Post by KNOWTHIS on Jun 19, 2007 14:00:55 GMT -5
www.911blogger.com/node/9431
Nationally syndicated progressive talk show host Thom Hartmann, (Air America), has issued a challenge to those researching 9/11.
He wants a representative from the skeptics of the Government's "Official Conspiracy Theory", the "OCT", and a defender of the OCT, to come on his show at the same time, and debate their positions in a civil manner.
Hartmann tasked his producer approximately 6 months ago to find a well-known defender of the OCT to accept the terms of the debate, and not a single one would. On Friday, June 15, Hartmann renewed his challenge on air, and noted that the problem seems to lay with the OCT defenders, who won't come on the show at the same time as the skeptics, and won't take calls from the public following a few rounds of debate.
On Monday, June 18, Hartmann renewed the call again;
"I mentioned on the program a couple days ago that we tried to put together a program about 9/11 where we wanted to get on the folks from Popular Mechanics, or some variation, someone who would take the position of the 9/11 Commission... and get some representatives from the 9/11 Truth community of one of its variations, and Dave, my producer came on and said we couldn't find anybody who would come on and debate.
First of all we can't find anybody, NOBODY has contacted us (on the OCT side), and we've contacted a number of them, the magazine (Popular Mechanics) wouldn't do it... would come on and take that position, and so... to have somebody come on and say, "it was a controlled demolition", and not to have somebody on the other side say, "no, wait a minute, here", it wouldn't be a discussion, it just be... bad.
It's amazing, I've gotten several hundred emails over the last couple days in consequence of that, many of them people saying, "I'd be glad to come on", I'd be glad to debate... all of them on the conspiracy side of it...
(More after the jump.)
...I am absolutely neutral on this. I'm neutral because I went through this with the Kennedy assassination...
I'm calling for serious investigation of this (9/11) and I'm really pleased to see a community forming trying to find out, not just what happened with buildings 1 and 2, but why did this happen? Who was asleep at the switch? How many warnings did Bush get? Why did he ignore them?
There are these weird coincidences, Bush's oil company was funded by Osama bin Laden's brother, another one of his brothers was having breakfast with his father the morning of 9/11, and these things just make you scratch your head... you know, "what is going on?"
So I just want to put it out, I don't need anymore emails telling me how terrible so-and-so is, or that movie's the bad one, this is the good one, we've got enough of those, enough already, we got it.
And if anybody can get somebody from the "there was no conspiracy, it was just these 19 guys with boxcutters", and "it was all Osama bin Laden", if somebody can someone from that group to come on the program, and debate... then let us know."
What's the problem? An earnest, honest, open, nationally-broadcast debate, with a neutral moderator. Isn't this a dream situation? If the OCT is so rock-solid, what's the issue?
David Ray Griffin is willing to debate someone with an established track-record on Hartmann's show, like "anyone from NIST, the 9/11 Commission, the US government, or even Popular Mechanics".
If the only OCTer willing to step up wishes to focus on the official collapse theory, then Kevin Ryan is happy to oblige.
Arguably, David Ray Griffin and Kevin Ryan are two of the most well-known and articulate proponents of skepticism of the OCT, therefore, any OCTer willing to go on Hartmann's show should come from the OCT "A-list": NIST, the 9/11 Commission, the US government, or Popular Mechanics.
The "B-list" would be published authors like The Progressive's Matthew Rothschild, Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi, or Counterpunch's David Cockburn. These authors in particular have abused their pulpits, putting out very biased pieces in condemnation of 9/11 skeptics.
Will this be a repeat of Ed Haas' call to the "A-list", who refused to come to the National 9/11 Debate?
If you have direct contact with someone from the A-list, or would care to pass this challenge on to Rothschild, Taibbi, or Cockburn, please do. All they have to do to accept is get in touch with the Thom Hartmann show.
(One OCT defender, Manuel Garcia, has already declined. Oh, and "paging David Dunbar", Kevin Ryan is waiting to hear from you!)
He wants a representative from the skeptics of the Government's "Official Conspiracy Theory", the "OCT", and a defender of the OCT, to come on his show at the same time, and debate their positions in a civil manner.
Hartmann tasked his producer approximately 6 months ago to find a well-known defender of the OCT to accept the terms of the debate, and not a single one would. On Friday, June 15, Hartmann renewed his challenge on air, and noted that the problem seems to lay with the OCT defenders, who won't come on the show at the same time as the skeptics, and won't take calls from the public following a few rounds of debate.
On Monday, June 18, Hartmann renewed the call again;
"I mentioned on the program a couple days ago that we tried to put together a program about 9/11 where we wanted to get on the folks from Popular Mechanics, or some variation, someone who would take the position of the 9/11 Commission... and get some representatives from the 9/11 Truth community of one of its variations, and Dave, my producer came on and said we couldn't find anybody who would come on and debate.
First of all we can't find anybody, NOBODY has contacted us (on the OCT side), and we've contacted a number of them, the magazine (Popular Mechanics) wouldn't do it... would come on and take that position, and so... to have somebody come on and say, "it was a controlled demolition", and not to have somebody on the other side say, "no, wait a minute, here", it wouldn't be a discussion, it just be... bad.
It's amazing, I've gotten several hundred emails over the last couple days in consequence of that, many of them people saying, "I'd be glad to come on", I'd be glad to debate... all of them on the conspiracy side of it...
(More after the jump.)
...I am absolutely neutral on this. I'm neutral because I went through this with the Kennedy assassination...
I'm calling for serious investigation of this (9/11) and I'm really pleased to see a community forming trying to find out, not just what happened with buildings 1 and 2, but why did this happen? Who was asleep at the switch? How many warnings did Bush get? Why did he ignore them?
There are these weird coincidences, Bush's oil company was funded by Osama bin Laden's brother, another one of his brothers was having breakfast with his father the morning of 9/11, and these things just make you scratch your head... you know, "what is going on?"
So I just want to put it out, I don't need anymore emails telling me how terrible so-and-so is, or that movie's the bad one, this is the good one, we've got enough of those, enough already, we got it.
And if anybody can get somebody from the "there was no conspiracy, it was just these 19 guys with boxcutters", and "it was all Osama bin Laden", if somebody can someone from that group to come on the program, and debate... then let us know."
What's the problem? An earnest, honest, open, nationally-broadcast debate, with a neutral moderator. Isn't this a dream situation? If the OCT is so rock-solid, what's the issue?
David Ray Griffin is willing to debate someone with an established track-record on Hartmann's show, like "anyone from NIST, the 9/11 Commission, the US government, or even Popular Mechanics".
If the only OCTer willing to step up wishes to focus on the official collapse theory, then Kevin Ryan is happy to oblige.
Arguably, David Ray Griffin and Kevin Ryan are two of the most well-known and articulate proponents of skepticism of the OCT, therefore, any OCTer willing to go on Hartmann's show should come from the OCT "A-list": NIST, the 9/11 Commission, the US government, or Popular Mechanics.
The "B-list" would be published authors like The Progressive's Matthew Rothschild, Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi, or Counterpunch's David Cockburn. These authors in particular have abused their pulpits, putting out very biased pieces in condemnation of 9/11 skeptics.
Will this be a repeat of Ed Haas' call to the "A-list", who refused to come to the National 9/11 Debate?
If you have direct contact with someone from the A-list, or would care to pass this challenge on to Rothschild, Taibbi, or Cockburn, please do. All they have to do to accept is get in touch with the Thom Hartmann show.
(One OCT defender, Manuel Garcia, has already declined. Oh, and "paging David Dunbar", Kevin Ryan is waiting to hear from you!)