Weapons of Mass Disruption

Weapons of Mass Disruption... Oh No!

By Roy D. Follendore III

February 14, 2002

"These attacks are genuine 'weapons of mass disruption,'" said Microsoft attorney Susan Kelley Koeppen as she urged the government to support legislation to to clarify sections of the USA Patriot Act. The new bill would would give the government authority to increase the penalties for crimes such as hacking, computer fraud, and the advertising of illegal devices.

OK. Halt! Stop. Give me a break. "Weapons of mass disruption?" Microsoft going on the bandwagon to support government sanctions? What goes on here? This is the company that has been on the defensive with the Justice department for the past five years.

I for one have heard enough of the "Weapons of mass destruction" quotes. Stop with the phony attempts to compare a one crazy phrase to another. Nuclear weapons are strategic weapons. Biological weapons are strategic weapons. They are strategic because they sure don't solve local problems. There are no tactical nuclear or biological weapons. By the poor use of bad phrasing a common car can be a weapon of mass destruction.

Why not continue to extend this phrase? The coal industry is a weapon of mass destruction. The lumber industry is a weapon of mass destruction. Churches are weapons of mass destruction. There sure is a history there.

I am beginning to believe that the American society has gone nuts. It is no wonder that people in the rest of this blue planet think so little of Americans. No. I think that the perfect example of a weapon of mass destruction is the news industry. After all they report this kind of crap just to pit everyone against each other and get on everyone's nerves. Maybe we should all outlaw news agencies of "mass disruption."

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