December 7, 2013

That literal term was actually coined during the Clinton years

I have read several books about his presidency, and I cannot remember in which one I read this. It appears he was struggling to find a new term to describe the politics and accomplishments of the Clinton years, including that which he regarded as successes (we can quibble about some of these later) he achieved by compromising with Republicans. I personally have another name for that but I won't post it here because I am not ready for my pizza delivery yet.

I think "Third Way" was the third name he stumbled upon.

While I do like Clinton, some of his accomplishments such as cutting welfare deeply and adversely impacted citizens much in the same way as Republicans recommend today. I don't literally think of this as a "third way" as much as I do a betrayal of Democratic principles.

But he was excellent at defending himself under distressful circumstances against the horrendous attacks by the Republicans. Let me repeat that -- excellent. He should have written a survival guide on that subject alone for Democrats who won the Oval Office after him. Such a guide could have saved us a lot of angst in recent days

I also like our current President and perhaps with his speech this week he is indeed thinking of gravitating away from the Third Way Highway....

Many who align with the Third Way are former DLC'ers trying once again to become relevant in politics.


Sam

December 4, 2013

I hope you take a look at this article about who owned the Texas Schoolbook Depository Building

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/MDbyrdDH.htm

I once read it was owned by someone involved with Big Oil in Texas and meant to look it up. The man's name was David Harold Byrd, and he definitely was associated with Big Oil.

As I continued to read the article, I was struck by the mention of many familiar names. But "The One" that jumped off the page was that of Mac Wallace.

"In 1944 Byrd founded Byrd Oil Corporation and B-H Drilling Corporation. In 1952 Byrd established the Three States Natural Gas Company. Byrd later sold Byrd Oil to Mobil and Three States to Delhi-Taylor. Byrd used this money to invest in aircraft production and established Temco. A company that employed Mac Wallace after he was convicted of killing John Kinser.

Barr McClellan (Blood, Money & Power) points out that Byrd, along with Clint Murchison, Haroldson L. Hunt and Sid Richardson, was part of the Big Oil group in Dallas. McClellan argues that "Big Oil would be during the fifties and into the sixties what the OPEC oil cartel was to the United States in the seventies and beyond". One of the main concerns of this group was the preservation of the oil depletion allowance."

Mac Wallace is the man Barr McClellan identifies as the second shooter in the Texas Book Depository the day Kennedy was shot.

Sam

December 4, 2013

Maybe she did only remember hearing two

Here is part of what Connally said in his testimony:

"Mr. SPECTER. And what is your reason for that conclusion, sir?
Governor CONNALLY. Well, in my judgment, it just couldn't conceivably have been the first one because I heard the sound of the shot, In the first place, don't know anything about the velocity of this particular bullet, but any rifle has a velocity that exceeds the speed of sound, and when I heard the sound of that first shot, that bullet had already reached where I was, or it had reached

135

that far, and after I heard that shot, I had the time to turn to my right, and start to turn to my left before I felt anything.
It is not conceivable to me that I could have been hit by the first bullet, and then I felt the blow from something which was obviously a bullet, which I assumed was a bullet, and I never heard the second shot, didn't hear it. I didn't hear but two shots. I think I heard the first shot and the third shot."

He probably did not hear the first shot that hit in front of the limo, perhaps because it was traveling faster than the speed of sound (just my guess) and/or because it was fired almost simultaneously with the second shot. The second shot is the one he describes as the first in which he starts to turn around to see if the President had been hit (and the President was indeed hit by that second shot). What he describes as he turns around to see if the President had been hit before he could see anything, he was wounded (that was the third shot but he describes it as the second.) The fourth shot was the kill shot which took the top of the President's head off, and it was fired from the front. This is the shot Connally thinks was the third shot.

Ms. Kennedy in her testimony quoted above said at first she thought she heard three shots (and she probably did, not hearing the first one which hit nothing.)

Connally mentions several times the rapidly of the shots. The four shots were actually fired within 7 seconds. To tell you the truth, I cannot imagine anyone actually involved in such a horrific event having the capacity to literally count the number of shots. I believe they testified from what they thought they remembered (which for sure is a lot better than I could have done.)

