JFK--will we ever know the truth?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176282,00.html

I have always suspected the CIA--botched Cuban invasion, plans to leave Viet Nam.

I guess you might place me in the conspiracy theory crowd.

I think the Teamsters had RFK killed and the FBI killed MLK, Jr.

I wouldn't even be surprised if the KKK or the FBI were behind the George Wallace assassination attempt to promote a race war.

Now don't attack me, these are my personal beliefs of which I am entitled to just as you are.

 

Well Jimmy, I'm not going to attack you but I will point out that none of those theories you've cited is particularly new. They've all been checked out over and over again. They've either been shown to be false or it's been shown that there is no evidence to support them. You can decide not to believe the prevailing theories/explanations but once you've said all that there's nothing much left to do except plan your next vacation to Loch Ness.
Atspish

Jack

 

Hi Jack, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU!

I know but how many of the theories we were in Vietnam for other than the stated reasons were "proven" false time and time again until...............we found out we really were lied to.

Now, I cannot remember his name but a few night's ago on one of the news programs, an author, after 18 year's of research, has written a book "proving" the Mafia killed JFK to squelch RFK who was vehemently going after them.

Bobby had guts unlike most politicos today?

 

I'd be most interested in learning more about this new book.
Jack

 

Not about the new book, but...

http://www.jfk-online.com/jfk100bigjim.html

http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/context3.htm

Just general FYI.

 

This does look interesting...

Is this the book to which you refer?

I think I might pick this one up myself.

As an aside, I have a friend who is polishing his PhD dissertation on "why" tithing is not for the New Testament church.

So many books...so little time.

Respectfully submitted,
Steven King
aka The Kingster

 

Re: This does look interesting...

YES! This is the book. Thanks Steven!

Thom Hartmann wasn't mentioned in the interview or I would have remembered him. He writes often on ADD/ADHD. Guess he's widening his horizons.

 

Hmmm...This is quite interesting..maybe I am too young I dont know but this is the first I have heard of this stuff..I just may have to get the book!

 

Be careful, Melissa. Don't close your mind to the possibilities, of course; but don't become a nutjob conspiracy theorist, either. If you'd like to get all the double-barrelled conspiracy theory you can handle -- and all in one, nicely-packaged place -- go to Blockbuster and rent a copy of Oliver Stone's "JFK" and watch it over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Go ahead and suspend disbelief enough to allow yourself to really get into, and enjoy, it; but be really careful what of it you actually believe, no matter how seemingly plausible. Stone got it so wrong in so many ways... and I don't just mean whether any of it was actually true (though he clearly got that wrong, too). I mean that he so combined various conspiracy theories -- and got even them wrong, according to those who believe and espouse them -- that he even had Jim Garrison (the real-life main character of the film, played nicely by Kevin Costner) saying, after the fact, that Stone had him espousing theories that even he never espoused or actually believed. So, JFK is not only fantasy in its basic premise, but it's also a misstatement -- an amalgam, perhaps -- of several of the various conspiracy theories floating around out there... which means it even got that wrong.

That said, JFK (the Oliver Stone film) is a helluva ride while it lasts. It's a genuinely good film on several levels... and a great way to be introduced to the whole JFK conspiracy theory world.

Just, again, be careful what you let yourself believe. Bother to follow-up by looking around the Internet at web sites which thoughtfully and calmly show why the conspiracy theorists in general, and Stone in particular, just couldn't be more wrong.

And that said, I confess to believing that, while Stone and his ilk have grossly over-stated it, there are still at least a few unanswered questions in my mind; and I wonder, sometimes, if I ever actually will know the whole truth -- if it will ever actually, finally, and dispassionately come out --- before I leave these mortal confines.

As an aside: If you do rent JFK, I believe the real-life Jim Garrison (whom Kevin Costner plays in the film) has a cameo role... as then-Chief Justcice Earl Warren, as I recall. Watch for him. It's fun.

