mother of all red pills

"Mother should I trust the government?" - R. Waters

We are approaching the sixth anniversary of "The Day That Changed America".

Despite all my recent rantings, ramblings, inquisitions, and inquiries, I am not ready to swallow the mother of all red pills: the "9/11 inside job conspiracy theory" thing.

No sensible person doubts that the federal government in general, and more specifically the executive branch, continue to exploit that horrid day for political gain.

Hell, even with the alleged rival party in power, the President need only say "terror! terror!" and the Congress rolls over and pisses on itself like a scolded puppy.

In many ways, the terrorists have already won.

Land of the free? Not so much anymore.

The ongoing expansion of government power, its intrusion into our daily lives and erosion of our liberties continues: Patriot Act I and II, warrantless wiretapping, domestic surveillance, Military Commissions Act, John Warner Defense Authorization Act, Real ID. . . Jesus H Fucking Christ man, the list just goes on and on.

Home of the brave? Nope. We have become are a nation conditioned to live in fear, masking paranoid suspicion with the guise of perpetual vigilance.

But to believe that people in our own government were involved in the execution of such a horrific event as a means of exploiting and controlling the populace. . .

Well, that's a leap into a dark endless nightmare that I'm just not ready to make.

Yet.

"...certain questions get answered. Others spring up! The mind plays tricks on you. You play tricks back! It's like you're unraveling a large cable-knit sweater that someone keeps knitting. . . and knitting. . . and knitting. . . and knitting. . . and knitting. . . and knitting!" - Pee Wee's Big Adventure

Questions indeed.

I'm not alone. The guys that made "Loose Change" may be criticized for their over-zealous approach and over-reaching conclusions, but that does nothing to detract from the validity of the questions they ask. And c'mon, it's a pretty good effort by a few young twentysomethings with a home computer that haven't yet lost their youthful passion and idealism for wanting to make the world a better place.

And this guy poses many questions. I know he generally tends to be dismissed as the primary voice for the angry rantings of the lunatic fringe, but if even a small fraction of his allegations are true then we all should be really pissed. And again, the passionate anger of his approach does not detract from the validity of the questions he raises.

Questions need answers.

It was with eager anticipation that I viewed "The 9/11 Conspiracies: Fact or Fiction" earlier this week on The History Channel. I love The History Channel, I watch it all the time. I was hopeful that I would see a well-made documentary giving an in-depth analysis and explanation of the various alternative theories about what happened on September 11, 2001. I was hopeful I would see a report based on the best historical and scientific evidence that would convince me the alleged kooks were really kooks so I could just throw away the mother of all red pills.

I was sorely disappointed.

If you have not yet seen this special on The History Channel, let me summarize it for you here:

9/11 Consipiracy Theorist: 9/11 was an inside job.

History Channel Expert: You are a stupid head.

9/11 Conspiracay Theorist: But what about. . .

History Channel Expert: Stupid head.

9/11 Conspiracy Theorist: But what about. . .

History Channel Expert: Only a crazy person would think that. So I'm sorry, I am mistaken. You are not a stupid head. You are a crazy stupid head.

And that was pretty much the level of discourse for two freaking hours. It didn't answer any questions. It just made me all the more curious.

It really pissed off these guys.

So now my fellow Americans and my fellow citizens of the world, tell me just what the Hell is going on. Tell me I'm crazy, convince me I'm wrong. I crave, I yearn for information and discussion. Otherwise I'm just going to have to swallow the mother of all red pills.