Another Day in the Empire

Another Day in the Empire: " Alexandrovna to task on AlterNet?s forums, accusing her of sedition for simply reporting the story.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports this morning that Sen. Robert Menendez and Sen. Charles Schumer are using the hyped story of distant and untrained terrorists to ?offer legislative proposals to increase funding for mass transit security? in New York. ?The proposals would add $200 million to the $150 million already in the bill for subway and bus system security measures across the country; add $50 million for research and development of protective and warning systems; and add another $50 million to help local governments pay overtime to law enforcement agencies during terrorist threat-related emergencies.?
In short, the senators are exploiting the story to get more Ministry of Homeland Security largess for their district, thus demonstrating terrorism?or vastly overstated threats of terrorism, as the supposed perpetrator in the New York transit case was slapped in a Lebanese jail three months ago?may serve as a way to get cuts in the gravy train line.
Of course, with baseless and hyped terrorism stories making the rounds in the corporate media on a regular basis, ?terrorist threat-related emergencies? will become a regular and mundane occurrence, thus conditioning the public to accept more police state intrusions. Never mind the government is unable to apprehend real ?al-Qaeda? terrorists and instead depends on the FBI to entrap and frame patsies.
?One year and countless searches later, the practice [of random searches of New York subway commuters] once thought of as a temporary imposition with potential to trample civil rights remains firmly in place while barely causing a stir. The city?s top law enforcement official still insists the measure helps deter terrorism?and has no plans to halt it,? reports the Bu"