Homeland Security: North to discuss communication challenges

North fails to address the citizen perspective on Homeland Security, and fails to adequately address public concerns about ovezealousness. Complaints against the government under the Patriot Act are sealed.

More.

North article as a good introduction.

The following misses the point:

Homeland Security Operations Center is today a streamlined, high tech, facility, staffed 24-7, where all relevant terror intelligence is fused and disseminated to those who can act on it

North fails to adequately review the bureaucracy from the perspective of constituents: Difficulty in reporting; or why information is bottlenecked.

Nor are there any compelling solutions to the challenges citizens have to providing information to law enforcement. North fails to challenge law enforcement and does not adequately review reports of information being rebuffed.

Homeland Security quickly mobilizes on the basis of innuendo, to detain and question innocent citizens. But the Congressional oversight is abysmal.

More than 6 dozen Congressional committees having no central leadership or control of oversight.

North fails to adequately discuss how DHS management flaws permitted the Texas Rangers to inappropriately use DHS in their hunt for the Texas Democrats.

Also this comment misses the mark.

More than 500,000 "first responders" have received new training and equipment to mitigate the consequences of a terror attack.

This fails to adqeuately characterize the quality of the training, the scope of the tasks, or whether funding is appropriately dovetailed with the most likely needs. Unclear what basis is for this statement as first responders are not getting adquate funding or grants they need for training.