Bob CollinsThe final Monday Morning Rouser of 2009:
1) Back in the days of Conelrad, an alert tone would tell you that if there were a nuclear attack, all you’d have to do is tune to your local radio station and we’d tell you what to do. At the radio station, sealed pink envelopes would tell the disc jockey (as we used to call them) whether the “alert” was real based on nuclear-sounding codes like Tango Foxtrock. The flaw in this, of course, is the assumption that a radio station’s disc jockey would hang in there while the missiles rained down. It was theater, of course, designed to create the illusion that there was a plan in the event of a nuclear attack.
And that, argues Gulliver on The Economist, is what the new security rules on airliners are, as a result of Friday’s attack on a Northwest Airlines flight near Detroit.
Gulliver looks forward to the barrage of lawsuits from the first people who are forced to use the bathroom in their airplane seats. This is the absolute worst sort of security theatre: inconvenient, absurd, and, crucially, ineffective.
What’s to stop a terrorist from doing whatever he’s going to do before the one-hour deadline? The answer is what it’s always been: other passengers. That’s what stopped the alleged would-be bomber, 23-year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, on Friday. Vigilantism poses a serious barrier to any other plotters. Making passengers more reluctant to leave their seats seems counterproductive.
It’s all for show, agrees security expert Bruce Schneier. “Only one carry on? No electronics for the first hour of flight? I wish that, just once, some terrorist would try something that you can only foil by upgrading the passengers to first class and giving them free drinks,” he says.
What are the odds of airborne terror? Statistics freak Nate Silver has calculated it:
This means that you could board 20 flights per year and still be less likely to be the subject of an attempted terrorist attack than to be struck by lightning.
The father of the accused Northwest attacker tried to tell authorities his son might have turned terrorist. The U.S. knew about his alleged ties. And yet he still got on a plane. The Washington Post reports today it’s not unusual that identified potential terrorists are not investigated.
CBS reports that the man bought his ticket in cash and got on the flight with no checked baggage. How could this happen. The head of the Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, answers the question by repeating the question. CBS’ Harry Smith is one of the few journalists bothering to ask officials why passengers have to sit still for an hour when the problem isn’t the passengers; the problem appears to be the incompetence of security officials.
She does not answer the question.
2) Thailand has started deporting thousands of Hmong back to Laos despite international concerns — and certainly concerns from Minnesota — for their safety. Thailand says they’re economic migrants. The Hmong fought against the Communists in Laos during the Vietnam War. All these years after it was first produced, MPR’s This is Home series is still a moving account of how so many ended up in Minnesota.
3) An Illinois man captures the difficulty of the health care debate. Most healthy people think they’ll stay healthy. “My attitude was: If it’s not hitting me on the head, I’m not thinking about it,” said Fraas, 52. “And honestly, if it was going to cost me money, I wouldn’t have been in favor of it,” Tim Fraas tells the Chicago Tribune. Then he had a heart transplant and lost his job.
4) What’s the lure of ice fishing? The Winona Daily News considers the art of passing it from one generation to the next. “It’s a hit-and-miss kind of sport,” one man said, still waiting for a bite. “Sometimes you get them. Sometimes you don’t. But who you are with makes it worth it.”
I’ve been considering a News Cut series on ice houses, profiling some of the better ones in Minnesota. If you have one or know of one, let me know. The Public Insight Network here at MPR queried our audience and, amusingly, found the anti-ice-house backlash.
Mike Tangen says there’s only one true way to ice fish. Snowmobile out on the lake to your favorite spot, auger out a hole, and stand there and fish.
Ice house? Who needs an ice house? He says he also pinches the hook and uses artificial bait. It toughens him up, he says. Besides, comfort isn’t what it’s all about.
5) The year in fact-checking:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Exclusive – The Fourth Estate | ||||
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Bonus: Tips for making New Year’s resolutions you might actually keep.
TODAY’S QUESTION
The recent recession prompted people to change some of their habits. Listeners tell us they’ve been spending less, deferring large purchases and eating at home with their families more often. Which recession habits will stay with you after the economy improves?
WHAT WE’RE DOING
Midmorning (9-11 a.m.) – First hour: The recession has radically altered the financial landscape for many Americans, but Chris Farrell says there is a silver lining in people consuming less. In his new book, he talks about how to make frugality a habit.
Second hour: When families compare their health histories, they may not mention one risk that appears to be handed down: the tendency for severe depression. Christopher Lukas writes of a tragic thread of suicide that claimed his brother, mother and several other family members.
Midday (11 a.m. – 1 p.m.) – First hour: Political commentators Tom Horner and Todd Rapp review the year in politics.
Second hour: An American RadioWorks documentary about young children, called “Early Lessons.” Here’s the accompanying Web site.
Talk of the Nation (1-3 p.m.) – First hour: One in four homeowners is now underwater: Their house is worth less than their mortgage. Economic journalist David Leonhardt: discusses when to walk away from your mortgage.
Second hour: The art of movie special effects.
All Things Considered (3-6:30 p.m.) – The winding down of the H1N1 pandemic is offering federal and state health officials a chance to assess what worked and what did not. MPR’s Lorna Benson will have the story.
Some neighbors of a proposed natural gas-fired power plant near North Branch say it’s the wrong place, and Minnesota doesn’t even need the electricity. Natural gas plants like this produce less pollution than coal, are less dangerous than nuclear and could fill a demand for power. So what’s the problem? MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill will answer that question.
MPR’s Elizabeth Baier gives an ear to the largest bell carillon in Minnesota. She visits Mayo’s bell tower and spends a morning with the master carillonneur, one of only three who have played since the bell tower was installed in 1928.
And NPR’s Jim Zarroli wraps up the year in the financial markets.
