Lawrence O'Donnell Rewrites Rudy Giuliani's Take on National Security

There are certain people who should have no credible say on politics or national security. They include almost anyone from the George W. Bush administration, and Rudolph Giuliani. And yet, they keep popping up like bad pennies. Here's Rudy, lisping Sylvester the cat impersonator, traipsing through the Boston Marathon bombing area, trying to pretend like he's some kind of anti-terrorism expert. He failed. Rather spectacularly. He was lauded at the time, despite his failings. Will history correct the record? With the help of Lawrence O'Donnell, maybe we'll get it right.

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My Remembrance of September 11, 2001 [Revisited]

Photo of United Airlines Las Vegas-based Flight Attendants'
memorial service at Sunset Park, September 2001
(Originally published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal)*

The following is my annual repost of my personal remembrance of September 11, 2001, with slight revisions and additions. . .

Today is the day when we look at the calendar, and nearly flinch. September 11, 2001 is distant to us in many ways, but now--amazingly--for the 11th time, we've all looked at that calendar page and have been taken back to where we were that morning.

I'm republishing my personal account of what happened to me that day, written in the early days of my blog. My story is no more special than yours, I know. But on a day when the date is sure to be used by many for political purposes, I wanted to have one post up that just remembers the day.

ORIGINALLY POSTED SEPTEMBER 11, 2007

Posts I've made today, and earlier in this blog's short history, have discussed or are related to 9/11. I'd rather not let the day go by without giving you the reader--and me the blogger--a little more, minus the political rhetoric.

I've become a deeply cynical person, you might say, at least as it regards politics. This is particularly true lately. But on Tuesday, September 11th, 2001 I wasn't thinking about any of that. Everyone who witnessed that day has their own story. Mine is no more relevant than yours, and is surely less traumatic than many.

I awoke that morning at my usual time, somewhere between 6:30 and 6:45 am. I had finished my morning ritual, and was just buttoning up my clothes when the phone rang. It was our friend, Larry, an American Airlines flight attendant, and he was crying. "Two planes have just hit the World Trade Center," he managed between sobs. This was startling news, but not yet sufficiently alarming for me to change my routine.

I passed the phone to The Other Half, and turned on the bedroom TV. There it was, and the slight alarm turned to a sinking feeling. This was big. We quickly learned that it was both United's and American Airlines' planes that hit the buildings, causing high alarm in the room, and on the other end of the phone. The Other Half, and our next-door neighbor/friend, were [and still are] both United flight attendants. And the neighbor was on a trip at an unknown location. My heart sank, and I nearly sobbed myself--with relief--that my partner was right there in the room with me, accounted for.

Not fully realizing the impact of what had happened, I began my journey to work. I switched on the radio, and was very shortly informed that the Pentagon was on fire. They did not yet know the cause. When I pulled into the parking lot at work, the radio announcer said that a plane was believed to have crashed in Pennsylvania. There was an erroneous report about an explosion somewhere else (maybe the White House?).  I said out loud, "the sky is falling." I fully expected at that point that a wave of attacks would continue throughout the morning. Thankfully, that did not come to pass.

Shortly after my arrival at work, The Other Half called, and told me one of the towers had fallen. Not long after, we heard the same about the other. We imagined the worst, that the buildings had fallen over, smashing all below. Thankfully, again, as bad as it was, it could have been worse.

We didn't get much work done that day. Someone went home and got a TV, and we spent much of our time in front of that fuzzy little picture. Later that day, we found that most of our friends, and their colleagues were accounted for. Our neighbor was stranded in New Orleans for over a week. We had quite the celebration upon his return.

The following days were surreal. I'd never seen Las Vegas without planes in the sky, and believe me, you notice. We watched hours upon hours of TV News, of course, like everyone else. And the casinos around town knee-jerk fired lots of people. We feared for our town.

Several days later, The Other Half went to a memorial service at Sunset Park, due east of McCarran Airport, with the Las Vegas United Airlines base crew. During the service, the first plane in days landed, flying right over the park. There was a swelling of spontaneous applause, as you'd imagine.