Sam

December 3, 2013

I think Oswald participated but he was not the only sniper

What the Warren Commission failed to prove was that he acted alone. It is very difficult, usually impossible, to prove a negative, and they were unsuccessful in doing so. I believe Oswald fired two shots at Kennedy and missed both times. The second sniper also in the 6th floor depository almost simultaneously with Oswald's first shot fired the second shot, hitting Kennedy from the back. Oswald fired a third shot and hit Connelly. A sniper on the grassy knoll, stationed there in case the two shooters in the book depository failed to accomplish their mission, the killing of the President, saw when the limo approached Kennedy was woulded but still erect, fired the kill shot from the front. This was the shot that exploded President Kennedy's head. All four shots were fired in less than 7 seconds.

Other prints were also found in the sixth floor, but prints the FBI found but deemed not clear enough to be matched, were left unidentified. 35 years after the shooting, one of those prints was matched by two expert independent fingerprint analysts (one in the United States, one abroad) who were given the prints blindly, meaning no clue as to the case which was being investigated, and no suggestion as to whom the fingerprints belonged). Both came back with the name Mac Wallace, a long-time hit man who took assignments from Clark, Johnson's long-time attorney. He was a hit man, and he was later convicted of another murder.

The theory of the grassy knoll has not been discredited to my satisfaction. Several eye witnesses said there was a shot from that area, and immediately after the incident agents ran toward that spot. One eye witness who said two shots were fired almost simultaneously and he thought there was a shot from the grassy knoll was dismissed. And the theory of a shooter on the knoll is not inconsistent with the wounds.

I think it is totally fine for each of us to process what we feel is a very possible alternative, that is our option if we discard the findings of the official commission. Probably none of us will live long enough to see the further emerging of the literal truth of President Kennedy's assassination. But I do feel it is important when we discuss this issue to do so without overreacting to those with opposing opinions. (Not that you did so, your post was polite and reasoned).

I think it is important to note that Jacqueline Kennedy did not accept the Warren Commission's report. She contracted with an investigative agency abroad to quietly investigate her husband's death. She did receive a final report from the, which report she sealed for 50 years. I believe that means 50 years not from her passing, but 50 years from the death of the last of her children. I believe she did that to protect the security of the Kennedy children. But it raises the question if that foreign investigative group agreed with the Warren Commission's findings, why the need to seal the report for 50 some years?

Additionally, Bobby Kennedy changed the plans he had to go back to Massachusetts, retiring from politics and picking up on his law practice again. He made these plans before the President died. After President Kennedy's death, we saw a reversal in course. While he publicly stood behind the Commission's findings, he privately believed the only way he would ever learn the truth of his brother's assassination was to win the Presidency, a spot from where he could access all documents and evidence not released to the public, and he could wield the power of the President to gather additional information. Why did he do that? Were he and Jacqueline simply conspiracy theorists themselves or were they grieving relatives who simply had to learn the truth about what happened that day John Kennedy died?

Sam

December 2, 2013

Wallace's wife as well as Johnson's sister were enamored of Kinser (to put it politely)

Your thread details the murder of Kinser, but there is so much more.

"Another strange death occurred at the end of 1961. Johnson's sister Josefa attended a Christmas Eve party at the LBJ ranch, returned to her home in nearby Fredericksburg, and died during the night, supposedly of a cerebral hemorrhage. Despite state law, no autopsy was conducted. Billy Sol Estes later stated that Wallace murdered her. 2/" (see page 167, Blood, Money & Power)

Johnson's sister, following her divorce, led a somewhat provocative life. She was deemed to be a threat to Johnson because of her loose lips. This book details how any perceived threat to Johnson's future would be eradicated, and his sister knew a lot....

The sentence of a court in Wallace's trial for Doug Kinser's murder is reproduced in McClellan's book at "Pictures and Documents: 16.

But Kinser was just another one of many of Johnson's victims. Henry H. Marshall refused to shut down at the USDA an investigation pertaining to Estes, which would expose Johnson's corruption and probably end his career.

At "Pictures and Documents: 30, is a reproduced copy of a grand jury's findings in 1984:

"Based on the testimony presented today, which was not presented in to the previous grand jury, it is the decision of this grand jury, that Henry H. Marshall's death was a homicide, not suicide. The parties named as participants in the offense are deceased, and therefore it is not possible for the grand jury to return an indictment." The findings were signed on March 20, 1984. The "parties" were Johnson, Carter and Wallace.

This book is amazing in its detail chronicling Johnson's life and career, as well as that of others who participated in the corruption and crime revolving around LBJ.

Sam