If there is an official Terrorist Handbook, odds are it’s a chapter on Options. That is, the best times and places to attack. Like mid-week in a high-density area (9/11 was a Tuesday) like downtown Chicago or New York or L.A.. That would give them maximum casualties.

Hitting a safe haven – a major Florida amusement park or a giant shopping mall in Minnesota – would also produce maximum terror. As in no place is safe.

Taking out refineries near Houston or Long Beach would have a worldwide, long-lasting economic impact.

There are also Mississippi River bridges – vital to east-west commerce – and nuclear plants, railroad tunnels and aircraft taking off or landing that are possible terror targets.

Then there is the high-value/high-symbolism target of a truck bomb parked near the U.S. Capitol. Or Independence Hall in Philadelphia. And a lot more places that need watching. Because, to a large extent, it is their (the bad guys) call as to when and where. Many attempts, including some we the public don’t know about, have been thwarted by our people.

Which is why today, as most of us are enjoying our first real summer holiday, a lot of people are on the job. A lot of them are feds. Maybe even you. And not just people in law enforcement, homeland security or national defense. There are people doing vital inspections, working in government hospitals and in other 24/7 jobs. For them this is just another day at the office.

If you’ve been around for 15 or 20 years, and are in a certain kind of job, you may have had Memorial Day and July 4th off. Back in the day! But for a lot of people those days off are gone with the wind. A thing of the past.

So if you are working today, in air traffic control, border patrol, or standing guard on top of the White House or patrolling a bridge, thanks, even if we can’t see you and don’t know exactly what you are doing.

In fact, maybe especially if we don’t know what you are doing!!!

Good job. Thanks.

To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com

As is our Memorial Day tradition, the Nearly Useless Factoid steps aside, takes a moment to pause… and remember.

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