Jump to content
The Education Forum

Are We Still Here?


Recommended Posts

You know and I know this case is never going away. It has been almost A HUNDRED AND FIFTY years and the Lincoln case is hot (huge hit movie, Tom Hanks television program, other programs, countless books, etc). Several books on the assassination are best-sellers and many are selling very, very well.

We all thought the dawning of the 21rst century and (especially) 9/11, let alone the 40th anniversary, would see an end to proceedings...never going to happen. Interest in THE KENNEDYS will always be alive, well, and huge (Caroline as Ambassador to Japan, her own son, the extended Kennedy family, best-selling books on JFK's life, Jackie's life, etc.).

From an historical standpoint, the JFK assassination is very recent- only 9 presidents ago and (God willing) our last assassinated president (may that never, ever happen again). From an aesthetic point of view (because, remember: perception is reality and appearances count), JFK was our most handsome president, brutally taken from us too soon. The Kennedy story is like a terrific book of triumph and tragedy where the last few chapters were ripped out and discarded: we are all trying to fill in the blanks. Unlike the Lincoln case, JFK and his death are "alive and well" thanks to many digital and analog artifacts- films, photos, videos, sound recordings, etc. etc. etc. Even for people NOT alive (or too young to truly remember), JFK is "Marilyn Monroe", "Elvis" and "Madonna": a cultural icon who is (or seems to be) still living thanks to constant media stories, You Tube, and so forth.

And, let's face it: the December 1991 movie "JFK" recalibrated the assassination for everyone- it will ALWAYS be the best movie ever on his murder, warts and all. For millions ( thanks to reruns, still today), THIS IS the assassination story! Awful, amateur-hour movies like "Killing Kennedy" and "Parkland" are for the trash heap.

Will there be a HUGE media blitz like this again (soon)? Probably not (maybe, maybe at the 75th and 100th; who knows). But you DO know that, every anniversary (even the "off" years starting next year), television will rerun prior productions and, who knows, maybe even some new ones; there is plenty "in the can", so to speak. As for the critical community, there is plenty to still hang our hats on in the future: the anniversaries of the Warren Commission, the HSCA, the Stone film, and the only-15-year-old ARRB Final Report.

Dealey Plaza and Arlington Cemetery will continue to draw millions per year...new books will still come out and sell...whether reruns or new productions, many tv programs will continue to run...and, last but certainly not least, the limitless library of the internet will continue to flourish.

No one is going anywhere.

Edited by Vince Palamara
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is also the fact that, the new up and coming event since the 50th anniversary has

come and gone, that 2017 is the date, all the remaining JFK files are slated to be released.

more.....

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/u-s-world/five-decades-later-some-jfk-probe-files-still-sealed

excerpt

Congress passed the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, which established the Assassination Records Review Board, or ARRB, to carry out release of records. As a result, about five million pages of documents have been released and are available for review at the National Archives and Records Administration in Maryland.

But the review board agreed to withhold about 1,100 records - each record comprises 1-20 pages - that are considered to contain information about confidential sources or methods or have national security implications.

The JFK Act required all records to be released by 2017, but it left some wiggle room for agencies to petition to have records withheld if disclosure would compromise "military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or conduct of foreign relations."

It is unknown whether the CIA will try to keep some documents classified past 2017; if it does, that may only increase Morley's resolve.

"You have to wonder what is so important in a 50-year-old document," he said. "I've come to the conclusion that they're guarding something big, and that has stiffened my determination."

A CIA spokesman, Ned Price, said the agency has complied with the law in releasing documents and the archives center "has all of the Agency's documents and files on the Kennedy assassination. Price didn't comment on the Joannides material specifically, citing Morley's lawsuit.

"The classified information contained in the files remains subject to the declassification provisions of the Act," he said.

Meanwhile, the documents sit in metal boxes on shelves in "a big room that's temperature- and humidity-controlled," said Martha Murphy, the Archives' chief of special.......

Edited by Robert Howard
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is also the fact that, the new up and coming event since the 50th anniversary has

come and gone, that 2017 is the date, all the remaining JFK files are slated to be released.

more.....

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/u-s-world/five-decades-later-some-jfk-probe-files-still-sealed

excerpt

Congress passed the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, which established the Assassination Records Review Board, or ARRB, to carry out release of records. As a result, about five million pages of documents have been released and are available for review at the National Archives and Records Administration in Maryland.

But the review board agreed to withhold about 1,100 records - each record comprises 1-20 pages - that are considered to contain information about confidential sources or methods or have national security implications.

The JFK Act required all records to be released by 2017, but it left some wiggle room for agencies to petition to have records withheld if disclosure would compromise "military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or conduct of foreign relations."

It is unknown whether the CIA will try to keep some documents classified past 2017; if it does, that may only increase Morley's resolve.

"You have to wonder what is so important in a 50-year-old document," he said. "I've come to the conclusion that they're guarding something big, and that has stiffened my determination."

A CIA spokesman, Ned Price, said the agency has complied with the law in releasing documents and the archives center "has all of the Agency's documents and files on the Kennedy assassination. Price didn't comment on the Joannides material specifically, citing Morley's lawsuit.

"The classified information contained in the files remains subject to the declassification provisions of the Act," he said.

Meanwhile, the documents sit in metal boxes on shelves in "a big room that's temperature- and humidity-controlled," said Martha Murphy, the Archives' chief of special.......

I hope the film from the Babushka Lady's camera is in those 1,100 records.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is also the fact that, the new up and coming event since the 50th anniversary has

come and gone, that 2017 is the date, all the remaining JFK files are slated to be released.

more.....

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/u-s-world/five-decades-later-some-jfk-probe-files-still-sealed

excerpt

Congress passed the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, which established the Assassination Records Review Board, or ARRB, to carry out release of records. As a result, about five million pages of documents have been released and are available for review at the National Archives and Records Administration in Maryland.

But the review board agreed to withhold about 1,100 records - each record comprises 1-20 pages - that are considered to contain information about confidential sources or methods or have national security implications.

The JFK Act required all records to be released by 2017, but it left some wiggle room for agencies to petition to have records withheld if disclosure would compromise "military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or conduct of foreign relations."

It is unknown whether the CIA will try to keep some documents classified past 2017; if it does, that may only increase Morley's resolve.

"You have to wonder what is so important in a 50-year-old document," he said. "I've come to the conclusion that they're guarding something big, and that has stiffened my determination."

A CIA spokesman, Ned Price, said the agency has complied with the law in releasing documents and the archives center "has all of the Agency's documents and files on the Kennedy assassination. Price didn't comment on the Joannides material specifically, citing Morley's lawsuit.

"The classified information contained in the files remains subject to the declassification provisions of the Act," he said.

Meanwhile, the documents sit in metal boxes on shelves in "a big room that's temperature- and humidity-controlled," said Martha Murphy, the Archives' chief of special.......

I hope the film from the Babushka Lady's camera is in those 1,100 records.

If that film were locked away in private possession, it might be something to look forward to, Robert.

If the authorities have had possession of it for 50 years, with access to modern digital techniques for film manipulation, I shudder to think what it would look like if it were "released" now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I think - no matter how much evidence will show up in 2017 - that the debate will go on forever. Due to the mishandling of evidence from the beginning there are and will be too many inconsistencies. It still strikes me that people from both side of the spectrum ignore inconvenient evidence. I am still hoping that more researchers will look into all the facts unbiased and without conclusions. Most books I read (and I read a lot) only picks the information which is convenient for their cause.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...