Calling Jim DiEugenio: new book claims to outdo Posner and Bugliosi in debunking conspiracy

[Vince Palamara]

Hi, Jim (and everyone):

 

Last week, I received an anonymous email (obvious fake account and email address) from a very rude person stating that author Paul Brandus has "destroyed all conspiracy theorists-including YOU" [meaning, me]. I purchased the book and all I will say is: This calls for a DiEugenio Kennedys & King book review! I have done my part (feel free to use it/ incorporate into your review):

 

Vince Palamara's main SECRET SERVICE blog: JFK, ZERO FAIL, The Kennedy Detail, and more: Debunking the security-related issues author Paul Brandus mentions in the 2023 book Countdown to Dallas: The Incredible Coincidences, Routines, and Blind "Luck" that Brought John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald Together on November 22, 1963

Amazon.com: Countdown to Dallas: The Incredible Coincidences, Routines, and Blind "Luck" that Brought John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald Together on November 22, 1963: 9781637581940: Brandus, Paul: Books

 

 

[Vince Palamara]

@James DiEugenio

@Pat Speer

[James DiEugenio]

Geez VInce just what I need, another POS Krazy Kid Oswald book.

It is from Post Hill Press, mark Shaw's publisher.  Guy who runs it is from Newsmax.

Edited May 5, 2023 by James DiEugenio

[Michael Griffith]

9 hours ago, Vince Palamara said:

Hi, Jim (and everyone):

Last week, I received an anonymous email (obvious fake account and email address) from a very rude person stating that author Paul Brandus has "destroyed all conspiracy theorists-including YOU" [meaning, me]. I purchased the book and all I will say is: This calls for a DiEugenio Kennedys & King book review! I have done my part (feel free to use it/ incorporate into your review):

Vince Palamara's main SECRET SERVICE blog: JFK, ZERO FAIL, The Kennedy Detail, and more: Debunking the security-related issues author Paul Brandus mentions in the 2023 book Countdown to Dallas: The Incredible Coincidences, Routines, and Blind "Luck" that Brought John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald Together on November 22, 1963

Amazon.com: Countdown to Dallas: The Incredible Coincidences, Routines, and Blind "Luck" that Brought John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald Together on November 22, 1963: 9781637581940: Brandus, Paul: Books

After reading the introduction and the first three chapters of the book (i.e., the free Kindle preview of the book), I think it is obvious that Brandus is a relative newcomer to the case.

The first thing that jumped out at me was his curious statement in Chapter One that the shooting took six seconds ("the assassination of JFK took six seconds"). The only way to assume the shooting only took six seconds is to assume the supposed lone gunman did not start firing until Z210. However, even Posner acknowledges that a shot was fired at around Z160, which means the alleged lone gunman fired his supposed three shots in right around 8.3 seconds.

Furthermore, if the alleged lone gunman did not fire until Z210, he would have had to score two hits in three shots in 5.6 seconds, an astonishing feat that the three Master-rated riflemen in the WC's rifle test did not even come close to duplicating, even though they fired from only 30 feet up, fired at stationary targets, and were allowed to take as much time as they wanted for their first shot (whereas Oswald would have been firing from 60 feet up at a moving target, and would not have had the luxury of taking all the time he wanted for his first shot).

Moreover, if the alleged lone gunman fired one shot between Z158 and Z166 (JFK passed beneath the oak tree from Z166-209), this means our supposed lone marksman badly missed with his first, easiest, and closest shot but then went two for two in 5.6 seconds. Yet, the Master-rated riflemen in the WC's rifle test failed to duplicate this scenario as well--nearly all of their first shots were hits, but all of their second and third shots missed the aiming-point area.

Thus, right off the bat, Brandus stumbles badly on a basic aspect of the assassination.

I do plan on buying Brandus's book, but not for a while. I'm working on two other writing projects and don't have time to read his book right now. 

[David Josephs]

You mean it was all just coincidence and blind luck?

Well, now, that's gonna free up some of my retirement time.

How could I have been so blind?  Luck I guess 

.  

Edited May 4, 2023 by David Josephs

[Ron Ecker]

50 minutes ago, Michael Griffith said:

The first thing that jumped out at me was his curious statement in Chapter One that the shooting took six seconds ("the assassination of JFK took six seconds").

Well, I assume that he got "six seconds" straight from Josiah "Tink" Thompson, whose book was titled "Six Seconds in Dallas." (I also assume that Brandus only read the title, not the book, in which Thompson rightly says there was more than one shooter.)

 

[Joe Bauer]

Post Hill Press.

They also published Kayleigh McEnany's just released memoir.

Sounds like a huge book advance front company for right wing / Trumpophant type players.

Are they the ones who rewarded Kellyann Conway too?

Heck, I might as well submit to them a JFKA tome pasting together God knows what from who knows who and where ( years of National Enquirer articles? ) and with a mouth agape gobsmacked title like "  11,22,1963 THE SHOCKING TRUTH ...TOP SECRET GOVERNMENT REMOTE VIEWER SEES JFK'S REAL KILLER!" and see what happens.

I could sure use the dough.

