Michael Elston Psy/201 Michele Marvel

Michael Elston Week 6 Michele Marvel June 23. 2013 Library Research Skills

Ms. Marvel, please note that I have not taken one of your suggestions for revision. Note my reasoning in green font.

Michael Elston Psy/201 Michele Marvel The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy

The 35th President of the United States, has always fascinated me. Rita Dove, who was Poet Laureate of the United States for a time, is an old friend of my maternal grandparents. She wrote an article about the Kennedy assassination, an article that captures the emotional response of the American people to the murder of Kennedy [Missing citation.]. While it is not inappropriate to recordIn answering these questions, the identity of the shooter is not really of primary concern to me. Was it a coup dtat as Jim Garrisons investigation suggests. This investigation is portrayed in Oliver Stones movie, JFK. Unfortunately, however, the movie is fictionalized. For six seconds, however, (the same time it took to assassinate the president) Stone flashes two National Security Action Memoranda [Plur (NSAMpronounced ensam) on the screen: NSAM 263 and NSAM 273. The first of these was issued by Kennedy shortly before his death, and it called for the withdrawal of 1,000 troops from Vietnam. The second NSAM was issued by Johnson a day or so after he became president, and it calls for an escalation of that same war. This could hardly be coincidental. [Please note that the previous sentence in red is not a fragment. The word This, a pronoun, serves as the subject of the sentence. Could be is the verb, which is rendered a complete predicate with the adjective coincidental. The word hardly is an adverb modifying the verb, could be. The pronoun this refers to the apparent coincidence of the fact that Kennedys last NSAM calls for a scaling down of the war, while Johnsons NSAM three or four days after the Kenney assassination calls for an escalation of that same war. Since this sentence is manifestly not a fragment, nor a dependent clause, our difference in judging it is a

Michael Elston Psy/201 Michele Marvel matter of style not grammar. For the appropriateness of the style of this sentence please see Virginia Tufte, Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style(Graphics Press, 2006) and Brooks Landon Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writers Craft (The Teaching Company, 2008). I do not think joining this sentence to the previous one is appropriate because that move will make it part of that sentence. With the word This I intend to reference the relationship between the two previous sentences. a is Sentence fragment, or nonlinked dependent clause. Rewrite the sentence as an independent clause or attach to the predicate sentence with a semi-colon.] According to an online article on Wikipedia about the assassination, the Warren Commission[1] [Citation error.] found in 1964 that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunman who killed the president. According to family stories, including those of Rita Dove, this is nonsense. In 1978 the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA)[2] concluded that Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy. However, the HSCA also stated specifically that the CIA, the Soviet Union, organized crime, and several other groups were not part of the plot. One wonders who might be left to form this conspiracy. According to a Wikipedia article, the assassination has spawned numerous conspiracy theories. [3]

If I were to write a paper on this topic, I would use Rita Doves article to show how inadequate it is to explain anything. And then I would research the event as carefully as I could. The very idea of dismissing anything as a conspiracy theory seems absurd to me and merely a cheap rhetorical power play. To determine

Michael Elston Psy/201 Michele Marvel whether something is true or is merely a "conspiracy theory" would take exactly the same amount of research. There clearly are conspiracies afoot, some of them are real, and some of them are indeed absurd. That 19 men with box cutters hijacked planes and flew them into the World Trade Center is a perfect example of an absurd conspiracy theory. The Kennedy assassination, on the other hand, was, by the governments own admission, a conspiracy. What kind of conspiracy it really was, however, remains unanswered. My interest in this subject is not so much to answer the question as to who dun it. Instead, I am interested in the political structures and climate that made the assassination possible. According to what I have learned so far, the FBI, the CIA and organized crime, and, especially drug trafficking were clearly involved. And, so far, it seems that the political forces that killed Kennedy won the day because the war in Afghanistan is equally clearly about the opium trade, though there are other factors. Also, since Kennedys attempt to withdraw from Vietnam (a clear motive for murder), we have had perpetual war, often illegal and undeclared. It also seems a legitimate question if napalming children or sending drones after men on motor scooters and donkeys can legitimately be called a war. The method is very different from Hitlers ovens, but it still looks like genocide to me.

Michael Elston Psy/201 Michele Marvel

REFERENCES: http://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/warren-commission-report/

[2] http://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_John_F._Kennedy

Written Assignment Grading Form for Library Research Skills and Adult Social Development, Week Six

Michael Elston Psy/201 Michele Marvel Article Retrieval 5 Points The article was retrieved from the university library as is evidenced by the entry in the reference list. (5 Points). Content 1 Point The summary of the article addresses the following questions (1/2 Point Each): Points Earned Points Earned

0/5
The article that was used was taken from an outside source and not the university library. (0 Points)

1/1

Explain why you chose this topic You discussed your rationale for choosing this and article. article. (1/2 Point) If you had to write a research paper on this topic, would you use the article you selected? Explain why or why not. You discussed whether or not you would want to include this article in a research paper. (1/2 Point)
Word Count 1/2 Point Points Earned

.5/.5

The summary of the article is at least The summary meets the minimum 300 words. requirements for word count. (1/2 Point) Mechanics 1/2 Point The article summary is free from spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation errors (1 Point). APA Style 3 Points Points Earned

0/.5 Spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation errors are present (0 Points)

Points Earned

The overall format of the paper (Title page, margins, etc.) is in APA style (1 Point). In-text citations are properly used to reference the article throughout the paper (1 Point).

1.5/3 There are some errors with APA style. Please see the notes within the paper for specific details (1/2 Point). In-text citations were used, but there are some errors with their formatting. (1/2 Point)

Michael Elston Psy/201 Michele Marvel

A reference list is included and is in APA format.

Total Possible Points: 10 Points

The reference list contains errors in APA style. (1/2 Point)

Points Earned: 3/10 None Grade Total: : 3 /10 Late Penalty:

Overall Comments:

I have reviewed your Week 6 Assignment: Library Research Skills and Adult Social Development. The assignment was submitted on time. Please see my comments in the rubric for specific details regarding your grade.

Point to consider:

The Center for Writing Excellence has some excellent resources on improving your writing skills. What steps can you take to improve your writing skills through this course? Are there any specific areas that you feel you need more help with?