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"Time is the sole arbiter between Precience and Paranoia" is one of my personal homilies conjured during a lively discussion on "conspiracies" on KSFO/San Francisco.

With that  in mind here are some timely observations from friend John Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute:

Once upon a time, there was a nation of people who believed everything they were told by their government.

When terrorists attacked the country, and government officials claimed to have been caught by surprise, the people believed them. And when the government passed massive laws aimed at locking down the nation and opening the door to total government surveillance, the people believed it was done merely to keep them safe. The few who disagreed were labeled traitors.

When the government waged costly preemptive wars on foreign countries, insisting it was necessary to protect the nation, the citizens believed it. And when the government brought the weapons and tactics of war home to use against the populace, claiming it was just a way to recycle old equipment, the people believed that too. The few who disagreed were labeled unpatriotic....

More here:

Strange how paranoia can link up with reality now and then...