John F. Kennedy Assassination

I'm not a student of it (there's a whole cottage industry of Kennedy assassination theorists writing books), but I don't buy it, even though I understand undeniable aspects of it that could lead one to thoughts of conspiracy. If I were going to believe in just one conspiracy, I'd probably pick the Mafia one (naturally!). Oswald had relatives involved in the New Orleans underworld. Jack Ruby had connections to the underworld in both Texas and Chicago. Certainly, there were people in the underworld who had done business with old man Kennedy, and felt betrayed. But...I've heard the route taken in Dallas by the Kennedy entourage was chosen almost arbitrarily at very nearly the last moment. And I've never felt comfortable with all the gunment supposedly involved. A guy on the grassy knoll. Another guy in the sewer. Woody Harrelson's father. A couple of bums. I know, I know...they were there in case Oswald screwed up. Sorry, I just don't buy it. The book that confirmed me in my belief was... Read more

UPDATED: It is a daunting task, but if you are into the Kennedy assassination, read Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy (2007) by Bugliosi. Elemental, my dear Watson.ORIGINAL COMMENT: This is unexplained only to those poor souls who are realistically challenged, i. e. they believe that everything in the X-Files is true, or they take up collections for all those poor Indians killed in John Wayne films. The rest of us learned long ago what happened and who did it. For the answer, read the recent book by Vincent Bugliosi, Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy (2007). The book is 1600 pages with another 1000 pages of footnotes. All of the conspiracy and alternative theories are examined thoroughly. All are debunked except the official Warren Commision Report. Give it up, conspiracy theorists!UPDATED, JANUARY 28, 2009:I re-read the preface to Bugliosi's work today. It is rather sad to see how sunk into ignorance is our pop... Read more

Oh,it was Fishy all right....but you're all way off the mark.Kennedys death was obviously faked to avoid being prosecuted for the murder of Marilyn Monroe.The Nommo,a race of fishlike aliens who came to earth thousands of years ago (and have not been detected since their HQ lies deep in the sea ) helped out.

If it were to happen nowdays, they would've blamed some arab bloke for it. It's all in the trend of the times: then it was the communists who fired up the popular rage, today are the terrorists. Who knows what tomorrow might bring ... Oswald was one for the gullibles. Gobble gobble!

After 45 years of extensive investigation the only question left unanswered is who WASN'T involved. It appears that the CIA in cooperation with a group of ultra conservative military industrialists planned to use the Cosa Nostra's know-how to recruit known communists into training a crack team of Boyscouts to swarm the grassy knoll dressed as Francisco Franco under the cover of Masons fundraising for a heart-transplant for Woody Harrelson's dad. The most impressive part of the whole scheme is that not one of the estimated 16,000 co-conspiritors has spilled the beans.

Of course Kennedy's assassination was part of a conspiracy. Trying to shed light on one of the central tragedies in our history is a daunting task. Don't get me wrong. There have been plenty of conspiracy nuts who have written books on this subject. There has been trash written on both sides of the issue. I only focus on what happened on November 22nd, 1963. The evidence shows there was more than one shooter; more than one shooter equals conspiracy. Those who prop up the rightfully-maligned Warren Commission want the public's focus to remain on the lone gunmen theory. Once that is rejected, people logically go to the next step: Who would want Kennedy dead? And that's the question certain Powers That Be still, at this late date, don't want the public to ask. Physical evidence? The bullet holes in both Kennedy's coat and shirt are both six inches down from the collar and two inches to the side. This is the same bullet that was purportedly shot from the 6th floor of the schoo... Read more

I've read no explanation - official or otherwise - that satisfies the questions I have about this mystery. I don't think anyone who wasn't involved - before, during or after the fact - really has a clue. Of course we all know there are no such things as conspiracies, right?

The unexplained mystery is what was JFK doing in Texas anyway? Frito-Lay factory tour, perhaps? Or perhaps to visit the Dallas Cowboys who had a 5-8-1 season

A tragedy for any family and, in this case, country: the circumstances of JFK's assassination came under suspicion as the result of a combination of factors: from political atmosphere within and from without the country, political enemies were real and rabid; to a mishandled investigation and the media's sensasionalistic coverage and our own fears, etc. It was just not as portrayed by Mr. Garrison, whose discredited accusations discouraged for decades further objective pursuit regarding the facts.

Even if you buy the official story it still does not explain why Jack Ruby, a mafia-connected low life, would kill Oswald, unless he wanted him to "shut up" about something. Jack Ruby never expressed a great love or admiration of Kennedy so this part just does not make sense.

