Now that we've covered "Dr." Scott Whitaker, let's take a look at some of the other medical professionals who have been guests on The Alex Jones Show. First up is...
Rebecca Carley, M.D. (AKA Ghandi with Breasts)
"Vaccines are biological weapons. Period."
Ms. Carley was a guest on Jones' show on the 5th of this month. She warned that They are planning to create an Avian Flu pandemic. Early in the broadcast she said They will unleash the flu in order to offload the supply of Tamiflu before it expires. Paradoxically, she later says the "vaccine" itself will be used to start the pandemic. As evidence of this plot she cited a 2008 report that the U.S. is refusing to sell supplies of Tamiflu to nations that sponsor terrorism, for fear they will use the doses to create bioweapons. She believes this is just a cover story: They actually want to keep it for themselves so they can use it to infect people with Avian Flu.
Confused yet?
She didn't explain why she refers to Tamiflu as "bird flu vaccine", when it is not really a vaccine. She also didn't explain why They would use the "vaccine" to infect people when they could just use Avian Flu viruses.
She told listeners that vaccines cause cancer and all autoimmune diseases (as you'll see, her concept of autoimmune diseases is, um, creative). To Carley's mind, this goes back to the Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918; it originated with vaccines administered to U.S. soldiers in WWI. In reality, the origin of the epidemic has not been identified. This lacuna in medical knowledge leaves lots of room for conspiracists to spin fantasies, theories, and wild guesses about the Spanish Flu being the world's first genetically engineered bioweapon. Seriously. Dr. Bill Deagle has talked about it, too.
Far from being the vaccine expert she declares herself to be, Carley does not have even a basic grasp of how inoculation works. She asks, "If something is a dangerous pathogen, why am I going to inject it into my body?" Eighteenth-century milkmaids grasped the principle behind inoculation; why can't this reasonably intelligent, educated, twentieth-century doctor get it?
Jones heartily concurred with everything Carley had to say, and vice-versa. Carley shares Jones' view that an indiscriminate, worldwide depopulation effort is underway. She refers to vaccination as a "holocaust." Like "Dr." Whitaker, she opposes universal healthcare on the grounds that it will merely be a front for the depopulation agenda. Again, this vaccination-as-murder theory leaves us with the question, Why not avoid vaccination altogether and let people die naturally from all the nasty diseases vaccines prevent?
Though Carley's website, interviews, and talks ostensibly focus on medical issues (particularly "vaccine-induced diseases" and Avian Flu), she approaches them from a conspiracy theorist's perspective. She collaborates with a conspiracy researcher and self-described "doctor" called True Ott.
Ms. Carley has a medical degree from SUNY, but never completed her residency. She has never worked as a doctor, though she held numerous health-related jobs for short periods of time until 2003. That's when her license to practice medicine was suspended by the New York State Board for Professional Medical Conduct. She was deemed as "impaired by a mental disability"after psychiatrist Zev Labins concluded she was suffering a delusional disorder, with narcissistic and borderline personality traits. She had been giving medical exemptions to parents who didn't want to vaccinate their children, on the grounds that all vaccines are "genocidal weapons of mass destruction" developed by Freemasons in the U.S. Dept. of Health and the Dept. of Defense, as part of the Masons' plot to take over all professions. She also believed that she could cure all autoimmune disorders and diseases with her "Hippocratic Protocol" detox system, and included in her list of these disorders and diseases austism spectrum disorders, diabetes, cancer, ADD, learning disabilities, asthma, and allergies. Of all the conditions on her list, only one (lupus) is actually an autoimmune disease. She classified all these conditions as "vaccine-induced diseases, or VIDS".
Carley believed that an alliance of Satanists, Freemasons, medical professionals, governmental agencies, and legislators were conspiring to prevent her from "curing autism". Her own husband was a part of this plot; on behalf of the government, she told Labins, he raped their son during a Satanic ritual in retaliation for her anti-vaccination efforts. The rape also served the purpose of causing Dissociative Identity Disorder (multiple personalities) in the boy, so that government agents could "program" his alters to do their bidding. No evidence of abuse was found by doctors, detectives, or child welfare. Carley's ex-husband was granted full custody of his son in 2000.
Because of this massive conspiracy against her, Carley likened herself to Joan of Arc and "Ghandi with breasts".
Another reason Carley lost her license was that had made threats against many of the people she suspected of being part of the conspiracy against her (police officers, social services workers who were unable to find any evidence of child abuse against her son, and others with any degree of authority). She even threatened to harm the children of a police officer who was assigned to escort her to hospital.
Rather than undergo therapy and regain her license, Carley became an unlicensed "wholistic detox consultant". (Her license was permanently revoked in 2004.) She continues to claim that her detox regimen can cure cancer, autism, and nearly every other condition known to medicine. Sadly, parents desperately seeking a "cure" for their children's autism continue to turn to this deeply unwell woman and her untested treatments. She has also managed to convince a few other credulous doctors, like Monty Weinstein, that she really is a medical "whistleblower" and the victim of a massive conspiracy.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
"Dr." Death Part II:
Scott Whitaker's Credentials
The regulations governing naturopathy in the U.S. are outrageously loosey-goosey, confusing, and varied. You can be a naturopathic doctor in one state, but might not even qualify for licensing in another. There is no recognized body for accreditation of schools. The term itself is an umbrella for a vast array of practices, from homeopathy to colour therapy.
With such vague boundaries and lenient standards in place, I find it hard to take naturopaths too seriously when they insist they're being persecuted by the medical establishment.
That said, I have tried to verify some of the credentials that Scott Whitaker lists in his bio, in order to figure out if he's as qualified in his field as he says he is.
- "Doctorate of Naturopathy from the International School of Naturopathy in Los Altos, California": I haven't found any evidence that a school by this name exists, or ever did exist, anywhere in California. The Council on Naturopathic Medical Education, the (unrecognized) accrediting agency for naturopathic education in the U.S. and Canada, lists no accredited naturopathic programs in California. If you know anything about this school, please let me know. The only thing even close to a naturopathic school in Los Altos is the International Society of Naturopaths, located at 1434 Fremont Ave. Quackwatch described it as "relatively inactive", but it now seems to be fully inactive; the phone number has been disconnected.
- "Certified Natural Health Professional": To become one of these, merely attend five seminars. "It is not the purpose of CNHP to develop licensure or any exclusiveness for those who become certified members of this organization." (CNHP website)
- "Iridologist": Iridology doesn't even qualify as junk science. It's just junk. Please don't take my word for it; read this enlightening essay by an iridologist instead.
- "Founder of the Wholistic Health Institute, Inc.", a nonprofit org: Wholistic is not listed anywhere among registered nonprofit orgs in California, and I can find absolutely no information about it. Again, please let me know if you know anything.
- "His clients have been individuals from all walks of life with such health conditions as alopecia, diabetes, cancer, lymphoma, malnutrition, eczema, heart disease, and AIDS to name a few. The results have been excellent, and theexperience unforgettable."
This self-promotional little blurb tells us only two things:
1. Whitaker treats sick people.
2. Whitaker enjoys treating sick people.
"Excellent" and "unforgettable" are not quantifiable.
In short, I'm underwhelmed by Scott Whitaker's credentials, especially in light of his wildly erroneous statements on The Alex Jones Show.
The regulations governing naturopathy in the U.S. are outrageously loosey-goosey, confusing, and varied. You can be a naturopathic doctor in one state, but might not even qualify for licensing in another. There is no recognized body for accreditation of schools. The term itself is an umbrella for a vast array of practices, from homeopathy to colour therapy.
With such vague boundaries and lenient standards in place, I find it hard to take naturopaths too seriously when they insist they're being persecuted by the medical establishment.
That said, I have tried to verify some of the credentials that Scott Whitaker lists in his bio, in order to figure out if he's as qualified in his field as he says he is.
- "Doctorate of Naturopathy from the International School of Naturopathy in Los Altos, California": I haven't found any evidence that a school by this name exists, or ever did exist, anywhere in California. The Council on Naturopathic Medical Education, the (unrecognized) accrediting agency for naturopathic education in the U.S. and Canada, lists no accredited naturopathic programs in California. If you know anything about this school, please let me know. The only thing even close to a naturopathic school in Los Altos is the International Society of Naturopaths, located at 1434 Fremont Ave. Quackwatch described it as "relatively inactive", but it now seems to be fully inactive; the phone number has been disconnected.
- "Certified Natural Health Professional": To become one of these, merely attend five seminars. "It is not the purpose of CNHP to develop licensure or any exclusiveness for those who become certified members of this organization." (CNHP website)
- "Iridologist": Iridology doesn't even qualify as junk science. It's just junk. Please don't take my word for it; read this enlightening essay by an iridologist instead.
- "Founder of the Wholistic Health Institute, Inc.", a nonprofit org: Wholistic is not listed anywhere among registered nonprofit orgs in California, and I can find absolutely no information about it. Again, please let me know if you know anything.
- "His clients have been individuals from all walks of life with such health conditions as alopecia, diabetes, cancer, lymphoma, malnutrition, eczema, heart disease, and AIDS to name a few. The results have been excellent, and theexperience unforgettable."
This self-promotional little blurb tells us only two things:
1. Whitaker treats sick people.
2. Whitaker enjoys treating sick people.
"Excellent" and "unforgettable" are not quantifiable.
In short, I'm underwhelmed by Scott Whitaker's credentials, especially in light of his wildly erroneous statements on The Alex Jones Show.
"Dr." Death Part I: Scott Whitaker
Alex Jones doesn't usually make me angry. I can laugh at just about all of his ridiculosity. But when he has guests like "Dr." Scott Whitaker on his show spewing horribly inaccurate and even dangerous *medical advice* to thousands of listeners, I get furious. The nonsense promoted by pseudointellectual guests such as Webster Tarpley can misinform the public, but the nonsense promoted by Whitaker and his ilk can actually kill.
