Debbie Schlussel: BUY THIS BOOK!: Clark Kent Ervin, American Hero
**** SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATE ****
If there is a man who should be in charge of Homeland Security, that man is Clark Kent Ervin, brave patriot extraordinaire. The man has the mega-guts and -integrity sorely lacking in the department's rudderless "leadership."
Ervin, a brilliant Harvard grad and prominent Black Republican, is as brave as they come. As Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security from the department's creation, he irritated the powers that be because he wasn't afraid to unturn any stone to expose corruption within the department. His reports were thorough, scathing, and full of evidence. But, more important, Ervin didn't just uncover corruption and waste, he uncovered glaring lapses in U.S. security.
And that's why for all his great effort and service to America, Ervin was asked to resign by the Bush Administration after the Prez won re-election. Sad but true for the Bush regime: If you do your job as Inspector General, you need to go. Especially at Homeland Security where Mediocrity America rises to the top at warp speed.
Tomorrow, Ervin's new book, "Open Target: Where America is Vulnerable to Attack," comes out tomorrow. It's ironic that the book comes just a day after Illegal Alien May Day, since Ervin writes about the vulnerability of borders. But he also talks about DHS' failure at ports, airports, stadiums, critical infrastructure like the water supply, and mass transit.
See "United 93" and then buy this book. If you feel we are safer today than we were on 9/11, here are 272 stark pages that will disabuse you of that false notion. "Open Target"--and all of Ervin's IG reports--is must reading for all Americans. But it is especially must reading for the President and his minions at Homeland Security, like Michael Chertoff a/k/a "Mr. Burns," Julie L. Myers a/k/a "The ICE Princess," and Marcy Forman-Friedman a/k/a "Peppermint Patty."
The terrorists are reading it, even if they are not. Of his co-horts at Homeland Security, The Washington Post's Al Kamen quotes Ervin's book:
I did my job, but the department's leaders have not done theirs.
AMEN.
**** UPDATE: Although Clark Kent Ervin wasn't popular with bureaucratic stiffs running DHS, he was always popular with honest, hard-working agents. As one ICE agent writes me:
Bravo for praising Clark. He is on the money with DHS. I will get his book, this week. He was booted for telling the truth and issuing a report that the administration didn't like. It was all true, and this guy is an honest, intelligent individual that should have been given the chance to run DHS.
Posted by Debbie on May 1, 2006 10:42 AM to Debbie Schlussel