We were very lucky. We knew people who had friends-of-friends-of-friends who died that day, but fortunately (for our little world), were spared personal losses. One friend was quite well acquainted with one of the [United 93] pilots, and we had his wife to our house, but that was the extent of our direct contact. United, of course, had a very rocky ride of it, as did American. Many of the flight attendants left town, or left aviation. Las Vegas, predictably bounced back.

UPDATE, SEPTEMBER 11, 2008:

Las Vegas isn't feeling very bouncy this September 11th. Tourism is down, layoffs are widespread, hours (mine included) have been cut at many jobs. United Airlines and American Airlines are seemingly always under threat of going out of business. The neighbor moved to Florida not long after September 11th. The Other Half and I were married this year, and are doing well despite job worries. Whatever happens on November fourth, I think it will bookend 9/11/2001, and hopefully all of this will seem like a bygone era.

UPDATE, SEPTEMBER 11, 2009:

Things in Las Vegas haven't perked up much in the last year. We have, of course, moved from the Bush Era on into the Obama Era. It remains to be seen how that will play out. I'm not a lock-step liberal by any stretch, but I'm willing to give the President time and space.

UPDATE, SEPTEMBER 10, 2010:

Still waiting for the economy to pick up in Las Vegas, personally and city-wide. We lead the pack for foreclosures, unemployment and several other "worst of" lists. We did place first in a "best roads" in the US story, so that's something. All of these woes are put at the feet of: a) Barack Obama, if you are a partisan conservative, b) George W. Bush, if you're a partisan liberal, c) Harry Reid, if you're Sharron Angle, or d) the snowball effect of many factors, with blame to be shared by both political parties. I'm going with the last one. But I do have to wonder what the state of the economy and the United States in general might have been like if that clear blue skied Tuesday in September 2001 had been just an ordinary day.

UPDATE, SEPTEMBER 11, 2011: 

Wow, 10 years. There are parts of that day that seem eerily recent. And then you remember everything that has happened since. Our two (main) wars--started in the immediate aftermath of 9/11--are still going on in one form or other. The economy noted in the updates above, hasn't improved much. Las Vegas is hanging in there, but a bit beaten and battered. And as I noted in 2010, this economic pickle might have been a bit different were it not for that one day. Maybe we still would have had a housing bubble, maybe the bankers and corporate fat cats would've still been crooks. But the whole deficit/debt sideshow might've been in  much, much better shape. Ugh. I wish things were a bit rosier for the 10-year anniversary of that rotten day. Maybe the 20? Or dare I wish it, the 11th or 12th?

UPDATE, SEPTEMBER 11, 2012:

In my yearly updates, I see I've gotten away from "not being political." Sorry about that, but what can you do? Everything is political these days. In 2012, our household actually is better off than we were four years ago, with everything except housing values looking up. Everyone is looking toward November's election, but very little has been made this year about 9/11, other than that this year is the first (oops) second time it's happened on a Tuesday since that fateful day. Though American Airlines is in bankruptcy this year, but United seems to be doing well with its Continental merger. In good news, the Iraq War is over. Still don't know what that had to do with 9/11. And sadly, Captain Dahl's widow died this year, oddly enough at the house of a friend of ours. So, at eleven years and counting, it's kind of a mixed bag. Here's to the day when we have to think about it to remember how many years it's been.

* Full disclosure: photo contains an image of my husband, our friends and his co-workers.

Jon Stewart Shines Light on 9/11 First Responders

The Republicans in the Senate--much like they did earlier this year in the House--have rather shamelessly been blocking passage of a health bill for 9/11 first responders. If Democrats were doing such a thing, the cry from Right-Wing World would be deafening. But because Democrats are for it, Republicans are again' it. Just for fun, Harry Reid ought to put a vote on the schedule to affirm Mom and apple pie as "American," just to see the Republicans vote against it.

Oddly, the 9/11 first responders story has gotten rather short shrift from the media. Again, I'm sure this is because it is Republicans who are blocking it. The angle is maybe too weird for them to wrap their inside the beltway minds around. So, once again, it's up to Comedy Central's Jon Stewart to bring a spotlight to the issue. For all of his protestations to the contrary, Stewart is an important political voice.

