April 16, 2013

"Why the Conspiracy Theorists Will Have a Tough Time With Boston."

"The attacks in Boston lack a number of the factors they need to concoct a really compelling conspiracy theory...."

Writes David Weigel, but is Weigel a man with the kind of imaginative, suspicious mind that is drawn into teasing out the limitations in an official story or is he the sort of complacent optimist who hopes there will be no more trouble? I don't know, but his list of 4 boldfaced "factors" doesn't particularly impress me. Show some respect for the conspiracy thinkers out there. And they are out there.

113 comments:

AllenS said...

David Weigel is a JournOlist member. Which means he will lie and distort information to achieve the story that he wants out there. Don't believe anything that he says, nor any other member of that organization.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

But the conspirators know all about those factors, and went out of their way to avoid them.

The lack of factors is itself evidence of a conspiracy.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I'd like the news please. Facts.
The pro-democrat media give us speculation-as-news and it is sickening.

Jane the Actuary said...

So on Monday the North Koreans announce, "you will be attacked without warning, and immediately." Immediately thereafter, we are attacked. Isn't that in itself reason to consider them the most likely perpetrator?

MadisonMan said...

My conspiracy theory is that because the blast went off at 4:09 into the Marathon, it was set by a group of disgruntled Penn State grads.

The misreporting was all over the place yesterday. I heard reports of a dozen dead -- Fox Radio (or maybe just Hannity, not sure). On NPR, the announcer was interviewing someone and they were bending over backwards to try to figure out how it might not have been a Muslim terrorist. (And I know, I know, it may not have been -- but it was pretty obvious what the radioheads were trying to talk around without saying it explicitly).

Bad reporting and lack of facts lends itself pretty easily to conspiracy theories.

rhhardin said...

I'm was tired of the story last night.

News consumers are morons, is my theory.

Or maybe it's just the news providers. How are the ratings.

Brian Brown said...

That's funny.

Michael Moore, Chris Matthews, CNN's Peter Bergen had no problem engaging in the theory that right-wing extremists did the Boston bombing.

Also, Stephanie Johnson, Director of Public Affairs for the Southern Region of the U.S. Forest Service blamed the Tea Party and Nicholas Kristof blamed Senate Republicans.

So I'm not clear which world David Weigel is living in.

Brian Brown said...

By the way, Robert Redford's new movie "The Company You Keep" - about a former Weather Underground activist who has spent some 30 years in hiding, offering no apologies for the old act of violence that precipitates its action(per the Wash Post moview review), comes out Friday (check your local listings)!

Isn't that nice?

rhhardin said...

I'd say Ted Kennedy was behind it, as a best guess.

Darrell said...

The "12 dead" came from the NY Post, and their info came from a federal law enforcement officer. Why shouldn't they report THAT? They also had the lead about a suspect in custody--a Saudi national on a student visa. That apparently remains correct

Colonel Angus said...

CNN states the FBI is searching the apartment of the Saudi national but decline to call him a suspect.

Mary Beth said...

"Reporters on the scene are hustling and chasing rumors and tips, and sometimes bogus news gets out."

Sometimes? It seems to me that it's usually speculation (later shown to be wrong) by the reporters and news anchors. Gotta fill time, might as well push a personal agenda.

Anonymous said...

Patriot's Day BTW was April 19th. Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775.

But the unions and the legislature bastardized it into another 3 day holiday thing

John henry said...

In the morning to you, Jay:

Good point. With the Redford movie coming out, might this just be part of a promotional campaign?

Sort of like what Kim Jong Un is doing for the movie "Olympus has fallen"

John Henry

Darrell said...

Yeah and yesterday, the FBI denied knowing anything about anything. Which do you prefer?

Libertarian Advocate said...

Stephanie Johnson, Director of Public Affairs for the Southern Region of the U.S. Forest Service

Hmmm, is she FBI or CIA under deep cover at the Forest Service? If they put her there, I'm sure there's a reason.

Colonel Angus said...

Yeah and yesterday, the FBI denied knowing anything about anything

I don't think many people realize that in the course of an investigation, law enforcement will keep info close to the vest and also provide disinformation to make the perpetrators think they are not under suspicion.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Concocting a conspiracy theory is an art form much like blogging and maybe even like blog commenting.

Unknown said...

" Bad information dies quickly " he said. Yet he is still breathing, the nyt still prints fabricated rubbish daily and msnbc is still on the air.

Brian Brown said...

John Henry,
good point.



Why aren't these leftists blaming the Tea Party simply assuming this bombing is part of the promotional campaign for Redford's new movie?

Darrell said...

And some law enforcement officers have a palpable disdain for the public they serve.

Kelly said...

There has to be a special place in hell for people who make money off these conspiracy theories.

I watched the coverage yesterday on FOX beginning with Shepard Smith followed by Neil Cavuto, I thought they were restrained and weren't speculating on who did it.. I watched for a couple of hours and that was it, I've stayed away from it otherwise.

Bob R said...

"I'd say Ted Kennedy was behind it, as a best guess."
How about beneath it?

ricpic said...

As I understand it the bombs exploded in garbage cans and yet I heard someone on some radio show (sorry, can't remember the names of either) say that garbage cans are normally removed from central locations at high profile public events for this very reason, that they make such good hiding places for explosives. So, I guess a conspiracy theorist could posit that the garbage cans weren't removed on purpose. Or had they been removed by the police? And then did the bomber(s) place already bomb loaded garbage cans on Boylston Street?

CatherineM said...

I honestly don't believe Alex Jones believes what he says. I listened to them mocking him on the radio this morning and I have to think he's a snake oil salesman and he knows the snake ol is fake.

Meanwhile, Chris Matthews was on 2 networks last night saying, "Now, today is tax day and a lot of people are upset about having to pay taxes. Could it be someone who is angry."

The MSM really, really want this bomber to be a white guy because it fits their narrative as much as Alex Jones wants things to fit his.

cubanbob said...

So far the so-called experts, pundits and journalists have gloriously covered themselves in assholery. Lets chill and wait for the facts.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

rhhardin said...
I'd say Ted Kennedy was behind it, as a best guess.


They've already ruled out a gas explosion.

Jim said...

Weigel, that's just what they (TPTB) want you to think. The FEWER the number of people involved, the easier it is to "tie up all of the loose ends."

In fact, the so-called, conspiracies with government agencies, patsies, and tens of mysterious deaths afterwards are merely created to distract the masses from a real conspiracy such as this one.

Watch, TPTB will say the perp was a lone-wolf. You'll fall right into their trap.

Christy said...

Step 2 in a four year plan to create chaos and fear. 2016 elections will be canceled thereby making the anti-Christ dictator for life. Step 1 was Newtown. Gotta get those law-abiding guns out of the hands of high info voters first.

Conspiracy theories are fun!

Man in PA said...

It is reported that the police have video of a suspect planting bombs. The suspect appears to have high cheekbones. He is clearly of 1/32 Cherokee descent. Is this a plot hatched by Cherokees? Inquiring minds want to know.

rhhardin said...

One of the police officials speaking now sounds like a machine union guy. He's an immediate suspect.

rhhardin said...

Words cannot describe how badly Imus sucked this morning.

AllenS said...

Does anyone know the whereabouts of Barack Heussein Obama when these bombs were being planted?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Remember, it was "tax day" - not "Boston marathon day".
so - it must be tax payer bombs.

AllenS said...

We can safely rule out GW Bush, because he was home painting pictures of dogs.

Darrell said...

Roupen Bastajian, a state trooper from Smithfield, R.I., had just finished the race when he heard the explosions.

"I started running toward the blast. And there were people all over the floor," he said. "We started grabbing tourniquets and started tying legs. A lot of people amputated. ... At least 25 to 30 people have at least one leg missing, or an ankle missing, or two legs missing."



http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BOSTON_MARATHON_EXPLOSIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-04-16-05-26-46

If it's true, this was not some amateur bomb made with a few shotgun shells.

ed said...

Koch Brothers are teh responsible party. No question about it.

Koch Brothers are conservative ego - guilty!

Koch Brothers opposed Obama ego - guilty!

Koch Brothers sounds a lot like "Coke Brothers" which might imply drugs ego - guilty!

/sarcasm

J said...

Nobody can claim the American conspiracy theorists lack imagination that's for sure. And so many seem to work for major news outlets.Which works out just fine to cover government agendas and incompetence.Nidal Hassan is work place violence and PETN found in the fuselage of TWA 800 was a training accident.And that Egyptian pilot just made a mistake.
Seriously that stuff just fuels the conspiracy fires.

