Podcasts about Clark Clifford

There are few men politically or intellectually smarter than President Lyndon Johnson and his defense secretary Robert McNamara. So how did LBJ and McNamara screw up America's involvement in Vietnam so tragically? According to Peter Osnos, the author of LBJ and McNamara: The Vietnam Partnership Destined to Fail, it might have been because the two men were, in their own quite different ways, too smart. For Osnos - a legendary figure in American publishing who, amongst many other things, edited Donald Trump's Art of the Deal - the catastrophe of America's war in Vietnam is a parable about imperial hubris and overreach. According to Osnos, who has access to much previously unpublished material from McNamara, The Best and the Brightest orchestrated the worst and dumbest episode in American foreign policy. Peter Osnos began his journalism career in 1965 as an assistant to I. F. .Stone on his weekly newsletter. Between 1966–1984 Osnos was a reporter and foreign correspondent for The Washington Post and served as the newspaper's foreign and national editor. From 1984-1996 he was Vice President, Associate Publisher, and Senior Editor at Random House and Publisher of Random House's Times Books division. In 1997, he founded PublicAffairs. He served as Publisher and CEO until 2005, and was a consulting editor until 2020 when he and his wife, Susan Sherer Osnos, launched Platform Books LLC. Among the authors he has published and/or edited are — former President Jimmy Carter, Rosalyn Carter, Gen. Wesley Clark, Clark Clifford, former President Bill Clinton, Paul Farmer, Earvin (Magic) Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Sam Donaldson, Kenneth Feinberg, Annette Gordon Reed, Meg Greenfield, Dorothy Height, Don Hewitt, Molly Ivins, Vernon Jordan, Ward Just, Stanley Karnow, Wendy Kopp, Charles Krauthammer, Brian Lamb, Jim Lehrer, Scott McClellan, Robert McNamara, Charles Morris, Peggy Noonan, William Novak, Roger Mudd. Former President Barack Obama, Speaker of the House Thomas P. (Tip) O'Neill, Nancy Reagan, Andy Rooney, Morley Safer, Natan Sharansky, George Soros, Susan Swain, President Donald Trump, Paul Volcker, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, and Nobel peace prize Winner Muhammad Yunus, as well as journalists from America's leading publications and prominent scholars. Osnos has also been a commentator and host for National Public Radio and a contributor to publications including Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, and The New Republic. He wrote the Platform column for the Century Foundation, the Daily Beast and The Atlantic.com from 2006-2014. He has also served as Chair of the Trade Division of the Association of American Publishers and on the board of Human Rights Watch. From 2005-2009, he was executive director of The Caravan Project, funded by the MacArthur and Carnegie Foundations, which developed a plan for multi-platform publishing of books. He was the Vice-Chairman of the Columbia Journalism Review from  2007-2012. He is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations. He is a graduate of Brandeis and Columbia Universities. He lives in New York City, with his wife Susan, a consultant to human rights and philanthropic organizations. His children are Evan L.R. Osnos and Katherine Sanford. There are five grandchildren.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

pWotD Episode 2606: Donald Sutherland Welcome to popular Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of a popular Wikipedia page every day.With 1,418,398 views on Thursday, 20 June 2024 our article of the day is Donald Sutherland.Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. A film career spanning over seven decades, Sutherland received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. He is cited as one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination, but received an Academy Honorary Award in 2017.Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, and later moving to Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Sutherland rose to fame after starring in films such as The Dirty Dozen (1967), M*A*S*H (1970), and Kelly's Heroes (1970). He subsequently starred in many films both in leading and supporting roles, including Start the Revolution Without Me (1970), Klute (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), The Day of the Locust (1975), Fellini's Casanova (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), 1900 (1976), Animal House (1978), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Ordinary People (1980), Eye of the Needle (1981), A Dry White Season (1989), Backdraft (1991), JFK (1991), Six Degrees of Separation (1993), Without Limits (1998), The Italian Job (2003), and Pride & Prejudice (2005). More recently, Sutherland portrayed President Snow in The Hunger Games franchise.Sutherland also received accolades for his television roles. For his portrayal of Colonel Mikhail Fetisov in Citizen X (1995) he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. He played Adam Czerniaków in Uprising (2001), and Clark Clifford in Path to War (2002) earning the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.Sutherland received various honours including inductions into the Canadian Walk of Fame in 2000 and the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada (OC) in 1978, a Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2012 and received the Companion of the Order of Canada (CC) in 2019. He was the father of Kiefer, Rossif, and Angus, all actors. In October 2023, Canada Post issued a stamp in his honour, commemorating his career as one of Canada's most respected and versatile actors.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:44 UTC on Friday, 21 June 2024.For the full current version of the article, see Donald Sutherland on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm Aria Neural.

What is stranger than fiction? The stories of worldwide corruption. In this podcast series, co-hosts Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance and Mike DeBernardis, partner at Hughes Hubbard, discuss some of the most audacious corruption cases in anti-corruption enforcement. More importantly, they will discuss the lessons learned on what your organization can do to prevent running afoul of international anti-bribery laws. In this episode of Season 2, Tom and Mike take a deep dive into the sordid history of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) (AKA Bank of Crooks and Criminals International). BCCI was founded in 1972 to facilitate banking for developing countries. BCCI quickly devolved into a hub for money laundering, terrorism financing, and regulatory evasion. They discuss the bank's complex web of shell companies and insider loans and how a 1991 investigation led by Senator John Kerry exposed these illicit activities. The episode also highlights the involvement of notable figures like Clark Clifford and Robert Altman in BCCI's operations and the subsequent legal battles they faced. Finally, the hosts examine the long-lasting impact of the BCCI scandal on global and U.S. banking regulations, including the establishment of stricter anti-money laundering laws and enhanced international cooperation. Key Highlights: The Rise and Fall of BCCI BCCI's Regulatory Evasion Tactics BCCI's Involvement in Terrorism and Illegal Activities The Congressional Investigation and Shutdown BCCI's U.S. Operations and Legal Troubles High-Profile Trials and Acquittals Modern Parallels  Resources: Mike DeBernardis on LInkedIn HughesHubbardReed Tom Fox Instagram Facebook YouTube Twitter LinkedIn Texas Tax rate at 80% of 8.25%

