W. Niederhut

The Daily Beast is reporting today that RFK,Jr.'s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, has suggested that RFK, Jr. join forces with the Trump campaign, to avoid undermining Trump's candidacy. WTF?

Pat, Don't worry needlessly about my background in logic. I could teach you a thing or two about Ps and Qs. Instead, work on fixing your own reductio ad absurdum, and deficient understanding of Newtonian physics. You have, apparently, acknowledged that JFK was shot from the front, before arguing that he was not shot from the front. Both assertions cannot be true. As for the archival X-Rays, Dr. Chesser has demonstrated that there is no evidence of an occipital or posterior parietal entry wound, as reported by the Bethesda and HSCA radiologists, respectively. We got scammed.

True. Other cases include the Jim Jones Kool-Aid cult and the Branch Davidians in Waco. But seriously, Kevin, this old anti-Bernie trope about his summer house was always inane. Think of John, Bobby, and Ted Kennedy. The fact that the Kennedy family is quite wealthy (far wealthier than Bernie) doesn't mean that they weren't strong advocates for the public interest. The trope-- popular with GOP propagandists-- erroneously equates public policy with private life. Many wealthy people, including Donald Trump and the Bushes, have been steadfast (stealth) advocates for the rich. FDR and JFK were notable exceptions to the rule.

They probably look like toad stools... 😂

Obama won Florida and North Carolina, if I recall correctly. But Republicans in the South have been aggressively implementing voter suppression measures, especially after Clarence Thomas and the SCROTUS blocked enforcement of the Voting Rights Act with their 5-4 Shelby v. Holder ruling. Democrats had to stand in line for hours in Georgia to vote Trump out of office in 2020. Why Do Nonwhite Georgia Voters Have To Wait In Line For Hours? : NPR

Bunk. If people study the film, they can readily observe that JFK's head was instantaneously knocked violently back and to the left by the fatal frontal head shot. Ergo, there had to be an anterior cranial entry wound, as Dr. Chesser has demonstrated by an analysis of the frontal metallic bullet fragment trail. Also, Pat, where did you get the weird notion that neurologists like Dr. Chesser don't study and analyze X-Rays, CT scans, and MRIs? Did you acquire that medical knowledge from reading Hollywood screenplays?

Chicago Hot Dog Shop Selling 3" Donald Trump Wieners During DNC (thealtmedia.com)

I always liked Steve Kerr. I especially appreciated his anti-bigotry commentaries during the Black Lives Matter protests. Perhaps the guy should run for public office, but he'd probably be happier (and more prosperous) sticking with coaching.

Jim, AOC brought the house down in Chicago tonight. Almost brought a tear to my eye. I sure hope Bernie gets to speak at some point.

Geez... not that lame MAGA trope, please. Bernie's lifelong record of public service for working people speaks for itself.

Here's a more topical recording for today, from the summer of 1970-- Graham Nash's simple piano protest song about the '68 Chicago Democratic Convention. I prefer this raw live piano version (from 4 Way Street) to the later electric studio versions. This is another vinyl album I used to own that disappeared somewhere along the line. Did it get melted in the sun or loaned out? 🤥

Kevin, As an old Bernie Sanders supporter, I can assure you that Bernie has consistently criticized Netanyahu's carnage in Gaza this year, as have many Jewish people in Israel and the U.S. In fact, Bernie has repeatedly called for cutting military funding for Netanyahu's regime. Some critics of Israel are, obviously, antisemitic, but there's nothing antisemitic, per se, about criticism of Netanyahu's military ops. Nor does criticism of Netanyahu imply that someone is "pro Hamas." That's a false trope. People can be critical of both Hamas and Likud Party hardliners. Jeffrey Sachs said earlier this year that peace will never be achieved in Palestine until Hamas and Netanyahu are both removed from the process.

Still waiting for Pat Speer to show us JFK's anterior cranial entry wound here, now that Pat has acknowledged that JFK was shot from the front. Can't have it both ways, Pat. JFK's head was knocked violently backward by a frontal head shot. Where's the anterior cranial entry wound?

Apropos of nothing, I'm posting this beautiful guitar solo by Pat Metheny. I've been a Metheny fan for roughly 40 years now, and I own his terrific song book (co-authored by the late Lyle Mays.) Oddly, I have mainly used the song book to play several of his songs on the piano, (e.g., San Lorenzo, James, Phase Dance) but I've recorded a few with my guitar (e.g., Last Train Home, Never Too Far Away.) IMO, Metheny is a national treasure.

