JFK Assassination Forum

Some of us think the truth is worth defending, even if our reach doesn't extend beyond the online forums. For decades, before online discussion groups became a reality, the CTs had the field to themselves. The two main avenues for one to express their opinions were writing books and appearing on  electronic media programs. Few LNs were writing books defending the WC because there was no money in it and few appeared on radio or TV programs because there were no ratings in it. That allowed conspiracy theories to flourish like unattended weeds. With the popularization of the internet, some semblance of balance was restored to the discourse. The CTs were still in the majority, but the LN narrative was allowed to breathe. I don't know if it is reflective of public opinion but my very unscientific observation is the LNs make up a significantly higher percentage of the participants on the various forums than we did even 10 years ago. Has progress been made in shaping public opinion. I don't know. I haven't seen a recent poll on the subject but I would be there are still 60-65% who believe in conspiracy of some sort. I think if people were completely honest about it, a majority would say they don't give a rat's ass one way or another.

There are legitimate puzzles that theoretically could lead to different conclusions than the standard LN narrative.

1. Oswald for some reason chose to walk down a residential sidewalk in full view. That is a legitimate puzzle.
2. The broadcast description of the suspect would probably have fit tens of thousands of men in Dallas. A guy walking down the sidewalk in Oak Cliff would scarcely be an obvious suspect.
3. Tippit scarcely had a reputation as the sharpest, most diligent officer on the force.
4. Some reported behavior of Tippit that morning was distinctly odd; the reports may not all be accurate, but they do describe distinctly odd behavior.
5. Oswald up to the point of the Tippit encounter had been an amazingly cool character; why would he have done anything to call attention to himself?
6. If Oswald did nothing to call attention to himself, why did Tippit pull over?
7. If Tippit had serious concerns about Oswald, why did he exit his car unprepared for a confrontation?
8. And, of course, why did our cool cucumber almost immediately take the one action, in full view of numerous witnesses, that would guarantee he would not have a smooth escape from Dallas and would immediately and forever be on the run?
9. And why were the scene of the crime and the witness accounts such a jumbled mess that raises so many questions?

Your posts all read as though asking "Why?" (and other questions) is somehow illegitimate. "Just follow the most damning evidence" and forget the rest. How many people in this country have been wrongly convicted and even wrongly executed? Often they are exonerated because someone took a fresh look at the evidence or something new came to light. There is nothing sacred about the LN narrative.

I think there is a high likelihood that Oswald shot Tippit and fled to the Texas Theater. I don't believe the high likelihood is an absolute certainty.

I have seen some pretty convincing criticisms of the work of Mr. Tippit Murder, Dale Myers (and yes, I have read With Malice twice and followed his blog). He is as arrogant and close-minded as any CTer. Folks like Greg Doudna and Tom Gram, neither of whom I believe to be stupid or insane, amaze me by accepting accounts of the Tippit murder that are completely at odds with the LN narrative and that completely exonerate Oswald. Probably they are wrong, but I wouldn't bet my house they are 100% wrong.

Of course, the JFKA is a whodunnit - probably the ultimate real-world whodunnit. At this point either questioning the LN narrative or defending it can be little more than a hobby. Some peoples' version of the hobby is asking the questions that an investigator would ask and seeing where they lead. Your version of the hobby is telling them that asking such questions is illegitimate.

When the Beatles would write songs, they would often plug in nonsense lyrics to be fixed later. This occurred with "Hey, Jude." When Paul demonstrated the song and came to the lyric "The movement you need is on your shoulder" he said "Don't worry, I'll fix that later." John replied "No, it's perfect, leave it." I have no idea what a shodunnit would be, but it's somehow perfect. "Oswald sho' dunnit, baby, of that I'm sure."

Your Perry Mason example is ironic. I laugh at the many, many episodes which are so complex that they end with Perry, Della and Drake sitting around a restaurant table. The plot has been almost impossible to follow, and the director knows it, so Della launches into her little summation for the benefit of the viewers: "And so, Perry, then Shirley was actually Ted wearing a latex mask ... and the dog in fact belonged to Bob ... and it all tied back into that confrontation between Shirley and Babs when they were on summer vaction in Istanbul back in college ... right?" Perry: "That's right, Della." Roll the credits.

There are two aspects to the JFKA: (1) Was Oswald the lone gunman in Dealey Plaza? and (2) Were Oswald and Dealey Plaza the whole story? It's almost absurd to suggest there is no whodunnit aspect to either of these. The WC, the HSCA, the Church Committee, the ARRB, the current legislative movement ... the vast number of technical medical, ballistic and forensic articles ... the 1000 or so books, ranging from the absurd to the definitely not absurd ... the concerted effort to keep the lid on the LN narrative ... yada yada yada - it all flies in the face of the JFKA being as cut-and-dried as you for some reason insist is the case.

As I've stated more than once, those who are clearly obsessed with the JFKA, but for no other reason than to keep hammering and hammering and hammering the LN narrative as though it were their religion and needed to be defended against any and all infidels, are a bigger mystery to me than any Harvey and Lee cultist.

Royell steered me to a Couch clip which is the best quality I've come across:



I cropped and blew up the two men:



There is a hint of something on the shirt in this image that may be a pattern but I wouldn't have an idea how to get it to stand out.
Maybe someone who knows what they're doing can have a go.