A Sensible Elected Official

The new mayor of Madison, Alabama, has a surprisingly sensible attitude about security.

City Hall security. Kirkindall, Atallo and Lacy agree the city may have gone a little overboard in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks by eliminating 20 to 25 prime parking spaces near the building. Starting today, people will be allowed to park there again.

Atallo says the City Hall visitors log—another recent addition—also annoys people and doesn’t do anything to make Madison safer. To prove it, he’s been signing the names of famous terrorists – “O.B. Laden,” “Carlos T. Jackal” – in the book.

No one’s caught it.

As of today, the log is out.

I have no idea if he’s a Republican or a Democrat, but I wish there were more people like him in government.

Tags: security theater, terrorism

Posted on October 26, 2004 at 11:36 AM • 5 Comments

Comments

Mark • October 26, 2004 10:41 PM

Whenever I am asked to sign a log I alawys ennter “O. B. Laden.”

Needless to say I have brought government and commerce to a stop.

w.h. • October 27, 2004 7:26 AM

Hmmm..

Ex-rocket-scientist.

Well, Bruce, at the very least you aren’t a rocket scientist, nor are you a brain surgeon. So at least we can use you as an example when we say that you don’t have to be a brain surgeon or rocket scientist to get security. 😉

I, unfortunately, moved from a county where the guy in charge of elections seemed to get it, where he stuck with paper voting systems and put a webcam in the counting rooms, to a electronic voting county where they are telling the polling workers to withold information from us.

ben • October 27, 2004 2:28 PM

I was fired for doing this once… working at a San Francisco financial shop doing software – the security guard, who, after 3 months should have known who I was, always made me “sign in”. I always signed in “fuck you”… it took them three months to catch on to this. 🙂 btw: fun blog – thanks for taking the time!

David Frier • October 27, 2004 4:01 PM

Who cares if he’s Rep. or Dem., he’s “reality-based” and that makes him a rare enough bird in politics, even rarer in the old CSA.

Bill Bremer • November 1, 2004 9:11 AM

He’s probably neither Republican nor Democrat. Believe it or not, there are areas of the country where people seeking election to local office are simply individuals running without party backing or affiliation.

A Sensible Elected Official

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