 

Yes, remember the words of Schopenhauer,

I lived in New Orleans when JFK was assasinated and during the Garrison era. Garrison had the city pretty well divided. I remember arguing with my Latin teacher who felt Garrison should spend his time on reducing the crime rate and not on JFK's murder.

By the way, I actually saw Lee Harvey Oswald. He was always passing out communist propaganda on Canal Street!

 

So then Jimmy...may I call you Jimmy...how well did you know Mr Oswald?

...and have you ever been to Dallas?

...and can you account for your whereabouts on November 22?

hmm...interesting.

 

Ha! Sure, everybody calls me Jimmy.

I saw Oswald a few times as he was passing out his pro-Cuba garbage and remember my father being angry with him and telling us he was a communist.

We used to go to Canal Street a lot in the evenings to look through telescopes. I think we paid a quarter to look at the moon and some stars.

Yes, I was in Dallas once. I think it was in 1989. I just had a lay over from Detroit on the way to New Orleans.

When JFK was assasinated I was in the library at McDonough 16 elementary school (sixth grade). Our teacher came in and said "Our dear President has been shot."

Now, to make this even more interesting. JFK came to New Orleans when I was in the fourth grade and my father took my sister and me to see him speak. I think we went to the City Hall grounds if I remember correctly. I do remember we couldn't hear him. The sound system was goofed.

 

It seems you're a little more involved in this than you let on.

If I were you, I'd stay away from portly nightclub owners.

 

The main thing I remember about JFK is that my father was bitterly opposed to him. He was a strong Nixon supporter.

Yet, after the assasination, he remarked that JFK was the best President America ever had and was very upset. He liked JFK's wit, his standing up to the USSR during the Cuban missle crisis, and his work with civil rights.

 

Hi Jimmy - After spending the day preparing for a big family gathering I've rediscovered this thread.

1) I don't know what "theories" you're referring to in regards to our involvement in Vietnam. I also don't know what we "found out" that indicated that our leaders lied. Please be specific and please, don't just say "read suchandsuch book" because I have neither the time nor the inclination to take on more reading. This is important stuff Jimmy, be specific.

2) Some guy wrote some book that "proves" that some other guy killed some famous guy. C'mon Jimmy, you can do better than that. If any book actually "proved" something of that magnitude it would be in every newspaper in every country in the world. As it is, even you can not remember the details. Some old Mafia felon tries to sell a story to save his skin? Some aging journalist tries to cash in on a few decades worth of rumor, and unsubstantiated allegations? I don't know. I won't read this book or an article based on the book or a review of the book because I'm just too damn busy.

3) These sorts of things are "proven" in court, not in a book. If it doesn't go to court then it's just a rumor.
Jack

 

The book is Ultimate Sacrifice and the Pentagon Papers pretty well showed America was lied to about Vietnam.

Sorry Jack, this is the best I can do so late in the evening or is it early in the morning?

 

Don't worry about it. It really isn't important to me. I was just being argumentative. Have a nice Thanksgiving.
Jack

 

No, you're just being a good scientist.

Have a nice Thanksgiving, too.

 

Jimmy,

Here's one to relish as it's all your milieu. Maybe you can squeeze in some relative.


YAZOO SISSY

 

Thanks decimon,

Have to admit I have never heard of this theory.

Never liked Eastland and worked hard against him when he ran for reelection in 1972. The Republican candidate, Gil Carmichael, was a genuine moderate and did very well against Eastland but at that time Republicans just didn't win elections in Mississippi.

There was one exception. In 1964 the Republican Prentiss Walker won a seat in Congress during the Goldwater sweep of Southern states. He lasted one term.

Carmichael went on to nearly win the Governor's race in 1975 in a real squeaker.

Now, back to Eastland. I would have a very hard time believing this theory in spite of my total dislike for him. He was a horrible bigot and racist.

There is a rumor he left money to the NAACP upon his death but I don't know if that's true.