Kennedy was shot and a lot smells about it and the official story is a tissue of spinmeister obfuscations.  We will never be certain of anything about this one, but it is entirely different than most of the rest of the 'mysteries' on this board.  Heads of state being assassinated for political reasons is as ancient as history itself.  There is nothing unusual here.

I was a little kid when this happened, talk about not knowing a thing, after it was spoken about, and I remember feeling sullen. I do remember the shoting of the other Kennedy, in 1968, that was scarry, because I would be 8 years old, coming home from school, and hearing it blaring out of a store deli I was passing, Senator Kennedy has been shot, the news announcer said, he is shot behind the left ear, it would be announced latter that he had died, another dark time for the nation and the Kennedy Family.

Funny how that jerk on the grassy knoll appears to have a jersey with the number 16 on it...

Mr. Oswald could never have done it; there is NO way he could have made the shot. I watched a programme that showed a top US Marine sniper try and do what Oswald is supposed to have done! He managed to get one shot in and it totally missed the mark!!! Oswald was not renown for his shooting, Not by GOOD sniper standards anyway. It is obvious that Kennedy was betrayed, by whom no one will ever know!!!! He did good but also made some serous errors when it came to his allies. May he rest in peace and know that he did do some good for this country!!

the government did it.

No mystery here. He was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald and died.

What's the mystery?

Growing up, I always wondered -much like everyone else- who assassinated J.F.K. Throughout most my life I always assumed and had the opinion that it had to be Lee Harvey Oswald...who else could it be? Then, I believe sometime in the late '80s, an Oliver Stone drama depicted the assassination and blamed it on the Mafia. The theory (though I never saw the movie or investigated the hypothesis in any way) came across to me as dumb. I was naive and a teen and I just assumed that it was a dumb theory. Not many years afterward (first in the early '90s, then in the late '90s) two very, very reliable sources (I won't divulge what they are) confirmed to me that several mafia hitmen, with sniper rifles, did indeed assassinate J.F.K. No I'm not lying or joking. I was negligent to even express my opinion on the matter here at rate-it-all. But as I said two different sources -both unaware of each other- confirmed what I used to think was a "dumb" theory as a teen: that the mafia did assassin... Read more

I agree with Planetary that the JFK assassination was a Mafia/CIA job. The Mafia were pissed off at JFK because they saw him as a two-faced turncoat.JFK made nice with the Mafia during his candidacy;as thanks for their support,he hired his attack dog brother Robert as Attorney General, and RFK snapped at the Mafia's heels throughout their tenure. The CIA was involved because well....they're jerks. But I will be senile and rotting in some nursing home before the whole truth ever comes out about the JFK assassination.

My imagination has been held captive by the Kennedy assassination since I first saw the full-length unedited version of the Zupruder film some 17 years ago - Seems that most folks capable of intellectual thought have completely disregarded the ignorant trash that is found in the Warren Commissions' "Report" with its numerous inconsistancies, ommissions, quack theories about "Single Bullets" "Lone Gunman" and outright lies ( Though it is still interesing and required reading if you are going to engage in your own pilgrimage of de-bunking the official story ). Unfortunately there really is no credible version of the events from that day to be found on any book-shelf, web-site, or official document. So it would seem that whatever angle you approach it from, a certain ammount of faith is required: Some of the various theories put forth thru-out the years do carry some weight, but most, at one time or another, have had shadows of doubts cast on their central themes: I too have read Posn... Read more

Gerald Posner's book closes nothing and is almost as unbelieveable as the Warren Report. Whoever killed Kennedy covered their tracks very well, helped by a bungled FBI and Dallas police investigation. Oswald was a patsy!

This is not a mystery. Read Gerald Posner's book, Case Closed. It's the most interesting investigative work I've ever seen. The truth about the Kennedy assassination is a lot more fascinating than all those idiotic conspiracy theories.

I think 40 years is time enough to let this one go.

Earl Warren did it, Lyndon Johnson assisted, and the American media played along. Oh sorry, you meant the murder not the coverup. Seriously though, and without trying to sound too much like a paranoid conspiracy theorist, a plausible case can be made that a coup d'etat, or an semi-apprehended coup d'etat happenend on November 22, 1963. Not that Johnson was a conspirator, but he may well have been an unwitting benefactor.

It had to have been some involvement by the CIA/FBI- especially if you believe that they were complicit in the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. The question is: Do you believe they were?

