The Government was hiding aliens in the basement of the WTC while the UN got ready to take over the world

I have become convinced that people who are adamant about conspiracy theories, fearful of their own government, and believe that vaccines and other miracles of modern medicine have made these beliefs their religion. That is, believing these things helps them cope with life and the way things are. Without believing these things, to them the world is full of random occurrences of “bad” things.
There are a writer or two on examiner.com who are convinced that the Bush Administration, or at least the CIA, had something to do with the attacks on 9/11/01. They are not the only ones on the Internet who feel this way, by far, but they are featured prominently at times in the news as news outlets pick up examiner.com articles as “fillers” when there aren't other news. These people really believe that there are thousands, maybe millions, of conspirators out there, and that all of them have been either paid off or otherwise coerced into keeping quiet. They believe that thousands of charges were placed at the Twin Towers to bring them down. Without these beliefs, the alternative explanations become unbearable. Their pride is hurt in thinking that a loosely organized group of hijackers really could have done all that.
Likewise, parents of children with autism and other disorders are convinced that vaccines and/or other medications their children received as infants (or their mothers received during the pregnancy) are what caused their children's disorders. In Epidemiology, we call this a “recall bias” because it is likely that, had the disorder not occurred in their children, the parents would not have a recollection of what vaccines or medications they received. (Autism, for example, is usually diagnosed right around the time that vaccines are given.) These parents and the groups who support them would much rather live in a world where infectious diseases would run rampant, because, to them, that is a better alternative than the “hell” they live every day with their child. Sadly, some of them would rather their child had died of measles or pneumonia than the child live in a world that ostracizes them for their mental disability.
Of  course, there are many other conspiracy theories out there from many other groups and individuals. To many, the governments of the world are aligning themselves to take control of the world as a single unit. Yes, the same governments that can't stop a Russian invasion of Georgia or the crisis in Darfur. Other conspiracy theories believe that extraterrestrial life has visited the planet on interstellar ships, never mind the physical barriers to achieve this. And then there are those who are convinced that corporations and organizations with global reach are in collusion and hiding important historical facts, like the origins of religions and “universal” knowledge.
And then there are those conspiracy theorists that believe in their conspiracies so long as believing in them, and distributing information about them, means that they will be getting something in return. Most of them are in it for the money. Others are in it for the fame. And lots of them are in it for the status this will bring them amongst their peers.
If you look at all these types of conspiracy theorists, you will find a common thread among all of them. Very much like religions, their conspiracies brings them together, gives them something to believe in, and hold them as prophets amongst their peers. Without these things, their lives take on a little less meaning... there wouldn't be something to help them stand out.
This is why I have come to the learning and understanding that you cannot argue with them. Well, you could, but you really shouldn't. They are beyond convinced of what is their truth. Bringing them back from that thinking requires more than reason, more than all the evidence in the world... After all, all evidence, except theirs, is manufactured. So I'm going to have to try very hard to leave them alone. Very hard.

