Foiled Terrorists Plots

Keep in mind that it only takes one terrorist to slip through the craps for mass chaos to reign again in this country. For that very reason, we should be thankful for all the hard work brave men and women are doing to keep us safe on our own soil.

The following is a list of known terror plots thwarted by the U.S. government since Sept. 11, 2001.

1. December 2001, Richard Reid: British citizen attempted to ignite shoe bomb on flight from Paris to Miami.


2. May 2002, Jose Padilla: American citizen accused of seeking "dirty bomb," convicted of conspiracy.


3. September 2002, Lackawanna Six: American citizens of Yemeni origin convicted of supporting Al Qaeda. Five of six were from Lackawanna, N.Y.


4. May 2003, Iyman Faris: American citizen charged with trying to topple the Brooklyn Bridge.


5. June 2003, Virginia Jihad Network: Eleven men from Alexandria, Va., trained for jihad against American soldiers, convicted of violating the Neutrality Act, conspiracy.


6. August 2004, Dhiren Barot: Indian-born leader of terror cell plotted bombings on financial centers.


7. August 2004, James Elshafay and Shahawar Matin Siraj: Sought to plant bomb at New York's Penn Station during the Republican National Convention.


8. August 2004, Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain: Plotted to assassinate a Pakistani diplomat on American soil.


9. June 2005, Father and son Umer Hayat and Hamid Hayat: Son convicted of attending terrorist training camp in Pakistan; father convicted of customs violation.


10. August 2005, Kevin James, Levar Haley Washington, Gregory Vernon Patterson and Hammad Riaz Samana: Los Angeles homegrown terrorists who plotted to attack National Guard, LAX, two synagogues and Israeli consulate.


11. December 2005, Michael Reynolds: Plotted to blow up refinery in Wyoming, convicted of providing material support to terrorists.
    
12. February 2006, Mohammad Zaki Amawi, Marwan Othman El-Hindi and Zand Wassim Mazloum: Accused of providing material support to terrorists, making bombs for use in Iraq.


13. April 2006, Syed Haris Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee: Cased and videotaped the Capitol and World Bank for a terrorist organization.


14. June 2006, Narseal Batiste, Patrick Abraham, Stanley Grant Phanor, Naudimar Herrera, Burson Augustin, Lyglenson Lemorin, and Rotschild Augstine: Accused of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower.


15. July 2006, Assem Hammoud: Accused of plotting to hit New York City train tunnels.


16. August 2006, Liquid Explosives Plot: Thwarted plot to explode ten airliners over the United States.


17. May 2007, Fort Dix Plot: Six men accused of plotting to attack Fort Dix Army base in New Jersey.


18. June 2007, JFK Plot: Four men accused of plotting to blow up fuel arteries underneath JFK Airport in New York.


19. March 2007, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: Mastermind of Sept. 11 and author of numerous plots confessed in court in March 2007 to planning to destroy skyscrapers in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

A Look at Universal Healthcare

I got to thinking yesterday about a couple of the talking points that the Democrat candidates for President have been harping on this year. Specifically, I've been fascinated by their desire for Universal Healthcare (UH). It sounds very appealing and all, I mean who doesn't want "free" health care for all? I know there are many sound arguments in favor of it. But I think the evidence against it, when weighed side by side, is far more convincing. The biggest argument in favor of UH is that there are millions of people who are uninsured. That is true, but slightly misleading. I agree, it would be great to have everyone covered, but a large portion of those who are uninsured choose not to be because they are young and healthy. I don't have any specific numbers right now, I'll try and do some research on that and update this blog when I do.

Let me take a few moments to discuss the two main reasons I'm not in favor of UH. First, the government could never manage it. It got me to thinking just how disingenuous most of the Democrats are that are trying push UH. Let's look back just 3 years ago when Hurricane Katrina ripped through the bayou. Do you remember the coverage right after it? For the next 6 months all we ever heard about was how inept the Federal government was, specifically FEMA, at protecting New Orleans and cleaning up the mess after the fact. Just look at these articles:

• Exposed By Katrina (USAToday)
  
• Fraud Mounts in Katrina Aid (USAToday)
• Senate Calls for FEMA Shutdown (Washington Post)
  
• FEMA Deserved Criticism after Katrina (FoxNews)
• Exposed By Katrina (MyWire)
  

The list could go on, but you get the point. So here is what I don't understand. If people feel that the Federal government is not capable of handling one natural disaster, why in the heck should we expect them to successfully run a nationwide health care program? In this case, people like Hillary and Barack want to rip the government because of how inefficiently it cleaned up New Orleans and got people back on their feet, yet at the same time they keep telling us how they will get the government to fix our problems. So what is it? Is the government a bloated behemoth or a well oiled machine? It can't be both.

Second, I think UH pretty much fails the test of "policy in practice." All we have to do is look at our next door neighbor, Canada, to see what nationalized health care would look like in action. People are waiting over a year, and sometimes two, just to have a surgery. I have a friend who's grandmother traveled from Canada down to the US to have surgery because she was put on a 2 year waiting list. I can assure you that if you talk to Canadians who have needed any major surgery over the past decade, they will tell you just how bad nationalized medicine can be. Ironically, 9 out of 10 articles you find on the internet will tell you how great Canada's health care system is. Here are a couple that don't...

• Canada Health System Needs More Money (New York Times)
• Canada Embraces Private Health Care (CSMonitor)

It is not just in Canada either. We can look within our own nations borders for more examples. I remember when Tennessee passed huge legislative reforms on health care back in the 90's. Yes, many people who were uninsured now had coverage. The trade-offs though were unmanageable wait times, deteriorating facilities, and lower quality care, not to mention higher taxes to cover the entire thing.

• Tennessee's Alternative to Medicaid (LA Times)
• Lessons from Tennessee (Heritage Foundation)
  

Swedish Bikini Team is Happy

I just saw this report that Northern Europe just experienced some of the warmest weather in recorded history this winter. This report flies in the face of all the other Northern Hemisphere locations that are experiencing record cold this winter. When is this heat wave going to reach Minnesota? Seriously, its freezing here. I woke up this morning and it was 4 degrees... in MARCH!!!!

Of course, Australia just "suffered" through its coldest summer in recent memory. So what can we gather from all this? I've said it before, so let me say it again. Temperatures change all the time and no year is ever like the previous one. Climate change happens, its a fact of life. But its not going to lead to catastrophic consequences, nor is there anything we can do to change it.