The frequently joked about and disregarded Homeland Security Advisory System, as it’s officially labeled, might be undergoing a bit of restructuring because the government has finally figured out that it lacks any credibility with the American public.

The Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council has revealed a new proposal to bolster the meter’s image by reducing the five levels down to three. Stuck at the yellow level — Elevated, significant risk of terrorist attacks — for three years now since 2006, the council has decided to remove the two lower levels of the meter, leaving the top three in place with new descriptions.

The blue "Guarded, general risk of terrorist attacks" and the green "Low, low risk of terrorist attacks" levels could be scrapped in favor of different meterage. The three new levels if adopted, will be defined as:

Yellow = Guarded  — “A constant state of vigilance to protect against a terrorist attack.”
Orange = Elevated  — “Increased protective measures based on specific threat information regarding a known or suspected terrorist plot.”
Red = High Alert — “Maximum protective measures to protect against an imminent or ongoing terrorist attack.”

This all came about because DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano called for the creation of a task force in July to assess the effectiveness of the system “in informing the public about terrorist threats.” She admits, “There is currently indifference to the public Homeland Security Advisory System and, at worst, there is a disturbing lack of public confidence in the system.”

There was a 60-day public comment period that shows 82 percent “were in favor of replacing or altering the current” system. “A significant number of those comments were in favor of scrapping the system altogether.” 

In the summary of public comments the DHS was willing to share there was only one favorable comment from an employee at a federal facility, the rest of the comments they shared were critical. One read, “Please eliminate this useless system, and do not replace it with anything.” 

The members of the advisory council range from a member of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Lee Hamilton, to a few state governors, one city mayor, president of the Navajo Nation, and one American-Arab Anti-discrimination Committee member, Kareem Shora. The group has said the new scale won’t be politicized and instead the government “should elevate the threat status only when compelled to do so in the interest of public safety and security.”

A lot of credit has to go to the general public who never really swallowed the whole scare tactic of the threat level meter anyway. They recognized that using paranoia induces general reliance on the government to “save the country” any way they can even if it means devouring what’s left of our liberties.

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Lee Gonzales said:

Threat O' Meter It's for certain that not enough of the public has read "Report From Iron Mountain" to see how these Pavlovian government gimmicks are used to condition the public to respond with "save me, save from the terror boggey man," but the US public fortunately can still see through some of this government baloney drill. The public can learn a great deal more if they would attend Art Thompson's Exposing Terrorism Inside The Terror Triangle speech http://www.exposingterrorism.com/ and read this latest from William Jasper: Kgb/FSM The "game" Remains the Same http://thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/crime/1872-kgbfsb-the-game-remains-the-same

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September 18, 2009
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Thomas Paine said:

	Report from Iron Mountain Excellent reference Lee. (can be found on internet). When will all the lies be exposed. The War on Terror is a Fraud!
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September 19, 2009
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Still Free said:

The "Threat O' Meter" is off location. Great writing and references. "There is currently indifference to the public Homeland Security Advisory System and, at worst, there is a disturbing lack of public confidence in the system.” Great sleuthing, Ms. Napolitano, don't know how you picked up on that. Here's another hint, Ms. Napolitano: The "Threat o' Meter" needs to be on the WIDE OPEN southern border. Check this story out, one and all, because if it hasn't arrived already, this may be playing out soon in a neighborhood near you: Click here: FBI: MEXICAN MAFIA IS HERE - Featured Story - SunHerald.com The Sun Herald Sunday, September 20, 2009 edition

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September 20, 2009
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