No, I do not worry about a terrorist attack in the least because if it is my time to go then who am I to argue with God? Besides, with all that the new administration is doing to make it easier for Al Qaeda to attack us again, it is just a matter of time before we have another 9/11 or larger attack here at home.

The whole color-coding system is politically contrived; Tom Ridge admitted it in his book. Case closed. I wouldn't buy stock in duct-tape manufacturers any time soon.

No. Our government has a history of not telling us about valid threats and warning us about mediocre threats just to look as though they are doing something.

However, this morning I saw two military age muslim males (headgear and salam alllah kim greetings exchanged) that did not look right together meeting outside the Branch Ave metro and did wonder why metro police tend to ignore the end of the lone stops.

Do we still need terror alerts? Zora Hopkins keeps telling us that Obama is going to make the US into a totalitarian utopia.

You mean like after 9/11, when GWB told us to "go down to Disney World and enjoy life"? Nah, I don't pay attention to that claptrap.

No, but I do pay more attention to my surroundings. I'd rather be warned when something might be up than told to be 'constantly vigilant'.

@ Common Kevin

What exactly has the Obama administration done to make it easier for anyone to attack us? Ditched that stupid and politically marginalized color alert system? It's my understanding that the FBI just made a series of arrests involving terror suspects. I don't recall too many of those coming out of the previous administration.

To my knowledge the only terror plots broken up, where there was firm evidence to support the plot, happened under Clinton's watch when a U.S. Customs agent captured someone bringing in explosives through Canada just before Y2K.

No. Most of the time I don't even know that a terror alert has been issued.

Yes - when the alert is raised high enough, I get scared and vote Republican. After all, that's what the system was designed for.

No. I just cringe at the expectation that the government will use the manufactured alert as an excuse to suppress more freedoms and squander more life and treasure on its socialist and militaristic adventures.

@ AMCsoldier

What election is coming up for that cheesy comment to be relevant?

No - believe it or not folks, but we live in a terrorist target-city, always stay alert. I'm always looking for suspicious packages/behavior on the Metro. If it's my time to go, fine, but I don't wanna die if it's the time for the person sitting next to me.

No, but I do change my behavior when a bunch of ronald reggins are around.

I don't know. It jsut sounded good at the time to say that.

No, the chance of dying in a terrorist attack is like being afraid of getting hit by lightning.

The principal error was not consulting J.Crew on the color coding scheme. Just imagine the public's reaction if the terror alert were raised from "burnt sienna" to "garnet"! Al Qaida wouldn't stand a chance!

@Anonymous

Sorry, it's just a conditioned response from '04, when the alerts were deliberately raised to incite fear and sway votes.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/21/ridge.terror.level/
But yeah, totally irrelevant now. Don't look back with a critical eye. No one is accountable. All is forgiven.

