> I for one am more worried about the shocking medical bill that I just
> received for my recent ER visit (the problem turned out to be a
> kidney stone): $2,812.00 (of which $1,758.00 is accounted for by a CT
> body scan)! Privatized health care is a bigger threat to me &
> workers in the USA -- especially those of us without health
> insurance, like yours truly -- than Al Qaeda.
Of course. Hell, the bad drivers here in Mich (the worst I've ever seen) are more an immediate threat to me and my family than is al-Qaeda. Doesn't diminish the latter threat; nor does worrying about and discussing how to deal with this threat eliminate the need to deal with other, pressing domestic concerns.
> It doesn't seem to be the case that those in NY and D.C. are more
> likely to believe that Al Qaeda, etc. are "committed to killing as
> many Americans and non-Americans as they can" than those in other
> locations are. You are in Michigan; Kelley is in Florida. Both of
> you sound more alarmist than John Mage, Michael Pollak, Carl Remick,
> & other New Yorkers on LBO-talk.
I lived in NY for 17 years and have only lived in Mich for the past two. Most of my closest friends still live there, and a couple were directly affected by the attack -- one was homeless for three weeks, his apartment only a few blocks from Ground Zero. This same guy saw the second plane fly over his head near the tops of buildings, turn, then smash into the second tower. After watching that, and watching people jump to their deaths before he and a bunch of other stunned spectators ran for their lives when the towers collapsed, my friend is not the same. His whole outlook has been changed, and he is but one of countless others, you can be sure of that. LBO Talk is not the world, and the NYers here don't represent NYers everywhere.
> >Well, they were in power in Afghanistan
>
> Are they now?
Come on.
> Were they ever?
Yes.
> How likely are they to come into power? Just how well organized are
> Al Qaeda? Leaderless resistance may be suitable for sporadic terrors
> & other tactics of destabilization, but it's not very suitable for
> taking & holding state power.
Well, it may not be suitable to take power at Ohio State, but the state of affairs in Pakistan should give you pause.
DP