It's always sad when someone I admire says something really stupid...

[Archae]

I've admired Ed Asner for a long time, and his activism.

But for crying out loud, how stupid can he get?
RFK Jr. stupidity level?

9/11 Truther Ed Asner Offers Conspiracy Theories on The Adam Carolla Show

by Ray Rahman | 5:03 pm, November 12th, 2010

Did you know that Ed Asner, of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Hollywood in general, is a 9/11 Truther? Adam Carolla didn’t seem to when, on his podcast, Asner started to offer his views as to why the government was behind that Twin Towers attack. Here we go.

“No high-rise has ever gone down by fire,” Asner explains. “Those buildings fell at the rate of gravity in ten seconds, flat.” He served up some more supposed “facts” as to why the buildings had to have been brought down by domestically planted explosives rather than internationally hateful terrorists. Carolla tried to debunk the conspiracy theory by asking why the surreptitious government of Asner’s mind, if it was so keen on instigating a war, didn’t go ahead and plant WMD in Iraq. “Because it wasn’t the same department of government,” Asner replied, chuckling at Carolla’s naiveté.

Asner continued:

My bottom line on all of this is that this country—which is the greatest, strongest country that ever existed in the world, in terms of power—supposedly had a defense that could not be penetrated all these years. But all of that was eradicated by nineteen Saudi Arabians, supposedly. Some of whom didn’t even know how to fly.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/911-truther-ed-asner-offers-conspiracy-theories-on-the-adam-carolla-show/

[Nye Bevan]

1. Some people just love conspiracy theories.

Even here on DU.

[Fred Sanders]

2. Older folk tend to be more susceptible to flights of firmly believed fantasy....few have the chance

to go public with it and get ink.

[pinboy3niner]

8. He's got spunk

[Demit]

12. Like for the reference :)

[msanthrope]

18. Well, yes...

[joeybee12]

24. I hate spunk...

Since we're continuing the conversation!

[msanthrope]

39. Presbyterian!! nt

[11 Bravo]

41. I HATE SPUNK! (Hell, someone had to say it.)

[LondonReign2]

3. Fell at the rate of gravity?

As opposed to??

[sharp_stick]

4. Gravity isn't a rate

but then again the rest of the screed is pretty much local cable conspiracy shit so it fits.

[Electric Monk]

27. 9.8 m/s2 isn't a rate?

All objects fall at the same rate of change of downward speed or acceleration. Terminal velocity varies, depending on air resistance.

http://www.clickandlearn.org/physics/sph4u/acceleration_due_to_gravity.htm

[unblock]

35. it's the rate (on earth) of *acceleration* due to the *force* of gravity

[KansDem]

5. Personally, I never bought the "official" conspiracy theory...

There are too many contradictions and too much misinformation "supporting it."

[KurtNYC]

6. wrong forum

this is 911/CT stuff

[el_bryanto]

13. Indeed. nt

[Politicalboi]

7. Or some of us want answers

Like how do fragile planes penetrate steel and concrete at sea level speeds and leave NO debris on the ground. But I guess the 9/11 report answers all those questions. Oh that's right, it doesn't. Even to ask for reconstructions of ANY of the planes is somehow laughable. Yes, how dare us want answers to shit that doesn't make a lick a sense. Science is on the side of the "truthers".

[SammyWinstonJack]

10. +1.

[Dreamer Tatum]

11. Parts were found all over the place.

The only thing on the side of truthers is whatever dope they're smoking.

Which, wait a minute...

[Politicalboi]

20. Where?

Where was the debris directly under impact? Where was the deafening noise that second plane should have made being so low to the ground? Where was ANY reconstruction of ANY of the 4 planes? They tell us they got DNA of everyone on planes, but somehow planes are too mangled for reconstruction, or still in a hole in the ground in Pa. Answers is ALL we're looking for. For some reason, to ask, is to say you're crazy, or smoking dope.

[Dreamer Tatum]

22. Said the person with the weed avatar.

Answers have been provided. They're just not the ones that entertain you as much as the ones you want.

I am amused by your demand to reconstruct planes that everyone in the world can plainly see flying into
the towers.

"After painstakingly reconstructing the planes, all evidence seems to indicate that they struck a rigid object
with great force. Wait, what? Huh? There's VIDEO? Are you SHITTING me? Then why - wait, hang on.
We put these fuckers back together to see what happened when there was VIDEO of what happened?"

[Politicalboi]

29. Oh please

We just can't win with those who don't take the time to think. People who still think fire can take down steel and concrete in a matter of hours. Now that's laughable.

Let alone a fragile plane that leaves no debris on impact.

[Dreamer Tatum]

32. You know, you're right. All those stress tests they did

with actual fuel-laden planes smashing into actual skyscrapers proved
beyond a doubt that buildings cannot and do not fall when clobbered
pretty much as hard as anything has been clobbered, ever.

I think you are somehow infected with the belief that airplanes and buildings are
composed of Lego blocks, and (a) either can withstand the impact of anything,
and (b) even if they can't, it's a simple matter just to gather a few 7-year-olds
to snap all the pieces back together.

Again, I believe you are to be pitied.

[Inkfreak]

36. It is a sad pairing.

But fear not! There are plenty of reality based stoners. The only conspiracy I see when I'm stoned is that I'm positive my wife hides the good munchies..I'll get back to you after I finish my documentary called Loose Change For The Vending Machines Cause That Giant Cookie Looks Delicious...Wait, What Were We Talking About?

