While the nation debates whether to send U.S. missiles
raining down on Syria, one Michigan congressman appears to be preoccupied with
the possibility that the Air Force is dropping mind-altering chemicals from the
skies onto the United States population.
Kerry Bentivolio, the accidental congressman, recently
told a town hall-style Republican gathering in Birmingham that he will call for an investigation, with Air Force participation, on the subject of
“chemtrails.”
The term chemtrails refers to one of the most thoroughly
debunked conspiracy theories that have ever been raised in the political arena.
The claim is that the jet exhaust we all see in the atmosphere – long white
trails of smoke – contains hazardous chemicals or, some believe, mind-altering biological
agents.
At least four federal agencies, plus the Air Force, have
debunked this claim that the contrails in the sky are more than harmless
exhaust. Since this claim first arose in 1996, numerous universities and
scientists across the globe have also proven it to be hoax.
But Ventivolio, the former reindeer rancher who was
elected to the House last year when congressman Thad McCotter resigned in
disgrace, apparently is not completely convinced. When he was hit with a series
of questions at the Birmingham GOP event by chemtrails-true believers in the audience,
the Milford Republican initially said the theory lacked proof.
Then, he backpedaled and said he will hold a hearing
in his district on the so-called issue, according to a video recording of the event.
Maybe Bentivolio, who has frequently played Santa Claus in the past, will
choose as his next big issue a probe into what kind of “exhaust” is emitted by
flying reindeer.