[leadpenny]

F up and move up.

[SE Mom]

~snip~

Converting what would have been a short-term logjam into a yearlong nightmare were several factors: 1) Harty staffed at the low end of what would be necessary to process her tragically low projection of 16.2 million applications, 2) she had no contingency plans, and 3) she inexplicably refused to react when it became clear that she had woefully underestimated.

~snip~

Competence and accountability in government ?? pppffttt..

[Paulus]

What is the modern name for inefficiency???

Government.

[Christian4Bush]

ping

[Flintlock]

Yo!
Hello?
This ain’t no screwup.
They WANTED a backlog!
they needed this mess.
It’s all a parcel of the border/immigration mess. Their only solution for which is a “COMPREHENSIVE” ONE.
See?

[PurpleMan]

Under the title of: “You just can’t make this stuff up”

DHS’s Citizenship and Immigration Department is advertising for a new Public Affairs person. I guess the problem is that because of this gap, they haven’t been able to spin their incompetence as opposed to FIXING THE DAMNED PROBLEMS! :>)

Here’s the link: http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/getjob.asp?JobID=58969439&AVSDM=2007%2D06%2D21+00%3A00%3A05&Logo=0&q=public+affairs&FedEmp=Y&sort=rv&vw=d&brd=3876&ss=0&FedPub=Y&SUBMIT1.x=72&SUBMIT1.y=15

[Nomorjer Kinov]

Reality: 15 million lawful Americans apply for passports, there is a 12-week backlog.

Fantasy:12 million (yeah, right) "undocumented" illegal aliens will apply for Z-Visas and be processed in just 1 day.

[dennisw]

• 

  Assistant Secretary of State Maura Harty, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 19, 2007, before the Senate Foreign Relations hearing to examine the passport backlog, and the State Department's response to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)AP via Yahoo! News - Jun 19 1:56 PM

• 

  Assistant Secretary of State Maura Harty, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 19, 2007, before the Senate Foreign Relations hearing to examine the passport backlog, and the State Department's response to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)AP via Yahoo! News - Jun 19 1:49 PM

• 

  Assistant Secretary of State Maura Harty, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 19, 2007, before the Senate Foreign Relations hearing to examine the passport backlog, and the State Department's response to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)AP via Yahoo! News - Jun 19 1:49 PM

• 

  Assistant Secretary of State Maura Harty, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 19, 2007, before the Senate Foreign Relations hearing to examine the passport backlog, and the State Department's response to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)AP via Yahoo! News - Jun 19 1:49 PM

[maica]

Coincidence is when God wants to remain anonymous.

Maura Harty’s poor decision making comes at the best possible time to illustrate to all what will happen if the current Immigration “reform” act is passed.

The State Dept has been in the passport business for hundreds of years. There is a track record of passports issued, and there are statistics for international travel of Americans.

How many passports will be requested at any given time should not be a mystery. When the State Dept cannot get this right, how do we have confidence in their handling of other duties -—

such as granting visas to Saudi students, for example.

[sgtbono2002]

In the government, promoting people to get rid of them is an institution.

If you have someone in the office that is so bad you simply have to get rid of them, its much easier to promote them and send them somewhere else than to fire them. So, thats the way its done.

[djf]

This is the part that P’s me off the most.

As natural born Americans, we now need some government approval/tracking device to come and go into OUR country.

But hey, if you name is Pedro or Juan or whatever then just do whatever you want and we’ll look the other way.

Homeland security is a JOKE! So is the Federal department of immigration and naturalization!

Let the States handle it. It’s obviously beyond the Fed’s ability. They’re just too far from the peasants. Like being ruled by a King 3,000 miles away... Like that never happened before...

[bannie]

Breaking the rule: Being promoted PAST your level of incompetence.

[mewzilla]

Way to go, Foggy Bottom.

[Theo]

Lead led whatever....

[Bender2]

The Peter Principle is alive and well even in a Republican Administration.

I say fire everyone in the State Department who has been there over six years!

[SmoothTalker]

I have a close friend who sent in for her renewal four months ago. She leaves for Europe in two weeks. It isn’t back. How dumb can the government get? Require passports for countries that tons of Americans go to but that never required passports before and not hire adequate cover? On top of that promote this idiot. He should be fired. He has caused aggrivation or worse for at least hundreds of thousands of Americans.

[mad_as_he$$]

Typical.....

[Fiji Hill]

The library where I work processes passports, and we’ve had our share of angry and distraught applicants over the past few weeks.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

It’s a general rule in government service that incompetents are never fired but promoted repeatedly to get them out of whatever office they may be screwing up at any given time.

[Oberon]

This, along with the price of gasoline and the hassle of airlines, just makes me wonder if everyone involved would just prefer that we not go anywhere much.