Tom goes to Congress

 Tom O Neill and myself have a love hate relationship. We love to hate each other, and that's because he's accused me of trashing his book every chance I get, which isn't true. I just don't buy into the CIA/MKULTRA crap, to which he has stated numerous times that he can't prove. We had a pretty heated debate to which I actually owe him an apology over that concerning Ruth Ann's age. I found her divorce/annulment  papers that show her real birth year. In 1994, she filed for divorce/annulment from her then husband and the records show that her DOB is 5/19/52 which can be seen here. 

Here is Tom's transcript of his  testimony. 

full video here

A few problems arise with these claims as usual. Tom as usual makes unsupported inferences, disputed, claims, and leaps in logic. For example, one of these leaps in logic is why would he testify in front of Congress when its Congress whom approve funding to the CIA?

His strongest examples are: 

1.

" I was never able to put Jolly West in the same room as Manson" 

Then why does he continue to push this narrative? He said he can't prove that West and Manson ever met. YET much of his testimony proceeds as if West's proximity to Manson is highly suggestive of a connection. This isn't a contradiction, but it's more tension between admitting a lack of evidence, and implying significance. 

2.

MK ULTRA's "ultimate objective vs documented objectives. 

Tom repeatedly says MKULTRA's goal was creating "programmed killers."

However, many declassified MKULTRA documents describe broader interests such as interrogation, behavior modification, memory,  hypnosis, and incapacitation. While assassination and covert influence were explored in some contexts, stating that creating programmed killers was the ultimate objective is an interpretation rather than an established fact.

3.

Jimmy Shaver as implied evidence. 

Tom presents Jimmy Shaver's case immediately after discussing West's MKULTRA proposals and experimental work. he never states outright that Shaver was programmed by West, but the sequence strongly implies it. There is no documentary evidence presented in the testimony proving Shaver's crime resulted from MKULTRA experimentation.  No evidence exists of Shaver ever participating in West's experiments or any LSD or hypnosis. 

4. 

Jack Ruby

Tom suggests West's examination of Ruby is significant because of West's examination of Ruby because of West's CIA relationship with Allen Dulles role on the Warren commission. However the testimony does not provide evidence that West caused Ruby's mental deterioration or that Ruby was manipulated throught MKULTRA. 

5. 

The Holy Grail - falls short 

Tom characterizes replacing true memories with false ones as " the holy grail" operation. 

That's literally Tom's characterization, not wording found in the original CIA documents. 

The testimony's biggest contradiction is, 1977 CIA Testimony, MKULTRA provided no useful technology and surving records were turned over to Congress and West's 1956 report. Tom say's West claimed successful manipulation of memory, but that section was replaced with a summary stating the effects "have never been studied. " He claimed the version given to Congress omitted those findings. Even if the omission occurred as described, the report itself represents preliminary research. He provides no evidence of either or. 

These are some papers I asked Paulcast about because he is right on top of it when it comes to the claims made by Tom, Because of  his conversations with Smith.  At approx 1:22:24 to 1:22:45 Tom incorrectly claims the Amphetamine research was going on when Manson was under Smith's supervision while on parole, parole that Tom tends to twist in his favor because Manson wasn't imprisoned for minor offences.  Manson was no longer under Smith.

I pay no attention to the CIA or MKULTRA claims since as far as I'm concerned, they have no relevance to the case.

Paul said " Tom said Dr. Louis J. West's pad was part of the free clinic. it was not. Jolly's pad was on Franklin Street and the clinic was on Clayton. They weren't affiliated past West going to the clinic sometimes. Tom said West and Roger worked together. They did not. West sent people with VD, etc, to the clinic like everyone else did. It's possible West recruited some hippies to go to his pad from the clinic, but it wasn't an organized operation. He (Tom) talks about the amphetamine research project having something to do with Manson. It didn't start being funded until after Manson left his (probation officer Smith) charge. West's research pad was funded by the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation until July 1968. OMRF were not funders of the free clinic as far as I've been told by people from the clinic and from information I've found. Maybe Tom will put out the corresponding documents which would be great, but until then, everything else will remain skeptical."

Paul also said from his conversations with Smith that " The Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic was only open for two and a half months before funds ran out and they had to close the doors to scramble to get more money" 

Paul also said that "The funding both times for West's project are stated in newspapers. When they were stated, he had no reason to lie because nobody was thinking the NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) as a shell for the CIA. The clinic could have gotten funds from the CIA after 1968 from the NIMH and not being aware. but they weren't the only one." 

Here are two articles about the funding West received. 

This one is from the San Francisco Chronicle 7/10/1968

This one is from the San Francisco Chronicle. 9/23/1967

Is this what the US Government is reduced to now? No time to do anything important'?

Joanna Pettet dead: Beloved James Bond star dies on anniversary of son's death

Thanks ColScott!

The star was one of the last people to see tragic actress Sharon Tate alive, and was played by Rumer Willis in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

By Fran Winston, Showbiz Reporter

Beloved London born Hollywood actress Joanna Pettet died on Tuesday July 7 at the age of 83. The sad news was confirmed by her friend, actress Pam DuBois, who revealed the poignantly significant date of her death in a touching Facebook post. Alongside an image of the star at a graveside she wrote: "We all loved Jo - But there was one person who loved her more. And yesterday on the 31st anniversary of his death. Damien Zach took his mother to heaven and there she will stay with him forever. God bless you Jo." No cause of death has been revealed as of yet.

