A new study concludes that law enforcement and criminal prosecutions linked to illegal immigration is costing Arizona border counties millions of dollars a year.

The study says the battle over illegal immigration is also diverting money from parks, libraries and other law-enforcement efforts.

More

by conservative without sounding bitter, whingey, or petulant.

And I'm certainly not as eloquent as I'd like to be!

But the thing is this: Conservatives have never actually been the power behind the GOP.  They used us to gain more power and now that they've managed to scare us with multiple bogeymen, they think we'll overlook their adulterous homosexual adventures with Congressional pages, strangers in airport restrooms, and who knows where else.

In 2006, although they lost a few spots, so-called RINOs like Arlen Specter managed to survive.  That gave them the confidence to aim for a different voter base...  one who wasn't so picky about moral issues like taking our tax dollars and using them to buy votes from  two groups we pretend to detest: foreigners in this country illegally (who commit multiple felonies when working) and those who employ them (lowering their costs at taxpayer expense).

Without some sort of sign, neither party will budge from their current leftward death spiral.  We'll either end up with an Marxist/Stalinist Socialism like the one that doomed the economies of the Soviet Union and her allies or a more Fascist Socialism like the one merrily destroying China with pollution while millions of people still live in caves with dirt floors...

You want to know why?  Money.  Politicians know they need money to be elected, so they gravitate to the richest sources, amorally.  Perhaps some follow a more circuitous path than others; but the money-power thing eventually corrupts them all...

Term limits only help if we teach morality to our young.  Santayana told us that people who ignore the mistakes of history are condemned to repeat them.  Sadly, even those who do not ignore them are condemned to live surrounded by those who do.

I could believe in a GOP that actually acted as though they care as much about the USA as they do Iraq.  Sadly, the forces that control and shape our nation demand that Boeing be paid billions for "The Emperor's New Fence" while a low-type fence like that required by law goes unbuilt, Ramos and Campion rot in prison, and the drug- and human-smugglers are left unimpeded by "manpower shortages".

When Collin County built a "day labor center" across from the old County Courthouse and Sheriff's Office a couple years ago, I knew what the result would be...  I just hoped and wished for a government that was honorable and would reward those who keep the law above those who break the law.

Apparently, that was foolishly old-fashioned of me.

No.  I saw him on CSPAN 3 arguing passionately that illegal alien felons deserve retroactive tax refunds.  And the robocalls I got from Rick  Perry, John Hagee, and John Cornyn just made me feel contempt for them as well.

John McCain--as well as the rest of the GOP Leadership--can build the 800+ miles of double fence as described in the Secure Fence Act of 2006...

...or they can kiss my hindermost parts...

It’s our fault.

We let the GOP talk us into allowing the wide-stanced toe-tappers like Craig, the pedophiles like Foley, the outright leftists like Chaffee and Specter, the spendthrifts like Stevens, and the ****tards like McAmnesty.

We brought it on ourselves by (in my case) 32 years of voting for anything with an “R” next to it… Well, not any more…

Lenin is often quoted as having stated, “The last capitalist will be hanged by a rope he sold his executioners.”

We’re apparently the “useful idiots” the GOP wanted, as long as it took to rid themselves of the need for us.

Who the **** cares what drivel the “useful idiots” for the Dhimmicrats dream up for each other if there is no choice in November?

We either help the Republicans carry on the charade and slide further left, vote for a Democrat and force the GOP left, or stay home and give them a reason to court Conservatives again.

My wife and I will show up to vote; but only on ballot issues, not for candidates who represent parties with pro-Amnesty leadership.

Build the Fence. Then we’ll talk.

How Rachel Corrie really died is as important now as it was then. With video evidence here of the betrayal of the West by "our" MSM.

Michelle Obama’s America—and mine
Michelle Malkin
Copyright Creators Syndicate 2008

Like Michelle Obama, I am a “woman of color.” Like Michelle Obama, I am a working mother of two young children. Like Michelle Obama, I am a member of the 13th Generation of Americans born since the founding of our great nation.

Unlike Michelle Obama, I can’t keep track of the number of times I’ve been proud—really proud—of my country since I was born and privileged to live in it.

At a speech in Milwaukee this week on behalf of her husband’s Democrat presidential campaign, Mrs. Obama remarked that “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country, and not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change.”

