Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

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  2. A brain tumor for instance.  Or  a bad drug interaction.  

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    p>Remember the case of Phineas Gage – he lived through a metal rod going through his frontal lobe.  Although he recovered he had a drastic change in personality. It seems the injury caused something called frontal disinhibition.

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    p>(You can view his skull and the rod that went through it at the Harvard Medical School’s museum.)

    • I would be inclined to think this way if it wasn’t the second time.  I can’t help wondering if BMGers were snookered a serial groper who is only getting caught now that he’s in a more public position. (I wasn’t following this race at the time more than peripherally; I was deeply involved in another race at the time.)

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      p>Right now, we don’t know anything for certain, but it really doesn’t look good.

    • What about the female victims here?  We know what is causing their symptoms.  Its name is Jim Marzilli.  They will probably suffer from PTSD and suffer symptoms such as anxiety, sleeplessness, paranoia, depression etc.  You should inform these victims that they will be free to inflict further injuries on innocent third parties due to the fact that their symptoms were caused by an outside agent.

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      p>Violence against women cannot be countenanced no matter who commits it.  Change Marzilli to Limbaugh, Cheney or O’Reilly and not one of you apologists would be taking this stand.  Hypocrisy is alive and well and living in BMG.

      • What about the female victims here?  We know what is causing their symptoms.  Its name is Jim Marzilli.  They will probably suffer from PTSD and suffer symptoms such as anxiety, sleeplessness, paranoia, depression etc.

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        p>I agree that the women are the victims here.

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        p>I don’t see many people making excuses for Jim. Fact is, some of us have known him and worked with him on various causes for well over a decade. He certainly didn’t act in bizarre ways in the past, yet now he appears to be committing crimes.

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        p>Yes, he should face the consequences.

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        p>Yes, he should probably resign.

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        p>As to this:

        I can’t help wondering if BMGers were snookered a serial groper who is only getting caught now that he’s in a more public position.

        Might be possible if he hadn’t been a State Rep for 16 years! I know too many women who have worked with Marzilli for too many years to believe that he was a “serial groper” until the past couple months.  

        • The first alleged victim was branded a liar.  This is wrong.

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          p>I did not write “I can’t help wondering if BMGers were snookered a serial groper who is only getting caught now that he’s in a more public position”.  
          I don’t agree with that quote.  I think that Marzilli is getting caught because like many compulsive criminals, the behavior gets worse and worse and harder to control.  I think that substance abuse often leads to a lack of control over criminal impulses.  I think that most serial rapists and sexual offenders suffer from sexual compulsions.  The cause of this compulsion could be organic or from upbringing.  The rapist could have been a victim of sexual abuse in the past.  Whatever the cause of the behavior it is the actions of the rapist and the sexual predators that need to be punished, unless of course the rapist is found not guilty by reason of insanity.

          • The first alleged victim was branded a liar.  This is wrong.

            No one here was doing any branding, not to my knowledge.

            • See this comment.

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              p>

              *[new]  Classic smear
              My friends in Arlington tell me that the media (and the local email list) was getting calls and anonymous “tips” claiming Marzilli was arrested before the police department was aware there was even a complaint.  This smells fishy.

              Marzilli’s opponents tried to smear him in the past with a “Marzilli’s gay” whisper campaign – but all that did was to bring out the gay and lesbian vote.  

              • This is a case where there was no accuser and no accuser to accuse of lying. It’s also evidence.

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                p>I gave it a 6 because I thought the 4 another had given was unmerited.

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                p>Shorter response: so what.

                • after Marzilli was arrested there was an accuser. The woman in Arlington.  It’s not a sound bite.  The poster said “classic smear”.  That means to me, accuser is lying.  

              • Again your response is not logical but it sounds like a gotcha.

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                p>You’re awesome, just awesome, at war by sound bite.

  3. She’s the “spokeswoman” for the Arlington woman?

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    p>There may or may not be anything to this second (shocking) charge, but Murphy is an O’Reilly lovin’ political hack. Gotta wonder.

    • but even if they do, maybe they should get them treated, instead of trying to hold onto their professional career.  Don’t remember the ADA stating that politicians get to hold onto their seat because they can manufacture some “rational” for inexcusable behavior.

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      p>Thought this was illuminating from the Lowell Sun article, referring to the first case:

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      p>In that case, Leone’s investigators spoke to witnesses, Marzilli and the accuser but eventually ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

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      p>While he have been found not guilty, doesn’t necessarily mean he was innocent if you get my drift.  Heck, OJ is still out there prowling the golf courses of the USA looking for the perpetrators.

