A busboy kneels again next to RFK

[kiva]

As a skinny teenage busboy, Juan Romero knelt beside a mortally wounded Bobby Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel. On Saturday morning, more than 42 years later, he knelt again, this time beside RFK's grave on what would have been Kennedy's 85th birthday.

Romero was wearing a suit for the first time in his life, saying it was the proper way to show his respect for a man whose memory he has tried to honor by living a life of tolerance and humility.

When Kennedy called for room service a few nights before the California primary, Romero paid off another busboy for the privilege of delivering his food. Even though he was just 17, Romero knew that RFK was a man of empathy who had walked with Cesar Chavez, and he felt more accepted as an immigrant — more American — just knowing that Kennedy might become president.

When Kennedy shook Romero's hand, in the presidential suite, Juan was transformed. In that firm grip, he felt appreciated, he felt whole, he felt like a man. Two nights later, when Kennedy won the primary, Juan raced to the Ambassador pantry and shook RFK's hand again as the candidate went to deliver his victory speech.

SNIP

He was shot while holding Romero's hand.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopezcolumn-20101121,0,7555024.column


:cry:

[flvegan]

1. That I can only Rec this once...

Thank you for posting this.

[kiva]

4. The story and photos are stunning.

I have missed RFK many times, what he could have done for our country as president.

[WinkyDink]

7. Bobby was The Man. Loved him.

[Lucinda]

52. Wow. Thank you. I needed this today.

:hi:

[pitchforksandtorches]

82. Thank you Steve Lopez - LA Times best! nt

[Hissyspit]

24. Just to give credit where credit is due, RamboLiberal posted this back in November:

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x571180

Great (but sad) story, though. Well worth reposting.

[tavalon]

50. Absolutely!

I told my husband about it. Hopefully, today he will see the article for himself.

[kiva]

94. Thanks, Hissyspit, I had missed it in November.

And thanks to RamboLiberal for the original post.

[lonestarnot]

2. Terrible reminder of what could have been.

:cry:

[abelenkpe]

3. indeed. So sad. nt

[NCarolinawoman]

18. His overriding philosophy was, "We can do better".

Then, of course, there was this:

"Some men see things as they are and say, 'Why?' I dream of things that never were and say,'Why not'?"

What a loss :cry:

[dotymed]

40. Even though the Kennedy's

were members of the elite, ruling class (as was FDR), I really believe that America would have continued on a truly progressive course had he and John survived.
Universal health care, progressive taxation, social programs for the needy...would have been ingrained in our national psyche.
Of course, that is why they were killed...and the coup began.

[BrklynLiberal]

47. Each of us, and the entire world, would have been different....for the better.

[DainBramaged]

77. Amen

:cry:

[Odin2005]

5. Wow.

:cry:

[jwirr]

6. I am sobbing. If only. ......

[adigal]

59. I think the Kennedys were targeted

so that we could get the government and country we have today.

I just read last year that Ted Kennedy was in a plane crash and survived, before he damage himself beyond Presidential repair with Chappaquidick, And then JFK, Jr.?? I don't believe in that many coincidences.

[jwirr]

67. Neither do I. I wish someone in charge of the archives would leak

some of the stuff about JFK to the Wikileaks.

[struggle4progress]

8. What a dreadful year that was

[kiva]

10. Yes, it was...

January, Tet Offensive
March, My Lai massacre
January to April, battle of Khe Sanh
April, Martin Luther King, Jr. killed
June, Bobby Kennedy killed
August, the Democratic Convention fiasco that led to...
November, Richard Nixon elected president

A bad, sad year indeed.

[JDPriestly]

29. Horrible year.

And it led to the darkness and despair of 1969. Nixon, the beginning of the end of the Hippy seasons of love. How sad. The country has never been as good as it was before Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy were killed. Their deaths and those of JFK just cannot have been the random acts of mad men. It's too much of a coincidence. And looking back, I suspect a link between those assassinations more than ever. History has not numbed the pain, has not stilled the anger.

