Chez Chesler

Boston.com / News / Nation / Washington / New 'Bushism' born at bill signing This one hit the mainstream press, not just Slate, and I don't get it.

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we," Bush said. "They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

He didn't way "we are thinking about new ways _we_ could harm our country and our people." Isn't it the job of Homeland Security to do just that, to think about new ways that _our_enemies_ could harm us? It's bad stragegy to build a Maginot line on the assumption that the next attack will be the same as the last one. Before 9/11, aircraft were protected against hijackers who were going to use guns to take hostages. They were not protected against hijackers who were going to use knives to use fueled-up aircraft to knock down landmark buildings. Now they are, sort of. I want to know that the folks whose job it is are working out "What if next time they use weaponless ninjas?" That's what quality assurance is all about, thinking about all the different things that could go wrong.