9/11 Truther The Fight for Peace, Justice and Accountability By Jon Gold Foreword by Cindy Sheehan Copyright © 2012 Jon Gold Cover Photo by: Al Thompson Cover Design by: Scott Ford Published by ePublishPartners, LLC. ePublishPartners.com Edition, License Notes This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, or if it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase an additional copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author. Table of Contents Foreword by Cindy Sheehan Introduction Chapter 1: Who am I? Chapter 2: What was my day like on 9/11? Chapter 3: Waking up Chapter 4: What have I done for 9/11 justice? Chapter 5: Problems Chapter 6: My greatest experiences in the 9/11 Truth Movement Chapter 7: The facts speak for themselves Chapter 8: Random articles from over the years Chapter 9: My sincerest thanks to those who have influenced me About the Author Foreword by Cindy Sheehan After years of profound involvement in the US antiwar movement, I can now sniff out partisan political frauds, and the author of this memoir, Jon Gold, is not one of them. A partisan political fraud latches on to an issue or cause or cause cèlebré until that thing or person is not popular anymore, then he/she bails out at the first opportunity. A person who really cares about humanity realizes that the cesspool of partisanship creates and/or fosters the problems for pure political gain. Jon Gold is one of these people. When people were killed on 9/11, Jon Gold was at first a Fox News-aholic who wanted revenge for those killings―but only because he cared about the people who were killed and their families. Now, through self-education and mentors, whom he generously acknowledges throughout this book―he realized that we were all lied to on 9/11, and he has worked diligently to highlight the truth because he still cares about the people who were killed on that day, their families, and the people who are still being killed because of our country’s reaction to the attack. My oldest child, Casey, was just one of those victims of the insane response to the attacks on 9/11 and I became famous and infamous because of my protests against the wars and the Bush regime―well, after I became notorious, I began to become literally bombarded by people and their causes because they believed that I had a platform, megaphone, or soapbox to highlight these causes. Some of those causes were absurd―from the man who was convinced that Stephen King killed John Lennon, and if I would only help him expose that, world peace would ensue (he actually jumped on the hood of my car in Berkeley once) to the man who wanted me to come to Arizona to be a character witness for his friend who was accused of killing a cow. I kid you not! The most prevalent of these people who bombarded me, though, were the 9/11 “Truthers.” I was harassed all over the world by them and I swear if one more person asked me if I saw Loose Change I was going to forget my pacifism and punch him (it was always a him) in the face. The sad thing about this harassment was that I never believed the so-called official story of 9/11 and would have tended to be an ally to these people, but they were so rude and pushy. And, I didn’t feel that I had the time or the inclination to wade through the stacks of information that they tried to force on me―True Confession time, I left a lot of that material in cabs or garbage cans. I was sincerely beginning to loathe 9/11 “Truthers” with a passion I reserved for the U.S. Empire. The only thing that saved them from my total loathing was the fact that I realized that they were usually well-meaning and had good intentions, but I was, and still am, turned off by the “hologram,” “laser-beam,” “Israel was totally responsible” crowd that really make the movement seem insane. I don’t remember when Jon Gold first started messaging me at the MySpace thing, but I remember he began by apologizing for the people in the movement who harassed me mercilessly―which got my attention. Here was a “Truther” (Jon hates that label) that wasn’t attacking me for my “cowardice” in not publicly saying that 9/11 was an “inside job.” Well, of course it was, but I (and neither does anybody else, no matter how sure they seem) know how far inside it went. Jon Gold never demanded that I watch any movies, (although he helped a very good one get financing), read any books, or publicly announce anything using my platform. Gradually, my anger at the truth movement began to fade and I was able to do things like publicly support NYCCAN and its push for a ballot measure to have a new investigation of 9/11―and I have become friends with others in the movement and, through Jon, met Bob McIlvaine, whose son, Bobby, was killed on 9/11, and has become another tireless activist for justice. Since our MySpace beginnings, Jon and I have become close friends. We have organized events in DC as members of Peace of the Action (POTA) and even were arrested together in front of the White House and we very romantically shared the first ever “stay away order” from said White House with about four other activists and went on trial for that arrest and were both exonerated. 9/11 truth is still not my “thing,” but because of Jon Gold, I am open to it and don’t have a knee-jerk reaction (which means I used to want to knee any Truther that approached me in the male parts―kidding―I do that sometimes) to anyone in the movement. Jon is kind of young to be writing a memoir, so this is just Part One of a long and, we all hope, productive career of activism and a life filled with love, justice and peace. Cindy Sheehan Vacaville, Ca February 10, 2012 Introduction Dedicated to my grandfather, Walter Gold, the 2,973 people who were brutally murdered on 9/11, the 9/11 first responders who have died as a result of working at Ground Zero, the people who have died as a result of the United States' illegal occupations, civilians and soldiers alike, the families of the people who were lost that day, and to what I hope is a better future. "A time comes when silence is betrayal." - Dr. Martin Luther King The following article was cited by the New York Times on November 18th, 2009 in an article entitled, "From Simple Noun To Handy Partisan Put-Down." Because of the way this phrase has been tarnished by the media and debunkers, I have switched to saying that I am an "advocate for 9/11 Justice." I have also changed the name of my forum to the “9/11 Justice Forum.” Nonetheless, this article still rings true. What is a "9/11 Truther?” Jon Gold 9/12/2009 To my knowledge, Nick Levis is the individual that coined the phrase "9/11 Truth." If I am wrong about that, I apologize to the individual responsible for its creation. I always considered that a great phrase because it's kind of hard to spin the word "Truth." Years ago, back in late 2004, several people in the 9/11 Truth Movement were posting on Howard Stern's Bulletin Board (HSBB) because Howard posted a 9/11 movie on his site, and because there were over 300,000 members. Former moderator of 911blogger.com, somebigguy, and I met on the HSBB. He followed my postings, and started to do his own. One time, he sent me a private message talking about how he was tired of being ridiculed by the people on the site. I tried to tell him something "inspirational." I don't remember exactly what I said, but it was something like, "you're a 9/11 Truther, don't let them get to you, you're doing the right thing." In the back of my mind, I thought of the term "Quaker." I do live in Pennsylvania, after all. As far as I know, that was the first time the phrase "9/11 Truther" was ever used. I liked it, so it stuck. That is the reason the 9/11 Truth forum on my site is called the "9/11 Truther Forum." So what is a "9/11 Truther”? As I said, it's kind of hard to spin the word "Truth," but the "debunkers" and "media" have jumped on the word "truther." To me, that's an inaccurate phrase because the real term is 9/11 Truther. In my mind, a "9/11 Truther" is someone who fights alongside the family members seeking truth and accountability for the 9/11 attacks. In my mind, a "9/11 Truther" is someone who fights for the sick and dying 9/11 first responders who need health care desperately. In my mind, a "9/11 Truther" is someone who does not like how the day of 9/11 is being used to inflict pain and suffering around the world, and is trying to stop it.