[awoke_in_2003]

55. The republic died in '63....

the killing of RFK and MLK (and probably the stifling of Teddy) were just the final nails in the coffin.

[Peggy Day]

76. I believe that to be true.

If they can kill the president, his brother, and a well liked icon MLK, and get away with it, they can kill our country. And they did.

[kurtzapril4]

81. Are you thinking about the same JFK as I am?

JFK was a hawk, a Truman doctrinaire. He wasn't a fan of the Civil Rights movement, because it wasn't politically expedient. He campaigned a lot on anti-communism. Then there was the Bay of Pigs and Vietnam.

Bobby worked for McCarthy. However, I think that Bobby was fundamentally changed after the time he spent in Mississippi. I think he saw the errors of McCarthy's and his brother's ways.

But I can't ignore the fact that he was also politically astute.

RFK's and MLK's assassinations, when I was 9...that's when I became a cynic, I remember them clear as a bell. I think Bobby grew to be one of the good guys. MLK was always one of them..and Bobby had to work at it, but I think in the end that he did it.

[awoke_in_2003]

96. yes, the same JFK...

that ignored his warrior generals during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The same JFK that spoke of withdrawing forces from Viet Nam before he was killed. Yes, that JFK.

[nevergiveup]

11. Dreadful it was.

As a young man I was truly scared. I did not think the country would survive.

[xxqqqzme]

68. I was newly married, shortly after King was killed

When Bobby was killed, we were both scared. We decided it was time to get out of the country for a while.

[musette_sf]

9. K&R, I can never forget that day

I shook RFK's hand on one of his trips to Brooklyn as NY Senator. A privilege.

:cry:

[onehandle]

12. Guns have not been kind to progressives. nt

[Omaha Steve]

13. I went door to door for Bobby, I was 11

I remember how much the news hurt.

K&R!

[Art_from_Ark]

62. In May 1968, in my elementary school class

it was "Bobby fever". The kids were undoubtedly reflecting their parents' enthusiasm for RFK. How different the mood was in September when a lot of those same kids started talking about Wallace, or about Humphrey with a sigh in their voice.

[a la izquierda]

14. Thanks for posting...

made my day, in a weird sort of way.

[kiva]

17. Sort of the way I felt about it. n/t

[swimboy]

15. K&R. So powerful.

Thank you for posting this.

[Lifelong Protester]

16. Geez, I remember that night, remember the photos, and mostly

remember the great loss we all felt, and still feel, after losing RFK. He was indeed, the real deal.
This photo essay and story are appreciated.

[MrMickeysMom]

19. Thank you for posting this...

Bobby, we need to honor you by continuing the fight.

Miss you...

[1776Forever]

20. Bobby, John & Martin - Has anyone seen my old friend...Bobby ~ This is a very nice tribute video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZuy5xjDjj0&feature=related

..................

I was 15 when JFK was running for President. When he was assassinated and Bobby took up the dream I thought it was going to happen, that magic and hope for a better tomorrow. Then it tragically happened again so quickly that June 5th early morning while I watched to hear him give his victory speech on the California primary on TV. There are no words to tell you how we all felt, and then Nixon came into office and the Vietnam War went on and on. :(

[Timbuk3]

21. History was changed

I've often thought that the rightward tilt of this country began the night Bobby was shot.

I still don't support the death penalty, but I hope that fucker, Sirhan Sirhan, rots in jail until he goes to hell.

[sce56]

22. He might have just been another "Patsy"

Watch the documentary : RFK Must Die: The Assassination of Bobby Kennedy (2007)
http://documentaries.about.com/od/revie2/fr/RFK.htm

On the eve of his triumphant California presidential primary win, RFK was struck down by an assassin's bullet. Sirhan Sirhan was apprehended, gun in hand, and is now serving a life sentence for murder. But the young Palestinian has no recollection of the events, and some evidence from the crime scene indicates that he was not acting alone.
Uncovering Conspiracy
BBC reporter Shane O'Sullivan's documentary feature about the killing of RFK considers the second assassination of a Kennedy leader into its political context, and dissects official records, reports and a court case where the evidence entered simply doesn't add up to the conclusion that Sirhan Sirhan shot and killed the presidential candidate by himself. O'Sullivan's research is thorough, credible and convincing.

