posted by admin on Feb 21

Throughout the entire War on Terrorism thus far and especially in the weeks and months following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 Americans throughout the world and especially in our homeland have been encouraged to keep their eyes open and notify their local authorities in the event that they observe something that seems out of place.  Along these lines, themes such as ” Report Suspicious Activities ” and ” If You See Something, Say Something ” have resonated with millions of our fellow citizens everywhere while others choose instead to simply look the other way in the form of either indirect denial of the threat that is out there or conveniently deciding to defer the protection of our homeland to somebody else.   Of course you always have the useful idiots of the world out there such as John Edwards and Barack Obama who are absolutely clueless when it comes to fighting terrorism and protecting the United States of America which the last time I checked was right at the very top of the list of priorities for the Commander in Chief in the Oval Office.  However and in spite of the fact that you have so many complete fools and collaborators within our own borders that have either closed their eyes or looked the other way for partisan political gain in spite of the oath they took to serve and protect our great nation, you have still had both an impressive and inspirational number of Real Americans who have answered the call of duty by standing up and being counted when the United States of America really needed them the most.  The first opportunity that I had to directly experience this call to arms following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 was exactly that on September 12, 2001 when I attempted to donate blood at a couple of medical centers in Tacoma that had been set up exclusively to handle and process this urgent demand as I was both surprised and very proud of the fact that the lines were so long and expanding at each of these sites that people were basically being given a number in the form of a boarding pass while at the same time being encouraged to come back at a later time when the lines weren’t so long.  Simply put, I knew right away that Real Americans such as the many that I had witnessed in these lines who took the time off from work and away from their families to provide the blood that was so urgently being requested by the medical officials back east would rally up as the true patriots that they were and do whatever they could to not only assist but to defend our great country at a time of war. 

In the time that has passed since September 11, 2001 a lot of complacency has set in which was to be expected as a lot of it I am sure is directly related to the fact that we have not been hit again since this date which is a real credit to the many counter-terrorism and first responder professionals who are dedicated to stopping these threats that are out there stacked against us on a twenty four seven and three hundred and sixty five day basis.  However and as much as I completely commend these professionals for their dedicated efforts and awesome results, the fact of the matter is that they simply cannot do it alone as they basically can’t be expected to be everywhere at the same time.  Just as law enforcement professionals throughout our nation have long since realized that they cannot solve crime all by themselves, they too along with other first responders and counter-terrorism professionals have realized what police officers have quickly learned which is that they need to solicit and actively recruit the most important participants when it comes to protecting the United States of America in the War on Terrorism and these people are none other than Jack and Jane public themselves.  With the team approach that many law enforcement agencies have taken with the Community Policing strategies which involve getting out of the patrol car and working with members of the local neighborhoods for the purpose of identifying criminal problems and trends and then enacting strategies in the name of pro-action and prevention, the same approach is taking shape as well in the War on Terrorism through the initiation of various block watch programs and encouraging everyone to report anything suspicious to their first responders immediately.  Of course, you are not going to have everyone jumping on board with these efforts which is exactly what Community Police Officers have experienced over the years as there will always be people out there who take the ” It’s not my job ” or ” I don’t want to become involved ” approach.  However, and as I have stated before, there are one hell of a lot more patriotic Americans out there than those who are not so as far as I am concerned, the opportunity has never been greater to tap into this incredible pool of eyes, ears and awareness in the name of protecting our great nation at a time of War.  Besides, we have already and dramatically seen the incredible impact that concerned citizens throughout our country have contributed to saving thousands of lives by their basic instincts and reactions since September 11, 2001 which provides an unbelievable sense of pride and inspiration whenever anyone of these so called ordinary citizens takes on the initiative and responsibility that is needed in order to become a Real American Hero which is exactly what they are.  For example and to provide illustrations of just a few, all you have to do is think back and remember the incredibly heroic actions of the passengers and crew of American Airlines Flight 63 on December 22, 2001 when they detected wires protruding from the feet of the al-Qaeda terrorist ( A.K.A. The Shoebomber )  Richard Reid and then pounced on him and thereby prevented this sleazeball from blowing up this plane as he was attempting to do in flight over the Atlantic Ocean.  From there I am sure you will recall the courageous actions of Circuit City Clerk Brian Morgenstern who notified the local authorities and tipped them off to a video tape that he had stumbled onto at his job which eventually resulted in the capture of the ” Fort Dix Six ” before they could carry out their plans to massacre as may soldiers as they possibly could at this nearby Army base in New Jersey.  Finally, there is the case of Bob Hayden who was a passenger on board Northwest Airlines Flight 720 who noticed a passenger acting very violently and ignoring the directives of crew members to return to his seat so instead of sitting by and doing nothing, Mr. Hayden restrained this person along with another passenger and maintained control over them until the plane had landed and the suspect had been taken into custody by the local authorities.  Of course, there are are numerous citizens that I could mention here as well including the courageous ones that were directly responsible for notifying the local authorities which directly resulted in thwarting the attacks on the Sears Tower in Chicago, the Herald Subway Station in New York City and J.F.K. International Airport. 

