After 50 years, sometimes it's time to just leave it alone.

[MineralMan]

There are still people arguing about the Lincoln assassination, if you can believe that. I'm an old fart, and was 18 years old in 1963. I remember stuff. That was 50 years ago, and there are few people left who had any involvement whatever in what happened. After half a century, the close eye witnesses are gone, for the most part. It's time to leave the past to take care of itself. It's long past time to be able to prove or disprove anything.

There's plenty of shit going on right now that we can do something about. Stuff that happened 50 years ago is done and gone. Let's focus on now and let the dead bury the dead.

Forward and onward, eh?

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Paleontology is pointless, as is archaeology.

What's the point of rooting around in old boneyards left by extinct beasts and garbage middens of past civilizations? Nothing to learn here.

[MineralMan]

2. Rather a different thing, I believe.

A much different thing.

[enlightenment]

3. Very much a different thing. nt

[Hissyspit]

102. In some ways.

In other ways, not at all.

[anneboleyn]

65. And history. We should dispense with history of course.

[JimboBillyBubbaBob]

4. As in all history,

each generation will tinker with their respective forms of revisionism. Let's never forget to look at events with fresher, or perhaps, varying perspectives. I was 10 at the time and I recall the afternoon like it was yesterday. Quite sublime.

[MineralMan]

13. Ah, but the facts become more and more difficult to ascertain

with each passing year. Facts are not generally the real issue in such cases.

[RobertEarl]

49. That is plain wrong

Maybe you have been forgetting about a lot of stuff? Happens as one gets older, right?

Thing is... the governments of Nixon and Reagan and Bushies, and Dems, still hold 'secret' information that they refuse to show you. You are cool with that? Not me. Never too old to get all the facts.

[grasswire]

60. wrong

Facts that were withheld are released periodically.

[pangaia]

81. Some are. Many are not.

[Hissyspit]

103. Yeah, you are so losing this argument.

[MineralMan]

104. Really? It's not really a win or lose thing.

I was just stating my opinion about it. It seems to have started a discussion. That's good.

[Hissyspit]

110. Your opinion is an argument.

Everything is an argument.

[gopiscrap]

57. me too

[moparlunatic]

5. Wasn't alive in 63 but

Lincoln was assassinated long before that. Did u mean Kennedy?

[MineralMan]

12. No, I meant Lincoln. People are still arguing about his assassination.

To no effect, but still...

[Ava Gadro]

108. Call me confused

but it was Kennedy that was assassinated 50 years ago. Am I missing some key point?

[MineralMan]

112. Lincoln and JFK were both assassinated.

JFK, 50 years ago. Hence the time reference. People are still arguing about Lincoln. Conspiracy theories die hard. They are almost never resolved. I see little point in continuing them. I hope that clarifies it for you.

Did Booth act alone? Does it matter? Same question with JFK.

[Ava Gadro]

114. OIC. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

People love conspiracy theories. Some look at it as an unsolved puzzle. Some like to examine the groups involved and their commonalities. Some for the psyche. And some just to turn a profit. Me? Not so much. I prefer to look to the future.

[kentuck]

6. I don't know that I would agree with that?

I sort of like to keep digging until the facts are uncovered. I was 14 years old in 1963.

With brother Robert investigating the criminal elements in this country and with the animosities of Cuba directed toward the US, primarily because of the Bay of Pigs, and with the debate over whether or not to continue to fight the "Communists" in Vietnam, there were a lot of elements involved in the assassination theory.

We may never know the truth, but we should not doubt but that he was killed for a reason.

Lee Harvey Oswald may not have worked for the CIA but people did not travel back and forth from the Soviet Union to the US without somebody knowing about it.

(edited to add the word "theory&quot

[HooptieWagon]

16. Uh, plenty of people knew.

Just not beforehand. He went to England, then Finland, and crossed into Russia there. Both US and Russia eagerly accepted defectors, not only for PR but for whatever intelligence could be gleaned from them. Russia tired of him rather quickly, and was all to willing to let him return. He still had US citizenship, so US had to take him back. CIA, FBI, State Dept, and local and state LE were all watching him closely. Hell, the KGB was even watching him in Mexico City. He was a looney-toon that no-one could figure out what he was up to. If there was a coverup, its covering up a domestic intelligence failure in not keeping a closer eye on Oswald....thus he was able to get into a position where he was able to shoot the President.

