# JFK Assassination **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 11, 2013, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942 "2013-02-11T05:05:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![prolific71](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@prolific71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prolific71)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/1 "2013-02-11T05:05:16Z")
What’s the official US government stance on the JFK assassination? Are they still saying there was a single shooter from the TSBD as the Warren Commission said? Was the Zapruder film available to the public at the time of the Warren report? If so, how were they able to say that the shots came from behind when the fatal shot in the film shows that it originates from the front right. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/2 "2013-02-11T05:10:29Z")
The film wasn’t available to the public, but the frames were published in the Warren Report irregardless the film doesn’t show that the shots came from the front right ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/3 "2013-02-11T05:15:57Z")
There must be thousands of videos demonstrating the fact that a shot from the rear, exiting the front, shoves the head back. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/4 "2013-02-11T05:17:27Z")
Oh, God, this again. 1. There is no “official US government stance” on the JFK murder, since this is a state crime, not a Federal one. And the state of Texas never prosecuted or convicted Oswald, since he was killed in custody. 2. The Zapruder film (plus several others) were all available at the time, and were examined closely by the Warren Commission. 3. The Zapruder film doesn’t show the “fatal” shot at all, since a highway sign blocks the view of his camera at that point. (And it’s likely that either of the last 2 shots would have been ‘fatal’ ones.) 4. Every expert, except for conspiracy fans, agrees that the Zapruder film doesn’t show that at all – it shows shots hitting from the back, and exiting from the front. Like the autopsy showed on JFK’s body. ---
**Author:** ![prolific71](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@prolific71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prolific71)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/5 "2013-02-11T05:45:35Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > it shows shots hitting from the back, and exiting from the front. But how can a shot from the back blow his head back? I think me and you are talking about the wrong bullet. I’m talking about the one that hit the right side of this head and you’re talking about the neck one. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/6 "2013-02-11T05:48:26Z")
The only bullets came from Oswald from behind. There were no other shots. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/7 "2013-02-11T07:03:32Z")
The arguments for a shot from the back are much weaker than the argument that a shot came from the front. The Zapruder film indicates that the shot was from the front. Some scientist invented some effect which he named the ‘jet effect’, or else, he used an already existing ‘jet effect’ and ramrodded it into the assassination scenario. There aren’t jillions of videos showing the shot coming from the back. Some of the videos, no make that all of the videos, which show that the shot came from the back, are ‘reconstructions’, ‘recreations’, ‘simulations’ etc… The ‘fatal’ shot was the one that took him ‘back and to the left’, unless there is some new interpretation of the Zapruder film. People feel important to be able to ‘debunk’ something that everybody else ‘knows’. That is why there is no rational discussion from the non CT crowd. Get ready for the wit to come: “It was the Illuminati, using a death ray from Judge Crater’s house, given to him by the CFO on the grassy knoll…Hahahahahahahahahahaha!” And they do consider this wit… At any rate, per the government’s ‘official stance’: The last ‘government’ (i.e. US Senate? House of Rep?) investigation, IIRC, said that there was ‘probably a conspiracy.’ There have been other ‘studies’ but, again IIRC, they were not done by any of the 3 branches of the government. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/8 "2013-02-11T07:04:48Z")
> [@prolific71](#): > > But how can a shot from the back blow his head back? Pretty easily, actually. A high-speed bullet travelling through the skull generally does not dump very much momentum into the head at large; however, it causes a lot of chaotic movement of the fluids and tissues inside, a large quantity of which are ejected through the exit wound. This ejecta acts like a miniature rocket; the conservation of momentum causes the head to be pushed back in the direction the bullet came from. If you have a rifle, a cantaloupe, and some duct tape, you can try it yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/9 "2013-02-11T08:07:14Z")
Plus, there’s the fact that JFK was wearing [S&M gear](http://articles.latimes.com/2004/nov/22/opinion/oe-reston22) at the time: > [@](#): > > But because of the corset, Kennedy’s body did not act as a normal body would when the bullet passed through his throat. Held by his back brace, Kennedy remained upright, according to the Warren Commission, for five more seconds. This provided Oswald the opportunity to reload and shoot again at an almost stationary target. > > … > > Without the corset, the force of the first bullet, traveling at a speed of 2,000 feet a second, would surely have driven the president’s body forward, making him writhe in pain like Connally, and probably down in the seat of his limousine, beyond the view of Oswald’s cross hairs for a second or third shot. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/10 "2013-02-11T08:08:19Z")
> [@Stealth\_Potato](#): > > Pretty easily, actually. A high-speed bullet travelling through the skull generally does not dump very much momentum into the head at large; however, it causes a lot of chaotic movement of the fluids and tissues inside, a large quantity of which are ejected through the exit wound. This ejecta acts like a miniature rocket; the conservation of momentum causes the head to be pushed back in the direction the bullet came from. Agreed. This is exactly what I’ve read many times written by many experts. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/11 "2013-02-11T13:47:44Z")
