When a Truther Tries "Facts"

"Fact" #1. NORAD had a "perfect history" of intercepting planes which deviated from their flight paths in the prior two years. They had a 100% success rate and they were able to intercept over 150 aircraft within 10 minutes.

The real fact is that the only plane that was intercepted in the two years prior to 9-11 was rather famously Payne Stewart's aircraft, which was 100% successfully intercepted... 81 minutes after it first went off course. And even if you bought his "fact", NORAD did not have 10 minutes notice for any of those flights as was highlighted in the excellent Vanity Fair piece last year.

Fact #2. Not one pilot transmitted a hijack code which is a four digit code. Correct. But what is he really implying here? That the planes were not hijacked? He says, absurdly, "I'd like to know why."

Well, considering that all the people who were there at the time are dead, it's sort of impossible to answer. My first guess is that the pilots assumed they'd have plenty of opportunity since no other hijacking in history had been accompanied by the hijackers killing the pilots (with the exception of the PSA flight in 1987).

Update: Swing Dangler points out in the comments two other cases where the hijackers killled a pilot; one was on the ground after landing, but the other is legitimately comparable. So now we have two prior instances where hijackings were accompanied by the midair murder of the pilots. Still, this was not a common MO for hijackings.

Fact #3. Where are the Doubletree Hotel tapes?

As you can see, we have already moved from "facts" to questions. He claims the Doubletree employees are subject to gag orders (nonsense) and that intimidating threats were made to them. It's not nice to lie, even in support of the "Truth".

Real Fact: The Doubletree video was released to CNN in December of last year. The usual crack job of research by a 9-11 "Truther".

Fact #4 The NYFD (sic) investigators were refused access to Ground Zero to investigate the towers falling.

Real Fact: Considering FDNY was crawling all over the site for months afterward this is just one of those ridiculous claims that the guy pulls out of nowhere.

Fact #5. Bush and Cheney refused to testify separately, refused to do it under oath, and there was no taping or media allowed.

Real Fact: Hey, he got one right for a change. Cue X-Files music. He hammers on the "why not under oath" bit which is quite simply retarded. Look, you think the Bush administration planned or allowed 9-11 to happen, but they didn't want to lie under oath about it? Can't run the risk of a perjury rap on top of 3000 murder indictments, right?

Fact #6. Only three of the 9-11 Commission members were allowed to see all the evidence.

Real Fact: Dunno if this is true, but it seems reasonable. There was sensitive information in some areas, particularly with regard to the CIA, so rather than have everybody on the commission and staff know it, they made sure one of the representatives from each party saw it, plus apparently one other person.

Fact #7. Why was the budget so low as compared to the amount spent investigating Clinton's sex scandal?

Real Fact: Because the budget for Clinton's "sex" scandal involved a bunch of other stuff than Monica Lewinsky (like the entire Whitewater investigation), and in fact was not "budgeted". Special prosecutors essentially had an open mandate to get to the bottom of investigations, and damn the costs (which is one reason why the special prosecutor law was not renewed).