Risky Business

From the womb to the tomb we are rated, ranked, labeled and tagged.

The APGAR score from one to ten is a determination of the vivacity of a live birth, based on the size, skin tone, and birth weight. In school, our intelligence quotient is calculated, SAT scores determine which schools we will get into, and as we enter the mainstream of the business of living, Credit Scores tell the tale of our dependability, habits, and worthiness to buy a car, a house, or get a job. Somewhere, a few years from now, a tag will be printed with my name and DOD, securely tied to my toe.

Now the US government has created a scoring formula to assess risk to air travelers. ATS is the acronym for Automated Targeting System, and it ranks you based upon where you’ve been and where you’re going, how you paid for your tickets, your motor vehicle records, trips in the past you took one-way…even the seating and in-flight meal preferences you’ve ordered in the past.

The government is going to keep your ATS score on file for the next 40-years, and unlike your credit score, which you can challenge, you not only cannot change your ATS score, you can’t even see it.

The Department of Homeland Security is defending the ATS as essential in spotting criminals and terrorists before they act. But the government may also decide your ATS score is essential to share with state, local, or even foreign governments for inclusion in hiring decisions or granting security clearances, licenses or contracts. Your ATS score could even be shared with anyone from private contractors to the Courts to Congress.

What if there's a mistake?

This week I did battle with the local County tax appraisal district, which inadvertently dropped my homestead exemption from The Clanton Hacienda this year. A simple error which could have cost me thousands, easily resolved with an e-mail and a fax.
I discovered the error when checking my real estate tax statement on line.

A couple of years ago, I noticed some erroneous reports in my TRW Credit Report file. A quick letter of correction, a reply for verification, and that was solved within 30-days.

I can’t check my ATS score.
You can’t check yours.
What if it’s wrong?

Earlier this year I rented a car one-way to Dallas. That same weekend, I flew one-way back to Houston. Does that make me a more likely risk of being a criminal or a terrorist?

I like to sit next to the window when I fly, preferably as far ahead of the wing as possible. Wonder what that makes my ATS score look like?

What if someone who IS a terrorist decides to buy a plane ticket using a fake name, say B. Clanton…or T. Kennedy?

Senator Ted Kennedy wound up on someone’s do-not-fly-without-frisking list when “T. Kennedy” showed up on a list of aliases used by known terrorists. It took the U.S. Senator three weeks to get his name off of the government’s then-secret black list.

I doubt my efforts to correct such errors would be slim to none…and Slim couldn’t leave town because he never got here.
His name was on the list, too.

A Peek Behind the Scenes

Lock-down Mode, BizRadio Network Studios—We are hermetically-sealed in our studios this morning, doors closed tightly against any noise that might escape as we conduct our broadcast day at the BizRadio Network complex and deli. What we do that you hear on the air is magic—it’s theatre of the mind. How we do it, behind the scenes, is somewhat of a mystery to many, and at times a miracle to us.

We’re renting the studios from which we originate The Brent Clanton Morning Show from a company that sells airtime to the highest bidder. We bought the rights for three years, but must rely upon the ownership of the facility for certain creature comforts, like air conditioning, electricity, water, etc. And we operate at the somewhat whimsical pleasure of the manager in charge of this facility. Some things he’s done well; in other areas some ill-will has been created.

Which is why we’re now operating behind closed doors.
Radio is by definition a noisy prospect.
The phrase, “if it’s too loud, you’re too old,” has a corollary—if you are uncomfortable working around sound, you’re in the wrong business.

There are two radio stations originating from this facility; one of them does not even sign-on until the sun comes up. Meanwhile, my Producer, Buddy Cantu, and I, who have gotten up before the chickens, labor away by ourselves most mornings until just before 6am.

For the most part, the station across the hall is automated, with a few live shows from time to time during the week. The rest of the time, we at The BizRadio Network pretty much have the place to ourselves.
So why are the doors closed?

We might distract others, we are told.
Possibly.

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it—does it make noise?
That’s a trick question.
When a tree falls, it does make a sound.
However, if there is no one present to interpret that sound—as a thud, a crash…or a noise—the event goes unnoticed.

We’re making sounds in the morning--cueing audio, uploading reports, previewing music, as well as the general chit-chat that is enjoyed between people who’ve worked well together for years. An open studio door is a necessity for maintaining a certain esprit de corps in any teamwork environment.

That’s disruptive when there are others around.
Is it, when no one is around?

So our landlord has imposed a lock-down on the studios of The BizRadio Network players, and Buddy and I must rely on hand signals, swinging lamps, and mental telepathy to communicate.
Even when the Landlord's not here, we’re expected to work with the door closed.

I think the imposition is unreasonable.
Buddy’s thoughts are not suitable for a family publication.
We go along to get along, but we don’t like it.

Would you?

A War by Any Other Name is Just as Deadly

What’s the difference between Civil War and Anarchy? That splitting of hairs now underway in Washington and the Media, with NBC News officially referring to the War in Iraq as a Civil War…President Bush says it’s not—it’s just anarchy.

Webster's defines Civil War as "war between geographical sections or political factions of the same nation."
Just in case those nuances are too subtle, Political scientists like to impose a tangible threshold of 1,000 dead as a metric establishing when a conflict has truly reached the status of Civil War.

GlobalSecurity.org suggests five criteria that must be met in order for Civil War to exist: The contestants must

• control territory
• have a functioning government
• enjoy some foreign recognition
• have identifiable regular armed forces
• engage in major military operations.
  

Given those parameters, well, no, it’s not Civil War, so it must be anarchy. No doubt the citizens of Iraq are scrambling for their score cards so they can tell the difference.