The title is a bit long. It may be changed after our focus group. Ironically, we cannot get them to focus.

[Dreamer Tatum]

37. Any parts anyone found, the CTers would just say

"gee, any idiot can put an old airline part somewhere."

And they would say that.

[seveneyes]

14. Those answers can be found in basic physics

For those that understand the explanations, repetition is not required.

[JJChambers]

15. Lol. There is VIDEO of the planes hitting the towers..

[Dreamer Tatum]

19. But we have reconstruct those planes to see...um...

...if they're shaped like planes, I guess.

[IronGate]

16. Answers have already been provided,

just not the ones the CT'ers want.

[Politicalboi]

23. Answers like

Where are the reconstructed planes? How does of biggest defense building get hit by a plane after the towers were attacked in NY. The second tower was hit at 9:03 the Pentagon around 9:46. How does the Pentagon have all that time, and still do NOTHING? Our government isn't perfect, but for the billions spent on defense, I EXPECT better, I guess you don't and are satisfied with this. Good for you. Let's not blame anyone. Go shopping.

[Dreamer Tatum]

26. Osama bin Laden, Martin Luther King, Jr., Einstein, Groucho Marx,

Michael Jackson, Miss Jane Pittman, Ben Franklin, Eubie Blake,
and all the plane-hijacking terrorists could come to you in a dream,
take turns beating you with pieces of the wreckage, screaming
"IT WAS THE FUCKING SAUDI TERRORISTS," and you'd still want
people combing the Financial District, looking for the boogers of
the deceased flight attendants.

I pity you folk.

[Politicalboi]

31. If it was fucking Saudi terrorist

Then why didn't we attack Saudi Arabia?????????

But you go on and make the case. I pity you folk who believe planes can penetrate building without debris. Or that building fall 10 stories a second due to fire.

[Dreamer Tatum]

34. So because we didn't attack Saudi Arabia

Saudis couldn't have been involved.

Um, yeah.

Weak, weak sauce.

[IronGate]

28. Blame has already been determined.

19 hijackers/Osama Bin Ladin.

[LeftyMom]

45. The Pentagon is right by a fucking airport.

Flying near it in a passenger plane is about as suspicious as going by on the highway- anybody who goes to DC ever and has eyes and a brain can figure that one out.

[Logical]

44. You are wrong on so many levels! Wow, read a LOT more! Nt

[seveneyes]

9. Thirty two feet per second squared

With a CT like this one, Asner must not be from the part of the world where all the children grew up to be above average.

[Dreamer Tatum]

17. 9/11 CTs are like the JFK conspiracy bullshitters

Every question is an open-ended one, nothing is ever posited as the most likely scenario, and there's always some
new 'evidence' to be weighed.

It's tiresome.

(of course, I realize I'm part of both conspiracies. Because when you question a CTer, you become part of THEM)

[BlueJazz]

21. All I can say is: Some people you like, despite all of their faults.

I tend to give some people a "Pass". Ed is one of them.

[Warpy]

25. I'm at the age where I'm starting to get goofy

with some short term memory problems and likely a little extra from the poisons building up from kidney disease, so I'm a little more forgiving of my elders who are even goofier. I know I'm probably going to go there and it's probably not going to take much more time.

What Asner doesn't seem to realize is the power of sheer greed. Because the airlines were too greedy to reinforce cockpit doors and have them lock on the inside, those 19 men were able to gain access and kill the crew. We still have holes in our security because corporations are run by greedy and short sighted business school fuckers who don't care about anything but adding a few cents to the bottom line here and there so that they, too, can claw their way up the ladder and get an eight figure paycheck some day.

It wasn't a conspiracy because the supposed conspirators are dumber than the theorists.

There was a whitewash afterward, of course, there always is, nobody wants to admit to the power of their own greed and stupidity. That doesn't mean they conspired beforehand. It just means they are greedy and stupid and don't want anybody to notice.

[Whiskeytide]

30. There are plenty of conspiracies surrounding 9.11...

... that can be proven without having to defy clear evidence and laws of physics.

The Bush Admin negligently took their eye off the terrorist threat;

The Bush Admin used the attacks as a justification for their war agenda;

The attacks demonstrably proved Bush was incompetent and not at the helm of the government anyway;

...and so on. Why people seem to have to search for the implausible to feed their CT Jones mystifies me.

[Orrex]

33. I'm more upset that he went on the Adam Carolla show

[Puzzledtraveller]

43. I noticed that too.

[liberal N proud]

38. I have no heroes for that very reason

They will eventually let you down.

[m-lekktor]

42. neither do I, especially politicians. nt

[randome]

47. Even heroes age. Some not so well as others.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Birds are territorial creatures.
The lyrics to the songbird's melodious trill go something like this:
"Stay out of my territory or I'll PECK YOUR GODDAMNED EYES OUT!"[/center][/font][hr]

[CBGLuthier]

40. Some of us will always question the official answer delivered by the Bush Cabal

Maybe it was just 19 assholes, maybe they were acting on their own, maybe Bush knew nothing, but I don't readily accept all those maybes.

Not much sense in arguing about it as we will probably never know the truth about it or any of the other things we question.

[whatchamacallit]

46. Blah blah...

Or should it be Bleat Bleat... They provided you with the narrative needed to change the rules. They knew what buttons to push and what your pavlovian response would be. You're not smarter than Asner, just louder and foamier.

[CJCRANE]

48. The controlled demolition stuff is irrelevant.

Don't get distracted by red herrings.