W. Niederhut

Larry, I share your indignation about Biden's refusal to release the JFK records. In fact, I wrote a letter to Biden in 2021, as you advised, asking him to comply with the law and release the records. I only mentioned Trump's refusal to release the records in response to the redundant efforts of one Education Forum member to make the records release a partisan issue. As for RFK, Jr., I absolutely feel compassion for him, for the traumatic loss of his father and uncle. I'm a lifelong fan of the Kennedy family. I even attended Ted Kennedy's announcement of his Presidential candidacy at Faneuil Hall in 1979. I am disappointed that RFK, Jr. has refused to criticize Trump's right wing demagoguery. IMO, JFK and RFK would agree with me on that issue.

John, I'm going to briefly correct your inaccurate, off-topic, ad hominem t-r-o-l-l-i-n-g of this thread-- in red-- after beginning with a brief summary of the key premises of the original thread. It's a shame that your inaccurate, ad hominem t-r-o-l-l-i-n-g is still permitted on the Education Forum. For starters, the thread is not about your erroneous beliefs about psychiatry, mental illness, and my psychiatric career. It's about the bipartisan suppression of the JFKA records, and the persistent, misguided threads by Benjamin Cole framing the suppression of the JFK records as a partisan issue-- e.g., Ben claiming that, "We are all MAGAs now," since Biden has refused to release the records. The truth is that Donald Trump also refused to release the JFK records-- even though Trump is now advertising himself as a Deep State adversary. Secondly, the thread is about RFK, Jr.'s dysfunctional refusal to criticize Donald Trump's crimes and his reactionary MAGA cult. Silence and denial are not constructive responses to the crisis of Trump-ism in contemporary American politics. RFK, Jr.'s public silence about Trump's serious crimes also prompted me to posit a hypothesis about RFJ, Jr.'s psychodynamic issues relating to the trauma of his uncle and father's murders. I pointed out that, in his JFK Revisited interviews, RFK, Jr. appears to be experiencing intense, unresolved grief about the traumatic loss of his uncle and father. Based on my work with PTSD patients, RFK, Jr. appears to be in an early stage of unresolved grief. John Cotter wrote: You’ve walked yourself into a quagmire of your own making here, William, and your desperate flailing about is just making matters worse. Another John Cotter absurdity, in which he characteristically insists that the person he is t-r-o-l-l-i-n-g has lost the debate. You invoked your “authority” as a psychiatrist in “diagnosing” RFK Jr. That authority derives from your membership of the American Psychiatric Association, not the American Psychoanalytic Association. What was my "diagnosis," Sherlock? Also, I haven't been an APA member for years. The former association is the leading such association on the planet and the publisher of the “bible” of psychiatry, the DSM. You know – the manual by reference to which you “diagnosed” the “mentally ill”, incarcerated them, lorded over them in their dehumanised degraded state and treated them accordingly. Study the origins and precision of the descriptive psychiatry of the DSM-- most of it was based on the precise observations of 19th century European psychiatrists like Emil Kraepelin, in Munich, and Ricard von Krafft-Ebbing, in Vienna. As usual, you are clueless. The latter association is concerned with more ostensibly respectful, humane and enlightened practises such as the “talking cure”. Your saying that this association rejected the Goldwater rule is a dodge, a misdirection. You strike out again, John. I was trained by psychoanalysts, in one of the few remaining psychoanalytic residency programs in the U.S. in the mid-80s. One association rejecting one of the rules of another association is irrelevant to the fact that it is your “authority” as a member of the latter association that you invoked in “diagnosing” RFK. But nice try. The Goldwater Rule is a political farce. And I stand by my observation that RFK, Jr. appears to be in the early stages of genuinely working through the trauma of his family tragedies. I believe I could significantly help the man, if I had an opportunity to talk to him. I'd probably have him try EMDR therapy for PTSD. Contrary to what you say, Erik Erikson was not a psychiatrist. He was a psychologist and psychoanalyst. As for Anthony Storr, I’ve read his books on creativity (The Dynamics of Creation) and Jung. As you say, Storr “analyzed historical figures”, but as far as I’m aware, he didn’t abuse his position as a psychiatrist by using it to denigrate a contemporary political figure. So now analysis and honesty are "abusive," eh? Have you studied Erikson's psychoanalytic writings about Hitler or Storr's psychoanalytic writings about Churchill? Have you studied the psychiatric literature about Donald Trump? People often comment on the mental state of politicians and other public figures as apparently manifested by their behaviour. There’s nothing wrong with that. We can all see what’s in front of our eyes, and we don’t need self-styled intellectual geniuses with lots of letters after their names to tell us what we’re seeing. That’s completely different from what you’ve done in invoking your role as a psychiatrist to promulgate a supposedly authoritative “diagnosis”. It’s an abuse of your position and a breach of the relevant ethical rule of the association whose prestige you’ve hijacked to weaponise your political prejudice. Again, what "diagnosis" and "abuse" are you referring to? You really are cluelessly hostile to the medical sub-specialty of psychiatry. Essentially, your “diagnosis” of RFK Jr is a particularly despicable ad hominem attack on him. It arises from the desperation caused by your inability to logically rebut his political views. Which "political views" are you referring to in this idiotic, ad hominem post? On this thread, I have questioned RFK, Jr.'s refusal to talk about Donald Trump's serious crimes against the United States-- and the threats that Trump's right wing, white supremacist cult pose for American democracy and civil rights. American democracy and civil rights are betrayed by silence and denial.

