Also in Orange.
Some of you know that about 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, I had a dreadful occurrance.
So when I last left you, I posted about my leg injury from Friday evening.
I spent the evening with my right leg elevated and on ice on the sofa. My leg was aching and I couldn’t sleep so I stayed up blogging and surfing web sites to distract myself. I was still up about 2:30 a.m. when Lucy, who was laying on the floor beside me, jumped up and barked and raced towards my oldest daughter’s room. A neighbor’s dog was barking off in the distance in that general direction and I didn’t think anything of it other than a brief moment of worry that Lucy would wake my daughter.
As I mentioned last week, we got Lucy at the shelter a week ago Saturday. She’s nearly 10 years old and 100 pounds. She’s a Lab-Shepherd mix with maybe some Collie as well. She’s black except for some gray around her muzzle and her eyes. She’s also the best. dog. ever.
She is the best because Saturday morning, Ms. Carnacki was helping my 9-year-old daughter straighten up her room when she noticed the screen window was up. It had been hot and my daughter had slept with the window open because the air conditioner in the other window is old and noisy and needs to be replaced. But the screen shouldn’t have been up and she asked the other children if they had raised it and they said they hadn’t so I came over to look and outside I saw the large red wagon had been pulled over to underneath the window.
As if someone had pulled it over so he could step on it to help climb in.
We know Lucy frightened off the person. We called the deputies and they came and took a report and left a message for the midnight crew to patrol the neighborhood.
But someone tried to enter my daughter’s room. A 9-year-old girl.
The next night, as I sat in the darkness of her room for hours hoping for the burglar’s return, one of the things that came to my mind was how the event was like a microcosm of national events which led me to this:
Carnacki vs. Bush
1. Early response to warnings
Bush: Richard Clarke, members of President Clinton’s national security team warned of impending danger, but Bush ignored the warnings. Counter-terrorism budget cuts planned and no high level administration meetings held by chair Dick Cheney.
Carnacki: Ignored Lucy’s initial bark. Assumed new dog was barking aimlessly at neighbor dog.
Advantage: wash.
2. Additional warnings
Bush: Aug. 6 PDB warned bin Laden determined to attack in the U.S. Bush tells briefer he covered his ass and then Bush went back to clearing brush on his brush farm.
Carnacki: Deputies advise moving daughters’ bedrooms upstairs and taking other security precautions. The suggestions are promptly followed and action taken in response to impending danger.
Advantage: Carnacki.
3. Reaction to danger
Bush: Tells American people to be frightened and to go shopping and he has to cut taxes for the wealthy to keep them safe. American people react in fear, most from terrorism threat, some from deficit threat. A few are frightened by nation’s excessive consumerism.
Carnacki: Tells children that deputies were there because of the window, but they had no reason to worry because parents and police would protect them. No suggestion of shopping. Children go back to playing and no signs of fear from them.
Advantage: Carnacki.
4. Response to attack
Bush: Tells the American people mastermind of the attack, Osama bin Laden, would be brought to justice. About six months later, Bush tells the American people Osama bin Laden is irrelevant and he does not know where he is and does not think about him that much.
Carnacki: Tells wife he’ll do all he can to bring resolution to the situation. Stays up the following night hoping for the intruder’s return and stays up much too late on following nights in effort to keep home safe and wife feeling secure and has not stopped thinking of ways to eliminate the threat of the intruder.
Advantage: Carnacki.
5. Action taken
Bush: Invades Afghanistan in effort to catch Osama bin Laden in October 2001 then the following month orders the general in charge of operation to kill or capture bin Laden to begin making plans for an invasion of Iraq, which had nothing to do with the Sept. 11 attack, diverting more than $600 million and countless other resources intended for hunt for bin Laden. Invades a nation that had nothing to do with the Sept. 11 attack, which inadvertantly becomes big recruiting boost for terrorist organization.
Carnacki: Guards the home, but does not invade neighbor’s house, killing him and turning his family into refugees, since they had nothing to do with the intrusion.
Advantage: Carnacki.
6. Treatment of allies
Bush: Angers other nations by insistance on unilateralism and disregard for international treaties, laws and human rights. Long-time ally France mocked, Britain treated as second-class partner.
Carnacki: Grills steak and chops it up and feeds pieces to Lucy, making her one very, very happy dog. Tells everyone she’s the best dog in the whole world and means it.
Advantage: Carnacki.