conspiracy theorists

[thx1138]

http://www.rense.com/general85/conspir.htm

[trish]

To believe that Nixon covered up Watergate, or Reagan was covering up Iran-Contra is to believe in a conspiracy or two. They do happen. Most of us don’t doubt it. We are not afraid to question various persons or organizations in the government to whom we have vouchsafed our power. However, the Mel Gibson character, to whom the article linked above refers, was not someone who weighed the evidence and came to believe in a particular conspiracy. He was obsessed with the very notion of conspiracy. He believed every conspiracy theory on the basis that it was one and then went out looking for evidence to support the belief, choosing to judge contrary evidence as unimportant or misleading or fabricated. Were we all conspiracy theorists, in this sense of the word, trust would be impossible, community would be impossible, representative government would be impossible. Skepticism is a healthy ingredient in every intellectual diet. But conspiracy theorists are skeptical of government to the point of being gullible purveyors of other private cons and political propaganda.

[thx1138]

You can't trust the mainstream media 100%. They are controlled by the political apparatus in Washington DC and elsewhere. Gov't is always trying to cover up its screwups and covert activites. I pray Obama will be different this time.

[trish]

You can't trust the mainstream media 100%.

I agree, and I don't think I ever implied otherwise.

They are controlled by the political apparatus in Washington DC and elsewhere.

This is a tautology, because of the "elsewhere" clause which allows for the possibility of autonomy.

Gov't is always trying to cover up its screwups and covert activites.

What do you mean by "Gov't" and what do you mean by "always" ? While one governmental agency is covering for a screw up, another may be functioning fine. Not everything some government agency releases is a lie or a cover up.

I pray...

I don't, it's a sign of extreme gullibility.

...Obama will be different this time.

It's his first time. But I would be pleased if his administration is more transparent than those past.

[thx1138]

example of a cover up: Abu Ghraib treatment of prisoners: extremely embarrassing for Rumsfeld. Missing trillion$ of Pentagon money: Has the mainstream media ever covered this detail?

[trish]

Yes. Do you ever listen to NPR or watch the PBS News Hour? Ever read the New York Times. These issues were indeed covered.

[thx1138]

Missed that. I was too busy earning a living at the time. Had no PC either.

[Oli]

If this is true...

Missed that. I was too busy earning a living at the time. Had no PC either.

This should never have been said.

example of a cover up: Abu Ghraib treatment of prisoners: extremely embarrassing for Rumsfeld. Missing trillion$ of Pentagon money: Has the mainstream media ever covered this detail?

Shit like this kind of kills any credibility you have.

[El Nino]

Wait a minute here... Just what about those trillions, that on 09/10/01, D. Rumsfeld reported missing!?!?! Yeah that's right, TRILLIONS...

Funny, that the events that transpired the following day, kind of made that money wash away from everybody's minds. That amount of money just doesn't "go missing". Anybody who believes that needs E.S.T. or something...

ABC News Clip: http://www.livevideo.com/video/rclar...trillion-.aspx

[thx1138]

Re missing trillion$: it's not really missing. No one wants to fess up where it was spent. It could get them killed.