Thread: Department of Homeland Security

3 reasons to get rid of DHS
posted at 2:16 pm on November 23, 2012 by Ed Morrissey

On Sunday, we will reach an anniversary that few will recall, but fortunately Reason and Reason TV recall it for us. Don’t worry about sending flowers or candy to the DHS for their 10th anniversary; we’ve been sending them billions in cash for years, and as Nick Gillespie reminds us, we haven’t even gotten thank-you cards in return. Well, we did get groped at an airport occasionally, but it’s hardly the same thing.

Seriously, what have we accomplished by folding a number of agencies into a massive bureaucracy? Did “homeland” security improve over what might have been accomplished with a smaller, lighter, more nimble organization? Or did we just create an excuse to build another massively expensive, oft-delayed government building in Washington DC?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h_ya...layer_embedded


1. It’s unnecessary. In the months immediately following September 11 attacks in 2001, President George W.Bush initially resisted calls to create a new high-level bureaucracy that would be laid on top of current activities. He was right to recognize that coordinating existing agencies would have been smarter and better. Unfortunately, he caved in to pressure to create a massive new department.

2. It’s ineffective. To read the titles of Government Accountability Office(GAO) analyses of Homeland Security is to be reminded constantly that DHS is never quite on top of its game.Recent reports include “DHS Requires More Disciplined Investment Management to Help Meet Mission Needs,” “DHS Needs Better Project Information and Coordination Among Four Overlapping Grant Programs,” and “Agriculture Inspection Program Has Made Some Improvements, But Management Challenges Persist.”

3. It’s expensive. Last year, Homeland Security spent a whopping $60 billion, a figure that will doubtlessly increase in coming years. The construction of its new headquarters – the single-largest project ever undertaken by The General Services Administration – will cost at least $4 billion and is already years behind on schedule since breaking ground in 2009.

Since it’s the holiday season, here’s a bonus reason to get rid of the Department of Homeland Security: It also runs the Transportation Security Administration, whose nasty reputation for manhandling innocent travelers is only slightly more annoying than its massive and undeserved growth in personnel and cost over the past decade.

Perhaps it’s time to rethink the “bigger is better” philosophy of organization — and budgeting — in Washington DC.

http://hotair.com/archives/2012/11/2...et-rid-of-dhs/

Things to keep in mind..... You can never know what was thwarted but only what was not. Being that we really haven't had a really devastated attack since 9/11 in U.S., can we really say it hasn't been working? It's only clear when it isn't working. Has there been any real incidents in air travel? Not that haven't been thwarted. Considering the amount of people that fly around in the U.S., it is relatively a handful that experienced a "grope" or TSA mishap. They are human, just like any other business/organization/etc. this will happen.

Too bad DHS wasn't in charge in Benghazi, perhaps things would have been different?

Just a few thoughts..........

Good thoughts ... but what are they doing to keep our borders ? Even their "boss" admits that illegals from the Middle East and others have broached our borders ... with no action from our goverment ?

If the big guy in the White House directs them not to enforce their efforts at the border....is it their "failure"?

But what is the purpose of *having* a Department of Homeland Security if they are NOT going to bother to secure our Homeland.

The truth about Executive Order #13603
September 19, 2012 By Michael Dorstewitz

Although my friends lovingly describe me on occasion as a “right-wing nut,” I’m neither an alarmist nor a conspiracy theorist. I get plenty of emails and see a lot of posts on the Internet that would send shivers down your spine and make you want to stock up on ammunition.- Not me. I know that the majority of it is balderdash and not worth my time.

Something new is afoot, though, that’s worth investigating — Executive Order 13603. Actually, it’s not all that new. President Obama signed it on March 16 of this year. The order throws all notions of personal responsibility out the window, and it does so in a way that sets the principles of property ownership and all rights attributed to ownership on its head.

A month and a half after the order was signed, it was reported and discussed at length by Jim Powell in a Forbes magazine op-ed. Although Forbes may lean a tad to the right, it’s nurtured a well-deserved reputation for honesty and integrity since its beginnings in 1917.

According to Forbes, the order provides that, in a national emergency, the government may take over and administer “all forms of energy.” Note that it doesn’t distinguish energy manufactured by a public utility from that produced by a homeowner from a diesel, solar or wind generator.

