DHS Ponders "Improving" Terrorism Alert System 320
An anonymous reader writes "The DHS's color-coded terrorism risk warning system has often been criticized on a number of grounds. However, it seems that at last DHS has taken note of these criticisms and is finally planning to fix one of its problems. Which one? Well, since the two lowest levels have never been used in the history of the program, the solution is obvious: just get rid of them! In the new system, the lowest level would be yellow, 'guarded,' representing 'A constant state of vigilance to protect against a terrorist attack.' While it's nice that they're at least no longer maintaining a pretense of it being for anything other than fear-mongering, I don't think this was the kind of change most people were hoping for."
How about this ... (Score:5, Interesting)
Government WANK alert system. Whereby the wankiness of a government is scaled by public opinions, and if the scale hits a certain point, everyone in public office at that time is tossed out at once, and we elect a whole new batch?
We can have a National Referendum day in 60 days from the time the WANK alert is triggered. 15 days to register to run, 15 days to organize campaigns, and 30 days to run. If people campaign before the official campaign limit, they are automatically excluded from the ballot.
And nobody can run if they have ever held elected office before.
I'm sick to death of Damned Professional Politicians. Lets get some amateurs in and see if they can do better.
Re:it kinda works though, just not how they intend (Score:5, Interesting)
If it's orange (I've flown once during orange) then there's a bit of tension in the air. Makes for a more unpleasant airport experience, but it also tends to make people more aware of their surroundings.
I've never flown in not-orange ever since they came up with the system. I'm not some business traveler, but I fly between three and six times a year round-trip to various places around the country, and I always hear the same recording of some guy saying "The current threat level is orange". And I don't think anyone has so much as batted an eye. From San Francisco to Denver to freaking JFK Intl., I've never seen people act more alert and suspicious after that announcement.
Like this B.S. threat level is so well correlated with actual terrorist plotting that, if you're worried about terrorists, it's safe to lower your guard during a "yellow" threat level. Please! People are going to react the same way to "suspicious" things they see in an airport, and they're going to pay just as much attention either way. Nobody cares about the threat level, for one because it never changes, for two because it doesn't make any sense to do anything different -- if you're paranoid about terrorists and care to be alert on the 1-in-a-billion chance you personally spot terrorist activity, you will be just as much so during "yellow" as "orange". And if you're like me, and not worried much at all about terrorists, you're going to keep a vague eye out but you're still not going to give a shit how scared TSA says you should be.
The Terror Alert is useless bullshit.
Re:*sigh* (Score:3, Interesting)
Thought we already had that:
for a while we had 15 minutes of hate against insurance execs
then we had our 15 minutes of hate against auto execs
then we had our 15 minutes of hate against bankers
then we had our 15 minutes of hate against tea baggers
now were going back to having 15 minutes of hate against racists (isn't that hate for haters?)
Re:New Alert System (Score:0, Interesting)
No one has a Constitutional right, 2nd Amendment or otherwise, to threaten someone else.
Also, Sen. Wilson was lying himself. Yes, he has a Constitutional right to do that, but that doesn't make it a good thing.
Re:How about this ... (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm sick to death of Damned Professional Politicians. Lets get some amateurs in and see if they can do better.
I always thought this was a good idea. Ok not a good idea clearly but it points out how poor our election system really is. To make it to the top in politics you have to be a corrupt fast talker who is willing to do w/e it takes. This is exactly what you DON'T want in politics.
Then we actually got to take it to the test. California elected a bodybuilder that knew nothing of politics, hadnt gotten the necessary education and spent most of his life covered in oil flexing. Clearly this man has many disadvantages as a politician. And came to power through being the ultimate victor of the popularity contest so he was never forced to be a 'politician'.
Considering he was given a state with many referendums which is a huge disadvantage. I think he has done quite well. He even used his weight as a state to push various issues country wide. And since he did it as a republican he has done much to tie the sides together, working in a non-partisan way. This has been a great healing effect on the state and you don't see the same fervent partisan attacks you do in other big states.
Now imagine if we chose someone uncorrupted by politician but also someone who was well educated, spent their life learning political theory and philosophy. And better yet not forced to kowtow to the pubic opinion. People often say democracy isn't the best system it's the best we've had so far. I don't know if that is true, looking at the current state of politics I often wonder if returning to a monarchy system or other ancient system would be that bad. The only real advantage democracy has is that people are less likely to rebel since they are given the illusion of control through the election process.
One reason for color codes below "Guarded" (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Ancient Roman equivalent (Score:3, Interesting)
Well, actually, the Parthians were the nuissance. The Persian Empire had long since fallen.
That said, the surname of the family that gave us the now deposed (and deceased) Shah of Iran, Pahlavi, is the Old Persian word for "Parthia."
Dyslexic Rainbow (Score:4, Interesting)
Personally, I'm just happy to see the change because it means no more putting blue in between yellow and green. That always bugged me, as a slightly OCD person who used to sort things in rainbow order, from crayons to the Skittles I was eating.
Re:OMG The Price Of Freedom! (Score:3, Interesting)
If everyone really understood how libertarianism worked, 99% of people would be libertarians. I used to be a liberal myself, until I learned about economics. REAL economics, not the Keynesian crap they teach in macroeconomics.
If you want to learn about REAL libertarianism, I would suggest going to mises.org and reading some of the articles there. They will open your eyes.