Dear Friends and Patriots,

The partial shutdown of DHS is still ongoing. Tomorrow will mark a month since funding lapsed for the unfunded agencies. If you don’t know which agencies are affected, this is the list: US Coast Guard, TSA, FEMA, FLETC, Secret Service, FPS, CWMD, I&A, and CISA.

You probably know most of the acronyms, but a few are rarely discussed. Those would be FLETC – Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, FPS – the Federal Protective Service, CWMD – the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, I&A – the Intelligence and Analysis Office, and CISA – the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Everyone may be aware that the shutdown was aimed at ICE. The Democrats demand that ICE reforms be put into place, meaning they want the Republicans to pull teeth from ICE and make it a far weaker law enforcement agency. So far Republicans in Congress have refused, so DHS remains only partially funded. Meanwhile, ICE and CBP are funded through the end of next year.

I’m convinced that few Americans pay a lot of attention to government shutdowns, until they’re directly affected. You may think this one doesn’t affect you, and because it’s limited, that’s quite possible – at least, for now.

What you need to comprehend is that the agencies involved are involved in security missions of one kind or another. We all know the Secret Service protects the President and Vice President and is also the lead agency in charge of policing counterfeiting of currency. We also understand the US Coast Guard is the lead agency for policing navigable inland waterways, coastal and inshore military security, anti-narcotics trafficking, and maintaining aids to navigation – including buoys, navigation lights and lighthouses, and they are the premier coastal lifesaving service. We all know TSA inspectors are charged with passenger security at all airports and marine ports of embarkation. And we know FEMA is the federal agency charged with managing disaster relief efforts. But, what of the others?

FLETC – The agency in charge of training for most federal badge and gun carriers. FPS – The agency in charge of physical protection of federal buildings throughout the country. CWMD – The agency charged with investigations into any potential domestic use of a weapon of mass destruction, including nuclear suitcase bombs, so-called “dirty nukes,” and the potential use of chemical or biological weapons inside any US state or territory. I&A – The office charged with coordination to ensure all parts of the government receive the internal security intelligence and analysis necessary to support their own agency tasks. CISA – The government’s lead agency for all computer and information infrastructure security requirements.

The focus of the Democrats is ICE, but the agencies they are refusing to fund, those being held hostage, are in charge of some of the most sensitive internal security needs of this country.

While it’s true that almost all personnel in DHS have critical tasks that require they report to work every day regardless of whether or not they get paid, each and every day the security posture of this nation is diminished by some degree. After all – how long do you expect working-aged people to be able to fund all their needs without a paycheck? Mortgages have to be paid, groceries still need to be bought, car payment come due…and those people are expected to keep up with those payments despite having no income.

Like many of you, I don’t usually get too worked up when Congress shuts down the government. Most agencies don’t do too much for any of us that we can’t live without for months on end. When DOW is shut down, we fret a bit. We think of our military as guardians. We tend to be comforted by the knowledge that the military reports to work every day, whether they’re paid or not. They all signed up, and PAY is never mentioned when they do.

It’s different with DHS. The Coast Guard, as a military service, is the one exception to the general rule of employment in DHS. It’s the only part of the department where most people can’t quit and move on. When personal financial pressures mount up we always see people who make a purely money-driven decision to go and seek work elsewhere. After all, everyone needs a place to live, a car to drive, and food to feed the kids. Every day the ability of the average DHS employee to meet their own and their family’s needs diminishes. That’s where the personal cost of a shutdown lies – on each employee who is expected to work without pay.

Meanwhile, each of us needs to contemplate the gradual deterioration of effectiveness in each part of the internal security posture of our nation. Look at that list of agencies and their responsibilities and think of what could happen if those functions aren’t done. I can assure you of one thing – the adversaries of our nation are doing just that. They’re thinking all the time and making judgments that relate to the steadily increasing vulnerabilities they might exploit. The longer the shutdown lasts, the easier it will be for one of those nations to strike.

I never liked shutdowns at all. They are partisan acts of political pressure that don’t save the country a dime, but imperil us in many ways. I’m unhappy that our elected representatives will allow such things to happen. It makes me wonder if they truly understand what they’re doing. In a way I consider any shutdown to be at least partially unconstitutional. The Constitution requires the Executive Branch to protect the nation. Whenever a President’s administration is prevented from doing that to the extent necessary, the Constitution can justifiably be said to be violated. Who are the violators? They are the individuals who are standing in the way of our protection – those who create the shutdowns.

A pox on them, one and all. I’m beginning to wonder just who my real enemies are. What about you?

In Liberty,

Steve