Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com With Janet Napolitano out, Homeland Security is without a nomination for a new chief. Maybe that’s because it’s a thankless job that can spoil a reputation, the Washington Post reports. “It’s a high-risk job,” one observer told the Post. “If something happens on your watch, you’re done.” OTHER STORIES OF INTEREST…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A vast majority of Homeland Security employees cannot be forced off the job because of a government shutdown, the Washington Post reports. About 86% of the department’s 231,000 employees are considered “essential,” which means they must remain on the job for the “safety of human life or protection of property,” regardless of…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano took over as the president of the University of California on Monday, but she’s already facing challenges. A group of student activists are asking for a “no-confidence” vote to express disapproval over her hiring, the Associated Press reports. The activists said Napolitano is a bad choice…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com An off-duty Homeland Security agent is accused of shooting at a car with a 2-year-old child on it during a road-rage incident in Boca Raton, NBC Miami reports. Police disclosed the Sept. 7 arrest on Thursday, saying Angel Echevarria, 40, claimed he pulled out the gun in an attempt to shoot out…
Dale McFeatters The Eagle-Tribune The Founding Fathers valued privacy enough to specify in the Fourth Amendment that the people had the right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures unless a warrant was issued. Among other items, they specified “papers.” In a rare moment of shortsightedness, they failed to specify laptops, cellphones and thumb…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com It’s a like a drone for the ocean. Homeland Security is testing a six-foot-long robotic fish that is designed to find contraband in a ship’s hull, The Rancher reports. Equipped with sophisticated sensors, the BIOSwimmer is shaped like a tuna and highly maneuverable. Serving as the launching ground for the robotic fish…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com How prepared is Homeland Security to handle terrorism threats? On the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a Senate panel will ask that question as it examines the department and interviews former lawmakers and past DHS officials, including the first Homeland Security secretary, Tom Ridge, the Washington Post reports. The…
Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton New York Times Op-Ed No single event in the last half-century has had a greater effect on American national security policy than the terrorist attacks that occurred 12 years ago today. When we co-chaired the 9/11 Commission, which was set up in 2002 and issued its report…
