4/29, the trannies, right, left, and conspiracy theory

A few folks, including Xymphora, seem genuinely confused by the 429truth.com website. Parody or paranoia?

It is, in fact, conspiracy parody -- but so close to the real thing as to be nearly indistinguishable from sincere fear-mongering. Alas, the satirist in charge of this project appears to be a right-winger. Witness this fake letter of comment (obviously written by the same person who composes the posts):

Thank Gaia that George Soros and his billions came along to bankroll fellow progressives and Truthers so that we can keep getting our truthiness out to the Amerikan sheeple.

This is not something an actual tranny (my derisive term for the "controlled demolition" theorists) would say, although it is a sentiment that a right-wing propagandist would want to ascribe to a left-wing zealot. That "Gaia" remark is an obvious giveaway: The right would have the public believe that progressives use such terms routinely. They don't.

And most trannies aren't progressives.

The trannies do get funding from Adnan Khashoggi (nobody's idea of a lefty), or so says Daniel Hopsicker. Soros, the bete noir of all rightist cranks, has never given a dime. No leading progressive has voiced support for the tranny movement -- not Kos, not TPM, not MoveOn, not Atrios, not Think Progress, not Raw Story, not Buzzflash, not none of 'em.

Alas, trannyism has captured the imagination of some rank-and-file lefties -- mostly younger ones, to judge from their uncertain ways with the English language. The movement has also, I am sorry to say, taken in a few easily-gulled celebrities. (Someone should slap Rosie and Charlie until they come to their senses.)

The tranny movement was, in fact, started by the far right -- to be specific, by those fringe rightists who have always viewed the Bush family with suspicion. Alex Jones, that gun-totin', Jesus-lovin' Texan paranoia-monger, exemplifies the breed. Alas, goofball reactionaries of this sort operate outside most folks' conception of the political spectrum, which is why "normal" Republicans can get away with painting trannyism as a Democratic phenomenon.

It's time we all understood that the hardest of the hard-core conspiracists beckon us into places that no true lover of democracy would want to inhabit. For example, over on Huffington Post, a tranny named grapesofmath offered these thoughts in response to Nora Ephron's latest piece (which, of course, had nothing to do with trannyism):

1. Year 2007, 9-11 truth is spreading too far for the conspiracists to contain. 9-11 was convenient when it was first executed, citizen rights were curtailed, media was controlled, and occupation troops were deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. At present, 9-11 is becoming a liability, truth seekers pursuing its real benefactors might expose the plutocrats that hold US wealth and power. Exposure of the plutocrats is considered unacceptable at any cost.

2. The plutocrats determine that the Republican party cannot win the 2008 elections due to the Iraq war debacle. The conspiracists determine that their other party, the Democrats will have to run things for a while...

Well, you can tell where this one is going. Both parties are equally corrupt; both parties are pawns of the Jews or the Illuminati or whatever. So don't vote; it only encourages them.

This is the ultimate message of trannyism.

Sound familiar? This is the same message that the certain paranoia-peddlers tried to impress upon the naive throughout the 1990s: "Things are hopeless, so drop out. Take drugs. Turn to religion. Live in a militia compound. Don't bother with ballots."

This is not my message. Cynic I may be, but I've always advised readers to vote, to fight, to participate.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The trannies (most of them) may honestly believe that they are opposed to this administration -- in fact, they may consider themselves the only true opponents of Bushco. But in reality, they are doing Rove's work.

Yes, real conspiracies do exist, and have existed ever since the cavemen Thog and Og joined forces to steal mastodon meat from Krog. A certain level of paranoia may be healthy and even necessary, given the ghastly state of this planet. But political paranoia in its most concentrated form -- "sick think," as some call it -- always, always benefits the most reactionary elements within society. From Édouard Drumont to Nesta Webster to Joe McCarthy to James Jesus Angleton to Tim McVeigh to Pat Robertson to Alex Jones, the pattern has been unmistakable.