Reply #116: Thanks, but your tone seems to imply that I'm trying to defend Wilkerson's rank

[deutsey]

I'll lump him among these names you list (although I'm sure few people were really surprised to hear Ventura say something like that...I can remember him sashaying around a WWF ring in the '80s wearing a feather boa and "Plato's Retreat" T-shirt).

I'd also include Henry Gonzalez from Texas who was one of the few critics/elected officials who was actually in the motorcade. He was pretty adamant about his views, if I remember correctly. It's been a long time since I saw it, but in the extra features to "JFK", Stone included an interview with journalist Robert MacNeal who, from what I remember, gave the impression that he thought shots came from the grassy knoll (MacNeal was also in the motorcade but I'm really reluctant to cite this because I'm relying on admittedly faulty memory here...it's been about six or seven years since I saw this clip). I heard about Haldeman. Have no idea about Downing and Schweicker but will check out what they said.

But I don't really care if they "outrank" Wilkerson, whatever that means. I'm not saying "OMG!!!1!1! Wilkerson is the only one to dare speak the TRUTH about Kennedy's assassination!11!!" As your very short list here suggests, I'm just saying that it is not common or frequent that you hear someone of any "position" in the military/political circles that these people you list and Wilkerson inhabit say things of this nature in the media. Granted, KPFA is not part of the national mainstream media, which is why I wrote this.

Again, I don't know a whole lot about Wilkerson (in fact, beyond what the host of Letters to Washington said by way of introduction, I had to google him). I just thought it was interesting that someone with his background went off on the track that he went. As I've also already said, Mitch Jesserich (host of Letters to Washington) also seemed taken aback by what he said.

Cynical PR ploy on Wilkerson's part to throw red conspiracy meat to lefties? I don't know. That never occured to me when I first heard what he said because I had no idea he was a talking head or whatever.