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Smedley Butler warned Congress in 1933 that a group of wealthy American industrialists were planning a coup d'état to overthrow FDR and the federal government (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 3 months ago by to c/history@lemmy.world
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler

In 1933, Butler claimed to have been approached to become involved in a controversy, the Business Plot, telling a United States congressional committee a group of wealthy American industrialists were planning a coup d'état to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Butler also claimed the plotters of the alleged coup intended to use him, at the head of a group of veterans, to place the federal government under arrest. The individuals alleged to be involved in the coup all denied the existence of such a plot and the media ridiculed Butler's allegations, but a final report following an investigation by a special House of Representatives committee confirmed at least some of his testimony.

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[–] 62 points 3 months ago (3 children)

If they had been hanged in `33 as appropriate, we might not be dealing with this shit right now.

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  • [–] 28 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    There were multiple inflection points that could have changed the direction of the modern day. The founding fathers could have grown a spine and outlawed slavery, for example

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    • [–] 44 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    not just any coup either, but an explicitly fascist one

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

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    • [–] 24 points 3 months ago (3 children)

    These were the Technocrats, right? Musk's family was involved in that and then fled to South Africa

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  • [–] 13 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    Prescott Bush was involved and later became a senator, so I don’t see why the Musk family would have reason to flee. Maybe they were more culpable? My understanding is that they were Nazis involved in mining in S Africa.

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  • [–] 5 points 3 months ago

    Adding to Kobolds' reply, this link's to a decent CBC long read about Joshua Haldeman.

    a few highlights:

    -He was the head of Technocracy Inc's Regina branch and arrested during WW2 (link's to a newspaper clip from 1940).

    -He was also one of the world's first chiropractors, and railed against fluoridation, vaccinations, and health insurance.

    -He ran for the Prime Minister's gig twice and got VERY sooky when he lost.

    -In 1948 when repeatedly interrupted by boos and catcalls at the Regina Housewives League party leaders' forum, Elon's granddaddy cried out: “I am making a speech here. Isn’t there still freedom of speech in Regina?”

    -Then he heard South Africa would let him Lord it over the locals, so went there to be a super special Whitey. He didn't "flee" anything (except the reality that nobody wanted to vote for him).

    -In 1951, he wrote in the Regina Leader-Post about his new life in SA: “We have two native (Negro) garden boys in the summer and one in the winter and a native girl. [...] The natives are very primitive and must not be taken seriously. We get quite a bang out of them and they are really quite useful. It takes three natives to do the work of one white man.”

    -Following the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, Haldewell wrote at great length about how it's really "the white man" who's being discriminated against etcetcetc.

    -He made his family spend their summers camping in the desert looking for a lost city of white people that gave South Africa civilization.

    I only learned about any of this last year. Wish it was common knowledge during his "genius on The Big Bang" era.

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    • [–] 40 points 3 months ago (3 children)

    If you haven't already, read War is a Racket. It's not especially long but really lays out the profiteering side of war.

    https://www.heritage-history.com/site/hclass/secret_societies/ebooks/pdf/butler_racket.pdf

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    • [+] 18 points 3 months ago (1 child)
    [deleted]
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    • [–] 31 points 3 months ago (3 children)

    Eisenhower specifically called out the military-industrial complex in his final speech as president.

    No one listened to him either (well, they might have used his warning as a road map) and meow the country, and perhaps the world, are in a very dark place.

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  • [–] 15 points 3 months ago

    Twenty years ago, when I was in high school, was the first time I listened to Ike's military industrial complex speech. I was a smart kid but the speech didn't have the weight it has now, in my adult life.

    I think about that a lot. Same with the Robert Mueller warning. It's almost like, in both instances, these men felt they had no power to do anything beyond some ominous warnings. And unfortunately, like when I was a teenager, I feel it goes over most people and they are indifferent.

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    • [–] 11 points 3 months ago

    The Business Plot inspired the movie Amsterdam. If I recall correcly, the movie ends with the original footage of Butler revealing the plot.

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    [–] 6 points 3 months ago

    Time sure rhymes.

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    [–] 4 points 3 months ago

    They succeeded by using money, rather than overt violence.

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    [–] 3 points 3 months ago

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