As a regular reader of SHTF Plan and other alternative news resources online, you may at times asking yourself if you’re crazy for thinking that there may be a coordinated effort to control your thoughts, feelings and perceptions.
Glenn Greenwald’s recent Salon.com piece Obama confidant’s spine-chilling proposal should lay to rest any thoughts you may have about second guessing yourself.
Cass Sunstein is a Harvard Law School graduate, the current head of the Office if Information and Regulatory affairs, a potential Supreme Court nominee, and close friend of President Barrack Obama. He recently (January 2008) penned a research report titled Conspiracy Theories, in which he argues that when the government believes social welfare will be improved by doing so, a well motivated government should aim to eliminate conspiracy theories through a variety of means:
“We suggest a distinctive tactic for breaking up the hard core of extremists who supply conspiracy theories: cognitive infiltration of extremist groups, whereby government agents or their allies (acting either virtually or in real space, and either openly or anonymously) will undermine the crippled epistemology of those who subscribe to such theories. They do so by planting doubts about the theories and stylized facts that circulate within such groups, thereby introducing beneficial cognitive diversity.“
Mr. Sunstein, currently an appointee of the Obama administration, suggests direct, covert government involvement in response to news reports, stories or ideas that would be considered contrary to the social welfare goals of individuals and organizations in power or are conspiratorial in nature.
According to Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com:
“Sunstein advocates that the Government’s stealth infiltration should be accomplished by sending covert agents into “chat rooms, online social networks, or even real-space groups.” He also proposes that the Government make secret payments to so-called “independent” credible voices to bolster the Government’s messaging (on the ground that those who don’t believe government sources will be more inclined to listen to those who appear independent while secretly acting on behalf of the Government).  This program would target those advocating false “conspiracy theories,” which they define to mean: “an attempt to explain an event or practice by reference to the machinations of powerful people, who have also managed to conceal their role.”
Is this just a research paper, or are these policies of certain political elements within the United States that are being actively managed?
You can probably guess the answer to that.
Mr. Greenwald points out that just in the last few weeks we learned that the administration was making undisclosed payments to MIT professor Jonathan Gruber via the Department of Health and Human Services, a supposed ‘objective’ expert on health care, who heavily promoted President Obama’s health care plan.
This demonstrates that anything could be labeled a conspiracy theory, even if millions of people believe the “conspiracy” to be true. In this case, it seems that the conspiracy was that opponents of the health care bill suggested it would be too expensive, would not provide full coverage for all Americans, would put a burden on small business owners, and would not provide adequate health care in the long run.
This, of course, is not the first time that objective experts have been paid directly by the government to advocate specific ideas or argue against so-called conspiracy theories. In the interest of fairness, we’ll point out that it’s not just the democrat administration that engages in propaganda:
“The Bush Pentagon employed teams of former Generals to pose as “independent analysts” in the media while secretly coordinating their talking points and messaging about wars and detention policies with the Pentagon. Bush officials secretly paid supposedly “independent” voices, such as Armstrong Williams and Maggie Gallagher, to advocate pro-Bush policies while failing to disclose their contracts. In Iraq, the Bush Pentagon hired a company, Lincoln Park, which paid newspapers to plant pro-U.S. articles while pretending it came from Iraqi citizens. In response to all of this, Democrats typically accused the Bush administration of engaging in government-sponsored propaganda — and when it was done domestically, suggested this was illegal propaganda.”
The battle for your mind is taking place on multiple fronts and from many different angles. Everyone wants a piece of it — the government, private industry, independent organizations, even SHTF Plan.
Be aware of what you are reading, what you are watching, what you are listening to, and how and why you react to the information the way you do. Agendas abound.
Hat tip Tom of the North
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“The battle for your mind is taking place on multiple fronts and from many different angles. Everyone wants a piece of it …… even SHTF Plan.”
Mac – How much do you want and when do I get it back?
We won’t go so far as a particular radio talk show host who asks you to give 3 hours a day, everyday.. We’re asking that you jack in for maybe 5 – 15 minutes per day…. small tiny piece of your mind…. we’re not greedy.
“Be aware of what you are reading, what you are watching, what you are listening to, and how and why you react to the information the way you do. Agendas abound.”
I said this awhile ago….
