The world of Blackjack seems very, very trivial compared to the tragedies that have been suffered by our people and our country at the hands of terrorists, but we all deal with horror in our own way and, because this forum is the primary way I express my opinion, it's impossible for me to let these events pass without sharing some thoughts.

Although our tears will never dry and those we lost will never be forgotten, there has to come a time when we roll up our sleeves and do whatever is necessary to make sure something like this never happens again. In the coming weeks and months, a lot of opinions on exactly what course or courses we should take will be offered by every person that has an audience. Certainly, if we could identify every real and potential terrorist in the world and eliminate him or her as a threat, we would do it. That fate will undoubtedly befall some of them, but the reality is that the vast majority will escape such retribution and will remain free to do more harm.

It really boils down to us protecting ourselves by thwarting those who would harm us by making it impossible for them to do so. Obviously, if highjacking an airliner were impossible, the events of September 11, 2001 may have had a different conclusion. Knowing how we as a people react, from this point forward it will (hopefully) be impossible for a terrorist to commandeer a commercial jetliner. We are very good at protecting ourselves from the most recent threat.

After the bombing of the Federal building in Oklahoma City, barriers and other devices were erected all over the U.S. to protect many locations that might be the target of a terrorist attack. We used to be able to drive by the White House, the U.S. Capitol Building and other seats of our government, but no more. However, those measures worked, because there have been no car bombings here in the U.S. that have harmed our citizens.

Now, a lot of thought, effort and $$$ will go into protecting us against the type of situations we just experienced, but I hope that some of those resources will also go toward planning for the future. This is where my own, admittedly feeble, analogy of the game of Blackjack may serve as an example.

What I do at the Blackjack tables is legal and I want to stress that I, in no way, condone cheating of any form. But the fact remains: some of us have more ways of beating the casinos at their own game than they can even imagine. The exclusion of skillful players from the premises is about the only way most casinos can stop us from winning, consequently you'll hear or read about players being "barred". It's effective, to be sure, but in their zeal to stop me from playing, a casino may also stop a person who ultimately may lose from playing or their operation will be slowed to the point that their profit suffers far more than it would had I or my card-counting friends been allowed to play.

Casinos can stop counters only by thinking as a counter and there are few casino employees out there that have ever learned a living from playing the game of Blackjack. Unfortunately, there are very few, if any, counter-terrorism "experts" who have ever actually been terrorists, so they are never going to know more about the game than those who earn their "living" from it.

Make no mistake: It is fashionable to call terrorists "cowards", but it takes a lot of nerve to undertake a task that you know will result in your own death. These are formidable foes and no amount of emotion can defeat them. Much like the two ways one can play the game of Blackjack, either emotionally (depending upon luck, blaming your losses on how others at the table play their hands, etc.) or logically (recognizing that it's a game of mathematics and nothing more), our leaders can choose an emotional approach to defeat these enemies or they can sit down and plan on how to stop their next offensive.

Oh, yes, Dear Reader, there will be a next time and it can be stopped only if we have a good idea of what the terrorists' "next trick" will be. While none of us can predict the future, a lot of cold, hard analysis can develop scenarios that might happen and the old saying, "forewarned is forearmed" remains true. Here in the Heartland, we have a saying about closing the barn door after the horse has left and, while I fault no one for closing the door; that cannot be our only action.

It's a benevolent God that has allowed all of us to be here, reading these words and permitting us to purse our interests, desires and passions. I pray that those who cannot be here have found peace.

-the GameMaster