Raznor's Rants

Costarring Raznor's reality-based friends!

Sunday, March 23, 2003

Okay, this scares the hell out of me

Tom Tomorrow linked to this article a few days ago. I just now read it, in my current state of procrastination.

If the nation escalates to "red alert," which is the highest in the color-coded readiness against terror, you will be assumed by authorities to be the enemy if you so much as venture outside your home, the state's anti-terror czar says.

"This state is on top of it," said Sid Caspersen, New Jersey's director of the office of counter-terrorism.

Caspersen, a former FBI agent, was briefing reporters, alongside Gov. James E. McGreevey, on Thursday, when for the first time he disclosed the realities of how a red alert would shut the state down.

A red alert would also tear away virtually all personal freedoms to move about and associate.

"Red means all noncritical functions cease," Caspersen said. "Noncritical would be almost all businesses, except health-related."

A red alert means there is a severe risk of terrorist attack, according to federal guidelines from the Department of Homeland Security.

"The state will restrict transportation and access to critical locations," says the state's new brochure on dealing with terrorism.

"You must adhere to the restrictions announced by authorities and prepare to evacuate, if instructed. Stay alert for emergency messages."

Okay, seeing as so far the administration has been randomly going up and down the terrorism warning system as dictated by political expedience, this means that Emperor Bush, or his Imperial Cabinet can, at any time, without accountability nor giving us a reason, shut down the country. Which means, and now I'm being cynical and paranoid here, but you'll forgive me, Bush is down in the polls in November 2004, and we suddenly have a red alert, and oops, no election.

The thing is, usually that last sentence would be meant only as satire. But I wouldn't put anything past this Administration.

Update: "The state" referred to in the above article is New Jersey, in case anyone was curious, and didn't open the link to the original article.

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