Rant: Thank you Dept. of Homeland Panic....

[stm4710]

Today I found my self at home and I decided that I would go and take a little trip and photograph some trains to pass the time being a huge rail buff and all.

I arrived at one of my favorite railroad photo locations which is in the parking lot of a small business( read: NOT on RR property). Now keep in mind I have been comeing to this spot for years and the business has no problem with railbuffs as long as we dont block thier truck entrance.

About 15 minutes later 2 crusiers show up behind me and check my ID,tags and my car and camera bag. I also showed the police my pictures(digital camera). And after a brief discussion about the "After 9-11" yadda yadda and that the RR calls in people they were on thier way.

This got me thinking. Terrorism is supposed to change your life and to scare you into submission and be in a constant state of panic. Keep in mind I am in no way mad or angry at the engineer or police officer.
But IMO I belive the terrorists are winning. And I think they are winning because we are letting them. We are letting them win because DHS has railroads,airlines and citizens so paniced that the next attack on America is going to happen in 5 minutes and its going to be the end of the world. They have us so paniced that we are searching old ladys and 3 year olds at airports. Makeing railroads so scared that they question railbuffs exceriseing there first amendment rights and that are more of an asset than a headache to RR security because we are there alot and would notice suspicous activity.


Dunno, for the billions we are spending cant we get a better system than a 5 color bar? Raiseing alerts based on "unfounded threats"? Some nifty trailers and trucks but no one to staff them?

Sorry just kinda ticked

rant off
Dunno for the billions


TSA=Tear sh*t apart.

[CFD Hazards]

Don't try to photograph bridges either, especially in the NYC area. It is now against the law to photograph a bridge and there are signs posted. They believe that everyone is photographing the support structure in an attempt to find the weak spot and blow it up. I was asked for a permit by Jersey Trooper while trying to photograph a jaws job on a bridge in NJ.

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

Originally posted by stm4710
Today I found my self at home and I decided that I would go and take a little trip and photograph some trains to pass the time being a huge rail buff and all.

I arrived at one of my favorite railroad photo locations which is in the parking lot of a small business( read: NOT on RR property). Now keep in mind I have been comeing to this spot for years and the business has no problem with railbuffs as long as we dont block thier truck entrance.

About 15 minutes later 2 crusiers show up behind me and check my ID,tags and my car and camera bag. I also showed the police my pictures(digital camera). And after a brief discussion about the "After 9-11" yadda yadda and that the RR calls in people they were on thier way.

This got me thinking. Terrorism is supposed to change your life and to scare you into submission and be in a constant state of panic. Keep in mind I am in no way mad or angry at the engineer or police officer.
But IMO I belive the terrorists are winning. And I think they are winning because we are letting them. We are letting them win because DHS has railroads,airlines and citizens so paniced that the next attack on America is going to happen in 5 minutes and its going to be the end of the world. They have us so paniced that we are searching old ladys and 3 year olds at airports. Makeing railroads so scared that they question railbuffs exceriseing there first amendment rights and that are more of an asset than a headache to RR security because we are there alot and would notice suspicous activity.


Dunno, for the billions we are spending cant we get a better system than a 5 color bar? Raiseing alerts based on "unfounded threats"? Some nifty trailers and trucks but no one to staff them?

Sorry just kinda ticked

rant off
Dunno for the billions


TSA=Tear sh*t apart.

And if DHS loosened the security level a notch and something happened, how many of those whining, complaining an bitching would be calling for GW and Company's head?

There are "people" (and I use the term for political correctness, my true version would have me banned faster than an old coot downing Viagra) out there who who want us DEAD, because they have their version of one world order under fundamentalist Islamic control. They view us as dogs and infidels, and we don't fit in their "world" unless we submit to their Ayatollahs, Allah and Sharia (Islamic law)

I don't mind the upgraded security.. I think that it should be more stringent, as in El Al style... of course, the bleeding heart PC crowd would say that that infringes on people's rights..

