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Cunning Lingle
What Governor Linda Lingle said in a July 21, 2005 Hawai’i Department of Defense press release after the most recent London bombings:
August 04, 2005
"While authorities have detected no credible threat to Hawaii, it is prudent that we maintain the increased threat condition level and again remind everyone to be alert and vigilant."
What she didn't say:
In the old days (2001-2004) government only blew the doomsday whistle when they had a "credible threat." Nothing ever happened, of course, since only a fool would continue an attack after being compromised. But now Lingle's trying a different approach: sounding the alarm when there's no actual threat. And the use of rational-sounding words like "prudent" and "vigilant" masks a more sinister reality—once scared, government will only get more paranoid.
-Anthony Pignataro