Oswald did it. All by himself.
For years I had bought into the “there had to be a conspiracy” angle, but Posner’s “Case Closed” and further research convinced me otherwise.
LHO alone. A trip to the Texas Schoolbook Depository earlier this year confirmed this for me. Those conspiracy guys seem to think Oswald was miles and miles away from the motorcade…the window is surprisingly close.
Ruby, on the other hand…I don’t know. His claimed motive for offing LHO makes no sense, and having read the Warren Commission report, I don’t even think they bought it. I’d be a bit more open to persuasion on him.
LHO solo.
By the way, the one thing that’s never been adequately explained to me is—what the hell is a “school book depository” anyway and what purpose does it serve?
Oswald, solo, one performance only!
I think most conspiracy theorists are motivated more by a burning desire to promote their antiestablishment views than by an honest search for the truth. The more holes you poke in their scenarios, the more delusional they become.
I know Dopers are smarter than the average bear, but I didn’t expect a consensus this lopsided.
Oswald. Probable motives: 1)narcissistic sociopath; 2) thought it might be a nice feather in his cap vis-a-vis his efforts to get into Cuba or USSR.
Ruby. Obvious fruitcake who liked to do the world favors. . .
(So why didn’t the mob take out Jack, too? Now there was a guy who needed to be silenced! Just because various folks had a beef with JFK, it does not logically follow that they must have acted on their wishes.)
I always thought the relationship Jimmy Hoffa had with JFK and RFK had something to do with their demise. Until proven otherwise, I have to accept the Oswald alone theory.
[Crash Davis]
Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman’s back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.
[/Crash Davis]
Oswald, alone. Everything else is nonsense.
Oswald. Alone. Me and Norman Mailer, we’re convinced. A conspiracy involving several dozen people in several major agencies, after forty years, not one solid shred of proof…not convincing.
Oswald. Alone. Me and Norman Mailer, we’re convinced.
OTOH, a conspiracy involving several dozen people in several major agencies, after forty years and many deaths and books, not one solid shred of proof…not convincing.
Now, the hamsters? THEY’RE in a deep, dark conspiracy.
When Cronkite laid it own on Frontline, during the 30th (?) anniversay brouhaha, that settled it for me.
Oswald alone.
The blown off head snapping back, the magic bullet, et al. were all explained to my satisfaction.
Dang, I was positive it was Miss Scarlet, in the Drawing Room, with the Monkey Wrench.
OK, it was Oswald, alone.
Well, I saw Professor Plum in the Dining Room, candlestick in hand just a few seconds before…
And he and I both think it was Oswald alone.
Oswald. No reasonable evidence for anyone else.
Oswald, acting alone.
Too bad a conspiracy theory makes more money.
Regards,
Shodan
Oswald, alone.
I DO understand why the conspiracy theories have appeal. But I also understand the conspiracy theories too well to take them seriously.
To me, Jack Ruby is the weakest link, by far, in all conspiracy theories. The guy was an utter bozo. The idea that anyone (be it the CIA or the Mafia) would trust such an idiot to carry out a mission of any importance boggles the mind. In the Dallas Police department (where most of the cops had known Ruby for years; he was a long-time police buff), the general consenseus was that “If Jack Ruby was in the Mafia, then the Mafia needs a new personnel director.”
I believe LHO acted alone. I haven’t seen any convincing evidence to the contrary.
As an aside, I was in the crowd in front of the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth that morning when JFK made his speech there.
Oswald, acting alone.
Though I might be persuaded that Nixon had a hand in it 
Despite a teenage flirtation with conspiricism in the 1970s, I am now of the belief that Oswald the Rabbit acted alone;
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all available physical evidence supports this conclusion. There is no physical evidence to support any of the conspiracy theories, only hearsay and convoluted parsing and post hoc rehashing of 40-year old memories.
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Oswald had, according to his wife, attempted to assassinate General Edwin Walker in Dallas in April, 1963 (using the same rifle that was later found in the Schoolbook Depository).
I do believe that there was a post-assassination coverup within the FBI (and possibly other agencies that had contact or knowledge of Oswald), but purely a “damage control” type of situation–the unfortunate burning of the note from Oswald to FBI Agent Hosty is a gift from heaven to conspiracy nuts…