 

 

Edited May 4, 2023 by Joe Bauer

[Michael Griffith]

34 minutes ago, Joe Bauer said:

Post Hill Press.

They also published Kayleigh McEnany's just released memoir.

Sounds like a huge book advance front company for right wing / Trumpophant type players.

Are they the ones who rewarded Kellyann Conway too?

Heck, I might as well submit to them a JFKA tome pasting together God knows what from who knows who and where ( years of National Enquirer articles? ) and with a mouth agape gobsmacked title like "  11,22,1963 THE SHOCKING TRUTH ...TOP SECRET GOVERNMENT REMOTE VIEWER SEES JFK'S REAL KILLER!" and see what happens.

I could sure use the dough.

 

I think attacking Post Hill Press is not a good strategy. They publish many good books that have nothing to do with politics or the JFK case. Their authors include many professors and other genuine scholars, some of whom are not conservatives. Some of their books on history, economics, and military history are excellent. 

Anchor Books published Posner's Case Closed, yet Anchor has also published some of the finest scholarly works on other historical subjects that you will find anywhere. 

We really need to stop judging authors solely by their politics. Many conservatives don't buy the lone-gunman theory, and there are plenty of liberals who are ardent WC apologists. The JFK case is not a right vs. left issue, and those who insist on making it that are making a big mistake and are alienating huge numbers of readers whom we might otherwise be able to reach. 

[Joe Bauer]

I think it's pretty obvious that huge book advance monies have often actually been laundered payoffs to political players. Huge speaking fees, same thing.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars paid even before the books are publisehed and sent off to retailers and available on line?

What percentage of writers get deals like that, except a very small number of proven sales great ones?

And these office leaving pols are almost all not even the writers of their own books!   G.W.Bush?

Outrageously huge speaking fees.

Now there's a scam if there ever was one.

Hillary Clinton got what ... $650,000 dollars to make three little talk appearances to Goldman Sach's execs?

$650,000 dollars?

Enough money for a typical middle to lower class income American worker to retire on very well indeed.

For just a few hours of talking?

Please!

Reagan pocketed 2 MILLION bucks just for making a flight to Japan and giving 3 talks there immediately following his leaving office?

These speaking fee payouts are so crazily large they don't make sense.

It's pretty obvious they are too large to not be looked upon with valid payoff suspicion.

 

 

Edited May 4, 2023 by Joe Bauer

[Gerry Down]

4 hours ago, Joe Bauer said:

I think it's pretty obvious that huge book advance monies have often actually been laundered payoffs to political players. Huge speaking fees, same thing.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars paid even before the books are publisehed and sent off to retailers and available on line?

What percentage of writers get deals like that, except a very small number of proven sales great ones?

And these office leaving pols are almost all not even the writers of their own books!   G.W.Bush?

Outrageously huge speaking fees.

Now there's a scam if there ever was one.

Hillary Clinton got what ... $650,000 dollars to make three little talk appearances to Goldman Sach's execs?

$650,000 dollars?

Enough money for a typical middle to lower class income American worker to retire on very well indeed.

For just a few hours of talking?

Please!

Reagan pocketed 2 MILLION bucks just for making a flight to Japan and giving 3 talks there immediately following his leaving office?

These speaking fee payouts are so crazily large they don't make sense.

It's pretty obvious they are too large to not be looked upon with valid payoff suspicion.

 

 

I don't know. Sports stars make big money each week too just for running around a field for an hour or so. It all depends on how much money the person brings in for the company or body hiring them.

[Anthony Thorne]

5 hours ago, Michael Griffith said:

I think attacking Post Hill Press is not a good strategy. They publish many good books that have nothing to do with politics or the JFK case.

I agree with Michael, (a rarity!), not every book they have there is maybe to my taste but they seem like just another publisher, and I wouldn't presume they'd either be familiar with or overly picking sides on the conspiracy stuff.

Funny though - they have the above Brandus book (which I'll never read). They have Mark Shaw's COLLATERAL DAMAGE, which I think Jim tore apart at some point. They have Miranda Devine's book on the Hunter Biden laptop stuff, and they have that Kayleigh McEnany volume. I'll also never read the McEnany volume but I've always thought she was pretty cute so I tend to cut her a lot of slack.

But this thread and the Devine link made me double check some stuff, and lo and behold, here's another anti-conspiracy piece from The Spectator, a. well-known conservative magazine, that was published earlier this year.

Here's Devine on Tucker Carlson talking about the JFK case.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2022/12/16/miranda_divine_on_cia_outrage_at_an_unaccountable_spy_agency_should_be_the_one_thing_that_brings_americans_together.html

And here's the January article from the Aussie edition of The Spectator, responding to Devine's appearance.

https://www.spectator.com.au/2023/01/lee-harvey-oswald-killed-jfk/

Quote

I admire Tucker Carlson, Robert Kennedy Jr, and Miranda Devine, but they’ve all done a disservice recently in fuelling foolish speculation around the assassination of President John F Kennedy. 

