[Michael Barnes]

A question for the thread;
What is to prevent this new "re-org" and (assuming) larger "security" department from NOT turning out like another BATF? I believe 100% that Bush is doing this to help the country. What is to stop presidents that follow from not gutting and molesting this new orginization such as how Clinton did our current agancies?

Serious replies only. I was on the road when most of this came down the pike, so I'm a bit out of the pocket right now and trying to catch up..

[don-o]

Nothing to see here, folks.

Just move along.

[upchuck]

So, we're gonna take a little from here, a little from there, a little from over there, etc.

Seems to me this should just about be self-funding.

And I agree, at least 5000 jobs cut due to job overlap. Wonder when this will be announced? Probably not until congress passes the legislation authorizing this new deparment.

I hope he gets someone other than Ridge to run this. Every time I've heard Ridge speak he sounds like he's in a daze. The Peter Principle at work perhaps?

[IronJack]

I find two things interesting about this. One, that there are so many Emergency Response Teams under such a variety of cabinet departments. And two, that the Coast Guard is an arm of the Transportation Dept. I always thought Coast Guard was DOD.

[Daus]

Thompson was told of the president's plans Wednesday, an HHS official said. The plan was to affect about 300 agency workers and $4 billion per year .

Just how do 300 people manage to spend $4 BILLION per year??

[harpo11]

Whenever I have had the pleasure to talk to a member of the Greatest Generation about WWII and homefront attitudes. It seems everyone says about the same thing, We knew what we had to do and United we did what we had to do.They did everything necessary to win the war. There was no other choice. It had to be done. Full Victory--nothing less.

I'm glad our President came out tonight, talked to us, the American people, outlined his program for the defense of our country and citizens and poured cold water on the farce of Sen. Leaky Leahy's political grandstanding and posturing committee hearings specifically designed to point blame at President Bush's and divert out focus and divide us from each other when we need to be absolutely united.

Hopefully, Leahy will get the message, this is not a time to be screwing around with our intelligence agencies at such a vitally critical period in our young Republic's life and prosperous future.

[The Mayor]

Bump for later. Thanks.

[Pistias]

Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office

"CIAO?" That's grim, but rather funny.

[leadpenny]

The INS, FEMA and a couple others are a start. But until the FBI, ATF, and Border Patrol (probably a few more) are pulled out of their respective departments by the roots and placed under Homeland, all that will be done is to create more duplication while growing the bureaucracy.

[savedbygrace]

I see the proposal like this:

"Because your government cannot communicate adequately between departments and between agencies, we must have more of your hard-earned money to reorganize.

"In spite of the fact that we have allowed thousands of terrorists and terrorist supporters into this country, er, homeland, rather than taking any action that would stem that flow, we are asking for more money to reorganize our precious, but ineffective, agencies.

Thank you. You may return to your slumber."

President Bush is an honest, well-intentioned man, but he has been deceived by his advisors. This is similar to the newly adopted FBI rules. The ineffectual bureaucrats are being rewarded for incompentence with more money to practice their incompetence with.