Does "THE OSWALD PUZZLE" make any sense?

[John Mytton]

There is no proof that Oswald took his rifle into the TSBD. That point has been debated here multiple times.
As for his background, yes, it made him the ideal participant for involvement in activity with the plotters, who in the end totally set him up - something that Oswald realised when the incident happened on Dealey Plaza.

There is no proof that Oswald took his rifle into the TSBD. That point has been debated here multiple times.

Oswald didn't carry his bare rifle into work because even he and you must realize how silly that was, but Oswald did lie to Frazier about what was in the bag, then Oswald lied to the Police about what was in the bag, Oswald lied about where in Frazier's car he placed the bag and to top it off a long bag contained Oswald's prints and his rifle with his prints was found at his work in the sniper's nest. BTW Frazier says repeatedly in his testimony that he didn't pay much attention to Oswald's bag and why should he, Oswald said they were curtain rods, which were not necessary because his room on Beckley street already had curtain rods, so in fact just another lie!

who in the end totally set him up - something that Oswald realised when the incident happened on Dealey Plaza.

Steve just explained how your explanation of Oswald's actions doesn't make sense but what Oswald does makes perfect sense if Oswald did indeed do the deed, then Oswald's actions are a natural consequence of someone in flight from the scene of his crime.
See how using logic about the known facts makes solving the murder much more realistic than inventing implausible self serving conclusions based on preconceived biases!

JohnM

[Jim Hawthorn]

Sorry, when did he "realise" that he was set up? When *could* he realize this? And how? From the Baker confrontation?

He comes out of the building shortly after the shooting and sees this absolute chaos happening. People running to the grassy knoll and overpass, police with their guns drawn, people yelling and screaming falling to the ground: its complete madness and hysteria. No one knew at that early stage what happened. Was the president shot or did they miss? Is he dead? Is there a shooter they are chasing? Again, no one knew with certainty. It's right after the event, confusion reigned.

But your claim, apparently, is that Oswald was simply having lunch, hears screaming and yelling, comes out of the building, sees this madness and somehow realizes, "I am going to blamed for the shooting of the President." How can he possibly know this? How does he even know the President was shot? How does he know someone shot from the TSBD? How does he realize any of this? So he takes off (and not stopping to watch the TV the landlady has on about the shooting). He does the very thing that a guilty person would do. BTW, he told the interrogators that he left work because he thought they wouldn't be doing any more work that day. And despite numerous opportunities to tell his wife, his brother, his mother, the head of the Dallas Bar Association and the world he never mentioned any of this. I don't see any "proof" - if that's your standard - of any of this, of him somehow realizing this so soon.

You're not seeing it. If Oswald was involved with the plotters, possibly knowing that there would be an assassination attempt, perhaps that day, somewhere along the route or later on, his surprise at hearing the shots and then people running around saying that Kennedy had been shot or shot at, would have been enough for him to realise that it looked bad for him.

Boy, he had some lousy luck. And despite having the chance to expose this, he didn't.
Here's his big chance:

He wouldn't expose something which could result in the killing of his family by the plotters. Another well trodden theory: he was infiltrating the group and informing the CIA (or what he thought was a CIA agent - rogue agent) - something that couldn't be said openly to the press. He may well have said something along those lines during the interrogation by the DPD or FBI but it went over their heads. He apparently did ask for a call to be put through to the Langley district.

As usual, you are also forgetting the fact that President Ford told President Giscard d'Estaing in private that the Warren Commission knew that Oswald had been involved in a conspiracy.

[Lance Payette]

Just picking up on these points as an example - have you considered that Oswald was part of a conspiracy and had a specific role to play (or so he thought). Imagine if he had no idea that shots were going to be fired from the TSBD or even at that moment. Imagine if he'd been told to wait in a back room, where he would be contacted at a precise time. Then, when he realised that shots had been fired outside and possibly from the TSBD, he was surprised and realised that it could look very bad for him, realising that he could be being set up. Fearing that he could also be wiped out to protect the conspiracy, he headed home to get his gun and tried to get out of town.

