Former Texas Governor John B. Connally with a shotgun and President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office in 1971.
The photo's caption by Michael Beschloss reads:
President Nixon and his Treasury Secretary, John Connally, survivor of JFK assassination in Dallas 1963, with shotgun in Oval Office, 1971. Astonishing.
Apparently, the Parkland Hospital's doctors did a great job on Connally's right wrist in 1963. I shook hands with him in San Diego at a California Republican Party Convention in 1973 and he had a good strong grip.
Above, the recreated sniper's nest in the former Texas School Book Depository building at the Sixth Floor Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Our next chance for snow showers is coming tonight. At least, that's according to the National Weather Service. They say we have an 80% chance of precipitation (rain and snow showers). We'll see.
The storm that showed up on Thursday did give us some rain, but no snow.
Here is the forecast by the National Weather Service:
Today
Increasing clouds, with a high near 56. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tonight
Rain showers likely between 8pm and 2am, then rain, possibly mixed with snow showers. Low around 35. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Sunday
Rain likely, possibly mixed with snow showers before 8am, then rain showers likely between 8am and 2pm, then rain and snow showers likely after 2pm. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 43. South wind 10 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Today is noteworthy as the 62nd anniversary of the JFK assassination in Dallas, Texas. For those who are interested in the assassination or are just history buffs, a visit to the former Texas School Book Depository should be put on one's "bucket list" of things to do. I visited it four years ago.
The building now houses the Sixth Floor Museum with plenty of exhibits on the assassination, including the corner window that was Lee Harvey Oswald's sniper's next.
For information on the Sixth Floor Museum, go here.
Above, a rifle like this one at the 6th Floor Museum in Dallas is up for auction. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Here's something interesting that is coming up at auction for gun collectors.
It is an exact recreation of Lee Harvey Oswald's Mannlicher-Carcano rifle used to assassinate President John F. Kennedy. It was used during the House Select Committee on Assassinations back in 1978. It was also used in a movie on the assassination.
PR Newswire reported:
BEDFORD, Texas, April 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- An exact recreation of the JFK assassination rifle, owned and utilized by ballistics expert Monty Lutz during his testimony for the House Select Committee on Assassinations, will come to auction this May. The rifle also starred in the 1986 movie "On Trial: Lee Harvey Oswald," where Lutz played himself. Lutz's Carcano rifle will be offered during the first day of Rock Island Auction Company's May 2-4 Premier Auction.
The rifle is an identical configuration to the "Mannlicher-Carcano" rifle long recognized as the weapon used by Lee Harvey Oswald to assassinate President John F. Kennedy. Lutz's rifle was even ordered from the same retailer Oswald used and mounted with an identical scope. Such duplication was critical when this rifle was utilized during the 1978 investigation by the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA), where Lutz cited testing the rifle at various distances. The exact replication of the assassination weapon was a quintessential component in the investigation as the nation continued to search for answers in the tragedy's aftermath.
Lee Harvey Oswald's rifle is currently housed at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland.
Above, the assassination site in Dallas, Texas. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
As promised, the Trump Administration released the purported "last batch" of JFK Assassination documents.
This was the result of President Trump's executive order made in January.
From the BBC:
The US government has released the final batch of documents on the assassination of President John F Kennedy - a case that still sparks conspiracy theories over 60 years later.
The release follows an executive order in January by President Donald Trump that required unredacted files in the case to be made public.
Experts are combing over the documents, but have said they do not expect many ground-breaking revelations. Trump expected 80,000 pages of records to be unsealed.
US authorities have previously released hundreds of thousands of JFK documents, but held some back, citing national security concerns. Many Americans still believe the gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, did not act alone.
Above, Clint Hill at Book Passage in 2016. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Clint Hill, the sole Secret Service Agent who acted during the assassination of President Kennedy, passed away at home on February 21. He was 93.
His wife, Lisa McCubbin, made the announcement this morning:
In June 2016, I attended a book signing and discussion by Mr. Hill at Book Passage in Corte Madera, California. It was a well attended event and I was able to get some autographed books from Mr. Hill and Miss McCubbin.
Above, Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin at Book Passage. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Above, Elm Street in Dealey Plaza in 2021. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
President Donald Trump is continuing to make good on his campaign promises.
The latest is that he issued an executive order to declassify and release the remaining files on the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
According to CBS News:
President Trump announced that he'll declassify any remaining files from the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. He signed an executive order at the White House Thursday.
