National Debt Tops $40 Trillion - Raising Alarms Of Bond Market Instability (Including U.S. T-Bond Buybacks)

 

                              "And I still wanna add Two trillion for my war of choice!"

The news that the nation’s gross national debt topped $40 trillion for the first time on Wednesday, should have come as no surprise for anyone following the litany of fiscal fiascos of the Trumptards. This year alone, the U.S. is on track to borrow more than $2 trillion to help pay for its spending on the war of choice in Iran as well as the sweeping tax cuts that Reeps enacted in 2025 with their monstrously misnamed ‘big beautiful bill’ (BBB).  See e.g.

All You Need To Know About The 'Big, Beautiful Abomination' - And Why It Must Be Slain In The House

Look, it doesn't take a Mensa level IQ to figure out which party is responsible. Given debt is accumulated through annual budget deficits - meaning government collect less than it spends - The GOP must be the party to blame given their foundational, go-to policy has been TAX CUTS.  I.e. lessening revenue intake.  This has been on after burners since the Reagan years and the Laffer curve, e.g.

The Untold Story Of The Reagan Tax Cuts? Conservo Parrots Still Remain Dishonest In Disclosure

The Deficit boogeyman didn't retreat until a Democrat, Bill Clinton, narrowed and eventually eliminated the federal budget deficit through the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, which raised taxes on high-earning households and capped defense spending.

But then Gee Dumbya Bush grabbed the presidency in 2000, thanks to help from the Supreme Court. He immediately destroyed the Clinton economic gains with reckless tax cuts coupled with vast military spending when he launched his war on Iraq in 2003.

When he first ran for the White House in 2016, Trump – typical of his braggadocio- claimed he would “eliminate the national debt within eight years.”  But those of us with more than air between the ears knew that cockeyed boast carried about as much reality as when he promised in the 2024 campaign to ‘stop the Ukraine war on day one’  and “bring grocery prices down on day one” as well. Neither has happened, and in fact he basically washed his grubby little orange hands of Ukraine – letting Europe carry the burden – while alienating the NATO countries.

 As for food costs, they’ve spiraled out of control to the point most of the Middle Class has to go to dollar stores – even as gas hits over $4 a gallon. Let’s also recall that by the end of his first term the ignorant putz had increased the national debt by nearly $7.8 trillion in debt via his spending and GOP tax cuts.

And while the Neolib nabobs in the media carp about “the cost of  social safety net programs”, they’re mostly mum on how the Reeptards’ BBB bill and its cutting of nearly $1 billion from Medicaid, as well as cuts in subsidies to the Affordable Care Act – causing millions to leave the ACA and go without insurance. Then add potential cuts to Medicare which may require sequestration resulting in its own cuts.

When legislation significantly adds to the national debt, which already exceeds $36.2 trillion, it triggers “sequestration,” or compulsory budgetary reductions. In that scenario, Medicare cuts would be capped at 4 percent annually, or $490 billion over 10 years, the CBO reported in response to a request from Rep. Brendan Boyle (Pennsylvania), the top Democrat on the Budget Committee.

Make no mistake, any cut in Medicare funding would have a chilling effect on older Americans and people with disabilities at a time when a fast-aging population and rising health-care costs are already straining the system. Many hospitals, especially in rural areas, rely on Medicare for more than half of their funding

What form would such cuts take? From past proposals the most likely are:

- Beneficiaries would cough up co-pays for each visit (including traditional Medicare folks)

- Denial of access to most expensive options (i.e. My ER visit due to lung issues back in February, costing $27,000,  would have been denied.)

- Limited access to needed drugs, i.e. such as my ADT chemo drug Firmagon.

- Increased eligibility age - i.e. from 65 to 66 or 67.

- Limited primary physician (as well as specialist) access.

These are the most plausible cuts but don't assume the degenerate Reeps would not come away with more

Even Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent - when not yapping loopy twaddle ('it will pass, nothing to fret over') has at least been more forthright than most Reeps to explain why deficits are growing. He said  yesterday that spending associated with the war with Iran had forced the country to spend more on the military, and that tariff refunds had undercut the Trump administration’s progress toward reducing the deficit as a share of gross domestic product in 2025.  Getting the deficits under control is a big deal, given the alternative is that the bond market will step in and act the part of parent, i.e.

