To the Point

Homeland Security: Paranoia versus Practicality

Polls show that Americans want to get involved in homeland security. Yet many are concerned that tactics like arming airline pilots and enlisting citizens to keep watch on each other will put civil liberties at risk, or comprise a piecemeal response to what should be a more proactive approach. Also unclear is whether Americans would make sacrifices for more than defensive measures, or be mobilized for some grander cause, like reducing energy use to liberate the country from dependence on Middle East oil. Is this attempt by the Bush Administration and Congress to motivate Americans to -live patriotism- practical or pure paranoia? We ask a civil rights advocate, social activist, sociologist, and foreign policy expert. Newsmaker: Sequoia Fire Threatens Legendary Trees A Bakersfield woman whose campfire got out of control has been arrested on charges of starting the blaze that now threatens several groves of California-s Sequoia trees, some of the biggest and oldest living things in the world. Tim Sheehan, of the Fresno Bee, says firefighters are working feverishly to cut firelines into mountainous terrain in order to contain the worst inferno to hit that area in 120 years. Reporters Notebook: The Adelphia Story and Arrest of John Rigas John Rigas has been charged with looting Adelphia Communications and defrauding investors out of $ 60 billion. Rigas is a living symbol of capitalism at its worst, and of the government-s intention to crack down on corporate abuse. Devin Leonard, of Fortune magazine, says that the founder and former CEO of the cable giant considers himself a small town guy who enjoys helping his rural Coudersport, Pennsylvania neighbors.