kindergarteners Could Be Terrorists Too

"While Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez assures the U.S. Senate that the Bush Administration’s domestic eavesdropping program is a vital "early warning system" for terrorists, another homeland security measure strikes at a local elementary school."

"The kindergarten class at Lakewood’s Taft Elementary was planning a field trip to NASA Glenn Research Center. It’s a popular trip because it’s free, because the NASA staff already has age-appropriate tours that fit well with school curriculum, and, well, it’s outer space, for pete’s sake. They’ve got rocket ships."

Well guess what, they couldn't go. A regulation is in place barring anyone who isn't a U.S. citizen from visiting the center. The trip was cancelled because two kids weren't citizens.

I keep saying our government can't protect us from anything, much less determind terrorists, because bureaucracies just aren't designed for efficiency and competence. The bureaucracy in question is Homeland Security, which is inefficient, incompetent, and will be ineffective in protecting us from any of the hundreds of new terrorist we create every month. The fact that they will bar a 6 year old child from a normally publicly accessable tour, shows that it doesn't have the ability to think on its' feet, something you would think vital for people tasked with your safety. Bureaucrats look at a well-intentioned book of rules and guidlines, and follow them to the letter. Unfortunately, the people who make up the rules cannot be psychic, and predict every scenario to allow and disallow, which leads the bureaucrat to take the ass-covering route by choosing not to think, but just follow orders.

Now I don't blame the Center for this, not even Homeland Security (damn I hate that name, reminds me of "The Fatherland", and "The Motherland", both used extensively by now deceased dictatorships). No, I blame the rule makers in Congress for rushing through new (and often unnecessary) laws and regulations without ever giving 5 minutes to think about how best to implement them, or if they can even be implemented effectively. So many new rules created, while at the same time making sure they can't be contested. Murderers, rapists, and child molesters get appeals, but not law-abiding victims of the war on terror.

Instead of doing any homework, they (Congress) just listen to those who are insisting on greater authority, and give'em whatever they want as long as they invoke some magic key-words relating to "security", or "terrorism". Those seeking more authority don't care whether they ensnare the innocent, they're drunk with power. Many in the Legislature seem to feel (or perhaps are being threatened), that if the public finds out they refused, or took too long in granting more police powers "to make you safe", they'll be accused of being soft on terrorism, and lose support for a re-election.

Meanwhile, the bureaucrats continue to treat everyone, even children, like enemies of the State.