Tink's performance in The New York Times

[Pat Speer]

David Lifton said:

FWIW (and for the record): I have never really focused on the "dark complected man". Yes, he could be sinister; but maybe not. My point is that there are any number of people in Dealey Plaza who were never identified and who could also be quite important. For example, what about the person (in the background of some of the later frames of the Z film, towards the end) who is holding up the sign which reads (I was told by the late Dick Sprague): JFK you SOB.

Is that a "fact"? In any event, whatever that sign reads, how in the world could the FBI have conducted its investigation and there be no paper trail as to (a) who is is and/or (b ) of any attempt to identify him?

Another point: based on the testimony of Witt, we now have two people who are "next to" someone who makes remarks, and who have never been identified:

(a) Witt, who testifies that the man next to him said "I believe someone shot them folks" (or some such thing)

(b ) Emmet Hudson, who testified that one of the men standing on the stairs next to him said; "Sit down mister, sit down. Someone is shooting the President" (from memory).

Finally, this point (re the pumping of the umbrella): if the Z film has been altered, what is now called the "pumping" of the umbrella may be exaggerated (or at least not an accurate representation) for the same reason that (if the Z film was altered) the backward "head snap" may be an artifact of film alteration. Just a thought.

DSL

I agree with most of what you wrote here, David. In my view, there is little reason to dismiss either TUM or the DCM under the circumstances. That the FBI did not successfully identify them is suspect. That is not to say that I have any "pet theory" which explains their presence or their actions that day. I do not. But, it seems quite a stretch to imagine that they were just casual innocent bystanders, (again) under the circumstances, especially when one considers their close proximity to the target coupled with 1) their actions during the event and 2) their subsequent reactions immediately following it.

I also agree with your comment regarding the exaggerated "head snap" probably being the result of alteration. As for the umbrella pumping, we have evidence of it from non Z-film STILL photographs. So, that would not be an artifact of Z-film alteration, IMO.

The FBI didn't ID any of the witnesses in Dealey Plaza. They had no interest. Once they looked into Oswald, they looked no further,unless asked to do so by the WC.

Virtually every witness interviewed by the FBI came to their attention via statements to other agencies or newspaper articles. They just didn't give a damn.

[David Lifton]

Regarding Oswald's dyslexia (and again, dyslexia is a reading disability. . .):

You should look look up the story of Emma Livingston, Oswald's teacher in the fourth grade at Arlington Heights Elementary School. She was not called as a WC witness, but was interviewed by the FBI, and the details are also laid out in stories in the NY TImes, Life Magazine, and the Dallas newspapers.

Ms Livingston describes at length the personalized help she extended to Oswald in the fourth grade (school year 1949-1950); and how his reading and spelling improved considerably. At the Christmas party that year, Oswald gave her, as a gift, a puppy from his dog's litter.

As a consequence of this personalized help in reading and spelling--and the relationship, fwiw, extended beyond 1949-50 and into the following year or two--Oswald's IQ (when tested) jumped from 103 (when tested in 1950) to 118 (when tested in NYC, at Youth House, in April, 1953). This "IQ jump"--I believe--is related to his increased ability in reading comprehension, and I have had detailed discussions about this with qualified persons.

I think WC atty Liebeler started to become enlightened about a lot of this towards the tail end of the WC investigation (between June and September, 1964), because his wife (whom I knew personally, because I visited with them) was a teacher at a school for the gifted (Montessori). Then, at the end, Liebeler was in communication with Dr. Rome, of the Mayo Clinic and, as I'm sure you know, he compiled a multi page memorandum (dated 9/8/64) setting forth his belief (based on spelling evidence) that Oswald suffered from dyslexia (WCE 3134). One of the unusual things about this Liebeler/Rome communication is that Liebeler went completely outside of channels to do this. (Normally, everything had to be channeled through General Counsel Rankin. Here, you will note, that Dr. Rome writes back to Liebeler directly. This was quite unusual. WC attorneys were NOT supposed to communicate with the "outside world" in that fashion).

Anyway. . .None of this has anything to do with Asperger's (or autism). It has everything to do with dyslexia, "word-blindness" etc. That was Dr. Rome's diagnosis, and I think he was spot on.

I strongly recommend that you Google "Emma Livingston" and read up on her experiences with Oswald.

