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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRe: the recent SS foul-ups and failings, to what do you attribute them?
11 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited | |
Incompetence and/or stupidity | |
9 (82%) |
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A specific murder plot | |
0 (0%) |
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Underfunding | |
1 (9%) |
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Something else | |
1 (9%) |
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0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided. | |
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underpants
(182,945 posts)CanonRay
(14,120 posts)About 25 years ago the S.S. started hiring big muscle bound goons. They used to hire only the smartest people. Now the goons are in management.
Sopkoviak
(357 posts)For 1000 Alex.
If she had been as diligent at covering the President as she was at covering her ass much of this may not have happened.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)from their original origin in the Treasury Dept. Also, they seemed to have branched out into law enforcement, interesting.
"The Department of Homeland Security was established with the passage of (Public Law 107-296) which in part, transfered the United States Secret Service from the Department of the Treasury, to the new department effective March 1, 2003.
2004 Barbara Riggs, a veteran agent of the Secret Service, became the first woman in the agency's history to be named Deputy Director.
2006 The network of Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Forces expanded from 15 to 24 nationwide task forces dedicated to fighting high-tech, computer-based crimes through successful public-private partnerships.
2007 Protection began for presidential candidate Illinois Senator Barack Obama in May, the earliest initiation of Secret Service protection for any candidate in history. Presidential candidate New York Senator Hillary Clinton already received protection before she entered the race due to her status as former first lady.
2008 The Secret Service marked five years under the Department of Homeland Security. Since 2003, the Secret Service made nearly 29,000 criminal arrests for counterfeiting, cyber investigations and other financial crimes, 98% of which resulted in convictions, and seized more than $295 million in counterfeit currency. The Secret Service investigated and closed financial crimes cases where actual loss amounted to $3.7 billion and prevented a potential loss of more than $12 billion."
My thoughts on this haven't taken full form, but I'm sensing mission creep under a department that was founded in a very partisan way.
whathehell
(29,096 posts)I am amazed at the incredible incompetence that allowed a guy with a weapon
into the White House -- He got through SEVEN security checkpoints and was even
able to open the door because some idiot, known only as "the usher" at this
point, turned off the alarm because "it was too loud".
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)The finest. My mom told me this morning about them not being part of the Treasury anymore. I really agree with you, it's bad they are in a department that was the creation of the Bush years.
whathehell
(29,096 posts)of them turning it back?
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)It's kind of the same with the Patriot Act. No one seems to like it, but no one wants to get rid of it.
whathehell
(29,096 posts)It's being mentioned in the mainstream media and people
are genuinely outraged, not to mention frightened for the president
and his family.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)It's just weird to imagine a Secret Service that used to be so diligent and disciplined get THIS fuckin' sloppy and indifferent...
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)It's fucking terrifying.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)People are human, and we have a tendency of sooner or later putting certain occupations, elevated titles/status, etc. in the category of "So smart/skilled/experienced/highly trained that they are above any reproach or ethical or professional scrutiny" right up to the point where they're derelict in duty, or incompetent, or steal billions in senior citizens' savings, or running an organized crime ring, or being a serial killer at night, or sexually abusing kids entrusted to their care...
And as I start to think about it, there are too many examples for me to list...
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)I think the SS might have been my holdout. But now...
whathehell
(29,096 posts)and when I hear people talk about "higher tech" additions or higher fences,
I want to scream "Just make them do their fucking jobs"!!
Raine1967
(11,589 posts)Laurian
(2,593 posts)Jenoch
(7,720 posts)She chosen specifically to clean up the mess that was going on with the SS. She is apparently incompetent.
Kingofalldems
(38,495 posts)pscot
(21,024 posts)We're in over our heads in so many areas that we can't even count them. We've piled the bullshit so high we can no longer keep it up. Things are sliding everywharre.
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)Everyone knows it's difficult to be constantly aware all the time. I challenge anyone here to go into your yard, and just stand there sweeping your eyes back and forth, watching for someone to charge out at you or anything that looks suspicious. You get bored in minutes, perhaps an hour or two.
We recognize that, and we invested in all sorts of electronic devices to allow the agents to relax their guard so to speak. This put the stress of alerting people of the threat on the machines. When the machine screamed alarm, then the humans could react. Sure it takes vital seconds, perhaps thirty to switch from calm and relaxed to fully alert and ready, but we'll skip past that.
Also the SS started to rely on their image. Movies that showed them as nearly superhuman including White House Down. Then we see the video of Reagan getting shot, in seconds, hyper alert and aware agents had the President in the Limo. Obviously they are extremely well trained. Obviously they are nearly superhuman to go from a casual appearing walk to moving to protect the President in about a second.
Even West Wing the TV show had the Secret Service agents as awesome and aware of everything.
So anyone who is thinking about harming the President is dissuaded because all the information they can get is that the SS is nearly perfect, the best trained bodyguards in the world. The truth is they have gotten lazy, relying on video surveillance, electronic sensors, and computers instead of those previously highly trained skills. As another poster put out they started going with muscle bound people to intimidate, instead of the brightest people in the world. It's harder for an average sized guy of 165 lbs to intimidate a crowd the way a 225 lbs guy over six feet can. Besides, the bigger guy can more easily block bullets right?
Look at the agents around Reagan in the video of him getting shot.
Instant response, no hesitation. Look at the agents. Average size, average build. Average looks. Nothing special about them. Now, they are all bulky guys, armed with state of the art weapons, with state of the art computers, and every security gizmo known to mankind.
Look at the Zapruder film.
The agent was really no bigger than Jackie O. But he was there in a flash. A second or so before he was there.
Imagine the confusion. If this alarm, go this way, if that alarm, go that way. Do this, for the warbling three tone alarm, do that for the high pitched alarm of a single tone repeating. It takes a second to identify which alarm is actually sounding. Then another second for the agent in charge to call up the procedure from the depths of his mind. Then five seconds to get the others moving in a useful direction. Seven seconds from the alarm before motion starts.
Look at the gunshots to the White House. No alarms sounded, so everyone ignored it.
We are relying on the computers to think for us, and they suck at it. We're relying on the computers to identify the danger, and they suck at that too. By the time we identify the danger, and start to react, precious seconds are lost. Seconds that were historically the entire incident from start, to finish. Watch the Reagan vid again. Seven seconds later and John Hinckley was already in custody. Seven second later and the agent had caught up to the car, and climbed aboard a moving car to get to the President. The car was already moving out of the area. No one hesitated, nor asked, what the hell was that. No one waited to be told what to do.
So I vote Incompetence, because we're taking the initiative and intelligence out of the equation. Stupidity, because we're waiting for the machines to tell us what to do. All the facial recognition in the world can't do a damn thing. Setting up screening a mile away from the White House ignores the big problem. We have muscle bound thugs instead of the best and brightest of the Federal Agents. We have overgrown frat boys who put parties on their expense cards, because it's stressful you know, and they gotta blow of some steam.
Then these hungover jackasses stand around and look intimidating while waiting for the computer to tell them if there is anything to worry about. They checked the block man, no trash cans on the street, no cars on the street, no mailboxes. All manhole covers are checked and welded down. The computer is happy man, so what are we going to do tonight?
eridani
(51,907 posts)MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)Just as the handling of the Bundy crimes emboldened the anti-government terrorist militias, so to will the reports of Secret Service incompetence embolden those same terrorist to act in their desire to remove this president.
It's no longer a question of if these terrorists will act on their threats, it's now a matter of when will these terrorists act on their threats.