Ben, Your opinion about accurate psychiatric diagnosis is ironic, given your numerous, redundant posts "diagnosing" Biden's alleged senility-- often based on deceptively edited Rupert Murdoch video clips. (Certainly not based on his historic public speeches.) It reminds us that opinions are like the distal ends of our alimentary canals, particularly in your case. But, to reiterate, experienced clinicians can learn a great deal about a person by studying their behavior and speech, (and/or writings) in person or from a distance. That is the basis for the genre of psycho-history. It has to do with observing signs and symptoms of mental disorders. There's an old saying in medicine-- "You see what you look for and you look for what you know." If a man sobs while discussing the long ago murder of an uncle or father, I might infer (from many years of experience working with victims of trauma and/or loss) that he has not fully grieved or worked through his trauma/loss. He is still overwhelmed by emotion-- not at a stage of peaceful acceptance, the end stage of griefwork. Perhaps he has dealt with his unresolved grief by avoiding his sadness, drug abuse, or displaced rage. How old was he when his father was murdered in 1968? 14? Most people have a developmental fixation at the age of a parental loss, in the absence of genuine working through.

Had to laugh... 😆

John, I thought you were going to stop posting absurd, inaccurate comments on the forum. No such luck, eh? In truth, I think we all know who has been cluttering the forum with redundant "Biden snuff job" threads this year -- while even declaring that, "We're all MAGAs now" that Biden has blocked the release of the JFK records, (as Trump did in 2017.) Conversely, the only thread I have started on the topic of Trump blocking the release of the JFK records was initiated in September of 2020, and was subsequently moved to the JFK Deep Politics board. As for my clinical observations about the RFK, Jr. interviews in JFK Revisited, get a clue. They are spot on, and highly relevant. Do you really imagine that psychiatrists don't use filmed interviews to make clinical observations, and for teaching purposes? An experienced clinician can learn a lot from a filmed interview. The Goldwater Rule is a political joke that was widely rejected by the American psychiatric community, including the American Psychoanalytic Association, during the past eight years. Yet, it has often been invoked by Trump fans who object to accurate psychological profiling of Donald Trump. Since 2016, many reputable American psychiatrists have openly warned the public about Donald Trump's serious psychopathology. We were correct. The truth is that knowledgeable psychologists and psychiatrists can make valid diagnostic inferences about people they haven't interviewed in person, even including those who are deceased. There is a genre of "psycho-history," which includes diagnostic biographical essays by psychiatrists like Erik Erikson, Anthony Storr, and others. Erickson "psychoanalyzed" Hitler, and Storr has analyzed historical figures ranging from Isaac Newton to Churchill.