DSL

3) That Oswald was not dyslexic (as is established by ample evidence) but rather, has Asperger's syndrome. Of course, the former is a reading disorder; the latter, related to autism.

A reading disability. Exactly. Now show where Oswald had any difficulty reading.

Oswald was diagnosed with a "personality pattern disturbance" while at YH by Dr Hartogs. Hans Asperger referred to the syndrome bearing his name as a "personality disorder".Research has since shown that because of crossover "symptoms" between personality disorders and AS, incorrect diagnosis is possible. And Hartogs did not have the option of diagnosing AS as it was not recognized in the US at that time.

Despite the battery of tests, apparent access to school records, and interviews with Oswald, one thing not diagnosed was dyslexia.

No response, David? How strange! You brought it up!

(snipped. . no time)

[Pat Speer]

Good point Pat.

When you actually study what Hoover did in this case, it is really kind of shocking.

Even for him.

My favorite example of FBI apathy is the March interviews with the TSBD workers. They were asked to ascertain where these people were during the shooting, if they saw Oswald, and if they saw any strangers in the building that day. A large percentage of these workers said they were out on Elm watching the motorcade.

The FBI had them sign statements claiming as much. They failed to ask or have these people describe what they'd witnessed, however. As the WC was beginning to realize that the shooting scenario they were gonna push was not gonna match the witnesses they already had, I doubt this was a coincidence.

[Bernice Moore]

i'm thinking this work by Doug, perhaps got overlooked.thanks..b

http://insidethearrb.livejournal.com/3251.html Studying Zapruder Film Anomalies: Clarifying the Record...by....Doug Horne

[Bernice Moore]

Some Texas School Book Depository Employees - part 1 (Extended English Version.......witnesses tsbd fwiw....part 1...b

part 2...........

Edited December 18, 2011 by Bernice Moore

[Greg Parker]

Regarding Oswald's dyslexia (and again, dyslexia is a reading disability. . .):

Yes, it is. And I again ask you to show me where Oswald had any reading difficulties. Mrs L claimed he was a poor speller and poor reader, to be sure - but she put it down to lack of help and practice at home.

You should look look up the story of Emma Livingston, Oswald's teacher in the fourth grade at Arlington Heights Elementary School. She was not called as a WC witness, but was interviewed by the FBI, and the details are also laid out in stories in the NY TImes, Life Magazine, and the Dallas newspapers.

She does not mention "dyslexia". Not once.

Ms Livingston describes at length the personalized help she extended to Oswald in the fourth grade (school year 1949-1950); and how his reading and spelling improved considerably. At the Christmas party that year, Oswald gave her, as a gift, a puppy from his dog's litter.

Oh, well. That proves it. He gave her a puppy. He must have been dyslexic. On a par with any other evidence you serve up.

Dyslexia of course, requires specialized programs to overcome, not a little boning up - even with the teachers help after school. Any improvement (in spelling) was short-term - and further evidence the problem was not dyslexia. The after school help did however, compensate for the lack of help and practice at home, and he needed no further assistance in that discipline afterwards.

As a consequence of this personalized help in reading and spelling--and the relationship, fwiw, extended beyond 1949-50 and into the following year or two--Oswald's IQ (when tested) jumped from 103 (when tested in 1950) to 118 (when tested in NYC, at Youth House, in April, 1953). This "IQ jump"--I believe--is related to his increased ability in reading comprehension, and I have had detailed discussions about this with qualified persons.

Good for you. Mrs L was surprised to learn of his reading material in later life. She didn't think he'd progress past comic books. But the fact that his reading ability improved with practice without the need for any special program, but the spelling improvement was short-lived in itself, rules out dyslexia.

I think WC atty Liebeler started to become enlightened about a lot of this towards the tail end of the WC investigation (between June and September, 1964), because his wife (whom I knew personally, because I visited with them) was a teacher at a school for the gifted (Montessori).

Gifted kids??? ROFL It is for idiot parents with too much money.

