Sorry I haven't been able to get to this--up in PA at a folk weekend. Among other things, singing sea songs while swimming in a pond. That's good exercise.




Re: topic: You can say that any conspiracy theory is possibly true. As my favorite foreign policy analyst, Shania Twain, says: "That don't impress me much".

My points are these:

The Scheunemann theory is in fact a conspiracy theory. It is obviously an alleged conspiracy. "McCain gets to look tough" as a result of a move by Georgia due to the machinations of a McCain advisor. Scheunemann was part of the cabal that engineered the war in Iraq. "There are telltale signs" that he played the same role here.

In fact there are no telltale signs at all that he played the same role here.   Any allegation that he did is the active imagination of a columnist--imagination being a positive attribute in a columnist.    Readers however should actually be using sense and logic--and demanding proof. Too bad many Mudcatters don't seem to want to do this.

Scheunemann (and McCain) have always demonized Russia. Fine. But there is as of now precisely zero evidence that he said anything to Saakashvili or otherwise encouraged Saakashvili's stupid move in August 2008 to try end South Ossetia's de facto independence.

And Scheunemann's alleged plan was obviously not to be made public. Therefore it is--to anybody who can use a dictionary--a conspiracy. And a theory--since it obviously has not been proven.

So it is--guess what--a conspiracy theory.

And, as of now, one with absolutely no supporting evidence. If there is in fact any evidence, it would seem reasonable for any supporters of this theory to start actually providing some.

To call it a conspiracy theory is, far from an ad hominem attack, an accurate depiction of it. In the most charitable interpretation, the poster who called it an ad hominem attack evidently does not know what such an attack is.