Once you’ve fully installed your Nanny State, there is little reason for any debate when a threat to your homeland occurs, as is evidenced in part by the indifference to the latest botched terror effort in London today.

After all, once you’ve given up most of your individual civil liberties, rights to privacy, and personal protection firearms, there’s little else left to surrender to your government in exchange for “security”, which is exactly one of the reasons why our brothers and sisters across the pond can do nothing but shrug off terror threats and attacks; i.e.; “The government got us into this mess; the government can get us out of it”. That, along with the fact they are well-used to terror attacks; not too long ago, the IRA; today, Islamic extremists, but “terr’r” is “terr’r” as President Bush would put it…

From The New York Times:

Stoic Londoners Shrug at Latest Threat

By ALAN COWELL

LONDON, June 29 — The headline of London’s Evening Standard newspaper today said 1,700 people could have died at “ladies’ night” in the Tiger Tiger night spot. The police gauged the potential death toll as “significant” if the car had exploded.

But, in the manner of a city that shrugged stoically at the July 7 bombings two years ago, many people in the streets near Piccadilly Circus seemed less than troubled here today after police announced that they had defused an explosive mixture of gasoline, nails and gas canisters in a car abandoned outside the Tiger Tiger on a thoroughfare called Haymarket.

“It’s something you get used to, living in London,” said Andrew Fowler, a 39-year-old lawyer who was sipping coffee at an outdoor café near Piccadilly Circus.

“And given the stance our government made on the war in Iraq and elsewhere, I think we are just getting used to being a target,” he said. “It’s something we have to live with.”

(Snip!)

“… “It’s only when I got to work that I realized what was happening,” said Renee Anderson, 32, a New Zealander from her country’s nearby diplomatic representation.

“I feel surprisingly all right about it,” she said. “We all kind of thought, well you could be hit by a bus anyway and the English mentality must be such that they have coped with this for such a long time with all the bombings so they just get on with it. You can see that.” …”

Amen, Ms. Anderson — you COULD be hit by a bus anyway, which is exactly the point of view my fellow Americans should be taking while… WHILE… continuing to be vigilant, yet cling to our civil liberties with every fiber of our being. Look to our brothers and sisters across the pond for proof-positive that the surrender of our civil liberties in exchange for security DOES NOT DO A DAMNED BIT OF GOOD; enemies of our cultures will STILL target us regardless of how many, or how few individual rights we possess as citizens.

What do they have in London anyway; something like fourteen cameras for every city block was it? The actual number of cameras isn’t the point; the point is the installation of a full-fledged, Big Brother Nanny State in our own country will NOT save us from terrorism at all. What MIGHT help is just a tad bit of “dove-ishness” in our foreign policies (gasp! no!)… a little bit more of a “live and let live” mentality? I don’t subscribe to the wingnut theory that the “terr’ists” want to convert everybody in the West to Islam. Sorry, but I just DON’T.

However; at this moment, I’d like to take a moment to thank God the London terr’ists failed MISERABLY this time, and that not one of our brothers or sisters across the pond were harmed in any way, shape, or form. This could have been very, VERY bad news today coming out of Great Brittain but thanks to the first responders and vigilant citizens, the terr’ists lose yet again…

And, by the way; ABCNews’ The Blotter has the latest developments in the botched London terror case:

Terror Plot Involves Islamic Extremists; Police Have ‘Crystal Clear’ Picture of Suspect

Brian Ross and Richard Esposito Report:

British police have a “crystal clear” picture of the man who drove the bomb-rigged silver Mercedes outside a London nightclub, and officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com he bears “a close resemblance” to a man arrested by police in connection with another bomb plot but released for lack of evidence.

Officials say the suspect had been taken into custody in connection with the case of al Qaeda operative Dhiren Barot (pictured), who was convicted of orchestrating a vehicle bomb plot involving targets in London, New York, Newark, N.J. and Washington, D.C. …”

Good luck in apprehending this buffoon, Londoners…

Also take a gander at some of my hand-picked faves, courtesy of MemeOrandum: Michael P.F. van der Galiën; Ali Eteraz; Taylor Marsh (she shrugs also); Washington Monthly (another shrugger); The Heretik; The Newshoggers (written by our friend Cernig, who is a British citizen, by the way…)

***

Thanks to our friend Joe Gandelman of The Moderate Voice for quoting this post in the TMV Around The Sphere June 30, 2007 roundup -

Thanks also to our friend Evrviglnt (Right) of Political Vindication for linking in -

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