As 50th anniversary approaches

[Michael Hogan]

From The Dallas Morning News

by Scott K Parks

March 3, 2012

Excerpts:

Robert Dallek, a nationally known presidential historian, told The Dallas Morning News that the 50th anniversary is the perfect occasion to debate whether Lee Harvey Oswald was simply a misguided soul

who killed JFK by himself or whether the murder was a conspiracy involving multiple gunmen and sinister forces such as the Mafia or the CIA.

“The one thought I have is that the people in Dallas would want to focus on the issue of this enduring concern about there being a conspiracy,” said Dallek, who wrote An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963.

When Dallek’s biography was published in 2003, a Gallup poll reported that 75 percent of the American public believed in one of the many conspiracy theories about JFK’s death. The poll results probably wouldn’t be

much different today, Dallek said.

“I think the city of Dallas would be well-served by accepting and supporting the proposition that Oswald was the only killer,” he said. “If they do some kind of forum, it should definitely be orchestrated by the Sixth Floor Museum.”

and:

Task force members visibly cringe when confronted with the idea of holding a symposium that might delve into entry wounds, exit wounds and other gory details surrounding the assassination.

They worry about what Caroline Kennedy, JFK’s daughter, and other members of the Kennedy family might think about such a program.

“We don’t want Dallas to be ashamed and embarrassed when the media spotlight descends on us in November 2013,” said Nicola Longford, executive director of the Sixth Floor Museum and a task force member.

“I think that whatever is done in Dallas needs to be solemn, respectful and put his death into context without reliving the details of what happened,” Longford concluded.

and:

One of the thorniest issues confronting the task force is what use to make of Dealey Plaza, which always has been the public gathering spot for tourists, mourners and assassination researchers.

The Sixth Floor Museum has obtained a special activity permit that appears to give it control of Dealey Plaza from Monday, Nov. 18, through Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013. The permit troubles Robert Groden

and other assassination researchers.

Over the years, Groden and the Sixth Floor Museum have clashed like angry neighbors. He fears the museum will ban him from Dealey Plaza during the anniversary week and try to control what happens there.

“The museum wants to be the only game in town, but I plan to be at the same place I am every year — up on the grassy knoll fighting for the truth,” he said. “What the city could do during the 50th anniversary

is fund the travel for experts on the Kennedy case and hold a formal meeting for them to talk on the case.”

Complete article: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/dallas/headlines/20120303-as-50th-anniversary-approaches-dallas-nerves-still-raw-about-jfk-assassination.ece

Edited March 4, 2012 by Michael Hogan

[Joseph Backes]

Task force members visibly cringe when confronted with the idea of holding a symposium that might delve into entry wounds, exit wounds and other gory details surrounding the assassination.

I'll bet they do.

Especially given that those "gory" details destroy the official fairytale.

Personally I think the best way for us to mark the 50th anniversary is to boycott Gary Mack's Propaganda Palace and stay away from Dealey Plaza altogether.

Don't go there and cause a scene, just let 'em know you ain't buying their BS by staying at home.

Why go and take part in false debate about whether or not the earth is round?

You don't win anything by staying home. I see no reason to shy away from the fight. They want to own the issue of the JFK assassination as well as they own the 6th floor.

I see nothing to be embarrassed about in being a JFK assassination researcher. This secretive task force doesn't speak for me. And I don't think they speak for a majority of Americans or the rest of the world. They are a tiny, well financed minority lurking in the shadows. They must be fought.

Who are they, anyway? Why are they operating in secret? How many other national historical landmarks get kidnapped like this?

We must learn their names. They must be exposed and fought.

Edited March 4, 2012 by Joseph Backes

[Guest Robert Morrow]

Does anyone have the email address for the reporter Scott K Parks of the Dallas Morning New?

Answer: I think it is "sparks@dallasnews.com"

I think that most JFK researchers on this forum could give him plenty of information better than the Sixth Floor Museum.

I think everyone should go to the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination. Make a statement with you presence.

Also, I encourage folks to take the tour of the Sixth Floor Museum, however deceitful, ridiculous and propagandistic it may be. When you see the lies and deceptions up close and personal, you learn how to confront them. The price of the tour was $13.50 the last time I went. I go about once/year.

I predict their will be a huge turnout for the 50th.

Edited March 4, 2012 by Robert Morrow

[Michael Hogan]

Does anyone have the email address for the reporter Scott K Parks of the Dallas Morning New?

Answer: I think it is "sparks@dallasnews.com"

I think that most JFK researchers on this forum could give him plenty of information better than the Sixth Floor Museum.

