On the Real ID Act, terrorism et al...

Albeit living in US for quite some time now, I must confess I'm still puzzled by the oftentimes bizarre response of Americans towards seemingly sensible acts/events.

The latest episode is the proposed rollout to enforce the Real ID Act by the Homeland Security Department. I'm not a fan of the Homeland Security, and thus far, I am yet to be convinced that the consolidation under one umbrella of Home Security after 9/11 produces much of what is needed to boost the domestic security in the US motherland from terrorism (local or foreign). (And, by jove, the announcement of the formation of Home Security was supposed to be one of THE showcased work by Bush administration to combat terrorism.) But then, I look at this Real ID enforcement by Home Security, which, in essence, among other things, is to shore up the authenticity of the driving licenses from numerous states, so that they can be better served as a means to ID terrorists or criminals or illegal immigrants.

My surprise was to see the criticism and attacks from all corners. The ACLU, the states, the privacy groups, etc. I thought to myself, why the hell? The proposed actions look to be sensible enough. The goals, very reasonable and reachable. So why the oppositions? But as the father of Lizzy from the 1980s BBC TV Jane Austen classic Pride and Prejudice would say it, "Read on, Lizzy!" And so I did.

Well, it turns out, it has nothing about the goals. It has nothing about implementation. It has little to do with privacy. All the opposition is about is one word: Money. Home Security rolls out this mandate without proper fundings. So, the states say, "no can't do." It's not unlike the No Child Left Behind Act that Bush pushed forward, with noble goals, big mandates, and little fundings. Of course, everyone's crying foul.

Looking at the poor execution of Bush's "vision" (if you can it that), it reminds me of the ousted HP CEO, Carly Fiorina who's big on words, quick on claiming limelight, yet delivered little. It's only the current CEO, Mark Hurd, who masters the execution and operations at HP, while pretty much staying on course with Fiorina's strategy. Surely, Fiorina would complain that there's nothing wrong with the "vision" that she laid out a few years back. Her problem is, she never delivers. It's deeds that we want, baby; not words.

The same goes with George W Bush. He has the exact same problem of execution and delivery as Fiorina. Too bad we don't have a super-board to oust the incompetent CEO of America Inc.