The Huffington Post Bans Science And Free Speech

The Huffington Post, a site that I visit numerously, and appreciate the work that its doing, recently banned an opinion piece by Jesse Ventura that focuses on the many inconsistencies and errors in the official 9/11 story, and raises troubling questions about the role that the government played in the attacks. In place of Ventura's article, which can be read in full here, the editors of The Huffington Post posted a note that described their reasoning for deleting the piece:

Editor’s Note: The Huffington Post’s editorial policy, laid out in our blogger guidelines, prohibits the promotion and promulgation of conspiracy theories — including those about 9/11. As such, we have removed this post.

In response to the blatant censorship, Governor Ventura told Anastasia Churkina of Russia Today, as reported by Muriel Kane of Raw Story:

"I can't believe the Huffington Post today will practice censorship," Ventura told her angrily. "They asked me to be a contributing editor and they said, 'Write about anything you want.' So it was the second time I did something -- and they removed it?"

"Well, I've got news for them," he continued. "I won't ever write for 'em again. ... I won't do a thing for the Huffington Post because I don't like it when people censor what I have to say."

"All I do is ask questions!" he exploded. "That's what bugs me about 9/11. 9/11 is an event you're not allowed to ask a question about. ... Clearly they don't want any questions on it."

Obviously, The Huffington Post has the right to restrict any opinion which it views as being out of line with its editorial policy, but after showing such a prejudice towards "conspiracy theories," they can't be held as a beacon of free speech and free thought, as a place where thinkers converge to test their ideas and theories. They are officially in the censorship business. Bill Maher, who stormed out 9/11 questioners from his show a few years ago, is also in that business. Of course, he too had all the right to do what he did, but he was a coward for doing it. And so are the editors on The Huffington Post. William E. Borah, "The Lion of Idaho," professed: "I look upon those who would deny others the right to urge and argue their position, however irksome and pernicious they may seem, as intellectual and moral cowards."

For some reason, one article in favor of the non-government version of 9/11 slipped by the HuffPost censors, and has remained on the site since it was published on March 7. It's called "Ahmadinejad says U.S is lying about Sept 11 attacks," by Mike Green. I guess if the president of a religious dictatorship says 9/11 was an inside job then it's okay, but if a former Governor of Minnesota questions the attacks then the editors of Huff-n-Puff get scared and retreat to the lines of "respectable" debate that have been drawn by the government. But it isn't just Ahmadinejad or Ventura who have publicly voiced their rejection of the official story, but fire fighters, 9/11 first responders, family members of the victims, former government officials, scientists, architects, engineers, and millions of ordinary Americans. As Green writes:

Ironically, the Iranian president is merely voicing the sentiment of the American people on a platform loud enough for someone in Washington to actually hear it. Any obfuscation or dismissal of Ahmadinejad's question ultimately results in a dismissal of the voices of the American people who also seek answers to lingering questions about Sept. 11.

Refusing to even contemplate the evidence that has been gathered by various scholars in the 9/11 truth movement is a slap to the face of every American, and every human being living on this planet. At least a third of Americans believe the government orchestrated the attacks, or had prior knowledge of an impeding terrorist attack, which should be enough voices to raise doubt in the minds of the editors of The Huffington Post, and make them rethink their current position. A thorough excavation of the controversial subject is required if we want to move forward as a free people and a free world. Simply calling "conspiracy theorists" crazy is a great offense, and a tragic mistake. Sadly, it reflects the madness that is prevalent in America's mainstream culture.

People who believe in the government's version of 9/11 imagine that there is a well of paranoia in American culture, in which poor souls have fallen into; a deep bottom where insane individuals are unable to get back to the top and think clearly again because they are mired in conspiracy rubble, and are banished from all light. According to these "rationalists", the US government isn't capable of murder and treachery, nor does it have the resources to keep relevant information from the public sphere about such an important event as 9/11. But if I may ask politely, what world are these people living in? Haven't they heard of Hiroshima? Vietnam? Iran-Contra? However unpopular it may be, it is a fact is that the American government is capable of murdering innocent people, committing treachery, and lying to the world. It has done all of those of things, and more. It is barbaric, and worse.

The worldview of people who are committed to the government version of events is anti-scientific because it claims that government authorities and media spokespersons always fall on the side of reality when reality is in question. They can never be wrong, or ever lie to the public, and if you believe otherwise, then you endorse crazy theories and conspiratorial misconceptions. But one look at history, and you'll learn that governments lie most of the time, especially powerful governments that have institutional resources like the CIA, FBI, NSA, FEMA, and Homeland Security. We don't need to go back too far to give an example of a government conspiracy theory that crumbled in the sight of the truth. Not long ago, it was believed that Saddam had WMDs, and people who questioned the so-called evidence were called conspiracy theorists. But those "conspiracy theorists" turned out to be right. Those same "conspiracy theorists," that Cass Sunstein, head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Obama administration, wants to shut up and covertly undermine.

The cover-up of 9/11 will be known in due time, but sites like The Huffington Post are still reluctant to get the cat out of the bag. So what are they afraid of? That the country will never be the same if it is found true that the government was in fact behind 9/11? Well, like Ventura, I've got news for them. . . America has never been the same since 9/11! Personal freedoms have been eradicated. The right to protest is no longer upheld. Americans are under constant surveillance. Wall St. Banks are looting the people's wealth. And the country is mired in two immoral and criminal wars. There is no going back to September 10, 2001. Millions of innocent people have died. The question facing us is how are we going to respond? Shut off debate, and pretend the controversy doesn't exist, or try to find answers and bring justice to the victims?

A popular rebuttal to the non-government version of 9/11 is that Bush is stupid so he couldn't possibly have done it. But that argument immediately falls on its face because it is never suggested that Bush was the sole conspirator in the 9/11 attacks, as if he is some kind of American Bin Laden. Conspiracies are called conspiracies for a reason, more than one person is involved. People that believe the Bush administration wasn't competent enough to pull off a false flag attack must recognize that an entirely secret network of spies, military fascists, and government operatives sprung up after WWII, and they are well endowed to perform such a complicated procedure when called upon. They represent a black shadow over American democracy. So referring to "administrations" as if they are the only guiders of the country is wrong. The nation's foreign and domestic policy has been consistently corporatist and militaristic in the past forty years, ever since the death of JFK. The Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations have been years of outrage. Voting in another democrat or republican in 2012 is akin to injecting another heavy dose of poison into an already dying patient.

I hope Arianna Huffington and The Huffington Post realize what is at stake. Freedom, justice, and truth, are all hanging in the balance. News censorship and cultural ridicule represents a shrinking wrap on the public mind. The internet is the only breathing hole we have left. If The Huffington Post wants to be recognized as a true journalistic platform in the coming years then it must heed the words of Charles Bradlaugh, Frederick Douglass, and Noam Chomsky.

"Without free speech no search for truth is possible; without free speech, no discovery of truth is useful."
- Charles Bradlaugh

"Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want rain without thunder and lightning."
- Frederick Douglass

"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all."
- Noam Chomsky

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