Having therefore provided all of you with the primer that you will need in order to determine exactly where I am going here,  I am going to basically reinforce the themes that have been illustrated throughout this post so far such as ” If You See Something Say Something ” and ” Report Suspicious Activities. “  With this in mind, we need to take it a step further by enlisting the eyes, ears and awareness of patriotic Americans everywhere to this critically important cause of protecting our homeland as well known actor Robert Davi has always been a very strong advocate of developing local security forces through the assistance and training of the Federal Government which I think is a terrific idea if the Feds would ever get off their asses and let Mr. Davi take the ball and run with it.  However and as much as I am in support of Mr. Davi’s proposals, I don’t like being held back by the inaction of the government as the proposals that I am putting in place revolve entirely around the skills and awareness of the everyday citizens throughout our great country as they don’t need to form any groups or wait for the government to train them for this objective as all they basically need to do is to live their everyday lives and keep their eyes open and report anything that doesn’t  seem right to their local law enforcement authorities and basically let them do the rest.  In other words, if you see some guy snooping around the support structures on a bridge or asking peculiar questions such as ” Where is the engine room ” and ” How many crew members are there on this ship “ as it pertains to one of the many ferries in the fleet on Puget Sound up here in Washington State, then simply don’t blow these observations off as just simply nothing at all.  Instead, note the date and time along with exactly what you saw and immediately report it to your local 911 operator and let them do the rest.  Simply put and as I have stated before, the first responders and counter-terrorism professionals cannot be everywhere at the same time as the need for vigilant citizens to stand up and join the team in the name of protecting the United States of America has never been greater. 

I am therefore very pleased to announce at this time that I have formed the ” T.H.R.I.V.E.  For America Initiative ” which I will be developing and expanding in the weeks ahead in order to bring awareness, vigilance and excellence to the critical importance of every day citizens in protecting our great nation in the War on Terrorism.  Whether it’s securing suspension bridges, rich agricultural basins, tall buildings in the major cities or transportation systems such as tanker trucks and cargo container ships, this initiative will rally all of the vigilant citizens of our country together for this cause that cannot be disputed in any way or at any time as there will of course be updates on this initiative in future postings as well on more occasions and with a lot more visibility than you might expect. 

In closing and especially since I have given you so much to think about and absorb through this particular post which will be without my customary link or video, I will simply conclude for now and only for this brief time by telling all of you that there is much more to follow and as far as this initiative is concerned, this is not the beginning of the end as one would say but rather instead it is just the end of the beginning.  Before I put a wrap on the post for today, I will simply conclude by answering the question that so many of you have in you minds which is ” What exactly does “ T.H.R.I.V.E.  ”  stand for ?  To this I will simply say that it stands for Target Hardening Requires Individual Vigilance Everyday.  Think about it and there’s a whole lot more to follow in the weeks and months ahead.  I’ll be in touch.   

Bulletins such as this were very prominent and visible in the days and weeks following September 11, 2001.  However and while these signs have certainly been missing for the most part in recent years, the message is still as strong and as necessary as ever as the time has come for vigilant citizens everywhere to answer the call of duty and do exactly as this particular sign says.