New RFK Jr book gives big nod to research community

[James DiEugenio]

Let me also add, Len has been doing some really good BOR shows in celebration of the fiftieth of King and RFK at BOR.

Upcoming, he has Sirhan's counsel Laurie Dusek, Dave Ratcliffe, Bill Pepper and Lisa Pease to close it out.

I am sure most of us know by now that the MSM has done a mini rerun for this 50th of what they did for the JFK 50th.  What with the Time Life special entitled Assassins: Killers Who Changed History, the recent CNN six part documentary The Kennedys, and the Newsweek report, a la Von Pein, that somehow the head bob eliminates a grassy knoll shot.( http://www.newsweek.com/jfk-assassination-conspiracy-theory-debunked-new-gunshot-study-902292) 

We will be neutralizing all of these at Kennedys and King via people like Mili Cranor and Dave Mantik. .   But Len and Jeff are placing forth good positive work on the two cases.  Everyone should watch these. Its not easy to put together AV essays. You will hear Pepper say that the evidence in the RFK case is better than what he had in the King case, what with the 13 shot tape analysis by Von Pragg, and Noguchi's autopsy and, for example, the Nina Hughes testimony. 

Bobby Kennedy Jr just might be able to do something with all this. Let us keep our fingers crossed.  He has already stirred up the MSM.

Edited May 31, 2018 by James DiEugenio

[Robert Harper]

Great edited version that says it all. If the dumbing-down of America doesn't stop, we won't even have concern when a sitcom is cancelled over a tweet.

I used to think that the JFK researchers had opened wide the door for RFK MLK and 9/11 re-evaluations and confrontations with those responsible, yet the apathy continues. I didn't know that Kamala Harris - now Senator - was involved with the review; now I want to read her 46 page report because,  a 10 year old can follow this one.  I think Daniel Moynihan did the lobby and power establishment's bidding from his post at the UN to become Senator of New York (beating a hero of mine, Bella Abzug in a primary. Bella for all her flaws, would not give up when the chips really counted.) as did GHW Bush at the UN to move to CIA, VP and up. So Harris being AG in California and then getting the nod from the Dems, gives her her reward. Awful.

Also, you who have already commented here, likely know more about the amateur photographer who had his film taken by the LAPD. He snuck in and stood on a table and snapped away. They said it had to be held for 25 years as evidence (anyone hear "national security"in the echo?) so the kid waits 25 years amd is told apparently by the Archives, that the film is so valuable the mail won't do, and they will have a messenger deliver them. The messenger claims something like he had a flat tire and someone robbed his briefcase while he was fixing it. 

 Now, I think that's the end of the story. As sad and as vulgar and as corrupt as it appears to be.

[James DiEugenio]

Moynihan was a funny guy.

If you recall, after Bobby Kennedy's death, he recommended the reversal of the RFK program of active intervention toward race relations during the Nixon administration. Which he actually joined. His concept, since he thought the issue was getting too much attention, was memorably called, "benign neglect".

He did not like the radical fringes like the Black Panthers, so he was a hero for a few years of the neoliberal crowd. He worked for Warren Commission cover up artist Jerry Ford as ambassador to the UN.  There he continued the US tilt toward Israel, which helped him in his senate race in New York, and he even backed the invasion of East Timor by Suharto. Which, of course resulted in one of Kissinger's genocides: the other two being in Bangla Desh, or East Pakistan and in Cambodia. 

A lot of good things happened after the Kennedys were killed, didn't they? Terrible idea to think they were actually admirable politicians. 

[Ron Bulman]

Interesting even fox takes note of the subject of RFK with a personal interest piece but smooths right over any mention of RFK JR's book.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/busboy-who-held-dying-robert-f-kennedy-shares-senators-last-words/ar-AAy7MOn?li=BBnb7Kz

[Ron Bulman]

35 minutes ago, Ron Bulman said:

Interesting even fox takes note of the subject of RFK with a personal interest piece but smooths right over any mention of RFK JR's book.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/busboy-who-held-dying-robert-f-kennedy-shares-senators-last-words/ar-AAy7MOn?li=BBnb7Kz

I stand corrected, from a link in the article I linked.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/05/27/robert-f-kennedy-jr-says-s-not-convinced-sirhan-sirhan-killed-his-dad.html

[Paul Brancato]

On 5/31/2018 at 5:17 AM, Robert Harper said:

Great edited version that says it all. If the dumbing-down of America doesn't stop, we won't even have concern when a sitcom is cancelled over a tweet.

