InstaPundit notes that anthrax spores occur in nature, as any rancher knows. How sensitive is the testing they are doing on post offices, etc.? What’s the possibility/probability that they are now merely reading “background” rather than something significant?
Other InstaPundit goodies this morning (which I’ll summarize here):
- Our politicians are not doing well acting as war leaders, which means taking the same risks they’re asking others to take. “But maybe it’s more basic. Politicians, like show biz types, are now so unnaturally sealed off from the world by their vast entourages that the sudden piercing of the perimeter has utterly confounded them: suddenly, they feel vulnerable, as many Americans do in a thousand situations–walking down an empty city street after dark, working the midnight shift at a convenience store in a crummy neighborhood.”
- The “freak-out factor” continues to rule on our air flights. If you make anybody nervous, upset, or suspicious, you’re in big trouble. “I felt the many eyes in the room follow me all the way to the ticket counter. . . . I searched for a behavior type that would ease the tension and alleviate their worries, but could not manage more than a nervous smile. I avoided eye contact, but wait, I told myself, that is suspicious behavior. Look at them. No, don’t stare; that’s even worse” I’ve written (as late as yesterday) that we need to be patient about this — but we also all need to start trying to get a grip. If you can’t serve the public — that includes people who perhaps look like some of the folks who committed the evils of 9-11 — then maybe you shouldn’t be working for the airlines.
- Does profiling (see previous item) make sense? It’s worth noting that only a minority (23%) of Arab-Americans are Muslim (most are Christian), and only a minority of Muslims world-wide are Arab. “But the first step towards a just — and justifiable — profiling policy would have to involve carefully studying the groups in question, first to determine whether the approach would be effective; and if so, to learn how best to protect us efficiently while avoiding racist stereotyping and the undue harassment of innocents.” (This is from a few days ago — I should have posted it then.)
Or you can just go to the InstaPundit page and read the stuff as it comes out. He posts even more than I do.
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