The New York tabloids are losing their touch.
How else to explain both the Post and the News whiffing on an opportunity to revisit perhaps the second-greatest* NY newspaper headline, the Daily News' 10/30/75 classic "Ford to City: Drop Dead" with the news that the Department of Homeland Security has decided to gash anti-terrorism funding to The City?
Granted, the News and Post had a couple of good licks today, but really they missed an opportunity here.
Also missing an opportunity here: the federal freakin' government. In case you missed it, the Department of Homeland Security yesterday announced that anti-terror funding for New York City and Washington, DC is getting cut by 40 percent. 40 percent. For perspective, New York's funding got cut by $83 million, or almost as much as the next nine cities combined.
Is there no one awake at the Department of Homeland Security? Purely as a practical matter, did no one say, "Just a thought, but we might cause a bit of a stir if we slash New York City and Washington's anti-terrorism funding."?
I'm a New Yorker currently living in the D.C. area, so you'll understand if I get a bit animated over this.
But in answer to my own question: No, no one is awake over at the creepily-named Department of Homeland Security. How else to explain the fact that they determined that there are no national landmarks or icons. (OK, if the Brooklyn Bridge -- itself allegedly the target of an al Qaeda attack -- the Empire State Building, and the Statue of Liberty do not qualify as national icons, I would like to see what did make the list.)
The awesome (for a Republican) Rep. Pete King put it best: "As far as I'm concerned, the Department of Homeland Security and the administration have declared war on New York," Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told the Associated Press. "It's a knife in the back to New York, and I'm going to do everything I can to make them very sorry they made this decision."
What's the thinking here? Is it ...
... that NYC and DC are no longer top terrorist targets. Well, no. The Washington Post reported that: "Tracy A. Henke, assistant secretary for grants and training, told reporters that the new funding distribution was the result of a better review process and does not indicate lesser risk for cities such as Washington or New York."
... another case of anti-Northeast-ism (read: Take money from the Blue States and give it to the Red States)? Apparently not: Newark, New Jersey -- that international symbol of all that is American -- got a funding bump while Phoenix, Arizona took a hit.
... that -- the aforementionedly awesome Rep. King notwithstanding -- the GOP Congress cut homeland security funds in order to free up money for tax cuts? Hmmm. We might be on to something here. Homeland security funding was cut by $125 million this year. But probably not: That would imply that the congressional GOPers and the White House actually make pretenses at paying for their tax cuts, something they haven't done since the halcyon days of Clinton. (Apparently fiscal responsibility was pre-9/11 thinking.)
* Greatest headline ever remains: "Headless Body In Topless Bar"
