October 26, 2002
Wellstone Death: Foul Play?
Paul Wellstone is dead. And as usual when someone dies whose death has a great deal of political impact, my mind rushes to suspicions of foul play. And then there is a built-in restricting impulse, a voice that reprimands me for jumping to negative thoughts. It's an interiorized version of the voice that ridicules "conspiracy theorists," that categorizes everyone who suspects foul play in the political sphere to be some kind of nut. That voice of good behavior, good taste and conformity tries to lull you into a state in which you think, "Everything is going to be all right, if I just believe, just do what I am supposed to do..."But there is a place for the suspicious ones, too. There is a social function for people who don't necessarily jump to the conclusion that everything is okay, who don't necessarily believe that all thoughts of foul play are just paranoia, some weakness of the mind. Where would we be without our inspectors, our detectives, the chronically suspicious?
Where we would be is in a world where the thieves, thugs and gangsters would have a free hand, because the suspicious ones, the skeptics and scoffers, the unbelievers, who are the spiritual mirror images of the thugs, would not be there to see through them and call them on their lies and transgressions. We would be in a world very much like the world we are in. Perhaps there are not enough skeptics.
Paul Wellstone is dead. I didn't know him, or that much about him. But a chill runs through my body when I realize that his death benefits the fascists, the power mongers. I shiver when I realize how close we came to having a Republican sweep across all branches of government. It would have happened if it hadn't been for one very principled old-fashioned Republican who would not march to the fascist tune. The right wingers have shown clearly with their veiled threats, that they will stop at nothing to achieve their aims.
Now they are prepared to take it to all-out war in Iraq. They are no longer talking about bombing some killers holed up in caves in the barren rural landscape of Afghanistan. Now they have escalated their vicious campaign to include a great city, a city with a great history, and a city of people who suffer terribly at the hands of the Americans. They suffer to a degree not even conceived of by most Americans, who are the only people in the world who may have the power to relieve their suffering.
Yes, the people running things are willing to kill large numbers of people. They don't like to get their hands dirty. They like to push buttons and have other people do the killing. They are far too genteel to do the dirty work. Obviously killing is not a problem for these people.
So yes, when I see someone killed and I see a motive for someone to have killed him, yes, I am suspicious. The United States is one Senate seat from total domination by the Bush-Cheney-Lott-Delay right wing of America. The stakes are extreme. These guys play for keeps. It used to be called hard ball. It's not ball at all. It's war. It's gang war on a very large scale.
The control of America is balanced delicately. The right wing doesn't like delicate. It doesn't like balance. It wants to control, to win, to dominate.
Yes, I am suspicious. I am suspicious of everything I see. I see them playing games, cheating, lying and manipulating in practically every sphere. They have more tricks than I can imagine. They continue to amaze me.
Isn't it strange how many people who oppose the fascists are killed in some mysterious manner?
Yes, in this solemn, tragic moment on the day of the untimely death of a man who touched many lives, I would dare to turn my eyes to the negative, ugly possibilities. I would risk sullying the atmosphere with suspicions. I am beyond blind faith. I am not a believer. I do not trust.
See Assassination as a Tool of Fascism by John Judge.
More on Wellstone's death:
November 4, 2002
Was Wellstone Murdered?
According to the World Socialist Web Site, "It is possible that there will emerge a credible explanation of the October 25 plane crash that killed Wellstone, his wife Sheila, daughter Marcia, and five others near Eveleth, Minnesota. Initial reports, however, are disturbing. None of the typical causes of a small plane accident—engine failure, icing, pilot error—appear to be involved."The plane, a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air A100, was apparently in good condition when it hit the ground and exploded into flames about two miles from the Eveleth-Virginia airport in the Minnesota iron range. The Beechcraft model has an excellent safety record, with only two fatal crashes—both in December 1997—in the past six years. Debris recovered from the crash site includes both the plane’s engines, which suffered blade damage, suggesting that the engines were running when the plane crashed...
"The neo-fascist elements within and around the Republican Party have already demonstrated their contempt for democracy, first in the protracted campaign of political destabilization against the Clinton administration, then with the theft of the 2000 presidential election. They are now preparing to slaughter tens of thousands of Iraqis in order to grab control of the second largest oil reserves in the world. To imagine that they would suffer moral qualms over a conveniently timed plane crash would be naïve in the extreme."
For more on Wellstone and possible foul play, see:
Alternet.org, Was Paul Wellstone Murdered? Counterpunch State Department Briefing On Attempted Wellstone Hit Commondreams.org usfumigation.org Commondreams.org newsinsider.org
November 4, 2002
Wellstone Death Boosts Bond Market
Reuters reports that the bond market went up on the news of Paul Wellstone's death, analysts say because it increased the probability that Republicans will take total control of the government.
November 4, 2002
Carnahan's Plane Crash Indicated Bombing
According to an article in Steamshovel Press, when John Ashcroft's opponent in the Senate race Governor Mel Carnahan's plane went down shortly before the election of 2000, witnesses reported an explosion in the air that turned the sky red.Carnahan's wife was put on the ticket in his place and she beat the incumbent Ashcroft, who was immediately resurrected by Bush, like a disease that won't go away.
November 3, 2002
Possible Attempts on Wellstone's Life
A couple of articles mention possible threats to Wellsone's life when he was visiting Colombia in November 2001. One was about land mines that a police chief said were probably aimed a Wellsone (see ABC News.)Wellstone was also hit with herbicide on that trip, see
Americas.org and rense.com nuance.com
Wellstone Targeted by Bush Regime
According to this article in The Nation in May 2002, Paul Wellstone was a target of the Bush administration, especially the evil genius Karl Rove.