We will never be able to protect ourselves from every group or person bent on doing us harm. What we can do is protect our rights and liberties. I for one do not want the FBI or the CIA to have anymore power than they already do.

I also don't want to live in a country that discriminates against people based on their religion, race, or nationality. The only way to ensure that we know what every single person in the US is up to at all times is by giving up our rights laid out in the constitution. The 4th amendment comes to mind. Are you prepared to support a government that tracks your every move and taps your phone calls?

Where do we draw the line of religious groups? Should the WBC members be locked up or deported before they decide to start bombing funerals? How about those Christian groups that bomb abortion clinics, should we start deporting them? Remember Rudolph? He was on a mission to stop abortion and gays based on his religious belief that they were sinful. He said he bombed the Centennial Park during the Olympics because he was angry at the government for not putting a stop to abortion. He bombed 2 womens clinics and a gay bar. 

Where do we start and where do we stop?

" Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one." Ben Franklin

I have no idea why the font in that last post is so huge!

Just what are you trying to say jank? huh?

They already do those things. If you read the report, this guy was followed, and phtographed mutliple times, yet no one ever followed up on credible information given to them by a foreign party.  Why?  Because we as Americans are too chicken %^&% to "hurt someone's feelings".  Ask yourself this, Jank, if it was kid laying the hospital with his leg blown off, or in a casket with shrapnel in his head, how would it make you feel that your government could have prevented this tragedy, but instead chose to be "politcally correct" and instead was sending the bomber a government check each month, with which he probably purchased the explosive material to make that bomb that killed your kid?

There is a fine line here, but there is a time and a place where the government, who wants to be the one providing for everyone, has to take responsibility for the things that they really should be doing, and that is protecting our borders and its citizens.

There appears to a major failing in the intelligence agencies talking with each other despite billions spent and thousands hired.

t, the problem with your analogy is: Republicans are going to be most concerned with the government check going to the bomber than shrapnel in the kid’s head and once the kid has shrapnel in it’s head the republican will raise all manner of hell about the kid getting free treatment since it don’t have insurance.

          Let’s be totally honest here; there are “those” that don’t give a flip about someone who is not wealthy and who might not add to “those”’s wealth.  There are those of us who see mercy to others as a virtue.

Dire, I hope there will be those that will be fired over this if it is found to be true. QED

Much of the fault lies with the structure of intelligence -- massive and unwieldy.  Compare the FBI of the thirties and forties with today.  When the war started, they quickly rounded up about 5,000 uniformed armed Bundists and several hundred Japanese citizens.  J. Edgar Hoover, whatever his other failings, was against the massive detention of tens of thousands of US citizens of Japanese decent.  Governor of California, Earl Warren, the great liberal, talked FDR into the deed.

QD sez " Let’s be totally honest here; there are “those” that don’t give a flip about someone who is not wealthy and who might not add to “those”’s wealth.  There are those of us who see mercy to others as a virtue"

I am not sure what you are trying to say here.  This scumbag who killed four people and maimed 180 was living from a government check.  He was physically able to work.  He was not even a naturalized citizen of the US.  He was on welfare, but could afford a ticket to visit Russia and visit with his Muslim homies?  Do you actually believe he should have been recieving money from the  government? your tax dollars?  money that could have been spent on somsone more deserving or needy"  I am sorry but if you have "mercy" for this guy, or even think he is about to 'contribute" to the good of society, you are dead wrong.  His family is a perfect example of what we do not need here in this country.

And yes you are right, the politicians will focus more on the fact that he was scamming welfare than they will on the real issue, which is the fact that here is a person who was able to work the system, slide under the radar, evade detection, and murder innocent people and children.  He was able to do this in a society which is so "accepting" and afraid to hurt someone's feelings, because as a predator he knows this is the type of place where he can go unnoticed. If you look back you will see that the original 9-11 attacks also originated in Boston.

I wonder how many people in Boston have changed their attitudes in the past month and now are a little more suspicious.  How many are a little more concerned about their rights to keep to bear arms.  How many I wonder continue to worry about whether a terrorist's rights are stepped on at Gitmo, or whether information that could save their lives was obtained from waterboarding.  It is funny how people's attiudes get changed when the crap hits the fan.

 It is funny how people's attiudes get changed when the crap hits the fan.

============

And it's too late.

I would show no mercy for this scumbag. I would introduce him to St Peter.

I was making the point that republicans are more concerned about his government check than his victims.

J Edgar ran a tight ship.

Obama is making it ok as we speak.

Boston airport had the poorest security for a large airport before 9/11.  Main reason the terrorists chose it.

________________________

I don't think this has anything to do with being politically correct. Why do you? Sounds like to me they checked him out and could find nothing to charge him with. They ask for more information from Russia and got nothing. What would you have them do? Should our government just start locking up anyone that someone says "could" be up to no good?

As I said before, if we want to continue to live in a free society (such as it is after the patriot act) then we are going to have to accept that we will never be 100% safe from this sort of thing. Life is dangerous and people are crazy. I don't want to live with any less freedoms than I have right now in an effort to try to be safer. We gave up some liberties just for that reason after 9/11 and as we can all see there are still individuals that will fall through the cracks and do us harm. Its the price I am willing to pay for freedom. Maybe you are willing to live otherwise. 

If my child was killed or injured in a bombing I would be devastated.

No, what I expect is for people to do their job.  When someone has been identified, not once but twice, by an outisde entity and told that this person is associating with groups known to be of terrorist slant, and then this person is noted to within his own community actively disrupting public gatherings with his rhetoric, I want you to dig a little deeper.  The warning signs were there Jank.  Despite what you want to believe.  The current attitude of "we don't want to treat them differently" is what got this child killed.  It costs a young security guard his life.  It costs the lives of two other innocent young people. Many people are missing their limbs.  How do you think they feel right now in regards to if this young man had been thoroughly investigated.  Someone did not do their job, but then again perhaps the current administration's attitude about offending others might have gotten in the way. Lord knows we don't want to offend  somone of that faith, despite the fact that is was not Christians or Buddhists who rammed two planes into the WTC.

I personally don't mind government checks or security sweeps before I get on a plane with 150 people who I don't know.