Comedian, actor, and author Richard Belzer appeared in studio to talk about his passion for conspiracies, as well as his new book, Hit List, which documents the mysterious deaths of witnesses to the JFK assassination. Defying the laws of probabilities, some eighteen witnesses died within three years of the JFK assassination, and a total of 50 deaths were investigated by Belzer and his co-author David Wayne. "They were CIA people, FBI people, newspaper reporters, doctors...mob guys who were just about to testify, murdered," he remarked. William Sullivan, an FBI director, was said to be "talking too much," and was suspiciously shot by a Chief of State Trooper's son, who mistook him for a deer, even though he was on a porch, Belzer reported.

Two newspaper reporters were at an apartment in Dallas where the murder was discussed prior to the assassination, he continued, and one of them came home one day and was killed by a burglar, the other was shot by "accident." Dorothy Kilgallen, a well-known reporter and TV personality, was the only person to get Jack Ruby alone for an interview, and she told several associates that she was going to "blow the lid off" the JFK assassination. Shortly afterward, she was found dead in her apartment from an overdose of barbiturates and her notes were missing, Belzer recounted, adding that Kilgallen's friend whom she told of her findings also turned up dead.

In discussing the recent Boston bombing, Belzer believes the Tsarnaev brothers were not acting alone and he nicknamed them the "Lee & Harvey Oswalovich brothers." They could be patsies, "not necessarily for our government, but they could have been stooges for some terrorist organization, or elements in this country who want to do us harm," he speculated. Belzer lamented that it's become hard to trust the official word, and that no matter who was involved in this incident, the US government is studying reactions, exploiting the situation, and "testing out things like soft martial law."

Navy SEAL Dogs

First hour guest, former SEAL Team 3 member Mike Ritland (book link) talked about training elite Navy SEAL dogs. While the SEAL dogs are similar to other working dogs, what sets them apart is that they have an absolute drive to do this kind of work, and a relentless willingness to defeat the target being apprehended, often amidst tough environmental challenges, he explained. Detailing one case, he described how a SEAL dog was shot point blank in the chest by an insurgent, but still managed to subdue and hold on to the target until the team came in. The dog was medevaced out and treated by a surgeon. He subsequently recovered, and was actually deployed again, though is now retired at Ritland's K9 Warrior Foundation.

News segment guest: John R. Lott