On this day in legal history, November 29 marks a significant turning point during the Vietnam War era. In 1967, Robert S. McNamara, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, announced his resignation from the position to become president of the World Bank. This decision came amidst the escalating unpopularity of the Vietnam Conflict both in the United States and internationally.McNamara, who had a rapid ascent from being an automotive executive, had become one of the most powerful Defense Secretaries in American history. His tenure, starting in 1961 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, was marked by a strong managerial style and significant involvement in foreign affairs, particularly the Vietnam War. Initially, McNamara was a staunch supporter of U.S. involvement in the war and played a key role in advising President Johnson to escalate the conflict in 1964. However, as the war progressed, he began to privately question U.S. policy in Vietnam and eventually advocated for a negotiated settlement.In the summer of 1967, McNamara was instrumental in drafting the San Antonio formula, a peace proposal that sought to end U.S. bombing in North Vietnam and invited the North Vietnamese to engage in productive talks. However, this proposal was rejected by North Vietnam in October of the same year. Following this, in early November, McNamara submitted a memorandum to President Johnson, recommending that the U.S. freeze its troop levels, halt the bombing in the north, and shift the responsibility of the ground war to the South Vietnamese. These recommendations, however, were outright rejected by President Johnson.McNamara's resignation was a significant moment in the history of the Vietnam War. He had become a target for the ire of the U.S. anti-war movement due to his initial support for expanding the Vietnam War. His departure marked the end of his tenure as the longest-serving Secretary of Defense. He was succeeded by Johnson adviser Clark Clifford. McNamara's resignation highlighted the internal conflicts and changing views within the U.S. administration regarding the Vietnam War. It also underscored the increasing unpopularity and complexity of the conflict, which continued to shape U.S. foreign policy and legal considerations for years to come.Law firms are grappling with whether to inform clients about their use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in legal work. While AI promises to enhance efficiency and speed, it raises questions about disclosure practices. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, for instance, hasn't decided on a firm policy but emphasizes full disclosure in any AI use. This issue has sparked debate within the legal community, with differing opinions on whether and how AI use should be communicated to clients.Former U.S. magistrate judge and New York State Bar Association AI task force member Ron Hedges questions the need for detailed disclosure of every AI research tool used but stresses the importance of transparency about data use and client awareness. Various state bar associations are also weighing in. The California Bar recently advised lawyers to consider AI disclosure, while the Florida Bar recommends obtaining informed consent for AI use that involves sharing confidential information.AI disclosure is expected to feature in engagement letters, with law firms likely to follow client preferences. Ultimately, the consensus is to adhere to client instructions regarding AI use, but proactive disclosure policies run the gamut.Law Firms Wrestle With How Much to Tell Clients About AI UseOn November 29, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to deliberate on the legality of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) in-house enforcement proceedings. This follows an appeal by President Biden's administration against a decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled in 2022 that the SEC's internal tribunal system violates the U.S. Constitution's Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial and infringes on presidential and congressional powers.The case centers on hedge fund manager George Jarkesy, who was fined and barred from the securities industry by the SEC for securities fraud. Critics argue that the SEC holds an unfair advantage in its administrative proceedings compared to federal court juries. The SEC conducted 270 in-house proceedings in the fiscal year ending September 30, exceeding the 231 cases in federal court.The Supreme Court's ruling could significantly impact enforcement actions against misconduct in various sectors, potentially hampering the SEC and other agencies. The court has previously expressed skepticism towards broad federal regulatory powers, including in a 2018 ruling on the SEC's selection of in-house judges and a 2021 decision facilitating challenges to agency actions in federal court.Jarkesy's challenge, backed by various conservative and business groups, reflects broader concerns about the regulatory reach of the federal "administrative state" in areas like energy, environment, and financial regulation. The SEC, after investigating Jarkesy and his firm Patriot28 LLC, found them guilty of several violations, including misrepresentation, and imposed significant financial penalties.The 5th Circuit's decision criticized the SEC's discretion in choosing case venues and found that job protections for its administrative judges infringe on presidential powers. The Supreme Court's ruling, expected by the end of June, could also influence upcoming decisions on the constitutional conformity of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure and federal agencies' regulatory actions defense in court.US Supreme Court weighs legality of SEC in-house enforcementAdobe is set to defend its proposed $20 billion acquisition of Figma at a closed hearing on December 8, addressing EU antitrust concerns. The European Commission has previously warned that this acquisition could reduce competition in the global market for interactive product design software, where Figma is a significant player. The Commission is concerned that the deal might reinforce Adobe's dominance in vector and raster editing tools, eliminating Figma as a competitor. During the hearing, Adobe will have the opportunity to present its case to senior Commission officials, national antitrust watchdogs, as well as rivals and third parties. Adobe has expressed willingness to propose remedies to address regulatory issues. The EU antitrust enforcer is expected to make a decision on the deal by February 5. Additionally, the acquisition has raised concerns in Britain, with its competition agency indicating that the deal could negatively impact innovation in software used by the majority of UK digital designers.Adobe to defend Figma deal at Dec. 8 EU hearing, sources sayMeta Platforms, the owner of WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook, plans to appeal a U.S. judge's ruling in its ongoing privacy dispute with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Judge Timothy Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied Meta's motion for the court to oversee the dispute, leading Meta to file an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The core of the dispute is whether an FTC judge or a district judge should decide on potentially tightening a 2019 consent decree, which primarily affects Meta's earnings from users under 18. This legal battle began when the FTC proposed modifying the 2019 settlement, under which Facebook (now Meta) had to pay $5 billion. The FTC aims to restrict Meta from profiting from data collected on users under 18 and impose broader limitations on its use of facial recognition technology. The FTC also accused Meta of misleading parents about the controls in its Messenger Kids app. Additionally, the FTC has sought to force Meta to divest Instagram and WhatsApp in a separate legal action.Meta says it will appeal US judge's ruling in privacy fight with FTC | ReutersThe evolving U.S. energy policy, particularly with the focus on clean energy and infrastructure, is significantly increasing the demand for legal advisors experienced in these fields. This demand has led to notable partner hires among major law firms. The clean energy infrastructure legal market is rapidly expanding as governments and corporations prioritize sustainable energy solutions. This growth is driven by new regulations, incentives, and public demand for environmentally friendly energy sources, creating a plethora of opportunities for legal professionals specializing in this sector. Tax attorneys, contract lawyers, and regulatory specialists are increasingly sought after to navigate the complex legal landscape surrounding clean energy projects and investments.US clean energy push keeps deal lawyers in demand | Reuters Get full access to Minimum Competence - Daily Legal News Podcast at www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

Tháng 07/1967, Tổng thống Lyndon B. Johnson cử hai cố vấn chủ chốt của mình, Clark Clifford và Tướng Maxwell Taylor, đến Australia và New Zealand trong một nhiệm vụ khẩn cấp. Xem thêm.

My guest today is Brian VanDeMark. He teaches history at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where for more than twenty-five years he has educated midshipmen. He has also been a visiting fellow at Oxford University. VanDeMark was the research assistant on Clark Clifford's bestselling autobiography Counsel to the President and the coauthor of Robert McNamara's #1 bestseller In Retrospect. The topic is his book Road to Disaster. In this episode of Trend Following Radio we discuss: War in South East Asia Culture Kennedy and Johnson Game Theory Decision-making Jump in! --- I'm MICHAEL COVEL, the host of TREND FOLLOWING RADIO, and I'm proud to have delivered 10+ million podcast listens since 2012. Investments, economics, psychology, politics, decision-making, human behavior, entrepreneurship and trend following are all passionately explored and debated on my show. To start? I'd like to give you a great piece of advice you can use in your life and trading journey… cut your losses! You will find much more about that philosophy here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/trend/ You can watch a free video here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/video/ Can't get enough of this episode? You can choose from my thousand plus episodes here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/podcast My social media platforms: Twitter: @covel Facebook: @trendfollowing LinkedIn: @covel Instagram: @mikecovel Hope you enjoy my never-ending podcast conversation!