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9/11 First Responders React to the Senate Filibuster
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9/11, Truthers, The Real Story, and Lingering Doubts

The memory of 9/11 is still fresh or nearly so to many of us. More than the actual damage and casualties, I think we remember the sense of dread, the expectation that more was coming. It was a true "the sky is falling" feeling. Looking back, the actual number of human losses and the amount of destruction was bad, but not unprecedented by war or natural disaster. But that September morning will live on for its power to draw strong reactions from people.

This past week, The National Geographic Channel aired a special called 911: Science and Conspiracy, which I finally got around to watching today. I've been bothered by many parts of the official story for a very long time, and will confess flirting with the "truther" movement. I even wrote a post about it early in this blog's history, which I most recently revised and reposted here: 9/11 Conspiracy Theories, Redux. My personal views on 9/11 have evolved even further along since then.

Having since been exposed to the "birther" and "deather" craziness this year, I've seen the commonalities and pitfalls of conspiracy theories, and what the key problems are with any theorist. As I see it, conspiracy theorists undo themselves when they try too hard to come up with alternate narratives to the "official stories." It is all well and good to point out the flaws in any given history. When someone tries to paint an alternate timeline--and especially when they get too wedded to it--that is when it becomes easy to punch holes in their theories.

Equally damaging to any theory is the fact that each one gathers barnacles of crazy. A sensible supposition will get buried under whack-a-doodle nutball debris. And then the whole theory gets labeled as paranoid delusion, even if an element of it is compelling. What's more, it is very easy to be pulled under that pile of debris, and not notice at first. Once you buy the central premise: "We have not been told the truth," and then you hear one reasonable sounding element of a theory, you are on the hook. Sometimes, every further element of the story can set that hook even deeper.

911: Science and Conspiracy is a documentary that seeks to debunk key theories around 9/11. Scientific experiments are conducted that apparently contradict the main core of the Truther movement. Not surprisingly, the interviewed Truthers are not swayed by the experiments. But my problems with the official story of 9/11 is not addressed by the film.

My problem has nothing to do with the planes (real or simulated) or the collapses of buildings (imploded or not). My problem has to do with the fact that our two most strategic cities were attacked by four planes piloted by inexperienced pilots, and three out of four succeeded. Planes were on radar, and were known to be hijacked at various points. Nobody and nothing intercepted them. And outside of a few sources, we have almost no public released record of the events. The first plane to hit the World Trade Center was accidentally captured by a documentarian. The second plane had more views, since television news crews were trained on the first incident. But the Pentagon plane? We have one set of fuzzy, inconclusive shots from a gas station or something. Why?

I am unconvinced that the Pentagon has such crappy surveillance of its property. And I'm unconvinced that our government would be powerless to stop at least one of these planes. So my level of "trutherness" is pretty reasonable, I think. No missing planes, no huge number of accomplices. I just think that yes our government at the time contained enough evil to allow or to participate in such a thing.

Conspiracy Corner: 9/11 Thoughts

I haven't gotten sucked into the "President Obama isn't a citizen" conspiracy theory. Far from it, the more that I read, the more that I'm convinced that it is a ridiculous--not to mention racist--belief. But I haven't shaken off the 9/11 truthers. Well, I should explain. I don't believe some of the nuttier stuff. And I wouldn't want to extrapolate, and posit my own conclusions, because, I simply don't know enough. But I'm still convinced that the story as we've been told it is not the whole and complete truth.

The hardest part to believe, from the official story, is that Washington D.C. and New York City--arguably our most important defensive targets--were completely defenseless from a few hijackers. More than that, it is difficult to believe that the Pentagon was dive-bombed inches from the ground by an inexperienced pilot, and the only images we have are from a still-motion video camera at (what?) a gas station or something? I may be fuzzy on the details, but I'm not fuzzy on the evidence that has been presented: a blurry, inconclusive series of still shots.