I know there a lot of problems in the world of health care, and I believe that everyone needs to educate themselves as much as possible about health issues so that they can make informed decisions that will protect them, to some extent, from malpractice. And while I'm no fan of "alternative", "complementary", or "integrative" medicine (misnomers all; it's either medicine, or it isn't), I do support the right of adults to make their own decisions when it comes to their own bodies and their own health.
That said, there are some holistic health practitioners who not only give a bad name to the whole field - they endanger the well-being of their clients. Whether this is done by discouraging clients from seeking proven treatments for their conditions, using unproven treatments on serious conditions, or inculcating fear of the medical establishment, the result is the same: People don't get the care they need.
According to his bio (more on that in Part II), Scott Whitaker is a certified naturopath, an iridologist, and founder of the Wholistic Health Institute. In 2005 he published his co-written condemnation of other health professionals, MediSin, in which he supposedly reveals the "cures" for cancer, malnutrition, and other deadly conditions. It includes slick product endorsements for alternative health products. It was this book that spurred Jones to invite him on the show.
Whitaker rejects the germ theory of disease. In his book, he claims that Ritalin is killing children (it's overprescribed, yes, but lethal?); that mammograms are unnecessary; that soy is bad for you; that vaccines are deadly and should be avoided at all costs; that any ailment can be cured through dietary changes alone; and that milk killed Flo Jo (a truly retarded theory also held by Robert Cohen, author of Milk: The Deadly Poison). And some of the things he said on Friday's broadcast were every bit as dangerous:
I know there a lot of problems in the world of health care, and I believe that everyone needs to educate themselves as much as possible about health issues so that they can make informed decisions that will protect them, to some extent, from malpractice. And while I'm no fan of "alternative", "complementary", or "integrative" medicine (misnomers all; it's either medicine, or it isn't), I do support the right of adults to make their own decisions when it comes to their own bodies and their own health.
That said, there are some holistic health practitioners who not only give a bad name to the whole field - they endanger the well-being of their clients. Whether this is done by discouraging clients from seeking proven treatments for their conditions, using unproven treatments on serious conditions, or inculcating fear of the medical establishment, the result is the same: People don't get the care they need.
According to his bio (more on that in Part II), Scott Whitaker is a certified naturopath, an iridologist, and founder of the Wholistic Health Institute. In 2005 he published his co-written condemnation of other health professionals, MediSin, in which he supposedly reveals the "cures" for cancer, malnutrition, and other deadly conditions. It includes slick product endorsements for alternative health products. It was this book that spurred Jones to invite him on the show.
Whitaker rejects the germ theory of disease. In his book, he claims that Ritalin is killing children (it's overprescribed, yes, but lethal?); that mammograms are unnecessary; that soy is bad for you; that vaccines are deadly and should be avoided at all costs; that any ailment can be cured through dietary changes alone; and that milk killed Flo Jo (a truly retarded theory also held by Robert Cohen, author of Milk: The Deadly Poison). And some of the things he said on Friday's broadcast were every bit as dangerous:
- Never seek medical attention for anything, ever, except in dire emergencies.
- All doctors (aside from naturopaths like himself) are "Satanic murderers" who order tests and refer you to specialists not for the purposes of diagnosis, but to get kickbacks. We're to assume that Whitaker's motives for saying this are crystal-pure.
- "There is no benefit at all in vaccination." Except for, you know, eradicating nasty diseases.
- Some vaccines contain aborted fetal tissue. (Absolutely false. No vaccines contain any human tissue, much less tissue from aborted babies, as common sense will tell you. Your system would reject such tissue. The tiny kernel of truth in this is that viruses for certain vaccines are cultivated in cells from cell lines that, in some cases, originated from fetal tissue cells obtained after emergency abortions performed decades ago.)
- If you have five or more flu shots in your lifetime, you have a 95% or greater chance of developing Alzheimer's. (I'd love to see the research that supports this, because I've always wanted to travel to a parallel world.)
- Rather than get tetanus shots, simply place a penny on top of any puncture wounds to draw out the toxins. (Remember, germs don't exist, so you can't get sick from placing a filthy coin on top of an open wound!)
- The Codex Alimentarius classifies all vitamins as toxins. (Wrong.)
- Universal healthcare should be avoided at all costs, as it would only serve as a front for "eugenics". (Whitaker misuses the word "eugenics" in the same manner as Jones, referring to it as an indiscriminate, wide-scale depopulation effort by the New World Order baddies.)
- Michael Moore's Sicko can't be trusted because Moore's agent is Rohm Emanuel's brother, and Obama is "controlled by eugenicists". He is killing Africans by encouraging them to get vaccinated.
Whitaker also said some things that were simply bizarre:
- Cloned meat is already in supermarkets, but is not labeled as such. This is apparently Whitaker's interpretation of an FDA spokesman's statement that products from the offspring of cloned animals theoretically could be on the market, as they have been FDA-approved. The spokesman did not say there are cloned-animal products on grocery store shelves, because there are no known instances of that. Cloning for meat is not a commercially viable option yet; in addition to resistance from consumers, it's a risky, time-consuming, expensive procedure that offers few advantages over traditional breeding methods.
- In response to an oncologist who supports integrative medicine but pointed out that "conventional" medicine has an 80% cure rate for testicular cancer, Whitaker declared he has a 100% cure rate. Asked to provide any evidence of this (literature, research data, anything), he opined that colleagues should just be nice enough to take his word for it; doctors are too reliant on the scientific model.
- Ticks do not carry Lyme disease. It's a bioweapon developed at Plum Island. Weirdly, Whitaker acknowledged that it's bacteriological even though he doesn't believe germs cause disease. Then he speculated that the development of Lyme disease had something to do with the Tuskegee syphillis experiment. He was so incoherent during this part of the interview that I wondered if he was having a stroke (which, he claims in his book, are caused by plastics).
Throughout the interview with Whitaker, Jones was every bit as paranoid and misinformed as his guest. They chatted extensively about the New World Order, agreeing that They would never allow a "good guy" to become President; hence, Obama is a bad guy. Jones announced that he wants Whitaker to come back on the show as a regular guest, said MediSin can "save lives", and referred to Whitaker as a "freedom fighter". He thinks it's marvelous that hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are refusing to be vaccinated against anything.
God help us all.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Obama's Youth Brigades
As you may know, Jones had another one of his signature tantrum/breakdowns during Tuesday's broadcast (available on YouTube; the breakdown begins in the last 2 minutes or so of Part II). He had the presence of mind to know that he was freaking out, because he screamed at the people who will be making fun of him for freaking out. I'm not making fun of his fury. Frankly, I'm growing bored with his tantrums; every rant is like being on a plane with a teething baby for hours.
Jones was/is enraged by H.R. 1388, the GIVE Act, as are most rightist commentators. See, for example, Michelle Malkin's take. I'm no fan of Malkin, but I have to admit she's reached a few relatively sensible conclusions about the act. Alex Jones could benefit by paying attention to her this time, instead of screaming at her like a deranged street preacher.
Jones has been raging against "Obama's Youth Brigades" and "Obama's Hitler Youth" since before the election, knowing that Obama planned all along to juice up AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps, and other service orgs.
I don't particularly like some aspects of the GIVE Act (see notes at the end of this post), but as usual Jones takes a molehill and turns it into the freaking Matterhorn. He claims the whole thing is patterned after the East German Stasi, calling it the "slavery act" and the "worst, most virulent strain of tyranny" the U.S. has ever witnessed. He actually urged listeners who were in their cars to stop other motorists and tell them to tune in to the show.
I'm not going to dissect the entire GIVE Act. You can do that for yourself by reading it here. For now, I'm just going to cover two of the major misconceptions about the act that are being trumpeted by Jones, World Net Daily, Michael Savage, Lew Rockwell, Red White & Green, and many others:
Now that we've covered the Hitler/AntiChrist/Stasi bulls**, let's look at some real reasons why GIVE might not be a good idea:
1. Can the States really afford this right now? Didn't Obama say he wants to see the deficit decrease?
2. Who gets to decide which service orgs are ineligible?
Can't think of anything else at the moment. I heartily support volunteerism, and I hope that increased opportunities for service offered by GIVE will help create stronger social networks, healthier communities, and more civic-minded citizens.
Jones was/is enraged by H.R. 1388, the GIVE Act, as are most rightist commentators. See, for example, Michelle Malkin's take. I'm no fan of Malkin, but I have to admit she's reached a few relatively sensible conclusions about the act. Alex Jones could benefit by paying attention to her this time, instead of screaming at her like a deranged street preacher.
Jones has been raging against "Obama's Youth Brigades" and "Obama's Hitler Youth" since before the election, knowing that Obama planned all along to juice up AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps, and other service orgs.
I don't particularly like some aspects of the GIVE Act (see notes at the end of this post), but as usual Jones takes a molehill and turns it into the freaking Matterhorn. He claims the whole thing is patterned after the East German Stasi, calling it the "slavery act" and the "worst, most virulent strain of tyranny" the U.S. has ever witnessed. He actually urged listeners who were in their cars to stop other motorists and tell them to tune in to the show.
I'm not going to dissect the entire GIVE Act. You can do that for yourself by reading it here. For now, I'm just going to cover two of the major misconceptions about the act that are being trumpeted by Jones, World Net Daily, Michael Savage, Lew Rockwell, Red White & Green, and many others:
- GIVE would institute mandatory volunteerism. I found nothing in the act that would have required anyone to volunteer. It basically increases funding and other resources for service orgs, and creates incentives for volunteerism (particularly among minorities, at-risk youth, students, seniors, and veterans). But in H.R. 1388 there was a provision that suggested examining "whether a workable, fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people could be developed, and how such a requirement could be implemented in a manner that would strengthen the social fabric of the Nation..." Frankly, I don't see any way this could be workable. But it's a totally moot point: When the Senate passed the act, the mandatory service provision was removed. Jones didn't know this when he began his tantrum.
