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  • Cheryl Hines Is Officially A Mrs. Kennedy

    Cheryl Hines Is Officially A Mrs. Kennedy

    Cheryl Hines married Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. yesterday and has now joined a long and interesting list of Mrs. Kennedys.

    Cheryl Hines was married Saturday at the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport, Massachusetts. The weather almost had their plans in a bind, but once things got started, it was a beautiful thing!

    Cheryl Hines looked sweet in a very classy tea-length white dress by Romona Keveza and gold strappy heels.

    Such a charming look for Cheryl Hines. It almost seems Jackie-inspired!

    Cheryl Hines and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. were married under a white tent at a beautiful home that was once owned by John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy. The happy couple was surrounded by friends and family. The wedding actually took place during the annual Kennedy family reunion.

    “It’s fun that the two families are coming together.” Cheryl Hines said back in June. “It’s very sweet that way. I come from a big family and the Kennedys are a big family. It feels natural. It feels fun.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvhtEi59s0g

    The couple already has a big family of their own! Cheryl Hines has a daughter, Catherine Rose, 10, with her ex-husband and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has two children with his first wife, Emily Black, and four children with his second wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy.

    Mary Richardson Kennedy tragically committed suicide in May of 2012.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_yCQYTq5xk

    Ted Kennedy, Jr. had some lovely words for the couple during his toast to Cheryl Hines and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

    He said, “Bobby, you are the most adventuresome, the most loving, the most inclusive person in our family. And Cheryl, you are so warm, you are so unflappable.”

    Cheryl Hines, 48, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., 60, were not engaged very long before their marriage. Robert popped the question just back in May!

    “It feels great because you know you are going to be with the person you really like to be with for a very long time,” Cheryl Hines said last month. “And that’s a great feeling.”

    Stars who attended Cheryl Hines’ wedding included her Curb Your Enthusiasm co-star, Larry David, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kevin Nealon and Ed Begley. Music was provided by Lyle Lovett and Natasha Bedingfield. Sounds like a great time was had by all!

    Congratulations to Cheryl Hines and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the beginning of their new life together.

    Image via YouTube

  • Vicki Kennedy Nominated For USPS Board Of Governors

    Vicki Kennedy has been nominated to an advisory position by President Barack Obama. She is being considered for a position on the eleven-member Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service.

    Vicki Kennedy hails from Crowley, Louisiana. Her parents, Doris Ann Boustany and Edmund Reggie, were actively involved in the politics and business in the area. Her father was a banker and a judge while her mother was a Democratic National Committeewoman. The Reggies were supporters of John F. Kennedy and shared a social relationship with him. Edmund Reggie rallied support for JFK at the Democratic National Convention in 1956 when JFK pursued, unsuccessfully, the vice-presidential nomination.

    Vicky Anne Reggie earned her degree in English, graduating magna cum laude from the Newcomb College in New Orleans. She went on to study law at the Tulane University Law School, where she graduated summa cum laude when she received her Juris Doctor degree.

    Vicki Anne Reggie became Vicki Kennedy when she married Senator Ted Kennedy on July 3, 1992. She has two children from her previous marriage to Grier C. Raclin. She divorced Raclin in 1990. Former Senator Ted Kennedy passed away in 2009.

    In 2008, the Kennedys lent their support to Barack Obama in his first bid for the Presidency of the United States.

    Vicki Kennedy’s nomination is one of the nine positions that are appointed by the President of the United States for the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Office. The duty of selecting the Postmaster General is placed in the hands of the Board. The Postmaster General will also become a member of the board of governors, and will be involved in the selection of the board’s 11th member, the Deputy Postmaster General.

    Attorney Vicki Kennedy is currently on the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees. She is also credited for being the co-founder of Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.

    http://youtu.be/4ppKVpipyBc

    Image via YouTube

  • Caroline Kennedy On Familiar Ground In Japan

    A week before the 50th anniversary of her father’s death, Caroline Kennedy entered the country she studied and began to admire many years ago: Japan.

    Kennedy was sworn in as the US Ambassador to Japan on November 12, 2013, making her the first female US Ambassador to the Asian country.

    Kennedy has long been enamored with Japan, and the fondness was strengthened while she was working at the New York Metropolitan Museum in New York City.

    “…I loved to walk through the Japanese galleries, and I became more familiar with Japanese arts and culture,” she said in an interview. “I have long admired Japanese civilization and I know that America has no more important ally than Japan.”