The murder was committed in the Ambassador Hotel, in Los Angeles, shortly after RFK won the California primary and made his victory speech. While walking to his next appearance, RFK was ushered into a hotel pantry, where Sirhan Sirhan saw him, pulled a gun and shot. However, discrepancies in eyewitness reports about the shooter's distance from the victim, the shot's angle and other specifics can't be reconciled to prove that Sirhan Sirhan actually fired the fatal shot. Furthermore, investigators found, but were not able to explain the presence of, additional bullets lodged in the pantry walls and ceiling, and they received eyewitness reports that CIA agents, who were not supposed to be at the hotel, and several suspicious persons were present that evening. Additionally, Sirhan Sirhan has no recollection of the events, and several experts who've examined him say he was brainwashed and made a part of a larger--and as yet unspecified--group of people who may have been involved in killing RFK for as yet undefined political reasons. The CIA is one of the organizations clearly implicated in the conspiracy theories.


David Morales (CIA) was Chief of Operations and once told friends:

"I was in Dallas when we got the son of a bitch and I was in Los Angeles when we got the little bastard."


I remember that night I had shook his hand a few weeks earlier as he drove through my town! What a loss to learn more read the book in my sig line!

[Matilda]

27. Oh, yes, indeed; it seems unlikely that Bobby could have been accused

of being particularly anti-Palestinian by anybody - I'm sure there were many other candidates who'd fit the description better than Bobby.

He was never rabidly pro-Israel - he supported Israeli actions in 1967 (as did many at the time), but that didn't mean that he didn't recognise the Palestinians' rights as well. He had earlier written about the problems from the perspectives of both sides, and seemed to be as even-handed as it was possible to be.


http://robertkennedyandisrael.blogspot.com/

As I recall, there were too many bullet holes, and Bobby was shot from behind, while Sirhan was in front of him.

We've all seen The Manchurian Candidate, and who can say it couldn't be done? Sirhan has said for over forty years that he doesn't remember, and as he hasn't fallen victim to a Jack Ruby style killing, perhaps the masterminds are confident that he never will remember. It's a long time to maintain a lie without ever giving himself away.

[vduhr]

48. I have always found it odd that....

the very night, immediately after RFK won the CA primary, that he was assassinated. He most definately would have won the nomination, then the election for Presidant - without a doubt. Saying it was odd he was killed at that moment may be an understatement...one could say it was too obvious.

[Selatius]

25. They say Sirhan is guilty, but I tend to leave open the possibility that he was just a patsy.

If that is the case, there were far worse people near RFK the day he was killed that escaped justice.

[WinkyDink]

71. He didn't kill Bobby. Bobby was shot from behind (see above photo).

[Ken Burch]

85. And that clip-on tie that is lying at Bobby's feet in that photo

was part of the uniform of Thane Cesar, the low-priced "rent-a-cop"(later discovered to have extreme right-wing political views) who was hired by the campaign for security duty at the last minute. Cesar was standing directly behind Bobby and to his right, in perfect position to have fired the fatal shot. As he fell, Bobby turned around and grabbed Cesar's tie. I've always wondered if Bobby, in one of his last conscious acts, was trying to leave a clue for the investigators about who shot him(not that the "investigators" ever really tried to get to the bottom of it...). It makes perfect sense to me that, in that moment as he fell, Bobby thought "if I'm gonna die now, at least let's not let this be a mystery like it was with Jack".

Also, according to the NBC live coverage of the event, which was posted here:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/5121/nbc-news-time-capsule-the-assassination-of-robert-f-kennedy


the reporter who saw Bobby being put on the stretcher said that Bobby was shouting "no, no, no" as they lifted him(this report can be heard at 10:23 in the link). I'd strongly advise everyone NOT to watch the footage PAST that point, because it shows the assassination aftermath in the pantry and I don't think you'd really want to see it. I've been wondering if, as they lifted him, he saw them restraining Sirhan and was trying to say, even as he lost the power of speech for the last time "no, you've got the wrong guy!".

