Posted on 06/01/2007 5:36:49 PM PDT by Shooter 2.5
A storied former prosecutor scrutinizes one of the most debated crimes in American history The murder of President John F. Kennedy has provoked by far more suspicion, argument, obsession, and especially book-publishing than any similar event in American history. Now famed lawyer and true-crime writer Vincent Bugliosi has produced what he hopes will be the book to exceed all others. "Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy" may do that, in weight (5.3 pounds) as well as content, but it's clear that if his editor hadn't insisted he turn over the manuscript after 21 years of labor, the almost-superhuman effort might have wrecked his health.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
The definitive book on the JFK assassination.
Oswald was not a poor shot.
He reached the level of “sharpshooter” in the USMC. That’s not the highest level. But it’s not the lowest either.
He could have saved himself the effort. Gerald Posner did the same thing 14 years ago in 900 fewer pages.
No. Why, do you?
I just now typed “joe dimaggio marilyn monroe death kennedy” on Google and the first hit was to a piece from 2003 from a Scottish paper about a book by Morris Engelberg claiming that’s what Joe DiMaggio believed.
I have only just started listening to the book. I got the book simply because I had read one of his other books and really liked it: ‘And the Sea Will Tell”.
I have heard Buglosi is a bit of a Lefty, but that notwithstanding, I bought the book.
Interesting. He just described an incident where he was speaking at a Lawyers convention of some kind, big crowd, and some lawyers in the crowd started asking him questions about the Kennedy assassination with a tone that clearly displayed their inclination to believe there was a conspiracy.
Buglosi asked to see a show of hands to display who in the crowd did not accept the findings of the Warren Commission, and was astounded by the vast majority of hands that went up, something like 90%. He then said to the crowd something to the effect of “What if I can prove to you in one minute or less, that, although you are all intelligent people, you are not thinking intelligently about the Kennedy case?” There was a stir, his challenge apparently sounded ridiculous...how could he prove in one minute or less that more than 600 lawyers were not thinking intelligently?
Someone shouted out “We don’t think you can do it!” He said, “Okay, start looking at your watches. With the clock ticking, he asked for another show of hands to indicate who had seen the recent movie JFK by Oliver Stone, or at any time in the past had read a book, magazine or article that advocated a conspiracy or tried to discredit the Warren Commission.
Again, nearly the same amount of hands went up. He proceeded to tell the group that he didn’t need a show of hands for his next point. He said: “I am sure that you will all agree that before you form an intelligent opinion on a matter in dispute, you should hear both sides of the issue. As an old West Virginia Mountaineer said: “No matter how thin I make my pancakes, they always have two sides.” With that in mind, how many of you have read the Warren Report?”
It was embarrassing. only a few people raised their hands. In 47 seconds, he had proved his point.
The overwhelming majority had rejected the findings of the Warren Commission without bothering to read the commission’s report. He noted he had not even asked how many had read all 26 volumes...not just the single volume summary.
I found that pretty persuasive, and have only just started. As an example of things people say about the assassination (and I see some here) he used example of people saying it was a cheap gun and could not have obtained that kind of accuracy.
As a matter of fact, the actual gun used in the assassination was tested by a Marine Corps expert, who stated that the gun that had cost $12.50 was actually quite accurate and reproducible with repeated firings, at least as good as an M-14. (That is in the Warren Report)
Another fallacy was that Oswald was a lousy marksman. As a Marine, he actually shot a 212 on a range which qualified him as a sharpshooter. (also in the Warren Report)
Additionally, he used the often cited bromide (which I have heard) that nobody has ever been able to simulate repeating the feat of shooting that Oswald was supposed to have achieved. In actuality, it has indeed been repeated a few times, and even improved on. (An expert hit 3 of 3 shots in that time frame on a moving target simulating those speeds and trajectories using nearly the exact type of bolt action weapon)
Mind you, I am only a small way into the book, but I have always had an open mind about this...I always felt “yeah, it might have been more than one person...but nobody has proven it to me...” kind of mindset. If he can be this persuasive before he even gets into the meat of the book...this should be interesting.
I was in the sixth grade when JFK was shot. I decided with my own thinking at the time that it was a conspiracy and nothing has changed my mind since. This is what convinced me. I was looking at Life or Look magazine which had the famous photo of Ruby shooting Oswald. The caption had Oswald’s words which were “Jack, you SOB.” To me that sure sounded not only like someone who knew his killer, but who also it rang to me of betrayal. The motives of Oswald in the plot to kill the President could have been many, considering his suspicious history. But Ruby’s motivation to kill Oswald is where explanations are hard to come by. Ruby was a two-bit low level hoodlum who had little history that would explain his motivations. Bugliosi is a very smart man with a tremendous ego who wants to prove the world wrong and validate his ego. I have often said that we have more facts about the assassination of Julius Caesar than JFK. Caesar was stabbed 23 times. There is great debate about whether the hole in Kennedy’s throat was an entry or an exit wound or simply the incision for the trachea tube which kept him on life support.
I simply read the autopsy, the testimonies and looked at the photos. That’s enough to convince anyone that Oswald killed Kennedy.
