Okay, tinfoilers, what are your demographics?

[Skidmore]

Those of you who embrace the S&B, Illuminati, and other such stuff about these candidates, how old are you, in what section of the country do you reside?

I'm really curious about this phenomenon. Sometimes it does sound plausible and sometimes it sounds so paranoid. It shows up all the time on this board. I find it frustrating to deal with those arguments since they obscure the very real trouble this country is in NOW and the need for some speedy resolution before the whole nation goes down the crapper.

[Cuban_Liberal]

1. That leaves me out.

I'm not a big conspiracist. I'm more of a Freudian, i.e., some times (MOST times) a cigar is just a cigar. :shrug:

[judge_smales]

2. Hmmmmmmm.

You must be one of those Freemasons who are plotting to take over the World. Trying to find out what we have on you, eh? Well I'll tell you NOTHING mister. Nothing!!

[rucky]

6. The hat seems to be working

or else THEY would already know all that stuff about us.

:tinfoilhat:

[Indiana_Dem]

3. '64 born Yankee!

[praxiz]

5. Does it matter?

Does it really matter what kind of college frathouse they were part of?

[redqueen]

4. 34, F, married, 2 kids, was middle-class now skirting poverty

Born & raised in Texas.

[lucidmadman]

7. It's interesting and alarming that these ideas...

...that used to be the domain of the far right are surfacing on the left these days.

Here's a link to an article called RIGHT WOOS LEFT by Chip Berlet.
http://www.publiceye.org/rightwoo/rwooz9.html

It's about 10 years old but still applies.

Every company I've ever worked for had an Annual Operating Plan or some such. The big muckity-mucks would get together and decide what they wanted to happen in the coming year(s). How to screw the competition, how to control the market, etc.

I find it hard to believe that there's one grand unified field theory of conspiracy. People naturally desire for things to be clear and simple. "It's the Illuminatti". "It's the CFR". "It's the shape-shifting reptiles from Draco".Etc, etc.

Pogo was right. It's us.

Oh yeah:52 y/o. West Coast all my life. Currently self-employed and enjoying an independent impoverishment.

[Rich Hunt]

9. yay!

I love publiceye.org - great to see someone else knows about it.

[lucidmadman]

10. It's a great resource...

...I post the link from time-to-time when things get 'tin-foily'. I find more virtue in a structural approach to the state of things rather than the idea that there are evil people behind the scenes pulling strings.

Yay back at ya...

[parasim]

8. Frankly...

... I don't understand why more people aren't bothered by this stuff. Bush himself said on Sunday when asked by Russert about the S&B secret society, "so secret we can't talk about it." and Kerry also "won't talk about it". What's up with that?

Nobody cares that the oath our president took in college for the most secretive club around trumps the oath he took as President of the United States? Obviously, if it really was not what everybody says it is, they would either denounce it when they chose to serve the public or at the very least answer the questions when asked of them.

Perhaps the "very real trouble this country is in NOW" is caused by these people, but we'll never know because as soon as you try to discuss it with somebody you're called paranoid.