Funny, I don't recall seeing that terrorists have a right to fly planes into buildings, derail trainloads of chemicals, blow up bridges, etc.

I am taking flying lessons. The FAA and DHS has declared a 30 nautical mile area around Boston (36 miles, as a nautical mile is actually 1.2 miles to us "landlubber types") during the Democratic National Convention. There are at least 10 private general aviation airports (including your friendly neighborhood Beverly Airport) that are affected during the 4 days of the DNC. My flight lesson for that week has already been cancelled. Am I bitching? No. I can reschedule.

There will be other choo choos to watch!

[stm4710]

Originally posted by CaptainGonzo


And if DHS loosened the security level a notch and something happened, how many of those whining, complaining an bitching would be calling for GW and Company's head?

There are "people" (and I use the term for political correctness, my true version would have me banned faster than an old coot downing Viagra) out there who who want us DEAD, because they have their version of one world order under fundamentalist Islamic control. They view us as dogs and infidels, and we don't fit in their "world" unless we submit to their Ayatollahs, Allah and Sharia (Islamic law)

I don't mind the upgraded security.. I think that it should be more stringent, as in El Al style... of course, the bleeding heart PC crowd would say that that infringes on people's rights..

Funny, I don't recall seeing that terrorists have a right to fly planes into buildings, derail trainloads of chemicals, blow up bridges, etc.

I am taking flying lessons. The FAA and DHS has declared a 30 nautical mile area around Boston (36 miles, as a nautical mile is actually 1.2 miles to us "landlubber types") during the Democratic National Convention. There are at least 10 private general aviation airports (including your friendly neighborhood Beverly Airport) that are affected during the 4 days of the DNC. My flight lesson for that week has already been cancelled. Am I bitching? No. I can reschedule.

There will be other choo choos to watch!

I guess your right gonzo.

[NJFFSA16]

Read this.....and then ask again....why they questioned you.

By JOHN MILBURN
Associated Press Writer
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Two people driving a stolen 2 1/2-ton truck
sideswipe a sedan stopped at a railroad crossing, then strike a
Union Pacific train carrying a container of spent nuclear fuel
bound for Idaho.
Soon, emergency personnel arrive, treating victims and searching
for the drunken truck occupants.
The scene Tuesday was a drill, the scenario was a traffic
accident and the nuclear fuel from Navy ships was simulated. But
officials conducting the exercise said the event heightens
awareness of the pains taken to protect against intentional attack
on shipments crossing the country.
Spent nuclear fuel is transported by rail from Naval shipyards
on the East and West coasts to the Naval Reactors Facility at the
Idaho National Energy and Environmental Laboratory west of Idaho
Falls. The fuel is transported in a rail container with 14-inch
thick steel, sandwiched between flatcars. Two U.S. Marshalls in the
caboose guard the shipment.
Kevin Davis, of the Naval Reactors Program, said between three
and 20 rail shipments of spent fuel are made each year.
"It's simply a matter of efficiency and safety," he said.
Training exercises occur every two years, but Tuesday's was the
first not on federal property. It was held near a grain elevator in
Topeka.
Over the past decade, railroads have been strengthening their
security, said Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis. Union Pacific
has 2,500 trains operating daily, including 125 a day through
Kansas.
"For all the hazardous materials that we carry, a person is 10
times more likely to be struck by lightning than be injured by a
hazardous material accident," Davis said. "But we don't rest on
our laurels."
Although training exercises help test response and allow
officials to address any shortfalls, much of the burden for
maintaining safety still falls on the railroads' employees and
their own police forces.
"If you look at our day-to-day operations, our own employees
are the best eyes and ears," Davis said.
Railroads receive an average of 75 calls each day from the
public about suspicious activity, he said, down from a high of 300
a day after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The railroads hold daily meetings to discuss security and safety
issues and to share information, Davis said. Beyond their own
surveillance, railroads must bear the costs of much of the ongoing
infrastructure upgrades.
Ed McKechnie, executive vice president for Watco Cos., a
shortline railroad company in Pittsburg, said response to a
security threat has to be quick to protect cargo and the public.
Watco, which owns 2,800 miles of track throughout the United
States, activates a 24-hour operation center when alerted of a
potential treat. McKechnie said that when that happens, officials
find all hazardous materials on the rails and make sure it's
secure.
The goal is to balance safety with the free flow of commerce, he
said.
"It has to be done in a way that makes sense," he said, adding
that the biggest hole in safety is where automobiles and trains
intersect.
Kansas' investment in railroad infrastructure includes about $9
million annually in upgrades to the 6,000 highway railroad
crossings, and a $75 million program to improve crossings on
non-state highways, said Al Cathcart, coordinating engineer in the
bureau of design for the state Department of Transportation.
Joy Moser, spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Emergency
Management, said rail accidents occur frequently in the state, such
as train-car accidents and accidental derailments. But in the past
three years, accidents are viewed warily.
"You always think of this happening on the East Coast or West
Coast, but the potential is here," Moser said. "I think everybody
takes is more seriously."
----
On the Net:
Navy: http://www.navy.mil
Union Pacific: http://www.up.com
Watco Cos.: http://www.watcocompanies.com
Kansas Department of Emergency Management:
http://www.accesskansas.org/kdem

