WHAT A DIFFERENCE 5 SECONDS MAKES

I'm not a conspiracy theorist which is why I won't whole heartedly commit to the ideas that aliens are out there. Having said that, I have been watching various documentaries about the Kennedy assassination and I keep thinking about how five seconds within that scope is an eternity. Let's take out the conspiracy theories for a second and look at the whole 5 second period.

In five seconds this is what happened:

1. One bullet goes through President Kennedy's neck and strikes Governor John Connally.
2. A bullet misses 
3. A third bullet kills the President. 

During those five seconds everyone in Dallas, in the parade route, went into pandemonium. The US as a whole froze and the direction the world seemed to be going in took a drastic turn. For nearly 50 years there have been theories of all sorts and the mystery remains. Still the idea of such a tiny spectre of time meaning so much is simply astonishing.

WE WILL NEVER KNOW WHY

It's been nearly 50 years and we are still fascinated by the assassination of JFK. We never saw JFK age, we never saw him mature as president. What we know is that he was our youngest president and the beacon of a new hope. Kennedy was going to transition us from the black and white era to color, Kennedy was the leader of a new generation.

50 years ago we lost the leader and gained something that we were not prepared for, confusion. Today we ask why it all happened but the truth is we have no answers. Nothing will ever explain the why, or the what, simply put it just happened. from November the 22nd to the 24th the nation had tragedy and was denied a plausible answer.

The Warren Commission provided a report that may have as well been blank pages, simply because no answer was satisfactory. Some people believe Oswald acted alone, some believe that he really was a patsy, and no one can understand Ruby's involvement. We will never know why this happened, and we will not understand either.

The murkiness that further enveloped this tragedy through Jim Garrison's investigations, a controversial process that implied unimaginable conspiracies.

There have been serious accusations that have taken mythical proportions. One such accusation implicates LBJ as the centerpiece of a conspiracy to take the presidency. The conspiracy involving LBJ   was immortalized in the film Executive Action, starring Burt Lancaster.

None of these films, investigations, reports, and Ideas can tell us why. There are no facts with the exception of Kennedy's death, Oswald's death and a subsequent series of unfortunate events that can never reversed, or undone.

THE KENNEDY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT: YOUTH

As I sit and watch the second part of PBS' JFK: American Experience I sit and wonder if during those years youth was considered the best way for government. In just a few days it will be the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's assassination and rather than focus on the negative I would like to pose this question:

• Did Kennedy's youth represent new hope for the US or was it simply the start of an aggressive and somewhat reckless period? 

It seems like Kennedy's fearless nature led him to make mistakes such as the Bay of Pigs invasion, which seemed to empower Fidel Castro and embarrass the US. Kennedy was a symbol of hope in the 1960's and somehow that hope diminished for Kennedy as he realized that his advisors were not always looking out for the interests of the US. Kennedy was also faced with problems such as civil rights unrest brought about by segregation and inequality. 

The Kennedy white house came at a time when change was begging to take place, in a revolutionary manner. Kennedy's youth was one part of the equation, a positive part, but his inexperience was the negative counter. Yes, Kennedy did want to put us in space and he wanted to stand down on talks of nuclear war but his desires seemed to clash with the status quo. 

We made it to space, we did not engage in a nuclear holocaust and yet we were still a target. Kennedy was not necessarily as authoritative as his predecessor Eisenhower, nor as devious as Nixon, the man that would eventually take the White House in 68.' The start of the revolutionary period of the US came from an uncertainty on how to deal with communism and having a weaker foreign policy. With youth and inexperience the military ended up with a deeper level of involvement than necessary in Vietnam. 

Perhaps if Kennedy had not been killed there would have been an early pull out of Vietnam and there wouldn't have been such a massive loss of human life. Kennedy never had the opportunity to realize his dreams for an open system of government that showcased great American resolve and courage. Camelot was only 34 months of a lifetime and yet that spectrum was unique because of youth, aggressiveness, and inexperience. There will never be another Camelot and perhaps that's not a bad thing, then again it would be nice to see that hope once more.

AN APP FOR MURDER? WHAT IN THE HELL IS WRONG WITH SOCIETY?