Many books have been written on the tragic decisions regarding Vietnam made by the young stars of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Yet despite millions of words of analysis and reflection, no historian has been able to explain why such decent, brilliant, and previously successful men stumbled so badly. That changes with Road to Disaster. Historian Brian VanDeMark draws upon decades of archival research, his own interviews with many of those involved, and a wealth of previously unheard recordings by Robert McNamara and Clark Clifford, who served as Defense Secretaries for Kennedy and Johnson. Yet beyond that, Road to Disaster is also the first history of the war to look at the cataclysmic decisions of those in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations through the prism of recent research in cognitive science, psychology, and organizational theory to explain why the “Best and the Brightest” became trapped in situations that suffocated creative thinking and willingness to dissent, why they found change so hard, and why they were so blind to their own errors. An epic history of America's march to quagmire, Road to Disaster is a landmark in scholarship and a book of immense importance. Bio: Brian VanDeMark teaches history at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where for more than twenty-five years he has educated midshipmen about the Vietnam War. He has also been a visiting fellow at Oxford University. VanDeMark was the research assistant on Clark Clifford's bestselling autobiography Counsel to the President and the coauthor of Robert McNamara's #1 bestseller In Retrospect. In this episode of Trend Following Radio: The Vietnam War France and Vietnam Vietnamese Culture Kennedy and Johnson Game Theory Decision-making

This is the second episode examining the phone calls so often cited as proof of the Chennault Affair and Lyndon Johnson's acknowledgement of Richard Nixon's "treason". When you listen to them all it will often leave you wondering if there is any there, there. Or is it the hope of a man, prone to paranoia, looking for an excuse as to why something he hoped so totally would come to pass, peace in Vietnam under his watch, would come true. Here you will hear them all, from start to finish, not snippets meant to prove a narrative, but the entire phone call, and it will give you a fuller sense of what Lyndon Johnson actually knew, and or believed he knew. These are the calls made after the Bombing Halt announcement on October 31, 1968 but before the November 5, 1968 Presidential General Election. 

Truman later ordered all copies to be brought to him and locked away since the content was a serious threat to US-Soviet ...

This is not as complicated as it looks, but we start with these two episodes to have a subset of a subset of our series on 1968. These are a collection of phone calls, in their entirety of President Lyndon Johnson talking to the three Presidential candidates, Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace, Republican Leader Everett Dirksen, Democratic Senator Richard Russell, and cabinet members Dean Rusk and Clark Clifford. In it you will hear Lyndon Johnson talking to people with different goals in mind. He is sending messages to others through some people and developing strategy for how to deal with situations with others and seeking reassurance in still others.  It is a real glimpse at how LBJ operated and how he often thought out loud as he worked his way through problems. Unlike the news reports or historical documentaries, we are playing these calls in their entirety, not just snippets trying to prove our point. You will get to hear LBJ talk about Treason, and people's kids , the mundane, to the outrageous, and you will get to hear for yourself the messages, and the thoughts, of our 36th President, as he struggles with trying to force his will on a war, an election, an ally, and an entrenched enemy, all at the same time.  You will get to hear for yourself the use of the Johnson treatment with all its bombast, bullying, flattery, deceptiveness, and delusions, plus his real desire and hope to play a role in peace, and ending this war. A war that brought his career to an end. These calls were the ones made before the announced bombing halt on October 31, Halloween 1968. 

In this episode we see events start moving fast. You see a divide start to show between members of the Johnson Administration as to what to do about the problems of Vietnam. The enemy starts bombing American targets including the Brinks Hotel during the Christmas season, maximizing the number of deaths in the hotel.Still Lyndon Johnson refuses to retaliate. He still has to be convinced that a war in Vietnam would be worth it. He listens as his advisor George Ball urges him to walk away and let the Government fall. South Vietnam had become a basket case in the year and a few months since the assassination of its long time President Ngo Dinh Diem. Johnson assistant, Jack Valenti,  called it a "turnstile of leadership" as the country's Presidency was passed around, one time in just 19 days. Listen to various interviews from several Johnson Advisors, George Ball, Jack Valenti, Dean Rusk,  Clark Clifford, William Bundy, Bill Moyers, Daniel Ellsberg, and Robert Thompson all discuss how the momentum built toward the decision to commit land troops in Vietnam.  These interview snippets are from PBS's "LBJ Goes to War", and "LBJ: The American Experience", plus LBJ's actual phone calls as he wrestles with moving forward and committing troops. An act that will Americanize the war and eventually lead to 500,000 American soldiers on the ground in Vietnam, a country half way around the World. 

