The Reason for Conspiracies
by Eric Meece, Jan 6, 2019
My Band of Writers essays
prompt: a rhyming pair of words
LINKS explaining and examining various major conspiracy theories below
It is sometimes said that we Unitarians respect and use "reason." To me that doesn't just mean that we think about things, or use logic, but that we seek knowledge and truth in freedom as our Affirmation says, relying on our own inner light as the only lamp, as Buddha said. But this also means that we can open ourselves to the greater light in which we are embedded and which is our greater mind and identity, and let that light shine within us.
Recently, famous books have appeared about Americans' tendency to embrace the irrational, especially in our time. So I thought I would engage with a believer deceiver, one of my imaginary friends who is convinced that every conspiracy theory is true and is determined to warn us before we become victims of every fiend. Although this person is not real, I know people who believe in all these mind-bending, trending tales.
Hi Judas. What's the latest on JFK? You know, the granddaddy of modern conspiracy theories? Hey, it's no theory, says Judas. It's proven fact. Haven't you heard that lady who was friends with Oswald? She says he was a nice guy. That proves, I mean PROVES, that he didn't kill Kennedy. It must have been the FBI, or the CIA, or Lyndon Johnson himself. He wanted Kennedy's job, didn't he? That proves it! Nevermind, I said, that any court of law would have convicted Oswald in 15 minutes, and the evidence has gotten even stronger since 1963. His fingerprints on his gun, and on the boxes in front of the window. The trajectory of the bullets, which came from his gun and lodged in Kennedy's skull. Witnesses who spotted him leaving the building, whose reports led a policeman to stop Oswald on the street, and then Oswald shot the officer to death. The package he carried the gun to the building in was found on the 6th floor of you know where. That doesn't matter, said Judas. The film showed his head moving backwards, which proved there was a second gunman on the grassy knoll. Never mind, I said, that science showed the bullet from behind would have caused that. And all the charges about others helping him have led nowhere. Why do you believe this stuff, Judas? I think it's because you can't accept that such an important guy was killed by a lone madman, so the government must have been behind it, because the government is evil. But what if that's just the fact? Oswald acting alone killed Kennedy?
Those 9-11 hijackers didn't act alone either, said Judas. Architects said the building could not fall. Never mind, I said, that the actual architect said that it could. And, said Judas, how about all those people associated with Bush that were seen at the World Trade Center? That proves Bush ordered the attack, I asked? Not to me, I said. I think the 9-11 truthers haven't proved their case. So why believe it? Because it proves the secret government rules us. So, you can't just accept that maybe Americans vote for the wrong guy, and that's why we get what we vote for? Votes don't mean anything, Judas said. The secret government is not elected. Didn't you know that the older Bush kept the hostages in Iran in order to get himself elected president? Judas asked. Well, I once thought so, but it seems no-one is saying that anymore, I replied.
We just can't trust anyone; they are all out to get us-- can't you see that? Judas asked. I may be paranoid, he said, but that doesn't mean there isn't something to be afraid of. But isn't there enough to be afraid of without making stuff up? I replied. You can't even take a vaccine anymore because it's all been tampered with, you say. So even though science has proved they are safe, we should allow diseases to spread? It seems that's really something to be afraid of. I am more afraid of the scientists and their vaccines, Judas said. Smart meters emit magnetic waves that ruin your health. The airplanes are raining toxic aluminum and barium down on us, deliberately running experiments on how to reduce the population. And this is causing global warming too. How do you know this Judas? Look up in the sky, he said. That's how I know! What about checking to see what's actually in these so-called chemtrails? Aren't there more of them now because engines were changed to emit more water and less pollution and chemicals? No, I don't believe that, because the government is hiding all their plans for us. That is a FACT which PROVES that chemtrails are real and have been raining down on us since the 1990s, Judas said.