I used to think that the JFK researchers had opened wide the door for RFK MLK and 9/11 re-evaluations and confrontations with those responsible, yet the apathy continues. I didn't know that Kamala Harris - now Senator - was involved with the review; now I want to read her 46 page report because,  a 10 year old can follow this one.  I think Daniel Moynihan did the lobby and power establishment's bidding from his post at the UN to become Senator of New York (beating a hero of mine, Bella Abzug in a primary. Bella for all her flaws, would not give up when the chips really counted.) as did GHW Bush at the UN to move to CIA, VP and up. So Harris being AG in California and then getting the nod from the Dems, gives her her reward. Awful.

Also, you who have already commented here, likely know more about the amateur photographer who had his film taken by the LAPD. He snuck in and stood on a table and snapped away. They said it had to be held for 25 years as evidence (anyone hear "national security"in the echo?) so the kid waits 25 years amd is told apparently by the Archives, that the film is so valuable the mail won't do, and they will have a messenger deliver them. The messenger claims something like he had a flat tire and someone robbed his briefcase while he was fixing it. 

 Now, I think that's the end of the story. As sad and as vulgar and as corrupt as it appears to be.

I thinking that the Kennedy children need all the help they can get, and Kamala Harris might be a good choice of Senator to approach. I fear she might make a politically calculated decision, and perhaps that’s what she did when AG. But she is also a progressive, and part of a movement of women of color entering politics. She supported Stacy Abrams in Georgia, who won her primary battle against the Democratic Party choice. Our elected government continues to disappoint, but we should keep trying. What would surely help would be a movie like JFK to bypass the obstruction. 

[James DiEugenio]

Paul:

I don't think that you read the state's reply to the Pepper/Dusek appeal.  That appeal was exceptionally good.  I am not as well versed on the RFK case as I am the JFK case, but I did study it at length and in depth for about three years.  So I can separate the wheat from the chaff.

Harris was trapped by the quality of the appeal.  She clearly did not want to grant Pepper and Dusek an evidentiary hearing.  (Why she did not want to is a question you should ask her.  I would be very curious to find out the answer.)  But the inside info is that she was not really knowledgeable enough to reply, so what did she do?  She went to Mel Ayton (Von Pein's partner in baloney manufacture) and Thane Eugene Cesar's handler, Moldea.  They slapped together some malarkey for her and she submitted it to the court.  And the judge used this rubbish to go ahead and dismiss the appeal.

So after that exhibition, why would you think she would alter her previous course?  To me she is one of those so called liberals that Mort Sahl assailed. From my sources, the last senator to have any interest in these cases was Wellstone.  If anyone has any other information that contradicts that, please let me know.

Edited June 3, 2018 by James DiEugenio

[Paul Brancato]

6 minutes ago, James DiEugenio said:

Paul:

I don't think that you read the state's reply to the Pepper/Dusek appeal.  That appeal was exceptionally good.  I am not as well versed on the RFK case as I am the JFK case, but I did study it at length and in depth for about three years.  So I can separate the wheat from the chaff.

Harris was trapped by the quality of the appeal.  She clearly did not want to grant Pepper and Dusek an evidentiary hearing.  (Why she did not want to is a question you should ask her.  I would be very curious to find out the answer.)  But the inside info is that she was to really knowledgeable enough to reply, so what did she do?  She went to Mel Ayton (Von Pein's partner in baloney manufacture) and Thane Eugene Cesar's handler, Moldea.  They slapped together some malarkey for her and she submitted it to the court.  And the judge used this rubbish to go ahead and dismiss the appeal.

So after that exhibition, why would you think she would alter her previous course?  To me she is one of those so called liberals that Mort Sahl assailed. From my sources, the last senator to have any interest in these cases was Wellstone.  If anyone has any other information that contradicts that, please let me know.

I know - I get it. The reason I mentioned Stacey Abrams is that she ran against the so called liberal backed by the DNC and won with 75% of the vote. Harris was raising funds for Abrams before the primary. Let’s just say that Harris is no different from the rest, but the winds of change are blowing now, and Congress is going to become a much more diverse body, assuming we have anything resembling free and fair elections. The two Kennedy children might make a difference. I also get how hopeless it can all seem in the face of so many decades of fake liberals. Sahl is completely right, and I can see we agree with him. Where I don’t agree with Sahl is his sexist attitudes. We need women in power, and people of color in power, not just a president but in our representative bodies. I’m not blinded by my idealistic nature to the real dangers. I’m just hoping for a whopping backlash, and if we get it perhaps we can move the needle forward and begin to acknowledge the truths of the ‘60’s. 

