Wrapping My Brain Around Some Things

Herb’s Blog, Herbdate 23211 – 1150

My Dear Fans, Friends, Fiends, Foes, and Frothers,

I apologize a lot on this blog. I believe people stop by here to see what I have written and when I haven’t, I feel guilty. At one point I was going to quit apologizing but then I got to thinking that it was a good thing to do because I have an audience of people that I respect and I do not wish to take for granted. Some people say, “Aw, Herb, it’s okay. You don’t have to apologize.” But I do. It’s important to me because I appreciate you all very much.

Now, Here’s the Haps:

I had plans to make a lighthearted, hopefully humorous post on the subject of conspiracy theories. But then, the more I researched the subject of conspiracy theories that were actually proven right, the angrier I got. This started a loop in my brain. I really wanted to do the lighter side but yet some of the things I looked up were gross and heinous. People on the Left who trust the government and want the government to control more and more things and think the government can solve people’s problems are in for a rude awakening. The larger the government the less control the individual has. The smaller the government, the more control the individual has. I guess it depends on whether you think you know best or the government knows best.

Anyway, this sets up a loop in my brain. I really want to write about this but I really want to write about that also. Then I was kind of sad and depressed as well, which was looped around with happiness and joy. But no matter how logical or illogical I realize I am being, if I feel that I need to write the first post before I can do the second my mind won’t let me bypass that. I can’t do things out of order. Well, I can, but it’s difficult.

But whether you believe the government or yourself to be more capable of running your life this is still the greatest country in the world. Other countries have the same problems we do but cannot freely discuss them. Which we do, when we know about them. If we even know they exist.

These stories triggered strong emotions and revulsion in me and if you are easily triggered you may want to just wait for the next post which will be quite lighthearted. I only picked four of these and I had thought about going into a lot more detail about each one but decided a synopsis of each was enough and if one or more piqued your curiosity you could go and look it up for yourself. The two main articles that started my initial search for more information were 12 Conspiracy Theories That Actually Turned Out to Be True on the Reader’s Digest website and 11 Unbelievable Conspiracy Theories That Were Actually True on the How Stuff Works website. Both articles do have some more lighthearted accounts as well as the ones that triggered me but neither list mentions the Rohna.

The H.M.T. Rohna Disaster

I’ve written on this blog on more than one occasion, including a post in the 2022 A-Z challenge, about how this ship was destroyed. And because the Germans had used a new type of bomb technology the few survivors were ordered to never talk about it under threat of court-martial. 1,015 US soldiers were killed and nobody ever knew what happened to their loved ones until 1972. My grandfather passed away without ever knowing what happened to his son.

The Tuskeegee Experiment

Many of us know about the valorous Tuskeegee Airmen of World War II but the government also had an unrelated secret in Tuskeegee, Alabama. In 1932 the U.S. Public Health Service (which now includes the CDC) decided they wanted to know the long-range effects of the disease Syphilis on the human body and created an experiment. They took 600 black men, 399 who had the disease and 201 who did not, and told them they were being treated for “Bad Blood” which was a catch-all term for several diseases. They were never informed about what was really going on. They were given placebos such as aspirin and vitamin supplements. Even after it was proven in 1947 that the disease could be treated effectively with Penicilln the experiment was continued without ever letting these people know about that. They still wanted to follow each individual up until death and autopsies could be performed. It was also 1972 when this story broke and the experiment ended. Tuskegee Experiment: The Infamous Syphilis Study

The CIA’s Operation MK-Ultra

In the Fifties and Sixties, the CIA was afraid of Communist brainwashing. If the Commies had mind control techniques then we needed to catch up in the “Brain Wars.” One drug that was especially feared was Lysergic acid diethylamide commonly called LSD or Acid. What if the Russians bought up large amounts and dosed the American water supply? What were its effects? Could it be used to control people’s minds? At first, they experimented on willing subjects, one of the most notable being author Ken Kesey who wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but in time they used unwitting guinea pigs including prisoners like Whitey Bulger, a syndicate crime boss, soldiers, and unsuspecting members of the public in hospitals and universities. In 1973 then CIA director Richard Helms ordered all records and documents related to the operation destroyed so there is no paper trail. History.com had a fairly comprehensive article called The CIA’s Appalling Human Experiments With Mind Control.

Worst for the Last – Project Sunshine

This one was pretty disgusting and I am putting it in here because it bothered me so bad. In the Fifties, when there were quite a few atomic bombs being tested, someone started to wonder if all this radiation would be harmful. What effect does it have on human tissue? How do we find out? Use recently deceased children’s cadavers. Dig them up or remove them from the hospital morgue but just get some bone and tissue. “…if anybody knows how to do a good job of body snatching, they will really be serving their country.” Project Sunshine: The Worldwide Conspiracy To Collect Children’s Tissue And Bones That’s Actually True

Of course you can trust the Government. Ask any Native American.

Popular T-shirt

20 Comments

  1. Concur “But whether you believe the government or yourself to be more capable of running your life this is still the greatest country in the world. Other countries have the same problems we do but cannot freely discuss them. Which we do, when we know about them. If we even know they exist.”

    Many of my relatives were included in the Tuskegee Experiment: The Infamous Syphilis Study.

    Glad to see you posting and have a great day.

  2. I want to reply to this portion of your blog today, Herb …”People on the Left who trust the government and want the government to control more and more things and think the government can solve people’s problems are in for a rude awakening. The larger the government the less control the individual has. The smaller the government, the more control the individual has. I guess it depends on whether you think you know best or the government knows best.

    I agree with you totally about your description of “The Left” but what amazes me about “The Right” is that when they are in power, they seem to favor the exact same things the Left favors — bigger government, more intrusive government, more expensive government ..etc.

    So in the end, when all is said and done, it is not the Left or the Right– it is simply government itself —

    But I think “Government” is better than no government in the final analysis.

    • Or, as my dad would say, “They’re all a bunch of crooks!” Yes, we are a nation of laws which should be enforced equally whether you are the former president or the current president.

  3. That project sunshine story about the girl who got her legs amputated… There’s people in the world with a lot to answer for. Do that to my kid and I will hunt you to the ends of the earth.

  4. It is stories like these that make me a skeptic whenever people in authority tell me something. It is good to be reminded of things like this.

1 Trackback / Pingback

  1. How To Make An Aluminum Foil Cowboy Hat – The Haps With Herb

I like comments and try to respond to them all if I can:

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.