Jim Morin for December 29, 2009

Bruce, Thank You for your service.

Av8tor – 2 words …… Richard Reid.

Profiling ain’t gonna do it, either. The real issue is that 9/11 will NEVER happen again, because no one will trust a skyjacker to land them safely. There have been a couple of attempts (or believed attempts) where the passengers went medieval on the attempted skyjacker, because they had nothing to lose! So why are we doing the wrong things? Forget scanning people’s shoes and profiling - scan the bags, with real scanners. Use dogs. The most important security device installed thus far was a locked and secure door to the cockpit. Period.

For some better-priority means of dealing with terrorism (just for starters), stick with this segment from yesterday’s TRMS to the end – the interviewee doesn’t get to the point right away, but does eventually answer the question “Are there things that we should be doing in response to incidences like these that are, in your view, more rational, more directly getting at the problem?” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#34615697

As far as the terrorist are concerned the attack was a success – they get publicity, people run around screaming “They’re Everywhere, They’re Everywhere!!”, while we waste time and money on measures that wont make us that much safer, and wont fix the real problem.

Terrorist win when we let them scare us into thinking they are a bigger threat then they are. Lets just go about our business, and do the things that will really hurt the terrorist, like getting our “friends” in the Middle East to stop giving them millions and millions of dollars in support.

The terrorists win again and again.Terrorism doth bestride the world like a collossus while puny,afraid American worms cower and crawl beneath its feet.

AMERICANS ARE NOT COWARDS!

Do you really think a few thousands terrorist, scattered around the world are going to take down America?

On 9/11 over 3,000 Americans died, but 10’s of thousands didn’t, because they didn’t run around screaming they – as did the passingers on this plane and the Shoe Bomber plane, kept their heads, and did acts of courage.

In the movies and on TV Americans are aways shown running in panic while the hero saves the day – the reality is that people do what has to be done, even it endangers their lives.

The thousands of workers in the Towers didn’t stamped down the stairs, knocking children and elderly to the floor, they calmly (and with little offical guidence) got down and out on their own, often stopping to help others.

You obvisouly don’t like America, and think very little of America and Americans.

To those who are going to start taking trains instead of planes: how long do you think it will be before a terrorist attempts an act of terrorism on a train? Oh, wait, you say it’s already happened?

Enough about silly things like terrorist bombings and recessions and national health care –

Let’s get to what’s really important!!!

The difference between “incidents” and “incidence”.

An “incident” is something that happens, an event. if the there’s more than one, then they are “incidents”. “There have been several incidents of terrorist action lately.”

“Incidence” is the fact, manner, or rate of occurrence of a phenomenon. “There incidence of terror attacks has been increasing.” The plural of this word is rarely seen, though I suppose you could compare two incidences – the incidence of murder compared to the incidence of suicide. These incidences may vary independently.

So in the sentence “Are there things that we should be doing in response to incidences like these that are, in your view, more rational, more directly getting at the problem?” the word should be “incidents”.

Now that we’ve settled this, we can return to less important matters.

Mr Warren:

I believe you were addressing Mr Gwin and not me, and if you think it’s not for me to comment, you needn’t continue reading.

I do want to mention that I (and many who question and criticize) feel no less love for our country and our values then those who can check off a list of pro-American stereotypes. When we profess our love for America and Americans, we don’t relinquish our ability to think critically and to criticize intelligently.

I’m only two steps removed from at least one (if not more) of the people who behaved heroically on 9/11 (that is, I don’t know them, but I know people who do). (Not to put myself in the same group as them, but I tried to do my part when 9/11 occurred on the morning of my regular weekly college radio program, and tried to be as informative and as comforting as I could.) In other words, I honor people who behaved heroically rather than give in to fear, and people who just tried to not let their fears overcome them – most regular Americans come under those categories, I believe.

But there are indeed too many people making too many cowardly decisions: not on battlefields, nor – as too much finger pointing claims – among folks generally on the political left.

Just make note of the fear mongering that occurred when Wall Street re-opened, and the stock markets tanked. Where was our patriotism then? The fear-mongering our political leaders employed in their marketing campaign for war. Was it brave to trump up reasons? Did (and this is equally directed at R’s and D’s) our elected federal officers display their high esteem for the people’s judgment by selling us the actions they took while hiding the costs?

And more to the point, do airlines care for their customers by demonstrating that they’re doing what needs to be done to keep us safe, or are they acting like they’re doing what needs to be done, but all they’re doing is window-dressing, to give people the illusion of safety, selling only the illusion of control?

Bruce- yep- thanks for your service. I find FLYING okay, but going through TSA (like my last trip out of Orlando) requires a lot more Ativan than going into any “hot” LZs as a crew chief back in ‘Nam. At least when getting shot at, you didn’t get packed into lines, waiting for some dude to get over his panic at finding nail clippers.

Yes, profiling; behaviors, not race, religion, or dress, is more important than some goober staring into a machine.

dtroutma: said ”Yes, profiling; behaviors, not race, religion, or dress, is more important than some goober staring into a machine.”

Totally in agreement with you. It may sound I’m parroting your words but I’ve just noticed we’ve been “preaching” practically the same thing on a few ‘toons today.

REAL – My comments were not directed at you, I’m just tired of all those people who think the only way we can be safe is to give everything over to the Government, it is strange that the same people who called for giving our freedoms to the Government for safety under Bush, are now the ones screaming that we can’t trust the Government and that Obama plans to turn us all into sheep.

What we saw on 9/11, and what (living where we have both earthquakes and floods) I have seen myself, is that Americans help each other, they put themselves in harms way for people they don’t know.

America is the Home Of The Brave.

Ken - Thanks for the reply. I understand your views better now. Strongly agree that the hypocrisy is bad and seems strangely over-partisan.

My specific experience of people sacrificing for others differs in type but not in quality from yours – I’ve seen innumerable families of choice that have pulled together to support sick or unfortunate people when traditional systems failed, often for people who they don’t know. Brave people I’ve known have often appeared not just unexpectedly but with unexpected appearances. [physically perhaps not what one would expect.]

You’re another kind of unexpected, and I’m grateful for what you wrote. It always hits me right here (just imagine) when I recognize that moment of shared experience with someone. Thanks.

Ken, you do know it was a Dutchman, Jasper Schuringa, who tackled Abdulmutallab?

I generally like your posts and I do realise you feel that compatriots of yours are attacking your own national character which you feel you should defend but one can rebutt without resorting to patriotic stereotypes either. Being brave isn’t a national trait, just as cowardliness isn’t, no matter what a national anthem’s lyrics state.

Edit 4 hours later: Ken, I feel I should mention I have a personal bugbear about patriotism, please nevermind me.

fennec, dtroutma, omQ R, you bet I’m aligned with you. Behaviors are the way to go. I have professional reasons for thinking so, too.