[DesertFlower]

39. i'm not a conspiracty theorist,

but when it comes to the kennedy assassination i am. i don't believe the warren commission report. that being said i was 22 at the time. i'm 72 now and my gut still tells me it was a conspiracy.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/17/jfk-files_n_3773282.html

[gopiscrap]

58. I fully agree

[HooptieWagon]

7. Selling conspiracy theories is big busine$$.

All ya gotta do is invent some "facts", claim exculpatory facts as "forged" or "part of the conspiracy", throw in some fear-mongering of CIA NWO etc...and bingo! Best selling book!

Yes, when a beloved leader is killed, we want their death to be meaningful...not just a lucky shot by a nutjob loser with a gun. But sometimes things just are what they are.

[BootinUp]

11. +1

[MineralMan]

14. Indeed. We seem to want it to be more that what it probably was.

I'm not sure I understand that.

[MADem]

8. When everything associated with the tragedy is declassified, I would agree with you.

However, that's not the case at this point in time.

Because everything is not yet declassified, any speculation belongs in the realm of conspiracy theories and creative speculation--there's no proof, no incontrovertible evidence, no clear path to an answer.

Nothing wrong with hashing over this topic--in the Creative Speculation group. Enough of this shit in GD.

[RC]

109. Why was it classified in the first place?

What was it that they did not want us to know? Strange that the 'assassin' and the 'assassin's' killer both died in fairly short order.
Left a lot of questions unanswered... And possible answers classified. Why?

[MADem]

113. Sources and methods, most likely. That said, those sources are long gone now, and those methods

are the fodder of popular films and have been for decades.

The only reason I can think of that keeps this business classified is that one or more of the actors responsible for that murder is still alive today and has not answered for the crime, and it's "too difficult" to get to that person at this late stage.

If Castro dies, relations with Cuba are normalized, and there's a huge Kennedy assassination data dump, we'll know....

[Behind the Aegis]

9. If there is something to actually be learned, I think it is important to dig.

However, all the BS CT that don't have an ounce of fact to them, they are getting old and are what should be "left alone."

[MineralMan]

15. The "facts" grow dimmer and dimmer.

But we never stop looking for them, it seems, even if we're looking through distorted lenses.

[Behind the Aegis]

21. But facts can always come to light.

That's why I don't mind serious inquiries, but the conspiracy shit, with no merit, is tiresome and revisionist.

[MineralMan]

24. I doubt that any new facts remain to come to light.

Truly, I do. I haven't seen any new real information for many years now. The principals are all dead, now.

[Behind the Aegis]

29. Just keep in mind...

"Everything that can be invented has been invented." -- Charles H. Duell, Commissioner of US patent office in 1899

So....

[MineralMan]

33. I don't think that quotation applies, actually.

New ideas that lead to new things are always possible. What has happened in the past has happened. It is history, not something that new ideas will change.

Charles Duell was not such a clever fellow, it seems.

[Behind the Aegis]

34. It does. History has been written and re-written many times as new things come to light.

Facts are one thing, crazy CT's are another.

[RC]

111. And without the fact, crazy CT's are presented by those that wish the facts to remain hidden.

[Paladin]

10. Agreed. (nt)

[MineralMan]

17. Thank you, sir!

[MicaelS]

18. Agreed x 2. n/t

[aikoaiko]

86. And I agree, too.

Ha!

[AnotherMcIntosh]

19. It's old news. Just move along.

[MineralMan]

20. Not really news at all, I think.

I've heard nothing new about it for many years. Just the same old stuff rehashed and restated, frequently and uselessly.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

36. In 1633, there are those who wanted others to join them in not looking through Galieleo's telescope.

In this century and in this part of the world, people can make up their own minds as to whether to look or not.

