I consider my question to be one of historical significance

[senior citizen]

............

[DougB]

They did not bury him next to his mother and father because burial at sea was something JFK Jr. had told his family he wanted. He loved sailing, kayaking, and swimming.

[Carl in Tampa]

JFK, and even more so Attorney General Robert Kennedy, were intensely disliked in some parts of the South primarily because they became Civil Rights activists.

If you watched all of the JFK coverage you should have seen the special on their decision to enforce integration of the University of Alabama with U.S. Marshals and the federalization of the Alabama National Guard.

They showed Governor George Wallace literally "standing in the schoolhouse door" at the university to resist integration and being confronted by U.S. Attorney Nick Katzenbach and U.S. Marshals.

After the confrontation, the young lady who was enrolling entered through a different door.

As a sidelight, Gov. Wallace was himself the victim of an assassination attempt while under Secret Service protection when he was running for president. His wounds left him paralyzed from the waist down. Special Agent Nick Zarvos was shot in the throat in the same incident and survived.

In his later years Gov. Wallace announced that he had repented of his earlier segregationist positions.

As you may know, the Kennedys had close connections with the Sinatra "Rat Pack" which included brother-in-law Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis Jr. When the Kennedys decided to become active in enforcing Civil Rights they asked Lawford to talk to Davis about breaking off his relationship with actress Mai Britt because of the criticism at that time over inter-racial relationships.

With regard to Texas in general and Dallas in particular, it was (an is) politically very conservative. The primary liberal spot in Texas is Austin. Just prior to the JFK visit to Dallas there was a visit by Democrat Adali Stevenson who was actually struck by a sign being held by a demonstrator.

However, you are right; Kennedy was greeted warmly by the people of Dallas. Lee Harvey Oswald was not a Dallasite. He was born in New York; lived in Russia and New Orleans before moving to the Dallas area. His actions should not be blamed on the people of Dallas.

Prior to shooting JFK, Oswald had attempted to assassinate an outspoken conservative General in Dallas.

At this time there are virtually no records or files relating to the JFK assassination that have not been released. Most can be viewed at the JFK Library. The JFK autopsy photos and drawings can actually be found on the Internet.

If you have been caught up in any of the multitude of "conspiracy theories" I recommend reading the book Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Vincent Bugliosi. Bugliosi, who prosecuted the Charles Manson family members in California, has written an exhaustive book which debunks all of the popular conspiracy theories.

If you want the perspective of the agents who were in Dallas on the day of the assassination, I recommend The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence by Gerald Blaine, Lisa McCubbin and Clint Hill. For years after the assassination I worked with almost every Secret Service agent who was present in Dallas and we never had conversations about Dallas. This book is noteworthy because it is the first break in their silence that I am aware of. In case you do not know, Clint Hill was the lone agent who got on the back of the limousine after JFK was shot and who pushed Jackie back down into her seat.

As we look back at the Kennedy presidency it is interesting to realize how many of his political positions would now be considered "conservative."

"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask, rather, what you can do for your country." --- John F. Kennedy

[senior citizen]

.............

[Finallyfree]

Having been born in a small southern town and then moving to the big northern AND becoming catholic there is another though not as we'll researched reason that some southern citizens did not like Kennedy. He was catholic and many evangelical Christians of that time period were scared by that. They thought that the pope would run our country and were terribly afraid. I actually did not tell anyone that I converted to Catholicism, at the request of my parents because they were afraid of being outcast in our small southern town. This is not historical but personal insight as to why some hated Kennedy even though they believed in the civil rights movement. We look back and think, "crazy people" now but fear makes people do and say crazy things. Great questions by the way..

[graciegirl]

Having been born in a small southern town and then moving to the big northern AND becoming catholic there is another though not as we'll researched reason that some southern citizens did not like Kennedy. He was catholic and many evangelical Christians of that time period were scared by that. They thought that the pope would run our country and were terribly afraid. I actually did not tell anyone that I converted to Catholicism, at the request of my parents because they were afraid of being outcast in our small southern town. This is not historical but personal insight as to why some hated Kennedy even though they believed in the civil rights movement. We look back and think, "crazy people" now but fear makes people do and say crazy things. Great questions by the way..

