Birdwatchers Could Be Terrorists

Maureen Dowd writes in today's NYT that Americans are not safer today than at other times in our history. We are less safe. Of course, this is not a new thought. Only those who are good at cognitive dissonance can try to believe we are safer now under Bush's leadership.

Read Ms. Dowd's column here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/opinion/10dowd.html?hp

Yesterday in my local news it was announced that birdwatchers who typically station themselves on the islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in Virginia will no longer be allowed to do so due to security concerns. Hampton Roads has always been considered a target since it is a major port and military area on the East coast. We've known that all along. But to my knowledge, birdwatchers have never been impeded in their work. It seems like we focus on the absurd and overlook most of the obvious measures which could make us safer, such as checking all cargo coming into port from foreign lands.

If you were a terrorist, would you buy a pair of binoculars and bermuda shorts and pose as an Audubon society member looking for birds? The people who think these things up are the birds in my opinion.