Not only that, they want to set up a new world order in the name of "Agenda 21" which wants to make things sustainable in the name of stopping climate change. That's just a hoax and a political plot to control our lives and raise our taxes. Can't you see that? Judas asked. Well no, I checked out Agenda 21, and it doesn't order anything, and being sustainable is exactly what we need. And the New World Order already exists. It's called the corporate cabal, and it's not secret at all. It just keeps its own taxes low, so you can complain that raising taxes on them would affect you instead. But Judas, that's just the trickle-down libertarian economics ideology that has fooled you into thinking that taxes take other peoples' money to give away free stuff to immigrants and free-loaders, and that giving tax breaks, subsidies and lax regulations to job creaters will boost the economy. But see, Judas replied, the economy is doing better since Trump relaxed the regulations on coal and lowered taxes on the corporations! Never mind, I said, that trickle-down economics hasn't worked before, and that it was Obama who stimulated the economy. But you fall for it because you are convinced that the international communist conspiracy will set up the New World Order to poison our children, depopulate the world and take away our freedom. That's right, said Judas. And we all know Obama was born in Kenya.
Should I call you General Ripper then? I asked. "I can no longer sit back and allow, communist infiltration, communist indoctrination, communist subversion, and the international communist conspiracy, to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids." Of course, said Judas. Can't you see that flouridation is imposed upon us without the choice and knowledge of the individual, and that it ruins our sex lives? No, I said, I haven't noticed that. I think my sex life is being ruined by paranoid people. Maybe you should develop a conspiracy theory to explain this, said Judas. Well, I guess we are all vulnerable, I said. I used to believe in a lot of these theories myself. But I decided to seek the truth for myself and do some research. A little thought and awareness of facts can be a good cure for paranoia, Judas. And I know I am being unfair to Judas when I call you that. Judas is also unfairly blamed for a lot, when in fact Jesus probably put him up to what he did, or at least knew about it and told him to do what he had to do quickly. Do you think Jesus was a commie too then, Judas? After all, he said give your possessions away to the poor. Giving away free stuff; that's against all your libertarian slogans!
OK, said Judas, but I think I'll keep my slogans and my paranoia. It gives me something to be afraid of, and without that I can't get up in the morning. That's fine Judas. Do what you have to do. I just hope you someday wake up from your delusions and learn to think for yourself. Peace, and keep the spirit alive.
The first four links here are an index to many links and comments here below about four of the most plausible and widespread conspiracy theories today:
The JFK conspiracy theory
anti-vaccine and covid-hoax theories
chemtrails
9-11 inside job theories
basic info links on these and other theories:
Conspiracy Theory by wikipedia and The List
11 popular conspiracy theories
America’s 10 most popular conspiracy theories by Big Think
Time Magazine's list of the 10 most popular conspiracy theories
The Week investigates the most intriguing and bizarre theories
Conspiracy Theories Explained by Vox
Leftwingers lured to the far right by conspiracy theories by George Monbiot
What if coincidence and not conspiracy is the real way to find some order and meaning in hard-to-believe tragic events like JFK and 9-11? See my article about this! Coincidence Not Conspiracy
Kathryn Hayhoe takes down the climate change conspiracy theory
The New World Order: The Historical Origins of a Dangerous Modern Conspiracy Theory by Middlebury Institute of International Studies
wikipedia's extensive article on New World Order conspiracy theory This article also includes accounts of historical and non-conspiratorial use of the phrase. As I encounter this conspiracy theory these days, it mostly shapes up as members of "the Bilderberg Group, Bohemian Club, Club of Rome, Council on Foreign Relations, Rhodes Trust, Skull and Bones, Trilateral Commission, and similar think tanks and private clubs; illuminated conspirators plotting to impose a totalitarian New World Order, the implementation of an authoritarian world government controlled by the United Nations, and a global central bank....." The Illuminati is a foundational idea of such cabal group theories.
I observe that it has recently often taken the form of concerns, fears and misinformation about The Great Reset , by supposed reformers within the hidden, wealthy power elite, led by the often-criticized World Economic Forum (WEF). But there is indeed Something Fishy about this Great Reset, because it favors "stakeholder capitalism". Meanwhile, The Great Reset Conspiracy Flourishes Amid Continued Pandemic. Quote: adherents warn that "global elites" will use the pandemic to advance their interests and push forward a globalist plot to destroy American sovereignty and prosperity.... In an October 2020 open letter addressed to President Trump that has since become a cornerstone for the Great Reset conspiracy (theory), the Catholic Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano wrote: "A global plan called the Great Reset is underway. Its architect is a global élite that wants to subdue all of humanity, imposing coercive measures with which to drastically limit individual freedoms and those of entire populations." The aim is to "impose a "health dictatorship aiming at the imposition of liberticidal measures" and demand the "renunciation of private property and adherence to a program of vaccination against Covid-19 and Covid-21." Those who refuse will be "confined in detention camps or placed under house arrest, and all their assets will be confiscated."