Brane Space: The REAL Reason For Trump's Retreat On Tariffs: An Early Morning Bond Market Selloff Shock

Yes, the $40 Trillion national debt level is indeed “an ominous milestone for an economy that sits on a shaky fiscal foundation after decades of borrowing”  in the words of one NY Times nabob. But be sure 90 percent of this is from the Reeps’ recklessness – which will now take a Dem intervention to dig out of, even partially.  We will also need the non-Trump party to protect the dollar as the world's reserve currency, which currently makes up roughly 57% of global foreign exchange reserves. Central banks worldwide hold it to stabilize exchange rates, back their own currencies, and facilitate international trade. This status lowers U.S. borrowing costs but the bond market just 'broke' -  with Japan dumping $26b in Treasurys while the U.S. is buying back its own bonds, e.g.

From:

EVERYTHING IS F*CKED | The Kyle Kulinski Show

This is confirmed by WSJ Finance columnist James Mackintosh ('Bessent's Treasury Play', Business & Finance, p. B1, today) noting Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's decision to "double the size of buybacks of the longest yield Treasury bonds".   Of course, this is nuts because no debtor - even a nation - buys back its own debt! But what Bessent hoped to do is avoid the "panic-level" of 5% bond yield.  He succeeded given his move caused the "30-year Treasury yield to plunge a whole 0.1%."  Which Mackintosh aptly referred to as "fiddling around the edges."

Of course! Because what's REALLY needed is for other nations - namely China, Japan and maybe the Saudis to buy up U.S. debt in Treasurys. Not dump them! Nor is this the first time it's happened. Recall in April last year Charlie Gasparino - FOX News Business reporter- first broke the news of Japanese bond selloffs, e.g.

Charlie Gasparino: "It is the White House who capitulated" | Media Matters for America

Excerpt:

 "You know, Bessent knows this better than anybody, when you have yields on the 10-year rising to 5%, stuff starts shutting down when you have the lending market screwed up. By the way, who's dumping the bonds? Somebody asked him if it was China, right? It wasn't, it was Japan."

Mackintosh, in his WSJ piece today, goes on to note (p. B3): 

"Long bonds aren't being dumped because investors are worried about inflation...It's more a nasty combination of three trends only one of which Bessent has any control over:

- Government Deficits.  The U.S. government is expected by the International Monetary Fund to borrow 7.5%  of GDP this year - the most in the Group of Seven developed economies.

- The AI Boom: AI companies have moved from being capital-light software specialists to capital-hungry operators of AI data centers. Tapping the bond markets is one of the ways to finance the debt.

- Geopolitics:  The breakdown of the U.S. -led international order on trade (due to Trump's tariffs) is pushing other countries to be less reliant 0n cross-border supply chains.

All of this has led to a rise in inflation-adjusted real yields.   

And for a look at how things might adversely progress check out this Youtube video from Prof. Jiang Xueqin (who also forecast the U.S. would lose in the Iran conflict.)

What Happens to Your Money When the Dollar Loses Its Crown | Prof. Jiang Xueqin

Assuming we can enhance the intelligence of the electorate enough to enable Ds back in some form of power, starting with the midterms, to halt the GOP-Trump tax cut madness, we might have a chance to save this country.  There will be no 3rd chances for nation already paying dearly for electing a power mad, malignant narcissist lunatic and his axis of sycophants and suck ups - in congress and the media.

 See Also:

Oligarchy

Who’s Raking It In As the National Debt Explodes?

by Robert Reich | August 20, 2026 - 5:08am | permalink

— from Robert Reich's Substack

Friends,

The U.S. national debt has officially surpassed $40 trillion, months earlier than forecasters had expected — because of billions of dollars in lost revenue from Trump’s invalidated tariffs, Trump’s tax cuts (mostly to big corporations and the very wealthy), and the soaring costs of Trump’s war.

Trump’s hair-brained treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, says there’s nothing to worry about because the fiscal trajectory will stabilize. Investors obviously don’t believe him because they’re demanding much higher compensation for buying and holding American bonds. The yield on 30-year U.S. Treasuries hit its highest level in nearly two decades this week, reflecting those growing concerns.

» article continues...

