I write on September 12 and that is no accident. I was waiting for September 11 to pass, to let people still grieving unspeakable losses have a bit of peace before I say this piece.

This is about power and how it gets used and abused in an age when democracy is such an ascendant ideology that even the worst tyrants pay lip service to the will of the people. I claim this soapbox as a citizen of the United States, not because my tribal nation is perfect but because, like all Indian nations, the harm we can do by abuses of power is trivial in comparison to the colonial powers. And we must admit, at least by body count, that claiming to be the bosses of us is fairly trivial in a long litany of abuses.

What sends me down this path are the so-called “9-11 truthers.” If you haven’t visited that three ring circus in cyberspace, it’s not hard to find and if you think I’m making this up, you need only consult Professor Google. I’ll just hit the high points; the truthers don’t agree among themselves about the details.

Osama bin Laden had nothing to do with the 9-11 attacks. He was a patsy, a fall guy, and that famous video of bin Laden cheering over the results and praising the martyrs was a CIA fake.

Some truthers claim bin Laden was killed to maintain the conspiracy and some claim he’s not really dead. Either way, he is or was a bit player.

You see, a jet liner does not hold enough jet fuel and the fuel will not burn hot enough to bring down a skyscraper. Professor Google can refer you to experts in metallurgy who will tell you that you need to believe them and not your lying eyes. The collapse of the Twin Towers was a controlled demolition by U.S. government special operators.