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This America

Shining the light of democracy in the storm

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OUR NATIONAL SHIT SHOW

Introducing Doogie Howser, New Head of the DHS Anti-Terror Unit

Why was a 22-year-old with no security experience was picked to lead terrorism prevention?

4 min readJun 6, 2025

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Doogie Howser, MD, was a fictional character in a TV show from 35 years ago. Doogie, a 16-year-old intern at a large medical center, performed prostate surgery and appendectomies while navigating teenage trials and tribulations.

The show did address some serious issues — AIDS, racism, antisemitism, and gang violence, to give a few examples. However, I found it difficult to get beyond the absurdity. In any case, the show ran its course, had a pretty good run, and was cancelled after four years.

Thomas Fugate, SA, is an altogether too real character in our national shit show. Tommy was formerly a 22-year-old intern at the hard-right Heritage Foundation. He was appointed by the Trump administration as the special assistant in charge of a large Department of Homeland Security anti-terror unit.

Official Portrait of Thomas Fugate, United States Department of Homeland Security (image from Wikimedia Commons)

The DHS anti-terror unit does address some serious issues — active shooter situations, hate crimes, and bombings, to give a few examples. However, I find it difficult to get beyond the absurdity of assigning someone who is one year out of college and has no…

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This America
This America

Published in This America

Shining the light of democracy in the storm

Katharine Valentino
Katharine Valentino

Written by Katharine Valentino

Still trying for the words to help us do & feel good things. Owner of Reviews for Medium Featured Books. I write life stories & about politics / social issues.

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