We are coming up on the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination, 50 years since America suffered its first televised tragedy. I have always maintained that November 22nd 1963 was the day America lost that veil of innocence and hope. When you examine everything that the Kennedy White House stood for, the loss is  far greater. In 1963 we lost a young president, the father of two small children, and a man considered reckless because he was willing to buck the system in order to make America the people's country. So why continue to relieve a dark period by focusing on the negative historical context?

In this age of apps it's incredible to think that an app is actually available for the assassination. There is an app called " The Grassy Knoll Report App" and I guess it takes users through the scene and provides a host of information that covers multiple angles of the assassination. I guess I'm just curious as to what the hell is wrong with society. This was a dark period that can never be erased and on top of that the crime itself was never solved and at this point it will never be solved.

What bothers me is that for the modest sum of 99 cents we can wallow in the macabre instead of letting this tragedy rest. JFK was a human being and the last leader that offered real hopes of a better system. Yes there were flaws to JFK's presidency such as the continued involvement in Vietnam, which eventually got out of control. We lost the Bay of Pigs invasion and yes there was serious tension with the Soviet Union. Somehow it was Kennedy's youth coupled with the allure of our first lady that made that era progressive and promising.

It's sad the there's an app that gives every amateur detective the idea that their theory is the correct one. Hey, it's okay because Jimmy Fallon says everyone has to see this app. If the star of "Taxi" says it's good let's all get it.

THE MYSTERY OF NICK BEEF

The long lingering mystery of Nick Beef has finally been solved. The mysterious dead man is actually some jackass that decided to buy the burial plot next to Lee Harvey Oswald's because it meant something to his history. I think it's ridiculous to do something like that in order to observe personal history. If I were Nick I would have purchased a paper or some sort of commemorative coin. This guy bought the grave next to Oswald's for a total of $167.50, in 1975, and put his stage name on there. Mr. Beef doesn't have any plans of being buried next to Oswald.

I think this is some morbid way to get attention, I don't care that he witnessed Kennedy's assassination in 1963. To me the sad thing is that he seems to identify with Oswald in some way, even if he won't admit it. If this "performer" attached importance to the actual event he would likely just write about it or talk about his early memory of that day. I think this is something of a tasteless way to get attention for yourself.

Can you imagine going to a party and meeting this guy? Hi I'm Nick Beef, alive in New York, dead in Texas, terrible lover to al my exes. To me this is ridiculous but we do live in a free country so to each their own.

50 YEARS LATER AND THE MYSTERY STILL EXISTS

It's going to be 50 years since the JFK assassination and the mystery still exists. A special on reelz, that will be coming out in November, talks about the possibility of the murder having been an accident involving a secret service agent. While I find this fascinating I will not lie in that I find it morbid to say the least. Kennedy has been gone for nearly 50 years so any theories will stay just that, theories. My favorite is the possible part played by LBJ and his people.

The Kennedy assassination marked a dark and sad moment in American history, the end of innocence. Kennedy was the ray of hope for everything that was good from progress to a new direction in civil rights, one never previously traveled. Kennedy was a once in a lifetime shot, the charisma, youth and looks of a special man. Kennedy was the last president to have young children, he represented growth, something special and elegant.

Camelot is gone and there will never be another, never let it be forgot that there once was a place called Camelot. Let Camelot rest, let it stand out, a memory that could have been the best must once and for all be put to rest.

YOU JUST NEVER REALLY KNOW

A long time ago in a black and white galaxy far away a man by the name of Edward R. Murrow was introducing the world to his new and revolutionary show known as Person to Person. The show made Edward R. Murrow the first real celebrity interviewer and added to his already polarizing legend. The show itself employed remote interviews, which at the time were quite rare. It has been nearly 60 years since person to person first aired and now we have social media to give us our own person to person moments with people we don't really know.

With the advent of Twitter, Skype, Facebook, and many others we seem to have the ability for that person to person feel. The truth is that just like the days of Murrow's show we are living in a time when no matter how open we seem to be there are still secrets that lurk deeply in the closet. In a way the show Person to Person laid the groundwork for social media. The show was proof positive that distance between points could be closed. Murrow interviewed everyone from Fidel Castro to JFK to Marilyn Monroe. Today, nearly six decades later, we seem to feel closer to celebrities, leaders, and groups.