Mrs. Obama’s statement was met with warm applause from other Barack supporters who have apparently also been devoid of pride in their country for their adult lifetimes. Or maybe it was just a Pavlovian response to the word “change.” What a sad, empty, narcissistic, ungrateful, unthinking lot.

I’m just seven years younger than Mrs. Obama. We’ve grown up and lived in the same era. And yet, her self-absorbed attitude is completely foreign to me. What planet is she living on? Since when was now the only time the American people have ever been “hungry for change?” Michelle, ma belle, Barack is not the center of the universe. Newsflash: The Obamas did not invent “change” any more than Hillary invented “leadership” or John McCain invented “straight talk.”

We were both adults when the Berlin Wall fell, Michelle. That was earth-shattering change.

We’ve lived through two decades’ worth of peaceful, if contentious election cycles under the rule of law that have brought about “change” and upheaval both good and bad.

We were adults through several launches of the Space Shuttle, in case you were snoozing. And as adults, we’ve witnessed and benefited from dizzyingly rapid advances in technology, communications, science, and medicine pioneered by American entrepreneurs who yearned and succeeded to change the world. You want “change?” Go ask the patients whose lives have been improved and extended by American pharmaceutical companies who have flourished under the best economic system in the world.

If the fall of communism, American ingenuity, and a robust constitutional republic don’t do it for you, hon, then how about American heroism and sacrifice?

How about every Memorial Day? Every Veteran’s Day? Every Independence Day? Every Medal of Honor ceremony? Has she never attended a welcome home ceremony for the troops?

For me, there’s the thrill of the Blue Angels roaring over cloudless skies. And the somber awe felt amid the hallowed waters that surround the sunken U.S.S. Arizona at the Pearl Harbor memorial.

Every naturalization ceremony I’ve attended, where hundreds of new Americans have raised their hands to swear an oath of allegiance to this land of liberty, has been a moment of pride for me. So have the awesome displays of American compassion at home and around the world. When millions of Americans rallied to help the victims of the 2005 tsunami in southern Asia—including members of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group that sped from Hong Kong to assist survivors—my heart filled with pride. It did again when the citizens of Houston opened their arms to Hurricane Katrina victims and folks across the country rushed to their churches, Salvation Army, and Red Cross offices to volunteer.

How about American resilience? Does that not make you proud? Only a heart of stone could be unmoved by the strength, valor and determination displayed in New York and Washington and Shanksville, Pa., on September 11, 2001.

I believe it was Michael Kinsley who quipped that a gaffe is when a politician tells the truth. In this case, it’s what happens when an elite Democrat politician’s wife says what a significant portion of the party’s base really believes to be the truth: That America is more a source of shame than pride.

Michelle Obama has achieved enormous professional success, political influence, and personal acclaim in America. Ivy League-educated, she’s been lauded by Essence magazine as one of the 25 World’s Most Inspiring Women; by Vanity Fair as one of the “10 World’s Best Dressed People; and named one of “The Harvard 100″ top influencers. She has had an amazingly blessed life. But you wouldn’t know it from her campaign rhetoric and her griping over her and her husband’s student loans.

For years, we’ve heard liberals get offended at any challenge to their patriotism. And so they are again aggrieved and rising to explain away Mrs. Obama’s remarks.

Lady Michelle and her defenders protest too much.

'Is the RNC Trying to Destroy the GOP?'
By JB Williams (02/12/08)

Whether the RNC is trying to destroy the GOP or not, it's clear that they couldn't do a better job of destroying it, no matter how hard they try. Making John McCain the RNC nominee is the most certain way to lose the 2008 election. But even if McCain could actually win in November, almost a numerical impossibility by the way, many conservatives have already predicted that even a McCain victory would be the end of the GOP as we know it. What's the RNC thinking?

Read More

John McCain funded by Soros?

February 12, 2008 - 2:12 ET

As Sen. John McCain assumes the GOP front-runner mantle, his long-standing, but little-noticed association with left-wing donors such as George Soros and Teresa Heinz Kerry is receiving new attention among his Republican critics.

In 2001, McCain founded the Alexandria, Va.-based Reform Institute as a vehicle to receive funding from George Soros' Open Society Institute and Teresa Heinz Kerry's Tides Foundation and several other prominent non-profit organizations.