On today's episode, Andrew Keen talks with Peter Osnos, founder of PublicAffairs, about the recent news that Bertelsmann, the parent of Penguin Random House, will purchase Simon & Schuster and why this does not mean the Amazonization of the publishing industry. Between 1966-1984 Peter Osnos was a reporter and foreign correspondent for The Washington Post and served as the newspaper's foreign and national editor. From 1984-1996 he was Vice President, Associate Publisher and senior editor at Random House and publisher of Random House's Times Books division. In 1997, he founded PublicAffairs, an imprint of the Hachette Brook Group specializing in books of journalism, history, biography and social criticism. He served as Publisher and CEO until 2005. Among the authors he has published and or edited are; former President Jimmy Carter, Rosalyn Carter, Gen. Wesley Clark, Clark Clifford, former President Bill Clinton, Sam Donaldson, Dorothy Height, Molly Ivins, Vernon Jordan, Stanley Karnow, Wendy Kopp, Jim Lehrer, Scott McClellan, Robert McNamara, Charles Morris, Peggy Noonan, Barack Obama, Tip O’Neill, Nancy Reagan, Andy Rooney, Morley Safer, Natan Sharansky, George Soros, Donald Trump, Paul Volcker, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, and Muhammad Yunus, as well as journalists from America’s leading publications and prominent scholars. Osnos has also been a commentator and host for National Public Radio and a contributor to publications including Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, and The New Republic.  He has also served as Chair of the Trade Division of the Association of American Publishers and on the board of the Human Rights Watch. He was executive director of The Caravan Project, funded by the MacArthur and Carnegie Foundations, which developed a plan for multi-platform publishing of books. He was Vice Chairman of the Columbia Journalism Review and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Chicago News Cooperative and is active in a number of other journalism and human rights organizations. He writes a regular column called Peter Osnos' Platform on Medium.com. He is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations. He is a graduate of Brandeis and Columbia Universities. He lives in Greenwich, CT with his wife Susan, a consultant to human rights and philanthropic organizations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former law clerk John Markey '86 is joined by the Judge’s granddaughter, Bridget Power, and together they speak with Judge Harrington '55 about his family as well as his illustrious career. Interview originally recorded on February 21, 2020. --- Transcript Judge Harrington: I got a lot of breaks in life by being a member of the Holy Cross family through Ed Hanify '33 and Arthur Garrity '41. People have to help you. You can't do much by yourself. And so you have to pay back. I think the greatest joy, it seems a cliche to say, but it is, the great joy you get life is to serve others, if you can help other people. First of all, your family, help them and then other people. Maura Sweeney: Welcome to Mission-Driven, where we speak with alumni who are leveraging their Holy Cross education to make a meaningful difference in the world around them. I'm your host Maura Sweeney from the class of 2007, director of Alumni Career Development at Holy Cross. I'm delighted to welcome you to today's show. In this episode, we hear from the Honorable Edward F. Harrington from the class of 1955. In 1988, Ronald Reagan nominated Judge Harrington to a lifetime appointment to serve as a federal judge for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He began serving as a federal judge in 1988 and assumed senior status in 2001. In 2019, Judge Harrington was awarded the inaugural Edward Bennett Williams '41 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Holy Cross Lawyers Association. The award is given on an annual basis for making a positive impact on the administration of justice and demonstrated loyalty to Holy Cross. Former law clerk John Markey from the class of 1986 is joined by the judge's granddaughter, Bridget Power, and together they speak with the judge about his family as well as his illustrious career. From running into Ernest Hemingway during his time in the Navy, to supporting civil rights leaders in Mississippi in the early '60s, to participating in a trial against Edward Bennett Williams in 1964, their conversation is filled with inspiring and memorable stories. Every step of the way, the Holy Cross network showed its power and influence. A remarkable, yet humble figure, Judge Harrington models the incredible impact that can be made with the foundation of a Holy Cross education. John Markey: Hello, this is John Markey from the Holy Cross class of 1986, here to interview Judge Edward F. Harrington, Holy Cross class of 1955 and the recipient of the first ever Edward Bennett Williams Lifetime Achievement Award offered by the Holy Cross Lawyers Association and I'm here with his granddaughter Bridget Power. Bridget Power: Hi there. John Markey: Judge, if you just want to introduce yourself? Judge Harrington: My name's Ted Harrington, class of 1955. Bridget Power: I'm Bridget Power. I did not go to Holy Cross but my parents both went here. My grandfather, Ted Harrington, many of my aunts, uncles, relatives, my great grandfather, John J. Harrington, and my grandpa's two brothers, Dan and John Harrington. Didn't go here but feel very connected to Holy Cross. Bridget Power: Gramps, I know we've talked about your childhood. I'm wondering if you can share with the audience a little bit about what it was like to be born right after the depression in Fall River, Mass. And what it was like to grow up there. Judge Harrington: Well, I grew up in Fall River, which was a middle town. I grew up in the heart of the depression in 1933. It was a different world. Money was not that available. Although I was very lucky in that my father was a schoolteacher and had a full job. I grew up in, I would say, an Irish American neighborhood and our concerns were education, sports, politics, religion. I know in my family since both of my parents were teachers, education was very important to us. I was lucky enough to have books in the house and education as maybe one of the most important objects of my young life. Bridget Power: Can you say a little bit more about what your education was like? Judge Harrington: Well, I went to a parochial school which had about 900 students. It was the parish school. In Fall River, in that era, there were 27 parishes. It was a very strong Catholic community. We had a very good grammar school and then I went to the public high school where my father taught and it was a rigorous education at the Durfee High School. And I always felt that I was very lucky to have had the educational background that I received in Fall River and I came to Holy Cross in the fall of 1951, very prepared for the rigors of Holy Cross' education. Bridget Power: Do you remember your first time visiting Holy Cross when your dad had gone to Holy Cross? Judge Harrington: My first memory of Holy Cross was in 1942. I was at Fenway Park in the great football game between Boston College and Holy Cross. At that date, Boston College was the number one football team in America. Holy Cross had a lackluster season. However, Holy Cross beat Boston College at Fenway Park in November of 1942, just after the war started, 55-12, in the greatest upset in the history of New England Sports. That was my first connection with Holy Cross, although it was in Boston in Fenway Park. I think the first time I came here although my father used to come up to football games, I came here in I think 1950 to meet some of the officials here to see if I could get in to Holy Cross in the next year. John Markey: Judge, that 55-12 game was that the famous Coconut Grove fire game, if you want to just tell us a little bit of that story afterwards? The great thing on behalf of Boston College, Boston College if they had won that game, were going to celebrate at the Coconut Grove Nightclub in Boston. Because of their devastating defeat, they called off the celebratory dinner that evening. However, 500 people died in a fire that night at the Coconut Grove Nightclub, at that time, the biggest arson type of damage in the history of the United States. So in a way Boston College and the people who were their fans were saved for not going to the Coconut Grove, which is still... I don't think it's ever been... There's been no fire since, I believe, that's ever come close maybe in the United States. John Markey: Judge, you mentioned growing up in Florida with lots of books in the house either from your parents are from your aunts who are also teachers. Do you recall particular books that they encouraged you to read or books that you read during your middle school or high school years that were formative or authors that you liked? Judge Harrington: Well, I think my two most influential authors from high school and also here at Holy Cross was William Makepeace Thackeray's Vanity Fair, the great Victorian novel and Boswell's Johnson. I've always been fascinated with Johnson, what they call him, the great robust common French philosopher who taught everybody who read them closely that the privilege of education is to see things as they are. I think Thackeray and Johnson were my greatest influences both in high school and here at Holy Cross. John Markey: You also mentioned, Judge, that sports and politics in Fall River and in your family were things that were focuses of your life as a younger person growing up. Could you tell us a little bit about why politics was important to you and also any examples of lessons you learned in sports? Judge Harrington: Well, I think in politics, my grandfather was a politician. I think I've indicated that the reason my father came to Holy Cross is that in the early part of the last century, my grandfather served in the House of Representatives in Boston and he was a close associate of Governor David I. Walsh. David I. Walsh was a graduate of Holy Cross (1893) and was the first Catholic governor of Massachusetts. I believe he was elected in 1914 during the heart of the Progressive Era. My grandfather, who I don't believe he got out of grammar school, but was a very formidable politician and a person who was very interested in running, he was very impressed with the culture and the knowledge of Progressive Era. His erudition impressed my grandfather greatly, and as a result, he decided to send his son, my father, here the Holy Cross because he felt that if any place could turn out someone like Governor Walsh, he'd like his son to be exposed to that education. John Markey: How about on the side of sports and character development that that had for you at Durfee High School? Judge Harrington: Well, I was an average athlete, very average. I played three sports, partly because my father was not only a Latin teacher but he was an assistant coach in various spots so I always got a suit. But Durfee was a powerhouse in the days I was there. And I had the opportunity to play, usually on the bench but at least in practice to play with some of the great athletes. We had Henry Nolga, Andy Faricy, Joe Andrews, Tommy Gastall who were known all over the state and sports teacher won a lot. You realized that there's somebody always better than you are. And I think sports teacher teaches you that you lose more than you win. You don't win all games and you don't win every battle in life. And sports were a great teacher. As I indicated, I grew up in a Irish-American culture, if that's what you call it. But sports and politics and education and religion were part of the atmosphere. John Markey: Judge, when you came to Holy Cross, the culture of the place or kind of the mission of the place at that point, an all boys school or all men were here, what was the overall lesson that kind of the leader- Judge Harrington: Well, it was kind of a... In those days, we had an honors course and I was lucky and very fortunate to be a part of that. We had top students from all over the country. The competition was great. On the other hand, it was a rough house school. A bunch of guys, all horsing around. It was enjoyable. The studying was hard. It was rigorous. I loved it because I enjoyed studying. I really did. On the other hand, the sports were great. Not only the major sports for the school, Holy Cross was a top team in three sports. While I was here, we won the NCAA in baseball and won the NIT in basketball. But the competition in intramurals was tremendous too. Thinking back, what I got out of it was a great education. A liberal arts education which exposed the student to all the channels of culture, not only English literature, but art and philosophy and the classics and the drama. When we came here, we weren't thinking or at least I wasn't thinking that I'm coming here for a job. I wasn't even thinking what I was going to do. To expand my life, to live not an intellectual life but a life concerned with trying to find out the truth, to follow your conscience as best you could, to learn so as to develop your capacities, wherever they may be, so that you could pay back, that you could make some contribution to the society and I guess in which you lived. Bridget Power: Were there any teachers or mentors or Jesuits here who really impacted your life during