And:

Vanessa Williamson on Taxes and Democracy

And:

U.S. Debt Hits $40 Trillion as America’s Borrowing Binge Continues - The New York Times

And:

 "No One Is 'Gutting' The Safety Net" - How The Wall Street Journal Editors Went Adrift In Their Own Codswallop

And:

Would Voters Really Turn The 'Goldilocks' Biden Economy Over To Trump's False Promises, Mega-Inflation & Recession? No Way!

And:

Donald Trump & GOP "Better For Economy" ? This Delusion Is Belied By The Facts

Looking Again At Fresnel Diffraction (PART 2)

 We left off in Part (1) noting the sagitta formula: 

D  =  s ² / 2a   +  s ² / 2b     =   s ²  [(a + b)/ 2 ab] 

So that the radii  s_m   of the Fresnel zones are such that: 

m l /2   =    s _m ²  [(a + b)/ 2 ab]

Then the area of any one zone can be expressed:

 A _m(D₎ = p  (s _m   -  s _m-1  ) ²  =    p l /2 {2 ab /  (a + b)} = 

p l ab/ (a + b) 

 To the approximation considered, the area   is therefore independent of m .  (A more exact computation would disclose that the area increases only very slowly with m.)  Continuing, on, the phases of the wavelets from a given zone will not differ by more than p, and since each zone is on the average  l /2  further away from P, then it follows successive zones will produce resultants at P which differ by p,    This difference of a half period in successive zones is the origin of what we call "half -period zones."  If the resultant amplitude from the light of the mth zone is given by  A _m  then successive values of   A _m  will have alternating signs (in a series) because changing the phase by p  means reversing the direction of the amplitude vector.  If the resultant amplitude of the whole wave is A then we can write it:  

A  =  A ₁   -  A ₂    +  A ₃    -   A ₄  +   .........+  (-1)^(m-1)  A _m    

Note that since the average distance decreases inversely with the average distance of P from the zone, the magnitudes of the terms are reduced by an amount which increases with m.  However, because of their increasing obliquity (angle from perpendicular) the magnitudes should decrease.  The amplitude of the mth zone can then be expressed: 

A _m  = k (s _m  / d _m  ) (1   +   cos q )

Where k = const., d _m is the average distance to P  and q  is the angle at which light leaves the zone. Going back to the area of any one zone:   A =  p l ab/ (a + b) 

An exact calculation of the s _m 's  shows that the factor b must be replaced by: b + D, where  D  is the path difference for the middle of the zone.  At the same time we will find: d _m  =  b + D.   

 So that:

(s _m  /  d _m )  = (  b + D )/   ( b + D )  =  1

And the ratio s _m  /  d _m is also a constant.  Thus we can now write:

A _m  = k  (1   +   cos q ) =   (1   +   cos q ) 

 Which causes successive terms to decrease very slowly. But-  the decrease is slow only at first, but because of the rapid change of m with q the amplitudes soon become nearly equal.  Let m be odd then:

A  =  A ₁ /2  +  ( A ₁ /2  -  A ₂  +  A ₃ /2)  +  ( A ₃ /2  -  A ₄  +  A ₅ /2)  + .....+    A_m /2

= A ₁ -   A ₂ /2  -  ( A ₂ /2  - A ₃ +  A ₄ /2) -  (A ₄/2  -  A ₅ +  A ₆ /2)

 - ......- A_m-1 /2 +  A_m

Because the amplitudes for any two adjacent zones are very nearly equal we can write:   A ₁   »    A ₂    and:  A_m-1  »    A _m

Then we have:

A  =  A ₁ /2  +   A_m /2

If m is taken to be even the same method shows:

A  =  A ₁ /2  -   A_m /2

 Thus we find the resultant amplitude at P due to m zones is either half the sum or half the difference in amplitude, i.e. due to the first and last zones. 

In the case of considering a circular aperture in Fresnel diffraction it is useful to return to the half -period zone diagram from Part 1, e.g.

