Musings (1/3/2022)

God’s richest blessings in the New Year to you all!

• If your New Year’s resolution is to read your Bible more frequently (and even if it isn’t) here are a number of Bible reading plans from Ligonier. Ligonier's Bible Reading Plans

• Why do we tend to view those outside our political tribe in the worst possible light? The Atlantic: "The Myth of Tribalism"

• I ran across a new podcast which I highly recommend. If you love military history, strategy and tactics, and are interested in the lives of great historical figures, then you’ll love the The School of War

• More great stuff from Dr. Godfrey:

Dr. Robert Godfrey: "Whats Going on Right Now? (Lecture 7)

Dr. Robert Godfrey: "What's Going on Right Now?" (Lecture 8)

• Isn’t time for Alabama and Georgia to just leave the SEC for the NFL?

• As if I need another reason to hate monkeys, this one tops the chart. Enraged Monkeys Kill Dogs

• Nothing to see here? J. F. K. Assassination Records

  Whatever happened in Mexico City in September of 1963 with Oswald and the Cubans and Russians sure spooked the CIA and the FBI. Any remaining mysteries about the JFK assassination are to be solved there. The best theory is that Oswald walked into both embassies and told officials during interviews that he was prepared to kill JFK to prove his commie bona fides. He was dismissed by both embassies as an unstable kook (KGB records opened during the Yeltsin era indicate as much). But there is some evidence that Castro had advanced knowledge of Oswald’s plans and had an “oh crap!” moment when he heard that it was Oswald who had killed Kennedy. Castro feared that he’d be blamed and would receive the full weight of American retaliation.

  But the question remains. Why did the CIA (or the FBI) not inform the Secret Service that Oswald had threatened JFK and was in the Dallas area on the morning of November 22? Bureaucratic bungling, and agency turf protection was likely why LHO’s threat was not passed along. And how did we know what Oswald said in both the Cuban and Soviet embassies? How did we know what Castro thought about JFK’s sudden death? hmm . . .

  IMHO, Oswald was not part of a conspiracy to assassinate JFK. He acted alone. So did Jack Ruby. But the CIA and FBI did conspire to protect their collective arses because they didn’t tell what they knew to the Secret Service. Furthermore, they were protecting sources and methods at a time when misguided blame (toward the USSR and Cuba) could have led to nuclear war. Lest we forget what the Cold War was like, there were good and sane reasons to hide embarrassing things from the public when nuclear war with the USSR (i.e., the Cuban Missile crisis of the previous year) was a real possibility.

  But we live in different times. Just release all the files already!