November 27, 2010, Thwarting... what, exactly?
I'll vaguely defer to this from Steve concerning a supposedly thwarted car bomb plot involving a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon... though, of course, unlike Steve, I have no particular "admiration" for an FBI that devoted so much of its efforts to setting up some jerky native-Somali kid into a "terrorism" plot that he might or might not have otherwise engaged in (probably not, being my implication) rather than, you know, hunting down actual terrorists (either of the top two guys at al Qaeda might be nice). But hey... that's just me. (For more of my thoughts on the [jackbooted] activities of the Portland office of the FBI, see my interview with Steve Wax.)
What everyone who gives a f*** any longer (and to be honest, it's probably a sign of mental health if you do not), the key part of this is that no one was in any danger: the "explosive devices" in the suspect's vehicle were inert. This was a governmentally controlled operation... which leads me to believe that it is about continuing to keep the public on edge going into the holiday season, because edgy people spend more money.
Sorry folks: I've lived through 9-11 from a block away from the WTC site (and still work a block away from the WTC site)... and you probably didn't, and don't. I recognize "the danger" as much as anyone...more than most, actually, and I'm more than willing to trust in our regular, standard law enforcement procedures, all consistently executed within the limits of our Constitution a f*** of a lot more than I am to be scared sh**less and believe we should extend our betters the dictatorial powers that they crave (to the extent that, with the general acquiescence of a prozac-addled populace, they haven't already seized them).
In short... what we have been told about in Oregon was indeed part of a big, insidious plot against us... it's just not the plot being described in the headlines.