# There is a glitch in the matrix.. at Homeland Security telling New York to drop dead. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 1, 2006, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-glitch-in-the-matrix-at-homeland-security-telling-new-york-to-drop-dead/358994 "2006-06-01T09:25:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-glitch-in-the-matrix-at-homeland-security-telling-new-york-to-drop-dead/358994/81 "2006-06-03T05:08:17Z")
Had to share this. [QUOTE=Linked NY Daily News article] A new report from the Homeland Security Department deems that New York City has no national icons that deserve special protection from potential terrorist threats… [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Neil Gaiman, in his blog] I keep finding myself wondering whether there’s a little footnote in the report somewhere explaining that New York did once have a National Landmark, but some people flew a couple of planes into it. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-glitch-in-the-matrix-at-homeland-security-telling-new-york-to-drop-dead/358994/82 "2006-06-03T05:14:53Z")
[QUOTE=adopted] Statue of Liberty granted, Wall Street also granted, both are \*\*world icons \*\* and deservedly so, and I am sure there are other sites that deserve the status of icon, but to say that NYC is, in and of itself an icon is unblievably arrogant. I do view certain areas as icons, (see Silicon Valley) but what makes NYC an Icon BY ITSELF? Washington DC = symbol of democracy = icon Statue of Liberty = symbol of freedom = icon Wall Street = symbol of free enterprise = icon Manhatten = symbol of consumerism = (questionable) icon Chrysler Building = symbol of engineering excellence / technology = icon New York = symbol of what? [/QUOTE] You do not believe that Great Cities can be World Icons? :rolleyes: You sound ignorant, Manhattan is much more than Consumerism, it is Wall Street, Broadway, Central Part, the Museums, The Traffic, the tall Canyons of the skyscrapers, it is an idea and it is central to what makes NYC a World Icon. Jim {By the way, you might want to download a free spell checker and use it, I use [IeSpell 2.2](http://www.iespell.com/)} ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-glitch-in-the-matrix-at-homeland-security-telling-new-york-to-drop-dead/358994/83 "2006-06-03T05:39:38Z")
[QUOTE=GIGObuster] I’m now less concerned about this being an issue of an estate being blue or red, even Arizona had their funds cut: However, even Republicans here are not buying the current explanations [/QUOTE] Sure Republicans are going to be vocal about this - it could divert attention away from the long list of things that they SHOULD be in an uproar about. [QUOTE=GIGObuster] > [@](#): > > Nevertheless, Chertoff did acknowledge that the overall 2006 budget for federal security grants is lower than it was last year. He said the Department of Homeland Security has tough choices to make in deciding how to allocate limited resources. Right, the administration had to find room for more tax cuts, unlike the other war against an evil axis, the funding for our defense in this war remains a joke. [/QUOTE] I don’t think Chertoff sets the budget. Pretty sure that’s Congress. > [@](#): > > “We have consistently ranked New York as the number-one risk locality in the country,” said Mr. Chertoff. “And for that reason, over the past four years of just this single program, we have awarded more than $500 million to New York. That is more than twice the money given to the next-highest ranked city, which is Los Angeles.” Half a billion, twice what LA got, and they whine about not getting another quarter billion this year? I hope someone is keeping track of what they’re spending it on. [QUOTE=GIGObuster] I’m now more worried about the news reporting that the data was incomplete for that matrix and decisions about who gets the money are made in secret… [/QUOTE] Does this administration do ANYTHING that’s not secret? [QUOTE=GIGObuster] As the saying goes: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” Hard to do for this administration. [/QUOTE] Can’t… can’t it be both? Seriously tho, I’m still unable to get worked up over this one - NSA, deficit, attacks on personal and religious freedoms, inept dealings with foreign leaders, etc. - and people are upset over NY getting the normal amount? Heck, 100 million here, 100 million there, pretty soon you’re talking some real money! Thanks for finding that article. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-glitch-in-the-matrix-at-homeland-security-telling-new-york-to-drop-dead/358994/84 "2006-06-03T19:44:01Z")
