HASSO HERING

In the summer sky over Albany…

Because I have led a sheltered life, I had never heard of so-called “chemtrails” until one of my dear readers called my attention to them. She urged me to become informed. So, with time weighing heavy on my hands one afternoon, I did look up what there was to see — literally in the sky as well as figuratively online.

Wow! I don’t see how I missed the discussion. If you google “chemtrails,” the machine finds more than 5.5 million items. Seems like a fairly lively topic.

In short, the idea is nonsense, but here is what it is. The believers are convinced that the contrails they see in the sky from airliners are evidence of a secret program by the government or some more sinister force to spread chemicals or metals in the atmosphere. The point variously is to change the weather, slow down global warming or even control population growth.

The belief is easily debunked, but the believers are immune to persuasion. One of them posted material on how to debunk the debunkers.

But even if you don’t believe the science or common sense, you know it’s nonsense because we obviously can’t keep secrets. If there was such a secret program — like the NSA surveillance, for example — some whistleblower would have told the world long ago. (hh)

From Ted Salmons:  Thank goodness.  For a brief, very brief second.  I thought you had joined the aluminum foil hat crowd.  You’re absolutely right about the government’s inability to keep secrets over the long term.  It goes back to an old pirate quotation.  “Three men can keep a secret.  As long as two of them are dead.”

From Rhea Graham, via Facebook: Keep looking up, Hasso.

From Lisa Campbell, via Facebook:  I have heard them called chemtrails but hadn’t heard the conspiracy theory side to it before.