BAFFLED BY 'PSYCHOLOGICAL PREPAREDNESS'

Timmins Times - To The Editor,

RE: McLellan On "Psychological Preparedness" Of Terror Threat

Anne McLellan said "We need to spend more time looking at the psychological
preparedness of our people because an emergency or a disaster can strike at
any time." It sounds like McLellan is getting her speeches written by the
White House! To me, her words translate into: "Be afraid! Be very afraid!"

Where does McLellan suggest Canadians acquire the "psychological
preparedness" for terror attacks? Where does one go to get this specialized
psychological training? Should we go on a trip to Iraq for some in-depth
training? Will "Advanced Paranoia and Xenophobia" be taught in schools, or
will there be community outreach programs? Should Canadians go see a
psychologist, a psychiatrist, or a general practitioner to deal with
"preparedness-deficiency"? How many months would we have to wait in Canada's
failing health care system for that appointment? The government can't take
care of the sick people that we already have, how can they possibly take
care of more problems?

McLellan also said we need to increase border security, but offers no solid
plan on how. I would like to suggest that we end cannabis prohibition
immediately, which would deal a serious blow to the underground economy, and
make it much more difficult for "terrorists" to operate. It would also free
up hundreds of police officers across the country currently wasting their
time on "grow-op duty", and they could be put to work on the borders, power
plants, airports, subways, buses, and train stations where they belong. It
would also save us roughly $2 billion annually on enforcement, courts, and
corrections on a prohibition policy that has failed utterly.

Regulating the production and sale of cannabis would create thousands of
jobs from coast to coast, and help Canadians earn an estimated $3 billion in
annual tax revenue that could be used to - among other things - protect our
safety.

Unfortunately, what our cynical government will probably implement is more
taxes, more cops, more raids, more jails, more courts, fewer civil rights,
and fewer civil liberties. Is that the "freedom" that The West is supposed
to be exporting to the Middle East?

The US-led "War On Terror" is very similar to the US-led "War On Drugs"; it
was never meant to be won, it was meant to be continuous.

Russell Barth

Ottawa