Ben, Should RFK, Jr. criticize Donald Trump for doing a "snuff job" on the JFK records in 2017, when they were finally due to be released? Thus far, RFK, Jr. has refrained from criticizing Trump, in the interest of "national unity." I think the concept is that, "we're all MAGAs now," and we shouldn't talk about Trump's historic crimes. 🙄

Roger, I agree entirely with your criticism of U.S./CIA international atrocities in the post-WWII era-- Mossadeq, Arbenz, Lumumba, Sukarno, Allende, Iran-Contra, etc. The examples are legion. With regard to Ukraine and Eastern Europe, do you similarly deplore Kremlin interference in the sovereignty and democracy of Russia's post-WWII neighbors? Didn't Putin's puppet, Yanukovych, put Yulia Timoshenko in prison, before public outrage caused him to flee from his opulent Ukrainian estate to Mother Russia?

Kirk, I'm just trying to give tribal credit where credit is due. Is it possible that the 1992 legal mastermind of GHWB'S JFK records suppression strategy is the same Republican toady who arranged the pardons of the Iran-Contra criminals and suppressed the release of the un-redacted Mueller Report?

Much ado has been made here about Biden, like Donald Trump, declining to release the JFK records. In fact, Benjamin Cole has indignantly declared that, "We are all MAGAs now," as a result of Biden, like Trump, declining to release the JFK records. Curiously, the anti-Biden candidate, RFK, Jr., has declined to criticize Donald Trump for his historic decision to block release of the JFK records in 2017 and 2018, as did Fox News at the time. RFK, Jr. has also declined to criticize Trump for promoting a violent attack on the U.S. Congress, organizing slates of false electors, trying to extort political favors from Ukrainian President Zelensky, and declaring that, "Putin is a genius," after Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022. RFK, Jr. doesn't seem to realize that personal, and national, trauma cannot be resolved by pretending that the trauma never happened, and refusing to talk about it, in the self-professed interest of "healing." That's the denial stage of unresolved trauma. When I watched the interviews of RFK,Jr. in DiEugenio's JFK Revisited documentary, it was immediately obvious to me, as a psychiatrist, that RFK,Jr. was still experiencing a great deal of unresolved grief about the tragic murders of his uncle and father. He reminded me of PTSD patients in the early stages of therapy for unresolved grief, who are still flooded with un-abreacted emotion. I mention these observations now, in the context of RFK, Jr. fans vehemently attacking Joe Biden, while refusing to criticize Donald Trump for his refusal to release the JFK records, and even declaring that, "We are all MAGAs now." It's predicated on denial of Trump's serious crimes, and the MAGA/Fox delusion that Trump is a victim of the Deep State.

Just a wild guess, but GHWB's 1992 statement asserting the Constitutional right of the POTUS to withhold JFK records sounds like something written by Bill Barr. Barr was always an advocate of Executive branch authority. Bill Barr was a CIA lawyer during GHWB'S stint as CIA Director in the 70s. GHWB appointed Bill Barr as his AG in 1992 to oversee GHWB's pardons of the Reagan/Bush Iran-Contra convicts.