J said...

But I did see an analysis that people were running towards the blast areas within 41 seconds over at Instapundit.Conspiracy theory says they knew.Alternative explanation is there seem to be a lot of people who rush to the sounds of bombs and bullets in this country.Our Creator seems to have blesses us with that.

Fernandinande said...

"Reason" was right to fire Weigel; it's wrong to bother reading him.

Christy said...

We have civilian and authorities running forward to help. We will never be defeated by such terrorist bombs. - Not original with me, but I fully believe this.

X said...

Dave "Weigs" Weigel is a ratfucking pimple faced member of the Journolist Conspiracy.

Anonymous said...

Alternative explanation is there seem to be a lot of people who rush to the sounds of bombs and bullets in this country.Our Creator seems to have blesses us with that.

These days, a lot of runners are vets, nearly all of the Army and Marine vets have experience near IED explosions, good reactions and there is that old Army saying:

A Commander can do little wrong if he marches (runs in this case) toward the sound of the guns.

I further posit that some Vet arriving at the site of an amputation, is going to be a lot more together thatn your average Boston Cop...

Bender said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Freeman Hunt said...

Silly. Making sense and taking into account evidence are antithetical to conspiracy theory creation.

Tibore said...

Look, if conspiritards can find a way to blame the limo driver for shooting JFK, they can find a way to make the Boston tragedy a conspiracy. Trust me on this.

Weigel's making a fundamental mistake: He's presuming that the presence of known facts will preclude conspiracy fantasizing. No, CTs grow out of misperceptions or distortions that enter the public consciousness as fact. They don't grow from what's known or not known, they grow from what's widespread, whether correct or not. It doesn't even have to be true, it just has to become "common knowledge". For example, imagine a rumor that a policeman told friends to stay away from the finish line, or an outright lie that a "Jewish looking person" was seen furtively poking around the site the previous day. If something obviously stupid like that gets legs, the CTs will follow, no matter how refutable. All conspiracy mythologizing is full of this.

Weigel means well, but his invocation of Alex Jones defeats his premise. The conspiracy theories will follow, regardless of their stupidity. The fact that they're easily debunked doesn't matter to paranoids.

Freeman Hunt said...

If there are going to be conspiracy theories, I vote for Hoffa's Revenge. It doesn't make any sense, but that doesn't matter, and I haven't heard much about that guy in a while, so why not?

X said...

sometimes you have to spin a conspiracy theory to keep your head from exploding, like leftists had to do when a Marxist murdered JFK.

Brian Brown said...

The last two arrests regarding anything bombing related are:


Five members of Occupy Cleveland convicted for their bridge
bombing plot in 2013.


Floyd Lee Corkins was convicted two months ago, after he plotted
to commit mass murder at two Christian lobbying organizations. He was a radical leftist gay rights advocate.


So of course it makes total sense to blame the Tea Party. An organization that has no connection to violence or bombings.

ed said...

I don't know about conspiracy theories. Frankly I find some of them pretty amusing at times considering how incompetent the government is on a regular basis.

But I do have to say that the handling of Saudi nationals with kid gloves has to end and end right the fuck now. There is a factual basis to state that a lot of terrorism is funded by and through Saudi money men, some of whom are members of the Saudi royal family, and that these are some of the most dangerous people around because of that.

IMO the very first step that I'd do as a President would be to ensure that not one single one of these fuckers saw tomorrow morning.

jimbino said...

It's fitting that the terrorist act occurred on Patriot's Day in Boston, seeing that it was "heroes" like Sam Adams and his bunch who perpetrated and defended that first act of terrorism on Amerikan soil.

If our slaves had burned down Atlanta to free themselves, history would have adjudged them heroes and champions of human rights. Unfortunately, we lost 600,000 men instead and it was Sherman who emerged the terrorist hero.

There are plenty of foreigners and Amerikans who have good cause to wage wars of liberation on Amerikan soil and to stage acts of terrorism. Of course, it would serve their cause and the people more if, instead of targeting "innocent" civilians, they could target the fortresses of the oppressor politicians with drones; that day may soon come.

One could argue that terrorism is an illegitimate tool in a democratic society, but apart from the fact that our society is far from democratic, we suffer from the tyranny of the majority that regularly oppresses the minority.

