Dear Supporters:
Just when you thought the Peltier mythology couldn’t
possibly get any nuttier, we now have incredible new “facts” to add to the
string of falsehoods following Peltier around his concrete condo.
This could be considered just another coAIMintelpro
(Footnote #1) ploy but it’s too fundamentally weak to have any substance. There
are other reasons as well.
Thanks to the reporting of (
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com)
we have none other than Dennis Banks himself, AIM cofounder extraordinaire, rewriting,
no, inventing, history. Putting it kindly, Banks has either lost his mind or
actually thinks that when his lips are moving he’s telling the truth. All this
during the October “Tribunal” in Green Bay under the watchful eye, (albeit
closed), of Dorothy Ninham, who also, “testified.” Sounds so official and
meaningful…more on that in a moment.
The Blog stated, “”When the
two FBI agents came to the Jumping Bull camp, the FBI claimed they were there
to serve a warrant for shoplifting. Banks asked "When does the FBI ever do
that?" Banks pointed out that this was not the reason the agents were
there.””
Thank Dennis for clarifying
his own conundrum; no, the FBI didn’t say that, nor would it investigate shoplifting. The incident at the
Schwarting ranch was real and had nothing to do, as one of the old (and now
ignored) myths promoted, with the theft of an old pair of cowboy boots. (Fn #2)
A real grabber was:
“”Banks
described how he and Leonard Peltier were made "invisible" by Leonard
Crow Dog as they left the Wounded Knee compound in 1973. Banks said it seemed a
little unbelievable when Crow Dog said he would make them invisible to leave.
However, Banks said, "When we walked out of there carrying our supplies of
food, they didn't see us."”
Did
Banks actually imagine that Peltier was at WKII? Was this a hallucination or
was the mystical Crow Dog able to literally make people invisible? Guess so,
because, Crow Dog managed to teletransport Peltier 850 miles from Wounded Knee,
South Dakota, to a prison cell in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Understand,
Dennis, that Leonard missed the seminal AIM event (beyond the murder of Anna
Mae Aquash) because he was in prison at the time. Leonard said (Prison
Writings, p.106), “I wish I could have been there.” (Yes, he was acquitted of
that charge: See, there’s a fact that Peltierites have no issue wrapping their
heads around.)
So
either Banks is lost in AIM space somewhere or the reporting was sorely
inadequate. Either way, it’s one of the many things that made the “Tribunal”
laughable.
It
was grateful, according to the Blog, that “Banks thanked Dino Butler for
exposing the fact that the "Mr. X" scenario was designed to discredit
AIM. (Mr. X with identity hidden was video taped and the person claimed to have
shot the two FBI agents.)”
“Claimed
to have shot?” Discredit AIM? How does that even make any sense? If that was
the case then there’s a broad conspiracy out there that must include some key
players, most notably, Bob Robideau and Leonard Peltier himself (along with
Peter Matthiessen, who knew Robideau was lying anyway; Fn. #3). Can anyone
forget Robideau (we can’t because the darn movie is played on
whoisleonardpeltier.org with annoying regularity), with his whinny effeminate
voice, greasy hair and boney arm, pointing off into the distance at Jumping
Bull for the camera describing Mr. X, someone they all knew, who first shot and
wounded the agents and then executed them, driving off, as Robideau details, in
the red pickup, never to be seen again. That is not until Matthiessen and Robert
Redford bought into the scam as well. But it’s impossible to ignore the next
scene as Leonard Peltier looks into the camera and confirms, “This story is
true.” And quite a story it was, Peltier’s first real alibi, that someone else
did it, a classic coAIMintelpro fabrication.
What
Butler actually said to E.K. Caldwell in his 1995 interview, publically
exposing this part of the Peltier myth for the first time was, “Well there is
no Mr. X. there was no man coming to our camp that day bringing dynamite. Those
are all lies created to keep Leonard in jail longer.” (The entire interview can
be seen here; Fn. #4.)
For
the factually challenged let’s look at that again and note that this statement
was made first-hand by Butler expressing his public anger over the whole Mr. X.
scenario and how he felt duped, compromised and betrayed by Matthiessen and
others. Notice, he stated that this related to Peltier (“To create this lie to
show that someone else pulled the trigger.”), and not, as Peltier/AIM
revisionist history is being portrayed by the “Tribunal,” to discredit AIM. If
that was the case then Robideau and Peltier would have been AIM’s greatest enemies
at the time. No, Ninham and the “Tribunal” can’t reinvent the wheel. It was …Mr.
X the lie, a phony alibi, from the beginning. The fact that it was forgotten,
or marginalized by Peltierites and the LPDC for over two decades doesn’t change
what it really was: just more fraudulent folklore.
