Here is the point: Believe what you want to believe - but

Danger, Will Robinson, Danger

when you are discussing politics, policies and such, and you suddenly drop in some conspiracy theorist stories, the rest of your story and argument becomes tainted. So stop it…

So, here is the deal,

Since becoming a blogger I’ve met lots of wonderful, politically passionate people, but this isn’t about the people, it is about getting your point across. So - When I’m talking about admirable long term objectives like world peace - I don’ t need to hear that, “9-11 was an inside job”. When I’m talking to war protester friends - I don’t need to hear how Bush is buying up land in Bolivia to avoid the upcoming war crime trials.

Or my new personal favorite - When I’m listening to someone discuss the important water issues affecting the Great Lakes basin - I’m told of a secret plan to build a pipeline (along with that NAFTA superhighway) to drain the Great Lakes.

Now, I’m not taking about the too lazy to look up smears. No, I’m just talking about people who engage others in civil persuasive discourse then, in the middle of the conversation, drop an irrelevant point into the discussion which pushes people away and dilutes your point.

Take the person taking about the NAFTA superhighway and draining the Great Lakes. Just because only Lou Dobbs and Ron Paul are talking about the NAFTA superhighway doesn’t make it true.

Some guy discusses absolutely pressing issues affecting the Great Lakes. He is discussing legislation affecting the Great Lakes, the pluses and minuses. Mentioning that every 28 days a new invasive species enters the Great Lakes basin. For topic novices like me the conversation was quite informative. But somewhere in the discussion at the conclusion of the conversation he dropped in this bit of information (paraphrased) - “There is a highway being built, linking Mexico and Canada, along with a pipeline to drain the Great Lakes and no one is talking about it”.

Faster than Robbie the Robot can say “Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!” My virtual arms were flailing and I was mentally screaming,”Danger!”.

Look - I’m not going to spend my time debunking all these conspiracy theories. Why? Well, it detracts from trying to take our country back and locally that means focusing on Maggie Brooks and Monroe County, the dysfunctional NY State government and figuring out a way to get a Congressman to actually represent my values and beliefs.

So, anything else detracts from, what I believe, like minded folks should be focusing on. How to make a difference in their local community. Focus, people.

but, back to the NAFTA super highway for a minute.

Look - Like most things, there are a series of anecdotes that when linked together - ultimately spawns these wild ideas.

The thing is, this pipeline rumor is false. Have a look at this Newsweek article - oh wait - that’s corporate Media. How about This article from The Nation? This seems to be an outcome of someone trying to prove that the plural of anecdote is data. Stuff like this detracts from the real message.

So believe what you want to believe - when you are discussing politics, policies and such and you suddenly drop in one of these conspiracy theorist stories - Remember the rest of your story argument becomes tainted.

To help - we will be selling our own line of Tin Foil hats. Guaranteed that the Government will not be able to tell what you are thinking.