Same remarks apply to you as Wolfgang & SharonA, Spaw.

You know, there has been an hysterical effort to silence one particular House member--Cynthia McKinney (D GA)--by Republicans. She has been calling for an investigation of 9/11 for over a month, daring to ask, as the Washington Post put it on April 12th:

"...whether President Bush and other government officials had advance notice of terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 but did nothing to prevent them. She added that "persons close to this administration are poised to make huge profits off America's new war."

The Bush/Cheney silencers have since engaged in personal character assassination of this woman, in an attempt to demonize her by making her look alternately like an hysterical female, a conspiracy theorist, a political partisan (something apparently only Democrats are capable of, if you believe the Republican propaganda), and a person suffering from mental illness.

I see certain Mudcat posters have adopted those same Republican strategies of demonizing their critics in order to silence them, and stifle reasoned and reasonable discussion of events, and debate over the nation's future course.

Good job there, Wolfgang, Spaw and SharonA.

BTW, here are a few comments from people I suppose you would also demonize as conspiracy nuts--Amesty International:

"Drive by smearings on the road to Baghdad

by Stephen Gowans

It's a long standing ploy to suggest that anyone who disagrees with how to deal with a common enemy must be secretly working with, or, at best, has naively identified with the enemy. Stalin was well acquainted with this method of silencing critics, as have been thousands of tyrants, dictators, and elected presidents and prime ministers since, to say nothing of authors and senior fellows of think-tanks."

The LA Times:

"UN Fears Abuses of Terror Mandate By William Orme Los Angeles Times January 2, 2002

Rights Monitors See Some Governments Using New Requirements to Justify Repression

Demands by the Security Council that U.N. members act against global terrorism are being used by some regimes to justify repression of domestic dissent, U.N. officials and independent human rights advocates say.

The anti-terrorism campaign has been used by authoritarian governments to justify moves to clamp down on moderate opponents, outlaw criticism of rulers and expand the use of capital punishment.

Compliance with the Security Council requirements "could lead to unwarranted infringement on civil liberties," Bacre Waly Ndiaye, the chief human rights officer at the U.N. Secretariat, told the council's new counterterrorism committee. "There is evidence that some countries are now introducing measures that may erode core human rights safeguards." In an unexpectedly swift response to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the Security Council called on U.N. members on Sept. 28 to provide information within 90 days about their legal restrictions on fund-raising, financial transfers, arms acquisition and immigration.

But there is no agreement on what constitutes terrorist activity, U.N. experts say, and some governments are presenting what critics contend are police-state measures as part of the U.N.-endorsed campaign."

And yes, even the organization which dares to call itself the "Families of September 11":

"Wednesday February 27, 7:12 am Eastern Time Press Release SOURCE: Families of September 11 Families of September 11 Calls for Congressional Investigation of FAA Group Concerned about Allegations That Agency Covered Up Aviation Security Lapses WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Families of September 11, a non-profit organization that represents victims and their families, today called on the U.S. Congress to launch an investigation of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and its handling of aviation security. This decision was prompted in part by charges made public Monday by current and former FAA employees that FAA supervisors suppressed and manipulated information about airline security problems and failed to correct the problems. Families of September 11 wants the investigation also to examine evidence that terrorists used pepper spray and perhaps a gun to hijack planes on Sept. 11.

``These matters are too important to be left to an internal Department of Transportation investigation,'' said Families of September 11 President Carie Lemack, whose mother, Judy Larocque, died on American Airlines Flight 11. ``The problems with aviation security must be fully disclosed and corrected or they may be replicated in the new Transportation Security Administration.''

Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act last November to correct security problems brought to public attention by the Sept. 11 attacks. In part the act created a new agency, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), to develop and provide improved security programs for aviation and other forms of transportation. Many of the supervisors and employees that administered the FAA's aviation security program are being transferred to the TSA.

On Monday, USA Today reported charges made by Bogdan Dzakovic (JOCK-o-vich), a member of the FAA's Red Team, a unit of undercover agents who test the effectiveness of aviation security by attempting to carry simulated weapons onto planes. Dzakovic says that over a period of years ``FAA supervisors suppressed information about airport security'' problems, ``manipulated Red Team testing data in order to protect the airline industry,'' and failed to take action to remedy security problems identified in Red Team tests. The newspaper reported that the FAA had no response to the allegations."

Be sure and let the families know you think they are just conspiracy nuts too, won't you Spaw?