Saturday, December 11, 2004
trust us, we're from the gummit
When I first read Bernard Kerik's background, he sounded like he would probably be an excellent choice for Director of Homeland Security; tough street kid, son of a whore, rose out of it into some pretty amazing accomplishments, and sounds like he might eat nails with his morning Wheaties.
For some reason, I figured he wouldn't make the cut. 20 years ago I had to acquire an advanced security clearance and the raft of information required took me 2 months to compile, a lot of it extremely personal and a lot just very difficult to dig up. My 35 years on the planet at the time had been quite varied but didn't include too much jail time, no felony convictions, and I hadn't slept with a lot of other people's wives but it still took 13 months for the FBI and the head-shrinkers to decide to clear me.
After reading his decision to withdraw, it dawned on me that for GWB to find successful appointments, he needs to start looking for pre-pubescent virgin women-of-color that were raised in a remote ice cave by atheist lesbian nuns who disagree with all of his policies as a matter of course. If we really need a Department of Homeland Security (a job that should belong to the FBI), someone like Kerik seems ideal even if he had employed an "undocumented worker" (read: illegal alien). Hell, 4,000 a day pour over the Arizona border alone and they gotta eat as well! Homeland security my ass.
I've pretty-much the same feelings about the need for a new Director of National Intelligence. Without going back and looking, there are somewhere around 16 or so intelligence agencies serving functions as diverse as the DEA to strategic defence, battlefield ops to the SEC (poor Martha! ;o) with a lot of them having very different requirements. Obviously it sounds like a good idea for them to share information in the interest of overall national security and from past perusals, some seem duplicated to their mutual detriment (which is, unfortunately, the way bureaucracies grow best) and none will willingly cede their "power". Adding more layers of bureaucracy always seems to be the way our government sees fit to "improve" life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Knee-jerking another department into existence on the recommendation of that joke of a September 11 Commission strikes me as not well considered. Did you read their report? I didn't have the urge to read the whole 585 pages and just satisfied myself with the 35 page Executive Summary after listening to the hearings on the radio. With total partisan asshats like Richard Ben-Veniste, Max Cleland (sorry Max but that's what you've become), and God help us, Janet Reno's hod carrier, Jamie Gorelick, on the commission, the entire proceedings were a farce. I especially enjoyed listening to folk like former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright waffle wonderfully when asked pointed questions (to be equally wonderfully defended by Ben-Veniste) and the as-it-turned-out total crap out of the face of former National Security Advisor Sandy (it's in my pants or I lost it or something) Berger. "Tune it tomorrow, same time, same station for more of the Richard Ben-Veniste Blame Bush Show..." sheesh.
I thought it was particularly ironic that Jamie Gorelick, author of the infamous "walled off" document could even be considered for the commission. Like Berger, Gorelick was just protecting Clinton, her purpose was to distance him from the BCCI scandal and to a large degree from what appears to be the absolute treason of trading major American weapon technology to the Chinese in exchange for campaign funding.
...got a suggestion for Director of Homeland Security. Oliver North.
For some reason, I figured he wouldn't make the cut. 20 years ago I had to acquire an advanced security clearance and the raft of information required took me 2 months to compile, a lot of it extremely personal and a lot just very difficult to dig up. My 35 years on the planet at the time had been quite varied but didn't include too much jail time, no felony convictions, and I hadn't slept with a lot of other people's wives but it still took 13 months for the FBI and the head-shrinkers to decide to clear me.
After reading his decision to withdraw, it dawned on me that for GWB to find successful appointments, he needs to start looking for pre-pubescent virgin women-of-color that were raised in a remote ice cave by atheist lesbian nuns who disagree with all of his policies as a matter of course. If we really need a Department of Homeland Security (a job that should belong to the FBI), someone like Kerik seems ideal even if he had employed an "undocumented worker" (read: illegal alien). Hell, 4,000 a day pour over the Arizona border alone and they gotta eat as well! Homeland security my ass.
I've pretty-much the same feelings about the need for a new Director of National Intelligence. Without going back and looking, there are somewhere around 16 or so intelligence agencies serving functions as diverse as the DEA to strategic defence, battlefield ops to the SEC (poor Martha! ;o) with a lot of them having very different requirements. Obviously it sounds like a good idea for them to share information in the interest of overall national security and from past perusals, some seem duplicated to their mutual detriment (which is, unfortunately, the way bureaucracies grow best) and none will willingly cede their "power". Adding more layers of bureaucracy always seems to be the way our government sees fit to "improve" life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Knee-jerking another department into existence on the recommendation of that joke of a September 11 Commission strikes me as not well considered. Did you read their report? I didn't have the urge to read the whole 585 pages and just satisfied myself with the 35 page Executive Summary after listening to the hearings on the radio. With total partisan asshats like Richard Ben-Veniste, Max Cleland (sorry Max but that's what you've become), and God help us, Janet Reno's hod carrier, Jamie Gorelick, on the commission, the entire proceedings were a farce. I especially enjoyed listening to folk like former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright waffle wonderfully when asked pointed questions (to be equally wonderfully defended by Ben-Veniste) and the as-it-turned-out total crap out of the face of former National Security Advisor Sandy (it's in my pants or I lost it or something) Berger. "Tune it tomorrow, same time, same station for more of the Richard Ben-Veniste Blame Bush Show..." sheesh.
I thought it was particularly ironic that Jamie Gorelick, author of the infamous "walled off" document could even be considered for the commission. Like Berger, Gorelick was just protecting Clinton, her purpose was to distance him from the BCCI scandal and to a large degree from what appears to be the absolute treason of trading major American weapon technology to the Chinese in exchange for campaign funding.
...got a suggestion for Director of Homeland Security. Oliver North.
