[VIDEO] DHS Secretary Tells Congress to Change the Law or Shut Up
Posted: April 18, 2017 Filed under: Law & Justice, Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: C-SPAN, Department of Homeland Security, Deportation, DHS, Ice, Illegal immigration, Law Enforcement, video 1 Comment
Restraining Donald Trump
Posted: November 15, 2016 Filed under: Diplomacy, Mediasphere, Politics, Think Tank, White House | Tags: American Dream, Bernie Sanders, Brent Scowcroft, Department of Homeland Security, Donald Trump, Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Paul Rosenzweig, Republican Party (United States) Leave a comment
Trump’s Administration and Expertise
Noah Rothman writes: “Everybody who has signed a never-Trump letter or indicated an anti-Trump attitude is not going to get a job. And that’s most of the Republican foreign policy, national security, intelligence, homeland security, and Department of Justice experience.”
“122 members of the Republican national security community put their names to an open letter…Their denunciations of Donald Trump as fundamentally ill-suited to serve as commander-in-chief of the armed forces were thorough and compelling.”
This was the assessment of Paul Rosenzweig, a former senior official in George W. Bush’s Department of Homeland Security. He speculated that President-elect Donald Trump would not lack for top-tier GOP talent to fill high-profile Cabinet slots, but that thousands of positions at lower levels of the administration within the nation’s national security apparatus would be harder to staff.
“But on Tuesday, they lost the argument.”
Without the GOP expert class, the lower ranks of the Trump administration’s will be staffed with novices and political sycophants.
“Now that the public has decided, the question is: Can Trump do without them? Doubtless, he and his people think they can.”
Trump ran explicitly on a message of resentment toward the expert class, whose members, he contended, were responsible for the increasingly dangerous international security environment. They returned the favor: Nearly 200 of Republican foreign policy and national security experts came out publicly against Trump as a candidate who could not be trusted to lead this nation’s armed forces.
[Read the full text here, at commentary]
In early March, 122 members of the Republican national security community put their names to an open letter. “We have disagreed with one another on many issues, including the Iraq war and intervention in Syria,” the letter read.
“But we are united in our opposition to a Donald Trump presidency.” Another 50 GOP international affairs experts–including John Negroponte, Robert Zoellick, Tom Ridge, and Michael Chertoff–also put their names to a missive declaring Donald Trump a “risk” to American national security. Read the rest of this entry »
BREAKING: Homeland Security Announces Travel Restrictions to Stall Ebola Outbreak
Posted: October 21, 2014 Filed under: Breaking News, Health and Social Issues, Politics | Tags: Department of Homeland Security, Ebola, Global Panic, Guinea, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Liberia, Sierre Leone, Travel Restrictions Leave a comment
Flights between the U.S. and Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea will now require additional screenings
For National Journal, Sarah Mimms reports: October 21, 2014 Travelers flying between West African nations affected by Ebola and the United States will now be subject to additional screenings and “protective measures” to help prevent the disease from spreading into the U.S., the Homeland Security Department announced Tuesday.
“We are continually evaluating whether additional restrictions or added screening and precautionary measures are necessary to protect the American people and will act accordingly.”
All passengers flying from Sierre Leone, Liberia, and Guinea into the U.S. will be required to enter the country through five major airports: Dulles International Airport in Virginia; John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York; Newark Liberty International Airport; Chicago O’Hare International Airport; and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Read the rest of this entry »
Obama’s Dirty Watchdogs
Posted: April 25, 2014 Filed under: Law & Justice, Politics, U.S. News, White House | Tags: Argentina, Department of Homeland Security, DHS, Inspector General, Michelle Malkin, Transportation Security Administration, United States Department of Homeland Security 2 Comments
Michelle Malkin writes; The Obama administration doesn’t have watchdogs. It has whitewash puppies.
The president’s Chicago bullies have defanged true advocates for integrity in government in D.C. from day one. So the latest report by the Senate Homeland Security and Government Operations Committee on corruptocrat Charles K. Edwards, the former Department of Homeland Security inspector general, isn’t a revelation. It’s confirmation.