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      p>Sounds like this guy has some serious problems; can’t even begin to think what Howie Carr will have to say about this one.

    • Her book is pretty good. She is a victim rights advocate. She lives next door, in Belmont.  

  4. I have thought this race was one to watch for sometime.  Jack Hurd has a very strong base in Arlington and I think Marzilli has been at risk since the last ‘issue’!  I agree with the Hitman Barney Keller, he should get his day in court, but I think Jim is nearly done, if not now, in September

    • he isn’t necessarily done.  it all depends on what we learn about a) this being a bona fide charge, and b) what precipitated it.  if he was in his right mind and knowingly broke the law, yeah, he’s toast.  but if as pondered above there is a forgivable organic cause for new, erratic behavior, then he could still very much be in the game if he can correct the illness.

      • Stroke

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        p>Toxicity reaction [taking a steroid taper along with taking pseudophenephrine can and has caused psychotic reactions but is a treatment used for an asthma flare at times]…I have dealt with a very bad, behaviorally dangerous response to a prendisone taper in my family.

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        p>Tumor

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        p>The behavior described is very weird – adults don’t normally give fake names and flee directly like that.

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        p>I agree with Laurel that it may be critical for a brain scan or blood toxicity to be done.

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        p>I assume nothing, and find this nothing to crow about.  I really think a medical check may be critical and hope he gets examined.  

        • If true, it does not matter what caused this behavior.

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          p>And two very similar accusations in a short period of time do not seem random. He knows he did the wrong thing as he gave the wrong name to the police (innocent people do not do that).

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          p>Puzzling and sad.

            • I have no idea what he knows, but you have to admit that under normal circumstances a State Senator would not give a false name to the police…

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              p>Of course, this is America, innocent until proven otherwise, beyond reasonable doubt.

              • that’s precisely it; we don’t know what the circumstances are.  If there really is something wrong with him, the violence may actually be trigged by paranoia, which would also explain his lying about his name.

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                p>It’s probably NOT that, but that’s exactly why in America people are presumed innocent, beyond a reasonable doubt. It’s not just some crazy little thing we tack on there, yada-yada-yada style, it’s the bedrock of our entire legal system.  

                • And can convict on any ground, or none.

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                  p>The political system is not the legal system.

                • convicting people in the court of public opinion is an unhealthy and demoralizing habit for America, making society worse, not better. I prefer the way they do it in other countries, where the media focuses less on the charge and more on the actual conviction.  

                • He’s in politics, or was.  If wants to avoid the court of public opinion, he needs a new line of work.

            • Last time it was: The woman is a liar, the is politically motivated, this is political payback, this is part of a vst right wing conspiracy, etc

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              p>NOW: Senator Marzilli may have a tumor, Sen marzilli may be suffering from a pre frontal lobar mechanical injury, Marzilli may have had an adverse chemical rection (ie a bad ice cube).

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              p>How about: Sen Marzilli has always suffered from a sexual deviancy that he has always managed to repress? Sen marzilli may have also have acted on his bizarre fantasies in the past and gotten away with it. How many more terrified and shaken victims has this man left cowering on the streets, and in their own homes on the north shore?

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              p>If Marzilli was anyone but a state senator who would have been doing time from his first offense.

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              p>This is after all Massachusetts. It’s not what you do—-it’s who you are.

              • at this point.

                If Marzilli was anyone but a state senator who would have been doing time from his first offense.

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                p>This is after all Massachusetts. It’s not what you do—-it’s who you are.
                Oh, David Vitter solicited prostitutes and he got a round of applause from some of the Senators in Washington, D.C.  Don’t single out Mass.

          • So if he has a tumor that’s causing his brain chemistry to change and thus he’s become violent and dangerous, that’s his fault? The criminal justice system would disagree.

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            p>If he’s of a sane mind, not only will I agree that he’s responsible, but if the charges are true I hope he drops out. I don’t know where that would leave the dems and, quite frankly, I don’t really care. Someone else in the party would take his place. However, we obviously don’t have all the facts and these charges are so serious that we should always reserve judgment until we do. That’s also how the criminal justice system works…

            • These responses are to the question of whether the election for his senate district has become a race to watch.  Whether he is criminally guilty of being a sexual predator, falsely rumored to be a repeated sexual predator, or whether he has a serious medical or mental condition, all of those would make this a race to watch.  All of the potential explanations would call into question his ability to be an effective member of the MA Senate, don’t you think?

              • the only exception I could think up would be if his behavior could be attributed to something either curable or a mistake in medicine, etc. But, very likely, yes, he should probably go (and soon, so a replacement for him on the ballot can be found).  

