Just 'Cause You Can't Let Lies Go Unnoticed...

Dana Perino on terrorist attacks

Terrorist Plot - Walking the Tightrope

A terrorist plot was revealed in New York this week. Four men, men who studied Islam while in prison, have reportedly been under investigation for a year as they plotted to buy bombs and surface to air missiles with the intent of bombing a Bronx synagogue and shooting down military planes.

They were arrested, the FBI says, as they were planting the dummy bombs they'd bought. They'd also allegedly bought a broken Stinger missile from the feds.

It brings back a lot of unsettling feelings in New York and that's completely understandable. But as I covered the story the first thing I wanted to do was be certain not to fall into the anti-Muslim hysteria that seems to be our default position.

I found the family of a young Pakistan-born soldier from Newburgh who died in Afghanistan last year, fighting for his adopted country - the United States.

"My brother," I was told, "was the most patriotic person I know. He enlisted right after 9-11 - he thought it was his duty."

They belonged to the mosque where the alleged terrorists prayed, and they were disgusted by the possibility that they'd prayed next to these men.

I spoke to one of the officials at a little village that's been told it's one of the top terrorist targets in the state - a thriving Hassidic town on the outskirts of New York City.

"This," I was told, "is a case of extremism. It's very sad."

Thinking people know you cannot paint a religion, a race, a culture with a broad brush. It is a collection of individuals and in that collection will be people who are bad. There will be people who do not respect human life and have no tolerance for beliefs other than their own. That is human nature. There's plenty of that in our own country.

Yet when I read our local paper, there was a headline guaranteed to shock.

"Suspect's Imam Has Ties to Local College"

Sounds threatening, doesn't it? But if you actually read the story, it explains that the Imam is a well respected man who is considered very moderate, who has been one of several chaplains at the college for years and denounces terrorism.

"We are teaching tolerance," he said in the article. "We are teaching respect."

And our local newspaper is teaching sensationalism.

No wonder the media gets a bad name. But then, that's painting us all with a broad brush, too.

Lou Dobbs' Dream Come True - Homeland Security and Buttoning Up the Borders

I have never wished as much for a show to fail as I do this one:

ABC is launching a new reality show in January featuring the Department of Homeland Security.
"Homeland Security USA" will feature agents at the country's borders discussing their efforts to keep us safe from the fearsome terrors we face from other countries.

There will be no political agenda, according to producers. Maybe not implicitly, but it sure as hell sounds like it's going to play into this country's growing paranoia about the rest of the world.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hXj0ZeF7mcnlIpu9i_d8dg-XtMrQD958KKOG0

The department is cooperating, saying it's a great opportunity to let us know what they do.

So now we'll have an opportunity to see just how dangerous everything is - from the threat posed by neighboring countries to the postcard from overseas.

Don't try to tell me it's a public service. We've learned caution. It'll be a long time before we forget the lessons of 9-11.

It doesn't take much to turn people into a bunch of scared rabbits, especially in an economy that's already scaring the pants off most of us. How wonderful to offer us the opportunity to focus that fear on something outside our control, giving our brains a break from the necessary contemplation of our past mistakes and how we can improve the future! Why, borrowing more than we can afford to pay off isn't the problem - it's that weird stuff some foreign terrorist tries to put in our mail! Everything will be just fine if we just shut down, close the doors and tell the world we're out to lunch!

If you ever watch Lou Dobbs, you'll know this show is probably going to be his Holy Grail. There's not a problem in this country that Lou doesn't think can be laid at the feet of illegal immigrants. Here's one for you, Lou.

I'm not a fan of reality TV. Most programs show us not the best, but the worst in humanity. Shame on ABC for creating a program aimed at fear mongering. Don't try to tell me it's a tip of the hat to those hard-working employees of the DHS. Nobody watches that and everyone knows it.

Fear sells. And ABC is selling fear. Don't you buy it.