NESARA conspiracy theory
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NESARA is an acronym for the National Economic Security and Reformation Act (sometimes National Economic Stabilization and Recovery Act), a bill which was allegedly passed during a secret session of the United States Congress and signed into law by Bill Clinton shortly before he left office. Supporters of NESARA claim that it has provisions which would entirely reorganize the U.S. economy and government. Its detractors claim that the law does not even exist, and is an example of an Internet-based conspiracy theory.
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[edit] Provisions of NESARA
A pro-NESARA website maintained by Shaini Goodwin claims that NESARA will forgive all personal credit card debt and mortgages, abolish the IRS, restore constitutional law, require the resignation of the current government, and declare world peace[1].
[edit] History of NESARA
Because the existence of the law is disputed, different sources will give different accounts of its history.
[edit] Believers' views
Believers in NESARA often give different accounts of the surrounding events, the provisions, and the dates. This account comes mainly from Shaini Goodwin's site. Goodwin claims that the law languished in congress before finally being passed in March 2000, and that the reason the law is not mentioned in any official government source or discussed on the news is because the Supreme Court placed a gag order on the law, forbidding anyone from announcing its passage, or even admitting its existence[2], under penalty of death[3]. According to her account, benevolent men and women referred to as "White Knights", mostly high ranking military officials[4], have been working since that date to get NESARA announced. Goodwin also claims that President Bush is actively working to suppress the law and prevent its announcement, as it would require his immediate resignation. Under this account, President Bush orchestrated the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center[5], as well as the 2003 invasion of Iraq[6], to forestall the inevitable announcement of NESARA. She often makes claims that Bush officials are attempting to hack into and bring down her nesara.us website to prevent her from publicizing news about NESARA[7].
[edit] Skeptics' views
Skeptics give an entirely different account. According to this account, NESARA was invented by Dr. Harvey Barnard in 1991. Dr. Barnard's proposal is similar to the version promoted by Shaini Goodwin, but is more limited in scope and does not contain some of the more comprehensive governmental changes such as forced resignation of the president and Congress. Dr. Barnard shipped copies of his proposal to members of Congress, and founded the NESARA Institute to promote his proposal[8]. Barnard, who died in 2005, never claimed that Congress has passed the bill into law, and on his website stated that it "has not been enacted into law, has not been introduced into Congress, and has not yet been assigned a tracking number."[9] Dr. Barnard was embarrassed at the more conspiratorial claims of some NESARA supporters and disavowed any connection with them[10].
According to the Tacoma Tribune[11] and scam-debunking site Quatloos[12], Dr. Barnard's proposal was turned into an internet conspiracy theory by Shaini Goodwin, a former student of The Ramtha School Of Enlightenment living in Shelton, Washington. Goodwin adopted the pseudonym "Dove of Oneness" and began posting messages on internet discussion boards about NESARA. Her initial claims centered around Omega Trust, a fraudulent investment scheme whose creator, Clyde Hood, was on trial at that time. Goodwin originated the claims that NESARA had already been enacted into law, and began to claim that the defrauded Omega investors would receive their Omega returns as soon as NESARA was announced. Goodwin also originated the theory that NESARA was scheduled to be announced on September 11, 2001, and that the World Trade Center attacks were orchestrated by President Bush to cover up the announcement. In years past, Goodwin consistently made claims that the NESARA announcement was going to occur in the very near future[13][14][15] (although in recent years, she has begun to show more reservation in these claims[16]).
Since then, NESARA has taken on a life of its own, going further than either Barnard's or Goodwin's versions. Several other internet based conspiracy theorists have sprung up to promote NESARA, and their claims sometimes conflict. One supporter, Sheldan Nidle, ties the imminent NESARA announcement into his years-old prophesy of an imminent UFO invasion by benevolent aliens (occasionally on his website reports, but more prominently in his videos[17], seminars[18] and public appearances[19]). Jennifer Lee, who used to publish internet NESARA status reports almost daily[20] on her now defunct site (Goodwin's and Nidle's reports are weekly), discussed a host of other-worldly and "interdimensional" beings who are helping behind the scenes to get NESARA announced. Internet evangelist Sherry Shriner (hosting a great many websites) sees NESARA as linked to malevolent reptiloid aliens she feels have long controlled the U.S. Government[21].