- GIVE would outlaw protests. No. And the people who are disseminating this bit of misinfo never seem to reference the relevant part of the act correctly. They've called it "Article 12", "Ammendment 40", and several other things, but it's actually Section 1304: "Prohibited Activities and Ineligible Organizations", an ammended version of Section 125. Though the wording is a little muddy, it's clear (to me, at least) that this section deals with activities that you would not be allowed to engage in while actively representing a service org, if that org is to remain eligible for funding. It DOES NOT make the activities illegal, and it DOES NOT prohibit anyone from engaging in them during their own free time, when they're not "on the job". You will NOT be barred from attending church for the duration of your time as a volunteer, as some people have claimed; that's ludicrous. Of course you can attend church. But can you try to pass off church activity as volunteerism in order to obtain government funding? No, you cannot. Can you organize a pride parade and pretend it's charity work so you can reap the benefits? No, you cannot. That's about all that Sections 125/1304 are trying to say.
Ich bin ein paranoid.
Believe it or not, the strangest part of Tuesday's broadcast had nothing to do with GIVE. It came when Jones got pissed off with his father for refusing to go on air and corroborate his theory that Obama is the AntiChrist. Seriously. "Yeah, fine, whatever," he snapped when his producer said the senior Jones declined to go on air.
The elder Jones, an orthopedic surgeon, recently pointed out to Jones that Obama gave his Berlin speech from the Pergamon [Altar] steps , and showed him a passage in the Book of Revelations that prophesies the AntiChrist will give his speeches from the Pergamon steps. It's all explained in the Wikipedia entry.
Other weirdness from recent broadcasts:
- March 20th
- Jones broke the MIAC report story. Rush Limbaugh et. al. got it from him and didn't give him credit.
- Jones has said numerous times that he's the leader of the 9/11 Truth movement, a statement many Truthers find false and offensive. But on his March 20th broadcast, he excoriated listeners for refusing to believe he founded the Truth movement. Wow.
- The Pope works for the Rothschilds and Rockefellers.
- March 24th
- Gardens are being outlawed.
- Cold Spring Harbor scientists have admitted to drawing blood from all babies at birth and using it to develop race-specific bioweapons. I already know that Jones' idea of "admitted" and mine can differ dramatically.
- "You're looking at the next Adolf Hitler [Obama]."
- "They're building death camps."
- "This [the GIVE Act] doesn't have to happen. If people got off their big, fat asses..." (Pot, meet kettle.)
- "AAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH!"
- Announces the release of another Obama film on July 4th. Keep in mind that he didn't make any full-length documentaries about Bush. Urges people to buy the high-quality version of The Obama Deception. Talks about it length later in the broadcast, ticking off the number of views it has had on various video sharing sites, and again almost begs people to buy it.
- They're trying to ban documentaries that are critical of the current administration. As usual, the real story is far more complex.
Now that we've covered the Hitler/AntiChrist/Stasi bulls**, let's look at some real reasons why GIVE might not be a good idea:
1. Can the States really afford this right now? Didn't Obama say he wants to see the deficit decrease?
2. Who gets to decide which service orgs are ineligible?
Can't think of anything else at the moment. I heartily support volunteerism, and I hope that increased opportunities for service offered by GIVE will help create stronger social networks, healthier communities, and more civic-minded citizens.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Alex Jones' Slightly Calmer Twin
A little bit more evidence that Glenn Beck is either having a nervous breakdown, or carefully patterning himself after Alex Jones (hey, maybe both):
- Griped about the MIAC report, particularly the part about Bob Barr and Ron Paul bumper stickers. As if he has one. If you're going to be a redneck, Beck, you'll have to stop wearing a tie and go back to drinking. (Penn complained about the report, too, but at least he supports Libertarians.)
To give credit where's it due, Beck did note that ecoterrorism is actually more of a threat than militias these days. Good point.
- Said he doesn't mind being compared to the guy who goes nuts in Network. In fact, he wants us all to be mad as hell! What are we supposed to do once we get mad? He hasn't quite worked that out yet. We should just be disgruntled and generally unhappy, about everything. This sounds strange coming from a commentator who hasn't supported any third-party or independent candidates, has no real solutions for anything, and talks about himself more than anything else.
- Interviewed Ron Paul and wasn't a dick about it.
Beck is getting so weird that his comment about the 9/11 Truth movement producing the "next Tim McVeigh" has boomeranged on him. Incidentally, in the clip Olbermann brings up an incident that shows why the MIAC report maybe isn't so out of line, after all. He also brings up Father Coughlin, the man I consider the intellectual forefather of Alex Jones.
- Griped about the MIAC report, particularly the part about Bob Barr and Ron Paul bumper stickers. As if he has one. If you're going to be a redneck, Beck, you'll have to stop wearing a tie and go back to drinking. (Penn complained about the report, too, but at least he supports Libertarians.)
To give credit where's it due, Beck did note that ecoterrorism is actually more of a threat than militias these days. Good point.
- Said he doesn't mind being compared to the guy who goes nuts in Network. In fact, he wants us all to be mad as hell! What are we supposed to do once we get mad? He hasn't quite worked that out yet. We should just be disgruntled and generally unhappy, about everything. This sounds strange coming from a commentator who hasn't supported any third-party or independent candidates, has no real solutions for anything, and talks about himself more than anything else.
- Interviewed Ron Paul and wasn't a dick about it.
Beck is getting so weird that his comment about the 9/11 Truth movement producing the "next Tim McVeigh" has boomeranged on him. Incidentally, in the clip Olbermann brings up an incident that shows why the MIAC report maybe isn't so out of line, after all. He also brings up Father Coughlin, the man I consider the intellectual forefather of Alex Jones.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Was Alex Jones REALLY watching the Watchmen?
Or did he just eat a lot of popcorn, run to the john numerous times, then make up a bunch of s*** when he got home? Here's Part I of his analysis of the film...
Watchmen is a lot like Rorschach's blots: You see what you want to see.
In all fairness, I should point out that Jones's interpretation of the film isn't unique. I've come to the disappointing conclusion that many moviegoers are not getting Watchmen, a superhero movie without any superheroes in it. Alan Moore just doesn't translate well to Hollywoodese, I guess.
Jones: "Let's be clear, here. I'm not a big comic fan..."
That will become obvious.
Jones: "Art mimics life, life mimics...uh...of course, mimics...art itself, so that goes vice-versa."
With you so far.
Jones: "I've done some basic research on the creator of Watchmen, Alan Moore, who is a Mason and into all this Illuminati-type stuff." Later he says Moore "writes other comics, like Sandmen [sic] and others".
If paying homage to a snake-god of ancient Rome is "Illuminati-type stuff", then fine. But Moore is not a Mason. Even if he had been a Mason, they would have booted him in the '90s, when From Hell came out. Numerous websites maintained by Masons contain rebuttals of From Hell and Masonic Ripper theories.
Moore is deeply anti-Establishment. He's an anarchist, a hater of fascism, and most of his work incorporates conspiracy theories about the elite, usually involving horrific crimes. He's a bit like Jones, only brilliant.
Sandman is Neil Gaiman. Also not a Mason.
Jones: "I've skimmed the book."
I know. Try reading it next time.
Jones: In the novel, Ozymandias has the Eye of Horus, or Lucifer, on his breastplate.
If anyone is, Set is Lucifer.
Jones: "It is an Illuminati New World Order threat to all of humanity...the psychopaths love to let the public know what they're planning and what they're doing, and they believes it gives them magical powers, they call it 'lesser magic', to advertise what they're doing and how they operate."
Straight from the mouth of Jordan Maxwell.
Jones: "It's all about false-flag terrorism and how good it is." He thinks Ozymandias (whom he refers to as "Ozymandamus" all but one time) is the hero of the film.
Just the opposite. Please watch again and pay attention this time. Notice that Ozymandias, who barely has any screentime, is portrayed from the git-go as a haughty, preening sellout. Notice that in the end, the cycle of confrontation that created the global nuclear standoff begins to build up again, because "nothing ever ends." Ozy's final solution was anything but final.
This would be clearer if the sub-story, Tales of the Black Freighter, was included in the film. Or if Jones bothered to read the book.
Jones: Rorschach is the most sympathetic character and the only one who knows what's going on, yet the other characters make fun of him. You know, like Jones.
Um. Did you notice that when Rorschach wondered why everyone isn't as well-adjusted as he is, the whole audience laughed?
Yeah, Rorschach killed some baddies, but he also killed people for looking at him funny. He's got a serious case of Bickle Syndrome.
If you resemble any character in the novel, Jones, it would be the New Frontiersman editor. The ranting, raging, self-righteous Commie-hater who consistently gets things very wrong.
Jones: Spiritually, Dr. Manhattan is Lucifer's (Ozymandias's) twin brother.
??????
Jones: "Most of these big national serial killer operations are done by cults, and that's come out."
Only according to Maury Terry, Dave McGowan, and a few others who promote conspiracy theories as thin as the paper on which they're written. And of course the killers themselves.
Watchmen is a lot like Rorschach's blots: You see what you want to see.
In all fairness, I should point out that Jones's interpretation of the film isn't unique. I've come to the disappointing conclusion that many moviegoers are not getting Watchmen, a superhero movie without any superheroes in it. Alan Moore just doesn't translate well to Hollywoodese, I guess.
Jones: "Let's be clear, here. I'm not a big comic fan..."
That will become obvious.
Jones: "Art mimics life, life mimics...uh...of course, mimics...art itself, so that goes vice-versa."
With you so far.
