Schools closed here too, along w/the Federal government and much of downtown.
Bush is in Omaha now at SAC command. The response has been a full Cold War-type alert, slightly odd in itself. CAbinet officials and other officials squirreled away, all armed forces on high alert, etc.
Bush will be back in D.C. in a day or so, not that it matters much.
I am not so pessimistic about civil liberties. It's going to be hard to get on a plane after this, and the US Gov is going to formally assume the right to assassinate anyone it wants to. But I doubt it will affect treatment of dissent very much. I do think it would be extremely foolish at this point to run out there and start campaigning against chauvinism and retaliation. Right now people yearn for somebody to pin this on, and lacking that, most any demonstration that can be confused with potential culprits will be seized upon as an acceptable surrogate culprit.
That snake James Baker had the gall to blame the intelligence failure on the Church Committee. Said it had eviscerated the U.S. 'human intelligence' capability. He avoided mentioning the committee by name at first, and Peter Jennings asked him to do so, since otherwise "we will just have to look it up in the files." Guess you can be a total ignoramus and still be a network anchor.
Can't work. Will probably do laundry and wash dishes. Still haven't heard from one of my buddies in NYC. His job was at the WTC.
mbs
Typical of the hysterical west coast, all SFO/OAK airports are closed and under tight security along with several downtown areas in SF/Oak---massive traffic jams in SF, and SF schools closed. The flight that crashed near Pittsburg was theoretically heading for SFO. If indeed it was heading to the west coast under hijack control, I will bet the US Air Force shot it down.
Astonishing.
After the Bush appointment, I kept thinking, man I hope nothing happens because this dude is clueless and profoundly stupid. Naturally he took to the skies surrounded by F-18s and probably an entire AWACS wing. He is so chicken shit, any bets on how long it take his pathic ass to sleep in the White House again. I say at least a week to ten days. Hope he likes microwave dinners cause he'll be eating them for a week.
I've got to say, the idiots who put this together made a vast political mistake. This kind of large scale terrorism is about the only thing that would have united a completely fractioned US. Now, we will be treated to years of repressions, panopticon mania, and the elimenation of all possibility of creating international solidarity against the US government neoliberal and imperialist policies. Even though this attack was aimed squarely at Capital and Empire, it makes the dissolution of the Empire from within, impossible. The US was already turning into Fortress America, and this will lock that trend into concrete for at least the next couple of national administrations. Now we are going to treated to endless propaganda about sticking together under attack and other blather. Dissent is automatic treason.
Media spokesmen keep using the excuse that living in a democracy, in a free society, these things can happen. So the obvious conclusion is good-bye free society (or what was left of it).
There is not one govt. spokesman on the news that has not mentioned massive retaliation. But without a state to identify and immediately decimate, that is going to be impossible.
No matter. We will proceed to imprison ourselves just to be on the safe side. I can already see the Israelis and the UK govts smirking---offering to lend a hand on just how to go forward with the complete police state---against all enemies most especially domestic. (They both did, just a few minutes after I wrote this)
For listmembers in NYC and DC, hope you are all okay--Leo Casey, Michael Pollak, Max Sawicky. Doug, any chance for some live radio?
Meanwhile our fearless leader is said to be hiding out some 35k feet over the Louisiana swamplands heading toward a much more secure Nebraska military base---now there's a plan. And, oh yes, make no mistake, he is change. Dan Rather just said so.
(12:45pst) And oh dear leader just pushed his girl Karen Huges out in front to make the announcements. What incredible cowards.
Bush is said to be near Omaha no doubt under fifty-thousand feet of concrete in some nuclear attack harden silo---shitting all over himself no doubt... What a disgusting sucker.
Chuck Grimes