It's not only the Branch Davidians and Mormons who are deprived of their rights, but we oppress and overtax atheists, singles, gays and the childfree who may feel themselves to have no recourse but violence to liberate themselves from that oppression.

Now that our majority is silently standing by while their gummint continues to kill foreign innocents with drone attacks, and to torture and imprison foreigners endlessly without trial, the time may have come for many more of those "innocents" among the Amerikan majority to pay with their lives for depriving various minorities of their human rights.

Darrell said...

Hey, jimbino. Go fuck yourself. Again.

traditionalguy said...

The Patriot's Day is a celebration of the shot heard around the world fired by the the Lexington and Concord citizen's in a well regulated militia that stood their ground war with the British Empire's announced guns and ammunition confiscation campaign.

The Boston area may take this being targeted seriously again.

traditionalguy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tibore said...

"Show some respect for the conspiracy thinkers out there. And they are out there.

I can't respect them. To me, conspiracy addicts are prime examples of people who waste their intellectual ability on the most inane things possible. It'd be like a woodwind maestro wasting his time with a Kazoo, or worse even.

Has anyone ever watched sports, and seen someone with so much raw ability, but no refined technique or discipline? They're just out there flailing around, being effective due to their talent but limited due to their lack of refinement? Those are conspiracy theorists when viewed through an intellectual lens: They've developed some rather incredible doggedness in going after information, but are less than 5 year olds in actually interpreting it. They're like math wizards who do nothing but count inventory for a fruit store. And that's at best, and only for the ones who show genuine intellectual ability. At worst, they'll be bandwagon jumping intellectual midgets who parrot talking points without actual understanding. Such as the moron 9/11 truthers who keep telling people that "fire can't melt steel"... they don't even get the original truther myth correct, let alone have any understanding of why it's put forth as a truther argument.

I can be amazed at output, productivity, and sheer effort without respecting it. The busy bee is lauded, the ant scolded. And lots of effort put forth towards lunacy isn't a laudable trait; it's a sign of obsessive wastefulness. It's simply not something that I feel deserves respect.

AllenS said...

Patriots Day is April 19 (1775). They moved up to Monday so the unions could get a 3 day holiday. You can look it up.

AllenS said...

You'd have to be a patriot to know these things.

Seriously, Amerikan?

Unknown said...

For want of a better place to post this, take a look at this remarkably heroic story.

He appears to be pinching closed a severed artery protruding from the victim’s thigh, stanching the flow of blood from a torn and shattered leg.

That is, he's literally clamping off with his own thumb and forefinger, a large artery which is protruding several inches from the victim's leg. While running beside the man's wheelchair.

And then read on for the rest of the story. This guy's life is like a tragic Forrest Gump

gerry said...

And then there's always this asshole.

Humperdink said...

I, also am tired of this story, simply due to the speculative nature of the reporting. Once the facts surface (a little Ted Kennedy lingo), I will re-engage.

One point I will offer: After listening to the mayor of Boston and the police commissioner, I wonder how they achieved such high leadership positions. Egads - two stumble bums.

traditionalguy said...

The News radio and especially the sports commenters were asking for listener's opinions. A mature caller said that profiling Saudi Arabian young men for extra scrutiny was not hate. It was getting to know them better to protect our children.

The next 10 minutes was a diatribe by the announcers against profiling based on skin color/race. The stuck on stupid continues.

Israel profiles just because the terrorists are young Arabic looking men and women who are nervous as heck when being screened.

Of course the terrorist's are nervous not because we hate them, but because they hate us are afraid their plan to kill us will draw a retaliation.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Chris Matthews is the official White House Court Jester.

James Pawlak said...


Without regard to who bombed Boston yesterday, we should look to the type of person who uses bombs to murder and maim. It is not enough to declare that it is violent people who do so. It requires a fall-back to that ancient, but valid, concept of "Evil". That mental state is most fully exposed by such "tru believers" who hold their ideology as an excuse and justification for bombings,as: Timothy McVeigh (Oklahoma City); Mr. Obama's "buddy" Bill Ayers and his associates; The other anarchists of old in Spain, Imperial Russia and Chicago' "Haymarket"; And, most commonly in today's world, Islamists (As you reported today and almost every other day).

For some reason I do not recall any National Rifle Association "activist" setting off such terrorist weapons.

Tim said...

Some asshole always spells "America" with a "k."

The asshole, undoubtedly, thinks it's making a cogent point by so doing.

