The NRA et. al. beat the drum of fear... remember when "W" was running, Cheney always made sure that the public was well aware of the "terrorist alert level."

In the long run it is a big game... we are all just pawns.

The folks that really are winning, are those out on long cruises who have managed to disconnect from all this day to day 24 hour news and paranoia cycle. Fatty Goodlander mentioned this in one of his CW stories...

Here is a taste of that "get away" attitude... http://fattygoodlander.com/freedom_chips