Remember Where You Came From

Alright already, I’m on the bandwagon being driven with the ruthless intent of running over the bureaucrats at The Department of Homeland Security who have cut the grants to defend against terrorism for New York and Washington.

Unfortunately, the proud employee who runs the program simply does not understand terrorists. Tracy Henke is proud of her small town roots – to the point of having a sign on her desk, “Remember where you came from.” Now isn’t that precious? A woman from Moscow Mills, MO, a hamlet not too far from St. Louis is proud of and will never forget her roots. Obviously a Cardinals and Budweiser fan, she shipped a keg of Homeland Security dough to St. Louis to protect the stadium, local breweries, and, of course, the Arch.

In today’s Washington Post, Dana Milbank carves up the plucky representative of the Show Me state along with her supporting cast of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and President George W. Bush, the Decider himself. It would appear that if an al Qaeda attack appears imminent, the cry to all key national security and homeland defenders will be, “Meet me in St. Louis!” From there the motorcade will proceed to Moscow Mills where the national response will be formulated.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/01/AR2006060101722.html?referrer=emailarticle

The New York Times in an editorial on the subject stole some of my thunder. Henke, Chertoff, and Bush don’t seem to get it. Regardless of whether New York and Washington do not seem to have any more vulnerable targets than other cities of similar population densities, they are icons of American life and are the targets of greatest value to terrorists.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/02/opinion/02fri1.html

As we all know, on the world hit parade of hate, the United States, the Great Satan, is number one. The Islamic terrorists see Washington as the source of our military and political power and the city where we plan our global hegemony; New York is the center of our world financial and intellectual hubris; and Los Angeles (which – in fairness - got a substantial homeland grant increase) is the center of moral corruption and cultural decadence by which we ruin the world of innocents.

At this point it is not unfair to point out the obvious fact that New York and Washington were the prime targets of al Qaeda on September 11, 2001, that the World Trade center was attacked earlier, and that Los Angeles International Airport, LAX, was the target of a major disrupted plot.

While it is obvious that if the iconic cities are hardened and protected to the point that our enemies feel that they cannot succeed in attacking them, they will seek lesser priority targets. There can be no doubt that the American reaction to an attack on Milwaukee, Gillette, WY, or the outlet mall in Freeport, ME would create as much rage and determination as an attack on the White House or Disneyland, but there is not enough money on the planet to protect every possible target and choices must be made. The Times and the Post clearly make the case that despite Ms. Henke’s bold words on the legitimacy of the grant making process the dough is being disbursed as pork. Of this there is no doubt in my mind. So while we all hope and pray that another attack never happens, should one occur against New York or Washington, blood will be on the hands of those who disbursed this bacon.

I’m pleased that Ms. Henke remembers where she’s from. I’m from Brockton, MA and would be shattered if anything horrific occurred there. But Ms. Henke must also understand where she is living in one of the terrorists’ bulls eyes, the nation’s capital. Oh, by the way, I’m here with her and I’m an awful scaredy cat. More money for Washington and New York now!

Blog on!

Wild Bill