I was going to mention the anticatholicism so rampant at that time too. I was too young to vote for JFK but he was really something to this young Catholic girl back then. I was a Democrat then, but became much more conservative over time as many do.

Thank heavens that our country has come so far that having a Catholic president and a black president really never became THE issue. We need good men to fill the space even if they are women. Good leaders who also know how to run a business in the black and care like they are our parent..or our child.

I can't think of anyone who can fulfill my high expectations on either side of the political aisle. We just need a solid patriot, an ethical person with common sense who is brave enough to protect us but soft enough to love us all. A Saint, and very few are saints, so someone who is trying hard to do the right thing.

JFK and Camelot. His beautiful family and that awful day is etched in my heart.

[BarryRX]

Thank you Carl and Gracie for great posts!

[donb9006]

I was going to mention the anticatholicism so rampant at that time too. I was too young to vote for JFK but he was really something to this young Catholic girl back then. I was a Democrat then, but became much more conservative over time as many do.

Thank heavens that our country has come so far that having a Catholic president and a black president really never became THE issue. We need good men to fill the space even if they are women. Good leaders who also know how to run a business in the black and care like they are our parent..or our child.

I can't think of anyone who can fulfill my high expectations on either side of the political aisle. We just need a solid patriot, an ethical person with common sense who is brave enough to protect us but soft enough to love us all. A Saint, and very few are saints, so someone who is trying hard to do the right thing.

JFK and Camelot. His beautiful family and that awful day is etched in my heart.

You're dreaming. If you're not willing to "play the game", you don't get support, and you don't get elected. Money gets people elected, deals get the money...plain and simple.

It's all fixed, but you don't know it. You don't know it because we can't/don't talk about it. Why is it you don't discuss religion or politics? Because they're the big lies.

[Golfingnut]

You're dreaming. If you're not willing to "play the game", you don't get support, and you don't get elected. Money gets people elected, deals get the money...plain and simple.

It's all fixed, but you don't know it. You don't know it because we can't/don't talk about it. Why is it you don't discuss religion or politics? Because they're the big lies.

I am so sorry to say: Don, your right. It is too uncomfortable for most to admit that politics is ran by lobiests and not the voter. And, our religious leaders remind us that to question anything is a sacralig. Thank god for our young folks that will question and protest.

[Taltarzac725]

Government still withholding thousands of documents on JFK assassination - Nation - The Boston Globe (http://www.bostonglobe.com/2013/11/25/government-still-withholding-thousands-documents-jfk-assassination/PvBM2PCgW1H11vadQ4Wp4H/story.html)

I do not believe any historian or researcher has all the information about the JFK assassination yet.

As far as lobbyists controlling the politics of the US, I doubt if that is true. Hurricane Sandy played a big part in the 2012 elections and as far as I know hurricanes do not care who is hunkering down when they are coming in, this just stay on whatever course nature put them. "Chad' and FL local politics played a big role in the 2000 election. The 2008 election seems like it was McCain's bucking the lobbyists with the choice of Sarah Palin that gave Obama the election.

Of course, advertising costs for elections do really bring the lobbyists into play a great deal.

[Golfingnut]

Government still withholding thousands of documents on JFK assassination - Nation - The Boston Globe (http://www.bostonglobe.com/2013/11/25/government-still-withholding-thousands-documents-jfk-assassination/PvBM2PCgW1H11vadQ4Wp4H/story.html)

I do not believe any historian or researcher has all the information about the JKF assassination yet.

Even way back then, I thought Jack Ruby was connected with the underworld and executed Oswald too keep the conspiracy silent. That said, he was able to reduce the power of the American racist during his short life.

[logdog]

Government still withholding thousands of documents on JFK assassination - Nation - The Boston Globe (http://www.bostonglobe.com/2013/11/25/government-still-withholding-thousands-documents-jfk-assassination/PvBM2PCgW1H11vadQ4Wp4H/story.html)

I do not believe any historian or researcher has all the information about the JFK assassination yet.

