http://www.hlswatch.com/2006/08/24/heading-on-vacation/ News and analysis of critical issues in homeland security today. Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:17:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 http://www.hlswatch.com/2006/08/24/heading-on-vacation/#comment-13455 William R. Cumming Fri, 25 Aug 2006 07:01:33 +0000 http://www.hlswatch.com/2006/08/24/heading-on-vacation/#comment-13455 Have a great vacation, you deserve it. The blog is now an essential part of homeland security. Still amazed at how much ground you cover. I suspect that this fall will again be filled with events and stories that remind us of what has NOT been accomplished in the last five years. For example, FBI reform has failed. $15B in IT spending wasted in DHS. DoD spending more than the civil agencies on homeland defense (as opposed to security). No real technological breakthroughs on detection equipement and devices. A shattered and not yet reconstituted FEMA and response mechanism. No commonly understood response system. No real oversight by Congress. And lazy and ineffective leadership in the Executive Branch and mostly silence from the loyal opposition. In reality, it looks like Americans really need to finally be told that we are being outthought and outfought by our opposition. But perhaps like POGO we saw the enemy and it is us. After all a declining educational system, political system and economic system probably add up to decline of one of the "briefest" great powers in history. Shouting on the beach will not hold back the waves of history. At least the coffee house syndrome, look at Starbucks, and the fact that Americans are not really into work or learning, languages etc. mean that when the coffee house set is forced to wait on the NEW flat earth customers they won't complain. Nice job though Christian. You held your finger in the dike as long as you could. Have a great vacation, you deserve it. The blog is now an essential part of homeland security. Still amazed at how much ground you cover. I suspect that this fall will again be filled with events and stories that remind us of what has NOT been accomplished in the last five years. For example, FBI reform has failed. $15B in IT spending wasted in DHS. DoD spending more than the civil agencies on homeland defense (as opposed to security). No real technological breakthroughs on detection equipement and devices. A shattered and not yet reconstituted FEMA and response mechanism. No commonly understood response system. No real oversight by Congress. And lazy and ineffective leadership in the Executive Branch and mostly silence from the loyal opposition. In reality, it looks like Americans really need to finally be told that we are being outthought and outfought by our opposition. But perhaps like POGO we saw the enemy and it is us. After all a declining educational system, political system and economic system probably add up to decline of one of the “briefest” great powers in history. Shouting on the beach will not hold back the waves of history. At least the coffee house syndrome, look at Starbucks, and the fact that Americans are not really into work or learning, languages etc. mean that when the coffee house set is forced to wait on the NEW flat earth customers they won’t complain.
Nice job though Christian. You held your finger in the dike as long as you could.

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