Under consideration is the effect on the intensity at point P of blocking off the wave by a diffracting screen pierced with a small circular hole or aperture. The diffracting screen itself and the point P are depicted below, and also in expanded view:

Let the radius of the hole r = OR as shown, and also let it be made equal to the distance s ₁  i.e. to the outer edge of the first half-period zone. Then the reckoned amplitude will be A ₁ or twice the amplitude for the unscreened wave. From the inverse square law for light the intensity at point P will then be 4 times as great as if the screen were absent. On the other hand if the radius of the hole is increased until it includes the first two zones the resulting amplitude is A ₁ -   A ₂  or practically zero.  The intensity has fallen to near zero on account of increasing the radius of the aperture.  Further increasing r will cause the intensity to alternate through maxima and minima each time the zone number m becomes odd or even. 

Consider now, from the same diagrams above,  point P at an initial position from the screen such that PR - PO = l /2.  Point P being moved toward the screen then increases the path difference with successive, zones, i.e.  D ₂ =   2 l /2 (2 zones), D ₃ =3l /2 (2 zones), and so on.  Successive maxima and minima thereby occur continuously along the axis of the aperture and this has the same effect as increasing r in the earlier context.  

In now considering the substitution of the foregoing circular aperture with a circular block or obstacle (e.g. coin), we encounter a surprising result. That is, we now expect a bright spot to appear in the center of the occlusion area or shadow.  For example, in one experiment at Harrison College a Barbadian 5 cent piece  (left below) was used for occlusion and the image below right was obtained:

The students were flabbergasted and inquired as to how a bright spot could appear at the center of an obstructive shadow. I beckoned them to consider an optical wave function or disturbance at P  (call it _{U p} ) and recalled the earlier format for amplitudes and thereby recasting the wave function disturbance, i.e.

_{U p}    =  U ₁ /2  +  ( U ₁ /2  -  U ₂  +  U ₃ /2)  +  ( U ₃ /2  -  U ₄  +  U ₅ /2)  + .....+    U _n /2

And note the decrease in U with increasing n is extremely slow, i.e. the value of any U _n is approximately equal to the mean value of the adjacent U, hence the terms in parentheses simply cancel.Thus, ½ U₁. denotes the optical wave disturbance at P when there is no aperture at all. 

But what if a coin or circular block is placed where the circular rectangular aperture is? As my brightest student responded: "Well, the Fresnel zones now have to start at the edge of the coin because the hole is covered!"  Nice. What else? What effects follow?  "Well the value of the wave disturbance _{U p}  is then just ½ U₁  or half the contribution of the unobstructed one! So the center of the shadow of a circular opaque object must show a bright spot!" 

And further, the irradiance at the spot is very nearly the same as if there'd been no occluding coin or disc.  

It is also possible to pose analysis for a circular aperture in terms of  the Fresnel-Kirchoff  (F-K) equation for the primary wave- which will also include the complex wave function, U _a* 

_{U p}  =  -ik/4p   ò ò   U _a* (e  ^{i(kr - w t})  /  r   (cos (n, r +1) da

 where n, r denotes the angle between the vectors n (normal to aperture) and r. The applicable geometry is shown below:

Here, the surface of integration is taken to be a spherical 'cap' bounded by the aperture opening.  In this case r' is constant and cos (n, r') = -1. In this case the F-K formula reduces to the double integral form above, where:

U_a* =  U_o exp (ikr') / r'

U_a*  then is the complex amplitude of the incident primary wave at the aperture. From this primary wave each element da of the aperture gives rise to a secondary spherical wave:

U _a* (e  ^{i(kr - w t})  da / r

Then the total optical wave disturbance at the target point P is obtained by summing the secondary waves for each element.  But...in this summation it is necessary to take into account the obliquity factor, i.e.

cos (n, r) - cos (n, r') 

Here we are looking at, again:  cos (n, r') = -1.  so the obliquity factor is:  cos (n, r) + 1. Lastly, it's useful to look at the eqn. for the radii of Fresnel zones again, i.e. 

m l /2   =    s _m ²  [(a + b)/ 2 ab]

 From which we can deduce:   s _m     =   Ö m

Thus, the bright spot produced by a zone plate is so intense it acts much like a lens. Say the first ten odd zones are exposed.  This leaves the amplitudes: A ₁, A ₃ ,  A ₅,   ... A ₁₉ .  The sum of which »   10 A ₁ .  The whole wave front gives ½ A_{1  .}  So that using only 10 exposed zones we obtain an amplitude at P twenty times as great as when the plate is removed.  The associated intensity is then 400 times as great. The 'object' and 'image' distances then obey the ordinary lens formula, since from earlier radii eqn: 

 1/ a + 1/b  =  m l /s _m ²     =   1/f   

The focal length f in the above being the value of b for a = ¥  , or: f  = s _m ² /m l  =  s ₁ ²  / l 

In Part (3) we will see how the Fresnel analysis can be developed for a rectangular aperture, using the appropriate geometry, to obtain useful functions and results. 

