Posted on 07/09/2004 9:12:26 PM PDT by FairOpinion
SPEARFISH -- Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said Thursday that he was very concerned about homeland security issues in the face of what he called the most sobering terror report he had heard recently.
The United States is tightening security in the face of a steady stream of intelligence indicating an attack aimed at disrupting elections, the White House said Thursday.
The Department of Homeland Security is addressing the threat and has efforts underway to ''ramp up security,'' White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Thursday.
"It is absolutely essential for the U.S. Senate to turn its attention to what we can do to make America safe," Daschle said.
Of particular concern are the nation's borders and ports, Daschle said, and there are security issues unresolved as the homeland security appropriations are "hung up" in the Senate.
Asked if the timing of the terror concerns might be aimed at stealing political thunder from the announcement of John Edwards as the democratic vice presidential candidate, Daschle replied, "The report is so sobering and so serious that I cannot bring myself to believe anyone in this administration would use this for political purposes."
Daschle said the most recent terror briefing was the second this week and contained information that there is a higher threat than there has been at any time since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
There have been so many incidents of strangers photographing petrochemical plants in the past year (including one report of a guard who was shot by such a photographer) that they barely seem to make the news any more.
The night of the weak knees
Christopher Hitchens
Wednesday December 5, 2001
The Guardian
Four weekends ago, I really did receive two Friday-night telephone calls from well-positioned Washingtonians. "Leave now," they told me. "There's a tactical nuke on the loose, and it's headed for DC." One of these callers was in a position to know, and the other was in a position where he was actually paid to know. Calls were being placed to an immediate circle of friends to which, in theory, I was flattered to belong. Those who were calling were also leaving - while not informing the rest of the citizens. Why, then, did I resolve to stay? It wasn't just British pluck, strong as that naturally is. I thought, first, that it was unlikely that al-Qaida, if it had the bomb, would have conducted a petty dress rehearsal with United Airlines. I thought, second, that the detonation of a "use it or lose it" freelance nuke could not be predicted for any given weekend. And I thought, third, that I would feel a colossal cretin if I fled and then came slithering back on Monday morning (especially if the nuclear holocaust was timed for Monday's rush hour after all). In the end, I did take the family on a pre-arranged trip to Gettysburg, leaving late and returning early.Officially, nobody now remembers this night of the weak knees. It rated a brief and embarrassed mention in Hugh Sidey's Time column, and that was it. But I shall not forget how some of those in supposed authority decided that the end had come, and made it a point to keep it to themselves and their immediate friends, perhaps to stop the crowding of the roads. That's how it will be on the day of Armageddon, and that's why the citizen should always plan to outlive the state, rather than the other way round.
The Houston ship channel.
Houston PING
Don't let 'em drag you into a pissing match. You'll get dirty, and they'll enjoy it. Plus, they'll win.
By "winning", I mean they'll get the thread kicked to the backroom (where no one else will see it), and/or get it deleted.
They succeeded on both scores today with a *very* important thread.
They generally run in packs, and it's not hard to spot 'em.
The Houston Metro Rail... LOL!
Great post. Scary blast from the past rearing its ugly head.
See my immediately prior post about not letting the seminar posters hijack the thread into the backroom (or deletiaville).
They are frothing at the mouth today, bigtime. The talking points must be flying over the wires like mad.
Don't let them destroy this thread like they did the one about the report on Fox this morning.
Basically, yes. They sent the tangos a message that they heard loud and clear. The message was "Terrorism works, if you'll hit us hard enough."
Sorry, but they found tech manuals in Afghanistan on all of those. The learning curve is shrinking fast. Sad thing is, information on civil infrastructure is just a click away. The good thing is Islamofacists are on the whole, unintelligent and can't get a good ISP...
While I admit that the two issues are separate, you're no better than Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, playing the race card.
Bingo.
"Nine out of ten RACISTS tie their shoes."
Do YOU tie YOUR shoes? Um, no, I um, I wear loafers, yeah, that's it. I wear *loafers*!
Now, moving right along... nine out of ten seminar posters, when encountering a thread they do NOT want people to read, will do whatever they can to incite flamewars, so that they can get the thread kicked to the backroom, and/or deleted.
Don't let them win.
My Onan generator and 500 gallon propane tank say you're wrong. ;)
90 - "if they nuked or dirty bombed Houston, there would be 2+million Houstonians with guns hunting muslims. Cops couldn't do a thing (or wouldn't)."
If I were a muslim, living in Houston, and they hit Houston, I be outathere as fast as possible. In fact, out of Texas as fast as possible.
Bush bot resonded: "Barbra Striesand!"
99 - "Well, most Houstonians would probably be dead or dying. I hope our fellow Texans would be out on the warpath for us"
Houston is too big and spread out, to kill more than a small number, but you can bet Texans would be out on the warpath against any Arabs.
You scored, but now it's only gonna get madder at you.
Don't let it drag you into a fray that will get the thread hijacked into the backroom (or deleted).
That's how THEY "score".
Ever since I've read that article, I've been suggesting that people rent a copy of "Miracle Mile".
I honestly have no idea what this "hijacking the Tread" business is all about but I am certainly opposed to anything that closes off or misdirects discussion.
I have been accused of it but, without a bill of particulars, I do not even know what the crime is except perhaps, inferring from your comment, that seminar posters from DU or some other cave infest the threads with their talking points with a view to corrupting them. To that I am certainly opposed.
In a critique where I lifted the pic, it noted cues to Martin Scorsese's After Hours. I thought of that first thing after reading your post. I agree, check it out. Same kinda endless swimming up craps creek; one problem after another, after another...
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