# Right on schedule: the latest terror warning **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 8, 2004, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113 "2004-07-08T15:09:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/21 "2004-07-08T18:04:11Z")
While I agree with Tom Ridge’s notion that most Americans have the attention span of a gnat in heat, I think even infants, imbeciles and PhD’s have figured out by now that terrorism is a bad deal and we should never, ever, drop a few coins in the bucket when they knock on the door. So why did Mr. Ridge feel compelled today, of all days, to tell us that our Terror-Watch Horoscope for today is: THE SKY IS FALLING! THE SKY IS FALLING! Count me in with the cynics - they’re doing this to deflect attention from the Dick Gephardt - I mean John Edwards - announcement. Bonus Terror Watch Announcement prediction: one will occur about five minutes into Kerry’s acceptance speech (moving us to code Neapolitan), complete with a Bronco car chase. . . . ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/22 "2004-07-08T18:06:51Z")
> [@KidCharlemagne](#): > > No, you’re both paranoid, though one of you is at least taking steps to quell a neurotic fear. How appropriate that your argument is called a False Dilemma. Actually, I’ll be quelling those fears on November 2. But in the meantime, don’t forget to cover up those a/c registers - that’s where the monsters come out. ---
**Author:** ![rexnervous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@rexnervous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rexnervous)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/23 "2004-07-08T18:16:15Z")
> [@KidCharlemagne](#): > > You people are so fucking paranoid it’s both scary and hilarious. Maybe, and I don’t know if I fully subscribe to the “it’s all politically-oriented” point-of-view…but how in the hell do you explain today’s announcement otherwise? I mean, what a total waste of energy. \ **News Alert - America Please Listen!** Al Qaeda will attack us. We don’t know when. We don’t know where. We don’t know how. Thank you, now back to your regularly scheduled programming. \ ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/24 "2004-07-08T18:33:44Z")
Annoy Karl Rove – take some friends to go see **Fahrenheit 9/11**. Chortle like mad when Moore talks about manipulating the Terror Alert levels to keep the citizenry in fear. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/25 "2004-07-08T18:44:06Z")
I’ll go out on a limb and predict right now that the Monday after the Democratic convention, there will be new terrorist warnings but nothing specific enough to be useful. Also in October 2004, Osama bin Laden will be captured. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/26 "2004-07-08T18:55:15Z")
Sequential Thread Titles: The AP News Version!: “Ridge Warns of Election Terror Plot” “White House Downplays Bush-Enron Ties” ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/27 "2004-07-08T18:58:00Z")
> [@rexnervous](#): > > Maybe, and I don’t know if I fully subscribe to the “it’s all politically-oriented” point-of-view…but how in the hell do you explain today’s announcement otherwise? > > I mean, what a total waste of energy. > > \ > **News Alert - America Please Listen!** > Al Qaeda will attack us. We don’t know when. We don’t know where. We don’t know how. > > Thank you, now back to your regularly scheduled programming. > \ I would guess that there is an increase in non-specific “chatter,” and that they probably feel it doesn’t hurt to ask people to keep half an eye open without formally raising the alert level. It’s a reasonable concern that raising the alert level too often, or having it “high” too often, will dilute its impact. They are probably also concerned that officially raising the alert level will have every idiot screaming “Propaganda!”, but also concerned that if they don’t act in someway on non-specific info and something does happen, every idiot will scream “Intelligence Failure.” And they’d be right. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/28 "2004-07-08T19:02:49Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Also in October 2004, Osama bin Laden will be captured. Then terror alert will be declared tittie pink and the next day 10 US embassies will be flattened to rubble. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/29 "2004-07-08T19:13:45Z")
So if the terror alert is low and I see a couple guys hop off their camels and load 5 tons of fertilizer into a rented van I should just assume they cultivating a large corn crop? ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/30 "2004-07-08T19:24:41Z")
