Statistics On Airport Screening From The Department Of Homeland Security
Terrorists Discovered: 0
Transvestites: 133
Hernias: 1,485
Hemorrhoid Cases: 3,172
Enlarged Prostates: 8,249
Breast Implants: 59,350
Natural Blondes: 3
All joking aside, as they say, let no crisis go to waste.
Since the singular tragedy of 9/11/2001, something like 4x more American civilians (here and abroad) have been killed by lightening than by a terrorist attack. You’re more likely to die from brain-eating parasites or mistakenly charged with murder and executed by the State than to die a civilian death by the hands of Al Qaeda or ISIS. It depends on what you define as ‘terrorism’. By any measure, you could make a strong argument that terrorism was more prevalent and deadly during the late 20th Century than it has been since 9/11, both here and in Europe.
Today, the #1 issue concerning American voters is terrorism, recently surpassing the economy, immigration, taxation and dwarfing everything else. And, it’s easy to see why. We’re on threat level crimson-orange, or something. I watched a Sunday morning news program called “TERROR FLASHPOINT” featuring Martha Raddatz nearly hyperventilating with tones of forced intensity as she moderated the piece. The message was clear; a terrorist could jump through your window at any moment. The solution was also clear; hand over more power to Homeland Security, the CIA and NSA; surrender your civil rights; and put stricter controls on the internet.
The government concocted fictitious and even diametrically false narratives about Pat Tillman and Jennifer Lynch to further its recruiting efforts for the endless war on terror. I’m sure there is an element of that to the Chris Kyle portrayed in American Sniper. Until I see the film, I’ll reserve judgment as to whether AS is a simplistic glorification of jingoism or a well made yarn celebrating the nobility of patriotism. The film certainly opened with auspicious timing soon after the attack in Paris and subsequent hysteria over a homegrown bogeyman lurking around every corner.
Since 24’s Jack Bauer, the number of television shows featuring sympathetic civil-rights-trampling spooks has mushroomed. I can't really recall a current show about a Jeffersonian civil libertarian. Currently, the vogue archetype is the ass-kicking female protagonist CIA operative, appealing especially to security conscious women. She’s stylish, sexy, a kickboxing black belt... and she saves the world each and every episode from total annihilation at the hands of domestic libertarians or unprovoked religious fanatics. The moral of the story: we must kill freedom to save freedom. War is peace. Ignorance is strength. Slavery is freedom.
Terrorists Discovered: 0
Transvestites: 133
Hernias: 1,485
Hemorrhoid Cases: 3,172
Enlarged Prostates: 8,249
Breast Implants: 59,350
Natural Blondes: 3
All joking aside, as they say, let no crisis go to waste.
Since the singular tragedy of 9/11/2001, something like 4x more American civilians (here and abroad) have been killed by lightening than by a terrorist attack. You’re more likely to die from brain-eating parasites or mistakenly charged with murder and executed by the State than to die a civilian death by the hands of Al Qaeda or ISIS. It depends on what you define as ‘terrorism’. By any measure, you could make a strong argument that terrorism was more prevalent and deadly during the late 20th Century than it has been since 9/11, both here and in Europe.
Today, the #1 issue concerning American voters is terrorism, recently surpassing the economy, immigration, taxation and dwarfing everything else. And, it’s easy to see why. We’re on threat level crimson-orange, or something. I watched a Sunday morning news program called “TERROR FLASHPOINT” featuring Martha Raddatz nearly hyperventilating with tones of forced intensity as she moderated the piece. The message was clear; a terrorist could jump through your window at any moment. The solution was also clear; hand over more power to Homeland Security, the CIA and NSA; surrender your civil rights; and put stricter controls on the internet.
The government concocted fictitious and even diametrically false narratives about Pat Tillman and Jennifer Lynch to further its recruiting efforts for the endless war on terror. I’m sure there is an element of that to the Chris Kyle portrayed in American Sniper. Until I see the film, I’ll reserve judgment as to whether AS is a simplistic glorification of jingoism or a well made yarn celebrating the nobility of patriotism. The film certainly opened with auspicious timing soon after the attack in Paris and subsequent hysteria over a homegrown bogeyman lurking around every corner.
Since 24’s Jack Bauer, the number of television shows featuring sympathetic civil-rights-trampling spooks has mushroomed. I can't really recall a current show about a Jeffersonian civil libertarian. Currently, the vogue archetype is the ass-kicking female protagonist CIA operative, appealing especially to security conscious women. She’s stylish, sexy, a kickboxing black belt... and she saves the world each and every episode from total annihilation at the hands of domestic libertarians or unprovoked religious fanatics. The moral of the story: we must kill freedom to save freedom. War is peace. Ignorance is strength. Slavery is freedom.
