Those who deny the events of September 11, 2001 are no better than the people who deny that 6 million Jews perished in the Holocaust.
What is one to think of Rosie O’Donnell?
First, Rosie embraces the “9/11 conspiracy” crowd and claims the collapse of 7 World Trade Center could not have happened as it did. “It is impossible for a building to fall the way it fell without explosives being involved,” declared the resident physicist on The View.
Second, Rosie claims the British sailors and marines seized by the Iranians were commanded to go into Iranian waters under a false flag operation. Never mind that there is no evidence to suggest they were in Iranian waters aside from the say-so of the Mullahs. She likens the crisis to the Gulf of Tonkin incident, and claims it will serve as the pretext to war with Iran. Rosie further laments that America has “demonized” and “dehumanized” Iran.
Iran demonized and dehumanized? So I gather that Rosie thinks calling the Holocaust a myth doesn’t demonize and dehumanize the 6 million Jews who perished in Hitler’s concentration camps.
If Rosie is eager to embrace 9/11 conspiracies and is willing to give Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the benefit of the doubt, one must wonder what other far-fetched notions she consumes like gallons of chocolate ice cream. Given her willingness to express such views about 9/11 and the British sailors I cannot help but observe that Rosie O’Donnell strikes me as the sort of person who would tell her children the Holocaust did not happen. Of course, I have no idea if O’Donnell holds such views about the Holocaust. But it would come as no surprise to me if she did.
It is bad enough that some Americans take Rosie’s word as gospel but what really disturbs me is that she will pass on such odious views to her four children. Parents, biological or not, impart their values to their children. This means that Rosie will teach her children to hate America and everything for which it stands. It means she will tell her children to heap scorn on the men and women who voluntarily put themselves in harm’s way to defend our country. It means Rosie will teach her children to presume American soldiers accused of wrongdoing in Iraq or at Guantanamo Bay guilty until proven innocent, but give the benefit of the doubt to the Ahmadinejads, Kim Jong Ils and Bashar al-Assads of the world. It means Rosie will spread the word about every cockamamie theory that comes down the pike as if it were written in stone. Rosie and those Moms and Dads who share her views are raising a new generation of children who will hold America in disdain. It does not bode well for our future.
Why does Rosie think like she does? Why do Rosie and other people believe the events of September 11, 2001, were carried out by our own government or some entity other than al Qaeda? Why do Rosie and other people take the side of our enemies? It is, of course, impossible to answer those questions completely but let me give a thought. It is my belief that Rosie and those who share her views take comfort in them. It is easier for them to believe that George W. Bush and the United States are culpable for September 11th and global terrorism than to believe the Islamic fundamentalists are, and that the United States will have to confront them through force until they no longer threaten us.
Those who deny the events of September 11, 2001 are no better than the people who deny that 6 million Jews perished in the Holocaust. The American Broadcasting Corporation demeans itself by giving a daily platform to Rosie O’Donnell. Surely ABC would not give a daily platform to a Holocaust denier. Whether we like it or not, this country is at war. America would not have tolerated the likes of Rosie O’Donnell during World War II. America ought not tolerate her now.
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http://www.poetsforthewar.org
Read more articles by Aaron Goldstein
What is one to think of Rosie O’Donnell?
Nothing, unless you are rating her entertainment value. A better question is why conservatives want to continue to give her more free publicity.
Comment by sedonaman | April 9, 2007
The equating of 911 truth seekers with Holocaust deniers is absurd. Is this what has become of Conservatism in the U.S.?
Mr Goldstein writes: "Those who deny the events of September 11, 2001 are no better than the people who deny that 6 million Jews perished in the Holocaust."
Which events are those? No one is denying that planes struck the Twin Towers. No one is denying that something struck the Pentagon. No one is denying that about 3,000 people were killed in these attacks. Do you deny that the Bush administration did everything it could to not have an investigation? Did you not read the recent book by Keene and Hamilton, the Joint Chairmen of the 911 Commission? They expressed concern that the Administration had not been forth-coming and that active deceit was involved. Why?
Have you even read the observations Stephen Jones, PhD on the problems with the official "findings"? Does it not bother you that the collapse of building 7 of the World Trade Center was not addressed in the official investigation?
You can find the more abstract elements of 911 official story skeptics and convince yourself, and like minded wishful thinking authoritarians, that "they" are all the same. That would be like a Progressive assuming that every conservative is like Pat Robertson.
Most of us sympathetic to the 911 Truth Movement simply want an independent special prosecutor with full supena power to investigate. Personally I doubt that we will find active participation by the administration in the attacks of 911. I think almost certainly criminal incompetence and criminal cover-up of imcompetence in the events leading up to 911 and the immediate response will be revealed.
Is this the real reason for your irrational attack and inaccurate comparisons regarding skeptics, Mr Goldstein?
Comparing myself and millions like me, who feel that a thorough investigation needs to be done regarding 911, with Holocost deniers actually puts you more rationally in that category than we.
Comment by Thom | April 9, 2007
Thank God there's reasonable, rational people like Thom to show us the reasonable, rational side of conspiracy theories, and how crazy those right-wing nutjobs are! After all, who ever heard of thousands of gallons of jet fuel exploding and creating enough heat to collapse a building? Absurd! What kind of irrational nutcase would buy a story like that? It was bombs! Must have all been orchestrated by the administration that was in place for 8 months. That makes the most sense. That several thousand page investigation was clearly inadequate. Somebody with a degree said so.