That article is by John Ruddick, a NSW politician. I have no idea why he's weighing in on the JFK case. But Devine was a well-known fixture in the Australian conservative press for years, and I just wonder if Ruddick was sent to put out the flames in case her regular readers and viewers developed any ideas. Seeing this sort of thing makes me appreciate how Devine went out on a limb to talk about the topic. Ruddick's Wikipedia bio is below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ruddick

Edited May 4, 2023 by Anthony Thorne

[Pat Speer]

10 hours ago, Joe Bauer said:

I think it's pretty obvious that huge book advance monies have often actually been laundered payoffs to political players. Huge speaking fees, same thing.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars paid even before the books are publisehed and sent off to retailers and available on line?

What percentage of writers get deals like that, except a very small number of proven sales great ones?

And these office leaving pols are almost all not even the writers of their own books!   G.W.Bush?

Outrageously huge speaking fees.

Now there's a scam if there ever was one.

Hillary Clinton got what ... $650,000 dollars to make three little talk appearances to Goldman Sach's execs?

$650,000 dollars?

Enough money for a typical middle to lower class income American worker to retire on very well indeed.

For just a few hours of talking?

Please!

Reagan pocketed 2 MILLION bucks just for making a flight to Japan and giving 3 talks there immediately following his leaving office?

These speaking fee payouts are so crazily large they don't make sense.

It's pretty obvious they are too large to not be looked upon with valid payoff suspicion.

 

 

As I recall Bush 41 left office and proceeded to make appearance after appearance for Wall Street firms--at a million bucks an appearance. it seemed obvious it was a payoff for the Wall Street friendly policies he'd kept in place throughout his term. 

[Michael Griffith]

8 hours ago, Pat Speer said:

As I recall Bush 41 left office and proceeded to make appearance after appearance for Wall Street firms--at a million bucks an appearance. it seemed obvious it was a payoff for the Wall Street friendly policies he'd kept in place throughout his term. 

How is that this thread has turned into yet another Republican-bashing thread? Are you folks here to discuss the JFK case or to peddle your politics? 

Shall we talk about the millions that Barack Obama has made in speaking appearances since leaving office? Shall we mention that Obama has taken handsome fees to speak to Wall Street firms? For one set of three speeches to Wall Street firms, he made $1.2 million:

Barack Obama to make $1.2m from three Wall Street speeches | The Independent | The Independent

As of 2017, Obama was one of the ten highest paid public speakers on the planet:

Barack Obama Is Now Among 10 Highest-Paid Public Speakers - TheStreet

In 2019, Obama made $600K from a single speech:

Obama paid $600,000 for a single speech - World Socialist Web Site (wsws.org)

You know which former presidents charge the most for speaking appearances? Guess?

Bill Clinton: $750K per speech

Barack Obama: $400K per speech

Guess what George W. Bush charges? $175K per speech.

When he was healthy enough to speak, Jimmy Carter charged $50K per speech.

Speaking Fees for Former Presidents - List and Details (thoughtco.com)

I have no problem whatsoever with Clinton and Obama making big bucks from giving speeches. Good for them. I wish both of them well. 

Now, shall we get back to the subject of the thread and drop the partisan political posts?

[Joe Bauer]

1 hour ago, Michael Griffith said:

How is that this thread has turned into yet another Republican-bashing thread? Are you folks here to discuss the JFK case or to peddle your politics? 

Shall we talk about the millions that Barack Obama has made in speaking appearances since leaving office? Shall we mention that Obama has taken handsome fees to speak to Wall Street firms? For one set of three speeches to Wall Street firms, he made $1.2 million:

Barack Obama to make $1.2m from three Wall Street speeches | The Independent | The Independent

As of 2017, Obama was one of the ten highest paid public speakers on the planet:

Barack Obama Is Now Among 10 Highest-Paid Public Speakers - TheStreet

In 2019, Obama made $600K from a single speech:

Obama paid $600,000 for a single speech - World Socialist Web Site (wsws.org)

You know which former presidents charge the most for speaking appearances? Guess?

Bill Clinton: $750K per speech

Barack Obama: $400K per speech

Guess what George W. Bush charges? $175K per speech.

When he was healthy enough to speak, Jimmy Carter charged $50K per speech.

Speaking Fees for Former Presidents - List and Details (thoughtco.com)

I have no problem whatsoever with Clinton and Obama making big bucks from giving speeches. Good for them. I wish both of them well. 

Now, shall we get back to the subject of the thread and drop the partisan political posts?

Okay MG.

Just want to mention though that all of em...Republican and Democrats grab all that unethical payoff money as much as they can.

They all cash in.

I'm calling them "all" out on this scam.

Carter only got $50,000 a talk?

Guess he didn't do very many favors for the big boys downtown when he was Prez.

Yeah, the Obamas live large. He golfs here at Pebble Beach and at one of the top five most exclusive clubs in the world here also...Cypress Point.

Finest hotel stays. Finest restaurants.

Clinton does the same thing.

Now, back to the JFKA research debate!

Edited May 5, 2023 by Joe Bauer

[David Josephs]

2 hours ago, Michael Griffith said:

Now, shall we get back to the subject of the thread and drop the partisan political posts?

Nothing like a dose of good advice...  Thanks Michael