Post by Rob Caprio on Dec 23, 2020 21:20:10 GMT -5
All portions ©️ Robert Caprio 2006-2024
media.cbs19.tv/assets/KYTX/images/697b7e73-6e8b-4d5f-9fc5-54e6c18e184b/697b7e73-6e8b-4d5f-9fc5-54e6c18e184b_750x422.jpg
The Warren Commission (WC) claimed that Lee Harvey Oswald (LHO) assassinated President John F. Kennedy (JFK) all by himself on November 22, 1963. To accomplish this feat the WC further claimed that LHO brought in his alleged rifle to the Texas School Book Depository (TSBD) disassembled in a paper bag. If this is correct, and it isn't based on the evidence, then how did he reassemble the rifle?
The WC further claimed that he could have used a dime to do this since he had no tools. This unsupported hypothesis leads us to this question.
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How long would it have taken LHO to reassemble the Mannlicher-Carcano (M-C) with a dime?
This is a very important question for a number of reasons. Firstly, just as there is no evidence showing that LHO ever practiced there is no evidence showing that LHO knew how to disassemble and reassemble the alleged murder weapon. Secondly, since no screwdriver was found near the alleged Sniper’s Nest (SN) that meant something else had to be found to claim that LHO reassembled the rifle shortly before the assassination. The WC claimed that LHO had disassembled the rifle the night before so that he could transport the rifle to work in a paper bag on November 22, 1963. Here is what the WC wrote about this issue.
Quote on
www.historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wr/pages/WCReport_0078a.gif
While the rifle may have already been disassembled when Oswald arrived home on Thursday, he had ample time to disassemble the rifle and insert it into the paper bag. (WC Report, p. 131)
www.historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wr/html/WCReport_0078a.htm
Quote off
Everything the WC wrote was ambiguous. Was it disassembled when he arrived at “home” or did he do it later? The WC didn’t know and certainly couldn’t show when he did it so they just guessed that he did. No evidence given, just another presumption. It is a small point, but if LHO considered the Paine residence “home”, why was he staying at a roominghouse then? This is an important issue that required more than presumption as they claimed that he transported the rifle in a paper bag that could not contain an unassembled rifle (based on witness testimony even disassembled it wouldn’t have fit, but that is another story), therefore, it had to be disassembled for their scenario to work.
Thirdly, given all this, they had to claim that he would need to reassemble the rifle before he allegedly used it for the assassination. Thus, the idea of him using a dime to do this.
Quote on
A firearms expert with the FBI assembled the rifle in 6 minutes using a 10-cent coin as a tool, and he could disassemble it more rapidly. (Ibid)
Quote off
The FBI expert in question was Cortland Cunningham and here is his testimony pertaining to this issue.
Mr. BALL. I notice you have a screwdriver there. Can you assemble it without the use of a screwdriver?
Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. What can you use?
Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Any object that would fit the slots on the five screws that retain the stock to the action.
Mr. BALL. Could you do it with a 10-cent piece?
Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Will you do that--about how long will it take you?
Mr. CUNNINGHAM. I know I can do it, but I have never been timed as far as using a dime. I have been timed using a screwdriver, which required a little over 2 minutes.
Mr. BALL. 2 minutes with a screwdriver.
Try it with the dime and let's see how long it takes.
Okay. Start now. Six minutes.
Mr. CUNNINGHAM. I think I can improve on that.
Mr. BALL. And the only tool you used was a 10-cent piece?
Mr. CUNNINGHAM. That is correct.
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Mr. CUNNINGHAM. And I am sure I can assemble it faster the second time with a dime than I did the last time but I did have trouble with that one retaining screw.
This testimony shows that a firearms expert with much more experience than LHO took six minutes to assemble the M-C with a dime. We of course have no idea if LHO would even know how to do this, but it is a safe guess that he would not have been able to do it any faster under pressure. Notice how Cunningham kept saying that he could have done it faster the second time, but LHO would not have a second opportunity, therefore, we need to stick with the time of six minutes.
The six minutes needed to reassemble the M-C is a killer for the WC’s conclusion because according to testimony LHO could not have moved into place to reassemble the rifle until 12:20. We know this because Bonnie Ray Williams (BRW) was eating his lunch on the sixth floor and said that he saw nor heard no one else up there, and he did not leave the sixth floor until approximately 12:20 p.m.
Mr. BALL. Approximately what time was it?
Mr. WILLIAMS. Approximately 12:20, maybe.
Here is the problem for the WC. If LHO could not move into the alleged SN until 12:20 (and this ignores the comments of witness Carolyn Arnold who said that she saw LHO in the lunchroom at 12:25 p.m.) and it took six minutes to assemble the M-C with a dime, at best, that means he only would have had only four minutes to move the boxes (at least 20-25 to create the alleged SN), check his ammunition, adjust the scope (this was really not possible since shims had to be added to use the scope later on), and mentally get ready. That is a lot to do in such a short period of time. What if it took longer than six minutes to reassemble the rifle? What then?
The real kicker is that JFK had been scheduled to pass by the Texas School Book Depository (TSBD) Building at 12:25 p.m., but they were delayed because JFK spent so much time greeting people at Love Field. How would LHO know this if he was a sole assassin? He couldn’t of course, so based on the evidence LHO would have been still assembling his alleged rifle when JFK was driving by if he had not been delayed! Is this how someone approaches the killing of a president?
Can any WC defender explain why LHO would leave himself so little time to accomplish this if he wanted to be successful and famous? Can anyone show that LHO would know how to assemble the M-C with a dime?