After an aide announced the president was signing the executive action "ordering the declassification of files relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.," Mr. Trump said, "That's a big one, huh? A lot of people are waiting for this for a long — for years, for decades."
The president instructed his aide to give the pen he used to sign the order to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy and Mr. Trump's nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services. The elder Kennedy served as U.S. attorney general and New York senator and was a Democratic presidential candidate when he was slain in 1968.
Above, a view of Elm Street in Dealey Plaza two windows away from Oswald's sniper's window. Photo by Armand Vaquer
Sixty years is a long time. I can still remember that day almost as if it were yesterday.
Today marks the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. I was in fourth grade at the time at Woodcrest Elementary School in Los Angeles.
Above, a view of Elm Street and the former Texas School Book Depository Building. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
I had just finished lunch in the school cafeteria and got up to bring my tray and dishes to the busboy window. It was there at the window I was told that Kennedy was assassinated, and the school’s flag had been lowered to half-staff. I left the cafeteria and went outside and saw that the flag was indeed at half-staff.
I then went to the playground for the remainder of the lunch hour.
Minutes later, the bell rang for everyone to return to class.
Above, a view of Elm Street from Main Street in 1984. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
There, in class, our teacher tearfully confirmed what had happened. Everyone was in stunned silence. Then, a fire drill bell started ringing and we all headed out to the playground. There, outside of the auditorium at the top of a stairway, the school principal, over a public address system, also told everyone the news and had everyone sing patriotic songs.
He also announced that school would be dismissed for the day following the program.
Above, Oswald's sniper's nest recreated in the Sixth Floor Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
I then headed home (I only lived across the street from the school) with a friend from the Cub Scouts. His mother wasn’t at home so he came home with me. After getting home, we watched the television coverage with my mom. All programming on all television stations were preempted by the assassination coverage. This would ultimately be the case throughout the weekend until after Kennedy’s funeral on Monday, November 25.
Much of what was repeatedly shown was the Kennedys at the breakfast in Fort Worth, their arrival at Love Field and some footage of the motorcade. Later, a live feed from Andrews Air Force Base showing the arrival of Air Force One was shown and Lee Harvey Oswald under arrest.
Above, a view of Elm Street from the grassy knoll area. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
As this was a Friday, my family usually went out for dinner. But, for the life of me, I cannot remember if we did or ate at home.
Nobody who was alive at the time would ever forget, just like other generations who remember what they were doing and how they learned about Pearl Harbor and September 11.
Above, the Kennedy limousine after it passed under the triple underpass from a display in the Sixth Floor Museum.
Since then, I have visited Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas twice, being a history buff. The first was during the 1984 Republican National Convention and the second was in January 2021. A visit to the Sixth Floor Museum in the former Texas School Book Depository Building is well worth a visit.
For those who wish to delve further into the Kennedy assassination, these DVDs are recommended:
Above, this DVD by the History Channel is the best one. It covers the assassination and what transpired since, including conspiracy theories.
Above, this National Geographic DVD covers much of the same as the History Channel DVD.
Above, this DVD shows the Zapruder film from sharp photographic copies made from the original camera film.
Below is a video I took of former Secret Service Agent Clint Hill, now 91, giving a talk on the assassination at Book Passage in Corte Madera, California on June 11, 2016.
Yesterday marked the 60th anniversary of the John Wayne/Maureen O'Hara western comedy, McLintock! It was a western version of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.
This was the second John Wayne movie I saw in 1963. I saw Donovan's Reef at the Balboa Theater in Los Angeles with King Kong vs. Godzilla, which was released in the U.S. in June of 1963. Two friends joined my parents and me to see the double-feature.
I do remember that the Kennedy cortege passed by a movie theater with McLintock! on the marquee. So November would be right.
Above, the Kennedy cortege about to pass a theater showing McLintock!
It is hard to believe sometimes how much time has passed.
Above, following the "last beer with Doug" at the cemetery. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Yesterday was spent attending the funeral and internment of Mitch Geriminsky's wife's father, Doug.
It was a nice, but informal, service at the Lake Havasu church of Latter Day Saints. Following the service, we headed to the cemetery, Lake Havasu Memorial Gardens. It was a nice small cemetery. It is interesting to note that the cemetery is in a residential area, where, if one has a home or apartment there, they either have a view of the lake or of the cemetery. The cemetery was there first and the homes were built around it later. It is also the only cemetery in Lake Havasu.