[BootinUp]

76. Interesting point...but

"Thinking" or believing there must be a right wing or government conspiracy is not in any way a fact based argument. Much closer to those who didn't want believers to open their eyes to science.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

89. A small minority of Oswald-acted-alone theorists oppose a consideration of science and logic.

Medical evidence, for example, shows bullet fragments in JFK's skull.

The bullet found on the stretcher in the hospital shows that a bullet used to shoot Kennedy is a full-metal jacket one. Such bullets are designed to not shatter upon impact like a frangible bullet.

It is inconsistent with science to believe that a single shooter (1) shot JFK with a full-metal bullet that hit multiple bones and remained relatively non-deformed and (2) shot JFK with a second full-metal bullet that separated upon impact.

Should we try to get an explanation as to why one bullet remained relatively non-deformed and the other shattered in a way to leave bullet fragments in JFK's skull? Some Oswald-acted-alone theorists would say no. Some would not only disregard science but insist that no one else consider science either.

A majority of Americans do not believe the authorized version. The poll numbers vary from year to year. At no time have most Americans believed the authorized version. None of them are required to believe the various straw-men positions attributed to them by the Oswald-acted-alone theorists.

If science supported the Oswald-acted-alone theorists, they would rely upon science and not be opposed to anyone applying science to an inquiry.

[BootinUp]

92. For those that are interested in scientific reasoning on the two topics raised above

(the poster I am responding to is not really interested), You can get a good jumping point from the links below. The following excerpts are taken from the linked page and are not written by me.

The neutron-activation analyses of the bullets and fragments from the JFK assassination have provided some of the most important and powerful data from the entire assassination. These data, preceded by the indeterminate optical emission spectroscopy data of the FBI, have been misunderstood since they were first made public in 1975. The new NAA report of March 2001 aims to clear up the confusion. Its companion work, the annotated compendium of 1998, provides additional details on how the JFK community has misused the NAA data over the years.
http://www.kenrahn.com/JFK/Scientific_topics/NAA/NAA_and_assassination_II/NAA_and_assassination.html

The single-bullet theory (SBT) is perhaps the most contentious issue in the entire JFK assassination. Developed straightforwardly by Arlen Specter and others during the Warren Commission's investigation, it proposes that the bodies of Kennedy and Connally were wounded by the same bullet, the infamous CE 399, or "stretcher bullet," that was fired from the sixth floor of the depository by Oswald. The SBT is so important because if true, it removes the need for a second shooter from the rear to account for the fact that Kennedy and Connally responded to their body hits in less than the minimum refiring time of 2.3 seconds. In effect, the SBT substitutes a delayed reaction by Connally for a second shooter. An idea of the ire of the critical community toward the SBT can be seen in the fact that it was used as a litmus test for joining COPA—you were supposed to renounce the SBT before you could join. (COPA never enforced this ban, however, for they needed the $25 annual dues too much.)
The longstanding fulminations over the SBT by its deniers have obscured the fact that it has always been strongly supported by hard evidence and proper reasoning. (See "A logical approach to the single-bullet theory" below.) Furthermore, it turns out that the SBT was a mere hairs-breadth away from being proven all along—we just didn't realize it. We know that because we have just shown how to prove it scientifically, by adding just one piece of evidence to the mix. All that is needed is to combine the elemental evidence from NAA with ballistics and the basic geometry of Dealey Plaza. (See "The Scientific SBT" below.) Now that the question has been settled, it is time to replace the weak expression "SBT" with the proper "DBH" (double-body hit).
A vast amount has been written on the SBT over the years, nearly all of it wrong. I have assembled some representative thoughts on the subject, and will add to the collection as time permits.
http://web.archive.org/web/20130405074924/http://karws.gso.uri.edu/JFK/JFK.html

[AnotherMcIntosh]

93. Ah, a diversion. To talk about the single-bullet theory which I did not raise.

[BootinUp]

100. Oh?

See below where you use the word science in a very unscientific argument, lol.

AnotherMcIntosh (11,039 posts)
89. A small minority of Oswald-acted-alone theorists oppose a consideration of science and logic.

Medical evidence, for example, shows bullet fragments in JFK's skull.

The bullet found on the stretcher in the hospital shows that a bullet used to shoot Kennedy is a full-metal jacket one. Such bullets are designed to not shatter upon impact like a frangible bullet.

