KY has a Department of Homeland Security????

Keith Hall, the youngest Director of a state department for homeland security, resigned on Friday June 11. The resignation had nothing to do with the ongoing investigation into merit system abuses in the hiring of state workers. The next Wednesday, he spent about 5 minutes pleading the fifth (apparently) in front of the grand jury investigating the scandal. Not only was Mr. Hall the youngest director of an office of Homeland Security, he also may have been the most unqualified director who was not also having an affair with a governor. I don't have any information nor do I suggest Hall had any kind of untoward relationship with Felcher, but I assume that he at least had security clearance. Here is his experience as obtained from a cached page describing the director:

Mr. Hall also serves on various homeland security related task forces and committees, including serving as Vice-Chairman of the National Institute for Hometown Security.

He has a law degree, but apparently only used it as a lobbyist and aide to Anne Northrup and then congressman and now governor Ernie Fletcher. His only real claim to knowing about terrorism appears to be that he lived in NYC on 9/11.

From a speech to the DOCJT:

I lived in New York in 2001 and I can tell you that after the attack on our
country, none of us enjoyed that freedom. Every time we rode in a subway car, every time I departed New York by plane, every time I heard a loud noise on the streets, New Yorkers’ were struck with fear. My lasting memory of the three years I spent in New York will always be waking up to the sound of bagpipes playing on the 6 am news, reporting on the funeral of another first responder who passed on that day.

Hall doesn't seem to have had any qualifications to get him hired. I wonder what possibly could have gotten him fired? I have a hunch that out of control cronyism probably had something to do with it. His Deputy? Oh they went to the same high school, graduating two years apart. Both had parents in the administration of the school (I'm considering Vice-Principal administration)

Here are one of his deputy's qualifications:

He previously served as the Strategic National Stockpile Coordinator for Kentucky's Department for Public Health.

Maybe I have it all wrong, I'm thinking. Let's do a reality check to see what the qualifications of other directors of homeland security are.

Alabama

To sum up this one:

Director Walker served in the Army from 1981-2002, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. An Infantry officer and Airborne Ranger, he served in both the 25^th Infantry Division and the 101^st Airborne Division (Air Assault). He has more than seven years experience as an Army Congressional Liaison and Government Affairs Officer.

OK, maybe we just got lucky. How about a crappier state without a coast. How about Idaho?

Military, too. Looks like a bad ass. Oh well, maybe I was right.

Delaware? Law enforcement. 3 decades. Crap.

Georgia? Um, please move along, nothing to see here.