Hmmm..... Anyone who compares
himself to the Rosetta Stone, I have serious issues with before he says anything else.
Man who may be JFK's son follows conspiracy theorist
Jack Worthington says key to his history may lie in book by widely dismissed writer
MARSHA LEDERMAN
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
February 14, 2008 at 4:41 AM EST
The British Columbia-based man who has the world wondering whether he is the son of John F. Kennedy is a follower of a U.S. author widely dismissed as a conspiracy theorist on the Kennedy assassination.
During a wide-ranging interview this week that was short on specifics, Jack Worthington indicated to The Globe and Mail that the key to his story and how it relates to Mr. Kennedy may lie in the book Blood, Money & Power: How L.B.J. Killed J.F.K. It was written by Barr McClellan, a former attorney for president Lyndon Johnson.
In his book, Mr. McClellan suggests there was a high-level conspiracy to kill President Kennedy and that the conspiracy - and cover-up - involved Mr. Johnson, the vice-president, who succeeded Mr. Kennedy. The book also suggests the shift in power benefited rich Texas oilmen because Mr. Johnson did not decrease an oil depletion allowance.
"Behind the attorney-client shield in the deep politics of Texas, the most monstrous crime in the nation was planned, completed, covered up, and paid for with power plays that were in place long before and long after Nov. 22, 1963," the book states.
Mr. McClellan's hypothesis has been widely discounted by other historians, who accept the Warren commission's conclusion that a lone gunman killed the president.
In a meeting with The Globe,
Mr. Worthington said his mother's paternal family had strong political ties to Mr. Johnson, and he stated that "the rise of LBJ and fall of JFK" were significant factors in his own story and in any possible connection to the Kennedys.
"My existence is a potential Rosetta stone for a confusing period of American history," he said, citing the ancient stone found in Egypt that has become known as a symbol for the solution to a puzzle.
The catalyst for Mr. Worthington's decision to go public was a New York Post report last week that Vanity Fair had been working for about 18 months on a story about a Vancouver man who claimed to be the son of Mr. Kennedy.
After The Globe published a story about the speculation, Mr. Worthington contacted the newspaper, saying he wanted to speak with "a respected national publication."
Mr. Worthington, 46, is from Texas but lives in B.C. He is twice divorced, and married to a woman he says is Canadian. He has been in Canada for about five months.
He insists he is not motivated by money. "I told Vanity Fair that I would sign an agreement with the Kennedys immediately, in which I agree not to pursue any financial remuneration from the JFK estate whatsoever," he told The Globe, reading from a prepared statement.
He also urged the Kennedy family to provide DNA samples so tests could be run to see if there is a match.
But Mr. Worthington refused The Globe's offer to conduct the DNA testing, saying he would prefer that all testing go through Vanity Fair.
Mr. Worthington has refused to answer several questions, including why he believes he may be connected to Mr. Kennedy. In fact, he was consistently evasive when asked directly whether he believes he is the son of the late president.
He won't say why exactly he is coming forward. Nor will he say whether he went to Vanity Fair with his claims or if the publication contacted him. Vanity Fair has not commented.
Mr. Worthington did tell The Globe that his interest in Mr. Kennedy was sparked "just recently," but beyond mentioning the book, which was published in 2003, he did not indicate where his recent interest originated.
The death of Mr. Worthington's father last May could have been a factor in his decision to go public. Jack Worthington Senior was a basketball coach and high-school administrator in Houston.
"I had an idyllic childhood," Mr. Worthington told The Globe. "I had a fantastic father-son relationship with the man who raised me."
There are some remarkable coincidences in this case: The president was assassinated on young Jack's second birthday - in Texas, where the Worthingtons lived.
And Mr. Worthington does indeed bear a striking resemblance to Mr. Kennedy.
But as much as some may be enchanted by the idea of a little bit of Camelot coming to B.C., there is no evidence at this point that Jack Worthington can carry that claim.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ ... ional/home
by FourthBase » Wed Feb 13, 2008 3:02 pm 
