Thu, Jul 24, 2008

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THE CABAL
The Rise of 9/11 Truthiness

Radar reports that “nearly 40 percent of Americans believe that the government conspired in, or had precise foreknowledge of, the 9/11 attacks.” That figure may sound like something only a conspiracy enthusiast could believe, but it comes to you not from late-night college radio but from a Scripps Howard poll. Cut it in half, if you like: One in five of your fellow citizens is completely bananas, and he votes. (Here and here is some recommended reading on why.)

Granted, it’s likely that a much smaller number are as far gone as the boys and girls of 9/11 Truth goon squad (Josh Strawn wrote about the “Truthers” here), but, if I may paraphrase Margaret Mead, never doubt that a group of thoughtless citizens who ought to be committed can change the world. The unholy union of camcorders and YouTube has made it easier than ever to disseminate misinformation and propaganda, especially if your day job is sitting on the couch eating Funyuns and drinking Red Bull.


 


The good news? Maybe they don’t believe a word of it. Maybe it really is just about showing off.

“Yeah, our actions get a lot of attention,” says [9/11 Truther Manny] Badillo, sounding glum. “But they never name us. We’ve got to figure that one out.”

And maybe I’m in the pay of the Bavarians. Now, if you’ll excuse me, these virgins aren’t going to sacrifice themselves . . .

Update: The only reply so far to my comments about 9/11 Truth is from a gentleman with concerns of his own about the official account of that day’s events. Marc Hessel writes that he has served in the U.S. Navy for five years and that “there was a lot more to the events of 9/11 than meet [sic] the eye.” He also encourages Jewcy readers to check out his post on the subject, which begins, “It gets me pretty pissed off when people go discrediting theories as to what really happened in September 2001.”

I can only assume that he means “ridiculing” and not “discrediting.” The latter implies actually disproving these theories, as, for instance, Popular Mechanics did when it published Debunking 9/11 Myths.

I’m a fan of conspiracy theories. I enjoy reading about them the same way that normal people enjoy watching shows like Blind Date. Where the fun of a dating show lies in reminding oneself that he takes a healthy approach to social interaction, the real fun of conspiracy theories lies in reassuring oneself that he has a well-stropped Occam’s razor in his mental Dopp kit.

As I write this, Larry King is on my television interviewing a host of UFO buffs about some lights seen about two weeks ago above Stephenville, Texas. The Washington Post reports:

As expected, federal officials say there is a “logical explanation,” such as light reflecting off passing planes, for the Jan. 8 incident. But residents of this town, about 60 miles southwest of Fort Worth, remain unconvinced. . . .

The predictably dismissive response of the U.S. military, which has been repeated in several news stories, should tip people off that these “unidentified” objects might have some terrestrial, albeit no less secret, provenance. Here we come to what I’ll call the human cost of bullshit: the time and thought wasted picking apart the least likely explanations of a particular mystery, be it UFOs or the collapse of WTC-7. But crackpot theories about 9/11 are the worst, because they encourage demonstrably intelligent people to tilt at windmills—or oil rigs, if you like—when there are already ample flesh and blood enemies to worry about. I wonder why Mr. Hessel, who is part of a real fight, would find an imaginary one as appealing. I hope he’ll explain it more thoroughly than his post does.


Stefan Beck is a writer living in Palo Alto, California. He has contributed to the Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, and other publications. He also blogs for Commentary’s Horizon and The New Criterion’s Armavirumque.


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Marc Hessel


Stefan...

I would be very careful in saying One in five of your fellow citizens is completely bananas, and he votes. For not only is this gender driven, it is also a well known fact that there was much more to what happened in September of 2001. It was at this time, I was in my senior year of high school, and signed up to join the US Navy, of which I have completed 5 years no problem, and from a political perspective, there was a lot more to the events of 9/11 than meet the eye, and a lot more crazy scandal information than you would find in a couple re-runs of Loose Change. So before we go deciding for ourselves that conspiracy is only limited to listening to Art Bell commentaries or conspiracy theories of David Icke, we must first examine hard facts, and demand truth that carries universal weight across the board.

I also urge you to read my post about this at: http://www.jewcy.com/node/11428 

-M

www.marchessel.net





Anonymous


How to tell a fraud

 

 Well one way would to catch him lying about himself in order to gain prestige.  Here it seems Marc Hessel fits the bill.  After reading his loony posts I went to his even loonier website,  http://www.marchessel.net .  In two places, on his vitae and on his biography, he claims to have recently studied (or received a degree, it was hard to tell) from the University of Maryland in mathematics.  In both places he links to the University of Maryland at College Park (the main campus that everyone is refering to when they speak about to the University of Maryland).  However, he also claims have been in the military since 2002, which means that he was pursuing his degree from U Maryland part time.  The main campus at college park does not except part time students who are in the military.  What Hessel is referring to is the University of Maryland University College, which is a type of community college meant for working adults.  It has no connection to College Park other than it is a public school located in Maryland (it targets the military by offering online courses and remote courses offered on military bases around the world) and no one refers to it simply at the University of Maryland. Uof M College Park is a world renowned university and is ranked well among other public universities in the US. its mathematics department, due to considerable gov funding (its nice to be in the beltway) is particularly prestigious.  U of M University College has zero reputation, because like I mentioned earlier, it is basically a community college similar to University of Phoenix.  Claiming that one attends the University of Maryland when he really attends a small insignificant community college in the UM system is ridiculous.  One could argue that Mr. Hessel would be technically correct, even if misleading, if he had left it at that, but linking to the college park website is simply lying.   Normally I would not write such a personal attack, but I am also a veteran of the navy. It disgusts me when vets put forth crack-pot theories and use their status as if that gives them some sort of legitimacy. Marc, do you really think being ENLISTED (like I was so I know) gives you any insight?  If so that’s pretty funny. By the way, I am also University of Maryland alum (the real University of Maryland).  I attended U of M University College while I was in the Navy and then had to transfer to College Park when I got out.  That’s how I recognized Mr. Hessel’s little slight of hand. Nothing against UMUC, it is great for servicemen, but College Park is a much more serious education and much more difficult. Anyone with any integrity would not try to make up their educational history.





