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As I spoke with my coworkers today about the Boston Bombers, I got into a heated argument with them over motive. I attempted to point out that we shouldn’t make any conclusions about the two young men being Muslim until we know if that had anything to do with their motives. I immediately had to listen to a coworker tell me that it wasn’t right for them to come here and blow our stuff and our people up. Another coworker said it was wrong for them to kill little children.

While I agreed with them that it is wrong to kill anyone, for any reason, I mentioned the fact that, on the same day as the bombing in Boston, 75 people were killed and 350 injured in attacks in Iraq. While my two coworkers agreed that it, too, was wrong, one reiterated that it didn’t justify “them” coming to American and killing Americans.

“Why not?” I asked. To me, I can see where citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan would want revenge for what the United States did to their country, including the millions that we’ve killed. The United States has clearly made people hate them since their continued involvement overseas since 2001.

“Because we never did anything to them,” my coworker replied.

“We destroyed their country,” I replied.

“Yeah, okay,” piped in my other coworker, “but that doesn’t mean they have to come here and kill little children.”

“Do you really think that they were thinking about how many small children they were going to kill when they set out on this? The US, too, has killed thousands of innocent children in Iraq and Afghanistan,” I said, hoping still to introduce some logic.

“No, they probably weren’t. But, man, I think we might have to watch out for you. You really hate America.” With that, coworker #2 left. My first coworker, who readily admits not knowing anything about history or current events decides to keep going.

“I’m not going to argue with you, but “they” have no right coming to this country and killing Americans.” My mind was boggled by the fact that this coworker could not see the fact that the United States has gone to other countries for ten years or more and done the same thing.

“You do realize that they’ve been here for ten years and, mostly, fit in. So something happened in the last couple of years to make them become who they are now.”

“Yeah because them Muslims prey on lonely people and he was Muslim. He shouldn’t come here and do this.”

“But we don’t know yet if his religion had anything to do with it.”

“They probably did. You know how they are. They hate us.”

“And why do you think they hate us? We destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan for no good reason and continue killing innocent people today.”

“Then they should go back to Iraq and not kill us innocent Americans.”

“They weren’t from Iraq. They were from Chechnya.”

“Same thing. They’re all close by each other.” Yes, I face palmed at this comment by my coworker. Grozny, Chechnya is 1808km (1123.4 miles) and a 25 hour car ride to Baghdad, Iraq. It is 3,444km (2140 miles) and a 43 hour car ride between Grozny, Chechnya and Kabul, Afghanistan. So, no, they are not even close to each other.

“No really, they’re not. And they are angry about the United States’ constant meddling in the Middle East.”

“Well, they asked us to come to Iraq and Afghanistan and help them.”

“They did not.”

“Yeah they did.”

“No one asked us for help with anything.”

“Yes, they did. And these boys are connected to it. But I’m not arguing anymore with you. You’ve got too many radical ideas.” And with that, my coworker left me shaking my head as to why I even attempted to discuss the entire situation.

So, there you have it. I have radical ideas because I try to inject some rational thought, logic, and understanding into a conversation. I try not to jump to conclusions and not make any decisions until all the facts are in. Unfortunately, the people I work with prefer to believe America is the greatest country on Earth and does nothing wrong. This is why they will never be able to understand why anyone would want to kill Americans and why they will never be able to step back and see the other side’s view. When you can’t do that, you will never be able to understand international relations or other cultures. Because of this, they will never be able to begin building bridges towards peace.

For the record, 2,996 civilians and 19 hijackers were killed on 9/11. Estimated deaths in Iraq through 2012 are over 100,000. Civilian casualties in Afghanistan to date is about 21,690, which is considered an underestimate. These are casualties only and don’t include the injured, only the dead. I wonder when it will be worth it. How many Iraqis and Afghanistanis equal one American?

Map link.

After a hearing in the House of Representatives, the Department of Homeland Security was forced to release their list of hundreds of words that will trigger analysts to monitor behavior online. Naturally, the list contains words such as Al Qaeda, terrorism, and bomb, but there are some rather odd, yet interesting words as well.

For example, the DHS may dig through your cyber life if you write something about snow. Or pork.

So, you’ve just come back from a beach holiday in Mexico and posted about it on your blog. Or maybe you’ve tweeted about skiing lessons? Updated your status, saying you’re stuck home with food poisoning?

All those things will tweak the DHS antennae, according to a manual published by the agency. The Analyst’s Desktop Binder, used by agency employees at their National Operations Center to identify “media reports that reflect adversely on DHS and response activities,” includes hundreds of words that set off Big Brother’s silent alarms.

It’s also hard to believe that the supposed terrorists that the DHS is on the lookout for are that stupid. Can you honestly imagine one person posting “hey, let’s go make a pipe bomb and blow up a police car this weekend” on a friend’s wall? I’d imagine people who plot terrorist acts are focusing on two things: not getting caught and getting their job done. Why on earth would they broadcast their malicious intentions online?

And so, like many of the DHS’s brilliant, thought-out programs, this one seems to be directed at the unsuspecting, innocent general public. Only now, as well as possibly being branded a terrorist for not wanting to use a credit card or buying a flashlight, you might get locked up for blogging about clouds. (Very dangerous word, cloud. Who knows what it could mean.)

Anyone who is seriously considering attacking the United States is not going to be talking about it openly on the internet. The government is either naive or highly incompetent if they think otherwise.

When you take your next ski trip, be sure to write about it online as good times on the white stuff. You can also choose from a variety of words listed below. Get creative. Give the DHS analysts something to do while they find new and inventive ways to monitor our online behavior.

