Some JFK Musings

 The assassination death of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963 is an event that will be etched in our nation's history and citizens' minds forever.   In a real, concrete way, after 50+ years, you would expect this effect to dwindle in its importance and potency.  However, it seems to reoccur frequently in my own mind.  I was a naive eight-year-old kid when this event happened, and therefore, I believe over time as I have been able to reflect and read about these events, its appeal and curiosity has driven me. You could say it's an obsession.  But people are "obsessed" about far less important things in their lives.  You could also ask how this solitary event really affects me as a person today. In some ways, not at all.  But I feel that as a nation, its impact was and is still enormous.

   I was sifting through some YouTube documentary style videos on JFK and then checked out a page entitled "50 Facts about the JFK Assassination" on AARP's website.  What is always amazing to me is the apparent attempt on the part of the nation's media to rubber-stamp that "Oswald killed John F. Kennedy".  Normally, as I have experienced through my study, these pronouncements rarely come with any attached evidence, annotations, or even afterthoughts about why this statement might be true or false.  It is just stated as obvious.

   I am looking forward to eventually reading two pro-Warren Commission books, Gerald Posner's "Case Closed" and Vincent Bugliosi's "The Reclaiming of History".  The 2,000 plus pages of these books causes one to pause before such a leap.  But I only think it is fitting that I give these documents a look.   The more I do read and study, the more I am convinced that not only was Lee Harvey Oswald not the lone assassin, but doubtful that he even fired a shot.

  There are MANY theories and MANY alternative explanations about and surrounding the JFK Assassination.  Most of these go into incredible detail regarding the facts and speculation about this event.  In studying about JFK, you will no doubt hear about the CIA, the Mafia, the Military, Cuba, Vietnam, LBJ, and many other various and diverse topics.

  What does not cease to amaze me is how simple some of the basic components of this event are, and how muddled and confused they can become over time.  I cannot believe how certain people and organizations can repeat mantras of Oswald's guilt, as well as other oft-repeated "facts" about the JFK Assassination, and never once mention some of the information that will be shared on websites such as this one.

  One of the most simple and easily comprehended questions to ask and ponder is the one already asked in a seperate post here, which is "Was Oswald on the Sixth Floor?"  I feel that this is probably one of the most important, yet simplest, questions regarding this case, but one that most overlook and ignore.  For if it is resolved that Lee Harvey Oswald WAS NOT, or COULD NOT have been on the Sixth Floor during the time of the JFK Assassination, then this case is certainly not closed, except to the "fact" of Oswald's being the lone assassin.

   I am NOT in any terms trying to postulate here that Oswald was not involved, nor unaware, of the details of JFK's assassination.  All I am seeking to investigate and discover is whether he was the one that pulled the trigger on that day.   Resolving that would not entirely exonerate him, but it would turn the spotlight from him to a host of other possibilities.

   It appears to me that the conspiracy, if there is one, regarding the JFK Assassination, is not only composed of the events that took place before and during that day, but of those that keep occurring even to this day.   There is a huge part of the population that does not believe in the Warren Commission's lone gunman theory, and hundreds of researchers who have done their part to shine a light on not only the fallacies in their work, but to shed a spotlight on what really may have happened.

  In brief, the reasons that I do NOT believe that Oswald was the assassin of JFK are the following :  (1) his presence, by eyewitness testimony, on -- not the Sixth Floor-- but the first and second floors of the TSBD at the time of the shots;   (2) parafin tests which showed that he had NOT fired a rifle that day;   (3)  Inconsistencies in the supposed measurements of the package that he carried into work that day that draw question as to whether it was a rifle;  (4) Testimony of those who were either on or in the vicinity of the stairwell that Oswald reportedly used, who all claim not to have seen ANYONE else descending or on those stairs; (5) his own insistence that he had not shot anyone, but was a "patsy."   

   We will go into all of these in great detail.  It goes without saying that many have sought to tear holes in the above facts, but if you seek to do so, then please be honest and respectful enough to provide as much thought and evidence for your own theories as are presented herein.

   ENJOY THE RIDE-- this is definitely a work-in-progress, one that I hope to enjoy, and one in which I also welcome comments and possible contributions.   There is no definite timeline here yet, but I hope to continue adding to this site, as long as there is useful information to share on it.

FACT OR MYTH : Was Oswald on the Sixth Floor ?

   It would seem that a lot of things become confused and fuzzy with the passage of time.  Fifty (50) years is a long period of time. Some people have been born, lived, and died during this span of time.  Others are still alive, but were not even born at the time that the events described in this site happened.  Therefore, it would seem to follow that any attempts to come to any rational or logical conclusion about "what really happened" at that time would be rather useless or meaningless. 