    Hear what Caroline has to say about her new position in her own words by watching the video below:

    Kennedy studied Japanese art while in college, and spent her 1986 honeymoon with husband Edwin Schlossberg in Kyoto and Nara.

    Her trip to Tokyo comes at a time in which the US and other countries have made a historical deal with Iran to put a temporary halt on the Middle Eastern country’s nuclear weapons production. This type of work is close to the only living child of John F Kennedy, as she said her father considered the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to be his biggest success, and that she is proud to work for a president whose aim is to eliminate this frightful weapon from the world.

    Twitter was full of kind words to Kennedy on the anniversary of her father’s death.

    Although Kennedy has basically stayed away from being in any type of political position, she has held many leadership roles in a variety of institutions, including the John F Kennedy Library Foundation, the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Institute of Politics at Harvard University.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • JFK Assassination – 50th Anniversary Brings Tears, Memories, Suspicion

    It’s been 50 years since that fateful day in Dallas’ Dealey Plaza. John F. Kennedy’s life was tragically taken while he rode in a motorcade down the streets of downtown Dallas.

    The 50 years that have gone by didn’t seem to curb that pain and sorrow felt all those decades ago, when 5,000 people gathered to show their respect, and remember. Remember that favorite president who, alongside his lovely wife Jackie, was shot in the head and killed on that fateful day, November 22, 1963. Kennedy was 46 years old.

    “Our collective hearts were broken,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told a crowd of about 5,000 who came to a frigid Dealey Plaza, where Kennedy was slain while riding in a motorcade.

    A Wreath was hung at Arlington Memorial Cemetery where Kennedy was laid to rest, alongside Jackie and two of Kennedy’s children. Flags were at half staff in Washington, D.C. and all around the nation, a country remembered and mourned.

    The John F. Kennedy Museum in Boston housed thousands of people viewing artifacts, letters, and a video of Kennedy’s funeral. Four large guestbooks were available to sign, and people lined up to sign them, sharing their thoughts and condolences.

    “Some people view Kennedy’s assassination as the moment the nation lost its innocence,” said Alex Loughran Lamothe, a 23-year-old volunteer for City Year – an organization modeled on Kennedy’s Peace Corps program – who was helping at the exhibit.

    The circumstances surrounding his death remain a mystery today. Many believe Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone when shooting him in the head from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository as the president rode in an open limousine. Jack Ruby, who shot and killed Oswald 2 days later died in prison just 3 years later.

    Much controversy surrounds this beloved president’s assassination, but the key players in that violent act are no longer alive to sort it out, nor verify facts.

    President Barack Obama, who visited John F. Kennedy’s grave on Wednesday, observed a moment of silence for the slain president, making the comment, “The late president moved people in a way that still resonates with us today.”

    On Friday at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, the pain and sorrow was deeply felt as 85-year-old Jean Kennedy Smith, JFK’s last surviving sibling, laid a wreath at her brother’s grave. She and 10 other members of the Kennedy family joined hands and prayed at the foot of the eternal flame.

    “A new era dawned and another waned a half century ago when hope and hatred collided right here in Dallas,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said in his remarks commemorating Kennedy’s death.

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    The 35th President’s remarkable combination of “youth” and “grace” and his heroics in the Navy during WWII “moved people in a way that still resonates with us today,” President Obama said.

    President John F. Kennedy’s most famous words: “My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

    Images via YouTube
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  • 50th Anniversary Of JFK Assassination Commemorated

    The 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination was commemorated Friday in Dallas amidst prayers and tears. President Kennedy was only 46 when he was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas. His assassination marks one of the darkest moments in the American history.

    “Our collective hearts were broken,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told a crowd of about 5,000 who came to remember JFK in Dealey Plaza where Kennedy was assassinated. “A new era dawned and another waned a half century ago when hope and hatred collided right here in Dallas,” Rawlings said.

    Kennedy is remembered  for his youthful vigor, his handling of the Cuban missile crisis as well as the founding of the Peace Corps.  Several people attending the event recounted how important JFK was to America’s History.

    “If that hadn’t happened, history might have changed. He was a different kind of president,” said Douglas Ducharme, a Canadian attending the event.

    During the event, there were a few scuffles along the perimeter fence around the Dealey plaza between the police and the protesters. There were also some conspiracy theorists who want to take part in the event. Others wanted attention for their concerns about police brutality in Dallas.