I didn't mean to get so "conspiratorial" in this thread, and apologize if this post offends anyone, but we need to commit truth about these things even as we mourn them.

[progressoid]

23. aw

tears again

[Scottybeamer70]

26. Powerful photos.......

Thank you for sharing them!

[DearAbby]

28. Weeping....................n/t

[Ken Burch]

34. So damn much was stolen from us all, that night at the Ambassador

So much was stolen from the world.

[DearAbby]

69. Yes, Broke my heart

RFK was the very reason I am who I am today.

[The Wizard]

30. I had been home

from Vietnam for about a month when RFK was killed. It was a real setback for me as he was the candidate I supported because he was unequivocal about ending the war.

[ClayZ]

31. Thank you for posting this.

Steve Lopez is a brilliant writer. I should read his work more often.

We would be in a different world today, but for guns aimed at Kennedy brothers....


K and R

[Swagman]

32. wow. a moving story

[Ken Burch]

33. If you can look at those photos without choking up...

Well, I won't say it.

I was seven when Bobby was murdered. But it's felt like my life, since then was lived in the shadow of the "newer world" we COULD have had.

Here's a video of Phil Ochs singing a song that he sang to Robert Kennedy in his Senate office in 1967...a song that ended up including Bobby in its circle of loss a year later:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-bL3YbG_Lg

Here's the lyrics to it:

And the night comes again to the circle studded sky
The stars settle slowly, in lonliness they lie
'Till the universe expodes as a falling star is raised
Planets are paralyzed, mountains are amazed
But they all glow brighter from the briliance of the blaze
With the speed of insanity, then he dies.

In the green fields a turnin', a baby is born
His cries crease the wind and mingle with the morn
An assault upon the order, the changing of the guard
Chosen for a challenge that is hopelessly hard
And the only single sound is the sighing of the stars
But to the silence and distance they are sworn

So dance dance dance
Teach us to be true
Come dance dance dance
'Cause we love you

Images of innocence charge him go on
But the decadence of destiny is looking for a pawn
To a nightmare of knowledge he opens up the gate
And a blinding revelation is laid upon his plate
That beneath the greatest love is a hurricane of hate
And God help the critic of the dawn.

So he stands on the sea and shouts to the shore,
But the louder that he screams the longer he's ignored
For the wine of oblivion is drunk to the dregs
And the merchants of the masses almost have to be begged
'Till the giant is aware, someone's pulling at his leg,
And someone is tapping at the door.

To dance dance dance
Teach us to be true
Come dance dance dance
'Cause we love you

Then his message gathers meaning and it spreads accross the land
The rewarding of his pain is the following of the man
But ignorance is everywhere and people have their way
Success is an enemy to the losers of the day
In the shadows of the churches, who knows what they pray
For blood is the language of the band.

The Spanish bulls are beaten; the crowd is soon beguiled,
The matador is beautiful, a symphony of style
Excitement is estatic, passion places bets
Gracefully he bows to ovations that he gets
But the hands that are applauding are slippery with sweat
And saliva is falling from their smiles

So dance dance dance
Teach us to be true
Come dance dance dance
'Cause we love you

Then this overflow of life is crushed into a liar
The gentle soul is ripped apart and tossed into the fire.
First a smile of rejection at the nearness of the night
Truth becomes a tragedy limping from the light
All the heavens are horrified, they stagger from the sight
As the cross is trembling with desire.

They say they can't believe it, it's a sacreligious shame
Now, who would want to hurt such a hero of the game?
But you know I predicted it; I knew he had to fall
How did it happen? I hope his suffering was small.
Tell me every detail, for I've got to know it all,
And do you have a picture of the pain?

