That’s what the Department of Homeland Security says in its report justifying why it was cutting anti-terror funds to NYC by 40 percent–from $207.5 million in 2005 to $124.4 million in 2006. NY Mayor Bloomberg has to state the obvious for the obvious-impaired people at the DHS: "All I can tell you is if you look at their worksheets, and … Read More
What WMD Would Jesus Use?
Apparently, some sort of biochemical weapon. It looks like some Christian fundamentalists are using homemade weapons of mass destruction to terrorize porn stores. But don’t take my word for it: WALDO, FL — Evidence teams plan to put on protective gear and seal the room as they search for any clues left behind on a contraption that investigators are calling … Read More
Are We Safe?
Apparently not. (1) Natural disaster drill canceled because of red-tape confusion: A mock evacuation that was supposed to be part of a two-day statewide hurricane preparedness drill was canceled after a misunderstanding about who had jurisdiction over a Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer park. Imagine what would have happened if it was not a drill. (2) New Jersey toxic chemical … Read More
How To Pay For Border Guards
Buried deep in this Washington Post article (in fact, the last paragraph) is this tidbit of news: The White House said the new budget request by Bush would cover the $750 million-plus Guard deployment, new agents, fences and barriers, five helicopters and two new unmanned surveillance aircraft. The money would be offset by delaying other military purchases, according to the … Read More
The Leak That Could Have Prevented 9/11
The Bush Administration likes to say that national security leaks to the press endanger American security. This pretty much kills that meme: Ex-New York Times Judith Miller (of Plamegate fame) reveals in an interview that, back in July 2001, an anonymous White House source leaked top-secret NSA intelligence to her that Al Qaida was planning a major attack on the … Read More
The Biggest “Big Brother” Award Goes To…
Mayor Chris Napoli of Dillingham, Alaska. The mayor received a $202,000 grant from the Department of Homeland Security, and used the money to install 70 public security cameras in and around the town of Dillingham, Alaska — population 2,400. That comes out to one camera for every 34 people. Because al Qaeda has its eyes set on Dillingham, Alaska. Or … Read More
Connecting The Dots
Earlier today, Bush responded to a question about whether Americans should feel that their privacy has been invaded by a government effort to collect data on tens of millions of phone calls. Bush responded: "We got accused of not connecting the dots prior to Sept. 11. "We’re (now) going to connect the dots." I hate to state the obvious, but … Read More
Suicidal Troops Sent Into Combat
Not theirs. Ours. Kudos to the Hartford Courant for uncovering this: The Army’s top mental health expert, Col. Elspeth Ritchie, acknowledged that some deployment practices, such as sending service members diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome back into combat, have been driven in part by a troop shortage. "The challenge for us …is that the Army has a mission to fight. … Read More
National Security
This doesn’t make me think that the Bush Administration is up to the job of ensuring national security: How much do you think Osama bin Laden would pay to know exactly when and where the President was traveling, and who was with him? Turns out, he wouldn’t have had to pay a dime. All he had to do was go … Read More
Will Hookergate Swallow The New CIA Chief?
Time will tell if Hookergate was the reason Goss resigned as head of the CIA, but his General Hayden, Goss’s replacement, has links (albeit tenuous in my opinion) to the same scandal. TPM Muckraker got the exclusive scoop.
Republican Priorities
Josh Marshall notes that Sen. Elizabeth Dole has remarkable candor when it comes to expressing Republicans’ priorities lie this year : It all started earlier this evening when TPM Reader HH was on the receiving end of one of Dole’s blast emails begging contributions for the Republican senate committee. Says Dole, in her pitch: "If Democrats take control of the … Read More
National Security v. Politics
The story will be big tomorrow, but you read about it here first. ABC News Nightline tonight will talk with Clark Kent Ervin, the former Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security. Ervin will talk about how, just before the Presidential elections in 2004, he was confronted by Tom Ridge and intimidated into toning down his criticisms of the … Read More
Deal Or No Deal?
An Italian porn star offers her body to bin Laden in return for ending his tyranny.
Well, Well, Well
It’s interesting to see who the Pentagon sees as the true enemy: A high-ranking Pentagon official has been snooping around Hillary and Bill Clinton’s personal financial records, The Post has learned. The Defense Department big shot recently scoured Sen. Clinton personal financial filings – which are required by Senate rules and publicly available. The records contain information about her investments … Read More
SCOTUS Report: Rumsfeld v. Hamdan
To hear Lyle Denniston tell it, the government had a rough day in front of the Supreme Court justices today, and the "existing ‘military commission’ scheme may well fail". Good. And no, Scalia didn’t recuse himself, although he opined on the subject matter earlier this month. Denniston’s analysis: With Justice Antonin Scalia taking part — and, in fact, providing the … Read More