It's so hard to know exactly where to start

Did the U.S. (i.e. this Administration) just agree to let an Arab company manage security for major U.S. ports?
I tend toward internationalism myself... I don't ask what ground my oil was pumped from or where my clothes were made or where my winter fruit was grown... but I can understand those who feel that there are some things that are so vital to our national interest that we need to keep it within our borders.
I thought it was kind of funny when the U.S. Army went to the black berets made in China. (Berets made no sense to me, but buying them from the PRC was a nice touch.) Employing any offshore company to manage security in U.S. ports is not so funny... in fact it's stupid.
Michael Chertoff reassures us that this company, Dubai Ports World, has been vetted. If Michael Chertoff had any credibility left at all after the 2005 hurricane season, that might count for something. I am not comforted that the people who said that Michael Brown was doing a heck of a job after Katrina now say that Michael Chertoff is doing a great job. In any case, I think the nationality of any non-U.S. company overseeing U.S. port security is beside the point.
We need a rule that says that if it's really and truly important to our national defense... or homeland security or whatever we're calling it today... we don't outsource it.

A Quick Note to the President

"By amending our mistakes, we get wisdom.
By defending our faults, we betray an unsound mind."
-The Sutra of Hui Neng

In Memory of HM3 John T. Fralish

Petty Officer 3rd Class John T. Fralish, 30, of New Kingstown, Pa., died Feb. 6, when enemy forces opened fire on a U.S. patrol northwest of Methar Lam in Laghman Province, Afghanistan.
Doc Fralish was assigned to the 3rd Marine Division Detachment, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe, Hawaii. He had previously served two tours in Iraq.
Semper Fi