FBI Intel Bulletin detailing how conspiracy theories have led to violence
Countering QAnon, one of the most dangerous current conspiracy theories alleging that Democrats, Hollywood moguls, other liberals and/or Jews run child sex trafficking rings and that Trump is their champion and Biden is not president. It was also behind the violent coup attempts in the USA on Jan.6, 2021 and in Germany in Dec. 2022. It's first dangerous episode was Pizzagate, promoted by Alex Jones. The Wayfair conspiracy theory further spread QAnon misinformation.
How To Talk Your Uncle Out of QAnon and other conspiracy theories with Jon Favreau and Beth Goldberg
Conspiracy theorists lack critical thinking skills by John Elder, The New Daily
According to Bowers-Abbott: It was easier to dislodge untruths before social media. In social media, people tend to take public positions. When that position turns out to be wrong, it's embarrassing. And backing down is typically seen as weakness. So they double-down on untrue claims to save face and personal credibility. ... We are way too emotionally attached to being right. It would be better for our culture as a whole to value uncertainty and intellectual humility and curiosity. Those values help us ask questions without the expectation of permanent answers. (quoted from Big Lie by wikipedia)
What is neo-liberalism by George Monbiot. The real conspiracy behind our problems today
The United States of Conspiracy Frontline reports how conspiracy theory came to rule the USA
"Conspiracy theory is a theory. It's an attempt to explain an event. And it says that things are not as they seem. And you explain it by picking up the dots, forming a pattern, and showing that that pattern indicates malignant intent by powerful people acting covertly" -- Nancy Rosenblum. In fact, she later points out in this Frontline report that many of these stories don't even merit the term "theory", such as pizzagate, crisis actors staging mass shootings, and Trump's claim that he won the 2020 election. Conspiracy theory is alleged to have been invented as a denigating term by the CIA, but in fact the theorists do claim a conspiracy, and "theory" is a scientific term that implies there's evidence for a well-developed proposed natural law or set of facts. In fact, however, most conspiracy theories have no evidence to support them, and don't even merit the term. They are scams.
Elizabeth Williamson, who appeared in this documentary above, interviewed about Sandy Hook and The Battle for Truth The conspiracy theory that the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown on Dec. 14 2012 was staged to promote gun control has accelerated conspiracy theory and the war on truth. Victims' families were harrassed online as "crisis actors" by Alex Jones and his fanatical followers. Although not specifically mentioned in this Amanpour & Co. interview, I encountered this conspiracy theory as a strong gun control supporter upon following the inspiring, energetic activities of David Hogg, a prominent student gun-control activist who survived the Parkland massacre in Florida in 2018 and helped his fellow students organize one of the biggest demonstrations of all time called March for Our Lives in 2018. Hogg was called a "crisis actor" in viral videos, in comments on his own videos and on videos about him, and by Alex Jones, Laura Ingraham and Marjorie Taylor Greene and their legions of fanatical followers online. Hey, maybe all these trolls are the actors? Where do they get these people?
This takedown of Alex Jones is a classic! Be ready for the big guffaw when it comes!
The racist Great Replacement Theory promoted by Tucker Carlson and others The slogan "you will not replace us" was shouted at the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally in 2017. John Oliver takes down Tucker Carlson
List of conspiracy theories promoted by Donald Trump
Conspiracy theories promoted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Trump's Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen was refuted in court over 50 times, by Reuters
The JFK conspiracy theory is clearly the granddaddy of conspiracy theory culture. Not everyone who questions the "official version" of the JFK Assassination believes other conspiracy theories, but it clearly set in motion the trend to believe explanatory or cult-sponsored lies, which since the 2000s decade began has been amplified by social media and its appeal to often-lonely or alienated people seeking group or tribal identity. So I included more links here to articles, books and videos on this JFK theory than links to any others because it is so foundational to today's war on truth, and I even include a few doorways to the conspiracy view so people can compare and judge for themselves. I have posted many links to the facts so often ignored by the theory believers.
