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Home Front: Culture Wars
Art Bell: "An Open Letter To My Listeners" Re: 9/11 Conspiracy Theories
2005-03-13
This seems to be in response to listener feedback from an interview with Popular Mechanics editor Ben Chertoff, who had run a series of articles critical of the various conspiracy theories usually applied to 9/11. A quick excerpt:

I have examined all the so-called evidence offered by those who make claims ranging from bombs to missiles and much more. I find no "smoking gun". That said, Coast-to-Coast AM has had SEVERAL guests that have talked about these claims WITHOUT CHALLENGE. The moment ONE Guest was aired with an opposing view the "wing nut" crowd started yelling unfair. How can a group of people who claim to be open minded possibly take such a closed minded view? Perhaps they are not as open minded as they claim. Worse yet, they call names and make threats. One post- 9-11 effect is clear, we are a much less civil society.

I wonder if a tipping point of some kind has just been reached.
Posted by:Phil Fraering

#36  People would be surprised at just how mundane things are in the various deignated Area XX's.

For the most part they are all just references for areas that we would rather not have associated with specific (military/intelligence) activities.

I've been to Nellis, and a few places in Utah and other states in the west. And if there were all these gadgets, you'd think we'd have already used them to zap the mullahs, or at least Saddam, years ago. Especilly given who is in the whitehouse now, a genuine no-shit guy that will whack them as he sees them if he has the means.
Posted by: OldSpook   2005-03-13 6:09:09 PM  

#35  People would be surprised at just how mundane things are in the various deignated Area XX's.

For the most part they are all just references for areas that we would rather not have associated with specific (military/intelligence) activities.

I've been to Nellis, and a few places in Utah and other states in the west. And if there were all these gadgets, you'd think we'd have already used them to zap the mullahs, or at least Saddam, years ago. Especilly given who is in the whitehouse now, a genuine no-shit guy that will whack them as he sees them if he has the means.
Posted by: OldSpook   2005-03-13 6:09:09 PM  

#34  (Just before the witching hour...)

I scrolled further down at R***e. POS does not BEGIN to describe it. He seems to be linking to all of the old-time antisemitism-is-their-reason-for-existance organizations. You should check out the article on Wal-Mart for an example.

Trailing wife: thanks for the links; I'm downloading the .pdf file to keep :-) I believe I've heard of similar experiments, related to me by the late, lamented Gharlane of Eddore, but I've lost the message. I may be misremembering. Does the name ring a bell? (Drop me an e-mail... pee gee eff at cox dash internet dot com).

To everyone else, it was delightful, be sure to try the borcht on your way out.
Posted by: Phil Fraering   2005-03-14 12:09:35 AM  

#33  The only thing I know about aliens is the experience of a dear friend of mine some years back, detailed here and here. Other than that I haven't the experience or the knowledge to make any judgements.
Posted by: trailing wife   2005-03-13 11:50:16 PM  

#32  Phil_B, so it's not the evil Haliburton? Darn! I had high hopes thet their standing wave quake machine is really working.
Posted by: Sobiesky   2005-03-13 11:45:25 PM  

#31  A quick glance at Rense shows 3 anti-Popular-Mechanics articles at the top of the page, along with six or so apparently anti-Art-Bell articles.

(And although I am skeptical of a lot of the "Peak Oil" theories, since they're predicated on oil production being limited solely by geology and economic decisions by rational actors, I'm creeped out by their reference to it as a scam put out by the "Zionists.")

The rest of the page is the usual low-grade dreck.
Posted by: Phil Fraering   2005-03-13 11:44:49 PM  

#30  3dc, why not?
Posted by: Sobiesky   2005-03-13 11:40:56 PM  

#29  Phil F, you ae just not reading the right news sources.

Extra-terrestrial underwater experiments near Sumatra – are they trying to diffuse a super volcano repeat eruption like the one 74,000 years back
Posted by: phil_b   2005-03-13 11:39:01 PM  

#28  You mean the UFOs aren't from the Alternate Reality USAs crossing over to save us? Shucks.... You done ruined my day. I suppose it can't be quantum transposition of our multiple selves either?

