Since I stand accused as a tin foil hat, I thought I should embrace it.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/233518
Know Your Conspiracies
NEWSWEEK’s guide to today’s trendiest, hippest, and least likely fringe beliefs.
By David A. Graham | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Feb 12, 2010
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Like recurring nightmares, conspiracy theories aren’t necessarily gone for good just because they disappear for a while. They often come back, sometimes in slightly different forms. Their last golden age came during the middle of the Bush administration, which saw rumors from the political left about connections between the Bushes and the bin Ladens, insinuations about the military-industrial complex and the Patriot Act—actually, pretty much every plotline in Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. Nothing breeds paranoid theories like political exile, which means that with Democrats back in the White House, it’s the right’s turn to take up the standard, a task it isn’t shirking. And of course, several leftist theories remain in circulation. If you’re having a hard time keeping all these paranoid points of view straight, here’s a handy primer.
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1. Barack Obama was not born in the United States
2. Anthropogenic global warming is a hoax.
3. Goldman Sachs intentionally created the economic crisis.
4. Democrats’ health plan will create death panels.
5. Barack Obama is a secret Muslim.
6. Sarah Palin is not the mother of her 1-year-old son, Trig.
7. ACORN is part of a liberal conspiracy to steal elections.
8. FEMA is establishing detention camps.
9. The Council on American-Islamic Relations is trying to infiltrate Capitol Hill and spread jihad.
10. Obama wants to conscript Americans into a civilian defense corps.
11. Time magazine wants to restrict the Internet to licensed users.
12. 9/11 was an inside job.
13. The Omnibus One-World Government, Unified Currency, Dollar-Abolishing, Free Trade–Advocating Theory of Everything
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That’s a list; not a taxonomy!
What makes up a “good conspiracy”?
Buzz, coverups, and some truth in the the theory.
My taxonomy: (1) Government; (2) Political; (3) Historical; and (4) Miscellaneous.
(1) Government
(1-1) 9/11 Truthers have shown enough to convince me that we didn’t get the whole story.
(1-2) Did FDR deliberately provoke the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor and act to ensure it was a disaster.
(2) Political
(2-1) “Barack Obama”. Not that he wasn’t born in the USA; I don’t know. Just that there is a tremendous coverup of all his documentation. AND, someone is spending a ton of money to keep it hidden.
(2-3) The “Progressive Movement” is a conspiracy to convert the USA into a Marxist state.
(3) Historical; and
(3-1) Kennedy Assassination. Does any one believe that Oswald shot a magic bullet from a terrible rifle at an angle at moving target?
(3-2) The Lusitania was carrying contraband arms and should not have been an incident.
(3-3) The Federal Reserve Bank is “The Creature From Jekyll Island,”
(4) Miscellaneous
(4-1) Man Caused Global Warming, Please come shovel out my sidewalk!
(4-2) Apollo moon landings were “staged”
Is there a better taxonomy?
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