DHS -Critical infrastructure -Hoover Dam is as Important as Amish Popcorn

DHS "Critical Infrastructure": Amish Popcorn, Trees of Mystery

As the New York Times notes, the Department of Homeland Security inspector general released an important and timely report on Tuesday, entitled "Progress in Developing the National Asset Database." The report chronicles the difficulties that DHS has faced in developing a usable national inventory of critical infrastructure. It also helps explain some of the shortcomings in the recent homeland security grant allocation decisions -- remember New York's big cut? -- which were based to a certain degree on the information in this database.

The report provides a detailed breakdown of the 77,069 assets in the database by type, as shown in this chart. It then discusses some of the limitations of the current database, noting that it does not assign criticality rankings to the assets in the database; in other words, the Brooklyn Bridge or Hoover Dam have the same value to the nation as the least significant asset included in the database. And what are some of those low-caliber assets? The report provides a sampling, and oh what a list it is. Some highlights:



Old MacDonald’s petting zoo
Bean Fest
Nix’s Check Cashing
Amer. Society of Young Musicians
Trees of Mystery
Kennel Club and Poker Room
Historical Bok Sanctuary
4 Cs Fuel and Lube
Kangaroo Conservation Center
Bourbon Festival
Jay’s Sporting Goods
Groundhog Zoo
Sweetwater Flea Market
High Stakes Bingo
Frontier Fun Park
Mule Day Parade
Beach at End of Street
Amish Country Popcorn
Pepper and Herb Company
Order of Elks National Memorial
Donut Shop
Casket Company
Muzzle Shoot Enterprise
Several Wal-Marts
Apple and Pork Festival
Yacht Repair Business
Anti-Cruelty Society

These were assets which were submitted by states as lists of their critical infrastructure in 2004 and 2005, with little quality control to date. And they aren't anomalies. The report notes that the state of Indiana has 8,591 assets on the list - 50% more than New York (5,867) and nearly triple the number of assets that California submitted (3,457). The state of New Mexico apparently contains 73% of the critical assets in IT sector nationwide, according to the database. New York has only 2% of the nation's banking and finance assets - trailing North Dakota & Missouri. Indiana has more tall buildings than Illinois, home to skyscraper city Chicago. And so on. The chart on page 51 of the report provides the complete state-by-state breakdown.

http://www.defensetech.org/

destroy America's Yacht Repair Businesses. Jeez, all our yachts would go...unrepaired!

...of an interruption in my apple and pork supplies. The horror. The horror.

to the Mule Day parade! They are my relatives!