ALL IN!!!

The Unfolding of the Story surrounding General Petræus continues at a dizzying Pace.  Senator Diane Feinstein from California compared it to ,,Peeling an Onion'' with one Revelation more startling than the one before unfolding before our Eyes.

Where all this will lead, nobody knows and, those who might possibly know are likely far more interested in ,,Damage Control'' than revealing what has been really going on.  Mika Brzeziński, Daughter of former distinguished Presidential Adviser, Zbigniew Brzeziński, a Man of, some would say, considerable Gravitas, expressed as much on her intellectually worth listening to TV Program today.

Most of us would agree that the rapidly unfolding Facts allow no Conclusions to be drawn at this Point; however, here at The Vitznau News Team, we thought we would highlight Compilation of some of what is known or believed to be known so far, along with the Concerns which these Pieces of Information raise:

§ Mr. Petræus and Mrs. Broadwell, both married, had an Extramarital Affair.

 

General Petræus and Mrs. Broadwell

 

§ Mrs. Broadwell appears to have been in Possession of some Classified Information, the Extent of which we do not know.  She did not have a Security Clearance.  How Mrs. Broadwell obtained this Information has not been revealed yet.

 

§ Mrs. Broadwell has made unverified Statements regarding ,,CIA Prisoners'' being held in Benghazi, Lybia at or around the Time of the Attack which killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.

 

§ Mrs. Broadwell perceived, correctly or incorrectly, that Mrs. Jill Kelley (née Khawam) was, or was about to become her potential Rival.

 

Mrs. Jill Kelley (née Khawam)

 

§ Mrs. Broadwell sent anonymous eMails, possibly as many as 20.000 to Mrs. Kelley, apparently in an Attempt to disrupt the Social Relationship which Mrs. Kelley states existed between the Kelleys and the Petræuses.

 

§ Mr. Petræus sought to convince Mrs. Broadwell, unsuccesfully, it would appear, from sending this Avalance of eMails to Mrs. Kelley.

 

§ Mrs. Kelley knew an FBI Agent who had sent to her shirtless Photographs.  She turned to this Agent (after she had received the shirtless Photographs) in an Attempt to have Mrs. Broadwell, (whose Identity she did not know because the eMails were sent anonymously or using fictitious eMails), stop what she considered to be Harassement.

 

§ Apparently not calculated in Mrs. Kelley's Consideration was the possible Emergence of, some say, 30.000 eMails or 30.000 Pages of eMails which she had exchanged with General John R. Allen, ISAF (Allied) Commander in Afghanistan, who was in Line for a Promotion.

 

 

General John R. Allen

 

§ General Allen has stated that there was no ,,Inappropriate Relationship'' between him and Mrs. Kelley but, at least for the Time being, his Promotion as Commander in Chief for NATO has been put on Ice.

 

§ Mrs. Kelley is a wealthy Socialite and, undisputedly, well connected in Military Circles.  Her Husband is a Surgeon.  Together they have 3 Children.  Either Mrs. Kelley or someone in the Kelley Family serves as an ,,Honorary Consul'' for somebody or something.

 

 

Mrs. Kelley and the Florida License Plate on her Mercedes Benz

 

§ All of the Principals in this bizarre unfolding Story have, understandably, gone ,,Under the Radar'' and made themselves unavailable for Press Interviews.  Some have hired Agents or Representatives to speak on their Behalf.  Mrs. Kelley has hired as her Spokeswoman Judy Smith, who represented, yeah, Monica Lewinsky and Abby Lowell, who represented John Edwards.

 

Judy Smith, here seen with Monica Lewinsky

 

§ We need not tell you, President Clinton is ,,Under the Radar'' on this one.

 

§ Nobody ,,knew'' anything about this until after the Election.

 

Stayed tuned and, to any and all Readers of this Column; any News or developing Stories on this Saga, which appears to be quickly becoming more than just a little ,,Story'' about Sexual Escapades, please drop us a Note.  We welcome, indeed, seek to hear from all of you.

 

N. B. The Title of Mrs. Broadwell's Book about General Petræus is ,,ALL IN'' (whatever she meant by that) and, while we do not know if this is ,,ALL IN'' yet, neither does it appear to be ,,ALL OUT.''

