I've always said that if you give a monkey a typewriter, eventually it will type something coherent. This is also true of republicans. Just not as often as with monkeys.
After watching details emerge from the latest attempted terrorist attack, it got me to thinking how many freaking security agencies do we have?
We have the FBI. CIA. NSA. TSA. Army and Navy Intelligence. I could go on and on. But the question is how many of these agencies with their own bureaucracies do we need. I don't question that we need all the people gathering and interpreting intelligence. Just how many masters do they need.
I've observed politics and politicians for years. An easy reply to any and all problems they encounter is to create a committee or a commission. After the 911 Attacks, Bush created the Department of Homeland Security. This of course led to turf battles and confusion among subordinates as to who was in charge. Who's job was what. Who gets the credit or blame. The blame came in handy for several clowns because they had yet another department to blame failures on.
In this latest incident, agencies are saying they didn't know about the terrorist who tried to blow up the plane because nobody told them. President Obama said that was "unacceptable." One of the most overused words in the political spectrum. It covers much but it really is nothing more than a good word to cover one's ass when shit is hitting the fan and no reasonable excuse or explanation can be thought of.
I don't know what to do about the penchant for creating a new agency or department to handle issues that existing departments and agencies should already be handling. Perhaps we should appoint a commission to study this.
44 comments:
Two things sue to obfuscate finding truth. One, to put blame on one person within a bureaucracy for a mistake. Two, to appoint a legislative committee to investigate government bureaucracy.
I'm all for those body imaging devices now. Damn privacy!!
I think we need a new cabinet level, or maybe above-cabinet level, department to coordinate the blame and finger pointing, whoops, I mean, activities of the other security departments/agencies.
Every [alphabet soup] has one common ingredient. EGO. But they are no where to be found when one of them gets EGG on his wet noodle.
Truth,
You have cut to the heart of the problem. It would seem that the government should speak with one voice, but no one branch of government speaks exclusively for the government (people?).
True democracy allows everyone a voice, while republicanism sends representatives to speak for everyone. It's that darn constitution thing.
It would make common sense to think that the more layers of government that are installed the more cumbersome it becomes to get anything done. In the infinite wisdom of government varmints, the expansion of government means the expansion of their power.
Cut out the layers and increase efficiency. But really, with government varmints it's really not about getting anything done is it?
Good day sir.
Apparently the CIA knew about the guy months ago, but nobody told Homeland Security? The terrorists must be kicking themselves, for years they thought their every move was monitored, moving to one location after another, having plastic surgery and even smoking, drinking and cavorting with loose women, so as to fool the eagle-eyed intelligence agencies that were hot on their tail. Holy shite, they could have stuffed their panties with TNT and boarded any flight, to any city, to any state, any time.
Truth,
There's truth in your humor,as I know you meant. I guess bureaucrats view more bureaucracy as a natural part of government service and see new committees as a way of covering their asses.
Here is the Clinton 92 run solution
" It's the Jihadis stupid "
The real solution is take the battle to them . Make them fear a hellfire up their tail pipe when they sleep . Recall Mo-mar after we bombed his ass .
Jihadis want to kill us , Jihadis respect strength and not long ago they feared us . Make them fear every damn day .
Keep Gitmo open also , there is a true Jihadi fear of Gitmo .
A guy that sticks a bomb in his shorts is afraid of Gitmo?
Your overly simple assessment is yet another example of deluded right wing thinking.
That's a chimpanzee, not a monkey. Of course teabaggers would be somewhere below both, on the evolutionary scale.
If we want to have successful airport security, we should study how the Israelis do it. They've gone without a fatal aircraft incident since, I think, 1972 despite being the number-one target of the jihadists. They must be doing something right.
Tookie does actually have a point. Suicide bombers obviously don't fear personal death, but they may be deterred by the threat of massive damage to their home countries or, in the case of religious fanatics, sacred sites.
Note that the point is deterrence. This is the same strategy that the US and USSR used on each other during the Cold War. Each superpower was deterred from escalating the conflict beyond a certain point by the fear of being destroyed by nuclear retaliation if it pushed the other side too far. Certainly the USSR would never have attacked New York City in the manner of 9/11, because it knew that that was exactly the kind of move that might provoke massive retaliation.
We have become a corrupted, militaristic nation. We respond militarily to far too many world crises. This delights the military/industrial complex, which feeds on and profits from perpetual military strife. It is time for a major, MAJOR overhaul! We are piss-poor world policemen, and privatization in the military has not saved money nor has it achieved military goals or peace. "Nuff said!
Yep, and now some on the right and Joe LIEberman want to pre-emptively invade Yemen because this Christmas bomber was trained there. Yeah, that's smart. Let's start yet another war. The first two apparently aren't destroying our country and treasury enough.
I know it's tough, but try to understand that what the Democrats in D.C. do, doesn't mean everybody left of you guys somehow supports them and what they do.
Here are some facts for you.
The right (Conservatives), overwhelmingly supported the Patriot act.
The left (Liberals), overwhelmingly did not support the Patriot act. And that's why we are in the trouble we are in today.