Jones: "I've done some basic research on the creator of Watchmen, Alan Moore, who is a Mason and into all this Illuminati-type stuff." Later he says Moore "writes other comics, like Sandmen [sic] and others".
If paying homage to a snake-god of ancient Rome is "Illuminati-type stuff", then fine. But Moore is not a Mason. Even if he had been a Mason, they would have booted him in the '90s, when From Hell came out. Numerous websites maintained by Masons contain rebuttals of From Hell and Masonic Ripper theories.
Moore is deeply anti-Establishment. He's an anarchist, a hater of fascism, and most of his work incorporates conspiracy theories about the elite, usually involving horrific crimes. He's a bit like Jones, only brilliant.
Sandman is Neil Gaiman. Also not a Mason.
Jones: "I've skimmed the book."
I know. Try reading it next time.
Jones: In the novel, Ozymandias has the Eye of Horus, or Lucifer, on his breastplate.
If anyone is, Set is Lucifer.
Jones: "It is an Illuminati New World Order threat to all of humanity...the psychopaths love to let the public know what they're planning and what they're doing, and they believes it gives them magical powers, they call it 'lesser magic', to advertise what they're doing and how they operate."
Straight from the mouth of Jordan Maxwell.
Jones: "It's all about false-flag terrorism and how good it is." He thinks Ozymandias (whom he refers to as "Ozymandamus" all but one time) is the hero of the film.
Just the opposite. Please watch again and pay attention this time. Notice that Ozymandias, who barely has any screentime, is portrayed from the git-go as a haughty, preening sellout. Notice that in the end, the cycle of confrontation that created the global nuclear standoff begins to build up again, because "nothing ever ends." Ozy's final solution was anything but final.
This would be clearer if the sub-story, Tales of the Black Freighter, was included in the film. Or if Jones bothered to read the book.
Jones: Rorschach is the most sympathetic character and the only one who knows what's going on, yet the other characters make fun of him. You know, like Jones.
Um. Did you notice that when Rorschach wondered why everyone isn't as well-adjusted as he is, the whole audience laughed?
Yeah, Rorschach killed some baddies, but he also killed people for looking at him funny. He's got a serious case of Bickle Syndrome.
If you resemble any character in the novel, Jones, it would be the New Frontiersman editor. The ranting, raging, self-righteous Commie-hater who consistently gets things very wrong.
Jones: Spiritually, Dr. Manhattan is Lucifer's (Ozymandias's) twin brother.
??????
Jones: "Most of these big national serial killer operations are done by cults, and that's come out."
Only according to Maury Terry, Dave McGowan, and a few others who promote conspiracy theories as thin as the paper on which they're written. And of course the killers themselves.
Galloway
Quite a few Canadians are spitting mad that one of Alex Jones's former guests, British MP George Galloway, is being barred from Canada for admittedly supporting a terrorist organization. Specifically, he provided vehicles to members of Hamas. He is also an enthusiastic defender/supporter of Hezbollah. He's also been agitating for the overthrow of Mubarak in Egypt. In the past, he has expressed admiration for Saddam Hussein and the Taliban (he actually denies his admiration and praise of Hussein, though it was captured on video). On Jones's show in 2005, he and Jones agreed that Zionists sacrificed other Jews in WWII just to get their homeland (yet another example that Jones does talk about Zionism). *Other than all this*, Galloway's a swell guy.
Yes, I know, Hamas was democratically elected. That means it's a democratically elected terrorist organization, nothing more. Argue with me if you want - I'm just stating a fact. And let's not forget that Mubarak, whether you like him or not, was also democratically elected.
The only thing that's truly interesting about the Galloway controversy is that most of the Canadians rallying in support of Galloway also called for the arrest of George W. as a war criminal last week. They want the law to be unevenly applied; let terrorist supporters in, but keep war criminals out.
And it is legal for Canada's Border Security Agency and immigration officials to bar terrorist supporters from entering the country. They did it to Bill Ayers, who despite his professorship and currently bourgeois lifestyle is, after all, a guy who used to blow up buildings and aspire to otherthrow the democratically elected U.S. government.
Galloway has announced his intention to fight the decision.
Yes, I know, Hamas was democratically elected. That means it's a democratically elected terrorist organization, nothing more. Argue with me if you want - I'm just stating a fact. And let's not forget that Mubarak, whether you like him or not, was also democratically elected.
The only thing that's truly interesting about the Galloway controversy is that most of the Canadians rallying in support of Galloway also called for the arrest of George W. as a war criminal last week. They want the law to be unevenly applied; let terrorist supporters in, but keep war criminals out.
And it is legal for Canada's Border Security Agency and immigration officials to bar terrorist supporters from entering the country. They did it to Bill Ayers, who despite his professorship and currently bourgeois lifestyle is, after all, a guy who used to blow up buildings and aspire to otherthrow the democratically elected U.S. government.
Galloway has announced his intention to fight the decision.
The MIAC Report
Jones was in an uproar yesterday over an in-house report issued in February by the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC), a division of the Missouri state police Drug and Crime Control unit. According to Jones, the MIAC Report classifies Libertarians, Constitutional Party members, people with Ron Paul bumper stickers, supporters of Bob Barr, Patriots, and most of his other listeners as potential terrorists. It calls for stamps to be placed on bullets.
Jones refers to it as "FBI/FEMA/ADL propaganda".
The report is real enough. It's a MIAC strategic report summarizing "The Modern Militia Movement." It gives a rough overview of the various militia-style movements that have existed in the U.S. since the '80s: Patriots, white supremacists, Christian Identity, tax resisters, etc. It even explains, briefly, some of the very conspiracy theories that Jones embraces:
Jones refers to it as "FBI/FEMA/ADL propaganda".
The report is real enough. It's a MIAC strategic report summarizing "The Modern Militia Movement." It gives a rough overview of the various militia-style movements that have existed in the U.S. since the '80s: Patriots, white supremacists, Christian Identity, tax resisters, etc. It even explains, briefly, some of the very conspiracy theories that Jones embraces:
- the formation of the North American Union and the introduction of the Amero
- confiscation of firearms, repeal of the 2nd Amendment
- martial law
- Obama doesn't meet the requirements to be President
- The New World Order exists or will soon exist
The report does not state "they need more gun control, and to stamp all the bullets"; it lists ammunition accountability acts as a concern of militia members, which it is. It notes that there is no such act in Missouri, but it does not endorse such acts. This is a good example of how Jones subtly juices up information to make it sound more ominous than it is.
There's nothing overtly erroneous in the report. It's clearly just a rough guide intended to fill police in on the cultural milieu of right-wing extremists. The portion that most outrages Jones is almost a footnote at the very end of the report, "Political Paraphernalia". This section reads: "Militia members most commonly associate with 3rd party political groups...These members are usually supporters of Former Presidential Candidate [sic]: Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, and Bob Barr."
Well, doy. Of course. What, we're allowed to realize all this, but we should never, ever write it down? Why shouldn't Missouri state police be given general information about right-wing organizations? Would it be preferable to leave them in the dark?
Lt. John Hotz of the Missouri Highway Patrol explains, "Troopers have been shot by members of groups, so it’s our job to let law enforcement officers know what the trends are in the modern militia movement.” Everything in the report is "publically available, trend data."
"It's giving the makeup of militia members and their political beliefs. It's not saying that everybody who supports these candidates is involved in a militia. It's not even saying that all militias are bad."
In other words, you're not going to be considered a terrorist just because you have a Bob Barr bumper sticker (though I have to ask, why haven't you removed it yet?), or just because you subscribe to conspiracy theories about central banking.
Most Patriots are not violent and do not pose any threat. But we can't deny that some members have turned to extremism, domestic terrorism, and violence in the past, and will certainly do so again.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Name That Rothschild.
Try this on your neighborhood conspiracy theorist tomorrow: Approach him/her and ask him/her to name 4 members of the Rothschild family, living or dead.
I've tried this a few times, and I've never heard more than two names. The conspiracy world considers the Rothschild dynasty to be at the very pinnacle of the pyramid, yet they know precious little about it.
Yesterday a Truther sent me an excited email about The Obama Deception. He found it factual and impressive, of course, but was concerned that nothing was said about the Rothschilds. "The patrioch mother said in the early 1900's that; 'if my sons didn't want to have wars there would be no wars' ~old lady Rothschild~ "
"Old lady Rothschild"? Years of conspiracy theorizing, and this is the best people can do? Are their Google fingers broken?
I've tried this a few times, and I've never heard more than two names. The conspiracy world considers the Rothschild dynasty to be at the very pinnacle of the pyramid, yet they know precious little about it.
Yesterday a Truther sent me an excited email about The Obama Deception. He found it factual and impressive, of course, but was concerned that nothing was said about the Rothschilds. "The patrioch mother said in the early 1900's that; 'if my sons didn't want to have wars there would be no wars' ~old lady Rothschild~ "
"Old lady Rothschild"? Years of conspiracy theorizing, and this is the best people can do? Are their Google fingers broken?
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Is Glenn Beck becoming the Dark Side of Alex Jones?
Alex Jones just annoys me with his half-digested info, paranoia, and general lack of discernment. But Glenn Beck is starting to scare me.
For one thing, Beck has a much larger audience and much broader appeal than Jones. My grandparents adore him, but they've never heard of Alex Jones.
For another thing, since making the move to Fox News, Beck has been talking about a lot of things that are, frankly, bats*** insane. A few could be straight out of Alex Jones's mouth: FEMA camps, American Communism, etc. Beck and Jones even hosted Chuck Norris on their radio shows in the same week, since he's promoting his book Black Belt Patriotism.
But incredibly, it's Beck who's taking things too far and showing signs of instability these days. He brought up the idea of an American anti-government militia to Norris. Then there's this:
Let's explore this.
