GP . Y and Nowe15 As Legiti:Aiate Source of F;:Ct Aboi.A T:L;: A.Ssassi
4skixlg if what uurtz produced is a su.,t_rmarket tabloid in t:zc: form of ~. book :~a:.,I by so= be t.;hen as a contriVed slut of :/isecar_k but *that is .lot .ae truth. 2i r$ t of a1:i, it, is 1~ur tz who, lin the course of puffing himself up 4;1d fattening his ,1~ylskimpy oooA treated fiction as nonfiction,
P!aks ~ wear
GP . y and nowe15 as legiti:aiate source of f;:ct aboi.a t:l;: a.ssassi
ramf Ona ::f11en the, knot.
so.._e of :~.raat he iias written Es .a ;ie . abloids ,/ght well have rejOcted.
1t is ludicrous, as will icoi:~e cle~__.
Kurtz pr.sialts . dmslf as a subjocT.(Jlaatter ex.)ort ,;ion ho .'s anytUY4,
bu, timt. &ding a couple: cf books and rwadin~soa official records does
not :.;ake = Mdse. rihetrler ~= n~.; t juzrtz is a le f~:I1~ to eo mr, no t decide
by !as dated opini.oll o~ hi.~ael_ r = ' ; _.~ ~. yt is decided b _Y fatt
zlza t'..r.~t i; ..ha:: ,re ionsidt:;, as ..: have peen. ;:hen ::urtz make... out t_.iat he
C e:alaust::d t'h;.• 125,~'cX7 page of `zrec4ras lie says azv in h.:> c.Cilege library
Lxld waeu hews finushed Mat and wri tuslis boo arid in his boot: :^..,t
,:u,:,: ~
441 M4
*r ja::r:.rlful source otss 4t z,. ' : , means of "Locating wild
3:c^.::17.n~_a;
4tqo (411
tiles r.3cor~t :i`: i')"''F' " .' lie tia5 .nte cor..C:ay, that :_.. not what ail
aut:antic expert would do. Ur •i honest one. ur c~n ill~or.::;.;:: one, 11;10 I.:; capa le Ji t;i,t si :Ole cthat childxon in 1L.a scholl know they have to mai.e ar_d .o wake. :urtz as the self proclaimed e,_:x:rtW did i1~ t in all the ~1dr ds he arcdu,tud that at 1 <=<a t ill hi..; pcbeRee are lar ::lT based on this
i'34 r ecorus not o_nlr does ;~'_.lo~J ho.: th:y are filed and can ue ri;~rieve he,. '
liE 'f't 4 GoJ"' ' . ~! ~~,,r
oes not eWen `Ylu w vih, t try c._,;1 them. So h e j use then r'ni records and
_pretand:i ::_iat is suCcient .,4ien he iulo;s very well the it i~ pot. X31' ire ;lave not s en all ii~:.: t:~~ but vie have seea rror:_ than ea...u,,,;h to let
J
Lt stand for it solf arid be il:tere feted by ether taan l :.urtz and the ku:tz pi i 5. 4
rep lection of she Kurtz scholar shi. ab fa^ +^+. "o body had a ~:a at his
lead tc cor:oel him tj Droduc:e this debasing of scholarship, with all the
If by any c'rL=ice he does not, then he has ever. less basis for his claim to e~_y)er tine arid to being a le8itirat:tr subjectmatter erapert.
There are standard abbreviations used in citing all he cites and in not one instance does he use arty o,' them. Tds particularly true, as the have seen, wit'I regard to the r'bI's i%&ords about which he pboasts so :.,uch.
M trivia, fantasy, conjecture and i mason; ngs that he presents ~aiid wants ta1r,en as scholarship when it i.4 the op)osite of :,crious, responsible scholarship
No, this is not intended as a baseless slur or a arise crack. ~t is what and that
Kurtz himself makes a leg legitimaate question, as question 6.4et is answered by !Curt z in hi own in x rAhks own oli and/his own peor review.
