The NYT reports that Billionaire Entrepreneur Mark Cuban was threatened in 2007 by an SEC Lawyer for his involvement with the 9/11 blockbuster film "Loose Change" and has published the e-mail, which condemns Cuban for being unpatriotic.
The film examines many inconsistencies with the official story of 9/11 and has been watched by millions on the internet. Apparently SEC lawyer Jeffrey Norris was NOT a fan of the film.
The e-mail reads:
From: Norris, Jeffrey B. [mailto:NorrisJ@SEC.GOV]
Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 2:27 PM
To: Mark Cuban
Cc: Cox, Christopher
Subject: RE: "Lose Change"
I AM SHARING THIS WITH CHAIRMAN COX. NEITHER HE NOR THE COMMISSION ENDORSE MY OPINIONS, BUT IN LIGHT OF YOUR THREAT, I THOUGHT SHOULD SEND THIS TO HIM.
Mark:
If this upsets you, I wonder how George Bush feels. I assume that Mr. Cox would view your involvement with "Loose Change" much as I do. After all, he served his country as a Republican Congressman from Orange County for nearly 20 years and was appointed by President Bush. If you feel like sharing my thoughts with Chairman Cox, be my guest.
Previously, I thought you were merely foolish and naïve. Now, however, I see that you are also a hypocrite. I guess your belief in free speech has severe limitations. If someone else is the victim of an absurd conspiracy theory, you defend your right to participate in smearing the good name of a patriot like President Bush. But, when you are the subject of a parody of the attack you have endorsed, you suddenly issue threats.
I think I will e-mail this to Chairman Cox myself. I think he will enjoy it. I’m sure he is also a Laker fan.
Since Chairman Cox may not know the background, I will explain. Mark Cuban is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and has participated in distributing the vicious and absurd documentary, "Loose Change," which posits that President Bush planned the demolition of the World Trade Center as a pretext for going to war against Iraq.(emphasis added) We have had some past exchanges about my opinion the Mr. Cuban’s support for this project is irresponsible and immoral. Below, I parodied his position that every opinion, no matter how absurd and vicious, deserves to be broadly disseminated.
Outside of sounding like a complete asshole, and never actually watching the film that he criticizes(which does NOT blame W for planning 9/11)this guy certainly thinks he has the right to abuse his position of power as long as he's being 'Patriotic'. Sound familiar?
And this is not an isolated incident for Cuban either. He was also publicly threatened by Fox Host Bill O'Reilly for his potential role in financing a theatrical release of "Loose Change".
Even though Cuban stated he did not agree with the film:
"I don’t believe the movie. Not at all," Mr. Cuban told James Ragland of the Dallas News. "But I do believe that lies in the shadows are far more dangerous than lies you can confront and refute. There probably will be a movie that responds to this one, and we would be more than happy to distribute it as well, for the very same reason."
So fuck debate. We don't need debate. Be patriotic. Threaten anyone who wants debate.
Insider trading? Yeah, that'll work.
That's your America, folks.