Letters to the Editor
Garry Owen
Published Letters: 2821 Editor's Choice: 151
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"Hijack a plane with a box-cutter?!? That's ridiculous!
[Read the article: Is the U.K. better than the U.S. at stopping terror?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]John Dalmus, you are a complete ass.
When Clinton handed over the keys on January 20, 2001, his staff also handed over a comprehensive situation report of ongoing investigations of terrorist activities and threats directed against the United States. Representitives from the CIA, the NSA, and the FBI tried to brief the incoming Bush staff responsible for national security and to their astonishment, they were rebuffed and ignored. Why? Because the Bush Administration systematically and pathologically would have nothing to do with any recommendations from the Clinton administration. This was thoroughly covered in Richard Clarke's book and also adequately illuminated in the Congressional committee's report on 9-11. In addition to that, Condolezza Rice (who is now totally living up to fears that she was nothing but a brainless apparatchik) had the ability to keyword search NSA and CIA documents under "Planes as Weapons" and could have easily read all the info on the attempted use of airliners as guided missiles.
But it was all ignored, right up to the famous memo that landed on Bush's desk a month before the tragedy warning that Osama was poised to attack the United States. Bush was clearing brush, golfing and fishing all the month of August just as he is doing right now, as we are on Red Alert.
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"They hate us for what we believe" -- Bush yesterday
[Read the article: Dishonesty by the right on terrorists and eavesdropping]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Rove told him to start using the term "Islamic Fascists" about two weeks ago and since then he's used the term four times in press encounters.
This was no mistake of language for which Bush is so famous, such as his ignorant gaff a few years ago when he cluelessly called his invasion of Iraq a "Crusade."
He started off his presidency claiming that he wanted to free the peoples of the Middle East and bring them democracy. Since that's not working anymore, Bush's brain trust is now dropping the fig leaf and going balls-out to characterize their Big Oil Grab as a full-scale clash of cultures in a final fight-to-the-death between the religion of Islam and Western Christianity. It's now the Islamo-Fascists against the Christo-Fascists.
Since Bush has utterly failed to sell any of his previous rationales for securing the world's largest oil fields, this last desperate ploy to pit Christians against Muslims is his final political redoubt.
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To Chertoff's ear
[Read the article: Is the U.K. better than the U.S. at stopping terror?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Welcome Aboard wrote:
"...who gives a damn about what can or can't be brought into the cabin of an airliner. Baggage in the hold is only randomly checked by sniffer dogs and Cargo/Freight is never checked. The Pan Am Lockerbie 747 was destroyed with a bomb the size of a radio in the baggage hold. I have expected the terrorists to exploit this enormous gap in security and I'd be interested to know what others think."
Well, I think you are right on the money. But it seems that common sense never enters the equation at Homeland Security.
When faced with a threat, they all crap their pants and run around like chickens, issuing stupid restrictions on some items, but leaving others alone: They still allow laptops and iPods.
Mike Chertoff is a complete cross-eyed dipshit. The only reason he has a job at all is because he knows how to nuzzle up between Bush's butt cheeks.
I predict that before long the only way we'll be able to get on an airplane is stripped down to our underwear and duct-taped into our seats. And the uninspected cargo in the hold will still occasionally blow us to smithereens so Bush can maintain his Red Level terrorist alert.
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What few understand about Americans
[Read the article: What America doesn't understand]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The famous quote attributed to P.T. Barnum: No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people is a good start.
So many of the world's countries have been hit by terrorists. Yet Americans in their naive conceit, their chauvanistic self-centeredness, have never really cared much.
If you want to understand what goes on in the mind of the average American, you have only to watch The Simpsons and use Homer as your model.
The Great American Dumbass, as I call him, doesn't give a damn about anything as long as he is well fed and safe. When his stomach is empty and his own house in on fire, he finally stirs into action, but only as far as he needs to go to satisfy whatever short-term fix is required.
Home of the brave? Hardly!
All the Bush administration needs to do in order to get Americans to shit their pants is to up the terror alert. Suddenly people are running around like ants, buying duct tape and bottled water, and pleading to their government to protect them from harm at any price, including throwing out the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Anything goes: Torture is fine, Assasination is great, Start a war, send out the nukes, but pleeeeeeze Jesus, just don't let the bad bad terrorist man hurt me.
Watch CNN, MSNBC and FOX right now and tell me I'm wrong.
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Yeah, right
[Read the article: "I didn't like sex at all"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]She didn't like sex at all. Yet, she stuck around with Ernie for eight years. Well, at least she give it the good old college try, globe-trotting and bed hopping for most of her life, promiscuous as a damned monkey in heat, but hating every minute of it.
She sounds like a real awe inspiring hyena.
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Jealousy is killing some of you
[Read the article: What America doesn't understand]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I got a star and you didn't.