7/13 - Ron Suskind

• Terror Targets. The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security released a report (on-line here) on July 11 questioning the effectiveness of the National Asset Database, which was an inventory of more than 77,000 national assets as of January 2006. The Inspector General noted that the ambiguity about what constituted a critical asset, the inconsistency in reporting criteria, and the inclusion of non-critical assets in the database could lead to inefficient uses of homeland security resources. As noted, Indiana had the most assets in the database, with about 50 percent more assets than New York and more than double the number of assets in California. Some of the assets included in the database were Old MacDonald’s petting zoo, Sweetwater flea market, a groundhog zoo, and other apparently non-essential locations. An article about the database is on-line here.

• The Word: Inquisition. Senator Joe Lieberman (D-Connecticut) announced on July 3 that he was taking steps to run for a fourth term in the general election even if he does not win the Democratic primary on August 8 (release on-line here). Lieberman has faced opposition from businessman Ned Lamont (on-line here), who has criticized Lieberman’s support for the war in Iraq. The column by David Brooks is on-line here.

• Threat Down: Canadian Drugs! Fake Sperm! Jackie Chan! Rogue Waves! Magna Morphs! The Senate voted 68-32 on July 11 to prevent Homeland Security funds from being used to stop the importation of drugs from Canada. Senator David Vitter (R-Louisana) said in a statement that “while this is good news, we still have to secure this amendment in the upcoming House-Senate Conference” and that the measure may be eliminated from the homeland security appropriations bill when the Senate’s version is reconciled with the House’s.
  Researchers have reported the successful use of embryonic stem cells to grow sperm that can be used to produce offspring (release on-line here, which may help treat male infertility.
  The New York Times article about rogue waves is on-line here. Another article on rogue waves is on-line here.

posted by Stephen Lee @ 7/14/2006 08:37:00 AM