Truth from the gut
Greetings to one and all!! I realize I've not updated in a while, however, there has been very little in the way of eventful happenings to report. This article, however, amused me, as it sounds like Chertoff has taken a leaf from stephen Colbert, and adopted truthiness as proper procedure.
William M. Arkin on National and Homeland Security
Chertoff is Groovin'
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is hearing voices. "I believe," he told the
Chicago Tribune
editorial board, that this is a "summer of increased risk."
It's a "gut feeling," Chertoff says, not based upon specific intelligence, and not serious enough to raise the alert level or take action. It is more that
summer is a time they -- the terrorists -- find "appealing," he says.
Chertoff says he particularly fears complacency among the American people. Last week after the London and Glasgow plots, he tried the Patrick Henry thing
to increase vigilance over the
July 4th holiday. "
Our edge is technology and the vigilance of the ordinary citizen," Chertoff says.
So if this is the summer of risk, why is the department going through the motions of celebrating National Preparedness month in September -- and why is
it wasting government time and taxpayer dollars teaming up Radio Disney to co-sponsor its healthy lifestyles summer tour: activities that "will have kids
and families gamin', groovin' and movin'!"
Yesterday (thanks K!), in its regular
"Ready Call"
to state and local preparedness officials, the Department of Homeland Security passed out a PowerPoint briefing from Radio Disney describing its Move It!
Tour, "a celebration of music and movement" that is intended to:
• encourage kids to adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle,
• position music and movement as a unique and cool way for kids to express themselves,
• Execute events reinforcing Radio Disney's Move It! Tour as the Walt Disney Company's healthy kids initiative.
I have a hard time figuring out how this is useful, how this will actually do anything to secure the nation or even educate the public on vigilance and
preparedness.
Last year, the Department of Homeland Security sponsored the Radio Disney "Feelin' Groovy" tour to promote emergency preparedness to families. Radio Disney
visited 63 malls across the country with a day-long activity package designed to "bring health and safety messages to children and families." The Ad Council
public service announcements in support of this groovy initiative included encouraging families to consider adoption from foster care, help prevent childhood
asthma attacks, promote lifelong literacy, raise awareness about how to prevent wildfires and, by the way, the importance of being prepared for an emergency.
I've
previously written
about the homeland security initiative this summer to join with minor league baseball to promote citizen preparedness.
Here's what Chertoff said yesterday, in the
partial transcript released by the Tribune:
Block quote start
If we get into a road where everybody's attitude is, "I'm interested in homeland security but not if it's going to cost me anything, not if it's going to
inconvenience me, not if it's going to be in my backyard," then we get complacency and I guarantee we will lose the race with the terrorists. The one thing
they have in abundance is fanatic devotion to their cause. They continue to harbor grievances over events that happened six or seven hundred years ago,
and if we go into the attitude of 'let's get over it, it's time to move onto something else,' then we will lose this competition about our ability to secure
ourselves from those terrorist attacks.
Block quote end
I agree with Chertoff about the mindset of the terrorists I just wish he and the department's own fanatical devotion to security included more of what's
needed and less a felicitous government slush fund to so spread out preparedness and public education as to make it meaningless.
***
I did go see the new Harry Potter film, and, alas, I was not impressed. I had hoped that the abysmal failures otherwise known as films 1-4 would be surpassed. I now recall that hope is always a foolish sentiment, and vow to avoid it at all costs!
***
My textbooks finally arived--biology and statistics. As I have previously stated, next semester will be the martyrdom of Saint Me, what with bio, stats, chemestry, and German. (Truthfully, I love this language, however, the books we are using are quite visual in nature, replete with pictures to represent concepts as opposed to simply using text. Oh well, such is life.)
Right right, bye for now.
Zora
William M. Arkin on National and Homeland Security
Chertoff is Groovin'
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is hearing voices. "I believe," he told the
Chicago Tribune
editorial board, that this is a "summer of increased risk."
It's a "gut feeling," Chertoff says, not based upon specific intelligence, and not serious enough to raise the alert level or take action. It is more that
summer is a time they -- the terrorists -- find "appealing," he says.
Chertoff says he particularly fears complacency among the American people. Last week after the London and Glasgow plots, he tried the Patrick Henry thing
to increase vigilance over the
July 4th holiday. "
Our edge is technology and the vigilance of the ordinary citizen," Chertoff says.
So if this is the summer of risk, why is the department going through the motions of celebrating National Preparedness month in September -- and why is
it wasting government time and taxpayer dollars teaming up Radio Disney to co-sponsor its healthy lifestyles summer tour: activities that "will have kids
and families gamin', groovin' and movin'!"
Yesterday (thanks K!), in its regular
"Ready Call"
to state and local preparedness officials, the Department of Homeland Security passed out a PowerPoint briefing from Radio Disney describing its Move It!
Tour, "a celebration of music and movement" that is intended to:
• encourage kids to adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle,
• position music and movement as a unique and cool way for kids to express themselves,
• Execute events reinforcing Radio Disney's Move It! Tour as the Walt Disney Company's healthy kids initiative.
I have a hard time figuring out how this is useful, how this will actually do anything to secure the nation or even educate the public on vigilance and
preparedness.
Last year, the Department of Homeland Security sponsored the Radio Disney "Feelin' Groovy" tour to promote emergency preparedness to families. Radio Disney
visited 63 malls across the country with a day-long activity package designed to "bring health and safety messages to children and families." The Ad Council
public service announcements in support of this groovy initiative included encouraging families to consider adoption from foster care, help prevent childhood
asthma attacks, promote lifelong literacy, raise awareness about how to prevent wildfires and, by the way, the importance of being prepared for an emergency.
I've
previously written
about the homeland security initiative this summer to join with minor league baseball to promote citizen preparedness.
Here's what Chertoff said yesterday, in the
partial transcript released by the Tribune:
Block quote start
If we get into a road where everybody's attitude is, "I'm interested in homeland security but not if it's going to cost me anything, not if it's going to
inconvenience me, not if it's going to be in my backyard," then we get complacency and I guarantee we will lose the race with the terrorists. The one thing
they have in abundance is fanatic devotion to their cause. They continue to harbor grievances over events that happened six or seven hundred years ago,
and if we go into the attitude of 'let's get over it, it's time to move onto something else,' then we will lose this competition about our ability to secure
ourselves from those terrorist attacks.
Block quote end
I agree with Chertoff about the mindset of the terrorists I just wish he and the department's own fanatical devotion to security included more of what's
needed and less a felicitous government slush fund to so spread out preparedness and public education as to make it meaningless.
***
I did go see the new Harry Potter film, and, alas, I was not impressed. I had hoped that the abysmal failures otherwise known as films 1-4 would be surpassed. I now recall that hope is always a foolish sentiment, and vow to avoid it at all costs!
***
My textbooks finally arived--biology and statistics. As I have previously stated, next semester will be the martyrdom of Saint Me, what with bio, stats, chemestry, and German. (Truthfully, I love this language, however, the books we are using are quite visual in nature, replete with pictures to represent concepts as opposed to simply using text. Oh well, such is life.)
Right right, bye for now.
Zora