Tin Foil Hats

This morning, when I visited Boris Epstein's Blog Building a Pyramid I came across a link to the TvNewsLies.org website where a fellow, identified only as "Jesse" and as editor of the website demands in a piece (see it here) that those who are skeptical of all the outrageous claims made by the so called "9-11 Truth Movement" must take on the burden of proving that the official government version is true.

Sorry Jesse. It is not necessary to prove the "reasonable" explanation. If the majority of us are given the reasonable explanation that members of Al Qaeda, the same Al Qaeda that was responsible for the bombing of the USS Cole and a number of US embassies around the world, were responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9-11, we are going to accept that as being reasonable. The burden of proof is on those who state this is not factual.

If you explore Jesse's website, you will find it dripping with venom. Evidently there is nothing about the American government in general, or the George Dubyah Bush administration in particular, that he seems to like. Every piece screams with hate.

Now Jesse would have us believe that he is a reasonable weigher of the facts behind what happened on September 11, 2001. He has evidently reached the conclusion, after the careful, unbiased, informed etc etc analysis of the "facts" that the attacks could not have taken place unless the US Government actually CAUSED it to happen.

Please go read Jesse's piece for yourself. In it you will find descriptions of those who tend to believe most, if not all, the official government explanation as "close minded", "hypocrites", "illogical to an extreme", "brain washed", "unable to follow any rational argument" etc etc. I think it can be rather safely stated that Jesse does not have a very high opinion of anyone who disagrees with him.

Let us examine some of his statements in his piece about people like me:

They blindly accept whatever they are told and close their minds tightly to any other information, no matter how factual.

Ahem. It is not enough that people like me are supposed to be skeptical of the "official" explanation, we are not allowed to practice this same measure of skepticism to the claims of the "9-11 Truth Movement".

You see, what frustrates people like Jesse is that people like me might, at best, say "Interesting theory, but where is your proof?" after having examined all the proof he has to put forth. So Jesse wants to "turn the tables" on us as he states:

I believe that I, and every single person involved in the independent 9/11 research community must ask one question of the people who still believe the official 9/11 story. We must demand that those who accept the Bush/PNAC explanation of the events of that terrible day answer a single question:
“WHERE THE HELL IS YOUR PROOF?"

Heh heh, Jesse does not seem to understand how the game is played. You see, "we the people" are the jury here. Jesse can not demand that the jury must prosecute or defend the case. The jury absorbs what is presented from both sides and then each juror makes up his own mind.

Jesse wants to prosecute his case that the George Dubyah Bush administration was not just responsible through negligence for 9-11 perhaps, but that the administration actually designed the course of the events that day. When we, the American People (the jurors), ask for proof that the Bush administration is guilty, he claims proof of guilt is not necessary, that the jury must prove innocence or else his outrageous claims must be correct. That is not how it works Jesse. You have to prove your case to the jurors, not the other way around.

I have done my best to not be a bigot on the 9-11 subject, however those who believe in some grand conspiracy really make it hard not to be. "Examine the evidence" they scream, and when I have examined that which they call evidence I have found it thoroughly lacking and unconvincing.

Now I do feel that there are reasonable people within the "9-11 Truth Movement". However this movement does indeed have its share of people from the "tin foil hat" crowd, and it is a pretty significant share at that. I myself think Jesse belongs to the latter group. Do you think my opinion is not fair and I should not stoop to such name calling? Well go read Jesse's piece that I linked to and see how he describes people like me. Also take some time out to read some of the other pieces that appear on Jesse's website and then come back here and tell me what you think would be a better description of the man.