the ghost of christmas past

dear family and friends
what follows is a christmas story. it is a christmas story from the past that echoes through our lives one hundred years later. some might think it a little early for a christmas story but i was just in wal mart and all the christmas decorations got me into a little bit of a nostalgic mood. so what follows is what i think of when i get the christmas spirit. so light the fire in the fireplace, pour a little of your favorite beverage and let yourself be transported to a simpler time.

the scene is the morgan resort on jekyll island. it is a small island off the coast of america, georgia to be specific. it is christmas eve 1908. the weather this time of year in the south can be just about anything but this evening it is rather cold, as the "hawk" is flying low over the coast.

dinner has just ended and the women have retired to the sitting room and the men have adjourned to the library. brandy is poured by the son of a slave and cigars are broken out of the humidor. the host passes out his favorite cigars to his guests.

the well oiled walnut paneled walls glow warm in the light of the fire. the flawless argentine leather easy chairs are soft and inviting. the surf pounds in the distance. life is good ..........it is very good.

the host is jp morgan , pierpont to his friends.......... death to his enemies.
the cigars are "Hercules clubs" from Havana. these were heady days when cuba knew how to behave itself. morgan was able to avoid military service in the civil war by paying three hundred dollars for a substitute. no one knows if the substitute survived.

the guests this christmas were nelson aldrich senator and senate whip. also father in law of jd rockefeller jr.. which made him the grandfather of the future governor of n.y. and vice president of the u.s., nelson aldrich rockefeller.

abraham andrew, assistant secretary of the treasury.

benjamin strong who was head of jp morgan and the first chairman of the federal reserve.

and finally paul warburg of the warburg banking family of germany.

pierpont: well gentleman merry christmas and now for dessert.

aldrich: pierpont now that you have brought on the panic in the banks in new york with your brilliant manipulation of the monetary system. i think we can now proceed with the next phase of our plan. the selection of the next president.

pierpont: thank you nelson it was really quite simple. once you get the public in a panic they will go along with just about anything to restore what they think is stability.
our greatest gains have come from this very simple strategy.

strong: you are the master.

pierpont: i learned it a long time ago from the real masters. i owe them everything.

warburg: quite pierpont, it is a tactic as old as banking itself. the goldsmiths of long ago developed these strategies to a high art. it can be accomplished in the same way over and over again in broad daylight and no one can fathom how or why it happens.

pierpont: gentleman i have given it much thought and i believe that wilson is our man in 1912. he is mild mannered and easily led. we have been educating him as to how the banking industry needs to be regulated so that these monetary panics will no longer be a problem..........they will be opportunities that he will be completely unaware of. he is currently governor of new jersey and has an impeccable record.

strong: yes i quite agree we have had many meetings with him at the bank on wall street and he is now quite convinced that we simply must do something. he believes that we have the answers to the monetary problem.

andrew: i have spoken with him many times and i agree he is our man. he really is quite gullible and is too much the academic to admit that money is well over his head.

warburg: we are over his head and he will suit our purposes very well. he will be very easily controlled.

andrew: but taft is a very strong candidate how will we be able to defeat him?

pierpont: good point abraham. how indeed?

strong: if i may sir offer a suggestion, why not divide and conquer? why not bring on another candidate who can split the vote on the republican side and leave the way clear for wilson?

aldrich: excellent idea ben. i think i know just the man............t.r.

pierpont: why yes he would be perfect. the public will love it. we can offer him some support but not too much just enough to split the vote and draw enough votes away from taft for wilson to win. teddy boy's ego will be so inflated with the idea it should be no problem to get him to run.

warburg: it is a brilliant strategy.......the next phase begins. gentleman a toast.
to the control of the united states of america.

they all raise their glasses and congratulate each other. a light snow begins to fall and the son of a slave refills the glasses and puts another log on the fire. he is grateful that on this night he is warm and employed and his children will have a christmas turkey.

fast forward to christmas eve 1913. the astor hotel in new york. the suite on the top floor has been reserved for this very special occasion. this is the celebration of the creation of the federal reserve act which was passed on the evening of the 23rd of december when 27 members of the senate were gone for christmas recess. they had been told there would be no votes until they returned to session again.

the men present were the same men who had been at jekyll island in 1908, except for jp morgan who had died in march at the age of 75. in his honor the "Hercules clubs" from Havana his favorites of which he smoked 12 a day are passed out.

aldrich: gentleman the plan has been implemented. we are now in total control of the entire money supply of this country. we will control congress and every president from here forward.

warburg: yes nelson it is too bad that pierpont could not be here to witness the birth of his child.

strong: i know as he looks down from heaven he is quite pleased. may he rest not only in peace but in happiness. this is the crowning achievement of his life.

andrew: gentleman i propose a toast to john pierpont morgan and the federal reserve bank which will create a new order in this country.

all as one: cheers !

aldrich: and gentleman a very merry christmas indeed.

fast forward once again. this time it is christmas eve 2008 one hundred years to the day of that fateful meeting on jekyll island. the scene is the "playhouse" at the opulent family estate pocantico in westchester, new york.

david rockefeller is the host. he is the patriarch of the rockefeller family. his estimated wealth is 3 billion dollars. his political and business connections are too numerous to list. to get a glimmer of the way he sees the world we only need to read his own words from his memoir.

