GANTS – Ralph Gants was unanimously confirmed by the Governor’s Council on Wednesday to the highest judicial office of the state, chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court. What’s that got to do with this blog you might ask? In one way quite a bit but before I get into it I’d say you have to agree that the man is of the highest repute and legal skills to have obtained that position. He was born in New Rochelle, N.Y., and studied at Harvard and Harvard Law School. He went on to become an assistant U.S. attorney and an assistant to the director of the FBI.
He was referred to by Jeremiah O’Sullivan in his testimony before the Congressional Committee that began investigating the FBI’s involvement in the Teddy Deegan murder which turned into an investigation of Billy Bulger. O’Sullivan was being grilled by Congressman Tierney who asked him: “When you decided to close the [75 State Street] case, did you rely on the word of the FBI?” O’Sullivan responded: “Yes, but I relied primarily on two investigating Assistant U.S. Attorneys who had done most of the work and interviewed most of the witnesses in that case. I relied on Ralph Gantz (sic) and Alex Leak.” O’Sullivan went on to say: “I think the investigation was conducted appropriately by the Assistant U.S. Attorneys and I think that they got to the bottom of the case and there was no case against Mr. Bulger.”
Now we’ve all heard that somehow or other Jeremiah O’Sullivan or John Connolly or John Morris or mysterious other people interfered on behalf of Billy Bulger to save him from being charged for a crime in relation to the 75 State Street investigation. Rarely have you heard the investigation was conduction by Ralph Gants a man considered beyond reproach who found there was no case against him. This is just another example of how the truth has been suppressed when it comes to the matters involving Whitey.
CANTOR – When Speaker-to be Eric Cantor was pummeled by the people and plummeted from the pinnacles of power no tears tumbled from my eyes. Sic simper tyrannis, I thought. Little did I know at the time when I had that thought that the Great Seal of the State of Virginia whose citizens brought Cantor down has on it those very words.
I always found him to be arrogant. I needed little proof of it when I realized that on Election Day he spent his time in Washington, D.C. not even bothering to be in his home district to show the flag. He left DC in time to go to his victory party which never happened.
Tip O’Neil our local boy who was Speaker of the House is identified with the phrase “all politics is local.” Former Speaker Tom Foley was upset by George Nethercutt whose campaign theme was: “We need a listener, not a speaker.” Cantor forgot on what side his bread was buttered but the Virginia voter’s who did the buttering knew.
BOSTON GLOBE: When a newspaper prostitutes itself by advocating for a prosecution and then covering the matter that it promoted one must be wary of what it writes about the matter. In truth it should have a disclaimer in front of each article suggesting that it is cheering for the prosecution. That is the situation in the O’Brien case.
How can you read the Globe’s coverage of the story and think it is on the level. It’s like believing a Tallahassee investigation of Florida State Quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston is on the level. Speaking of Winton, I’m sure you’ve all heard of that famous football player Crazy Legs Hirsh of the LA Rams. Well we now can cheer for or against Crab Legs Winston.
MING LING DOCTRINE: Military inclined folks have heard of the Art of War the ancient Chinese military treatise written by Sun Tzu which influenced military leaders right up until the present. A famous saying of Sun Tzu is: “There is no instance of a country having benefited from a prolonged warfare.”
This is what he learned from his teacher Ming Ling who taught that you can only fight against people who you can live among and mingle with during and after the battle. Otherwise the war will be endless like we have seen in Iraq and Afghanistan. America’s failure in its latest wars has been to ignore that doctrine and to fight in countries where the population holds us in disdain and our soldiers fear leaving their basis. Yesterday I warned about returning to the losing battle in Iraq. Sadly, it appears Obama will again cause our country to fight for those who hate us.
When will we ever learn?
1. Matt, as you suggest Ming Ling himself, those who studied him, studied under him or after him, or studied his principles, ideas, theories, philosophies (ESPECIALLY this idea of mingling freely and openly among former enemies) had discovered a pre-Christian road to Christ, to “Just War” theories and to Christo-centered alpha and omega virtues of forgiveness, reconciliation and “peace-mongering.” Most fishmongers wanted peace, as war, even on land but especially on the seas’ fishable waters, interfered with local, national and international commerce. Win the Ming Ling Way. To do so, one must learn first to walk that way.
