Nov. 22nd 2007 Anniversary

[Duke Lane]

Why are you trying to blame COPA for Big Tex being at the scene of the crime? And who really did put him there? Thanks for your report.

I didn't "blame" COPA for bringing Bix Tex there, only for not distancing themselves from him - or him from them - and allowing him to (at least) seem to be a part of their proceedings.

Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. Nobody wanted to "claim" him, or claim to know who might: it was all a big mystery that "everyone normally on-site" made a big joke of (e.g., Bob G.: "Across town, they call him 'Big Tex;' here, we call him 'co-Tex'").

I had the opportunity to ask the folks guiding the big dummy ("put your foot over here. No, no, the other foot! ...") who'd hired them, but, well, they had their hands pretty full making sure Big Tex didn't become an ex-Tex! (Seriously: even despite the chill, I don't think I'd have wanted to have been the guy in the costume! "Cumbersome" only begins to describe it!)

John Judge was too busy to even acknowledge me when I attempted just to say hello ... but of course, I do tend to travel incognito - blend into the crowd and all that (but with enough "authority" that the paper-hawkers don't bother me) - and don't really expect anyone to actually recognize me in the flesh!

(Actually, I think anyone who thought that they saw me, probably mistook me for the clown wearing the FBI baseball cap and carrying a copy of the WCR! I must admit that anyone with a telephoto lens also probably did catch me commisserating with him, tho!)

Long and short, nobody either claimed credit or laid blame. It's all a big mystery, sort of like the microphones in the water-collectors keeping tabs on the "Dealey denizens" that really know what happened. Maybe someday we'll find out ... if the images and documents aren't altered!

Are you stating - without equivocation - that COPA had nothing to do with it?

Shaking my head in wonderment, I still remain ...

[William Kelly]

Why are you trying to blame COPA for Big Tex being at the scene of the crime? And who really did put him there? Thanks for your report.

I didn't "blame" COPA for bringing Bix Tex there, only for not distancing themselves from him - or him from them - and allowing him to (at least) seem to be a part of their proceedings.

Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. Nobody wanted to "claim" him, or claim to know who might: it was all a big mystery that "everyone normally on-site" made a big joke of (e.g., Bob G.: "Across town, they call him 'Big Tex;' here, we call him 'co-Tex'").

I had the opportunity to ask the folks guiding the big dummy ("put your foot over here. No, no, the other foot! ...") who'd hired them, but, well, they had their hands pretty full making sure Big Tex didn't become an ex-Tex! (Seriously: even despite the chill, I don't think I'd have wanted to have been the guy in the costume! "Cumbersome" only begins to describe it!)

John Judge was too busy to even acknowledge me when I attempted just to say hello ... but of course, I do tend to travel incognito - blend into the crowd and all that (but with enough "authority" that the paper-hawkers don't bother me) - and don't really expect anyone to actually recognize me in the flesh!

(Actually, I think anyone who thought that they saw me, probably mistook me for the clown wearing the FBI baseball cap and carrying a copy of the WCR! I must admit that anyone with a telephoto lens also probably did catch me commisserating with him, tho!)

Long and short, nobody either claimed credit or laid blame. It's all a big mystery, sort of like the microphones in the water-collectors keeping tabs on the "Dealey denizens" that really know what happened. Maybe someday we'll find out ... if the images and documents aren't altered!

Are you stating - without equivocation - that COPA had nothing to do with it?

Shaking my head in wonderment, I still remain ...

Hey Duke,

I don't know about Big Tex, but at least John Judge is a Good Yankee. Unlike Bad Yankess like Groden, Judge goes home and doesn't stay in Dallas.

BK

[William Kelly]

While I still want to know who was responsible for bringing Big Tex to the Grassy Knoll, Mike Hogan came up with another Jeff Morley article on JFK Myths.

I'm sure there are other articles out there that were published for the anniversary, even if they were in local news.

If anybody has any other articles, I'd like a link to them.

Thanks,

Bill Kelly

[J. Raymond Carroll]

If anybody has any other articles, I'd like a link to them.

Thanks,

Bill Kelly

Just two I happened to chance upon.

http://www.thesop.org/index.php?id=8471

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/novembe...tion_112207.php

[Alan Healy]

Thanks for the interesting report Duke.

I doubt I could of contained myself if I had been there.

To be perfectly blunt,

I would of set fire to it.

Oh there's a man inside it?

Oh okay...........

"Hey Tex. Your =ss is on fire"!

There's your publicity.

...........

At least it was only 10' & not 52'.

Still.

Very sad.

I hope that particular problem is absent next year.

Best of luck!

[William Kelly]

Thanks for the interesting report Duke.

I doubt I could of contained myself if I had been there.

To be perfectly blunt,

I would of set fire to it.

Oh there's a man inside it?

Oh okay...........

"Hey Tex. Your =ss is on fire"!

There's your publicity.

...........

At least it was only 10' & not 52'.

Still.

Very sad.