McCain used the institute to promote his political agenda and provide compensation to key campaign operatives between elections.

Read the complete story...

Al-Qaeda in Iraq faces an “extraordinary crisis”. Last year's mass defection of ordinary Sunnis from al-Qaeda to the US military “created panic, fear and the unwillingness to fight”. The terrorist group's security structure suffered “total collapse”.

These are the words not of al-Qaeda's enemies but of one of its own leaders in Anbar province — once the group's stronghold. They were set down last summer in a 39-page letter seized during a US raid on an al-Qaeda base near Samarra in November.

Psalm 26 (NIV)

Of David.

 1 Vindicate me, O LORD,
       for I have led a blameless life;
       I have trusted in the LORD
       without wavering.

 2 Test me, O LORD, and try me,
       examine my heart and my mind;

 3 for your love is ever before me,
       and I walk continually in your truth.

 4 I do not sit with deceitful men,
       nor do I consort with hypocrites;

 5 I abhor the assembly of evildoers
       and refuse to sit with the wicked.

 6 I wash my hands in innocence,
       and go about your altar, O LORD,

 7 proclaiming aloud your praise
       and telling of all your wonderful deeds.

 8 I love the house where you live, O LORD,
       the place where your glory dwells.

 9 Do not take away my soul along with sinners,
       my life with bloodthirsty men,

 10 in whose hands are wicked schemes,
       whose right hands are full of bribes.

 11 But I lead a blameless life;
       redeem me and be merciful to me.

 12 My feet stand on level ground;
       in the great assembly I will praise the LORD.

Ouch...  Okay, I know what needs to be done.  You do too.  Let's get on our knees and get right with the Lord, so we can actually be honest when we claim to be blameless...

If you need help in that regard, don't worry, just ask God to help you.  Jesus Christ was born, suffered, and died so you could approach thre Father.  And He rose from the dead to prove that His sacrifice was approved by the Father.  You can read all about it in the Bible (online at http://www.biblegateway.com).  And there are people in your town who would love for you to join them on the journey from where we are to where we need to be...

...and about Ronald Reagan...

It doesn't matter to some folks; but it does to me.  I won't vote for McAmnesty.  I haven't decided yet whether to stay home or vote for the Democrat Party candidate.  I guess it depends on how many more times the GOP tries to lie to me about "Homeland Security" while they send our troops to fight someone else's war and leave our borders unguarded. 

Ramos and Compean are still rotting away in prison for shooting at a guy who repeatedly brought TONS of drugs into this country...  Prosecuted by Bush Buddy Johnny Sutton...  Who gave a multiple-entry visa to the d@mned smuggler...  And only finally agreed to prosecute the smuggler due to public sentiment...  No word on when that trial will commence, if at all...

I won't vote for McCain.  I wouldn't walk across the street to urinate on him if he was on fire.  And I'm tired to death of folks who suggest we should support an enemy of our Constitution just because he calls himself a Republican.

If that's who the Republicans want, I'm outta there...

Do you know the Preamble for your state’s constitution?

Alabama 1901, Preamble.  We the people of the State of Alabama, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following Constitution. 

 Alaska 1956, Preamble.  We, the people of Alaska, grateful to God and to those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land.

Arizona 1911, Preamble.  We, the people of the State of Arizona, grateful to Almighty God for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution...

Arkansas 1874, Preamble  We, the people of the State of Arkansas, grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form of  government...

California 1879, Preamble.  We, the People of the State of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom.

Colorado 1876, Preamble.  We, the people of Colorado, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of Universe.
Connecticut 1818, Preamble.  The People of Connecticut, acknowledging with gratitude the good Providence of God in permitting them to enjoy.

Delaware 1897, Preamble.  Through Divine Goodness all men have, by nature, the rights of worshiping and serving their Creator according to the dictates of their consciences. 

Florida 1885, Preamble.  We, the people of the State of Florida, grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty, establish this Constitution...

Georgia 1777, Preamble.  We, the people of Georgia, relying upon protection and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this Constitution...

Hawaii 1959, Preamble.  We, the people of Hawaii, Grateful for Divine Guidance.  Establish this Constitution.

Idaho 1889, Preamble.  We, the people of the State of Idaho, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings.