Afterwards, we returned to the church for lunch.
When that ended, we headed back to Mitch's to rest up. Well, Mitch and wife Holly did. I studied the owner's manual to the new Remington Model 870 shotgun in the motorhome.
Above, while studying the shotgun's owner's manual.
Before I knew it, around 20 of us returned to the cemetery to have our "last beer with Doug". By then, his grave was filled in and the only thing of concern were the water sprinklers that were on the whole time. The gathering was light-hearted with stories of Doug's life. He was a Navy veteran who participated in the Bay of Pigs failed operation in 1961. If only JFK allowed U.S. air support, the outcome would have been much different.
This morning, Mitch and I will be going to Hobby Lobby to get a frame for the painting I gave Mitch for his birthday. We may do a video call with Asya, if her work schedule allows, while we are there.
After that is accomplished, I am heading back to New Mexico. It has been a busy six days in Lake Havasu.
By the way, Dwight Kuntz and I introduced Mitch to the Antiques Roadshow on PBS last evening. Incredible as it may seem, he was unfamiliar with it. He seemed to like it.
The Democrat Party of today is vastly different from the one that existed 60 years ago. I seriously doubt that President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy would recognize the party of today.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, is a throwback to the Democrats of yesteryear. He is a lot more middle-of-the-road in comparison to the leftists and socialists who have taken over the party.
Although Kennedy lost his father and uncle to gun violence, he backs the constitution and, along with it, the Second Amendment.
He spoke at a townhall meeting in Philadelphia yesterday and NTD News covered it.
Some snippets:
Fifty-five years to the day that his father was shot after a presidential campaign speech, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a town hall audience on June 5 that he intends to “bridge this toxic polarization that is really destroying our country and tearing us apart” as he mounts a challenge against President Joe Biden in the Democratic primary.
At the event held at a historic theater in suburban Philadelphia, Kennedy recounted the night that his father, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, was shot, his death the next following day, and the procession that stretched from New York City to Washington.
Kennedy noted that his father had the ability to unite people from different ethnic backgrounds and walks of life, and that he would like to do the same.
He calls his campaign a “peaceful insurgency” that he hopes will appeal to conservative Republicans, independents, moderates, and liberal Democrats.
When asked about his stance on the Second Amendment, he said, “I believe in the Constitution and I’m not going to take everybody’s guns away.
“I had two family members who were killed by gunfire, so I understand the anguish and the pain of losing a loved one to gun violence. We must figure out a way to deal with it but talking about taking people’s guns away at this point in history is not a solution,” he said.
Over the past three years, Kennedy added, “We’ve seen extraordinary initiatives by our federal government against the Bill of Rights, freedom of speech, freedom of worship. And jury trials have been under attack, property rights have been under attack, and freedom from warrantless searches and seizures have all been under attack.
“The only reason we have anything left in our Constitution is because we have that Second Amendment,” he noted.
Kennedy also shares a stance about the border crisis that is more reflective of conservative legislators.
Above, a 1966 JFK half dollar (40% silver) in circulated condition. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
The 1964 JFK half dollar (the first year of issue) is the only one composed of 90% silver. (I mentioned previously that I found 20 1964 JFK half dollars in the locked strongbox that I had opened and keys made.)
However, other JFK half dollars had 40% silver.
I was going through some more stuff that was in the strongbox that was locked for years. I found some circulated JFK half dollars, one of which is a 1966 issue from Philadelphia (no mint mark) that is 40% silver. The others were two 1971 (copper clad) and a 1976 bicentennial (also copper clad) coins.
In 1964 the new silver Kennedy half dollar was introduced and contained a hefty 90% silver content. Minted as a memorial of the passing of President Kennedy. First coins struck, February 11, 1964 and public distribution began March 24, 1964.
Over 430 million 1964 Kennedy halves were produced, a huge number at the time. Vast quantities were saved. Partly as remembrance of President Kennedy and partly as storing silver.
Price of silver has greatly increased since 1964. Silver was $1.29 per ounce when these coins were first minted. Today 1/9/2023 with silver in the $23.94 per ounce price range. Value of a 1964 Kennedy half is $8.06 each.
1964 is the only year of 90% silver Kennedy halves, something special worth looking for in a group of old coins.
A Change In Silver Content
Following the first year saw a change in metal composition. In the years 1965 through 1970 a 40% silver Kennedy half dollar was minted for circulation.