          • What ever the reason, if their is one, for the behavior any scenario is just an explanation. The behavior cannot be excused when you are responsible for serving the public.

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            p>It is sad for the individual, but there is no room in the political arena for sympathy. This is not my pronouncement, as much as my observations about reality.

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            p>I felt when the original accusation was made public that the Senator would be less effective. With this latest making every news service NPR included it is time for him to step down and resolve this personal crisis. That is key for him and his family and their well-being but, the work of the people deserves a higher level of competence and dedication and that fact needs to be realized.

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            p>There are 2 candidates on the ballot Jack Hurd and Ken Donnelly. Ken ran in the special against Jim and finished second and appears to be of the progressive make up that Marzilli represented so well. Jack Hurd has had a history of being far more conservative in Arlington and certainly would present a new direction for the district; we will have to see whom the district rallies to as a result of this latest revelation.  

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            p>Supporting Senator Marzilli any longer is risking another special election lessoning the impact of having a strong advocate for the district.

        • we might start to think you have a capacity for compassion.  next time, be sure to flat out call him lying drunken trash so we won’t confuse your soft tone for christian compassion.

          • But let a Democrat be arrested for lewd assault, and it’s a MEDICAL problem!  A STROKE!  It must be HER fault!

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            p>Where was the flowing, many breasted compassion that you and Amber now exude for these other troubled souls?

            • bravo!

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              p>as for gop sexual hypocrites, as i’ve explained MANY MANY times: it is the hypocrisy of running on “family values” while screwing hookers and children that i am pointing out with that list.  hypocrisy – know the word?  if any of them have been diagnosed with a medical condition that caused them to purchase sex or rape sleeping men and little girls, please let me know and i will remove them from the list.

              • and will continue to harbor aforementioned, and thus can disavow being labelled as hypocrites?

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                p>OK—–I’ll grant you that one. But, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi missed that memo, because they continuously point the finger at the thieves, knaves, and perverts across the aisle, but I have yet to hear invoke an admission.

                • that no one is perfect.  the gop would have us believe that there is on sanctified form of family and mode of behavior, and they all belong to it.  we know that in absolute terms, neither claim is true.  in short, the gop is collectively in denial about human behavior.  the dems are not.  this difference set up the gop, but not the dems, for charges of hypocrisy when they show that they are, after all, all too human.

                • And you’re right that Republicans have further to fall on some of these issues.

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                  p>But the way you choose to express the point smaks of I’m OK, you’re OK moral relativism.

              • Aren’t you for the empowerment of women?  The right to say no?  Not if the oppressor is Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy or Jim Marzilli.  Your advice to women who encounter the likes of Marzili seems to be “lay back and enjoy it.”

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                p>This hypocrisy is as bad as that of the family values types.

            • …as you should know.

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              p>And I deal with dysfunction of all kinds every day.  So often the kids I work with [as a GAL] or represent [as an attorney] have unmet medical needs – as soon as the criminal of psychiatric label is slapped on the likelihood of treatment or diagnosis of actual underlying medical issues flies out the window.  I thought YOU were a social worker.

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              p>So as to whether Marzilli was “himself” or in the throes of something else, I will leave to someone with all the evidence and hope that, if there IS a medical issue, that the rush to judgment, the baying of the pack as it were, does not lead to regrets, along the line of Judge Winslow in Salem.

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              p>As to whether someone else was attacking homosexuals publicly while living a homosexual double life – well – that is another matter is it not?

              • Everyone knows that what with the domestic violence hysteria—police are mandated to lock someone up simply on an unsubstantiated allegation. Marzilli was given thew green light attack another victim.

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                p>Can you imagine how his original victim (that we are aware of)  must have felt when the district attorney stated that he was not going to pursue this matter? I would love to be able to read that police report.  

                • I love that word, but you’ve got it wrong.

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                  p>Jim got the benefit of the doubt from many quarters not because he’s a big shot, but because he is well known and this kind of behavior is utterly out of character. (Thus the speculation about an organic medical condition, btw.)

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                  p>You are right to note that new evidence casts that attitude into doubt (though you do so repeatedly and with excessive glee, I think), but you are wrong to attribute the original attitude to base motives.

            • In many of those GOP cases, they were advancing anti-glbt policies while secretly practicing GLBT behaviors. That’s hypocrisy in elected officials. This is a case so bizarre that some have questioned if there could be something medically wrong with him. There’s some definite differences.

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              p>If he’s guilty and of a sane mind, throw the bum out, but I’d like to know all the facts first.

              • Certainly the circumstances of this matter that have been described here suggest that something is seriously wrong, simply on account of the bizarreness of what has been described.

