Is McCarthyism Back?

I’m glad that by the graces of random events , I have white skin, I’m of Irish/German decent not Pakistani or Afghan or Indian. And I’m glad my parents didn’t name me Louai, Adham, or Maruan. I’m glad because, I have pictures of the Mackinaw Bridge and I don’t want to be arrested as a terrorist! That is exactly what happened to Louai A. Othman, 23, Adham A. Othman, 21, and Maruan A. Muhareb, 18 in Caro, Michigan recently.

An overzealous prosecutor, a rented van full of new cell phones, a couple of recent pictures of the mighty Mac and three guys with middle eastern decendents and dark skin. Put’em all together and we got ourselves a real bonified terror lot here boys, sure to make the national news, why the town of Caro will be famous for their contribution to King George’s war on terror…….. Give me a break. What were the local Prosecutor and Police smoking?

Let’s take a look, real close at what we have here before we go call Heraldo. First a clerk at WalMart calls the police because these suspicious looking characters just bought 80 TracPhones and paid cash. If these were three little old Irish ladies from Flint does she still make the call? After all there is nothing illegal with purchasing TracPhones, even 80 of them, hell they might be sending them to a mission on Kentucky? But the media and King George’s warriors have her all a twitter so she call’s the boys in blue.

The police show-up and whoa! These guys don’t just have 80 phones, they got about a 1000! Ok now that is suspicious. Say boys what are you doing with 1000 pre-paid cell phones? Their story is they are buying them up at WalMarts across the northern Midwest, Wisconsin, Michigan for $20 a pop. We can sell them in Texas or California for about $38 a phone. That’s $18000 profit!!!! Sign the MicroeMan up for some of that coin….. They can’t buy them in one place cause WalMart limits quantities purchased. They even tell the Caro police that they have been checked out by law enforcement before and, And, AND the FBI and they are doing nothing illegal.

The cops say it sounds suspicious and they gotta check out the story before they let them go. Hmm a laptop and a digital camera. Pictures of the mighty Mac Bridge! Hey didn’t that guy in Ohio say cell phones can be used as bomb triggers? Like anyone from Michigan trusts anyone from Ohio since Woody Hayes….. These guys gotta be terrorists! Call a press conference. So let’s look at the evidence that got them to this conclusion.

We already have talked about the 1000 cell phones for profit. By the way, WalMart, that started this mess, limited quantities purchased to 80 phones, but I’ll bet that they didn’t bother to tell anyone that if you BOUGHT 80 they were calling Barney Fife and the gang. Wonder what the cut off for making the call is? 38? 22? 4?

Pictures of the Mackinaw Bridge. It later comes out that these are tourist type pictures displaying the bridge in all its grandeur, just like most Michiganders have taken if you have been to the Straits. Not terrorist photos, close ups of the towers, cable anchor points, possible charge locations. Besides, why would a terrorist bother with taking his own pictures. Just drop by a book store in St. Ignace or Mackinaw City and you can buy a book detailing everything you ever wanted to know about the bridge, including all the technical details.

But Cell Phones can be used as detonators? Say What? Ever see Myth-Busters on the Discovery Channel? They did a show a while back in which they tested the myth that cell phones used while pumping gas could blow up the gas station and make it look like a scene from the Terminator. Myth Busted. They couldn’t do it, no matter how concentrated they made the gasoline vapors. So to use a cell phone as a detonator, you would have to modify it substantially. And nobody has said why they needed 1000? If you were going to do this wouldn’t you keep the numbers down just to what you needed so as not to draw attention to yourself from suspicious WalMart clerks?

The prosecutor says during questioning they were uncooperative with the police. They said they wanted their attorney present. Folks it’s called Miranda Rights! The FBI says they know about these guys, they aren’t terrorists. Heraldo the vault is empty.

So there we have it. The 2006 version of the paranoia named after Conservative Senator Joesph McCarthy. In the 60’s it was the Commie Pinko Spies (just vote for the wrong candidate and you are on the list). Now it is terrorists from the MiddleEast. And they are at a WalMart near you, just check out the electronics aisle.

Postscript: The Caro prosecutor has finally dropped charges, though to save face the Feds are putting forth money laundering charges…stay tuned. We have done this time and time again. Every ethnic immigrant to show up on Elise Island was subject to ethnic profiling, suspicion and discriminiation Italians, Germans, Irish. We interned Japanese/Americans in WWII. We distrust Latin immigrants that work the fields and pick our food. When will we ever learn….