Peggy

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/coursey/14coursey_b1.html
© The Press Democrat. For copyright information visit our User Agreement
page at
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Ratcheting up the nation's fear factor

February 14, 2003

By CHRIS COURSEY
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.

This message is brought to you this week by your federal government.
We're going to war, our leaders tell us. Or war is coming to us. Either
way, it's a dangerous, dangerous time.

Baghdad has weapons of mass destruction. Pyongyang has missiles that can
reach Sonoma County. Agents of al-Qaida are loose in the land, the CIA
director says. Significant public buildings, bridges or landmarks may be
targets. But so might apartment buildings, hotels, schools or churches.
Key industries are asked to look for "infiltrators."

No one is safe.

So duck and cover. Tape and seal. Lock and load, batten down the
hatches, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.

Or, take a deep breath and think.

Why are we going into full panic mode now? Is the world any more
threatening than it has been since Sept. 11, 2001? And if so, what is
making it that way?

I don't want to dismiss the threat of terrorism. No one needs to be
reminded of the damage that a small group of determined people can
cause. That threat exists every day.

But what happened to the post-Sept. 11 advice to "live your lives; go
about your business"?

Suddenly, our lives include stocking up on duct tape and our business is
to ferret out sleeper agents in the next cubicle.

It's one thing if you live in Manhattan or D.C., or if you work for
Lockheed or the National Security Agency. But the fact is, the vast
majority of Americans don't live or work in those places.

I don't argue with "be prepared." It's good advice for earthquakes, for
power outages, for Boy Scouts and for days when you just can't get to
the store for groceries.

But what are we preparing for now? Anthrax? Mustard gas? A radioactive
"dirty bomb"? Who is kidding whom? If I can't keep the moths and mice
out of my house, how is a little tape and plastic going to save me from
nerve gas or radioactive contamination?

So I keep coming back to the same question: Why is my government
deliberately trying to scare me?

This isn't the first time we've heard from Osama bin Laden. He's popped
up on video and audio tapes several times since Sept. 11, each time
figuratively beating his chest and exhorting his followers to praise
Allah and kill the infidels.

But each previous time, our government has downplayed the messages,
questioned their authenticity, warned that broadcasting them might help
bin Laden send secret messages to his al-Qaida operatives.

Now, though, his message conveniently arrives at a time when it can mesh
well with our government's own message to its citizens. That being: War
in Iraq is imminent. Terrorism is still a threat. And the two are
somehow connected.

There are many Americans who don't think the debate is that simple. But
it's a lot harder for them to argue their point of view when the
national fear factor is ratcheted up to code orange or code red or
whatever color Tom Ridge decides goes with his tie this morning.

It's difficult to second-guess these warnings. After all, they may be --
and probably eventually will be -- right. We're not done with terrorism.

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't question the purpose of the alerts.
Are they designed simply to cover the butts of the intelligence agencies
that dropped the ball before Sept. 11? Are they distractions to divert
the public debate from other issues? Are they an indication that our
leaders know that something terrible is going to happen, and they are
powerless to stop it?

I don't have the answer. All I know is that my government wants me to be
afraid right now.

And that, more than anything else, scares the heck out of me.

Contact Chris Coursey at 521-5223 or ccoursey@....

marji

Thanks for posting this interesting article today, Peggy. I just got home
from today's pro-peace rally in NYC where I was joined by about 399,999 or
so other folks and uncountable policemen (although I'm sure the City was
keeping track). It was VERY cold today, and there were a few elderly,
unwell folks who had planned to come with us today but decided to
participate in a vigil closer to home owing to the long hours we'd be out
in the elements and the amount of hoofing we had to do. So, I wonder what
the turnout might have been if the conditions had been just slightly more
comfortable!

We were also joined by millions (estimated by the corporate media at around
6 million) across the globe. All these folks are not buying our
government's assertion the way to assuage our fears and *stop* terrorism is
raining terror down on the heads of the innocent PEOPLE of Iraq.

Today's rally was way different than the one I attended in D.C. about a
month ago. The police were more *involved* shall we say, and there were
many arrests, I understand. The police were a little frightening sometimes
in their riot gear. One elderly lady who was with my informal group was
not permitted by the police to leave the rally so she could go into a
Starbucks, get out of the cold for a few minutes, have a seat, get some
java, and go to the bathroom. She ended up having to climb over a metal
barrier, which she did with the help of some folks.

I think that fear is a powerful motivator, but it is also one of the worst
reasons to do something (maybe if I weren't so dog-tired right now, I'd be
able to think of worse reasons, so that's not really scientific).