This new composition is 80% silver and 20% copper layers bonded to a center core of 21% silver and 79% copper. A total of 40% silver by weight.
While working on a blog post of the CIA's involvement in the JFK assassination along with one of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s reaction to a Tucker Carlson report on it, I happened to see a video of the JFK funeral cortege.
It was the cortege that took JFK's casket to the Capitol to lie in state. I remember watching it when it happened and noticed one thing that stuck in my mind since (I was nine years old at the time). At one point, the caisson passes a movie theater and on the marquee was the John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara western, McLintock! Prior to this, we had gone to the movies and saw the movie and enjoyed it very much.
In the video, the caisson approaches the theater. I took a couple of screenshots of it and they are posted below. The marquee is in the background on the right.
I thought this was a bit of interesting historical trivia.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised Fox News's Tucker Carson for his report on the CIA's involvement in the assassination of President Kennedy, calling it the "most courageous newscast in 60 years."
Above, a view of Elm Street from a sixth floor window of the former Texas School Book Depository. This window is two windows to the west of the actual sniper's window. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
To date, roughly 97% of the previously withheld classified JFK assassination documents have been released. Yesterday, 13,000 more were released.
There's 3% remaining. People are already asking, What are they hiding?
Above, the sniper's next at the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
The Gateway Pundit has jumped into the fray.
They wrote:
In 2017 President Trump approved the release of approximately 2800 long-classified JFK assassination records.
News outlets from around the globe furiously combed through the files in search of more pieces to the puzzling death of President John F. Kennedy.
President Trump released a second trove of documents later that year.
One of the documents revealed that Democrat President Lyndon Johnson was a KKK member.
This was not a surprise.
The Ku Klux Klan was founded as the activist wing of the Democratic Party.
On Thursday the National Archives released thousands of the JFK documents.
But the FBI-CIA would not allow the release of all of the documents. Around 3% of the JFK documents are still being withheld from release to the public — more than 50 years after the assassination.
What are they hiding?
We know how trustworthy the CIA and FBI are these days, don't we?
Universal Coin & Bullion has a deal on 1964 JFK half dollars. I was first alerted through their ad in the current American Rifleman magazine.
Their lowest price for a 1964 JFK half dollar is $13.50/coin in BU (brilliant uncirculated) condition. These coins are the only JFK half dollars minted in 90% silver. The average price for these coins range from $7.00 to $15.00.
Yesterday, I placed an order for one as I already have several. Universal's limit is two per household. I alerted a friend and he ordered two last night.
Since our currency is being eaten away by Bidenflation, investing in precious metal coins (gold and silver) is a good hedge.
The current silver price is $21.34 per ounce.
For a little history on private ownership of gold by U.S. citizens, go here.
Today's the 59th anniversary of the JFK assassination in Dallas, Texas. As one would expect, there's plenty of articles online to read.
One of them has a glaring error in its narrative. It is from NewsBreak by Larry Lease.
In one paragraph he wrote:
Dallas News reports that two Oak Cliff homes that Oswald stayed at before that fateful day are still standing and are privately owned. However, as the area continues to develop, it's unclear how long they will remain standing. Oswald rented a room at 1026 N. Beckley Ave, which has been turned into a museum. He and his wife were living in a home at 214 W. Neely Street. This is the home where Oswald famously posed for a picture with the rife he would end up using to kill Kennedy. You can also see a plaque that marks the spot where Kennedy shot the Dallas police officer near Patton Avenue and 10th Street.
Above, yours truly in Dealey Plaza early last year. Photo by Mitch Geriminsky.
Articles about the 59th anniversary tomorrow of the assassination of President Kennedy are appearing on the Internet.
They range from eyewitness accounts to a proposal to upgrade Dealey Plaza (not too much could be actually be done there as it is now a National Historic Site).
Six years ago, I headed up to Corte Madera, California to Book Passage to hear former Secret Service agent Clint Hill give a talk on the assassination and his work with different presidents. I blogged about the visit back then, which also includes a video of his talk that I shot. To access it, go here.
Above, ex-Secret Service agent Clint Hill at Book Passage in Corte Madera in 2016. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has posted a collection of photographs from their staff photographers taken during JFK's visit to Dallas. To see them, go here.
Snopes even got into the act with an article on JFK's foreboding feeling about assassination. To access the article, go here.
The Dallas Morning News has an article posted today on how to observe the 59th anniversary. To read it, go here.
