Ebbie... "There are Mudcatters amongst us - almost invariably non-Americans - who choose to believe that US government is bought and paid for by amorphous and dark entities who pull America's strings at will to suit their own aims.

I frequently am irritated by this know-it-all, pity-you-poor-schmucks view but it has been impossible to dent their cherished beliefs."

I think Ebbie's point is rather clear. It's...

"There are Mudcatters amongst us - almost invariably non-Americans - who choose to believe that US government is bought and paid for by amorphous and dark entities who pull America's strings at will to suit their own aims.

I frequently am irritated by this know-it-all, pity-you-poor-schmucks view but it has been impossible to dent their cherished beliefs."

... in case you missed it the first time.