And now, a word from Donald Trump's former Chief of Staff... 🙄 John Kelly pushes back on Donald Trump's Medal of Honor comments (thehill.com)

Pat, I'm relieved to hear that you acknowledge that JFK was shot from the front. Next question. Where's his cranial entry wound? Instead of repeating your trope which I expected-- i.e., that board certified neurologist, Dr. Chesser, "isn't a radiologist"-- how about identifying JFK's frontal cranial entry wound for the forum? Where is it here? P.S. No mangled Bethesda scalp photos this time, puh-lease!!

It would be political suicide for either party platform to endorse an arms embargo on Israel. A handful of Progressive Democrats, including Bernie Sanders, have called for an arms embargo this year, and two of them-- Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush-- have been primaried and defeated this year. Incidentally, I started a forum thread about this same Rick Sterling article last December, and we had a lengthy discussion about it. At the time, the civilian death toll in Gaza was 20,000. Now it's 40,000 +

Pat, If you study Dr. Chesser's analysis of the archival X-Rays, he found no evidence of the alleged occipital (Bethesda) or posterior parietal (HSCA) entry wounds described in the fraudulent, official radiology reports. He did identify the fragmentary metallic trail of the right frontal entry wound. Do you deny that Oswald was shot from the front, as we can all plainly see on the Z film? I'll ask again.

So, in '68, anti-war protesters crashed the Democratic Convention in Chicago. Now a similar thing is happening. Nixon used the Chicago chaos to posture as the "law and order" candidate of the "Silent Majority." My hunch is that Mango Mussolini will imitate Nixon, by denouncing the Democratic chaos. In both cases, the protesters have had legitimate complaints, but they, ultimately, hurt their own anti-war causes by facilitating the elections of war mongers. Trump has already urged Netanyahu to "finish the job" in Gaza.

Thanks for sharing this, Pete. Dr. Chesser also pointed out, in his down-to-earth style, that a few prominent physicians blatantly lied about the X-Ray evidence, suspecting at the time, that the public would never see the X-Rays. There, obviously, was (and is?) a concerted "government" effort to mislead the public about the frontal entry wound.

Doug, The Havana Syndrome literature is disturbing stuff. Some research people believe that pulsed radio frequencies from distances of up to 500 to 1,000 yards can cause a post-concussive syndrome, including cognitive disturbances that persist for months, in some cases. I wonder if Biden has experienced any of the classic symptoms. It doesn't seem like a stretch to think that the Russian GRU might use this technology to help re-elect Putin's compromised Agent Orange.

Addendum: I should add that there is a common tendency for people to believe what they are told by others-- groups, authority figures, salesmen, media, etc.-- rather than trusting the evidence of their own eyes and ears. This has been demonstrated by social psychology experiments.

Ron, I'm glad you pointed this out, because your observations illustrate an important issue. Dr. Chesser is not a slick salesman, or a Hollywood script writer. He's an experienced physician. One skill that good physicians acquire during their training is the ability to; 1) carefully examine the medical evidence, and 2) call it as they see it. Lives depend on their perceptions and judgment. I learned this lesson the hard way as a third-year medical student on the Cardiology service at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. (Long story.) A doc is entirely responsible for his diagnosis, and needs to call it as he sees it-- rather than basing his diagnosis on what others tell him. That is, precisely, what Dr. Chesser has done with the available JFK medical data. It isn't slick, but it's honest. One doc I knew used to joke that, "An 'expert' is someone who is often wrong, but never in doubt."

Pat, I'm responding to your latest post in red (below.) Pat Speer wrote: Oh please. I've been through this stuff ad nauseam both on this forum and on my website. If you look at his "witnesses" for an entrance on the forehead, you will see that there are not actually witnesses for an entrance wound on the forehead. Pat, this is simply false. Dr. Chesser specifically lists the witnesses at Bethesda who saw the right forehead entry wound in his lecture (above.) Interested forum members should listen to Dr. Chesser's presentation. He is highly credible, in my medical opinion. Of course some will say McClelland and Crenshaw said they saw a wound but they actually specified that they saw no such wound but mused based upon the large defect that a bullet entered on the forehead but was hidden in the hair. Listen to Dr. Chesser's discussion of the entry wound and hairline, Pat. It's a hoax. That's a projection. Pat, you never answered my question last week. Do you deny that JFK was shot from the front, as we can all clearly see on the Z film? Please answer the question.

