MARY’S MOSAIC: Litmus test for JFK research integrity

by Peter Janney with Jim Fetzer “There are very few human beings who receive the truth, complete and staggering, by instant illumination.  Most of them acquire it fragment by fragment, on a small scale, by successive developments, cellularly, like a laborious mosaic.” – Anis Nin Some issues within JFK research represent litmus tests that separate the competent from the frivolous, the courageous from the cowardly, and the honest from the dishonest, where some estimates have gone so far as to suggest that as much as 95% of members of the JFK research…

The JFK War: The disturbing case of Jim DiEugenio, LBJ and Israel

by Don Fox with Jim Fetzer  For some time and across a broad range of different issues, I have had concerns about Jim DiEugenio, author of Destiny Betrayed, 2nd ed., which explores New Orleans DA Jim Garrison’s attempt to prosecute Clay Shaw, and of Reclaiming Parkland, which amazon.com describes as investigating Tom Hanks’s failed attempt to adapt Vincent Bugliosi’s massive book Reclaiming History into a mini-series and as exposing the origins of that book in a mock trial pitting Bugliosi against attorney Gerry Spence. It is said to include a withering critique of Bugliosi’s inflated…

The JFK War: CBS endorses the “magic bullet” absurdity

By Jim Fetzer “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth”–Sherlock Holmes The latest defense of the “magic bullet” absurdity comes from CBS, which featured a father and son combination who claim to have used “new forensic technology” to demonstrate that The Warren Report (1964) had it right when it posited the “magic bullet” scenario, where one bullet passes through JFK’s neck and exits his throat to enter the back of Texas Gov. John Connally.   The distinctive feature of this “reenactment” may be its emphasis…

The JFK War: The two Cyril Wechts, the “magic bullet” and the HSCA

By Jim Fetzerwith David S. Lifton “The best way to control the opposition is to lead it ourselves”― Vladimir Ilyich Lenin  As serious students of the death of JFK are aware, the FBI and the Secret Service concluded on the day of the assassination that there had been three shots and three hits: * the first shot had hit JFK in the back, about 5.5″ below the collar to the right of the spinal column; * the second had hit Texas Governor John Connally in the back, shattered a rib and exited…

The JFK War: Outing the JFK Assassination Research Bureau

by Jim Fetzer During the past few days, I have been drawn into an extended exchange about the assassination of JFK on a facebook web site that carries the most imposing name, “JFK Assassination Research Bureau”. It certainly sounds impressive, but I have discovered — through personal experience — that they do not live up to the impression they convey. This site is not about JFK Truth. If they don’t like you, they simply delete you. With the 50th observance of the death of John Kennedy rapidly approaching, the government is spending…

The JFK War: Hany Farid, Jefferson Morley and the Zapruder film

by Jim Fetzer  “How can Jefferson Morley pretend to be an expert on the assassination of JFK when he is abysmally ignorant about it?“–Jim Fetzer Hany Farid We are encountering the most massive disinformation in American history as the 50th observance of the assassination of JFK approaches.   Long discredited theories–such as that a Secret Service man accidentally shot JFK with his AR-15, that Jackie shot JFK with a derringer, and an impostor was killed, while JFK is in Tahiti sipping Mai-Ties–are being marketed around the web. The obvious cases are…

RFK: Outing the CIA at the Ambassador

by Jim Fetzer In a recent article “JFK and RFK: In the Shadow of Dallas and LA” I cited the identifications of three officials of the CIA at the Ambassador Hotel when Bobby was shot, by Bradley Ayers, who knew all three, and by Wayne Smith, who knew one of them very well. Objections have been raised to these identifications by Jefferson Morely and David Talbot, who claim that they have disproven them. Their argument is based upon a fallacy known as “special pleading” by only citing part of the evidence, which…

The JFK War: The Case of Federal Judge John Tunehim

by James Norwood with Jim Fetzer In 1995, John R. Tunheim was nominated by President Clinton and confirmed by the United States Senate as a federal judge for the District of Minnesota.  In the late 1990s, he served as chair of the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB), which oversaw the declassification of government documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. As mandated by the 1992 JFK Records Act (formally called the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act), Congress responded to public outrage at the withholding of so many government records.…

Zapruder Frame 343: The blowout at back of JFK’s head

By Jim Fetzer and Larry RiveraLarry Rivera has discovered that those assigned to clean up the Zapruder film missed frame 343, where Jackie’s glove provides a background against which the defect’s outline becomes visible. Who had it right: Parkland (1963), Bethesda (1964) or the HSCA (1979)? Among the controversial aspects of the assassination of JFK has been the character and dimensions of the wound he sustained at the back (the back/top or the top) of his head. Physician after physician at Parkland Hospital, where his body was taken, reported that he had…

The JFK War: The Challenging Case of Robert Groden

by Jim Fetzer “The most productive mindset you can have is simply this: always, always, always have a belief system that doesn’t resist change. Go wherever the information leads you, without fear, because surely the truth is never something to dread.” – Darryl Sloan, Reality Check Air Force One landing at Love Field, Dallas, TX On the eve of the 50th observance of the death of JFK, it would appear to be timely to make an assessment, not only of what we know now that we didn’t know then, but of the contributions…