Terror Level: Bert

Today's stories about the evacuations at the Capitol and White House and of Tom Ridge's defense of the color alert system got my tiny gears turning.

As you might guess from the subject, the sidebar of this site, and your knowledge of me personally, I don't think much of the system. I don't expect to ever see blue or green which makes having them meaningless except to note we've never been that safe.

USA Today notes that more often than not, the White House wanted to elevate the warning... and for those with good memories, you'll remember that often happened at politically convenient times. But let's think about what it means to be stuck on yellow and orange.

It means that we're not any safer now that when the system went into place. Homeland security hasn't lowered it, Iraq didn't lower it, electing Bush in November didn't lower it. I think sadly this is true, Homeland Security has become a pork barrelled farce, especially comparing funding for Wyoming residents to NYC, Iraq was never really about imminent threat, and Bush's first successful campaign for president this last fall has only changed us to polarize us.

Another case in point, there was no elevation of risk when the plane in DC air space triggered the evacuation of the White House and Capitol. If a little Cessna (which could be shot down by one of the missle-loaded humvee's) can bypass the terror alert system, again, what's it's use?

We do know that it's created a huge unfunded mandate for state and local law enforcement especially when no one's running a surplus to pay for it. So why aren't we safer? Why don't we demand it? What's taking so long? If it's money, they why the big tax break. If it's workforce, why is unemployment so high. If it's the Bush Administration, why couldn't Kerry convince enough people otherwise? Why do we let this adminstration off the hook for so much?