"Napolitano Links Homeland Security, Economy, Thus Demonstrating Lack of Mouth-Ear Coordination"

Hi Gang:

My commentary today focuses on my most recent article for the CAPS (Californians for Population Stabilization) website which I have attached below.  This time we will consider the statements made by none other than Janet Napolitano, the Secretary of the DHS, the agency I have come to refer to as the Department of Homeland Surrender.

If we were to prioritize the most important reasons that a government exists, protecting the lives and well being of the citizens of the country that is under the jurisdiction of that government would have to rate as the number one purpose for a government.  In order to achieve that critical goal most countries have assembled military forces that are supposed to keep the enemies of those nations as far from the borders of those countries as possible, thereby preventing their respective countries from being invaded and/or attacked by their enemies.

From a military perspective, the borders of the nation it defends are the last line of defense while for law enforcement agencies within those countries, the borders are the first line of defense.  Clearly the borders of a nation are of extreme importance and go to the very issue of sovereignty!  When we studied geography back in school, whether it was in elementary school or at the university level, borders defined the nations that we studied and, throughout history, conflicts that resulted in wars often began over the issue of the placement of borders.

Our nation’s well being obviously depends on its security.  Security, however, cannot be achieved when our borders only exist on maps and where unknown millions of illegal aliens who have evaded the vetting process that being inspected by CBP (Customs and Border Protection) inspectors provides.  Yet the President and many of our nation’s politicians have declared that it would be appropriate to provide a “pathway to citizenship” or at the very least, a “pathway to legal status” to unknown millions of illegal aliens whose true identities including their countries of citizenship and criminal backgrounds and possible association with criminal or terrorist organizations is unknown and unknowable.

When politicians state that they would require these millions of illegal aliens to undergo a “background check” in an effort to provide the illusion of security, they are actually proposing a system that would increase and not decrease our risk of attack by terrorists or further infiltration by transnational gangs and drug trafficking organizations!

As I have often noted, the only thing worse than no security is false security!  When an alien is able to easily game a system to obtain an officially issued identity document in a false name, that alien acquires a level of credibility that can enable him (her) to move freely around our country without raising and suspicions.  A background check must never be confused with a background investigation- there is a world of difference between the two and the difference can literally be a matter of life and death!

All that a background check requires is that the applicant who is undergoing a background check has his fingerprints and name he claims is his name checked against a database.  Our fingerprint system does not link with most fingerprint databases around the world and, in fact, many other countries do not have reliable fingerprint records for their citizens.  Therefore if an applicant’s fingerprints come back as not relating to any known criminal history, it may mean that the person has never been arrested in the United States and a few other countries, but this does not preclude the possibility that he was arrested in another country.  As for the name check- if a terrorist or criminal provides a false name, of necessity that name will come back as a “no hit” because it is a false name.

A background check is usually accomplished in a matter of minutes.  A background investigation is time consuming and may take weeks and require that investigators actually knock on doors and interview neighbors and colleagues at work, showing the photo of the person being investigated to attempt to determine if other names may relate to that person.  Comparing a background check with a background investigation is the equivalent of comparing  a parent taking the temperature of a child with a doctor in a hospital doing a complete medical workup of a child who is suspected of being ill.  Simply stated, there is no comparison!

Recently the TSA has come under criticism for invasively searching 85 year old wheelchair bound women who sought to board airliners.  The attitude of the TSA has been that even old people could pose a threat to airline security.  Airliners are obviously a source of potential threat as we saw on September 11, 2001.  However, there are many other ways that our nation could be attacked that would have nothing to do with airliners whatsoever.  The point is that our government is failing abysmally to truly protect our nation and our citizens.

It is not only national security that suffers under the current circumstances where our borders and immigration system are concerned.  While every politician running for just about any and every elected position in America talks about how they would create new jobs, not one of them has talked about the need to liberate jobs!  If there are millions of illegal aliens who are working in the United States, those aliens have, in a manner of speaking, stolen the jobs that should go to American workers!  This is not a about bigotry but commonsense!  Unemployed Americans are of every race, religion and ethnicity and, in fact, America’s minority workers are faring the worst where unemployment is concerned!

When Americans lose their jobs, they often lose their homes to foreclosure.  This creates a glut of vacant houses which, under the fundamental principles of economics means that the supply outstrips the demand for houses, thereby driving down the value of most people’s homes across the country.  This causes increasing numbers of homes to wind up “underwater” meaning that the mortgages are greater than the value of the homes.  Furthermore, as more homes are left vacant, the property value of surrounding houses also declines further exacerbating the problem in a sort of never ending vicious cycle!  The best way to end this downward spiral is to get American workers back to work!

By enforcing our nation’s immigration laws millions of jobs could be freed up overnight!

This is not rocket science- just good old fashioned, COMMONSENSE!
Show me a politician who refuses to enforce the immigration laws or attempts to trivialize these laws, and I will show you a politician who needs to find out what it is like to stand on the unemployment line!

Benjamin Franklin, in discussing our then fledgeling nation. said that they had given us a republic if we could keep it!