Illinois 1870, Preamble.  We, the people of the State of Illinois, grateful to Almighty God for the civil l, political and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors. 

Indiana 1851, Preamble We, the People of the State of Indiana, grateful to Almighty God for
the free exercise of the right to choose our form of government.

Iowa 1857, Preamble We, the People of the State of Iowa, grateful to the Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him for a continuation of these blessings establish this Constitution.

Kansas 1859, Preamble.  We, the people of Kansas, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and
religious privileges establish this Constitution.

Kentucky 1891, Preamble.  We, the people of the Commonwealth are grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties...

Louisiana 1921, Preamble.  We, the people of the State of Louisiana, grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties we enjoy.

Maine 1820, Preamble.  We the People of Maine acknowledging with grateful hearts the goodness of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe in affording us an opportunity...  And imploring His aid and direction.

Maryland 1776, Preamble.  We, the  people of the state of Maryland, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberty... 

Massachusetts 1780, Preamble.  We...the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging with grateful hearts, the goodness of the Great Legislator of the Universe..  In the course of His Providence, an opportunity and devoutly imploring His direction.

Michigan 1908, Preamble.  We, the people of the State of Michigan, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of freedom establish this Constitution.

Minnesota, 1857, Preamble We, the people of the State of Minnesota, grateful to God for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to perpetuate its blessings:

Mississippi 1890, Preamble.  We, the people of Mississippi in convention assembled, grateful to Al mighty God, and invoking His blessing on our work.

Missouri 1845, Preamble.  We, the people of Missouri, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and grateful for His goodness.  Establish this Constitution. 

Montana 1889, Preamble.  We, the people of Montana, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty establish this Constitution.

Nebraska 1875, Preamble.  We, the people, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom Establish this Constitution.

Nevada 1864, Preamble.  We the people of the State of Nevada, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom establish this Constitution

New Hampshire 1792, Part  I.  Art.  I.  Sec.  V  Every individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of his own con science.

New Jersey 1844, Preamble.  We, the people of the State of New Jersey, grateful to Almighty God for civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors.

New Mexico 1911, Preamble.  We, the People of New Mexico, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty

New York 1846, Preamble.  We, the people of the State of New York, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings.

North Carolina 1868, Preamble.  We the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for our civil, political, and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those

North  Dakota 1889, Preamble.  We, the people of North Dakota, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, do  ordain...

Ohio 1852, Preamble.  We the people of the state of Ohio, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and to promote our common

Oklahoma 1907, Preamble.  Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessings of liberty...  establish this.

Oregon 1857, Bill of Rights, Article I.  Section 2.  All men shall be secure in the Natural right, to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their consciences..

Pennsylvania 1776, Preamble We, the people of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His  guidance

Rhode Island 1842, Preamble.  We the People of the State of Rhode Island grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing

South  Carolina, 1778, Preamble.  We, the people of he State of South Carolina grateful to  God for our liberties, do ordain and establish this Constitution.

South Dakota 1889, Preamble.  We, the people of South Dakota, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberties

Tennessee 1796, Art.  XI.III. That all  men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God  according to the dictates of their conscience...

Texas 1845, Preamble.  We the People of the Republic of  Texas,  acknowledging, with gratitude, the grace and beneficence of God.

Utah 1896, Preamble.  Grateful to Almighty God for life and liberty, we establish this Constitution.

Vermont 1777, Preamble.  Whereas all government ought to enable the individuals who compose it to enjoy their natural rights, and other blessings which the Author of Existence has bestowed on man

Virginia 1776, Bill of Rights, XVI Religion,  or the Duty which we owe our Creator can be directed only by Reason and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian Forbearance, Love and Charity towards each other

Washington 1889, Preamble.  We the People of the State of Washington, grateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution

West Virginia 1872, Preamble.  Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we, the people of West Virginia reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God..

Wisconsin 1848, Preamble We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, domestic tranquility

Wyoming 1890, Preamble.  We, the people of the State of Wyoming, grateful to God for our civil, political, and religious liberties…  establish this Constitution.

After reviewing acknowledgments of God from all 50 state constitutions, one is faced with the prospect that maybe, the ACLU and the out-of-control federal courts are wrong! 