If your post means a qualified Marine can’t hit a head and shoulders target at 44 and 88 yards with a scoped rifle from a rest, that would mean all Marines are poor shots.
Occam’s Razor.
Or, if you are in Arizona and hear hooves, think horses, not zebras.
You have a forum, so prove it.
By the way. Johnson was in the motorcade. He couldn’t have been in two places at the same time.
What “great debate”?
The back bullet hole had a halo around it which says it was a entrance wound.
If you don’t think a 161 grain bullet traveling 2000 feet a second can’t go through six inches of flesh, take a ham out of the tin and hold it in front of you. Have someone shoot it with a centerfire rifle.
I promise I’ll send flowers.
I would hate to be on a jury with these geniuses. As one Freepers said, “Shooter, I would hate to be the defendant”.
I do not, as a rule believe in conspiracies.
I read once that as the number of people involved in a keeping a secret increases linearly, the likelihood that it will remain a secret decreases logarthimically.
Given my observation of human nature, I believe that to be true.
I read that one.
Never read it but I heard as good as it is, it has some minor flaws.
Here you go with the evidence:
The first bullet missed and hit a curb. The bullet fragments or concrete hit a man named James Tague who was standing near the underpass. That bullet or fragments were never found.
The second bullet traveled 2000 fps to hit the president 5 1/2inches [14 Centimeters]below the Mastoid Process[there’s a picture of the hole and the ruler The bullet wound also exhibited a Halo Effect which is a ring around a typical high speed bullet entrance wound], it hit no bones and exited out his neck[1772 to 1,779 feet per second] clipping his tie[photos of the tie]. It traveled 28 inches away[trajectory report]to hit Connelly near the right armpit[Doctor’s report] clipping his rib[Doctor’s report]and keyholed out his chest
leaving a 2 inch by 1/2 inch wound [Doctor’s report]. Connelly’s label moves outward. [Zapruder film] At this point it had only hit one bone and is now flying sideways when it hit the wrist [3/4 inch wound] and buries itself in a shallow wound[very little soft tissue damage,[Doctor’s report] in the thigh leaving an amount of lead in the thigh. The amount of lead in the wrist and the bullet add up to the original weight of 161 grains which is the same amount of the bullets from the Western Ammunition Company. Connelly had a broken rib bone and wrist bone. {Doctor’s report]. Cloth from his clothing was found in his wrist.
The third bullet hit Kennedy in the back of the head toward the right side forcing his head to move forward by approximately two inches. The bullet broke into two pieces at the bullet’s cannelure. One piece cracked the inside of the windshield near the mirror. The second fragment hit the chrome strip at the top of the windshield. There are photographs in evidence of the crack and the dent. The two pieces were found at the front of the limousine, one on the floorboard and the other on the seat. The Zapruder film shows Kennedy’s head moving approximately two to three inches forward at the moment of impact. The photographs of Kennedy’s head and skull show a small entrance hole and a large exit hole. Cratering of the hole at the back of the skull is typical of entrance holes. [Autopsy Report]
I think I’ll add the Zapruder frames next time. Especially the ones which show Connelly lapel blowing outward from the second bullet and Kennedy’s forward impact from the third.
Agree. And the tin foil hat conspiracy industry will claim it's just another cover up and make more millions in the process. It's an enterprise now, not history.
I always accepted the results of the Warren Commission but had some doubts ... until I visited to School Book Depositor in Dallas and looked out the same windows that Oswald did.
The TV views of that area make it look large. It's not. From that window, anyone with a steady hand and a minimal amount of familiarity with a rifle could have made those shots.
That visit ended any doubt that I had. I recommend it to doubters.
Yep.
Live camera. You might decide to wait for daylight. Oh, and it revolves for the full view.
http://www.earthcam.com/jfk/dealey_nojava.php
I don't know what you are reading, but Oswald qualified as a marksmen in the US Marine Corps. Recruits who can't "hit a bull in the ass with a bass fiddle" never made it out of Paris Island, then or now. They were called "wash outs." Maybe they sent them to the Navy... but every Marine who gets the Globe & Anchor can shoot. ;~)))
Add to that a mail order Italian carbine ($15 in the catalog at that time) with manual bolt action...
That Italian "carbine" happens to be a very serviceable rifle. It was the standard issue weapon for the Italian Army in WW I & II. It was not the best rifle in the world by any means, but it was not junk. It's price at that time had nothing to with it's quality. After the end of occupation, the Italian government put many thousands of them on the market as army surplus and they were a decent low end deer rifle.
...from a difficult angle.
If you are ever in Dallas, visit the building and look out the window. Far from being a "difficult angle" you could not ask for a better angle. No traverse necessary --- the motorcade was moving at nearly 180 degrees from him. He had a perfect view. Shot one was from around 70-80 yards and shot three was still less than 100 yards.
Watching the films does not allow you to see how close Oswald really was. And he had a 10X scope on that rifle. I don't claim to be a great shooter, but if I had to hit a target at that distance, from that window, I'd bet serious money that I can do it even without a scope.
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