Ridge Agrees to Rethink Colour-Coded Alerts

[Englander]

Wednesday December 15, 2004 12:46 PM
By ELLIOT SPAGAT
Associated Press Writer

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Tuesday that the government should reconsider how it warns people about security threats, conceding that its color-coded scale has invited ``questions and even occasional derision.''

Ridge's remarks came at a meeting of the Homeland Security Advisory Council - created to advise the secretary on how to run the sprawling new department.

Ridge, who plans to step down after President Bush names a successor, defended the color-coded warnings, but said the public may want more specifics when the threat level is changed.

Bruce Lawlor, who stepped down as Ridge's chief of staff last year, said the color scale suffers ``credibility issues'' and may have outlived its purpose.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4674361,00.html

[mbperrin]

1. "OCCASIONAL" derision???????

Only if you mean EVERY occasion, Tom. Say, aren't you the fuck outta here yet?

[Plaid Adder]

7. Jeez. Try "Round-The-Clock Worldwide Mockery"

Occasional derision. Could ANYTHING have made us look dumber?

All right, forget I asked that question.

Sigh,

The Plaid Adder

[liberal N proud]

2. WHY would he have any thing to say about it anyway?

He is a lame duck Tommy the Terror Fighting Turkey anyway!
Just go home already Tommy.

[Todd B]

3. Credibility issues?

Bruce Lawlor, who stepped down as Ridge's chief of staff last year, said the color scale suffers ``credibility issues'' and may have outlived its purpose.

Credibility issues? More like stupidity issues. Makes sense though, I mean Bush has already been "reelected" so there is no more need to scare the American public into voting for him.

[atommom]

4. The color codes weren't the problem. The problem was the way

the administration abused the system to frighten people for political purposes. Warnings as vague as these don't do anyone any good.

[leesa]

5. They did Bush a world of good...as intended

[atommom]

9. Touche! :D

[54anickel]

6. Guess that's what they mean by "outlived it's purpose". n/t

[durablend]

8. No more election to worry about...

Hence the color codes are obsolete.

In other words, nothing to see here...

[MatrixEscape]

10. Awww ...

I was hoping for a wider palette!

The alerts need more shades of color:

Sea-foam Green = terror on the beach
Forest Green = terror in the forest
Deep Funk Blue = depressed terrarists lurking
Levi's Blue = terror in your pants!
Electric Blue = terror in wall sockets
Dictator Crimson = terror in the blood supply
Marvel Orange = terror in cartoon land
Neon Pink = terror in fashion
Barney Purple = stuffed terrarism

The possibilites are endless.

[0007]

11. Tommie Ridge tries so hard to make junior happy.

After looking at him and listening to him for ten minutes, red flags jump up all over the place.

I don't even think he's governor material.

Tommy Franks = war crime idiot. Tommy Thompson = health idiot. Tommy Ridge = security idiot.