Anyway, I hope you won't mind my off-topic rambling. Today was really
amazing and I wanted to share my experiences with some of my favorite minds.

Sweet dreams, folks!

Marji

At 10:55 2/15/03 -0700, you wrote:


>http://www.pressdemocrat.com/coursey/14coursey_b1.html
>© The Press Democrat. For copyright information visit our User Agreement
>page at
>http://www.pressdemocrat.com/services/agreement.html
>
>Ratcheting up the nation's fear factor
>
>February 14, 2003
>
>By CHRIS COURSEY
>THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
>
>Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.
>
>This message is brought to you this week by your federal government.
>We're going to war, our leaders tell us. Or war is coming to us. Either
>way, it's a dangerous, dangerous time.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

coyote's corner

Thanks so very much for telling us about this. I was unable to go. Brianna
had a non-postpone-able appt. She & I talked and while she said that she
would give it up, I knew I couldn’t make her do that.
I’ve been reading the papers (NY Times; Providence Journal) this AM and I
have to say I am very proud of the movement. Whether or not anyone in
Washington is listening remains to be seen!
Thanks for going.
Thanks for posting.
Janis
www.coyotescorner.com <http://www.coyotescorner.com/>
Very Cool Stuff for the World
Don’t you deserve to be cool?

-----Original Message-----
From: marji [mailto:marji@...]
Sent: Saturday, February 15, 2003 10:35 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [AlwaysLearning] NEWS Ratcheting up the nation's fear factor

Thanks for posting this interesting article today, Peggy. I just got home
from today's pro-peace rally in NYC where I was joined by about 399,999 or
so other folks and uncountable policemen (although I'm sure the City was
keeping track). It was VERY cold today, and there were a few elderly,
unwell folks who had planned to come with us today but decided to
participate in a vigil closer to home owing to the long hours we'd be out
in the elements and the amount of hoofing we had to do. So, I wonder what
the turnout might have been if the conditions had been just slightly more
comfortable!

We were also joined by millions (estimated by the corporate media at around
6 million) across the globe. All these folks are not buying our
government's assertion the way to assuage our fears and *stop* terrorism is
raining terror down on the heads of the innocent PEOPLE of Iraq.

Today's rally was way different than the one I attended in D.C. about a
month ago. The police were more *involved* shall we say, and there were
many arrests, I understand. The police were a little frightening sometimes
in their riot gear. One elderly lady who was with my informal group was
not permitted by the police to leave the rally so she could go into a
Starbucks, get out of the cold for a few minutes, have a seat, get some
java, and go to the bathroom. She ended up having to climb over a metal
barrier, which she did with the help of some folks.

I think that fear is a powerful motivator, but it is also one of the worst
reasons to do something (maybe if I weren't so dog-tired right now, I'd be
able to think of worse reasons, so that's not really scientific).

Anyway, I hope you won't mind my off-topic rambling. Today was really
amazing and I wanted to share my experiences with some of my favorite minds.

Sweet dreams, folks!

Marji

At 10:55 2/15/03 -0700, you wrote:


> http://www.pressdemocrat.com/coursey/14coursey_b1.html
>© The Press Democrat. For copyright information visit our User Agreement
>page at
> http://www.pressdemocrat.com/services/agreement.html
>
>Ratcheting up the nation's fear factor
>
>February 14, 2003
>
>By CHRIS COURSEY
>THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
>
>Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.
>
>This message is brought to you this week by your federal government.
>We're going to war, our leaders tell us. Or war is coming to us. Either
>way, it's a dangerous, dangerous time.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

marji

At 09:36 2/16/03 -0500, Janis wrote:
>Brianna had a non-postpone-able appt. She & I talked and while she said
>that she would give it up, I knew I couldn't make her do that.

Very generous of both of you!

When I went to the D.C. rally and march on January 18, I found myself
marching close to a small family (mom, dad, about a 10-yo son and a wee
toddler-type). The son was wearing a very funny sandwich sign. The back
of it said "My parents made me come." The front said "Kids Against Forced
Protest Marches." They looked like they were having a very good time.

>I've been reading the papers (NY Times; Providence Journal) this AM and I
>have to say I am very proud of the movement. Whether or not anyone in
>Washington is listening remains to be seen!

I don't know that they are really listening in D.C., but they may be in the
U.N. But, whether they're listening or not, I feel compelled to help
maintain the momentum of this movement. So, I'm making plans to go to D.C.
again on March 1. I'm hoping the weather warms up a tad by then.

>Thanks for going.
>Thanks for posting.

