During an appearance on the C-SPAN program Washington Journal on Thursday morning, New York Democratic Congressman Brian Higgins took a call from a viewer who claimed 7 World Trade Center was taken down by controlled demolition on September 11, 2001. This is a common claim made by so-called 9/11 truthers.

In any case, the caller asked Higgins if he would personally review “evidence” in support of this claim. Higgins, who is a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, indicated he would do so.

Frankly, Higgins should have told the caller to take her “evidence”, fold it five ways and stick it where the moon don’t shine. As a public official, Higgins should not be legitimizing the theories of kooks and those who wish to minimize the culpability of al Qaeda in the attacks of September 11, 2001. Higgins should have given this question the same sort of attention he would had he been asked why 4,000 Israelis stayed home on 9/11.

I make the above reference because the “poet” Amiri Baraka died on Thursday. A little over a decade ago, Baraka wrote “Somebody Blew Up America” in which he wrote:

Who knew the World Trade Center was gonna get bombed Who told 4000 Israeli workers at the Twin Towers To stay home that day Why did Sharon stay away?

This “poem” resulted in Baraka being removed from the post of Poet Laureate of New Jersey. Now that he is gone, we can only hope that the nonsense he spewed dies with him.

But such nonsense cannot die so long as the likes of Congressman Higgins keeps it alive and well by giving credence and legitimacy to the outlandish claims of conspiracy theorists. In so doing, Higgins sullies the memories of nearly 3,000 people who were murdered by Islamic fundamentalist terrorists on September 11, 2001.