There was a very interesting documentary on TV last week called JFK - The Smoking Gun. It showed that the fatal head shot could not have come from Oswald's gun because the entry hole was smaller than the bullet diameter that Oswald was using. Also, Oswald was using full metal jackets and JFK's head exploded from a fragmented bullet. The theory is that he was hit by an accidental discharge from an inexperienced Secret Service agent who was on the protection detail because the rest of the agents had been drinking all night.

The Secret Service destroyed their documents and autopsy evidence years ago rather than comply with a House subpoena investigating the assassination. They also gave Robert Kennedy, the AG at the time, JFK's brain which was never seen since. We'll probably never know for sure what happened that day.

[ivanhoe]

There was a very interesting documentary on TV last week called JFK - The Smoking Gun. It showed that the fatal head shot could not have come from Oswald's gun because the entry hole was smaller than the bullet diameter that Oswald was using. Also, Oswald was using full metal jackets and JFK's head exploded from a fragmented bullet. The theory is that he was hit by an accidental discharge from an inexperienced Secret Service agent who was on the protection detail because the rest of the agents had been drinking all night.

The Secret Service destroyed their documents and autopsy evidence years ago rather than comply with a House subpoena investigating the assassination. They also gave Robert Kennedy, the AG at the time, JFK's brain which was never seen since. We'll probably never know for sure what happened that day.

Yes I caught that program too and although a skeptic at the start I was wondering at the end.

It started me thinking about the whole conspiracy idea and how that set the tone for the rest of the 60's (IMHO).

We were presented with so much conflicting information that almost no one was convinced of what was put forth by the commission.

On one of the many programs presented this week a commentator said that we as a group fined the fact, that one seemingly meaningless person can have such an effect on such a popular and meaningful person, too incomprehensible and so develop theories to explain the event.

I thought that a profound statement.

[donb9006]

Yes I caught that program too and although a skeptic at the start I was wondering at the end.

It started me thinking about the whole conspiracy idea and how that set the tone for the rest of the 60's (IMHO).

We were presented with so much conflicting information that almost no one was convinced of what was put forth by the commission.

On one of the many programs presented this week a commentator said that we as a group fined the fact, that one seemingly meaningless person can have such an effect on such a popular and meaningful person, too incomprehensible and so develop theories to explain the event.

I thought that a profound statement.

Bingo! Now expand that to almost EVERYTHING and you'll begin to understand how things work! We get conflicting information about EVERYTHING. By design. We're cattle, sheep, drones, marketed to by professionals. All selling something. A product, an idea, a philosophy...

[senior citizen]

..........

[Carl in Tampa]

There was a very interesting documentary on TV last week called JFK - The Smoking Gun. It showed that the fatal head shot could not have come from Oswald's gun because the entry hole was smaller than the bullet diameter that Oswald was using. Also, Oswald was using full metal jackets and JFK's head exploded from a fragmented bullet. The theory is that he was hit by an accidental discharge from an inexperienced Secret Service agent who was on the protection detail because the rest of the agents had been drinking all night.

The Secret Service destroyed their documents and autopsy evidence years ago rather than comply with a House subpoena investigating the assassination. They also gave Robert Kennedy, the AG at the time, JFK's brain which was never seen since. We'll probably never know for sure what happened that day.

I've already posted a credible source for debunking most of the conspiracy theories so I'm not going to respond to them one by one on this thread, but I can't pass on the absolute BS theory that Special Agent Frank Hickey accidentally shot JFK from the Follow Up Car.

There were three people, one a trusted Kennedy aide, sitting within three feet of the muzzle of Hickey's M-16. Does anyone REALLY believe that none of them would have heard an M-16 fired near their head?

It is laughable to say that the Secret Service destroyed autopsy evidence or that they gave JFK's brain to RFK. The autopsy was performed at Bethesda Naval Hospital by Naval personnel. The Secret Service had no access. Besides which, the autopsy photos and drawings can be found on the Internet.

As I said, if you have been caught up in any of the multitude of "conspiracy theories" I recommend reading the book Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Vincent Bugliosi. Bugliosi, who prosecuted the Charles Manson family members in California, has written an exhaustive book which debunks all of the popular conspiracy theories.

