Posted on 03/05/2002 4:31:42 PM PST by Starmaker
No matter how much news I consume, I´m still amazed at what some consider newsworthy. No, I´m not talking about the regularly occurring "human interest" stories or even the latest shocking revelation that another Hollywood marriage has broken up. Though these are hardly of earth shattering significance, they can help to break up the dreary, and oftentimes depressing, content of the average news day. What I am referring to is the occasional little tidbit that catches fire, beyond all reason and proportion. A prime example of this is the hubbub over the existence of a so-called "Shadow Government". Everyone, run for your lives! As I scanned dozens of articles and listened to a handful of reports, I found plenty to chuckle at, but I have yet to determine the origins of the term as it relates to this alleged story. Anyone who has the line on that, please feel free to throw it my way (lfpphillips@yahoo.com). But however it started, it certainly creates unnecessary drama and a sinister label for the "Continuity of Operations Plan", the details of which should come as a surprise to no one. Simply put, this plan is a series of safeguards to assure that the central government survives in the event of a nuclear, or other such massive attack. And despite the sensationalism surrounding the story, similar contingency plans have been in existence for generations. From the time it was clear that the Soviet Union not only possessed nuclear weapons but also the capability to deliver them on the Unites States, measures have been taken to guarantee that one well-placed weapon of mass destruction could not fully decapitate the U.S. government. While the particulars of these plans remained shrouded in secrecy, any reasonable person would have had to assume that arrangements had been made. Anything else would have been utter foolishness. Or should we have believed that during the backyard bomb-shelter building craze of the 1950´s, our national leadership was leaving itself totally exposed. Come on now! But expecting some, inside and outside of the media, to take this infantile step in logic may be expecting too much. In spite of the lingering threat of nuclear devastation for over a half-century, I would bet that a good percentage of Americans would be hard pressed to explain the simple notion of M.A.D (Mutually Assured Destruction). Likewise, I doubt that many could say what the letters in MIRV stand for, or ICBM, or UPS for that matter. Certainly the "drawdown" after the Cold War did little to convince us of the need to think about these things. This is a mystery in itself. The collapse of the Soviet Bloc seemed to make the entire Western World believe that all of those nasty nuclear weapons just disappeared. Then came the "Oh Happy Day" calls to abolish the CIA and dismantle our own military. The warnings from warmongers like myself to be mindful of the suddenly fragmented and poverty stricken Soviet military structure and the newly burgeoning world nuclear arms market went largely unheeded. There were more important things to worry about, like multiculturalism and "Don´t Ask, Don´t Tell". But then came that bitter dose of reality on Sept. 11th, along with questions like "Why weren´t we prepared?" and "Where was U.S. intelligence?" In the interim, the plans and facilities to assure the survivability of our central government fell into disrepair. And the once top-secret bunker beneath the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia became a tourist attraction, thanks in large part to the dutiful service of the American media. Isn´t that cute? Since the attacks of 9-11, we have been introduced to a new reality. Our "new normal" is characterized by heightened airport screening, military operations overseas, "homeland security", talk of possible terrorist attacks with weapons of mass destruction, and a vice president who is virtually never seen in public. Yet for some reason, plans to prevent national anarchy are somehow seen as stunning. Pardon the sarcasm, but where were we to believe Dick Cheney has been, keeping a low profile all by himself in a Motel 6 perhaps? Setting aside for a moment the facts that similar plans have been in place for 50 years, that the current version was reported on 6 months ago in the Cleveland Plain Dealer and in U.S. News & World Report, the press and congressional Democrats have portrayed this as startling and have used ominous terms to describe it. The Washington Post who re-broke the story has referred to the small group of executive branch officials working in "secure locations" as a "cadre". For anyone who cares, a cadre is defined by Merriam-Webster as "a cell of indoctrinated leaders active in promoting the interests of a revolutionary party". The Washington Post has spearheaded this drive to expose this potentially nefarious scheme, but also demonstrated their magnanimity in the March 1st front-page scorcher "Shadow Government Is at Work in Secret". In the article they reveled that they had "agreed to a White House request not to name any of those deployed or identify the two principal locations of the shadow government." What a truly generous sacrifice on their part. After all, what is the sustainability of our system of government and the prevention of utter chaos when weighed against the right of the Post to list a few names and places? Guiding congressional Democrats in a claim of total ignorance, Tom Daschle alleges that they have been "left in the dark". On the latest edition of Fox News Sunday, the Senate Majority Leader described this as a "secret government" and pondered: "You´d think that somebody in Congress, one person in Congress, somewhere would know what they´re doing". But in the same broadcast he was forced to admit that he had been to one of the classified locations and was also compelled to acknowledge that both the legislative and judicial branches have similar plans. So much for cries from the likes of Rep. William Delahunt (D-Mass.) when he whined: "What about US". To those on both extremes of the ideological spectrum, the hype about a "Shadow" or "Secret" government has surely confirmed their longstanding paranoia about "unseen forces" surreptitiously controlling our national destiny. For members of the ultra-left-wing, which does exist contrary to the media´s view, this confirms what they had always suspected about Republicans; that they truly desire nuclear war as a means to justify the existence of the "Military Industrial Complex". In the minds of animal rights activists, anti-globalization fanatics and the rest of the radical-left, the time spent in these underground strongholds is probably being used in an attempt to insert a Second Amendment into the Constitution, which they all know isn´t there. They may even be laying the groundwork for the creation of a theocracy by allowing a moment of silent prayer in schools, or to falsely convince the public that sex is intended for reproduction rather than its true purpose of "lifestyle" identification. As for the far right, which (for clarification) does not include anyone who owns a gun or believes that abortion is wrong, the ridiculous hysteria has no doubt ignited a fresh wave of "black helicopter" nightmares. Militia groups across the country are probably more convinced then ever that a United Nations takeover of the U.S. is imminent. All kidding aside, there´s plenty left to be concerned about in the wake of September 11th without getting unnecessarily worked up over perfectly reasonable precautions. Don´t get me wrong; I don´t take the threats to this country lightly, in fact, far from it. But none of this is new, or news, and it shouldn´t cause anyone to come unglued, particularly in the press or in the halls of Congress. Far be it from me to be amused by rampant naïveté or ridiculous panic mongering. Ok, maybe just this once. Everyone point and laugh children!
You are falling through outer space,
Your eyes are getting very heavy,
You feel yourself floating.
When I count backwards from 10
You will be under my control.
10
9
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4
3
2
1
Send FR $500.00! Or whatever amount you can...
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