Bruce Barham on quora puts it well: "The murder of Kennedy was an act that shocked not only the USA but the entire world and was so profound that the country is still questioning the integrity of the investigation and the institutions of the government of the USA. There isn’t a national tragedy to this day that isn’t questioned as being done by a faction or factions of the dark government. That all started on November 22, 1963." https://debunkingjfkconspiracies.quora.com/How-did-a-lone-gunman-like-Lee-Harvey-Oswald-get-so-close-to-a-president-to-assassinate-him
Below this are more links concerning some of the other conspiracy theories that tend to be more plausible to people like myself and to some of my friends (like "Judas" in my essay above) and to some researchers; theories which are somewhat-less outrageous than many of the other common theories. Besides JFK, these powerful, popular, slightly-more-plausible and tempting theories include anti-vaccine and covid-hoax theories, chemtrails, and 9-11 inside job theories.
My summary of the evidence against Oswald and the assumptions theorists make that should be questioned
I went to Dallas Nov.20-23, 2023 for the 60th anniversary of the tragic event that started today's conspiracy theory culture of distrust, and in honor of the great leader JFK. I gave away a few copies of portions of this essay in Dealey Plaza on Nov.22. For those interested, click on this link for the full essay.
Documentaries Evidence Investigators and authors
Key people and locations Witnesses Conspiracy theories
DOCUMENTARIES (including reports and investigations) see also investigators and authors, below
Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald PBS Frontline documentary gives full coverage of the evidence and the events, 2013 version, with a clear version of the Zapruder film.
Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald on youtube. Highly recommended documentary!
Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald longer 1993 version with more details and questions
Walter Cronkite 1988 NOVA documentary on JFK assassination This PBS report was the first one that convinced me to take another look at the facts. Toward the end, 4 Parkland Hospital doctors, Robert McClelland, Paul Peters, Richard Dulaney and Pepper Jenkins, examine the autopsy photos themselves for the first time and say that the photos agree with their observations on Nov.22, 1963.
CBS 48 Hours on JFK assassination from Feb. 1992
excerpts from ABC News report by Peter Jennings from 2003, with computer reenaction of the assassination by Dale Myers, including a frame-numbered, clear version of the Zapruder film
2024 documentary JFK One Day in America by National Geographic, with witnesses still living and 1963 film footage not seen before
Using Modern Ballistics to Crack Cold Case JFK by NPR, and How a bullet can be traced to a gun by Scientific American.
Interview about single bullet theory and Cold Case JFK documentary and
here's the NOVA documentary Cold Case JFK with repeats at the end. This one features in person several investigators who figure in many other links here.
JFK (1983) - 20th Anniversary TV News Special with Peter Jennings great memorial program on the Kennedy presidency (with ads though, old and new!)
The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection
Warren Report
House Select Committee Report
Hearings and Appendix volumes of House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA)
How did a bullet go through JFK's neck? Like this: (The line in the African-American man photo could be placed a bit higher on both sides)
Location of wounds: screen shots of computer re-eneactment by Dale Myers from excerpts from ABC News report by Peter Jennings:
Assassination of John F. Kennedy by wikipedia. autopsy
Full account of the rifle and the shots by military fandom
Clark Panel in 1968 examination of the 52 autopsy photographs and 14 X-rays taken by Navy photographers
John Stringer was the photographer, and Jerrol Custer assisted by Edward Reed did the X-rays. Wikipedia says X-rays were taken by US Navy Medical Corps Commander John H. Ebersole.
Doctors Affirm Kennedy Autopsy Report, by Lawrence K. Altman, 1992, New York Times
JFK autopsy pathologists defend conclusions by Washington Post
Gunshot-wound dynamics model for John F. Kennedy assassination by Nicholas R.Nalli (2017-2018)
Scientific Police Work Traced Bullets to Rifle Oswald Owned NY Times
medical study of the course of the bullets showing how a bullet hit the spine in the back of JFK's neck and its impact
Was the "single bullet" (Commission Exhibit CE399) that hit both JFK and Connally "pristine"? Not in the side view shown by the House Committee. It was severely flattened by hitting Connally sideways:
original Zapruder film from wikimedia commons
Zapruder film in slow motion focused on the center of the action, by Dale Myers; click on wish to proceed
Zapruder film in slow motion click on wish to proceed
Zapruder film individual frames
JFK was not shot from the grassy knoll, suggests new research
There was no-one behind the fence near the grassy knoll says one account in this wikipedia article that covers a famous picture and many views on the theory that the killer shot JFK from the grassy knoll
My question for conspiracy buffs: even if there was a shot fired from the grassy knoll, whether fatal or missed, which I still think there wasn't, does that prove that the shooter there and Oswald were acting together in conspiracy? Kennedy had lots of enemies, and there was talk. Was Dealey Plaza just a convenient place for two separate and unaffiliated shooters, who both individually had found out JFK's motorcade route that week? Another question for them: why assume the JFK killing was a professional hit and not a lone gunman's act, when every other assassination and attempted assassination of public figures in US history are known to have been committed by lone assassins? Maybe because it had been 62 years since the previous presidential assassination, and people in 1963 until today had forgotten?
