Yeah, I agree with you Toad. The particulars of this incident are irrelevent - it's the overlapping federal, state and local jurisdictions/empires full of layers upon layers of bureaucrat bosses, program managers, captains and executive assistants that frustrate the heck out of me. And it isn't America, it's the world.
We're all easy pickins' to any terrorist with half a brain.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary action and ideas. The Patriot Act and other attempts to legislate away terrorism and all guns by writ are ineffective. Politicians are the worst people to be involved in combating terrorism.
The only group worst than the politicians are the media, who have selfishly promoted an ether of fear and sensationalism that benefits the terrorist leaders while turning it into Terrori$m Inc.
The Department of Homeland Security is a massive waste of money and people and another overlap of empire and budget builders. The US has all the resources it needs to make the country safer and fight terrorist cells at the same time.
The federal grand jury system and the FBI together could be a more formidable domestic pair. Judicial oversight of covert domestic actions.
Instead of marginalizing the CIA, repair and invest in it for foreign intervention and cooperation.
I'm a believer that more covert operations with less information available to the media on anti-terrorism activities will benefit us all more. Freedom of the press doesn't mean anyone is required to talk to them. I think the public has as much of a right to be protected from the excesses of the press, as the press has to be protected from excesses or infringement upon it.
But, there will always be some small, whacko group or single nutcase who can do alot of damage. We can never be perfectly protected.
