History Channel Special Re-Airing

This Sunday at 5:00 PM. Hiroshima for the Troofers.

Reactions to the History Channel Piece

Paul Joseph Watson of Prison Planet:

Initial reaction to last night's two hour History Channel Special on the 9/11 truth movement was vehement and conclusive - the show was nothing more than another biased hit piece that manufactured straw man arguments, ignored key evidence, and afforded debunkers to talk at length while ridiculing any other viewpoints.

According to viewers who were unfortunate to have to sit through 120 minutes of yellow journalism, the program was very similar to a previous BBC hit piece - an outright smear attempt that abandoned any pretense of neutrality early on and sought to vigorously attack so-called conspiracy theories.

Our buddy Rick at Right Wing Nuthouse sees it as a gut punch to the kooks:

Prominently featured were historians like David Brinkley, Editor in Chief of Popular Mechanics James Meigs, and structural engineers, explosives experts, and a host of scientists, military experts, and eyewitnesses to the disaster. The cumulative effect of the testimony of the anti-conspiracists was absolutely devastating. The show left little doubt of the unhinged nature of the truthers, showing many of them – including radio host Alex Jones who has given vast amounts of air time to every kook, crazy, and nutcase with a theory on 9/11 – looking like the anti-intellectual fruitcakes they truly are.

Our pal Stephen Lemons at Feathered Bastard:

Sofia Shafquat ("Shafquat"?): When she says, "I know I'm not crazy," that means she's crazy.

David Ray Griffin: self-important pr*ck.

He reminds me that Torin Wolf got a fair amount of face time, which I attribute to him being the only minority they could find (just as Sofia's about the only female with any significant role in the Denial movement).

Longtime "Truther" commenter Bill Giltner:

Bottom Line: According to History Channel, people who have concerns about about what happened on 9/11 are egotistical, narcissistic and have espoused an impossible certainly about their alternative theories.

Captain Ed:

The silliest and yet most revealing moment? That came near the end, when talk-radio host Alex Jones discussed his place in history (note: site may not be safe for your intellect). He told the History Channel that Galileo got persecuted when he told people that the Earth was round instead of flat. "I'm telling people the world is round!" he exclaimed.

Unfortunately, Galileo got persecuted for claiming that the Earth moved around the sun, not that the Earth was round.

Hot Air has the video of that bit.

Our buddy the Good Lt:

Tonight, its American counterpart looks to deliver a crushing, jack-booted swivel-kick to the shriveled jewels of the Twoofer movement in response (for the mental picture, thanks BC/Misha).

Steven Jones predictably complains about the lack of iron spherules:

Yes, James, I saw it. And yes, I EMPHATICALLY told them about the dust -- the iron-rich microspheres especially, and the molten metal beneath the rubble of the Towers and flowing out the South Tower just before it collapsed. And the many fine, peer-reviewed articles in the Journal of 9/11 Studies. Somehow all those points were missed by these guys... as they hit on the "softer" areas of 9/11 research -- flight 93 (shot down..), missile hitting the Pentagon? and so on...

At least he watched it; a fair amount of Deniers like our commenter Swing Dangler are reviewing it second-hand.

Unfortunately, I missed most of it. But from what I saw it was your typical hit piece. Just like the BBC documentary, "9/11: The Conspiracy Files".

Although it seemed to have more content from DRG, AJ, the LC "kids", etc. And some good shots of people protesting and at talks. So that will help for the people who aren't psychotically anti-"conspiracy theory" and/or know little to nothing about it. So it will have some good effect. (it's actually a mistake for them to broadcast this sort of thing)

The kids over at Do-Over Boy's forum are shrieking:

I can't wait to see the backlash the history channel gets from this

Notice how they put the show "TRUCK STOPS" on right before the show?

Heheh. I question the timing!

Wasn't Operation North Woods a documented false flag plan!?!?!?!!??!?!?!?!?

Dylan himself:

Great....the "Jews didn't show up" theory is up to bat first.

This should be terrible...

Great. Fetzer saying the Zapruder film is fake.

They're on a roll.

The History Channel Special

I'm watching it late. Initial impressions:

Dylan should not have popped that pimple. Uncle Fetzer shaved the muttonchops! (Update: but they seem to be growing back).

Kudos for showing that steaming pile 9-11 Press for Truth under the CT movies. I am sure that Kyle Hence and his LIHOP-lites will demand a retraction, but as we have discussed, 9-11 PfT is full-on nutter.

Terrific pounding being taken by the kooks in the first half hour!

