House burns because of terrorism panic

In the 7 years since 9/11, terrorism has been a more salient issue than ever before. But there's some who will exploit it and put the whole country in a catatonic state of panic - all for political gain.

For instance, the unreliable and oft-mocked color-coded terror alert system (promoted endlessly by the right-wing Fox News Channel) keeps this panic alive. Not only is this system not a reliable gauge of terrorist activity. It's also been used as an excuse to politicize terrorism and mortgage personal liberty.

Vigilance is good. Panic is bad. Panic has allowed the terrorists to win.

A house fire outside Dallas in June has made this all too obvious.

The blaze in Rockwall County, Texas, could have been fought. But the fire hydrants were dry.

Why did the hydrants lack water? It's because the private water company that serves that community had long ago shut the water off.

But why? The water company's general manager said, "These hydrants need to be cut off in a way to prevent vandalism or any kind of terrorist activity." This practice began right after 9/11.

House fires are all too common, and they kill countless Americans each year. But how often do you hear about active fire hydrants being used for terrorism? The water pressure would probably make it almost impossible to poison the water, for any contaminant would likely be ejected right back into the terrorist's face.

Fire departments often have tools to reactivate dry hydrants. But by the time they reactivate the hydrant, it could be too late. And that's what happened in Texas. Turning on the water adds an extra step that takes up precious time.

This can happen to you. Since 9/11, the panic-inspired practice of shutting off water to hydrants has become common in rich and poor communities all over America.

Maybe when people stop doing shortsighted things like shutting off fire hydrants, I'll believe America is finally winning the war against terrorism.

(Source: http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa080827_lj_hawes.1983f2d0.html)