“Conspiracy theorists on social media wonder if Chinese troops have invaded Maine”

To hear some folks on the fringe tell it, the U.S. Geological Survey, which reported the Dec. 9 earthquake, wasn’t telling everything. What really happened, they say, is that the U.S. military dropped a bunker-buster bomb on a hidden horde of 50,000 Chinese troops.”

It is wise to remember the words of the world’s wisest philosopher:

“There is no idea too daft for people to believe and even take credit for.”

4 thoughts on ““Conspiracy theorists on social media wonder if Chinese troops have invaded Maine”

  1. The problem with people predisposed to believe conspiracy theories is that they are not going to change their minds when confronted with rational arguments. There were any number of 9/11 conspiracy theories that said how obvious it was that the buildings had to have been rigged to collapse or that a missiles rather than planes hit the buildings. My first thought was if it was so obvious, why didn’t John Kerry bring it up in 2004? In this case, if the U.S. had dropped a bunker buster on 50,000 Chinese troops in Maine, is there a chance in hell the Cheetoh and Chief wouldn’t be crowing (and tweeting) about it from every rooftop?

    This reminds me a little of the way way rumors can get started in prison and how hard it is to convince the inmates they aren’t true. My favorite example of one was the “Hillary Clinton Law.” During my 3rd year of law school (1997-1998) I worked in a clinic helping inmates at the Alderson Federal Prison Camp for women in WV. This is the same prison where Martha Stewart would later become a guest. But at some point a rumor got started that Congress was going to pass a law that would allow people convicted of a first time nonviolent offense to be sentenced to home confinement instead of prison. This law was going to be passed so that when Hillary Clinton was convicted for Whitewater, she wouldn’t have to go to Alderson. I told the woman that told me that I doubted Clinton was going to be convicted of anything, but if she was I was pretty sure the Republicans (then in control of congress) were not going to pass a law to keep her out of prison. But the woman insisted I was wrong. Another inmate heard something she claimed came from the highest authority. I had written a (longshot) motion for her seeking a sentence reduction. On a later visit to the prison she told me she was getting 6 months off her sentence. I congratulated her and was momentarily very proud of myself for having written the motion. Then she told me that God had told her about the sentence reduction. But the next day, I went to the clinic and found an order from the court dismissing the motion. I figured there were only two possibilities. Either God forgot to tell the judge or the judge was an atheist and refused to listen. Of course, the basis of the motion was that mental illness had contributed to her committing the offense (she stole $500,000 from people with accounts at a bank where she was a VP). That story (in my opinion) is both amusing and sad.

  2. At least there is a very rudimentary logic to this. Bomb goes off, ground shakes. Even if the people are fucking nuts.

    As opposed to yet another research study this week spanning 50 years and 18 countries that trickle down economics *gasp* once again is full of shit and doesn’t improve the economy at all, and just make the super wealthy hoard even more resources from society. Yet you have the more mainstream portion of the right wing believe this bullshit to this day.

    I’m more willing to believe if I hear the ground shake outside that it was a bunker buster outside my front door, than the next GOP tax cut for the rich will suddenly trickle down to the rest of us.

  3. This is pure fiction, but during World War 1 a lone German saboteur did attempt to blow up an international bridge in Washington County, Maine; he got frostbite. Oh, and this earthquake was centered near Moneymaker Lake… so, there’s that.

    1. For any Georgia Republican here, let me just say this story is absolutely true and that it further emphasizes the pointlessness of you voting in the Georgia Senate run-offs.

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