And, it does.

That assholes spell "America" with a "k."

Noted.

Brian Brown said...

And there is this guy:

"The word has taken on a different meaning since 9/11," Axelrod said of the phrase "terrorist attack."

"You use those words and it means something very specific in people's mind. And I'm sure what was going through the president's mind is -- we really don't know who did this -- it was tax day. Was it someone who was pro--you know, you just don't know. And so I think his attitude is, let's not put any inference into this, let's just make clear that we're going to get the people responsible."


Axelrod is a gem, isnt' he?

X said...

Axelrod and Obama have their own theory: it was a taxpayer.

Brian Brown said...

seeing that it was "heroes" like Sam Adams and his bunch

Hey, Sam Adams Summer Ale is now out and that is a very nice beer.

So shut your mouth.

Kelly said...

The Drill SGT, I agree with you. A few years back there was a motorcycle accident locally. A soldier who had just finished a tour in Iraq came upon the accident and saved the two injured woman cyclist by stripping leaves from corn stocks in the nearby field and using them as a tourniquet on their injured left legs.

jimbino said...

Yo Tim:

Check it out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amerika_(novel)

edutcher said...

Last I heard they were still looking for a second (black) guy. If it's more than one, isn't that a conspiracy?

Love this line, "Bad information dies quicker these days.".

Suure it does.

I'll bet he thinks the science is settled, we lost in Iraq, it was torture, and there were no WMDs.

jimbino said...

It's fitting that the terrorist act occurred on Patriot's Day in Boston, seeing that it was "heroes" like Sam Adams and his bunch who perpetrated and defended that first act of terrorism on Amerikan soil.

Gee, I thought that would have been the Deerfield Massacre.

If our slaves had burned down Atlanta to free themselves, history would have adjudged them heroes and champions of human rights. Unfortunately, we lost 600,000 men instead and it was Sherman who emerged the terrorist hero.

Our slaves? Speak for yourself, Barack.

And the terrorist hero was Jesse James.

But who's counting.

There are plenty of foreigners and Amerikans who have good cause to wage wars of liberation on Amerikan soil and to stage acts of terrorism. Of course, it would serve their cause and the people more if, instead of targeting "innocent" civilians, they could target the fortresses of the oppressor politicians with drones; that day may soon come.

Notice jimbino is starting to sound like Hatman.

kjbe said...

And lots of effort put forth towards lunacy isn't a laudable trait; it's a sign of obsessive wastefulness. It's simply not something that I feel deserves respect.

Generally, I agree. The up-side it that it can be somewhat entertaining.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Barack Obama lectures David Weigel

X said...

what's sad is how welcome bombers are in academia.

Æthelflæd said...

He greatly understimates the ability of The Great American Conspiracy Theorist's brain to twist itself into infinite knots.

Chip Ahoy said...

Here's the thing, looking at it from a card-carrying Community Organizer in Chief point of view, <oration mode>this tragedy is senseless and the NRA and Republicans resist sensible firearm regulation legislation so most likely it is them. We knew all along they are the worst bastards, they to our immediate right.

These insensible people say if firearms are regulated then criminals will use knives and explosives instead and this is their careless destructive demonstration. That is why we are looking at Tea Party activists first, foremost, and most thoroughly to bring them to justice for the murdered children of Newtown for whom this race is dedicated and that is why we are calling this domestic terrorist event the Boston Tea Bombing.</oration mode>

edutcher said...

Hey, maybe Ayers, Dohrn, and Kathy Boudin took a little road trip up from Columbia to stir up a little Prairie Fire.

Bet Weigel doesn't want to hear about that one.

X said...

It's a good day to bitchslap your professor if their last name is Ayers, Dohrn, or Boudin. It's also a good day to bitchslap your juice vendor if his name is Karleton.

Chip Ahoy said...

All the innocent people made legless by explosion whose legs could not be matched up and reattached, or were mismatched and subsequently removed, will be fitted with a new prosthetic leg, because the word prosthetic is too hard for some people to pronounce and to avoid isolating any injured individual for inability to pronounce the word prosthetic, these custom prosthetic legs will be called Obama legs.

X said...

electing a guy whose best pal in the world is an unrepentant marxist terror bomber was probably a bad idea when you think about it.

Anonymous said...

