Miscellanea, Errata, Et Cetera

The group has apparently risen from the ashes of alt.conspiracy.jfk.moderated. From the new group's "Welcome" message:

Alt.assassination.jfk is the sucessor to alt.conspiracy.jfk.moderated, which was highly successful for a year and a half, and then succumed to disagreement among the moderators.

At its peak in early 1997, the group averaged over 50 posts per day. A core of well-informed people, on both sides of the conspiracy issue, posted regularly.

The "noise level" was extremely low, due to the fact that this was a moderated group, and the chronic flames that afflict alt.conspiracy.jfk didn't make it to alt.conspiracy.jfk.moderated. Alt.assassination.jfk will continue this tradition, with the two moderators who were running the group during its peak period (see below).

The Moderators

Russ Burr describes himself as a "moderate conspiracy buff" and says he has benefited from reading lone nutters arguments but "it hasn't changed my mind yet." His interest began at age 11 when he read the WARREN COMMISSION REPORT. He is a certified School Psychologist and has worked for H.S. Distict 214, Arlington Hgts. Il. He has made a variety of presentations on the assassination to high schools, area Community Education classes and Marquette University.

John McAdams is Associate Professor of Political Science at Marquette University in Milwaukee. Among the courses he teaches at Marquette is one on the assassination. He runs The Kennedy Assassination Home Page (http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/home.htm). McAdams believes that Oswald alone was responsible for killing Kennedy.

McAdams' web page has recently attracted over 1,000 visitors per day. His page offers a direct link to the group. It is a "Point Communications Top 5% of the Web" page and an INTERNET UNDERGROUND "Net Top 10" selection. It will offer a searchable archive of group messages.

McAdams and Burr intend to recruit another moderator who takes a clear conspiracy position on the assassination.

CHARTER AND MODERATION POLICY

This group will be for the purpose of providing an area for serious discussion and research of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The group will be moderated to prevent the noise and chronic personal attacks which have plagued alt.conspiracy.jfk and made it nearly useless as a vehicle for intelligent research. Questions surrounding JFK's death have made this one of the most talked-about and controversial issues of our generation. This will be the one usenet group which deals seriously with this important topic.

1. Americans are apt to scoff at the idea, that a military coup in the US., as so often happens in Latin american countries, could ever replace our government. but that is an idea that has grounds for consideration. Which military organization has the potenitialities of executing such action? Is it the army? with its many constripes, its unwieldy size its scores of bases scattered across the world? The case of Gen. Walker shows that the army, at least, is not fertail enough ground for a far right regime to go a very long way. for the same reasons of size and desposition the Navy and air force is also to be more or less disregarded. Which service than, can qwalify to launch a coup in the USA? Small size, a permenent hard core of officerss and few baseis is necscary. Only one outfit fits that description and the U.S.M.C. is a right wing infiltrated organization of dire potential consequence's to the freedoms of the U.S. I agree with former President Truman when he said that "The Marine Corps should be abolished."

2. My second reason is that undemocratic, country wide insitution know as segregation. It, is, I think the action of the active segregationist minority adn the great body of indiffent people in the South who do the United States more harm in the eyes of the worlds people, than the whol world communist movement. as I look at this audience there is a sea of white facts before me where are the negro's amongst you (are they hiding under the table) surly if we are for democracy, let our fellow negro citizen's into this hall. Make no mistake, segregationist tendencies can be unlearned I was born in New Orleans, and I know.

In russia I saw on several occiasions that in international meeting the greatest glory in the sport field was brought to us by negros. Though they take the gold medals from their Russian competitors those negros know that when they return to their own homeland they will have to face blind hatred and discrimonation. The Soviet Union is made up of scores of naturiclists asians and Eurpr-asian's armenian and Jews whites and dark skinned people's yet they can teach us a lesson in brotherhood among people's with different customs and origins.

3. A symbol of the american way, our liberal concesin is the existance in our midst of a minority group whose influence and membership is very limited and whose dangerous tendencies are sufficeanly controlled by special government agencies. The commuhnist party U.S.A. bears little resemblance to their Russian conterparts, but by allowing them to operate and even supporting their right to speak, we maintain a tremonusu sign of our strenght and liberalism harasment of their party newspaper, their leaders, and advocates, is treachery to our basic principles of freedom of speach and press. Their views no matter how misguided, no matter how much the Russians take advantage of them, must be allowed to be aired. after all communist U.S.A. have existed for 40 years and they are still a pitiful group of radical.

4. Now-a-days -- most of us read enough about certain right wing groups to know how to recognize them and guard against their corresive effects. a would like to say a word about them, although their is possibley few other american born person's in the U.S. who know as many personal reasons to know and therefore hate and mistrust communism. I would never become a psuso-professional anit-communist such as herbert Philbriks or Macarthy. I would never jump on any of the many right wing bandwagon's. because our two contries have too much too offer each other to be tearing at each other's trouths in an endless cold war. Both are conoutries have major short comings and advantages. but only in ours is the voice of dissent allowed opportunity of expression, in returning ________ to ________ the U.S., I hope I have awoken a few who were sleeping, and others who are indifferent.

I have done alot of critizing of our system I hope you will take it in the spirit it was given. in going to Russian I followed the old priciple "Thou shall seek the truth and the truth shall make you free. In returning to the U.S. I have done nothing more or less than select the lesser of two evils.

The Star Class sloop, which Kennedy bought in 1934 and called Flash II, was the most prominent item in a sampling of mementos exhibited in late December by Guernsey's auction house in the lobby of Trump Tower.

Arlan Ettinger, president of Guernsey's, refused to estimate a price tag for the auction. But experts suggested the bidding could rival the $34.5 million Sotheby's 1996 sale of items from Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' estate.

About 600 Kennedy items will be offered at the March 18 and 19 sale, most of them from the collection left to Robert White by Evelyn Lincoln, Kennedy's personal secretary who died two years ago. White said some items could fetch $1 million.

Ettinger said two diaries Kennedy kept while on a fact-finding trip he took as a congressman in 1951 "contain enormously significant material, displaying a brilliant mind."

Other items on display include the small drop-leaf desk Kennedy used for signing legislation, one of his cigar humidors, a Donegal tweed hat the president was given on a visit to Ireland and a Persian lamb pillbox hat of Mrs. Kennedy's.

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