Seriously questionable priorities

Now here’s a perfect example of “Global War On Terror” as a ridiculous political circus designed and executed with only one purpose- creating a climate of fear that keeps Republicans in power. Check this out.

We couldn’t take the route we wanted to over Hoover Dam on the way to a traditional Vegas Christmas, so we made a daytrip from the Strip. There’s a long snaking line of cars at the two security checkpoints, a 15 mph speed limit over the dam, and a ban on trucks, vans, trailers, trucks, RV’s and rental cars (how can they tell it’s a rental car?) The are building a massive highway bridge costing billions of dollars about a quarter mile from the dam.


Entering the visitor center, there are xray/metal detectors and warning signs stating, “No objects larger than this.” above a twelve by twelve inch square. All of this makes us think about what a delicate piece of infrastructure this dam must be, and how we all have to give up so much to defend OurWayOfLifeTM.

So we go on the tour and it’s really cool and massive and everything it should be, when I notice an earthquake detector/seismometer. I ask the guide about it and he says, “We believe the dam could survive a Category 9 earthquake. The canyon walls would mostly fall in, but Hoover Dam would still stand.”

I’m practically speechless. (Those who know me realize this is only a literary device.) “What the hell is all the security for?” I ask him. “Well, those jerks that fly airplanes into buildings are going for a big impact on people by targeting the dam.” (This from the man who earlier stated that if a fully loaded 747 flew into the dam it might or might not leave a mark.)

I said, “The Las Vegas Strip is 30 miles from here; no vehicle restrictions, no metal detectors. So a bomb here that “might leave a mark” is a bigger threat?” As I was wearing my “Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11” t-shirt, I guess we sort of agreed to disagree.

To further illustrate my point, a Richter Magnitude 9 earthquake is almost unimaginable. I can find no record of one in recorded history. Each point on the scale is 10 times the intensity of the lower number, so a 5 is 10 times a 4, or 100 times a 3. They don’t even define the intensity of a 9, but for an 8 (one tenth as powerful), “Almost all structures fall. Bridges wrecked. Very wide cracks in ground. Total destruction. Ground surface waves seen. Objects thrown into the air. All construction destroyed.”

If this was an actual security precaution, rather than political theater, don’t you think they could have found something more vulnerable to protect first?