Madman: As a Penn State Grad, who was also at the university during the Sandusky years, I take great offense at the suggestion.

Anonymous said...

I think post 09/11 and following Mars coverage has deepened my suspicion that ignorance is deep, and that there are a lot of people who just can't process reality.

Tibore said...

"mrs. e said...

Generally, I agree. The up-side it that it can be somewhat entertaining."


Oh, absolutely! The nutcase who I saw doing the "Limo Driver Shot Kennedy" thing went all out. Calibrated photographs, quarter sized models set up to scale, multiple angles, detailed diagrams... man, it was a lot of work. It was impressive in terms of detail if not respectability.

Then there are the chemtrailers and "Freemen on the Land" nutcases. They're just trainwrecks that keep on giving.

Of course, a line exists. For example, I find Holocaust deniers just despicable and ugly, not even having entertainment value.

But for laughs, the physics conspiracy addicts - yes, people who believe there's a movement to impose Einsteinian Relavitity despite "evidence" disproving it (yeah, they exist. I'm serious.) - are a huge hoot. I don't understand 90+% of the arguments, but the percentage I do get just puts me in stitches.

furious_a said...

Show some respect for the conspiracy thinkers out there. And they are out there.

9/11 Troofers and their ilk are no better than the mutant Westboro Baptist Church brood, belittling the victims' legacies and tormenting their grieving families with bizarre antics and outrageous lies.

I could rationalize conspiros' behavior, like any bunch of grifters if they were in it for money, but I really do believe they get off on the jeering and taunting and wound-salting.

furious_a said...

...or else they're just stupid, fat cows like Rosie the Blacksmith O'Donnell.

Known Unknown said...

.Notice jimbino is starting to sound like Hatman

I'd rather chat with Andy.

furious_a said...

CNN states the FBI is searching the apartment of the Saudi national but decline to call him a suspect.

That's so they don't have to mirandize him.

Shanna said...

there seem to be a lot of people who rush to the sounds of bombs and bullets in this country

Amen. There was a Mr. Rogers quote going around facebook yesterday: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

Trochilus said...

Okay, but who WAS the guy on the roof?

Trochilus said...

This guy:


http://nydn.us/Z09VGr

edutcher said...

EMD said...

Notice jimbino is starting to sound like Hatman

I'd rather chat with Andy.


You have my undying sympathy.

jr565 said...

Now I don't know who this bomber is, or what is motivating him. But I do know, that if he is of a certain political persuasion, given enough time, there will probably be a job available at a college university "educating" our youth.

John henry said...

Another thought occurs to me.

Perhaps it is Rosie Ruiz supporters still upset that she was DQ'd

John Henry

Astro said...

I pity any poor bastard who has recently posted videos on YouTube of people running marathons. He may find out he's violated the terms of his probation.

traditionalguy said...

I thought it was interesting that the Afghanistan Taliban promptly disclaimed a hand in this bombing. They are shell shocked US forces and now by Drones since the US reacted to 9/11.

And we are surrendering to them anyway...so they are nervous about being blamed.

The weapon was an IED for which the Taliban are quite famous as its developers.

Baron Zemo said...

They are looking for a Richard Jewell to pin it on.

Wait and see.

Anonymous said...

Weigel has been a known shallow tool since Journolist -- which was a conspiracy in its own right.

There is no sense in generalizing about conspiracy theories. Conspiracies, as any student of history knows, do happen, and before they are proven, if they are proven, they are theories.

So it comes down to the specific merits of a particular conspiracy theory. 9-11 was in fact a conspiracy, just not one involving the Bush administraion.

Bad information dies quicker these days.

However, contrary to Weigel, 9-11/Bush conspiracy theories have not died. They are just not hot topics anymore. The internet serves to amplify as well as dampen rumors.

Too many cameras and witnesses.

There were plenty of cameras and witnesses at the JFK assassination, and all of them played a part in the JFK conspiracy theories.

No politician really stands to gain.

Huh? If a radical Tea Party splinter group executed the Boston bombings, on Tax Day/Patriot's Day, it would be the Twelve Days of Christmas packed into one day in April for the Obama administration, the media, and liberals. It would be a gift that keeps giving for the next decade or more.

Beyond that, a "false flag" operation fingering the Tea Party would be the perfect conspiracy.

OTOH, if it turns out to be yet more radical Muslim terrorism, that favors politician who have taken a hard stand against radical Islam.

