Walker murder attempt strongest evidence Oswald alone assassinated President Kennedy

Almost from the moment President John Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, conspiracy theories have abounded regarding his death. The Mafia, the Cubans, the CIA, and others have been fingered in various theories. Oliver Stone's film JFK took the rhetoric to new heights with a conspiracy that went up to the highest levels of government and included Kennedy's successor President Lyndon Johnson.

Many people seem incapable of accepting that a nobody like Lee Harvey Oswald could have been the sole person responsible for the president's death. However, I believe he was. The most compelling piece of evidence that convinces me is that Kennedy was not the first person Oswald attempted to assassinate.

In early 1963, he had attempted to murder General Edwin Walker at Walker's home in Dallas but failed. From Gerald Posner's book Case Closed -- Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK: "Walker disturbed Oswald. (Walker) had been the commanding officer of the 24th Army Division under NATO, but President Kennedy relieved him of his post in 1961 for distributing right-wing literature to his troops. Walker resigned from the Army and returned to his native Texas. He was a virulent anti-Communist and strict segregationist who quickly became a prominent voice in the right-wing John Birch Society."

Oswald failed in his attempt to kill him when the bullet he shot struck a wooden frame that crossed the window in Walker's dining room. The frame caused the bullet to break into fragments, some of which struck Walker's forearm. Additionally, there is no evidence whatsoever that anybody helped Oswald in this attempt. It was not known that he did this until after Kennedy's death.

Doesn't it seem reasonable to conclude that if Oswald was willing to kill once that he would have been willing to kill again? How might history have changed if he had succeeded in killing Walker? Would that have satisfied his thirst for blood? Would that have spared Kennedy?

Of course, the answers to those questions are subjective. However, it has puzzled me that the Walker incident is almost never discussed when analyzing the Kennedy assassination. It would seem to be an important piece of the puzzle when trying to understand who Oswald was. Then again, it might punch a hole in the conspiracy theories that have made so many people so much money. Oliver Stone sure ignored this when he made his film.

Still, everybody is entitled to their own opinion. However, I believe this is a case where the simplest answer is the correct one.

Looking forward: Tennessee's football schedule in 2011

The sting of the Music City Bowl still remains, which means we should probably start looking forward to the Tennessee Volunteer's 2011 football schedule. Despite the bowl loss, the team appears to be on the upswing. Here is the schedule:

Sept. 3 vs. Montana
Sept. 10 vs. Cincinnati
Sept. 17 at Florida
Oct. 1 vs. Buffalo
Oct. 8 vs. Georgia
Oct. 15 vs. LSU
Oct. 22 at Alabama
Oct. 29 vs. South Carolina
Nov. 5 vs. Middle Tennessee
Nov. 12 at Arkansas
Nov. 19 vs. Vanderbilt
Nov. 26 at Kentucky

The Volunteers play eight of its 12 games at Neyland Stadium, including five of the first six. The non-conference schedule is weaker than most years with the most challenging game coming against either Cincinnati or Middle Tennessee. Once again, October is the make or break month for the team as it faces several tough opponents, such as Alabama and LSU.

Of course, between now and then, several important questions must be answered. Will the team be able to develop a consistent running game? Who will fill the shoes of Nick Reveiz at middle linebacker? Will a consistent kicker emerge?

There will be time to debate all this and more in the coming months. The schedule practically guarantees a return to a bowl game. But Tennessee fans will be hungry for more this year.

Will high gas prices equal trouble for President Obama in 2012?

Listen up all you drivers who consume gasoline like Coca-Cola because some really bad news may be heading your way in the next year or so.

In a recent interview with Platt's Energy Week television, the former president of Shell Oil, John Hofmeister, said Americans could be paying as much as $5 for a gallon of gasoline by 2012.

Though other experts in the industry disagree with this prediction, Hofmeister's comments should be a wake-up call for us all. Recently, oil prices exceeded $90 a barrel, and anybody who traveled during the Christmas holiday can attest that gas prices have crept higher.

While gas prices remained slightly below the $3 a gallon mark in our area, many places in the country were not so lucky. Especially in the Northeast, gas prices jumped above $3.10 a gallon.

It appears that we may go through a sequel of a really bad nightmare. Only a couple of years ago, prices surged above $4 a gallon, and the complaining from drivers was shrill and annoying.

Back then, many of us paid a dear price for having developed bad driving habits that included purchasing SUVs the size of tanks that got really bad gas mileage. Have we learned from that? I guess we will find out if Hofmeister’s prediction comes true.

If nothing else, we learned in 2008 that people will say anything to avoid taking responsibility for their own decisions when it comes to driving habits. Among the more humorous complaints during that period was that President George W. Bush was involved in some sort of conspiracy with the big oil companies to keep prices high.

Of course, from a political standpoint, this point of view made no sense whatsoever. It would have been political suicide to do anything of this nature. The bottom line is people had developed excessive driving habits and the cost cut deep into our wallets when we filled up at the pumps.

If Hofmeister's prediction comes true, I wonder if similar conspiracy theories will be hurled at President Barack Obama. Given how volatile our national political landscape is, I'm sure some crackpot will.

However, consider this: Unemployment remains unacceptably high, and in 2012, Obama runs for re-election.

If he has to run for re-election with both unemployment and gas prices high, it could be a nasty campaign. I will go on record now and predict that Obama will be re-elected in 2012. Still, if he has to battle those two issues, it will be a rough grind for him.

Last year's mid-term elections showed us all that voters are already impatient with Washington. Extremely high gas prices could become another issue that make folks rage against the machine in Washington.

To a large degree, this would be a repeat of what happened a couple years ago. People would not take responsibility for their decisions back then, and I do not believe they will in 2012 if prices do reach $5 a gallon.

It is always convenient to blame somebody else, and politicians make especially easy targets these days. I understand that my point of view on this is pretty cynical, but human nature being what it is, I can't imagine this unfolding any other way.

Still, 2012 is almost a full 12 months away, and there is still time to re-shape our driving habits. This could ease the demand for gasoline, causing Hofmeister's prediction to become just another comment that will not come true.

After all, people make predictions every day that come and go like the wind.

In this case, let us hope that Hofmeister's prediction gets blown away with the force a tornado brings.

If it does not, it will be us that will get blown away at the gas pump.