I stopped by a neighbor’s garden party over the weekend to have a beer and mingle. I met a pleasant couple, in their late 30s, I’d guess. Wife is a corporate executive. Don’t recall what the husband does. When he found out what I did for a living, he asked me, in all seriousness, if anybody in the media has investigated whether or not the U.S. Government staged 9/11 “to stimulate the economy.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Do you mean to tell me you really think it’s possible that your government killed 3,000 people as part of an economic stimulus package?” Well, yeah, he said. I asked him for evidence, and he said he had none, but that “things, I dunno, just don’t add up.” Happily for all concerned, my cellphone rang, and my wife asked me to come home to do a chore. I’m still stunned by that encounter, though. In Dallas, for crying out loud! A Parisian friend said that view is fairly mainstream where he lives, so I guess I should count my blessings. Still… .