In perhaps the most stunningly stupid move since the Trojans said—hey, cool horse, let’s bring it inside the gates!, Michael Chertoff has decided that the DOHS (pronounced Doh!–like Homer Simpson) doesn’t really need to defend New York. Because, hey, it’s not like there are any landmarks or anything here. It’s not as though NYC has already been attacked by terrorists twice who show a propensity for hitting targets suspiciously outside of DOHS’ definition of ‘landmark’ (I know you all know the list goes on and on… Empire State Building, the Met, the Statue of Liberty, the subways, the stock exchanges (there are five here), Federal Hall, more museums than you can shake a stick at, all of those really tall office buildings (’cause, hey, who’s gonna try to hit an office tower?!), Bloomingdales, Saks, Donald Trump’s hair, the Port, Ellis Island, Central Park, and on and on and on…)
I’d like to believe this is simple stupidity, but I don’t. What it is, is cold, calculating negligence and malfeasance. Bring me the head of Michael Chertoff.
Apparently the idea is: (wait for it)…. We’re going to fight them over HERE—here being New York City, so we don’t have to fight them over THERE—there being Wyoming. Home to such important national monuments as: THE LARGEST PILE OF HOMELAND SECURITY MONEY IN THE NATION!!! Wyoming, the nation’s number one state recipient of homeland security money per capita. (Hey—wait a second—isn’t that where CHENEY is from? Nahhhh…. Couldn’t be… he’d never stoop to lining his pockets with the fruits of tragedy, like, say, sole sourced contracts to his cornies… er… um… well… at least we know he’s a straight shooter… um.. er… never mind.) I think they’ll be OK in Cheyenne, since the state doesn’t even have jet service yet, so a couple of 767s headed for the capital, Cheyenne, seems unlikely. Chertoff’s big idea is apparently an expansion of the ‘fly paper’ theory—fight them here in New York so we don’t have to deal with those guys elsewhere.
It’s the most ridiculous thing imaginable for a city that has 1) sacrificed so much already and 2) continues to be the largest target and 3) in being vulnerable itself makes the rest of the country far more vulnerable. Be clear on this: if New York gets hit again—especially in the financial sector or its infrastructure, the nations’ economy will come grinding to a halt, and you will feel the pain of that almost as much as we will here. It will make the gas price spikes you’ve felt in the wake of Katrina seem like pocket change you’ve thrown into a wishing well.
The thing that really ought to incense everyone about this—and I mean everyone—is the way that this administration has continually paid lip service to New York and how they intend to make sure those things never happen again (think Bush on the rubble pile at ground zero or the GOP convention here to underscore their commitment to preventing another 9-11). Well, it’s clear they don’t mean it, at least, not in any meaningful sense that would allow measures to be taken to protect our investments—yours and mine—like explosive detectors, radiation detectors, fire fighting and emergency response units or the resources to protect the largest commuter rail and subway systems in the nation (Madrid and London anyone?)
After 9-11 many people said that what happened here—to New York—happened to all Americans. I wrote about it here in a post called “Conversations at Ground Zero” after I had been speaking to a man from Carolina about that day.
If you support Chertoff after this, I don’t ever want to hear anyone claim that this happened to all of America, because that’s Bullshit. It happened here. And the government can’t be bothered to stop it from happening again because they’re too busy engaging in an onanistic orgy of self-gratification throwing pork to every person and place insight, except the ones that really need it.
So, when—not if, but when it happens again don’t cry for us when you watch people jumping hand in hand to their death, or brave fire fighters rushing to their death, or be mystified as your investments and your 401-k and the Federal Reserve all go down in flames. You see, we’re fighting them HERE—so you don’t have to fight them THERE.
Somewhere in a campaign office, someone is hanging a sign that reads simply “It’s the arrogance stupid.” That, more than anything else, will be the downfall of this administration. Because another attack here, whether you like it or not, effects all of you. And flypaper eventually is a strip covered in decay and rot that you have to deal with.
Arrogance and stupidity didn’t work so well for Brown—let’s hope Chertoff figures that out before he’s told he’s ‘doing a heckuva job!’
Wyoming’s per capita security spending is an oft quoted inanity, but you should probably source the data and add some context. For example: although it’s big, it’s notably bereft of people, with a population of only 509,294, which is a whole lot less than NYC (pop. = ~22 million), even if for every million spent on Wyoming, 43 million were spent on NYC, per capita Wyomingans would be receiving more. Also, I wonder if the statistic could be biased against large, empty states (Wyoming = ~100,000 sq. miles) on the basis of some national per sq mile averaging…
Per capita spending should absolutely be part of the matrix—how many people do you need to use this money to defend? Along with what is there to defend. Yes, there are fewer people in Wyoming—there’s also nothing there to defend! No terrorist is targeting Cheyenne!
A 40%+ reduction in spending for NYC when none of the real needs post 9-11 have been addressed is unconscionable. This is a blatant pork distribution—nothing more. It should offend everyone because the next attack here will take a toll on everyone. And that’s the point. Terrorists are found with maps of NYC in their pockets—not Omaha.