It is inconsistent with science to believe that a single shooter (1) shot JFK with a full-metal bullet that hit multiple bones and remained relatively non-deformed and (2) shot JFK with a second full-metal bullet that separated upon impact.

Should we try to get an explanation as to why one bullet remained relatively non-deformed and the other shattered in a way to leave bullet fragments in JFK's skull? Some Oswald-acted-alone theorists would say no. Some would not only disregard science but insist that no one else consider science either.

A majority of Americans do not believe the authorized version. The poll numbers vary from year to year. At no time have most Americans believed the authorized version. None of them are required to believe the various straw-men positions attributed to them by the Oswald-acted-alone theorists.

If science supported the Oswald-acted-alone theorists, they would rely upon science and not be opposed to anyone applying science to an inquiry.

[Spider Jerusalem]

118. Sorry, but the opposition to science and logic is all on the side of the conspiracists.

Who are apparently unaware of, or choose to ignore, the fact a Dr John Lattimer conducted tests with a similar rifle and ammunition from the exact same lot of Western Cartridge Company 6.5mm as was in Oswald's rifle; test bullets were fired through a human skull, packed with gelatin to simulate brain tissue; the bullet? it didn't remain intact, the copper jacket and lead core separated. Exactly as was observed in the bullet that struck Kennedy in the head. And also test-fired another bullet, replicating the hypothesised single bullet trajectory, and, guess what? That bullet exhibited the same relatively minimal deformation as the bllet recovered from Connally's stretcher at Parkland. http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/Lattimer.txt

"Should we try to get an explanation"? Simple physics, loss of velocity on transiting soft tissues. The science is all on the side of Oswald as the sole assassin.

[1000words]

22. With time comes perspective, thus greater understanding of history.

Presidential assassinations are about as historical as you get.

By the way, you wrote this OP on the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht. What's the shelf life for something like that?

[MineralMan]

25. Are there conspiracy theories about Kristallnacht.

I think not. We remember, and we know. President Kennedy was assassinated. That is history. That, we remember well, at least those of us who have personal memories of it. He died, and with his death came change. That we remember.

[1000words]

27. Your OP says nothing about conspiracies.

[WinkyDink]

63. Wow. You've taken apples and kumquats to an entirely new level.

[CTyankee]

23. My ESL student, an engineer from Mexico, asked me about the Kennedy assassination today...

He said "People here have hallucinations about it, don't they?"

He meant, of course, something akin to "conspiracy theories" and I explained the difference in wording. But I thought it was kinda funny.

He wanted me to explain what happened. He really is interested in living and working here. I am also assisting him in learning about our system of government. We had great classes around the time of the election since we had a primary and there was a lot of political activity.

[MineralMan]

26. Hallucinations. I like that.

Perhaps it is so.

[CTyankee]

31. That's what I thought, too, but I didn't get into the sarcasm angle...

Over the years, I've gotten some interesting questions about American life and language from people of other cultures. It's the main reason I love being a Literacy Volunteer...

[NuclearDem]

28. If the Feds declassify everything they have about it

I'll be glad to put it to bed.

Until then, too many unanswered questions.

[1000words]

32. Bingo!

[HooptieWagon]

50. A whole lot has been declassified and released.

10s of thousands of documents, yet not one shred of evidence supporting the conspiracy theories.

[brooklynite]

67. No you won't...

Then the allegation will be "the Government omitted /destroyed other critical evidence". Just like people are claiming the Government is hiding simething about Area 51.

[NuclearDem]

91. Yes, I would.

That's completely ludicrous.

[orpupilofnature57]

30. Nope,, it was the beginning of where we are today,

Covert control .

[MineralMan]

35. A guy's gotta appreciate your avatar.

Truly. I've long found it fascinating.

[orpupilofnature57]

42. Thanks, MineralMan

[mitchtv]

37. I thought it was going to be about the Cuba Embargo

that is time to give up,also

[Blue_In_AK]

38. Go ahead, leave it alone.

No one's stopping you.