    As a result of JFK assassination, several conspiracy theories have been formed as to how he was shot. Conspiracy theorists have expressed doubt about the findings of the official warren commission claiming that the gunman Harvey Oswald might have acted alone. Conspiracy theorists have blamed Fidel Castro, the mob, the CIA,  the  Secret Service, Lyndon Johnson among others.

    A recent Gallup poll  showed that 61%  percent of Americans believe that Oswald did not act alone. Though that percentage may seem high, its the lowest its been since the 1960s.

    Oswald shot the president from the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository as Kennedy rode in an open presidential limo. Two days later after the assassination, Oswald was shot dead by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby while in police custody.

    Did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone? Film director Oliver Stone gives his opinion.

    (Source NBC News  and main image via Wikipedia)

  • Marina Oswald: the Warren Commission Lied

    Marina Oswald: the Warren Commission Lied

    Marina Oswald, born Marina Nikolayevna Prusakova, is best known for being the widow of Lee Harvey Oswald.

    Marina was born on July 17, 1941 in Western Russia and met Oswald, a former U.S. Marine at a dance on March 17, 1961. A year later they had a daughter together and moved to Dallas, Texas.

    In 1963 it is said that Oswald bought a Smith and Wesson .38 revolver and then two months later in March, a Carcano rifle. Marina told the Warren Commission that she took photographs of Lee, in black, holding his weapons along with an issue of The Militant newspaper. One of these photos was given to George De Mohrenschildt, a petroleum geologist and friend of the Oswalds, and has a quote in Marina’s handwriting on the back in Russian. Translated, it reads “Hunter of Fascists, Ha-Ha-Ha!!!”

    In April of 1963, Marina, pregnant with their second child, left Oswald and moved in with a friend, taking their daughter with her.

    Lee found work at the Texas School Book Depository in October. His and Marina’s daughter, Audrey Marina Rachel Oswald, was born that same month. On weekends, Oswald stayed with Marina at her friend’s house. This arrangement continued until President Kennedy’s assassination on November 22.

    According to a fellow TSBD employee, Buell Wesley Frazier, Oswald was attempting to reconcile an argument he had with Marina the night of November 21, but proved was unsuccessful. The next morning when Frazier gave him a ride to work, Oswald left behind his wedding ring and some money, and carried with him a package that he claimed contained the curtain rods.

    Marina heard of the assassination within minutes of the event due to the mass media coverage. That afternoon, Dallas Police Department detectives arrived at the home where she and her children were staying, and asked if Lee owned a rifle. Marina showed them to the garage, where Lee stored his rifle rolled up in a blanket. No rifle was found. Marina was subsequently questioned at that location and later at Dallas PD headquarters.

    Under Secret Service protection, Marina was questioned four times before the Warren Commission, during which she implicated Oswald, saying he was guilty of shooting John F. Kennedy. Her reliability was questioned, however, when she also spoke of an assassination attempt on General Edwin Walker, and an allegation that Oswald had intended to assassinate Richard Nixon. Marina also reiterated in testimony against Oswald in 1978 before the House Select Committee on Assassinations. Both times she used a Russian translator.

    In 1965 Marina married Kenneth Jess Porter and had two sons. In 1989, Marina became a naturalized United States citizen. She has lived in Rockwall, Texas since the mid-1970s.

    In a historic interview with Oprah Winfrey in November of 1996, Marina altered her story, saying “everything good that I learned about John Kennedy came first from Lee and only through him. So, I can swear in front of everybody that Lee Harvey Oswald did not hate President Kennedy – never did.”

    When Oprah asked Marina if she believed that her husband killed President Kennedy at the time, Marina said, “I don’t want to believe it but I have too much facts, and facts tell me that, uh, Lee shot Kennedy.”

    She went on to say that Oswald was physically abusive of her. But, to the surprise of everyone, then added, “…a different kind of picture of Lee in the public’s eye appears, as the most hated man, a man who committed a horrible crime of the century, but at the same time as people learn to hate him more I discovered a different Lee that I did not know. I did not know about his childhood and his true underlying character whatever it was. That’s the role he played. But that doesn’t make him better. But guilty of the crime against Kennedy? He is not.”

    Oprah: “You do not believe your husband killed John F. Kennedy?”

    Marina: “No.” She continued by saying that after twenty years she has come to the educated conclusion that he had “absolutely nothing” to do with it and that “the Warren Commission lied.”

