A Step Back From Our Preoccupation With The Election: A Look Back At The Kennedy Assassination

President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963, almost 45 years ago.  Lee Harvey Oswald was the killer according to the Warren Report and was assassinated himself just two days later.  The Warren Report concluded Oswald shot Kennedy with his rifle from the sixth floor window in the Texas School Book Depository Building as Kennedy's motorcade passed by.  However, Oswald did not fire any rifle that day in Dallas, much less his own.  Unfortunately, he could not stand trial and defend himself. 

 

The public has been lied to all these years by our own government and the crime has been covered up.  The key to Oswald's innocence is easily determined by common sense.  Only one witness identified Oswald as being in the sixth floor window of the TSBDB, Howard Brennan.  His story to the FBI varied from month to month and then positively identified Oswald as the man he saw in the window.  But Howard Brennan failed to pick Oswald out and positively identify him in a police lineup. 

 

Lee Oswald, while in jail, said he was just a patsy.  That was a true statement and our government knew it.  Here is the common sense part about Oswald's innocence:  The murder of a President is no common ordinary killing, yet we are supposed to believe that Oswald left the rifle he was supposed to use in the killing on the sixth floor, not very far from where the shooting was supposed to have taken place --- A rifle that could be easily identified and traced back to Oswald, and the government is going to tell us that he left it there on the scene to be found.  Give me a break.  Your ordinary killer does not even do such a stupid thing.  The rifle was planted.

 

Those who support the Warren Report always try to come up with explanations that have no bearing on the matter, but it wont wash.  A paraffin test was taken of Oswald's right side of his face to check for nitrates that are deposited after a rifle is fired.  The test were conducted by the Dallas City County Criminal Investigation Laboratory on November 23 and did not reveal any nitrates from having fired a rifle recently.

 

Lee Oswald was murdered because he never would have been convicted in a court of law for the murder of JFK --- That would have spelled conspiracy.  Our political system has never been the same since that tragic day in Dallas.

 

NOTE:  Information shown herein concerning  Oswalds identification and the paraffin test taken from Retired Police Chief Jesse Cury limited collectors edition of JFK Assassination File, published in 1969.

Religion And Politics (Part II)

Religion, the separation of Church and State, "In God we trust", are all words that bring out the best and worse depending on one's persuasion.  America, the land of tolerance, has been hijacked by the "holier than thou group" who question other people's faith and religion.  It has become a litmus test cast down on those who seek public office to explain their faith.  And no matter how much explaining is done, it is never enough.

 

This "group" is the extreme right, the neocons, and some evangelicals who demand proof of one's faith and religious beliefs.  They use one's faith and religion, or a lack there of, to judge a person's fitness for office or life itself.  They can't articulate what they themselves stand for, so they attack others to divide and conquer.

 

President Kennedy answered their warped minds after he became the Democratic nominee in 1960.  They wanted to know if he would take orders from the Pope or follow the constitution.  Of course, they knew the answer because he had  served in Congress and they already knew his positions.  But the zealots would not let go.  On the day he arrived in Dallas and was assassinated, the right wingers greeted him with a newspaper ad and poster that read, "Wanted for Treason." 

 

Now it's Mitt Romney's turn to have to answer questions about his religion, despite being a governor where his positions have been well known.  I have said before that when some one questions another person's character, it is the person who is doing the questioning that has the character problem.  Same is true for questioning one's religion or faith.

 

God gave Moses the 10 commandments of life and living.  There was no religion involved in following those words of wisdom.  In fact, we are told on the day of judgement he would be the one to judge.  But the "holier that thou group" wants to be judge and jury of one's faith and religion.  The American people need to realize them for what they really are. 

Romney To Address Mormonism

Republican Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, has decided that he will finally address his faith in much the same way JFK did back in 1960. Romney will the give the speech, titled "Faith in America", at the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas this Thursday.

