The system of national borders that is intended to exclude unauthorized persons can be conceptualized as a “fortress” with rigid barriers forming a secure perimeter, or as a “complex organism” with flexible layered defenses and interactions with the external environment. The application of these models to the United States, along with an evaluation of their possible effectiveness, is presented in a new report from the Congressional Research Service. See “People Crossing Borders: An Analysis of U.S. Border Protection Policies,” May 13, 2010.
Other new CRS products that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (both pdf).
“Potential Stafford Act Declarations for the Gulf Coast Oil Spill: Issues for Congress,” May 13, 2010.
“FY2010 Supplemental for Wars, Disaster Assistance, Haiti Relief, and Court Cases,” May 12, 2010.
A lack of sustained federal funding, deteriorating research infrastructure and networks, restrictive immigration policies, and waning international collaboration are driving this erosion into a full-scale “American Brain Drain.”
With 2000 nuclear weapons on alert, far more powerful than the first bomb tested in the Jornada Del Muerto during the Trinity Test 80 years ago, our world has been fundamentally altered.
As the United States continues nuclear modernization on all legs of its nuclear triad through the creation of new variants of warheads, missiles, and delivery platforms, examining the effects of nuclear weapons production on the public is ever more pressing.
“The first rule of government transformation is: there are a lot of rules. And there should be-ish. But we don’t need to wait for permission to rewrite them. Let’s go fix and build some things and show how it’s done.”