I certainly can't review all of them here; the book is over 1600 pages long.

:read:

[Carl in Tampa]

Government still withholding thousands of documents on JFK assassination - Nation - The Boston Globe (http://www.bostonglobe.com/2013/11/25/government-still-withholding-thousands-documents-jfk-assassination/PvBM2PCgW1H11vadQ4Wp4H/story.html)

I do not believe any historian or researcher has all the information about the JFK assassination yet.

As far as lobbyists controlling the politics of the US, I doubt if that is true. Hurricane Sandy played a big part in the 2012 elections and as far as I know hurricanes do not care who is hunkering down when they are coming in, this just stay on whatever course nature put them. "Chad' and FL local politics played a big role in the 2000 election. The 2008 election seems like it was McCain's bucking the lobbyists with the choice of Sarah Palin that gave Obama the election.

Of course, advertising costs for elections do really bring the lobbyists into play a great deal.

You've read what the Boston Globe reporter had to say.

Perhaps you would be interested in what the National Archives has to say:

I've heard that some of the records are sealed? Why? When will they be opened to the public for examination for my research?

It is a common misconception that the records relating to the assassination of President Kennedy are in some way sealed. In fact, the records are largely open and available to the research community here at the National Archives at College Park in the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Record Collection.

Congress created the Kennedy Collection when it passed the Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992. This statute directed all Federal agencies to transmit to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) all records relating to the assassination in their custody. The Kennedy Act also created a temporary agency, the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB), to ensure that the agencies complied with the Act.

In addition to records already open at NARA prior to the passing the Kennedy Act, the Collection now consists of previously withheld records of the Warren Commission, records of the Office of the Archivist, and newly released materials from the Kennedy, Johnson, and Ford Presidential Libraries. Other agency records in the Collection include records of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, records of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a small amount of material from a variety of other agencies, including the Office of Naval Intelligence. The Collection now includes over five million pages of records.

With a very few exceptions, virtually all of the records identified as belonging to the Kennedy Collection have been opened in part or in full. Those documents that are closed in full or in part were done so in accordance with the Kennedy Act, mentioned above. According to the Act, no record could be withheld in part or in full, without the agreement of the ARRB. The guidelines for withholding records are outlined in the provisions in Section 6 of the Act. The full report of the ARRB is available online. A copy of the Act is in Adobe Acrobat PDFAppendix C of the ARRB Report mentioned above. In all cases where the ARRB agreed to withhold a record or information in a record, they stipulated a specific release date for the document. In addition, according to Section 5(g)(2)(D) of the Act, all records in the Kennedy Collection will be opened by 2017 unless certified as justifiably closed by the President of the United States.

For much more go here: Frequently Asked Questions (http://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/faqs.html#copy)

:posting:

[twinklesweep]

.... We just need a solid patriot, an ethical person with common sense who is brave enough to protect us but soft enough to love us all. A Saint, and very few are saints, so someone who is trying hard to do the right thing....

I have no doubt that such qualities still exist, and possibly even in the same individuals. However, given the direction that "the P word" has gone since, say, the 1970s, anyone who fits this description would likely have no interest in public office as it's constituted today. Sad, but I believe true....

.... It is too uncomfortable for most to admit that politics is ran by lobiests and not the voter. And, our religious leaders remind us that to question anything is a sacralig. Thank god for our young folks that will question and protest.

If when you say that "politics is run by lobbyists" you mean that the country is actually "governed" by lobbies, I am in full agreement. Given the quality of our so-called "public servants" (ha!), all we need to do is recognize that lobbies have deep pockets—and today's politicians have decidedly open pockets....

As far as religious leaders are concerned, I'm not even going there. In fact, in my own life I never go there! It is for each of us to judge for ourselves, but after all the deference some are willing to give religious leaders, they are still people themselves, and some are or were not very nice people. One need only to think of the likes of Rev. Jim Bakker, the pedophile scandals and the cover-ups about them, and the Phelps family from Kansas to know this without a doubt.