those four years that you spent here? Judge Harrington: Well of course. I remember Father Ahearn who taught me Latin. Latin was a great discipline for sharpening the mind. You had to think hard to understand Latin and also it was a great basis for the understanding of grammar in the English language. Father Bean taught rhetoric. Second year was opened up. I remember we had the Lincoln Douglas debates as an example of rhetorical law or rhetorical brilliance. And there was a Father Heron who taught ethics which to me was maybe one of the greatest courses I ever had. It brought together Aristotelian philosophy with Aquinas' infusion, Aristotle's philosophy with the Christian religion, which gave one a strong basis for how one should live their lives. Those are three names that... I'm sure there are others. John Markey: Were there any of the teachers or Jesuits who spoke to you about recommendations regarding your career choices that you would be making after college? Judge Harrington: Yeah, there was. Father Kelleher, who previously had been the president of Boston College was my Cardinal-Prefect. And in those days we had orals, philosophy orals at the end of the year. And I did fairly well on the oral of both my third and fourth year. And I remember Father Kelleher came to see me one night and he told me that he had been following my scholastic career and that he thought I had, the way he put it, he said, "You haven't got a creative mind," he said, "but you have an acute intelligence and you should consider becoming a lawyer." Well, I wasn't thinking too much of what I was going to do because I was going to... I was NROTC here at Holy Cross and I was going in the Navy and so I figured I wouldn't have to worry about what I was going to do for a couple years. But a couple of years later, when I was getting out of the Navy, I recalled Father Kelleher, his advice and decided to go to law school, even though I had not given any thought prior to going to law school. I said I'll try it out. And it was a fortunate choice. John Markey: In your couple of years in the Navy, what were the formative experiences of that part of your career in life? Judge Harrington: I think responsibility. You go from a guy here at Holy Cross, pouring water on guys out the window or getting in fistfights over matters of juvenilia, I guess you'd call it and then you'll find yourself on the folks all over destroyer and you got all these guys looking up at you saying, "Who's this Bob? He's walking around with a uniform. He's never been to sea. Why are you with the chief?" Wow. You had to give orders to a group of sailors, a whole bunch of tough guys. Really, for the first time in my life, I felt a sense of... That I had to carry out orders and impose orders with a great education. I enjoyed the Navy and if I was any good at science, I think I might have stayed but even in those days, it was getting highly intricate, highly technical to run guns and to navigate, shoot off torpedoes or bomb subs. It wasn't my inclination. And that's one thing I've learned that people should do what they were inclined to do because I think that they do better at it.  I realized I didn't have the scientific proclivity to stay in the Navy, because if I had I would have because it's a great adventure. You're out there in gales, storms, going ashore in foreign countries. It's exhilarating. But I didn't have the qualities for it. John Markey: Judge, you had previously told me a story about the interaction when you were in the Navy with one of your favorite writers. I don't know Bridget knows the story of you down in Cuba meeting or interacting or seeing Ernest Hemingway when you were in the Navy. Judge Harrington: Yeah, that's right. I read Hemingway here. One of the courses I took as a senior was Hemingway and Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Sherwood Anderson, the writers of the '20s and '30s which I had never read because in high school and in college up until my senior year, you were reading the Victorian authors, the romantic poets. But the last year, I took the 20th century novel. And I read the Sun Also Rises and For Whom the Bell Tolls and Farewell Toms as well as a lot of stuff by Fitzgerald. And I ended up, when I left Holy Cross on a destroyer out of Key West, where Hemingway spent the '30s. And then this was pre-Castro. We used to go to Havana every two months. And I was always seeking out Hemingway at his famous bar room called La Floridita. And I'd been there seven or eight times I never saw him. Then one time, I just stumbled in there and there he is. The great Hemingway sitting in the corner. I sat there for an hour trying to get the courage to go over and say halo to him, but I was too shy. I'm glad you brought it up, because the last couple of months, I've been reading his short stories again. Sometimes he was a macho guy, but he had the soul of a poet hidden, hidden behind his bravado. Very, very sensitive person. I wish I had spoken to him. Bridget Power: Gramps, didn't you see him another time? Didn't you see him another time? Judge Harrington: Well, I did. Not personally, but in 1954, I went on my... As I said, I was a NROTC here at Holy Cross and we went on a Midshipman cruise at the end of our junior year. It was a great cruise. We went to Canada and then we went to Havana. Then we went to Guantanamo. And one Sunday afternoon in Havana harbor, this was 1954, as you know, pre-Castro, there were 13 ships in the harbor and the PA system said, "The American writer, Ernest Hemingway, is circling the harbor in his yacht. And he wants to salute the American fleet." And so, here he is. He's only a writer. But he was so celebrated that all the sailors, they even knew of him. And they all flocked the fan tail of all the ships. And there were 13 or 14 ships and Hemingway was standing on his yacht with a glass of rum in his hand saluting the chief. He got the most tremendous cheer. And if you remember, this was August of 1954. Hemingway had crashed twice in Africa on two days in a row in an airplane. And his death was reported all over the world. Like The New York Times would say, "Hemingway dies in plane crash in Uganda," or one of those countries over there. I can't remember which one. He had just returned from Africa because he was laid up in a hospital for a long time. And so here he is, back in Havana where he lived and he wanted to salute the American fleet and he got a tremendous ovation because he was such a celebrated figure that even the sailors, I'm sure most of them had not read about him, but they had heard of him because he was such an adventurer, and they gave such a tremendous cheer. I'll never forget it. Bridget Power: What was it like transitioning from the Navy and going to law school? Judge Harrington: Well, I'll tell you this. Well, the normal deflation, you're an officer, you're a big shot, you're running guys on the foxhole, you tell them what to do and then you were a student again. It was somewhat deflated. But the education that I received here at Holy Cross, the ability to read and to write clearly and the ability to think vigorously made law school so much easier than college. I found law school, I wouldn't say a breeze but I just happened to be... I found my field. I had an inclination towards it. And because of the background I received here at Holy Cross, it was a relatively easy process. When I think back, I got married just before I went to law school. I must have been an optimist because by the time I got out of law school, I had your uncle Johnny and your mother. I don't know how we lived. I'm glad my father used to send $30 a month to get us by but law school was relatively easy. I enjoyed it. Bridget Power: And then you went to Washington? Judge Harrington: Yeah. Well, I got out in 1960 from law school and I became a law clerk for the chief judge of the Massachusetts Superior Court from 1960 to '61. And then, I went to Washington when that term was up in 1961. And had the good fortune to be a part of the United States Department of Justice. Bridget Power: Going back to your time in Washington grandpa, I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about... This was civil rights activity was happening, organized crime, you can talk about what your role was. Judge Harrington: Well, I was, again, very fortunate to be selected as one of approximately 15 attorneys to be a member of the so-called Hoffa investigations which was a prime concern of the Attorney General. The Attorney General felt that James Hoffa, the leader of the Teamsters Union, was a corrupt labor official who had close contact with the syndicate. And as a result, being a member of that so-called Hoffa squad, I was able to be involved in grand juries conducted all over the United States, especially in Miami, Louisville, in Chicago. And so I got a lot of practice in the conduct of grand juries and trials. And also in 1964, the members of that so-called Hoffa squad were charged by Attorney General Kennedy to go to Mississippi during the so-called long hot summer of 1964 to help protect the rights of the civil rights volunteers who are going to Mississippi to conduct freedom schools. You recall that a year later, in 1965, the Voting Rights Act of '65 was enacted. This was in preparation for that. John Markey: And then, Judge, you had mentioned that the award you received is named after Edward Bennett Williams. At one point during your work with the organized crime force, did you have the opportunity to have a trial against or in which you participated in Attorney Williams- Judge Harrington: Yeah, in 1964 there was a case called United States versus Alderisio. Phil Alderisio was a hoodlum out of Chicago. And we were in Miami on and off for a year in an investigation against Santo Trafficante. Trafficante was the mob boss of Florida and he ran the rackets in Havana, Cuba prior to Castro. The grand jury could never get sufficient evidence on Trafficante, but we came up with Phil Alderisio. Ed Williams was the most celebrated trial lawyer of that era and he was Alderisio's lawyer. I only occupied the second seat. I wasn't the main lawyer. I was doing the research, the legal briefs and the legal research but I was still nervous because it was my first big trial. I went to the men's room and I heard someone regurgitating and it was... Ed Williams emerged.  had known him a little because he always at the Department of Justice with some of his clients. And I had known him through this. And I said, "Are you feeling sick?" And he said, "My stomach gets upset always before trial." And as I indicated maybe to you, I used to get angry at myself because I used to get nervous before trials. I said, "I'm not going to chastise myself anymore. If Ed Williams, the greatest lawyer in America gets a nervous stomach, well I shouldn't be too tough on myself." He went out a half hour later and he was a brilliant speaker. Excellent. What a beautiful speaker and great presence, great tone. He'd fill the court room. But a half hour before, he was throwing up. It's amazing. But to be named after Williams, as I indicated before, he not only was a great trial lawyer, he was as his biographer said, a man to see. He was, along with Clark Clifford, the most influential lawyer in DC. Everybody knew him, everybody wanted him as a lawyer. And you could see why he was. He had presence. He had presence. John Markey: What role did Holy Cross play in getting you connected with the people who could get your career started with the department of justice? Judge Harrington: Well, Ed Hanify was a graduate of Holy Cross (1933). There's a forum here named after Ed's father (class of 1904), The Hanify Lectures. He was able to, through his great influence, and he was the most influential lawyer I would say in New England at the era. He was John Kennedy's private lawyer. He was a man of great, great influence. In fact, some people say that if Jack Kennedy had a second term, Ed Hanify was slated to go to the Supreme Court. He was able to... He was my sponsor, because I went to Holy Cross. And he knew Judge Reardon who I served under at the Massachusetts Superior Court. He was my sponsor to get me to become a member of the Department of Justice in 1961, which was a great opportunity. Because if you read the history of the new frontier, the Kennedy administration, an awful lot of the activity of that administration was generated at the Department of Justice. Ed Hanify was the one who was able to get me to become a member. That was a great boost to my career and what would be approximately 26 years later. Ed Hanify who is the managing partner at Ropes & Gray, still, I believe, went to Washington on my behalf in 1987 to advocate my confirmation before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which was a great boost, because if you know, 1987 was the controversy over Justice Bork. And the contentions between the parties was very intense. Hanify's appearance there, and the prestige that he possessed was very influential in my being confirmed by a democratic controlled Senate for a republican appointee. I was appointed or nominated by Reagan. But the Senate was controlled by the Democrats and the tensions between the parties over the Bork debacle was very intense. Bridget Power: You came back to Massachusetts after a couple years in Washington. Can you talk about what you did? Judge Harrington: Well there's another Holy Cross