Would you still sign the 9/11 Truth petition?

[Are_grits_groceries]

From "Salon":
Gray Brechin, historical geographer and visiting scholar at the University of California at Berkeley's Department of Geography:

Until recently, I thought that I (like Van Jones) live in a country with a First Amendment that permits freedom of speech, thought and petition without fear of reprisal. I had that pleasant illusion despite growing up in the dark shadow of Sen. Joseph McCarthy, of red scares, blacklists and witch hunts, of the John Birch Society (and worse), which the Old Guard of the Republican Party then considered zanies. The ideological descendants of those wackos have since taken over that party. I suspect that you did not grow up at that time.

Since when did Salon permit Glenn Beck and the almost equally loony WSJ editorial page to set the terms of discussion, calling those who want answers to so much that remains unexplained about 9/11 "truthers," and thus giving them equivalence with "birthers," "deathers" and "tea baggers"? Since when was Van Jones a "czar" rather than an advisor? Since when was he not entitled to his opinions, past or present? Was it when he was born black and inexcusably smart? Jones is the kind of visionary with whom Franklin Roosevelt surrounded himself but of which the Obama administration is almost entirely bereft, and now that administration has shamefully thrown him to the sharks.

Have you contacted the widows and other family members who lost loved ones on that terrible day and asked them if they recant wondering why, for example, New York City and the Pentagon -- the fucking Pentagon! -- were defenseless on that morning more than a month after the would-be president was informed that Osama bin Laden was determined to attack the United States? Have you asked them if they are as disloyal, or as nuts, as Van Jones for signing that petition? Have you an answer for that and other questions on that petition, which were never discussed by the mainstream media when it piled on Jones at Beck's behest?

Van Jones was not only flayed for once signing a petition but for jokingly calling Republicans "assholes." Why is that "extreme" speech when Glenn Beck freely advocates violent overthrow of the U.S. government, gives an exegesis of the Communist/Fascist messages that "progressive" John D. Rockefeller Jr. insidiously inserted in the art of Rockefeller Center, and fantasizes killing Michael Moore and the speaker of the House on air to millions? When will the men with butterfly nets take this man away so that he does not hurt others or himself, rather than journalists allow him to take them down into his rat-infested sewer with him?

I keep hoping that, like Joe McCarthy, Mr. Beck (and O'Reilly, Coulter, Malkin, "Savage," etc.) will go too far, but -- with the wreck of public education and its replacement by entertainment -- Americans have so lost any moral compass that "too far" no longer exists as long as one is to the right of Dick Cheney.

More answers:
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/09/11/truth_petition/index.html

The worse the RW gets, the more people seem to cave in to them.

[Luminous Animal]

1. This is a great article . Thanks.

It's blatantly (and horribly so) obvious that the best and the brightest of the Obama's generation and the one that follows it will be crushed with little defense from professed Democrats. Very few here knows Van Jones, a giant amongst giants, working most of his life on behalf of his fellow human beings. Few here know the work of ACORN and their tireless advocacy to to bring the marginalized to participate in the mainstream.

Americans have so lost any moral compass that we don't even recognize our champions.

[aikoaiko]

2. Speech...."without fear of reprisal" that's silly and naive

Jones served at the pleasure of the President. If Jone's past rhetoric/

[timtom]

3. I just wish Van Jones hadn't resigned.

I would sign the petition over and over again. And, I wouldn't let RW (insert your favorite epithet here) influence me in any way except to spur me on, fueling my passion with their obscene rhetoric.

<edited to change "disgusting" to "obscene">

[Aragorn]

4. Yes

and this state has shown plenty of signs of political retaliations. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

[dgibby]

5. The administration should have backed him,

as well as the other adviser (who's name escapes me at the moment).

Now that Beckkk and the Beckerheads have tasted blood, they will go after everyone, and I do mean, everyone Obama has appointed or hopes to appoint.

No one in his/her right mind will want to have themselves and/or their families put through these "lynchings". Soon, there won't be anyone to appoint.

In fact, Beckkk is already going after several other pending appointees, and I read yesterday that Valerie Jarrett is next on the hit list.

http://blog.reidreport.com/2009/09/the-next-target-for-the-red-baiting-right-valerie-jarrett-and-the-real-frank-marshall-davis/

This is pure thuggery at it's best, fueled by hate,racism,and Red baiting, and once again, the Dems have underestimated the enemy!

This is a war for the heart and soul for this nation, and we keep taking butter knives to the gun fight!

[SpiralHawk]

6. "No way I'd sign. I mean, like, never. Smirk." - xCommander AWOL (R)

[nashville_brook]

7. man, they found Atta's passport at the site of the wreckage. case closed.

:evilgrin:

http://rigorousintuition.blogspot.com/2004/08/coincidence-theorists-guide-to-911.html

[librechik]

8. yeah, THAT conspiracy theory is AOK!! whut about teh confession/manifesto he left in his car?

. let's forget about a trial or investigation. I'm sure the authorities would never mislead us.

:evilgrin::evilgrin:

[nashville_brook]

10. seriously now, there's a twisted crisis of trust. for the last 8 years those who

didn't trust the Boosh admin were marginalized and labeled 'treasonous.' now we have Beckerheads refusing to "trust" a president -- not because of any reality-based non-correspondence btwn words and actions -- but, because Obama is a black man. so, all the legitimate questioning of authority of the last maladministration is being lumped together with Alex Jonesians, Dittoheads and Beckerheads.

Truth matters, but apparently it can't be addressed in 2-minute segments on cable teevee.

[librechik]

12. it's their version of "using our own tactics against us"

bushies lock up political enemies and torture prisoners, so we compare them to Nazis. ObAma is OUR leader, therefore even tho he is a democrat and black, he is also a Nazi. Then they scramble around trying to make his democratic ideas look like socialism to excuse themselves. Get your government hands off my Medicare! Is this nonsense really going to prevail? I am heartsick.

[Iggo]

9. Game over, man! Game Over! (n/t)

[G_j]

11. great article

thanks

[glitch]

13. Of course. And I wouldn't want to work with anyone who found it a problem.

And I sure as hell wouldn't later say, uh, I didn't know what I was signing. If there is anything Van Jones should apologize for it is that statement.
For his own self-respect if nothing else.

Good article, thanks for posting.

[AntiFascist]

14. There are plenty of these people on DU...

one might even claim that they have control, with respect to 9-11.

[BuyingThyme]

15. Yep.

It's easily proven that the Bush administration attacked us on 9/11, if only by what they did afterward. To conceal evidence after the fact is in itself enough to charge them as accessories to the crime -- even if they DID NOT have foreknowledge.

But most Americans and a majority of DUers are tools of authoritarianism and have absolutely no clue that the government cannot legally do the things they've done.

People have been trained not to see the things they're looking at.

[AntiFascist]

16. Personally I think Bush simply went with the flow...

and, of course, capitalized off of the events. The roles played by his family members, and of Cheney, remains to be seen. Junior's top priority was to protect those around him.