chris_gerrib: (Default)
Today is the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Here in Chicago at least, the weather is the same as it was that day - cool with a cloudless blue sky.

There are kids today starting college who have no memory of the attack, and no experience living in a world where 9/11 was a thing. Actually, there are kids graduating college for whom the 9/11 attacks are their earliest memory.

I find it worth asking this question - how much of our response to 9/11 was necessary? Iraq, an attack sold in part as a "prevent another 9/11," was clearly not needed. (Yes, at the time, I was for the Iraq war. I was wrong.)

Other questions worth asking are do we still need to be in Afghanistan? Is whatever we're doing in Syria needed? Given the extreme aversion to thinking shown by the current ruling party in Washington, none of these questions are being asked.
chris_gerrib: (Me 2)
A Friday Thought

My stand-up desk is working, in that I can feel my legs get tired after a while. I knew this would happen, which is why I got a sit-or-stand version. I've been sitting for a decade, so getting used to not sitting will take a while. Although the fact that this is the first 5-day work week I've had in a month may have something to do with things.

Three Links

1) An interesting thought on 9/11 from Talking Points Memo: Perhaps more surprising still is that the only viable explanation for the dearth of attacks is that terrorists motivated to carry out attacks inside the United States do not exist. Yes, we have stopped a few plots, and done some stuff on the margins, but if Al Qaeda had the capabilities that one autistic teen did in Newtown Connecticut, we'd have been hit.

2) The writer Tricia Sullivan, guest-blogging on Charlie Stross's blog, is waxing interesting on the differences between martial arts and real fights.

3) On a lighter note, I have a new review up on Heroines of Fantasy.
chris_gerrib: (Me)
I have no personal knowledge or expertise to contribute to the Boston bombing discussion. I will say that most of what we are seeing in the news is uninformed speculation, guesses and at best partial pictures from bystanders.

One of the best responses I have seen is this from a 78-year-old runner. You've seen the video - he's the guy who was knocked off of his feet by the first blast. Well, he got up (with help from a race volunteer) walked over the finish line, and walked to his hotel.

He kept calm and carried on. In the dark days of WWII, Great Britain, facing the most serious invasion threat since 1588, somebody came up with a propaganda poster to be displayed if the invasion happened. It didn't, so nobody saw it for decades. But it fits my mood today.

Keep-calm-and-carry-on-scan
chris_gerrib: (Default)
The sky here in Chicago is blue and cloudless, like it was eleven years ago. On the TV, commentators are talking about the heroism of first responders, and Joe Scarborough this morning suggested we thank George Bush and Barack Obama for "keeping us safe." Worthy ideas, and a hell of a lot better than sticking a yellow Made-In-China "we remember the troops" bumper sticker on the back of your car. But I have two more worthy ideas.

Let People Vote

There is a concerted effort afoot to prevent people from voting. You can see the details of the war here, but the gist is to prevent "voter fraud" (which happens less often than fatal lightning strikes) by requiring photo IDs. As Jim Cramer points out, these laws will disenfranchise his dad, an elderly vet. They will also not really do anything to prevent fraud. You want to honor the dead of 9/11? Let Americans vote.

End Security Theater

As anybody who's traveled by air recently knows, TSA searches have gotten more intrusive than ever. As suggested here, all we are getting out of these searches is stuff stolen out of our bags. After the hijackings of 9/11, we overreacted. Let's put some reality back into our air travel security.

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