Robert Morrow can tell Parks that Madeleine Brown is the number one evidence of conspiracy, President Kennedy was a sex freak and rapist, LBJ, Nixon and Bush were bisexual or gay,

and Jacqueline Kennedy began sleeping with Robert Kennedy shortly after the death of his brother. He can tell Parks how important a woman named Mimi Alford is to history.

And that's just for starters.

He can furnish Parks with a list of hundreds of people and a dozen groups that were actively involved in the murder and coverup. Morrow can advise Parks that any attempt

to honor the memory of President Kennedy is misguided and will only serve to appease Kennedy groupies.

Morrow can tell Parks that his critical thinking skills allow him to tell when people told the truth and when they were lying.

How long it will take Scott Parks to put Morrow's email in the trash bin?

[Guest Robert Morrow]

Mr. Hogan, isn't that a pretty calorie empty post?

[Greg Burnham]

Mr. Hogan, isn't that a pretty calorie empty post?

Perhaps, it is. Then again, he is simply REPEATING what you have yourself claimed!

[Scott Kaiser]

An embarrassing piece, as usual, by the Dallas Morning News. How about an

old fashioned barbecue, sponsored by Sonny Brians?

Frog

-----Original Message-----

From: TOM BLACKWELL [mailto:decision@sbcglobal.net]

Sent: Sunday, March 04, 2012 7:58 AM

To: YOU and a few others

Subject: As 50th anniversary approaches, Dallas nerves still raw about JFK

assassination

As 50th anniversary approaches, Dallas nerves still raw about JFK

assassination

Sixth Floor Museum officials have reserved Dealey Plaza for the week of the

50th anniversary of the JFK assassination, but as of now there are no plans

to have an event there.

By SCOTT K. PARKS

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/dallas/headlines/20120303-as-5

0th-anniversary-approaches-dallas-nerves-still-raw-about-jfk-assassination.e

ce?action=reregister

Published: 03 March 2012 10:55 PM

What should the city do to officially observe the 50th anniversary coming up

in November 2013?

This is very important unbelievably important as to our place on the

world stage, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said recently. We cant get out of

our skis on this.

With the event still more than 20 months away, a community group led by the

Sixth Floor Museum is working behind the scenes to plan the first official

commemoration built around the date of the assassination.

Theyre calling it A Day of Remembrance: The Life and Legacy of JFK.

The planners know that many Dallasites, especially the older ones who lived

through the tragedy, prefer to let the anniversaries pass without official

fanfare. To them, remembering calls up painful memories of a time when the

world unfairly tarred Dallas as The City of Hate and The City that killed

Kennedy.

Nothing is set, and task force members say a lot of civic, business and

political leaders will be involved in decisions about what happens on Nov.

22, 2013.

What we are talking about is the politics of memory, said Jim Hollifield,

an SMU political science professor and task force member.

Remembering is a very political thing. Its an intensely emotional thing.

Typically, Nov. 22 comes and goes in Dallas without much notice.

Sixth Floor Museum traffic increases, and more tourists than usual gather in

nearby Dealey Plaza for a spontaneous moment of silence at

12:30 p.m., the approximate time that JFK was assassinated as his motorcade

traveled down Elm Street. The museum might unveil a new exhibit, and the

news media marks the anniversary with brief stories.

But next year will be different, according to historians. The 50th

anniversary of a calamitous event is a bridge between older generations and

younger generations who might not even know that an American president was

murdered in Dallas.

Publishers will launch new books on JFK and the assassination, and those

books inevitably will explore what Dallas was like in 1963 and what its

like today. And, undoubtedly, international media will focus on the event.

To think that the 50th anniversary can be ignored is Pollyannaish and

infantile, said Dr. Edward Linenthal, a history professor at Indiana

University-Bloomington and a consultant for the Sixth Floor Museum.

In a way, the desire to forget becomes part of the evidence of the horrific

power of the event itself, Linenthal said. One appropriate way that you

can bring a sense of justifiable pride in your city is a remembrance

ceremony of great integrity.

Open for debate?

Robert Dallek, a nationally known presidential historian, told The Dallas

Morning News that the 50th anniversary is the perfect occasion to debate

whether Lee Harvey Oswald was simply a misguided soul who killed JFK by

himself or whether the murder was a conspiracy involving multiple gunmen and

sinister forces such as the Mafia or the CIA.

The one thought I have is that the people in Dallas would want to focus on

the issue of this enduring concern about there being a conspiracy,

said Dallek, who wrote An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963.

When Dalleks biography was published in 2003, a Gallup poll reported that

75 percent of the American public believed in one of the many conspiracy

theories about JFKs death. The poll results probably wouldnt be much

different today, Dallek said.

I think the city of Dallas would be well-served by accepting and supporting

the proposition that Oswald was the only killer, he said.

