Courtney Redd

I rented the film Memorial Day weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. With only the basics known to me beforehand, I came away with a good grasp of the events surrounding Bobby's death and appreciate the time and effort put into the film. There are so many striking similarities between Bobby's death and his brother's, least of all the "lone nut" theory, which is absolutely ridiculous in light of the evidence. What's that little saying about history repeating itself? I've recommended the film to several friends. Thank you for a job well done, Mr. O'Sullivan.

So I've noticed, by reading John Kelin's excellent work "Praise From a Future Generation." What happened? And why?

This is very exciting! I hope Mr. Watkins and his staff will see that this isn't just history, but as you said, an open, unsolved homicide case. I hope so much that they can be convinced and can overlook the criticisms and backlash that will follow if they do decide to take further steps. We all know what happened to Jim Garrison. I hope Mr. Watkins has the courage Jim Garrison did. I know it won't happen overnight, but this truly is exciting news and I hope good things come out of it. After all, the truth is on our side.

Found a story and video over at MSN.com about this. Here's the link, if you're interested: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23213227/?GT1=10856 Watch the intrepid reporter talk about "convicted Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald." UGH! Did I miss something? I didn't realize Oswald was ever convicted--oh, wait a minute. I forgot. He didn't even make it to the trial! Guess she thinks they tried him in absentia.

Excellent! Thanks for posting this exchange, Greg. Sean said: It's possible that Oswald didn't know for quite some time that he was being accused of shooting JFK. I tend to agree with this. Seem to recall that film of Oswald's midnight press conference, when he's asked about shooting the President. He said, "Nobody has said that to me yet; the first thing I heard about it was when the newpaper reporters in the hall asked me that question." Oswald was politely informed that he was being charged with the murder of the President, and just for a moment, you can see how shocked he is. Of course, that mask slips back on and he's back to being calm, cool and collected...but that surprise was there.

Thanks for the video; I'd never seen it before. She looks just like her father, with her mother's eyes. I can't imagine the burden they've carried over the years, but I hope they have found some peace in their lives. Is David Lifton still working on a book about Lee?

This is how you view universal health care? What about welfare, WIC and Section 8 housing? Should all programs helping the poor and underpriveleged be outlawed? Should only rich people get the proper health care, housing, and food? Yes, food is a basic human right. Give me a break! Everyone should have the right to eat, or don't you believe in charity? Of course I've looked in to health insurance. And as I said, I can't afford it right now. But what about children who have no health care? Should they have to do without? Shouldn't everyone have the ability to visit a doctor when they are sick, without worrying about the cost? Why should anyone have to choose between eating and getting the medicine they need to survive? Why should anyone die because they couldn't get the surgery they needed, the transplant they needed to live? Why this is even a problem is beyond me. Other countries don't seem to view universal health care in such a negative light. Why is the United States so against it? I believe it's greed and because the average person doesn't want to pay higher taxes. And Americans apparently aren't as altruistic as their Canadian neighbors.

My personal experience with health care in the US: I have none. And no, it's not because I choose to spend money on other things. I have a college education but cannot find a full-time job, so I must work part-time. And no part-time jobs (at least around here) give health insurance benefits. Or any kind of benefits, actually. Like many other people in my situation, I have to work multiple part-time jobs to pay the bills (student loans, rent, car insurance, etc.) and have no money left over to pay a health insurance premium. My employer does not provide insurance for anyone but full-time employees, so I'm out of luck. If something were to happen to me, I imagine I'd have to file for bankruptcy. Not something I really want to consider at 30 years old. I've seen elderly people have to choose between eating and getting their meds. Disgusting in such a rich country. Health care should be considered a basic human right, not a privilege just for those who can afford it.

I hope that those of you who live in the UK and Europe do everything you can to keep your governments from going to privatized health care. I am one of the millions of American citizens without any health insurance and live with the fear that something will happen to me. No one should have to live with that fear. Health care is a basic human right denied to US citizens and I am sick and tired of listening to people who say universal health care is either communism or no better than what we already have. I've gotten into arguments with relatives who tell me the system in the UK is so horrible because people have to wait long periods of time to get treatment. Well tell me, which is worse? Waiting or not being able to go to a doctor at all because you can't afford to pay $100 to see the doctor for 2 minutes--just long enough for him/her to look at you and write you a prescription (which will cost you another $100 or more without insurance)? I'd take the long waits any day!

Hi, John! Glad to see you here. It is a little confusing at first but keep at it. If you have any questions, you can send private messages to someone and I'm sure they'd be glad to help you. To send someone a private message, click on their name and then in the box you'll see several different options, including "Send Message." Click on that and then you should be taken to another page where you can type the message and send it. At any rate, I'm happy you're here.