Jon
December 22nd, 2009 at 5:29 pm
All these people predicting this crazy stuff all have an agenda. People need to remember that as well.ÂÂ
First time poster here, lurker for a while, enjoy the site. A wealth of news and more importantly a wealth of information.  As i was growing up, my elders would always say, follow the money, its all about the money.  that being said, i don’t think for one second this Obamacare is about your and mine health, it’s about $$$. There are certain insurance and health care type companies that stand to gain enormous amounts of money, giving bonuses to the healthcare industry that may possibly rival the bank bonuses the TARP recipients are paying employees.
We the people are nothing more than revenuers to the fed/state. Yes there are basic services to be tended to, fire/police/military, etc. but at the end of the day they know we have money, even if it’s tied up in assetts. (like house/property, etc)  the fed just wants more of it for personal reasons or their personal agenda.
It’s all a scam/rip-off, the politicians are bought and paid for by corporate companies. Corporate runs the USA.
Illegal Amnesty is soon to be addressed again by congress and senate, 30 million new americans means 30 million new revenuers who more than likely will make more than minimum wage, but more importantly will pay taxes, and the fed/states love taxes. and while we are talking taxes, the states right now are having record budget problems. I say stop spending the peoples money in waste , but the states  are hell bent on gathering more tax money to pay for services. By the way, the tobacco windfall a few years ago provided all the states with millions of dollars thus  preventing the states from raising taxes but that money was spent away, and yet the state wants more money. They wasted it on something  unimportant. And expect as much or more money to continue as they have.
Big oil has made records amount of profit, nevermind it was approx  10% profit, (since when was a 10% profit a crime, thus must be taxed?) the fed thinks big oil made too much, they wanted a cut. remember windfall profit tax for big oil? we have been there, done that and it solved nothing in the 70’s.
so here we are in 2010. hide your money, power down and grow your own. stay away from processed foods and buy from local farmers.
sorry for the long rant, just needed to get it off my chest!
Absolutely. The government always recruits the “best and the brightest” which means that they are highly active on college campuses and seek to shape public opinion by offering “grants” to PHd’s and candidates. No doubt today they pursue their agenda via the internet.
Typically, all of those people that have an agenda are trying to sell you something and profit from it, to obtain either money or power, or both for themselves.
Therefore I recommend that everyone go “within”. Find that still small voice that resides within each of us and listen. Then filter all the “noise” through that Spirit. That which is true will ring true and resonate with the Spirit within you: the Spirit you are. Quiet the mind and the body and listen to the Spirit within you. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.
Robert61 has a very good point – follow the $$. I challenge everyone to look up any of the 10 largest health insurers in the country and track their stock prices since middle of October last year, or approximately the time when the proposed health care bill passed the House. What you will find is across the board 10-20% increases in stock performance since that data, all easily outpacing inflation and the overall market.
Coincidence? I think not. If the current health care system profits off our misery (not a hard thing to prove), then based on the market’s more favorable look at their stock price how can we expect this bill to do anything meaningful for the American population?
Well if I wasn’t paranoid before today, I most definitely am after.  I for a while have been frustrated with what is true.  Every time I hear a fact, I think well how can anyone be certain that it is true.  It seems to me that it is possible to put spin on anything to make it appear “true.”  There are some undeniable truths, but even then I think well there is no real way to prove them.  An undeniable truth:  I doubt therefore I think therefore I am.  Yet reality could simply be an illusion.  A world within a world is most definitely logically possible.  Much as our dreams are a world within this one.  There is a progression of perception as well, a sense of hierarchy.  For example in a dream you can perceive that which is not “real” and think it to be real, yet it is only when you perceive something in a dream that you are currently perceiving in “reality.”  Such as when you are thirsty in your sleep, you will be thirsty in your dream and no amount of water can quench your thirst in your dream.  Yet if you were thirsty in your dream but not thirsty in this realm of reality, you could easily quench your thirst.  Logically, the same must be true for this realm of reality.  Certainly there must be things we can perceive that no amount can “quench” in this realm of reality, but yet in another we can.
Comments…..Our minds….ah, yes, our minds…..and our money. Label me a cynic, but I have taught myself over the years (I am now 51) to look for the hidden motives behind every human endeavor. Every…I mean EVERY…..television ad is designed to hypnotize you, mislead you, and profit from you. (Call Now!) The false pretenses of compassion (for your future, for victims of calamities, whatever, the syrupy voices beckoning you to ‘change’ yourself’, all leave me nauseaus. We are bombarded daily, constantly, with subliminal cues for our attention, and there’s always an agenda: sex, money, power.ÂÂ