Now before you think I'm a total nut, I don't subscribe to the "there were no planes!" crowd. I think disposing of perfectly good planes full of citizens, while faking the rest seems massively over-complicated. But somebody, please tell me why, at the US Pentagon we don't have video footage from every angle, conclusively showing that plane hitting the building? For all the ridiculous "just show us the birth certificate, and it'll all go away" comments from the "birther" movement, why haven't we seen a clear, obvious video of the Pentagon attack? Just wonderin'. . .

And here is the comment that led to this pondering, from Raw Story's comments:

. . .look at the facts. Building 7 fell without being hit by a plane, and the most videotaped airspace in the world (D.C.) failed to present one video that showed definitive proof the the pentagon was hit by a plane.

Source: RawStory

Conspiracy Corner: 9/11 and Torture

Put on your tinfoil hats, guys, 'cause I'm about to trudge into Conspiracy Corner.

As the evidence of torture during the Bush Era accumulates, a few things are becoming clear. First, it seems that the Bush Administration bigwigs were determined to torture. They were gonna make it happen, no matter what. Second, they seemed not to mind at all that the torture methods they were implementing were invented to result in false confessions.

For the last few days, whenever I've thought about this, I'd wonder, "why would they be so determined to torture people to elicit false confessions?" Rachel Maddow has asked this question more than once on her TV show. And no answer has been forthcoming.

Then I started to thinking about the conspiracy theories about September 11, 2001. I don't remember how long it was before the theories started swirling. But I think my first exposure to them must have been late 2003, maybe early 2004. I remember talking to my friend and sometime blog contributor, Stupid Monkey Planet about the implications of 9/11 being an "inside job." We didn't accept all or even most of the theories, mind you. But you don't have to be crazy to think that just maybe there was more to it than we've been told.

Just think about for a second, what it would mean if the Bush Administration either knew about or was complicit in the attacks. It would mean that the highest levels of our government would kill Americans, do anything to achieve their own political goals. It isn't hard to imagine, after all we know and the personalities involved, that they would go very far indeed.

The problem, of course, is that the administration--and George W. Bush himself--was seen as too incompetent to pull something like that off. Not to mention the large number of people who would be needed to accomplish such a conspiracy. Add in some of the nuttier "theories" and it is easy to dismiss all of them as rubbish. Throw the baby out with the bathwater.

The truth is, the Bush Administration was a bizarro conglomeration of incompetence and scary effectiveness. They were a disaster at policy, but masterful at politics. Karl Rove was a master manipulator of all things political, politicizing nearly every aspect of government. And it almost worked. Were it not for the problem of actual reality intruding on Rove's alternate version, they may have achieved their "permanent Republican majority."

When Monkey and I considered these things, we wondered how--if it were true--it would ever come to light. How would anybody believe such a thing? They'd likely get away with it all, because it all seemed so crazy, only the conspiracy theorists themselves would buy it. Which, when you stop to think about it, may have been part of the plan all along.

So tonight, I was thinking, if 9/11 really was an inside job, it would be ironic if Bush, Cheney, Rove, Rumsfeld, Rice and the rest ultimately got busted for the torture thing instead. Kind of an Al Capone sort of ending. Then--as I'm wont to do--I went a step further. What if the pursuit of torture to elicit false confessions was all an effort to muddy the 9/11 waters? What if they were looking for a confession that would get them off the hook for their inside job? Whoa.

I'm probably not the first to think of this. But it's the first time I thought of it. And I kinda blew my own mind. What do you think?

Seven Years Ago Today: Remembrance of 9/11

Today is the day when we look at the calendar, and nearly flinch. September 11, 2001 is distant to us in many ways, but now for the 7th time, we've all looked at that calendar page and have been taken back to where we were that morning.

Usually, this feature is called One Year Ago Today, where I highlight events that we might have forgotten. This time, I'm republishing my personal account of what happened to me that day. My story is no more special than yours, I know. But on a day when the date is sure to be used by many for political purposes, I wanted to have one post up that just remembers the day.