Trump’s Medal of Dishonor by Elliot Ackerman August 18, 2024 Former President Donald Trump sparked near universal criticism last week when he said that the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, was “much better” than the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for military valor. Trump made these comments during an event at his Bedminster, New Jersey, estate about anti-Semitism, in which he was drawing attention to the work of Miriam Adelson—the widow of his friend, the casino magnate and megadonor Sheldon Adelson—who received the Medal of Freedom from Trump in 2018. Trump’s bizarre logic was that many recipients of the Medal of Honor are in “bad shape” because of their wounds or receive the award posthumously, and that the Medal of Freedom is better because a “healthy, beautiful woman” like Miriam Adelson can receive it. During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I wrote numerous citations for valor awards. Discerning whether actions such as rescuing a friend from an ambush or assaulting an enemy position or leading a daring raid are worthy of a Silver Star, Navy Cross, or, possibly, the Medal of Honor is a unique challenge. The first time I had to write up a valor award, I was a 24-year-old Marine second lieutenant in Fallujah. We had been in sustained house-to-house combat for two weeks when a directive came down from our higher headquarters to begin writing up our awards. The battle wasn’t even over. Marines were still getting killed. Nevertheless, the sergeants and corporals in my platoon scribbled their recommendations on pieces of paper and I wrote them up between firefights on our company’s single laptop, a Toughbook we kept charged with a gas-powered generator. My company commander at the time—a captain who, at the age of 30, seemed infinitely old and wise to me—explained his philosophy of writing awards. He suggested that if I couldn’t figure out whether a Marine deserved a Bronze Star, Silver Star, or something even higher, I should imagine the day in the future when we would all stand in formation at the award’s presentation. He encouraged me to aim for as high a valor award as possible, so long as no one standing in formation would snicker under their breath that the award wasn’t deserved. This proved sound advice, which I hewed to over the years. Valor awards recognize what was, likely, one of the worst days of someone’s life. This is particularly true if a person is being written up for the highest awards—the Silver Star, Navy Cross, Air Force Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, or Medal of Honor. These are not given after a mission where everything went right and everyone came home. The process of approving these awards is arduous, and each of the services handles it a little bit differently. The Marine Corps requires a “summary of action,” a lengthy document that outlines in detail what occurred and why it merits the award. This is followed by multiple witness statements from those who saw the actions of the awardee—many a hero has gone unsung because no survivors existed to write these witness statements. Once all of this documentation is gathered, it goes into an awards packet, which then circulates through a labyrinthine bureaucracy; at every level of command, the award is either recommended for approval, downgraded, or, in some cases, upgraded. The nomination first travels to a battalion-level awards board. If approved, it goes to the regiment. The process repeats as it circulates up to division, and, in the case of the Marine Corps, to the Marine Expeditionary Force awards board, and then onward to Headquarters Marine Corps, followed by the Offices of the Secretaries of the Navy and Defense, and then the White House. Awards boards meet only periodically, so this process can take years. Valor awards are not bestowed by fiat. In the case of the Medal of Honor, recipients enter a special fraternity. They become the embodiment of American valor, living tributes to the heroism that exists deep in our national character. This is a heavy burden, a celebrity that, for many, exacts a cost and becomes a second type of service. Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier of the Second World War and a Medal of Honor recipient, struggled until his death with his own mental health and with alcoholism. More recently, post-9/11 Medal of Honor recipients such as Kyle Carpenter and Ryan Pitts have become vocal advocates for veterans and their mental health and reintegration. When confronted with American valor, Trump has a history of making disparaging comments, dating as far back as 2015 when he said of the late Senator John McCain, a recipient of the Silver Star, that he “was only a war hero because he was captured,” adding, “I like people who weren’t captured, okay?” Perhaps Trump thinks the Medal of Freedom is “better” because he, as the president, can award it to whomever he pleases, including friends and donors. The Medal of Honor affords him no such discretion. Also, it seems beyond his comprehension that an award could simply lead to another chapter of service and not become an accolade used for simple personal advantage. During Trump’s presidency, he presided over 12 presentations of the Medal of Honor. If he wins the White House in November, he’ll likely preside over more. I doubt anyone will be saying at any future White House presentation that an award wasn’t deserved. But they might say, instead, that the man presenting it doesn’t deserve the honor of performing the task. Trump’s Medal of Dishonor (msn.com)