Up until the beginning of this month, Michael McLendan was a 26-year-old sausage factory employee in Kinston, Alabama. He lived with his mom, Lisa McLendon, 52, who had been laid off from the Pilgrim's Pride plant where she worked. Then, for reasons that aren't entirely clear, Michael suddenly quit his job at Kelley Foods after two years of employment.
On March 10th, Michael slaughtered his mother and her four dogs without warning. He then drove 12 miles to the home of his 74-year-old grandma and proceeded to mow down everybody in her mobile home, save for one 4-month baby girl who was forced to watch her mom and baby sister die while she lay helpless, loaded with shrapnel. The people he killed:
Virginia White, his grandmother
Alfred White, 55, his uncle
Tracy Wise, 34, his cousin
Dean Wise, 15, his nephew (Tracy's son)
Andrea Myers, a visitor
Corinne Myers, Andrea's 18-month-old daughter
He tried to kill baby Ella Myers, but she survived.
You'd think killing 8 people in less than an hour would be sufficient to vent his rage, but McLaren didn't stop. He got back into his vehicle and started killing people randomly, taking aim at pedestrians, motorists, and shoppers:
James Starling, 24, a father of two
Sonya Smith, 43
Bruce Malloy, 51
Still not quite content, McLendon wounded the police officer who rammed his car to keep him from blowing through a roadblock. Then he crashed his vehicle into Reliable Metals, a former workplace, and took the life of his final victim: Himself.
Did McLendon just snap one day? Not exactly. It was soon discovered he kept a list of murder victims, including former co-workers. A letter he had written mentioned a legal dispute with members of his family. Investigators think this might have concerned a family Bible.
He was "a self-proclaimed survivalist who ordered videos instructing how to commit violence." He "talked in recent days of being depressed about his failure to become a Marine or a police officer", having dropped out of police academy after a two-week stint in 2003. He was discharged from the Marine Corps in 1999 because he had enlisted fraudulently. (1)
Investigators admit they don't know what set McLendon off. (1)
Now, Mr. Beck, what does any of this have to do with political correctness or political disenfranchisement? How was McLendon "pushed to the wall"?
When O'Reilly has to step in to be the voice of reason, you're in serious trouble. Please get some help, Mr. Beck.
Don't think for a moment that Beck's recent craziness lets Jones off the hook, though. His comments on the unprovoked, violent spree of "the real Crocodile Dundee" were every bit as insane as Beck's comments on Michael McLendon.
Sources:
1. "Trigger for Ala. gunman's rampage still isn't clear". Associated Press. Philadelphia Inquirer, Mar. 14/09
2. "Alabama gunman Michael McLendon kept 'revenge list'" by James Bone. The Times Online, Mar. 12/09.
3. "Killer's march took 200 bullets, 1 hour, 11 lives" by Jay Reeves. Associated Press. Examiner.com, Mar 12/09
4. Wikipedia entry for 2009 Alabama spree killing. Retrieved Mar. 17/09.
For one thing, Beck has a much larger audience and much broader appeal than Jones. My grandparents adore him, but they've never heard of Alex Jones.
For another thing, since making the move to Fox News, Beck has been talking about a lot of things that are, frankly, bats*** insane. A few could be straight out of Alex Jones's mouth: FEMA camps, American Communism, etc. Beck and Jones even hosted Chuck Norris on their radio shows in the same week, since he's promoting his book Black Belt Patriotism.
But incredibly, it's Beck who's taking things too far and showing signs of instability these days. He brought up the idea of an American anti-government militia to Norris. Then there's this:
Let's explore this.
Up until the beginning of this month, Michael McLendan was a 26-year-old sausage factory employee in Kinston, Alabama. He lived with his mom, Lisa McLendon, 52, who had been laid off from the Pilgrim's Pride plant where she worked. Then, for reasons that aren't entirely clear, Michael suddenly quit his job at Kelley Foods after two years of employment.
On March 10th, Michael slaughtered his mother and her four dogs without warning. He then drove 12 miles to the home of his 74-year-old grandma and proceeded to mow down everybody in her mobile home, save for one 4-month baby girl who was forced to watch her mom and baby sister die while she lay helpless, loaded with shrapnel. The people he killed:
Virginia White, his grandmother
Alfred White, 55, his uncle
Tracy Wise, 34, his cousin
Dean Wise, 15, his nephew (Tracy's son)
Andrea Myers, a visitor
Corinne Myers, Andrea's 18-month-old daughter
He tried to kill baby Ella Myers, but she survived.
You'd think killing 8 people in less than an hour would be sufficient to vent his rage, but McLaren didn't stop. He got back into his vehicle and started killing people randomly, taking aim at pedestrians, motorists, and shoppers:
James Starling, 24, a father of two
Sonya Smith, 43
Bruce Malloy, 51
Still not quite content, McLendon wounded the police officer who rammed his car to keep him from blowing through a roadblock. Then he crashed his vehicle into Reliable Metals, a former workplace, and took the life of his final victim: Himself.
Did McLendon just snap one day? Not exactly. It was soon discovered he kept a list of murder victims, including former co-workers. A letter he had written mentioned a legal dispute with members of his family. Investigators think this might have concerned a family Bible.
He was "a self-proclaimed survivalist who ordered videos instructing how to commit violence." He "talked in recent days of being depressed about his failure to become a Marine or a police officer", having dropped out of police academy after a two-week stint in 2003. He was discharged from the Marine Corps in 1999 because he had enlisted fraudulently. (1)
Investigators admit they don't know what set McLendon off. (1)
Now, Mr. Beck, what does any of this have to do with political correctness or political disenfranchisement? How was McLendon "pushed to the wall"?
When O'Reilly has to step in to be the voice of reason, you're in serious trouble. Please get some help, Mr. Beck.
Don't think for a moment that Beck's recent craziness lets Jones off the hook, though. His comments on the unprovoked, violent spree of "the real Crocodile Dundee" were every bit as insane as Beck's comments on Michael McLendon.
Sources:
1. "Trigger for Ala. gunman's rampage still isn't clear". Associated Press. Philadelphia Inquirer, Mar. 14/09
2. "Alabama gunman Michael McLendon kept 'revenge list'" by James Bone. The Times Online, Mar. 12/09.
3. "Killer's march took 200 bullets, 1 hour, 11 lives" by Jay Reeves. Associated Press. Examiner.com, Mar 12/09
4. Wikipedia entry for 2009 Alabama spree killing. Retrieved Mar. 17/09.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Thoughts on ZZZZZ Day
Yesterday was Z Day, the day on which Zeitgeist fans all over the world congregate to be paranoid, self-righteous, and misinformed together.
I have to give Peter Joseph a small amount of credit for at least trying to make the world a better place, but there is just no way that such simplistic conspiranoia is going to transform our lives and right all the wrongs of modern society. Watching Zeitgeist for the first time, I was reminded a little of Scientology propaganda films.
Alex Jones dislikes the film and distrusts the filmmaker primarily because there's too much New Agey "occult" stuff involved, because Christianity is attacked, and because there's too much "science" behind Zeitgeist: Addendum. Other than that, as I noted yesterday, he agrees with 90% of what's in the film. And why wouldn't he? It's the same stuff he talks about. I would like to point out Jones's self-contradiction (call it hypocrisy if you like) in criticizing the religious portion of Zeitgeist; virtually all of that information came from Jordan Maxwell, and Maxwell has been a guest on Jones's show, spouting very similar stuff. Only on Jones's show, he's careful to criticize and slander only Judaism.
Incidentally, it's interesting that Jones rants against Theosophy and the New Age beliefs derived from it all the time (not because they're a crock, but because it's all occultic), yet he hosts Michael Tsarion (a fervent fan of HPB) and Jordan Maxwell (whose name might actually be derived from HPB's work, though he denies it).
I was going to do a slew of posts on how derivative, simplistic, naive, and fact-free (not to mention boring) Zeitgeist is, but I really don't feel like it at the moment. Let's face it, the folks who really, really dig Zeitgeist are pretty much beyond hope, anyway. So I'll just summarize my thoughts on the *film*.
Part I: In which Peter Joseph alienates the majority of his viewers by trying to convince them that Judaism and Christianity are just a retooling of ancient solar cults and astrotheological concepts. Basically Brian Flemming's documentary The God Who Wasn't There blended with the "research" of Jordan Maxwell, the guy who says, "'Christ' means 'oil'. That's why we have Crisco", "98% of Judaism is worship of the planet Saturn", and "Zionism is a Teutonic/Germanic death cult."
Part II: This part promises to explore myth as sacred narrative. Maybe things are looking up for this film! But no. It's all about 9/11. Loose Change, only looser. Includes audio by Ted Gunderson, fer crying out loud. The guy who told Geraldo that 50,000 Americans are sacrificed by Satanists every year. The guy who says Osama bin Laden is really "Tim Osman". The guy who subscribes to the Sonny Bono assassination-by-tree theory.
Part III: Mangled information about central banking and the Federal Reserve, which Joseph expands on in Zeitgeist: Addendum. Nothing you can't get from Birchers or Ron Paul. If the Fed deliberately implodes the economy for the hell of it, would someone please explain to me why Bernanke was sweating bullets on 60 Minutes last night? He looked awfully twitchy for a guy who knows exactly what he's doing.
The banking stuff is capped off with some Aaron Russo footage about the illegality of income tax. I assume it's merely coincidence that the people who say income tax is unconstitutional are the same people who just happen to owe millions in back taxes...
Next up is a relatively sensible overview of false flag operations, war profiteering, divide and conquer strategies, etc. I'm not saying this part makes sense; I'm just saying it makes more sense than Ted Gunderson and Jordan Maxwell.
Zeitgeist: Addendum features the total b.s. of John Perkins, conman/author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, as well as lots more ill-informed bitching about fractional reserve banking. But Addendum also features the point of Zeitgeist, the whole reason Joseph created this hot mess in the first place...
