Classic Rant #341 (September 27, 2010): Single Bullet Theory

Today is the 46th anniversary of the release of the iconic Warren Commission report, which found that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone when he assassinated President John F. Kennedy in a Dallas, Texas, motorcade in November, 1963.

Even though that report conclusively stated that Oswald acted alone, people have been arguing about the validity of its finding for decades.

Some say that there is no way that Oswald could have been the lone gunman, because the trajectory of the bullet, fired from his vantage point, could not have struck the President as it did. Some speak of the grassy knoll, where the shot may have come from, but not from Oswald's shot. They speak of so many other theories, including the possibility that organized crime had a hand in this with Fidel Castro, or that our own government did this to cover up Kennedy's leacherous affairs, including one with actress Marilyn Monroe, that had made him a major security risk.

And we have the Zapruder film, which gives us as good a view to what was happening as any other film or evidence that has turned up during the past nearly 50 years.

That we are still debating Oswald's participation in this plot or whatever it was shows the morbid fascination that we still have for Kennedy, one of the most popular presidents--at least with the general public--that this country has ever had.

I guess it also shows another morbid fascination we have, and that is with the Kennedy family itself.

I was six years old when that terrible event occurred in November 1963. I remember it so well, and like millions of other Americans, I watched it unfold on television. It was probably the first time television played such a prominent part in the news of the day, and yes, I was watching when Jack Ruby shot Oswald.

Even though I was a little kid, my memories are so, so vivid.

So, the debate continues. Who shot JFK? What role did Oswald actually have in this plot, if it was a plot at all? If it was a plot, who was behind it?

The debate continues, and probably will outlive us all.