Marc Hessel


By the way I did attend

Who are you to make attacks at me, you don't even know me, who the hell are you to make baseless accusations against me? And by the way asshole I do also go to NYIT through Ellis College online, another program for working adults as you put it in so many words, working on my second degree in Electronics and Information Security. Also working in the Network security/Information Assurance profession for over 6 years now, military and civilian positions. You are really bold to say such things to someone who you know nothing about, go find someone else to bash you mindless freak, and leave people like me who pursue truth alone. Where does this kind of bashing come from? I did nothing to you. And by the way, working almost 6 years in Naval intelligence gave me a lot of insight from multiple perspectives and all sorts of legitimacy from a plethora of sources. If you really plan on being any more than slightly vindictive let me know by email, instead of public slander, thats not cool at all - I don't use a veteran status to up my legitimacy one bit, if anything I think I have learned a lot because of my time spent in service. But for someone as yourself to come masquerading through a public forum slandering, belittling someones name! For what? For self gratification? Does the shit you do actually making you f%&(% feel better? Your sick.

All the best to you and (what you think of as a life),

-M

www.marchessel.net





Marc Hessel


RE: My education

To be more precise I could have put UMUC- Asia division, would that make you happy, even though I did finish my upper grad at college park. If you would like I could scan you a copy of my official transcript.

-M

www.marchessel.net





Anonymous


I fear for the state of the U.S. Navy...

If this guy really is in U.S. Navy Intelligence, all I can say is that I fear for the state of the U.S. Navy (and it's intelligence, or lack thereof).





Anonymous


I just went to this guy

I just went to this guy Marc Hassel's websites.  on his Jewcy site he claims that before joingin the navy he was at  "a low-end community college in north Florida" http://www.jewcy.com/node/11144#  Hmm...thats funny beacuse on his other website he claims to have attended The University of Florida and he links to its website. http://www.marchessel.net/biography.html  

 This guy is a joke.  





Marc Hessel


Wow your really smart you can read!!!

Wow your really smart you can read!! Its called a Dual-enrollment program, I was dual-enrolled taking college classes in high school prior to joining the military I am really surprised you guys have the time to bash people all day, it ceases to amaze me. Anything else you care to say to bash my intelligence or belittle my character? Oh, and if you are to fake fun of me at least spell my last name right you moron!

-M

www.marchessel.net





Anonymous


"Anything else you care to say to bash my intelligence..."?

Well, let's see. How about your grammar. Let's analyse the following paragraph (corrections appear in brackets):

"Wow your [you're] really smart[,] you can read!! Its [It's] called a Dual-enrollment program,[.] I was dual-enrolled taking college classes in high school prior to joining the military [.] I am really surprised you guys have the time to bash people all day, it ceases [presumably the colloquial phrase "it never ceases..." is what you meant here] to amaze me. Anything else you care to say to bash my intelligence or belittle my character? Oh, and if you are [going] to fake [make] fun of me[,] at least spell my last name right you moron!"

 And that's just one paragraph!





Joey Kurtzman


Call to Menschiness

People,

Can't we all just get along? Arguing about stuff: good. Name-calling, using google searches to find and mock personal details of someone with whom you disagree:  not good. Please act more menschy.





JewcyCraig


Yes..

This is really uncalled for. Anon, despite the fact that you creepily stalked Hessel, he refuted your original concerns. You're not making any points by nitpicking his every word. Please, if you've got a point to make, feel free to make it, but this is a place for adult discussion and discourse.

As far as I'm concerned, you are all welcome to forgiveness, as long as you understand that it's important to respect others and voice your disagreements intellectually and not on personal terms.





Anonymous


Stalking?

Clicking to the information contianed in his own links is "stalking"? Wow, that's a pretty broad definition.

Furthermore, JewcyCraig, you're making the mistake of identifying all the foregoing "Anonymous" posts as being from the same person. They are not. I post anonymously because the site allows it and I simply couldn't be bothered to register. Also, Mr. Hessel, did not, as you put it, "refute your original concerns". has has simply back-pedalled, equivocated, and offered excuses.

As for  adult discussion and intellectual discourse, someone engaged in 9/11 conspiracy theory-mongering (to wit: For not only is this gender driven, it is also a well known fact that there was much more to what happened in September of 2001.] is beyond such standards. Popular Mechanics' thorough debunking of all the primary conspiracy theories (and the History Channel show based on their findings)  should have put an end to the matter from the standpoint of serious, intelligent discourse. Further, what evidence does Mr. Hessel have that the poll cited by Stefan beck is "gender driven" (presumably he means "sex driven", "gender" is a linguistic, not a biological term)?

  





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