It was a national tragedy, a national horror.
I believe it's had several impacts on this country -- impacts which are still felt.
I could be wrong, that's just my opinion.
It was fifty years ago and there's always been so little press honesty about the matter. Read Temple University's Joan Mellen (her book A Farewell To Justice or her recent post "JFK and Its Historical Significance"), watch Oliver Stone's JFK or examine any of the work of Matk Lane. (Disclosure, I know Oliver and Mark. I've never had the pleasure to meet Joan Mellen but I have exchanged e-mails.) They ask questions. Do they have the truth?
I don't think so. I think they're on the road to the truth. I think questions lead to truth.
As Marcia noted, there is a tsk-tsker who wants to pretend that The Warren Report is correct. I have no idea why you'd take that position. When all those files have been classified and kept from the American people -- although the 60s agreement was they'd be released next decade (we'll see if that happens). As a general rule, if you or I author an honest report, we want all the supporting facts out there to back up our conclusions.
There's also Arlen Specter's single-bullet theory. Arlen was a lousy senator and the world does not mourn him. Nor should they. There are no reflections that it's X numbers years since the hideous Arlen died. (There may, however, be parties celebrating that fact. FYI, he died last year.) Arlen wasn't an expert on anything other than personal gain but he came up with a 'theory' to explain the official explanation and it defies logic and that we can't even be honest about that goes to the refusal of people to grow up.
'My government would never lie to me!' One administration after another has lied repeatedly to the American people on everything big and small. That's reality. They never have the brains to own their mistakes and will lie to cover up even the most minor things. They repeatedly make comments -- it's happening now, look at the spying scandal -- about how the people couldn't understand. What they're saying is people are stupid. And that's been the government's opinion since it began. That's why you have the electoral college -- to prevent a direct vote.
The press was a huge disappointment this week, as usual. They write tired and boring pieces.
At least at Third with "November 23, 1963 questions and hypocrisies," we tried to look at it from another angle. (TV was forced to cease advertisements and regular programming and that's considered natural -- even with tragedies to this day -- but newspapers didn't give up advertising or give up comics or sports to cover the same tragedies.) And I believe we're the only ones to note how Ethan Hawke's grandmother was part of the 'Oswald is strange' movement within hours of his arrest. Get the reason why Ethan writes about granddaddy but never mentions grandmommy?
On media failures, former US Senator Gary Hart told Farah Mohamed and Ryan Grim (Huffington Post), of Johnny Roselli and Momo Salvatore Giancana, "It's amazing to me that American journalism never followed up on that story very much, because if you found out who killed those two guys, you might have some really interesting information on your hands." (Disclosure, I know Gary.)
They didn't have time to do that or any other thing of value.
But the New York Times did allow James McAuley to attack Dallas (Ruth corrects him on a basic point here) and they allowed Sam Tanenhaus to show his stupidity.
These were deeply stupid articles. On every level.
On a business level?
Poor dumb idiot Jill Abramson. She's presiding over the circulation decline of the Times.
And the reality, that the family knows, is that NYC can only support a tabloid -- whether it's NY Post or NY Daily News. Not only is that all it can support -- it probably can't support three.
This is why Bill Keller did the reach out -- it was a bad reach out, but it was an attempt. NYT can only survive as a national paper.
And when you're Jill and you treat everyone outside of the tri-state area as a hick?
You destroy the chances for the paper to be national.
The New York Times does sell in Texas. Where does it sell the most papers?
Austin?
Have you been to Austin?
Love the people there. Love the UT campus. But anytime we go there to speak on that campus and we then leave that campus to go around and look at the city? No offense, but I'm left to wonder, "Does anyone read in Austin?"
The grocery store chain is the HEB. They ran every other grocery store out. (There's also the super Wal-Marts and Targets that carry groceries.) And most HEBs -- especially in south Austin -- do not carry magazines (beyond tabloids at the registers). (This is true especially at the HEB that does the most business in Austin.) There is no magazine rack. Their 'big independent bookstore.' I can't remember the name. It's next to a Whole Foods. But I heard about it and heard about it from a professor at UT and on the last trip to speak there, he took me to the book place. It's two stories. But it's an airport bookstore. I've never been more disappointed. He was so proud of it and I pointed out to him that all the hard cover new arrivals were over 12 months old. The shelves were tiny and they were barely stocked. There was a ton of walking around space and sitting around space, there just weren't many books. (I like the Barnes & Noble in Austin -- but if you've been to Austin, you know that a significant number of lefties look down on chain stores.)
Want to make clerks laugh in Austin? Go into a 7-11 or a Wal-Greens or an HEB or a Wal-Mart or any of their big stores and ask for a New York Times. You're lucky if you find a USA Today. Otherwise, it's just their local paper. (There is a Texaco in South Austin that carries the paper. I know that thanks to a cab driver. If I'm there for more than 36 hours, I will call him and he will go get the paper for me.)
So that's Austin which is supposedly so liberal. NYT's sales there are insignificant.
NYT sells the most papers in Texas in the city of Dallas -- where it is not only delivered but it is carried at Kroger grocery stores, at 7-11s, at Starbucks, at pretty much anywhere that carries a newspaper.
It's never smart business to attack people for an event in their city, certainly not one 50 years ago. At least 70% of the adults at that time have to now be dead.
But it's especially not smart to attack the city that's gives you the most sales in the state.
Jill's so deeply stupid that the family is thinking of dumping her already.
Moving beyond dollars and cents?
You're actually seeing how cover ups work.
The paper's run this outrageous garbage attacking the city of Dallas, pretending to be outraged about JFK's assassination.
They're not. They're playing you for a fool.
And we can prove it.
Remember that?
It's then-US Ambassador to Iraq Chris Hill in Baghdad at a Halloween party. Peter Van Buren posted the photo to his blog here and here.
The US Ambassador has gone as a Secret Agent and the little trollop whore next to him is the First Lady. She's a whore. Not Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The whore is the State Dept employee who thought it was funny to dress in the outfit the First Lady wore the day her husband was assassinated.
This is the US Embassy in Baghdad. With the head diplomat.
And they never called it out.
Even now, on the 50th anniversary of the assassination, they'd rather attack the city of Dallas then call out Chris Hill for turning the assassination into a joke at a government party -- a party we paid for, US tax payers.
An ambassador is supposed to be beyond reproach in his conduct.
Hill's playing a Secret Service agent from the day of the assassination.
He's with a little whore who's playing Jackie. Government employees sending up the death of a US president?
If the New York Times really gave a damn about the assassination of JFK, they'd have called out Chris Hill. They never have. But they can (stupidly) attack a city and its residents.
That's how misdirection works. They don't hold the powerful accountable, they just attack the people. No, that's not how the press is supposed to work but, if you missed it, the US press is not working.
*Entry corrected thanks to Beau and Susan who e-mailed to tell me I was a day off. It was yesterday. The Dallas Morning News cover is the 23rd of November. I mistyped BADLY. My mistake, my apologies. Thank you to Beau and Susan.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
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