Homeland Insecurity

Anyone old enough to remember the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks is old enough to remember the security crackdown that ensued not even two months later embodied in the USA Patriot Act.

When sudden, unforeseen, and tragic events like these take place, our cores are shaken, our world views are challenged, and our collective consciousness tends to be (for better or worse) altered in ways that we probably never imagined.

The question posed long ago and that still reverberates to this day pertains to whether or not this legislation is onerous and overbearing.

I am inclined to answer "yes."
What could we possibly do about it?

Here are a few sensible ideas for reform that might pique your interest.

1) Immediately move to seal the porous US/Mexico to prevent unauthorized access to the interior of the country. Also, take firm steps toward cleaning up the mess that is now scattered about the Alaskan tundra. These steps would actually provide the type of "shovel-ready jobs" that President Barack Obama once joked about.


Drones are simply not sufficient for these purposes.

2) Move to secure our border crossings and airport terminals with high-tech, molecule-scanning laser technology. Used only at the perimeter and sensitive areas such as airport terminals, illegal drugs and explosives could be interdicted before they ever have a chance to cause mass disruption.

3) Reform the way that the NSA obtains warrants for access to metadata.
Store data off of government premises (with our communications companies) and cease the sweeping, mass collections process that the Federal Government currently utilizes.

Trusted appointees (not lifetime political machine lackeys) should oversee the FISA court system.

"If you see something, say something" is a common maxim used pertaining to what might be perceived as suspicious activity in your local community. You should do this, and allow the formalized (separated, not nationalized) relations between local and federal law enforcement to operate in the most efficient, safe, and secure ways possible.

These notions entertained, I'd like to talk about a few other ideas concerning the themes of waste, fraud and abuse.

The first would be to flat-out eliminate the CIA.

The second?
Eliminate the civilian national security force that operates out of the DHS.
What happened to our national guard forces, and why aren't they good enough?

Why shouldn't we consider these possible excesses and ways to address them?