Above, Elm Street at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
In two more days, the 59th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy will be observed.
Incredible as it may seem, there's an inter-agency battle over the remaining classified documents and their release according to a 1992 transparency law ordering their release. The CIA and FBI want them kept secret, but the National Achives and Records Administration want them released.
Politico has posted an article on might be the crux of the dispute.
They begin with:
Almost exactly 59 years after those rifle shots rang out in Dealey Plaza, left a president mortally wounded and changed the course of history, there are still secrets that the government admits it is determined to keep about the November 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. More than 14,000 classified documents somehow related to the president’s murder remain locked away, in part or in full, at the National Archives in clear violation of the spirit of a landmark 1992 transparency law that was supposed to force the release of virtually all of them years ago.
The fact that anything about the assassination is still classified — and that the CIA, FBI and other agencies have refused to provide the public with a detailed explanation of why — has convinced an army of conspiracy theorists that their cynicism has always been justified.
It appears the CIA, FBI and other agencies want to protect still-living foreign informants from reprisals by the Mafia (and possibly others) along with intelligence tools. That is why the battle still goes on.
Politico reported:
In the past, those agencies have provided the public with only vague explanations about their reasoning, citing potential damage to national security and foreign policy.
The Archives correspondence reveals, for the first time, their detailed justifications, providing a rare window into reasoning inside the CIA and FBI. In many cases, it shows, the CIA and FBI pressed to keep documents secret because they contained the names and personal details of still-living intelligence and law-enforcement informants from the 1960’s and 1970’s who could be at risk of intimidation or even violence if they were publicly identified.
Many of those sources — now elderly, if not close to death — are foreigners living outside the United States, which means it would be more difficult for the American government to protect them from threats. The CIA has also withheld information in the documents that identifies the location of CIA stations and safehouses abroad, including several that have been in use continuously since Kennedy’s death in 1963.
Even though it is almost 60 years since the assassination, it is interesting that intelligence and law-enforcement informants could still be put into jeopardy if their identities are revealed. At least, that's what the CIA and FBI contend.
As yesterday was James Bond Day worldwide (the movie Dr. No was released on October 5, 1962), I was perusing around for material for a blog post on the topic.
One source of information I read yesterday, but didn't use, was from IrishCentral. They had an article on President John F. Kennedy's fondness for the Ian Fleming James Bond books.
It started out with:
The last movie President John F. Kennedy ever watched was “From Russia With Love”, the second in the James Bond series, just days before he was assassinated on Nov 22, 1963.
JFK first came across the James Bond character when he was recovering from back surgery in hospital, in 1954, and a friend gave him “Casino Royale”, the first 007 novel, by former British spy Ian Fleming.
Kennedy fell in love with the character and strongly identified with him. JFK was keen to create a dashing new image when running for the White House and when he succeeded in 1960, according to Washington Post journalist Theo Zenou.
The James Bond author, Ian Fleming, was invited to the Kennedy residence during the 1960 campaign and in 1961 when Kennedy was asked about his favorite books he named “From Russia With Love” as one of his top three.
Kennedy’s choice meant that the book started to fly off the shelves.
Fleming was somewhat dashing and had many friends within British government. Thus, he was invited to a party in Washington D.C. held by newly elected American President John F. Kennedy.
Fleming was introduced to President Kennedy, and in their conversation, he told Kennedy that he had a way to get rid of Fidel Castro, the Communist leader of Cuba. This piqued Kennedy's interest, since Castro had been a thorn in the side of Kennedy.
And what was Fleming's way of ridding Kennedy of Castro?
Fleming said that Castro's beard was the key. Without the beard, Castro would look like anyone else. It was his trademark. So, Fleming said that the U.S. should announce that they found that beards attract radioactivity. Any person wearing a beard could become radioactive himself as well as sterile!
Castro would immediately shave off his beard and would soon fall from power, when the people saw him as an ordinary person.
Kennedy had a good laugh about this bizarre suggestion.
The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, housed in the former Texas School Book Depository building, posted the following on Facebook:
When I was in Dallas last year, I didn't think to visit Parkland Hospital as I was aware that the original building had been remodeled, probably more than once. The emergency entrance was also changed and actually moved to a different, and newer building.
Trauma Room 1, where Kennedy was pronounced dead, was dismantled and its contents had been saved and in storage near Kansas City, Missouri according to a WFAA article.
