Goodbye, Arlen "Magic Bullet" Specter

Former U.S. Senator Arlen Specter has died, his family said, on Sunday, October 14, 2012. He was 82.

Here is Arlen Specter (left) as a Warren Commission assistant counsel, 

during the recreation of the JFK assassination scenario he promoted.

I want to use this moment to say goodbye to Arlen Specter. 


On May 18, 2010, Pennsylvania Senator Specter was defeated by Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania's Democratic Primary election 54% to 46% (Sestak 564,444 votes to Specter's 481,566). Due to that event, Specter's senate career ended on January 3, 2011. (He seriously ran for US President in 1996. See a variety of his campaign buttons, here.)

One should not be so shallow as to blame a massive coverup like the investigation of the JFK assassination on one person, but the metaphor afforded by the actions of Arlen Specter are worth noting. 

Lest we forget, Arlen Specter has been involved in conspiracies for a long time, and Lee Harvey Oswald was always on his mind. Don't take my word for this. 

First, for my youthful readers, guess who invented the "Magic Bullet Theory"?

The Magic Bullet Theory was introduced by the Warren Commission (November 29, 1963 - September 24, 1964) to explain how three shots supposedly made by Lee Harvey Oswald resulted in the assassination of the United States President John F. Kennedy.

The theory is credited to Warren Commission staffer Arlen Specter. Specter proposed that a single bullet, known as "Warren Commission Exhibit 399" (also labeled as "CE399"), caused all of the non-fatal wounds in both President Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally on November 22, 1963, at Dealey Plaza, btw, the site of the first Masonic temple in Dallas, Texas.

The fatal head wound to JFK was caused by a bullet other than this alleged "Magic Bullet."

Arlen's checked history and reputation as "Snarlin' Arlen," is well-documented. It appears Wikipedia has edited out the "reputation" material.

Here's what it said: 

Over Specter's long and notable legislative career, numerous sources from within the U.S. Senate reported that they found it difficult to work with him. For example, when Specter was still a Republican, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott needed him to sign off on an appropriations bill. However, Specter refused to sign the document unless Lott flew out to Pennsylvania to attend two fund raisers for him. Lott agreed, but this incident only contributed to reputation which earned Specter the nickname "Snarlin' Arlen.".^[*] Similarly, Specter gained a reputation among U.S. Embassy staff for condescending treatment and unreasonable demands such as organizing squash tournaments on his behalf.
* "John J. Miller on Arlen Specter on National Review Online". Old.nationalreview.com. http://old.nationalreview.com/flashback/miller200403260926.asp. Retrieved June 13, 2010. Note 56.
* Monday, April 26, 2004 12:01 A.M. EDT (April 26, 2004). "John Fund on the Trail - WSJ.com". Opinionjournal.com. http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110005003. Retrieved June 13, 2010.

Behind the scenes, of course, Specter did always have the Warren Commission on his mind.

On April 28, 2009, as the media swarmed and tried to interview Senator Arlen Specter about his jump from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party, he is reported to have said, "I don't think Lee Harvey Oswald had this big a crowd trailing him."

What a curious thing to say.

Well, it wasn't really too weird for Arlen Specter to say what he said, after all.

Years later after the Warren Commission, Specter was the initial attorney of Ira Einhorn, the "unicorn killer," a one-time friend of Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin. Einhorn was a big player in the environmental movement; just ask him for he claimed he invented "Earth Day." Einhorn was arrested for killing Holly Maddux and was at first represented by Arlen Specter. Einhorn's bail was not paid by him but by Barbara Bronfman, a member of the family who owns Seagram's.

Goodbye, Arlen.