Alas, but that is not Hancock and Boylan's scenario in The Oswald Puzzle. If I were a grunt-level worker in the TSBD, knew I was part of a conspiracy, and had been told to "wait in a back room" until needed, I think I'd be just a bit suspicious as to what the conspiracy was and what my waiting in the back room had to do with it.

If shots were fired and my only role had been to wait in a back room, I think I would've either stayed in the back room or thrown myself at the feet of the nearest cop. I would think leaving the TSBD, boarding a bus, boarding a taxi and going to my room would be just about the most insanely risky thing I could do.

We can invent ad hoc excuses for Oswald all day long if we're determined to make him a patsy, but the totality of circumstances as set forth in my original post points toward the LN explanation.

I really believe Gerry Patrick Hemming (I think) was on to something when he suggested there were indeed Bay of Pigs-related plots in the works but Oswald may have simply jumped the gun (no pun intended) for his own reasons. I think Hancock and Boylan go awry in their insistence on making Oswald an unwitting tool in the other plots.

[John Mytton]

You're not seeing it. If Oswald was involved with the plotters, possibly knowing that there would be an assassination attempt, perhaps that day, somewhere along the route or later on, his surprise at hearing the shots and then people running around saying that Kennedy had been shot or shot at, would have been enough for him to realise that it looked bad for him.

He wouldn't expose something which could result in the killing of his family by the plotters. Another well trodden theory: he was infiltrating the group and informing the CIA (or what he thought was a CIA agent - rogue agent) - something that couldn't be said openly to the press. He may well have said something along those lines during the interrogation by the DPD or FBI but it went over their heads. He apparently did ask for a call to be put through to the Langley district.

As usual, you are also forgetting the fact that President Ford told President Giscard d'Estaing in private that the Warren Commission knew that Oswald had been involved in a conspiracy.

He wouldn't expose something which could result in the killing of his family by the plotters.

I guess Oswald didn't get the message?
Lee Harvey Oswald: "I'm just a Patsy"

But as we know if Oswald was in fact guilty and trying to save his ass by deflection then his entire quote of "They've taken me in because of the fact that I lived in the Soviet Union. I'm just a patsy!", essentially means that there was no need to worry about conspirators killing his family because clearly he acted all on his lonesome.

Thanks Jim for using logic to help solve this case!

JohnM

[Jim Hawthorn]

I guess Oswald didn't get the message?
Lee Harvey Oswald: "I'm just a Patsy"

But as we know if Oswald was in fact guilty and trying to save his ass by deflection then his entire quote of "They've taken me in because of the fact that I lived in the Soviet Union. I'm just a patsy!", essentially means that there was no need to worry about conspirators killing his family because clearly he acted all on his lonesome.

Thanks Jim for using logic to help solve this case!

JohnM

You just don't get it. Saying publicly that he was "the patsy" didn't reveal the group, his co-conspirators! He just implied that the DPD/FBI were pursuing him because of his background. What he said behind closed doors remains unknown. Fearing what might be said, the plotters took no chances and made sure Oswald was slain.

[Tom Graves]

You just don't get it. Saying publicly that he was "the patsy" didn't reveal the group, his co-conspirators! He just implied that the DPD/FBI were pursuing him because of his background. What he said behind closed doors remains unknown. Fearing what might be said, the plotters took no chances and made sure Oswald was slain.

Da!  Da!  Da!

Vladimir Putin agrees!

[Dan O'meara]

I don't know why you have to invent a farfetched story to cover Oswald?

Forgetting the Mountain of evidence, let's examine the basics, Oswald a loser malcontent who at the height of the Cold War defected to the enemy and while there, Oswald sent a letter to his brother Robert saying that in a war he would kill any American which can be extrapolated to mean, mess with my current beliefs and expect, trouble!
Then after returning home from his failed Russia experiment, the ever fanatical Marxist, Lee Harvey Oswald, initially bought a rifle to kill Castro hating General Walker and when another Castro hater, Kennedy came to Dallas, Oswald went home uncharacteristically on a Thursday to pick up his rifle to kill Kennedy!
It's as simple as that and no further mental gymnastics are required.

JohnM

Kennedy the Castro hater??
Really John?
So in Oswald's eyes General Walker and JFK are cut from the same cloth are they?

Mental gymnastics anyone?