The order also grants the federal government authority to take over “all forms of civil transportation.” The order’s use of the term “civil transportation” rather than “public transportation” is disturbing. If you own some form of transportation — be it a watercraft, aircraft or a motor vehicle — and the government wants it, it gets it.

“All commodities and products that are capable of being ingested by either human beings or animals,” as well as “all usable water from all sources” also come within the order’s purview. Again, it doesn’t distinguish between public and private property. Private farms, ranches, water wells and cisterns seem to be covered.

The order covers “health resources – drugs, biological products, medical devices, materials, facilities, health supplies, services and equipment.” Great. Now that the government can lay claim to your food and water, it can now abscond with your air if you require a personal oxygen supply for your survival.

The power to engage in military conscription is an integral part of the order.

Just as ominous as the power this order grants the federal government in times of national emergency is the power it affords the government to determine what constitutes a national emergency. The order is reminiscent of a similar series of orders signed by John F. Kennedy on emergency preparedness. In essence, during times of national emergency, it gave the federal government authority to take over, well, everything.

Ironically, it was later repealed by Richard M. Nixon, someone few look to as a champion of human rights.

Speaking for myself, a week doesn’t pass without someone complaining about the National Defense Authorization Act. As far as I can tell, the act, which was passed by Congress in open session, does not grant the military the power to take any action whatsoever against American citizens. This was confirmed and has been reiterated numerous times by U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Jupiter.

Rather than being an act of a full Congress, however, Executive Order 13603 was signed by just one person — the president. It was signed without the benefit of lively, open and unfettered debate. So much for the idea of transparency being the hallmark of the Obama administration.

Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney often says that his first act upon assuming office will be to rescind Obamacare, or at least exempt the states from it. I hope his second act will be to tear up Executive Order 13603.

There’s no question but that the notion of property ownership is polar opposite to government takeover of property and redistribution of wealth. The following recording from a speech the president made at Loyola University on Oct. 19, 1998 illustrates his thinking on that particular subject.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=ge3aGJfDSg4

http://www.bizpacreview.com/the-trut...e-order-13603/


See also http://www.archives.gov/federal-regi...ders/2012.html

National Defense Resources Preparedness

Executive orders may be issued at a moment’s notice and usually without notice to or knowledge of Congress. Executive Orders have survived various attempts by the court and Congress to overturn them or to prevent them. While they can be overturned by Congress, this is a rare event.

(For an excellent history of the use of the Executive Order and suppositions about the use of Executive Order 1360, see http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimpowel...and-our-lives/ )

So what is Executive Order 13603 (also known as National Defense Resources Preparedness)? Essentially, this executive order lists the various departments in charge of almost all of the things that we use for our daily lives and gives those departments the authority to take complete control of all resources associated with them. It also seems to make it possible for the government to seize personal property and industry in the event of some extreme emergency and allows for the president to create a state of Martial Law (a power which he already holds). Nevertheless, the fact that it claims authority over transportation, for example, (not just public transportation, but all transportation), it is theorized that this also means all private transportation; assuming your own private transportation is subject to this order, as well.

The salient question may, then be, why Executive Order 13603? In fact, this question brings about the entire controversy surrounding the order. This order is the result of a declaration that a state of emergency now exists (which has been the usual avenue for executive orders since Lincoln). There are at least two schools of thought regarding this particular executive order. One indicates that it means nothing more than previous orders and gives the president no more power than that of previous presidents and previous executive orders. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_13603 If you read the “legalese” version, it is difficult to actually pick out anything particularly sinister in this executive order. Read the full copy of the order here. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Executive_Order_13603 .

However, many see this as a very ominous, potential abuse of power by the president and an attempt to prepare to take over every aspect of the lives of the citizens of the United States. It is, in fact, a possibility that such an action could take place under this executive order. If this is true, the natural question that follows is why does the president need this power?

Does this mean that the Executive Branch or our intelligence organizations are aware of some horrible World War -type action in our imminent future? Does this mean that the government is fully aware that our world economy is about to completely collapse in a sudden and crippling fashion and that wholesale social collapse will follow? Does it mean that ultra-conservative groups that believe the government is working against the citizens are prepared to launch a massive assault against the government? Does it mean that Obama truly intends the worst possible scenario for America and will use this power to make himself a Socialist Dictator? Does this mean that the President would go so far as to take control at the time of the election in order to stay in power (as some have suggested)? Does it mean the end of the United States, as we know it? Or does it, perhaps mean some other presently unconsidered option?

