Who Let The Dogs Out?
by bobby
jennings
 Not
too long ago Republicans liked to joke that Clinton let
the dogs out, referring to behavior during the Clinton
Administration and the chaos it caused. They would play
that song on talk shows and snicker and laugh. True,
Clinton had left the gate ajar and a few of them had
escaped. But now it seems that someone has torn down the
fence all together.
I
have been hunched over a computer since 9-11 moving
InnerSelf to a new server so I've just been keeping up
with things through various news sources. True, we have
been getting various disturbing reports from friends and
subscribers but frankly hearing about how things are and
experiencing them first hand are two different things.
This
weekend we decided to take a stroll on the beach. We
normally go to the National Seashore (a wonderfully
undeveloped strip of beach) run by the Interior
Department that is part of Cape Canaveral and controlled
by NASA. This is where the Space Shuttles are launched.
While increased security would be expected, I was not
prepared for what I saw.
-
1.
At the gate they were doing a pitiful job of
pretending to check vehicles by looking in the back
of my van and asking if I had any guns. That's like
asking the 9-11 terrorists if they had packed their
own bags before they boarded those doomed airplanes.
-
2.
They had closed down about half the beach and squeezed
everyone into such a small section that the area was
no longer suitable for long leisurely walks on the
beach.
-
3.
Stationed at the entrance to the beach was an armed
guard with binoculars who, when questioned, admitted
that he was not looking for Bin Laden and his gang
but people with glass bottles or dogs. (And probably
a scantily clad female or two?)
-
4.
Flying at a hundred feet over tree top level was a
helicopter gunship with the gunner fully visible in
the open side door. Were they looking for glass bottles
too?
Sad
but now the beach I have been going to for 25 years is no
longer suitable as public lands except for the wildlife
--
if they can stand the wop wop of the helicopter blades.
If nothing else, it will at least run all the people out
so the critters can hear themselves think. Given also
the government's rekindled interest in building logging
roads,-? mining, and drilling more oil wells in public lands,
I am beginning to think our public lands might be better
managed by Pee Wee Herman.
Now
I realize that this is but a minor inconvenience and
affects very few people and is nothing compared to
conditions in the Middle East. But I suspect that this scenario
is being replayed throughout America and is a signal of
things to come.
Not
even private events, held in public, are safe from
increased security. One Sports Illustrated reporter said
that New Orleans during Super Bowl weekend was like
someone tossed a wet blanket over the town.-? I saw
pictures of Bourbon Street on Friday night and I have
seen more people there on a weeknight when it was
raining. At
the Salt Lake City Olympics,
there are more security personnel than athletes.
Most
disturbing are the reports of women complaining and filing lawsuits
for being groped
at airports. Is this a new extra benefit for security
guards? Kathleen Parker, a reporter from the
Orlando Sentinel reported that on a recent airplane trip she felt like she had been " date raped by a bunch
of mosquitoes." Here's
her account.-?
I am traumatized
that I-? have
to fly to Hawaii soon and I guess I will FedEx my
baggage over there, arrive at the airport 3 hours ahead of
time, and pretend to be deaf and dumb. I will
write-?"I packed my own baggage" on a 3x5
card so I can hold my tongue. (Apparently they are hassling
folks for talking back, a habit I am prone to.) I will
wear as few clothes as possible and carry nothing in my
hands. Thank God I have a round trip ticket or I really
would be in trouble.
Many
praise Bush for doing a good job regarding the war in Afghanistan
and his popularity is high. But, the jury must remain
out on this until we judge the final results.
Will we help rebuild the country as promised and make
reprisals for the many innocents we have killed?-?
And
that's only one judgment of performance. Just consider Bush's
recent goofy comments about Iran, Iraq, and North Korea
that has inflamed the rhetoric and has me more
worried about World Peace than at anytime since 1963 and
the Cuban Missile Crisis. Scuttlebutt in
Washington has it Bush himself inserted Iran and North
Korea into the speech to avoid looking like he was
picking on Iraq. Who
let the dogs out? I am not all sure it was Bin Laden. He's just
might be an excuse.-?
There's an old Italian saying. "A fish
stinks from the head first." So, I am going to look
to the Bush Administration first. This administration has so whipped the
federal, state, and local authorities into a frenzy
that our lives are changing swiftly before our eyes and
not for the good.
One
has to question if resources are being diverted
unwisely. For instance, here
in Orlando speeding and red light running in congested
areas is so prevalent that one has to ask themselves if
the police have actually lost control. I guess they must
be out looking for Bin Laden too.-?Keep in mind that
highway deaths need only rise 5% in one year for just
the increase itself to equal
the total deaths at the World Trade Center.
Without
a doubt, I for one, feel less safe today than I did on
9-11 as I watched the towers collapse. Then again maybe that's the intention. I think it
was Herman Goering, the Nazi leader, who said the easiest
way to control the people is to tell them they are being
attacked. When I sit back and look at everything and try
to put in all in prospective, I don't see security. I
see-?political posturing. I think maybe honesty and
integrity are on vacation in a Caribbean tax haven.
I
will not at all diminish the tragedy of those that died
on 9-11, but if I had been killed and was looking down
on it all I would be damn mad if my death was used as an
excuse for greedy politics.
You
and I can argue who let the dogs out, but whether they
are out is not questionable. What remains to be answered
is: it intentional and opportunistic? Regardless, it's going to take a lot of
bitching, teeth gnashing, letter writing, and showing up
at the polls to get them back behind the fence,
Republicans and Democrats alike.
Whew,
I
managed to get through this column without even
mentioning Enron. Oops!
Recommended book:
-?"Beyond Civilization: Humanity's Next
Great Adventure"
by Daniel Quinn.
Info/Order this book.
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