[ljm2002]

40. No.

I strongly disagree with "leave it alone". The JFK assassination was a watershed event that has shaped our government and our politics ever since. Looking back into such an event does not preclude looking forward -- looking back can inform us as we move forward.

[meadowlark5]

41. So if someone were able to prove without a doubt there was a second shooter (or more)

what is the goal? Just to prove there was someone else? Does finding a second shooter possibly lead to others who might have orchestrated the assassination?

Just curious and not asking in a snarky way. Is there more to trying to prove the conspiracy or just prove the conspiracy?

[PADemD]

43. second shooter theory

Just saw this new documentary a few days ago. It is an Australian cold case detective's compelling second shooter theory.

http://www.tvguide.com/news/jfk-reelz-documentary-1072891.aspx

Watch the two-hour documentary before you criticize the theory.

[meadowlark5]

44. I'm not criticizing anything

I've watched a few documentaries on the subject. I find all of it interesting.

I am asking if there is more reason to proving the second shooter theory or just for the sake of proving it. Do people who try to prove there was a second shooter think it could be linked to more people or groups that would be charged with the crime today? Or is it just to prove the theory and be the one who finally proved it?

[PADemD]

46. seond shooter theory

After watching the documentary, I believe that they scientifically proved who the second shooter was, that he was not part of a conspiracy, and that the fatal shot was accidental.

[Initech]

45. That's the day our country was hijacked by right wing radicals.

And took a turn for the worst. We haven't been the same since. We have to know the truth.

[RBInMaine]

53. The truth is Oswald did it and ZERO evidence exists to dispute that or prove a conspiracy. Move on.

[WinkyDink]

62. I take it you've not really read much on the topic, including the news of the second commission.

[RBInMaine]

69. I've read plenty, and there is no credible nor solid evidence anywhere to prove a conspiracy. ALL

the REAL evidence and SOLID evidence shows Oswald to be the lone assassin. He was a disturbed guy angry at the world, angry at the nation, wrong in his head, and this was a crime saying, "The world and nation have been bad to me, and I am going to punish you all and punish this nation by killing your President." Simple as that.

You have NO EVIDENCE. Move on.

[RagAss]

83. So Oswald being the lone shooter proves no conspiracy ?

I never got this logic.

[randome]

47. The moving hand writes, and having writ moves on.

I agree. It's time to move on.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Don't ever underestimate the long-term effects of a good night's sleep.[/center][/font][hr]

[Gidney N Cloyd]

48. I'll never get why discussing this stuff bothers some people so much they want to shut it down...

[roamer65]

95. Many people cannot handle the truth.

Especially when the truth is that the government they live under is NOT "of the people, by the people and for the people". If the truth were to come out on JFK's assassination, the American oligarchical system would be in plain view...for all to see.

[tavalon]

51. Considering that my opinion is that TPTB sit every sitting President down

with an endless loop of the Zapruder film and after an hour, the shadow PTB, come in and say, "any questions?", I'd say it's really, really relevant. Every President since Kennedy has had a shotgun to his head. My opinion only. But if I'm right, this can be nothing but very important.

[A HERETIC I AM]

88. I don't think you are that far from the mark.

It is my understanding that the day after the election, every new President is flown to Washington where the REAL inauguration takes place - his taking of the oath for his security clearance.

Once Obama, and for that matter every new President since, as you say, Kennedy at least, is the "President Elect" it becomes necessary for him to be able to be briefed on National Security issues.

I am rather convinced that during this process he is told something to the effect;

"Look, there are some things you can do and change and there are things you can't do and change. You and your family get to live in a really nice museum in the heart of the city staffed 24/7 by people who will help you do your job to the tiniest degree, including chefs, butlers, planners and groundskeepers. You will have access to a fleet of private helicopters and the nicest executive jets in the world that will be available to take you just about anywhere you wish. You can even start wars if you want and kill people with no threat of prosecution.

What you can't do is change the monetary system and you can't make things too good for poor people. The last guys that tried that were killed in very public ways. Don't forget that."

I am sure that this message or a version of it is made VERY clear to every new president.

