The Homeland Security Act was a direct response by the President and Congress to the September 11, 2001 terrorist acts and the mailing of anthrax spores that same year.

The Homeland Security Act was designed to meet the following goals.

1. Establish the Department of Homeland Security – The Homeland Security Act established this new cabinet department of the federal government. The department is responsible for protecting the territories of the United States from terrorist attacks, man made accidents, and natural disasters. The Secretary of Homeland Security, a position created by the Homeland Security Act, heads the department.
2. To be an agency that fulfilled a previously unaddressed role – The Department of Homeland Security, under the Homeland Security Act, is designed to prevent terrorist acts. The responsibility for prosecuting terrorists, for example, remains with the FBI.
3. To make the country better prepared for disaster – Another of the goals of the Homeland Security Act is to improve the nation’s preparedness for natural disasters and terrorism, including the government’s response to these situations.
4. To secure the borders – While not replacing traditional border patrols, the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for securing the nation’s borders, waterways and ports from terrorists.
5. Securing transportation – The Department of Homeland Security also has responsibility for protecting the country’s air, land and sea transportation systems. This directive of the Homeland Security Act was responsible for the creation of Federal Air Marshal jobs on US commercial flights.
6. Protecting Information Security –The department is also responsible for protecting the sensitive information of the US government from terrorists. This applies to the security of computer systems, as well as the information that might be contained on those systems, as well as government information not housed on computer systems.

In 2003, the Department of Homeland Security absorbed the Immigration and Naturalization Service and its directives. Under the Department of Homeland Security, the INS was divided into two divisions: Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services. In addition, the following other departments currently fall under the purvey of the Department of Homeland Security:

• Coast Guard
• US Customs and Border Protection
• Transportation Security Administration
• United States Secret Service
• Federal Emergency Management Agency

Today, the Department of Homeland Security is the government’s third largest cabinet, with more than 200,000 employees and a 2011 budget of $98.8 billion. Its scope and responsibilities have changed to reflect the country’s needs and changes in national security. As the responsibilities of the organization have matured, they have taken on greater influence. But, the chief goal of the Department of Homeland Security and the Homeland Security Act continues to be preventing terrorist attacks and protecting the nation from internal and external forces that desire to bring harm to the nation’s citizens.

Phyllis T. Zerkle enjoys blogging in order to help students find the information they need about online homeland security degrees.

The study also says that most people who are suffering are not receiving treatment – only 30% have attempted to get help. And, sadly, only about half of them are receiving effective treatment. That is a lot of depression and sadness around you if you live in Europe. What a sad report.

There are a lot of people in Memphis and Atlanta that used to live in New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina came through and they had to leave. But even though they don’t live in New Orleans any longer, they still want to celebrate their Mardi Gras. I hope this helps spread the fun and revelry of parades and parties to other cities – we all need to have a good time.

I disagree with him. I will dig out an atlas to be sure, but I am pretty sure that most people also consider Denmark to be in the group.

I am heading to the grocery store to stock up on my regular groceries plus some extras for comfort food and baking cookies while we are snowbound this weekend.

Around 5, she put a couple of t-bones on the grill and we had a nice steak dinner with buttered new potatoes, fresh cut green beans and garlic bread. Nothing fancy, but it sure tasted good and it was nice to be with my new friends so I could relax and have a good time.

The gas stations have a small convenience store and often a deli or cafe. some have tiny truck stops, which offer a shower, land line telephone, and a place to stretch out for a bit when you are too tired to keep driving. The land line phone is important because there is little or no cell phone service out there. You can drive for hours without any cell signal, even with AT&T “nationwide” service.

Several gas stations also service the farmer, who don’t have to pay some of the road taxes on gas and diesel for farm equipment. Also, farmers need other things, like antifreeze, propane, grease and hydraulic fluids. These are dispensed from pumps off to the side of the gas station at various prices per gallon, as shown in the photo, above.

Back home, we buy little rectangular white on black plastic signs from Wal-Mart or the Ace hardware store that say “POSTED” and just tack or nail them to trees along the property lines and roadsides.

But I guess the old tires are something the farmers don’t have to buy and are a fine example of recycling and resourcefulness. Besides, the closest Wal-Mart is an hour and 10 minutes away in Kingfisher, and with the price of gasoline, you can’t just run over to the Wal-Mart every time you need something. This is a small Wal-Mart – they don’t even sell gas at this one, but it is the birthplace of Sam Walton, so they had to have one, even if it’s just a small one.

Out in the country you make shopping lists and save up for one big shopping trip, maybe once a month or so. The whole family goes and makes a day trip of it.

