Try giving some thought to the TSBD

[Lance Payette]

I would think an "amateur" assassin would have the same if not worse problems, e.g., he's figuring this out for the first time as he goes along. How do this novice get in the building unnoticed, go up to the 6th floor unnoticed, go the window unnoticed (except by people outside), wait 30 minutes unnoticed, shoot the president, and then leave unnoticed?

I would think a professional with help I assume would be more skilled at this than an amateur. But even a pro would understand the difficulties. This is shooting the president. It's going to be investigated to the nth degree.

In conspiracy world everything is easy peasy. Planning this, funding it, executing it, covering it up. No problem. They can do just about anything. No they can't. Human nature and time work against all of this. It can't be done.

I thought that's what Jim was saying - i.e., this being a Presidential assassination, surely the participants would be pros. And if they were, they wouldn't have chosen the 6th floor of the TSBD as a location for a gunman. They would have had Oswald as a patsy with at least his rifle on the 6th floor and the actual gunman in or on the Dal-Tex Building. This "works" except for the rather large problem of explaining Oswald's post-assassination actions, which make no sense unless he at least knew his rifle was in the building (or he was, in fact, shooting from the 6th floor himself).

[Dan O'meara]

I thought that's what Jim was saying - i.e., this being a Presidential assassination, surely the participants would be pros. And if they were, they wouldn't have chosen the 6th floor of the TSBD as a location for a gunman. They would have had Oswald as a patsy with at least his rifle on the 6th floor and the actual gunman in or on the Dal-Tex Building. This "works" except for the rather large problem of explaining Oswald's post-assassination actions, which make no sense unless he at least knew his rifle was in the building (or he was, in fact, shooting from the 6th floor himself).

Oh Yeah, and the small problem of eye witnesses seeing a man pointing a rifle from the 6th floor window of the TSBD building 
What insight.
What a razor sharp mind.

[Jim Hawthorn]

I thought that's what Jim was saying - i.e., this being a Presidential assassination, surely the participants would be pros. And if they were, they wouldn't have chosen the 6th floor of the TSBD as a location for a gunman. They would have had Oswald as a patsy with at least his rifle on the 6th floor and the actual gunman in or on the Dal-Tex Building. This "works" except for the rather large problem of explaining Oswald's post-assassination actions, which make no sense unless he at least knew his rifle was in the building (or he was, in fact, shooting from the 6th floor himself).

Oswald's actions afterwards make perfect sense if he was being manipulated, duped into following a pattern. When the assassination happened, he could have realised that something was going wrong and that whatever plan he thought he was part of, was compromised and it spooked him.

[Richard Smith]

Putting aside the endless contrarian loon arguments, why would any conspiracy plan involve bringing the president to the assassin instead of the assassin to the president?  That is sheer stupidity.  It's idiocy to believe that the plan was to put a patsy in some random building and then manipulate the schedule and motorcade of the president to bring him by that specific building.  Much easier to control the movements of the patsy than the president.

[Dan O'meara]

Oswald's actions afterwards make perfect sense if he was being manipulated, duped into following a pattern. When the assassination happened, he could have realised that something was going wrong and that whatever plan he thought he was part of, was compromised and it spooked him.

There are certain things Oswald did before he even went to work that day (leaving pretty much all his money and wedding ring with Marina) that suggest he was aware there was a strong chance he could be arrested that day. After having a chat with Shelley, Oswald hit the road and there is a strong argument to be made that he was heading for the border when he ran into JD Tippit.
It seems to me that Oswald believed he was part of something really serious but not the killing of the President.

[Lance Payette]

Oswald's actions afterwards make perfect sense if he was being manipulated, duped into following a pattern. When the assassination happened, he could have realised that something was going wrong and that whatever plan he thought he was part of, was compromised and it spooked him.

Yes, but Oswald's post-assassination actions make even better sense in the Lone Nut narrative. They make equally good sense in my fanciful pro-Castro conspiracy, with Oswald as one gunman and his partner in crime on the Dal-Tex roof.

