Homeland Security, Hawaiian Style

And how, exactly, is the Asia-Pacific Homeland Security Summit relevant if it's held in Cleveland?

SOS??????Social Security Trust Fund. All We Are Saying Return Our Fund
Can Some One Tell Me Why We Do Not Have Social Security Surplus?
While it is true that the amount being paid into the Social Security Trust Fund is more what is being paid out to beneficiaries when they retire. Why is there so much talk about Social Security Benefits getting exhausted?
The Simple Truth Is That: We have not been told what has been happening to the left over. While the Social Security may be regarded as separate, it is not part of the Federal Budget Fund and it is supposed to be used to pay only for retirement benefits. While not being part of the general budget revenue, the Social Security Surplus left after paying for benefits is constantly being taken out as loans or borrowed by various Government Agencies and they never pay back the Money. That is the Real and Biggest Social Security Problem. The Final Result: The Government and Its Agencies Have Spent All The Money Left In The Social Security Trust Fund.
What are the First Step Solutions?
First: Ban Allowing the Social Security Trust Fund Be Touched by the Government and Its Agencies.
Second: We Need The Name of Government Agencies Owing The Social Security Trust Fund. They Should Be Made To Pay Back.
Third: STOP ALL IOUs to Government Agencies.
Forth: Bring to justice whoever touches the social security retirement money.
There many more solutions. Comments welcome!!!!

Why don't you write about something worthwhile for a change? This is a load of typical sensational journalism crap. I hate to break it to you to but there are thousands upon thousands of legit conferences held each year all over the world in nice locales like Hawaii. That's part of the draw, duh. But DHS sends people all over the world, and I???d venture a healthy bet that the majority of times the destination is some remote place like Calgary, where I just happened to see some TSA officials last month at a school transportation conference. Having gone to many of these conferences myself, I'll tell you there's not much time for basking on the beach, as you're regularly at breakfast meetings by 7 a.m. and you go all day with a couple of 15 minute coffee breaks and maybe an hour or so for lunch. Get a life and do some real reporting.

Uh -oh. Somebody better tell Chris Dickey that General Bobby Lee is loose in another American state.

LOL, Homeland Security is run by MORONS and corrupt politicians.
www.FireMe.To/udi

The Department of Homeland Security was nothing more than a Republican pork roast from the beginning. The money was spread far and wide on thousands of local boondoggles which did little to enhance security, but served as welfare for the party faitful. It was and remains a prime example of government spending gone wild. As the money flowed out to all those danger zones in the red states, the campaign contibutions flowed back in. As the contributions flowed in; ever greater amounts flowed back out. The Homeland was secure in the knowledge that Washington was finally sending money to the right people in the right places. Let the good times roll!

This is stupid. Trade shows in resort locales are a feature of every industry. Why should moviemakers get to go to Vegas for ShoWest and HS be expected to attend conferences in grim basements? It's a stressful job. Let them go to Hawaii. Maybe they'll actually be relaxed enough to think properly when they get home.

This just does damage to legitimate criticisms of the department, anyway. If you're going to blast HS for something, blast it for being a massive cluster**** and a waste of money that's only dubiously protective, not this. I don't begrudge HS officials this trip in the slightest.

EVER NOTICE THEY NEVER HOLD THESE THINGS IN RAHWAY NEW JERSEY OR CENTERVILLE IOWA?NO THEY'RE ALWAYS AT RESORTS IN HAWAII OR VEGAS OR NO ONE WOULD ATTEND?

THEY NEEDED SANDY AREAS TO SIMULATE THE MIDDLE EAST!!

So lets see.... if we hold the conference in Washington DC and fly in scientists from all around the world on the government's dime, thats o.k. But if the DC officials come out to where the science is actually being done, that's a boondoggle. The University of Hawaii was recently selected as the lead institution in the DHS Center of Excellence in Ports and Maritime Security. We won that award through open competition largely because UH is one of the leading earth sciences institutions in the world - with a heavy emphasis on remote sensing and oceanography. We are joining the conference this year so that we can have a handy forum to interact with scientists and security officials from other nations on the Pacific Rim. Participation by DHS officials is entirely appropriate.

It gets pretty tiresome sometimes - having everyone think that just because we have nice weather and sandy beaches, we are incapable of doing legitimate work.

we pay the bills for all government employees. homeland security is going to a conference in hawaii. if it was somewhere else, we would be paying for that as well. senatetors and representatives have how many staffers that we pay for? do you think there isn't wasteful amounts of money being shelled out every day for them? next story please, this one wasn't worth the paper it was printed on.

i bet that with flights, food, booze (you know they are gonna be sipping on something on the beach), private drivers (they will take vacation time with this), and everything a trip for 10-15 people from our government will rack up an easy $300,000 bill. most probably more than that, that a low ball number, very low.

crooks...all of them...

i understand hosting a conference in a nice place to attract attendees, i understand that however blundering and clumsy the "Homeland Security" department is, they have a purpose regardless if they actually do anything to promote real security. what i dont understand is why we have to foot the bill. i understand that things are necassary but really? do they need to travel first class? or in the more probable case, am i going to have to help pay for them to fly a non-stop flight in a private leer jet with leather seats and an open bar? why cant this get taken out of they're already ridiculous salaries that the american public pays for? the location is perfect for what the conferance is, being that its half way for both parties involved. i just think that for all the money and vacation time they already get thanks to hard working americans, they can take care of a few night in a nice hotel room.

not only do they have the nicest rooms in the hotel, they will have they're own security teams, limos, food, whatever they're hearts desire. thats what i dont understand. i agree with paying for necessity, but i highly highly disagree with paying for frivilous expenses for people that over the past 8 years have barely lived up to the name of they're department.

CHEIF D: you would seem to stay up on political news, you should know better than to try and stick up for these crooks. "homeland security" is the biggest farse of a department washington has ever created. what have they done? they were good at figuring out some color coding for threat levels that havent changed in ohhh 6-7 years...hmmm...cant think of a whole lot more than that. you called them responders...wow. i wont say any more than that.

This is bull****. PS. If McCain gets elected, I'm moving to Costa Rica.

This is Bulll#$%^. PS. If McCain gets elected, I'm moving to Mexico.

I wonder if they will be flying out 1st class or is that something reserved for State Department personnel. Being a federal employee, I am tired of being told that important programs designed to benefit the public and US government are being cut due to budgetary constraints. Stories like this are very disheartening but I guess that old saying still rings true - "those who hold the rulebooks, make the rules".

I wonder if they are all flying out 1st class or is that only reserved for State Department employees. Being a Federal employee who is tired of being told that important programs must be curtailed due to budget cutbacks, I am disheartened by this type of activity. This only reinforces the old saying that "those who hold the rule books, make the rules".

This really is a dumb article. Its pot stirring at its finest and yellow journalism at worst. I really could care less if the conference was held on the "lush" Waikiki beach. This is important interaction. Some nugget may just come out of this...better than the "nuggets" we get from the congress (small c), the latter of which more often than not resemble dog poop!

With comments like Fielding's, we see now how things like Pearl harbor happened. "Hey, it's too far. They can fend for themselves." What a turd.