Thank you, Janis. What a cool website, by the way!!

Marji

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Peggy

Thanks so much for telling us about this! You're my hero.

It is so strange that people are NOT Talking about these things on the
American lists. Not a mention of duck tape or plastic, as if that would
help, honestly. What is up with this?


Peggy


> From: marji <marji@...>

>
> Thanks for posting this interesting article today, Peggy. I just got home
> from today's pro-peace rally in NYC where I was joined by about 399,999 or
> so other folks and uncountable policemen (although I'm sure the City was
> keeping track). It was VERY cold today, and there were a few elderly,
> unwell folks who had planned to come with us today but decided to
> participate in a vigil closer to home owing to the long hours we'd be out
> in the elements and the amount of hoofing we had to do. So, I wonder what
> the turnout might have been if the conditions had been just slightly more
> comfortable!
>
> We were also joined by millions (estimated by the corporate media at around
> 6 million) across the globe. All these folks are not buying our
> government's assertion the way to assuage our fears and *stop* terrorism is
> raining terror down on the heads of the innocent PEOPLE of Iraq.
>
> Today's rally was way different than the one I attended in D.C. about a
> month ago. The police were more *involved* shall we say, and there were
> many arrests, I understand. The police were a little frightening sometimes
> in their riot gear. One elderly lady who was with my informal group was
> not permitted by the police to leave the rally so she could go into a
> Starbucks, get out of the cold for a few minutes, have a seat, get some
> java, and go to the bathroom. She ended up having to climb over a metal
> barrier, which she did with the help of some folks.
>
> I think that fear is a powerful motivator, but it is also one of the worst
> reasons to do something (maybe if I weren't so dog-tired right now, I'd be
> able to think of worse reasons, so that's not really scientific).
>
> Anyway, I hope you won't mind my off-topic rambling. Today was really
> amazing and I wanted to share my experiences with some of my favorite minds.
>
> Sweet dreams, folks!
>
> Marji
>
> At 10:55 2/15/03 -0700, you wrote:
>
>
>
>>>http://www.pressdemocrat.com/coursey/14coursey_b1.html
>>>© The Press Democrat. For copyright information visit our User Agreement
>>>page at
>>>http://www.pressdemocrat.com/services/agreement.html
>>>
>>>Ratcheting up the nation's fear factor
>>>
>>>February 14, 2003
>>>
>>>By CHRIS COURSEY
>>>THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
>>>
>>>Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.
>>>
>>>This message is brought to you this week by your federal government.
>>>We're going to war, our leaders tell us. Or war is coming to us. Either
>>>way, it's a dangerous, dangerous time.

marji

At 10:20 2/16/03 -0700, you wrote:
>Thanks so much for telling us about this! You're my hero.

Thanks, Peggy. :-)

>It is so strange that people are NOT Talking about these things on the
>American lists. Not a mention of duck tape or plastic, as if that would
>help, honestly. What is up with this?

I dunno! There is a lot of fear around this whole thing, and I think
people may feel powerless to do anything about it and not want to
acknowledge it. But "I dunno" is the only *correct* answer I can come up
with. I know that I feel sensitive about bringing this topic up on this
list and the unschooling list because I don't want to cause a diversion
from the unschooling topics. But, in our lives anyway, my son sees what I
am doing, going to protests and peace vigils (the big ones and the local
ones, too). He wants to come with me to most of them, but he backs out
when I tell him what he can expect. He's been to a few of them though. I
believe that when the weather gets a lot warmer he come to more of the
vigils with me, and he is, of course, welcome to join me at the bigger
marches and rallies.

This, to me, is the Real Life that he got to rejoin when he left school a
year ago. I'm glad he wants to be a part of it.

Marji

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Kate Green

At 10:20 AM 2/16/03 -0700, you wrote:
> Thanks so much for telling us about this! You're my hero.
>
> It is so strange that people are NOT Talking about these things on the
> American lists. Not a mention of duck tape or plastic, as if that would
> help, honestly. What is up with this?
>

Lots of talk on the AP expat list I'm on:) People doing lots of snorting
with laughter at the idea of duct tape doing much good....

Marji -- sounds like a great march. We watched them all on TV this morning
and I was so sad that we couldn't be a part of one. The only marches here
seem to have lots of US flag burning and "down, down USA" being chanted.
Not a nice place to be a blonde family and so obviously western!