If you found this to be "Food for thought" copy and send to as many as you think will be enlightened, as I hope you were.

 

"Those people who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants." - William Penn

May God continue to bless the United States of America, and in His infinite mercy grant us wise, Christian leaders.

Fasten Your Seat Belts  (B1N@RY N@T10N (A.J. Axline))

Guess what? The person who wins this year's U.S. presidential election isn't going to be who you think it is. There will be accusations of election fraud, of visual minorities who weren't given proper access to voting stations, of compromised voting machines and tainted ballots. And, nothing will come of the accusations. There will be an article in Rolling Stone magazine about the corruption of the democratic process. And, no one will care, and nothing will change. More people will vote for the next American Idol than in the next presidential election.

Guess what? Apple is having trouble convincing everyone to buy a new iPod or laptop every single year. The investors are shocked. Why can't open-ended revenue growth, quarter-over-quarter, continue indefinitely? Apple is shocked. How can someone use the same freaking iPod or laptop for over a year? That's crazy talk. Let's make it easier for people to get credit cards and second mortgages. Let's keep this train MOVING. Or, lets make crappier laptops and iPods that stop working after a year. This used to be known as "built-in obsolescence": it is now known as "investor relations".

Guess what? Windows XP is better than Windows Vista. They're both a year older, and that simple fact hasn't changed one bit or byte. Try again, Redmond. Try harder.

Guess what? Blu-Ray is going to win the high-definition optical disk format war. And by win, I mean that it will be the only choice available while the consumer adoption rate remains slower than an old lady behind the wheel of a Delta 88 (blue paint job matching her hair color) during rush hour. Consumers are starting to notice when they're getting urinated on by conglomerates hawking "the next best thing". And the bottom line is that there's nothing wrong with DVDs... nothing wrong with them at all.

Guess what? In 2008, you still won't have any privacy on the Internet. And, most people have gotten over it. Or, don't get it.

Guess what? More people are going to get stun-gunned to death by law enforcement officers this year. But stun guns are still technically non-lethal. Just ask the makers of the Taser: they paid for the study that proves it.

Guess what? Somebody is going to die on the "set" of a reality TV show this year. The increase in ratings will pay for the civil suit settlement, and all of the criminal fines. Writers? Who needs writers? This stuff writes itself!

Guess what? Lithium-ion batteries have hit the wall. There is nothing coming out that's better; nothing is going to replace them this year. In fact, there will be another major battery recall in the next 12 months after some manufacturer creates incendiary battery bombs trying to shove another twenty minutes of power into their product.

Guess what? Personal fire extinguishers are going to be a 'hot' product this year. As will stun gun-blocking chain mail vests. The SCA geeks will be jubilant.

Guess what? Plug-in hybrids will hit the market this year. The people who could get the best use out of them, the average lower-to-middle class working commuter, won't be able to afford them. And the vehicles still won't work as well as they should. The auto industry invented cripple-ware, did you know that? True story.

Guess what? Somebody is going to release a tech product this year that will "--mark the demise of paper-based books." And, it won't.

Guess what? It's incredibly annoying when somebody stands in front of you and stridently says "Guess what?" every so often. Which is why you should print a hard copy of this column, and go read it to a co-worker. Pick someone who has been gloating about the great price they got on an HD-DVD player over Christmas.

A.J. Axline is a technical writer, freelance columnist, deejay, and crossword puzzle enthusiast. In his spare time, he likes sleeping and laying around on the couch.

Not by much; but at least she doesn't get as much backing by Anti-American Billionaire George Soros and hasn't spent as much time trying to reward felonious foreigners in this country illegally with YOUR tax dollars and YOUR Social Security funds.

Yes, that's right, These illegal aliens are working with others to violate our laws (that's a criminal conspiracy).  They work in violation of SS Laws (that's SS Fraud, a five year felony).  In many cases, they are guilty of Identity Theft (another felony in most states).  And they are often guilty of Interstate Flight To Avoid Prosecution (not knowing that Bush Appointees like Johnny Sutton only incarcerates Border Patrol Agents who try to apprehend foreign drug smugglers).

John McCain, like Jimmy Carter and John Kerry, out to be enough reason to NEVER AGAIN vote for a former Navy Officer.  Period.  They're apparently all either lunatics or traitors.

