You Still Waiting There?

The National Security Archive's fourth annual Rosemary Award goes to the US Treasury Department for bringing "a new meaning to the notion of subprime performance."

The award is named after Rose Mary Woods, Richard Nixon's infamous secretary blamed for accidentally erasing the 18.5 minute gap in the White House tapes.

Treasury wins for it's lack of handling Freedom of Information Act requests.

The Department responded in 2001, 2004, and 2007 to a 1997 FOI request on Mexico's actions in stopping drug traffickers. Lots of responses -- but each was simply to ask if the person filing the request was still interested.

The Archive found 74 "Are you still interested?" replies to 42 requests in the last seven years. (Al Kamen/WaPo)

Colonel Sanders and Jim Perdue -- Terrorist Targets

Forget about foxes guarding the henhouse. Uncle Sam is about to order chicken farmers to have anti-terrorist security on a par with chemical plants and nuclear power stations.

A new order from the Department of Homeland Security could classify chicken houses as prime terrorist targets -- requiring expensive security measures.

The rule says any place with more than 7,500 pounds of propane gas -- about 1,785 gallons -- stored on the premises is a potential target for terrorists. Chicken houses are usually built in pairs -- each house equipped with at least a 1,000 gallon propane tank to heat it.

So about 50,000 chicken houses meet the standard to make them tighten security. From the Delmarva Daily Times:

U.S. Sens. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Tom Carper, D-Del., have co-authored a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff demanding answers for what they describe as a waste of government time and money.

Filling out the paperwork alone requires 25-30 hours -- longer if your chicken farm doesn't have high speed Internet. There's a $25,000 per day fine for delays in getting your chicken scratchings on Uncle Sam's forms back to Washington.

Propane is used to heat large facilities in rural parts of the country where there are no natural gas lines. So the rule could end up affecting campgrounds, grain elevators, and nursing homes among it's unintended consequences. (delmarvanow.com)

Ghost Fleet Haunts California Ecology

An aged maritime fleet located in Suisun Bay off the coast of California is an environmental threat -- dumping tons of lead, zinc, barium, copper and other toxic metals into the bay.

The fleet consists of dozens of World War II era warships and cargo carriers.

The Contra Costa Times reports the rusting hulks have shed more than 21 tons of toxic metals into the water (see picture). And that's created a big environmental problem -- much worse than the federal Maritime Administration office has admitted. (Contra Costa Times)

But Tom Cruise has One!

The FBI has a $40 million Gulfstream V jet packed that's supposed to be used for counter terrorism missions. The FBI asked Congress for $3.6 million to keep it flying in the last war spending bill -- and other budget requests are dotted with similar requests to support what the Bureau calls "crucial missions."

Turns out, FBI Director Robert Mueller considers his speeches, public appearances, and visits to field offices as "crucial missions." The Washington Post reports roughly 23% of the time it's in the air -- it's serving as Director Mueller's private mode of personal transportation.

Sen Charles Grassley (R-IA) says that's a good way for the FBI to lose funding for the pricey plane -- a favorite of jet setting celebrities. In the opening scenes of "Oceans Thirteen" which opened last weekend, George Clooney and Brad Pitt's characters are seen jetting into Vegas aboard a Gulfstream V.

Past Directors flew commercial -- or in a pinch, on a smaller corporate jet.

On top of that -- Director Mueller refuses to go to the plane -- and insists it come to him. So the Gulfstream has to leave a suburban DC airfield, land at DC's Washington Reagan National Airport and take off again -- adding about $1,000 cost to each flight.

Vacationers Overwhelm Feds

Red tape and a massive summer vacation rush has pushed the feds to suspend their new passport rules -- for now. Effectively calling a truce in a turf war between the Departments of State and Homeland Security.

Long waiting lines and jammed phone lines overwhelmed Passport Offices where a backlog in issuing passports has meant waits of several months to get them. New rules required Americans traveling by air to anywhere in the Western Hemisphere to have a US passport to get back in the US.

You can now travel with proof of having applied for a passport -- available online -- but you'll have to go through some extra screening. (WaPo)

Secret Service Stretched Thin

The US Secret Service is stretched so thin, they're borrowing agents from other outfits.

About 2,000 immigration officers and airport screeners will join about 250 of it's own agents who'll be shifted from investigations to security details.

They're hit with a wide field of Presidential candidates -- and an early start to providing them with security. The Secret Service has a record $110 million budget for guarding candidates next year -- but they didn't expect to have to guard anyone until January.

Early protection for Sen Barack Obama (D-IL) tossed that plan out the window.

The shifts mean the Secret Service has already cut back on it's efforts against counterfieters and cybercriminals. Brace for spam attacks of phoney money! (WaPo)