Posted on 10/25/2006 7:54:41 AM PDT by BILL_C
Its fall, the temperature is falling, the leaves are turning and with November here, we have some repeats to watch on the cable networks.
The History Channel will show one of their favorites, ABCs documentary Beyond Conspiracy featuring Peter Jennings and a computer animation which shows a bullet that hit President Kennedys back four inches below his collar but then the bullet allegedly exited his neck after nicking the upper part of the knot of his tie, and then it goes down at approximately a 25 degree down angle to hit Governor Connally in his back. Its amazing what computers can show.
Well also most likely see the Discovery Channels explanation of the assassination in Beyond the Magic Bullet. This show also features Dale Meyers computer animation, the same one used in Beyond Conspiracy. The show goes beyond the previous documentary as the producers go to Australia to get an expert shooter to attempt to duplicate the magic bullet, the shot that hit both JFK and Governor Connally. The shots they fire are aimed at figures composed of material which act like human muscle and bone when a bullet is fired into them.
Both of these shows think they proved the magic bullet theory is true.
Watch the digitized and stablilized Zapruder Film
The Closeup Zapruder Film with Frame #
For over 40 years weve heard and seen documentaries which talk about strange details in the JFK assassination investigation and reports. We first had the Warren Commission appointed by President Johnson with the main purpose to show that a lone gunman fired three shots at the limousine and wounded JFK, Governor Connally and a bystander too. We then had the House Subcommittee on Assassinations investigation in 1978 which investigated additional evidence in part because the Zapruder film was first shown to the American public on night TV in 1975. One of the newer pieces of evidence was the finding that the Dallas Police radio channel recorded a stuck open microphone during the time of the assassination and may have actually recorded the actual gunshots.
In 1991 the movie JFK again ignited the publics curiosity about the assassination with back and to the right along with witnesses saying they saw another gunman. The government again responded and gave us the Records Review Act which released even more information about the murder. In 1997, the Zapruder film was digitized and now we can see even more details in the film. And in 2001, a statistical analysis was published concerning the Dallas Police recording with the finding there were five shots captured by the recording. A gunshot and its reflections off objects is like a fingerprint in that its fairly unique and dependent on where the shooter is and where the microphone is that captured the sounds, and the objects such as buildings that the sounds reflect off of.
Although weve heard about discrepancies for years in documentaries such as the Men Who Killed Kennedy, weve also had some documentaries disappear from the airways as the History Channel found them not to be accurate such as the Guilty Men, a documentary that fingered Vice-President Johnson and other cronies in a Texas murder ring.
The story in my opinion will not die as so many of the facts dont seem to fit reality. We need to see something that makes sense.
Last year I met with one of the best known critics of the Warren Commission. I showed Dr. Cyril Wecht that one assumption made in the killing had led virtually everyone to make incorrect conclusions in the case. That assumption is that all of Governor Connallys wounds were caused by one bullet when in fact Governor Connally was wounded by two separate shots which were both fired from the Texas School Book Depository. Dr. Wechts questions and observations led me to do more research which Im still working on.
But what I want to show you today is when Governor Connally was wounded, something that has never been shown correctly on any of the documentaries or in any of the books that Ive reviewed. You see, experts such as Dr. Wecht have been arguing about what did not happen. Instead, lets show you what actually did happen.
To do that, I think the best place to start is with the last shot.
To briefly familiarize you with the Zapruder Film frame numbers, Z frame number 313 will be called Z313. The following are a few major frame numbers for familiarization.
Z=133 We first see the Limo in the film
Z=160 Some theorize the first shot from the Texas School Book Depository, we see Gov. Connallys head movement to the right shortly afterwards
Z=220 We first see President Kennedy emerge from behind the sign, clutching his throat and obviously wounded
Z=223 Governor Connally reacts to his first wound
Z=220 to Z=324 Governor Connally turns to look over his shoulder toward what he thinks are gunshots
Z=313 We see the fatal shot to President Kennedy
Z=325 Governor Connally is hit in the back and driven forward
With the film speed of 18.3 frames/second, things happened quickly, too quick for 1960s technology and the lack of accurate information they had to extract the truth. What we can see now in individual frames captured and edited was not possible even a few years ago when everything was analogue. And of course, nobody looked at Governor Connally closely after JFK's head shot at Z=313. Most everyone was sure all the serious action was over.