@ MM -
How quickly you forget, and/or ignore.
• December 2001, British citizen Richard Reid, the Shoe Bomber attempted to ignite improvised bomb shoe (yes, an IED, before the media caught on) on flight from Paris to Miami.
• May 2002, Jose Padilla: American citizen accused of seeking dirty bomb. Padilla was convicted of conspiracy in August, 2007.
• September 2002, Lackawanna Six: American citizens of Yemeni origin convicted of supporting Al Qaeda after attending jihadist camp in Pakistan. 5 were from Lackawanna, NY.
• May 2003, Iyman Faris: American citizen charged with plotting to use blowtorches to collapse the Brooklyn Bridge, case pending.
• June 2003, Virginia Jihad Network: 11 men from Alexandria VA, trained for jihad against American soldiers, convicted of violating the Neutrality Act and conspiracy.
• August 2004, Dhiren Barot: Indian-born leader of terror cell plotted bombings on financial centers.
• August 2004, James Elshafay and Shahawar Matin Siraj: Sought to plant bomb at Penn Station during the RNC.
• August 2004, Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain: Plotted to assassinate a Pakistani diplomat on American soil.
• June 2005, Father and son Umer Hayat and Hamid Hayat: Son convicted of attending terrorist training camp in Pakistan; father convicted of customs violation.
• August 2005, Kevin James, Levar Haley Washington, Gregory Vernon Patterson and Hammad Riaz Samana: from Los Angeles, plotted to attack local National Guard, LAX, two synagogues and the Israeli consulate.
• December 2005, Michael Reynolds: Plotted to blow up natural gas refinery in Wyoming, the Transcontinental Pipeline, and a refinery in NJ, sentenced to 30 years.
• February 2006, Mohammad Zaki Amawi, Marwan Othman El-Hindi and Zand Wassim Mazloum: Accused of providing material support to terrorists, making bombs for use in Iraq.
• April 2006, Syed Haris Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee: Cased and videotaped the Capitol and World Bank for a terrorist organization.
• June 2006, Narseal Batiste, Patrick Abraham, Stanley Grant Phanor, Naudimar Herrera, Burson Augustin, Lyglenson Lemorin, and Rotschild Augstine: Accused of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower.
• July 2006, Assem Hammoud: Accused of plotting to bomb NYC train tunnels.
• August 2006, the famous Liquid Explosives Plot (Google it): thwarted plot to blow up 10 planes over the Atlantic Ocean and the US.
• March 2007, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: Mastermind of 9/11 and author of numerous plots confessed in court in March 2007 to planning to destroy skyscrapers in NY, LA and Chicago. Mohammed also plotted to assassinate Pope John Paul II and former President Clinton.
• May 2007, Fort Dix Plot: 6 men accused of plotting to attack Fort Dix Army base in NJ. The plan included attacking and killing Soldiers using assault rifles and grenades.
• June 2007, JFK Plot: Four men are accused of plotting to blow up fuel arteries that run through residential neighborhoods at JFK Airport.
• September 2007, Working with DHS, German authorities disrupt a terrorist cell that was planning attacks on military installations and facilities used by Americans in Germany. The Germans arrested three suspected members of the Islamic Jihad Union, a group that has links to Al Qaeda and supports Al Qaeda's global jihadist agenda.

Not just the US. See http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/uk-police-have-foiled-15-terror-plots-since-77_10041068.html

MM, why don’t you wake up and smell what you are shoveling?

@JustMy Opinion:

That was actually James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles on their latest investigation. Great costumes, eh?

Well, we can't have too much security in this country. If we did, then the democrats would have nothing to blame on the republicans. Perhaps one day they will learn to work together and hopefully it will not be because we had another catastrophe.

@CommonKevin
Exactly WHAT has President Obama done to make it easier for Al Quaeda to attack us?!
Your comments are really getting quite ridiculous. It is very clear you dislike... no, probably hate Obama.
We all know this.
Now get over it already!

Mildly Misanthropic,
Are you living in a closet? Are you not aware of what has been going on you Liberal Loon? Obama has released all of our techniques of persuasion like sleep deprivation and putting harmless insects in their quarters. Is sleep deprivation and insects in your sleeping quarters torture? If so, they we torture our military daily.
"It's my understanding that the FBI just made a series of arrests involving terror suspects. I don't recall too many of those coming out of the previous administration."
That is because the heavily biased media did not put any notice of those arrests on the air just as they did not mention the recent ACORN corruption until very late in the game. The only reason they are mentioning it now is because the almightly Obama is in the White House. Apparently there were quite a few of terrorist plots broken up under Bush as well (supposedly the Golden Gate Bridge was on their list to destroy, but the plot was foiled as a result of waterboarding KSM), not to forget the recent one under Obama (I must give credit where it is due), but Obama will not release the CIA documents that Cheney was calling for. So much for transparency, huh? Therefore, since terrorists now know our measures to convince them to talk they are much more able to resist and therfore we are more likely not to uncover the next plot to attack us until it is too late.

I don't even pay attention to terror alerts. I suspect I am far more likely to die of illness or some maniac driver running me over.