The Venus Project
What does the Venus Project want us to do, exactly?
It was dreamed into existence in the mid '70s by a resident of Venus, Florida, inventor and futurist Jacque Fresco. He envisioned an end to poverty via the development of technology that will make more resources available to more people, as well as the replacement of our money-based economy with a resource-based economy.
It's quite similar to Buckminster Fuller's "ephemeralization", which won't work either.
Both Venus and ephemeralization seem to be based on the Smurf model of society. Baker Smurf will bake because he likes to bake, and will share his muffins with everyone freely. Papa Smurf will dispense wisdom because he's older and smarter than the other Smurfs. And Vanity Smurf will do everybody's hair because he's... well, I'll leave that one up to you to decide.
This will not work. Few farmers are going to produce free food for thousands of people out of the goodness of their hearts. In the Bible, farming was the very first curse that God placed upon man as punishment for his disobedience. I'm not saying this literally happened, but it does seem to embody an ancient and essential truth: Farming is really freaking hard.
What we would end up with under Venus would be an agrarian society in which everyone would have to do their own subsistence farming, build their own homes, and barter frantically for all other essentials. Hardly "freedom from economic slavery".
Also, you can eliminate money, but you can never eliminate greed. The unscrupulous among us will find ways to exploit any non-monetary system we create.
The Bottom Line
Zeitgeist concludes with the words, "A choice right now between love and fear."
Hmm. What does that leave out?
Oh, right. As Donnie Darko would say, "THE ENTIRE SPECTRUM OF HUMAN EMOTION!!"
I have to give Peter Joseph a small amount of credit for at least trying to make the world a better place, but there is just no way that such simplistic conspiranoia is going to transform our lives and right all the wrongs of modern society. Watching Zeitgeist for the first time, I was reminded a little of Scientology propaganda films.
Alex Jones dislikes the film and distrusts the filmmaker primarily because there's too much New Agey "occult" stuff involved, because Christianity is attacked, and because there's too much "science" behind Zeitgeist: Addendum. Other than that, as I noted yesterday, he agrees with 90% of what's in the film. And why wouldn't he? It's the same stuff he talks about. I would like to point out Jones's self-contradiction (call it hypocrisy if you like) in criticizing the religious portion of Zeitgeist; virtually all of that information came from Jordan Maxwell, and Maxwell has been a guest on Jones's show, spouting very similar stuff. Only on Jones's show, he's careful to criticize and slander only Judaism.
Incidentally, it's interesting that Jones rants against Theosophy and the New Age beliefs derived from it all the time (not because they're a crock, but because it's all occultic), yet he hosts Michael Tsarion (a fervent fan of HPB) and Jordan Maxwell (whose name might actually be derived from HPB's work, though he denies it).
I was going to do a slew of posts on how derivative, simplistic, naive, and fact-free (not to mention boring) Zeitgeist is, but I really don't feel like it at the moment. Let's face it, the folks who really, really dig Zeitgeist are pretty much beyond hope, anyway. So I'll just summarize my thoughts on the *film*.
Part I: In which Peter Joseph alienates the majority of his viewers by trying to convince them that Judaism and Christianity are just a retooling of ancient solar cults and astrotheological concepts. Basically Brian Flemming's documentary The God Who Wasn't There blended with the "research" of Jordan Maxwell, the guy who says, "'Christ' means 'oil'. That's why we have Crisco", "98% of Judaism is worship of the planet Saturn", and "Zionism is a Teutonic/Germanic death cult."
Part II: This part promises to explore myth as sacred narrative. Maybe things are looking up for this film! But no. It's all about 9/11. Loose Change, only looser. Includes audio by Ted Gunderson, fer crying out loud. The guy who told Geraldo that 50,000 Americans are sacrificed by Satanists every year. The guy who says Osama bin Laden is really "Tim Osman". The guy who subscribes to the Sonny Bono assassination-by-tree theory.
Part III: Mangled information about central banking and the Federal Reserve, which Joseph expands on in Zeitgeist: Addendum. Nothing you can't get from Birchers or Ron Paul. If the Fed deliberately implodes the economy for the hell of it, would someone please explain to me why Bernanke was sweating bullets on 60 Minutes last night? He looked awfully twitchy for a guy who knows exactly what he's doing.
The banking stuff is capped off with some Aaron Russo footage about the illegality of income tax. I assume it's merely coincidence that the people who say income tax is unconstitutional are the same people who just happen to owe millions in back taxes...
Next up is a relatively sensible overview of false flag operations, war profiteering, divide and conquer strategies, etc. I'm not saying this part makes sense; I'm just saying it makes more sense than Ted Gunderson and Jordan Maxwell.
Zeitgeist: Addendum features the total b.s. of John Perkins, conman/author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, as well as lots more ill-informed bitching about fractional reserve banking. But Addendum also features the point of Zeitgeist, the whole reason Joseph created this hot mess in the first place...
The Venus Project
What does the Venus Project want us to do, exactly?
It was dreamed into existence in the mid '70s by a resident of Venus, Florida, inventor and futurist Jacque Fresco. He envisioned an end to poverty via the development of technology that will make more resources available to more people, as well as the replacement of our money-based economy with a resource-based economy.
It's quite similar to Buckminster Fuller's "ephemeralization", which won't work either.
Both Venus and ephemeralization seem to be based on the Smurf model of society. Baker Smurf will bake because he likes to bake, and will share his muffins with everyone freely. Papa Smurf will dispense wisdom because he's older and smarter than the other Smurfs. And Vanity Smurf will do everybody's hair because he's... well, I'll leave that one up to you to decide.
This will not work. Few farmers are going to produce free food for thousands of people out of the goodness of their hearts. In the Bible, farming was the very first curse that God placed upon man as punishment for his disobedience. I'm not saying this literally happened, but it does seem to embody an ancient and essential truth: Farming is really freaking hard.
What we would end up with under Venus would be an agrarian society in which everyone would have to do their own subsistence farming, build their own homes, and barter frantically for all other essentials. Hardly "freedom from economic slavery".
Also, you can eliminate money, but you can never eliminate greed. The unscrupulous among us will find ways to exploit any non-monetary system we create.
The Bottom Line
Zeitgeist concludes with the words, "A choice right now between love and fear."
Hmm. What does that leave out?
Oh, right. As Donnie Darko would say, "THE ENTIRE SPECTRUM OF HUMAN EMOTION!!"
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Happy ZZZZZ Day
In honor of ZZZZ Day, here's Part I of Jones's ambush interview of Peter Joseph. "I agree with about 90% of what's in the film," he says, before it becomes apparent that these two have nothing in common aside from paranoia. Guys, can't we all just get along, and admit that you're both wrong?
Some choice quotes from Jones regarding Zeitgeist and Zeitgeist: Addendum:
Jones: "There's always gonna be an Us against Them! There's always gonna be Jeffrey Dahmers, there's always be Ted Turners, there's always gonna be Albert Pikes!"
Jones (quoting Jason Bermas): "It's total New World Order! Wow, this is like high-level UN religion stuff!"
Jones (responding to those who have called him a "knuckle-dragging Christian" for criticizing Zeitgeist): [his guests] "are always amazed at my generalist knowledge. And that doesn't really come from being innately some kind of genius, it comes from hard study and researching world systems." This is almost as funny as Jordan Maxwell criticizing public education in Zeitgeist.
Some choice quotes from Jones regarding Zeitgeist and Zeitgeist: Addendum:
Jones: "There's always gonna be an Us against Them! There's always gonna be Jeffrey Dahmers, there's always be Ted Turners, there's always gonna be Albert Pikes!"
Jones (quoting Jason Bermas): "It's total New World Order! Wow, this is like high-level UN religion stuff!"
Jones (responding to those who have called him a "knuckle-dragging Christian" for criticizing Zeitgeist): [his guests] "are always amazed at my generalist knowledge. And that doesn't really come from being innately some kind of genius, it comes from hard study and researching world systems." This is almost as funny as Jordan Maxwell criticizing public education in Zeitgeist.
McWhat?
The Southern Poverty Law Center has a very interesting mini-bio on Jack McLamb (and other Patriot conspiranoids), who was a guest on Jones's show earlier this month.
The interview with McLamb (available on YouTube) is disturbing for several reasons, most notably for McLamb's and Jones's continuous use of the phrase "on our side". Remember, these are the folks who rage against the New World Order's "divide and conquer" strategies and New World Order brainwashing. The message seems to be something like, "If you believe everything we say, then you're not brainwashed anymore!"
I'll be tackling the anti-vaccine hysteria of Rebecca Carley and others at a later date, probably on Swallowing the Camel. For now, there are just a few questions I'd like to ask anti-vaccine activists:
Do you have polio?
Do you know anyone under the age of 70 who has polio or post-polio syndrome?
Have you ever had the measles?
Mumps?
Scarlet fever?
Do you even know anything about scarlet fever? Do you personally know anyone who's ever had it?
Then shut the hell up.
The interview with McLamb (available on YouTube) is disturbing for several reasons, most notably for McLamb's and Jones's continuous use of the phrase "on our side". Remember, these are the folks who rage against the New World Order's "divide and conquer" strategies and New World Order brainwashing. The message seems to be something like, "If you believe everything we say, then you're not brainwashed anymore!"
I'll be tackling the anti-vaccine hysteria of Rebecca Carley and others at a later date, probably on Swallowing the Camel. For now, there are just a few questions I'd like to ask anti-vaccine activists:
Do you have polio?
Do you know anyone under the age of 70 who has polio or post-polio syndrome?
Have you ever had the measles?
Mumps?
Scarlet fever?
Do you even know anything about scarlet fever? Do you personally know anyone who's ever had it?
Then shut the hell up.