So dance dance dance
Teach us to be true
Come dance dance dance
'Cause we love you

Time takes her toll and the memory fades
but his glory is broken, in the magic that he made.
Reality is ruined; it's the freeing from the fear
The drama is distorted, to what they want to hear
Swimming in their sorrow, in the twisting of a tear
As they wait for the new thrill parade.

Yes, the eyes of the rebel have been branded by the blind
To the safety of sterility, the threat has been refined
The child was created to the slaughterhouse he's led
So good to be alive when the eulogy is read
The climax of emotion, the worship of the dead
And the cycle of sacrifice unwinds.

So dance dance dance
Teach us to be true
Come dance dance dance
'Cause we love you

And the night comes again to the circle studded sky
The stars settle slowly, in lonliness they lie
'Till the universe expodes as a falling star is raised
Planets are paralyzed, mountains are amazed
But they all glow brighter from the briliance of the blaze
With the speed of insanity, then he died.

[DesertDiamond]

35. I have no words.

[Ken Burch]

36. This quote from the story rips my heart out:

"Romero holds himself at least partly responsible for Kennedy's death, and in his private moment with Kennedy now, he wanted to ask forgiveness. If he hadn't been so intent on shaking Kennedy's hand, he told me, he might have seen and stopped the assassin. He would have taken the bullet himself, he said, if Kennedy could have been spared."

It just makes you want to take the man's hand and tell him "no, Mr. Romero, it wasn't your fault. It was the insanity of the times and the darkness of the system". And when you think of the fact that Juan Romero has been thinking he was partly to blame for this for forty-two years-My God, could anything be sadder than that?

[Raine]

39. That's so heartbreaking

:cry: I had no idea that he felt that way. The guilty one is the one who pulled the trigger, it should not be this man's burden to have to bear.

edit: spelling

[polmaven]

42. Absolutely heartbreaking!

To think this man has lived with this for all this time is so sad.

Mr. Romero - Your contribution in this was that you gave a dying man comfort and assistance in the last moments of his life. You, sir, are a hero, not a villain, in this story. You are to be saluted. You could not know if there may be someone else lurking with murderous intent, but you put yourself there anyway.

Thank you, sir, for your bravery.

[blondeatlast]

65. Indeed; that phrase just kind of twisted in my gut. Mr. Romero--you were a comfort

to a dying man--for that alone, you are a hero.

[duhneece]

79. What a kind heart. nt

[Le Taz Hot]

37. Oh, goddess, that one got me.

The photo of a bus boy holding the hand of a dying Kennedy always spoke volumes. What a different world we would have lived in if he would have lived.

Four liberal leaders killed violently, in the prime of their lives, all within less that 5 years time span.

[Raine]

38. Aw geesh

the whole thing just breaks my heart. :cry:

[wilt the stilt]

41. I'm surprised republicans

didn't try to arrest him and deport him.

[postulater]

43. I don't cry easy but.........

:cry:

[malaise]

44. Damn that first picture hit me hard

Touching story.

[HughBeaumont]

45. If not that day, he'd have been killed at another date.

The Criminal Illuminati Agency wasn't letting ANY highly popular Democratic family become a political dynasty.

Giving JFK (who stood up to Steel bosses and the nuclear-war-happy MIC) two terms would have been counterproductive to the Republican/MIC/Corptocracy's long term plans.

An RFK win would have seriously swayed America to, you know, NOT be the "USA USA USA"-chanting, jingo-drugged, fearful, completely-corporate-dependent, easily swayed, accepting of lower and lower standards, obedient nation that it is today.

Conspiratorial? Think about it.

When did American wages start getting suppressed? 1973.
When did energy start becoming an overwhelming concern? the early 70s.
What happened in the 60s that you would never see happen today? People protested against the Republican/MIC folly wars and it got televised. Protests are no more than a belch, a blip on today's entertainment-based "news".
When did the Republican party team up with corporations to institute this permanent plague of power and wealth transfer from the poor to the rich (reciprocated with risk, cost of living and tax burden transfer to the poor)? The 1970s
When did this grand plan get permanently nailed? REAGAN.

