# The Big Question: JFK **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 16, 2003, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559 "2003-08-16T07:58:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/41 "2003-08-17T06:02:16Z")
Well put **Silvio** My personal favorite with regards to the backyard photos being faked. OK, if people faked a photo, then why fake _three of them and triple the chances of being caught?_ ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/42 "2003-08-17T06:55:34Z")
More importantly, _Marina Oswald testified that she took the photographs_. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/43 "2003-08-17T07:04:12Z")
[JFK conspiracy theories that can’t be just laughed off](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?&threadid=163775) [Some questions about the JFK assassination](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?&threadid=139633) [Kennedy Assassination Recreation](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?&threadid=90500) [Any Kennedy conspiracy theorists in here?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?&threadid=54728) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/44 "2003-08-17T07:16:07Z")
> [@](#): > > The standard conspiracy position (at least by the government did it folks) is that LHO was some type of a deep cover agent. If so, he was the most remarkable agent in history. I _suppose_ the idea is that a Smart Conspiracy[sup]TM[/sup] would’ve picked someone just like LHO as a patsy: someone with a history of such checkered mental health would never be able to make anyone believe The Truth[sup]TM[/sup]. > [@](#): > > When he defected to the USSR, he slashed his wrists when he was initially refused, an extremely serious attempt that probably would have killed him without a transfusion. Amazing dedication there. **Silvio** , your credibility is seriously impaired by your obvious failure to watch Quantum Leap. Might I refer you to the travails of one Dr. Samuel “Sam” Beckett? 😉 Just trying to inject a little levity. Seriously, some time ago - a couple of months, I suppose - it occurred to me that in the interests of the skepticism I profess so loudly, I’d have to re-examine my views of the Kennedy assassination, evidence of some Evil Conspiracy[sup]TM News Corp.[/sup] being more interesting than extant. I don’t know if there are any recent polls, but I think most people - or at least a great number - don’t believe Oswald acted alone. (I bet someone will do one by November of this year.) Upon examination of the evidence so far, it seems pretty airtight to me that he did in fact pull it off alone. So I’m mostly chiming in with others applauding the work done by the posters here. The pursuit of the truth is made possible by dedication to the facts. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/45 "2003-08-17T10:20:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Marley23 \* > **Monty** , **UncleBill** ’s post seems to indicate that he thinks Oswald easily could have done it alone, without any help. So what? That’s not what I was asking him. I asked him about this little bit in his posting: > [@](#): > > I do believe he had help, ---
**Author:** ![ambushed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@ambushed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ambushed)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/46 "2003-08-17T10:36:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ralph124c \* > \*\*The DA who tried to find evidence of a conspiracy? From what I understand, he tried to find allkinds of people who (in his mind) were connected to the conspiracy, One of them (Clay Shaw) was questioned incessantly by Garrison…yet was aquitted by a jury. > They ought to write a book about Garrison-he seems to have been a near-mental case! \*\* “They” have, and it’s an outstanding read. See [False Witness: The Real Story of Jim Garrison’s Investigation and Oliver Stone’s Film JFK](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0871318792/qid=1061116786) Garrison _ **was** _ quite a nutjob, who included people in his imagined “conspiracy” to kill JFK merely because they happened to have the wrong _address_! Stone was a fully knowing accomplice in painting this whacko child molester as a hero in his contemptible work of bad fiction, _JFK_ ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/47 "2003-08-17T18:50:34Z")
Remembering that day as if it was just last week. I remember our 3rd grade teacher being called into the hallway by the principal. Somehow we all sensed a deep seriousness in the situation. I thought perhaps the parents of a classmate had been in a bad accident, or something to that effect. The teacher came back in the room, she didn’t have to silence the class, we were all waiting in quiet anticipation. She stood by the door and looked at us all, then she said there has been a terrible accident and President Kennedy has been shot. She didn’t say whether he had been killed or not, I don’t believe that official announcement came out until a few hours later (the famous Walter Cronkite announcement). Since we had recently began our air-raid drills of hiding under our desks, or in the halls keeling at our lockers with our hands covering the backs of our heads, I thought for a second that was what they wanted us to do now. She told us school was over for the day and we should all go home as quickly as we can to be with our families. I assumed this was the beginning of WW3, that I would see bombers flying overhead on my fast journey home. I figured they would bomb the big cities first though, so I still had time to get home and head down into the basement. Everyone arrived at home within a few minutes of me, we watched the TV coverage, we didn’t say much. I tried to be nonchalant about my frequent visits to the windows, watching for military aircraft flying overhead. The whole country basically shut down for a week. The TV had news coverage of the events unfolding 24 X 7, no other shows were on (I think we only had 4 channels back then). For people who weren’t around to witness this American tragedy, think about how you felt September 11th, then multiply that by 1000. The entire country lost a close relative that sunny day in November, 1963. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/48 "2003-08-18T07:58:59Z")
