LeftOut

by Daryl Moore

DUBYA'S TRUE COLORS

Bush doesn't want to appear yellow, so he makes us see red

It's been a year since Bush announced that he would keep us posted about where we stand in the War on Terror by providing us with the following color-coded system:

Green-Low risk of terror attack

Blue-Continuing, general risk of terror attack

Yellow-Increased and predictable threat of attack

Orange-High risk, likely terror attack

Red-Severe risk, attack may be imminent.

In the last year, we've been green, blue, and yellow. But no matter what color we were, we never got any instruction from the government except to be alert and look for signs of ìsuspicious activity,î whatever that is.

Last month, however, we were under an ìorange alert.î We were told that a terrorist attack was likely. Our new homeland security director instructed us to buy duct tape and plastic sheeting.

I didn't bother. I figured I would just wait until we were on ìred alertî before I would fight the crowds and go for the real stuff, duct tape and plastic sheeting. After all, I had Saran Wrap and Scotch tape. Surely, in the event of a chemical, biological, or radiological attack, those would work just as well.

I've never understood the purpose of Dubya's color-coded warning system. I believe his cabinet came up with it to give him a way to remember what our risk level is and to scare the American public into forgetting about domestic problems.

Thanks to this nifty system, on any given day-and depending on what color alert we're under-we now allegedly know what our chances are of getting blown up or being anthraxed.

And people are actually trying to follow this panic-by-color system. They're stocking up on batteries and transistor radios. They're keeping their cars full of $2/gallon gas. Some were filmed covering their houses with plastic sheeting and duct tape. One acknowledged that it probably wouldn't help, but it gave him something to do.

That's the problem with Bush's color-coded approach to terrorism. The colors don't mean anything. If we're blue or yellow, and we're at risk of being attacked, we're not being told what to do. We're just told we don't need to buy anything special and to go on with our lives while we maintain a lookout for some nutcase with a box-cutter or shoe bomb. At least with an ìorange alertî we're instructed to do something, even if it won't do any good.

God only knows what we're supposed to do on ìred alert.î Neither Bush nor anyone in his newly created but underfunded Homeland Security Department has told us. I guess they figure that if we all have duct tape and plastic, what else could we need? (How about Absolut Vodka and marijuana brownies? Who cares if Bush doesn't drink, and the attorney general doesn't believe marijuana can be medicinal?)

This whole thing is ridiculous. It's a sham to scare the American public into doing something-namely, going to war against Iraq-with the hope that if we do something like take out Saddam Hussein, things will get better at home. Or at least we'll be too distracted to figure out things aren't better at home, that we're not better off than we were two years ago.

The Bush Administration's color-coded scare chart should be changed to show what's really going on in America. If it were, it might look something like this:

Green-Dubya's approval ratings are 82%. No need to distract the American public.

Blue-Dubya's numbers are down. The economy is sliding. Talk about terrorism to distract the public.

Yellow-Unemployment is up, the stock market is down, and North Korea says it can shoot a missile to U.S. Talk more about terrorism. Scare people into forgetting about North Korea and the U.S. economy.

Orange-Support for a unilateral war against Iraq is fading, millions plan war protest. Talk about terrorism. Make it sound imminent. Scare people so badly they think plastic and duct tape might help them.    

Red-Dubya's approval ratings drop below 40%. He sees himself like his dad, a one-termer. Talk about terrorism non-stop. Scare the hell out of people so they can't focus on anything else.

We are on ìorange alert.î Things are not going well at home. The stock market is down. The economy is sliding. Unemployment is rising. And the Republicans are in charge of everything.

It's time to focus on the real problems and to hold the Administration, the House, and the Senate accountable. Duct tape and plastic sheeting won't do.

Writing from the liberal end of the spectrum, Houston attorney Daryl Moore has a general practice and is board certified in civil and appellate law. He can be reached at

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