Even the hostess realizes this ex-general is an idiot.
And by the way, if there really are hundreds of terrorists trying to attack the US, why don’t they just smuggle a shoulder-launched missile through the Southern border and blow up an airplane in Texas or California?
I’m not suggesting that the U.S. is involved in the recent attacks — what I am saying is that people must realize that the government is just trying to use fear to impose more laws and regulations and increase its control over Americans.
As #15 says, how do you identify the Muslims? Do they look like the 9-11 hijackers? Or Richard Reid? Or Mr. Sizzlepants?
#27- what country are you referring to? I’m guessing it’s Israel- and they rely on identifying suspicious behavior, not racial stereotyping. If it’s some other country, well, do tell.
How about we just stop handing out VISAs to terrorists? All the 9/11 terrorists had VISAs. So did the shoe bomber and the crotch bomber.
Do you think the people of Saudi or Yemen would be really angry if it was announced that the US doesnt want them? More angry than they are now because the US keeps bombing them?
#24, doill,
“How many Americans died from terrorism?” I think that is actually a good question. I’m not finding any clear evidence that anyone knows. About 2700 on 9/11. Some weren’t Americans and some people suffered injuries and lived for? Then you have the Cole and other events.
At Fort Hood I think 13 people died and 31 were wounded but there have been other shootings.
If you add up all the terrorist acts in the US from 2002 to the present, you will find every death was caused by an American. Yes, that includes Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, and all your various Mall Shootings and mass murders. Still, if you add up every one of them and double, or even quadruple the number, it would still be a fraction of those who die on our highways on a slow week. That same number would be less than those who die on any given day because they didn’t have health insurance.
Tell us, how much energy do you put into stopping DUIs? Over half of all traffic accidents have alcohol involved. Yup, thousands die every year in auto accidents because of excess drinking. How about unsafe speeds? Or texting?
The point here is that terrorists kill a very small number of Americans. I understand why pedro/Cherman and Dr. Dudd don’t care. Do you understand why?
@#36 “The point here is that terrorists kill a very small number of Americans.” – 3000 Americans killed in car accidents do not cause even a small bump in economy. 3000 Americans dying in terrorist attack caused lasting American (and Global) economy downturn. That is why it is war and not criminal act: aim is to win/destabilize whole Western economy structure, not just kill so many people. If Detroit bomber finished his work, price wouldn’t be just 300 people dead. We’d be hurdling back down to Depression era and 15+% unemployment in no time,…
#37, dusanmal,
3000 Americans dying in terrorist attack caused lasting American (and Global) economy downturn.
Actually, no. The 9/11 attack did not cause any downturn. It was the government response of stopping and later restricting all air traffic, implementing severe security measures, the colored alert scale, endless bullshit press conferences designed to frighten American citizens, and lies from the Bush Administration that caused the economic problems.
The international economy was only mildly injured and actually grew while America’s stagnated.
#38, Cherman/pedro
#36 So all the death have been due to American.
Why don’t you just STFU. You’re an idiot, an asshole, and not too bright. Your sole purpose in life is shit disturbing.
Okay, libertarians, it’s not the government that’s creating this. It’s the news media. There’s the underwear bomber on Christmas, and the Obama administration tries to play it cool. Well, they did screw up, but let’s just fix stuff and be done with it. It’s still the hot story. All of a sudden, we have Bush administration losers like Skeletor touting all kinds of crap that didn’t work then and won’t work now as “the way” to defeat terrorism.
The truth is, if a bunch of fanatics want to inflict civilian casualties, sooner or later they will. Any security system will break down sometimes. The quest for absolute safety is our enemy.
#42, Cherman/pedro
You are so like a “willnot”. You know what a “willnot” is?
It that little piece of shit that hangs onto the hair of your ass and just “will not” come off when you discover it the next day.
Soon all Americans will be building underground bunkers hiding there and eating cereals for early morning breakfast. “Hey look! A terrorist!! lets all run to our bunkers again!”.
All I remember in this situation is Green Days song American Idiot, “Where everything is meant to be ok…” he described it perfectly.
