I was starting to get worried that it's been much, much, much too long since his last "we're all going to die" warning. If only he could show us color coded warnings just like Tom Ridge because nothing works the American public into a frenzy like color coded fear messages.
And for good reason. It's a complete hassle and the already poor airline quality gets worse by the day, not to mention more expensive. Whenever I can I avoid air travel and opt for the train, when I have to but that's not as much of an option in the US. As annoying as it is in Europe I find it much worse in the US. It might be easier to tolerate the hassles if there was a sense of it all going somewhere but the entire process strikes me as just another effort to continue the fear tactics that are so well loved by the Bush administration.
Surely there has to be a better way, but who really trusts Chertoff and his bumbling band of idiots to get this right? Maybe now that business is screaming and losing billions in revenue, someone might wake up and re-think the current (failed) model.
Forget about what Bush, Chertoff and the Republicans say, they are failing across the board year after year. Once again the issue of port security is making headlines and today the Times has a major piece on Border Agents and cross-border smuggling. Of course, this is what the GOP will tell us only happens in poor countries but looking at what they have done to the economy, they've done their best to take the US in that direction. Is this what the GOP considers "safe" for the US?
Increased corruption is linked, in part, to tougher enforcement, driving smugglers to recruit federal employees as accomplices. It has grown so worrisome that job applicants will soon be subject to lie detector tests to ensure that they are not already working for smuggling organizations. In addition, homeland security officials have reconstituted an internal affairs unit at Customs and Border Protection, one of the largest federal law enforcement agencies, overseeing both border agents and customs officers.
Just when you think FEMA has hit rock bottom, something even more disgusting comes out. With Chertoff, the problems never seem to end. FEMA gets worse by the day.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide mobile homes to victims of last week's tornadoes in Arkansas and Tennessee, despite a health warning about high formaldehyde levels in trailers used by the victims of the 2005 hurricanes.
Considering the brilliant work that has been done along the US-Mexico border, including the high tech "virtual fence" that the great minds of Boeing have sold to taxpayers, despite no sign of its ability to track much beyond stray cows, coyotes and perhaps a few dogs, why does anyone think the US ought to spend any more money in Iraq to build some kind of a fence to stop Iranians? Heck, they can't even manage to cover 10% of the US-Mexico border despite it being right there in the US so how in the world could such a project even be completed in Iraq?
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is lending border patrol and customs officers to help, and some former officers are working here under private contracts.
"This is a lot tougher than the Mexican border," said Army Col. Mark Mueller, who is in charge of U.S. forces advising Iraq's Department of Border Enforcement and the Iraqi army in this region. "There are leftover mines and munitions everywhere."
I'm not sure which statement here provides even less confidence between Homeland Security being involved or this project being more difficult than the US-Mexico border. This team is unable to take on any task, big or small, without screwing it up completely. The American middle class is not a bottomless pit of funds for Republican experiments that are always massively expensive failures.
This explains why the Bush administration isn't worried about global warming. According to the head of Homeland Security, illegal aliens are the biggest threat to the environment:
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Monday defended the construction of a fence along the southwest border, saying it's actually better for the environment than what happens when people illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico line.
"Illegal migrants really degrade the environment. I've seen pictures of human waste, garbage, discarded bottles and other human artifact in pristine areas," Chertoff said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "And believe me, that is the worst thing you can do to the environment."
So in that fight to save the environment and bash illegal aliens in one fell swoop, Rudy was pandering at an infamous cheesesteak stand:
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani campaigned Monday at a landmark South Philadelphia cheesesteak stand that grabbed headlines when it posted signs telling customers to speak English.
In June 2006, Geno's Steaks garnered national attention for posting two small signs stating, "This is America: When ordering 'please speak English.'"
The Republicans can't find enough ways to alienate the minority vote.
How can DHS continue to have so many problems and why is there such little regard for the impact both on the organization as well as the impact on Americans who are looking towards DHS to perform its duties? The latest excuse - and that's all they ever have at DHS, excuses - is that they are far behind on hiring because of the number of new positions suddenly available. Anyone who has ever done business with the government knows that nothing "suddenly" just happens. Processes take time, a very long time, with the government so how could they not be prepared for the need to hire new professionals? How is it even possible to be surprised at the growth of an organization that you are running?
Of the 138 vacant positions, the DHS provided no explanation for 70, according to the House report. Seven others had tentative or pending appointees and 60 were under recruitment.
The department currently has 130 vacancies at senior levels, Knocke said, with 92 now in the process of recruitment.
Unfortunately after recent examples with this administration, it's highly likely that the delay is connected with finding the proper number of political hacks to dictate political policy instead of general competence in a field. This group is so cynical and has nothing but contempt for the American system.
After months of agonizing delays and withering criticism from advocacy groups and lawmakers, the Bush administration has finalized new guidelines to screen Iraqi refugees, including those seeking asylum because helping the Americans has put them at huge risk.
The 2 million-plus people — the fastest growing refugee population in the world — have left Iraq, but Washington has balked at allowing them into the United States for security reasons.
So Bush creates this disaster and then hides behind the security issue - always a winner with the pro-fear crowd - to block the refugees from coming to America. With Chertoff at the helm, it's true that expectations should be pretty low for managing this process but to accept fewer people than Sweden is simply pathetic.
