[RickSp]

I guess I can understand why the homeland security funding for New York and Washington DC was recently cut by 40%. It seems that the real targets of terror are in Indiana and Wisconsin at least if you believe the Department of Homeland Security's National Asset Database, which identifies possible terrorist targets.

Among possible terror targets in Indiana is Amish Country Popcorn, whereas Times Square, in the heart of New York City, is not listed at all. The database also includes an insect zoo, but not the Statue of Liberty. Montana and Nebraska, with among with the lowest population densities of any states in the country each have more terroristst targets listed than New Jersey, the state with the highest population density.

U.S. Terror Targets: Petting Zoo and Flea Market?

It reads like a tally of terrorist targets that a child might have written: Old MacDonald’s Petting Zoo, the Amish Country Popcorn factory, the Mule Day Parade, the Sweetwater Flea Market and an unspecified “Beach at End of a Street.” But the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, in a report released Tuesday, found that the list was not child’s play: all these “unusual or out-of-place” sites “whose criticality is not readily apparent” are inexplicably included in the federal antiterrorism database. In addition to the petting zoo, in Woodville, Ala., and the Mule Day Parade in Columbia, Tenn., the auditors questioned many entries, including “Nix’s Check Cashing,” “Mall at Sears,” “Ice Cream Parlor,” “Tackle Shop,” “Donut Shop,” “Anti-Cruelty Society” and “Bean Fest.” The National Asset Database, as it is known, is so flawed, the inspector general found, that as of January, Indiana, with 8,591 potential terrorist targets, had 50 percent more listed sites than New York (5,687) and more than twice as many as California (3,212), ranking the state the most target-rich place in the nation. The database is used by the Homeland Security Department to help divvy up the hundreds of millions of dollars in antiterrorism grants each year, including the program announced in May that cut money to New York City and Washington by 40 percent, while significantly increasing spending for cities including Louisville, Ky., and Omaha. “We don’t find it embarrassing,” said the department’s deputy press secretary, Jarrod Agen. “The list is a valuable tool.”

May all our enemies be as inept and clueless as those who claim to be trying to protect us.