The City That Homeland Forgot

New York City has no national monuments or icons. At least that's the published opinion of the Department of Homeland Security.

As one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman, put it:

"New York did once have a National Landmark, but some people flew a couple of planes into it."

This revelation was a key factor used to determine that New York City should have its anti-terror funds slashed by 40 percent--from $207.5 million in 2005 to $124.4 million in 2006.

"All I can tell you is if you look at their worksheets, and it says that New York City doesn't have any high visibility national icons ... I mean, I don't have to list the Brooklyn Bridge, the United Nations, Rockefeller Center, the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building and the Stock Exchange," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

The formula did not consider as landmarks or icons: The Empire State Building, The United Nations, The Statue of Liberty and others found on several terror target hit lists. It also left off notable landmarks, such as the New York Public Library, Times Square, City Hall and at least three of the nation's most renowned museums: The Guggenheim, The Metropolitan and The Museum of Natural History.

One commenter to the ABC news blotter wrote this:

"No wonder they couldn't find out whether Saddam had WMD. They couldn't find a national monument in New York."

Oh, and DC? Got slashed 40%. I guess they have no national monuments either.