The Buck Stops Where?

Time and time again when elected officials attempt to make a point or show the American people that they are on top of things we always hear the phrase “The Buck Stops Here”

Unfortunately the buck hasn’t stopped anywhere near any of our elected officials in recent memory.

On the political side the problem is that we have allowed a situation to be set up where vital positions are no longer filled by qualified individuals but by people who have either helped the elected get into office or who are the pawns of lobbyists who funded the campaigns.

On the financial side we continue to elect people who have never met a dollar that they didn’t love to spend.

They not only spend the money that they have but continue to spend what we don’t have.

The recent near disaster is a perfect example.

A man on a terrorist watch lists gets on a plane with explosives and Janet Napolitano the Director of Homeland Security states that the system worked properly.

The day after the attack, Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, created after 9/11 to receive and analyze data from throughout the intelligence system goes on a ski trip.

In the real world both of these people would have been relieved of their positions.

But in the real world people are responsible for their positions and held accountable for their decisions.

But Washington has not been a part of the real world for a long time.

And it is obvious that the buck did not stop at either of their desks or at the desk of their boss.

And I can almost guarantee that any decisions being made will most definitely include the passing of millions of more bucks to the TSA which has wasted billions since 9/11.

Audit results have been ignored as is always the case when you have a self monitoring situation.

And needless to say the buck has never stopped with the TSA.

This is not a knock on the current administration as this is nothing new.

Going back to the Bush Administration one only has to look at the identification of remains at Ground Zero.

Even though two additional victims were identified last week the numbers of identifications over the past few years have been few and far between.

A few years ago a multi-million dollar contract was awarded to Logistics Health Inc. that promised a significant increase in identifications.

Here is some background as to how that company got the contract.

This contract was awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which happens to be a part of the Health and Human

Services Department, which just so happened to be run by Tommy Thompson during Bush's first term, who also happens to be president of Logistics Health Inc, which just by chance is the firm that was awarded the contract.

So you see unfortunately that’s the way positions are filled and contracts awarded.

The bottom line is if we don’t change the process the buck will not stop until it finds its way into the pocket of some political crony and as

for responsibility and accountability we will continue to have none.

If the current administration really wants to prove they are serious they can start with an independent audit of the TSA.

I am sure the results would shock not only them but all of us as well.