This certainly is an intriguing subject. Seems that folks are either for the single gunman theory or the conspiracy theory, and are adamant for whichever of the two is their choice. It is amazing how many theories there are to prove either case - all kinds of so-called experts coming out with computer enhancements, or simulations, to prove their view. I really think some of the evidence is hokey, and there really are too many unexplained or unexplainable bits to the story to convince me that it was only Oswald (or evn if it was Oswald) acting alone. I'll bring in a personal experience which I have never, ever seen made reference of anywhere. When I was stationed in Italy, I was doing research on WW II Italian small arms and visited the military museum in Rovereto. The curator of the museum told me that after the assassination, the US sent a team of experts to Italy (I recall him telling me that at least one member was from the FBI; I don't recall what other US agencies may have b... Read more

I'm only 17 but know all about the assassination of JFK. I don't believe the lone gunman theory, but I'm not one of the idiots who say that everyone was involved in the assassination without even considering any of the facts.The media, however, is still tring to make us believe LHO did it himself, but they always fail to mention all the facts that prove he didn't do it himself.I do admit that there is alot of evidence against LHO, but if it was a conspiracy and he was the patsy then there would of course be evidence against him.I think the government knows more then they are telling us and it really makes me mad.If we can't trust our government then democracy will fail.I could sit here and write enough to make a book dealing with this topic, but I'm not.So I guess that's about all I got to say and if anyone wants to say anything about what I had to say IM me. Aol SN - GohanLee2004

I have to admit I am one of those people who can't get enough when it comes to the numerous investigations of the Kennedy assassination. I live near Dallas, so about once a month I drive to the grassy knoll and talk to all the conspiracy theory mongers. It's very interesting hearing all of the controversy, new and old. Most of the people there just want to make a quick buck, but some of them can hold my interest. I have obtained quite a collection of information over the years. I also tour the museum every time a relative comes to visit. I was born a week before Kennedy died. I really would like to be alive (and coherent) when the files are no longer sealed.

The appeal of JFK's assasination is perverse in that it indicated for the first time in our history that the U.S. government is just a front for whoever is really running the show, and that the government is willing and able to pull any kind of outrageous stunt to protect the interests of the behind-the-scenes Powers That Be. Kennedy was not the victim of some disgruntled lone gunman: his hit was a well-orchestrated, professional job that was aided before and after the fact by an adroit cover-up conducted by government and so-called "law enforcement" officials. This national tragedy, which struck anyone living at the time who had half a brain in their head as being pretty phony, showed that the so-called "authority figures" we were programmed to trust unquestionably weren't to be trusted at all. This was the beginning of the end of The Good Old Days, truly The Day The Music Died, and America's been on a cynical, defeatist downward spiral ever since. And contrary to what some poster... Read more

About the Kennedy Assassination I will say this. If, after the information we have received about this whole ordeal. I am hard-pressed to believe that Oswald killed the president alone. There is a lot of strong evidence out there that kills the lone-gunman idea, the magic-bullet theory and the Warren commission report. This just goes to show you that when someone tries to make change for the better, there is always someone, or many someones who must stand in the way.

A guy hated kennedy so he killed him. Then the suspect was killed. how is this a mysteryoswald did it just died to early so we prove it 100 percent

I have to agree with PBeavr on this one (that's a rare one LOL). I'm all too fond of JFK, and am fully convinced that there was a conspiracy in his assassination. However, forty years later, it is no longer a mystery to me. I'm still interested in it, but it really is not a MYSTERY- any one with half a brain can prove the Warren Commission's conclusions false, thus implying a government cover-up, but not necessarily a government involvement in the killing itself. Johnson himself thought that Castro was responsible (I do as well), and if that got out, then the country would want to invade Cuba, thus triggering a war with Russia (invading Cuba would've breached an agreement between Russia and The United States). Whatever Johnson's motives for the coverup, I do not believe the theorists who state that he was in any way involved in the killing or had any pre-knowledge of it. Kennedy's death may have been significant- perhaps 58,000 of our boys wouldn't have parished in Vietnam had he lived... Read more

No mystery here. Please read Gerald Posner's "Case Closed". After clearing your head of all the mindless conspiracy theories (they ALL can't be right) and just use common sense and look at the raw data of the assassination you only can come to one conclusion - Oswald did it alone, period!!! The "magic bullet" was not magic, the shots DO line up, Oswald DID have enough time to fire 3 shots, head motion of Kennedy was perfectly natural, IMPOSSIBLE to alter body after the assassination - too many people would be needed and how do you know before hand what alterations - if necessary - would be needed. The conspiracy theorists in my opinion are ignorant of science and do not use simple common sense - and many are just nuts and friut cakes. I can go on and on and on.

A lot of the mystery, based on the few documentaries and specials I've seen on the History Channel and the like, seems to be how such a well-documented event (at least 3 fairly good videos were taken at or near the time) could leave so much open. Who killed him isn't as interesting to me as all the available and seemingly useless "evidence" that they have of the incident.