JFK Assassination & Media
As recently as the early 1990s, JFK assassination conspiracy theories were shunned by major corporate media outlets. Even today, the major networks have come out on the side of the Warren Commission.
Thank the gods for cable television. During this anniversary week of JFK's assassination, TV Networks and Cable Channels are weighing in with their respective special programs. While it is true that the good old History Channel -- no surprise -- has taken the same stance as major networks, the Discovery Channel has decided to air FIVE CONSECUTIVE NIGHTS' worth of programs that indulge many different angles to the conspiracy theory. Among these programs is the 1988 documentary The Men Who Killed Kennedy, which examines the most shocking -- and yet most plausible of all the theories: that LBJ and/or the FBI were responsible for the assassination.
Whether Discovery Channel is "right" for airing TMWKK, and others are wrong for toting the establishment line is not the point. The significance of this shift in the media's relationship with JFK's assassination is that the public is finally getting both sides of the story.
To be honest, I am shocked that the Discovery Channel is airing TMWKK. But I think it is a very promising sign that more and more people may be insisting on seeing evidence for themselves, instead of merely parroting the dubious findings of the Warren Commission. The government has a lot of credibility at stake here. After all, if there was a conspiracy against Kennedy, might that not also suggest a possible conspiracy against Malcolm X? Or MLK? And with the many -- already public revelations about the FBI's COINTELPRO -- might the floodgates of truth be about to open?
We can only hope.
Posted by Eric on November 19, 2003 08:59 PM
Here's one of the many theories that I find particularly interesting. This theory is in line with the folks that believe the illuminati rule the world.
In our nation's history there have been just two presidents who printed "debt free" money. When I say debt free, I mean money that is printed without taking out a "loan" from the Federal Reserve. When currency is issued, as I am aware, it comes in the form of a low interest loan from the Federal Reserve. The idea of this "debt free" money is to infuse cash into the economy, which in turn sparks a financial turn around. Spending goes up, production goes up, and so goes the economy.
The second guy to do it was Kennedy. Do you know who the first was? It was Abe Lincoln (who was a slave owner by the way, but that's another discussion entirely). Both Lincoln and Kennedy were assasinated soon after having printed this money.
Some folks theorize that the Tri-Lateral Commission, in conjuction with the international bankers, offed Abe and JFK because they were on the verge of exposing where the true value in money lies (within the goods and services they pay for, not the gold standard as the Fed would have us believe).
The conspriacy theory goes way beyond, but I thought it might be interesting to share anotheer viewpoint. Peace. Rich

Another theory -- discussed in some of the shows last week -- was that Castro had JFK assassinated.
To be honest, I am more confused AFTER having watched all those JFK programs. The computer animations made it look like a difficult shot from the depository, though not impossible, though I'm no ballistics expert.
The sad thing is that our government had so many covert operations in the 1960s that it is hard to sort fact from fiction. Of course the assassinations of MLK and Malcolm X are a lot less ambiguous, and there is a wealth of declassified documents/research on COINTELPRO. My question is: if we know the FBI was assassinating SOME leaders... where did they draw the line??

A new book is out claiming that Lyndon Johnson is behind the assasination.

According to one of LBJ's friends/advisors, LBJ was convinced that Castro killed JFK. I have no idea what to make of this comment. The guy sounded pretty legit, but then again maybe LBJ was throwing people off of his scent. One of the programs I watched said that conspiracy theories were rampant after the assassination.

Of course the illuminati rule the world. Is there any evidence to the contrary? Does anyone really believe we have a democracy in America. let alone an agenda to spread democracy?
JFK wasn't killed by Lee Oswald. How much power does it take to get a president to Dallas, then change his parade route, then stop his limo in position for a cross-fire, then alter his corpse to fit a simple cover story, and cover up the evidence for 40 years, etc.?
That's the kind of power that rules the world.
We're screwed, and the sad thing is that to keep this power going they must continue to "grow the economy" when growth is clearly out of control and destroying the planet.
Debt is the problem. Debt is the mechanism of control and debt is the reason everyone must overwork, overconsume, overuse resources. The national debt is unnecessary, a product of greed and power lust.
Debt-free money is the enemy of the "illuminati"
If JFK was killed for trying to return us to constitutional debt-free money, I'm not surprised. It makes more sense than any other explanation. JFK died the day before I turned 21. I have never stopped trying to understand what happened. I have no respect for those who have pandered to the official version for the past 40 years, but I do realize they see no hope of getting at the truth, considering how powerful the cover-up has been. --Urban

