Well said.
But even given that, any veteran here will tell you there are certain subjects/opinions that do not get a good welcome here.
I know for a fact that not all FReepers agree with the official conclusions about 9/11. There are some questions that need asking.
But it is totally up to Jim and the staff whether this is the place to ask them. I can definitely understand not wanting to turn this place in to a 9/11 debating site.
I have been away from FreeRepublic more this last year, and had drifted away from the FR position on 9/11 further than I realized. A "post pulled - garbage" message would have been sufficient reminder to me that I was outside what FR chooses to accept.
There are questions that need asking. That's why the type of stuff that Cow was posting is so corrosive. It distracts from real issues and soaks itself in fantasyland.
9/11 Trutherism is a mental disorder. I've had friends who've succumbed to it, and its a sad thing to watch. If you believe that bombs blew up WTC 1, 2, or 7, or that a plane did not hit the Pentagon, you're either willfully ignorant, or something is wrong with you. These are the simplest assertions in the world to refute, with just 5 minutes of research.
From conversing with the Truthers I know, I have come to the conclusion that it is a quasi-religion for them. No matter how much evidence I show them, it makes not a whit of a difference.
I've shown them a video of a firefighter looking up at a still-standing WTC 7, saying "This building is coming down. You can see it leaning", and they still stand by their theory that the thing was blown up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HLDgjYuRHk
I've shown multiple reports of eyewitness testimony who saw a jet hit the Pentagon, but my Truther acquiantences still stand by their theory that a "missile" hit the Pentagon.
http://www.debunk911myths.org/topics/Pentagon_witnesses
This stuff is loony bin tripe. It's idiotic, but unfortunately has a hold on a good portion of the country.
Rational, intelligent people who do not let themselves be deluded by crazy conspiracy garbage needs to team up and stop this stuff now. A good start is to not let FreeRepublic become a channel to spread this nonsense.
I'm going to report abuse on any 9/11 Truther thread I see, and I would expect that the mods will continue to "pull it".