My first thought when I heard this news is that this could be a mistake on the part of Romney. I'm not quite sure why Romney has decided that now, at the pinnacle of his strength, is the best time to give a speech. As the saying goes, why mess up a good thing? Romney is ahead in Iowa (discounting the latest poll that has Huckabee just a few points ahead and well within the margin of error), ahead in New Hampshire, and ahead in South Carolina. Indeed, a big reason for Romney's boom in South Carolina, that brought him from 4th place to 1st in about a month, is the fact that evangelical voters are finally warming up to him. So why go out and remind them of your Mormonism?

Frankly, I don't see what the big deal is with faith. We're not electing a leader of a church, we're electing the leader of America. But, unfortunately, a particular faith is something that is very important to many voters, especially in strong evangelical states in the South and Mid-West. So why, if he's doing so well, is Romney going to risk throwing his success away? As I said in the past, once Romney gets the nomination, he might need to make a speech, but right now, during the Republican nomination process, I'm not sure if its a good thing to remind the strong evangelical (bigot) voters of his faith, which many believe is a cult.

But, maybe I'm wrong. In fact, I hope I'm wrong. Not because I like Romney, but because I would like to see a stronger acceptance of all faiths. Too long have people been looked down upon just because they believe something different and that is something that should never happen in America.

Of course, there's also the possibility that, if presented well, this speech could be a real turning point in the Romney campaign. If delivered with emotion and pride, Americans will look at Romney in a different light. Currently regarded as a slick, stiff businessman, Romney now has the opportunity to open himself up to America. The only question is, will America open itself up back to Romney in response? For that, we'll just have to wait and see. I know that I will be watching intently Thursday night and I look forward to seeing how Romney is received. I just hope that Romney isn't elected because of his faith; there are many other issues for which he shouldn't be elected. His Mormonism isn't one of them.

Cuba: A Missed Opportunity for America

Approximately 90 miles from the U.S. shore is the island of Cuba, an ally of the United States when it was governed by dictatorship.  Fidel Castro came to power when he overthrew Cuba's dictatorship and our relationship has never been the same.

 

The next President should hold meetings with Castro or whomever the Cuban leader is at the time with the intent to open and have diplomatic relations with Cuba.  Cuba and America could become full trading partners and in time Cuba could become a free country for its people.  Fifty plus years of sanctions and boycotts never achieved its goal---the overthrow of Castro by its people; it is time to try something different.

The idea of Cuba being more inline with our enemies than with America is unacceptable after all these years.  President Kennedy before his death had plans to start a dialog with Cuba to bring them back in our hemisphere.  He had the wisdom to realize the communist hold on Cuba had to be broken.  Unfortunately, his untimely death put an end to this endeavor.

 

An independent, free Cuba would make our hemisphere safer.  Our relationship with Cuba should be a strong, mutual one; not one where the U.S. dominates.  The United States should not be worried because Cuba is communist.  That will fall soon enough from natural forces just like communism in Russia fell.

 

The next President will have to stand up to the Cuban people in Florida who will not take kindly to this new policy.  President Kennedy during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 called Cuba, "that imprisoned island."  Almost 50 years later, our foreign policy toward Cuba has not changed that.  The time for action is way over due.

Picture: © Rafael Perez/Corbis 

Should Romney Address his Mormonism?

The fact the Republican Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, is a Mormon is a fact that has dogged Romney throughout the campaign. According to a recent poll, 1/3 of all Americans say they would not vote for a Mormon for President. And no surprise, many of those intolerant bigots are people from the religious right of the Republican party. Now again, I do not support Romney or his views, but by no way do I think that any candidate should be judged by his religion--or for that matter his or her race, gender, etc.

