In the last few days, people have lamented the fall of Doug Thompson, editor of Capitol Hill Blue. Last week Thompson came out against the nine eleven truth movement, basically called those of us who believe the attacks were pulled off by elements within the United States government conspiracy nuts. I am not surprised by this. Capitol Hill Blue is a "liberal" website, often in favor of Democrats, and suffering from the disease most Democrats suffer from-a pathetic belief in the efficacy of government, if only we endeavor to elect good people.

In fact, those who are offered at election time are nothing less than jobbers for the plutocracy, water carriers for the transnational corporations in control of the political machinery of state, and a vote for Democrat or Republican is a vote for tyranny. Thompson has denounced "partisan puke" Democrats on numerous occasions. However, it would appear Thompson is simply upset that Democrats have become Republicans and Republicans are out of the closet fascists in the pocket of mega-corporations and moneyed interests.

One gets the opinion that Thompson would not complain so much if Democrats went back to their roots. The Democratic Party traces its origins back to the Democratic-Republican Party founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1792. It was formed by small farmers and workers in opposition to the creation of the Bank of the United States, a central bank not authorized by the Constitution. By the late 1800s, the original Democrats morphed into the pro-business Bourbon Democrats, controlled by mercantile, banking, and railroad interests and worked against small farmers and working people. It was a downhill slide into corporatism from there-and as Mussolini later declared, fascism is in essence corporatism.

I really can't say more about Thompson's political opinion-the link to his column archive on the Capitol Hill site is broken and returns a vanilla "page not found" message. I know he hates and mistrusts the current crop in Washington and came out vociferously against the Bush clan's attempts to dismantle the Constitution and set up a high-tech snoop state, beginning with the NSA revelations.

On the one hand, Thompson understands there is a concerted effort at work to strip Americans of their constitutional rights, while on the other he declares the government as bumbling and incompetent and thus unable to pull off the attacks of September 11, 2001.

"I know my government. They're just not good enough to pull off something like this," wrote Thompson. "I'm usually the first to suspect my government of malfeasance. I love a good conspiracy theory as much as Oliver Stone but I cannot buy into this one.... The 9/11 attacks succeeded because of the incredible improbability that such a ragtag group could pull it off and our lackluster intelligence agencies failed to act on credible reports of terrorist activity."

Thompson's reasoning is like a piece of Swiss cheese, shot full of holes. He ignores research demonstrating that it would have been impossible for a "ragtag" group of Arab cave dwellers to pull off nine eleven. How did Osama bin Laden get NORAD to stand down? Thompson does not bother to tell us.

It seems Thompson is a garden variety "liberal" or "progressive," unable to accept the fact government is maleficent. One wonders. Like Noam Chomsky, Ward Churchill, and other voices contra the gaggle of neocons in Washington, it appears Thompson is unable to admit that the very essence of government is engineered violence, coercion, thievery, and murder. According to so-called progressives and far-lefters, government can be reformed. Government can be trusted-so long as we are pulling the levers. Government is essentially good.

I consider September 11, 2001, the defining moment of government. Not only is the government-not the clerical workers and petty bureaucrats, but the upper, controlling echelon, those working directly for the plutocrats, the ruling elite-capable of such treachery and immorality, but they plot such things continually, if incrementally and usually less flamboyantly. Operation Northwoods, Vietnam, Waco, these are but the most recent manifestations of government malevolence and murderous perniciousness.

Unfortunately, Doug Thompson has fallen into mental quicksand, a philosophical impasse he will not be able to escape from. Once you accept the often pedaled excuse that government is simply a blundering and floundering giant, you have set yourself up to be victimized. I believe Emma Goldman had it right when she declared, "The political arena leaves one no alternatives, one must be either a dunce or a rogue."

I'd hate to think Doug Thompson, who has in the past written so brilliantly about the prevarication and ruthlessness of government, has become a dunce.