Tom Ridge will be remembered as the man behind the colors. Now, the post will be filled by a man who plays the game by the numbers.  Here comes the judge!  Michael Chertoff comes highly recommended, unless you ask for a reference from Hillary Clinton.  So just who is this guy?  Well, listen to the NPR - Profile of Homeland Security Nominee Michael Chertoff, for a glowing interview about this capable former high-ranking federal prosecutor.  What’s going on?  All those Klintonistas uptown rebels now coming to the aid of a downtown Republican reactionary!  Did they forget about that rightwing conspiracy during those Whitewater hearings, or are they simply confused and think they were watching the inquisition from the Watergate?

 

Shedding light on such disarray, the ubiquitous source of sources, D.C Dave depicts Chertoff as the Master of the Cover-up.  Dave Martin’s account is well worth reading.  Vincent W. Foster was well remembered thanks to the excellent work of the future elevated barrister to a Federal appeals judgeship.  So is it time for the current loyal opposition to close ranks with the ruling party and praise the selection as atonement for the Bernard Kerik fiasco?  Time will tell, but the indication that his confirmation will be a breeze speaks well about politics as usual.

 

Who can you trust to figure out this appointment?  Surely you can rely on USA TODAY.  “He played a major role in developing the controversial USA Patriot Act, which gave the government increased law enforcement and surveillance powers to fight terrorism.”

 

"Mike has shown a deep commitment to the cause of justice and an unwavering determination to protect the American people," said Bush, who called him "a key leader in the war on terror."

 

As any good citizen knows, the test of what constitutes protection is an essential ingredient that every bureaucrat must pass.  If a popular leader says the “war on terror” is the essential standard, who doesn’t want the best man to fill the role?  Fellow jurisprudent bar member Elaine Cassel comes right to the point: “A good place to look for Chertoff's legal philosophy is in the prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui, now taking place in the Eastern District of Virginia. Chertoff is not the prosecutor of course, Paul McNulty of the Eastern District is. But Chertoff is McNulty's boss and he is calling the shots. So Chertoff argued the government's case in the super secret hearing before the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals last week. The government is trying to block trial judge Leonie Brinkema's ruling that Moussaoui and his lawyers have access to the government's star witnesses against him. The government has refused and appealed. Judge Brinkema, who still believes in the Constitution, rightly ruled that to deny Moussaoui that access is a blatant violation of the Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses.”

Now couple the recent pick of White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales for U.S. Attorney General into the mix for Homeland Defense.  Most of those same good citizens will ignore Gonzales’ role in the prisoner abuse scandal, but what about the sentiment that seeks to focus upon the thinking and motivation of the man. From an Albuquerque Tribune editorial: “The Senate and the public are entitled to know everything pertinent about who it is that will be charged with enforcing the laws of the United States and on what basis that person has made such decisions in the past. Litmus tests aside, Gonzales' record is the issue, and we the people should know not only where he stands, but also where he stood when it really mattered.”

 

What's wrong with this conventional analysis?  If the issue is slanted as the character of Kerik, the collusion of Chertoff and the concurrence of Gonzales, the basic conclusion will be overlooked.  All three are more than willing to support the premise that there is a vital need for the dictates that make up the Patriot Act.  Anyone who equates the draconian measures within the rush to suspend or eliminate fundamental civil liberties as the price to protect the homeland, are just as complicit in their zeal to destroy our civilization as the triplets of primal enforcement.  Among the three, Kerik would have been the most effective and the least offensive.  As lawyers, both Chertoff and Gonzales are trained in the practice of pretext.

 

If Kerik is a modern day Wyatt Earp, Chertoff is a clone of Bernard Nussbaum and Gonzales is in the mold of Ron Ziegler.  What is needed is not more law enforcement, but more peace keeping.  If the savages are intent upon burning down the fort, what was the purpose of building the fortress in Indian territory in the first place?  A permanent garrison colony in every corner of the globe only nourishes more hatred that stems from interventionism.  Where is the security for the homeland when the borders remain open for inevitable retaliation?  The pilgrims will never be safe as long as the cavalry is off on foreign expeditions.  If the American public really wants security, isn’t it imperative to know and identify the real threat? 

The numbers just don’t add up.  Our “Trail of Tears” will be worse than that of the Cherokee Nation.  The national debate should address the movement of the "Great Federal Father" of  despotism as it eradicates the wilds of our own self determination.  As more time is wasted on confirmation hearings that avoid the central issues, the agenda for disinformation just keeps rolling along.  The next Homeland Security shaman won’t heal this society.  Instead of being a medicine man, he will function as a snake oil salesman.  The color of red isn’t a skin hue, but is a repression that would make any Marxist proud.  It now resides in the cabinet and is coming to a cabin in your own homestead.  Ignoring the big picture won’t save the frontier . . . .