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                p>And while no one has expressed certainty, the point has been made, not without justification, that the identity of politicians that receive the benefit of the doubt by the posters here closely correlates to who is on Team Blue.

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                p>Contrariwise, it is likely that the ones who are pointing this out with the most glee once defended Bob Packwood, simply because he was on Team Red.

                • but, for me at least, because of what he has done as a member of that team. that is an important distinction which i hope you can appreciate.

                • To expect that our emotional responses would be paragons of impartiality is misplaced.

            • Sometimes flaming liberals are just as hypocritical as rabid conservatives, not that we expect them to acknowledge that.  

        • Kennedy kept his seat——which is really hard to believe he was elected in the first instance.

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          p>And then of course we have the decades of transgressions of others who have all been forgiven—-because of a name.   Anyone else would be doing time.

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          p>But this is Massachusetts

          • he needs a good diversion from the realization that he worked so hard for that embarrassing failure of a candidate, og.

        • Not if whatever may or may not be happening to him is causing him to be paranoid. Paranoia would both explain why he’d lie to a cop about his name, as well as explain how he could resort to violence. Of course, the things that could cause such a disease are fairly rare, but not so rare as to immediately toss them out of considering before he ever has his day in court. Innocent until proven guilty is the staple of our legal system for a reason.  

        • if not, no.  i guess we just have to wait and see.  i’m not so patient with most pols, but marzilli has really been wonderful in so many ways that i am loathe to condemn him before his mug shot is even taken.  he has earned my support unless/until it is clear that he has violated the public trust.

        • Marzilli knew he had committed an alleged criminal offense. To avoid the consequence he attempted to flee apprehension and when apprehended he attempted to avoid identification. The cognitive process was obviously intact. To evade responsibility the defense will have to show a lack of responsibility because the defendant was unable to differentiate between right and wrong. By fleeing then lieing—that arguement goes out the window.

          • how do you know that he didn’t really think he was marty walsh?  and if you think i’m reaching with that question, look how far you’re reaching with your purported omniscience, lol!

            • He lied about who he was, he ran, he resisted, he said that the behavior was mutual flirtation.  This is someone who is trying to get away with a sexual offense.  His behavior and excuses show that he knew what he was doing.  I cannot believe that you really believe the stuff you are writing.

              • i really do.  i loathe what he has apparently done.  but do you get that i would like to give him the benefit of the doubt as to his level of mental competence unless/until it is clear that he was in his right mind these last few months?  perhaps it is best if we just agree to disagree.

                • I don’t know about all the good he has done.  I don’t know what he thinks about when he makes love to his wife.  I don’t know what he watches on television.  I do not know what turns him on and I do not know what disgusts him.

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                  p>I do have a belief that he attempted to commit a sexual assault on a female earlier this year and that the DA decided not the pursue that “He said, She said” case.  I also believe that he has sexually harassed another woman on the streets of Lowell and attempted to sexually assault another woman on the streets of Lowell the following day.

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                  p>That is all I know and that is what colors my comments.  I think you are a good person and have a good heart but I also think you are holding your nose and looking the other way.  Sorry for the mixed metaphor.

        • …a name sure to be recognized?  That is just plain weird.  Why not just say, “My name is Superman” or something?

    • … yes, I agree we should put this into the races to watch category.

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        p>My punctuation seems to have mitigated the seriousness of my question.

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        p>I would never excuse anyone’s bad conduct!

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        p>The question I should have posed with concern was, “Is this guy a menace?”

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        p>I still won’t pass judgement.  But either the arrogance of power led him to commit crimes or he has some mental concerns that need to be addressed immediately.

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        p>From the report in the Globe, this guy is a menace.  Nothing excuses that!

        <

        p>

  6. I’d just like to say we should take a minute to think of how the victim, or alleged victim,  must feel tonight.  

  8. I agree wholeheartedly with Barney Keller:

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    p>

    Barney Keller, communications director for the Massachusetts Republican Party issued a short statement in response to the arrest about 5 p.m.

    “Sen. Marzilli is entitled to his day in court, but these are very serious charges and if they are true he should resign,” Keller said.

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    p>Yup.

  9. Did I ever mention I hate wicked local? It really breeds the worst kind of civic discourse. What is it about that group of newspapers that appeals to the literal lowest common denominator?  

    • Tabloid trash sells billions—-like porno. It appeals to something basic in human beings. People like to be assured that even the high and mighty, most beautiful and the richest are essentially no different from them. Everyone has to squat.