+tuxtz was so carrid away with his oean sense of what he regards* as his
knowledge and his wisdom tlr:t ho did what a s a scholar he should have known
/es= sup :osed a444ddw x'16'h
not to do :i~treaty/the supermarkbt tabloids, the~noniiction tha is .mction
tha ; are f i eti n
hrlrich applie._ to Lore books that Kurtz realize4 the fZC ions io
mud morn that is at ~oest trivial anti irrespoas.ble in even the pretense of
re;;poratilty and seriousness on ., subject that is the most sc.'ious.
In t;r: ::ocal_:xl peer revievri.,,what r:urtz did that i s not factual awe riot ~ync~ tru0^was ai:aed at preventiig the publication of Iiirone's Lock. Whether or not tl,.:: :;as irmC Kurtz' veng;:ance :ovur t_roir ;_ o controversy of yers earlier,
that con tx•overs y should Gave l,:d uurtz t..; decline t:ie aftion offer.In ;;e tti:rg
, Wrone ook t;e ~~rejected Kurtz iimr~ the couultry :xre than lie .Aunt 'drone. he also saw to it that tlier:: would not be another be... that proved his was at J
4
tLie very best of no ~Yalue aid ton s :j serious a subject, airyt~iirt~, ti.t ~s
ce t?zc people fact, truth rat:cr tram c;.)_~a tures and what is iua~ned, is
a disservie to 4.e country and i:; not what can with honesty be considered
scholarslip, leave alone the speciV? Lnd to 1kin. exalted nonscholarship o9
ILs book varrd iris ire r review.
In addition, denying publication to tire "hone factual and responsible
histor•,~..~f ~th.. :)ruder film also protects the fictions t_a; :sere so successfukly
L 1~ ~th'l~rq~1 t^'~ /w,~
~crcializ..d n;,r thos;: about wilom :t:e;!~twritcs .dith ap_.roval of the /~a:rd t:reir
work, .
~lhuy were t11: closet =olice of any ::ind to the :r'.;cte3.:t. fn ::ey u.`ire tll: beat of oyevitnec.ses. T'vro r,_)orted uaat the o=lission did not want to h,.ar so o=!ly t:e other two we:'.e ~;o::L:dssion r:itnesses.:_utz does l.ot mentioi ~ ny of 'I'm tnuse four be; `V of witnesses. The trro t"L: ~,o.JaisSion ? ;or,:u, Jim Chaney and Dougids Jackson, sate and reported what the _Uoil:l.ssion did not grant believed. Kurtz has ua~sereason Zor not mentioning their names.
.: did and I' r i oort~d wll t tiioy did sea and said t:iey did, g a :ia~ ~iiXi,L. !
1N ~1 a~` on pages >j45 and 9~';E~t they aid say, as) ui»ca is supported ay other ;;itnesses a;id evic~_:nce, ~~ ' t:,e so_:Aion tho uoi::aission made up,
as it /••artz' d conjec tuxed :;oiution.)
tie _gnore :iiaziy errors thst are not i:i4ztant x id need not be taken as an in.:acation oJ" riurtz's subjectmatt::r i,_norance. iox eaaaple, oa the sedaond page of :.is tc2'l l page ~) he says t1a t "Le;;ding th:: i:.otorcade ijas an escort vehicle driven by Dallas ionce ~:hief Jesse Uury, folowed by several mokojtc9cles...'1
n Tile Jecret Survixv "piloi car led tiie rwtor.~ade and soi:iotiii,,es flanking the
President' ~si..e ..soi::etms a little behind it'were four Dallas
:Lotorcycl,e ,:olice. 3 /~ 4
Y
yore indicative of i;rior;aice rather than ns:s~ haste is what nUrtz ne::t saya, ref erri.i; to ;off K.lleruan, who sat neat to the: driver of the
li=_ousine, that Kellerman was "the headof the aecret Service :dhite "ouse detail."
then /
'1'i t "detail" was eased by ito ~.;ert Iiuaan lsouck.