ORIGINAL POST, SEPTEMBER 11, 2007

Photo of United Airlines Las Vegas-based Flight Attendants' memorial service at Sunset Park, September 2001 (Originally published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal)*

Posts I've made today, and earlier in this blog's short history, have discussed or related to 9/11. I'd rather not let the day go by without giving you the reader--and me the blogger--a little more, minus the political rhetoric.

I've become a deeply cynical person, you might say, at least as it regards politics. This is particularly true lately. But on Tuesday, September 11th, 2001 I wasn't thinking about any of that. Everyone who witnessed that day has their own story. Mine is no more relevant than yours, and is surely less traumatic than many.

I awoke that morning at my usual time, somewhere between 6:30 and 6:45 am. I had finished my morning ritual, and was just buttoning up my clothes when the phone rang. It was our friend, Larry, an American Airlines flight attendant, and he was crying. "Two planes have just hit the Trade Center," he managed between sobs. This was startling news, but not yet sufficiently alarming for me to change my routine.

I passed the phone to The Other Half, and turned on the bedroom TV. There it was, and the slight alarm turned to a sinking feeling. This was big. We quickly learned that it was both United's and an American Airlines' planes that hit the buildings, causing high alarm in the room, and on the other end of the phone. The Other Half, and our next-door neighbor/friend, were both United flight attendants. And the neighbor was on a trip at an unknown location. My heart sank, and I nearly sobbed myself--with relief--that my partner was right there in the room with me, accounted for.

Not fully realizing the impact of what had happened, I began my journey to work. I switched on the radio, and was very shortly informed that the Pentagon was on fire. They did not yet know the cause. When I pulled into the parking lot at work, the radio announcer said that a plane was believed to have crashed in Pennsylvania. I said out loud, "the sky is falling." I fully expected at that point that a wave of attacks would continue throughout the morning. Thankfully, that did not come to pass.

Shortly after my arrival at work, The Other Half called, and told me one of the towers had fallen. Not long after, we heard the same about the other. We imagined the worst, that the buildings had fallen over, smashing all below. Thankfully, again, as bad as it was, it could have been worse.
We didn't get much work done that day. Someone went home and got a TV, and we spent much of our time in front of that fuzzy little picture. Later that day, we found that most of our friends, and their colleagues were accounted for. Our neighbor was stranded in New Orleans for over a week. We had quite the celebration upon his return.

The following days were surreal. I'd never seen Las Vegas without planes in the sky, and believe me, you notice. We watched hours upon hours of TV News, of course, like everyone else. And the casinos around town knee-jerk fired lots of people. We feared for our town.

Several days later, The Other Half went to a memorial service at Sunset Park, due east of McCarrea Airport, with the Las Vegas United Airlines base crew. During the service, the first plane in days landed, flying right over the park. There was a swelling of spontaneous applause, as you'd imagine.

We were very lucky. We knew people who had friends-of-friends-of-friends who died that day, but fortunately (for our little world), were spared personal losses. One friend was quite well acquainted with one of the pilots, and we had his wife to our house, but that was the extent of our direct contact. United, of course, had a very rocky ride of it, as did American. Many of the flight attendants left town, or left aviation. Las Vegas, predictably bounced back.

UPDATE, SEPTEMBER 11, 2008:

Las Vegas isn't feeling very bouncy this September 11th. Tourism is down, layoffs are widespread, hours (mine included) have been cut at many jobs. United Airlines and American Airlines are seemingly always under threat of going out of business. The neighbor moved to Florida not long after September 11th. The Other Half and I were married this year, and are doing well despite job worries. Whatever happens on November fourth, I think it will bookend 9/11/2001, and hopefully all of this will seem like a bygone era.

* Full disclosure: The photo above contains images of my husband, his friends and co-workers.

Keith Olbermann Slams RNC for 9/11 Video "Tribute"

I was a little appalled by the "tribute" video that the Republican National Convention ran tonight, featuring fairly graphic imagery and descriptions. I said out loud, "Seven years later? Why are they doing this now?" It didn't fit with what they were doing before and afterward (well, except for the apocalyptic constipated turtle, Lindsay Graham's speech).