Kate, hopefully not arriving back in the US until June


>
> Peggy
>
>
>> <>
>
>>
>> I just got home
>> from today's pro-peace rally in NYC where I was joined by about 399,999 or
>> so other folks and uncountable policemen (although I'm sure the City was
>> It was VERY cold today, and there were a few elderly,
>> unwell folks who had planned to come with us today but decided to
>> participate in a vigil closer to home owing to the long hours we'd be out
>> So, I wonder what
>> the turnout might have been if the conditions had been just slightly more
>> comfortable!
>>
>> We were also joined by millions (estimated by the corporate media at
around
>> All these folks are not buying our
>> government's assertion the way to assuage our fears and *stop* terrorism
is
>> raining terror down on the heads of the innocent PEOPLE of Iraq.
>>
>> Today's rally was way different than the one I attended in D.C. about a
>> The police were more *involved* shall we say, and there were
>> The police were a little frightening sometimes
>> One elderly lady who was with my informal group was
>> not permitted by the police to leave the rally so she could go into a
>> Starbucks, get out of the cold for a few minutes, have a seat, get some
>> She ended up having to climb over a metal
>> barrier, which she did with the help of some folks.
>>
>> I think that fear is a powerful motivator, but it is also one of the worst
>> reasons to do something (maybe if I weren't so dog-tired right now, I'd be
>> able to think of worse reasons, so that's not really scientific).
>>
>> Today was really
>> amazing and I wanted to share my experiences with some of my favorite
minds.
>>
>> Sweet dreams, folks!
>>
>> Marji
>>
>> At 10:55 2/15/03 -0700, you wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>>http://www.pressdemocrat.com/coursey/14coursey_b1.html
>>>>© The Press Democrat. For copyright information visit our User Agreement
>>>>page at
>>>>http://www.pressdemocrat.com/services/agreement.html
>>>>
>>>>Ratcheting up the nation's fear factor
>>>>
>>>>February 14, 2003
>>>>
>>>>By CHRIS COURSEY
>>>>THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
>>>>
>>>>Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.
>>>>
>>>>This message is brought to you this week by your federal government.
>>>>We're going to war, our leaders tell us. Or war is coming to us. Either
>>>>way, it's a dangerous, dangerous time.
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
>
>
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coyote's corner

Thanks!! We're adding lots or items, including more hemp and some anti-war
t-shirts and bumper stickers. I'm hoping that we can get to the one in
Washington..weather permitting! Isn't this storm magnificent!! Can't help
it, I love the seasons, nature and all her fury!
However, I'm safe in a warm, cozy home. We aren't homeless. We have
utilities.
I keep thinking of families, like us, in Iraq and Afghanistan. How sad and
frightened they must be.
I have a piece that I would like to share with you. May I send it privately?
Janis



-----Original Message-----
From: marji [mailto:marji@...]
Sent: Sunday, February 16, 2003 10:16 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [AlwaysLearning] NEWS Ratcheting up the nation's fear factor

At 09:36 2/16/03 -0500, Janis wrote:
>Brianna had a non-postpone-able appt. She & I talked and while she said
>that she would give it up, I knew I couldn't make her do that.

Very generous of both of you!

When I went to the D.C. rally and march on January 18, I found myself
marching close to a small family (mom, dad, about a 10-yo son and a wee
toddler-type). The son was wearing a very funny sandwich sign. The back
of it said "My parents made me come." The front said "Kids Against Forced
Protest Marches." They looked like they were having a very good time.

>I've been reading the papers (NY Times; Providence Journal) this AM and I
>have to say I am very proud of the movement. Whether or not anyone in
>Washington is listening remains to be seen!

I don't know that they are really listening in D.C., but they may be in the
U.N. But, whether they're listening or not, I feel compelled to help
maintain the momentum of this movement. So, I'm making plans to go to D.C.
again on March 1. I'm hoping the weather warms up a tad by then.

>Thanks for going.
>Thanks for posting.

Thank you, Janis. What a cool website, by the way!!

Marji

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




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marji

At 15:31 2/16/03 -0500, Janis wrote:
>Thanks!! We're adding lots or items, including more hemp and some anti-war
>t-shirts and bumper stickers. I'm hoping that we can get to the one in
>Washington..weather permitting! Isn't this storm magnificent!! Can't help
>it, I love the seasons, nature and all her fury!
>However, I'm safe in a warm, cozy home. We aren't homeless. We have
>utilities.
>I keep thinking of families, like us, in Iraq and Afghanistan. How sad and
>frightened they must be.
>I have a piece that I would like to share with you. May I send it privately?
>Janis

Yes, please. my email address is marji@... Thanks!


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

The article was really interesting.

I'm in New Mexico. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, we were a target. I was
18 miles downhill from Los Alamos National Labs. We were 80 miles north of
Sandia National Labs and Kirtland Air Force Base where lots of the nukes were
stored.