Carl Cassidy's excellent summary of the evidence against Oswald from quora
The Lone Gunman killed the president, from Texas Monthly a good review of the evidence against Oswald
Neutron Activation Analyses Proves Oswald Acted Alone In JFK Assassination
A National Archives document on the CIA files confirms Oswald had no association with the CIA
Bogus Evidence by jfk-assassination.net. It might be a good idea to check this page out before believing what conspiracy theorists claim is evidence
Lee Harvey Oswald and the JFK Assassination: Experts in Dialogue panel of 5 experts, including reporter from the Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald documentary Gus Russo, Fred Litwin, Dale Myers, Warren Commission investigator Burt Griffin, and investigator of Jim Garrison Alecia P. Long, Nov.22, 2023. This includes Litwin's and Griffin's expose of Paul Landis' prior claims
Why Vincent Bugliosi Is So Sure Oswald Alone Killed JFK (Interview).
Bugliosi speaks in this video on the topic
Another Bugliosi speech on JFK in which he refutes Cyril Wecht by name
Vincent Bugliosi and Cyril Wecht debate the assassination and the evidence
On Trial: Lee Harvey Oswald closing arguments by Bugliosi and Spence and the verdict and links available to the full trial and to the commentary afterward. Thanks to David Von Pein's JFK Channel.
53 pieces of evidence against Oswald according to Bugliosi
Gerald Posner, Author of Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK on you tube.
Also see complete book on you tube HERE (part 1)
part 2
Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK - Gerald Posner on History Author Show
The highlight of this revealing 2023 Gerald Posner interview is how he describes the WHAT IFs; how Kennedy and Oswald died because of coincidence, not conspiracy! What if Posner knew astrology! It's a better explanation than conspiracy theory to explain this and other incredible events
See my article about this! Coincidence Not Conspiracy
Gerald Posner interviewed about JFK assassination in 2023 and refuting many conspiracy theories
Posner on what actually happened on November 22, 1963; early conspiracy thinking about it; Jim Garrison and Oliver Stone, Cuban government involvement; decades of US government document releases; new memories from former Secret Service agent Landis; the impact of grand conspiracy thinking on society; and more.
Posner interviews agent Clint Hill
Fred Litwin: I Was a Teenage JFK Conspiracy Freak This excellent interview from 2018 explores how Litwin came to believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Litwin talks to Steve Paikin in Canada about how some people on both sides of the political spectrum continue to push JFK conspiracy theories, and how important it is now to seek the truth about events.
another radio interview with Fred Litwin and his next book
Oswald Acted Alone: JFK Assassination Solved by Sean Munger, excellent summary of the evidence, and answers to the conspiracy theorists
55 reasons to accept that Oswald acted alone by James K. Lambert, with links to most of the "reasons"
Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr.: The Warren Report: Fact or Fiction? Interesting debate with Mark Lane, author of Rush to Judgement published in 1966, who in many ways shows himself in 1966 not only as the instigator of the JFK Conspiracy Theory as we know it, but even as the source of many leading conspiracy theories today. Buckley takes him down pretty well, even as Lane is able to make his case. Buckley's question about which does more to disrupt the nation, the alleged conspiracy and cover-up OR the mistrust that Lane and Co. have created, remains crucial decades later. You decide.
How some evidence was lost or hidden from the Warren Commission, leading to conspiracy theories interview with author Philip Shenon. He's very sharp and clear, although the interviewer is not.
Here Philip Shenon lectures on this topic. Why we are likely to be plagued forever by conspiracy theories and distrust of our government.
