Homeland Defense or Pork Barrel Politics

The Attorney General’s office wants to search the office and computer of former state Homeland Security Director Keith Hall.

From the Courier Journal:

“FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Citing potential "evidence of criminal activity," Attorney General Greg Stumbo's investigators have asked to search the office and computer of former state Homeland Security Director Keith Hall.”

When Hall resigned the Fletcher administration claimed his resignation had nothing to do with current investigation.

Again from the Courier Journal:

“FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Keith Hall has resigned as director of the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security, seven months after his appointment by Gov. Ernie Fletcher.

A spokesman for the agency said Hall's resignation Friday was not related to the investigation of Fletcher administration hiring practices by Attorney General Greg Stumbo.”

Prior to joining the Fletcher-Pence administration, Hall lived in New York from 2001-2003 while working in the corporate headquarters of Insight Communications, Kentucky's largest cable television company, as their Vice-President of Government and Regulatory Affairs.

Take a look at the corporate salaries at the above link. I don’t know how much Hall was paid at Insight Communication, but one would tend to think it was a bit more than the $121,957 that Fletcher was paying him. I guess his need to do public service was a motivating force.

From the Kentucky Post:

“Fletcher's method for handling homeland security in the state differs from that of his predecessor, former Gov. Paul Patton. Under Patton, only three people worked in what was then called the Office for Security Coordination, which had a coordination role but did not directly control any grant funds. Patton created the office shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

In contrast, Homeland Security under Fletcher has grown to employ 17 people with a payroll of $851,412.90. As director, Hall draws the largest salary of $121,957. The office has broad authority in dispensing the millions of homeland security dollars passed along to the state from the federal government. In 2004, the office doled out $35 million in federal money to agencies and entities that applied for the grants. That's $8.44 per Kentuckian.”

And Finally from Business First:

“Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher announced Friday the state has been awarded more than $31 million in federal funding for homeland security initiatives in 2005.”

I’ve always cringed when I hear the words Homeland Defense. It always conjures up images of a guy in a brown shirt demanding to seem my papers. Which I guess is what sort of happens when I get on an airplane these days.

Anyway, as far as I can tell the Department of Homeland Defense has only done three things well since it was established.

1. Create a bloated bureaucracy;
2. Pass out a ton of pork barrel money;
3. Make air travel even more unpleasant than the airlines thought possible.

Kentucky seems to be following the national pattern. We’ve have a fat cat in Frankfort pulling down more than $100 K, a growing bureaucracy and 66 million dollars in pork.

But some questions about Kentucky Homeland Defense I’d like to see answered are:

Why did Hall need to suddenly resign?

Why is the Fletcher Administration not yelling political witch hunt about this part of the investigation?

Is there more here than just the merit system hiring scandal?

Does this have anything to do with the $66 million in pork?

At least Fletcher and crew can’t screw up air travel or can they?