I received another email from John Kelin today. He asked me to pass it along to all of you: Someone wondered whether 1) Vince Salandria is in the book, and 2) Gaeton Fonzi is in the book. The answer to both is: Yes. I interviewed Gaeton four or five years ago and he was kind enough to supply me with a transcript of his historic Specter interview, the one he refers to in THE LAST INVESTIGATION. It makes up what I think is a very effective section of my book. I've also got a copy of his PHILADELPHIA magazine article that came from that 1966 interview -- I probably got that from him, too, but it might have come from Vince. It too figures into this section. And yes, Bill Kelly, you may have either the credit or the blame for the fact that my book exists. As a reticent person I would not on my own have gone up to Vince after his speech, but you dragged me along with you. And that meeting made all the difference. I neglected to note this in the book's Intro, which morphs into a lengthy acknowledgments section. I should have. I do so now, in this much narrower arena. Thanks in advance, Courtney. John Kelin

Hi everyone. I received an email from John Kelin this evening and he asked me to pass it along to you. Here it is, in its entirety: Hi Courtney, I hope that writing you now is not a violation of netiquette, if that term is still in use, but I'm not sure what else to do that the moment. Let me admit this: I'm still vain enough, and the publication of my book still recent enough, that I Google my name and the book's title every 2-3 days, just to see what might be being said. So it was that tonight (12-22) I stumbled across something called The Education Forum, and read a dozen or so comments about my book. I'm gratified that they are about 99% positive. I'm flattered that among those commenting were Jack White. One of the last comments I read was by someone named John Simkin, who said that he had invited me to participate in this forum. The last few months have, in one sense, been a blur, and if John invited me to participate I don't remember, and the invitation got lost in the shuffle. I apologize for that. Moments ago I tried to register so I could post a comment, and got the following error message: The error returned was: The board administrator is no longer accepting any new registrations at the moment. ...which was just a wee bit frustrating. So, Courtney, let me say now that should you be so inclined, you have my permission to post this email in its entirety to that forum. Perhaps I'll be able to iron out whatever snafu is currently preventing me from registering. Should you post this, Courtney, and if these words are being read by a wider audience than just one, then let me invite them all to take a look at the book's web site at this URL: http://home.comcast.net/~johnkelin/praise.html In one of the messages I read, someone tried to explain what happened with Mary Ferrell. Yes, she is under-represented in my book. It is not for lack of trying. I interviewed Mrs. Ferrell in Dallas in November 2000 and tried to arrange for some follow-ups but it just never worked out. I explain all of this in my book's Introduction (see p. xv). I hope to have a revised edition of the book sometime in the future. Toward that end I have recently been reading through the correspondence of Mrs. Ferrell and Sylvia Meagher -- but that correspondence didn't even begin until 1970. As published, my book covers the earliest critics, from the time of the assassination through the end of the Garrison trial. Anyway...I do hope to get onto this forum at some point, and I am very flattered that interest in my book is such that it is being discussed here, and at least one person has invited me on board. I would be very happy to discuss/describe/defend/whatever the book, which is, I humbly submit, an homage to the first generation critics: Ferrell, Lane, Salandria, Feldman, Meagher, Field, Martin, Jones, Marcus, Weisberg, Sauvage, Castellano, Arnoni, and Marguerite. (I hope I'm not forgetting anyone.) If anyone is interested, I've given a few interviews lately that are accessible over the Internet. The most recent is to the Mary Ferrell Foundation at this URL: http://www.maryferrell.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page Thanks, Courtney! Happy Holidays, John ***** I'm going to email him to let him know how to contact John Simkin to get registered.

I certainly agree with you on the so-called historians/researchers who accept the Warren Commission's conclusions. I don't even bother reading those books because besides being full of crap, they just make me mad and crabby and I don't like to be mad and crabby.

This is a very interesting look at the first generation critics of the Warren Report. I'm enjoying it so far, especially learning about the critics and how they got started in their research. There are a couple of people I wasn't aware of--Maggie Field and Shirley Martin--and their contributions shouldn't be overlooked. I'm glad I've had the chance to learn about them. If I remember correctly, John Kelin did talk to Mary Ferrell briefly but wasn't able to interview her as much as he wanted before she passed away. I began corresponding with John a month or two ago. Anyone remember his website, Fair Play? That was the first website I found about the assassination when I first started using the internet back in 1999. Maybe John Simkin could invite John to the forum, if he hasn't already?

