The farce that is Homeland Security (I thought Republicans want less government?)

Personally, I think this mega bureaucracy is one of the biggest shams perpetrated on the American people since ... well, the 2000 elections. Now, the facts...

A short history of the Department of Homeland Security. From Wikipedia, parts thereof from the DHS website:

On September 20, 2001, in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, President George W. Bush announced the establishment of an executive-level Office of Homeland Security (OHS) to coordinate "homeland security" efforts, to be headed by Governor Tom Ridge with the title of Assistant to the President for Homeland Security.This was the 15th Executive Department.

The official announcement stated:
The mission of the Office will be to develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks. The Office will coordinate the executive branch's efforts to detect, prepare for, prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks within the United States.
Ridge took up his duties as OHS director on October 8, 2001.

In January 2003, the office was superseded, but not replaced by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the White House Homeland Security Council - both of which were created by the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The Homeland Security Council, similar in nature to the National Security Council, retains a policy coordination and advisory role and is led by the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security.

On November 30, 2004, Ridge announced his resignation. President Bush chose former NYPD commissioner Bernard Kerik as his successor, but a week later, Kerik withdrew his acceptance, explaining that he had employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny; subsequently, numerous allegations of extramarital affairs and past conflicts of interest surfaced, which would have led to a difficult confirmation battle. On January 11, 2005, President Bush nominated federal judge Michael Chertoff to succeed Ridge. Chertoff was confirmed on February 15, 2005, by a vote of 98–0 in the U.S. Senate. He was sworn in the same day.

Employees:
183,000 (2004)

Annual budgets of the DHS since inception:

How they spend it:

• From Der Spiegel: Hemorrhaging Money for Homeland Security
• From the Reno (NV) News and Review: Homeland pork

Failures of DHS:

• From the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO): Overview of DHS Management Challenges
• From the Wall Street Journal (not usually much of a Bush critic): "the obvious initial failure of the Department of Homeland Security in its first big post-9/11 test..."
• From NewsHounds.us: Administration's Failure In Homeland Security Since 9/11
• From The Century Foundation: The Department of Homeland Security's First Year A Report Card
• From ThinkProgress.org: Bush: Forget Everything I Said About Homeland Security
• From Paul Craig Roberts (c/o Antiwar.com): From Federal Failure Arises More Federal Power
• From the Associated Press: U.S. homeland security failure revealed at border
• From Ivan Eland (c/o Antiwar.com): Reforming the Homeland Security Department Is Unlikely
• From UPI: Unscreened containers still enter U.S. ports
• From MSN: Container, port security seen lacking. Penetrating U.S. ports called 'frighteningly simple'

Successes of DHS:

1. Great color scheme!

2. The dude on the left DIDN'T get confirmed.

3. Familiar looking insignia.