I hope that particular problem is absent next year.

Best of luck!

I have a Tom Blackwell photo of the culpret, Big Tex, who appears to be a lone-nut.

Will try to post.

BK

http://www.n5gar.com/11-22-2007-2-13-26-PM_0037-Dealey.jpg

http://www.n5gar.com/11-22-2007-2-16-00-PM_0045-Dealey.jpg

[Terry Mauro]

Thanks for the interesting report Duke.

I doubt I could of contained myself if I had been there.

To be perfectly blunt,

I would of set fire to it.

Oh there's a man inside it?

Oh okay...........

"Hey Tex. Your =ss is on fire"!

There's your publicity.

...........

At least it was only 10' & not 52'.

Still.

Very sad.

I hope that particular problem is absent next year.

Best of luck!

I have a Tom Blackwell photo of the culpret, Big Tex, who appears to be a lone-nut.

Will try to post.

BK

http://www.n5gar.com/11-22-2007-2-13-26-PM_0037-Dealey.jpg

http://www.n5gar.com/11-22-2007-2-16-00-PM_0045-Dealey.jpg

************************************

All I gotta say is that it's a good thing I wasn't there to have witnessed that fiasco, because I would've wasted no time in dragging and kicking his sorry ass off the pergola, in a heartbeat! Of course, being arrested for assault and battery would have been worth the effort, but I probably wouldn't have made it out of Dallas alive, either. Those redneck peck'o'woods are beyond repute.

[William Kelly]

Thanks for the interesting report Duke.

I doubt I could of contained myself if I had been there.

To be perfectly blunt,

I would of set fire to it.

Oh there's a man inside it?

Oh okay...........

"Hey Tex. Your =ss is on fire"!

There's your publicity.

...........

At least it was only 10' & not 52'.

Still.

Very sad.

I hope that particular problem is absent next year.

Best of luck!

I have a Tom Blackwell photo of the culpret, Big Tex, who appears to be a lone-nut.

Will try to post.

BK

http://www.n5gar.com/11-22-2007-2-13-26-PM_0037-Dealey.jpg

http://www.n5gar.com/11-22-2007-2-16-00-PM_0045-Dealey.jpg

************************************

All I gotta say is that it's a good thing I wasn't there to have witnessed that fiasco, because I would've wasted no time in dragging and kicking his sorry ass off the pergola, in a heartbeat! Of course, being arrested for assault and battery would have been worth the effort, but I probably wouldn't have made it out of Dallas alive, either. Those redneck peck'o'woods are beyond repute.

From the photos Tom Blackwell sent me, it looks like there were only a couple of dozen people there, and the only "Circus" was Big Tex, who certainly wasn't an outside aggitator.

I guess that's just part of what JFK meant when he said, "We're in Nut Country now."

I don't understand how Duke can say John Judge and the COPA people there should have "divorced" themselves from Big Tex. How do you divorce yourself from a hovering giant in a cowboy hat?

BK

[David G. Healy]

Thanks for the interesting report Duke.

I doubt I could of contained myself if I had been there.

To be perfectly blunt,

I would of set fire to it.

Oh there's a man inside it?

Oh okay...........

"Hey Tex. Your =ss is on fire"!

There's your publicity.

...........

At least it was only 10' & not 52'.

Still.

Very sad.

I hope that particular problem is absent next year.

Best of luck!

I have a Tom Blackwell photo of the culpret, Big Tex, who appears to be a lone-nut.

Will try to post.

BK

http://www.n5gar.com/11-22-2007-2-13-26-PM_0037-Dealey.jpg

http://www.n5gar.com/11-22-2007-2-16-00-PM_0045-Dealey.jpg

************************************

All I gotta say is that it's a good thing I wasn't there to have witnessed that fiasco, because I would've wasted no time in dragging and kicking his sorry ass off the pergola, in a heartbeat! Of course, being arrested for assault and battery would have been worth the effort, but I probably wouldn't have made it out of Dallas alive, either. Those redneck peck'o'woods are beyond repute.

From the photos Tom Blackwell sent me, it looks like there were only a couple of dozen people there, and the only "Circus" was Big Tex, who certainly wasn't an outside aggitator.

I guess that's just part of what JFK meant when he said, "We're in Nut Country now."

I don't understand how Duke can say John Judge and the COPA people there should have "divorced" themselves from Big Tex. How do you divorce yourself from a hovering giant in a cowboy hat?

BK

The City of Dallas is still atoning? Frankly I wouldn't be surprised if *Big Tex* was homegrown, right there in Dallas-Ft. Worth area. And prompted locally too! The 6th Floor Museum has ceased being a monument to a slain President, some suspect the City of Dallas wants it gone!

[Alan Healy]

Thanks for the pictures Bill & Tom.

I do realise it's no joke but I couldn't resist.

For Terry.

The non-graphic version.

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff188/B...ofthecrime1.jpg

[William Kelly]

If anybody has any other articles, I'd like a link to them.

