Well, it would seem that our friends in Washington have set up a system to help themselves survive a major terrorist attack.

They have re-opened a Cold War bunker with food, provisions and 'servants' for congressmen and senators and steps are being taken to keep the president and vice president separate at all times.

Given these facts, it might be logical to assume that a terrorist attack on the White House using an airplane might have ended in success, if the element of surprise could be attained.

I had always thought that the White House and the Pentagon would be staunchly defended by fighter jets, missile batteries, anti-aircraft guns and other measures. However, post Sept. 11, I now believe the White House is a target for terrorists with aspirations of greatness.

I have to wonder if the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania that dark day might have been bound for the White House. Although the president was in Florida at a school, it would be possible to 'luck up' and strike him down while he slept. That's a sobering thought.

At least our politicians are taking steps to keep the president and vice president separate at all times. In addition, more care is being taken to protect the president's schedule.

These are measures that seem to make a modicum of sense, unlike many other items. Take the new 'color coded' terrorist warnings as an example. We have made terrorism so common that we have decided to treat forecasts like weather predictions? I think we should be so on top of things that we already have a gun sight on these idiots before they have a chance to even plan an attack. It's kill or be killed, in my estimation. Given the fact that we can't even round up one of the most well-known terrorists in history, I can't see how we will be able to track unknown 'martyrs' here in our own country.

As for the government's obvious weakness being exposed worldwide, one has to wonder if anyone has done anything to handle the problem. I heard the other morning that the fighter jet patrols, instituted after Sept. 11, have been cut back and will no longer be constant. I think this is an obvious error, especially in the case of Washington, D.C. Can you imagine how demoralizing it would be to see the White House or the Capital Building in flames? How about destroying a session of congress with one foul swoop?

Given its poor record of decision making, one has to wonder if the government is working at all to protect us. Ever since the INS gave Mohammed Atta a student visa, I have had a little less faith in the abilities of our nation. To be honest, I lost quite a bit of my faith in government all the way back in Waco, Texas.

As for the problems at hand, I think that it is time to register all immigrants via computer, similar to systems already in place to track criminals. It is scary to think the rubber-stampers don't recognize a name like Mohammed Atta.

On a related front, I saw a cartoon today of Osama Bin Laden frying burgers in Des Moines. I laughed for a second and then thought about it. Wouldn't that be ironic?

In addition, I am also losing some of my trust in humanity, especially after I read about someone tossing a grenade into a Protestant church service in Pakistan. Is nothing holy to these people? Obviously, I wouldn't expect them to follow our faith, but I would expect some degree of respect for those exercising their right to worship. Perhaps that is the problem. We recognize their rights to worship, but they do not recognize ours. I would like to know, where is all of the Christian outrage? If I were to toss a grenade into a mosque, there would be calls for holy war. Kill a few Christians and no one notices. It is time we stopped watching our fellow Americans led like lambs to slaughter. I think it is time to stop waiting to react or 'bring people to justice' — we should be on the offensive against these terrorists worldwide instead of the defensive. They should fear us instead of the other way around.

Allow me to share an example of how far off the track some folks are. A school in Washington recently asked kids to role play as Muslims to attain greater 'cultural understanding of our friends in Islam'. Local residents took a stand and beat the system — the program was withdrawn. the school system would allow students to role play as Muslims, but not to role play the Christian nativity. Hmm.

Funny, but I never heard of any lessons on 'understanding our pals the Nazis' in World War II.

Get more tongue in cheek commentary this week's issue of the Alleghany News!

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