To those of you who remember the basic scenarios of the Warren Commission and the other numerous theories, the descriptions shown above concerning Connallys wounds are new. And as Ill show you, it isnt a theory, its the only times Governor Connally could have been wounded in the eight seconds from the first shot until the last was fired.
With literally thousands of books and hour after hour of documentaries on what must surely be the most investigated murder in history, at this time lets concentrate on Governor Connallys wounds. Once you understand the only way possible that Governor Connally could have been wounded based on the facts we have, then not only can we understand how both men were wounded, it will once and for all reveal how the Guilty Men pulled this off.
The first question concerns the last shot shown above at Z=325. The Warren Commission concluded the last shot was the fatal head shot at Z=313 but was faced with testimony such as one of the best witnesses, Secret Service agent Roy Kellerman who sat in the Limo directly in front of Governor Connally. During his Warren Commission testimony, Kellerman spoke of the ending of the shooting as a flurry of shots. When pressed for how many, he said two. He described the spacing of the last two shots as bang-bang. When Arlen Specter pressed him again, he said it was like an airplane breaking the sound barrier (the front of the plane breaks the sound barrier before the rear of the plane, hence you hear bang-bang also).
When Arlen Specter asked the spacing between the first shot and the flurry of shots, Kellerman said three to five seconds.
When we look at the Zapruder film, we see at Z=325 the collapse forward and downward movement of Connallys head. Looking at the sequence in real time, we see Connally driven quickly forward with his head snapping forward when he is shot. Further confirmation is given when you look at the analysis of the Dallas Police Recording. The difference between the Z=313 shot and the last shot is 0.7 seconds or approximately 12 frames.
We now have a credible witness, a recording, and the best motion picture of the assassination showing agreement that a shot was fired at Z=325.
But listen to a recent explanation of the Zapruder film factoring in the Dallas Police Recording. The reasons for Dr. Thomas' confusion and his trying to cling to the Warren Commission's are easily explained, but I'll leave that for later. Listen to the description of the last shot, "fired almost simultaneously" but they didn't even look to see what it might have done.
The Zapruder Film and the Dallas Police Recording per the Main Stream Media
A Warren Commission supporter will tell you that Governor Connally could not have been shot after Kennedy was shot because his leg wound does not line up with the shot trajectory through his body and through his right wrist. And, of course, there were only three bullets fired from the TSBD.
The hole in their argument is that Connally was indeed wounded earlier by a bullet fragment which entered Governor Connallys leg. And note the importance of the fact to this investigation that it was a bullet fragment, not an intact bullet. That Connally was hit by a bullet fragment to his left leg is well documented but many of todays documentaries incorrectly describe that the left leg wound was caused by an intact bullet which then fell out of his leg later at the hospital.
Three bullet fragments were found under Nellie Connallys seat (CE840), who sat directly to the left of Governor Connally. Its therefore credible that the bullet fragment that John Connallys left leg is from the CE840 shot.
To test this theory against the Warren Commissions, I took some of the better known observations in the JFK assassination list and compared the Z=325 scenario against the Warren Commission scenario. This is a quick way to see how facts fit against both theories.
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Observation
|
Warren Commission Three Shots |
Z=325 Shot to Connallys back |
|
|
|
Connally turns in his seat and looks back at JFK Z=230 to Z=324 |
No (1) |
Yes |
Connally holds hat in his hand until at least Z=325 |
No |
Yes |
Nellie and John Connally both said John Was shot after JFKs first wound (3) |
No |
Yes |
Connally falls forward as he describes in later Interviews when he is shot |
No |
Yes |
Three shots were fired from the TSBD |
Yes |
Yes |
Several Witnesses saw shooter(s) at the Grassy Knoll |
No |
Yes |
Agrees with Dallas Police Recording |
No |
Yes |
Kellerman Described flurry of shots |
No |
Yes |
JFK and Connally both react to Z=222 shot |
Yes |
Yes |
Connally bullet left wide scar to his back like the bullet was tumbling |
Yes (4) |
No |
Bullet to JFKs back did not have a point of exit (5). |
No |
Yes |
(1) If seriously wounded at approximately Z=220, this turn would be incredible for a man wounded so seriously.
