The Blotter: Report: Security Issues Plague DHS Facilities

I thought bloated government agencies were staffed by individuals who were absolute experts and infallible in their actions.

Oh wait, we needed this and new unions for the people we were already wrongfully blaming for falling down on the job after 9/11. This, even though they had done nothing wrong by their current standards at the time. Still, putting them on the payroll as government employees and putting them in government unions where it would be almost impossible to fire them, even those that spoke little English and in some instances were actually later discovered to be illegal aliens, all made them perfect employees and suddenly much better qualified than they had ever been before that?

You put a sign up on your home that says "No Guns Allowed" or "Gun Free Zone" and I will put up a sign on my house "Never mind the dog, beware of the owner!" or "I dial .357" with a picture of a handgun behind it and see who's home gets broken into.

I especially liked these little tidbits from the story:

"A presidentially-mandated deadline of July 2004 came and went without a comprehensive plan from DHS on how it would protect its own buildings, according to the report released yesterday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO)."

Mind you, this article was published THREE YEARS after the deadline but just a minor detail. No mention of whether or not this has been rectified in the three years following the deadline but if it is a story, I would imagine not.

"The agency told GAO auditors that it considers its efforts successful 'because it has no known breach in its headquarters and Transportation Security Operations Center.' It conceded it is difficult to demonstrate how many unauthorized attempts it has deterred "because it is typically not possible to know when such unauthorized attempts occur.'"

It considers its security to be successful since it DOES NOT KNOW about any breaches? I did not KNOW my windmill had been stolen from my property (Yeah it really is true) until I was able to get back out to my property and discovered that something was missing. That did not in any way prove that nothing had happened until I found out about it, only that I did NOT KNOW anything had happened. This is not very comforting and does not help me or anyone else to feel secure!

"Given the start-up of the department and the unique and demanding nature of its mission, it is no surprise that there have been challenges in facility management," said department spokesman William R. Knocke. "Come back a year from now and you’ll get even more recognition by the GAO and others that we’re moving quickly and intelligently in the right direction."

Um, a government agency moving quickly and intelligently? Pardon me while I go laugh. Okay, I realize that it only took three years for this report to come out so since that gives them two years past the time they said we would see them "giving more recognition."? Aside from the questionable legality of the current federal government as a whole, do I really care who they want to "recognize" for something being done or should I be able to find out that I actually am safer?

Here's an idea, start by securing the damn border like the federal government is supposed to and then work your way in deporting all the illegal aliens as you move inwards. One centralized (and redundant for protection) computerized database for any and all individuals who enter and exit the country and quick deportation when someone is found to have violated those laws. Did you know, it is actually possible for an illegal alien to avoid deportation proceedings in most cases simply by opening a bank account and getting a social security number? And yeah, the Social Security Administration (Another federal arm with questionable motives and legality) will actually give them social security numbers!

Quickly and Intelligently? Where?