The News & TeleGraff

There's been a bunch of disturbing news recently about terrorism which has got me a little bit on edge, and wondering what affect fear will have on the looming election.

Senator Mark Dayton closed his Capitol Hill office yesterday due to security concerns and blogs are talking about a report of a secret nationwide conference call by John Ashcroft warning of an imminent attack (via BoingBoing). Dayton explained his reasoning based on classified information provided recently to congressional officials, saying:

"I feel compelled to [close the office], because I will not be here in Washington to share in what I consider to be an unacceptably greater risk to [my staff's] safety....

"I would not bring my two sons to the Capitol between now and the election."

In this environment, I had some unnerving moments this morning in the Metro, as what appeared to be heightened security was in place. There appeared to be a bioterrorism detection device running in the Woodley Park Metro today, as well as a highly visible police presence on my train. At least one Metro employee today in Metro Center also appeared to have a gas mask bag (similar to those carried by the Capitol Police) on his waist.

I asked around when I got to the office today whether anyone else who commuted in today noticed anything, and our sys admin reported that on his commuter train from Virginia there was an unannounced bomb dog search (which previously were announced in advance) as well as an appearance of added security on board.

I might be grasping at straws but all of this is making me wary of public transportation over the coming weeks.

Of course, through this all, the government is emphasizing that there's nothing at all for us to be concerned about:

"We're unaware of any credible threat information indicating al Qaeda is targeting a specific location in Washington or the United States," said Brian Roehrkasse, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security.

The sad truth of the matter, though, is that my gut reaction here is that my government is lying to me. The terrorism threats have been so politicized—both in terms of having them and not having them—that I no longer trust that this administration would tell me IF there was a real threat if it conflicted with their political agenda. On the other hand, if it helped their agenda, then I have little doubt they'd create one where one didn't exist. How can we know what's real?

Something about all of this just rings a little too true for me. Dayton seems obviously concerned. U.S. Senators just don't act that irrationally (at least those who still posess their mental faculties), and the security I saw today was definitely the tightest I've seen since the financial district here was put on Orange Alert. As a former crime reporter, I notice these things and pay attention to them.

Maybe I'll just walk for the next three weeks and stay off the Metro. It'll be good for my heart, and good for my mind.

(Oh, and if the terrorism wasn't enough, it appears that there's some renewed activity in volcano-land.)