[Biblebelter]

And the Department of Homeland Security gave them a $21 million contract to drive their top officials around Washington."

I question why stupid useless bureaucrats cannot drive themselves around Washington. After all a stupid drunken useless congressman by the name of Patrick Kennedy is left to driving himself around Washington. What id good enough for wealthy drunken elected officeholders should be good enough for nameless faceless useless bureaucrats who still do not have a clue who planted anthrax in the congressional mails. Some department of homeland security!

[robowombat]

And the Department of Homeland Security gave them a $21 million contract to drive their top officials around Washington."

One very dislikable aspect of post 9-11 in DC is the proliferation of 'executive security details' for a host of mid level bureaucrats. These people (such as our former viceroy in Iraq, Mr. Bremer) are chauffeured about in armored Lincoln Town Cars (Boston Coach model) with convoys of black SUVs with tinted windows. They sail along at high speed shouldering other vehicles aside and blast through red lights with security horn blaring.It is like a combination of a banana republic and a Mafia convention. In the past figures such as the Secretary of State made do with one limo and could be seen traveling to his office like any other upper level executive. Now sub secretaries and their assistants speed about DC in their security convoys looking like a modern version of Stalins nomenclatura hurrying from dacha to the Kremlin.