Eric Alterman, who has fast become one of my favorite writers and observer of today's America, tells it like it is in his column at The Nation.

"Even in a time of war--a war that seems oddly unrelated to the terrorist threat--the Bush administration isn't serious about protecting the homeland. Instead, it continues to subordinate U.S. security needs to its unchanged political agenda."

We have the same problem out here in Oregon. Homeland Security wants to add about $500 million worth of new security measures and so far has not sent a dime to implement, preferring to let the state handle the costs. I got news for Bush: we can't afford it on our own. We are running about $340 million shortfall in state funding already, and Portland schools have chopped three weeks off the school year and laid off a whole bunch of teachers. Here in Bend, the school board has already dipped into a bond fund (that was set up for new school construction) in order to repair a couple of the existing high schools which were falling apart. There is NO MONEY for these new HSA demands without the Bushies ponying up some dough.

The Govt found money to go bomb the shit out of Afghanistan and free Iraq, but they don't have money to fund the new policies for our OWN protection. It's unfair, and it's going to be disasterous.