It was bound to happen. After the most embarrassing meta weekend in memory, we've finally gone black helicopter. I'm not worried about camps. I'm worried about padded cells. The "reality-based community" is now as detached from the planet Earth as is the Medievalist-fundie-right wing community. Wow. Just wow!
Look, folks: we all have dark dreams. This Administration is enough to drive people paranoid or something. There should be enough that we know they have done to obviate the need for wild speculation about what they might have done or might do. But why bother focusing on their demonstrable crimes and misdemeanors when we can really have fun extrapolating the worst they might possibly do? I personally believe that, after having poisoned this planet, they're going to fly off to some secret base on some hidden planet and live happily ever after while we all choke on their toxic fumes. I also think they're trying to infiltrate our precious bodily fluids!
We despise the corporate media because we know they spew lies. We've seen legendary investigative reporters like Bob Woodward become shills for an Administration they once would have helped bring down. It's enough to drive people- I don't know- mad? We're supposed to be smarter than that. We're supposed to be reestablishing a paradigm that is grounded in facts, rationality, and logic, as a credible counterweight, so that the next time the corporate media enables a rogue Administration to sell a war based on lies, we can refute it, and help stop it. Let's just say that some recent Rec List diaries are not doing much to help establish our credibility.
Yes, we think the worst of an Administration that is not above the worst behavior, but it would be nice if we could separate our suspicions from what can be proved! When you read a diary headline that says what you want it to say, pay a little attention to the sources, the rhetorical tricks, and the appeals to your emotions. We are not objective. We are here because we are partisan and biased. Be conscious of your biases. Be conscious of the degree to which your biases might make you see things that simply aren't there. Truth and reason are under assault as they have not been for centuries. We are supposed to be fighting that, not contributing to it. Just because the other side is wrong does not mean that every critic of the other side is right!
In closing, let me just say this: the best refutation of 9/11 conspiracy theories that I've seen was that by Salon's Joan Walsh. She put it very simply: from what we've seen of this Administration, why would anyone think that they're capable of the basic competence it would have taken to pull off the attacks? These people fail at everything, then give themselves medals. When you're lying awake at night, worrying about those black helicopters, try to keep that in mind.
UPDATE: I have to run some errands, but I'll be back later, to enjoy the fun. Unless the black helicopters get me!!!
UPDATE 2: Regarding the directive that has everyone donning their tinfoil, kellogg, in the comments, added this quote, from TPM Muckraker:
The consensus amongst experts seems to be that the directive, aimed at establishing "continuity of government" after a major disaster, is not new nor does the policy seem to expand executive power.
In fact, Mike German, the policy counsel to the ACLU’s Washington office told me that an executive continuity plan actually might "not be that bad of an idea."
Now, I'm really scared!