Touch Of Gray

[Plaid Adder]

So, a major terrorist plot is foiled in England, airline traffic is FUBAR for the forseeable future, and now all of us who have to get on planes any time soon will be dealing with not only our own panic but everyone else's.

And how does the Bush administration feel about this? Well, apparently, they're stoked.

Someday, just once, I want to see someone get up in public and ask why it is that Americans are expected to feel safer with a guy in power whose political fortunes are linked this closely to terrorism. Doesn't it bother anyone else to see that every time something either blows up or almost blows up, the Bush administration lackeys get out there and say, "Hey, fabulous, this is really going to boost our approval ratings"? Wouldn't you rather have someone in power who did not see terrorism as a political godsend? Wouldn't you maybe trust a guy more whose whole political survival didn't depend on things like this happening? Who, you know, didn't think terrorism had an upside?

I merely ask.

I mean, no matter what they do, it's not as if the Bush admininstration will ever run out of terrorism. They have ensured that for the forseeable future there will be an inexhaustible supply. Which is great for them, because apart from terrorism, as that anonymous Republican quoted at the end of the above piece admits, they've got nothing. It is not so good for us, however, because it means that the people running the country believe that terrorism is good for them--whereas, of course, it is not good for us. Things have gone so badly for them that they must now share our sense that the twenty-first century is just a big black cloud of pain and suffering raining down anxiety and grief upon us. But for them, apparently, an incident like this is the silver lining. And its effect on the people they supposedly govern? Well, I guess that's the touch of gray.

When it comes to terrorism, Bush's self-interest is diametrically opposed to that of the rest of the people in the country. He actually profits from it. We don't. This is a major problem, and it's been obvious for a long damn time. It just galls me to see so many people stare right at this giant flashing red warning sign and not see it.

Ah well,

The Plaid Adder

[salinen]

1. Hmm!

where else is fear taught? Oh yeah, the place where * found himself. Go with the formula that's worked for 2000 and 6 years. Start them young so it's a reflex.

[MichiganVote]

2. Terrorism is big business.

It's a product with a process. It markets itself. Wars such as Iraq are merely the outward signs of stringent marketing. Tap into the media, tap into churches, tap into the fears of citizens....

The tick, tick, tick of humanity....going, going, gone.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

3. Engineers do this. They "softwarize" things that never needed

to be, they electronify things that work perfectly well without it, they complicate the mundanely simple and they "engineer" their own existence, rather they create a need for their continued presence in the research and development teams around the globe. "Hey look, this works perfectly well, better complicate/fix it right away" could be their mantra.

Kicked and recommended... absolutely.

[mhatrw]

4. Republicans promise us more terrorism, more fear & more hatred.

Here's what the Republicans have to offer: fear & hatred.

It's not that they can solve the problem of terrorism or stop terrorism in any way, it's just that they promise to FEAR AND HATE Muslims more than Democrats.

They also promise to FEAR AND HATE gays more than Democrats.

They also promise to FEAR AND HATE sex more than Democrats.

They also promise to FEAR AND HATE uppity negros more than Democrats.

They also promise to FEAR AND HATE hippies and flag burners more than Democrats.

They also promise to FEAR AND HATE the poor and homeless more than Democrats.

Finally, they promise to FEAR AND HATE Mexican immigrants more than Democrats.

That's it. That's their entire platform!

[brer cat]

5. Anything to get our minds off Iraq!

[vickitulsa]

44. I believe this may well backfire on them at last.

They know they're in very deep shit when the only hope they have of retaining their majority power is reminding everyone that bin Laden is still alive and well and coming up with brilliant, well organized plots for more terrorist acts! --Plots for enormous loss of life attacks we must tremble to think of ... that's where their support has lain before, dealing with terrorist attacks. But will their support continue there forever when each new act or threat of one proves their ineffectiveness in their "war"?

Isn't everyone finally learning (once again the hard way but maybe once and for all) that this administration's "remedies" for our problems simply create more problems? They produce unease and misery, from high anxiety and huge headaches in long lines at the airports and a thousand other ways they make our lives WORSE, to ensuring that future terrorist attacks on us WILL HAPPEN.

I think people may be dumb and longsuffering, for whatever reasons; but I don't think they have an endless reservoir of patience. Especially when they can't deny any longer that (1) they've been lied to, and (2) their leaders' "solutions" enacted for five-plus years have ALL FAILED.

ALL of them. Failed! No way around it. They must point to another of their failures trying to justify or explain their latest failure!

They are to the point where their playbook is dog-eared. Under the tab for one problem area where they've written their easy excuse for lack of success and recommendations for future response, it refers you to just another dog-eared section of the book where you get referred back to that previous one, and so on forever, apparently. They're stuck with their own words!

Indeed, they are defeated with their own words and actions.

If we can't beat 'em now, I'll KNOW beyond any doubt that the election is FIXED at polling time!

[TheCentepedeShoes]

6. Anyone keeping tabs on the

puts (or is it calls?) on airline stock?
BTW Plaid - your essay "They drive it like they stole it" was my into to DU.
Right on.