Heheh, terrific visual on DRG segment--empty bookcases surrounding him.

Later: OMG this is the dream debunking piece. It's Hiroshima for the Truthers.

Clunkety Clunk! ROFL!

Okay, bad graphic into the Pentagon with the plane hitting well above the second floor at a ridiculously wrong angle. Cripes, how much you want to bet the kooks at CIT are celebrating now? Yes, the plane completely missed the frigging light poles. How do you screw that up?

Val McClatchey gets a bit; we'll assume we won't see Killclown.

Overall: Devastating blow for most of the kooks; ironically the CIT nuts get a little thrill as their theory at least gets a little boost. The cumulative effect is pretty overwhelming. The voicemorphed calls thing gets smashed in their faces. Awesome, absolutely the most satisfying moment in a very satisfying two hours!

Later still: Cripes, how did they manage to show the smoke being sucked back into WTC 7? Somebody in their graphics department bought one of the Truther videos which showed things in reverse.

Update III: Devastating to the Truthers. Nice to see even a brief bit of Mark Roberts and we've always loved Sentinel's performance in the 9-11-05 video. Some minor errors in video and graphics marred what was otherwise a note-perfect takedown of the kook patrol.

Update IV: It will fairly be pointed out by the kooks that there's no mention of thermite/thermate. Hence expect Steven Jones to move forward a step. The Loose Change boys didn't take a shot across the bow; they took one amidships. The CIT kooks somehow get an animator to breathe some life into their crackpot theories about North of the Citgo.

Otherwise the play was quite satisfactory, reported Mrs Lincoln.

Quote O' the Day

Being on the West Coast I haven't even seen the History Channel episode yet, but I think we have a winner for the best quote by a 9/11 denier.

"I'd like to be able to say that everything we're saying is backed up by fact."
-Dylan Avery-

Uhh, you would like to Dylan, but you can't.

History Channel Reminder

Just a reminder, the History Channel show on conspiracy theories is scheduled for tonight at 9 (8 Central).

Examines the various conspiracy theories espoused on the Internet, in articles and in public forums that attempt to explain the 9/11 attacks. It includes theories that the World Trade Center was brought down by a controlled demolition; that a missile, not a commercial airliner, hit the Pentagon; and that members of the U.S. government orchestrated the attacks in hopes of creating a war in the Middle East. Each conspiracy argument is countered by a variety of experts in the fields of engineering, intelligence and the military. The program also delves into the anatomy of such conspiracies and how they grow on the Internet.

Pat and I will be arm wrestling over who gets to post on it first. They are actually showing several different documentaries on 9/11, so check your local listings.

History Channel to Air Special on 9-11 Conspiracy Theories

Hard to tell at this point how hard it will be on the crackpots. There are some very good signs:

An interview with James Miegs, Editor-in-Chief of Popular Mechanics, who refutes many of these theories. Watch as experts in the fields of aeronautics, engineering and the military put these theories to the test.

Not hard to imagine how the Deniers will react to that. "Experts? We don't need no stinking experts! Besides, they're all in the pay of the government!"

The 9-11 Bloggers are squealing like stuck pigs:

(If) They don't include interviews with 9/11 family members, or 9/11 first responders, and instead, only focus on Alex, Webster, and Prof. Jones, then this documentary is nothing but a half truth. Not even half, more like a quarter.

The above is Jon Gold, who of course wants a piece on the air quality alone, like that's the most important part of the "Truth" movement. It always makes me shake my head that people who focus on the air quality issue nevertheless associate with the "controlled demolition at the WTC and no 757 at the Pentagon" crowd. Don't they understand that those people sap the credibility of the air quality argument? Or do they sense that the air quality argument is just as phony as the controlled demolition claims?

i expect nothing less than a hit piece from the likes of The History Channel. they have a well documented history of covering the governments ass in all areas. they recently ran a special with Gerald Posner going on and on about how amazing Oswald was etc. and one about how Sirhan Sirhan acted alone. really pathetic stuff. its all about editing. Tarpley is strong when given ample time to speak, Alex Jones can do very well when he stays on topic and is like a rolodex of damning 9/11 facts and Steven Jones has rock solid evidence and if given the time to explain it is extremely damning and will drive the average viewer to reevaluate 9/11. but will The History Channel put things in the proper context or cherry pick? again i think its pretty obvious based on their history. and no offense to the Loose Change guys, but they are not the best presenters and leave certain things out.

More wailing and gnashing of teeth over at the Looser Board.