Ya know, Lieu alluded to it earlier, but there certainly is a whole Wag the Dog aspect to this whole thing, only the positions are flipped. The folks that are calling people silly and paranoid today are the ones that were pointing fingers and jumpin up and down back in the summer of 98. And vice-a-versa. I wasn’t inclined to believe Clinton then and I’m not inclined to believe Bush now. Now, it’s come to light that Clinton was on the up-and-up on his reasoning behind lobbing some missles Osama’s way, but at the time, it sure looked dubious. After all, the timing sure appeared to be handy. Again, my BS detector is going off. Will time prove me wrong again? I’m not so sure. It seems that with Clinton, it was mostly Clinton that was trying to pull shit on us. The current administration seems more coordinated in their shit pulling. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/31 "2004-07-08T19:34:00Z")
> [@picker](#): > > How much blood are we gonna spill? > How many Iraqi’s do we gotta kill? > How many Marines are going up that hill > To catpure that oil for Jesus? > > You got your fat cat no bid government contracts > And you really don’t care who knows it > Propaganda machines working overtime > And it doesn’t really matter who shows it > 'Cause no matter which way those pundits spin it > The liberal media’s the ones to blame > Heaven forbid that you might talk straight > Shame ain’t part of your game That’s great! post it here when you finish. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/32 "2004-07-08T19:40:05Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > If I were a psychic, and claimed a “success” for this prediction,Id be laughed out of these boards. The OP says, in effect, “Yep - right on schedule – another terror warning, just as I thought.” > > Congratulations on correctly predicting the issuance of another warning _after it happened_, and using language that suggests it was obvious to you ahead of time – the obvious inference being that its timing is a matter of politics and propaganda, rather than actual intelligence information. > > Of course, the usual bleatng herd has chimed in to agree. > > However, let’s see how true this really is. > > When will the NEXT terror alert be? I’d like specifics, please, the same sort of specifics that we, a board of skeptics, would hold a claimed psychic to for any predicitions. > > Should be no problem, judging by the tone of the OP. So - let’s have it. If this is “right on schedule,” you must have some sense of what the schedule is. When’s the next one? > > - Rick You’re an idiot. You know that saying–“A people gets the government they deserve”? They’re talking about you. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/33 "2004-07-08T19:51:46Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Of course, the usual bleatng herd has chimed in to agree. You know, Rick, the thing that really set you apart was that you didn’t do this shit. I think I liked you better when you didn’t do this shit. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/34 "2004-07-08T19:55:58Z")
Come on now, **Bricker**. You insist on specifics? Ask Mr. Ridge for them. This “warning” contains none whatever. The only “specific” in it is that he did not see fit to raise the threat color level. There is, in short, no basis to believe it represents any change in the situation or the administration’s knowledge of it. So you tell us what this was about. Given the tenor of this administration’s conduct, isn’t the timing of this announcement worth some suspicion? ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/35 "2004-07-08T20:01:14Z")
Yep, my eyes rolled out the back of my head when I saw that lame-o terror warning. Still lookin too. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/36 "2004-07-08T20:14:19Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > Ya know, Lieu alluded to it earlier, but there certainly is a whole Wag the Dog aspect to this whole thing, only the positions are flipped. The folks that are calling people silly and paranoid today are the ones that were pointing fingers and jumpin up and down back in the summer of 98. And vice-a-versa. > . Nope. I was calling the same people paranoid and silly back then as well. To me it’s not a partisan issue; it’s just common sense. Now what really chaps my ass about the Clinton situation is that he didn’t take the best opportunity he had to Tomahawk Osama because he was afraid that the Right would claim it was just to deflect attention from the Lewinsky scandal. Now that is a sad state of affairs, when policy is dictated by the fringe of the opposition. I never was pro-Bush, but I do feel he is somewhat deserving of a defense from some of the ridiculous assaults he gets on this board. It’s the ridiculousness of the arguments by the anti-Bush contingent that has transformed me into, well, not so much pro-Bush, but Anti-anti-Bush. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/37 "2004-07-08T20:22:28Z")