Got that?
Of course, you guys will keep blindly supporting Obama and vote for his re-election in 2012.
Truth,
This is an interesting thread. I wish I could say that sanctions work, but as with Iraq we know differently. States that wish to harm the US will always trade in violation of any sanctions.
Iran will get uranium from someone, I think Kyrgyzstan is in the process of dealing with Iran now. How do we contain these states that sponsor terrorism?
BTW, the president has already authorized strikes in Yemen, so we're already there. This is one thing that I think Obama is right in doing. Reality is tough.
Good day sir.
I don't have a problem with blowing up terrorists. That's always a good thing. It worked well with Kadhaffi and Libya.
AlQueda isn't a country. Al Quedians don't care about the country. They can find another place to hide. If anything, these assholes rejoice when we bomb something so they can make up bullshit to use as propaganda and recruitment.
Blowing up sacred sites would kill innocents. Blowing up a country does the same thing.
I wish there were another way than blowing them up a few at a time so innocent victims aren't a cause for others to rally to the terrorist cause.
Truth,
Hence there is the problem. Bush took a lot of crap about his conduct of foreign policy, but it seems that the current president is confronting a lot of reality here and is having some problem with his response.
In his favor, he's whacked a lot of them, much to the chagrin of some of his most ardent supporters. Could it possibly be that some of them live in an unrealistic subspace occupied by 60s rarified air? Damn that Bush.
Good day sir.
I've yet to meet anyone that favors coddling terrorists. The only good one's a dead one.
Here's where we starting to misunderstand each other.
I don't want to be lied to by the military or the government. We were given a new reason for invading Iraq every day or so by the government. The military at first lied about the circumstances regarding Pat Tillman's death. Every general put in charge comes with glowing testamonials about his greatness and brilliance. Yet we're no better off now than when our Troops won the actual war in Iraq after about ten days.
They lied about torture. They lie about readiness of Afghan and Iraqi forces.
The shoe bomber, Richard Reid was tried in Federal Court, which Bush supported. It took him six days to say anything about it. Cheney goes on TV today bitching about Obama's slow (Two days!) response to the "dick bomber." Then bitches because the dick bomber is going to be tried in Federal Court. This is dishonest and I'm tired of being lied to.
I don't mind using predator drones to bomb specific sites in Yemen but I don't think invading another Islamic country is a good idea.
Even from simply an economic view. The Romans over extended themselves in several wars at the same time. It drained their treasury chests and was in part why they fell apart.
We can't just be fighting dozens of wars at once. I am a Liberal and Obama is disappointing me but the Republicans aren't any better.
Both sides are defunct and our Congressional system is broken and defunct. We must branch out into several parties with a coalition style government. As well as end money in politics or we all become surfs to the corporations and special interests.
I want my government back and these clowns in both parties are destroying everything our founders built. A pox on both their houses.
Truth,
None of these bombers deserve the rights afforded Americans. Although Reid tried his attack directly after 9-ll and the government wasn't ready for the circus it would become.
All the administration had to do was ask a cop and we could have told them a criminal court is a circus in and of itself let alone in these circumstances.
My criticism is that is seems that the president, smart guy that he is, apparently failed to learn from what has gone before. I think there is a tenet in law called stare decisis. What has already been settled is settled.
As a lawyer you would think Obama would look and say, geez these trials are propaganda festivals for these terrorists. I don't think I want to go down that path again. Bush figured it out over time and in fairness he was breaking new wind.
Obama seems to want to have it both ways. Be tough, but make sure the ACLU is happy with it. Can't be done.
Good day sir.
I can understand your position if the trials were to be on Court TV. That would be silly of course.
I do have faith in our justice system LaOT. The military tribunals the right called for were their version of show trials. This goes back to my being tired of being lied to. The right didn't want trials or tribunals. They just wanted to convict and hang whomever they thought was a terrorist. They could spare us the propaganda and just admit it.
"I've always said that if you give a monkey a typewriter, eventually it will type something coherent. This is also true of republicans. Just not as often as with monkeys."
And this can only be said of republicans? Where is the non partisan open mind and hand the liberal left claims to extend?
This is precisely why I can not. and will not, subscribe to either the Republican Party ideology or the Democratic ideology. That way at least I can sleep at night. :-)
Truth,
I'm glad you have faith in our criminal justice system. In a perfect world that would be perfect. In the real world most trials are a joke.
They range from show trials that the defendant wants because he knows he's guilty and has nothing to lose, to slam dunks that prosecutors lose on an alarming scale.
I remember when I was the union president the county prosecutor came to me for an endorsement.
He wanted me to give him a forum that said he had a 98% conviction rate. I asked him how did he account for the fact he lost 2% of his cases since he only took slam dunks to trial and managed to lose some of them. He left a little disgruntled with me.
I guessed I wouldn't get that cushy job being an investigator for the prosecutor when I retired. Attorneys. God help us.
Good day sir.
soy: The right (Conservatives), overwhelmingly supported the Patriot act. The left (Liberals), overwhelmingly did not support the Patriot act.
