$75 billion a year on Homeland Security

[n2doc]

By Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times
August 28, 2011

Reporting from Ogallala, Neb.— On the edge of the Nebraska sand hills is Lake McConaughy, a 22-mile-long reservoir that in summer becomes a magnet for Winnebagos, fishermen and kite sailors. But officials here in Keith County, population 8,370, imagined this scene: An Al Qaeda sleeper cell hitching explosives onto a water-skiing boat and plowing into the dam at the head of the lake.

The federal Department of Homeland Security ago gave the county $42,000 to buy state-of-the-art dive gear, including full-face masks, underwater lights and radios, and a Zodiac boat with side-scan sonar capable of mapping wide areas of the lake floor.

Up on the lonely prairie around Cherry County, population 6,148, got thousands of federal dollars for cattle nose leads, halters and electric prods – in case terrorists decided to mount biological warfare against cows.

In the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale, where police fear militants might be eyeing DreamWorks Animation or the Disney creative campus, a $205,000 Homeland Security grant bought a 9-ton BearCat armored vehicle, complete with turret. More than 300 BearCats — many acquired with federal money — are now deployed by police across the country; the arrests of methamphetamine dealers and bank robbers these days often look much like a tactical assault on insurgents in Baghdad.

more

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/september11/la-na-911-homeland-money-20110828,0,5318393.story

[Angry Dragon]

1. .................

:argh: :wow: :spank: :hurts:

[bemildred]

2. Flush!

:hurts:

[Moostache]

3. The silence from the GOP is DEAFENING!!!!

Fucking BILLIONS in waste, pure and simple and EASY TO CUT FAT....yet they show their true colors when the all-hat-no-cattle standard bearer is out on the campaign trail bashing Social Security...its just astounding that one of the two parties in American politics has become so craven and hollow.

Why the Democrats are not making hay of this so-called opposition is mind numbing.

[Bandit]

4. I wonder how much is spent on the National Defense Agency

And exactly what the difference between the two is.. We had a National Defense Agency for decades and it seemed to work just fine until the Republicans took complete control..

[treestar]

5. that spending could stimulate, too

But it does seem out there. I recall 911 being invoked to justify just about anything in the first two years after it.

[Bigmack]

6. I need some of that money....

Shit... AQ could send boats to blow up the fucking nuke subs that pass by my house nearly every day. The massive Coast Guard escort system might be breached. Can't take the chance on that!

I need a boat.... about 26'.... I have some brochures right here. I want to disguise myself as a sport salmon fisherman, so I'll need some props.
Two Scotty electric downriggers, some Shimano rods and reels, and the latest chartplotters and radar and other electronics, of course. And gas... lots and lots of marine-grade gasoline.

In return, I promise to keep an eye out for boat suicide bombers on Hood Canal.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. Well, at least we don't have to worry...

[newspeak]

8. we had security in this country before 9/11

and I remember someone on vacation seemed to not pay attention to an august PDB report. Also, agents like Colleen Rowley attempted to alert higher ups. They either didn't want to pay attention or seems to me, didn't care for a reason.

Now we have a bloated security mechanism and the patriot act-who's it for the boogey man or us? Enquiring minds want to know. While some politicians are making money, on things like the new scanners and making money corporatizing our security. We had security.