While the secrets that we keep only manage to come out either post mortem or in some dramatic way there is something to be said for the fact that social media was a seedling for so long. Perhaps it's a stretch to connect Murrow to social media but if you really study it there is some sense to that. Murrow was on to something and while it may have long been relegated to the status of a valuable relic it's fair to say it had a serious impact. Next time you see something new don't be surprised if it's what manages to spur a big revolution.

1963 AND ALL THIS COUNTRY COULD BE

In this generation of Social Media and true homogenization or making every trend truly uniform in nature and condensing the fat content of distance and disconnect it seems history has also gone away.
On a sunny November day in Dallas exactly 49 years ago John F. Kennedy was gunned down and seemingly so was the hope and innocence of ideals that America clung to so tightly. I am not declaring political allegiance of any sort so if you are a zealous republican or ardent democrat please take the politics somewhere else.

From 1961 to 1963 for nearly three years the JFK administration was a beacon for this country. Every major leader was fascinated by the youth, good taste, and lively nature of the Kennedy administration. It was not always easy for JFK as he faced obstacle after obstacle with the growing conflict in Vietnam, the Bay of Pigs invasion and mounting tensions with Russia. Kennedy was also a maverick of sorts as he challenged the CIA almost directly, made it clear he wanted an audit of the FED and on top of that would not play ball with controlling figures such as J. Edgar Hoover. Kennedy was the man that wanted progress and at the same time a democracy where secrets were not on tab for the people he served.

Kennedy was a throwback to the days when leaders would openly address the people they served. With his multiple imperfections and serious flaws Kennedy was someone that gave this country a breath of fresh air. Kennedy was not stiff like Richard Nixon or old like the venerated Eisenhower. There was something special about seeing the Kennedy children run to greet their father as he exited Marine One. The Kennedy administration made this country something vital. With youthful figures like Robert McNamara, Pierre Salinger, and Robert Kennedy there was something special.

The only older figure in that administration was LBJ and he represented the stability and the experience of over 26 years in Washington. The US was ready to put a man in the moon and everything seemed on track, the US had hope. A bullet  on that sunny November day took that hope away and opened up a wound that this country has yet to heal from.

The US Presidency is more a form of business than a symbol of real power and change. Special interests plagues this country and basically secrets are what's behind every major decision that spurs any change negative or positive. There are no longer convertible Cadillacs or Lincolns and there is no longer that feel that our leader is someone we can approach. Truthfully November the 22nd 1963 was not the day Kennedy died but the day hope seemed to die.

It's fair to wonder how this country would be today if Kennedy had not been shot. Kennedy would have been re-elected in a fairly close election in 1964 and likely would have stopped sending troops to Vietnam and looked for a way to settle that conflict early. Kennedy would have marveled at the success of the Space Program and would have backed Martin Luther King with great fervor en route to great success in achieving equal rights for all Americans. There would have been turmoil but maybe less depletion of resources as a result of an easier out from Vietnam. Now in retrospect this is all a speculative matter but still that glimmer of hope that has faded is a great reflection of a wonderful time that was far too short.

And so for I hope I close with:

It's true! It's true! The crown has made it clear.
The climate must be perfect all the year.

A law was made a distant moon ago here:
July and August cannot be too hot.
And there's a legal limit to the snow here
In Camelot.
The winter is forbidden till December
And exits March the second on the dot.
By order, summer lingers through September
In Camelot.
Camelot! Camelot!
I know it sounds a bit bizarre,
But in Camelot, Camelot
That's how conditions are.
The rain may never fall till after sundown.
By eight, the morning fog must disappear.
In short, there's simply not
A more congenial spot
For happily-ever-aftering than here
In Camelot.

Camelot! Camelot!
I know it gives a person pause,
But in Camelot, Camelot
Those are the legal laws.
The snow may never slush upon the hillside.
By nine p.m. the moonlight must appear.
In short, there's simply not
A more congenial spot
For happily-ever-aftering than here
In Camelot.