KEY PEOPLE AND LOCATIONS INVOLVED or connected somehow (see articles on the grassy knoll above under evidence, or see information in the documentaries listed above, and in the articles on conspiracy theories below)
Inside the Book Depository everything that happened regarding the Depository as scene of the assassination; a 2023 account on youtube
J.D. Tippit by wikipedia, his life and death and the witnesses
J D Tippit website with lots of info, by Oak Cliff Press, which publishes Dale Myers' 2013 book "With Malice: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Murder of Officer J.D. Tippit"
Officer, author and Officer Tippit associate Nick McDonald, who arrested and was nearly killed by Oswald at Texas Theater, is honored by the town he moved to by Wayne Bryan of Arkansas Democrat Gazette. This moving 2014 article also described FBI analyst Rookstool who researched government held-documents on the assassination, and Jefferson Blvd. Hardy Shoe Store manager Johnny Brewer who enabled the arrest
The Last Days of Lee Harvey Oswald: A Conversation with Ruth Paine
Paine answers allegations of CIA connections in JFK assassination - Part 2 by Jeff Meek, Times Record, July 29, 2020
Houses in Dallas where LHO lived
More on the Texas Theater here (click on History)
The Many Faces of Oswald's Assassin Jack Ruby, by Danny Fingeroth, with lots of pictures including Campisi's Egyptian Restaurant where Ruby ate dinner the night before Nov.22
My picture of Campisi's Egyptian, Nov.22, 2023
JFK Assassination 60th Anniversary - All Sites - History Revisited - video by Adam Koralik
I went to Dallas Nov.20-23, 2023 and took a few pictures of interesting sites too. I am posting a few of my pictures here. I didn't have a car, a companion or a good video camera, and am probably not as articulate as Adam, so I salute his skill in making this video and seeing the relevant sites not so accessible to trains and buses in Dallas. Apparently Adam's trips were done earlier than November since Dealey was green when I went there Nov.21-22. I was able to time some of the walks critical to factual accounts, including on Main Street from the building where the Western Union was down the block on Main Street where Jack Ruby sent a telegram 4 minutes before killing Oswald, to the then police station ramp there (which I don't think Adam photographed), and from Oswald's rooming house to the Tippit memorial, and timed my walks (although I was older and had a sore back so I was slower than Ruby and Oswald respectively) to counter some conspiracy theories. Officer LeavelIe said on "Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald" by Frontline that it took him 83 seconds to do the Ruby walk; it took me 100. I got pictures of myself at the start and the end of Oswald's walk from the rooming house on Beckley to where he shot Tippit on 10th Street just east of Patton, showing the times at the Oswald rooming house and the Tippit Memorial. It took Oswald about 13 minutes; it took me about 21.
See the rooming house and the memorial behind me. It took an extra 2 minutes or more to ask the crowd standing around the memorial to let me take the picture.
After my walk to the Tippit memorial I walked west on Jefferson Blvd, as Oswald did. I talked to the owner of the former Hardy Shoe store site as she was closing up. The Texas Theater was showing "War is Hell" and later "JFK" and I could "enter (the lobby) without buying a ticket". Then instead of watching "JFK" there I went out to Campisi's again (see above), as I also did Nov.20, much like Ruby did 60 years earlier on Nov.21, 1963.
This cool young muscular guy with glasses went to places that I went to a few days later along with his cool hippie friend by Mr. Beat, after an ad
article on CIA agent Joannides and his funding of the Miami anti-Castro student organization, whose New Orleans branch run by Carlos Bringuier Oswald tried to infiltrate see #7 in this spartacus-educational article on Bringuier
About George de Mohrenschildt by John Simkin (john@spartacus-educational.com) © September 1997 (updated January 2020)
The Palm Beach Post on deMohrenschildt's death
The Man Who Knew Oswald by George McMillan. What George de Mohrenschildt could have testified to was not "new" evidence at all and it had nothing whatsoever to do with a conspiracy
The academic and his father who knew Oswald in 1962
WITNESSES both valid and questionable
Links to witness affadavit statements from those who observed Lee Harvey Oswald on Nov.22, 1963 including extensive CBS report with the witnesses from 1964
Witnesses appear on CBS report in Sept. 1964 on the day the Warren Report is released
It seems to me Howard Brennan could see the 6th floor window well enough from here to identify Oswald.
uh, my camera was tilted a bit, not the TSBD Building! Picture taken from my android phone Nov.22, 2023.