Addendum: Here's GHWB's formal statement on signing the JFK Records Act. If I understand it correctly, GHWB claimed that the POTUS has the Constitutional authority to limit the disclosure of records, in the interest of national security, and that this Executive branch authority cannot be limited by statute. George Bush: Statement on Signing the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (archive.org)

I'm starting a new "political discussion" thread dedicated to Benjamin Cole's latest notion that, "We're all MAGAs now." Ben's concept is based on his well-known indignation that Biden, like Donald Trump, has refused to release all of the JFK records. It's correlated with RFK, Jr.'s refusal to criticize Donald Trump's crimes, in the interest of national unity. We're All MAGAs Now... 🙄 Accused Jan. 6 rioter caught lurking around Obama's house had an arsenal at the ready (Salon) Taylor Taranto, the 37-year-old accused Jan. 6 rioter apprehended near the home of former President Barack Obama on Thursday, had several weapons and a slew of ammunition with him, according to recent updates. Per a report given by federal authorities on Friday, Obama's would-be attacker "had two guns and 400 rounds of ammunition in his van when he was arrested," as well as a machete. According to NBC News, "Taranto's van has been parked near the D.C. jail in recent weeks and he has appeared at protests in support of other Jan. 6 defendants . . . Noting that he lived in the van, a federal prosecutor said Taranto had 'nowhere to go.'" In a statement from a federal prosecutor, Taranto, a known Trump supporter, "has been in Washington to take House Speaker Kevin McCarthy up on his offer of letting Jan. 6 defendants review security footage of the Capitol riot relevant to their cases. https://www.salon.com/2023/06/30/accused-jan-6-rioter-caught-lurking-around-obamas-had-an-arsenal-at-the-ready/

Cory, Correct me if I'm wrong here. Wasn't "Mr. George Bush of the CIA" (GHWB) the POTUS who attached a rider to the 1992 JFK Records Act stipulating that the POTUS could withhold any records, at his discretion, in the interest of "national security," before he (GHWB) agreed to sign the bill?

Yo, Ben, I left a number of big items off of my list of questions (above.) Should RFK, Jr. criticize Donald Trump for stacking the SCOTUS with extreme right wing plutocrats who have now overturned Roe v. Wade and affirmative action --after greenlighting unlimited dark money funding of U.S. elections and blocking enforcement of the Voting rights Act? Should he criticize Trump for organizing slates of false electors in several states after the 2020 election, for the purpose of overturning the U.S. election? No biggie in your MAGA-verse?

Huh? We are all MAGAts now, Ben? On what strange planet? Are you suffering from heat stroke on the family farm in Thailand this morning? Should RFK, Jr. condemn Trump for staging a violent attack on the U.S. Congress in order to remain in power? For saying, "Take down the magnetometers. They're not here to harm me?" For inciting white domestic terrorism in the U.S.? For accepting money and election interference from Putin in 2016? For denying in Helsinki that Russia had interfered in our 2016 election? For insulting our EU allies and undermining NATO for Putin? For taking bribes from the Saudis, in exchange for aiding the genocide in Yemen? For taking bribes from Sheldon Adelson and Paul Singer, in exchange for moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and abandoning the Palestinians? For abruptly withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan in January of 2021, against military advice, and precipitating the collapse of the Afghan government and army? For disastrously mismanaging the COVID pandemic-- causing the preventable deaths of hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens?

Geez... "fulfilling the promise of transparency to the American people?" Shame on Joe Biden. Why is Biden doing this? Inquiring minds want to know.

I wonder if Trump's latest act of stochastic terrorism in this Obama case will be a sufficient cause for RFK, Jr. to finally criticize the psychopathic Orange Mastermind of the January 6th attack on the U.S. Congress... 🙄

Don't worry needlessly about my reading comprehension, Roger. It's excellent. Instead, try to better understand your erroneous false equivalence about Republicans and Democrats in matters relating to voting rights, election fraud, and political assassinations. Who was POTUS when Mossadeq was assassinated? How about Allende? How about Solemani? Which POTUS was mocked by Republicans for making "human rights" an issue in U.S. foreign affairs? Which POTUS launched the bogus Neocon "War on Terror?" Which POTUS stole the 2000 U.S. Presidential election, with the assistance of his gubernatorial brother in Florida and a 5-4 vote by a Republican majority SCOTUS?

