"The Political Suspicions of 9/11"
That's the headline attached to this story in today's New York Times; a rather understated way of referencing the so-called "9/11 truth" movement. Apparently Denis Leary's television show "Rescue Me," which has something to do with New York City firemen, will feature a 9/11 truther plotline this season. Novel idea (though long-running German series "Tatort" beat them to it by a few years), but it turns out the actor playing the nutcase conspiracy theorist is…actually a nutcase conspiracy theorist.
Claims that Al Qaeda terrorists were not solely responsible for the attacks have a lively following on the Internet, including on YouTube, but the second episode of "Rescue Me's" fifth season, starting in April, may represent the first fictional presentation of 9/11 conspiracy theories by a mainstream media company (FX is operated by the News Corporation).
"They're not discussed a lot in the press," Daniel Sunjata, the actor who plays Franco Rivera on "Rescue Me," told reporters at a television press tour last month. He predicted that the episode would be "socio-politically provocative…
Mr. Sunjata surprised some of the TV reporters when he said that he "absolutely, 100 percent" supports the assertion that "9/11 was an inside job."
The alternative theories "seem to me to make a lot more sense than the ones that are popularly espoused," he said, calling it admirable that the conversation was allowed within "Rescue Me."
Peter Tolan, an executive producer, said Mr. Sunjata is "well read" and has "done a lot of research."
A lot of shitty research, sure, but as Lionel Hutz would say, that's a kind of research. Sunjata joins an illustrious band of celebrity sleuths hot on the trail of the PNAC bombers, like Rosie O'Donnell, Willie Nelson, Charlie Sheen, James Brolin, Blink-182 star Tom DeLonge, Mos Def, and Ed Asner. The Times story provides me a pretty flimsy excuse to post the following video, sent along by Dave Weigel, of hip-hop pioneer KRS-One, long known as the "philosopher" of rap, in conversation with radio host Alex Jones. It's wonderfully incoherent—and yes, he endorses the 9/11 "truth" movement:
