CONSPIRACY THEORY UPDATE: Here’s an interesting exchange over a conspiracy-debunking piece by The Nation’s David Corn.

I know some people on the right who have been hoping that The Nation would give a lot of play to the conspiracists, thus discrediting itself. They don’t seem to be following the script, though, as these wise words from Corn demonstrate:

Lots of crazy schemes in the cold war were drafted and– thankfully–not implemented, such as a nuclear first strike against the Soviet Union. And, yes, in the past decades, the CIA and its clandestine cousins have engaged in horrendous actions–some of which I have chronicled in Blond Ghost and the pages of The Nation. Yet none of this proves anything about September 11. I return to a simple point: Let doubters pursue questions, nothing is wrong with that. In fact, it’s healthy. But allegations of this variety demand proof. Skeptics are not free of responsibility.

Totalitarian? Jean Santerre accuses me of that. This e-mailer is in desperate need of perspective. Stalin was a totalitarian. I, on the other hand, am concerned that conspiracy theorizing distracts people from the actual malfeasance, mistakes and misdeeds of the US government and the intelligence community. My criterion is rather basic, and I am sorry it has eluded Santerre: One should assert what one can prove as accurate and truthful.

UDPATE: This L.A. Weekly piece on Euro-conspiracists is worth reading, too.