I’ll get you started. The Al Qaeda operative at some pork in the snow after he completed his jihad to kill illegal downloaders of child porn who want to legalize pot. He was a good Muslim and hoped to retire to North Korea, but became sick because he had never eaten swine before. He then thought his services could be utilized elsewhere in Mexico, but he was afraid of the drug cartels and violence. Plus, he’s not too fond of methamphetamines, heroin, marijuana, or cocaine. He decided law enforcement in Tijuana, Yuma, or Tuscon would do a better job. Also, he didn’t want to risk decapitation. He also decided against joining FARC, the IRA, the PLO, AQAP, AQIM, TTP, and all other terrorist groups that like to go by initials in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

He had completed his mission. He was not assigned as a suicide bomber, nor did he have a weapons cache. The magnitude of a cyber attack was beyond his skills as a simple terrorist. His work was done. So, he retreated to an unknown location and began to use social media as a way to entertain himself all day with cute pictures of cats and cyber porn.

This article was originally published at The Daily Censored.

This is the full text of my article from The Daily Censored. Feel free to check out all the other stories there as well.

As much as I try to protect my identity online, this is a story that I cannot just let go. Scotts Bluff County Sheriff Jim Lawson and the sheriff’s department in my town has decided that there is a major threat of terrorism and that the county needs to adopt the “See something, say something,” mentality in Western Nebraska.

Lawson says he obtained permission from the New York Office of Homeland Security to use the slogan for a local campaign after seeing an article in a magazine. The Department of Homeland Security has announced intentions to expand the campaign nationally.

“If it can work for them, why not use it here?” Lawson said.

It won’t work here because there honestly isn’t a need for it here. This is a small town, with no major venues, no tall buildings, and no reason for a terrorist to want to come here. Everyone knows everyone else. There are plenty of racists around so you’d quickly hear if there were any “towelheads” in our midst.

While western Nebraska may seem like an unlikely area for a terrorist attack, Lawson said, “Oklahoma City, Okla., was struck by a domestic terrorist. We don’t want people to get overly frightened, but they just need to be aware and be kept aware.”

Yes, Oklahoma City was bombed. Oklahoma City had a population of 506,132 in 2000. The entire Scotts Bluff County had a population of 36,554 in July, 2008. Oklahoma City was targeted by Timothy McVeigh because he believed the orders against The Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas and Ruby Ridge came from the FBI offices in the Murrah Building. It was a specific attack in response to perceived specific orders from the federal government. There is nothing in Western Nebraska that would warrant the same response.

Lawson offered some awareness tips for signs of possible terrorism, though he highlighted that “individually, these things are unlikely indicators of terrorism. He said citizens should be alert for suspicious persons out of place, such as a person who seems to be doing surveillance around governmental buildings or national monuments.”

National monuments in the area include Agate Fossil Beds, Chimney Rock and the Scotts Bluff Monument. These places are not areas where anyone would try to blow anything up. The government buildings are small and may kill up to 200 people if it were blown up, if all the people stayed inside, and only if you reduced the buildings to rubble. The only building that could cause damage would be if the Western Sugar Cooperative refinery were blown up. However, even if you did that, few people would be killed. It’s on the edge of town. The only thing that would be damaged would be the car dealership across the street. A handful of people, at most, would be killed. The refinery accidentally exploded in 1996 and no one even remembers it. Trust me, if a terrorist wants to make an impression, Denver is a much better target.

He advised that people be alert of people who are in locations where they are not supposed to be or do not fit into the usual routine of the location. He advised people to be aware of frequent signs that someone may be “testing security,” such as an increase in frequent false alarms or unusual questions about operations, staffing or security.

How does a normal person know if someone is or is not supposed to be somewhere? I shop at the supermarket all the time, but I don’t know who else does. Nor do I know if some guy sitting in a truck is waiting for his wife or casing the joint. Now, he can be harassed by the police while his wife shops.

“It’s better to be safe,” he said, saying that depending on the circumstances of a report, information could be forwarded to the local Joint Terrorism Task Force for further scrutiny. “If it turns out to be nothing, so what?”

No, it’s not better to be safe. This isn’t about being safe. This is about turning regular citizens against each other just because they might be different. If it turns out to be nothing, it is a huge deal. You’ve just willingly turned yourself into an informant. It’s not your business to needlessly interfere with other people, nor are you part of the police department. Maybe if the police actually moved their vehicles from out front of their homes once in a while, they could actually solve crimes instead of making the people do their work. After all, there’s a murderer still on the loose and the police don’t have a clue who did it.

“But, if a person sees something, like a burglary in progress, and reports it because of this campaign, we still will have scored some points for the system,” Lawson said. “Someone got involved, someone did something, and hopefully, someone went to jail.”

Really? Really? You honestly think that ordinary citizens won’t call in a burglary in progress without this program?

Though Lawson will be leaving office in early January, he said he didn’t hesitate to begin implementing the campaign before incoming Sheriff Mark Overman takes over. He said he hopes to see Overman and other law enforcement agencies in the area expand the program.

Nice. Lawson gets his pet project in place just before he leaves and hopes the new guy will push it even further.

Lawson said deputies will start carrying the bumper stickers in their cars and he would circulate them at events throughout the holiday season.

Give one to me and I’ll tear it up. It’s an idiotic program designed to scare people into thinking that we are in danger of terrorists taking over the county.

“I thought, it would be pretty easy for me to just sit here with my foot up on the desk, take it easy for the next month and say, ‘Let the next guy worry about it,’ but I’m pretty excited about this,” he said. “If it helps out, and I think it will, I can say that I was a piece of that.”

Well, put your feet up on your desk anyway and gloat. You were actually able to spend taxpayer money on a ridiculous program that extended the ridiculous fear this country already suffers from.

Photo by Maunette Loeks