" some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the united states, characterising my family and me as internationalists and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure-one world, if you will. if that is the charge, i stand guilty and i am proud of it."

the guests this christmas eve are henry kissinger former secretary of state under richard nixon and gerald ford.

riley bechtel chairman of bechtel corporation, a primary beneficiary of the war in iraq.

and finally last but not least george schultz former secretary of labor, former secretary of the treasury, and former secretary of state. he was also a professor at the university of chicago in the business school. he became dean of the business school in 1962. the university of chicago was founded by the rockefeller family. milton friedman also taught at the university of chicago.

rockefeller: gentleman welcome and merry christmas.

all in unison wish the patriarch a merry christmas.

rockefeller: well we have our new president and plans are proceeding very smoothly.
the current state of the economy made it a very easy campaign to manipulate. barry was as flawless as any candidate i have ever seen. the only one on a par was jack kennedy. we owed a great debt to his father so it was our pleasure to see to it he was elected.

schultz: jack was a good man it was a shame he got off track on the federal reserve. he could have been one of the greatest of our presidents. we tried to warn him but he would not listen.

rockefeller: yes that was a pity. but gentlemen we are here to celebrate our victory and discuss the next phase. we had quite a pleasant surprise this time around. that palin woman created quite a stir. she is quite a find. it got me to thinking that perhaps we let the "crisis" run a little longer maybe even ratchet up the heat a little and have barry serve one term. what do you all think of her as the next one?

bechtel: she is very raw but i think her instincts are very good and she is very ambitious. she has a natural way of connecting with the common folks.

kissinger: raw does not go far enough to describe her. when called upon to do anything more than wink she is as lost as the titanic.

rockefeller: i agree, but there is something about her i like. she has spunk and that is something the people of this country like above everything. when asked to tell why they like a candidate they never mention issues. it is nothing more than a personality contest. my only reservation about her is can we get her up to speed in time?

schultz: i think she would be willing to work hard. i think she is very shrewd and a quick study. if you think it would be in our best interests i would be happy to tutor her in economic policy-- at least enough so that she will appear to have a grasp of the economy. i really think her apparent naivete is an asset.

kissinger: david, she is raw but she just may be able learn the right things to say. we were able to get george bush up to speed enough to get elected. and as you said it is not really about issues it is about personality and she does connect with the common people. i would be willing to work with her. there are just a few little bits of international scene she will need to know..........russia bad, china not so bad, iran bad, israel good, and the saudis our friends. as we did with bush and obama we just get her to not say the wrong thing. we will have the media give her nothing but soft questions.

rockefeller: riley what do you think?

bechtel: well as i said and we are all in agreement she is raw and unsophisticated, which in my opinion makes her a perfect candidate. she is a quick study and appears to be willing to do just about anything to further her political ambitions. i can get her on board with our corporate partners and in concert with george leading the way i think two years is sufficient. i think we can have her ready by 2010. we can mobilize the talk radio people ........they love her. and i am sure rupert will approve.

rockefeller: i think we have reached a consensus gentleman. this may be a little premature but what do you think about giving her a call to wish her a very special merry christmas?

in unison all agree. a servant is summoned to bring the phone.

george schultz holds the receiver and waits patiently.

schultz: hello this is george schultz calling for sarah palin. yes george schultz former secretary of state. of course i will hold. oh she is outside.......yes i understand she is dressing a moose of course. if this is an inopportune time perhaps i can call back.......hello are you there?

he holds his hand over the phone and says "i think he went out to get her"

the others can barely contain themselves.

schultz: hello ......yes is this sarah? yes sarah this is george schultz i am here in new york with some friends and we were just discussing some possibilties. i hope i am not interrupting anything.........you do have a bit of time to talk? yes george schultz. yes well my friends and i have been discussing possibilities for the future specifically the election in 2012. we have given a fair amount of consideration to who should run in 2012 and we feel you might be a good candidate. do you think you might be interested? .................you betcha? well would you like to discuss it with your family?
...............no? well perhaps we can get together and discuss how we might proceed . .............you are ready to kick what?......... and take names?........that is nice my dear ..........we uh....... do have some things we would like to go over with you before we make a comitment to support you.............you will do whatever is necessary? well that is the frontier spirit we appreciate in you my dear................. you are sorry but you have to go ?...............the dogs are starting to get to the moose .............of course i understand. we will get in touch.............yes and a very merry christmas to you sarah.

rockefeller: well george?

schultz: she said she was happier than a deer fly in a herd of caribou, but she really needed to get back to the moose as the dogs would make short work of it. she said her and todd have always had a fresh moose for christmas dinner, and family comes first.

rockefeller: gentleman i think we have found our first woman president. first a black man and next a woman. the electorate will be besides themselves. certainly it is the promise of america that anyone can become president...............if you work hard and ..............know the right people. merry christmas my friends and to our new world order, and to all americans .....................good night the party is over.