Friday, March 13, 2009
At last...
The moment I haven't really been waiting for has arrived.
The Obama Deception is out. It's already the most-viewed video at Google Video, I'm sorry to say. This makes me fear slightly for the fate of humanity, but meh. Maybe it will keep Jones's fanbase off the street for a couple of days.
I haven't watched the whole thing yet, but I did pay attention to the opening, and left it on while I was doing other stuff. Here are some random thoughts on what I've seen so far...
First of all, the commentators brought in to wax eloquent on the state of American politics are your usual Jonesian array of conspiranoids, B list celebs, and of course pro wrestlers.
Jesse Ventura: "Politics in America today is identical to pro wrestling." Staged and vaguely homoerotic? No, just staged. Willie Nelson concurs. I don't know about you, but I don't believe anything until a one-term Minnesota governor and a fiscally dense Country-Western star believe it first.
Webster Tarpley is credited as "author, historian", leaving out "LaRouche cult propaganda minister, scammer". And which other historians say things like, "Vladimir Putin is the most intelligent politician in the world today" and "NATO killed Aldo Moro"? Which other North American historians don't know that Michaelle Jean is a woman? About the only thing he gets right in this film is that Bilderberg Group founder Prince Bernard of the Netherlands was a Nazi.
Joe Rogan: "It's pretty obvious that there's some gigantic financial institutions that've been pulling the strings of politicians in this country for a long time..." Whoa. That's, like, profound. Screw academia when you've got Joe Rogan and Webster Tarpley on your team.
----------------------
Jones's list of Bush's mistakes in office is fairly accurate until he throws in "the rise of the treasonous North American Union" and flashes that map of "NAFTA Superhighways" pulled from the NASCO website.
----------------------
Now correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't everything Bush has ever done been painted by Jones as part of the New World Order scheme? 9/11, expanded perimeters for wiretapping, Gitmo, Iraq, etc.? Well, now that Jones has a new target, that's not quite the case. Now Bush's mistakes really were mistakes, and "the globalist agenda had stalled." That's why they brought in the Saviour, Obama, to usher in the real New World Order.
Keep movin' those goalposts, Mr. Jones. You could certainly use the exercise.
----------------------
Self-proclaimed Bilderberg expert Daniel Estulin claims he had moles in the Bilderberg meeting, who told him all about the diabolical plans to bust the housing market. He must be referring to actual moles. Let's be frank: no one affiliated with Bilderberg is gonna hang with a fringe paranoid like Estulin. Unless, perhaps, "the elite" like to go slumming now and then to mess with people's heads for cheap entertainment. Maybe that's what happened with Aaron Russo, come to think of it...
---------------------
If I had to pick one scene as the saddest part of the film, this would be it: Jones in a Virginia Marriott hotel, giving one of his Bilderberg meeting dispatches over the phone to George Noory of Coast to Coast AM. Jones is certain the fire alarm that sounded minutes earlier was timed precisely to interrupt this dispatch. "I know this is a set-up!" He also comments that he's been followed, the same thing he said before infiltrating Bohemian Grove (when he was obviously not being followed).
He could be right, though. Maybe the Powers That Be don't want the UFO crowd to know about Jones's harrowing experience of standing on the sidewalk half a block away from a Bilderberg meeting, screaming into a bullhorn, and assigned their top spooks to the hotel to interrupt (doesn't the CIA own the Marriott chain, after all?).
-------------------
Needless to say, Obama doesn't get any credit for shutting down Gitmo, abolishing the term "enemy combatants", or setting a deadline for the termination of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The Obama Deception is out. It's already the most-viewed video at Google Video, I'm sorry to say. This makes me fear slightly for the fate of humanity, but meh. Maybe it will keep Jones's fanbase off the street for a couple of days.
I haven't watched the whole thing yet, but I did pay attention to the opening, and left it on while I was doing other stuff. Here are some random thoughts on what I've seen so far...
First of all, the commentators brought in to wax eloquent on the state of American politics are your usual Jonesian array of conspiranoids, B list celebs, and of course pro wrestlers.
Jesse Ventura: "Politics in America today is identical to pro wrestling." Staged and vaguely homoerotic? No, just staged. Willie Nelson concurs. I don't know about you, but I don't believe anything until a one-term Minnesota governor and a fiscally dense Country-Western star believe it first.
Webster Tarpley is credited as "author, historian", leaving out "LaRouche cult propaganda minister, scammer". And which other historians say things like, "Vladimir Putin is the most intelligent politician in the world today" and "NATO killed Aldo Moro"? Which other North American historians don't know that Michaelle Jean is a woman? About the only thing he gets right in this film is that Bilderberg Group founder Prince Bernard of the Netherlands was a Nazi.
Joe Rogan: "It's pretty obvious that there's some gigantic financial institutions that've been pulling the strings of politicians in this country for a long time..." Whoa. That's, like, profound. Screw academia when you've got Joe Rogan and Webster Tarpley on your team.
----------------------
Jones's list of Bush's mistakes in office is fairly accurate until he throws in "the rise of the treasonous North American Union" and flashes that map of "NAFTA Superhighways" pulled from the NASCO website.
----------------------
Now correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't everything Bush has ever done been painted by Jones as part of the New World Order scheme? 9/11, expanded perimeters for wiretapping, Gitmo, Iraq, etc.? Well, now that Jones has a new target, that's not quite the case. Now Bush's mistakes really were mistakes, and "the globalist agenda had stalled." That's why they brought in the Saviour, Obama, to usher in the real New World Order.
Keep movin' those goalposts, Mr. Jones. You could certainly use the exercise.
----------------------
Self-proclaimed Bilderberg expert Daniel Estulin claims he had moles in the Bilderberg meeting, who told him all about the diabolical plans to bust the housing market. He must be referring to actual moles. Let's be frank: no one affiliated with Bilderberg is gonna hang with a fringe paranoid like Estulin. Unless, perhaps, "the elite" like to go slumming now and then to mess with people's heads for cheap entertainment. Maybe that's what happened with Aaron Russo, come to think of it...
---------------------
If I had to pick one scene as the saddest part of the film, this would be it: Jones in a Virginia Marriott hotel, giving one of his Bilderberg meeting dispatches over the phone to George Noory of Coast to Coast AM. Jones is certain the fire alarm that sounded minutes earlier was timed precisely to interrupt this dispatch. "I know this is a set-up!" He also comments that he's been followed, the same thing he said before infiltrating Bohemian Grove (when he was obviously not being followed).
He could be right, though. Maybe the Powers That Be don't want the UFO crowd to know about Jones's harrowing experience of standing on the sidewalk half a block away from a Bilderberg meeting, screaming into a bullhorn, and assigned their top spooks to the hotel to interrupt (doesn't the CIA own the Marriott chain, after all?).
-------------------
Needless to say, Obama doesn't get any credit for shutting down Gitmo, abolishing the term "enemy combatants", or setting a deadline for the termination of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
"Obama Deception Director Alex Jones Reaches Out to Obama Supporters"
And Obama supporters promptly file restraining orders.
But seriously, at least he has enough sense to leave the birth certificate and "closet Muslim" nonsense out of his latest *documentary*. He even admits "We can't prove that."
So...um...why does he mention these issues as facts on his show, then? Around the time of Obama's inauguration, he baldly stated on-air that Obama is a Muslim who will usher in "Black Identity/Nation of Islam" persecution of white Americans. He has frequently stated as fact that Obama was not born in Hawaii. And even though Ron Paul told Jones's listeners in November '08 that Obama is in the pocket of big business and Jones agreed with him, Jones still warns that Obama will be using socialism as a stepping-stone to U.S. Communism (make up your mind, man!). He also tells listeners that Obama was pre-selected and groomed to become President and to usher in the long-awaited New World Order: FEMA concentration camps, martial law, "unmitigated depression", execution of dissidents, etc. "Obama will probably be the president who has me arrested," he has said.
Obviously, Jones considers this material good enough to use on thousands of radio listeners, but not good enough for a *documentary*. Interesting.
But seriously, at least he has enough sense to leave the birth certificate and "closet Muslim" nonsense out of his latest *documentary*. He even admits "We can't prove that."
So...um...why does he mention these issues as facts on his show, then? Around the time of Obama's inauguration, he baldly stated on-air that Obama is a Muslim who will usher in "Black Identity/Nation of Islam" persecution of white Americans. He has frequently stated as fact that Obama was not born in Hawaii. And even though Ron Paul told Jones's listeners in November '08 that Obama is in the pocket of big business and Jones agreed with him, Jones still warns that Obama will be using socialism as a stepping-stone to U.S. Communism (make up your mind, man!). He also tells listeners that Obama was pre-selected and groomed to become President and to usher in the long-awaited New World Order: FEMA concentration camps, martial law, "unmitigated depression", execution of dissidents, etc. "Obama will probably be the president who has me arrested," he has said.
Obviously, Jones considers this material good enough to use on thousands of radio listeners, but not good enough for a *documentary*. Interesting.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Bend It Like Beck
In this clip from Fox News' Fox and Friends, Glenn Beck talks unskeptically about FEMA camps and hints that Obama's administration will be using socialism as a stepping-stone to Communism; pretty much the same stuff, expressed in the same manner, that Jones rants about each day. The opening credits of Beck's Fox show even eerily resemble the intros to Jones's documentaries, featuring scenes of oppression and tyranny. But when Beck talks about these things, Jones said yesterday, it's just a New World Order desensitizing scheme. (Frankly, I suspect he's a little miffed with Beck for stealing some of his thunder.)
Sheesh. Even when folks agree with Jones, he can't agree with them.
The upside of this is that finally, Mr. Jones and I can agree on something: Glenn Beck is a tool.