Then, at the end, Liebeler was in communication with Dr. Rome, of the Mayo Clinic and, as I'm sure you know, he compiled a multi page memorandum (dated 9/8/64) setting forth his belief (based on spelling evidence) that Oswald suffered from dyslexia (WCE 3134). One of the unusual things about this Liebeler/Rome communication is that Liebeler went completely outside of channels to do this. (Normally, everything had to be channeled through General Counsel Rankin. Here, you will note, that Dr. Rome writes back to Liebeler directly. This was quite unusual. WC attorneys were NOT supposed to communicate with the "outside world" in that fashion).

"The Warren Commission sought an opinion on Oswald from Dr Rome of the Mayo Clinic based on examples of Oswald's writing. Dr Rome diagnosed "constitutional dyslexia". This was once referred to as "word blindness", and indeed, Dr Rome confirmed in his letter to the commission (CE 3134) that this is what he had in mind, saying, "It is a specific disorder of function and not merely the result of external factors. It was established early that difficulties in reading are always accompanied by difficulties in writing and spelling…" Thus Rome, never having examined Oswald, assumed incorrectly that Oswald had a reading disability as the basis of his spelling problems."

http://reopenkennedy...s-than-dyslexia

As shown above - Oswald never had a reading disability. He had a lack of practice in reading (as concluded by myself, and your own witness, Mrs L), and some after school practice was sufficient to permanently remedy that. It was not a permanent solution to his spelling problem.

Anyway. . .None of this has anything to do with Asperger's (or autism). It has everything to do with dyslexia, "word-blindness" etc. That was Dr. Rome's diagnosis, and I think he was spot on.

He made a diagnosis of dyslexia based on some spelling samples. Hartogs made a diagnosis of "personality pattern disturbance" based on his own interview with Oswald and various test results and other professional reports. Asperger's was not recognized in the US until the 1970s, so neither Hartogs nor Rome could have diagnosed it. They did the best they could with the evidence they had. Hartogs almost got it right. As previously stated, Asperger considered the condition named after him to be a "personality disorder".

I refer you to the very start of the article linked to above:

From Dr Asperger's original case-notes:

"His handwriting, as would be expected from his general clumsiness, was very poor. He carried on writing carelessly, and messily, crossing out words, lines going up and down, the slant changing. His spelling, however, was reasonably accurate. As long as his attention was focused on one word, he knew how to spell it. It was very significant then that he made more spelling errors when copying than at dictation.Really, one would expect that copying should not present any problems at all since the words were in front of him; but this very simple and straightforward task simply did not interest him".

Now doesn't that sound like Oswald, who did spell VERY well on occasion as an adult, and then very poorly the rest of the time where his writings are littered with crossed out words, lines all over the place, and are altogether messy. Exactly as described above.

I strongly recommend that you Google "Emma Livingston" and read up on her experiences with Oswald.

And I strongly recommend you consider that Dyslexia not only does NOT explain his spelling mistakes, it explains none of the odd aspects of Oswald's personality which have caused many a researcher to go to ludicrous lengths to try and grasp. Asperger's explains it all -- his occasional bad spelling (and why it IS occasional rather than all the time); his foreign language skills; his accent which again has researchers grasping at straws imagining all manner of things; his social awkwardness; his intensity etc etc...

DSL

Edited December 18, 2011 by Greg Parker

[Pat Speer]

FWIW, I have read quite a bit about Asperger's due to concerns about my son. Asperger's is primarily a social problem. Kids who don't play well with others, are addicted to routines, and have unusual obsessions, such as trains, are often diagnosed as having Asperger's. Children with Asperger's quite often live with their parents for the bulk of their lives. (Think of it as Autism-light.) There is little in Oswald's life that suggests he had Asperger's, IMO. Someone afflicted with the disorder would not be expected to join the Marines at age 17, go to Russia, marry an attractive young woman, etc.

Dyslexia seems far more likely, IMO. Although not diagnosed by a physician, the assumption among most of my family is that my brother is dyslexic. By the time I was in third grade I was reading at an eleventh grade level, while my brother, in the fifth grade, was reading at a second or third grade level. Within two years of that point, however, he learned to focus and was able to improve. His problems were also related to the fact that, when he was taught to read in school, the teachers had momentarily abandoned teaching phonics--sounding out words.

