Safe? Think again

Law enforcement and fire officials in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach

say they are prepared (“Agencies say there is nothing to fear,�

Tuesday).

Sure, Costa Mesa Fire Battalion Chief Chris Riley says he is

highly prepared for anything chemical in nature. Yet reality does not

sit well with the implications of a smallpox attack, much less an

attack on a nearby nuclear installation. How about our water supply

-- the delivery plans that were stolen describing the distribution of

the water supply of the California Aqueduct?

Yes, we are told we are protected, but not how. This is not very

reassuring. Sure, the communication Riley referred to was readily

available before Sept. 11, 2001, as well as it is available now after

Sept. 11. It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now. Does that mean

we should feel safe that the bull pucky we are being told now should

make us feel safer as we go to bed this evening?

Yes, it should until we find out otherwise. Just like we did with

Sept. 11, 2001. After Osama bin Laden declared war against Americans

years before, after his first attack on the World Trade Centers

failed. What a surprise. If we can recollect, President Clinton sent

cruise missiles to kill bin Laden. But here in Orange County all we

can recollect is the old Bill was preoccupied by what was happening

under the Oval Office desk.

Feel safe? Yes, please do. Just don’t think of the incredible

ineptitude of our intelligence agencies, the misdirection of our

security concerns, and the “public disinformation� that is being

dished out to you on a daily basis to feed the war frenzy as anything

that will benefit you and the life of your children in the years

ahead. If you feel differently, then get ready to sacrifice your sons

and daughters and their lives for the American Way.

Feel unsafe? No way. Just listen to what is being told to you by

the local authorities. It is unpatriotic, it is un-American to

question what is being told us about our security. And I for one will

never question what I am being told and risk being unpatriotic and

un-American. God forbid.

In the meantime, we here in Newport Beach should think about San

Onofre, Los Alamitos and Miramar Naval Air Station, Los Angeles and

Hollywood. Southern California is representative of all that is

decadent about America. And all that is good and desirable. After

all, what is it these whacked-out, sincere and devoted terrorists

want to destroy? It’s you and me, friends, and the place where we

live.

Personally, I don’t feel the least bit secure in any of the

security measures that have been taken in my behalf.

God bless America.

* PAUL JAMES BALDWIN is a Newport Beach resident.