National Security Should Still Inspire Voters in the General Election
February 21st, 2008 | by admin |So, the mantra of the Democrats this election season has been that 9/11 and the War on Terror is all a big fear tactic used by Republicans to maintain power in Washington. This is of course ludicrous. The War on Terror and the threat of radical Islam is as real as ever. While I could provide a mountain of evidence, why don’t we just take a look at the news.
TAMPA - A 21-year-old Clearwater man was arrested at Tampa International Airport this weekend after security personnel found a box cutter in a hollowed-out book, authorities said.
About 7:30 a.m. Sunday, airport security ran Benjamin Baines Jr.’s backpack through an X-ray machine and saw the image of a box cutter, according to a report from the Transportation Security Administration.
When searching the backpack, a security officer found a book titled “Fear Itself.” The book was hollowed out, and the box cutter was inside.
After Baines was read his rights, he said his cousin had cut away the pages to make the hollow section in the book. Later, reports state, he said he had hollowed it out himself to hide money and marijuana from his roommates.
Baines told officers he was moving to Las Vegas and forgot the cutter was in the book.
Officers found books in the backpack titled “Muhammad in the Bible,” “The Prophet’s Prayer” and “The Noble Qur’an.” He also had a copy of the Quran and the Bible.
Maybe it’s just me, but with crazies like this running around, I’d like the government to focus on protecting our nation from these types of threats! If anyone doubts the ferocity of radical Islam try asking anyone in Israel. I’m not a gambling man but, but I’d bet that there is a new plot to attack America virtually every day.
So, while there is plenty of focus on the presidential election, let’s not forget about the rest of the general election. Congress needs a house cleaning. We need to swing control of both the House and Senate back to leaders who care about our security!
By Chris on Feb 21, 2008
I think the question is, “Where do you draw the line between national security and invasion of personal rights?” Naturally, we all want the government to wiretap the radical Muslims conspiring to kill us, but how many of us are willing to let the government wiretap our phones just in case? I worry that by giving up too many of our personal freedoms, American’s national security won’t be worth protecting.
By Andy Barnett on Feb 21, 2008
They were targeting terrorists and monitoring calls overseas. I understand and appreciate the caution and desire to protect civil liberties and privacy but it’s not like they’re listening to you talking to your grandma. As long as you’re not doing anything wrong what does anyone have to fear?
By Chris on Feb 22, 2008
As you know, I spend most of my life overseas. In fact, I spent the past 2 years in a country Bush listed as a terrorist hideout. Just because I wasn’t doing anything wrong doesn’t mean it’s okay for the government to listen to my phone calls. When some future president uses this same power to keep tabs on other dangerous groups (such as evangelical Christians), you may not be singing the same tune.
By Andy Barnett on Feb 25, 2008
I hear what you’re saying… Maybe I will change my tune…
The difference is they’re trying to keep tabs on bad guys right now.
Radical Islam is considered evil.
When it gets to the point where evangelical Christians are considered evil we’re in big trouble whether they’re listening to our phone calls or not…
By Chris on Feb 25, 2008
I suppose that depends who you’re talking to. Since you used passive verbs, I’m not sure who is doing the “considering.” A sizable population of our world has no problem with radical Islam, and there’s a growing number of people who do see evangelical Christianity as a threat. I hesitate to throw open doors that will be incredibly difficult to close later.