Click HERE to fax Congress and demand the contraction of the Department of Homeland Security 

It is time that we demand the contraction of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  Created to combat and prevent terrorist attacks after 9/11, the department is a cash guzzling failure that does little more than undermine civil liberties in the United States; it is time Congress acts.

Last week, Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) released a bipartisan congressional report that portrays the DHS as an ineffective organization that does little to protect Americans all the while draining the United States treasury with their ballooning bureaucracy.

The Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet level agency in the Federal government.  DHS was originally formed in response to the terrorist attacks on United States’ interests on September 11, 2001.  The current DHS Secretary is Janet Napolitano an appointee of President Obama.  In 2012, DHS has a budget north of $60 billion.

DHS has been criticized for years over their ineffectiveness, their lack of transparency, their stewardship of taxpayer dollars, and their disregard for civil liberties of United States citizens.  In this latest fiasco, the bipartisan congressional report focuses on DHS run “Fusion Centers” and their efficacy in the fight against terrorism.  American citizens pay over $60 billion every year to have their civil liberties violated and the Constitution.  It is time we demand Congressional action.

These fusion centers were supposed to streamline anti-terrorist activities on the Federal and state level.  They were supposed to put Federal and state officials in the same room in an effort to expand and integrate intelligence data to prevent terrorist attacks on US soil.

Click HERE to join the conversation on Facebook

What did these fusion centers actually do?  The Congressional report states "The investigation could identify no reporting which uncovered a terrorist threat, nor could it identify a contribution such fusion center reporting made to disrupt an active terrorist plot".

The investigation further found that “DHS’s support of fusion centers has yielded little, if any, benefit to federal counterterrorism intelligence efforts... The fusion centers often produced irrelevant, useless or inappropriate intelligence reporting to DHS, and many produced no intelligence reporting whatsoever,"

The report went on to say "Many fusion centers lacked either the capability or stated objective of contributing meaningfully to the federal counterterrorism mission…many centers didn't consider counterterrorism an explicit part of their mission, and federal officials said some were simply not concerned with doing counterterrorism work."  So we have fusion centers charged with promoting counterterrorism and yet they aren’t concerned with counterterrorism?  Get mad because the Federal government is wasting our tax dollars.  Congress knows about it; it is time we demand action!

Click HERE to fax Congress and demand the contraction of the Department of Homeland Security

So these fusion centers do absolutely nothing?  Well, not exactly.  They were quite efficacious in relieving Americans of their constitutional rights.  In fact, Sen. Coburn stated, "It's troubling that the very 'fusion' centers that were designed to share information in a post-9/11 world have become part of the problem. Instead of strengthening our counterterrorism efforts, they have too often wasted money and stepped on Americans' civil liberties".

How exactly are these fusion centers affecting our constitutional rights?  Easy, DHS seeks to investigate individuals who, in their opinion, might be a terrorist threat.  DHS, alongside personnel from state and local agencies pool information about these citizens at these fusion centers.  DHS stores the information gleaned from these investigations on government computers.  Much of the information stored on these computers analyzes the free speech behavior of the individuals in question. According to Federal law, DHS may not store such information on government computers unless criminal activity is involved.  It is unconstitutional.  Therefore, everyday DHS acts in opposition of the United States Constitution and Federal law.  Millions of people have their rights violated.  Every.  Single.  Day.

Click HERE to join the conversation on Facebook

Why hasn’t Congress done anything?  With last week’s report, we are assured that Congress is aware of the problem.  We have got to tell them fix this issue; it is time that we demand the contraction of DHS.  Stand with us and fax Congress today.  Let’s lower government waste and provide for greater freedoms for US citizens.  It just takes one fax.

This isn’t the first time DHS has been criticized for violating the Constitution and ignoring civil liberties in the United States.  It has recently been discovered that DHS is stockpiling hundreds of millions of rounds of hollow point ammunition; these are bullets that can only be used against American citizens, they cannot be used in any international conflict.  DHS has also started using drones to collect information on American citizens; just like the drones the military uses in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Further, there is evidence that the data collection process used by DHS is unconstitutional and is an abridgement of the Constitution of the United States.  DHS has even demanded the right to censor the Internet.  Unbelievable!  Congress must do something; we have to send our lawmakers a message!

The DHS has a long track record for minimizing civil rights in this country while maximizing the total cost to taxpayers; a typical liberal outcome.  It is time we take a stand.  Fax Congress and demand the immediate contraction of the DHS.  Shut down these useless fusion centers and put the savings toward paying down the national debt.  It is time we start taking action; we must be the voice of reason.  Congress will listen if we stand up and speak with a loud enough voice.  Stand with us today; our voice will be too loud to ignore!

Click HERE to fax Congress and demand the contraction of the Department of Homeland Security

Sincerely,

Tony Adkins

Conservative-Daily