There is no whine or anything like a motor noise. It’s very quiet and peaceful with just the whoosh whoosh and an occasional bird chirping from a bush or fence post.

I’m sure the heat isn’t so bad if you get used to it, but we are accustomed to being inside an air conditioned house or office. My sister-in-law has air conditioning, but a lot of the old farmhouses out here do not. She keeps the thermostat much higher than we do at home, and it was uncomfortably warm the entire visit. I would much rather be too hot than too cold, but I sure wish there had been a more gradual adjustment to the temperatures.

It seems there is always some wind, which is very different from back home. The wind is a good thing for a lot of reasons and one of the most unique and rewarding good things is that some companies are now harnessing that wind by erecting huge wind turbines. They look like space age windmills and are generating electricity for the power companies.

The florist has brought flowers and plants to her home and also to the funeral home. I’m not sure what I can do to help, but hubby is really glad to be here.

Even though she’s technically living “in town” her property backs up to a huge farm. Here’s a picture I snapped from her backyard as the sun was going down:

Luckily, there were plenty of billboards along the highway and we knew there would be a Hampton Inn at the Shawnee exit. We’ve had several good experiences at Hampton Inns now that they’ve upgraded their properties and their bedding. The beds are incredibly comfortable – it is like sleeping on a warm cloud. Plus, most of them offer a complimentary full breakfast in the morning, with sausage patties and hot eggs and a full array of other breakfast foods, including hot and cold cereals, pasties, yogurt, fresh fruit and very tasty coffee.

We got into LaVergne about 4:00 in the afternoon and found my sister-in-laws house very easily. We are settling in and expect to be pretty busy over the next couple of days. It’s nice to be here but wish it wasn’t for a sad occasion.

Today we’ll be getting things in order around the house so we can leave for Oklahoma. My sister-in-law has offered up her spare bedroom and we need to get out there as soon as possible to help with the funeral. Hubby has to get someone to cover for him at work and I have to find the church clothes and arrange for a kennel for Buster Brown.

I’ll check the airfares to Oklahoma City, but there are rarely good rates without at least 2 weeks notice. More than likely we will drive, which is a hard 18 hours on the road, but the price of 5 tanks of gas and 2 nights in a hotel room halfway there is still much cheaper than two round trip plan tickets at full fare.

The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services maintains an awesome website that has an interactive Google map of the fires. You can click on a fire icon and a text box opens with detail of that particular fire area, including current status of containment and the number of acres affected. Click here to see the current map – it is very disconcerting. As of this morning there are over 1,000 wildfires burning out of control, with weather forecasts of more storms with high winds and lightning. So things are not looking good for No Cal.

This year it is northern California, with over 1,000 fires burning today and the news shows airing clips of officials crying for helping – they don’t have enough manpower or resources to even show up at all the fires burning, most of them caused by lightning strikes over the past several days.

It’s hard to imagine that areas so close to the Pacific ocean are suffering from severe drought this early in the summer season and that dry trees and brush all over the far western states is a waiting tinderbox.

There’s no way I could ever agree to make California my state of primary residence. There are just too many natural disasters waiting to take your property and your life. It’s a nice place to visit, but I’ll never live there.

Being on the coast, the house has suffered a lot of weather damage and actually needs a lot more work than just spit and polish. She met with a contractor while she was out there settling the estate and he went through the house to give her a detailed estimate for repairs.

Rhonda is going out to Pacifica again next month to get some of the work started. I have a funny feeling that she is going to like it out there so much that she decides to move there permanently, or at least for a few years until the housing market improves and she can get a good price on the property.

At least the ones with deep enough pockets to pay for the extra cost of gas these days are going. Some of us have to stay home and be happy with a backyard splash pool until our budgets have a chance to catch up.

Most of my friends that left the medspa company have accepted positions with a new franchise that is based in New York. Sadly, that means most of them have had to pack up and move from here to New York. So now I don’t have the chance for the occasional lunch or cocktails to stay in touch with most of my friends. It’s down to a few emails and occasional phone calls.

Alexa is the last of the old crew to take a job with the new company. We had lunch today at our favorite Sushi place to say goodbye. She is excited about the move and I’m thrilled for her! She’s going to stay with one of our friends already there, sleeping on the futon while she looks for place of her own. To help with that I put her in touch with one of the best real estate agents in Manhattan, Dottie Herman.

Dottie is a broker with Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate, the largest real estate company in New York. I had met Dottie years ago at a real estate function in Las Vegas and kept her business card just in case I would have the opportunity to move to New York. Alas, it is Alexa who is getting that opportunity and I’m happy to share the contact information with her.