Thanks,

Bill Kelly

Just two I happened to chance upon.

http://www.thesop.org/index.php?id=8471

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/novembe...tion_112207.php

Thanks, JRC,

I'm sure there's more outthere.

BK

[Michael Hogan]

I'm sure there's more out there.

Bill, in case you haven't seen these:

http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/47672

http://www.irishecho.com/newspaper/story.cfm?id=18560

[Terry Mauro]

Thanks for the pictures Bill & Tom.

I do realise it's no joke but I couldn't resist.

For Terry.

The non-graphic version.

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff188/B...ofthecrime1.jpg

************************************************************

Thanks, Alan!

And, you know that's exactly where that dumbass would've ended up if I had been there!

I brook no quarter for dimwits.

[William Kelly]

Let's bring it back to Jacquielynn Floyd, whose misperceptions of the Dealey Plaza memorial services have clouded reality:

http://us.f523.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=3282 ://http://us.f523.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Sh...lor][/size]://http://us.f523.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Sh...lor][/size]

<H2 class=vitstoryheadline>Jacquielynn Floyd: In the absence of official JFK observance, we get a circus</H2><H5 class=vitstorydate>07:22 AM CST on Wednesday, November 21, 2007</H5>http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/localnews/columnists/jfloyd/stories/DN-floyd_21met.ART.State.Edition2.36b751b.html

People may drift down to Dealey Plaza on Thursday, but there won't be any official ceremony or city-sanctioned observance to mark the 44th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

It's not a tradition that ever took hold here, and the absence is understandable. Dallas, which endured its own unique grief in the years immediately following 1963, may well have been too traumatized to mark the anniversary.

By some accounts, the city – and, later, The Sixth Floor Museum – have deferred to the Kennedy family's longstanding wishes that the date not be observed.

And after all these years, public grief has largely given way to a general relegation of this terrible event to memory. There are many Americans who remember that day in bleak detail – but there are probably more now who don't.

In fact, I can think of only one reason why the city might, at this late date, consider organizing an officially sanctioned event to recognize the worst day in its history.

Just this: Too often, on Nov. 22, people have gone to Dealey Plaza in a genuine and respectful spirit of remembrance – and have found an embarrassing, exhibitionistic carnival.

In the absence of any structure, the date has become a high holy day for conspiracy cranks, a swap meet for oddballs to peddle their strange obsessions. The grassy knoll isn't just a magnet for people who want to bend your ear ad nauseam about the Warren Commission report; now it attracts people waving banners extolling such offensive sentiments as "9/11 = INSIDE JOB."

This is not a suggestion that anybody's First Amendment rights be curbed. People get to air their crazy ideas if they want to, even if it's tedious and obnoxious and nobody wants to listen.

But it's a cruel shame that people who feel a genuine desire to visit the site to pray or meditate and remember the slain president have to put up with a chaotic, disorganized circus on this, of all days.

Four years ago, for instance, my colleague David Flick visited Dealey Plaza on Nov. 22.

"In the absence of any structured events," he wrote, "proceedings ... were dominated by conspiracy theorists."

He described a confused scene of at least 5,000 people, some of them apparently expecting a formal program. Instead, there were noisy crackpots and publicity seekers. The headliner among them was former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, who bellowed that he was the "only elected official who had the courage to come here today."

A marching drum band showed up unannounced. Conspiracy theorists set up microphones. TV helicopters buzzed overhead. Festive pranksters popped open umbrellas on a prearranged signal in a "flash mob" event.

If the date and place had attracted only genuine mourners and historians, it might have been a moving, spontaneous observance. The cranks and partiers made it silly and disrespectful.

That was the assassination's 40th anniversary; round numbers have powerful appeal. If the scene was this tawdry for 40, what do you suppose 50 will look like?

Here's a promise: A lot of people are going to show up, whether there's an official observance or not: camera crews, trinket vendors, mourners, tourists, conspiracy theorists, attention seekers and possibly street jugglers and reality-show contestants.

In the absence of any other consistent tradition, this is the one that seems to be taking hold. The way things have been shaping up in recent years, 2013 will be a major blowout for the wackos.

Neither Dallas nor The Sixth Floor Museum is obligated to plan an "official" assassination observance, for 2013 or for any other year. Maybe it's better to let Americans observe the sad occasion as they see fit.

But they might want to think it over. If there's going to be a public gathering, it ought to have some focus and purpose beyond grabbing some free publicity. It ought to have dignity.

"By some accounts, the city – and, later, The Sixth Floor Museum – have deferred to the Kennedy family's longstanding wishes that the date not be observed."

That's her opinion : Write to her and give her yours at JFloyd@Dallasnews.com

[Pamela Brown]

The lack of programming on the assassination this year may be due to a strategy in place. With the publication of VB's book and the upcoming mini-series, the plan may be to 'wipe the slate clean' of previous information on the assassination and 'start over' next year with the latest redux of the WCR. I hope I'm mistaken.