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Just what is the ‘Bilderberg group’? Are we doomed by these world dominators??

I love conspiracy theories and I hate conspiracy theories. The thing I love is that they make for fascinating story telling and interesting reading. The thing I hate is really two-fold: 1) people get alarmed about them needlessly, and, 2) sometimes they turn out to be at least partially true.

A "Reader's Letter" to our local newspaper today brought another conspiracy theory/group to my attention which I, in my obvious ignorance, had not heard of: the Bilderberg group. According to this newspaper reader, the Bilderberg group held it's annual meeting in Ottawa, Canada, in 2006 with Hillary Clinton present and decided she will be the next U.S. president. Okay, now that's just nuts. We all know an influential group meeting in secret really DOES determine who will be the next U.S. president. But that group isn't named "Bilderberg" -- it's the Electoral College.

Seriously. You know, don't you, that your vote for a presidential candidate come November will only symbolically matter? Ultimately, the Electoral College meets and affirms or rejects the popular vote results and that, my friends, is how we get a president. And those electors are not bound by the Constitution or any federal laws to vote exactly as the popular vote went -- 2004 being the most recent case in point, when Al Gore won the popular vote but George W. Bush won the Electoral College vote. (Check me out on all this, because I'm a little unclear on all the details.)

But back to this mysterious all-knowing, all-powerful Bilderberg group. It really does exist. And it really is made up of a "secret" list of influential people, i.e., people who are current and former political leaders with money and lots of influence worldwide. They do not allow any outsiders, including journalists, at their meetings, and they do not announce the content or results of their meetings. They're sort of a private club for rich and influential advisers and opinion-makers.

But they have no political power and influence as a group. They cannot dictate national policy in the U.S. or anywhere. They are a glorified "men's club," though not all members are men.

Having said that, I truly doubt that the Bilderberg group has any intention or ability to make Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Barack Obama, Mike Huckabee, or anyone else president of the U.S. They might have the money to support a candidate. They might have the "ears" of significant people in the U.S. or elsewhere and try to influence their opinions and actions. But, as with most conspiracy theories, this one really goes that "extra mile" and steps past legitimate concern into a fantasy world of paranoia.

So rest easy, my friends. If Hillary Clinton or anyone else becomes president of the U.S., you can be sure the Bilderberg group had little or nothing to do with it. Here in America, for the most part, we truly do end up with the leadership we give ourselves.

(Sure. Yeah. That's the ticket. That's exactly what the Bilderberg group WANTS you to think. Yeah. That's it.)
[tags]conspiracy theories, the Bilderberg group, world domination, presidential elections, just a guy who reads the papers[/tags]