"History of the Orange, Part 1" TAP ...like Eloriel's thread?

[madfloridian]

http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=8301

SNIP...."When I first came to this city there was a little plaque on the Pennsylvania Ave. side of the White House that read “Self-Guided Tours Are Free.” It seemed to me then a perfect encapsulation of the very essence of America. After all, are not each of our lives, at core, little more than self-guided tours? And if being American means anything, it means just that: the danger and exhilaration of being as free as we’re each capable of being. Things were different back then, with self-guided tours and neighbors playing street hockey until 2 a.m. on fenced-off patch of Pennsylvania Ave. in front of the White House. When someone scored a goal, the Secret Service guards would flip the headlights on their cars to celebrate the victory.

Those little moments of federal friendliness are now recognizable for what they were: the last vestiges of a vanishing world. Today, federal D.C. is being busily transformed into our very own Green Zone, a cordon sanitaire of concrete stretched around our monuments to classical ideals. Men and women with guns instruct us each that the way is now prescribed." END SNIP

Then the Orange Alerts are listed. This makes me sad for what we are becoming and will continue to become, I fear. The only way to fight it is to keep calling attention to it....but that won't happen. Our Democratic spokesman on Crossfire today let them laugh at the only one who spoke out on this.

[madfloridian]

1. More on the Orange alerts. Kick for Eloriel.

SNIP.."There have been six Code Orange alerts, including the present one. Looking back at why each alert was called and disbanded, as you can in the excerpts below, a picture of U.S. intelligence capabilities and Department of Homeland Security thinking begins to emerge. Each alert appears to have coupled a worrisomely high level of vague background chatter with at least one unique other thing -- be it the launch of the Iraq War, the anniversary of Sept. 11, or newly acquired intelligence about a potential looming threat. Some of the intelligence has later been disproved, and some was of unclear significance even at the time. What is clear is that those who expect an orange alert to be launched only in the event of the discovery of an active plot may be mistaking the threat level needed to issue a Code Orange with what would be, in fact, a Code Red. Implicit within the orange seems to be a high level of uncertainty and confusion....."

This reminded me of the research thread going here. Still trying to find it.

[Snazzy]

2. This one?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2145634

And today we find out (through Reuters, now getting picked up, maybe; MSGOP now has it, late eve.) that in order to cover assholes for the bogus get Kerry off the tube alert, they blew a Pakistani-British intelligence op. The WH gave him up to the NYT.

They could have actually caught real terrorists, at least more of them. Maybe even stopped something that may one day happen. But wait, they think that's good, that works for them, an actual attack. Bring it on they say.

I can't even imagine say Nixon (spit!), at his most desperate, so abusing the power that the American people vest in government. Similar sentiments for the media--that story broke around 10:30 yesterday morning, not a blip.

Treason:
1. The offense of attempting to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance, or of betraying the state into the hands of a foreign power; disloyalty; treachery.

They do it over and over, and nobody says a damn word.

('cept on here, couple other place on the net....)

[madfloridian]

3. Yes, that is the thread.

Good research post. Thanks.