Since 1968, there have only been THREE Democratic presidents. And no offense to Carter, but it's not like any of them can really be considered truly "Democratic" in a liberal sense, especially not the last two. Being fully on board with Republican "Trickle Down" & Deregulation bullshitnomics isn't Democratic, it's caving to the needs of the ruling class. These were always "approved" Democrats . . . never even the slightest bit liberal, always moderate to Eisenhower Republican at best.

It's no accident that we're likely never going to have a progressive President.

The only dynasty in this country is, and will always be, BUSH. Whether we like it or not.

We're not meant to ask "what could have been". We're only plagued with accepting "how it's going to be from now on". The Kennedys were never meant to thrive. They had ideas, brains, plans and vision that would have swayed America to become an organized working ideal that government and corporations feared.

Instead, the U.S. since the late 60s set the trend in arch-conservative corporate-based "governance" with a glacial but ubiquitous power-grab and continues stridently to make life as miserable and as "stay-put" to it's obedient, timid and completely dependent wage slaves as possible.

Of course, it doesn't really help matters much that the timid, obedient wage-slaves are also fearful and hateful as well, learning absolutely nothing at all from the Reagan, and subsequently, the Bush lootings. That was also part of the plan - make them all into "battered spouses" by making them hate and completely distrust anything "European", "Democratic", "Union", "Taxes", "liberal", even making the word "liberal" akin to "dogshit". That's media purchasing, and that was "The Great Communicator" at work.

I just don't think this is ever going to get better until the Conservative bootstraps groupthink goes the way of the dodo.

[Horse with no Name]

61. Excellent post. Should stand on it's own. n/t

[tex-wyo-dem]

86. Excellent post, HughBeaumont!

If I could recommend it, I would...

One small thing, though: by today's standards, Eisenhower's policies would be considered damn near communist. In fact, if you look at the Republican platform from his era, you'd think you were looking at the platform for some lefty liberal European political party. The Dems of the time were, of course, even further left.

Shows you just how far down the batshit crazy coropate owned rabbit hole we've fallen.

[HughBeaumont]

92. Truth be known, Ike was no saint, but he was no dumbass either.

Being on the inside, he knew the dangers of a garrison state and warned against it in his final speech. He knew how power-hungry and nuclear apocalypse-hard-on'd his generals were.

Economically, Eisenhower employed stable practices with a relatively good GNP and an OK unemployment rate (peaking at 6 percent and dropping to 4.1 later, but rising again in the late 50s), considering the recession of the early 50s. He even cut defense spending and put balancing the budget as a priority over, surprisingly, national security programs. UNheard of for modern Rightpublicans, who'd blow the whole phantom kit and kaboodle on nukes, tanks and chem weapons if needs be.

[Ken Burch]

97. Several times during the 1968 campaign, Bobby was asked if he realized

that there was a real chance that somebody might try to kill him.

On each of those occasions, he essentially shrugged his shoulders and said something along the lines of "if they want to get me, they'll get me". This was a man who had faced down the Mafia and Jimmy Hoffa, and was well aware of the brutal realities of political life in the U.S. .

[HughBeaumont]

98. It's funny how those "brutal realities" very rarely, if ever, affected powerful Republicans.

One could bring up "Reagan", but truth be known, Reagan was nothing more than a dementia-addled sock-puppet of Don Regan, Poppy and the MIC. The corrosive Republican economic theories and fearmongering would have carried on with or without the Gumby-haired spokesperson.

Just to show you how supremely arch-shitty the right can be, they were even disdainful of their annointed Saint for raising taxes (you kind of have to if you're running up deficits; little proviso the W's of the world seemed to forget) and engaging in talks with Gorbachev. The puppetmasters actually wanted this Cold War to go on for as long as humanly possible.