Known Unknown said...

"Back, and to the left. Back, and to the left."

Original Mike said...

"Meanwhile, Chris Matthews was on 2 networks last night saying, "Now, today is tax day and a lot of people are upset about having to pay taxes. Could it be someone who is angry.""

Could it be Chris Matthews, someone who is angry at the right and loves to pin anything he can on them?

I'm just askin'.

ed said...

@ jimbino

"It's fitting that the terrorist act occurred on Patriot's Day in Boston, seeing that it was "heroes" like Sam Adams and his bunch who perpetrated and defended that first act of terrorism on Amerikan soil."

Patriot's Day is April 19th.

Dumbass.

Anonymous said...

They've moved Patriot's Day to three-day weekend scheduling -- the third Monday in April.

Known Unknown said...

Barney Frank -- No tax cut would have helped us with this.

Known Unknown said...

Peter King is an idiot, too

J said...

Drill Sgt-yes a lot of vets know the right reactions to these events-and they teach by doing.So yes we are blessed.My father was career AF.My brother-in-law career Army.I served in Europe and the Mid East in the 70s and80s.My nephew is in Ranger school now.This family will nevet forget what Service really means.Thanks for yours and all who will come forward in thr days to come.

Anonymous said...

CatherineM: The MSM really, really want this bomber to be a white guy because it fits their narrative as much as Alex Jones wants things to fit his.

Ah, have some human sympathy. They've been disappointed so very, very often of late in their frantic hopes. Looks like just another crestfallen round of "but but but...Eric Rudolph! but but but Tim McVeigh! for now. I mean, just a couple of weeks ago I heard the NPR gang wetting themselves over a purported "Aryan Brotherhood" connection to the Texas DA murders. (AB being a standard issue gang of thugs no more or less "supremacist" than any of the other jillion tribally-based gangs infesting the country, but hey...) Alas, though the current suspect is a white guy, he's hardly what they were hoping for.

But it won't keep 'em down. Plucky little bastards never say die. There's a tea-baggin' nazi in that shit pile somewhere, and they'll keep digging 'til they find 'im!

viator said...

Dave Weigel, JourNoLister

Biff said...

I'm reminded of the many people, both on tv and among my friends and colleagues, who, in the aftermath of 9/11, would prattle on about how "no one could have imagined that someone would try to fly airplanes into buildings." More than a decade before 9/11, I recall being on the upper floor of a Manhattan skyscraper and feeling uneasy: I felt like I was a sitting duck for exactly the kind of thing that happened on 9/11. I often wonder about pundits who seem to have such extraordinarily poor imaginations, and I wonder why so many people are willing to trust the analyses these pundits make. (That said, sometimes I wish that I didn't find it to be so easy to imagine the kinds of mayhem that others might decide to pursue. It's not pleasant.)

J said...

Biff Elleston Trevor and Tom Clancy both used airplanes to deliver terrorist attacks in their novels prior to 9/11.If they could think it why couldn't others.You're right the news media seems to have a huge imagination deficit-and apparently doesn't read (except literary stuff.)

Anonymous said...

According to the NYT, the bombs "were most likely some kind of 'pressure-cooker' devices that sent sharp bits of shrapnel flying into victims in the vicinity of the blast."

In other words, IEDs, of the type typically used in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It's also been noted that the white smoke from the explosions indicates the use of acetone peroxide, a classic explosive used in homemade bombs, as opposed to the black smoke resulting from military-grade explosives.

So the culprits are either amateurs or -- cue rising organ music -- attempting to convey the appearance of amateurs.

If one went solely by the odds based on who uses these bombs the most, one would bet on radical Muslims.

Anonymous said...

And if the bombers are radical Muslims, Obama and Democrats stand to lose, and we will see a Benghazi-tight lid kept on the case.

Known Unknown said...

Saudi National no longer person of interest.

Kelly said...

Ricin sent to a senator. It's déjà vu all over again.

CWJ said...

Anglelyne @2:05,

A little late and I hope you see this. I read the last part of your post and couldn't stop laughing.

I'm sure you know the punchline; with all this horseshit there must be a pony in here somewhere!

HA said...

They only conspiracy is Democrats trying to exploit this bombing for political purposes. If the bomber turns out to be a right-wing nut job, then in the eyes of Democrats the victims will not have died in vain.