Unless he is willing to do what they want. I figure people like Senator Obama don't get where they are without doing something for someone. Those people in power, the ones who actually run this country, will only allow someone in the White House who will do their bidding. So who knows, it might be Senator Obama. Or it might be Senator Clinton. I'm sure there are many people who do not want a black President (or a woman President, for that matter) simply because he's black, but ultimately I think it goes beyond race and gender. It's all about who will do what they want, and when. My ex-boyfriend's mother and I used to talk about this all the time--about the ruling elite and how they control who wins the White House. She was of the mind that the Rockefellers and people like them run everything, since they hold all the money. I don't know about that, but I do know that money takes you far in this world!

I feel as though maybe I'm missing something here. People keep mentioning the note Oswald supposedly wrote after he shot Walker. A couple of things about this give me pause: 1--was it ever actually proven Oswald, to the exclusion of anyone else, wrote the note? 2--Gen. Walker and his shooting aren't even mentioned in the note, right? So how can anyone be sure that the note was even written in reference to this act? If Oswald even a) wrote the note and b ) shot at Walker? 3--wasn't the note supposedly found in a cookbook given to Marina by Ruth Paine? (or was that the Mexico City bus ticket?) How coincidental! And why on earth, if Oswald really had shot at Walker, would he keep the note? Thought I had this issue cleared up for myself (am of the belief that Oswald didn't shoot at Walker) but if any of you can give me some references of where I might look to refresh my memory on this subject, I'd be much obliged.

Thanks for the update, Peter. I'm very glad Tosh is okay.

I was over there a couple of months ago and someone actually wrote that Lee Oswald was the "convicted assassin" of President Kennedy. I don't remember exactly what my response was, but I did try to edit that or send them a message to explain that Oswald could not be the "convicted assassin" of JFK, seeing as he was never allowed a trial, all thanks to Jack Ruby. People must not understand the US Constitution or something.

I have to disagree with you here, Mr. Gratz. I don't think anyone who has looked at the evidence can reasonably conclude that Lee Oswald, acting alone, killed the President. "Reasonable minds," if faced with all the evidence currently available, would have to conclude that Oswald did not kill the President. Finally, I submit that Mr. Drago (and others) are correct in their assertion that we are at war. I was incorrect in disagreeing with that statement previously. Perhaps it was the word "war" that caused me to disagree--a word at this moment in time (based on events in Iraq and other places, I suppose) I find distasteful. But they are right and I was wrong. We are at war and this propaganda really sickens me. Okay, I've grabbed my helmet and my resolve. Where do I sign up?

I am one of those who was not alive during President Kennedy's administration. Please rest assured, however, that the events of that weekend WILL NOT FADE AWAY. Ever. People like me won't let that happen. I may not have the memories of President Kennedy but I do have a sense of justice, of what this country and world lost with his murder. So I will make sure my future students are well aware of the importance of not forgetting, of not letting it fade into the mists of history. It won't happen on my watch. I promise.

Santos Trafficante

How about electricity and running water all the time, not just whenever it happens to work? How about an end to the civil war that's started since we illegally (and under false pretense, I might add) invaded another sovereign nation? I'm willing to bet those are just a couple of the things the people of Iraq are asking for right now.

The vast majority of historians also believe that Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK by firing three shots from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. So are they correct in that also? Because a "great majority of historians" say something is true, we should believe it? Without question, I should believe that Ronald Reagan, a man who gave far less consideration for the homeless and poor than he did his friends in the military and so-called Moral Majority? I thought caring for the homeless and poor were Christian values.

Recently posted at the website of my local NBC affiliate: (KSDK) - Local scouts are making it easy for you to help those in need. Saturday, Cub Scouts around the St. Louis region went door to door delivering bags for their annual Scouting for Food Drive. The food drive is the largest single-day food drive in the country, and got its start here in St. Louis. The canned foods that will be collected by the Cub Scouts will be divided among area food pantries. The faces of people who rely on food pantries have changed over the last 10 years. The Circle of Concern food pantry in Valley Park is now open on Saturdays to accomodate people who have to work Monday through Friday. Three-fourths of the recipients are what's called, "Working poor." In 2005, the pantry saw its first recipient with a PhD. The pantry's executive director believes the problem of the working poor will continue to get worse. "There's been a change in the economy as we've lost manufacturing jobs and we're switching to the service economy," Glenn Koenen said. The service economy creates a lot of more lower paying jobs than it does jobs that provide for a family." Every month, 350,000 people in the St. Louis area rely on food pantries. That's enough people to fill Busch Stadium twice, the Edward Jones Dome twice, and the Scott Trade Center. --Rebecca Wu, KSDK *** Disturbing, isn't it? I think the middle class is disappearing.

Then you have my sincere apologies, Myra. I misunderstood your post. However, I am not assuming anything. I was simply making a statement that was personal, that is all. Onward and upward, as they say.