As pointed out, even the 80 year old, blue haired granny could be carrying a nasty in her carry on, not very likely but possible. Good thing that ilk isn’t allowed to carry those knitting needles onboard any more.
TSA has the capability to apply additional searches such as the blow job machine you walk through that senses explosives, the wand, the pat down (where’s Joe Friday when we need him?), hand searching carry-on bags and soon the see through your clothes machine. These are TSA tools that are used in addition to the walk through metal detector.
Most are, in theory at least, applied randomly. Obviously more than one tier of screening is needed but random application is wasteful. It is a foolish strategy in any measurement process to maximize negative results.
What is needed is a screening test that allows one to apply the more intense and time consuming methods to those targets most likely to be the source of concern. I propose that after your flight documents are presented to the TSA rep at the start of the process you be presented with a plate of bacon. Those who choose not to eat a piece of bacon for whatever reason would be directed to a more thorough screening process. Those who eat some bacon go through the fairly routine metal detector only.
Not entirely fool proof but cheap and what devout Moslem would eat bacon immediately before blowing himself up? An inconvenience to individual Moslems, Jews who keep Kosher and vegetarians (I point out that this process would have subjected Hitler to additional scrutiny) but less draconian than the General’s suggestion.
It is an unavoidable aspect of this issue that profiling will most likely be a more effective strategy and eventually applied. The fact is that almost all of those who have committed terrorist acts against airplanes have been Moslems. However, we should not forget, as pointed out above, any individual Moslem is pretty damned unlikely to be a source of concern. The chances that the blue haired granny is going to blow up a plane is very small. The chance that a Moslem is going to blow up a plane is also very small.
And for those of us who like bacon, it will probably be the best thing we will get fed on our miserable flight.
# 13 Unimatrix0:
“I’d prefer they just close the U.S. borders. That would stop to a lot of problems in this country.”
How about we just lock you in your basement? The rest of us don’t want to hide from the rest of the world the rest of our lives. I’m surprised you even posted — pedro might have insulted you! He was on quite a roll there! (Don’t neglect me, pedro!)
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#18 soundwash is losing it! OH NO! THE USGOVERNMENT PLANS TO USE THE POSTAL SERVICE TO:
GASP! OH NO! WHAT NEXT???
(Go back and read comments #7 and #17.) Then he accuses Greg Allen of “…trying his hardest to destroy the fabric of our county and confuse the issues…” Do you see that in those posts? I don’t.
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# 12 gquaglia:
“The General is right. Political correctness will cause more death. You liberal douches simply won’t accept what needs to be done to make us safe. One can only hope you blow up with the next plane.”
Right back at ya, ya hate-filled bagadonuts! (Galatians 6:7 “…whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Actually, I could go out and fly somewhere every day from here until you learn at least as much manners as a trained ape has, and I’d still be ten thousand times more likely to die in a traffic accident on the way to or from the airport.
Just for curiosity’s sake, just what should be done? From what I’ve seen so far, it seems likely to be something along the lines of “Kill ’em all and let God sort ’em out!” Now that should make us popular with the rest of the world, eh?
Here’s what would really work (this may sound like a joke, but I guarantee it would lessen the number of terror attacks on the U.S. and its citizens): establish a kind of American Missionary Corps, dress them all in white shirts and black slacks and jackets and send them all over the world just to talk to people. Have them tell what life in America is really like, the bad and the good, and how, in the long run, America is good for the rest of the world. Our technology (we invented the transistor, the personal computer, email, etc., etc., etc.), our medical research, our generosity, our friendliness (when we can keep the generals out of the way), our openness to new ideas (the commenters here notwithstanding). We could train and equip enough people to keep, say, ten million of them active at any particular time and they could blanket the world! After the first two years, we could slowly ratchet the number of visitations any particular household got from them down a little, _unless_ someone were foolish enough to harm or try to harm any of them, or any American anywhere. In that case, thousands of them would descend on that neighborhood, region, indeed, the entire country to patiently explain it all to them again. And again. And again if necessary. After a few years of this, if anyone suggested terrorizing America, thousands of their countrymen would put the kibosh on that idea right now!
I guarantee this approach would work better and cost less than (quoting George Carlin): “…bomb[ing] their brown asses!”