Mechanical Voting Machine
Photo Source: Brookhaven National Lab (Photo Cropped)

We seem to take a lot of things for granted in this country. One of these is that our votes at election time are counted correctly and that they are secure from fraud. I was just reading an article about voting machines that would send shivers down the spines of any democracy loving individual. We all know that the use of computers for voting, instead of the mechanical voting machine or paper ballot, has been criticized. When I read how the new voting computers worked I was sick. They are basically computers with a memory card. The problem is that the memory card is pretty easy to remove. There is one site on the internet that claims that they can remove this card in about four minutes, using nothing more than a screwdriver, hex key and pliers. Apparently the card is only protected from removal by a flat bar placed across it that is screwed in with hex type screws. As if this isn't bad enough, they also state that poll workers were allowed to take the machines home for the night. Yipes, if this is true, how can we even hold an election? I always thought that protection of voting machines and ballots was a sacred duty and that they were duly secured.

Airports
Photo Source: NOAA

Airport security is stricter than ever, or is it? For the average person, going on an international flight has become hellish. There are hours of delays and many inconveniences and indignities, but we are willing to put up with them in the name of security. Is all this really effective? It may help somewhat, but it certainly doesn't prevent a true terrorist from getting something aboard a plane. If we look at the baggage systems we start to realize that first of all, some of the x-ray machines are processing more luggage than they can scan, according to News3. They were referring to McCarran airport, but the same is true for airports all over the country. The Coalition for Luggage Security states " While air travel security has improved, it falls short of addressing a major source for the security problems and the associated cost – the bags transported by the airlines.". There is also the human element, all the people who have access to the plane, mechanics, cleaners, caterers, etc. We have spent billions upon billions of dollars to make airplane travel safe from terrorists and yet, there are many weak points in our security. The New York Post gave airport security a "F". Last year it had spent the 5.5 billion dollars it was given on passenger and baggage screening and almost nothing on limiting access to the planes. It seems that in many places someone can just walk up to a plane on the strip by climbing a fence or walking through an entrance. We are just not as safe as we are being led to believe.

Crops
Photo Source: NRCS - USDA

As Americans, one thing that we always felt was safe is our food supply. There have been several outbreaks and recalls on food in the past with the last one being fresh spinach. A couple of years ago the FDA instituted a new technology to register food facilities. They also claimed to be making rapid progress in developing fast tests for food contamination. What happened? If we look at the recent outbreak of E. coli, we can't help but notice that it has spread across many states and even taken some lives. What happened to the rapid testing and response? This is only my opinion, but we don't seem to be any better off than we were years ago when we had food outbreaks. What would we do if our food supply was attacked, would thousands or hundreds of thousands have to die across many states before it was realized that we were being poisoned? Sure, protecting what we eat and drink is a monumental task, one that may never be foolproof, but like so many other things connected with security, it certainly can be improved. There are many areas that must be protected when we are talking about food. There is the producer, the transportation, storage, the processor, the distributor, the store and lastly your kitchen. While I wouldn't worry too much about your kitchen, the rest of the areas outlined above are all vulnerable points where terrorists can attack our food. Almost all of these places are unprotected.

Missile Defense
Photo Source: Sandia National Lab

Defense of our country is always tough to be maintained with the best armed military and most up to date weapons in the world, after all, we certainly spend vastly more money on weapons than any other country on earth. But how are these weapons chosen, do we always opt for the best? I hate to keep bringing this up, but our government is controlled by lobbyists. Many times it is he who has the most money and does the most favors that gets his company a contract. Several years ago we purchased a few hundred planes, that even the military didn't want. We have been spending billions of dollars on an antimissile system that really is useless. Even when it knows the area where a missile is being launched from, it misses much of the time. To try and convince us that it is a good thing and avoid further embarrassment, a virtual test was used and then said to be successful. This test is where you don't really fire anything, but you use a computer to simulate everything. Another way of choosing a new weapon is to allow a powerful Congressmen to have it constructed in his home state as a favor. This certainly doesn't inspire confidence in any weapons system if you ask me.

Cargo Container
Photo Source: DEA

One of the most vulnerable areas are the ports. One ship can carry up to 8,000 containers, which are large metal boxes. Some containers are not allowed to be opened, such as religious statues and works of art, further compounding the inspection process. According to CNN, in 2001 5.7 million containers came into the U.S. through 361 different points. At that time only 2% were inspected. In 2003 A Sub Committee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives heard testimony that by then 90% of the world's cargo was moving in containers and that the U.S. was receiving 16 million containers a year. The CBP stated that it is impossible to inspect all containers and that it targets the containers to be searched based on certain criteria. This certainly does not sound very reassuring, does it? If a terrorist group could get a weapon into a container coming from a trusted company, would the container be inspected? It doesn't look that way. How many millions of containers are coming in uninspected and has the damage already been done? Has a nuke or bio weapon or weapons been smuggled into the country? Some say it has happened already, but who knows.

New York City Subway System
Photo Source: DOT

Transit systems in large cities seem to be very vulnerable They used to be considered a very convenient way to get to work or arrive at your destination, but now they have to be looked at in a different light. They have practically no protection from anything, except for the occasional policeman. Just look at the subway systems in this country. Lets take New York City for example, since it seems to be on everyone's mind. Tens of millions take the subway to work, home and attractions every week. There are 656 miles of track to guard along with 470 stations. On any given day there are 4.5 million riders. How do you protect such a mammoth enterprise? What is to stop someone from taking a train at night and planting anything? If he is a suicide bomber, what is to stop him from getting on at rush hour and blowing up a train? If everyone entering the train station were searched, the delays would cause economic havoc. What is needed here is some sort of passive scanning of people getting in and out of the station. It doesn't stop there. You also need to control who has access to the tracks, stations and cars of the train at any given time. If all this were done then we might have almost safe subways.

Well I guess there is no sense in beating a dead horse as they say. I am sure that you get the idea. Things are just not what they seem. It is almost impossible to make a democratic country safe from terrorists. We got lucky in World 'War II when NAZI saboteurs decided not to attack us after they were dropped off by submarine on Long Island, but those days are gone forever. We have now become the most hated country in the world and some of our enemies would be more than happy to send their people here to blow us and them up.