JFK Was Killed By Lee Harvey Oswald

 In the latest attempt by the current President to act like the cool dad, the Trump White House declassified thousands of pages of information surrounding the investigations into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  Like much of what the last few months have been like it was a ham handed nightmare, in some cases releasing data that has national security implications and I heard included living individuals social security and other identifying information.  (Before you go nuts, this was from people seeking to look at some of the archived materials in the 1990s so yes they are alive and contemporaries of mine).  

Of course no one has found the smoking gun that would lead to the finger being pointed at anyone other than Lee Harvey Oswald.  The fact is however, for conspiracy theorists and their believers, this is the perfect Rorschach test.  What I have seen published includes:

• The CIA killed Kennedy. 
• The FBI killed Kennedy.
• The CIA working with the FBI killed Kennedy.
• The Secret Service killed Kennedy, saying the driver shot him.  (seriously look into this it is hilarious).  
• George H.W. Bush killed Kennedy. Not sure how he had the power as Harris County Republican committee chair at the time.  (But somehow that he would become CIA director over a decade later played a role).
• LBJ apparently killed Kennedy, thank you Oliver Stone
• The Cubans Killed Kennedy, both those who supported Castro and those opposed to him.
• The Mafia killed Kennedy.
• Even Joe Biden apparently killed Kennedy though an undergrad at university.
• And finally, like every other conspiracy, we eventually get to the Jews killed Kennedy. 

All of this came from the release of these documents and the fact that both the Warren Commission and the House Select Committee on Assassinations were badly conducted and the investigations were rushed and started. it seems, with the conclusion. There was also a serious of bad decisions made right after the event that made people feel uncomfortable.  LBJ's insistence on being sworn in right away, the way Kennedy's body was handled, the coldness of some officials in response.  People today don't understand the Cold War footing we were on and this may have been an outside attack.  Later, an attempt to clean up the actions made it look conspiratorial when in fact it was most likely stupidity.  The was no protocol for what had happened and thus fumbling was common.   

The Kennedy Assassination has led to a virtual industry of information published, broadcasts and simply rants over the more than 6 decades since it occurred.  For a while I was deeply interested in it.  I read tons of books about it from all kinds of experts and theorists.  I watched tons of so-called documentaries and movies. I found that most places got things wrong about a lot of the facts because the information in the documents that were currently released was wrong.  So here we are, more nonsense to wade through and in the end the people who have clearly shown a lack of critical thinking will elevate themselves and call it a win.  Even as they argue over who did it among themselves.  

When the evidence is looked at from an objective perspective, Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy.  People are not comfortable with that notion because it is hard to believe a single individual, without power, money or status, could change the world so dramatically.  But it happens all the time.  An Archduke is shot and World War I starts, a small group of terrorists find a weakness in US commercial aviation and the world is set on fire, and someone with a gun and a desire to be special or famous can take down a world leader.  No conspiracy necessary.  While conspiracies do exist, chances are that if they are able to plan in secret and avoid anyone leaking information you would see clues of it. 

As the people who thrive trying to feel smart and call other people sheep for not following their lead we must simply continue to look at what is actually important.  These documents are not that.