It has been 45 years since Pres. John F. Kennedy was assassinated, yet "historians have pretty much ignored the assassination as a historical event, and they need to weigh in against the excesses of conspiracy theory as false history," urges Michael G. Smith, associate professor of history at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind.

• Position: Noteworthy - Brief article

It has been 45 years since Pres. John F. Kennedy was assassinated, yet "historians have pretty much ignored the assassination as a historical event, and they need to weigh in against the excesses of conspiracy theory as false history," urges Michael G. Smith, associate professor of history at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. "We need to begin to respect the dead rather than...