Whoa! The Matrix on TNT now. [QUOTE=Bobotheoptimist] I don’t think Chertoff sets the budget. Pretty sure that’s Congress. [/quote] Remember that Bush told the party that tax cuts were in order, no matter what. Not even a war has stopped congress to set tax cuts and at the same time “fund” a half assed defense. > [@](#): > > Half a billion, twice what LA got, and they whine about not getting another quarter billion this year? I hope someone is keeping track of what they’re spending it on. I think you are ignoring the main issue right now: incomplete information was the reason for the complaints (but there is room for more mendacious reasons): “According to a Homeland Security worksheet which Sen. Chuck Schumer displayed Wednesday, May 31, New York has no national monuments or icons.” > [@](#): > > Can’t… can’t it be both? We seem to agree more than what I thought. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-glitch-in-the-matrix-at-homeland-security-telling-new-york-to-drop-dead/358994/85 "2006-06-03T21:38:46Z")
[QUOTE=GIGObuster] We seem to agree more than what I thought. [/QUOTE] I think what you’re saying is “the administration is screwed up and this proves it” while I’m saying “this administration is screwed up” No, wait, that’s not in the spirit of this board… How about - Why do you hate America? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2006, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-glitch-in-the-matrix-at-homeland-security-telling-new-york-to-drop-dead/358994/86 "2006-06-04T04:03:54Z")
Well, Chertoff blinks: (Those NY Post guys still have it with memorable headlines) [http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/69596.htm](http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/69596.htm) > [@](#): > > D.C. HOMELAND DOPE BACK$ OFF > > TELLS MIKE HE’LL GIVE N.Y. CUTS 2ND LOOK > > June 3, 2006 – Embattled Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff blinked yesterday in his showdown with New York over his outrageous slashing of the city’s anti-terrorism grants. Seeking relief from the spreading political firestorm over the drastic cutbacks, Chertoff told Mayor Bloomberg that he will review the situation this weekend. > “What I’m concerned about is if there is a breakdown within his [Chertoff’s] agency as to the submission we made … I want to make sure if that’s the case, we point that out to him and give him a chance to see if there’s something he can do about that,” Bloomberg said on his weekly WABC radio show. > “He said he would look into it over the weekend,” the mayor added. > > Homeland Security spokesman Jerrod Agen quoted Chertoff as telling Bloomberg on Thursday night that he was willing to meet with New York officials and saying to the mayor: “If someone can demonstrate a substantive factual error - not trivial - then we would re-review the New York grant.” > > The Homeland Security boss’ remarks were an about-face from earlier in the day when he publicly defended downsizing the city’s funding by a whopping 40 percent and whined that attacking him wouldn’t help anyone get more funding. ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2006, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-glitch-in-the-matrix-at-homeland-security-telling-new-york-to-drop-dead/358994/87 "2006-06-04T04:26:10Z")
[QUOTE=E-Sabbath] New York City? It’s a symbol of freedom. It’s the big time. It’s where you are judged, not by the color of your skin, but the content of your character. In those few miles are the best and worst of Mankind. It is, as Rome was, the Eternal City, the shining hope of western civilization. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. [/QUOTE] With or without national icons, I think a greater metropolitan area of 22MM people packed into a short stretch of coast, a handful of islands, and big sandbar is deserving of some careful consideration. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-glitch-in-the-matrix-at-homeland-security-telling-new-york-to-drop-dead/358994/88 "2006-06-05T12:25:32Z")
[QUOTE=E-Sabbath] New York City? It’s a symbol of freedom. It’s the big time. It’s where you are judged, not by the color of your skin, but the content of your character. In those few miles are the best and worst of Mankind. It is, as Rome was, the Eternal City, the shining hope of western civilization. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. Say what you will, but no matter the category of human achievement, you will find the best there. Museums. Theater. Music. Technology. Business. Education. Anything. That is New York. The Crossroads of the World. [/QUOTE] What? No bag of chips? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-glitch-in-the-matrix-at-homeland-security-telling-new-york-to-drop-dead/358994/89 "2006-06-05T12:54:25Z")
Heard on CBS-AM on the way into work: The CDC has _also_ cut NYC’s bioterror money. Bloomberg claims serious politics. This one I _really_ can’t understand. Remember, we _were_ hit by that, too. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-glitch-in-the-matrix-at-homeland-security-telling-new-york-to-drop-dead/358994/90 "2006-06-05T19:24:57Z")
Wonder how much of this is just Karl Rove trying to make Hillary Clinton look bad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-glitch-in-the-matrix-at-homeland-security-telling-new-york-to-drop-dead/358994.md?page=4)