To be completely honest, I have no real knowledge about what the intention of this executive order is. Like all executive orders, they are suspiciously guarded, written and put into effect without any kind of discussion on the part of any other government body. Only, the President, the people who wrote the order and those closest to him know the real meaning behind this.

Prior to this information age, the content of such orders was seldom known by the public. The rest of us will know when and if it is used. If I have to choose a scenario from those listed above however, I choose the imminent economic collapse or perhaps the ever growing threat against the government by those who believe the government is working directly against the people with an extreme preference to the first.

The government has to know that the $16 trillion debt with $5 billion yearly interest combined with unfunded future indebtedness of $114 trillion additional debt for Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid is an absolutely unsustainable situation with no reasonable solution that will be palatable to an America which has grown accustomed to a welfare state. Add to the economic debt, the pervasive joblessness in America and around the world and you have “The Perfect Storm.”

http://www.theboldpursuit.com/jwts-j...der-13603.html

Homeland Security graduates first Corps of Obama’s Brown Shirts – Homeland Youth
It Makes Sense Blog October 7, 2012.

Vicksburg. The federal government calls them FEMA Corps. But they conjure up memories of the Hitler Youth of 1930’s Germany. Regardless of their name, the Dept of Homeland Security has just graduated its first classof 231 Homeland Youth. Kids, aged 18-24 and recruited from the President’s AmeriCorp volunteers, they represent the first wave of DHS’s youth corps, designed specifically to create a full time, paid, standing army of FEMA Youth across the country.

On September 13, 2012, the Department of Homeland Security graduated its first class of FEMA Corps first-responders. While the idea of having a volunteer force of tens of thousands of volunteers scattered across the country to aid in times of natural disasters sounds great, the detailsand timing of this new government army is somewhat curious, if not disturbing.

DHS raising an armed army

The first problem one finds with this ‘new army’ is the fact that they are mere children. Yes, 18 is generally the legal age a personcan sign a contract, join the military or be tried as an adult. But ask any parent – an 18, 20 or even a 24 year-old is still a naïve, readily-influenced kid.

The second problem with this announcement and program is its timing. Over the past two years, President Obama has signed a number of Executive Orders suspending all civil and Constitutional rights and turning over management of an America under Martial Law to FEMA. Also in that time, domestic federal agencies under DHS, including FEMA, have ordered billions of rounds of ammunition as well as the corresponding firearms. Admittedly, these new weapons and ammunition aren’t to be used in some far-off war or to fight forest fires in California, but right here on the streets of America.

Strange Armored Fighting Vehicles

Individuals around the US have begun reporting the site of strange, new, heavily-armed FEMA fighting vehicles. What would a disaster relief agency like FEMA need with 2,500 brand new GLS armored fighting vehicles? According to the agency’s own mandate, as well as President Obama’s recent Executive Order, the answer is ‘population control’ during a time of Martial Law.

DHS & FEMA armed fighting vehicles. Images courtesy of Rense.com.




One set of images made available by Rense.com ( http://rense.com/ ) shows trailer after trailer carrying these new DHS and FEMA armored fighting vehicles, complete with machine gun slots. They’re labeled with the usual backward American flag and the title, ‘Homeland Security’. Below that and the DHS logo, it also reads, ‘Immigration & Customs Enforcement’. Joining those markings, the black vehicles with white lettering also display ‘POLICE/RESCUE’ on one side and ‘Special Response Team’ on the other.

FEMA Corps

FEMA Deputy Administrator Rich Serino gave the keynote address at the ‘Induction Ceremony’ for the inaugural class of FEMA Corps members. According to the DHS website, ‘Corps members assist with disaster preparedness, response, and recovery activities, providing support in areas ranging from working directly with disaster survivors to supporting disaster recovering centers to sharing valuable disaster preparedness and mitigation information with the public.’

Serino describes what the first FEMA Corps class has accomplished so far, as well as where they’ll be going next:

‘Yesterday, we welcomed 231 energetic members into the first ever FEMA Corps class. The members just finished off their first month of training with our partners at the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and are one step closer to working in the field on disaster response and recovery. They will now head to FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness to spend the next two weeks training in their FEMA position-specific roles. Once they complete both the CNCS and FEMA training, these 231 dedicated FEMA Corps members will be qualified to work in one of a variety of disaster related roles, ranging from Community Relations to Disaster Recovery Center support.’