You know, it sure isn’t healthy when so many people either disregard or suspect the reasons for terror alerts. I think we have more than a simple failure to communicate here, and not all of the blame can be put onto political partisans. Sad truth? I’m pretty much discounting terror alerts any more, because I don’t trust this administration’s competence _or_ integrity. I think 1.) they’ve made terrorism much more likely by their incredibly inept bungling in Iraq, 2.) their intelligence is unsound, specifically or in a broader sense and 3.) their track record for blatant corruption prevents belief that they’re above manipulating terror alerts for political advantage. Maybe this isn’t the right thread for this, but I genuinely don’t understand the support Bush/Cheney still have from conservatives. Bush/Cheney spout good sound bytes but their _actions_ have been directly antithetical to so many conservative values: limiting goverment intrusion in citizens’ lives, fiscal responsiblity, extreme care before involvement in foreign conflicts, etc. They’re neocons, i.e. drunk with the lure of empire rather than focused on American imperatives, rather than actually conservative. I realize Kerry/Edwards represent the philosophical opposite but sheesh, I don’t see that they’re _that_ much farther removed from the conservative philosophical ideal than Bush/Cheney. I honestly don’t get it. Veb ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/38 "2004-07-08T20:25:00Z")
> [@Mtgman](#): > > You know, Rick, the thing that really set you apart was that you didn’t do this shit. I think I liked you better when you didn’t do this shit. > > Enjoy, > Steven I’m sorry you feel that way. Imagine how I feel. There _is_ a bleating herd aspect to this board, and it’s increasingly irritating. People on the conservative side of the fence have stopped posting because of the political sway - Scylla, for example. I don’t feel like simply sitting by and letting these things go unchallenged. > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Come on now, **Bricker**. You insist on specifics? Ask Mr. Ridge for them. This “warning” contains none whatever. The only “specific” in it is that he did not see fit to raise the threat color level. There is, in short, no basis to believe it represents any change in the situation or the administration’s knowledge of it. > > So you tell us what this was about. Given the tenor of this administration’s conduct, isn’t the timing of this announcement worth some suspicion? The Bush administration has been criticized by some for not revealing infomration in the days before 9/11, even though - obviously - whatever information they had was lacking in specifics. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. I agree that a case can be made for there being a political aspect to the warnings, but self-confidently announcing that these are “right on schedule” is not making that case, and in fact credits the OP with a level of precognition I don’t believe she possesses. She’s now offered some speciifc predictions – IN ADVANCE, which I think you’ll agree is the _sine qua non_ of a “prediction.” If she’s right, I’ll laud her. (One exception: we’re at Orange NOW, and have been for some time, so her guess of October at Orange level of alert is meaningless - it’s just a guess that things will stay as they are.) If she’s not correct, though, it calls into serious question how much this announcement was “on schedule” and how much of that phrasing was the OP doing another mindless babble that translates into “Me no like Bush, ugh.” - Rick ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/39 "2004-07-08T21:16:23Z")
Wanna know what’s really fun to do with the terror warnings? Comparing their level of specificity with the August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB). You remember, the one that wasn’t specific enough for Shrub to bother to act, even though it warned that al-Qaeda was going to attack America, that hijacking airplanes was likely to be part of the deal, and the only two U.S. locations named were New York City and Washington, D.C. I’m not sure _any_ of them have risen to that level of specificity. The present non-alert alert (since the alert level remains the same) has no specifics whatsoever, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2004, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113/40 "2004-07-08T21:18:14Z")
Perhaps it’s because airline revenues are finally going up and they haven’t kicked in their share to the GOP. Nothing like a terror alert in the middle of tourist season to make those numbers drop like a rock. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-on-schedule-the-latest-terror-warning/254113.md?page=3)