Rachel Maddow: Crackpot conspiracy theories enjoy mainstreaming by right

[Frank_Norris_Lives]

1. Aaahh....

.....your spot in the world must be comfortable. You're a real armchair quarterback.

The other day, we held a farewell luncheon for one of our security personnel. After the presentation of many anecdotes and plaques, it was finally her turn to speak. She got a bit emotional, her eyes were wet. Her husband and daughter moved on to his new station in Japan nearly three months prior so she was surely missing them. She related several stories from her tenure to include some rough spots in her career, the highlight of which was having to cancel a long-planned trip to London in 2005 of some 48 wives from a city on the continent for which the bus trip to London is nearly 24 hours with the Chunnel and all. She said the hotel they had booked was next to one of the bombing locations but her story really focused on the outrage of the women.

I turned to a sympathetic colleague who stared back at me wide-eyed.

Afterwards, I asked her. J., I said, there was no state dept. travel advisory for London that summer. Her eyes widened as she looked back at me. I took this to mean she realized she said something she shouldn't have. "We had a warning," she said, and turned away.

So, it's either state-sponsored or LIHOP.

Poor Ms. Hoagland. But, she enjoys a certain comfort too.