Truther Decline Showing in Polling

Orphia Nay at JREF points out the latest poll result.

Republican Birthers and Democrat Truthers

Both groups are a couple sandwiches short of a picnic.

Archduke Ferdinand Was An Inside Job!

My longtime blogger buddy Rick Moran takes a look at the conspiracy theories and compares them to the historical assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the event that led to World War I. It's a fascinating story and I have to admit being unaware of the details.

The conspiracy had several assassins spread out along a motorcade route where Ferdinand and his wife would be taken to the town hall for a formal welcome. The first two assassins lost heart completely and failed to make an attempt. They were armed with bombs and pistols. Further along the route, another assassin made the first attempt on the Archduke’s life, tossing a bomb that bounced off Ferdinand’s car and landed behind it, exploding when a follow-up car passed over it. The bomb injured 20 people and shook up Ferdinand’s party considerably. The would be assassin swallowed a cyanide pill and jumped in the river – neither of which killed him. He was promptly arrested.

Also failing to act despite being armed with bombs and pistols were several other assassins standing nearby including young Gavrilo Princip. The 20 year old would get another chance shortly.

Rick then shows how a conspiracy theorist would reconstruct things to implicate far more groups than the actual plotters.

I do think he's a little unfair here:

While there is certainly enough paranoia on the right about 9/11 and “The New World Order,” black helicopter conspiracies, the driving force behind 9/11 truthers, Kennedy conspiracists, and Area 51 nutcases has been the far left of American politics.

I am not aware that the Area 51 stuff has any political correlation. Yes, the Kennedy conspiracy theorists do tend to be left of center. And the 9-11 crackpots are just crackpots; there's a significant libertarian aspect to the "Truthers" and yes, a significant Leftist element. But as we have documented here endlessly, many on the left end of the spectrum have done terrific work debunking the conspiracy theories. David Corn, George Monbiot, Noam Chomsky and Alexander Cockburn have all dismissed the arguments of the nutbars. Daily Kos has a standard rule against Truther Diaries and while Democratic Underground allows them, they're in a separate section of the forum and cannot be voted to the "Best" page.

This is not to deny that a large percentage of Truthers hail from the portside. But again, that's a large percentage of a small percentage of people overall. In other words, let's say that 66% of all Truthers are left of center. But if only 4.6% of people are Truthers to begin with (defined fairly narrowly as MIHOP per the Zogby Poll), then only about 3% of Americans are both Truther and left of center.

Again, I have lots of problems with the Scripps poll that is the basis for the post in the first place; I think they've mingled in a lot of people who aren't Truthers to get the 62% figure. People who believe the media's take on the August 6, 2001 PDB, for example.

Yet Another Poll

The Scripps Howard people are back with an astonishing poll result:

Nearly two-thirds of Americans think it is possible that some federal officials had specific warnings of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, but chose to ignore those warnings, according to a Scripps Howard News Service/Ohio University poll.

An earlier Scripps Howard/Ohio University survey, conducted in July 2006, revealed that more than one-third of Americans thought federal officials assisted in the 9/11 attacks or took no action to stop them so the United States could go to war in the Middle East.

"What (the recent survey) could mean is that people are thinking that the Bush administration is incompetent, that there were warnings out there and they chose to put their attention on other things," Fenster said.

Indeed, it sounds like the poll question got MIHOP, LIHOP and LIHOI (Incompetence) mixed together. Unfortunately I cannot locate the poll itself to find out the questions asked, although as we saw in last year's poll, there is an indication that this was a poll that may have self-selected conspiracy theorists:

A national survey of 811 adult residents of the United States conducted by Scripps and Ohio University found that more than a third believe in a broad smorgasbord of conspiracy theories including the attacks, international plots to rig oil prices, the plot to assassinate President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and the government's knowledge of intelligent life from other worlds.

Suppose you're getting asked these questions. A reasonable person might decide, hey, this is a bunch of nonsense and hang up, where a conspiracy theorist might be more inclined to follow through to the end.

More Reports From the 84%

You may recall that our buddies like to claim that 84% of America are 9-11 Deniers; if that's the case, then why do they constantly report how frustrating it is trying to convert others?

I am being badgered so much in my town when I try to explain 9/11 Truth, sometimes I feel sick.. I feel like I'm the outcast in a world full of normal people .. I know theres no such thing as normal, I think we are doing a great job.. I get so many random questions, like... why it was so long ago.. and how are they gonna do an investigation... I get so sick of people thinking we are crazy and that we are nuts.. I want to punch people in the face sometimes.. Does anyone else ever feel this way? I get so ANGRY about it when people question me.. why ask what I do.. I'm a truther and nothing will stop it..

What's even worse are youth who DON'T CARE whether or not 9/11 was an inside job. This one girl (about 20 or so) actually said to me, "who cares if it was or not, why can't you talk about something fun?"

Talk about wanting to punch someone in the face.

Same thing happened to me today.

"Do you really believe that stuff?"

Yes, absolutly.

"you think zomming in on angles and stupid shit is real?"

What is WTC 7?

"What, your an idiot...."

I pretty much want to go away to my own little island I am so disgusted with most Americans. I work with some REALLY smart people and they refuse to care about things like the Patriot act, 9/11 research. I don't go all crazy - I simply point out that I don't know What really happened prior to and on 9/11. I DO know that what the government tells us happened is a lie/distortion/false.

Anyway, this is heavy stuff. It has stressed my marriage immensely. Some friends just"tolerate" me now...whatever. Alot of people are gonna be really surprised when America ends up in the coming crises- whatever they may be. At least some of us will have a context for understanding everything and we won't be in such shock.

Update: Comments closed to maintain evidence.