Suggested Problems:

1) Consider a circular aperture with center at 0, and n zones comprised of essentially equal areas a _i .  

a) If the n zones are even estimate the total amplitude. 

b) If the n zones are odd, estimate the total amplitude.   

2) Show how the obliquity factor: 

cos (n, r) - cos (n, r')  =  cos (n, r) + 1

And explain why.

3) Let the first 10 even zones of a zone plate be covered. Find: a) the whole wave front amplitude, b) the whole wave front disturbance magnitude, c) the relative amplitude at point P, and d) the intensity at point P.

4) The average distance of P from a zone is 15 mm.  If the obliquity angle q  is p/15  and the applicable path difference  D =  0. 15 mm, find the amplitude of the 13th zone.

Why - No Matter What Fiction You Read - It Will Not Protect Against Propaganda, Disinformation Or Real Conspiracies

 

David Baldacci's recent WSJ Review article ('Our Obsession With Conspiracy Theories Is Human, So Is The Cure', Aug.  15-16, p. C1) makes some valid points regarding the genesis of CTs but in the end fails to ma ke adequate distinctions. Especially between outright lying, misinformation, disinformation, propaganda - as well as information warfare and the role of conspiracy analysis.  

On account of this lack of discrimination, Baldacci is able to claim that simple fiction-novel reading can be a "cure", i.e. 

"Maybe more storytelling, more imagination, more fiction is what's needed to combat the unreality spun online."  

Adding: 

"I don't mean to say that fiction is a substitute for a good education, but at our best we novelists probe deeper truths precisely because the facts cannot always, ever, be totally known."  

But with diligent, education-based research, they can mostly be known and I'd argue enough to distinguish between codswallop and a coherent conspiracy that actually did occur. For example, the Iran-Contra conspiracy as explained in detail in The Iran-Contra Report, (1994) published by Random House at the behest of Independent Counsel Lawrence E. Walsh.  

The basic facts to take away concerning the  Iran-Contra conspiracy are these:

- Reagan admin. shipping Israeli Hawk and TOW missiles to Iran from 1985-86 to obtain the release of American hostages held in the Middle East. This was despite an embargo on such sales.

- The money from the sales of these arms was to be funneled into Nicaragua to support the Rightist “Contras’, a violation of the then Boland Amendment, and basically exposing the Reagan administration’s covert support for paramilitary activities conducted against the Sandinista government.

As noted in Walsh’s Introduction (p. xv):

“The Iran and Contra operations were merged when funds generated from the sale of weapons to Iran were diverted to support the Contra mission in Nicaragua.  Although this diversion may be the most dramatic aspect of Iran-contra, it is important to emphasize that both the Iran and contra operations, separately, violated United States policy and the law.”

Corroborating this, on July 18, 1981 the then USSR's TASS news agency reported the emergency landing near the USSR-Turkish border of an Argentine-registered transport aircraft leased and flown by Israelis, carrying a full load of US weaponry and military spare parts. The US Assistant Secretary of State for the Middle East, Nicholas Veliotes, subsequently investigated this occurrence and concluded that the downed aircraft was on its third such flight in a series of shipments of US weapons to Iran which had been authorized by high officials in the Reagan Administration.

In terms of the scale and scope of the deal, on p. 338 of the Iran-Contra Report we see: “3300 TOWs for hostages”, then on p. 339, we note: “In fact, 1,000 TOW missiles had been delivered to Iran between February 15 and 17, 1986.”

These facts were germane and important because they disclosed the extent of the conspiracy as well as the people involved.  But this is the essential nature of all real conspiracies in the political realm to somehow leverage power to the advantage of those seeking to impose their own agenda.  Note the elements of outright lying, misinformation and disinformation were all integrated into the conspiracy to make it work - at least until it was exposed.  