ri:$ ail.::.a:_c: S do i:aaly that f .llow, Liciudill;; what is citeu ilc~.'.:~, r;dseo questions abcU.; :.low :.=:: wor.: =ur tz d0 for iii i::self 1n ';or~pari i;Iv for t1:i8 book
(~, how ii:UC=1 h2 piciied u;7 _:~'O:.i othe' books rather th:?il tae actual e'~idoilce :. tsclf , It i s not a asy to :relieve that urtz did Us owa work aid that he iafi?led the actual rate mat erial in the:, f_r::i of all t1u;se.do / menu he claimed to eXh..usteu oand wl tou t exha; t:tin~_, 1kem he cc,uld not even~t:n.Yil. ,,)f writiii; an inf or=es ay:d
_1.(oPc) ,Z~t
a,c;;urate boo,c) and mu a serious a~ aff those that follow:
J
When the motorcade left th,: airport, the Secret Service decided not to
use a clc~.r, bulletproof plastic "bubbletop" shield to cover the lLaousine"~pabe 4).
0~
It was b_for.: the 'Wrousine left the airport, the decision was heuned;i'Cn'ot t::at of tai Secret 4;erv Service 11 and thcZGt bubbletop was not bulletproof/. _ej.
It is not =easy to believe that I%urtz did real research on so complicated
a subject and be'cll s0 uninformed he cJUlQ .1;:(: Serious IZstakes/ like t!'1o one.
l
'diiatever his i.tention in tUs, w_c1~ i:. e~itirly .:riro.ig a..d .had~ttth~::~ siz?itest n
foundatio=: in f,net, ~4urtz seems clearly to l~i$ that by ...~<J.n ~; the: wron. aeczsian, removing that uubbletop, the ,..'Secret :~_rvico had tae ~~re°:id~:at k_lled
because it romoved w,_at would have ;?rotected X.m, that"bulletproof" bubbletop.~
y'ae fact 'is that Kui ne:y ordered ti,: removal of t:,, a. so its
then l~zrtz is tds ignorant oy 1TC,estdbli:;hed and readilyavailable fact of the assassination aid so i:uch ?:lore lLhc; it that is included in those i"Zi records avaa. aul , as ,;"her.a=t o1\ my AId litigation, wiz:cn he never mentions, /lM
that means, scholar that he . s, that he had no interost in the established chimera , and ...fficial facts of the assassLlution and tams chasing his oir~i`~ of his
visuUizing himself as ;iherlock Oolaes r.:turned. His book abounds ii: evidence
i~ of t:ds and in th: mistakes essential to tholr (einL believed.
would bet more exposure, that exposure being ta, r::ason he went t0 Tex as,
against all th advise p, ven him. 3
Un the next page:
Una.,wure to t ho was recording the most graphic and sensational piece of film
in hitort', Zaprude2 maintained a steady focus on the limousine. `rxough
the camera lense, Zapruder saw the President gri:~ace in pain as tile limousine
morged frcaa behind a street si0i ~~agrne5).
it is not possible to read Zapruder's VOi::1Assion testimony 011 H56yff) M4
,`~(i(,
lie was "u:lawar;:° of the importance of that film. He tc:sti.r::ony is clear on his
reporting chat to govern::i:nt did not ..ant in its evidonce.i quote from '::is
testixlo j as 1 qu . ted .:::, Li :4y first boolt, i n Why tew~ h, bec;Ause urtz was
critical :.:f it ..and because when rLansas u!iver;>ity Press a6ked rd::: for
quotation of tri!a~ ii.: believed is l:rong i~urtz begged of'' witi! a couple orid said
a !iL G~ ly ~i'h ~
"~1~T"`i'i .i 00 VUSy ~~ Mor. (i~.i tal: few' he s_x:cified i:ere l~l '~P~tejl~l, SO, with
m,'st peo p? e , <'ly ,ray, i t ::ig!t be believed t:a t Kurtz read a t least a little
of t~:a: first boo:. o!1 the: as:3assi:_ation. ':ile fir2t l~u"tst alienation of 'Uh,, few
hc~ p:cduced to VNa_Tj7 :his cla:m t.ilut =Lstakes run through ut C11 :4T book: is:
Abrahari ,aurud~r... Lot w25,vUU for hi. film and gav'j it all to :he
Tip,Ats. :is Wro:ie :dz:~cl f pAllts out, Zapruder received much :aore than that and lie did not Live it to tile lit~:its. .