[raccoon]

90. I agree with you there. nt

[RBInMaine]

52. It was JFK, unless you mean they are still arguing about Lincoln too.

[El Supremo]

54. No it's not!

BTW, I was 12 years old and 8 1/2 miles away. It was maybe the most important event during my life.

[MineralMan]

71. Perfect!

[freshwest]

56. Neglecting the appeal of a revoluion by revelation. That one fact would change the world.

That is what drives this, a lack of interest in doing the little, less dramatic things. but the smoke will clear and all will change in the 'wink of an eye.'

Think of Rapture theology transferred to political and social life. It just happens, no work needed, if you just believe hard enough.

Mass movements can be sparked by information and some feel if a link between the famous assassinations is found, it will be a simple task to assign guilt both then and now, and rid the world of massive evil.

As I said, it has its appeal, and is the attraction of CT to good people who want answers to the eternal question, 'Why?'

That is normal human curiousity, but when it is demanded over and over, it's not seeking knowledge anymore. It's a form of interrogation or bullying to whoever doesn't believe all the things they do.

Not well expressed. JMHO.

[Holly_Hobby]

59. Bill Hicks said, Jesus is dead too n/t

[WinkyDink]

64. Jesus said the same thing about Bill Hicks.

[WinkyDink]

61. Did you know that murder has no statute of limitation?

[Oilwellian]

66. Why does the word...

weasel come to mind after reading this OP? WTF does "let the dead bury the dead" even mean? Such transparent bullshit.

[MineralMan]

107. I don't know. I didn't mention medium-sized carnivores

in my post that started the thread. Why did you think of a weasel, I wonder?

[Scuba]

68. Worst rationale ever.

[Wilms]

70. There's nothing like a MM sermon on a Sunday morning. n/t

[MineralMan]

73. Well, I wrote this on Saturday, but thanks for the Sunday morning kick.

It's hardly a sermon, though.

[JanMichael]

72. Yep. And people should also just get over the Holocaust, South American

genocides, unsolved murders...the list is endless.

How are people that still care about this affecting "your" topics in any way?

This is just like the threads about "animal welfare" somehow taking away from "what about the children...homeless.." etc.

How about letting people have diversified topics to pour energy into? Or is your topic language ("Cali&quot and reading material monitering?

[MineralMan]

74. Like most DUers, I write about stuff that interests me.

You are, apparently, not interested in this topic.

How am I preventing anyone from pouring energy into whatever topic they wish? I have no authority here at all.

[JanMichael]

77. Get real.

read your "OP's" from the last couple of months. Many times they are about nicknames, language you don't care for-- topics you think are a "waste of time."

[morningfog]

94. The quintessential board nanny.

[MineralMan]

97. If you don't care for my OPs, I'm OK with that.

You can just skip over them, or even put me on Ignore. I'll continue to contribute to DU, either way.

[JanMichael]

116. By "contributing," do you mean

Net Nanny?

Frankly, that is what you come across as. And no. I have seen you here for the better part of a decade, so I am not putting you on "ignore."

I prefer to argue with you.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

75. Stop

making sense.

[Denis 11]

78. The victors write history.

I guess you support capitulating to them, and supporting the tragic trajectory our country has headed ever since.

[SalviaBlue]

99. This ^^^^

Welcome to DU, Denis !!

[wundermaus]

79. The truth shall set you free.

And the acceptance of lies will bury you alive.

When the truth is revealed, we begin to comprehend the boundless magnitude of our freedom.
When we accept lies and deceptions, we are enslaved.

Veritas vos liberabit
(imho)

[Coyotl]

80. The truth matters no matter the time interval.

Especially if the intervening 50 years have been completely altered by the truth of what happened.

History should never be abandoned to the victors only.

[bigbrother05]

82. Often it's after their deaths that the hidden connections and truths come out

Never was a satisfyingly final conclusion/finding on the "lone gunman" aspects of this crime. Combing thru archives and personal papers of those involved with new technology and fresh perspectives can yield remarkable results.

Would it be helpful to put the current surveillance state into perspective should it become known that the FBI/CIA/Mafia/Castro took out a troublemaker? Not saying that is the case, but Oswald never seemed to fit the mold of a Hinckley or Sirhan (or Booth for that matter) who did the deed at close range. Political assassinations ten to be obvious and in the open unless done by someone as an assignment from others.