Oh!!!
Posted by: 3dc   2005-03-13 11:35:52 PM  

#27  Oh, yea, kudos to AB, if people consider his programs entertainment, all is as it should be.
I really can't stand that anti-semitic POS, Rense.
Posted by: Sobiesky   2005-03-13 10:59:33 PM  

#26  Phil, I think they (some group/species/whatever) may have tried once (over quite an extended period of time) and it resulted in a fuckup of biblical magnitude. Since time of Sargon II (I may have the ruler wrong-- ~1400BCE) they packed up. There is an image (seal) of him pointing at an empty throne as to signify that the Lofty Ones are, indeed, gone. In the seals of previous times, they (Lofty Ones) were on the thrones while the lowly ruler stood in attentive position in front of them.

Not that (if they are still around) they may not try to nudge here and there some, but the modus operandi has built in inherent plausible deniability, since perhaps some alien lawyer pointed out to them that free will of the earth inhabitants is an overriding principle they can't cross (I suppose it went like that, some sort of universal code of conduct--not ST prime directive! Interfere as you will provided that the free will is not infringed upon--a dilema that is not easy to untangle, so the interference has been really sporadic).

So, the Blue Book conclusion was, de facto, correct: There is nothing to suggest that the phenomena has any relevance from national security point of view. IOW, there are some unusual lights in our skies, but... so what?
Posted by: Sobiesky   2005-03-13 10:51:56 PM  

#25  BigEd: My basic point was, if there are aliens, I don't think they're here to save us from ourselves.
Posted by: Phil Fraering   2005-03-13 9:53:59 PM  

#24  I'm sorry, Ptah, I don't get the reference.

(BTW, pardon me for not asking this before, but wasn't Ptah one of the system lords? :-)
Posted by: Phil Fraering   2005-03-13 9:53:13 PM  

#23  "Our Government is Hiding The Truth From The American People"...

Last night I happened to hear Bell on this... He thinks it is ludicrous to think that anyone would seriously consider that Prez ordered murder of thousands of Americans. Those people he termed "wingnuts".

He went on to say that he voted for Kerry because of the Nuclear Waste dump issue, but he thought Bush was personally a decent human being, and the thought of his being a mass murderer was beyond the pale.

I also think that it is far different to consider the odd possibilities of Roswell, Area 51, etc., than 9/11 consparicies. Apples and oranges.

I have family members, who I consider very sober, who have seen things in the night sky they cannot explain.

Oddly enough one family member saw the Georgia State Capital building "buzzed" by a disc shaped object in April of 1974. She thought nothing of it, "Those crazy baseball fans are taking this Hank Aaron thing too far". She turned on the radio and heard other people calling news stations with "What was that?" Then came the news that Jimmy Carter, then Gov of Georgia saw something odd...

Now I know what everyone, including myself thinks of Jimmy, but there were hundreds of others, including my relative who thought at first it was an overboard celebration of Hank Aaron's 715th Home Run...


So those two lines of thought must be seperate.

One can speculate about possibilities of UFO visitations, and at the same time ridicule the looney left and their creepy 9/11 conspiracy thoeries. Remember, Doc Howie, new DNC chief one mused about 9/11 conspiracy thoery.
Posted by: BigEd   2005-03-13 9:48:14 PM  

#22  Hmm, like "Big Black Mama?"
Posted by: Ptah   2005-03-13 9:39:09 PM  

#21  There's something I've forgotten to mention during all of this: I know a lot of you are probably wondering why I'm so interested in the fringe media movement, or even Pravda.

Well, it's all very simple.

I'm looking for the headwaters of De-Nile.
Posted by: Phil Fraering   2005-03-13 9:16:16 PM  

#20  OldSpook: Yeah, the Tectonic Device would come in real handy about now.

Seafarious: I listen to Coast to Coast once in a while too... the amazing/disturbing/whatever thing to me isn't that he talks about UFO's per se, it's that a lot of their ufologist guests have built belief systems around them.

I've reached the point where I don't care whether there are aliens or not. I *know* there's a Great White Father in Washington, but I don't waste my time going out into the jungle to build an airstrip and wait for the cargo to come down.

