Pied Pipers

To the list of loonies in the world, add the Dallas conspiracy theorist who's decided the Tucson shootings were a hoax and has inspired similarly deranged people to confront the victims with their supposed fraud.

First Harold Camping, then this guy. What is it with these nuts, and why do they attract followers?

The phenomenon isn't new. In fact, it's happened down through history--look up Savonarola in Google. Think of Hitler. Think of Jim Jones, the Kool-Aid man.

Fio's take is that some people prefer to turn their brains over to anyone who will stand on a soapbox and tell them what to do.