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Re:How the Berlin Wall Really Fell by mikeash on Saturday November 08, 2014 @09:32AM (#8576945)
My father, for one.
Re:How the Berlin Wall Really Fell by hga on Saturday November 08, 2014 @09:37AM (#8576964)
I think you'll have to do better than that to establish the existence of a "sect". I.e. you need to name some of its leaders, the ones making statements, speeches, etc. propagating this program.
Re:How the Berlin Wall Really Fell by mikeash on Saturday November 08, 2014 @09:46AM (#8576984)
I know he didn't come up with this idea independently. I haven't paid enough attention to know precisely who it came from, but given his reading and listening habits, I'd expect the names to be found on a list of contributors to National Review and the list of top talk radio hosts.

You seem awfully defensive about this, given that I said nothing that indicates you are a member, or indeed that anyone in particular is a member until you asked. Are you that uncomfortable with the idea that there are crazy people in the world who hold some opinions similar to your own? That's true of all of us.

Re:How the Berlin Wall Really Fell by hga on Saturday November 08, 2014 @10:03AM (#8577020)
Defensive? Perhaps that comes from being viciously slandered and libeled for 4 decades (starting from when I became politically aware in the very early '70s; heck, I'm old enough to remember when the "scientific consensus" was that the earth was entering an ice age and it was axiomatic it all our fault). This brush is broadly used against everyone on "the right"; to bring it back to this discussion and e.g. the impression flohofwoe got as a teenager behind the Iron Curtain in the '80s, by supporting and voting for Reagan we demonstrated a desire to kill those behind it in nuclear hellfire.

Based on my knowledge of the right, I did't know of any such "sect", your language explicitly said there's a specific group of "crazy people" with this set of beliefs. Except you can't identify any of them besides your father, and no one can claim complete clarity in viewing their parents.

Re:How the Berlin Wall Really Fell by mikeash on Saturday November 08, 2014 @10:06AM (#8577029)
Believe me or don't, I really don't care. If you choose to take my post as libel against you, that's your right, but given that I don't know you and apparently haven't described your beliefs, it takes some amazing mental gymnastics to pull that off, and that's on you, not me.
Re:How the Berlin Wall Really Fell by 1945795 on Saturday November 08, 2014 @10:41AM (#8577155)
You seem to know a lot about the "government is evil, taxation is theft, global warming is a hoax" fringe crowd, but when questioned, you refer only to your father. You're extrapolating to a whole group of people from a personal family anecdote. Your comment is devoid of data and that's why such drivel is not appreciated.
Re:How the Berlin Wall Really Fell by mikeash on Saturday November 08, 2014 @11:07AM (#8577242)
Yeah, I know a fair amount of what that crowd believes, as a result of lots of exposure, direct and indirect, to the aforementioned talk radio and magazine. No, I can't name names. So what? I couldn't name any hosts on Fox News or CNN, but I can state with confidence from what I've seen of them that a lot of them are full of crap.