2. AS I READ the Globe’s coverage of the Probo Case, I see how Fred the Fed prosecutes and buries people: He makes mountains out of molehills; he confuses venalities with felonies; he makes marginal criminal acts into heinous felonies; and he throws excess mud at the jury, not to enlighten them, but to further confuse them, to further darken their already dim vision. Wyshak alleges 20, 60, 100, 200 co unts, under RICO and other Federal Statutes (Mail Fraud); a parade of 34 witnesses; the jury listening to Wyshak’s and other FEDs’ harangues for months on end, and, in the end, some of the garbage/mud/false innuendos/false metaphors/false analogies STICK, and the jury, the beaten, battered, tired jury calls it quits and agrees to convict the guy or guys before them on less than half of the charges (mostly minor or obscure to begin with,) and the jury says it does so “just to satisfy everyone. Give everyone a little big.” The jury thinks it’s being fair. Wyshak knows he isn’t. The Zealot, Wyshak, zealous judges wanting to settle political scores or “get” those guys from “the wrong side of the tracks”; the POOFS. So, in the end, the worn out jury caves in a little bit. Who wouldn’t. We’re human beings; wear down. WE HEAR CHEERS FROM THE HALLS OF JUSTICE: Unscrupulous Feds and corrupt journalists, all will make big bucks giving speeches and writing books after the handful or score of minor convictions creates some curiosity among the public. And the Zealots, Corrupt Reporters, Corrupt Media types, all will get rich selling “their version” of events, oftentimes these versions are secured from proven perjurers. Doesn’t matter. Poor Joe Blow, a retired cop or court clerk, is convicted under a few RICO, Conspiracy and Mail Fraud Counts, and therefore, BIG MEDIA AND BIG FED tell us: “You thought he was a good, decent, ordinary guy, a bit dull at times; but now you know; now you know how you were wrong all along: all along he was knowingly participating in THE RACKETs, CRIMINAL CONSPIRACies, Lying to FEDs, AND MAIL FRAUD (We’ve got the 209s to prove it; we grilled him for 10 hours; he caved; he agreed to cooperate; legalized extortion): not a good guy, but a Racketeer, in bed with other Racketeers and Gangsters (probation officers: racket guys), conspiring to steal every nickel they could though they never were caught red-handed with a single thin dime, and defrauding you the taxpayers, you the citizens of this great country, you the members of the jury, of your hard earned dollars. Yes! And what was their motive? The same motive that characterized every waking moment of every day of their adult lives. And that motive was greed: Greedy to work hard, do their jobs, play by the rules, work second jobs, manage rental properties; greedy to give donations to politicians; greedy to march in St. Pat’s Day Parades and get $40 Corn-Beef dinners at the Roast; greedy to rub elbows with the rich and powerful like Roger Croke, Danny Ryan, Timmy O’Leary, Marty Walsh —psst: he’s just been elected Mayor of Boston. But above all greedy for power: like Fed the Fred Wyshak; greedy for fame and promotions; greedy to impress his peers; greedy to convict someone, anyone, by almost any means possible, including securing the testimony of serial killers and known perjurers and career criminals who with their cowardly backs against the wall agreed to “rat” on cops, P.O.s a dPols, and greedy to put on the stand 34 judges, probation officers, lawyers, legislators and others who were very willing to testify truthfully, especially with a full grant of immunity from Wyshak and the FEDs, and what did they say on the witness stand? They said they took no money, they paid no bribes, they applied for jobs, some jobs they got for themselves, some they didn’t get; a lot of patronage was apparent as Judges, Legislators, Mayors and Professors were always recommending people for jobs: But Witness X, were you ever conscious of committing any sort of crime? ANSWER: Of course not: It’ not a crime to recommend someone for a job: it’s not a crime to consider a recommended person: How do you think Wyshak got his job? His resumes include zero references? No one wrote on his behalf? Why did he cut Congressman Tierney’s wife the big break? Because her husband funded his office, approved his transfers and promotions to the Top of the Big Top? How did Ortiz, the other FEDs, the judges and professors get their jobs? Anyone speak up for them, speak out on their behalf. We know how the Legislators got their jobs> They were elected by the public, by the people. Wyshak wasn’t elected by anyone and I’ve found that his prosecutorial methods are beneath contempt; I believe they are witch hunts and he singles out his most disfavored opponents (political, social, cultural), personal, whatever) and unleashes the full fury and force of the Federal Government against them: generally poor people or students or middle class people or cops or elected politicians, or bookie’s wives who are R.N.s at M.I.T.; rarely terrorists or gangsters or major drug dealers. He’s a hubristic man who enjoys kicking downwards, perhaps a sadistic streak moves him I suspect; he likes kicking down, piling on, ruthlessly pursuing the bankrupt; and he relishes kissing up. He’s near the top of the Federal Circus now, at Ring Center: what will he do when his power is fully unchecked, his lackeys in the press/media fully secure, his state police powers and forces fully entrenched; maybe we should try to stop him now, before we hear the sounds of black-booted stepping down our hometown streets, roads and alleyways. Saddest Part of All: Fred Wyshak thinks he’s a good man, a good lawyer, a good prosecutor. Please re-read C.P.Taylor’s play, “Good” or “The Good.”