What he was making clear was that this democratic republic required that its citizens take their citizenship seriously and keep the political leaders accountable.

It is time for the citizens of our nation to make certain that our nation’s leaders, on all levels, to come to terms with the fundamental fact that the purpose of our immigration laws is to protect our nation and our citizens from aliens whose presence has the potential to have a serious adverse impact.  Ignoring those laws exposes our nation and our citizens to a variety of serious threats and challenges ranging from national security and criminal justice and public safety to the economy, the environment, healthcare and education!

A country without secure borders can no more stand than can a house without walls!

I

our country is to survive and if our children and their children are to get their share of the “American Dream” the citizens of this nation must take their citizenship seriously!

We the People must be the best citizens we can be, citizens who are worthy of the gallantry demonstrated by our valiant men and women in the military, law enforcement and firefighters, who routinely go in harm’s way in defense of this nation and our citizens.  
My goal in writing this and other commentaries is to point out our nations many failings before more victims pay the ultimate price for the incompetence and ineptitude of our government.
The first step in problem-solving is to first identify the problems and vulnerabilities and then devise strategies to overcome them.

If you find yourself to be in agreement with this commentary, I ask that you forward it to as many of your friends and family members as possible and encourage them to do the same.  We need to create a “Bucket Brigade of Truth!”

The practice of good citizenship does not end in the voting booth, it only begins there.

For far too long our citizens demonstrated apathy which emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. 

It is therefore understandable that the politicians of both parties, are greatly concerned about the demonstrations currently sweeping our nation just as did the creation of the Tea Party.  Clearly  more and more of our fellow Americans are demonstrating that they are not as dumb as the politicians from both parties had expected us to be!

I am encouraged that more and more of us, We the People, are not willing to simply sit on the sidelines anymore!


I believe our nation’s is greatly benefited by the rich diversity of our people which is why I could never imagine living anywhere except New York City, arguably the most diverse city in our nation if not, in fact, the world.  However, my idea of diversity most certainly does not include members of MS-13, the Mexican drug cartels or members of other transnational gangs or members of al-Qaeda!

I also believe that the original purpose of our nation’s immigration laws need to be be brought “front and center” to make certain that our nation does not permit the entry of aliens into our country whose presence in our country is problematic for the citizens of our nation and that if such aliens do succeed in entering our country that our nation have the resources, integrity and dedication to do everything possible to make it impossible for such aliens to function within our country so that even if they are not apprehended, they will find it pointless to remain in the United States.
As I have noted on a number of occasions, “No one would break into the amusement park if they could not get to go on the rides and no one remains in the amusement park at the end of the day when they turn shut down the rides and turn off the lights!” 

If our government’s failures to secure our nation’s borders and effectively enforce our immigration laws concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation! 

All I ask is that you make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are!

We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance.

This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated, this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue!

You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!

Democracy is not a spectator sport!

Lead, follow or get out of the way!


-michael cutler- 

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Napolitano Links Homeland Security, Economy, Thus Demonstrating Lack of Mouth-Ear Coordination

The Washington Times
ran a brief news report on January 30, 2012 that was entitled,
“Napolitano Links Homeland Security, Economy.”  The report focused on
the Janet Napolitano’s second “State of Homeland Security Address.”

According to the news report she makes the following statement a part of her address:

“Security measures should, to the greatest extent
possible, be designed to facilitate the safe and efficient movement of
people and goods while securing our critical infrastructure.”

For the first time in a long time, I find myself to be in agreement
with this statement as well is with her quote that ended the news
report:

“Think of it this way: If we have to look for a needle in a haystack,
it makes sense to use all of the information we have about the pieces
of hay to make the haystack smaller,” Miss Napolitano said.

The problem I have with what she said is not what she said but with
the fact that since she became the Secretary of Homeland Security, she
has acted in a manner that contradicts her statements!  Consequently I
wonder if she has ever listened to the words that she, herself, speaks!

The haystack that she claims she wants to make smaller is a haystack
comprised of aliens as well as merchandise.  Today that haystack
includes unknown millions of illegal aliens with more arriving daily. 
Because they evade the inspections process, there is no record of their
entry into our country.  Because they are “undocumented” there is no way
of knowing their true identities including their countries of
citizenship.  As a consequence, there is no way of knowing their
possible criminal backgrounds or possible affiliation with criminal or
terrorist organizations.  There is certainly no way of knowing their
true intentions.

Bad as the problem posed by aliens who run our borders may be, there
are millions of illegal aliens who did not enter our country by running
our nation’s borders, but by easily gaming the visa process by
committing visa fraud.

Still more aliens easily enter our country through the inspections process, that is supposed
to protect our nation and our citizens from aliens whose presence is
problematic without  applying for a visa that is supposed to provide as a
significant layer of security by screening aliens who seek to enter the
United States.  These aliens are not violating any laws or regulations
in entering our country without first applying for and receiving visas,
they are citizens of some 35 countries that participate in the Visa
Waiver Program and currently, the President, under extreme pressure from
the Discover America Partnership, is proposing to add still more
countries to the list of countries whose citizens don’t need visas in
order to enter the United States.