Penn and Teller demonstrated that the jet effect not only exists, but is [pretty obvious](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzyw7AcHbuY). And since the wound in the back of JFK’s skull was higher than the wound in the front, it would m meant that any shooter from the front would have to be inside JFK’s car. Any film to back that up? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/12 "2013-02-11T13:51:06Z")
One of the most ironic names/post count combinations ever. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/13 "2013-02-11T14:30:46Z")
This [related thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=621962&highlight=book+suppository)sheds a lot of light on the circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/14 "2013-02-11T15:07:18Z")
The only mystery about JFK’s assassination is how the unclued can keep asking the same stupid questions over and over without ever being bothered to look up the readily available answers. They’re like drunks in a room full of physicists perpetually shouting, “But NO, goddammit, why is the sky REALLY blue?” ---
**Author:** ![solosam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@solosam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solosam)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/15 "2013-02-11T15:11:17Z")
> [@](#): > > The only mystery about JFK’s assassination is how the unclued can keep asking the same stupid questions over and over without ever being bothered to look up the readily available answers. +1 to NitroPress. This has all been explained over and over for five decades. Anybody who knows anything about ballistics understands that the exit wound is often an exploding crater compared to the entry wound. The paradoxical motion effect has been demonstrated repeatedly by live fire experiments on human skulls. Old news. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/16 "2013-02-11T15:16:50Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > . . . (And it’s likely that either of the last 2 shots would have been ‘fatal’ ones.) I don’t think that’s the case with the second shot (the “magic bullet”). It made a need little exit wound without doing any serious tissue damage. There is some question about possible spinal cord damage due to hydrostatic shock, but the extent of what that would have been we’ll never know. ---
**Author:** ![Shiloh2013](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@Shiloh2013](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shiloh2013)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/17 "2013-02-11T15:18:47Z")
There was more bullet damage in Dealy Plaza than can be accounted for with LHO’s 3 shots. I don’t see how anyone who knows the whole story can believe Oswald was acting alone. But whatever. I’ve been following it since before most of you were born and reached my own conclusions long ago. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/18 "2013-02-11T15:19:32Z")
> [@solosam](#): > > Anybody who knows anything about ballistics understands that the exit wound is often an exploding crater compared to the entry wound. The paradoxical motion effect has been demonstrated repeatedly by live fire experiments on human skulls. Old news. The universal hallmark of the deniers, doubters and CTists is that they pick one datum, misinterpret it, and insist that invalidates all 22 volumes of the Warren Report. And are usually unaware that the Warren Report consists of 22 volumes. They seem to believe it’s a pamphlet scribbled out by Jerry Ford so he could get back to his golf game. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/19 "2013-02-11T15:24:13Z")
> [@Shiloh2013](#): > > There was more bullet damage in Dealy Plaza than can be accounted for with LHO’s 3 shots. Really. Like what? > [@](#): > > I don’t see how anyone who knows the whole story can believe Oswald was acting alone. Funny, I don’t see how anyone _ **who actually knows the whole story** _ - as opposed to the reconfigured and limited version presented by most CTists - can believe anything but that LHO acted alone. The only genuine mystery left is Oswald’s real motivations, which we will never know. > [@](#): > > I’ve been following it since before most of you were born and reached my own conclusions long ago. Obviously. Look, kids… fossils! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942/20 "2013-02-11T15:32:17Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > At any rate, per the government’s ‘official stance’: The last ‘government’ (i.e. US Senate? House of Rep?) investigation, IIRC, said that there was ‘probably a conspiracy.’ There have been other ‘studies’ but, again IIRC, they were not done by any of the 3 branches of the government. Yes, let’s take a moment and consider Congress’ record on official inquiries… That wasn’t pleasant, was it? Why did Congress declare a [conspiracy](http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/explorer/articles/jfk-the-lost-bullet-facts/)? > [@](#): > > After a re-evaluation of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the HSCA (House Select Committee on Assassinations) determined there was a 95% chance a fourth shot had been fired, a conclusion based almost exclusively on an acoustics test and a police dispatcher’s radio recording. What does [science say about this evidence](http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/odell/)? > [@](#): > > Conclusions > > 1. The timeline relied on by the NRC report and by Thomas is inaccurate. > > 2. Both the “hold everything” and the “you want me” crosstalk alignments demonstrate that the suspect impulses happen too late to be the assassination gunshots. > > 3. There is no evidence that the Audograph machine that recorded channel II ran continuously in the first few minutes after the shooting, and evidence indicates that it did stop. Because the Audograph stopped, later instances of crosstalk cannot be used to align the suspect impulses on channel I. > > 4. There is no statistical significance of 95% or higher for a shot from the grassy knoll. There is persuasive evidence that BRSW/WA simply found a match to the speech pattern that exists at the same location on the recording. Lots, and I mean lots, of people have gone over the evidence with a zillion times more computing power than the House had in 1978. Silliness like yours is dismissible today. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jfk-assassination/649942.md?page=2)