[Ken Burch]

99. It makes perfect sense that Republicans don't get assassinated anymore

After all, none of THEM have offended the powers-that-be since Lincoln freed the slaves and Teddy Roosevelt busted the trusts(and, as a lot of people forget, somebody DID shoot Teddy while he was campaigning for president on the "Bull Moose" ticket in 1912(he survived, and even kept on with the speech he was giving when he was shot, but he never fully recovered from the bullet wound to the chest he received that day).

[BlueIris]

46. DAMN you, kiva.

Once again, I fail to get through an RFK story without crying.

I must post, I am very impressed to see that Mr. Romero is still with us. A lot of people would have been totally broken by an experience like that.

[kiva]

95. I've never managed it either, BlueIris.

The hotel, the funeral train...it's all too sad to not shed a tear.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

49. There are tears in my eyes.

How many natural-born Americans carry such depth of loyalty throughout their lifetimes?

[FailureToCommunicate]

51. Horrible night. Horrible year ('68). Horrible Evil in this world...

Horrible gun availability.
I never knew that about the busboy. I always thought he just happened to be there.
Makes it even sadder - if that were possible.

[Lindsey]

57. Without question, this is one of the mose iconic photos in our

Nation's history and such a horrible, horrible day. I didn't know that about this (that he had gone to the grave). I encourage everyone to read Steve Lopez' columns, I consider him a real journalistic hero. I sometimes miss his columns and I missed this one. Thank you for posting. My God, to have been 17 y.o.'s and to have been in this situation is something that most (like w/him)
would carry w/them their entire lives. How beautiful that he wanted to pay this respect. And, how lovely that he's tried to live his life in a way that expressed Bobby's ideals.

[Ken Burch]

100. I've heard the photo likened to the Pieta.

n/t.

[Patchuli]

53. That brought tears to my eyes

I was 13 when he was shot. I cried for days. God bless Bobby Kennedy and Juan for loving this great man. How different the world might have been...

[leveymg]

54. The world would be a different -- better -- place, if they hadn't killed RFK.

No President Nixon, no Ford, no Reagan, no Bushes . . .yes, a far better world.

[tabasco]

56. Mr. Romero has honored Kennedy as much as any man could.

We need more like him in this world.

[sam sarrha]

58. strange during that period of political purge by Assignation no Republicans were killed. just lucky

i guess...
:sarcasm:

[sam sarrha]

60. there were other bullet holes..more than fired..in the room. they were cut out with >link>>

chainsaws and destroyed.. never entereD into evidence

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/6169006.stm
Three of these men have been positively identified as senior officers who worked together in 1963 at JMWAVE, the CIA's Miami base for its Secret War on Castro.
David Morales was Chief of Operations and once told friends:

"I was in Dallas when we got the son of a bitch and I was in Los Angeles when we got the little bastard."

Gordon Campbell was Chief of Maritime Operations and George Joannides was Chief of Psychological Warfare Operations.

Joannides was called out of retirement in 1978 to act as the CIA liaison to the Congressional investigation into the JFK assassination. Now, we see him at the Ambassador Hotel the night a second Kennedy is assassinated.
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http://flag.blackened.net/daver/misc/rfk.html
- Powder burns on Kennedy's clothing reveal that all three of his wounds were from a gun fired from 0 to 1-1/2 inches away. And yet, all witnesses claim that Sirhan's gun could not possibly have done this, for not one person places Sirhan's gun that close, and according to the general consensus Sirhan's gun never got closer than three feet away.

- Sirhan's gun could hold only eight bullets. And yet, seven bullets were dug out of bodies. an eighth bullet was traced through two ceilings into airspace, and two more bullets were identified as lodged in the door frame of the pantry by both LAPD and FBI personnel (the fresh bullet holes were even labeled as such on their photographs). Inexcusably, the door frames were burned, the Los Angeles Police Dept. claimed no bullets were found lodged in the "bullet holes", and two expended bullets (inexplicably dug out of wood) were soon found in the front seat of Sirhan's car. The LAPD then destroyed their records of the tests that had been done on the "bullet holes" in the doorframe.

