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Kennedy – Michael O’Brien

Irish decent
Cromwell took over Ireland killed Catholics stole land Irish poor
Many to u.s. In 1845 1850
To Boston since cunnard shipline went there
Got involved in politics. Liked speeches. Ward bosses
Honey Fitz. Father of Rose Kennedy
Paternal sidealso irish. In politics. Pay Kennedy taught son Joe to be ambitious
How cared deeply about kids. Love and stern.
Joe very immoral. Business and woman. Open affairs. Tried date fuck son’s girlfriends
L. Emmitt Holt pediatrician books about childrearing. Silly show no affection kiss on forehead if you must at bedtime.
How oldest. Extrovert,like father. Serious. Jack less extrovert. Less serious. Only did what pleAsed him.28 stitches story.
Kathleen come in age with Jack. Close with hum.
Choate school.  Then harvard. very por student, unless he liked the  course. not serious, but very likable. good with the girls.
father had him spent year in europe while he was the ambassodor in london. did him a lot of good. made mroe serious.
wrote book Why Europe Slept.
many, many health problems.
did well at harvard last couple years.
took course at sanford after graduation.
join navy (father pull strings so he could get thru pyhical. )
affair with Inga Arvad. she had met hitler when she was reporter in europe. fbi followed her, bugged hotel room she and kennedy stayed.  heard lots of sex.
father again intervened so he could become PT skipper.
George Mead, Kennedy friend, killed Guadacanal. father owned Mead Paper Company.
fellow solider said “he was always a genuine person.” never would known his privileged background just talking with him.
Congressman
Senate campaign
Senator
Sorenson. Great student. K.s alter ego.. Obsessed with helping k.
Jackie. Born long island. rich. Vassar. Paris. Gw. Catholic. 12 years younger.
Gunilla von post.
St. Lawrence seaway. Courage.
New England conference of senators
Back pain. Crutches.

Johnson head of steering committee. Gave kennedy position on foreign relations committee.
 
He was right about Vietnam in the beginning before President
 
Eisenhower went frenc h defeated. He decided to defend at parallel defined at geneva.
 
Diem. Introvert. Not for democracy.was an elitist.
 
Kennedy spoke out against French action in Algeria. (The eventually had 400k troops there. Killed torture etc)
 
Visited Poland with jackie. 2.5 million jews in Poland before war. 80k survived.
 
Gomulka
 
Blacks. Not strong supporter. But did support end poll tax antilynching etc.
 
Civil war end. Carpetbagger etc. Many whites believed carpetbaggers unfair to whites. They were eventually driven out replaced by whites. Lead to sharecropping and actions that undermined 14th and 15th amendments.
 
Eisenhower civil rights Bill
 
Kennedy -ives labor reform Bill
 
Independent streak. Not a straight liberal
 
Was respected senator new the facts. Made decision based on facts not party
Great inaugural speech
 
First act doubled dried milk and grain allotments for poor
 
Eisenhower planned ok overthrow of Castro
Zapata operation
Fulbright against it
Schlesinger too
The plan for invasion was published in us newspapers before even happened
Made to make us look both aggressive and weak at the same time
George ball predicted Vietnam quagmire. Kennedy dismissed him.
 
Galbraith agreed with ball.
 
Mansfield too. Mansfield talked with journalists instead of generals etc. Got better picture.
 
McNamara took charge. Tried to “quantity the unquantifiable.”
 
Vietnamese actually hated Chinese. There was no unified communist program
 
 
Pilgrims way
 
Except when Thomas Jefferson dined here alone
Rocking chair interview
I can’t read a speech worth shit
Operation mongoose
Mam who accompanied Jackie Kennedy to Paris
 
Hilsman Harriman and George ball against diem regime
 
First to sell arms to Israel