Domingo Benavides (or Benavidez), witness to Tippit shooting, interviewed by CBS reporter Eddie Barker, plus other witnesses of Oswald during and after Tippit shooting including several interviews by the same reporter exactly as seen in the CBS Report in Sept. 1964 linked above
accounts of witnesses, investigators and reporters on CBS report in 1967, collected for spartacus-educational including witnesses Sam M. "Skinny" Holland, Harold Norman, Carolyn Walther, Abraham Zapruder, John Connally, Charles Wyckoff, Domingo Benavides and Dr. Malcolm Perry, investigators Arlen Specter, Mark Lane, Jim Garrison, Edward Jay Epstein, John J. McCloy and others, and reporters Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather and Mike Wallace.
Secret Service Agent Clint Hill Vividly Recalls President Kennedy's Assassination
Affadavit of Lee Bowers, who watched the parking lot behind the grassy knoll
Testimony of Helen Markham to the Warren Commission regarding Tippit shooting
Claims versus fact among assassination witnesses by John McAdams at https://www.jfk-assassination.net:
deaf-mute V. Ed Hoffman: Did he see a grassy knoll shooter?
Jean Hill, the Lady in Red: Did she see a shot from the grassy knoll?
Was the "Babushka scarf lady" Beverly Oliver forced to turn over her film to the FBI? Did Ruby introduce her to Lee Oswald at Ruby's club? Did anyone witness this claim?
James Tague wounded near the triple underpass by flying concrete from an assassination shot that hit a curb on Main Street
The long story of Gordon Arnold, in 4 parts
JFK CONSPIRACY THEORIES links, reviews and refutations
Debunking JFK conspiracy theories on quora, with many contributors. Many conspiracy theory comments can be found on quora too, but I'm not sure just how I found them. My own comments analyzing conspiracy claims can also be found on quora. Much of what I have researched and written about the JFK case can be found there. Jim Morrison makes many claims there about such things as other bullets supposedly found that could have been fired at Kennedy. This site explains one such bullet. One of the two "Navy Corpsmen" Morrison refers to as having brought back a bullet from the limo to Bethesda, said he found a "fragment", not a bullet.
Review and link to Who Killed JFK podcast by Rob Reiner (2023-2024)
My review of Oliver Stone's 2021 film JFK Revisited including descriptions of the movie's main stories
100 errors in Oliver Stone's 1991 JFK movie lots of real info on events discussed in the movie
Review and link to lecture on JFK: Absolute Proof by Robert Groden (2021)
Review and link to JFK Unsolved: The Real Conspiracies by Dan Noyes and Josiah Thompson (2021)
Daniel Sheehan, activist, philosopher and sometime conspiracy theorist, collected in 2019 a thorough, masterful chronology of JFK events, both fact and theory, often without saying which is which, with sources for some entries indicated only by acronym
Kennedy Assassination homepage lots of links to credible websites and books from all sides, but generally taking a fact-oriented view, by John McAdams
anti-vaccine and covid-hoax theories
The Vaccines Cause Autism Fraud
Scary Reports of Deaths Following COVID-19 Vaccination Aren’t What They Seem by University of Missouri Health Care
How many people have died from the vaccine in the U.S.? by Emily Smith
Dying in the Name of Vaccine Freedom NYT Opinion on youtube
Vaccine Preventable Diseases by San Francisco Department of Health
Vaccination by Our World in Data. Vaccines have greatly reduced the prevalence of diseases everywhere in the world
Myths and conspiracy theories on vaccines and COVID-19: Potential effect on global vaccine refusals
Doctors Debunk 9 Popular COVID-19 Vaccine Myths and Conspiracy Theories
No evidence COVID-19 vaccines cause neurodegenerative diseases in young people
What are mRNA vaccines and how do they work?
mRNA Vaccines for COVID-19 and How Do They Work? by ebsco
How Do mRNA Vaccines Work? by SciShow
Vaccinated People Not More Susceptible to COVID-19 Than Unvaccinated by factcheck.org. A substantial body of evidence shows that that is false: getting vaccinated increases, not lowers, your protection against the coronavirus.
Texas COVID-19 Cases and Deaths by Vaccination Status Dashboard
Tracking COVID-19 in California
COVID-19 Case Rates by Vaccination Status in Santa Clara County
Covid-19 is not a hoax by Reuters, with many links to data.
