the sheer breadth of the incompetence, part 56,098

You have got to be kidding me. From NYT:

It reads like a tally of terrorist targets that a child might have written: Old MacDonald’s Petting Zoo, the Amish Country Popcorn factory, the Mule Day Parade, the Sweetwater Flea Market and an unspecified “Beach at End of a Street.”

But the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, in a report released Tuesday, found that the list was not child’s play: all these “unusual or out-of-place” sites “whose criticality is not readily apparent” are inexplicably included in the federal antiterrorism database.

The National Asset Database, as it is known, is so flawed, the inspector general found, that as of January, Indiana, with 8,591 potential terrorist targets, had 50 percent more listed sites than New York (5,687) and more than twice as many as California (3,212), ranking the state the most target-rich place in the nation.

The database is used by the Homeland Security Department to help divvy up the hundreds of millions of dollars in antiterrorism grants each year, including the program announced in May that cut money to New York City and Washington by 40 percent, while significantly increasing spending for cities including Louisville, Ky., and Omaha.

Don't get me wrong, I like Indiana just as much as the next guy (not sure if that says much), but 8,591 terror targets? On the other hand, we do have a lot of Amish people and flea markets...

Here's a great paragraph later in the piece:

In addition to the petting zoo, in Woodville, Ala., and the Mule Day Parade in Columbia, Tenn., the auditors questioned many entries, including “Nix’s Check Cashing,” “Mall at Sears,” “Ice Cream Parlor,” “Tackle Shop,” “Donut Shop,” “Anti-Cruelty Society” and “Bean Fest.”

Am I missing something here? 'Cuz right now, I'm pretty sure this is a big fat smackdown to the "I know he's not great, but I still like the job he's doin' in the War on Terra'" crowd. Unless, of course, you work at Nix's Check Cashing.

And as an aside, what's up with the "Anti-Cruelty" Society? Is there a pro-cruelty lobby they're fighting against? Oh, wait...