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Hi Ed / all: Well, this IS a hot topic. Ed's right in that what the terrorists really want is to destroy our freedoms - Osama said that very thing soon after the 11th. However, to many Americans our freedoms are intact and there has been little visible impact - other than at airports. The real impact is in the form of information gathering and of course to people with unusual interests like train watching and photography. As for the use of force against the Arab world, we all have our own opinions - personally I swing between Ed's "solution" and a more measured response. In reality, there may not be a solution. In fact we are facing an unending cycle of violence caused by politics, coruption, and ignorance. Getting back to train watching (sounds kind of insignificant now), I do most of my chasing up in the Cascades. I rarely if ever see RR police. Usually a trainmaster or even more common maintenence personel. However, if train crews are going to start calling in the troops every time they see someone photographing a train, even these remote areas are going to become off limits. I think that the reason this touches a nerve with all of us is that we truly enjoy our hobby. We like trains, the people who work for the railroads, and generally support the rail industry (even if we work therein). In a way we have put ourselves on the frontlines of personal freedom in this country. We're not suffering from profiling (as in the case of Arab Americans) and we're not engaging in criminal activities (like gangs breaking into containers) - we are just persuing happiness according to our constitution. I believe it is time that the railroads and their employees understand that they have a standing army of supporters in the form of railfans. We can do more good than harm and certainly provide more surveilance reach (if that's what they want) than their police force. I don't have to tresspass to do what I enjoy and I shouldn't recieve a "shake down" because I follow trains and photograph them. It is time for a dialogue - and I believe that rail journalists are in a position to facilitate this. Something positive can come out of this situation. It spotlights just what CAN happen to personal freedoms in this country. The long standing uneasy relationship between railroads and railfans should be resolved and we now have reason to see that it is. Jon Bentz - Seattle, WA
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