On 8 August 1969, the star had lunch at the home of Sharon Tate, just hours before the members of the Manson Family slaughtered the pregnant star, making her one of the last people to see the tragic actress alive. Quentin Taratino included the lunch in his 2019 fictional/alternate-reality 2019 film Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood, in which she was portrayed by Rumer Willis.

Amongst the stars big screen credits was the role of Mata Bond in the 1967 James Bond satire Casino Royale, loosely based on the first of Ian Fleming's books about the super spy.

She also starred in 1968's Blue opposite Terence Stamp, and 1969's Victorian period comedy The Best House in London.

However she was best known for her extensive work on TV which included roles in Route 66, The Doctors, Dr. Kildare, Mannix, Night Gallery, Thriller, Police Woman, Charlie’s Angels, The Love Boat, Hotel, and Murder, She Wrote.

Her final role was in the 1990 thriller Terror in Paradise, after which she retired from acting although she was only in her 40s.

Joanna Pettet guest starred in numerous popular shows including Fantasy Island (Image: Getty)

The death of her only child Damien Zach, at the age 26 on July 7 1995, led her to retreat even further from Hollywood. Although his biological father was actor Terence Stamp, he was given the surname Cord after she married American actor Alex Cord in 1968 three and a half months before his birth.

In recent years she had shared details about abuse she and Damien suffered at the hands of Airwolf actor Alex, who died on August 9, 2021, at the age of 88 at his home in Valley View, Texas.

That same year Joanna suffered horror accident while searching for rocks for her garden in a remote area in Anza, California. According to reports "the earth gave way" and she found herself pinned under a boulder for three hours.

As a result, she needed surgery to replace her shoulder and rotator cuff and spent years recovering from the incident.

Love and Terror: The Helter Skelter History of the Manson Murders book

A friend messaged me to tell me that a new book that was out, and that he and two other people associated with him contributed to the book. So naturally, when this friend makes a suggestion, especially when he says that it's intelligently written, I'm going to jump on it. 

I have to say that this is the most academic works published on the murders in the last few decades. It's significance is not about uncovering a new suspect, or solving a mystery, but asks a larger question: Why has America remain obsessed with Manson for more than half a century? In fact, when saying America as a whole, South America as well has an obsession with Manson. Here in South America, you can go into any counter-culture store and buy that Manson LIE album T-shirts, and run into people wearing them. There is a South American book out by Sebastian De Caro , whom is an Argentine film maker and actor,  and also a friend of mine, called Cielo Drive, which he served as a hopeful companion to "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" but not in the fictional sense of the film. His book cover makes for great poster art as seen here. 

I have a direct quote from Sebastian about his book so you get a better understanding: (which applies to Love and Terror) 

Sebastian: "I think this crime has had such a profound impact because of it's symbolism, rather than the obvious things that are visible at first glance. I believe these murders have struck a very sensitive chord worldwide, one that is related to something very bleak about the 1960's. In a way the hippie dream evaporated, and the following decade turned out to be very violent worldwide in general, and in the United States in particular. That country opened the 1960's with the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy and closing it with the "Manson Family" murders. In the 1970's with the Watergate scandal, American society felt socially orphaned, not to mention countless student and racial protests. That's why, for me, the crimes happened in a very specific time and place (Hollywood) and there are many elements that converged there which gave it such great significance, beyond the morbid details. The person who approaches this story with real interest is not concerned with the number of knife wounds each victim received, but with the meaning of it all, what rhizome opens up through something so sinister." 

Back to Verhoeven's approach to her book, her answer is the murders became a cultural mirror reflecting anxieties about race, authority, celebrity, violence, apocalypse, and American identity itself, The result is a book that is less about Charles Manson, than about modern America. 

For those seeking crime related material, you're going to be disappointed. Verhoeven intentionally avoids re-telling the murders in detail. It's written from a historian perspective and at times, the analysis can feel more abstract than concrete. The book frequently references philosophy, historiography, and literary theory. It's cultural history. 

The deepest theme I have found so far is America's relationship with violence. Verhoeven suggests that American's became fascinated with Charles Manson partly because he reflected a broader natural violence such as the Vietnam war, racial conflict, political assassinations, and social upheaval. Manson becomes less an anomaly than a distorted reflection of America itself. 

Many writers have called the "Manson Murders" the end of the 1960's. Verhoeven complicates this idea. rather than ending the decade, the murders exposed the contradictions that already embodied the 60's...Such as Freedom vs Control, peace vs, violence, liberation vs domination, and idealism vs apocalypse. 

Two of the major themes of the book are Manson vs the murders myth. Verhoeven argues repeatedly that the murders became more than a crime, they became symbolism, legend, and a national nightmare. and the other is how the media creates reality, A recurring theme is that newspapers, television, books, documentaries, and films actually created Manson as a cultural figure. the media did not merely report events, it produced that image of Manson that American's remember today. 

For anyone researching Manson related material, be it podcasters, journalists, or the average researcher, this book should be among the essential texts such as Helter Skelter, Goodbye Helter Skelter, and The Family. 

In closing, I say to you what Linda Deutsch said to us when working on Making Mason. "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story, and it was a good story."

You can get the book here