[The_Casual_Observer]

7. The latest scam: Entrap a bunch of malcontent nitwits into thinking

they are part of a terror plot, make the plot real dastardly sounding, like "human carnage likes of which you've never seen", then at the appropriate time, expose the plot arrest all the nitwits & claim a victory. How many times is that now?

[purduejake]

18. The sentiment of passengers I encountered today...

is that this is just another government fabrication. I didn't see any panic or any worried faces - just frustration and many comments like "I guess Bush's approval dropped below 30 again." I think people are finally waking up and hopefully they will be PISSED about the inconvenience caused because we cannot seem to get a grip on this terror issue.

[mikelewis]

8. YES YES YES...

A thousand times "Yes". K & R

[Mist]

9. An anonymous White House official who sounds like a concert promoter:

"Weeks before September 11, this is going to play big."

[savemefromdumbya]

10. Bush & Cheney have spent all in Iraq, none left for homeland security

Bush shouldn't be patting himself on the back there's no money for security and mop up after hurricanes.

[DAMANgoldberg]

11. Cried Wolf...

These folks in power will do this one too many times, so when a real legitimate threat comes along that can hurt them as well as us, they will be unprepared to do anything about it.

[BeHereNow]

16. Welcome to DU, DAMANgoldberg

BHN

[BillE]

28. We are not prepared for it NOW.

Personally, I think this Administration is trying really hard to encourage terrorists to attack us again. Just hope someone points out that we are supposed to be fighting the terrorists over there in Iraq, so we don't have to fight them here.

[newyawker99]

43. Hi DAMANgoldberg!!

Welcome to DU!!

[Diane R]

12. This has to be recommended!

I wish the MSM would pick up on this. Fat chance, though.

[im10ashus]

13. You are so wonderful.

Thanks!

K&R!

[iamahaingttta]

14. We really must do something about these people!

Well, OK. That's the understatement of the century.

Stop using your credit cards. Stop paying interest. That's how wealth is created, and most of it goes right to the top. Stop burning fossil fuels. Stop paying your federal taxes. Stop patronizing companies that act against your interest. We have to starve this beast. We have to make it unprofitable for the reptile vampires to do ANYTHING. We have to drive them out of our communities and our nation and off the planet forever. We have to make certain that they never again attain this kind of power. There aren't as many of them as the noise they make. There are a lot of people who just sort of go along with it because they don't know what else to do. We must show them how wrong this all is.

Preaching to the choir...

[KAZ]

15. K'd, R'd, and saved in a Word doc for distribution.

Great post PA.

[BeHereNow]

17. Once again, the Adder NAILS it.

Thanks for such a concise summary of
our collective nightmare...
BHN

Kicking and Recommending!!!

[Warren DeMontague]

19. The shoe is on the hand it fits

there's really nothing much to it.

Well said.

[IselaB]

20. Honestly, Adder

Have you ever made a serious effort to get published - to get syndicated? You are a wellspring of insight, and a helluva writer. I really wish you were in every newspaper.

[tavalon]

21. Well, of course they would be stoked

They are completely amoral and frankly, evil.

[mia]

22. You nailed it -

exactly what I supposed would be the reaction of this administration when I heard the news on the way to work this morning - only I couldn't have stated it so well.

The beast thirsts for terror in any way, size, shape, or form it can find it.

[NanceGreggs]

23. As always, Plaid Adder ...

... your straight arrow, unimpeded by BS, undeflected by political posturing, hits the bulls-eye with unerring accuracy!

[Tekla West]

24. not good

I too find their obvious enjoyment of it to be more than sick. But as a cynic I tend to think that very little happens by accident, if it happens, it was planned by someone to happen just that way.

[Olney Blue]

25. Isn't there a conflict of interest in this somewhere?

The president says it is "his responsibility as president" to protect us? Yet, he uses the exploitation of fear and terror as his main political strategy. He has a press secretary who pimps the president as someone who won't "cut and run", while the Dems would. This MUST be unethical and unprofessional, and I really appreciate your post for the excellent summary.

[Canuckistanian]

26. They should be apologizing for letting it get this far

AND, considering all the rights of privacy that we've given up, we're REALLY NOT ANY SAFER, are we?

[PurpleChez]

27. God bless you, Plaid Adder

paragraph #3 says it all. Thanks for voicing what I couldn't.

[spacelady]

29. I am so glad you said this. n/t

[Kurovski]

30. K&R

I was just wondering last night where Plaid Adder has been.

As another poster here at DU has said, it really is a police matter. BushCo should just stay out of it all.

[Matilda]

31. Beats me

why the dummies can't see that terrorists aren't operating in a vacuum. I guess it's up to us to
point out to these people - yet again - that these acts are happening BECAUSE of western interfering
in the ME, BECAUSE of the major stuff-ups in Iraq and Afghanistan, and BECAUSE of unswerving support
for Israel's attacks against the Palestinians and now the Lebanese.

It's not as if we haven't been told - the message has been sent, loud and clear, but some people
just choose to ignore it.

Trouble is, we all pay in the end.

[Just Me]

32. As have ALL PROFITEERING DICTATORS. It galls me, too.

It actually scares me that, any normal person either can't or won't face the obvious.