That is totally, 100%, false. The bill passed with wide support and a big margin. Democrats and Republicans BOTH supported it.
And you further said that because the liberals did not support it, "that's why we are in the trouble we are in today."
Well, we've already established that most "liberals" did in fact support it. There's a reason I keep repeating this, folks.
Anyway, since the bill did pass, pray tell me how it can be the "liberals'" fault that "we are in the trouble we are in today."
BTW: Are any of these you?
http://cbullitt.wordpress.com/
http://greensoylent.blogspot.com/
http://www.soylentgreeniskevin.com/
Everyone else:
"A committee can make a decision that is dumber than any of its members." David Coblitz
Law (I'm not being disrespectful as you know):
"They range from show trials that the defendant wants because he knows he's guilty and has nothing to lose, to slam dunks that prosecutors lose on an alarming scale."
There are some interesting exceptions - but I think I'll save it for my blog, and then we can have a nice discussion. ; )
"I guessed I wouldn't get that cushy job being an investigator for the prosecutor when I retired."
Too bad. A little honesty would be a good thing.
Blowing up sacred sites would kill innocents. Blowing up a country does the same thing.
Blowing up the Soviet Union would have killed innocents. The threat of blowing up the Soviet Union prevented a third world war which would have killed millions.
Deterrence works.
Beyond that, the war effort against Japan and Germany in World War II killed innocents, millions of them. It was nevertheless the right thing to do. There was no other way.
To simplify it Infidel, if a guy from Saudi Arabia is a terrorist, blow up Saudi Arabia.
I'm a tough on crime Lib friend. I don't know if I'm that tough.
I just wanted to stop by and check out your site Guy .... thanx for your visit as well. And special thanx for posting my grandfather's picture here with his new typewriter ... wondered what happened to that ole boy's picture!
And to wish you a Happy new Year's Eve Sir!!
I finally found you... hi Truth! I liked this observation. You show great optimism calling it 'intelligence'...but it's still intelligence that should be fighting this now unspoken war on terror. Politically disorganized, oversight leadership of our security that eventually becomes a scapegoat system of one politico vs another... it's brought me to an understanding that incompetence resides even in this White House... as no change of issue address has been installed. Napolenatano (sp) is not 'caught up' nor close to being on top of security for the country... granted she has MUCH to oversee and deal with ... there should be some competence here! Your irony and humor spotlights the lack of resolution ... really well! Happy New Year dude.
Thanks for stopping by Gwendolyn and Ranch Chimp. Happy new year to you and everyone else that make blogging fun and a good learning experience.
Nappy Yew Hear!
Happy New Year to you and yours!!
Truth,
I enjoy arguing with you. I look forward to more in 2010. Happy New Year.
Happy new year to you and your readers.
Tried to stop by earlier. It was like waiting in line to buy a ticket For Gone with the Wind - three lines going around the block to get some Truth.
And all I wanted to do was wish you and yours ande evryong here a wonderfully safe, healthy and Happy New Year.
Truth -- I hope this new year is prosperous and kind to you. I hope (and will have to do some praying) that our country's future will be just as prosperous and kind. I hope we, the citizens, regain our country from the government.
Well I can hope can't I ?
Keep up the good work. sharky
I remember thinking at the time that DHS would just add another layer of bureaucracy.
Happy New Year to you and all here.
Truth,
Why would someone 'GIVE' a Republican a typewriter? Let them buy it, work for it, or just steal it...but lets not just give them anything! :)
LAOT....you really don't like our legal system do you? I know you believe, because of your background that criminals get coddled and get too many breaks...but imagine how all the folks who served time after being convicted, or railroaded....only to be set free because of DNA? Imagine how they feel!
You know Sharky' that would be refreshing to lose an election then have the winner actually do what he says he would.
Republicans, the party of fiscal conservatism? had Congress and the White House for six years and went nuts growing government and running up the national debt. The Democrats, the party of the people? get Congress and the White House and we're seeing corporate interests rule. Money rules I guess. I wonder if it really matters who we vote for sometimes.
TAO: they would get whatever they want by blackmailing or bribing legislators into giving them whatever they want anyway. In the name of efficiency I was trying to save a few steps. Like I said, rich republicans never buy their own dinner.
Criminals getting breaks? Yeah. That sucks. When the right demands to pay enough in taxes to keep scum in jail instead of having to release early due to budget constraints, I'll be glad to listen to their other thoughts on crime.
You raise a good point about the number of federal agencies. The idea behind the Department of Homeland Security was to put all of them under one umbrella so they would all work together with some coordination, but of course that didn't happen.
I don't know how to resolve this either, but I do somehow think that they will appoint a commission.
Infidel753 - deterrence only works if the other side plays by your rules. The Soviet communists were evil, but they also wanted to live. The Iranian Khomeinists believe that if you die performing jihad you go straight to paradise. They may be willing to commit national suicide. Consider this.
Thanks Tom. I was trying to find the right words to answer Infidel. You found them.
Today is my lucky day :)
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