Dyslexics, famously, have problems with the order of letters within words. This affects their spelling far more than their reading, however. At one point I read quite a bit on human cognition. I discovered something which should have been obvious--that people don't read individual letters when they read words. They see the first letter and a bunch of other letters, and "see" the word based on the combination of letter shapes they observe. Dyslexics can learn to read far easier than they can learn to spell, which forces them to focus on each letter in sequence.

In short, when someone has a high IQ, like Oswald, but also has problems spelling, like Oswald, they are considered a likely candidate for dyslexia.

Edited December 18, 2011 by Pat Speer

[Greg Parker]

FWIW, I have read quite a bit about Asperger's due to concerns about my son. Asperger's is primarily a social problem. Kids who don't play well with others, are addicted to routines, and have unusual obsessions, such as trains, are often diagnosed as having Asperger's. Children with Asperger's quite often live with their parents for the bulk of their lives. (Think of it as Autism-light.) There is little in Oswald's life that suggests he had Asperger's, IMO. Someone afflicted with the disorder would not be expected to join the Marines at age 17, go to Russia, marry an attractive young woman, etc.

Hmm, and yet when Mr Lifton raised this issue to try and rub my nose in it, I got an email from someone with an Asperger's son saying he has long thought Oswald had AS for the same reasons I've cited because he recognizes those same traits in his son. I won't quote the whole email, but a couple of key points he made were, "This [Asperger's] accounts for many strange things, IMHO - Oswald's apparent gullability, his conflicting politics..." "his obvious high IQ (learning Russian on his own) and Demohrenschildt's comments in his book on Oswald - all adding up to a personal complexity full of contradictions. And his clear learning disabilities are a part of that, as well. Aspergers kids are seen to be widely variable - brilliant in some areas, clueless in others. .."

Dyslexia seems far more likely, IMO. Although not diagnosed by a physician, the assumption among most of my family is that my brother is dyslexic. By the time I was in third grade I was reading at an eleventh grade level, while my brother, in the fifth grade, was reading at a second or third grade level. Within two years of that point, however, he learned to focus and was able to improve.

Then your brother most definitely has something in common with Oswald. Neither was ever diagnosed with dyslexia.

Dyslexics, famously, read letters in the wrong order.

Myth

This affects their spelling far more than their reading, however. At one point I read quite a bit on human cognition. I discovered something which should have been obvious--that people don't read individual letters when they read words. They see the first letter and a bunch of other letters, and "see" the word based on the combination of letter shapes they observe. Dyslexics can learn to read far easier than they can learn to spell, which forces them to focus on each letter in sequence.

In short, when someone has a high IQ, like Oswald, but also has problems spelling, like Oswald, they are considered a likely candidate for dyslexia.

By definition, "likely candidates" are not easily missed by multiple professionals across a range of disciplines. Moreover, dyslexics are not measurably improved by a bit of extra curricular tuition as David would have us believe.

Edited December 18, 2011 by Greg Parker

[Pat Speer]

FWIW, I have read quite a bit about Asperger's due to concerns about my son. Asperger's is primarily a social problem. Kids who don't play well with others, are addicted to routines, and have unusual obsessions, such as trains, are often diagnosed as having Asperger's. Children with Asperger's quite often live with their parents for the bulk of their lives. (Think of it as Autism-light.) There is little in Oswald's life that suggests he had Asperger's, IMO. Someone afflicted with the disorder would not be expected to join the Marines at age 17, go to Russia, marry an attractive young woman, etc.

Hmm, and yet when Mr Lifton raised this issue to try and rub my nose in it, I got an email from someone with an Asperger's son saying he has long thought Oswald had AS for the same reasons I've cited because he recognizes those same traits in his son. I won't quote the whole email, but a couple of key points he made were, "This [Asperger's] accounts for many strange things, IMHO - Oswald's apparent gullability, his conflicting politics..." "his obvious high IQ (learning Russian on his own) and Demohrenschildt's comments in his book on Oswald - all adding up to a personal complexity full of contradictions. And his clear learning disabilities are a part of that, as well. Aspergers kids are seen to be widely variable - brilliant in some areas, clueless in others. .."

Dyslexia seems far more likely, IMO. Although not diagnosed by a physician, the assumption among most of my family is that my brother is dyslexic. By the time I was in third grade I was reading at an eleventh grade level, while my brother, in the fifth grade, was reading at a second or third grade level. Within two years of that point, however, he learned to focus and was able to improve.

