CBS News Inquiry 1967 - Warren Report (Dan Rather carries a rifle package)

[Martin Weidmann]

Thanks for confirming that you are the one not willing to consider alternatives.

Where and when did I do that?

And what alternative was there to consider?

[Martin Weidmann]

That does not preclude a longer package that would not fit between the cupped hand and armpit BUT would protrude:

1.) A few inches above Oswald's shoulder.

2.) On an angle forward of Oswald's body.

That's been possible "all along" according to Buell Frazier's testimonies.

All sorts of things are possible in a case so badly investigated as this. It's possible that Frazier saw indeed only a flimsy bag, rather than the heavy duty one allegedly found at the TSBD. It's even possible that Frazier made up the curtain rods story and Oswald was indeed carrying only a lunch bag. The trouble with all those possibilities is that you don't get to pick one as the only true one. Something being possible doesn't mean it's true or that something else is not true.

All we do know for sure is that Frazier has denied the WC narrative all his life, and he was the one who was actually there. Why not deal with that rather than trying to discredit the man?

Consider this: What an incredible fluke that the Oswald's "curtain rod / lunch" package was exactly the length of the distance between his cupped hand and his armpit.

Why would that be an "incredible fluke" considering that curtain rods do actually have roughly that same length?

Aren't you (Martin) a believer that Oswald's paper-sack contained his lunch? The 2 feet give or take a few inches paper-sack!!!

Did I ever say I believed that? I don't think so, but feel free to prove me wrong. I know Oswald apparently told his interrogators that he only brought a lunch but I don't recall him ever saying that the bag was "2 feet give or take a few inches" long. It seems you are mixing up statements from different people

How many people (in the history of the world) have ever carried their lunch under their arm... between a cupped hand and armpit??

I have no idea. Do you? I was in Paris not all that long ago and those baguettes are just about the size of an arm   

[Bill Chapman]

Where and when did I do that?

And what alternative was there to consider?

Stop playing games. The alternative, indeed the overarching alternative, is abundantly clear.

[Bill Chapman]

Why can’t you just accept what Frazier said?

Oh but I do... I take all his statements over the past decades in consideration and not just what he said once in what must have been a highly stressfull situation for him.

You on the other hand seem to pick one statement and ignore the rest..... some might call that cherry picking.

Yep, Frazier sticks with his story all right; making sure to keep his stated estimation of the package Oswald brought to work shorter than even a broken-down rifle. Do I have to spell this out?

[Charles Collins]

So, all testimony given under oath is always complete and 100% correct.... Is that your position?

No, not at all. My point is that you appear to be discounting his WC testimony and suggesting that he has said something contrary in the years since then. All I am saying is that he isn't under oath to tell the truth in the typical interviews, etc he has done since the WC testimony.

[Michael Clark]

Well done. 

[Charles Collins]

The circumference of the paper bag is about 16" (folded bag laid flat was about 8" across). The paper bag in the 3D depiction is well within the circumference.

This is some dispute as to which jacket Oswald wore to work, so a generic jacket-collar was used (the default white color doesn't mean I think he was wearing that color of jacket).

The area visible between the right armpit and right hand would have been totally filled with the paper bag color. According to the WCR, 34.8" is the length of the wooden stock.



I was able to get the end of the barrel through the detached front band, which rests at the bottom of the bag. I have allowed room for the trigger assembly but have not drawn it yet on my Carcano model.

The oversized numerals are as they appear in SketchUp.

Nice work. The only thing that I think you might want to consider is the testimony of Frazier that concerns what he calls the big sleeves of the jacket. I think that he made the point (a couple of times) that the oversized (baggy?) sleeves blocked the view (from behind) of most of the package.