By the by, Thom, it's "Holocaust" and "incompetence". Make sure to run your Ph.D dissertation through a spell checker if grammar is worth any points at the University of Left-Wing Boobery.
Comment by Patrick Mulligan | April 9, 2007
Thom,
1. He said that those who denied that Muslims caused 9/11 or that the government was involved are no better than Holocause deniers, not people who think the government could've handled it better.
Furthermore, you sound rather silly saying that no one believes that the government caused 9/11 (or helped) when confronted with the quotes of O'Donnel herself. There are plenty of people who believe it was the government.
See: Loose Change.
2. Clinton was not very cooperative with the 9/11 commission either. If we were to look fully into the matter, we'd see failures of every administration since Ford in leading to the attacks.
3. There is nothing irrational in using someone's own words to attack them.
For example: you deny that 9/11 conspiracy theorists exist. You call Rosie's nonsensical ramblings that "heat cannot melt steel" (I wonder how she thinks those beams are made…hmmm) "truth seeking".
Perhaps it is you that are quick to jump on irrationality because you know your case is weak?
Take off the comic book 3D glasses and the tin foil hat. The world makes a bit more sense when you can see it the way it is.
Comment by WolvenBear | April 10, 2007
1-Not sure I agree w/Rosie on the WTC, but it's not too hard a stretch to believe the Brits were in Iranian waters. Pretext to war is a common U.S. manipulation.
2-Reality: any non-white, non-European race has been dehumanized and demonized through the ages. This is standard propaganda technique.
3-Why do people continually hold to the creed that Criticism of America=Hate America? Come on! We love America, which is why we actively partake in dialogue, demonstrations, blogs. I, like Rosie, am a lesbian parent of a 12 yr old son, who I am raising to be a critical thinker. Not a hater, nor apathetic.
4-Guantanamo Bay is an example of trickle-down, and young people put in a situation above their wisdom, with no good guidance. Not to say the individual is exempt, but we all look to our leaders..
Comment by kalamata | April 10, 2007
Kalamata:
“. . . it's not too hard a stretch to believe the Brits were in Iranian waters.”
Even if it were true that they were in Iranian waters, there’s no call to take them hostage. During the Cold War, it was common for USSR aircraft to violate American air space, particularly over Alaska. We did the same. I don’t recall any incident in which the US interceptor planes shot down USSR aircraft in US airspace. They simply escorted them out to international airspace. Why didn't the Iranians do the same with the Brits?
“Pretext to war is a common U.S. manipulation.”
Do the Iranians, or any country for that matter, have to fall for that old gag? On the other hand, if you want to engage in a conspiracy theory, suppose for the sake of argument that Iran is having internal problems and the ruling despotic regime is having more difficulty controlling its people. One of the first things such a regime does is create a “pretext to war” in the form of an external threat to rally the peoples’ nationalism. The Argentineans did just that when the started the Falklands War. A “pretext to war” is far more common manipulation among other nations than the U.S. Take Iraq’s invasions of Iran and Iraq. Saddam had to whip up some pretext or other to motivate his people to war; you don’t get people to risk death just for the fun of it. So, can you be so sure that Iranians taking British hostages was not a pretext to goad the British into war?
“Reality: any non-white, non-European race has been dehumanized and demonized through the ages. This is standard propaganda technique.”
I don’t know how much traveling you have done around the world, but I’ve spent a lot of time in Asia and been to Europe, and I’m here to say the most racist, dehumanizing, and demonizing people on the planet are Asians, even amongst themselves.
“Why do people continually hold to the creed that Criticism of America=Hate America?”
MY FAVORITE QUESTION!!! Because you magnify America’s faults and automatically give America’s enemies a pass. Where is your criticism of Saddam Hussein? In all the six years of rabid anti-Bush hyperbole, I have not heard from Bush-haters a single word of condemnation of Saddam for seizing power by murder and treachery, waging aggressive war, and torturing. Why not? So consider this question: How would your behavior be different if you really did hate America? Huh?
“I, like Rosie, am a lesbian parent of a 12 yr old son, who I am raising to be a critical thinker. Not a hater, nor apathetic.”
Great observation! Being a lesbian automatically makes Rosie O’Donnell a Great Critical Thinker and foreign affairs expert! Repeat after me: ROSIE O’DONNELL IS AN ENTERTAINER. Repeat it until it sinks in. She is on TV to mast*rbate the minds of Bush-haters like you, NOT to provide anything intellectual like “critical analysis.” Her routine is all acting. If I paid her more to do the same thing, only in favor of Bush, don’t you think she would do it?
“Guantanamo Bay is an example of trickle-down, and young people put in a situation above their wisdom, with no good guidance. Not to say the individual is exempt, but we all look to our leaders.”
You remind me of the man who had a bumper sticker that said, “Challenge authority!” and he became upset when his kid challenged HIS authority. You can’t tell young people to “just do it” and then get shocked, shocked mind you, when they actually do. Besides, you wouldn’t want people to judge your lesbian activities, so what gives you the right to judge the actions of others? If they get their kicks out of whips and chains, who are you to judge?
Comment by sedonaman | April 10, 2007