George Bush’s Homeland Security Incompetence

Are there really 1 million terrorists poised to attack America if the Department of Homeland Security lets down its guard? That’s the implication, given that 1 million people have now wound up on the government’s terrorist watch list.

The list contains some truly frightening characters. Let’s take a look at a few of them:

John Anderson of Minneapolis, who turned 7 on July 4, is among them. He wound up on the terrorist watch list last year. Repeated appeals by his mother to have him removed have fallen on deaf ears in Washington. Watch out for that box cutter under his blanky.

11 term Congressman John Lewis of Atlanta was put on the terrorist watch list 5 years ago. He is still subjected to repeated airport searches and required to present multiple forms of identification when he tries to travel.

Assistant US Attorney General Jim Robinson, who holds a government security clearance, is also on the list. Every time he tries to fly, he is harassed by TSA employees who are seemingly incapable of distinguishing between a high-ranking government official and a Muslim terrorist.

Drew Griffin, who is a CNN reporter, "coincidentally" found himself being addded to the terrorist watch list last May after he began a series of investigative reports that were critical of the TSA.

More than 2,000 Americans file to get their names removed from the list each month. Few, if any have succeeded. We all know that once government puts somethings in place, it’s almost impossible to change. So, these unfortunate people are likely doomed to spend the rest of their lives being harassed by government morons every time they try to board an airplane.

This should cause the most ardent Bush / McCain supporter to pause and reflect on whether or not this level of incompetence is making us more or less secure. Unfortunately, government incompetence has proven to be the rule, not the exception. So, regardless of who is elected in January, the situation is not likely to get better unless the government turns the business of protecting the airlines over to the airlines.