Well, if I was runnin' that show, the alleged security risk would be personally realized for some of them because I would fire all of those idiots responsible for:

1) wasting so much government time money; and
2) being so nit-witted to actually assert that the stupid sign was any kind of a threat-elevator.

Black box complexes and invisible "security" installations (military, paramilitary, police & spooks) are here. Smile for the camera, please. No sunglasses allowed.

God save us.

"War is the health of the state," said political commentator Randolph Bourne.

Don't, however, overlook the importance of paranoia as the motivator for government action.

Some disingenuous citizens of the USA slap a Maple Leaf on their backpacks as they trudge through their foreign travels.
Displaying a big Maple Leaf on this building might confuse the terrorists, eh?

davidg
In his novel "Against the Day" Pynchon posits that World War I was designed in part to help the Western nations and their capitalist sponsors defeat the rising tide of anarchy and key anarchists such as Bourne. The idea being that anarchists would be viewed and then treated as traitors when the nation they rebelled against was in a war for its survival. The feeling was that people will support and ultimately depend upon the devil (government) they know if a foreign government threatens a take-over.

mojo is right - another example of govt wasting money...and politicians wonder why taxpayers are fed up with tax increases...

If we take down the "United States" sign and replace it with one reading "Canada" perhaps the terrorists will turn back thinking they are already in the USA. It is quite likely that said terrorists will need a sign to inform them of the location of the border. Yes, this is not only a waste of money but a painful example of moronic paranoia and bureaucratic stupidity.

I'm way too often reminded of my friend's acute observation that "If you annoy people enough in the name of security, some people will feel more secure."

The whole security thing these days reminds me of the chapter on the Pledge of Allegiance/Loyalty Oaths spasm in Catch-22.

Reminds me of a local fire Department order to remove the American flag from Firetrucks.