Homeland Security Strikes Again

A Nuclear Ruse Uncovers Holes in U.S. Security

By ERIC LIPTON / New York Times
Published: July 12, 2007

WASHINGTON, July 11 — Undercover Congressional investigators set up a bogus company and obtained a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March that would have allowed them to buy the radioactive materials needed for a so-called dirty bomb.

The investigators, from the Government Accountability Office, demonstrated once again that the security measures put in place since the 2001 terrorist attacks to prevent radioactive materials from getting into the wrong hands are insufficient, according to a G.A.O. report, which is scheduled to be released at a Senate hearing Thursday.

“Given that terrorists have expressed an interest in obtaining nuclear material, the Congress and the American people expect licensing programs for these materials to be secure,” said Gregory D. Kutz, an investigator at the accountability office, in testimony prepared for the hearing.

Full story following the click ...

When you elect a bunch of people to government who believe that "government IS the problem", they believe their mandate is to dismantle government. They believe the way to remedy problems is to get rid of them ... and there's truth in the approach if the underlying assumptions are correct. Because "government IS the problem", at least from their point of view, they have no vested interest in fixing government or trying to make it work. They do, however, find vindication in government not working ... even if it is the result of their sabotage.

So, when you put people in charge of government who believe that "government IS the problem" ... don't expect them to extend an honest effort to make it work. It wouldn't be good politics!

As long as Republicans believe that government IS the problem, I could never vote for one. One simply does not entrust the care of something valuable to those who would destroy it at their earliest opportunity.

The purpose of government in a republic is to execute the will of the people and to provide for the people those things they cannot provide for themselves individually (national security and national infrastructure being among those things). In a republic the government obeys orders ... it does not originate them.