    Today, according to the Inquisitr, on the the 50th anniversary of the assassination, Marina still stands by Oswald’s innocence.

    Image via: YouTube

  • JFK Grave Site To Be Visited By Obama And Clinton

    The 50th anniversary of the former US president, John F. Kennedy will be commemorated on Friday, November 22.  Before the commemoration, President Obama, accompanied by Bill and Hillary Clinton will visit JFK’s grave site on Wednesday, USA today reports.

    An administration official revealed that Obama will make a visit to the Eternal Flame at Arlington National Cemetery accompanied by Michelle Obama and the Clintons.

    Obama will lay a wreath close to the eternal flame. The visit comes 2 days before the November 22nd half-century of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Kennedy was shot twice on Friday, November 22, 1963 as he entered Dealey Plaza in an open Presidential limousine in Dallas.

    On Wednesday Obama will present the Presidential Medals of Freedom (the nation’s highest civilian honors) to this year’s recipients in a morning ceremony at the White House.

    Former president, Bill Clinton, will be one of this year’s 16 recipients of the award, according to a statement from the White House. Other awardees include: media mogul and philanthropist, Oprah Winfrey,  astronaut Sally Ride, and Nobel Prize winner Mario Molina among others. On Friday, the actual anniversary day, Obama will meet leaders and volunteers from Peace Corps, an organization established by JFK in 1961.

    John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States, holding office from January 1961 until he was assassinated in November 1963 . JFK’s body is buried in Arlington National Cemetery next to his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

    Footage from the day President Kennedy was assassinated

    http://youtu.be/V-LA0ypFXig

    (image via Wikipedia)

  • Lee Harvey Oswald: Wedding Band Up For Sale

    Lee Harvey Oswald has remained one of the most fascinating and mysterious people in our history; as the man who fatally shot J.F.K. from a Texas book depository, he was widely hated, yet many are still curious about what made him the man he was before that fateful day.

    Oswald’s wife, Marina, has moved on from that day and built another life with a family, and now she’s putting up at least one significant piece of history for auction: Oswald’s wedding band. Oswald reportedly took it off before leaving the house the day Kennedy was assassinated, and it has sat forgotten in a file of a lawyer who was once under Marina’s employ. Experts believe the ring could fetch as much as $100,000.

    “It gives you such insight into the mind of Lee Harvey Oswald,” said Bobby Livingston of RR Auction.

    The ring is engraved with a sickle and hammer on the inside and will be among several items up for auction from that time period, including Kennedy’s rosary beads and a hat that belonged to Jack Ruby, the man who shot and killed Oswald just after the assassination. The auction is in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the death of Kennedy.

    A television movie will also be aired in November for the anniversary, a film called “Killing Kennedy” which stars Rob Lowe and Michelle Trachtenberg, who plays Marina.

    “I am so excited for the challenge to portray Marina Oswald, and to do my first role speaking only in Russian,” Trachtenberg said. “I’m the only actor playing someone who is still alive, so I want to stay as true to her as possible. This is a story about JFK’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, and his wife Marina. And it is fascinating.”

    The film airs in November on the National Geographic Channel.

    Image: Wikimedia Commons

  • Parkland: A Film Surrounding JFK’s Assassination

    Did you know that John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald died in the same Dallas hospital? How about that the same doctor worked on both men?

    The world was never the same after November 22, 1963, the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Since that time, we’ve heard a million conspiracy theories on who actually shot President Kennedy and we’ve rewatched the Zupruder film over and over again searching for some clue, perhaps for some explanation. There have also been numerous books, films and documentaries about that notorious day in American history.

    Parkland Zapruder
    Parkland Zapruder

    The docudrama “Parkland” was released in theaters today. Instead of being about possible conspiracies or the life of JFK, the film takes a fresh take on the assassination. The “cool” moments of the film are the many reveals of the interesting seldom talked about facts, like the ones above. “Parkland” is an adaptation of the book written by Vincent Bugliosi called “Four Days in November” which is a second by second account of the assassination.

