Who'da thunk it?

If there was a single program where I might of suspected the Bush adminstration had clean skirts, it would have been Homeland Security. After all, it's the centerpiece of their newfound belief in the 'mommy state' philosophy. Over and over we hear that the first job of the government is to "protect" us, although how and from what are often matters of doubt and dispute.

Still, since there seems to be no civil right or social need that hasn't been subsumed to Bush's 'War on (Some) Terrorists,' you'd think that they'd be doing everything they could, and double checking to be sure they were doing everything right.

After all, the pathetic record of the Republican Congress makes it pretty clear they haven't been doing much else...

...lawmakers have completed only four of the 13 spending bills it must pass each year to keep the federal government operating. Besides a small bill for the District of Columbia, the other three were security-related - two for defense and one for homeland security.

But they've dropped the ball in a major way on a major front.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Increased demands and a deteriorating fleet of ships will make it difficult for the Coast Guard to do its job in the coming years, according to a study released Tuesday by the Homeland Security Department.

And the administration response? Blame the victim.

The report, compiled by the department's Inspector General, concluded that the Coast Guard must quickly update its budget requirements in order to get the funding needed for fleet and personnel improvements.

But the need is no mystery, and the Coasties have been asking for more.

The Coast Guard has said it needs 600 more active duty and civilian personnel, at a cost of about $100 million, to perform the increased inspections. Coast Guard Commandant Thomas H. Collins has said it will take up to $17 billion over 20 years to repair and replace the fleet's aging helicopters and vessels.

The men and women of the United States Coast Guard are on a front line that's far more essential to the security of the homeland than any battle front in Iraq, and deserve every advantage in their increasingly complex and increasingly hazardous mission.

Sending inexperienced Coasties into service on aging ships is the Homeland Security equivalent of the DoD sending undertrained reserve infantrymen into battle with E-Bay body armor.

It's a scandal.

The 64th on our seemingly never ending list at the Upper Left Scandal Scorecard.