Happy New Year!

We are a peculiar people. We want security, but we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings doing it. We use "special class" quotas in filling the positions for newly formed security units, and we expect a world class result. People serious about security must give up some of these worthless perks we enjoy. The best security units in the world actually look for people who might be a threat to them instead of worrying about who might get their feelings hurt by being searched or questioned. Their security units are highly trained in weapons, tactics, and interview techniques. Some countries even use military personnel to do these jobs. On the other hand our quota selected and labor union protected operatives do not exude the same air of competence and professionalism. We fill our top level law enforcement positions with lawyer/politicians using the same highly scientific selection process. Quota satisfaction and political payoffs are the two main criteria, and we wonder why these agency chiefs look like boobs (not a physical reference) when the system fails. I retired before the formation of "Homeland Security" because I knew what the outcome would be. I was right. Nothing has changed but the name. High level government management is usually filled with people who are an embarrassment in the field and moved up to hide their incompetence. They are often petty and small minded and don't play well with others. Therefore, the "fiefdoms" still exist under the larger umbrella name, "Homeland Security", but they still refuse to cooperate with each other. The rank and file do their jobs, but the ones responsible for making the mixture gel are the same ones who couldn't do it before.