Who REALLY killed JFK? Whilst i dont believe it was aliens or he faked it, i do think that there was a conspiracy of sorts surrounding the assasination. What does everyone think about the grassy knoll, Hoover and the FBI, President Diem of South Vietnam’s assasination weeks earlier, civil rights, the Cubans, etc. Also, what about the rumor that all the files concerned wont be able to be made public for 75 years, so all concerned will be long gone? While i dont think no one will know for certain there must be some pretty good ideas. Ranging from super-conspiracy nuts to conservative realists.
Lee Oswald.
You and me.
Kennedy’s assasination had not bearing on my life; because, after all, he was assassinated over 40 years ago. Frankly, I get sick of the annual remembrance.
But I have seen compelling evidence that there were multiple shooters, and assumed there was probably a conspriacy – until very recently. I saw a documentary where a CGI sequence was animated frame by frame from the Zapruder film. I am now convinced the ‘magic bullet’ doesn’t exist. The CGI shows that a single bullet would cause exactly the injuries that occurred based on the positions of the President and the other guy. I have not seen JFK, but I understand that much was made of the ‘fact’ that the bullet would have had to have zig-zagged. But the documentary shows that the positions of the two men were wrong in the fictional account. The Zapruder film shows that the other guy was turned in his seat at the time of the shooting. The seat he was in was not directly in front of the President, but was offset to the left. It was also lower than people hae assumed. Thus, the injuries were caused by a bullet flying in a straight line. No magic zig-zagging.
Something else that I’ve heard was that the bullet would have had to stop for a second before hitting the other guy. The Zapruder film clearly shows the two men ‘jerking’ at the same time. No delay. As for the President’s head jerking the ‘wrong way’, I think that there is no telling which way an object that is shot will jump. One would assume it would go one way, but I’ve shot inanimate objects that go in unexpected ways. As for the bullet, it was said to be ‘undamaged’. Having seen the bullet on the documentary, I can see that there is some damage to it. I don’t know about that particluar round, but its velocity could have degraded over the distance such that damage to the projectile would be very slight.
People have said it’s ‘impossible’ for Oswald to have gotten off three rounds in such a short time. However, there are people who demonstrate it’s possible with the same type of carbine all the time. Also, Oswald’s military records show that he was an excellent shot. Why would a trained marksman who consistently scored high on the shooting range not be able to shoot a target at a relatively close range?
So to answer the OP, Lee Harvey Oswald did it.
Professor Plum, in the study, with the candlestick.
And I’m sick of the yammer, too.
As talk.origins is the standard site for Young Earth Creationist nuts, so the John McAdams is essential reading for JFK Conspiracy nuts. There are no files. All the relevant evidence is already available.
Lee Oswald, a trained army sharpshooter and communist defector, shot JFK. Alone.
Any “strange” aspect you care to name is explored in great detail on the McAdams site.
Many want to believe in a conspiracy and read the evidence to create one. The zigzagging magic bullet has been well refuted for reasons previously cited. We’ve established that a reasonably capable shooter could indeed get off the requisite number of shots with Oswald’s weapon. The supposed audio evidence of more shots has been refuted. The mysterious umbrella man has been identified and was nothing more than a protester When you look at the evidence, the inevitable conclusion is that yes indeed, one nutcase named Lee Oswald did the deed with no help.
I was a long time believer in conspiracies of various kinds but then I read Posners Case Closed and felt like an idiot.
Mr Oswald did it. All on his own.
Lee Harvey Oswald, in the Texas School Book Depository, with the Mannlicher-Carcano.
Interestingly, there’s a piece of software out there called “JFK Reloaded” which is essentially a first-person shooter game from the sixth floor of the textbook depository. The software authors claim it’s an accurate model and if so, shooting Kennedy was not an especially difficult feat for a ex-marine (not army) like Oswald. In fact, the movie JFK tries to make the point that the “easier” shot is when the motorcade was coming up Houston street, toward the depository (and suggests the real sixth-floor shooter -not Oswald- was waiting until the car was on Elm street and bracketed by the grassy knoll sniper). The animation in the JFK Reloaded suggests otherwise, as a head-on shot puts Kennedy behind Connelly, the (Secret Service agent?) man in the front passenger seat and the windshield. Shooting Kennedy in the back as the car moves away is much easier, since Oswald has an unobstructed view of the back of Kennedy’s head and upper torso.
If there was a conspiracy after the asssination, it was from members of the FBI and CIA playing a hasty game of cover-your-ass and trying to shift blame away from themselves for letting a froot loop like Oswald back into the U.S. in the first place.
We’ve discussed many of the most common conspiracy theory elements in the following threads:
Any Kennedy conspiracy theorists in here? (Jan. 2001)
Some questions about the JFK assassination (Oct. 2001)
I know the JFK assassination conspiracy theories have been beaten to death but… (Nov. 2003)
Who do you think killed JFK? (June 2004)
Also, big thumbs up for both Posner’s Case Closed and Professor McAdams’ web site.
[Moe] My bit! My bit! You stole my bit! [/Moe]
Boy, you gotta move fast on the SDMB. The second I saw the thread title I knew I wanted to do this bit. And MEBuckner ruins it. I blame the anti-Castro Cubans.
Speaking of getting beaten to the punch…
Damn it! Damn! Damn!
REALLY Lee Harvey Oswald.
I’ve heard it’s quite nice this time of year.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it reiterates a lot of the McAdams stuff, but I think the 100 Errors in Oliver Stone’s JFK site is also very informative.
Read what the National Archives has to say on that subject and take a look around their extensive ‘JFK Assassination Records’ website, then tell us whether you still believe that particular ‘rumor’. (Let’s be kind and assume that the only reason you believed this is because you read about it in some older conspiracy books which have since been overtaken by events.)
I appreciate the annual remembrance and am angry when it is missed, but that’s because Nov 22nd is my parents’ wedding anniversary and I depended on the annual reminders (“Next Thursday is the 28th anniversary of the assasination of President Kennedy”) to get a present in time.
It is. The object is to re-create, precisely as possible, the Oswald shots.
It’s not. But the game itself can be; I keep blowing the game by killing the President on the first shot, when I’m supposed to be re-creating Oswald’s shot sequence, down to timing and placement.
The Houston St. shot isn’t impossible, but it is a lot more difficult than the Elm St. shot. You’re shooting at a downward oblique with a constantly changing range, with slight right-to-left travel requiring some lead, as well as the people you mention. Of course, since the object of the game is to precisely re-create Oswald’s shots, taking the shots when the motorcade is on Houston St. blows the scenario.
Whereas the Elm St. shot has no travel through the sight field except “away;” if you know your cartridge’s drop and the additional drop for a slight “downward” shot, and can guesstimate range even half-assed, a piker like me can can score a first-shot kill every time.
Can the shooters among us put the difficulty of the shot in terms I might understand? How about layup, freethrow, 3 point shot, or half court shot. From what I gather, the distance is not a big deal for those that can shoot, but just how easy was it? I’m guessing free throw difficulty.
I saw the same documentary - it was called “Peter Jennings Presents: The JFK Assassination - Beyond Conspiracy.” I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Esprix