(You know, we're going to have to change that expression when Condi becomes Pres.)
Posted by: Phil Fraering   2005-03-13 7:17:29 PM  

#19  People would be surprised at just how mundane things are in the various deignated Area XX's.

For the most part they are all just references for areas that we would rather not have associated with specific (military/intelligence) activities.

I've been to Nellis, and a few places in Utah and other states in the west. And if there were all these gadgets, you'd think we'd have already used them to zap the mullahs, or at least Saddam, years ago. Especilly given who is in the whitehouse now, a genuine no-shit guy that will whack them as he sees them if he has the means.
Posted by: OldSpook   2005-03-13 6:09:09 PM  

#18  Seafarious---a little light and air and the See-BS anerobbes dry up and die.

Art Bell made his fortune on speculations on what is happening at Groom Lake, AKA Area 51. I say, let them get on with their work and leave em alone. Of course I only got to Area 12 in my times at the Nevada Test Site.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2005-03-13 4:50:47 PM  

#17  And on a serious note...I listen to Art Bell from time to time. He turned his show on a dime and discussed very serious topics with serious people right after 9/11/01. It was a month or two at least before he went back to the Ufologists and ghost stories. I'm grateful he clarified his position publicly; his show and website are magnets to the "Our Government is Hiding The Truth From The American People" crowd.
Posted by: Seafarious   2005-03-13 4:45:54 PM  

#16  AP, CBS News apparently does not require either light or air to propagate...
Posted by: Seafarious   2005-03-13 4:38:04 PM  

#15  Hell of an org chart, .com, not even a vent as required by code. They are all anaerobic down there.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2005-03-13 4:24:36 PM  

#14  LOL! Hey that's a Pre-Gore single flusher!
Posted by: Itna Setup   2005-03-13 1:46:34 PM  

#13  Dan, here's the latest CBS Org Chart - and it clarifies your position and the value of your opinions.
Posted by: .com   2005-03-13 1:44:33 PM  

#12  Get thei self to the track sez the bonez! Itn NASCAR in your hood! Stand up be proud smoke a WINSTON and guard your Cup!.
Posted by: Itna Setup   2005-03-13 1:38:29 PM  

#11  Once maybe? Twice humm...? Three times? Inouye.
Posted by: Itna Setup   2005-03-13 1:36:22 PM  

#10  Aha! But isn't Ben Chertoff related somehow to Michael Chertoff, who Bush just appointed as head of Homeland Security? Coincidence? I think not.
Posted by: Dan Rather   2005-03-13 1:32:45 PM  

#9  Aha! But isn't Ben Chertoff related somehow to Michael Chertoff, who Bush just appointed as head of Homeland Security? Coincidence? I think not.
Posted by: Dan Rather   2005-03-13 1:32:45 PM  

#8  Aha! But isn't Ben Chertoff related somehow to Michael Chertoff, who Bush just appointed as head of Homeland Security? Coincidence? I think not.
Posted by: Dan Rather   2005-03-13 1:32:45 PM  

#7  I was thinking this needed the kids in tinfoil hats...

Is this Art on the job?
Posted by: .com   2005-03-13 1:28:35 PM  

#6  Either that, or the brain aliens are after you (as explained in this Sluggy Freelance).
Posted by: Phil Fraering   2005-03-13 1:17:01 PM  

#5  If being dissed by Popular Mechanics wasn't bad enough, you *know* you're a Conspiracy Nutjob when Art Bell calls you crazy.
Posted by: SteveS   2005-03-13 1:06:25 PM  

#4  What was that Betty Crocker quip that held you in thrall prior to this new phrase? Lol!
Posted by: .com   2005-03-13 1:02:17 PM  

#3  The Marylites have taken Art's brain again. I say no ginger for the masses. Buy young sand and sell your old Nat Lamps, this is nothing but FAITH BASED SOCIALISM.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-03-13 1:00:16 PM  

#2  Easy fix.
Posted by: Fred   2005-03-13 12:52:53 PM  

#1  Oh dear; I hit "accept" and then saw "ust" instead of "just."

I need a new keyboard, but none of the ones I see on the market make me happy.
Posted by: Phil Fraering   2005-03-13 12:38:45 PM  

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