We used to work regularly with FBI, but I haven't seen one in years.

Its not just the FBI that is off on the War on Terrorism, and forgotten enforcing the law. DPS has been reorganized to work on counter-terrorism, with no increase in manpower to take up the slack in law enforcement.

Rural counties are hit very hard by this void in law enforcement. For example, it is very difficult for local police to work narcotics, since it requires undercover work, and the crooks know all the local police. DPS is very necessary in working small town narcotics, and yet they've been pulled off of that detail. The result is that in most small towns, drug dealers, if they are just the slightest bit careful, can work undisturbed by law enforcement for years.

There are also theives and scam artists who move stuff around the state, that are not effectively investigated by local police.

The lack of interest in law enforcement by the legislature and the guv is pretty frustrating.

There is never enough money to do all of the things that you want to do. And if I was one of those ripped off by a white collar criminal, I'd be plenty upset. However, you have to look at the Big Picture. There is no way that we can allow another 9/11 to ever happen again! I would much rather have the FBI chasing terrorists than chasing WCCs. At least with a thief, I don't have to worry about him crashing an airplane into a building or letting off a dirty bomb!!

The first purpose of government is to protect the people from hostile forces--be they foreign terrorists, foreign armies, or domestic criminals.

So I have no problem with DPS organizing itself to better fight terrorism. But law enforcement is also a primary purpose of government. All other things are secondary or less. The solution, if our state government was true to first principles, would be to beef up DPS, so it could do both--anti-terrorism and anti-crime. The same is true of the FBI at the federal level.

Some will say that we just can't afford to spend more on law enforcement. In fact, the state operating budget allocates less than 7 percent to law enforcement. The biggest spender is education at 40 per cent, and second is Health & Human Services, with, I think, about 35 per cent. If they shrunk those 2 items by 3 per cent each, it would have little effect on those programs, and they could double the amount spent on law enforcement, which includes TDCJ and DPS.

You can rest assured that, after another big terrorist attack on US soil, the same paper will be very happy to run a story detailing how many resources the D-O-J has been spending on white collar crime, fake Gucci handbags, guys who shoot ducks with unplugged shotguns, and the like, and then ask why those resources weren't used to protect American lives.