(2) Connallys right wrist is allegedly broken by the shot at Z=220, its not reasonable to believe he could hold his hat for over 5 seconds
(3) Both Nellie and John Connally were actually very sure he was not wounded by the same bullet that first struck JFK. At a showing of the Zapruder film, John Connally guessed that he was wounded closer to Z=238. If the Dallas Police recording is valid, there is no shot fired at that time. Roy Kellermans testimony also stated that it was 3-5 seconds before the last two shots after the first.
(4) The Single Bullet supporters such as Dr. Latimer use this as support that the bullet which hit Gov. Connally in the back struck something else first. Experimental shots show that a bullet passing through tissue like JFKs upper body tends to roll over; hence the wider scar that was left in Gov. Connallys back. This is not proof, however, that the bullet struck something else before it entered John Connallys back.
(5) FBI agent ONeal described the autopsy discovery of the bullet wound to Kennedys back and then said no point of exit was discovered by probing with both the doctors finger and instruments.
The above table indicates based on some of the information commonly discussed concerning the assassination that the Z=325 scenario has merit. When you look at the location of the shot to JFKs back (four inches below the collar) and the fact that after exiting his neck, the bullet next has to be traveling at a 25 degree down angle; this is probably the major reason the single bullet theory has been so disbelieved.
Is that enough of an introduction? Ill tell you later the rest of the story as for this to be credible, there had to be at least six shots with three different shooters according to one of the doctors involved in the Warren Commission investigation. But as Ive shown so far, Governor Connallys left leg wound was caused by a bullet which fragmented and hit both JFK and Governor Connally.
That reduces to five shots and three different shooters, three shots from the TSBD and two shots from the front of the limo, fired by two different shooters. And funny thing is, there were witnesses who saw them!
To give you a hint about the rest of the story, in Tip ONeals book, The Man of the House he discusses a conversation with JFK aid Kenny ODonnell who said he was quite sure there were two shot fired from the front. ODonnell also tells why he did not tell the Warren Commission what he saw and heard when he testified.
The cover-up and the misinformation supplied by the government is as interesting as the shooting analysis itself. You see, for the government to get the investigation this wrong with testimony so clear, there had to be some interesting arm twisting going on. Arlen Specter, do you even today have a clue what you did? And Gerald Ford, the lone surviving member of the Warren Commission, you have to know something, dont you? Or did both of you keep your heads buried in the sand as you were manipulated by the Guilty Men? The truth is buried in a Conspiracy of Silence, just like Dr. Crenshaw said in the first book I read on the subject.
And how could the major news media keep getting this so wrong? "We" will deal with you later.
If you check Tip ONeals book, The Man of the House, youll see that he talks about Kenny ODonnells description in the book of two shots that were fired from the front. Since ODonnell was in one of the cars behind JFKs, he had a unique position and describes later to Tip ONeal why he did not tell what he saw correctly to the Warren Commission.
Now lets look at the individual frames and see Connellys head snap downward immediately after the bullet hits him in the back. I drew a white line through the back of his head in each frame to make the rapid movement of his head clearer. This is the first time to my knowledge that this head movement has been documented. With 18.2 frames per second, it would be virtually impossible for Connallys head to collapse without an external force.
Z=324
Z=325
Z=326
Z=327
Z=328
Now that you see in just a couple of frames how Governor Connally's head rolled down as he was ducking forward from the Z=313 shot that hit JFK in the head, listen to his description of how he was thrown forward as he was shot in the back.
A interview with Connally describing how he was shot
As you listen to Connally's description, the part about how he was hit in the back and thrown forward by the force of the bullet agrees with the Z=325 shot to Connally's back scenario very well, but then Govenor Connally goes on to describe how he then hears the fatal shot to JFK's head.
One of the reasons that this issue has been so confusing for so long is that many of the witnesses only got parts of what they said correct. Governor Connally, for example, did not see the head shot to President Kennedy as he was looking forward as he was turning to look over his left shoulder but he clearly says in his interview clip that JFK was shot after his back wound was received. Secret Service Agent Roy Kellerman says he heard one shot followed by 3-5 seconds then two shots, bang-bang. Kellerman argues with Specter later trying to reason there had to be more shots than three but Kellerman never says he heard more than three. The shots Kellerman identifies are number 3, 4 and 5. Shot 3 fragments and hits both JFK and wounds Connally in the left leg with a bullet fragment, shot 4 is the fatal head shot at Z=313, and shot 5 is the shot to Connally's back at Z=325.
And later when other details are explained, the actual killers will be exposed. No investigation could get this so wrong without some serious arm twisting.
Actually, three shooters would infer a professional hit
which makes a lot of sense. Oswald himself said he was a
"patsy".
If the answer is yes, Gov. Connally could not hold his hat after being shot in the wrist, then, hypothetically, if Gov. Connally was holding his hat 25 seconds after Kennnedy was shot in the back, would you consider that proof that Gov. Connally was not shot in the wrist until at least 25 seconds after Pres. Kennedy was shot in the back?
I sat here and thought about WHY do you think the hat in his hand is so important? My thoughts on the subject is that it is UNLIKELY given the severity of the wound to his right wrist that he would continue to hold his hat. Common sense said that he PROBABLY dropped it when the bullet hit his right wrist.
Now I said probably, which means there's a high likelyhood that he dropped it. He might have held the hat all the way to Parkland Memorial for all we know, but most likely he didn't.
When looking at witness' statements and other evidence, you have to assign an importance multiplier to the information. In the table I have in the piece I wrote up above, there is an importance factor assigned to each thing I listed (even if subconscious, it's there), and there are probably a lot of other observations you could list to weigh whether this event could be credible.
SO, whether he held his hat or dropped it when shot in the wrist IS NOT absolute proof but only an indication. My personal opinion is that a reasonable person would be pretty sure IF Connally held his hat at Z=240, a second after the supposed shot (Single Bullet Theory) to his wrist, that it would lead one to question IF he had been shot then and NOT later.
You may give a 0.1 factor to the validity of that observation, I'd say it's over 0.9 (very important and valid).
Every time these threads surface, there's always a few people who use quotations directly from the movie in context. After all, it's where a lot of modern-day JFK conspiracists got interested in the assassination and for most the movie is all they really know. I should have been keeping track this whole time of posters who say 'You gonna tell me that some feller shootin' maggie's drawers could take an obsolete bolt-action rifle and get off three shots in six seconds at a movin' target? Hah! That dog don't hunt!'.
I roll my eyes and think 'Yes, yes. Nice Walter Matthau as Senator Russell B. Long* impersonation. Now would you care to discuss the flippin' facts instead of that ignorant-ass movie?'.
Moreover, I propose the commission of a new Internet meme along the lines of Godwin's Law for all future JFK threads where if a conspiracy theorist uses dialogue from the movie 'JFK' in a discussion thread, they instantly lose credibility and must withdraw.
I hereby name this new hyperbole 'Reductio Ad Stonum'.
(*Costumed by Oliver Stone in a Seersucker suit more befitting his late father Sen. Huey P. Long, for some unknown reason)
SO, whether he held his hat or dropped it when shot in the wrist IS NOT absolute proof but only an indication. My personal opinion is that a reasonable person would be pretty sure IF Connally held his hat at Z=240, a second after the supposed shot (Single Bullet Theory) to his wrist, that it would lead one to question IF he had been shot then and NOT later.
You may give a 0.1 factor to the validity of that observation, I'd say it's over 0.9 (very important and valid).
What factor would you give to the hypothetical fact that Gov. Connally was holding his hat 25 seconds after Pres. Kennedy was shot in the back? Would you consider that to be an indication (although not absolute proof) that Gov. Connally was not shot in the wrist until at least 25 seconds after Pres. Kennedy was shot in the back? Would you say it's over 0.9 (very important and valid)?
It was not conspiracists who came up with the idea of Oswald expressing admiration for Kennedy but testimony from those who spoke with him. Though many consider him to be a complete idiot and capable of anything I see nothing indicating that. He "tried" to shoot Walker (a deadly enemy of Kennedy) an Ultra-rightist then went after the man who fired him. How does this make any sense? I guess those who wish to believe Marina locked him in the bathroom rather than let him shoot Nixon (when such locks are on the inside of the door) have no problem with such nonsense.
Thanks for your response as to the ammo but that still leaves unanswered the problems with the rifle, practice, sighting etc. The mail order is for 21.45 which is apparently just for the rifle and sight. Is there something I am missing here? Is there a link to the exhibit you reference?
That hypothesis leaves unanswered the question of why he would deny something he should have been proud of given the portrait painted of him.
I referred to nothing from the movie. Nice try though. My use of the phrase used by Senator Long was not meant to be a reference to JFK. That phrase is far older than the movie or even Senator Long and is commonly used by people of Southern descent.
