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I have been a member of the JBS off and on, over the years. First of all, over the last decade or so, the quality of the info seems to depend somewhat on who happens to be the chief poobah at the moment. When there is good, straight leadership, it’s a good, straight org with much good info and effective programs, and they produce good results. When the leadership is less than sterling, it seems to flounder.

The reason the JBS is looked down upon by so many is not so much for wacky ideas or conspiracies. That conspiracies exist is beyond question, to anybody who has done any reading of history. Whether those mentioned in a previous post “...run the world...” is open to debate, though it is undeniable that those folks are movers and shakers of world and US politics. Much and many of their actions are not debatable, since at times they are quite open about their plans, and anybody who can read or see can plainly observe. For example, does anybody have any doubt about the so-called North American Union? Does anybody think that is an accident, or that we are naturally evolving toward the “new world order”?

As to your feelings some ideas seem wacky, I would say, I’ve had that feeling before, and usually would ignore whatever is presented, though keep it in mind for further info. Sometimes I find something was important, and a particular author was prophetic, and sometimes not. I must say, the level of scholarship was not lacking, and sometimes, it was my poor understanding, rather than an idea presented. I’m not slapping you down, or making any insinuations. That’s just my take on things.

Now to address why the JBS has such a bad reputation, and is looked upon as wackos by some here on this thread, I think I can shine a little light.

In the early 50’s, our government was infiltrated by communists. Many had been there since FDR or before. That too is beyond debate, and has become even more clear since some of the archives have been opened in the former USSR, and confirmed many accusations from many quarters. The JBS was founded to fight communism.

Early in that decade, Senator Joe McCarthy was doing his thing, and the House on un-Amercan activities were working to expel communist influence from our government. Most folks know what happened to McCarthy(or then again, maybe not). The communist influence was brought to bear against McCarthy and any of like mind. The news sources and many unions were already organized to exert pressure to destroy any anti-communist movements by slander and misleading information, much the way liberals do now with anybody they see as a threat. A good example is R Reagan working in the Screen Actors Guild, to eliminate communist influence. One can call it the anti-anti-communist movement, or, as math teacher knows, 2 negatives equal a positive, the pro communists.

After McCarthy was eliminated, there was just the JBS, organized as the only effective anti-communist organization still left. The mainstream press has been slamming the JBS ever since. Not, mind you, with facts or truth or disputation, but ridicule, much like is being directed toward Ron Paul by some on this thread. You will rarely read anything to dispute JBS claims in any reasonable disputation, but you will see lots of name calling and innuendo about the organization and the “nuts” who are members. I guess the most straightforward way to say it is, if you are positively opposed to the JBS, you are taking your lead from the communist influence of the mainstream press. That is not to say you must believe anything and everything put out by folks in the JBS, but to reject some information because it originates from that organization, is falling into the trap set by the left.-Glenn

Nice JBS redux. Besides JBS and McCarthy, I think you have to give some credit to Human Events (Reagan's endorsed paper) and to the Reverend Moon who, despite his bizarre quasi-Christian cult, was a fierce anti-communist and whose organization still publishes the Washington Times. When I think of real anti-communist sources here in this country, I think of those four (and Moon anywhere in Asia he could reach). Overseas, Voice Of America and Radio-Free Cuba and such were great in their time, now far less so. But these were all strong voices for liberty and for democracy and against tyranny, particularly totalitarian governments.

Of course, to read about it today, the only anti-communist writings were the original neo-cons like Kristol and such. IMO, they mostly wailed and confessed how they cheered when the Soviet tanks rolled into Prague and how badly they felt about it. They expected standing ovations for these longwinded mea culpas too. They might have steered a few dizty college students away from the Maoist ideology of the Seventies in places like Berkley. But I think their reputations are largely self-inflated and self-congratulatory. In truth, only a slim slice of American opinion was ever influenced by them during the crucial era, the Sixties through the Eighties. Their expertise in foreign policy is self-awarded and has never been taken seriously by the Republican foreign policy establishment, at least, not until the second Bush administration where their influence is large and their failures monumental. They are masters of language and rhetoric, hopeless in realpolitik. And they blame their own failures on BushCo's incompetent execution of their brilliant plan. Well, that's the problem with brilliant plans and the people who try to sell them to you: the real world is messy and tends to wreck brilliant plans in short order. Ask any military commander.

Anyway, JBS did make some very positive contributions as anticommunists and antiglobalists. And they focused on educating ordinary Americans about policy and individuals that threatened our way of life or that would radically alter our country.

I would tend to agree. Like I said the general tenor of the JBS has always been pro democracy (for like of a better term), pro capitalism, pro free enterprise. The problem goes back to something discussed on this thread earlier, guilt by asscoiation. A few loose screws screw things up, usually because they are the loudest. The Dims are a good case in point, except they are by a vast majority mostly loose screws ;-).

There were other Anticommunism voices that were around over the years, like Reagan and the Republicans, so in finding a home an devout anti communist or some like me who was not focused on communism per se but on free enterprise and capitalism ergo anti communist, we had other homes to go to.

As far as conspiracies, I take them with a grain of salt for two reasons, the people involved and the fact that keeping a secret is historically difficult. I am not saying there are individuals or groups of influence, hardly a day goes by we don’t see that. It was like I used to tell a tin foil hat buddy who was all about government conspiracies. The best proof against it I would always say is it’s the government, they could’t order light bulbs with out screwing it up or someone leaking the info that they bought 60 watt instead of 100 or paid way too much or whatever. I am not saying they don’t try, but it will eventually screw up. Same with these “controlling powers” they just hang out together and inbreed, there is not a grand plan outside of brunch. They screw up the world on odd occasions, then trip over themselves and we pay for it. Unfortunately, with the exception of we few who are politically aware, the vast majority fall for it every time. Again no conspiracy, just that the vast majority of Human Beings are dumb and are attracted to shinny objects that say what the think they want to hear...