Keith Olbermann--visibly upset--spoke pointedly about it, after making the conscious effort to remove himself from the other commentators thematically. He was clear that it was his opinion, not the other panelists or MSNBC's. Take a look.

WTC #7: Mystery Solved?

Image from source, AOL News

One of the biggest unsolved mysteries of September 11, 2001 is, why did World Trade Center building number seven collapse? It was a steel structure, it wasn't hit by a plane, and it collapsed anyway, into its footprint. Many 9/11 conspiracy theorists hinge their beliefs on WTC #7, and believe it was "pulled" or destroyed on purpose.

Now, it is alleged that we know what happened, and why it happened. Will this quiet the 9/11-truthers? Somehow, I doubt it. And I'm irritated by this line in the story: "Hopefully this thorough report puts to rest the various 9/11 conspiracy theories, which dishonor the men and women who lost their lives on that terrible day." I'm sorry, but disbelief of the "official" chain of events in no way dishonors the people who died that day. Finding the ultimate truth would honor them.

[Excerpt]

Feds Say They've Solved 9/11 Mystery

Federal investigators said Thursday they have solved a mystery of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks: the collapse of World Trade Center building 7, a source of long-running conspiracy theories. . .

Read more at: AOL News

Suskind Alleges Bush Forged Iraq-9/11 Letter

Image from source, Raw Story

Slowly but surely, the facts are trickling out. All of us who are accused of only despising George W. Bush and his administration due to Bush Derangement Syndrome (BDS), are completely unsurprised by each new revelation. But vindication is not very sweet. All the bad stuff we claimed Bush was up to seem to have really happened, and finally people are being made aware of it.

But is anyone going to be held accountable? I somehow doubt it. And while I will undoubtedly vote Democratic this fall, the vote will be far stronger against the Republicans than it will be for the Democrats. I like Barack Obama just fine, and I'm jazzed about his potential. But I'd be a whole lot happier if I knew that he and his (hopefully) strongly Democratic Congress would go after the people guilty of these atrocities.

[Excerpt]

Suskind: Bush ordered fake letter linking Iraq to 9/11

Author: Only White House reaction is 'calling me names'

A blockbuster new book from investigative journalist Ron Suskind adds another revelation to the growing canon demonstrating the lengths to which President Bush and members of his administration lied, misled and deceived the American people to pursue its invasion of Iraq. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

CBS Scrubs Another John McCain Flub?

Image from source, Raw Story

This time on 9/11, of all things. Can we finally dispense with all of the "media loves Barack Obama" criticism? Clearly--at the very least--the media also loves John McCain. Enough to try to cover his butt on the issues he claims to be strongest on.

[Excerpt]

CBS scrubs a second McCain flub from interview broadcast

Keeping up with John McCain's foreign policy gaffes is becoming a cottage industry these days, and a progressive radio host has caught another slip-up from the Republican presidential nominee talking about the war on terror.

And keeping those flubs away from viewers is occupying plenty of network news editors' time. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Please Don't Vote for a Republican (Billboard #3)

A couple of days ago, a wingnut with some advertising money took out a "Please Don't Vote for a Democrat" billboard, complete with September 11th imagery. It was incongruous given who was President at the time of the attack.

And it was also self serving, as it seems the guy is trying to sell a CD of "patriotic music." But I think this kind of billboard might be used to Democrats' advantage. And we don't have to misdirect or lie to do it, either. This is the third in a series of billboard ideas by yours truly, this time featuring one of the scariest moments on September 11th. The day The Decider decided to freeze like a deer in headlights.

Repbulican Ad: WTC in Flames, Don't Vote Democrat

Image from source (again), Raw Story

Remind me again, what Party was in power on the morning of September 11, 2001? What two cities had their--presumably heavily guarded--airspace invaded by aircraft that had been off-course with plenty of warning? What Party's President sat in a children's classroom like a deer caught in headlights? What Party's former President was having breakfast with the brother of Osama bin Laden that very day? What Party's President invaded an uninvolved country as retaliation, draining us of blood and treasure? I'll give you a hint, it starts with an R.