connection. I went to Washington because of Ed Hanify. And I came back to Boston because of Arthur Garrity (Class of 1941). Arthur Garrity was the United States Attorney for Massachusetts in 1965. I was in Washington, approximately four years. But Robert Kennedy left main justice in September of '64 to go to New York to run for Senate. And so the people who were the so-called Kennedy people in the Johnson administration were peeling off and leaving because our influence had diminished after Jack Kennedy was assassinated and when Bobby left main justice. Arthur Garrity hired me primarily because I went to Holy Cross. Arthur Garrity was class of '41, Ed Williams' class. And just as an aside, when I went on to the district court for the District of Massachusetts, I replaced Andrew Caffrey, class of '41 at Holy Cross. But Arthur Garrity did two things for me. He brought me back to Boston to be a member of the United States Attorney's Office and there were only 15 assistants. It was a prestigious position. Now they have 150 assistant US attorneys. In those days, they were only 15. If you ever got into the US attorney's office, as I did at the behest of Arthur Garrity, you had great prestige. And then 25 years later again, I'm going through the Senate judiciary hearing for my confirmation. I'm a republican appointee in a body that's controlled by the Democrats. They're not giving me a hearing because of the Bork situation. Arthur Garrity, a democrat calls Ted Kennedy and asks Ted to see what he could do to get me a hearing. Well, because of the relationship between Arthur Garrity and Ted Kennedy, Ted not only got me a hearing, he got me a 14-0 to confirm me. But both by going to the department, by becoming an assistant US Attorney and being confirmed as a United States district judge for the district of Massachusetts, all were caused by Ed Hanify Holy Cross, Arthur Garrity Holy Cross, because I was a graduate of this great school. John Markey: During the 1970s, you had a tenure as the United States Attorney for the district of Massachusetts. What were your priorities and experiences from that time period that you'd like to share just as experiences when you held that position? Judge Harrington: Well, the job of the US Attorney's throughout the United States, they carry out the policy of the administration. During the time that I was an assistant US attorney, organized crime was a major focus of the Department of Justice under the Kennedy administration. When I came back in the '70s, Jimmy Carter was the president. And the policy of the Department of Justice at that time was white collar crime and public corruption. Although there was still some interest in organized crime, the focus shifted to public corruption and especially political corruption. It's a very difficult area to operate in because you make a lot of enemies. But the Carter administration really was the first administration that stressed public corruption. And it was an exhilarating time. But as a result, when you left the office, you didn't have too many friends. Bridget Power: Gramps, then you decided to run for elected office. Can you talk about what motivated you to do that? Judge Harrington: I don't know what I think of it. As they say, I ran. I'm a footnote Massachusetts history. I ran in 1974 for Attorney General, as a Democrat. I ran in 1986 as a Republican and got beat both times. And so the reason I saw people, a lot of wags say, the reason they put me on the court because they say, "The guy's going to run as a communist next time. So let's get rid of this guy and put him on the court." I don't know... I enjoyed public affairs. As I say, one Irishman didn't, we were brought up in that atmosphere. Politics was if we were talking sports, we're talking politics. I figured I'd give it a try. And that was very enjoyable. In fact, I was living in Portsmouth, Rhode Island in the summertime, where I've lived for my whole life. And my father would go around to get some of my children to distribute brochures and they hated it. And I got beat pretty badly but forced against that will lay and distribute political literature. I wish my children had done better in distributing the brochures because I got beat badly on both occasions. But that's the great thing about sports. You got to know how to lose in sports and in politics. You're going to take it and you've got to be a good sport about it. If you get beat, shake the guy's hand. Bridget Power: Can you talk a little bit about what it's been like to be a judge in Massachusetts, what that experience was like? I know you've been senior status for a while, but... Judge Harrington: Well, all I can say, being a judge brings all your qualities and your experiences together. Especially on the federal court, you get a wide expanse of cases towards contracts, anti-trust, patent, copyright, tax. So you have to be somewhat versatile. It's an intellectual job. It's exciting intellectually. And when you're an active judge, which I no longer am, I'm just a senior judge who just does mediations part-time, but you've got a docket of 500 cases. Every day, you're making 20 to 25 decisions and it's all I could say. It's intellectually exhilarating. The toughest part of the job is sentencing people. When you're a prosecutor, all you can think about is convicting someone and imposing the best you can get, meaning the toughest sentence. That's your attitude. When you're a judge and you have to impose a sentence, you're much more sensitive and I found from being a tough prosecutor to being a more compassionate person as a judge than I was, as a trial lawyer. Maybe I got older, but I treated the imposition of sentence, with much more sensitivity than I ever expected it for myself and a lot of my adversaries expected from me. It's really... When you sit there and you have the determination in your hands whether somebody is going to do five years or 10 years, it's a grave responsibility and it makes you more sensitive. Bridget Power: As a judge, you had a lot of law clerks, including John. Can you talk about what it means to be a mentor what you saw as your role? Judge Harrington: Well, I never thought I was a mentor. I know this. That to be a law clerk as John was, you had to be pretty high in your class in law school. I found myself that I was taught an awful lot. I don't mean this in false modesty. The law clerks I had were all brilliant people and they taught me an awful lot. Because as a practicing lawyer, I did primarily criminal law and personal liability. But when you go on the federal bench, you have, as I indicated, a vast array of disciplines that you've had really little experience in. So you need the input from the law clerks because they're all very, very smart. And I've always said that I believe and I believe this truly, that I was taught more by my law clerks than I ever taught them. Bridget Power: Currently, grandpa, you're 86 years old and you work part time as a mediator. Can you talk about what that is like for you? I know it brings you a lot of joy. Judge Harrington: It brings me joy. And it's a great... It gives you an opportunity to resolve a dispute. That's the purpose of law, isn't it? To resolve disputes. Well, when you go to a mediation hearing, you will have briefs from both sides. You understand the facts. You understand the law and you try to show each side the strengths and weaknesses of their case in order to bring them closer together. And you are the impartial arbitrator. You can't decide the case but you hope by your experience and insight, that you can give an objective view as to the merits of the case and what it's worth. You find that you can be successful and it's a great vehicle for the resolution of disputes. John Markey: Judge, if you want to give someone who's a Holy Cross student now or a recent graduate thinking of becoming a lawyer, advice on what you think would help them have a successful legal career, what are the skills, character traits, etc advice you'd give them? Judge Harrington: Well, first of all, you got to be studious in whatever avenue you take. As we know, education is a lifetime process. All you get really are the interest and the tools going to school. But you have to be studious throughout your whole life. Trying to find out what is truthful, what is the right thing to do? That's the first thing you got to be. I think you should go as I hinted before going to something that you will have a natural proclivity towards because if you have a natural proclivity, you're apt to be able to do it better. Which is like I indicated, I love the navy because it was a rough life. It was enjoyable being at sea. But I didn't have the capabilities of being the scientific background to what? To make an impact. Second thing, you have to do what you want to do, which you get joy out of. You're going to spend a lot of time working. You got to enjoy it. Some times, I think the worst thing that could happen to anybody through miscalculation, you get into a job that you don't like because you going to spend most of your life at work. So you have to be a person of character, you have to be a thinker and you have to enjoy your work. Whatever. And here's the other thing. I got a lot of breaks in life by being a member of the Holy Cross family through Ed Hanify and Arthur Garrity. People have to help you. You can't do much by yourself. And so, you have to pay back. I think the greatest joy, it seems a cliche to say but it is, the great joy you get in life is to serve others. If you can help other people. First of all your family, help them and then other people. And then you've got to respect people. Just because you're a judge, you're no better than anybody else. Everybody is doing their job and everything's important. My father taught me that. He said, "Just because a guy doesn't know Latin, that doesn't mean anything. He could fix a car. Can you fix a car?" No. I can't even open the hood. I can't. My father couldn't. We were just bookish guys. We couldn't do anything. That's why I'm wondering where I am today. I can't even make a ham sandwich. That's true. This guys who do things. My father, he had a great rapport with the so-called regular guys. These regular guys are smart. They could do things you can't do. So never think you're a big shot. Show respect to people. That's all I can say. Bridget Power: You mentioned your dad, Grandpa, I think great grandpa Harrington came to Holy Cross in 1924 (John J. Harringon, class of 1928). Our family's been here for almost 100 years. Jackie is a current student, my cousin Jackie. Judge Harrington: Yup. Bridget Power: Is that right? Judge Harrington: We've had 17 family members here, over four generations. My brother Johnny was a brilliant guy (Class of 1958). My brother Johnny, he was a down to earth guy. He was a great medical thinker. He loved Holy Cross. My brother Dan went here (Class of 1960). My brother Dan, he wasn't an intellectual like Johnny was, but he was a sole practitioner. He was a great diagnostician. I run into people at Fall River today talking about my brother Dan. They were regular guys. They were studious guys. They loved Holy Cross. I've been lucky. I had a great family, which is most important. I had a great wife. Bridget Power: Gramps, last question. You're an avid reader. What are you reading these days? Judge Harrington: Well, I just happen to be saying I've been reading this last book I've reading, Hemingway Short Stories. I read The Education of Henry Adams which taught me once again that he named his autobiography, The Education, letting us all know that education doesn't stop when you get your diploma. What else have I read? I've read Rasselas by Johnson. You should read that. Have you ever read it? Bridget Power: No. Judge Harrington: It told you one thing, that you never achieve full satisfaction here on Earth. It's almost conforms with the Catholic religion because of the spirituality of the soul. That material things cannot satisfy you. That whatever you search for, you're usually not going to receive or if you do, it doesn't satisfy you. I read Rasselas once every few years because I think Johnson was a great, great thinker and he taught me one thing. He said, "Read biography," that was one of his injunctions. "Read biography to see how other people have managed the trials, the triumphs, the tribulations of life. See how they've handled it." And so I always try every few weeks to get a biography of someone have to see how they've managed their life. Hopefully, it'll guide me in mine. Maura Sweeney: That's our show. I hope you enjoyed hearing about just one of the many ways that Holy Cross alumni have been inspired by the mission to be men and women for and with others. A special thanks to today's guests and everyone at Holy Cross who has contributed to making this podcast a reality. If you or someone you know would like to be featured on this podcast, please send us an email at alumnicareers@holycross.edu. If you like what you hear, then please leave us a review. This podcast is brought to you by the Office of Alumni Relations at the College of the Holy Cross. You can subscribe for future episodes wherever you find your podcasts. I'm your host Maura Sweeney and this is Mission-Driven. In the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola, "Now go forth and set the world on fire." --- Theme music composed by Scott Holmes, courtesy of freemusicarchive.org.