It is officially estimated that there are currently some 5 million
illegal aliens in our country today who violated the terms of their
admission into the United States.  Meanwhile, according to government
statistics, there are fewer than 300 special agents of ICE (Immigration
and Customs Enforcement) assigned to attempt to locate and apprehend
these millions of illegal aliens and seek their removal from the United
States.

Altogether there are an estimated 7,000 special agents employed by
ICE to enforce not only immigration laws from within the interior of the
United States but customs laws as well.  Most of the managers including
those at ICE headquarters came from Legacy Customs and thus are more
oriented to enforcing customs laws rather than immigration laws. To put
the number of enforcement personnel at ICE in proper perspective, the
TSA has more than 60,000 employees!

Further hampering this process is the current policy of the Obama
administration to not arrest nor seek the removal of any illegal aliens
who do not have convictions for felonies!

To put things in perspective, nearly every terrorist who attacked our
nation or attempted to attack our nation had no criminal convictions. 
Under the current policies of not seeking to arrest illegal aliens who
have no criminal convictions even if the next Mohamed Atta (A major
player in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001) was encountered
by ICE agents today, they would not be permitted to seek to arrest him
unless they had specific knowledge about his involvement in terrorist
activities.

I can tell you from my 30 years of experience with the INS that my
colleagues and I often stumbled upon fugitives and individuals involved
in terrorism or serious crimes by chance and, as events unfolded, it
became apparent that the individual we had encountered posed a threat. 
This is how, in 1976, I fortuitously stumbled upon a terrorist attack by
terrorists to blow up an Israeli oil refinery.  Playing a hunch, we
managed to assist the Israeli National Police in averting what could
have been a true catastrophe!

The parlance of law enforcement and intelligence, this idea of
happenstance or serendipitously stumbling upon a potential threat is
known as randomness.  In December 2007 Michael Chertoff, Janet
Napolitano’s predecessor at the helm of the DHS issued a truly massive
news release titled Remarks by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on 2007 Achievements and 2008 Priorities.

What you should consider is this excerpt from that news release the reported on Mr. Chertoff’s statement:

But TSA, again, is another agency that is using this
philosophy of layered defenses as a way of making sure that we don’t
compromise our security simply because human error means that any single
defense is not perfect.

We not only have watch lists, we not only have the
TSA screening function, but we are now deploying behavioral screening
officers to more than 40 of our nation’s airports in order to identify
potentially threatening passengers based on their behavior. We’ve
learned lessons, for example, from the Israelis and the Europeans in how
to train our screeners to look for certain kinds of behavior that
denotes a possible threat or an uneasiness that warrants a closer
inspection. This is a proven tool. It enhances yet another layer of
security, and it helps us build an element of randomness in the process,
which is very important in terms of deterring terrorists.

Both of these programs reflect our determination to
move beyond the static, inflexible model of checkpoint screening, with
which we began TSA, to a more dynamic and multi-layered security
environment that includes, apart from behavioral detection, such tools
as whole body imaging, and a focus on improvised explosive devices.
We’ll be expanding this concept next year because it’s not enough to
simply say we’ve avoided another hijacking on our aircraft since
September 11th. We have to make sure we keep ahead of the enemy so we
can continue to avoid those kinds of hijackings.

Mr. Chertoff also addressed the concept of “multiple layers of
protection.”  He drew the analogy of how an airplane landing on the deck
of an aircraft carrier uses a tail hook that is supposed to grab a
cable to enable it to stop.  Rather than provide a single cable, there
are multiple cables so that the successful landing of that aircraft does
not depend on a single cable.  This is a good analogy and an important
concept.

Here is how he described this:

Now as I said, our mandate is not only to protect
against dangerous people entering the country, but also dangerous goods,
including, in particular, goods that might be radioactive, or other
weapons of mass destruction.

Our approach here is not to rely on any single layer
of protection, but multiple layers of protection. This reflects the
common-sense observation that while human failure is inevitable in any
system, the more systems you build with different kinds of capabilities,
the less likely that that failure will persist throughout all of the
individual gates that something or someone has to pass.

It’s a little bit like if you’ve ever landed on an
aircraft carrier, the tail hook has a number of different bands across
the carrier deck that it can catch — not just one, but several. And the
idea is recognition that the pilot will sometimes miss the first tail
hook, and the tail hook will miss the first band, but it will hit the
second one or the third one or the fourth one or the fifth one. And that
principle of multiple layers, which works on aircraft carriers, also
works in securing our borders with respect to dangerous things and
dangerous people.

Clearly our leaders understand what is needed, what is lacking is
integrity and the political will.  They certainly talk a good game,
making it clear that they know what is needed, but then never provide
what they know is absolutely essential.  As one of INS’ top officials
once told me a long time ago, “We get all wind up and no pitch!”

If, God forbid there is another terrorist attack, would it not be an
outrage that their tombstones could be inscribed, “Here lies an innocent
victim, who lost his (her) life to the lack of political will and the
lack of integrity of the United States Government?”

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