Reply #71: Vague, scary and wish(list)y-washy. [View All]

[stickdog]

* Enlisting the National Guard in Homeland Security. Homeland security should be a central mission of the National Guard. Guard members should be trained to serve as personnel in the event of an attack, helping evacuate or quarantine people, assisting in medical units; and helping communities set up and execute plans.


How will this be administered?


* Expanding Americorps to Make Homeland Security a Core Mission. Since 9/11, applications to Americorps have increased by 50 percent and applications to Teach for America have tripled. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration promised to double Americorps and then stood by as Congressional Republicans cut it in half. John Kerry believes that Americorps should be doubled and its mission expanded to include homeland security. Americorps members could be trained to help in emergency medical response, community planning, and other homeland security activities.


Who will provide the training? How much will it cost?


* Creating a New Community Defense Service. This service would be comprised of hundreds of thousands of Americans in neighborhoods all over the country. Volunteer Service Captains would receive training and education to assist their communities in the event of an attack Like the Civil Defense Program that existed during World War II, service captains would act as a 21st century Neighborhood Watch. They would be trained to help identify local health professionals and experts in the area, provide information on local evacuation or quarantine plans, and stand ready to be of assistance to first defenders in the hours after an attack -- providing needed manpower to deal with the aftermath.


Who will provide the training? How much will it cost? Who will control these local volunteer groups? The federal Department of Homeland Security?


* Calling on the Private Sector to Help Bring Technological Innovations to the War on Terrorism. During World War II, the U.S. government brought together our greatest thinkers, scientists, academics and policymakers through the Manhattan Project to design new tools for warfare. John Kerry believes we need a similar effort to bring the advances of the 21st century to the War on Terrorism. This should include: gathering the nation’s greatest scientists to develop needed vaccines and antidotes to the biological and chemical scourges (similar to the work that is already being done to protect troops on the battlefield from biological and chemical agents); partnering with the technology community to improve detection technologies and developing and implementing new security systems to prevent tampering with goods in transit.


Talk about a wish list. Exactly how does John Kerry plan on implementing this?


(4) REFORMING DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE. Many of the examinations of 9/11 have raised serious questions about whether the FBI is the right agency to conduct domestic intelligence collection and analysis given their fundamental mission is to catch and prosecute criminals. The Bush Administration’s proposed terrorist threat integration center, (TTIC) would not be able to do the job, given its dependence on other agencies' analysts, the bureaucratic divide created between people identifying vulnerabilities and individuals charged with eliminating those vulnerabilities, and the numerous people in charge that could complicate efforts to work with the states and local governments on information sharing. John Kerry believes that simplifying the bureaucratic charts makes more sense. America needs an independent intelligence capability that focuses explicitly on domestic intelligence.


What the hell does this scary shit actually mean?


* Connecting the Nation’s Public Health Systems with a Real Time Detection System. This initiative would apply the benefits of 21st century modern technology to provide real time reporting of disease outbreaks and track and monitor health trends. Most bioterror illnesses initially look like the flu, and health professionals may not realize a trend. A new real time detection system would pool confidential patient data and pharmacy usage across the country to alert public health officials when disease is on the rise.


Total Medical Information Awareness?


* Increasing Research for Diagnostic Tests, Vaccines, and Treatments. When penicilln was discovered, it was found to treat a wide range of illnesses. Later, Cipro treated a wide range of bacterial diseases, including anthrax Terrorist organizations and hostile dictators are trying to create new biological weapons that will kill us fast with designer variations on existing diseases. We need to bring together the best of the public and private sectors to develop broad-spectrum designer antidotes so that our first responders - and our population -- can be protected and treated from the widest possible range of attacks.


Why Cipro? Why "designer" antibiotics? What the hell is Kerry's staff talking about here? Do they even understand the concept of antibiotics and environmentally driven bacterial resistance? Do they think there are "antidotes" for viruses?


* Protect Private Infrastructure. At least 3/4 of the country's major infrastructure is in private hands. However, if even one large facility is hit, with a biological agent or an explosive that releases toxic fumes, thousands – even millions -- could die. The economy could also take a huge hit, as emergency measures were taken to figure out how to prevent a repeat and shut down whole industries for weeks or even months. The Bush Administration says we should leave it to big business to make these security improvements themselves, even though they are unlikely to make real changes. Others might want to mandate protective measures with an expensive one-size-fits-all Federal solution. John Kerry believes should work to develop modest, minimal safety standards for certain kinds of industry and infrastructure, look at requiring private terrorism insurance, and helping owners find economical ways to improved security.


What industries? What "modest" standards? Could this be just another unformed "wish list"?