There has been talk about Mitt Romney giving a speech to address doubts about his faith and supposedly the speech is already written, just waiting for Romney to give it. There is reportedly great debate withhin the Romney campaign on whether or not to give the speech. Here are my thoughts:

Right now, I don't see Romney needing to give the speech. He is far ahead in Iowa, his lead in New Hampshire has grown even more, and he is now ahead in South Carolina. If Romney is asked about his faith on the campaign trail, then surely he should answer it, as he has done. But to say that Romney needs to give this huge speech just doesn't make sense to me at this time. Why mess up something that is going so well? What exactly is Romney going to say anyway?

His religion doesn't seem to be hurting him yet; it is his values (genuine or not) that are actually helping him appeal to conservative Republicans. Now, of course, the general election is a different story. As more and more Americans pay attention to the Presidential race, Romney might need to address his Mormonism, much as J.F.K. did in 1960 about his Catholicism. But Romney should determine that when and if the time comes. Right now I would advise Romney to do keep up whatever he is doing, because it is working, and there is no need to jeopardize that.

The Selling of Fear

President Franklin Roosevelt addressed the nation during WWII saying "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."  President John Kennedy, in his inaugural address, said "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate."  Those two great leaders of America captured the nation's courage and power to face our adversaries.  Our nation was founded on principals and they would not allow our people to be intimidated or fearful.

Now we have a President, George W. Bush, who uses the fear factor to intimidate our own people concerning the terror threat to America.  If Congress does not do things his way, or responsible people disagree with his policies, he uses the fear factor.  America and its people will not be safe from terror attacks if we listen to the opposing view or elect a Democrat according to Mr. Bush.  And now several Republican Presidential candidates are using the same fear factor in their run for the Presidency to scare Americans into voting for them.

 

It is really a pathetic situation for a President to be so insecure and govern by fear.  Our nation and its people have faced more serious threats than terror attacks through out our history with courage and resolve.  Not only have we survived the past, but we took on the future with the spirit that is America.

 

To make matters even worse, Mr. Bush compared the war on Terror with WWII.  Not even close.  And just last week Mr. Bush tried to connect Iran with WWIII.  This is a President that wants our nation to live in fear and be in a never ending war.  Past Presidents led by uniting our country and its people.  Mr. Bush, and many Republicans, leads by division and fear. 

 

When America goes to the polls to vote for the next President, it is imperative that we cast our vote for the candidate that represents new leadership and hope for our nation instead of fear. 

The Relevance of JFK (a special editorial by John Lucia)

The American people realize that President Bush has the most secret administration in recent memory. In fact, I go back to the WWII generation and can't remember a more secretive one. That is the way he and V.P. Chaney operate; it is part of their culture. They don't believe in the checks and balances of a Democracy and they use the tragic events of 9-11 and fear to deceive the country.

The problem is compounded by the news media in general and more specifically by T.V. journalists and their networks. They have been intimidated by Bush and Chaney and have failed to investigate and report the many misdeeds by them. They failed to seek the truth about the so called threat from Iraq prior to the invasion and occupation of that country. They actually promoted Iraq as having WMD on their own with out asking or seeking proof. And now we know that those weapons did not exist.

Journalists only started to report the falsehoods and the facts after several books were written about the failures of Mr. Bush especially concerning Iraq. Then the election of Democrats to congress in the November 2006 elections opened them up a little more.

The news media, the President, and the Vice President failed the American people. The following is a statement made by President John F. Kennedy in February 1962 on the twentieth anniversary of the Voice of America.

"You are obliged to tell our story in a truthful way, to tell it, as Oliver Cromwell said about his portrait, 'Paint us with all our blemishes and warts, all those things about us that may not be so immediately attractive.'
We compete with those who are our adversaries who tell only the good stories. But the things that go bad in America, you must tell that also. And we hope that the bad and the good is sifted together by people of judgment and discretion and taste and discrimination, that they will realize what we are trying to do here.
We seek a free flow of information. We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people."

Those words of President Kennedy over 40 years ago are more timely and relevant today than ever before. If Mr. Bush and the news media followed his words America and its people would be much safer and better off today.