In the case of the JFK assassination conspiracy all of these elements were also present, in addition to outright manipulation of the physical evidence. For example, use of mortician's plaster to make the rear of Kennedy's skull appear intact - as opposed to the occipital region being blown out, as first exposed (below right) by David Lifton in his book, Best Evidence: 

Other interventions included the destruction of the limo, a well as Kennedy's suit coat with the clear bullet hole in the upper back-shoulder area, e.g.  Which then allowed Warren Commissioner Gerald Ford to alter the direction of bullet entry to conform with the nonsensical 'single bullet theory'  - thereby eliminating the need to look for any additional assassins.

Which then allowed Warren Commissioner Gerald Ford to alter the direction of bullet entry to conform with the nonsensical 'single bullet theory'  - thereby eliminating the need to look for any additional assassins.  Numerous other manipulations were also done by the Commission including the falsification of the FPCC handbills reportedly handed out by Oswald- and reported by Military Science professor John Newman in his book, Oswald and the CIA.  Of course, Newman also revealed Oswald's CIA files which the Warren Commission kept concealed.

In previous blog posts I noted Barbadian psychologist Pat Bannister's categorization of those who invoke conspiracies and how she differentiated them. As part of her construction of a theory of mind, specifically showing the role of lying in young children, she also noted adeptness at detecting lies was linked to accurate detection of real conspiracies. 

For example, in connection to the Kennedy assassination real lies have been uncovered, not just Gerald Ford's manipulation of the autopsy report, i.e.  .

But in lying about key details to do with Oswald's USMC shooting scores. Taking one specific example, Mark Lane showed the misdirection used in the Warren Report to do with the conditions applicable to Oswald's USMC  rifle test scores, citing the questioning of a Major Eugene D. Anderson in reference to Commission Exhibit No. 239. (p. 124).  From his ambivalent  testimony, the WC simply published Anderson's speculations on what the weather on May 6, 1959 might have been - e.g. for Oswald to have achieved low test firing scores.. 

Anderson at first  saying "it was an ideal day" for firing conditions then that "it might have been a bad day for firing the rifle"  But as Lane pointed out (ibid.):

"Although the Commission adopted and published the major's speculation on what the weather 'might well have been'  there was no need for imprecision on this point. Whenever weather is a factor in a court case in the United States, the records of the United States Weather Bureau are subpoenaed and presented as a matter of course.  ... The Weather Bureau records show that the day was not 'windy, rainy, dark', it was sunny and bright and no rain fell."

On exposing this egregious omission or oversight, for example, Lane was able to show the sundry others clearly used to distort public perceptions, such as the phony FPCC and bills and the omission of more than 200 material witnesses.

Dr. Bannister  published papers, mainly appearing in university symposiums, showing that conspiracy investigation arose as an evolutionary adaptation to the (earlier evolved) ability to lie. In her conception, if conspiracy is among the most sophisticated forms of lying (entailing misdirecting actions as well as words)  then an evolutionary  "equalizer" was needed in order to expose it so this advanced lying would not be to the total future detriment of a tribe, community or nation.

Think of it: effective conspiracy (a surreptitious plan to alter outside events to a group's advantage)  is not merely a simple matter of bending the truth, but deforming it in an extended manner over time - to achieve a specific end or manifestation in the real world that provides a substantial benefit to the architects.

It requires not only the awareness of what's in the minds of those one conspires against and those who might try to detect the plan, but also predicting in advance how they might act or respond to prevent the conspiracy from being executed in the first place. And also predicting how future inquirers might be impeded from exposing it decades later.

Thus, as Bannister pointed out in a 1972 UWI  symposium, the Kennedy assassination conspirators would have to know not only how the normal law enforcement structure would respond, but also the official  paraphernalia needed to misdirect it in the case of an accidental encounter while the plot was unfolding. (Thus, years later, with the publication of Abraham Bolden's 'The Echo From Dealey Plaza', we learned about the role of the stolen Secret Service Commission books, and the crucial role they played in misdirecting authorities from the actual plan, locations of the real assassin and his assistant at the Grassy Knoll. (When a Dallas Motorcycle cop got to the Knoll to confront 2 strangers, they each produced a Secret Service Commission book.)