Fact Check-COVID-19 is caused by a virus, not snake venom by Reuters fact check
the 5G coronavirus conspiracy theory Why conspiracy theorists like David Icke and Alex Jones are causing cellphone towers to be set on fire
No evidence COVID-19 vaccines have caused increase in cancers, contrary to claims made on social media by Reuters fact check
COVID vaccine injury claims mount, but recourse is lacking for those harmed by Jenna Greene of Reuters
The Dangers of Using Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin for Preventing or Treating COVID-19 by South Carolina Department of Health
Hydrochloroquine not recommended for covid by Cochrane health network
There is no evidence that the three vaccines used in the U.S. contain technology to permanently alter human beings by politifact
Follow the coronavirus cases and deaths around the world here
data on cases, vaccinations, deaths etc in Santa Clara County
Sorry anti-vaxxer: a repository of covid anti-vaxxers who died or came close to dying of covid
Safety and Efficacy of Covid19 vaccines by Penn State
Facts about covid 19 vaccines by Mayo Clinic
Chemtrails conspiracy theory by David Keith, widely-accused chemtrails culprit
76 of 77 scientists said they had not encountered evidence of a secret large-scale atmospheric program (SLAP) , and that the data cited as evidence could be explained through other factors
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/11/8/084011/pdf
Here's Where the Chemtrail Conspiracy Theory Actually Came From
Aircraft clouds: From chemtrail pseudoscience to the science of contrails
Those long, thin clouds you see behind planes are contrails, not chemtrails by Verify
Contrail Science by Mick West
what's actually in these so-called chemtrails
Chemtrails: What's the truth behind the conspiracy theory? by BBC
Nick Begich III claims big profits from father's books promoting conspiracies Questions surround the "Begich" congressional race with Sarah Palin in AK. The Begich family has been big in AK politics, and the young 2022 candidate for congress is Republican Nick Begich III, son of Nick Begich II who promotes and publishes the false HAARP conspiracy theory. The son earns lots of money from his investment in his father's sales of books and DVDs on HAARP.
9-11 Conspiracy Theories: How They Evolved
the skeptics/conspiracy view: 14 Key Questions from architects and engineers
Mechanics of Progressive Collapse of the World Trade Center and What Did and Did Not Collapse the WTC in Journal of Engineering Mechanics
The Collapse of World Trade Center Building 7 by PEimpact engineering blog
Questions and Answers about the NIST WTC 7 Investigation (09/17/2010, ARCHIVE, incorporated into 9/19/2011 update)
Dissecting 9/11 Conspiracy Theories by Brian Wagner
erikk77 (not me) wrote this comment that kind of "demolishes" the idea that almost 3000 architects and engineers who signed the famous paper linked above by 19 of them called Architects and Engineers for 9-11 Truth, was "a lot" of architects and engineers, and that the government version is just a few of them controlled by the government: "The Truth Movement always describes the widely accepted version as the "Government Version". In reality the "Government Version" is made up of thousands of newspaper, TV, and radio (reports) produced by journalists from all over the world. Investigations were conducted by independent organizations such as the American Society of Civil Engineers, Purdue University, Northwestern University, Columbia University, National Fire Protection Association, and Underwriters Laboratories. Also eyewitness testimony from thousands of people, recordings and transcripts of phone calls, and air traffic control transmissions." The comment was posted on this video that "demolishes" the notion that nobody knew that WTC building 7 was about to collapse after 7 hours of fire.
How the fire from the jet crashes caused the twin towers to dent and collapse Discovery UK on youtube
How the twin towers collapsed, including architect of the twin towers interviewed
refuting some persistent 9-11 conspiracy theories from UK Sky History
events on the morning of 9-11 from youtube
reconstruction of AA Flight 11 with actual cockpit, air traffic control, NORAD and Flight 175 recordings on 9-11 UA Flight 175 strikes south tower AA Flight 77 strikes the Pentagon The Heroism of Flight 93
The evidence that American Airlines flight 77 hit the Pentagon is irrefutable.
Witness to the plane hitting the Pentagon
Black boxes of the plane was found at the crash scene and Remains of 184 people who died at the Pentagon on 9-11 have been identified, including 64 known passengers on AA Flight 77
Remains of 184 people who died at the Pentagon on 9-11 have been identified
Nose cone and landing gear found