Many Tennesseans have experience distinguishing hues of orange. For instance, observing when the scoreboard doesn’t match the uniforms, or whatnot.
It looks like government folks are also becoming experts in sorting out shades of orange. From this Daily Kos thread come these nuggets:
“True Orange“:

Officials at all levels said the threat this time around seems more serious than previous alerts.
One senior Pentagon official described the terrorism threat level as “true orange,” noting that some previous orange designations had been viewed with skepticism.

“Orange Plus“:

New York has been on orange alert since the color-coded system was set up shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. When asked if the beefed-up police presence in the city amounted to “Orange Plus,” Kelly replied, “You might say that.”

Resonance Exclusive: “Big Orange”

Resonance has learned that Atlanta authorities will soon issue their own alert level gradation. Beginning December 28, Atlanta will be under a “Big Orange” threat advisory. Vacationers from Clemson University are urged to travel with extreme caution and to avoid the Georgia Dome at all costs.

If, like me, gift giving isn’t your thing, perhaps you can take some solace in reading of bombs like this:

“Man Says He Gave Wife Toilet Seat as Gift”
Gary and Karri Clark haven’t forgotten their second Christmas together. He knew she wanted bathroom accessories, so he wrapped up a couple of gifts and waited.
The toilet seat and towel rack didn’t go over too well.
“Here I thought I was doing good,” he recalled with a laugh. “It was something she can always use, day after day. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”
. . .
Karri Clark admits she wanted a new toilet seat a decade ago because there was a crack in the old one. She just didn’t think she’d get one gift wrapped.
“I could not believe it,” she said. “What man gives you a toilet seat for Christmas? A fricking toilet seat, and it wasn’t even that expensive.”

Via Counterspin Central.

There haven’t been many of them recently. But Joe Lockhart thinks the fact that Rush Limbaugh has turned his guns on the senator is an indication things are “going well.”

Reports indicate that al-Qaeda continues to be interested in striking by air:

The United States has credible information, including some that prompted this week’s rise in the national terror threat level, that al-Qaida continues to study potential weaknesses in America’s revamped aviation security net looking for ways to strike again through the air, U.S. officials familiar with recent intelligence say.
. . .
“The information clearly shows they care about getting ahold of airplanes with large fuel supplies in areas with lots of people, and to do it in a way that comes in below our radar screen,” said one senior U.S. official with access to intelligence, speaking only on condition of anonymity.
. . .
“You would think there are a lot of softer targets out there that wouldn’t take as much work,” said Douglas Laird, a former Northwest Airlines security chief who now advises clients on aviation security. “What baffles me is I just don’t know what they (al-Qaida) would do to make it happen now.”
But Laird said an aviation attack continues to have appeal to the terrorist mind. “The airlines are always going to be a good avenue because it strikes the fear of God in the public to have an airliner sabotaged. It generates lots of coverage,” he said.
U.S. officials said debriefings of terrorists show al-Qaida continues to value an attack via aviation because its leaders believe such an attack would have both dramatic effects on America’s economic superiority and because it would strike at an important symbol of Western freedom.

I don’t have a habit of sitting around contemplating terrorism strategy, but it seems to me that one of the reasons 9/11 was so successful was because it caught authorities off guard. Presumably, that’s more difficult to do now via aviation. So if al-Qaeda is planning another air strike, they’ve either found a fairly soft spot to exploit, or they’re pretty hard-headed. Mr. Laird’s comment seems on point.

Joshua Marshall doesn’t see anything to the Saddam capture rumors.