Investigators found that Edwards compromised the independence of his office by socializing and sucking up to senior DHS officials. “There are many blessings to be thankful for this year,” the sycophantic Edwards wrote to the DHS acting counsel on Thanksgiving 2011, “but one of the best is having a friend like you.” Geez, get them a room.
Whistleblowers outlined how Edwards cozied up to multiple DHS execs and legal staffers, who directed him to alter reports on immigration enforcement, TSA screening and the Secret Service’s dalliances with prostitutes in Argentina. Edwards failed to obtain independent legal analysis of ethics issues. The IG counsel was cut out of the loop. Edwards ordered reports to be doctored or delayed. He failed to recuse himself from audits and inspections that had conflicts of interest related to his wife’s employment. Read the rest of this entry »
Homeland Security Still Feeling Insecure
Posted: February 11, 2014 Filed under: U.S. News, War Room | Tags: .308 Winchester, Ammunition, Bullet, Department of Homeland Security, DHS, Hollow-point bullet, Hornady, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Homeland Security 1 Comment
Solution: Purchasing an Additional 141,160 rounds of Hornady Sniper Ammo Helps Ease Insecure Feelings, Inspires Trust, and Promotes Domestic Tranquility
Note: it’s not just DHS that’s stockpiling and doing massive ammo purchases. The U.S. Department of Education (what?) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are stockpiling ammo. Question: Why does N.O.A.A., and the Department of Education need to stockpile tons of hollow point bullets?
The Department of Homeland Security is buying more bullets with a solicitation for over 141,00 rounds of sniper ammunition. According to a solicitation posted on FedBizOpps, the federal agency is looking to procure 141,160 rounds of Hornady .308 Winchester 168gr A-MAX TAP ammunition. Such ammunition is sometimes retailed as “Zombie Max,” a marketing gimmick alluding to its power. “What makes the .308 ammunition so deadly is the long range capability of the round,” notes James Smith. “The ability is called ballistic coefficient, or the efficiency of a projectile in overcoming air resistance as it travels to its target.
Government Long on Hollow Point Bullets, Short on Answers
Posted: November 17, 2013 Filed under: Guns and Gadgets, U.S. News | Tags: Ammunition, Department of Homeland Security, DHS, Geneva Convention, Hollow-point bullet, Louie Gohmert, Police, Rand Paul, Social Security Administration 2 Comments
Dan Reihl writes: Government responses to two recent stories involving the purchasing of hollow point bullets by government agencies are raising more questions than they’ve answered.
“NOAA officers and agents enforce the nation’s ocean and fishing laws to ensure a level playing field for fishermen and to protect marine species like whales, dolphins and turtles,” Bales-Sherrod said.
Hollow-point bullets, which are designed to expand when they strike their target, are standard issue for many law enforcement agencies, including the 63 NOAA law enforcement personnel that will use the rounds for their firearms qualifications and training, according to Bales-Sherrod.
Feds Confiscate Confidential Files from Investigative Reporter Who Probed DHS Corruption
Posted: October 25, 2013 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Mediasphere, Politics, U.S. News | Tags: Coast Guard Investigative Service, Daily Caller, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, Maryland State Police, Transportation Security Administration, Washington Times 3 Comments
The Daily Caller’s Alex Pappas reports: A veteran Washington D.C. investigative journalist says the Department of Homeland Security confiscated a stack of her confidential files during a raid of her home in August — leading her to fear that a number of her sources inside the federal government have now been exposed.
In an interview with The Daily Caller, journalist Audrey Hudson revealed that the Department of Homeland Security and Maryland State Police were involved in a predawn raid of her Shady Side, Md. home on Aug. 6. Hudson is a former Washington Times reporter and current freelance reporter.