Then your brother most definitely has something in common with Oswald. Neither was ever diagnosed with dyslexia.

Dyslexics, famously, read letters in the wrong order.

Myth

This affects their spelling far more than their reading, however. At one point I read quite a bit on human cognition. I discovered something which should have been obvious--that people don't read individual letters when they read words. They see the first letter and a bunch of other letters, and "see" the word based on the combination of letter shapes they observe. Dyslexics can learn to read far easier than they can learn to spell, which forces them to focus on each letter in sequence.

In short, when someone has a high IQ, like Oswald, but also has problems spelling, like Oswald, they are considered a likely candidate for dyslexia.

By definition, "likely candidates" are not easily missed by multiple professionals across a range of disciplines. Moreover, dyslexics are not measurably improved by a bit of extra curricular tuition as David would have us believe.

Greg, the term "dyslexia" was rarely used or heard in the 40's and 50's, when Oswald was growing up. Your apparent belief that "if he'd had it someone would have caught it" is not accurate, IMO.

[Greg Parker]

FWIW, I have read quite a bit about Asperger's due to concerns about my son. Asperger's is primarily a social problem. Kids who don't play well with others, are addicted to routines, and have unusual obsessions, such as trains, are often diagnosed as having Asperger's. Children with Asperger's quite often live with their parents for the bulk of their lives. (Think of it as Autism-light.) There is little in Oswald's life that suggests he had Asperger's, IMO. Someone afflicted with the disorder would not be expected to join the Marines at age 17, go to Russia, marry an attractive young woman, etc.

Hmm, and yet when Mr Lifton raised this issue to try and rub my nose in it, I got an email from someone with an Asperger's son saying he has long thought Oswald had AS for the same reasons I've cited because he recognizes those same traits in his son. I won't quote the whole email, but a couple of key points he made were, "This [Asperger's] accounts for many strange things, IMHO - Oswald's apparent gullability, his conflicting politics..." "his obvious high IQ (learning Russian on his own) and Demohrenschildt's comments in his book on Oswald - all adding up to a personal complexity full of contradictions. And his clear learning disabilities are a part of that, as well. Aspergers kids are seen to be widely variable - brilliant in some areas, clueless in others. .."

Dyslexia seems far more likely, IMO. Although not diagnosed by a physician, the assumption among most of my family is that my brother is dyslexic. By the time I was in third grade I was reading at an eleventh grade level, while my brother, in the fifth grade, was reading at a second or third grade level. Within two years of that point, however, he learned to focus and was able to improve.

Then your brother most definitely has something in common with Oswald. Neither was ever diagnosed with dyslexia.

Dyslexics, famously, read letters in the wrong order.

Myth

This affects their spelling far more than their reading, however. At one point I read quite a bit on human cognition. I discovered something which should have been obvious--that people don't read individual letters when they read words. They see the first letter and a bunch of other letters, and "see" the word based on the combination of letter shapes they observe. Dyslexics can learn to read far easier than they can learn to spell, which forces them to focus on each letter in sequence.

In short, when someone has a high IQ, like Oswald, but also has problems spelling, like Oswald, they are considered a likely candidate for dyslexia.

By definition, "likely candidates" are not easily missed by multiple professionals across a range of disciplines. Moreover, dyslexics are not measurably improved by a bit of extra curricular tuition as David would have us believe.

Greg, the term "dyslexia" was rarely used or heard in the 40's and 50's, when Oswald was growing up. Your apparent belief that "if he'd had it someone would have caught it" is not accurate, IMO.

Yes. You are right, Pat. Prior to the 1950s, "word blindness " was the term used. Which is why Rome used both terms...

Theories of dyslexia, usually using the term "word blindness" were first developed in 1896. Medicine paid little attention to dyslexia until the 1950s.

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED358409&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED358409

[Greg Parker]

FWIW, I have read quite a bit about Asperger's due to concerns about my son. Asperger's is primarily a social problem. Kids who don't play well with others, are addicted to routines, and have unusual obsessions, such as trains, are often diagnosed as having Asperger's. Children with Asperger's quite often live with their parents for the bulk of their lives. (Think of it as Autism-light.) There is little in Oswald's life that suggests he had Asperger's, IMO. Someone afflicted with the disorder would not be expected to join the Marines at age 17, go to Russia, marry an attractive young woman, etc.

