(Image is in the Public Domain)

Still trust the government to not abuse their surveillance power? Read this story about a federal agent who used the Department of Homeland Security's database to stalk his ex-girlfriend and her family. When we paraniod types tell you that massive government systems can be turned against us easily, remember that though we may be loud, obnoxious, and a little nuts at times, that doesn't mean we're wrong.

DHL

(Image is in the Public Domain)

In what has become the norm and not the exception, an expensive Department of Defense project has been shown to be a complete failure wasting millions of dollars and all of our time. What makes this story interesting is it was due in no small part to the efforts of the Government Accountability office that this project was scrapped. They discovered that the program was using live data on American citizens instead of dummy data and that none of the required privacy protections had been put in place. Go figure.

Most frightening is this line:

The privacy office concluded that although required privacy analyses were ignored, the Privacy Act was not technically violated because the live data were covered by privacy notices issued earlier for other programs that originally gathered the information.

Which demonstrates the danger of taking data for one reason, but using for a completely different reason altogether.

DHL

(Image is in the Public Domain)

Apparently, the DHS has only charged 12 cases of terrorism out of 814,000 cases it's brought.

TRAC reported more than 85 percent of the charges involved more common immigration violations such as not having a valid immigrant visa, overstaying a student visa or entering the United States without an inspection.

DHL

(Image is in the Public Domain)

In a continuing effort by the Bush administration and the ridiculous Department of Homeland Security to make sure there's not a country left in this world that supports us, the DHS has suddenly abandoned talks with Canada about traveler pre-screening.

"It's unacceptable to say it can't be figured out," former U.S. ambassador Gordon Giffin said Thursday from Calgary. "The U.S. can't just throw up its hands. It's almost childish, like they're taking their marbles and going home," said Giffin, who served in Canada from 1997 to 2001. "It's just not productive. For Pete's sake, we're working with Canada. We're not working with some Third World country."

DHL

(Image is in the Public Domain)

The DHS apparently has backed off of the requirement to use RFID in the National ID card. It's a start.

DHL

(Image is in the Public Domain)

Apparently the head of the DHS doesn't see why the REAL-ID act is such a big deal.

I'll make this very simple: Passports. E-voting. Airline security. Domestic spying. Not a great track record.