  However-- one thing does not change over time... and that is the difference between fact and fiction.  Many facts may be distorted, and many fictional accounts may be believed, but if one is relentlessly devoted to finding the truth, then there are certain elements of it that remain, even to this day.

   One of the typical facts/myths about the JFK Assassination was the "fact" that Lee Harvey Oswald was the one and only assassin of John F. Kennedy.  Although it seems that most media presentations, including the Sixth Floor Museum in Dealey Plaza, present this as a fact, by most surveys and polls, less than 20% of people believe this to be true.  Most believe that either (a) there were other shooters involved in the assassination; or (b) that Lee Harvey Oswald was not involved as a shooter at all, being exactly what he claimed to be : a "patsy."

   Something that I have a hard time with is all of the evidence in this case that is either ignored or dismissed altogether.  
  

REASONS WHY OSWALD WAS NOT ON THE SIXTH FLOOR

   1. It is postulated that Lee Harvey Oswald hid out on the Sixth Floor of the Texas School Book Depository (TSBD), constructed a sniper's nest, shot and killed the President, and then afterwards, ran across an expansive floor, hid his weapon, and vaulted down six floors in record time (90 seconds), to be encountered by his supervisor and a police officer calmly sipping on a coke in the company lunchroom.

   There are numerous things that make this implausible if not unbelievable.  

  (a) First of all, have you noticed how small a period of time 90 seconds is?   There are not many feats or even commonplace acts that can be accomplished in 90 seconds. 

  (b) It may be difficult to fathom without actually having been there or visiting the site, but suffice to say that the TSBD was a huge building.  One can tell this just from casual observance of a photograph.

  (c) By all eyewitness accounts, Oswald did not appear noticeably nervous or exasperated when confronted by Officer Marion Baker, but rather appeared calm and composed. Would not a man who had just shot the President, ran to hide his rifle,  and then vaulted down six flights of stairs look a little more like a person who had just competed in a 100-meter race?


   2.  One fairly convincing piece of evidence are the testimonies of not one, but two different ladies, both employees of the Texas School Book Depository at the time of the assassination.  

   These ladies, Sandra Styles (Butler), and Vickie Elizabeth Adams, were working on the fourth (4th) floor of the Depository on the day of the assassination, and after hearing and witnessing the shots ring out from their window view, they decided to descend the stairs down to the ground floor and investigate what was going on.   Both ladies have testified that at no time during their time in the stairwell did they encounter Oswald.  Both of them worked with and therefore knew Oswald, and would've recognized him had he been rushing down the stairs, as has been purported by the Warren Commission Report.

•  SANDRA STYLES-BUTLER

•  Sandra Styles : YouTube testimony

• VICTORIA ELIZABETH ADAMS

• Vickie Adams' testimony

• Facebook : JFK : The Girl on the Stairs

• Book about Victoria Adams

  3. The fact that parafin tests of Oswald's face revealed --NO-- evidence of nitrates or nitrites that are ALWAYS evident if a rifle had been fired.  It is true that Oswald did show nitrates on his hands, but in his job at the Texas School Book Depository as a book clerk, he handled printed books which also contained nitrates.   There was also his palm print on the rifle stock, but if it was his rifle, would not his fingerprints be expected to be on it? There is also postulated the theory that government agents transferred his fingerprint to his rifle in the morgue following his death.  While I do not necessarily adhere to this theory, it is true that FBI agents visited the morgue after Oswald's death, and were alone with the casket.  Stranger things have happened in this case.   But whether the palm print was real or transferred, it doesn't change the fact that there was no parafin evidence on his face or cheek, which is proof positive that he did not fire the rifle that day.


 4. Some eyewitnesses, both on the street and in surrounding buildings, noticed MORE than one man in the sixth floor windows of the TSBD prior and after the shootings. This is also evident in some photos and video of the TSBD during the assassination. The spotting of multiple people in the windows should be enough in itself to cause extreme doubts about Oswald's guilt.  But, beyond this, one or more witnesses noticed these men in the windows up to five minutes AFTER the shooting ended.  If Oswald had been spotted in the second floor lunchroom within 90 seconds after the assassination, then none of these men could have been him.  Doesn't that make perfect sense?

  5. The plaque on the outside of the TSBD building uses the phrase "Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly shot Kennedy".  While this in itself is not evidence, nor is it in any way proof either for or against, it is nevertheless interesting that this word was chosen to portray a hint of doubt or uncertainty regarding his guilt or innocence.

This is not The End.

----TO BE CONTINUED----