Oswald in the doorway: the blog of the Oswald Innocence Campaign, by Ralph Cinque

Ever think about how often they referred to Ruth Paine as a Quaker? 

Know any other JFK figure whose religion was cited as much or at all? What was Bill Shelley's religion? How about Billy Lovelady's? Earlene Roberts'?

But, we know why they kept referring to Ruth Paine as a Quaker. It's because they had to justify the extreme generosity she was showing to her mark, I mean, her friend, Marina Oswald. 

It was just the other day that I found out that not only did Ruth provide Marina and her children with free room, but she also fed them, and she also provided them with medical care: doctors, drugs, hospitalization- including for Rachel's birth in October. 

And why did she do all this? Because she wanted to learn Russian. 

Does that seem a little disproportionate? Are you thinking that if you wanted to learn Spanish, you might take a class at the community college or online, but you wouldn't invite a Mexican family to move in with you and pay their medical expenses?

I'm sure they realized it was a bit of a stretch. So, that's where the Quakerism came in. Because you see: Quakers are good. Yearning for Russian + Quakerism together could sufficiently explain the extreme generosity. 

But, whose generosity was it? Because you see: Ruth Paine didn't work. She had no job. She had no earned income. She depended entirely on her estranged husband Michael Paine to give her money.

So, how did that go down? I mean, the conversation. Was it like this?

"Oh, Michael, one more thing: You're going to notice that the utility bills are going to be a bit higher next month and thereafter for as far as the eye can see because I invited Marina Oswald and her daughter to come live with me. And I also offered to feed them, so be prepared for higher grocery bills as well. And actually, I might have told her that I was going to pay all her medical expenses, including the upcoming birth of her second child. So, heads up about that too.  But, it'll be worth it because I'm going to get Russian lessons out of the deal. Listen to this: 'Doh-bree-dyen. Z'drast v'wee t-yeh.' Isn't that cool? Oh, and one more thing: look for higher gasoline bills too because I'm driving to New Orleans to get them."

Now, I don't know Michael Paine, but what would the average American man, who was going through a divorce and having to support his estranged wife and his kids, say in response to that?

Let's just say that if he had any tendency at all to loud, rageful, seething, cursing language, that would bring it out. 

But, we are not talking about the average American man, are we? We're talking about Michael Paine.

Did you know that he told the FBI on Saturday November 23 that he had seen the rifle wrapped in the blanket in Ruth's garage, and that he had even handled it- that he moved it in order to get to the power saw. But, he figured it was probably just "camping equipment" of the Oswalds. That's what he said. 

When I think of Ruth and Michael Paine, one word comes to mind: BLOOD: the blood in which they are soaked.