Dr. Conspiracy
When I started this blog in December of 2008, I never thought I would find myself writing the 1,000th article, but that is what this is. Originally I thought I would look at a few conspiracy theories, collect the facts, draw some logical conclusions, write them up, and be a general resource for anyone wanting to fact check a claim about Barack Obama’s eligibility to be president. The prototype for what I intended was the article: Barack Obama’s Birth Certificate Doesn’t Really Say He Was Born in Hawaii from December of 2008.
What I did not anticipate was that two years later, the proponents of these conspiracy theories would still be aggressively pushing them, that a measurable portion of the population would get sucked in, and that the scope of the conspiracies themselves would continue to grow. Birthers proved immune to logic and evidence–their movement, the monster that would not die.
Some small compensation for my failure to convince anyone (that I know of) was something else that I didn’t foresee, a thriving online community of intelligent and articulate folks. This is what makes all the labor worthwhile.
Thanks Doc.
Congratulations, Doc, on an outstanding achievement.
Congrats Doc.
Thanks and mazel tov!
The anagram of mazel tov is Maze Volt. I just thought you should know that.
Congrats Doc…
newyorkleftist anagrams to swiftly keen rot. 😀
Well here’s to the next 1000!
Hi Doc,
Although I am one of your “failures,” I add my congratulations. You remain civil, reflective, academic, and steadfast in conversation and tone. In a real sense, I appreciate that you are not a lawyer. The clarity of your writing is better for it. Your blog deserves to be archived and included in any future historical library that might be established for Obama. In the meantime , you will happily remain #3 on my bookmark list. ( Sorry, I still ‘gotta read the funny pages first. )
Steak or stone crabs, for an evening’s worth of conversation? ( Wives and daughters included!)
This is a fascinating and very informative blog. Kudos to Doc and the international cast of learned contributors who make it one of the most intelligent blogs on the Internet.
Congratulations, Doc. This blog is an island of sanity and a priceless resource.
You’ve been a tireless researcher, very patient and fair. I have linked your site whenever someone had questions regarding Obama’s citizenship. Congratulations.
Your work is a wonderful resource and a joy to read.
Regarding the obstinacy of the those unmoved by reasonable argument, and who cling to the idiotic and ahistorical claims of the birthers, I am reminded of what Samuel Beckett has Estragon say about humanity in “Waiting for Godot”: “People are bloody ignorant apes!” Anyway, that’s what appears in Beckett’s English translation; I’ve heard that the original French is more provocative. Perhaps Lupin can clarify.
In college, a production had Godot show up in the second act.
Happy New Millennium, Doc.
I demonstrated against the Viet-Nam War as a kid, against Kissinger and the CIA’s role in bringing Pinochet to power in Chile with a remarkable lack of success and results, but I’m still glad I did it.
Congratulations, Doc!
In French Beckett simply wrote “les gens sont des cons” which colloquially means only “people are assh*les” although it uses the “c***” word whose meaning the same in English; it’s Beckett himself who rewrote the line in English to say “people are bloody ignorant apes” which is both more colorful and, I think, crueler.
William Gaines the publisher of EC Comics and MAD used to say: “people are no d*mn good” an opinion which at age 56 I share entirely.
Well done Doc… It’s been a fun two years and counting
My mother – aleha hashalom – a survivor along with her family, used to say that all the time.
I prefer the works of Fartov and Belcher, quaquaquaqua.
Congrats, Doc. Keep up the good work.
There was actually a project at the Library of Congress to archive Internet controversy about Barack Obama. The Obama File blog was one of the web sites selected. I confirmed with the LoC that there was such a project, but it never appeared on their web site. This blog wasn’t selected. 🙁
Doc
This is one of those times when you wonder whether it is more appropriate to give congratulations or condolences. Anyhow, congratulations on two years of maintaining your cool and your sanity.
the interwebs have given once isolated kooks and cranks — and the people who exploit them — a powerful new weapon for organizing, amplifying and “catapulting their bs” and generally contaminating the public discourse. sites like this are needed to help keep the craziness in check. while doc may be doing this for his own amusement, let us help keep him amused for at least as long as the birfers can keep their paypal buttons up …
cheers, doc!
Qua indeed, Doc. C! I’m impressed by your knowledge of Absurdist drama; it’s not everyday you see someone quoting Lucky. While doing research on his convoluted monologue, I came across a passage from a speech by Sarah Palin that rivaled Lucky’s opacity:
“I think, kind of tougher to, um, put our arms around, but allowing America’s spirit to rise again by not being afraid to kind of go back to some of our roots as a God fearing nation where we’re not afraid to say, especially in times of potential trouble in the future here, where we’re not afraid to say, you know, we don’t have all the answers as fallible men and women so it would be wise of us to start seeking some divine intervention again in this country, so that we can be safe and secure and prosperous again. To have people involved in government who aren’t afraid to go that route, not so afraid of the political correctness that you know — they have to be afraid of what the media said about them if they were to proclaim their alliance on our creator.”
Sarah Palin speaking at the National Tea Party Convention, Nashville Tennessee, February 6, 2009.
As George Orwell observed in “Politics and the English Language”: “In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of indefensible… Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness.”
Thanks for the speedy reply! I agree with you that “bloody ignorant apes” is crueler, if only because it is so painfully accurate.
My knowledge is a mile wide and an inch deep. Quaquaquaqua.
If Sarah Palin had tried to sound academic in that passage, then I think it would have been a close match for Lucky.
I read an article last week about far-righters disbelieving Einstein’s theory of relativity (see, for example conservapedia.com). I think any idea that morphs into a conspiracy theory becomes unkillable. Flat-earthers, those who believe Paul Wellstone’s plane was shot down, truthers, etc. there is created a committed and unpersuadable core of true-believers. That people disbelieve them feeds their martyr/conspiraciast mindset. So, if you want to keep it up, Doc, you’ll never want for source material.
You have done a great and worthy thing, here, sir. Thank you for that.
Congrats on #1000, Doc. I was going to send you a card, but Hallmark doesn’t have anything for 1,000 blog posts. Odd.
I’d tip my hat to you, sir, if I were wearing one and if I were a man. Rather, then, I say “Well done and continue to fight the good fight!!”
Thanks for the great site.
I have learned a lot.