Who do you believe killed JFK?

[DottieD'Luscia]

Nice article from the NY Times. I was born two months prior to this. To this day, I don't ever recall my parents talking about it, but my older brother says he remembers being let out of school early that day.
Once at Kennedy's Side

[NYadgal]

I just saw this clip on the news.
The link contains an article - but play the video of the audio link.

Chilling.

"The JFK assassination, like September 11 and the moon landing, stands as a “Where were you?” moment for Americans. The patrons and musicians of Symphony Hall may have been at the most emotionally wrenching — and most immediately soothing — place in the country."


The audience at the Boston Symphony Orchestra concert learns the news.

[suestorm]

This is fascinating. has the realtime feeds of CBS As The World Turns with commercials being constantly broken by CBS News alerts of the shooting. NBC feeds too.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/11/how-to-watch-the-kennedy-assassination-coverage-as-it-happened/281568/

[CarlosAlberto]

Thanks Addy for sharing that great clip.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Addy, that was literally chilling; I got goose bumps.

[best12bars]

Chilling and moving, Addy. Thank you for sharing that.

I wonder, if I were sitting there, if I could have held it together. I probably would have been in shock, then sobbed. Or I would have left the concert.

Probably all three.

[NYadgal]

I cried just listening to the clip, so I'm fairly certain that my reaction would have been a combination of stunned silence and grief-stricken tears, all rolled into one...

[ghostlight2]

"I cried just listening to the clip"

I burst into tears just hearing the announcement. The piece just ripped me to shreds. Thanks so much for this. What a lovely tribute.

How shocking and horrifying that must have been.

[artscallion]

"I cried just listening to the clip"
Me too. I was surprised by how it hit me.

[bwayrose7]

Same. I'm a generation removed from this terrible day, but that clip just hit me really hard emotionally. The power of music, folks.

[JohnBoy2]

I've seen nothing of modern forensic to substantiate anything but a lone gunman, 3 shots. All the forensics supports this. How can anyone believe anything else, when there's no scientific proof of anything else?

[Liza's Headband]

"Polls find that between 60 and 80 percent of Americans reject the idea that Kennedy was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald acting alone. In fact, more Americans believe that a shadowy conspiracy was behind a president’s death 50 years ago than know who Joe Biden is. Why are Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories so popular? The distinguishing feature of a successful conspiracy theory is power, and the Kennedy assassination has that in spades. The victim was an American president and the potential villains include actors of immense reach and influence. There are so many accused conspirators that anyone, regardless of political affiliation, can find a detested powerful actor to blame. For those on the right there is Lyndon Johnson, Fidel Castro and the Soviet Union; for the left there is Lyndon Johnson, defense contractors and the military. And this is only a partial list.

Conspiracy theories are not only about power but proof. High-quality information does change minds: When the Watergate story first broke, many dismissed the charges as partisan. Because high-quality evidence became available — hearings were held, evidence was presented, co-conspirators admitted to their crimes — virtually everyone now believes that Nixon conspired to commit and cover up crimes. But unlike the Birther and Truther theories, which languish for lack of impartial support, JFK conspiracy theories have some impartial support.

Calling it “proof” might be generous, but Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories clear higher evidentiary bars. There is evidence that the government hurried the investigation of the president’s murder and was not eager to find high-profile scapegoats. Most accounts attribute that rush to a pragmatic desire not to wrongfully implicate the Soviets and dangerously destabilize superpower relations. Most notably an official congressional inquiry seemed convinced of a conspiracy, so even those with moderate conspiratorial predispositions have something to hang their hat on. Because of their evolving scapegoats and above-average amount of evidence, JFK conspiracy theories have lodged themselves into the collective consciousness."




Washington Post: Why so many Americans believe Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories

[PalJoey]

Oh, Addy. Beethoven's 3rd by the Boston. That was perfect.

[Master Bates]

Thanks for that timeline, suestorm, it's scary how much journalism has not changed. I tend to think reporting gossip/half-truth/unsubstantiated claims are a recent invention, but they were very much alive in the 60s - even after the era of "the end of yellow journalism" in the decades before.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist by any means, but there's so much lingering doubt - mostly surrounding the autopsy, rushed investigation, failure to interview key witnesses, difference in bullets, etc. That's why I think it is perfectly reasonable that tragically and quite by accident that the secret service agent actually fired the fatal shot when the vehicle jerked as he held his weapon.

With that said, I think what has come to light about Kennedy's health and the family not wanting to release that information can explain away a great deal of the seemingly odd decisions made that day that fuel the conspiracy talk.

[Liza's Headband]

^ Who did you use to be?

[Master Bates]

SonofPalJoey

[CATSNYrevival]

I've never really paid much attention to any of this, but I've been watching some of the shows on TV today and that home video that shows his head jerking backwards after supposedly being shot by Oswald from behind looks quite questionable. Maybe there's a logical explanation for which I am unaware, but I can certainly understand why so many people would doubt the official report based on that video alone.

[PalJoey]

It was two things: One, the driver accelerated after the first and second shots, pushing everyone back. But the second is more to the point (and a little disgusting):

The force of the bullet pushed a huge amount of blood and brain matter out through the hole it made in his head. This shoot or plug of bloody tissue went forward.

The force of the plug of brain matter shooting out forward is was what pushed the head backward.

If you look at the Zapruder films, in Frame 312, the president's head snaps forward before it jolts backward in Frame 313. Many medical experts explain that the bullet hitting his head from behind, pushes it forward, but then a nerve explodes, which pushed it backward.

[TheatreDiva90016]

It's very clear that the car did not accelerate until after the fatal shot.
The Zapruder film - New improved digitized version (2013)

[PalJoey]

Clint Hill ?is the Secret Service agent who jumped on the limousine after the 1st shot in order to protect Jackie and the president.







Clint Hill was at Dealey Plaza this afternoon and tweeted:


3 shots. All from 6th floor of TX Schoolbk Depository. 1 gun. 1 shooter named LHO. I was there. Case closed.

[Jim Colyer]

Oswald alone!

[JohnBoy2]

First bullet misses, hits a curb and wounds a bystander, second bullet goes through JFK's throat and into Connally's chest, third bullet goes through JFK's skull. The only slightly suspcious thing about the day is that the Dallas police were not warned about Oswald by the CIA or FBI. But, those organization have been horribly sloppy before and since.

[Master Bates]

Another great time capsule of all 3 networks reporting the day's events.

As far as Clint Hill, I cannot think of a more biased witness than a US agent charged with protecting the president.
All 3 Networks Report the News

[PalJoey]

Clint Hill revisiting Dealey Plaza with Savannah Guthrie of the Today show earlier this week.

Biased witness or great man whose tragedy is he was a fraction of a second too late? You decide who you want to believe.
The Today Show: Secret Service agent recalls JFK shooting ‘every day’

[Master Bates]

Both.

[Mr Roxy]

Mr Hill is not biased. He simply may have more of a right to speak from a position of first hand knowledge as he was there when it happened.