The Most Talked About Government Myths and Conspiracies

1.) George Washington was NOT our first President

Spectators have said that not Washington, but John Hanson, President of the Continental Congress served as the first president of the United States. This however could not be true because the Office of the President of the United States was created in 1787, long after Hanson died.

2.) Sen. John McCain has an illegitimate black child

During the 2000 Presidential primaries a smear campaign came out against McCain claiming he had relations with a black woman which resulted in a child. While it would make for good news; in an interview on the’ Today Show’ political operative Karl Rowe shot down all the rumors surrounding the accusations. He even went as far to say that it was not even from his opponent, George Bush, it stemmed from a professor at Bob Jones University. McCain and his wife do however have a daughter which they adopted from Bangladesh.

3.) George Bush has the lowest IQ of all the presidents

A report by the Lovenstein Institute published the idea that Bush did indeed have the lowest IQ of any U.S. President. The problem with this claim is that there is no Lovenstein Institute, which means there’s no real report. There’s no proof he has the lowest IQ however…feel free to assume.

4.) The Washington Redskins always predict the presidential winner

The myth claims that since 1936 the Redskin’s last home game before the presidential election has predicted the outcome of who the next president will be. If the Redskins lose, the incumbent party loses and if the Redskins win, they win. While the myth may have worked for 17 elections, all we have here is a political coincidence. In 2004 the myth was broken when the Redskins lost to the Green Bay Packers; if the myth stayed true George Bush would have lost to Sen. John Kerry…and we all know how that worked out.

5.) The U.S. Government planned the 9/11 Attacks

Since this tragedy struck our country there has been thousands upon thousands of theories surrounding the events of this day and whether or not it was truly a ‘terrorist’ attack. Some of these theories include that the events were a ploy to take the country into war in the Middle East. Allegedly, the Pentagon was not hit by a plane, it was hit by a missile, and United 93 did not crash and Air Force Jet took it out. Unfortunately this is not a myth that has a clear answer; of course any government affiliation will claim that’s crazy talk, and any government protestor will say that they were behind the whole thing. Each side can spit you a list of facts supporting their claim, and I’ve heard pretty convincing argument from both sides. Check out some of the facts and see if your mind doesn’t change, there’s a lot more to it than one may think.

6.)  Sarah Palin did not give birth to her last baby, Trig

Shortly after Palin was announced as a presidential running mate, rumors started surrounding her new born baby whom was diagnosed with down syndrome. Apparently photos appeared of Palin with no belly, and some with belly. Many theorists suggested that it may actually be a child of her eldest daughter Bristol, however that was not the case. Bristol became pregnant with her own child soon after eliminating her as a source, but then rumors swirled about why Palin waited 15 hours to go to the hospital after her water broke. Why you would lie about having a baby? I don’t know…But why would you get on a plane and fly back to Alaska after your water broke, and NOT go to a hospital…Weird, but then again so is Sarah Palin.

7.) Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States

Sorry guys no myth here, Obama is U.S. born…or at least they’re really good at hiding it. Rumors began circulating when the Obama team did not present a legal birth certificate but rather other certifications of live birth that were determined to be valid legal documents; the certificate allows for a person born in Hawaii to purchase land and obtain a U.S. Passport . His birth was also printed in two Honolulu papers and those records are not supplied by the public, they are printed by the Health Department. The claims are that they are not releasing the actual birth certificate because it may validate that he was not born in this country, making him ineligible to be president.

8.) The Clinton’s were responsible for the death of Vince Foster

Vince Foster was the Deputy White House Counsel for the Clinton era and in 1993 he was found dead in Federal Park in Northern Virginia. Although the death was announced a suicide there were several rumors tying the Clinton’s to his death because they were so close…or were they? In 1994, the ‘Arkansas Project’ was launched to discredit the Clintons and introduced these rumors to the public. Maybe Mr. Foster didn’t see things the way the Clintons did…was he a problem to the Clinton vision? Hmmmm…..

9.)  Someone besides Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK

Here’s another legendary myth that blames the U.S. Government for a national tragedy. The myth claims that the assassination of JFK was no accident; it was planned by the CIA either because they were still upset about the Bay of Pigs, of because President Lyndon Johnson told them to. There are also theories suggesting that it was done by the KGB or mobsters that were mad at Kennedy’s brother for shutting down organized crime rings. Although the Warren Commission, organized to investigate the murder, found Oswald to be the lone shooter, the video footage of the assassination is definitely something to check out. The possibility of a second shooter looks more apparent than you may think.

10.) Rep. Gary Condit was involved in Chandra Levy’s disappearance

When intern for Federal Bureau of Prisons, Chandra Levy, disappeared, her alleged sexual involvement with Mr. Condit had people talking. When Levy’s body was found a year after her disappearance and Condit denied all allegations against him. However during the trial a FBI biologist testified that Condit’s semen was found on her underwear…How did that get there?

11.) The 12^th President of the United States, Zachary Taylor was poisoned

This is a myth I’ve never heard of personally but there’s definitely something sneaky going on here.  Medical officials in Kentucky ruled that Taylor died of natural causes, yet they found arson in his blood. Although it was considered low enough levels to be not be deadly, arson just doesn’t appear out of nowhere.

Read the full myth article here