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conspiracy theories

  • Originally published 09/02/2015

    A history professor explains why Americans are so prone to conspiracy theories

    Historically, conspiracy theories have often focused on orchestrated wrongdoings supposedly perpetrated by big business or government on ordinary citizens. But recent conspiracy theories have focused on the victims and their loved ones as key players in the manipulation of the public. What has changed?

  • Originally published 07/08/2013

    Roswell Incident at 66

    “THE INTELLIGENCE OFFICE of the 509th Bombardment group at Roswell Army Air Field announced at noon today, that the field has come into possession of a flying saucer.”That first paragraph out of Roswell was worthy of Orson Welles — as if an extraterrestrial tale told in stentorian tones. It was the paragraph that launched not only a news article, but also a cultural curiosity that continues to spark conversation and controversy to this day — as if attracting UFO buffs and conspiracy theorists by magnetic pull from the world over.“RAAF Captures Flying Saucer / On Ranch in Roswell Region,” blared the bold headline on that front page of the Roswell (N.M.) Daily Record. The date atop the page: July 8....

  • Originally published 06/13/2013

    Lawsuit: Amelia Earhart's plane found in 2010, discovery concealed

    The group conducting a search for Amelia Earhart's plane strongly denied charges they had found the aircraft in 2010 and hid it from donors.Timothy Mellon, the son of philanthropist Paul Mellon and a major contributor to The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery sued the group on June 3, alleging TIGHAR found the famed airplane in a 2010 expedition, then hid the news so it could keep fundraising.Mellon donated $1 million that helped fund the 2012 expedition that may have indeed turned up the long-awaited evidence of Earhart's plane.Ric Gillespie, the executive director of TIGHAR, called the lawsuit frivolous....

  • Originally published 05/22/2013

    America’s fluoride wars

    “A few things remain constant in America – death, taxes, baseball and, since the 1950s, widespread, often successful efforts by a passionate minority to keep fluoride out of drinking water,” Donald R. McNeil wrote in Wilson Quarterly. McNeil has written one of the more complete histories of the fluoridation wars that I was able to find. It starts on Jan. 26, 1945 when the city of Grand Rapids, Mich. became the first city to fluoridate its water supply. It was meant to be a public health experiment, to test whether fluoridation could protect against tooth decay, especially among younger children.It would take decades to have any results and, therefore, ”the pioneers of fluoridation were generally a cautious lot,” McNeil writes, noting that they thought “that communities should at first fluoridate only on a test-batch basis.”...

  • Originally published 04/01/2013

    When Anthony Lewis stood up to the New York Times and the Clinton crazies

    With the passing of legendary New York Times newsman Anthony Lewis this week, observers have noted that his lasting legacy will likely be his clarion insights and logical, lucid writing style that helped make the courts and the law more accessible for everyday news consumers. From his two Pulitzer Prizes for reporting, to his opinion column which he wrote for more than three decades, Lewis' imprint on the Times was vast.