- Three bullets were found in Robert F. Kennedy, and a fourth grazed his suit jacket. The upward angle of every shot was so steep as to be much closer to straight up than horizontal (80 degrees). And yet, all witnesses claim Sirhan's gun was completely horizontal for his first two shots, after which his gun hand was repeatedly slammed against a stem table (and now so far away from Kennedy that any errant shots of such upwardness would have been twenty feet high before reaching Kennedy, as opposed to entering Kennedy's backside as they did).

- The four bullets which touched Kennedy all hit on his back right side and were traveling forward relative to his body. Kennedy was walking towards Sirhan, his body was always facing Sirhan during the shots, and afterwards he even fell backwards before saying his last lucid words, ("Is everyone all right?") - at each and every moment facing toward Sirhan. It is impossible for bullets out of Sirhan's gun to have hit Kennedy's backside and been traveling forward unless Kennedy was almost entirely turned around...snip"

"SNIP...Immediately following the assassination, a police All Points Bulletin was put out for a shapely, well-built woman in a polka dot dress (and the man with her) - based on a married couple who reported them fleeing the scene, the female suspect with a smile on her face, and who excitedly stated "We shot him." The APB was quickly canceled by the highest
On June 4, the day leading up to the just-after-midnight assassination, Sirhan signed in at a firing range and was soon accompanied by a man and a shapely well built woman, according to the range master of the gun club. What a lead!, for not only did they share the a gun and a rifle between them, but the range master distinctly heard the woman say to Sirhan "Goddamn you, you son of a bitch, get out of here or they'll recognize us" (as Sirhan helped her with her gun)...SNIP"

[colsohlibgal]

63. If Only

Three great populist leaders gunned down in less than five years, what could have been.

Nobody will ever convince me that these were three random events. Again, you saw the results of lone nuts in the 70's, Sara Jane Moore and Squeaky Fromme. Messy and didn't get the job done. There were no misses with JFK, MLK, RFK and a hard right turn had it's genesis.

[Taverner]

64. Abraham, Martin & John (and Bobby...)

...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUn0vvgEvBc&feature=related

[blondeatlast]

66. Tragically beautiful A reminder that what really matters is a moment... nt

[orbitalman]

70. I'm not crying....

but I have this MOST terrible lump in my throat.:hippie:

[Imagevision]

72. ah yes America... just think of the freedom though and everything e-l-s-e it stands for

[Tikki]

73. Sorry trolls and lurking freepers...This is the real America...

This is the legacy of the compassion that is living on. This comes along with deep memories of
the belief in a chance for tolerance, inclusiveness and spirit to move forward.
This is more of us than your fear and hate could be of you..

Tikki

[Guilded Lilly]

74. My breath caught in my chest. How powerful.

[BobTheSubgenius]

75. Wow.

Just...wow.

[DainBramaged]

78. Someday, the world will know the truth. Someday.

:cry:

[femrap]

80. Things could have been so

very, very different if he hadn't been murdered.

[TK421]

83. I'm just thinking how haunted this man must feel...what an experience he had

and to be so close to such a great man as he was, in that mans last moment in this world...just mind-blowing to even imagine what would be going through his head standing at that grave

Mr.Romero should feel honored to have held that hand that day

[rufus dog]

84. read that in the Times when in came out and pardon me but

All I could think was GREAT FUCKING STORY!

[Stinky The Clown]

87. ...

...

[WiffenPoof]

88. IMHO - RFK's Death...

was the single most tragic event in my life. I am convinced that this world would be far different had RFK lived.

-PLA

[myrna minx]

89. .

[Tx4obama]

90. K & R and.....

:cry:

.... the one whose words are engraved on a wall near his resting place:

"What we need in the United States is not division … not hatred … not violence or unlawfulness, but love and wisdom and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country.... Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to take the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world...." -RFK

[craigmatic]

91. That is a touching story.

[BuelahWitch]

93. Beautiful story!

Rec'd last night, kick now!

[mfcorey1]

101. So many little known stories. This one is powerful. nt

[kiva]

102. Kick for the weekend readers. n/t