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My wife accuses me of being a Republican when it comes to politics. Of course she has mistakenly taken my fiscal conservatism to mean I support the present regime in Washington. If she had checked my Georgia ballot card in yesterday’s election booth she would have seen it was almost straight-lined Libertarian. I’m sure I share the opinion of many tired Americans who have grown weary of the partisan politics and total lack of concern of today’s elected officials for the public they serve.

OK, so the Democrats have ousted the Republicans in both the House and Senate. What does that mean for the country? Probably not much. We have just seen the most do-nothing Congress in the history of this country accomplish little more than embarass themselves in the media with mudslinging campaign messages to either save their sorry jobs or earn one. How far have we fallen as a nation. As we send men to the Middle East to fight an invisible enemy, our politicians spend more time worrying about who knew what when regarding Mark Foley’s sexual fantasies than the cost of the war.

Now that the Dems have their victory, which was only made sweeter today with the announcement of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation. They have an apparent mandate from its citizens. Will Congress get off their hindquarters and DO SOMETHING??!! Let’s hope and pray for the sake of our troops and our country that the new party in power takes the high road and really tries to accomplish more than setting the table for the 2008 election.

The ball is in your court Democrats. You’ve moaned and groaned the last 10 years you didn’t have the steering wheel, and now you do. Make the most of it.

 -Steve

Heading into the office this morning I had the radio tuned to my favorite Atlanta talk show. Since I don’t drink coffee, talk radio is my system’s morning jolt. Lo and behold half way up GA 400 the lightening struck.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was in the house, which is always entertaining since everytime he speaks he steps in a pile of it. The station was replaying his comments from a national TV show where Nagin was asked about delays in rebuilding New Orleans during the year following Hurricane Katrina. Nagin immediately goes on the defensive and attacks efforts to redevelop the World Trade Center site.

When a correspondent for the CBS news show “60 Minutes” chided Nagin about all the flood-damaged cars abandoned on New Orleans city streets, the witty Nagin quickly retorted, “You guys in New York can’t get a hole in the ground fixed, and it’s five years later. So let’s be fair.”

OK, so you tell me where the connect is here. One has nothing to do with the other. The fact that a large portion of the disaster and lack of prepardedness for the New Orleans tragedy can be directly laid at the feet of the Nagin’s inept city government seems to be washed under the levee as so many tons of silt. The fact that Nagin’s “chocolate city” is still mostly residing in other areas around the South like Atlanta, Houston and Memphis, should clue Nagin in to how much confidence his former citizens have in his leadership.

I lived in the New Orleans area for close to 3 years when I was going to grad school back in the late 1970s. It was a fun and lively place to be. What was New Orleans has turned into a cesspool of crime and corruption that has to be, in some part, blamed on the city government’s incompetence or worse. Everyone knew the levees would not hold. Everyone knew Nagin had no gameplan for a major hurricane. Everyone knew that this city was a disaster waiting to happen.

Now it seems every time Nagin opens his mouth New Orleans relives another embarrassing chapter. The people who reelected Nagin earlier this year are getting just what they deserve. Unfortunately, like the tragedy that was Katrina, his verbal fallout is claiming innocent victims. Every word he utters diminishes the greatness that was once New Orleans. How long are the people of the Crecent City keep to give Nagin a free pass?

Let’s get ready to rumble! As a huge boxing fan that still remains one of my favorite opening lines. I thought it only appropriate to use it as I launch my first blog. As a 20 year veteran of the security industry I have seen an evolution of both technology and culture. Today we are at a cross road that is not only influenced by the rapid progression of widgets, but increasingly by the myopic view of our nation’s politicians. In the coming weeks and months I will be sharing my opinions, views of the world and even some humorous insight into myriad topics not exclusive to security.

The bottom line here is we are looking to open an interactive discussion on issues and events that are shaping security policy and political agendas. You might not always like my views, but I will guarantee you an honest give-and-take and hope to get you talking back! We may not be able to solve all the world’s problems, but at least for me, I’ll feel a whole lot better just being able to shoot off my mouth in an open forum. Join the party and bring an opinion!