A standing army

Unlike most local disaster response teams who are volunteers, training periodically and only showing up when there’s a disaster, the FEMA Corps will be a paid, full time, standing army of government youth. FEMA Deputy Administrator Sarino goes on to explain, ‘The new members, who range in age from 18-24 years old, will contribute to a dedicated, trained, and reliable disaster workforce by working full-time for ten months on federal disaster response and recovery efforts.’

In closing his announcement of the first graduating class of FEMA Corps Youth, Sarino describes his and the agency’s vision of the future, one where ‘FEMA Corps sets the foundation for a new generation of emergencymanagers’.

DHS arms itself

As we detailed in the August 28 Whiteout Press article ‘History of DHS Ammunition Purchases’, federal emergency management agencies are looking more and more like a military army every day. The federal government’s procurement website actually lists DHS’ requests for bids to supply it with ammunition and military weaponry. All of the orders listed in the above article, including the orders for hundreds of millions of rounds of ammunition, are publicly available at http://www.fbo.gov.

One look at a chart of DHS ammunition purchases over the past decade reveals a drastic spike in orders of bullets recently, totaling in the billions of rounds. Other charts available online show a similar drastic spike in the purchases of accompanying weaponry by the Department of Homeland Security.

What is the US federal government preparing for? And why does it feel it needs an army of brainwashed youth, millions of guns, thousands of armored fighting vehicles and literally billions of rounds of ammunition, just to provide relief to the American people during a natural disaster? Any historian will tell you it sounds more like the arming of the Hitler Youth than an army of first responders fighting forest fires and hurricanes.


http://itmakessenseblog.com/2012/10/...omeland-youth/


How many of these teams are on the East Coast following "Sandy" ??

DHS arms itself

As we detailed in the August 28 Whiteout Press article ‘History of DHS Ammunition Purchases’, federal emergency management agencies are looking more and more like a military army every day. The federal government’s procurement website actually lists DHS’ requests for bids to supply it with ammunition and military weaponry. All of the orders listed in the above article, including the orders for hundreds of millions of rounds of ammunition, are publicly available at http://www.fbo.gov.

One look at a chart of DHS ammunition purchases over the past decade reveals a drastic spike in orders of bullets recently, totaling in the billions of rounds. Other charts available online show a similar drastic spike in the purchases of accompanying weaponry by the Department of Homeland Security.

What is the US federal government preparing for? And why does it feel it needs an army of brainwashed youth, millions of guns, thousands of armored fighting vehicles and literally billions of rounds of ammunition, just to provide relief to the American people during a natural disaster? Any historian will tell you it sounds more like the arming of the Hitler Youth than an army of first responders fighting forest fires and hurricanes.


http://itmakessenseblog.com/2012/10/...omeland-youth/

What is the US federal government preparing for? And why does it feel it needs an army of brainwashed youth, millions of guns, thousands of armored fighting vehicles and literally billions of rounds of ammunition, just to provide relief to the American people during a natural disaster? Any historian will tell you it sounds more like the arming of the Hitler Youth than an army of first responders fighting forest fires and hurricanes.

Scary......

What do you think about all this?

So far there's Houston, Minneapolis, L.A., Miami, Chicago, Boston, Long Branch, Laredo, Galveston, Worcester, Denver, St. Paul and St. Louis.

Did I miss any?

Minneapolis:

Minneapolis Residents Catch Footage of Black Hawks Conducting Urban Training Exercise: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012...ning-exercise/

Urban Defense Blackhawks in downtown Minneapolis!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_BF7BayCTo

Military Black Helicopters "training" in Minneapolis - Mon. Aug. 27th: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tErX-JtuE9w

Black Helicopters fly around Minneapolis Federal Reserve: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_zTeiEAzAA

(CBS) Downtown Mpls. Becomes Black Hawk Helicopter Training Zone: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/0...training-zone/

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St. Paul:

Black Hawk Helicopters over Saint Paul, MN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCSzCvqQYKA

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Denver:

Black Hawk Helicopters in Downtown Denver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU0tPVZhz58

(ABC) Blackhawk Flyovers Whip Up Concern, Curiosity: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...cern-curiosity

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Galveston:

Army to use old jail in Galveston for training exercises today: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?se...cal&id=8973256

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Worcester:

Military exercises in Worcester a surprise to residents, including the local police?
"...On Thursday, August 2, 2012 there was a military exercise in downtown Worcester, MA, the second largest city in New England after Boston. Chris Robarge, ACLU of Massachusetts field organizer for central Massachusetts, lives in Worcester and witnessed what he describes as a terrifying raid..." http://www.privacysos.org/node/776

Army Helicopters Flying over Worcester: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubmCeKZQc_I

Live military exercise in downtown Worcester: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCFh2w4982U

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Houston:

Another Massive Military ‘Training Drill’ Involving Helicopters Spotted in Houston, Texas — Watch the Raw Footage: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013...time-in-texas/

(ABC w/ additional footage) Army Training Drill Scares Residents in South Houston Shooting Blanks No Warning - School goes on lock-down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnIQyQALrnM

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Los Angeles:

LAPD And Special Forces Conduct Military Maneuvers In The Skies Above Downtown LA: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/...e-downtown-la/

REAL VIDEO : Black Hawk Helicopters in the skys of LA- Jan 2012: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d0JYtahAio

Buzzed by Black Hawks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zPObNISewI

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Laredo:

U.S. Military to perform helicopter exercises along border (Laredo): http://www.valleycentral.com/news/st...0#.UQivHmfl4Zw

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Miami:

So Why Have Military Helicopters Been Flying Over Miami? We Explain, Plus See the Videos: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013...ee-the-videos/

(CBS) Black Hawks Used In Military Training Exercise In Miami: http://miami.cbslocal.com/2013/01/25...cise-in-miami/

(ABC) Machine Gun Fire From Black Hawk Helicopters Flying Over Miami Fl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58L5E8C7YlU

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Chicago:

Blackhawk Choppers Buzz Chicago Skyscrapers: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local...147679695.html

Special Forces Black Hawk Helicopters at Street Level in Chicago, IL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvfpcpGwJjo

Black Hawk helicopters doing a Chicago river fly by April 16, 2012: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83IdTJbJkEw

Urban Warfare Drill Chicago 2012 Blackhawk helicopters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3aHdkWNIVE

Fox News: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLeePP9_O9Q

Drone Spotted in Chicago Suburbs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzrS0BVJynM

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Boston:

Military Training Exercises to Take Place In and Around Boston: http://www.cityofboston.gov/

Low Flying Military Helicopters Over Boston Buzz Buildings During Training Exercise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un6K4zr7jC4

Military helicopters training downtown Boston: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0Di6kPwoFg

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St.Louis:

US Military to Run Urban Exercises in North St. Louis – Residents Hope It Will Cut Down on Crime: http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012...down-on-crime/

‘Makes Very Little Sense’: Why Are Army Tanks Rolling Down Residential Roads for Training in St. Louis?: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012...g-in-st-louis/

(NBC) Military Police Training to Drive Tanks in St Louis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOsw-n4eoYo

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New Jersey:

Army Conducts Training Exercises in Long Branch Monday Night : http://longbranch.patch.com/articles...h-monday-night

Army Training in Long Branch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5fX3T3W568

Military Training Rattles Monmouth Residents: http://nj1015.com/military-training-...uth-residents/

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‘We Have Never Seen Anything Like This Before’: Beck & the Military Weigh in on Army’s Public Training Exercises: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012...ing-exercises/

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Obama to Top Brass: Will you fire on American Citizens?:
"World-renowned educator and human rights activist Jim Garrow says that the source, man regarded as "one of America's foremost military heroes," told him that President Obama is using a new litmus test for "determining who will stay and who must go" among top-ranked military leaders. That test is whether they will fire on US citizens or not. Garrow says that his source made the disclosure in order to "sound the alarm" over the administration's plans..." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzT6X3_Bg9o

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Report: Washington Didn’t Even Tell Marine Gen. He Was Being Replaced: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013...eing-replaced/

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Liberal think tank says President can use military to push progressive agenda: http://www.examiner.com/article/libe...ressive-agenda

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President Obama: Troops 'fighting on my behalf': http://www.examiner.com/article/pres...g-on-my-behalf

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* This is a must see, you'll be stunned. Please share: Subversion And The Demoralizing And Dismantling Of Our Military: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...7&l=b884483d3b

Army Drill For Martial Law Terrorizes Residents in Houston, TX
Read more at http://www.fiscalconservatives.com/v...xO4Ty3dzRuO.99

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgJSu...layer_embedded