I recently read a thoroughly enjoyable piece by Mike Caulfield at Hapgood.US on the first use of “conspiracy theory” that he discovered in a letter from the English press, published in the New York Times on January 4, 1863. In a nutshell, the letter was a critical commentary on American intrigue relative to English aristocracy interests, and expressing disdain for America as a formidable foe, therefore anxious to see our ruin. This predates all other claims of the first use of “conspiracy theory,” and as Caulfield points out, “You’ll note too something that is almost too delicious: the first use of conspiracy theory is about a conspiracy said to involve the press.”

What if both establishment Democrats and Republicans adhere to Progressivism, an ideology measures of magnitude different than liberalism or conservatism, while only fabricating a liberal or conservative identity just to win elections? It adds up. Progressivism advocates first and foremost that everything is political. All social and economic problems, no matter the size or scope, are best solved via government-driven political solutions. 

Progressivism concerns itself with groups and their highest functions. Progressives consider human beings to be group components, resources for groups' highest functioning.  Components of groups are tightly controlled and expendable as necessary. This is in direct opposition to the core individualism driving both classic liberalism and conservatism.  Therefore, it only follows that liberal and conservative individualism is an existential threat to Progressivism and must be eradicated.

The River Cities’ Reader asked the four candidates vying for two of the available County Supervisor seats to answer six questions in advance of the November 3 election. The background information, questions, and answers for incumbent Republicans Tony Knobbe and Ken Beck and challenger Democrats Jazmin Newton and Rogers Kirk are printed below. Responses are presented in full but have been lightly edited for spelling, punctuation, and grammar.  Please see these additional introductory remarks on Why Local County Elections Matter. 

We've written about the importance of the quiet government, the county officers, for years. Most Quad Citizens can't name their county sheriff or a single county supervisor. And that's just fine for them, as they have no readily tangible example of how those offices impact their daily lives. If you don't pay property taxes, interact with the court system, develop property in the unincorporated rural county, or utilize mental-health services, then this indifference is somewhat understandable.