as usual, you present the facts very well and leave me continually thinking.

i hate to be a grammar nazi, though, but i believe the word you want in section 1 paragraph 5 is "ulterior" not "alterior"

alterior --> ulterior fixed. Thanks!

An engineer like you has no business writing this effectively.

Honestly, I never really thought of the DHS as Bush's pet, I think of it more as one of Ashcroft's evil deeds (even though I'm now not sure if that's the least bit accurate).

I spoke with some government-types this summer while I was in Maryland, and they said that despite 'the mud of bureaucracy', they feel they've taken steps to make people safer, at least on an individual basis. So I agree that _maybe_ we'll have 'our bases covered', some day.

Although I, like you, have come to hate John Ashcroft because (1) he is the devil incarnate and (2) his son is an enormous dickhead, which can only be indicative of his father's rotten nature, I don't think (as attorney general) he really has/had anything to do with the running or creation of DHS.

Right now I'm more concerned with the resignation of Tom Ridge. I think he was one of the better folks in the Bush administration, and he's done a good job. (Plus, he is, at least in part, responsible for the fellowship that is funding my education.) He he he =).

In any case, I think yes, we are safer. We've at least starting paying attention to our security. But in so many more ways we are not quite safe. Not yet. Take for example the near-impossible task of examining or even merely scanning the thousands of shipping containers that enter our ports every day. How about all of those countries that don't like us (i.e. Iran, North Korea) who are developing nuclear weapons and might feel like giving one to Al Qaeda?

Ugh, better not to think about it.

Better not to think about it, but in case anybody is curious, here is a report to congress on nuclear terrorism. It's a very scary threat, and yes, it is real.