All right, first off, I _saw_ the damn movie, and a lot of you are grossly exaggerating Oliver Stone’s position. Here it is: - The entire conspiracy was engineered by our federal government, who wanted to get an antiwar President out of office. - Everyone in the conspiracy, regardless of what other connections they had (anti-Castro, gay community, etc.) had a link to the CIA. - The Mafia had _no_ hand in the assassination. The other lawyer (don’t remember the name) wanted to go after them because _they were an easier target_. - Oswald may have been a scapegoat, but he WAS one of the gunmen, and every bit as guilty as the other conspirators. Still convoluted, but nowhere near the “everybody did it” position inexplicably attributed to Stone. Anyway, my position is that Oswald was the lone gunman, and he may or may not have had some kind of support from other people who wanted Kennedy dead. The most likely candidate is the anti-Castro contingent, staunch militants who shared a lot of viewpoints with Oswald. The idea that any big, powerful organization would bother with a schlub like Oswald is ludicrous. It _was_ a pretty entertaining movie…but that’s all it was. The conspiracy, if any, was a bunch of desperate people helping one of their own. Nothing more. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/49 "2003-08-18T10:50:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DKW \* > The most likely candidate is the anti-Castro contingent, staunch militants who shared a lot of viewpoints with Oswald. Such as his unabashed Marxism and deep love for Fidel Castro? Puh-leez. ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/50 "2003-08-18T13:28:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DKW \* > **All right, first off, I _saw_ the damn movie, and a lot of you are grossly exaggerating Oliver Stone’s position…Still convoluted, but nowhere near the “everybody did it” position inexplicably attributed to Stone.** But no one in this thread has attributed the ‘everybody did it’ position to Stone. This makes you the only one to be indulging in inexplicable attribution. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/51 "2003-08-18T13:47:29Z")
This is the most boring GD I’ve ever seen. A bunch of people mostly agreeing with each other. Everyone agrees that LHO was the only gunman, the only point of disagreement that’s popped up has to do with his motivation. And I agree that he was completely kooky enough to do it on his own (look at the General Walker attempt), and too kooky for any other group to use him. But isn’t there any disagreement left about the grassy knoll, the badge man, the idea that Oswald talked in jail, the Mauser vs. Carcano, the FBI not being able to shoot it that fast, etc.? Or is it just that people at the Straight Dope might disagree about politics, but can agree on obvious facts? ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/52 "2003-08-18T13:54:37Z")
This is the most boring GD I’ve ever seen. A bunch of people mostly agreeing with each other. Everyone agrees that LHO was the only gunman, the only point of disagreement that’s popped up has to do with his motivation. And I agree that he was completely kooky enough to do it on his own (look at the General Walker attempt), and too kooky for any other group to use him. But isn’t there any disagreement left about the grassy knoll, the badge man, the idea that Oswald talked in jail, the Mauser vs. Carcano, the FBI not being able to shoot it that fast, etc.? Or is it just that people at the Straight Dope might disagree about politics, but can agree on obvious facts? ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/53 "2003-08-18T14:07:47Z")
This is the most boring GD I’ve ever seen. A bunch of people mostly agreeing with each other. Everyone agrees that LHO was the only gunman, the only point of disagreement that’s popped up has to do with his motivation. And I agree that he was completely kooky enough to do it on his own (look at the General Walker attempt), and too kooky for any other group to use him. But isn’t there any disagreement left about the grassy knoll, the badge man, the idea that Oswald talked in jail, the Mauser vs. Carcano, the FBI not being able to shoot it that fast, etc.? Or is it just that people at the Straight Dope might disagree about politics, but can agree on obvious facts? ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/54 "2003-08-18T14:09:46Z")
I’m sorry about that - the post timed out two times, and seemed to reload without my post in-between. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/55 "2003-08-18T14:44:21Z")
So are _you_ disagreeing? Or do you just complain about the lack of dissent on general principle? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/56 "2003-08-18T15:49:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CurtC \* > \*\* > But isn’t there any disagreement left about the grassy knoll, the badge man, the idea that Oswald talked in jail, the Mauser vs. Carcano, the FBI not being able to shoot it that fast, etc.? Or is it just that people at the Straight Dope might disagree about politics, but can agree on obvious facts? \*\* Well, the FBI was able to “shoot that fast” and they were able to do it in the incorrect time alloted (6 seconds) as opposed to the time Oswlad likely took (7-9 seconds). I think one even got it done in 5 seconds or so. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/57 "2003-08-19T20:54:24Z")
I know that Oswald killed kennedy. That has been established. But I find Jack Ruby to be a more mysterious character… I have heard that he was originally one ogf the Capone gang from Chicago. His behavior is also quite strange…why would he kill Oswald? Was Ruby still an active member of the Chicago Mafia, at the time of kennedie’s death? Or washe just aminor player? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/58 "2003-08-19T21:14:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ralph124c \* > \*\*I know that Oswald killed kennedy. That has been established. But I find Jack Ruby to be a more mysterious character… I have heard that he was originally one ogf the Capone gang from Chicago. His behavior is also quite strange…why would he kill Oswald? Was Ruby still an active member of the Chicago Mafia, at the time of kennedie’s death? Or washe just aminor player? \*\* I don’t think he was much of anything in the mafia. He was something of a blabbermouth and liek to cozy up to police. People assume that he was involved with the mafia becuase he ran strip joints and was a tough character, but in fact the mafia wouldn’t want anything to do with him becuase he tended to talk too much. He might have known a mafia guy or two, but it was a casual aquaintence at best. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/59 "2003-08-19T23:32:22Z")
Jack Ruby was a police hanger-on, who liked to curry favor with the Dallas cops by giving them free passes to his club, bringing sandwiches to the precinct house, and such. He had already been hanging out at the Dallas Police Headquarters earlier that weekend, and can be seen on videotape standing with reporters at the press conference Oswald gave at midnight on Friday. When an acquaintance asked Ruby what he was doing there, Ruby made up a story that he was acting as an interpreter for the Israeli press. Ruby was already an emotionally unstable person, and his behavior that weekend between Kennedy’s assassination and his shooting of Oswald careered between that of a wheepy neurotic and that of a gabby blackslapper, sometimes from one hour to the next. In the three years Ruby spent in prison before his death from cancer in 1967, he descended only further into mental illness. ---
**Author:** ![akrako1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@akrako1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akrako1)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559/60 "2003-08-21T21:55:08Z")
A new book is being published that claims that LBJ ordered the assination. [http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/0803/21jfklbj.html](http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/0803/21jfklbj.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-question-jfk/195559.md?page=4)