    The film was written and directed by Peter Landesman who chose to concentrate on the mayhem and hysteria surrounding Kennedy’s murder. The movie takes a page from the renowned Kurosawa film “Rashomon” in that we see the story from multiple points of view. What was it like in the ER (the film is named after the hospital where they took the President after he was shot) when Kennedy arrived? How did the city of Dallas respond to the tragedy? How did the Oswald family react? How did Zapruder morally feel about selling his film? What was the personal sentiment of your everyday American citizen?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=SgPjt_BRLvY

    There is no central character in the film. But the list of Hollywood heavy weights is impressive. First off, it was produced by Tom Hanks. Billy Bob Thornton, Zac Effron, Paul Giamatti, Marcia Gay Harden, Colin Hanks and Ron Livingston all play secondary characters. The reviews have been tepid for the film, as the popular site Rottentomatoes.com gave the film a 47% on its famous Tomatometer. Betty Sharkey, the film critic from “The Los Angeles Times” felt that the film had its interesting moments despite its imperfections. She wrote in her review, “What you never doubt are the intentions, to illuminate the ordinary, to find a way to make a historical event newly indelible. Parkland succeeds as it fails. For whatever its flaws, it is unforgettable.”

    Parkland Cast
    Parkland Cast

    “Parkland” can be seen in limited release. You can check out their website to see when and if the film is coming to a theater near you.

    Images via Facebook

  • Michelle Trachtenberg As Lee Harvey Oswald’s Wife

    Michelle Trachtenberg is taking on a challenging role as Marina Oswald, wife of the man accused of shooting President Kennedy on that tragic day in 1963, and says she’s excited to bring to life a woman few know much about in the upcoming television movie “Killing Kennedy”.

    “I am so excited for the challenge to portray Marina Oswald, and to do my first role speaking only in Russian,” Trachtenberg said. “I’m the only actor playing someone who is still alive, so I want to stay as true to her as possible. This is a story about JFK’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, and his wife Marina. And it is fascinating.”

    Marina spoke only broken English and was heavily reliant on her husband as they raised their daughter together in near-poverty. Details about just how much she knew regarding Oswald’s plans were cloudy, but she was aware of his weapon collection and claimed he was planning to assassinate Richard Nixon. Marina later remarried and had two sons, and now lives in Dallas.

    “Killing Kennedy” will premiere later this year on National Geographic Channel in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s murder. Rob Lowe and Ginnifer Goodwin also star.

    (image)

  • Caroline Kennedy Leads Family Visit To Ireland

    Caroline Kennedy recently led a family pilgrimage to Ireland to celebrate the 50th anniversary of JFK’s visit and visited the Limerick village of Bruff, which was the birthplace of ancestor Tom Fitzgerald.

    Bruff residents were extremely excited to welcome back the Kennedys and spruced up the town in anticipation of their arrival.

    “This is our gig, our moment,” said Bruff Heritage Group member Paul Dennehy.

    Caroline Kennedy, her cousin Sydney Lawford, and Caroline and Edwin Schlossberg’s three children – Jack, Rose and Tatiana–visited the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul to look over their ancestry records, drawing in residents who were hoping to catch a glimpse of the family. They also read along with a prayer at a special service held in their honor, and Caroline spoke about her Irish heritage.

    “Grandma always had it that the Fitzgeralds were the better half of the family,” she said.

    The family also brought over an eternal flame from JFK’s grave in Arlington National Cemetery, lighting it in a ceremony with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny. The emotional event marked the first time the flame has been passed in such a manner.

    “May it be a symbol of the fire in the Irish heart, imagination and soul,” Kenny said.

  • Jack Brooks Dies: Texas Congressman Was 89

    Jack Brooks, who spent 42 years in Congress during the days when Democrats took up the majority of Texas politics, has died after a short illness. He was 89 years old.

    Brooks worked closely with President John F. Kennedy–he was in the motorcade on the day Kennedy was assassinated–and became well-known for his work on civil rights issues. He actually helped to write the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned racial segregation.

    Also on the long list of his accomplishments is the establishment of the Department of Education and the reduction of federal paperwork, which benefitted millions of people even if they weren’t aware of it.

    “He literally has saved American taxpayers billions of dollars through his actions in improving government efficiency and eliminating waste,” former Texas Gov. Dolph Briscoe once said of the Congressman.

    Being a Democrat in the state of Texas didn’t come without some hardships, however; Brooks’ stance on gun control and abortion earned him a defeat for re-election in 1994. But Brooks said he recognized that the job was a hard one when he took office and never expected it to be anything but.

    “I never thought being a congressman was supposed to be an easy job, and it doesn’t bother me a bit to be in a good fight,” he said.

    Brooks is famously pictured standing behind Jackie Kennedy as Lyndon Johnson took the oath of office after the assassination in 1963.

    Image: Wikipedia

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