Brian VanDeMark is in conversation with George Petras of USA Today.In Road To Disaster: A New History Of America’s Descent Into Vietnam, Naval Academy professor Brian VanDeMark looks at the cataclysmic decisions made by the “best and the brightest” through the prism of recent research in cognitive science, psychology, and organizational theory. Drawing upon decades of archival research, his own interviews with many of those involved, and a wealth of previously unheard recordings by McNamara and Clark Clifford, VanDeMark explains how those in charge exhibited unfounded overconfidence, ignored essential information, became blind to the obvious, and were illogically inconsistent, all of which ultimately led to the death of almost 60,000 Americans and more than 3 million Indochinese.Brian VanDeMark teaches history at the United States Naval Academy, where for more than twenty-five years he has educated midshipmen about the Vietnam War. He has also been a visiting fellow at Oxford University. VanDeMark was the research assistant on Clark Clifford's bestselling autobiography Counsel to the President and the coauthor of Robert McNamara's #1 bestseller In Retrospect.George Petras is a graphics editor and researcher for USA Today.Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a bequest from The Miss Howard Hubbard Adult Programming Fund.Recorded On: Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Brian VanDeMark is in conversation with George Petras of USA Today.In Road To Disaster: A New History Of America’s Descent Into Vietnam, Naval Academy professor Brian VanDeMark looks at the cataclysmic decisions made by the “best and the brightest” through the prism of recent research in cognitive science, psychology, and organizational theory. Drawing upon decades of archival research, his own interviews with many of those involved, and a wealth of previously unheard recordings by McNamara and Clark Clifford, VanDeMark explains how those in charge exhibited unfounded overconfidence, ignored essential information, became blind to the obvious, and were illogically inconsistent, all of which ultimately led to the death of almost 60,000 Americans and more than 3 million Indochinese.Brian VanDeMark teaches history at the United States Naval Academy, where for more than twenty-five years he has educated midshipmen about the Vietnam War. He has also been a visiting fellow at Oxford University. VanDeMark was the research assistant on Clark Clifford's bestselling autobiography Counsel to the President and the coauthor of Robert McNamara's #1 bestseller In Retrospect.George Petras is a graphics editor and researcher for USA Today.Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a bequest from The Miss Howard Hubbard Adult Programming Fund.