Aside
from the fact (hate those pesky things), that it was made ‘official’ in November 2012 when then, Peltier attorney, Kuzma
(sorry, Michael) admitted publically that Mr.X “was concocted,” (A polite but unequivocal
way of saying, yep, it was a lie alright), makes any discussion about Mr. X all
the more ludicrous.
So
isn’t it a wonder why after all this nonsense, the exposure of an immense lie
perpetrated by none other than Peltier himself, that the LPDOC is still playing
“Incident at Oglala” every time someone visits their homepage? What’s needed is
“Incident at Oglala Two,” or “Incident at Oglala Revisited,” and edit out all
the lies that make the entire story inconsistent. Heaven forbid, because
Michael Apted, Robert Redford and Carolco Films would have a fit. Wonder if
they feel embarrassed for being played for such fools?
Peltier
has yet another attorney, Mr. John Privitera, Esq., 677 Broadway, 5th
floor, Albany, NY, 12207-2503, (518) 447-3200; practice areas; Environmental
Litigation (40%), Environmental (30%), Land Use/Zoning (30%), and a former NY
State Environmental Protection attorney. Unless he’s pursuing mineral rights
and environmental issues on Pine Ridge (a notable cause for sure), he is a
little out of his element (no pun intended); his area of expertise is a little
off the mark to jump into the Peltier cesspool. On the other hand, word has it
that he’s been here before, and in either instance the LPDOC is due for a
thorough disinfecting anyway.
Perhaps
Mr. Privitera should ask advice from the long list of “former” Peltier
attorneys. Some of whom were very capable and gave Peltier the full measure of
their time, talent, legal expertise and mostly offering it pro bono to the
cause. The only exception being former Peltier attorney, Eric Seitz, at the
2009 Lewisburg parole hearing, who uttered one of the most irrational
public statements thus far (Fn.
#5). (To set the record straight regarding exactly what was said at the
hearing, notwithstanding Peltier’s blather about what was allegedly presented, he
is again defied to post the hearing transcript on the Web. That would end any
further discussion and silence his detractors. Not likely either way though.)
Peltier attorneys have collectively picked through every crevice of the legal
history of Peltier’s conviction, and then some. All, it seems, finally reaching
the same conclusion, Peltier had his day in court and in the final analysis is
a narcissistic self-absorbed huckster with delusions of grandeur and a warped and
misplaced sense of his own importance. He has systematically, and consistently,
crushed the spirit of those who wanted desperately to believe in him and his fabricated
cause. So much for gratitude and best intentions.
Another
former Peltier attorney, Bruce Ellison also “testified,” telephonically, but
stayed away from the crucial things. Too bad the “Tribunal” was so lopsided and
Ellison wasn’t cross-examined about his own personal knowledge; let’s say of
Anna Mae Aquash’s abduction. He would very likely have taken the “Fifth.” No
wait, he’s already played that card from the bottom of the deck. It should be
very troubling to everyone that an attorney is compelled to do that. What’s
being hidden? Ellison has more baggage than Louis Vuitton.
The
“Tribunal” called for “…the appointment of independent counsel to review and
charge all those guilty of murder and assaults on Pine Ridge, where there have
been more than 60 unsolved murders.”
Just how long will Peltierites beat that drum? That’s a rhetorical
question; they’ll apparently do it as long as they beat the one that mindlessly
links Peltier as a cause célèbre for global Indigenous rights. The “Tribunal”
is mimicking just another smokescreen by wasting time calling for an
independent investigation, they need only just read the statistics, or better
yet, investigate for themselves and come up with some other explanations. “Unsolved”
(hope Anna Mae isn’t still included in that number) is just one more propaganda
diversion. (Fn. #6)
The
Tribunal had all the substance of breath on a mirror; hot air and moisture that
quickly dissipates.
Maybe
the Tribunal, aka ‘LPDOC shell game,’ should focus on keeping it’s own house in
legal order. The offer “To
make a tax deductible donation, send a check or money order made payable to
"Wind Chases the Sun," a 501(c)3 tax exempt entity (and our fiscal
sponsor) and write "LPDOC" on the Memo line. Send your donation
to the below address,” has a putrid odor to it. Let’s see, raising money for a
convicted felon for political actions and alleged defense funds, and filtering
it through another “sponsor” sounds pretty much like the definition of money
laundering. Which, of course, is a felony. Perhaps the IRS and a United States
Attorney are acting on complaints already made to those offices, or perhaps Ms.
Ninham and the LPDOC would care to explain to its contributors exactly how that
mechanism works…while they’re at it, how about opening the books and divulging
where all that money has been going?
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
Footnotes:
