Letters to the Editor
Joel_Grant
Published Letters: 182 Editor's Choice: 14
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Typical conspiracy approach
[Read the article: "Brothers"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I urge everyone to go back and read Rob Anderson's interesting letter. Were I to parody a JFK buff I could not do a better job. It is just perfect.
The letter consists of a long list of supposedly factual statements, followed by an ad hominem attack on those who disagree.
By my count, Anderson makes 18 assertions of "fact." It only takes a few minutes to type those assertions, but it would take hours and blow away Salon's space considerations to address every claim.
Ten of the assertions are just wrong. Six are irrelevant. Two are in the "not quite" category. One is too vague to evaluate.
To take a few examples:
"Like how a clip-fed, bolt action Mauser rifle was the FIRST gun found, right there, leaning against the the other window, but that disappeared from the police report and evidence locker and history."
Factually wrong. No Mauser was found. One of the officers glanced at the rifle they did find, Oswald's Mannlicher-Carcano and, as this officer later explained, mistook it for a Mauser. Another urban legend.
"Like the half-dozen people - some caught by Zapruder's camera, others by all the OTHER cameras of OTHER average folks hoping for a glimpse of the President - diving to the ground at the foot of the grassy knoll."
This is in the "so what" category. Gunshots were heard, men were shot, lots of people did what most of us would do: they hit the ground. Some of them were near the knoll. Others were not at the knoll. That people who just witnessed a gunshot crime were upset and ducked for cover is evidence that the witnesses were humans.
"Like the fact that Oswald was taught Russian and stationed at highly sensitive radar listening stations prior to his defection."
Not quite. The implication seems to call upon another urban legend, which is that the Marines (Oswald had joined the Marines) or some other government group "taught" Oswald Russian. Oswald tried to teach himself Russian but did not do a very good job. When he defected to the Soviet Union, he needed a translator in order to communicate. He learned the language while he lived there for two years.
As for his radar listening post, he was stationed in Japan and he worked at a radar post. Nothing he knew was valuable enough to interest the Russians. We know this because the Russians questioned him and said: this guy is worthless.
And so on. Rapid fire claims, most of them half-baked conspiracy myths, all of them adding up to very little. We have been getting this stuff since 1963. As some of the younger writers have pointed out, this is old news. It only lives on because the buffs are stuck in the past.
This is a true crime story, not a mystery.
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Rohidas and mechanics
[Read the article: "Brothers"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I was going to butt out of this but Rohidas has addressed me directly so I will respond to his letter:
"To Joel_Grant
The question is not whether Oswald pulled the trigger and killed JFK. It's whether he acted on his own or was paid or otherwise put up to it. And there's just a huge amount of real evidence that there were much larger forces behind the act that Oswald committed. Of course there's a ton of bogus conspiracy nonsense out there, but that should not stop us from questioning what really was behind what happened that day in Dallas. Maybe you should read this article again, more slowly this time."
Actually, most of the JFK conspiracy claims finger Oswald as an innocent patsy. His involvement is very much an issue.
And there is a reason why the conspirati began to cast Oswald as a patsy. The reason is that, try as they might, they have been unable to find any good evidence that Oswald was planning anything with anyone that had anything to do with killing JFK or anyone else.
The article, which I have read (but I actually don't need to read again slowly, thanks anyway) has no credible evidence linking Oswald with anyone. In fact, Talbot's article does not even try to find explicit links between the guy who shot JFK and the other guys who allegedly ordered it.
It just happened by magic.
This claim fails for the same reason all of the other myriad claims fail. There is no way to make it work. Suspicious things (or things we think are suspicious) happen. People buy urban legends (changed motorcade route, the stretcher bullet was "pristine", etc. etc. etc.) and, like a Martha Stewart souffle we have cooked up a conspiracy.
If you or Mr. Talbot or anyone else can supply a scenario that fits into the known circumstances of the crime - such as how they managed to plant Oswald into the Book Depository so conveniently - let's hear it.
Until then, it is just another fantasy.
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What happens when Christopher sobers up?
[Read the article: "Sopranos" wrap-up: "Is this all there is?"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Drunk, Christopher rants about how he could take the Soprano family down by turning rat. Will he have the same idea sober?
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On a related note....
[Read the article: Major troop reductions imminent -- again]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If the "Times" is printing administration talking points about troop reductions, this article, just posted (about 12:15 pm Saturday, PDT) warns us about the dire dangers posed by ending our occupation:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/world/middleeast/27withdraw.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
I am a subscriber, not sure if that link will work. One guess who is the principal reporter on this story.
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The Art of Propaganda
[Read the article: Mike Allen, consummate Beltway "journalist"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As always, the problem is not that many people are partisan hacks. The problem is that so many of them pretend to be something else.
I hope Mike Allen responds to this piece - I wonder what possible defense he has?
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Terrible Awful Miserable Ripoff Ending
[Read the article: Our favorite murderer]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The final show is over. I hate, loathe, and despise the final show. Boo! Boo! Boo! David Chase: TAKE YOUR JOB AND SHOVE IT!!!!!!!!!
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Worst ending in history?
[Read the article: "The Sopranos" prediction pool]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Is it possible that in the entire history of succesful TV shows that had highly publicized final episodes that this is the worst of them all?