I don't buy the fixed-standard angle. it wouldn't have made any sense. there's more money being made away from the gold standard than being on it.
by the way, what did Mckinley do? He got bucked in office, too.
In my opinion, I think O.J. killed JFK

We're never going to know. Nice to meet you people. Kenneday happened over 40 years ago. Most of the people that were there are dying of natural cause. Of course, you have many that were "bumped" off. You have so many theories. With all these Oswald stories, you have to suspect something. LBJ probably killed Kennedy to get the Vietnam war started. The CIA has such a foothold, you think we'll ever know the truth? The truth is not out there. We're just being coerced by Big Brother. Big companies will always s**** the little people. The big companies are fighting over copyright. They'll be attacking the internet.

i think lincoln is the best president

as someone who is somewhat well versed in history,
foreign affairs and current (& not so current)events, I started familiarizing with this topic
(jfk assassination) in 1973. Since then I have
amassed a fairly large research library which
has given me insight into power, finance, history,
politics, power struggles, usurpations, corruption
and disenfranchised elements from within and
from without in many countries, cultures and world powers during various periods of history.
What is perceived as "anomolies", random acts
and "sudden" events are in most cases the result
of well planned actions by those in postions
of power and well versed in the art of manipulation and deceptions. Overt wars since
the beginning of time were and are the result
of one side planning some surprise agression
against a foe. invasions, coups de'tat, "suprise" attacks are only a surprise to those on the
receiving end of the intent of the "suprisors
against the "suprisees". take a few seconds
and think and wonder, how many political and military events in history were really the result of one person??????? place your bets...give me
five????ten???? any takers?
I'll get to the point and be blunt....what happened to jfk/rfk wasn't any differnt than what happened to julius caesar or the gracci 2000 years ago. At this level of power no one is removed for any one reason, but thru a gradual
erosion and deterioration of one's base of support
from within that given estalished order be it ancient greece or rome, elizabethan england, germany,japan and russia after WW1, USA in the 1960's and beyond) China before,during, before and after WWII. I find it rather intriguing and odd that after 40 years with all that has been discovered
and exposed and varios links, that we haven't asked for any heads to roll, no trials for mass treason, forced the exile of those related to any
parties involved in the events surround 11/22/63.
We do know that at various times involving many,
many parties such as the CIA, military intelligence, organized crime, 1000's of expatriots from various countries that turned communist, corporate/indudtrial security
all formed some sort of loose amalgamation to
topple the castro regime from about 1959/60
to Now (?) The CIA op known as Jm/Wave and its
military counter-part operation mongoose each
utilized and recruited 100's and 1000's of
personel from various sectors to topple reegime by any means necessary short of war/
invasion. we are infomed and accept a mega -conspiracy to over-throw/assassinate Castro...all of this inter-meshing of interest (mentioned above)lasting over 12 to 15 years
to remove a considered economic/political threat.
and then we are told that,in the midst of all this plotting that the president is assassinated
by a loner. stay tuned....

I think it was Lee Harvey Oswald did it and thats the end of it. The Oliver Stone video was a lot of mince Lee was a really good shot with a gun.
Davey from SCOTLAND.

I'll admit there are a lot of reasons to believe that the powers that be wanted Kennedy bumped off, and who knows, maybe they did but as far as the relevant evidence goes I believe that the fatal head shot came from LHO, and not the grassy knoll. The famous "back and to the left" magnified and slo-moed video used by Oliver Stone and other cable outlets leaves out some important details, most notably the plume of debris that shoots out of JFK's skull at the moment of impact. The direction of this plume is totally inconsistent with a shot from the grassy knoll area. Also, there is a piece of JFK's skull which is clearly visible falling away from his face, consistent with an exit wound of a bullet entering the head from behind. Furthermore, the autopsy photos jibe with the Z-film if you understand that the head shot was very nearly a glancing blow. The points of entry and exit are only four inches apart and the skull material in between was shattered and blown out but the pieces remained attached to JFK's head by his scalp. This is all consistent with the x-rays and autopsy photos. Taken together, all of this evidence supports the head shot coming from the rear. I don't know why JFK's head went "back and to the left" but the plume of debris and the piece of skull went "up and to the front". Based on this evidence I'm willing to believe that the head shot came from the rear. Without a frontal head shot, the conspircy folks don't have much of a case. Your move Garrison.

