US Department of Homeland Security

The US Department of Homeland Security was created primarily in response to the 9/11 attacks, with President George W. Bush both announcing its creation (on 2001-09-20) and signing it into law. Its creation was controversial, and many people continue to regard it as a bad idea.

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Editorial Comments

The DHS is also responsible for the dubious color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System, whose purpose is unclear and which seems primarily designed to ensure elevated levels of fear among the general citizenry and thus more likely to support the Bush administration (a study has demonstrated that fear motivates voters to prefer Bush over Kerry [1]; the Bush administration seems well aware of their position as the party of choice for the fearful).

Reference

• Wikipedia

Related Articles

• Homeland security: the general issue of securing a country from attack

News

• 2006-03-24 Homeland security group to meet away from public eye (slashdot)
• 2006-03-15 WP DHS Gets Another F in Computer Security (slashdot)
• 2006-03-06 Warning! Financial responsibility can lead to terrorism: "They were told, as they moved up the managerial ladder at the call center, that the amount they had sent in was much larger than their normal monthly payment. And if the increase hits a certain percentage higher than that normal payment, Homeland Security has to be notified. And the money doesn't move until the threat alert is lifted."
• 2006-03-03 For DHS, Freedom is Not a Priority

Humor

• 2007-09-14 Homeland Security Blanket: handy for those duck-and-cover exercises

Notes

• wikipedia:User talk:63.162.143.21: apparently someone(s) at the DHS have been adding seemingly random or useless text to Wikipedia, or perhaps someone has hacked in to one or more DHS computers and is committing mischief through them; this seems like a distinct possibility, given the DHS's "F" rating in computer security (see 2006-03-15 WP). Shouldn't the pro-war crowd be concerned about this possibility?