My guest is Brian VanDemark. His newest book Road to Disaster (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074SGPRZ4/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1)draws upon decades of archival research, his own interviews with many of those involved, and a wealth of previously unheard recordings by Robert McNamara and Clark Clifford, who served as Defense Secretaries for Kennedy and Johnson. Yet beyond that, Road to Disaster (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074SGPRZ4/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1)is also the first history of the war to look at the cataclysmic decisions of those in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations through the prism of recent research in cognitive science, psychology, and organizational theory to explain why the "Best and the Brightest" became trapped in situations that suffocated creative thinking and willingness to dissent, why they found change so hard, and why they were so blind to their own errors. An epic history of America’s march to quagmire, Road to Disaster (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074SGPRZ4/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1) is a landmark in scholarship and a book of immense importance. Brian VanDeMark teaches history at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where for more than twenty-five years he has educated midshipmen about the Vietnam War. He has also been a visiting fellow at Oxford University. VanDeMark was the research assistant on Clark Clifford's bestselling autobiography Counsel to the President _and the coauthor of Robert McNamara's #1 bestseller In Retrospect. He is also the author of _Into the Quagmire, which came out of his doctoral dissertation on LBJ and the war. He lives in Maryland. Special Guest: Brian VanDeMark.

Many books have been written on the tragic decisions regarding Vietnam made by the young stars of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Yet despite millions of words of analysis and reflection, no historian has been able to explain why such decent, brilliant, and previously successful men stumbled so badly. That changes with The Road to Disaster: A New History of America’s Descent Into Vietnam (Harper Collins, 2018). Historian Brian VanDeMark, a professor of history at the United States Naval Academy, draws upon decades of archival research, his own interviews with many of those involved, and a wealth of previously unheard recordings by Robert McNamara and Clark Clifford, who served as Defense Secretaries for Kennedy and Johnson. Yet beyond that, Road to Disaster is also the first history of the war to look at the cataclysmic decisions of those in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations through the prism of recent research in cognitive science, psychology, and organizational theory to explain why the “Best and the Brightest” became trapped in situations that suffocated creative thinking and willingness to dissent, why they found change so hard, and why they were so blind to their own errors. An epic history of America’s march to quagmire, Road to Disaster is a landmark in scholarship and a book of immense importance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many books have been written on the tragic decisions regarding Vietnam made by the young stars of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Yet despite millions of words of analysis and reflection, no historian has been able to explain why such decent, brilliant, and previously successful men stumbled so badly. That changes with The Road to Disaster: A New History of America’s Descent Into Vietnam (Harper Collins, 2018). Historian Brian VanDeMark, a professor of history at the United States Naval Academy, draws upon decades of archival research, his own interviews with many of those involved, and a wealth of previously unheard recordings by Robert McNamara and Clark Clifford, who served as Defense Secretaries for Kennedy and Johnson. Yet beyond that, Road to Disaster is also the first history of the war to look at the cataclysmic decisions of those in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations through the prism of recent research in cognitive science, psychology, and organizational theory to explain why the “Best and the Brightest” became trapped in situations that suffocated creative thinking and willingness to dissent, why they found change so hard, and why they were so blind to their own errors. An epic history of America’s march to quagmire, Road to Disaster is a landmark in scholarship and a book of immense importance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many books have been written on the tragic decisions regarding Vietnam made by the young stars of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Yet despite millions of words of analysis and reflection, no historian has been able to explain why such decent, brilliant, and previously successful men stumbled so badly. That changes with The Road to Disaster: A New History of America’s Descent Into Vietnam (Harper Collins, 2018). Historian Brian VanDeMark, a professor of history at the United States Naval Academy, draws upon decades of archival research, his own interviews with many of those involved, and a wealth of previously unheard recordings by Robert McNamara and Clark Clifford, who served as Defense Secretaries for Kennedy and Johnson. Yet beyond that, Road to Disaster is also the first history of the war to look at the cataclysmic decisions of those in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations through the prism of recent research in cognitive science, psychology, and organizational theory to explain why the “Best and the Brightest” became trapped in situations that suffocated creative thinking and willingness to dissent, why they found change so hard, and why they were so blind to their own errors. An epic history of America’s march to quagmire, Road to Disaster is a landmark in scholarship and a book of immense importance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many books have been written on the tragic decisions regarding Vietnam made by the young stars of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Yet despite millions of words of analysis and reflection, no historian has been able to explain why such decent, brilliant, and previously successful men stumbled so badly. That changes with The Road to Disaster: A New History of America’s Descent Into Vietnam (Harper Collins, 2018). Historian Brian VanDeMark, a professor of history at the United States Naval Academy, draws upon decades of archival research, his own interviews with many of those involved, and a wealth of previously unheard recordings by Robert McNamara and Clark Clifford, who served as Defense Secretaries for Kennedy and Johnson. Yet beyond that, Road to Disaster is also the first history of the war to look at the cataclysmic decisions of those in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations through the prism of recent research in cognitive science, psychology, and organizational theory to explain why the “Best and the Brightest” became trapped in situations that suffocated creative thinking and willingness to dissent, why they found change so hard, and why they were so blind to their own errors. An epic history of America’s march to quagmire, Road to Disaster is a landmark in scholarship and a book of immense importance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many books have been written on the tragic decisions regarding Vietnam made by the young stars of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Yet despite millions of words of analysis and reflection, no historian has been able to explain why such decent, brilliant, and previously successful men stumbled so badly. That changes with The Road to Disaster: A New History of America’s Descent Into Vietnam (Harper Collins, 2018). Historian Brian VanDeMark, a professor of history at the United States Naval Academy, draws upon decades of archival research, his own interviews with many of those involved, and a wealth of previously unheard recordings by Robert McNamara and Clark Clifford, who served as Defense Secretaries for Kennedy and Johnson. Yet beyond that, Road to Disaster is also the first history of the war to look at the cataclysmic decisions of those in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations through the prism of recent research in cognitive science, psychology, and organizational theory to explain why the “Best and the Brightest” became trapped in situations that suffocated creative thinking and willingness to dissent, why they found change so hard, and why they were so blind to their own errors. An epic history of America’s march to quagmire, Road to Disaster is a landmark in scholarship and a book of immense importance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aired 11/10/06 Clark or Melvin The resignation of Donald Rumsfeld was a big story, but perhaps the real question is what does Bush expect from his successor? I example this question using the two men who held the position of Secretary of Defense in the later days of the Vietnam War.Tags: Donald Rumsfeld, media, Clark Clifford, Melvin Laird, podcast

A look at the political career of the presidential advisor and former US Defense Secretary, Clark Clifford, following Clark's recent indictment in connection with the BCCI scandal.