 



 

Correction: $ 4 Billion, not $ 1 Billion

In our last Writing, we reported that Cost of the Presidential Election (counting Money spent by both Parties), exceeded $ 1 Billion, an Amount most People would simply find as staggering.  However, as more Figures keep pouring they are suggesting that the Amount spent most certainly was closer to $ 2 Billion.  Some Estimates put the Amount spent (including the Money spent by Political Action Committees, which are not directly tied to the Campaigns) to $ 4 Billion.

Still other Reports suggest that, on the Average, approximately $ 20,00 was spent for each Vote Cast.

Some of us may remember Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen, who hailed from a Town with the improbable Name of Pekin, Illinois and who was also a Playwright (notably, ,,Chinese Love'') who said, ,,A Billion Dollars here, a Billion Dollars there, pretty soon you are talking abour real Money!''

These Kinds of Sums of Money, wantonly spent, some might say, by both Candidates and those who supported them, sometimes call into Question the Resolution and Determination which will be required by the winning Candidate, Mr. Obama, to deal with the Challenges ahead.

The immediate Issue facing the Nation at this Time (and we are not dismissing further ones down the Horizon) is the so called ,,Fiscal Cliff'' which must be dealt, rather than ,,kicking the Can forward'' which is what most likely will happen.

Mr. Romney, despite his Rhetoric, did not really have a Plan for dealing with the financial Challenges which face this Country.  However, Mr. Obama does not have one either.  And, neither does the Republican House of Representatives which is determined to fight him Tooth and Nail on allowing the 10% Cut for High Income Tax  Brackets to expire.

In recent Years, ,,Borrow from China'' has been the Solution.  In a very real Sense, China has even financed the ill fated and poorly thought out Wars that Mr. Bush initiated in Afghanistan and Iraq and which, although being wound down, still represent an enormous Drain on the Economy.  When it comes to certain Things, Costs are not really so easy to cut, even when the Project is brought to an End (Take, for Example, in Iraq, an Embassy employing 15.000 People, the largest Embassy in the World for any Country).

But the Strategy ,,Borrow from China'' may be fraught with Peril.  The Chinese have been willing to lend and they may still be willing to lend, even at ,,Basement'' Interest Rates.  However, it may well be that the Chinese may soon come to the Point where they cannot lend anymore in order to feed such a voracious Apetite for Deficits, simply because, they won't have any more Money to lend, no matter which Way they ,,manipulate'' their Currency.
 

Punting

The Annual Deficit for the Budget Year about to close will again exceed $ 1 Billion.  While this should not come as a Surprise, it should nonetheless be jolting, especially in View of the Fact that Congress, consisting of a Group of highly paid Individuals, has chosen to be in Session for 4 Days in August, 8 Days in September and (according to the Schedule), 0 Days in October.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/26/us/politics/obama-faces-test-as-deficit-stays-above-1-trillion.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120926&moc.semityn.www

(Click the Link above in ,,The New York Times'' for more Details)


Regardless of who the Victor will be and Mr. Romney's Chances of being the Victor appear to be diminishing, a bit too rapidly, many of them due to his own doing, the Issue has thusly been punted to beyond the Election Day in November  (Comments by Mr. Romney wondering why Airplane Windows cannot be opened can be, at a certain Level, even more damaging than Comments about the ,,47%.'').

What is going to happen after Election Day?  Likely, a Period of bitter and divisive Discord will ensue and, of course, none of it would be helpful or constructive.

However, one Fear worth considering may be, what Mr. Bernanke might do, in View of a deteriorating Situation.

It is not unlikely that Mr. Bernanke  may come up again with some ill conceived Theory about what he wants to do about ,,fixing the Economy.''  It is arguable that if Mr. Bernanke were to be sent back to Princeton he would do less Damage from there but that poses an interesting Question:  had he been alive, would President Woodrow W. Wilson have rehired him?

Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve

and former Professor of Economics at Princeton University

 

 President Woodrow W. Wilson

                                                                     28th President of the United States

                                                                     President of Princeton University (1902-1910)