Two questions for our forum's tireless Putin apologist and "Bidenescu" basher, Paul Rigby... 1) What do you have to say about Prigozhin's recent claim that Putin invaded Ukraine on false pretexts? 2) Which historic Biden debates and speeches have revealed evidence of alleged senility? A. Biden's acceptance speech at the 2020 Democratic Convention B. The 2020 Biden/Trump Presidential debates C. Biden's 2021 Inaugural Address D. Biden's State of the Union Addresses to Congress E. None of the above

Bingo, Joe. Opinion | Murdoch's Fox News Embraces Right-Wing Benefits of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | Common Dreams

Hmmmm... Rupert Murdoch's Sky News has taken quite an interest in promoting RFK, Jr. lately. Strange. And why is Murdoch suddenly interested in the JFKA? If only Murdoch had used his vast right wing propaganda empire to question Donald Trump's suppression of the JFK Records in 2017 and 2018! 🙄 Incidentally, this is the second Murdoch/Sky News reference posted here on the JFKA forum in the past 24 hours. (The other was Paul Rigby's Sky News/MAGA clip about Bidenescu's ballyhooed "senility.") Is it conceivable that Rupert Murdoch is using his propaganda empire to sabotage Biden and the Democratic Party? Murdoch has been fluffing Ron DeSantis for the past two years, and we have just learned that RFK, Jr. won't agree to support the 2024 Democrat Presidential nominee-- good news for anti-Woke Ron DeSantis, Murdoch, and the Koch/GOP plutocrats! Opinion | Murdoch's Fox News Embraces Right-Wing Benefits of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | Common Dreams

Ruh roh, David... are David Talbot and the Salon.com people now also working for CIA Operation Mockingbird, along with Russ Baker, Naomi Klein, and the progressive Democrats* at Common Dreams? What's the world coming to? Meanwhile, it looks like Ben Cole posted so much MAGA spam here during the past 12 hours that no one noticed or commented on my post about RFK, Jr. refusing to criticize Donald Trump, or to support the 2024 Democrat nominee for the Presidency!!! Do Ben Cole and the MAGAs around here not realize that Donald Trump's SCOTUS appointees have now abolished Roe v. Wade and affirmative action, along with Biden's student debt relief order? (Republican/Koch SCOTUS judges already succeeded in wiping out a century of campaign finance reforms with the Citizens United ruling, and blocking enforcement of the Voting Rights Act with Shelby v. Holder.) Why would RFK, Jr. refuse to criticize the Orange Grifter, or endorse the Democratic alternative to a right wing, plutocratic Republican SCOTUS? * Opinion | Murdoch's Fox News Embraces Right-Wing Benefits of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | Common Dreams

Shocker. My questions and points (above) about the GOP sabotage of immigration reform, and strategic Republicon fear-mongering about the border, sailed right over Ben Cole's head. Good old Ben-- the J6 coup denier. Trying to discuss history and policy issues with Ben is like trying to converse with a television tuned to Fox News. And, speaking of Fox, it looks like Rupert Murdoch's Fox News-promoted candidate, RFK, Jr., doesn't plan to endorse the 2024 Democratic Party nominee for the Presidency. Terrific. 🙄 This confirms my suspicion that Murdoch has been fluffing RFK, Jr. in order to undermine Joe Biden and put another tax-cutting Republican plutocrat back in the White House in 2025. RFK Jr won't commit to backing eventual Dem nominee: 'Of course I’m not going to do that' | Fox News RFK, Jr. is also, apparently, imitating Mike Pence and the cowardly Congressional MAGAts by declining to condemn Donald Trump's serious crimes against democracy and the American people. It's unconscionable. Democracy is betrayed by such silence. My question. Which side is RFK, Jr. on?

It's a good question about all of the recent RFK, Jr. threads, IMO. The redeeming feature of this particular RFK, Jr. thread was that it began as a rare discussion of RFK, Jr.'s policy positions-- in contrast to the usual RFK, Jr. cheerleading -- before Ben Cole and Paul Rigby highjacked it with Murdoch/MAGA/ Bidenescu propaganda tropes.