If they do some kind of forum, it should definitely be orchestrated by the

Sixth Floor Museum.

But Dallek lives in Washington, D.C., and not in Dallas.

Task force members visibly cringe when confronted with the idea of holding a

symposium that might delve into entry wounds, exit wounds and other gory

details surrounding the assassination. They worry about what Caroline

Kennedy, JFKs daughter, and other members of the Kennedy family might think

about such a program.

We dont want Dallas to be ashamed and embarrassed when the media spotlight

descends on us in November 2013, said Nicola Longford, executive director

of the Sixth Floor Museum and a task force member.

I think that whatever is done in Dallas needs to be solemn, respectful and

put his death into context without reliving the details of what happened,

Longford concluded.

Plans to consider

Interviews with task force members and others involved in the 50th

anniversary planning reveal the following ideas under consideration:

The commissioning of an original piece of music to be unveiled at one of

downtown Dallas theaters for the performing arts.

The commissioning of a piece, or pieces, of visual art by the Nasher

Sculpture Center and/or the Dallas Museum of Art.

A symposium on how broadcast television and satellite communications carried

news of the assassination and its aftermath around the world.

When Jack Ruby shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald on live television, it

forever changed the media landscape.

A program highlighting how Dallas has changed during the 50 years between

1963 and 2013.

The unveiling of a new exhibit at Love Field commemorating the transfer of

power that occurred when vice President Lyndon B. Johnson took the

presidential oath of office inside Air Force One as it prepared to leave

Dallas after the assassination.

One of the thorniest issues confronting the task force is what use to make

of Dealey Plaza, which always has been the public gathering spot for

tourists, mourners and assassination researchers.

The Sixth Floor Museum has obtained a special activity permit that appears

to give it control of Dealey Plaza from Monday, Nov. 18, through Sunday,

Nov. 24, 2013. The permit troubles Robert Groden and other assassination

researchers.

Over the years, Groden and the Sixth Floor Museum have clashed like angry

neighbors. He fears the museum will ban him from Dealey Plaza during the

anniversary week and try to control what happens there.

The museum wants to be the only game in town, but I plan to be at the same

place I am every year up on the grassy knoll fighting for the truth, he

said. What the city could do during the 50th anniversary is fund the travel

for experts on the Kennedy case and hold a formal meeting for them to talk

on the case.

Longford, the Sixth Floor Museum executive, said last week that the task

force has made no decision about whether to use Dealey Plaza. Asked why she

obtained the permit to use Dealey Plaza, she replied, Just to be proactive

and make sure the space is committed. The direction as of now is not to hold

any event in Dealey Plaza.

A tricky issue

José Antonio Bowen, dean of SMUs Meadows School of the Arts, is among those

involved in discussions about what to do for the 50th anniversary.

A visual artist who works on this subject has been approached to

participate in the project, Bowen said, declining to name the artist.

This is a chance to say we are a great art city, but its a tricky issue,

he said. Its about how people feel. We dont want anyone to think we are

taking advantage of the event for the purposes of advertising or hyping the

city.

Bowen has lived in Dallas for six years and only recently has been exposed

to the walking-on-eggshells nature of discussions about the 50th anniversary

planning.

There is enough hesitation that somebody will have to take the reins and

say, Heres whats gonna happen.

In fact, Dallas has never embraced the A word. The Kennedy Memorial two

blocks from Dealey Plaza doesnt mention the assassination. The plaque

designating Dealey Plaza as a National Historic Landmark is only feet away

from the spot on Elm Street where the fatal shots killed JFK.

But it does not mention the assassination.

Lindalyn Adams, a longtime Dallasite who has devoted much of her life to

preserving local history, remembers when she used to avert her eyes to avoid

seeing the Texas School Book Depository when she drove through Dealey Plaza.

I just would not look there, she said recently. So many in Dallas did not

want to preserve that building.

Later, Adams became the public face of the movement to create the Sixth

Floor Museum, which opened in 1989.

This is a part of our history, and it will never go away, she said.

--

Regards, TOM BLACKWELL, PO Box 25403, Dallas, Texas 75225

http://DemocraticResearch.Org

[Michael Griffin]

"I think the city of Dallas would be well-served by accepting and supporting the proposition that Oswald was the only killer," he [Dallek] said.

Thank you for posting this, Michael.

It is interesting and revealing that Mr. Dallek believes that the city of Dallas would be well-served by supporting the "proposition" that Oswald was the only killer. One would have hoped that, as a historian, Mr. Dallek would believe that the city Dallas would be best served by promoting a search for the truth and then supporting whatever conclusions are supported by the evidence.

Edited March 6, 2012 by Michael Griffin