Maybe that's what the GOP Leaders are all about?  Maybe they've already been paid off?  Maybe it's already too late?

Vote for Romney anyway.  We might just get lucky and he turn out to be a good President...

And this time they're winding themselves up in it...

More info at: http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=144080&WT.svl=news1_1

Feds Say 'Adios' to Admin Rights on Windows

The Federal Desktop Core Configuration mandate for Windows XP and Vista clients goes into effect on February 1

JANUARY 24, 2008 | 5:35 PM By Kelly Jackson Higgins Senior Editor, Dark Reading Windows desktop administrative rights soon will become a thing of the past for most federal users, as the U.S. government's Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC) directive takes effect on February 1. FDCC is the new set of standard security configuration guidelines for all federal agencies that run or plan to run Windows XP and Windows Vista desktops or laptops. Contractors' Windows client machines that run on federal networks also fall under FDCC, and IT product vendors selling products with these OSes also must configure them to the FDCC specifications. "This is definitely a move in the right direction. Even with the increase in stealthy attacks, 90 percent of attacks are still using known vulnerabilities" and many agencies aren't keeping up with those vulnerabilities, says Amrit Williams, CTO of BigFix. "This will let them assess their [desktop] environments against those configurations, then enforce them, and remediate machines." FDCC follows a similar initiative by the U.S. Air Force, which began in 2004. Air Force officials have said that their standard, secure desktop configurations cut patch time from on average of 51 days to 72 hours, and has also lowered support and security costs dramatically, says Alan Paller, director of research for the SANS Institute. FDCC was a natural progression for the feds after the Air Force's experience: "Happier users and lower costs because you don't have to do patch testing on all different configurations, and you get better security," he says. Among the key security requirements in FDCC, aside from disabling administrative privileges, are disabling wireless network access and running Internet Explorer 7. But the biggest change with the directive will be limiting client machines to basic user privileges rather than letting them run with administrative rights, security experts say. Leaving admin rights on a user's desktop can invite trouble, especially with today's more targeted attacks. Malware that gets on a machine can spread more readily, as well as take over the machine -- and users are free to run apps they shouldn't. Vista comes packaged with user account protection features that let users operate mundane tasks that once required admin privileges. (See The Truth About User Privileges.) "The elimination of admin rights is really a key linchpin of this whole effort," says John Moyer, CEO of BeyondTrust, which sells least-privilege management tools. "[FDCC] really is about enforcing a standard, secure configuration, and as part of that standard is [an end user] not logging in as an administrator so you can't change all of those settings." But SANS's Paller disagrees. "[Removing admin rights is] important, but life won't end if you have to put it off on 10 percent of your machines for a year," he says. "You can just isolate them on a subnet," for instance, he says. The big question will be just how dropping admin rights will affect legacy applications, for instance. "There are going to be apps that don't work," especially internally developed ones, BigFix's Williams says. And restrictions on wireless access also could pose some challenges, although experts say they're sure the feds will find a way to get their mobile users safer wireless with options such as EVDO cards, for instance. "The problem with FDCC won't be 'is this hardened enough?'... but the productivity hit" it will incur, BigFix's Williams says. SANS's Paller says there will be some apps that break, but that mainly will be a problem for the application developer, not the end user. "So the apps need to be changed not to require administrative rights" to run, he says. And FDCC only addresses securely configuring desktops and laptops -- and only Windows XP and Vista ones. But security experts say they expect the feds to eventually set standard secure configurations for servers and other devices as well. Aside from the U.S. Air Force, which stripped admin rights off of around 500,000 end-user machines, at least one other agency also has already done so prior to the FDCC requirements: The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration site in Nevada removed admin privileges from over 3,500 client machines after ditching Novell for a Windows Active Directory environment. The DOE runs BeyondTrust's Privilege Manager, which allows users to run desktop apps and perform authorized tasks without the need for admin privileges. "The centralized management of applications, rights, and security was in question," so we went with least user privileges, says Gilroy Freeth, senior technical analyst for Spherion Services, a contractor to the DOE site. Freeth says this helps neutralize rootkits and malware that require elevated privileges to help them do their dirty work. And since some IT group members will obviously still need admin privileges to do their jobs, their machines will be at risk for these types of client-side attacks, he says.