The Obama Security at Grant Park
by
Andrew Haas, ChicagoI was there, one of the first 10,000 they let in. Everyone who went into the rally had to go through three security checkpoints. At the first one, you just had to show your ticket and they briefly looked in your bag if you had one on you. At the second, you had to show your ticket, photo ID (your name was on your ticket), and they again looked in your bag. The first two check points were manned by just rent-a-cops. The third check point made me laugh. They had 15 metal detectors, each with three or four TSA — TSA!! — employees, and it was just like the airport except you didn’t have to take off your shoes. (A few shows ago you or Adam mentioned something about TSA employees being armed as a joke — it’s not a joke anymore. The TSA supervisors with white shirts are now armed. Anyway.) All people at the rally went through this process. There were at least three military type helicopters circling the rally, and as far as I could tell it was a no-fly zone for news and other aircraft. The field was surrounded on two sides by tall skyscrapers, and we saw secret service on top of every building around the area. Also, there were secret service on top of the giant light poles that they had (like they have in football and baseball fields). And those are only the ones we saw. They also had the whole place wired up with security cameras, the whole deal.
It is clear President Obama would need serious protection from White supremacists, deranged minds, anarchists and others in the republican base.
Rightfully worried, their fear is that Obama will lead the country to what will clearly be seen as progress and would be trouble for the Mitt Romney/ Ted Stevens GOP ticket. The Bush regime has set the leadership bar so low that it is frightening for them to hear the before and after comparisons of Obama to Bush.
#29, Bryan,
I always skip your statements. Since you seem to have something to say about everything, it’s probabaly [sp] good that you do warn us to stay away. Only idealogues [sp]and idiots can’t shut up.
If you skip them then why bother wasting your time complaining about them?
You’ve been given the right the express yourself,
No, he HAS the right to express himself. Maybe you live in some forgotten land where the liberty to speak freely is not allowed, but ECA lives in the US. That right is not given, we are born with it.
Why not just shut up and leave ECA alone.
I’ll do you a favor and let you in on a little secret about ECA. He has more effen brains and insight than you ever will.
All that security is none of Obama’s doing. The Secret Service and Chicago Police designed the whole thing.
The thing to see is that everyone was welcome. Whenever Bush spoke it was only to Republican screened crowds.
Obama will go out in public as much as recent past presidents. Bush was in far more danger late into his presidency than Obama is now.
But, as we know from Reagan, a dedicated lone gunman is almost impossible to stop unless the Pres never leaves the White House.
#1, #7 – Meigs Field: Do a Google search. Daley was smart enough to redevelop the place five minutes after he seized it (illegally) so it couldn’t be reopened.
That Chicago political machine is pretty smart. Smart enough to get their guy elected.
#24 – Great link.
#32 – More angry liberal hype? Just because you have no confidence in Obama? Sad.
#33 – LMAO – Your funniest post yet.
Jimy Heel, peedrool,
Still nothing to add.
I want to know how they secured the lake.
I can’t blame her specifically, but it’s too bad Palin didn’t put an end to what some of the nutjobs were saying at her rallies. That crap has no place in a civilized USA. McCain had the sense to calm folks, and say that his opponent was a reasonable guy. Good for him. I don’t believe Palin simply doesn’t understand the implications of her failure to address this. In the end stuff like that, and the crap Rush is already starting, fan the flames of the whackos all this security keeps at a distance.
# 39 Olo Baggins of Bywater said, “I want to know how they secured the lake.”
They electrified it. But, you didn’t hear this from me.
Dear Bryan..Just for you, no caps.
I dont post on every post..
I suggest you look around.
I still stand by my comments.
1. Obama, will have an attempt on assassination, before Feb.
2. If something happens to him, its going to get wild/weird in this country.
3. do you really think, Obama has the full backing of his group? I dont think he does.
4. Does Obama see things as we do..from the bottom up? I dont think so. None of those people up there do.
Sorry to tell ya, but there has been no fixed no-fly zone over Chicago.
