November 22, 1963

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917–November 22, 1963), often referred to as Jack Kennedy or JFK, was the 35th President of the United States. He served from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Kennedy was a member of the prominent Kennedy political family. Considered the icon of American liberalism, Kennedy is the youngest person ever to be elected president, at the age of 43. (Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest ever to serve as president). Major events during his presidency included the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, early events of the Vietnam War, and the American Civil Rights Movement. In rankings of U.S. presidents historians usually grade Kennedy slightly above average, but among the general public he is often regarded as among the greatest presidents.

Kennedy is also the only Roman Catholic ever to become President, the first president to serve who was born in the 20th century, the last Democrat from the North to be elected, and the last to be elected while serving in the U.S. Senate.

Kennedy died the youngest of any president, at 46 years and 177 days, when he was assassinated on November 22, 1963. The assassination is often considered a defining moment in American history both because of its traumatic impact on the entire nation, and because of Kennedy's elevation as an icon for a new generation of Americans and American aspirations. Kennedy was the last president to die in office.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy

The world could have been so much better had he lived.:cry:

We miss you, Mr. President :patriot:

:toast:
Cheers

voting age was 21 back then. his assassination had a traumatic effect on most americans. i think that was the day that america lost her innocence.

bobby kennedy was assassinated in 1968. i believe he would have been a great president if he were allowed to live.

the day we all died. Even me and I wasn't even born then.

One thing I'll remember as long as I live.

for me.

That's how old he'd be if he were still alive, although with all the health issues he had he may not have made it. I was 5 when he was assasinated and do not have any memories of his presidency save for a vague recollection of Caroline and the talk of her pony "Macaroni." I do recall watching his funeral on TV. All 3 channels had it on. All the neighbors were all gathered in the kitchen of one of them. I was in the living room of the upstairs neighbor where I remember them all being and I was in the living room watching the Tv with the boy that lived there. He would keep getting up every now and then and changing the channels to see if he could get "Tom and Jerry" or some other cartoon. All they had on Tv was this "parade." At least that's what we thought we were watching.

remindd me his son lived an even shorter life than him. :cry:

It was like being thrust into premature adulthood, and it seemed the entire adult world had gone absolutely insane. I was horrified and furious and frightened out of my wits that the man I so admired had been shot down like a dog, his blood and brains spattered all over his wife seated next to him. Then Oswald was assassinated in front of my eyes on live TV, and my budding bullshit detector went off at a high pitch. It was all too... efficiently done. Assassin dead, problem solved, nothing to see here, move along.

Later, when I saw the Life magazine photos of Oswald hoisting a rifle, I went to my father and pointed out that his fingers had been "cut off" in the photo... there was Oswald's hand on the rifle, with his fingers photograhically cut off at the knuckle. My bullshit detector was in high gear. I wasn't buying the official story as a child and my opinion has not changed since.

JFK, God bless him... my first and last hero.

I believe this country's course was permanently altered as a result of his death. If he had been allowed to live, I believe we would have avoided the Vietnam War, and so many more people would be alive on both sides. Nixon and the Watergate Scandal probably would not have happened as Bobby would've been a contender for president after JFK's term ended.

I believe John had the gravitas to help Dr. King transition peacefully from Jim Crow and segregation to equality, and I believe he would've been good in ending not just segregation but also economic segregation, something we've recently been taught a lesson in by observing the rioting in France's poorest slums after taking a good, hard, long look at our poorest slums.

I'm not saying Kennedy was the perfect president. He was human just like the rest of us, and he made some mistakes like we all do, but at least he tried to make a change for the better instead of simply accepting things as they are, and he was no friend of anyone who would put the pursuit of profit above human life.

FDR's Second Bill of Rights

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Bill_of_Rights

Introduced in the 1944 SOTU:

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Franklin_Delano_Roosevelt's_Eleventh_State_of_the_Union_Address

I wonder why Truman never carried it forward. This country would be so much different if the 2nd Bill of Rights was enacted.

I was in Dallas for the 40th anniversary ceremonies. There were several hundred gathered in the plaza at 12:30 for the memorial. Met several researcher friends and also listened briefly to Jesse Ventura who was also there to remember JFK.

I was only 11, but the images of the assassination, the funeral and Oswald's murder on TV are indelibly etched in my memory. It has been said that 9/11 changed everything. I don't believe that is true. For me and millions of others, the Assassination of President Kennedy was and is still the defining moment of our generation.

I remember sitting on the steps of my elementary school election day '60 telling every person going in to vote "Vote for Kennedy! My mom says so!" During a tribute televised from Germany was the first time I heard music by Beethoven. I truly believe the impact of this circumstance is what led me to become a musician.

when the announcement was made that JFK had been shot . . . since I was in the noisy halls, I didn't hear it, and when I got to English class and took my seat, a classmate asked, rather increduously, "Can you imagine Johnson as president?" . . .

"Huh?" was all I could manage, still not knowing what had happened . . .

"Didn't you hear? Kennedy's been shot," she told me . . . and you could have knocked me over with a feather . . . talk about cognitive dissonance . . . if the term had been around at the time, my reaction would have been "does not compute" . . .

almost immediately the PA system for the entire school was tapped into a live radio feed from one of the networks, reporting on what was happening . . . this was just about at 1:00 pm eastern time . . . for the next half hour we sat there in rapt attention, listening to history being made . . . no one said a word . . . almost exactly at 1:30, it was reported that the president was dead . . .

the school buses were called in immediately, the rest of the day was cancelled, and we all went home, mostly in silence . . . as soon as I got home, I plopped down in front of the tv and virtually didn't leave that position for the next three or four days . . . on Sunday I saw Oswald shot by Jack Ruby live on tv . . . then I settled in for the lying in state and the funeral . . .

what's stayed with me to this day is the sound of the muffled drums during the funeral procession . . . I know that drum sequence by heart, and can still imitate it today . . .

No one at that time would ever believe that a President, let alone a popular President like Kennedy would ever be assassinated.

I guess there is some truth in the statement that only the good die young.

Thank you for posting.

Especially when you consider that they were born into privilege and could have stayed out of the political arena altogether. Yet to this day, after losing his two brothers, Teddy continues to make a real difference for those who are less fortunate in this country: Minimum wage, health care, the environment. I could go on...

We owe this family a lot.

The shock and horror of that day is indelible. And then what happened to Bobby. Jack was a patrician who could feel for all the people; Bobby was "Of the people".
Re your Wes Clark logo. Do you feel the same way as I? That not since Bobby Kennedy have I been so inspired by a public figure as have I been inspired by Wes Clark. I believe that if this leader becomes our president, some of the ideals of JFK and RFK will be able to be carried out.

As far as Wes Clark is concerned, he is one of the few candidates I've respected and feel is qualified to be President. During the primaries, I had the opportunity to see Clark speak at several town hall meetings and visit with his briefly afterward. Not only did he come across as exceptionally bright, but also very personable.

For me, a comparison between Clark and RFK is somewhat difficult since I was just getting to know RFK when he was assassinated. He was so young and seemed to have so much to offer. Very sad day too. Honestly, I was beginning to wonder if our country was coming apart at the seams...JFK, RFK, King, Vietnam, riots, shortly after that Kent State, Watergate.