“Die in a Fire” just does not cover it. This is why we are “losing” the war in Iraq.

Forced to watch The View ad infinitum.

If the enemy in question didn’t have a deep and abiding desire to do it all over again with WMDs, then he would have a point. But they do. And so he doesn’t. His comparisons to earlier periods in history are meaningless - back then, a small force really couldn’t accomplish much against an overwhelming military power like the US. WMDs even out the equation immeasurably. Warfare is now ridiculously asymmetrical.

Not to defend the douchebag, but there are several areas where we did overreact horribly. Airline security, for example. All of the measures taken have proven easy to work around. Hijacking an airliner with box-cutters will never happen again - it only worked on 9/11 because none of the passengers expected to have the planes turned into cruise missiles. Now that the possibility is out there, most people (or at least enough people, unless they hijack a jet chartered by a Democratic candidate or Hollywood movie star) would rather die fighting the terrorists than let that happen again. So while I’m all for better technology to screen luggage and the carry-on possessions of passengers going onto the planes, the “fly / no-fly lists” are a stupid waste of time and a useless invasion of privacy.

There are plenty of other examples. Wasn’t it John Kerry who wanted to examine every piece of cargo coming into the US? He should go visit a port some time. Not even remotely possible with current technology. National or Nationalized ID cards are stupid. We already have one called a Passport, and as long as there are DMV people willing to sell out people will be able to get fake IDs. Woo hoo for underage drinking.

And then there’s stuff that’s so stupid it’s scary. RFID chips in passports and other IDs? They’ve already been hacked. It’s entirely possible to make an IED device that could detonate when a passport of the correct nationality comes into range. And no, the shielding on the Passport cover doesn’t work completely unless the Passport is entirely and perfectly closed - it’s already been demonstrated that if the passport is partially open it can be read at at least 2 feet away with off-the-shelf equipment, and from there it’s just a matter of using a better antenna.

So yes, this guys is a douchebag, but he’s a minor douchebag preaching to his choir of minor douchbages. We have much bigger douchebags in Washington (and Sacramento, etc) to worry about.

...most people (or at least enough people, unless they hijack a jet chartered by a Democratic candidate or Hollywood movie star) would rather die fighting the terrorists than let that happen again.

My bad. I left out the possibility that they make talk the hijackers to death.

So yes, this guys is a douchebag, but he’s a minor douchebag preaching to his choir of minor douchbages. We have much bigger douchebags in Washington (and Sacramento, etc) to worry about.

true enough, as is the stuff you wrote above that, but:

I got the distinct impression from David’s article that he was only using the government’s reaction to 9/11 as a smokescreen for his real question: “When are you people gonna get over this, you non-LA dwelling plebes?”

Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I really felt like he was looking down on anyone who still felt strongly about that day.

I got the distinct impression from David’s article that he was only using the government’s reaction to 9/11 as a smokescreen for his real question: “When are you people gonna get over this, you non-LA dwelling plebes?”

Um, that’s how every person in LA feels about every issue, from 9/11 to the temperature of their bath water.

*clears throat*

HANGIN’S TOO GOOD FOR ‘IM! BURNIN’S TOO GOOD FOR ‘IM! HE SHOULD BE TORN INTO ITTY BITTY PIECES AND BURIED ALIVE!

*takes a bow*

You’ll probably hate me for this, but I think he has a point on one level.

I think he is correct that Americans tend to magnify 9-11. While certainly awful, it’s barely a tremor compared to the disasters that happen quite often other places in the world.

It’s strange. I find some of the really hard core lefties (Bill Mahr comes to mind) make some good observations. But they come to dumb conclusions form those observations. What I mean is, I think we were actually pretty with 9-11. I think we’re lucky that terrorists did not manage to make it through all of our defenses with something a hell of a lot more potent then a boxcutter (or even a 767 full of fuel moving at 500mph). That is why I support the war on terror.