They've been around forever but with the advent of internet and other communications technology it's gotten wild. I doubt that Alex Jones is a PC member but maybe he should be
I was surfing the net last night and came across a link to his site. He and his "internet sleuths" think they've ID'd the Boston bombers. US Navy SEAL members
I saw pics on one of his sites that were also posted in another thread.
The proposed new gun laws are a planned step to take all the guns away from US citizens which will eventually culminate in a dictatorship... or the NWO global government. They don't seem to be able to agree on which. Maybe both.
I don't trust government but in a different way than most conspiracy theorists. And knowing what governments have done nothing would surprise me. But I don't think they'd be so obvious.
There are some very out there theories. It's amusing but possibly dangerous. The Lone Gunmen were funny and harmless and well intentioned. A lot of these people are well armed. And not firmly grounded in reality.

[HealingTimes]

Dont even get me started on conspiracy theories, i have a friend who believes that the government is behind everything- 9/11, The Queen being in hospital with Flu, The Pope abdicating, the list goes on and on and on....

[SOTO]

Eric Hoffer wrote a book, THE TRUE BELIEVER, which explains quite clearly the reasons those misguided folks believe as they do.
Their minds are made up. Don't confuse them with the facts.

[lizardlady]

Oh good grief! I made the mistake of checking out Jones' website. He's claiming the Boston bombings are the results of the federal government trying to expand the reach of Homeland Security! As we used to say in my youth - what's he been smokin'?

George based on the conspiracy folks I beat the Boston bombings, the fertilizer plant explosion and the mailed ricin is all the work of the feds.

[cool09]

Jesse Ventura has some really, really wacky ones. I've heard many of his interviews w/Howard Stern and saw Ventura's show once. He actually believes WTC was a demolition job perpetrated by US and another govn't because there was a huge asbestos problem in the Towers and no one wanted to pay for renovations, etc.!

I'm an engineer and those steel beams can weaken (chemical structure/bonds changes) under intense, long, high heat and then buckle. Once one beam goes the others have to take the full load.

[Timgt5]

Conspiracy Theorists-aka "The tin hat and black helicopter crowd" I think most are frustrated fiction writers who are looking for attention.

[Harley47]

Originally Posted by cool09

Jesse Ventura has some really, really wacky ones. I've heard many of his interviews w/Howard Stern and saw Ventura's show once. He actually believes WTC was a demolition job perpetrated by US and another govn't because there was a huge asbestos problem in the Towers and no one wanted to pay for renovations, etc.!

I'm an engineer and those steel beams can weaken (chemical structure/bonds changes) under intense, long, high heat and then buckle. Once one beam goes the others have to take the full load.

Isn't it something like a 50% loss of durability at well under the temperature that jet fuel burns? Thought I heard it something like that.

Anyway, conspiracy theorists...lol maybe I'm not the most accepting person on the planet for this one, but I can't stand 'em. The "9/11 is an inside job" one's boil my blood. I suppose...I dunno. It just seems really disrespectful for those who've lost so much to have...I guess the legitimacy of their tragedy?...being called into question. I dunno if that makes sense, so I'm prepared to clarify there if need be, but it just seems disrespectful. And furthermore, while I am certainly under no notion that our government is packed with angels, I cannot stomach the notion that they could do something like that. As far as NWO stuff and the like go, I think it's only really around for the sensationalism of it all...sort of like the bastard child of yellow journalism in a way.

lol Though as much as I hate to admit it, Glenn Beck? Absolutely full of drivel, but he wrote The Overton Window. If you ignore the...cough..."thinly veiled"...message in the book, the overall quality of the story and writing are, to my chagrin, really good.

[Rachel D]

i am a conspiracy theorist. to think that every one has our best interest at heart and never lies to us, to me is just absurd.

[Rachel D]

oh sorry i left out something...... google top ten conspiracies that turned out to be true.

Originally Posted by Rachel D

i am a conspiracy theorist. to think that every one has our best interest at heart and never lies to us, to me is just absurd.

It would be absurd to believe that everyone in government has it's citizens best interests at heart. The recent explosion in Texas is good evidence of that. I'm jaded and cynical enough to know anything is possible. By reading historical documents, Congressional investigations, wikileaks, FOIA and declassified documents it's also possible for anyone who cares to find out that our government has done a lot of unethical and shameful things. Consequently it isn't that much of a stretch to wonder what else they've done in secret or what they are capable of.
I've kept an open mind about 9/11 theorists. There is so much that doesn't add up. Keeping an open mind is one thing, obsessing over conspiracy theories is a whole different thing.

[Maven]

I don't believe in any specific conspiracy theory, but I believe they're entirely possible. The fact that most people dismiss them and don't believe in them is what makes them possible, and even likely.