[spearsm]

All that time typing, waxing poet, and when you hit reply, it kicks you out!! ARRRRRRGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

[DaSharkie]

Hey Cap, with this 30 nautical mile business being instituted, exactly how does this affect Boston Medflight and UMass - Memorial Lifeflight having to get The General, Shriner's Burn Center, Deaconess, BMC, The Brigham, Hanscom Field, etc....?

I am actually being serious here, I am just wonderin ghow this affects all of those critical patients that need to be flown out of smaller hospitals to a bigger one.

[Jasper 45]

And what would the opinions about our government/law enforcement be, if the time they let some guy watching trains on a bridge do his thing and detonate some kind of explosive device. Remember that people today still complain about the "strict" security at the airports. Fact is we live in a differant day and age. The only place so far that the savages are winning is spain, although france is only a step or two behind them. We had it good for a long time, longer than our friends in Europe had it, and Israel. It is important to remember that September 11 lowered the bar on just about everything. Yes many will say that these new security measures are an infringement on our civil rights, but those same leftists will also be the first to say we are not doing enough when terrorists strike again in this country.

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

Originally posted by DaSharkie
Hey Cap, with this 30 nautical mile business being instituted, exactly how does this affect Boston Medflight and UMass - Memorial Lifeflight having to get The General, Shriner's Burn Center, Deaconess, BMC, The Brigham, Hanscom Field, etc....?

I am actually being serious here, I am just wonderin ghow this affects all of those critical patients that need to be flown out of smaller hospitals to a bigger one.

Medical helicopters, military aircraft and regularly scheduled commercial airliners are the only aoir traffic that will be allowed to fly in the 30 mile and 10 mile no fly zones.

[Anyway]

My turn to weigh in on the security issue:
As most of you know I have and do and will continue to cross the border via airplane to see Firefighter 26. And he flys here to see me. If searching me and my stuff is one of the ways to get my butt from Minneapolis to Victoria and back SAFE and the worst thing I have to do, I will do it a million times. I love going through the security checkpoints and seeing the look on workers faces when I don't mind being wanded because the 9/11 bracelet I wear has set the alarm off. I won't take it off and they are told that, but I don't whip a fit or argue when they say that I need to be "wanded". As a matter of fact I do it with a smile and I thank them. I know that they are checking me to make sure that I am safe, that the airline people are safe, and that the other people that I am going to be flying with are going to be safe. I have gladly told other passengers to shut up and stop bitching in the security checkpoint lines and will do it again. Yes it can be inconvenient, but then get there earlier. I would rather have it than not have it. I would like to know that I will see my kids and the man I love again time after time, than know that because of security being lax, that the next time I get on a plane I could be blown out of the sky.

Hugs all