Month: May 2007

I know that my blog has been leaning on the political side the last few days, but it’s getting downright scary out there.

On May 8, George Bush issued a National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive (NSPD 51/HSPD-20) giving the president what can only be described as dictatorial power over all levels of government in a “any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions.”

A quick read through the document shows that in such an event, the executive branch would have direct power over all branches of the federal government, as well as state, local, and tribal government, the name of mantaining an “enduring constitutional government.” (Totalitarianism, anyone?)

Such a loose definition gives ultimate authority to the President under even the weakest of justifications – surely a terrorist attack like 9/11, but also under a minor emergency in another country, even if it only affects us economically. And regardless of what triggers such power, is dictatorial authority really what we want right after a true catastrophe? A malicious leader could orchestrate a disaster, and gain control of the government after it is carried out.

Like I said, my apologies for the recent political slant. I’m not even that into politics right now, but the news I’m reading is just really creepy.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll post some links to some tinfoil hats up for sale.

Time for another reality check!

The Department of Homeland Security, founded just after 9/11, has the following stated mission:

“We will lead the unified national effort to secure America. We will prevent and deter terrorist attacks and protect against and respond to threats and hazards to the nation. We will ensure safe and secure borders, welcome lawful immigrants and visitors, and promote the free-flow of commerce.”
Source: Department of Homeland Security

The DHS does its best to make sure that its public image is closely associated with combating terrorism. This would make sense, given that the executive branch gives this agency the authority to encroach upon many lower levels of government, interfering  and overriding operations of local police, politicians, and other public servants. This department is in charge of many actions authorized by the PATRIOT Acts, which ignore the Bill of Rights and violate citizens’ civil liberties as long as the administration deems them “enemy combatants.” Given no threat whatsoever, no American would submit to such intrusions. But given counterterrorism as an excuse, some are willing to sacrifice such liberties since they believe they have nothing to hide.

But alas, the DHS is not spending a smidge of time on counterterrorism, beyond the PR rallying cries and color-coded terrorism threat levels that garner continuing support through fear. (I won’t even starton that tragic irony.) TRAC, a non-partisan, independent organization that gathers information on federal spending, staffing, and engorcement, has released a report on the Department of Homeland Security’s actions. The report focuses on immigration courts, which should be a large part of international counterterrorism efforts. But of the 814,073 charges made in the last three years, only twelve were for terrorism. That’s 0.0015% – not even two thousandths of one percent. In other numbers, that is 1.5 people for every 100,000 charged by the DHS.

Now I realize that the DHS is responsible for many duties formerly carried out by the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service, so immigration courts will have to deal with smaller issues. But an organization founded on preventing terrorism is undeniably:

1. Not doing its job
2. Hiding their true actions from Americans.

I dare say that that thousandth of a percent is all that it takes to get a country to blindly give up their rights and accept a police state.