Looks like Al Qaida is at it again…

This is not news we needed… however, it is good that we are on top of it now. If Congress has to push more changes for our protection, will Mitch McConnell and John Boehner keep things political and use their “NO!” routines?

clipped from www.herald-mail.com Explosive found in Dubai, part of U.S. terror probe Authorities in Dubai intercepted an explosive device bound for a Chicago-area Jewish institution aboard a cargo jet, officials disclosed Friday, triggering a worldwide alert and fears that al-Qaida was attempting to carry out fresh terror attacks. A second package — like the first, shipped from Yemen — was discovered aboard a plane in England. It, too, was addressed to a Jewish organization in the Chicago area, although there was no immediate confirmation about its contents. Several other cargo planes at airports along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States also were searched, and officials said no explosives were found. “The president directed U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies and the Department of Homeland Security to take steps to ensure the safety and security of the American people, and to determine whether these threats are a part of any additional terrorist plotting,” the White House said in a statement.

Related Articles

• Federal officials say suspicious packages were part of plot by Yemen’s al-Qaida group (nj.com)
• Suspicious devices on cargo jets trigger searches (msnbc.msn.com)
• Planes, Trucks Checked In NY, NJ As Part Of Terror Probe (newyork.cbslocal.com)
• Bomb scare as ‘sinister’ packages found on planes bound for US (guardian.co.uk)
• Yemen estimates 400 al-Qaida militants in country (sfgate.com)
• Yemen’s rising radical star (msnbc.msn.com)

Tomorrow is the Rally… are you going to D.C.?

Tomorrow will be the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are pulling off on the National Mall. What seems to have stated as a satirical copy of the Glenn Beck Rally to Restore Honor, all of a sudden the Stewart/Colbert gathering is starting to be taken seriously… at least 8 commenters in this morning’s NY Times, various television coverage pieces both Nationally and on the DC local stations, Time Magazine… and on it goes.

Speaking of Time Magazine, this from their article on the Rally is why the two comedians are holding it:

Based on what Stewart and Colbert have said, though, the focus of the rally is the ugliness of political debate: the Hitler comparisons, the head-stomping, the conspiracy theories, the assumption that your opponent is also your enemy and must always be assumed to be acting in bad faith. In announcing the rally, Stewart said that the maybe 15% or 20% of Americans who act this way dominate the conversation and the media, crowding out the other 80% or so, who could probably agree on reasonable compromises but don’t have time to obsess on partisan warfare. To paraphrase Yeats, the worst are full of passionate intensity; the best “have shit to do.”

Read more at:
http://tunedin.blogs.time.com/2010/10/29/how-political-is-the-rally-for-sanity/#ixzz13l8xjdhJ

So, this is a way to get ready for Halloween, let’s say. But is it going to have any effect on the election next week? Perhaps a little in the local area. I’m not sure about it’s National Effect (although it is interesting that people like Oprah Winfrey are providing tickets to get groups of people there and Arianna Huffington is providing buses from New York. These are politically “with it” celebrities and they give a distinct mark of reality to the whole thing.

I’m going to watch it from the confines of my living room and television, but I’ll be there in spirit. I’m curious to see what the actual body count is, however.

Related Articles

• 4 Reasons Why Jon Stewart’s Restoring Sanity Rally Is Great for Progressives (alternet.org)
• LAUGH LINES: Will the rally be funny? (politico.com)
• Stewart-Colbert rally – organized in jest – drawing a serious crowd (philly.com)
• Just who does Jon Stewart think he is? (washingtonpost.com)
• Stephen Colbert fans rally to ‘keep fear alive’ in Seattle (seattlepi.com)
• Your Boyfriend Jon Stewart Will Not be in Seattle this Weekend (seattlest.com)
• Where to Watch Jon Stewart’s Daily Show Rally Live (newteevee.com)
• If you’re going to Jon Stewart’s ‘Restoring Sanity’ rally, let’s talk (timesunion.com)

Halloween is this weekend… here’s a video:

I hope all you NRA types have a great spooky day. I’m staying in.

Related Articles

• Halloween, But With Invitations [Note] (kotaku.com)
• A GIMP Halloween Project (freetech4teachers.com)