Again, this is the problem with the "panic" explanation. It's completely ad hoc. Those who don't want Oswald to be a gunman - which a large body of evidence suggests he was - are stuck with his post-assassination actions and thus must invent the "panic" explanation.

Far from making "perfect sense," the "panic" explanation is a tortured one. As long as Oswald wasn't firing shots, his post-assassination actions make little sense at all. Moreover, as I asked, why did he go into irrational panic mode after having been cool as a cucumber in the lunchroom encounter? How did he then become preternaturally calm under intense interrogation (by Fritz's own admission)? Makes no sense to me.

I thought you were suggesting no professional gunman would have chosen to fire from the 6th floor of the TSBD for all the reasons suggested in my original post in this thread, but perhaps you weren't. If I were conspiracy-oriented, simply planting Oswald's rifle and perhaps even having someone point it out the window a couple of times to seal the deal would make far more sense than having shots fired from there - but this simply isn't the evidence. That's my real point: An assassin other than Oswald firing from the 6th floor sniper's nest really makes no sense for all the reasons set forth in my original post.

[Dan O'meara]

Yes, but Oswald's post-assassination actions make even better sense in the Lone Nut narrative. They make equally good sense in my fanciful pro-Castro conspiracy, with Oswald as one gunman and his partner in crime on the Dal-Tex roof.

Again, this is the problem with the "panic" explanation. It's completely ad hoc. Those who don't want Oswald to be a gunman - which a large body of evidence suggests he was - are stuck with his post-assassination actions and thus must invent the "panic" explanation.

Far from making "perfect sense," the "panic" explanation is a tortured one. As long as Oswald wasn't firing shots, his post-assassination actions make little sense at all. Moreover, as I asked, why did he go into irrational panic mode after having been cool as a cucumber in the lunchroom encounter? How did he then become preternaturally calm under intense interrogation (by Fritz's own admission)? Makes no sense to me.

I thought you were suggesting no professional gunman would have chosen to fire from the 6th floor of the TSBD for all the reasons suggested in my original post in this thread, but perhaps you weren't. If I were conspiracy-oriented, simply planting Oswald's rifle and perhaps even having someone point it out the window a couple of times to seal the deal would make far more sense than having shots fired from there - but this simply isn't the evidence. That's my real point: An assassin other than Oswald firing from the 6th floor sniper's nest really makes no sense for all the reasons set forth in my original post.

with Oswald as one gunman and his partner in crime on the Dal-Tex roof

Hold on a second, a minute ago you were saying that Oswald was just a patsy in the TSBD building and the shooter was in the Dal-Tex!
Now you're saying Oswald was a gunman!
You're saying that instead of just having Oswald as a gunman, it's more feasible to have him as a gunman and another gunman in the Dal-Tex??
Isn't this really stupid?
Isn't is a very silly, ill thought out suggestion?
Is this because I pointed out that you'd forgot about the witnesses who saw a gunman in the SN window?
But wait on...what's this?

"...simply planting Oswald's rifle and perhaps even having someone point it out the window a couple of times to seal the deal..."

Huuuuuh??
In a couple of sentences you've gone from a two-shooter scenario, with Oswald being one of the shooters, to having some random guy just pointing a rifle out of the window??WTF?
To seal the deal??
Whaaaat?
Is this some kind of comedy routine?

"That's my real point: An assassin other than Oswald firing from the 6th floor sniper's nest really makes no sense for all the reasons set forth in my original post."

Hmmmm...
This seems to be your MO.
Come up with a stupid, unrealistic conspiracy scenario that you don't have the wit to maintain and then throw your hands in the air declaring you've proved that any conspiracy is unfeasible.
Let's see you turn that razor sharp mind on the flaws in your own theory.
Instead of flooding the forum with bogus, narcissistic threads let's see one of interest.

[Jim Hawthorn]

Yes, but Oswald's post-assassination actions make even better sense in the Lone Nut narrative.

That is true! But there are many of flaws in that theory too, which is why the debate is so vibrant here.