My new book, "Into the Nightmare"

[Dawn Meredith]

Tom: I agree about Ed Hoffman. We saw him and his pastor who translated for him in DP back in the mid 90's. I found him to be very sincere and genuine.
Ya, I remember my response to when Reagan was shot. I was at school (law school). I could not decide whether to watch tv or go to class. I opted for class.
I think the kids ho loved JFK could sense in him his love of peace and the people he governed. I know I did. His humor at his press conferences. I have not seen anything like him since.
Jimmy Cater has become a great ex president. But with "Jack" the idealism he projected was uncanny. IN 08 when JFK's daughter dared compare him to Obama I felt so sad for her.
Not even close. A total phony. Did you know at the start it was conspiracy? I did. They just knew too much about LHO too damn fast and were too certain. I smelled a rat that first day.
Then seeing LHO shot on tv cinched it.
Hard to believe it's been nearly fifty years. I still remember most of that day in all too vivid detail.

Dawn

[Dawn Meredith]

Joe: I look most forward to meeting you in Dallas. I have a few other books I need to finish by then too. Never enough time.
Maybe I should give up sleep

Dawn

[Tom Huston]

Tom, I'm not sure what you mean exactly. I did find Mr. Hoffman an impressive
man and source. I interviewed him. I didn't include his comments because
I didn't go into every witness who saw things that didn't match the official
version. I could have done so and maybe should have, but it was already a long book, and I had
numerous witnesses to cite about the shooting from the front.

I understand, I know firsthand it is a long book as I finished it last night. It has been an interesting journey for me as far as getting up to speed on the whole affair. Back in the seventies I read as much as I could about the asassination and the dropped it for many years. I even must confess I watched a few documentaries from time to time during my inactive period and got taken in by Dale Myers cartoons and I was even starting to swallow some of Buglioso's garbage. If you become a sheeple and pay more attention to the Super Bowl and other media distractions it is easy to have happen. My wife bought me a Kindle earlier this year and I decided to get back in touch with what has been happening. I think I am close to 30 plus books (not all of which are available on Kindle) but I will say my favorites and been James Douglass and yours. Thanks gain for your lifetime of work and dedication. I now have new heroes in my life and they are all the brave souls like yourself who have worked diligently in the face of dark forces that obviously have immense power and influence..

[Tom Huston]

Tom: I agree about Ed Hoffman. We saw him and his pastor who translated for him in DP back in the mid 90's. I found him to be very sincere and genuine.
Ya, I remember my response to when Reagan was shot. I was at school (law school). I could not decide whether to watch tv or go to class. I opted for class.
I think the kids ho loved JFK could sense in him his love of peace and the people he governed. I know I did. His humor at his press conferences. I have not seen anything like him since.
Jimmy Cater has become a great ex president. But with "Jack" the idealism he projected was uncanny. IN 08 when JFK's daughter dared compare him to Obama I felt so sad for her.
Not even close. A total phony. Did you know at the start it was conspiracy? I did. They just knew too much about LHO too damn fast and were too certain. I smelled a rat that first day.
Then seeing LHO shot on tv cinched it.
Hard to believe it's been nearly fifty years. I still remember most of that day in all too vivid detail.

Dawn

Yes I am not sure who could not see there was there was something very wrong with the affairs in Dallas those days in November. There were just way too many things that just did not add up. Where Joe talks in his book about believing Oswald that really struck a chord with me. I sensed a sincerity with him that I did not feel at all with the law enforcement characters. Why oh why would LHO not shout out to the world about what he had done if his motive was what they said it was? He had his chance but instead when they did let him say a few words shouted out that he was a "patsy". We of course don't know all the details yet but it would not surprise me in the least to find out some day when the pieces all fit together that he may have even been on a noble mission that day of some sort. One other biggie for me was Oswald's supposed choice of shot from the SBD. I have never been in the building but I think it is safe to say that if he really did want to shoot the President he should have taken aim when the limo slowed to a near stop turning the corner on to Elm Street. The ONLY reason for a sniper to wait and pass up that beautiful close shot would have either to wait for crossfire (conspiracy) assuming he wanted the notoriety for shooting the crime any other reason makes no sense. The combination of them letting Ruby kill him on tv and the shot choice were even too much for my eleven year old brain to handle...

[Tracy Riddle]

Joseph, on page 380 you make reference to a memo Bush wrote as CIA director where he wondered "whether the CIA itself might have been involved in the assassination along with Bush's political patron Richard Nixon and anti-Castro Cubans to provoke another invasion to overthrow Castro (Nixon's anxiety about what he called 'the whole Bay of Pigs thing', his euphemism for the assassination, is addressed at length in these CIA documents)."

Are those memos online anywhere? I'd like to find out more.

[Tracy Riddle]

As far as Ed Hoffman and Gordon Arnold go, their stories have always triggered my bullshit detector. They both seem sincere in their filmed interviews, but so many pieces of their stories are not believable.

Supposedly Arnold can be see in the Moorman Polaroid (though he he can't be seen in any other photos taken in the moments after the shooting). But according to his account, he "hit the dirt" after the first shot. Sen. Yarborough saw a young man drop to the ground after the first shot (it's not clear where exactly this person was, but Yarborough was in LBJ's car way back up on Elm St and I doubt he could identify a figure behind that low wall). But I think we all agree that the Moorman photo was taken at the time of the last shot(s), and yet Arnold is supposedly depicted in it still standing with his cap on.

The position of "Badgeman" is a particularly bad place for a shooter to be. I think it was in TMWKK they showed a camera view from that position looking toward Elm St. A good part of the view is blocked by the low white wall. This page also shows other problems with "Badgeman":

http://jfkmurdersolved.com/badgeman.htm
http://jfkmurdersolved.com/images/gordonarnold3.jpg

Hoffman demonstrates what he saw in a filmed interview in TMWKK. Are we to believe that a man carried a rifle over to the electrical boxes and in full view of all the railroad workers on the bridge, proceeded to take the rifle apart? Is it really credible that Hoffman could look down into the limo and see the back of JFK's head, when he almost certainly was being shielded by Jackie and Clint Hill? No, their stories just don't pass the smell test with me.

[Joseph McBride]

Tracy,

I don't think those Bush memos are online. They were
obtained (some only in part) through the Freedom of
Information Act by the Assassination Archives and
Research Center in Washington.

[Joseph McBride]

Tom, Many thanks for your kind comments
about INTO THE NIGHTMARE -- I am very
grateful. Comments such
as yours help make all the hard
work worthwhile.

[Tracy Riddle]

I never read Hersh's Dark Side of Camelot, because it looked like a lot of trash mixed with a little bit of useful information. But Joseph includes some stuff from Hersh's book about Kenny O'Donnell's growing discontent with the administration and some emerging scandals concerning him in 1963.

I wonder if O'Donnell played a role similar to Fredo in The Godfather Part II, who unwittingly helps people nearly assassinate his brother Michael. O'Donnell might have been told any number of stories by the plotters to get his cooperation. And then afterword, the guilt caused him to drink himself to death.

[Darrell Curtis]

As to McBride's book - why is there only one copy available on Amazon, and for 38.00?
Is it available elsewhere?
Is it really that expensive?