Hmm, and yet when Mr Lifton raised this issue to try and rub my nose in it, I got an email from someone with an Asperger's son saying he has long thought Oswald had AS for the same reasons I've cited because he recognizes those same traits in his son. I won't quote the whole email, but a couple of key points he made were, "This [Asperger's] accounts for many strange things, IMHO - Oswald's apparent gullability, his conflicting politics..." "his obvious high IQ (learning Russian on his own) and Demohrenschildt's comments in his book on Oswald - all adding up to a personal complexity full of contradictions. And his clear learning disabilities are a part of that, as well. Aspergers kids are seen to be widely variable - brilliant in some areas, clueless in others. .."

Dyslexia seems far more likely, IMO. Although not diagnosed by a physician, the assumption among most of my family is that my brother is dyslexic. By the time I was in third grade I was reading at an eleventh grade level, while my brother, in the fifth grade, was reading at a second or third grade level. Within two years of that point, however, he learned to focus and was able to improve.

Then your brother most definitely has something in common with Oswald. Neither was ever diagnosed with dyslexia.

Dyslexics, famously, read letters in the wrong order.

Myth

This affects their spelling far more than their reading, however. At one point I read quite a bit on human cognition. I discovered something which should have been obvious--that people don't read individual letters when they read words. They see the first letter and a bunch of other letters, and "see" the word based on the combination of letter shapes they observe. Dyslexics can learn to read far easier than they can learn to spell, which forces them to focus on each letter in sequence.

In short, when someone has a high IQ, like Oswald, but also has problems spelling, like Oswald, they are considered a likely candidate for dyslexia.

By definition, "likely candidates" are not easily missed by multiple professionals across a range of disciplines. Moreover, dyslexics are not measurably improved by a bit of extra curricular tuition as David would have us believe.

Greg, the term "dyslexia" was rarely used or heard in the 40's and 50's, when Oswald was growing up. Your apparent belief that "if he'd had it someone would have caught it" is not accurate, IMO.

Yes. You are right, Pat. Prior to the 1950s, "word blindness " was the term used. Which is why Rome used both terms...

Theories of dyslexia, usually using the term "word blindness" were first developed in 1896. Medicine paid little attention to dyslexia until the 1950s.

http://www.eric.ed.g...&accno=ED358409

I guess I should have added that he wasn't diagnosed with "word blindness" either -- nor any other interchangeable term. The fact that the term "dyslexia" was not coined until the 1950s is irrelevant when it only replaced other terms. And I would be amazed if the professionals at YH had no inkling about such learning disabilities since it would be a common cause of the truancy and petty crime issues they dealt with daily.

Any further objections?

David, what about you?

[Allen Lowe]

I'm a newbie here, officially, though I've been lurking around here about 10 years, believe it or not; I've been in touch with Greg Parker, because I've long believed that Oswald was a classic case of Aspergers (I have a 23 year old son with son with that condition); here's some of what I wrote to Greg in a recent email:

"(it is wrong to say) that Aspergers kids live with their parents, can't

join organizations, etc. I see people with Aspergers in all realms of

life, I work with a few; and many CREATIVE people have it in some way

or form - I'm a jazz musician and have known about 50 others with this

characteristic; many Aspergers people are high functioning (a cross

diagnosis is PDD NOS, Pervasive Development Disorder, Not Otherwise

Specified) - think Benny Goodman, for one example (do a little reading

on his odd and socially inappropriate behavior).

just think of that guy you worked with once who was real smart but did

not know how to get along with people (for example, all the IT guys in

computerland) - this is very common,

Oswald was very likely in this category; it is why some people thought

he was idiot, others that he was brilliant (and I will say, having

listed to that radio show he did, that he had the classic Aspergers

way if talking; a little self conscious and stumbling, yet very

logical)."

let me add that this might also account for some of Oswald's political contradictions; though I agree he was a tool of the CIA and Naval intelligence, hearing him speak on politic leads me to believe that he was sincere in his neo-Marxist pronouncements. This, too, I see as part of his Asperger's, his failure to see the conflict between his various behaviors. Someone like this is very easily manipulable, overly trusting and naive at the same time that he is capable of certain kinds of sophistication.