Duck and cover drills were our lives.

I was truly frightened. I wanted my dad to build a bomb shelter. I thought
he didn't love me because all I could get him to do was nail a quilt to the
door to a half-sunk canning room and put a radio and some batteries and a
blanket in there.

My parents grew up with storm cellars in West Texas, and they went in on
tornado days.

It's one thing for a rabbit hole with a heavy door to protect a family from a
tornado. It's another thing to pretend that will protect someone from a
nuclear bomb.

So we were scared and given false hope and somewhat turned against our
parents when we couldn't get them as scared as elementary schoolkids.

It sucked.

So now, I think two things for my own family:

We're in New Mexico which is NOT a target this round.

IF war comes, I can't stop it. I could get my kids all nightmarish and stock
up on duct tape and Spam, or I can continue to make today pleasant for them
and take the historic perspective about wars.

Some people might think that's irresponsible.

I think when a kid is down a well in Italy, it takes maybe 20 or 100 guys to
get him out.
It doesn't take a billion people glued to their TVs all getting emotional
about it.

Any kind of manipulation of emotions like that pisses me off. Maybe because
I'm more than halfway through with my life and I don't want to waste my
energy on worrying about things I can't change.

Those who are young and want to protest wars should absolutely do so.
I was in college when Nixon resigned. I hung out with war protesters AND
pissed-off vets. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't right. The protests of the
60's and 70's will and do affect what's happening now.

People who say the 60's never had any effect on our culture are wrong.

Sandra, rambling

Nancy Wooton

on 2/16/03 2:17 PM, SandraDodd@... at SandraDodd@... wrote:

> People who say the 60's never had any effect on our culture are wrong.

Whoever says that are a big word.

Nancy

Nancy Wooton

on 2/16/03 2:42 PM, Nancy Wooton at ikonstitcher@... wrote:

>> People who say the 60's never had any effect on our culture are wrong.
>
> Whoever says that are a big word.

...*is* a big word?

Nancy, with too many sounds in the room to concentrate on grammar while
making silly online jokes.


nellebelle

Maybe the real goal is to boost the economy?
Mary Ellen
----- snip-----Suddenly, our lives include stocking up on duct tape


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 2/16/2003 5:19:20 PM Eastern Standard Time,
SandraDodd@... writes:


> The article was really interesting.
>
> I'm in New Mexico. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, we were a target. I
> was
> 18 miles downhill from Los Alamos National Labs. We were 80 miles north of
>
> Sandia National Labs and Kirtland Air Force Base where lots of the nukes
> were
> stored.
>
> Duck and cover drills were our lives.
>

I was maybe a bit too young to have "duck and cover" drills--or maybe small
private schools weren't so panicked about doomsday.

Have any of you read a short story by Stephen Vincent Benet called "By the
Waters of Babylon". It's one of my favorite short stories (and I have a lot
of favorites!). If you haven't read it, I know that you can find it
online---that's where I found it after years of looking for my old textbook!

It's not really 'til the end that you get the full impact of the story---and
it was written---like YEARS before any superbomb was invented---like late
30's? But it's my "doomsday story".

~Kelly


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Heidi Wordhouse-Dykema

My mother, for whom I've worked 'email hoax' duty for the past
who-knows-how-many-years sent me this link, sort of as a thank you, I think.

http://www.borgerisd.net/soapbox/soapbox.htm
I thought you all might get a kick out of it.
I like the bit about god, the burning bush and the pc.
Enjoy!
Heidi

Nancy Wooton

on 2/19/03 10:08 PM, Heidi Wordhouse-Dykema at heidi@... wrote:

> http://www.borgerisd.net/soapbox/soapbox.htm
> I thought you all might get a kick out of it.
> I like the bit about god, the burning bush and the pc.
> Enjoy!
> Heidi

Enjoy what? Is this one of those Windows-Only deals? Those of us who have
only one click, not a right and left, are left out?

Sniff.

Nancy

Heidi Wordhouse-Dykema

>Enjoy what? Is this one of those Windows-Only deals? Those of us who have
>only one click, not a right and left, are left out?


Oh, dear! Can't Mac folk right click?
Is there a solution for folks who are right-click-impaired?
I've never heard of not being able to right-click...

Okay, I asked my husband-the-computer-guru and he says, put your
mouse-cursor over the box, hold down the control button and then click. It
should work whenever your want to 'right click' but can't. He just did it
and I can hear it running now.
Pretty funny!
Heidi-the-right-click-empowered