The "C" Word

You know, it's getting harder and harder not to be a conspiracy theorist in this country. Consider the case of the D.C. Madame, Deborah Jeane Palfrey. Here we had a woman running an escort service for D.C.'s elite and it was only when she decided to get out of the business that the government went after her. She threatened to name names and, lo and behold, she "commits suicide." And guess what? Not one mainstream media outlet has questioned the official report. No, that's the stuff of Internet conspiracy sites.

So, when you read stories like the one on PrisonPlanet.com, or listen to Palfrey say in an interview last July that she would not kill herself, that she was planning to fight the government in open court, it won't get noticed because the source of those reports is a site run by a well-known "conspiracy nut." Sure, Alex Jones sounds paranoid, but does that mean everything he says is bunk?

As another blogger noted, the feds find conspiracies all the time. They level conspiracy charges against mobsters and anti-abortion activists. (Does RICO ring a bell?) They accuse big corporations of conspiring to hide the dangers of smoking. (Do you recall all those tobacco lawsuits?) They even use conspiracies as justification for war. (Remember the supposed Iraq-al Qaeda link?)

Ah, but those were real conspiracies. If, however, you dare to suggest that there might be a conspiracy or cover-up in the death of a woman who had the potential to destroy the careers and reputations of high-level members of the most powerful government in the world...well, you're just a kook.