Grifter Responds

A group called the Institute for Religion and Democracy put out a press release noting that David Ray Griffin will once again be using church facilities to spread his conspiracy nonsense:

A professor from a United Methodist seminary who argued that the World Trade Center and Pentagon were actually attacked on September 11, 2001 by the Bush Administration is back with another outrageous book.

David Ray Griffin, author of “Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11”, is releasing a ninth book on the attacks, this time alleging that the Obama administration is attempting to undermine 9/11 conspiracy theorists. Griffin’s earlier work was published by Westminster John Knox Press, the official publishing house of the Presbyterian Church (USA), a move that sparked controversy in the denomination. Starting April 23, Griffin is also launching a 15-city lecture tour questioning the justification for the war in Afghanistan. The tour will feature stops at Presbyterian and United Methodist Churches, as well as schools such as Iowa’s Drake University.

Grifter has now responded. It's the usual crapola:

Already at that time, however, my 9/11 books had also been endorsed by professors of economics, history, philosophy, and international law, as well as by former members of the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations, including the CIA, and by a member of the British Parliament (as anyone can see by looking at the "editorial reviews" on Amazon.com). My more recent books have been endorsed by a member of the Japanese Senate, a former US governor, by 9/11 widows (including members of the "Jersey Girls," who were instrumental in getting the 9/11 Commission established), by engineers (including Jack Keller, who has been given special recognition by Scientific American), and by several natural scientists (one of whom was awarded the National Medal of Science24). Does IRD believe that such people endorse silly books?

I can't speak for the IRD, but I certainly believe that those people endorse silly books. Jesse Ventura is the "former US governor", and he's a total fruitcake. I assume that Fujita is the member of the Japanese Senate. The Washington Post recently described Fujita's beliefs as "too bizarre, half-baked and intellectually bogus to merit serious discussion." The Jersey Girls? At least two of them (Lorie Van Auken and Patty Casazza) are crackpots, and I've got my suspicions about Mindy Kleinberg as well. Jack Keller? As usual with the academics among the troofers, his professorship is "Emeritus", and his engineering background? According to Patriots Question 9-11, he's an agricultural and irrigation engineer. Too bad the title "Waterboy" is already taken. The natural scientist is Lynn Margulis, an eminently silly woman.

Note as well, that Grifter tries to have it both ways. When somebody from the government opposes his theories, they're "from the government":

NIST's reports are no better. This is not surprising, because NIST is an agency of the Commerce Department.

But when they agree with him, suddenly this is evidence that he's credible:

Already at that time, however, my 9/11 books had also been endorsed by professors of economics, history, philosophy, and international law, as well as by former members of the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations...

Read it for yourself; it's the usual whining about how the government's own theory is a conspiracy theory, the planes should have been intercepted in ten minutes, Barbara Olsen's phone calls, etc.