Conspiracies are U.S. : On Making Up Truthers, Birthers and
Deathers, Part 1  It is both disturbing and fascinating to
follow the role of conspiracy theories in U.S. politics over the
last decade and their apparent relationship to the Internet. One
could claim that nothing has really changed, that mysterious and
powerful cabals have always played a significant part in the
U.S. political imagination. Consider the Anti-Masonic Party
(1828-1838), which was founded in Upstate New York by
Federalists to challenge the perceived influence of secret
societies on settler life, or the Midwestern Populists, at the
end of that century, who alleged that an international Jewish
conspiracy was responsible for lowering farm prices.  Conspiracy
theories about treacherous minority groups, political factions
and foreigners are not exclusive to the U.S., of course. In
Jordan and elsewhere in the Middle East, one of many anti-
Zionist rumors holds that Pepsi actually stands for “Pay Every
Penny to Save Israel,” a belief that has h