Shorty wrote:
] ] So what was the point of the whole thing? Announcement:
] ] Be scared to death. Next Announcement: Don’t mind us. Next
] ] announcement: For heaven’s sake, go right ahead to Portland,
]
] ] Oregon, or wherever; that’s your duty as a true-blue,
] ] red-blooded Amurrican.
]
] Sometimes I wonder if the government really realizes how
] stupid they sound sometimes.

Hrm. While this was entertaining I think I can fill in the blanks. There are a lot of people who do respond to the alert system. You aren't one because you don't have a job that relates to national security. They could try to keep it a secret, but this would cause enormous problems because people who knew police, firemen, military personnel, etc... would know that "something is up" because their husband, etc... is spending a lot of time "at the office" and won't talk about it. This would snowball into crazy rumors, uncontrolled fear, conspiracy theories, and people waxing on in their blogs about why the government doesn't feel like ordinary citizens are intelligent enough to be trusted with knowing what the government is up to.

Its better to be upfront about it. Its always better to communicate. We are doing this. This is why we are doing it. We are letting you know both because you've a right to know what we're up to, and because if we didn't there is no telling what you might think. No, we aren't going to tell you to change your travel plans because that would screw up the economy. If you want to do something about it, get a job in national security.