Measured Responses, Not Hysterical Ones

Yesterday, I was sitting in my truck in an LIRR parking lot waiting for my train when I heard a story on 1010 WINS about the risk of homegrown terrorists and how the NYPD seems to be making a lot of noise about that risk.  It got me thinking about how state and local governments since 9/11 have been exaggerating threats in order to get funding.  The system rewards hysterical reaction to threats and overblown rhetoric, and it's broken. Today, I read this article, which pretty much confirmed my suspicions about how we approach making the country safer. Our emotional reaction to the notion of never having another 9/11 has led us to misallocate and waste billions.  Our idea of what it means to live with terrorist threats needs to change, and that means not shouting down folks who dare to suggest that responses should be measured and methods for allocation of resources should be strategic in nature.