NESARA groups are known for certain to exist and to have attracted press attention in Utah[22][23], and The Netherlands[24]. Members of these groups get together to discuss the status of NESARA, read the various reports, hold protests, and pass out fliers about NESARA to the public. Goodwin claims that NESARA groups exist throughout several nations and US states including California, Washington, Arizona, and Texas, and provides hundreds of pieces of photographic evidence of people in public protests holding NESARA banners[25], [26], [27], [28],[29], but it not clear to what degree the people holding the banners are aware of what NESARA is, or for how long these groups were active. The Tacoma Tribune has traced the story behind at least some of these photos (photos of trucks driving around Washington DC bearing the words "NESARA Announcement Now!"), and found that they were part of a $40,000 advertising campaign allegedly paid for an elderly San Francisco resident who had made donations to Goodwin [30].
Up until 2004, Goodwin was publishing anonymously under the pseudonym "Dove Of Oneness". This anonymity was shattered in July 2004 when a series of newspaper articles about Goodwin and NESARA appeared in the Tacoma News Tribune, accusing her of lying to her readers about NESARA. Much to her consternation, it also revealed her real name, her connection with Omega, and the fact that she lives in a trailer home with her mother.
On June 18, 2006, The Tribune also reported that a complaint with the state attorney general’s consumer protection division had been lodged against Goodwin for scamming $10,000 from a San Francisco senior citizen. The victim's daughter said the actual amount is much larger, in the hundreds of thousands.[1]
[edit] Dispute and Confusion Over the NESARA Name
Goodwin's camp often refers to the law as "The True NESARA Law" to distinguish it from Barnard's version. Barnard's camp calls it "The Real NESARA". They also use different names for the acronym, with Goodwin originating "Security and Reformation Act", and Barnard sticking with his original "Stabilization and Recovery Act". Goodwin claims that Barnard's more strait-laced NESARA Institute is a disinformation front for the Bush family.
Most press accounts of NESARA deal with the conspiracy theory version, and if they mention Barnard's version at all, they mention it primarily in the context of being the origin of the conspiracy. This has caused the NESARA Institute some anger and embarrassment, and they feel that the prominence of the hoax has been a major barrier to public discussion of their legislative proposal.
[edit] Cultish aspects
Some NESARA detractors claim that NESARA is a cult designed primarily to provide an income to Goodwin and others. They point to the fact that Goodwin, Lee, and Nidle frequently ask their readers to donate money[31][32][33]. Goodwin, who also asks readers to donate their frequent flyer miles[34], claims that she needs and has used the funds to travel to various locations around the world to secretly meet with high-level government officials about getting NESARA announced[35], [36], a claim that many consider suspect.
Some NESARA supporters also make the claim that otherworldly beings are working to get NESARA announced. Jesus (often referred to as Sananda)[37] is mentioned, along with Saint Germain, a deity borrowed from The I AM Movement and the Church Universal and Triumphant. Benevolent aliens are also frequently mentioned, most prominently by Nidle, as working towards the NESARA announcement. The designation of George W. Bush as a reptilian often co-occurs with this claim[38]. Goodwin has claimed that Saint Germain has come down from heaven to physically meet with heads of banks and world leaders regarding the NESARA announcement[39], [40].
The prominence of failed prophecy also lends support to the cult theory. NESARA supporters often tell their readers that the NESARA announcement is going to happen in a matter of days. These claims have been made too many times to enumerate, without ever coming to fruition. According to the documentary Waiting For NESARA, the claim was also made prior to March 2003 that George Bush was planning the war with Iraq only to further delay the NESARA announcement. It was prophesied that spiritual beings and UFOs would intervene with Bush's plans and prevent the war[41].
[edit] NESARA documentary
The documentary film Waiting For NESARA studies a NESARA group in Salt Lake City, Utah, whose members are excommunicated Mormons and hold weekly meetings in a local Kentucky Fried Chicken to discuss NESARA.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Robinson, Sean. "Some lucrative 'New Age hooey'", The News Tribune, 2006-06-18. Retrieved on February 12, 2007.
[edit] External links and references
- Series of articles in the Tacoma Tribune about Shaini Goodwin and NESARA
- Rumors — The "Real" NESARA at the NESARA web site.
- NESARA Scam by Quatloos
- The Nesara Hoax by Big Daddy
- Special NESARA Edition | channeling by Matthew Ward
- Site for documentary film Waiting For NESARA