I wonder how many of these alerts are real and how many are manufactured. You can't live your life in a constant state of fear. If you stay alert in the interests of preventing crime, that should go a long way toward preventing terrorist attacks as well.

Looking at this another way, if the terrorists (9/11) or domestic extremists (OKC) gave us a courtesy "heads-up" before attacking, then we wouldn't need an alert system.

Perhaps Dear Leader can work on getting "them" to warn "us" so we wouldn't have to guess what the alert level was in the future.

There's really no reason to. Everyone should be aware of their surroundings regardless of the situation, and if it's your time to die, you're going to die. The cause of death doesn't really matter.

I might change it marginally, depending. But were I to make a list of fears, cancer would top it, followed by accidents - especially auto - and then, attacks from criminals and thieves. Nothing beats cancer though. There's much one can do to ward of some cancers, such as lung cancer by not smoking. But some of these other cancers, like pancreatic, strike out of the blue. Either their causes are yet unknown, or they really are completely random....sort of like terrorist attacks.......

I might change it marginally, depending. But were I to make a list of fears, cancer would top it, followed by accidents - especially auto - and then, attacks from criminals and thieves. Nothing beats cancer though. There's much one can do to ward of some cancers, such as lung cancer by not smoking. But some of these other cancers, like pancreatic, strike out of the blue. Either their causes are yet unknown, or they really are completely random....sort of like terrorist attacks.......

i don't listen to the govt because i think it's all hocus-pocus and they want you to live in fear

Why do I feel like the terror will be coming from within? Common Kevin's everyday comments just prove the point. His baseless hatred of President Obama is harmless now, but what about tomorrow? He could blow any days now. Extremist of any kinds can be dangerous, not just religious ones.

@ MM -
OK, so if it is bad, MM declares it is a leftover from Bush. If good, then MM says it must be Obama, or else a resurrection from Clinton.
Really.
Be advised: Obama took office on 20 January. How many FBI investigations do you know that took only 211 days from the first tip to local law enforcement, investigation by locals before punting to Federal, then ramping up the FBI, gathering info, surviellance, mega interviewing, and getting a viable arrest? And of course, these guys were never bad before 20 January, the first indication of anything wrong happened well after the inauguration - yep, this is all credit to only Obama and the brave folks on his team.
You are not misanthropic, you are small.

@ Common Kevin, 12:51 pm

"techniques of persuasion"

You make torture sound like rhetoric.

Your unchecked rage boarders on the comical. If I wasn't so certain that you'll ultimately snap and hurt someone one day, I would find you most entertaining of all Scarecrow.

@ Diogenes , 10:57 AM

"The principal error was not consulting J.Crew on the color coding scheme. Just imagine the public's reaction if the terror alert were raised from "burnt sienna" to "garnet"! Al Qaida wouldn't stand a chance!"

Brilliant. That is possibly my favorite Diogenes post.

Obama deserves no credit for anything relating to preventing terrorist attacks. Not until we put an end to our imperialist foreign policy of intervention, and stop fighting wars that are probably creating as many 'terrorists' as they are killing. At the end of the day, he's the same as Bush - constant war and overspending, always doing the wrong things first, and needless meddling in foreign affairs. The only good thing that has happened yet is the cancelling of the anti-missile base in Poland--pathetic. Some "change" eh?

Majorly Misanthropic,
You are really laughable. By your reply, I see that you think we torture our own military members. So I guess Obama tortures our military members by your own admonition. You, Zora, and Diogenes often have me rolling on the ground laughing with your partisan politics. I just see Obama for what he really is, a severe radical bent on destroying what is left of this country. Why is he in such a rush to pass the "stimulus" bill, health care bill, and "Cap and Trade," but wants to think over sending more troops to Afghanistan to help watch the backs of those currently there to minimize the deaths of our troops. News flash all, I just saw Beck interviewed by Katie Couric and he said that he thought McCain would have been worse for the U.S. than Obama.
http://www.katu.com/entertainment/60451842.html