And hopefully there is still some reality about "young folks who will question and protest," but this is sure less true now than when we were "young folks." Today, at the risk of generalizing, young American folks barely know their own history, let alone are aware that there is a world other than the U.S. ("Yes, Virginia, there is a world beyond 'sea to shining sea'.") In reality, there is much to "question and protest" about, but do you see it happening on any scale as it did, say, during the late '60s and early '70s? Think about it....

[2BNTV]

Nice post SC.

Several thoughts:

1. I don't think we. will ever know who killed JFK concusively.
2. There are too many holes in the Warren Commission Report, for Oswald to have done this.
3. Events happened so fast, as they did when Lincoln was shot. The first woman to be hung, (Mary Surratt), was holding a package that John Wilkes Booth gave her and she was hanged as part of the conspiracy. She was innocent.
4. If someone really great gets elected, someone who disagrees with them in one form or another will probbaly kill him/her.
5. Arguing politics, is like, "two drunks on the Titanic, arguing over who's going to pay the bar bill". :smiley:

This tradgedy seemed to have jolted all of America to a realization that is still felt after 50 years. Times of innocence were lost, and we started to live in a totally different world.

[Taltarzac725]

You've read what the Boston Globe reporter had to say.

Perhaps you would be interested in what the National Archives has to say:

I've heard that some of the records are sealed? Why? When will they be opened to the public for examination for my research?

It is a common misconception that the records relating to the assassination of President Kennedy are in some way sealed. In fact, the records are largely open and available to the research community here at the National Archives at College Park in the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Record Collection.

Congress created the Kennedy Collection when it passed the Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992. This statute directed all Federal agencies to transmit to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) all records relating to the assassination in their custody. The Kennedy Act also created a temporary agency, the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB), to ensure that the agencies complied with the Act.

In addition to records already open at NARA prior to the passing the Kennedy Act, the Collection now consists of previously withheld records of the Warren Commission, records of the Office of the Archivist, and newly released materials from the Kennedy, Johnson, and Ford Presidential Libraries. Other agency records in the Collection include records of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, records of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a small amount of material from a variety of other agencies, including the Office of Naval Intelligence. The Collection now includes over five million pages of records.

With a very few exceptions, virtually all of the records identified as belonging to the Kennedy Collection have been opened in part or in full. Those documents that are closed in full or in part were done so in accordance with the Kennedy Act, mentioned above. According to the Act, no record could be withheld in part or in full, without the agreement of the ARRB. The guidelines for withholding records are outlined in the provisions in Section 6 of the Act. The full report of the ARRB is available online. A copy of the Act is in Adobe Acrobat PDFAppendix C of the ARRB Report mentioned above. In all cases where the ARRB agreed to withhold a record or information in a record, they stipulated a specific release date for the document. In addition, according to Section 5(g)(2)(D) of the Act, all records in the Kennedy Collection will be opened by 2017 unless certified as justifiably closed by the President of the United States.

For much more go here: Frequently Asked Questions (http://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/faqs.html#copy)

:posting:


If you look at the Boston Globe reporter has to say, it mirrors what the Archives does.

Some other things to ponder--

Hollywood and history and the JFK assassination--

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/biographies/oswald/hollywood-history-the-debate-over-jfk/

Norman Mailer on Lee Harvey Oswald. http://youtu.be/8fHGafsljEQ

[wendyquat]

There was a very interesting documentary on TV last week called JFK - The Smoking Gun. It showed that the fatal head shot could not have come from Oswald's gun because the entry hole was smaller than the bullet diameter that Oswald was using. Also, Oswald was using full metal jackets and JFK's head exploded from a fragmented bullet. The theory is that he was hit by an accidental discharge from an inexperienced Secret Service agent who was on the protection detail because the rest of the agents had been drinking all night.

The Secret Service destroyed their documents and autopsy evidence years ago rather than comply with a House subpoena investigating the assassination. They also gave Robert Kennedy, the AG at the time, JFK's brain which was never seen since. We'll probably never know for sure what happened that day.

Wouldn't it be highly coincidental that a secret service agent accidentally discharged his gun at about the same moment that Oswald fired? First I've heard of this theory. As with so many other things I doubt we'll ever know all the facts!