3. Ming Ling lives, thank God, and you can find his and his adherents’ ideas here on Matt’s blog. Peace to one and all. It’s time for many Feds to admit the errors of their ways, the un-American, unconstitutional ways, and make a firm purpose to correct their errors and make offers of retribution/rectification. Having used all the powers of the FEDs, the Globe, the Herald, the MSM to trample on a few people, it’s time the tables were turned and the trampling few were investigated and then prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and the full extent of whatever power remains in the professions of journalism, publishing and the law. Since we know lies have been told and salient facts omitted from many narratives, it is time to correct those lies and get the story straight.
4. Does Fred Wyshak think that it’s O.K. to ask leading questions? Or is it only O.K. for him? Is it now O.K. for all FEDs to put known, proven perjurers on the stand and known serial killers on the stand and known lifetime criminals on the stand? Whence comes the end of the Tyrrany?
5. Does Fred Wyshak think it is a game of Him, the FEDs and the Judges against the defendents. Judge Young was shocked when Wyshak asked for “probation” for a Congressman Woman’s Wife who pled out to several counts of laundering about $8 million dollars. Probation? A scheme that lasted for years?
6. Or maybe I forgot that Howie “The Corrupt Fatso” Carr called Wyshak a brutally honest man? Perhaps integrity should be made of less sterner stuff, and sprinkled with humility and mercy and more fairness and some perspective and less brute aspects. Carr’s a joke, a disgrace, a charlatan, a fake, a phony. “Captain” they callers call him.
7. Are any of these “free expressions” this “free speech” allowed in America anymore?
Matt,
On Iraq and Afghanistan, I can’t help but be provoked to argue that it is too general a claim to say that America is held in disdain by the native populations in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are many shades of gray to be considered in this claim. First, it is not true that everyone holds America in disdain per se, but there is an inevitable distrust that will always pervade the relations between American troops and the native population. This is just a natural result of two very different cultures and histories interacting. It is also the result of prejudices and biases held not just by Americans but by the native population, biases that are reinforced by propaganda from all sorts of parties – Karzai, the Taliban, rumors and conjecture among tribal societies within remote Afghan hamlets, etc. It is the very nature of Rumor to be so laden with falsehood and yet have such a true effect on the relations between foreigner and native. As Shakespeare said in the opening of Henry IV Part 2:
“Rumour is a pipe
Blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures
And of so easy and so plain a stop
That the blunt monster with uncounted heads,
The still-discordant wavering multitude,
Can play upon it.”
That said, it must also be made clear that many among the natives WANT us to be there. There are many people in Afghanistan fretting about the day we leave. A few months ago an Iraqi official was telling the Afghans to learn from Iraq that early withdrawal is dangerous. If anything, the resentment and distrust is an outgrowth of our noncommittal history, a sense among natives that we go there for as long as it serves our interests until we get weary and leave, not staying the course and leaving the natives with the mess. My great fear is that we are repeating the same mistake we made in the early 90s when we forgot about Afghanistan once the Soviets left, and civil war erupted for a few years until the Taliban began their offensive in 1994, culminating in the takeover of Afghanistan in 1996. I’m confident in arguing that native Afghans share my fear.
Afghanistan is our longest war, and the point is not to argue callously for an endless war. But I worry that many of us do not fully appreciate the threats we face from a rising Al Qaeda, and the importance of staying the course. The specific strategy and tactics are not for me to say, but the overall vision of an America strongly committed to the long-term stability and security of Iraq and Afghanistan is one I very much stand by.
He lived by the terms honorably. That matters too.
I understand. A deal is a deal.
The spotlight team has spent much of the last several weeks vilifying the landlord Anwar Faisal. With just a little bit of effort anyone can quickly find out that Mr. Faisal is but a small fish on the ocean of sleazy Boston landlords. The Globe asserts that Harold Brown has been rehabilitated since his days in the 1970s when he was the city’s biggest and worst slumlord. One can quickly determine that Mr. Brown is still a far worse slumlord than Mr. Faisal. In fact, one might almost think the Globe is working in the service of Mr. Brown to get back some of hid old buildings that are now owned by Faisal.
J.
I haven’t spent much time on the subject of Anwar Faisal. I’d have to say if the Spotlight Team did an article critical of him he should be expecting armed SWAT federal officers from the depths of the federal court house in Boston to be descending on him any day now. The Globe fell in love with Harold Brown when his attorneys accused Billy Bulger of extortion. Brown had no idea that it would end in a donnybrook so he quickly settled the matter. Brown’s an interesting guy – rags to riches type person who did much of it with his own hands. I probably should know more about Mr. Faisal but for now I just hope he doesn’t get indicted for some made up crime.
So Jimmy got a Royal pardon huh. What a cluster.
Jim:
The pardon was not only from the local folks but from the nation.