i just had a thought

[barbtries]

(don't say it, i think constantly!)
anyhow, by way of explanation, i am in Sacramento today to honor the memory of my darling daughter, Rebekah-Marie Bales Zask - Bekah - on the occasion of National Victims of Violent Crime Week.
so i flew in to my home state from NC where i presently reside. it's been a few years since i've flown.

the good news is it's apparently still safe to post on DU. (maybe i should also reveal that i am in the last chapters of The End of America).

so as i was saying. lining up for the national security ritual. three signs clustered together caught my eye. We are currently under an "orange" security alert. "orange" means that the danger of terrorist activity is "high."

after over seven years in power - after waging war on "terror" for seven years, killing countless citizens of iraq and afghanistan and who knows what other sovereign nations, sacrificing over 4000 - the most recent number i heard was 4,032 - of our own children, displacing millions, destroying infrastructure,

enriching a few thousand bushies, war profiteers, and corporations at the expense of the american taxpaying public and the people of less fortunate countries,

after all this time and all these lives, all they can manage is ORANGE?

shouldn't they be changing their signs by now? where are the cheery signs saying, todays terror threat is yellow? or today you may fly without fear, thanks to our victory in the war on terror?

if after all this time and waste, if they can't do better than "orange," why would any thinking person even consider signing up for more of this? and why do the bushies still hold power?

by the way a fellow traveler in line mentioned "it's always orange" and laughed.

it's a fucking sham is what it is. gawd bless america my once free home.

[Dhalgren]

1. Answered your own question there.

"it's a fucking sham is what it is" - right on...

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. K&R...

I couldn't have said it better. Traveling with my children in February, I couldn't help but chuckle over "orange". It is a joke. On us.

BTW, I just read about your beautiful girl and I am so very sorry.

[barbtries]

3. thank you

i miss her a lot.

[Divernan]

4. Cleveland airport plays the same alarmist message every frigging 2 minutes

Blah-blah-blah - terrorists- blah-blah-blah- director of homeland security - blah-blah-blah -your luggage blah-blah-blah - level of terror alert is ORANGE! ! ! , REPEAT LEVEL OF TERROR ALERT IS ORANGE ! ! ! !- blah-blah-blah- be alert blah-blah-blah- DANGER, WILL ROBINSON ! ! ! ! - blah-blah-blah!

Well they don't say the "Danger, Will Robinson!" part. But that's what I feel like screaming out loud after sitting through 90 minutes of this crap while waiting for a connecting flight.

The biggest danger at the Cleveland Airport is that they've reduced both the ratio of air traffic controllers to flights, AND significantly reduced the training time before controllers are on their own.

[barbtries]

6. your post made me laugh

glad i'm connecting in houston...

[GoneOffShore]

5. So you experienced Kabuki Security.

Welcome to the world of band aids for cancer.

The "Security" rules are nothing more than a way to make infrequent flyers feel like "SOMETHING IS BEING DONE".

[electron_blue]

7. Next time you're there, listen to the way the announcement is pronounced...

to me it sounds like "The threat level is boring" instead of orange. And it matches the announcer's very boring delivery, as well.

[barbtries]

8. i never heard an announcement

they just had these signs up. this was at RDU, i didn't pay attention at houston even though i did go outside for a smoke and had to go through security there as well.

i was very thankful that i wasn't taken off to the side for special scrutiny, although at both checkpoints the person at the x-ray machine called a second person over to inspect the contents of my purse.

one older woman ahead of me kept beeping the machine and they made her get out of line. turned out she was wearing some kind of shin guard or supportive device on her leg. i think they actually made the woman remove it but didn't linger long enough to be sure.

it's all such crap. and four airliners can be hijacked in one day.