My interest in this started when I watched the hoodlum gun down Oswald. Oh, I'm sorry I should have said "that patriotic American who was just so overwhelmed with grief and concern about Jackie that he shot the little rat." Nevermind that he was an sadistic associate of the same organized crime being viciously prosecuted and tormented by JFK or that his concern for women went only as far as to how much he could make pimping them out.
As soon as Rudy fired his gun alarm bells went off and it became apparent that a conspiracy was involved.
I dunno, but perhaps the prospect of execution might have played a part. Just a guess.
Oswald has to be the most singular criminal in history. No motive, no ability acting only through totally random means. He is like no other political actor known to me.
Obviously no one, but I did give you two references to other people who have questions about him. The author of Best Evidence, David Lifton, hired Wecht as a medical expert, to look at the medical records from the JFK autopsy in the National Archives. Afterwards he questioned whether Wecht is even capable of reading an X-ray.
On a number of occasions I have seen Dr. Wecht on TV saying that the backward movement of JFK's head implies that the fatal shot must have come from the front. It was conclusively shown by the physicist Luis Alvarez that this is NOT true.
I have read a popular book by Dr. Wecht. I especially enjoyed the forward which told the story of how Wecht in his early teens, with his friends, used to sneak into the lightly-staffed Pittsburgh morgue. IIRC the forward was written by his son. The guy is obviously talented but he also has faults. He's not always right. The Wikipedia description is accurate. My brother lives in Pittsburgh and when I asked him about Wecht he also found Wecht to be a combination of good and bad qualities.
I'll look into what you say about the lapel thing and post again if I have time later.
Sometimes life is random.
Thank you for the thoughtful reply, I assure I didn't mean that like it sounded :-)
That said, I can understand all you said. When I was getting my car from a parking lot across from Duquesne Univ which is just down the street from Dr. Wecht's office (at the time), I heard an earful from the parking lot attendent on the local thoughts about Dr. Wecht.
The lapel is explained simply by Connally raising his arms in reaction to the bullet fragment that hit his leg. I have a clip made on my laptop that I've shown to groups I've presented this to, I should be able to post that for you to refresh your memory.
Regards
Random is one thing random squared another.
Why are these a 'problem'? What's so problematic? I believe that it's unreasonable to presume that every single detail of Oswald's life can be accounted for: How he could acquire ammunition without a witness remembering it, how he could have picked up the rifle and pistol (which arrived the same day) on a day he was scheduled for work, where he might have gone shooting, etc.
It's interesting that you're asking for evidence or witnesses of Oswald acquiring ammunition for his rifle, yet that's unreasonable to expect even in modern California law much less Texas in 1963. I don't personally know where Oswald went shooting outside of Dealey Plaza when he murdered President Kennedy. Unless he liked to collect empty ammunition boxes, I would presume that he did practice with the 'Carcano. Why aren't you asking where he got the ammo for his pistol that he killed Officer Tippet with?
I almost added a paragraph to this response where I claim that no-one would be able to testify with any accuracy the last time I went shooting at the range or bought ammunition, but I thought better of it after realizing that sometimes my guns draw a bit of a crowd and they know me at my local club. However, I've picked up ammo and walked out of stores countless times. Who would remember something like that months later? Eyewitness testimony usually isn't even accurate by people who saw a crime as it happened -- particularly in the Kennedy Assassination case -- yet you expect that a sales clerk at a sporting goods store will remember who picked up two boxes of 6.5mm Carcano five months previous?
You're tryin' to pick gnat shit outta peppah. <--- Line from 'JFK'.
You haven't really ever read a decent account of Oswald's life as an adolescent through his adult years, or you wouldn't be asking that question. That's not entirely your fault, because it's not something that the conspiracy theorists care to address since the truth about him really screws up their life's work.
To them, Oswald was born on the day that he first shot 'Marksman' on the qualification range in USMC boot camp and only lived to his adult years where he died a 'patsy'.
Read Posner's 'Case Closed -- Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK' to find out what kind of seething wacko the real Lee Harvey Oswald was. The first half of the book is practically dedicated to his life since birth right up to the assassination.
Oswald did live a remarkably out of the ordinary life for a man who ultimately died a miserable 23 year-old loser. That book is really worth the time reading it and the money spent buying it.
I really doubt that. Tell you what. I'll bet you can't tell everyone on this board what made the Carcano so unusual. Take your time.
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