I am convinced this country suffers a horrific dysfunctional issue, without a doubt.

The masses are being manipulated. But, hey, listen,...a slow, seeping oppression has been evolving for decades. We have been in reverse for quite some time. The schooling and the media has convinced us otherwise,...to a degree. The media makes anyone who doesn't own a new car or big house,...inadequate or a failure. The "schooling" still tells kids they can make it BIG if they work hard enough and are brilliant or something.

It's just all a facade, a fabrication. When you examine the REAL facts (government stats aside, which are also total fabrications), one out of four Americans makes end meet. The rest cling to survival, check-by-check, or otherwise. It is fucking PITIFUL.

Our country tops violent crimes in the whole freakin' world!!!! Doesn't that indicate that something is WRONG? We have the hugest prison population, mostly blacks and involving drugs. Doesn't THAT indicate something is WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY?

FUCK!!!! We have trouble taking care of our own and these assholes, profiteering power-mongers, figure "they" can RULE THE EARTH?

Good grief, where is the sense of reality?

[Tab]

33. See the pattern, people!

When was the last terror alert?

Pre-election, invariably in what would otherwise be a bad news cycle. Terror alert after terror alert! It's a dangerous time! Not a time to change horses midstream!

Bush gets reelected, no terror alerts since. Peace and prosperity!!!

Lamont beats Lieberman thanks to anti-war sentiment and WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP, it's terror alert time!! Lamont's win over Lieberman is pushed off of the front pages, because WHAT is more important than a terror alert? Some silly Senate race? No, of course not. NOTHING COMPARES!

And if it was real, since we're not checking/restricting baby formula and prescription medicines, we've just told the terrorists what form to bring liquids in the next time around.

True LIBs, like I always say. Lying, Incompetent, or Both.

Sheesh.

[PegDAC]

34. Right now,

I think I'm fortunate that I can't afford to get to the end of the block.

[DallasNE]

35. But How Do We Deal With It PA?

I mean the "cry wolf" Bush administration has total control of events like today's "news" of a terror plot broken up.

But there are a number of things about this latest plot that doesn't pass the smell test. It was revealed that 3-4 years ago a similar plot to blow up 11 planes over the Pacific by using liquid explosives was broken up in the Philippines. Why then didn't they ban toothpaste, mouthwash and other liquid items at the time that plot was broken up?

One of the things announced today was money was wired, presumedly to buy airline tickets by the suspects. It was only a few weeks ago that the New York Times was blasted by the Bush administration for exposing an operation that traced all electronic money transfers. How then can money be transfered by wire to the suspects? Something doesn't smell right here.

Lastly, it has been claimed that NSA wiretaps lead to these suspects being caught. Actually, since no Americans have been involved this would not have been a suspect NSA wiretap requiring court supervision since Pakistan and the UK are the two countries involved.

Much of what we are hearing in this case is already starting to sound like a concoction with the Bush administration again cries wolf. One would hate to think that an administration would put a country through the hell that today's actions are putting this country through for the sake of holding onto power at any cost yet there are disturbing signs that that is exactly what is going on here. It is not healthy to always assume that we are always being lied to because bin Laden is real and capable of causing great damage as 9/11 showed us. But, damn it, a barrage of lies is what we have been getting from the monster sitting in the Whitehouse.

[Karenina]

40. You're SURE Bin Forgotten

is real?

[madrchsod]

36. what i find interesting is two things

first ..the airlines knew that this type of liquid bomb worked in 1995 and did nothing to prevent another attack
second ..the whitehouse knew of the 1995 attack and were warned of plans of flying planes into buildings and did nothing to prevent the attack.

[im10ashus]

46. Third.

They have been trailing this group since about last December and yet weren't able to have a plan in order for the airports when they decided to break the story. Their failures outnumber their accomplishments time after time.

[me b zola]

37. Best post that I've read today

[K8-EEE]

38. They DON'T Want To "End Terrorism" It's Their Bread & Butter!

They got nothin', nothin' but fear....and it IS bizarre to see the familiar panic and shrill punditry over it but somehow, I feel like people ain't buyin' it this time.

The ridiculous "the terr'rists want our opponent to win," well, I think they've gone to that well one time too often.

[Raster]

41. Of course they don't want to end terrorism. It's their ONLY trump card.

I had and still have HUGE issues with bushco* thwarting any competent investigation into 9/11. If not for John Conyers, the Jersey Girls and other brave souls DEMANDING investigation, bushco* would have swept 9/11 under the rug, or at least the causes and participants under the rug. Fear is the mindkiller and the ONLY thing that keeps this illegal, immoral and corrupt administration in power.

Thank you O Plaid One.

On edit: 36!

[im10ashus]

39. Kick it for the Adder.

Thanks again Plaid Adder.

[Raster]

42. Folks, let's KICK this up and keep it KICKED!!!

As usual some of the simplest words and concepts can be the most powerful. Let's keep this kicked as high as possible and move it to the top of the Greatest Page so that EVERYONE that comes to DU today and tomorrow sees this.

[im10ashus]

45. Kick!

[Digit]

47. Another kick!