I’ve flown over Chicago – Right down Southport near Wrigley Field. The lakefront is a busy route.
It’s called a TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction) and there were three over Chicago on Tuesday.
What keeps planes from flying over or near The Sears Tower are the spacing restrictions and O’Hare’s and Midway’s airspace above which is at 3000 feet over the land, lower (1900) further in.
Now that Barack Obama is president we’ll have frequent TFRs in Chicago when he comes home and the air over his his home should become Restricted airspace, just as Crawford, TX is today for Bush.
Ironically, when Meigs Field was open the airspace over Chicago downtown and lakefront was controlled. Not no more. Thanks Mare.
There has never been a permanent no-fly zone over Chicago. There are occasionally TFR’s (Temporary Flight Restrictions) as explained in #43.
Evidence: Go to http://www.runwayfinder.com/ and type “KCGX” in the field at the top and hit return (that was the identifier for Meigs). That will center you near what was Meigs Field (and you can still see nearby Soldier Field on the chart). The downtown skyscrapers are represented by the blue tower-shaped symbols just down and left from where it says “CHICAGO”.
The blue concentric rings are O’Hare’s (class B) airspace, the purple rings are Midway’s (class C) airspace. As I look at it right now, there is a red ring with a pin at the top, that is a TFR (this is not actually printed on the chart, it’s being superimposed by their software)
Now, type in KDCA, the identifier for Reagan National Airport in DC. You’ll see several circles. These are still “temporary” flight restrictions, though they’ve been in place continuously since 2003. The innermost ring is the Flight Restricted Zone – No flight operations besides airlines, emergency, military, etc. are allowed. The middle ring is the Washington ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone). Aircraft that fly in this area must receive a clearance and be “squawking” a discrete code with their on-board transponder, and have filed a flight plan prior to departure. The outermost ring is the “speed ring” which simply restricts VFR aircraft to a speed of 230 knots. Washington is the only area within the continental US that has an ADIZ (there are ADIZ’s off the coasts and such to protect entry into US airspace). There are no other areas in the US that have a FRZ or speed ring like Washington does.
However, there is prohibited and restricted airspace in other areas. If you zoom in on DCA, you’ll see two Prohibited areas just to the north. The larger one covers the Capitol, White House, and National Mall. Scary thought that while small airplanes cannot fly there, the big ones that were actually used against us on 9/11 are only 18 seconds away from taking out anything in that area. Now, for an example of restricted airspace, look southwest of DCA, just inside the 2nd ring. The blue hatched polygon that says R-6608A, R-6608B, and R-6608C is a restricted area. Restricted areas are verboten when the airspace is “hot” but you can fly through them if they are “cold.”
Now, type in KACT which is Waco, TX. You’ll see a large white area. At the middle of the white area is a small blue hatched ring that says “Prohibited P-49”. That is Bush’s ranch in Crawford. The large white ring is advisory – It shows the limits of the temporary restriction that is in place when Bush is actually there.
Now, type in B19. Just south of that, on the coast, is P-67 which is Bush Sr.’s place in Kennebunkport, ME. There is also a notation which says to “Check NOTAMs daily for expansion.” That means NOTices to AirMen, which is the system via which TFR’s are communicated to pilots. The notation is just an extra reminder to pilots that the small P-67 area is expanded drastically when GW Bush goes there to visit.
Now, type in KCGX again. See any Restricted or Prohibited airspace? Nope. Just the TFR over Obama’s house. Expect this to become much larger (similar to what’s in Crawford) after he takes office on the 20th. I hope he stays in Washington, as there is a LOT of air traffic following the lakeshore and flying in other areas of Chicago, and his presence will seriously disrupt the air transportation system there.
“ECA said, on November 7th, 2008 at 1:40 pm Dear Bryan..Just for you, no caps.
I dont post on every post..
I suggest you look around.
I still stand by my comments”
I hope this is not an end to an era.
45,
NOPE, never…
Just SHOWING off..