Well Zaprud'sr him:;:>lf testofied o.N this oxld as of tile ti:::e L:Ute',.ash l eras co ..:pleted, zdd•'rbruary 1 u~, no o the, information was available o.! t:iat. What Za prude:f testified, as 1~urtz sh;;u?d have kio:;n it if he read that testL;wny and certaL11ly shou.i have iu!olvr if he was tv criticize others about saying this, on/of those citici zed aeia~ yirone, about. wlwse book ,urtz sari doLag a de.;r re vieT" L::at Couldeea :.~ fro:: o.::i!2 urllssh::. ie:_e ore Zaprudor's yrorus ~V1i
l s 715767)
1 received 625,JUU, ,:.s you ~~lo..;J, and 1 have giv;:n that the ~'ir~:Ja;i~ s
~11d oliceIaatlf~'s B:~nevolonce r;iti. a sur':;::.;t.on iOr 1•~.^=i. 2ipJ1t.
Tl:at",$enev..once" di(r give ti13t 4r_h,`JGO r0 •'lrs. T_p,~it, as till: med3.a of
tlla t tii._ _)_a1SGd 44_? .)r user f 0 1vexid jv;.r a;,;ain.
.that book, as Kurtz does n_ t say, was co:::pL: ;,e, 1fxve months after the
•~eport ..:als outue~ nor~hs afor thv Twentysix vzlum;:s ;sere ,ublished.
risid:: fro~a the fact that L. quot:d Zaprude_ accurately, n;: other Lformation was
` available, fc. ~k yea.rs.
•tt~ !~'u'~.
A.f _ ./r" y fz ,oAWith t:.is kind of reason raisin; questioi:s about wheth=er or not
:.urtz had and y:4d those twentysix volumes and with thus more recent reason
to believe tla. a.._ did nave and read, ;•hitewasA. I q _otL~ several pass ,es
y'ro:.i it addcessin,_.`zt l quoted above from the urtz book , ire particular what
l,,urtz says 4 :)ou t th. P_,ei u::nt not ",,i~:ciil in gain" ,.: ti 1 ,f t::>r~ in the , ~l 4u:)ruiier filii, ht:; "eLE'zgood '~^o:: kolind ;;.`..e Street sign," LLurtx never
Wl'L: ~ _"t:_~al(r:i tlria". e
3 .
G~ ~~J r"'~.ls YW:~ich of tt t1Jo lie talks about.
:11'_t. v:.0:;'~:: w. ~'u atre't ~'it~. l.
~.~ 0 '
.. i N f1.yL1~j ..
r ~,L 1' o a '~t~'.:h, ~rhi ch includes the ~p
_ll T.=1. ti_c.~ OI ~ii::::;6 :,.a. t tloii~ L~O:.i '.
~rt)! ;.1ia LestLaony 1t cites:
zapruaer even informed the Commission that he saw the President's
waving motion with his hand turn into a grasping at his neck (7H571).
He even called to the attention of the Commission something wrong at
this precise sequence in the footage (7H573). He had been shdwn a
few frames beginning with 185 and was testifying about them when he
said, after looking at 185 and 186, "Yes; this is before this
shouldn't be there the shot wasn't fired was it? You can't tell
from here?"
The lack of response from Assistant Counsel Liebeler was noted
by the court reporter: "Mr. Liebeler. (No response)."
Zapruder then continued, "I believe it was closer down here
where it happened. Of course, on thefilm they could see better but
you take an 9mm. and you enlarge it in color or in black and white,
you lose a lot of detail. I wish I had an enlarger here for you
M573).
His offer was never accepted. The Commission did not want this
clarified. He was not even asked anything about the char c eri saps
.,r ht. lens or other such elementary technical_duestionsJ~W ~tt1~ `
at;ain , addressing urtz' a hon,::,t;'' ~:i '~'1 r n0tCz Xancu:
Zanruder was explaining how he took his pictures. "I was
shooting through a telephoto lens .,. and as it (the Presidential
car) reached about _ I imagine it was around here I heard the
first shot and I saw the President lean over and grab himself "
(7$571). Lawyers know very well that such words as here in tes
timony relating to a location reflect nothing on the printed page.
When they want the testimony clear, they ask the witness to iden_