I wish Oliver Stone or some other influential filmmaker would tackle this to end run around our ‘liberal’ media and Democratic establishment and help create a groundswell to back up RFK Jr by making a movie about his dad. It was the film you posted that set this off. Let’s get the millenials on board that train and see for themselves, and help the African American community remember or learn that it was JFK that sent federal troops to enforce integration. In any case, let’s lend our support in any way we can.

[Dawn Meredith]

On ‎5‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 5:01 PM, James DiEugenio said:

Here is one example of how bad Sherman was for the defense.  From my review:

Let me close with what I perceive as probably the worst failure of the defense. In doing so, I relate another episode that I can hardly believe happened in an American court of law. Again, I had to read this twice in order to fully comprehend it. Prosecutor Benedict knew that he had a problem with the time of death in this case. If Martha was dead by 10:00 PM, and Michael was watching television eleven miles away, then how could a jury convict him? Furthermore, the authorities had brought in an outside consultant, one of the most illustrious forensic pathologists in America, Joseph Jachimczyk of Houston, to certify that time. And he said this was the far end of the time frame, which began at 9:30. (ibid, p. 27) In addition, there were other pieces of evidence that corroborated this time frame. (ibid, p. 28)

To counteract all this, Benedict did something that I have never heard of before. He called the autopsist in this case, Elliot Gross; but he did not put him on the stand. The fact that he did not take the stand indicates that he would not give Benedict the information he wanted to hear. Instead, he put Wayne Carver on the stand, the current medical examiner. Carver said that, looking over the notes, the time of death could be as late as 1:30 AM. The problem was that Carver had never worked on the case. This juggling would seem to present a made-to-order opportunity for a real takedown of Benedict. One could imagine a pointed, detailed, rigorous cross-examination that would expose this as nothing but a ploy. Sherman asked one question in rebuttal: “Could the murder have occurred at 9:30 PM?” Carver replied yes. Sherman sat down. Which should have been the last thing he did. As Kennedy then writes, the obvious next question should have been: “How can you say that the time of death could happen at both 9:30 PM and 1:30 AM?” And that should have been just the beginning. (ibid, p. 28)

When Cyril Wecht read about this, he was stunned. I would have called the actual pathologist and then called the DA himself to the stand.

Wow now I have to add this book to my growing list.  I have always considered Sherman a bit of a fame whore but am just shocked at his lack of a cross exam. A layman would have done better.  As a criminal defense attorney I am ashamed. Actually I need to make that former as I am closing out that part  of my practice to focus on Child Protective Services cases. Had a great jury win yesterday on behalf of my kids, twins who turned four yesterday and a younger sibling. I am still feeling the joy of that moment, knowing these kids will be adopted in their forever homes very soon, after two years.

[James DiEugenio]

Congratulations Dawn.

 

BTW, Bobby did not quite call Sherman what you did, but he came pretty close.  It was a really incompetent defense.  Sherman was in it for the money and the exposure.

[James DiEugenio]

Here is a review of the RFK book American Values that we just posted at Kennedy and King.com

 

https://kennedysandking.com/reviews/robert-f-kennedy-jr-american-values-lessons-i-learned-from-my-family

[Michaleen Kilroy]

2 hours ago, James DiEugenio said:

Here is a review of the RFK book American Values that we just posted at Kennedy and King.com

 

https://kennedysandking.com/reviews/robert-f-kennedy-jr-american-values-lessons-i-learned-from-my-family

Excerpt from review:

“...the book is imbued with the spirit of the eloquent, romantic Irish-Catholic rebels whose fighting spirit and jaunty demeanor the Kennedy family has exemplified. RFK, Jr. tells his tales in words that honor that literary and spiritual tradition.”

Bingo!

[James DiEugenio]

Its really great that he was on the phone with people like Tanenbaum and Newman.

The downside is that, as Ed notes, there seems to be a media embargo on the book.  Only Tucker Carlson as far as I know has had him on a national program.

 

[Ron Bulman]

I've now started on the fourth chapter, The Whitehouse.  A different description of Joe Kennedy in Grandpa than most of what I've ever read.  Not a bootlegger, bought into a liquor company at the end of prohibition, not a Nazi lover or supporter?  There was a lot more to Rose than I ever realized, while strict and devoutly religious she was no wallflower.  I'd heard the name Skakel but knew nothing of them, an interesting story of rags to riches wealth and it's loss.  Excellent enlightening read so far.

[James DiEugenio]

Look at this!

Is something happening here.  This is a CBS national show.

Watch the whole thing, the reporter teared up.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/163f56df81d8a97e?projector=1