How to know what can't be known in times of love and war

There are two basic mechanisms that we mere mortals use to assess a relationship, our hearts and our minds. One is tangible, the heart, and one is intangible, the mind. Mind you, we don't actually make choices with our heart, the beating organ inside our chests. Rather, we make some choices with our instinct, which we've traditionally said it's the heart. "Follow your heart," they say. "Do what your heart tells you," others claim. On the other hand, our minds are all about reason and thinking things though. "Think before you act," the ancients counseled. "Give it a second thought," my parents said.
So which one do you follow? And which one is right?
The trick to this dilemma is that neither is right. Both ways of thinking about relationships and/or other issues are valid. Some of us use one instead of the other. Others use both. Many use none.
It's funny, in both instances, when we like or dislike someone, we tend to use the heart more than the mind. We hardly ever stop to think about why we feel the way we do. We just do. We see our worst enemy and right away go into self-defense mode. We don't think about why we're reacting that way or why they are acting the way they do. We just react, from the gut, with our hearts. Likewise, when we see someone we like, we chase them against all consequence, not really worried about tomorrow.
But the heart can only take us so far. After a while, the mind manages to break through the barrier and help us see things clearly, more objectively. But this process usually takes time. For example, in those who are abused by their partners, their heart might not give into their mind for a while. These are the people that just won't leave because their hearts tell them not to.
I believe we would be just a little better off if we could think and reason through situations before going with our hearts. This is way more easier said than done, however. What is the first thing you do when you're confronted by someone you like. You certainly don't think about his or her income or whether or not he or she will make a good partner. No. You just want to jump their bones and ask questions later. It's natural. But we would be better off if we thought things through just a little bit before falling in love or getting in a fight.
Then again, the future is always in motion, hard to see. So we say, "what the hell", and we jump in with both feet. Because there is no time like today to do things, to fall in love, or to hate someone. You don't want strong emotions to be lost in seas of reason because, who knows, you might miss out on something very exciting.

Mexico Wins! Mexico Wins!

My friend from work and his girlfriend (Shawn and Jill) came along with me to the ESPNZone downtown yesterday. We went to see Mexico host the USA in a World Cup qualifier. I must say that I was very nervous about the game all day long. I really just wanted it to be over. Why? Because Mexico has not been playing well in the last few months, and the USA have been playing very well in the last few years. In fact, they're in the final phase of a 15-year plan that has them winning the World Cup, if all goes according to plan. And they've been playing that way, too.
Still, plan or no plan, Mexico is Mexico when it comes to soccer, and I shouldn't have doubted that too much. Azteca Stadium, at 7,200 feet above sea level, at 2pm in the afternoon in August (temps on the field above 95 degrees), with 110,000 screaming fans, well, it's just not the place where any team can come into and win. Sure, the USA scored early in the game, around the eight minute of play. But you could see how they lost their stamina as each minute went by. Just like they did with Brazil, they fell back and waited  for Mexico's move.
Mexico did move, twice, scoring ten minutes later and then again toward the end of the game. Other than two or three little moments of brilliance, the USA was done. After the game, Landon Donovan, star of the USA team, said that the heat, height, and the fans got to them. He was very frustrated that Mexico is unbeatable in Mexico City. I would be too, if it happened to me.
So I shouldn't have been worrying so much that I actually broke into a cold sweat during the game. It's not healthy. I should have just settled  down and known that Mexico is hard to beat in Mexico, and that it was just another soccer game. We're going to do it all over again in 4 years, anyway. I should instead be worrying about the once-in-a-lifetime events, like helping The Girl get everything in line for our wedding...

Well, It's Been A While

I know it has been a while since I've written, and it's not for lack of wanting. I've been busy. There's sort of a pandemic going on. Because it will probably be the best documented pandemic in history, I won't dwell much on what I've been doing. Let's just say I've had less busy times.
One of the interesting things about Facebook is that it allows you to connect with people from all over your life. I write that meaning that life has more than one dimension. You can go backwards and forwards in time with regards to your life, and no one along that continuum is ever really the same. You change, your friends change, and your life as a whole changes.
When I was in El Paso/Juarez, I knew a certain family, the Cardiel-Dominguez family. I first knew about them when Mom asked me to be in the quinceañera party for one of the older girls. I must have been 12 or 13. Mom, on the other hand, had known them for a very long time, since before I was born. It was at that meeting that I met Iris, and, as they say, the rest is history. Well, it's not history, but it's not something that is worth me dwelling on for paragraphs.
Last week, I got in touch, through Facebook, with two of Iris' sisters, Alejandra and Dulce. It was Dulce that told me about Iris working for the State of Chihuahua, and she gave me Iris' phone number. I called and talked to Iris today, and I realized that not necessarily everything changes. The idea we have of a person doesn't change, but the person does. Iris has changed, and so have I. But our idea of each other is probably still there.
It's weird. I'm all grown up now.