We again see the actual evidence shows that the WC's claims are false, therefore, their conclusion is sunk again.
media.cbs19.tv/assets/KYTX/images/697b7e73-6e8b-4d5f-9fc5-54e6c18e184b/697b7e73-6e8b-4d5f-9fc5-54e6c18e184b_750x422.jpg
The Warren Commission (WC) claimed that Lee Harvey Oswald (LHO) assassinated President John F. Kennedy (JFK) all by himself on November 22, 1963. To accomplish this feat the WC further claimed that LHO brought in his alleged rifle to the Texas School Book Depository (TSBD) disassembled in a paper bag. If this is correct, and it isn't based on the evidence, then how did he reassemble the rifle?
The WC further claimed that he could have used a dime to do this since he had no tools. This unsupported hypothesis leads us to this question.
******************************************
How long would it have taken LHO to reassemble the Mannlicher-Carcano (M-C) with a dime?
This is a very important question for a number of reasons. Firstly, just as there is no evidence showing that LHO ever practiced there is no evidence showing that LHO knew how to disassemble and reassemble the alleged murder weapon. Secondly, since no screwdriver was found near the alleged Sniper’s Nest (SN) that meant something else had to be found to claim that LHO reassembled the rifle shortly before the assassination. The WC claimed that LHO had disassembled the rifle the night before so that he could transport the rifle to work in a paper bag on November 22, 1963. Here is what the WC wrote about this issue.
Quote on
www.historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wr/pages/WCReport_0078a.gif
While the rifle may have already been disassembled when Oswald arrived home on Thursday, he had ample time to disassemble the rifle and insert it into the paper bag. (WC Report, p. 131)
www.historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wr/html/WCReport_0078a.htm
Quote off
Everything the WC wrote was ambiguous. Was it disassembled when he arrived at “home” or did he do it later? The WC didn’t know and certainly couldn’t show when he did it so they just guessed that he did. No evidence given, just another presumption. It is a small point, but if LHO considered the Paine residence “home”, why was he staying at a roominghouse then? This is an important issue that required more than presumption as they claimed that he transported the rifle in a paper bag that could not contain an unassembled rifle (based on witness testimony even disassembled it wouldn’t have fit, but that is another story), therefore, it had to be disassembled for their scenario to work.
Thirdly, given all this, they had to claim that he would need to reassemble the rifle before he allegedly used it for the assassination. Thus, the idea of him using a dime to do this.
Quote on
A firearms expert with the FBI assembled the rifle in 6 minutes using a 10-cent coin as a tool, and he could disassemble it more rapidly. (Ibid)
Quote off
The FBI expert in question was Cortland Cunningham and here is his testimony pertaining to this issue.
Mr. BALL. I notice you have a screwdriver there. Can you assemble it without the use of a screwdriver?
Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. What can you use?
Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Any object that would fit the slots on the five screws that retain the stock to the action.
Mr. BALL. Could you do it with a 10-cent piece?
Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Will you do that--about how long will it take you?
Mr. CUNNINGHAM. I know I can do it, but I have never been timed as far as using a dime. I have been timed using a screwdriver, which required a little over 2 minutes.
Mr. BALL. 2 minutes with a screwdriver.
Try it with the dime and let's see how long it takes.
Okay. Start now. Six minutes.
Mr. CUNNINGHAM. I think I can improve on that.
Mr. BALL. And the only tool you used was a 10-cent piece?
Mr. CUNNINGHAM. That is correct.
----------
Mr. CUNNINGHAM. And I am sure I can assemble it faster the second time with a dime than I did the last time but I did have trouble with that one retaining screw.
This testimony shows that a firearms expert with much more experience than LHO took six minutes to assemble the M-C with a dime. We of course have no idea if LHO would even know how to do this, but it is a safe guess that he would not have been able to do it any faster under pressure. Notice how Cunningham kept saying that he could have done it faster the second time, but LHO would not have a second opportunity, therefore, we need to stick with the time of six minutes.
The six minutes needed to reassemble the M-C is a killer for the WC’s conclusion because according to testimony LHO could not have moved into place to reassemble the rifle until 12:20. We know this because Bonnie Ray Williams (BRW) was eating his lunch on the sixth floor and said that he saw nor heard no one else up there, and he did not leave the sixth floor until approximately 12:20 p.m.
Mr. BALL. Approximately what time was it?
Mr. WILLIAMS. Approximately 12:20, maybe.
Here is the problem for the WC. If LHO could not move into the alleged SN until 12:20 (and this ignores the comments of witness Carolyn Arnold who said that she saw LHO in the lunchroom at 12:25 p.m.) and it took six minutes to assemble the M-C with a dime, at best, that means he only would have had only four minutes to move the boxes (at least 20-25 to create the alleged SN), check his ammunition, adjust the scope (this was really not possible since shims had to be added to use the scope later on), and mentally get ready. That is a lot to do in such a short period of time. What if it took longer than six minutes to reassemble the rifle? What then?
The real kicker is that JFK had been scheduled to pass by the Texas School Book Depository (TSBD) Building at 12:25 p.m., but they were delayed because JFK spent so much time greeting people at Love Field. How would LHO know this if he was a sole assassin? He couldn’t of course, so based on the evidence LHO would have been still assembling his alleged rifle when JFK was driving by if he had not been delayed! Is this how someone approaches the killing of a president?
Can any WC defender explain why LHO would leave himself so little time to accomplish this if he wanted to be successful and famous? Can anyone show that LHO would know how to assemble the M-C with a dime?
We again see the actual evidence shows that the WC's claims are false, therefore, their conclusion is sunk again.