cooperating

> >> with Caro on the biographies, he broke her trust and never got

> >> another word

> >> from her. I guess it's time to dust off those old volumes and

> >> peruse them

> >> for a spell. Man, those girls (Lynda and Lucy) really turned out

> >> the kids,

> >> huh? You would need a Greyhound to haul the extended family around.

> >> G

> >

>

>