Remind me again why we shouldn't vote for a Democrat?

[Excerpt]

Billboard displays burning World Trade Center with slogan, 'Please Don't Vote for a Democrat'

A political billboard in St. Cloud, Florida reads "Please Don't Vote for a Democrat" over an image of the burning World Trade Center.

Businessman Mike Meehan, who paid for the ad, says he's "only trying to help Republicans." The billboard also carries a link for Meehan's website, TheRepublicanSong.com, at which he says, "I claim to be a man of God" and promotes his political song and video. . .

Read more at (excuse me for double-dipping): Raw Story

Conspiracy Corner: WTC7 Collapse Explained?

Photo from source, Raw Story

I've expressed my concerns and doubts about the "official story" of 9/11 a couple of times in the short history of this blog. I'm pretty agnostic about the whole thing, neither buying that story, nor fully swallowing the many and varied "conspiracy theories." But my gut tells me that what happened that September morning has never been fully--or truthfully--explained to us.

One of the sticky points in the accepted series of events has always been World Trade Center Building 7. The building wasn't directly hit, but collapsed almost perfectly into its footprint at nearly free-fall speed. Things like that are not supposed to happen to steel-frame buildings. Now comes word that the collapse has been explained--but in a report that has not yet been released.

Expect much buzzing from all sides of the discussion until, and even after it is released.

[Excerpt]

World Trade Center 7 mystery 'solved'?

A new report by BBC 2's "Conspiracy Files" claims that the US National Institute of Standards and Technology is preparing to release a long awaited report on the collapse of World Trade Center 7, which fell on Sept. 11, 2001, about seven hours after WTC 1 and 2 were downed. . .

Read more (with video) at: Raw Story

Jesse Ventura Has a Theory about 9/11

Photo from Prison Planet

It's one thing to call Charlie Sheen "crazy." And the whole group of "9/11 Truthers" is quite used to that pejorative by now, I'd imagine. But what about former Governor/Pro-Wrestler/actor Jesse "The Body" Ventura? Go ahead, try it. But I wouldn't do it to his face. . .

[Excerpt]

Former Governor Jesse Ventura: WTC Collapse A Controlled Demolition

Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura vehemently savaged the official 9/11 story on a syndicated national radio show today, saying the WTC collapsed like a controlled demolition and was pulverized to dust as he also highlighted the impossible 10 second free fall speed of the towers.

Appearing on The Alex Jones Show, Ventura said that his initial reaction to 9/11 was much like most people at the time, and he accepted the official story outright, a response he now regrets because he was in a position of power and could have used it to raise a lot of pointed questions. . .

Read more at: Prison Planet

Ex-9/11 Chief's Secret White House Ties?

Photo from source, ABC News

Secrecy. Deception. Dirty tricks and outright lies. These are the sorts of things many American voters are tired of. It's what is behind the mantra of "change" in the current Presidential primaries.

Often, dissenters to "the official story" of virtually anything out of the current administration are characterized as conspiracy theorists. They're all lumped together as tinfoil-hatters, unhinged loons. But the story below is a prime example of why so many people are immediately suspicious of Bush & Co. Particularly as it pertains to 9/11. Stuff like this just keeps coming up, stoking the conspiracy theories, and making them seem much more plausible.

[Excerpt]

Ex-9/11 Panel Chief Denies Secret White House Ties

The former executive director of the 9/11 Commission denies explosive charges of undisclosed ties to the Bush White House or interference with the panel's report.

The charges are said to be contained in New York Times reporter Philip Shenon's unreleased book, "The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation," according to Max Holland, an author and blogger, and generally confirmed by the book's publisher. . .

Read more at: ABC News

Rudy Giuliani Not Trading on 9/11?

Rudolph Giuliani keeps saying that he is not using September 11th as the dominant theme in his campaign. Quote: "The reality is that I'm not running on what I did on Sept. 11."

This video compilation from Talking Points Memo tells a slightly different story. . .



For a little more background: NY Post Claims Giuliani Has Not ‘Mentioned’ 9/11 ‘Prominently’