The conspirators would also have to be able to predict where the biggest potential threats might lurk, where the odd citizens with movie cameras (like Abraham Zapruder and Orville Nix) might be, or those with still cameras (like Mary Moorman). Thus, they'd need to have special teams ready to confiscate them.  The greatest level of forward planning and cognition was reserved for the autopsy - which had to be carried out in a secure venue under full government control (at Bethesda Naval Hospital not Dallas' Parkland Hospital) so that the actual entry and egress points for the bullets could be manipulated as well as x-rays, regular photographs.

In other words, in concert the JFK conspiracy effort amounted to one of the most sophisticated lies in history, fooling a generation almost totally  until at least the JFK Records Act required long stored documents, files be released to the public. Bannister didn't accept any of this was hopeless, and whatever the conspiracy, there would always be 'x' other minds capable of detecting its mechanisms ex post facto from clues that the conspirators left behind. 

In Bannister's mode of thought then, the conspiracy alert sounder had to possess a theory of mind at least equal to the conspiracy planner's, certainly in finally exposing it.  Yes, there could be missteps - especially given the conspiracy planning side would inevitably add further layers of lies ex post facto to throw off conspiracy investigators. Not to mention having in place conspiracy "debunkers" - like Gerald Posner and Vince Buglosi-   to attack those like Mark Lane et al who revealed the facts.

These would be in the form of blatant, sophisticated attacks using misinformation and disinformation or simply ridiculing any person that even suggested conspiracy - no matter how well -versed or grounded the person's information and formulation. It was basically a race between successful gaming of the public mind and press via actual conspiratorial  actions (in cover ups) and exposing it at a deeper cognitive level by those with conspiracy awareness and the education allowing sustained research.

Given Prof. Bannister's theory of mind, conspiracy awareness leading to rational investigations and coherent research has led to the implication of the CIA in the Kennedy killing, under the direction of Allen Dulles as well as William Harvey, via the Staff D operation. This was amplified dramatically when the CIA Handbook for Assassinations turned up (following Operation PBSuccess in Guatemala in 1954), e.g.

 http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB4/

not to mention the shocking details therein of special hit teams.

As noted in Document 1:

"The idea of forming assassination teams ('K' groups) apparently originated with Castillo Arenas in 1952.  Adopting Castillo Arenas' concept the [  ] chief routinely included two assassination specialists in his training plans.  CIA training for sabotage teams in early 1954 also included creating a 'K' group trained to perform assassinations."

 
Bannister coined the term "conspiracy culture" to distinguish it from "conspiracy research community". The latter she envisaged as the province of mature, rational adults who committed time and energy to serious analysis and research. The former was the realm of fantasists and overgrown adolescents who created such detritus (passed off as conspiracy) as the mRNA vaccine nonsense - supposedly interjecting 'nanobots' into unsuspecting bodies, as well as the QAnon rubbish of Dems eating babies, or Pizzagate - which had Hillary operating a child sex ring in a pizza parlor in D.C.

All this brings us to Baldacci's insistence that a good novel, or any form of good fiction can save the day and ward the reader off of baseless conspiracy fluff. But the catch here is that the novelist doesn't ring up hundreds of errors himself in portraying his theme. Alas, this is what famed novelist Stephen King did in his 2011 '11/22/63',  which I noted in a detailed post at that time:

Stephen King- Really Prepared to Get His Ass Kicked by CTs?

So one might again say "reader - and writer- beware". Imagination is a useful entry into fiction, but there is no substitute for a solid education and research.

See Also:

Dallas Journalists Need To Grow Up And Face The Reality of Conspiracy In Kennedy Assassination

And:

Brane Space: Lie Detection Software: Here at Last!

And:

More on the NAT GEO Explorer "Lost Bullet" Bunkum

And:

In One Blockbuster JFK Assassination Documentary 7 Parkland Doctors Expose The Chicanery Of The Warren Commission 

And:

CBS' Nancy Cordes Proves She's A Gullible Idiot By Comparing QAnon Conspiracy Manure to Oliver Stone's 'JFK'

And:

The Assassination Sequence from Executive Action.

And:

'JFK Through The Looking Glass' - A Superb Oliver Stone Documentary (But Perhaps Too Much For Casual Viewers)