As I post this (April '05) we are learning more about the assassination. Have been reading "The Assassinations" a compedium published originally by PROBE magazine. See especially the second article in that book by Armstrong about the two Oswalds. Seemed silly to me at first but his evidence is compelling that there were two Oswalds: Lee and Harvey. The looked much alike only one was quite a bit taller.
As time goes by, I lean to the LBJ explanation. See the book by Barr McClellan, an LBJ personal attorney. It was published in the fall of '03 but was largely ignored by the main stream media. Barr is Scott McClellan's father (G. W. Bush's press secretary). He is no nut, just an older man who wants to get the murder of JFK off of his chest before he dies. I thought the book made a lot of sense. But just try and find it at Barnes and Noble.
In the fall of '63 LBJ was being thrown off the ticket for '64 and he was facing prosecution for the Bobby Baker scandals. I believe the only chance he had to stop the investigation of himself which was about to begin was if he were President. With JFK dead, and the Cold War going on LBJ knew Congress could not afford the investigation.
If LBJ didn't do it, he sure benefitted from it, and he certainly covered it up.

Ridiculous scenarios. You offer conjecture and no proof which is so typical of a conspiracy theorist. The only evidence in this case, the ballistics indicates ONE shooter. The Neutron Activation Analysis done by Dr. Vincent Guinn shows, to the exclusion of any other weapon, that JFK was killed by the Mannlicter Carcano rifle. It definitively proves 3 shots were fired from the TSBD. Did LHO fire those shots? Most likely to a 98 percentile. There is NO evidence to suggest anybody else.

The reason Jack Kennedy's murder will probably go unsolved is because the common American person is yellow, and lacks intelectual courage.Most of the People involved are still alive and smiling. Shackley,Goss, Bush,Rodrigous,Hunt.They are writing books and hosting radio shows, hell , some ,like Arlen Spector, are still in Gov. No, the average American should be ashamed for taking the easy road and believing in thier network news shows. I'm afaid not even an attack from Mars would wake up the walking dead. The conspirators are thinking, what's it gonna take for these dumb shits? If you ignore history, history will repeat it self.Over and Over.History will record your apathy for your great great grandchildren to ponder your inexcusable lack of imagination.

my theory: remember, the jealous wife of a cheating husband is capable of many things.

I really think the mafia had something to do with it, remember what the mafia did for jfk in the bay of pigs?

We'll never know who REALLY killed Kennedy, all I kno is that it was a sad an tragic event.

Just the fact that the Warren Commission used a bullet that was picked up from the gurney in the unsecured hospital hallway for evidence is enough for me to believe that the commission judged amiss!

You know there is more evidence since these movies too. The founder of Scholars for 9/11 Truth, Prof. Jim Fetzer, is also an expert on the JFK assassination. His team PROVED that the Zapruder film was a fake, which makes the Warren Commission a fake, as that film was their show piece. Google it and they explain exactly how they revealed the film was heavily cut and pasted, by using computer technology.

May says, "no other evidence"?!!!
Dino says, "I don't know how the head went 'back to the left'...uh, yeah, that's the point. Most conspiracy theorists don't exclude the shot form the book depository, they just know that witnesses who saw additional shooters were excluded form the investigation.
Look, for all you NON-conspiracry theorists, just take each individual fact of the assassination, certainly exclude fanatical opinions, and what are you left with?....motive, viability, and the ability to suppress. Hmmm, and it was way before the media had the type of access they have today to government info.

I recently read that JFK's closest associates Dave Powers and Kenny O'Donnel who were both in the motorcade told Tip O'Neill that two shots were fired from the front (knoll); O'Neill asked them why they lied, both said the FBI insisted they were wrong and they did not want to "make trouble for the family".
Bobby Kennedy told Frank Mankiewitz, his press scretary shortly before his assassination in June, '68 that after he won the presidency he'd reopen the case.
We have been so let down by our GREAT MEDIA that many will never trust them again. Why have the big networks and newsorganizations remained quiet for so many years?
