{"id":185,"date":"2014-10-07T12:35:55","date_gmt":"2014-10-07T16:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musingsbymichael.com\/blog\/?p=185"},"modified":"2014-10-07T12:40:58","modified_gmt":"2014-10-07T16:40:58","slug":"what-has-happened-to-our-secret-service-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.musingsbymichael.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/07\/what-has-happened-to-our-secret-service-3\/","title":{"rendered":"What has happened to our Secret Service?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"The<\/a>
The White House<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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What has happened to our Secret Service, can they not protect the White House from invasion?<\/a><\/h3>\n

A man got inside as far as the East Room getting past an agent who was stationed near the staircase that leads up to the First Family\u2019s Quarters. Then, when he finally was stopped it was near the Green Room. He had gotten by the outside security and interior agents; this could have been a very scary scenario. What if the President had been downstairs instead of being on his way to Camp David in a Helicopter? And if any other member of his family had come down the staircase while the intruder was present, I hate think of what might have happened.<\/h3>\n

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It seems to me that Mack Sennett would have been able to cast these Secret Service agents as the new Keystone cops<\/a>. While this may seem to be funny, it is not! Remember that the Secret Service is the primary agency that stands between the President and those who might want to harm him.<\/h3>\n

Now that Secret Service Director Julia Pierson has resigned, will the lessons learned from doing the wrong things be learned or not? Not locking the door to the North Portico of the White House was kind of a dumb thing not to do and why was the agent(s) inside not aware that an intruder was making his way across the lawn toward the North Portico. You would think that they would have been in constant contact with the outside agents. So how was it that the first agent to encounter the intruder inside the White House did not know he was coming?<\/h3>\n

Has the Secret Service become complacent? If so, they just had a big wakeup call and if they change the way they think the President and his family will stay safe. Why did this happen and how can it be prevented? Hopefully there will be no long studies or politically motivated investigations by Congress. Either type of these inquiries would most likely not result in any positive suggestions or even a more productive Secret Service.<\/h3>\n

If nothing else is learned it should be that the Secret Service needs to make sure that nothing is taken for granted. Did the inside agents assume that an intruder could not get all the way across the White House lawn before being intercepted? If so, why was this their mindset? Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it; this should be a familiar quote and a most instructive one. After all if one repeats past mistakes over and over again then nothing has been learned.<\/h3>\n

Hopefully a new attitude by the higher ups in the Secret Service will result in them being less rigid in their way of how they deal with their subordinates. For in the past they have not been open to listening what the people below them have to say and\/or do not believe what they have been told. It seems to me that there is a \u2018Yes man\u2019 type of philosophy that has existed for far too long in the Federal Government. Attitudes must change and the higher ups must be more open in their thinking. After all we are talking about those who protect the President of the United States!<\/h3>\n

That is my opinion \u2013 Jumpin Jersey Mike<\/p>\n