Chapter 29 - The Modern Umbrella Man
We all remember the Munich pact of 1938 when the "Umbrella Man Neville Chamberlain, Premier of Britain sold the non-Fascist world down the river to Adolph Hitler on the false premise of gaining "peace in our time". Can we ever forget?
Now comes
one, Nikita Krushev, premier of the Soviet Union and leader of
the modern revisionists saying the same thing and doing
practically the same chore for world reaction. We refer to the
Cuban missile crisis. Consider this: There was no prior
consultation of the Socialist bloc, no consultation with the
Castro Government, nor with the Chinese Government. Mr. Krushev
simply took it upon himself to deal with the Imperialist naval
blockade, and to sell the world communist and liberation
movements "down the river".
Where were the counter demands for withdrawal of [US] missiles from Turkey and from NATO powers? Where were the demands for dismantling missiles aimed directly at Cuba from Florida? Did the Castro Government ever order an invasion of the US? Did the Castro Government ever threaten to invade the US? What makes "our" missiles"defensive" and all others "offensive"? As to any pledge given by the US imperialist Government not to invade Cuba, what about the continuing buildup of forces at the Guantanamo naval base? Isn't this an invasion? Remember, that base is being kept there by force and against the will of the Cuban Government and people.
We all remember the "Spirit of Camp David" and about Eisenhower, the "man of peace" (until the U2 episode). And we must remember the Krushev remark about "comrade Tito" Yes! The "crusade" that jails the communists in Yugoslavia. The "comrade" that gets military planes from the imperialists. So much for the "Umbrella Man".
Secretary of Commerce Luther Hodges unveiled yesterday a do-it-yourself kit for those who want to try their hand at economic forecasting. While the man didn't exactly specify just what was in the kit, we can use our imagination a bit here. Perhaps it's a miniature cardboard horse with a removable tail, a blind fold, and a set of rules. The blind fold is or you, Mr. business man-not the horse.
And here is how you do it: first, remove the horse's tail. Next, place the blindfold over your eyes. Now, turn around several times until you have lost your sense of direction. (This should be easy for business men who already HAVE lost their sense of direction). Next, try to pin the horse's tail back on the horse where it says, "Business recovery" (maybe this should be a pig instead of a horse) Next, feel the end of the horse's tail (Not THAT end stupid). If the tail is wet, and swinging, then the wind is blowing, and it's raining. This means it's winter and construction will halt. Now you know what to do! Rush down to your broker and sell, SELL all of your stocks in lumber, steel, etc as you must realize that THAT business is going to hell! Pay no attention to the dang chart as you have your information from the horse's a-well, you know what I mean!
Now he tells me! Although designed primarily for serious students of the economy, Hodges said, "The material in the 65 page booklet would give businessmen a chance to exercise their own judgement in forecasting business conditions." Now Luther, you should know better that that! If business men were able to forecast business conditions-there wouldn't BE any business! You should be thankful that they don't know their own business, and "let sleeping dogs lie" as the old saying goes. (Seems like we get a hell of a lot of animals into the act).
This reminds me of the story of the man in the church who was listening to the preacher intoning, "and remember my friends, there will BE no buying and selling in Heaven".
Whereupon a portly gentleman in one of the pews was heard to mutter, "That's not where business has gone to anyway". Well, so much for business forecasting.