The Post's Carlos Frias, "What is the real truth behind our obsession with conspiracy theories?" [And the debate happening now in Lake Worth]

This is a real interesting article that appears in the Post today (D section, front page). The reporter, Carlos Frias, interviews University of Florida professor Mark Fenster who wrote this book about conspiracy theories. The article deals with the return of "The X-Files", the JFK assassination, and the Sandy Hook elementary school shootings, etc.

The article ends with this:

     Conspiracy theories are as popular as ever.
     "It never dies," Johnson[*] said. "I wish people would lose their enthusiasm about them."

 *Keith Johnson, the spokesman for the HONR Network.
"Conspiracy theories" are very popular on a smaller scale too, such as the little City of Lake Worth. There are things that happened here and are happening now that some would have you believe are silly and should not be believed. Like the Anarchist Ryan Hartman that is challenging the vice mayor of Lake Worth, Scott Maxwell. Hartman's been stepping away from that, or at least distancing himself from the Anarchists, and before too long maybe he'll be an Anarchist in the tradition of George Washington or some other iconic American. With 38 days to go before election day (as of 2/6), with some help from the press blowing the wind in the sails for Hartman, anything can happen.

If you've been paying attention to this blog lately, and throughout the years, I've chronicled the Anarchists, former Commissioner Cara Jennings, Panagioti Tsolkas, and all the 'merry-making' at Everglades EarthFirst!. For anyone to claim they haven't had a significant impact on how the City of Lake Worth is today is myth-making. Just the fact that an Anarchist is running for a commission seat again is proof of that.

Interestingly, some podcasts recently have become available and they've been getting a lot of attention, both on this blog and they're also on some Facebook pages as well. When you listen to the videos (recordings) many get the sense they're not actually podcasts at all, not like an interview as one is accustomed to, but actually performances where the speaker is reading from a script. When you listen see if you can pick up on that and take note of the dramatic heavy breaths taken throughout, it's hard not to notice. Is this a new 'conspiracy theory' in Lake Worth? Not at all. Just an observation. Encourage everyone to listen for yourself and draw you own conclusions.

The video below begins with Hartman at a recent City Commission meeting and the Podcast begins at the 2:00 mark; a question follows below the podcast. Enjoy!

Now to the question, is Hartman an Anarchist or not? Or is he just one of those harmless, cuddly Anarchists that no one should worry about voting for?