[The Midway Rebel]

84. How dare you question what people do for a hobby.

We have conventions and sell t-shirts and books and stuff.
We will solve this mystery, just you wait and see.

[HipChick]

85. I admit that I was nothing more than a glint in my father's eye in 1963..

but us Brits still want to know who killed him and why?

[aikoaiko]

87. For me, it just doesn't matter. He's died and the consequences ensued.

Just about everyone who would have been involved with a conspiracy is dead or will be soon.

If the CIA was involved...interesting, but it changes nothing.
If the mob was involved...interesting, but it changes nothing
If the Soviets were involved...etc

[hootinholler]

96. After 50 years it's high time

We retract the cloak of ignorance.

[ljm2002]

98. I replied earlier but wanted to expand...

...on my response, because there was a nagging voice in the back of my head that said "But aren't some records sealed by the government sealed for exactly 50 years? and if that's the case, doesn't that mean that 50 years later may be exactly when we are able to get new information?"

It turns out my memory was correct. Many files were sealed for 50 years, including some pertaining to the Kennedy assassination. Here are a few links illustrating that fact (emphasis mine):

http://www.sanduskyregister.com/article/4845971

5 decades later, some JFK probe files still sealed

Five decades after President John F. Kennedy was fatally shot and long after official inquiries ended, thousands of pages of investigative documents remain withheld from public view. The contents of these files are partially known — and intriguing — and conspiracy buffs are not the only ones seeking to open them for a closer look.

Some serious researchers believe the off-limits files could shed valuable new light on nagging mysteries of the assassination — including what U.S. intelligence agencies knew about accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald before Nov. 22, 1963.

It turns out that several hundred of the still-classified pages concern a deceased CIA agent, George Joannides, whose activities just before the assassination and, fascinatingly, during a government investigation years later, have tantalized researchers for years.

"This is not about conspiracy, this is about transparency," said Jefferson Morley, a former Washington Post reporter and author embroiled in a decade-long lawsuit against the CIA, seeking release of the closed documents. "I think the CIA should obey the law. I don't think most people think that's a crazy idea."

http://www.maryferrell.org/wiki/index.php/Freeing_the_JFK_Files

Freeing the JFK Files

(...)

The most prominent post-Watergate investigation into intelligence agency abuses, the Church Committee, conducted a limited investigation related to the JFK assassination. A slim report with the bland title "The Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy: Performance of the Intelligence Agencies" belied its devastating critique of the FBI and CIA's relation to the Warren Commission. But, as is the custom for Senate investigations, the files upon which the Committee's conclusions were based were locked up for 50 years.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-26/public-has-no-right-to-know-for-50-years-with-senate-redo-taxes.html

Public Has No Right to Know for 50 Years With Senate Redo: Taxes

Leaders of the tax-code rewrite in Congress pledged to keep ideas submitted by lawmakers secret for 50 years, seeking to assuage concerns that leaks of comments may jeopardize relationships with fundraisers or constituents.

(...)

The secrecy contrasts with most records. Senate Historian Don Ritchie said most files automatically open after 20 years, and some can be sealed for 50 years to protect personal privacy, national security, or the confidentiality of a congressional investigation. The records of Senator Joe McCarthy’s secret hearings were opened in 2003, 50 years after they were held, he said. A committee chairman can interpret “investigation” to cover the examination of legislation, he said.

[Hissyspit]

101. Utter nonsense.

[MineralMan]

106. Now, that's what I like: Substantial discussion.

Thanks for your explanation.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

115. You don't want discussion. That's the point of your OP, in case you'd forgotten

And you are of course welcome to let bygones be bygones after 50 years. Others of us don't feel that way, but for my part, I respect your decision to never mention the subject again.

[Deep13]

105. People's efforts to make sense of the assasignation...

...are far more interesting to historians than the event itself. It's part of the growing field of "memory studies."

[kwassa]

117. The Trilateral Commission killed Kennedy. Everyone knows that.

In their previous shadow life before they officially were created in 1973.