Edited December 24, 2011 by Allen Lowe

[Greg Parker]

I'm a newbie here, officially, though I've been lurking around here about 10 years, believe it or not; I've been in touch with Greg Parker, because I've long believed that Oswald was a classic case of Aspergers (I have a 23 year old son with son with that condition); here's some of what I wrote to Greg in a recent email:

"(it is wrong to say) that Aspergers kids live with their parents, can't

join organizations, etc. I see people with Aspergers in all realms of

life, I work with a few; and many CREATIVE people have it in some way

or form - I'm a jazz musician and have known about 50 others with this

characteristic; many Aspergers people are high functioning (a cross

diagnosis is PDD NOS, Pervasive Development Disorder, Not Otherwise

Specified) - think Benny Goodman, for one example (do a little reading

on his odd and socially inappropriate behavior).

just think of that guy you worked with once who was real smart but did

not know how to get along with people (for example, all the IT guys in

computerland) - this is very common,

Oswald was very likely in this category; it is why some people thought

he was idiot, others that he was brilliant (and I will say, having

listed to that radio show he did, that he had the classic Aspergers

way if talking; a little self conscious and stumbling, yet very

logical)."

let me add that this might also account for some of Oswald's political contradictions; though I agree he was a tool of the CIA and Naval intelligence, hearing him speak on politic leads me to believe that he was sincere in his neo-Marxist pronouncements. This, too, I see as part of his Asperger's, his failure to see the conflict between his various behaviors. Someone like this is very easily manipulable, overly trusting and naive at the same time that he is capable of certain kinds of sophistication.

Allen, thanks for joining. You provide a cooler, more articulate argument than I can muster.

I do think it's important that members understand one thing - that we came to this same conclusion about Oswald quite independent of each other.

I recently read that people with Asperger's are often fascinated with the way things work. Have you found that to be true in your experience?

I think there are good examples of Oswald showing such interest - though it would be a stretch to say it was at any extreme level. Still...

An interesting discussion among Aspies here:

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt182660.html

I also once came across a blogger who had AS and listed all the reasons AS would make him a good spy... unfortunately unable to relocate it for now...

[Allen Lowe]

yes, Aspergers types are often fascinated with process - and hence a little OCD - once they land on something they tend not to let go. Perseveration is very characteristic.

And yes, we came to this conclusion completely separately. One of the things that always really bothered me about characterizations of Oswald was the way in which the LN'ers tried to call him a loser and stupid - classic ways of insulting the learning disabled. There are some comments from his former fellow Marines that go this way, and I have seen such turncoats as Gus Russo call him a loser and worse. It always reminded me of the way these kids were treated when I was growing up - in those days, before anything was really diagnosed, people called them 'stupid' and 'crazy.' These disabilities make them into loners, isolate them and force them to do everything on their own.

To me the most interesting and charitable portrait of Oswald is in DeMohrenschildt's book, I Am A Patsy. Whatever DeMohrenschildt's role in all this (and I tend to think his was a very compartmentalized assignment and that there was a lot he did NOT know) he clearly understood what an intelligent and interesting guy Oswald was (he called Oswald, IIRC, 'the first hippy').

(btw, and off topic, I also tend to think that DeMorhenschildt was, like Oswald, somewhat to the Left politically, in spite of some of his history; I think it was Dick Russell who interviewed him when he was teaching at an all-black college).

Edited December 25, 2011 by Allen Lowe

[Greg Parker]

How did a thread about TInk and the Umbrella Man turn into this?

And why are there two of them now?

How? He-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Uttered brought up my Oswald-having-AS theory in an effort to deflect from his many problems on this thread.

I started another thread (if that is what you mean by "two of them") in order to draw the subject over to that thread and away from this one.

If you're not interested in understanding Oswald, that's fine. Don't read it. This one now can get back on track - at least until He-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Uttered feels the need to attempt more mud throwing.

p.s.

Funny -- whenever I start a thread about specific Oswald incidents or history and the thread gets hijacked by Two Oswald proponents - my pleas to take it elsewehere have been met with "no one has propriety ownership of threads". IOW - we'll hijack your threads whenever we feel like it and you can go jump...

Edited December 25, 2011 by Greg Parker