But do I think Beck, Pat Robertson, et. al. will do a New World Ordered turnaround and start championing U.S. socialism after Obama's evil plan for European-style socialism (and, paradoxically, concentration camp detainment of dissidents) becomes too obvious to hide any longer?
I'll let you know my answer when I've stopped laughing.
Meanwhile, here's a foolproof 3-step plan to avoid detainment in a FEMA camp:
1. If you don't already live in a disaster-prone part of the U.S., move to one immediately.
2.Wait for the inevitable (earthquake, tornado, volcanic eruption, etc.).
3.In the wake of the disaster, stand on the rooftop of your home and bellow for help as loudly as you can for days on end. It wouldn't hurt to have an elderly relative in a wheelchair or some squalling babies with you.
Congratulations. You're safe.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The Wallace Connection
It's time to examine some of the people and organizations who have influenced and mentored Alex Jones, starting with two seminal figures of the conspiracy world, G. Edward Griffin and Gary Allen...
The Creature from Jacka** Island
Yesterday's guest, G. Edward Griffin, is best-known as the author of the anti-Federal Reserve book The Creature from Jekyll Island (1994). He is a longtime member of the John Birch Society.
It's not as well-known that Griffin was a speechwriter for George Wallace's '68 presidential campaign. He wrote for Wallace's running-mate, Curtis LeMay, the general infamous for writing in his autobiography just three years earlier that the U.S. would bomb North Vietnam "back into the Stone Age". It's generally believed that LeMay was the inspiration for fluoride-phobic Buck Turgidson (played by George C. Scott) in Dr. Strangelove. But LeMay was a study in contradictions; despite his rabid anti-Communism, he was close friends with Mao.
LeMay wasn't Wallace's first choice; he wanted Kentucky governor and former baseball commissioner Happy Chandler. But Birchers like Griffin kicked up a fuss because Chandler had supported the Brooklyn Dodgers' hiring of Jackie Robinson. Major campaign contributor and Bircher Nelson Bunker Hunt demanded that Wallace make Ezra Taft Benson his running mate, but Wallace ignored him.
Throughout the '60s, Griffin produced documentaries about how much Communism and capitalism suck. You'd think that would leave only socialism, but he hates that too. Like all Birchers, he also hates the UN.
In 1974 he wrote a promotional book about Laetrile as the cure for cancer, A World Without Cancer. Jason Bermas recommended it on yesterday's show. In the book, Griffin accused John D. Rockefeller of suppressing this "cure".
In the '90s Griffin became a champion of Ron Wyatt's and David Fasold's theory that Noah's Ark is at the Durupinar site in Turkey, throwing in some Velikovsky-style catastrophism about the Biblical Flood being caused by a large celestial body approaching Earth. I've never quite understood "arkeology". I won't get into the reality of the Flood right now, but there are practical issues to consider. For instance, why wouldn't Noah and fam cannibalize the ark for its wood? Even the Mayflower ended up as a barn, and the pilgrims weren't exactly reconstructing the whole world from scratch.
Anyway, Fasold's radar readings were never duplicated, and Fasold himself came to believe the site was merely a natural formation and "the oldest running hoax in history". Yet Griffin continued to champion the site.
None Dare Call it Bullsh**
In the very first minute of Alex Jones's very first documentary, America: Destroyed by Design, Jones praised Gary Allen's book 1974 book None Dare Call it Conspiracy and New American magazine.
The late Gary Allen, like G. Edward Griffin, was a longtime member of the John Birch Society. And New American is the society's publication.
Allen was also a speechwriter for George Wallace.
And he served as an advisor to the Wallace supporter mentioned earlier, Nelson Bunker Hunt. Bunker Hunt went on to lose his fortune trying to corner the world market in silver in the '80s. Prior to that, he contributed huge sums to The National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty, a fund-raising organization that was heavily implicated in the Iran-Contra affair. Somehow, he has managed to recoup most of his fortune in just 20 years.
I strongly suspect he was the primary inspiration for Larry Hagman's character in Nixon. No wonder Gary Allen wrote about "Cowboys" (oil tycoons) vs. "Indians" (Eastern Establishment politicos) in None Dare Call it Conspiracy.
I haven't read NDCIC, but I know about its enduring popularity. A friend was reading it just last month. And largely gushing Amazon reviews give some hints of its appeal in the conspiranoia community, as well as its flaws:
"He believes that the Anti Defamation League was set up just to protect the Rothschilds from criticism."
"He gives an account of how in 1964, David Rockefeller "sacked" Nikita Krushchev. Hardly anything in the USSR was produced without US. patents and machinery. The USSR was sold American arms and components to kill US soldiers in Vietnam."
To be fair, one reviewer makes a rather sensible obversation that will wrap up this post nicely. I support states' rights, but as this person points out, there are certain conditions in which federal intervention becomes necessary - and it's guys like George Wallace and the '60s-era Birchers who create those conditions:
"he decries the limitations that were imposed upon the right of State Governments to decide their own affairs, during the Civil Rights Era...During the Civil Rights Era the powers of the Federal Government were expanded to end segregation. Well, should the Federal Government have stood by and done nothing while atrocities against African Americans were being perpetrated?...The truth is that Southern Governors helped to place limitations upon the rights of States to decide their own affairs, by giving the Federal Government a moral imperative to act. For if Southern Governors, such as George Wallace of Alabama, had done the right thing and ended segregation, the Federal Government would not have had to step in and curtail the powers of the State Governments to decide their own affairs."
The Creature from Jacka** Island
Yesterday's guest, G. Edward Griffin, is best-known as the author of the anti-Federal Reserve book The Creature from Jekyll Island (1994). He is a longtime member of the John Birch Society.
It's not as well-known that Griffin was a speechwriter for George Wallace's '68 presidential campaign. He wrote for Wallace's running-mate, Curtis LeMay, the general infamous for writing in his autobiography just three years earlier that the U.S. would bomb North Vietnam "back into the Stone Age". It's generally believed that LeMay was the inspiration for fluoride-phobic Buck Turgidson (played by George C. Scott) in Dr. Strangelove. But LeMay was a study in contradictions; despite his rabid anti-Communism, he was close friends with Mao.
LeMay wasn't Wallace's first choice; he wanted Kentucky governor and former baseball commissioner Happy Chandler. But Birchers like Griffin kicked up a fuss because Chandler had supported the Brooklyn Dodgers' hiring of Jackie Robinson. Major campaign contributor and Bircher Nelson Bunker Hunt demanded that Wallace make Ezra Taft Benson his running mate, but Wallace ignored him.
Throughout the '60s, Griffin produced documentaries about how much Communism and capitalism suck. You'd think that would leave only socialism, but he hates that too. Like all Birchers, he also hates the UN.
In 1974 he wrote a promotional book about Laetrile as the cure for cancer, A World Without Cancer. Jason Bermas recommended it on yesterday's show. In the book, Griffin accused John D. Rockefeller of suppressing this "cure".
In the '90s Griffin became a champion of Ron Wyatt's and David Fasold's theory that Noah's Ark is at the Durupinar site in Turkey, throwing in some Velikovsky-style catastrophism about the Biblical Flood being caused by a large celestial body approaching Earth. I've never quite understood "arkeology". I won't get into the reality of the Flood right now, but there are practical issues to consider. For instance, why wouldn't Noah and fam cannibalize the ark for its wood? Even the Mayflower ended up as a barn, and the pilgrims weren't exactly reconstructing the whole world from scratch.
Anyway, Fasold's radar readings were never duplicated, and Fasold himself came to believe the site was merely a natural formation and "the oldest running hoax in history". Yet Griffin continued to champion the site.
None Dare Call it Bullsh**
In the very first minute of Alex Jones's very first documentary, America: Destroyed by Design, Jones praised Gary Allen's book 1974 book None Dare Call it Conspiracy and New American magazine.
The late Gary Allen, like G. Edward Griffin, was a longtime member of the John Birch Society. And New American is the society's publication.
Allen was also a speechwriter for George Wallace.
And he served as an advisor to the Wallace supporter mentioned earlier, Nelson Bunker Hunt. Bunker Hunt went on to lose his fortune trying to corner the world market in silver in the '80s. Prior to that, he contributed huge sums to The National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty, a fund-raising organization that was heavily implicated in the Iran-Contra affair. Somehow, he has managed to recoup most of his fortune in just 20 years.
I strongly suspect he was the primary inspiration for Larry Hagman's character in Nixon. No wonder Gary Allen wrote about "Cowboys" (oil tycoons) vs. "Indians" (Eastern Establishment politicos) in None Dare Call it Conspiracy.
I haven't read NDCIC, but I know about its enduring popularity. A friend was reading it just last month. And largely gushing Amazon reviews give some hints of its appeal in the conspiranoia community, as well as its flaws:
"He believes that the Anti Defamation League was set up just to protect the Rothschilds from criticism."
"He gives an account of how in 1964, David Rockefeller "sacked" Nikita Krushchev. Hardly anything in the USSR was produced without US. patents and machinery. The USSR was sold American arms and components to kill US soldiers in Vietnam."
To be fair, one reviewer makes a rather sensible obversation that will wrap up this post nicely. I support states' rights, but as this person points out, there are certain conditions in which federal intervention becomes necessary - and it's guys like George Wallace and the '60s-era Birchers who create those conditions:
"he decries the limitations that were imposed upon the right of State Governments to decide their own affairs, during the Civil Rights Era...During the Civil Rights Era the powers of the Federal Government were expanded to end segregation. Well, should the Federal Government have stood by and done nothing while atrocities against African Americans were being perpetrated?...The truth is that Southern Governors helped to place limitations upon the rights of States to decide their own affairs, by giving the Federal Government a moral imperative to act. For if Southern Governors, such as George Wallace of Alabama, had done the right thing and ended segregation, the Federal Government would not have had to step in and curtail the powers of the State Governments to decide their own affairs."
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