      • Wicked Local (formerly or maybe even still Community Newspapers, which was owned by the Herald before) provide the only weekly paper for many communities. If you want to get the nuts-and-bolts stuff of when meetings and community happenings are going on, you need to subscribe or read on-line.

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        p>The things I read regularly are the reader-contributed pieces: letters, op-eds.

  10. Corey Welford, a spokesman for Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone, said Marzilli is accused of approaching a woman who was sitting on a park bench on Middle Street, making an “inappropriate comment” and attempting to “inappropriately” touch her in a sexual manner, which she forcibly resisted. Welford said when Marzilli was approached by Lowell police he allegedly gave them a false name. He was arrested on Market Street after a police chase.

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    p>On this morning’s news and http://www.thebostonchannel.co…

    • Just a scintillating example of selective prosecution and the absence of equal protection in MA.

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      p>In Massachusetts it’s not what you did, it’s who you are.  

    • If DA Leone had listened to and believed the FIRST woman who called for help, perhaps Jim would have been charged AND received the help he obviously needs. Leone did no favor for marzilli by letting him off the hook and blaming the victim who reported it.

      • They just didn’t have the facts to support a conviction.  Happens all the time.  

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        p>And could you point out where Leone blamed the victim?

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        p>BTW, I think that emphasis should be on his wholly unacceptable behavior and at least he should temporarily step down.

  11. that makes me want to look for a reason beyond rational actions on his part.  when an otherwise apparently rational person does something so irrational, and in public, “organic problems” seems the simplest answer.

    • unfortunately he shares your political beliefs so you are reaching for whatever rational you can grasp onto.  I think that we can safely say that any sexual deviant has mental issues.  Sure they need help, but it sure as heck doesn’t excuse the behavior.

    • Laurel: Not surprisingly, we’re now starting to see a familiar pattern emerge – charges that Marzilli has been accosting a number of women over some period of time. As often happens in these types of cases, the perpetrator gets away with it for quite a while until someone, finally, blows the whistle. Then the dam breaks loose.

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      p>It does seem, according to the police reports, that Marzilli’s behavior had been becoming increasingly reckless toward the end.

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      p>I would point out that many if not most people who commit such acts are dealing with mental disorders, “organic” or otherwise. That doesn’t make Marzilli special or different.

      • so either the judge is oblivious to the dangers of a repeat offender, or the evidence of serious repeat offences just isn’t there.  i have no idea where the truth of that lies.

        • I can’t imagine any judge not granting bail in such circumstances. No charges were ever made in the earlier Arlington case, so he couldn’t even consider that. Marzilli has not been accused of acting violently (at least not in the generally understood sense), he’s never been in trouble before (as far as we know), and there is zero reason to think he won’t show up for his next court date. That is supposed to be the main criterion for setting bail.

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          p>Remember, we don’t have to be believe Marzilli is innocent unless proven guilty, but the judge does. He acted properly.

          • He is not allowed to set foot in the city of Lowell until his next hearing.  So he won’t be at Saturday’s Democratic State Convention.

  12. Judge Neil Walker released Marzilli, 50, on $1,500 bail, which he paid last night. He was ordered to stay out of Lowell. His district includes Arlington, Billerica, Burlington and parts of Lexington and Woburn.

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    p>From the Herald Article

  13. This guy is not fit for office.  It doesn’t matter if he’s a Senator or homeless person.  He acted in a way that is reprehensible.  The poor women he’s accosted don’t care who he is or what job he has.  Would you want to tell them “I’m sorry that mean man was lewd to you and tried to grab your genitals, but he’s a Senator so there must be a very good excuse for why he did that.”  We can’t let defective people run this state.

  15. that we not lose sight of the victim, and how alarming it is that in a public park in broad daylight, one can be subject to such a lewd encounter. Generally speaking, our public parks are still one of our greatest treasures, and I hope this incident does not discourage people from taking advantage of our public parks.

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    p>Clearly Senator Marzilli has some very serious problems. I hope that he is prosecuted to the full extent of the law, but there also needs to be a sensitivity to or at least an investigation into his mental state.

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    p>Whether Marzilli has a genuine mental health problem, or is just a perverted predator, I trust that the voters in his district will see it fit to elect a new State Senator.

    • I would venture to say that all “perverted predators” have genuine mental health problems.

  16. If anyone has a comment on today’s globe story about the potential for Marian Walsh having a new job?

    • But hey—–this is Masachusetts. Did I mention that to hire her that the Gov has to pay of the guy warming the seat to the tune of a half million? But—-MA has billions in the bank—what’s a few bucks among pols?

  17. Is clearly a sick pig. No way around it now.  I was willing to give hime the bennifit of the doubt on the first one. But this pig is cooked.

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