Category Archives: Understanding the birthers

Birther evangelist psychoanalyzes his flock

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Dr. Conspiracy

I came across something novel from the birther side this morning, an attempt by a birther to understand other birthers using psychology. In my July 11 article, Obama conspiracies and the grief cycle, I discussed how normals, when coming to … Continue reading →

Posted in Birthers, Understanding the birthers | Tagged | 34 Comments

The Great Conspirator

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Dr. Conspiracy

I was teasing one of the commenters here by deliberately misinterpreting a comment of his referring to intelligent design and replying that I didn’t consider intelligent design a conspiracy theory. However, I really do. Intelligent design is the proposition that … Continue reading →

Posted in Understanding the birthers | Tagged , , , | 90 Comments

Synthesis

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Dr. Conspiracy

I’ve just started reading Michael Barkun’s 2003 book, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America. I’m looking forward to it, having read and thoroughly enjoyed his earlier book, Religion and the Racist Right. One of the themes in … Continue reading →

Posted in Misc. Conspiracies, Understanding the birthers | Tagged , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

A chemical explanation for birtherism?

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Dr. Conspiracy

Why do birthers believe what they do? It turns out that one factor in whether someone mistakenly considers random patterns to be something significant has to do with dopamine levels in their brains — the more dopamine, the more  belief. … Continue reading →

Posted in Birthers, Understanding the birthers | Tagged , , , | 35 Comments

What’s in it for the Birthers?

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Dr. Conspiracy

A cursory look at the birther movement might lead one to wonder why anyone would want to be a birther. The birthers’ expressed intention of keeping Barack Obama out of the White House, and later removing him and erasing his … Continue reading →

Posted in Birth Certificate, Understanding the birthers | 33 Comments

G. U. T.

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Dr. Conspiracy

The holy grail of physics is the Grand Unification Theory, an all-encompassing theory about the forces in the universe. In the same vein, my holy grail is a unifying theory of the birthers. A sample conspiracy theory Let’s take a … Continue reading →

Posted in Birthers, Understanding the birthers | 58 Comments