A search warrant obtained by TheDC indicates that the August raid allowed law enforcement to search for firearms inside her home. Read the rest of this entry »
DHS Manager Ayo “Irritated Genie” Kimathi’s Punishment: Paid Vacation
Posted: August 25, 2013 Filed under: Mediasphere | Tags: Ayo Kimathi, Department of Homeland Security, Extremism, Irony, Southern Poverty Law Center Leave a comment
Hot Air’s Ed Morrisey reports:
“Paid administrative leave“? After operating a website that lists the President of the United States on an enemies list, doesn’t the Department of Homeland Security have a couple of better options?
Feds give millions in contracts to firms owned by fictitious people
Posted: August 8, 2013 Filed under: Economics, Mediasphere | Tags: Audi, Business, Department of Homeland Security, FedBid, Government procurement in the United States, Maryland, Small business, Washington Leave a comment
A Maryland woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges related to setting up at least 15 false businesses in six states that received government contracts despite often being registered to people who did not exist.
The businesses subcontracted all the work to other companies, then took the federal dollars without paying the companies doing the work.
Larayne Whitehead, 34, of Clinton, Md., agreed to forfeit $2.4 million in illegal proceeds and a silver Audi.
House votes to delay bulk ammunition purchase by DHS
Posted: June 6, 2013 Filed under: Economics, Mediasphere | Tags: Ammunition, Congress, Department of Homeland Security, Texas, United States, United States Congress, United States Department of Homeland Security, United States House of Representatives Leave a comment
The House late Wednesday voted to stop the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from entering into new contracts to buy millions of rounds of ammunition until the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reports to Congress on the need for the ammo, and its cost.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) proposed an amendment to the DHS spending bill for 2014 that would require the report to Congress before it can pursue plans to buy 1.1 billion rounds of ammunition. Meadows said the speed bump is a necessary reaction to news of the huge purchase, which alarmed many Americans and prompted conservative groups to suspect that the government was stocking up on the rounds to fight citizens.
“Given this large purchase, the American people and members of Congress rightfully had concerns and questions,” Meadows said. “This is a responsible amendment which ensures that Congress and the American people are aware of the necessity and the cost of ammunition prior to entering into new contracts for procurement.”
Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) said the amendment was unnecessary based on his talks with DHS officials. Carter said the department has since admitted that its ammunition needs are not as great as first reported, and said the department is pursuing a bulk purchase to keep the costs down…
More via The Hills Floor Action
3 Reasons to Kill the Dept. of Homeland Security
Posted: November 23, 2012 Filed under: Mediasphere, War Room | Tags: Department of Homeland Security, General Services Administration, George W. Bush, Government Accountability Office, Homeland Security, September 11 attacks, Transportation Security Administration, United States Department of Homeland Security Leave a commentIts unnecessary, ineffective, and expensive. And thats just for starters.
1. It’s unnecessary. In the months immediately following September 11 attacks in 2001, President George W. Bush initially resisted calls to create a new high-level bureaucracy that would be laid on top of current activities. He was right to recognize that coordinating existing agencies would have been smarter and better. Unfortunately, he caved in to pressure to create a massive new department.
2. It’s ineffective. To read the titles of Government Accountability Office (GAO) analyses of Homeland Security is to be reminded constantly that DHS is never quite on top of its game. Recent reports include “DHS Requires More Disciplined Investment Management to Help Meet Mission Needs,” “DHS Needs Better Project Information and Coordination Among Four Overlapping Grant Programs,” and “Agriculture Inspection Program Has Made Some Improvements, But Management Challenges Persist.”
3. It’s expensive. Last year, Homeland Security spent a whopping $60 billion, a figure that will doubtlessly increase in coming years. The construction of its new headquarters – the single-largest projectever undertaken by The General Services Administration – will cost at least $4 billion and is already years behind on schedule since breaking ground in 2009.
Since it’s the holiday season, here’s a bonus reason to get rid of the Department of Homeland Security: It also runs the Transportation Security Administration, whose nasty reputation for manhandling innocent travelers is only slightly more annoying than its massive and undeserved growth in personnel and cost over the past decade.
via Reason.com
