Speaking Truth to Power

HEADNOTE

The former inspector general at Homeland Security has a story to tell.

Although he was named after Superman (by a comic-book-loving older brother), Clark Kent Ervin says he feels more like Paul Revere. The

former inspector general at the Homeland security Department made a name for himself warning of shortcomings at the agency, which he believes are jeopardizing national security. Unlike Paul Revere, Ervin doesn't need a horse, but he is looking for a publisher for his book. His working title: Mission impossible: What It Will Take to Make the Department of Homeland Security Effective at Securing the Homeland.

"It is an absolutely critical department," Ervin says. "We all know that, God forbid, there's certainly going to be another attempted attack. I'm sure there has been already. Unfortunately, the odds being what they are, and al Qaeda being what it is, there will probably be another successful attack." He's now director of the homeland security initiative at the nonprofit Aspen Institute, a perch from which he hopes to facilitate better security planning across the public and private sectors.