I’m not a not believer in conspiracy theories.
I’m one of the less than 25% of Americans who believe that Lee Harvey Oswald shot President John F. Kennedy in the back to get attention. Period. End of story.
I base that on several common sense factors, not the least of which is that every conspiracy theory I’ve ever read about (and I have a library to prove I’ve read all the “serious ones”) would necessarily involve an enormous number of people, too many to keep a secret of this magnitude for 40 years.
This is NOT a post on the Kennedy assassination…although, if you’re interested I highly recommend “Death of a President” by one of the preeminent historians of the 20th century William Manchester and “Case Closed” by Gerald Posner who has also debunked the ML King and Robert Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories.
This post is about a conspiracy theory that COULD be happening right now. It’s not even much of a secret since the meeting where the conspiracy was hatched has been reported in a few places notably “The New Yorker.” But Clayton Cramer, a software engineer and writer, has some very interesting dots that he connects rather persuasively with regards to the current price of oil and how it might…just might…have something to do with damaging the chances of President Bush to be reelected. The link to this story comes via Verifrank.
I don’t have near the expertise to comment on hedge fund manipulation, the oil futures market, or any gaming of the markets that are explained so ably by Mr. Cramer. Using quotes from several sources, Cramer shows how a conspiracy to jack up the price of oil before the election in order to damage the economy and hurt the President’s reelection chances could…just could be going on now.
It’s possible…but is it likely? Ten years ago I would have laughed off such apparent foolishness in the same way I laughed off Clinton conspiracies of murder (so-called “Arkancide”: the belief that suspicious deaths of Clinton associates like Vice Foster were murder) and drug running. Given the depths to which the left has sunk in rhetoric and deeds this election, however, is it beyond imagining?
George Soros is on record as saying that he would spend his entire multi-billion dollar fortune if it would guarantee the defeat of George Bush. Other billionaires have given tens of millions of dollars to liberal 527 groups. Would it be so surprising that a small group of immensely wealthy Americans would combine their fortunes in an effort to cause a massive rise in the price of a barrel of oil so that gasoline prices, which are extremely sensitive to the futures market, would skyrocket before the election and hit voters in a direct, painful way? Who would they blame for an almost doubling in the price of gas?
What gives me pause in believing in this conspiracy is that there ARE other explanations for such a rise in the price of oil. And while Cramer mentions these factors, I would like to have seen a better comparative analysis of these causes vis a vis any conspiracy theory.
So for the moment, I’m a skeptic. More proof please.
A HINGE OF HISTORY?
One of the things that makes this election so very important is that everyone in America, even the most casual observer of politics, KNOWS that this election is important.
This is not one of those events that historians look back on 100 years from now and tell us that this was a turning point or that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. We don’t need to wait 100 years to know that something fundamental to the nation is at stake here.
These moments are extremely rare in history. One analogy that comes immediately to mind for me is the battle of Gettysburg.
Every soldier on both sides knew that the winner of that battle would win the war. We know this because of the diaries, letters, and regimental histories of the soldiers themselves. Like Colonel Joshua Chamberlain of the 2nd Maine, who simply could not retreat from Little Round Top. Outnumbered 10-1, Chamberlain ordered his men to charge the southerners coming up that hill and won against impossible odds. Or like Southern General George Pickett’s 12,000 men who walked across the deadliest 8/10 of a mile in American history to charge cemetery Ridge and pass into southern history and folklore. The war would go on for almost 2 more years, but it was decided on the soft rolling hills and bloodsoaked fields outside of a small, insignificant Pennsylvania town. And everyone there knew it.
In a similar way, American’s today know deep down that we’re at a crossroads; or more descriptively I think, a doorway. We can vote for John Kerry and stay on this side of the door, stuck in the past (more like WISHING for the past) or we can vote for the President, open the door and walk towards a very uncertain future. The election therefore, is a hinge of history.
I plan on walking through the door. I hope to God enough Americans are coming with me.
Here’s a great editorial linked through one of my favorite blogs, “The Patriette.” The writer says it a hell of a lot better than I can.
IF IT’S NOT CLOSE THEY CAN’T STEAL IT…OR CAN THEY?
Read this column by George Will. My jaw dropped halfway to my more than ample belly. No wonder Kerry is going to name his national security team before the winner is known if there’s a repeat of 2000. He knows that voter fraud is going to be so massive that NO ONE IS GOING TO BELIEVE THAT AN AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTY WOULD CARRY IT OUT!
Power Line points out the following:
“The bottom line is that if this election is close enough, it will be stolen. If it is too close to steal but still close, the result will be months or years of litigation, designed either to give John Kerry the Presidency, or to deny President Bush legitimacy in his second term. Under current law, there is no solution to the problem of voter fraud other than a one-sided election. And this year, that doesn’t look likely.”
This has been the mantra of the Democrats since September; if we can’t beat you, we’ll make your election illegitimate in the eyes of the world.
Ann Coulter was right. How can the party of Thomas Jefferson, Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Harry Truman, and John Kennedy do this to the United States IN A TIME OF WAR? The answer is they don’t care. They seek power for the sole and exclusive purpose of power for power’s sake. They have sold their souls to the devil. And like Faustus, they may find there’s hell to pay when the bill comes due.
10/24/2004
THIS CAN’T BE TRUE…CAN IT?
CATEGORY: General
By: Rick Moran at 6:12 am
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