From the Washington Times, on Veterans Day:
President Obama visited Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday as part of Veterans Day events across the country honoring U.S. service members who have sacrificed to preserve America's freedom.
"We honor your service. We are forever grateful," Mr. Obama said while standing in a cold drizzle with the cemetery's Tomb of the Unknowns in the background. "To our veterans, to the fallen and to their families - there is no tribute, no commemoration, no praise that can truly match the magnitude of your service and your sacrifice."
The president, dressed in a dark suit and overcoat, also participated in the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the cemetery in Arlington, across the Potomac River from Washington.
The president and first lady Michelle Obama began the day by hosting a Veterans Day breakfast in the East Room of the White House.
The Obamas joined Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and wife Jill, whose son Beau recently returned from Iraq, at the cemetery. The first couple concluded their visit by going to a section of the cemetery reserved for those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
While Memorial Day commemorates those military members who are deceased, Veterans Day provides an opportunity to thank America's 23 million living veterans for their service.
The Bidens later hosted a lunch at the Naval Observatory for veterans, active duty service members and their families, and Mrs. Obama spoke at an event at George Washington University, where she hailed military members' commitment to service:
"They don't just want to serve for a certain number of years of deployment - they want to make their entire life a tour of duty."
From Homeland Security Today, on the new veterans page at dhs.gov:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) marked Veterans Day with a new Web portal to inform veterans of job and business opportunities with DHS components.
The Web site, located at www.dhs.gov/veterans, informs veterans of hiring opportunities to become a civilian employee of the department, which employ roughly 47,000 veterans, or 25 percent of its civilian workforce.
"This new website reflects the shared commitment across the department to hiring American veterans," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement. "Veterans play a vital role in the Department of Homeland Security's mission to protect the nation, and this website will help us build our veteran workforce to more than 50,000 department-wide by 2012."
The Web site also links to overviews of veteran contracting and to opportunities for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs). Federal law requires DHS and other agencies to award 3 percent of its annual contracts to SDVOSBs--a mark that many federal agencies regularly miss.
From the Miami Herald, on "Hidden in Plain Sight":
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is spearheading a campaign in Miami and 13 other U.S. cities to enlist the public's help in identifying possible victims and suspects involved in human trafficking.
Known as a form of modern-day slavery, human trafficking involves people -- usually women -- being forced or lured into unpaid labor as servants, agricultural workers or prostitutes.
Victims generally come from poor countries and are smuggled into the United States and other rich nations to serve as veritable indentured servants.
Several harrowing human trafficking cases have been discovered in South Florida in recent years. Local cases involved a Peruvian woman found working long hours for little pay in Key Biscayne and a 14-year-old forced to work as a prostitute by a Fort Lauderdale man who operated an escort service.
The campaign -- with the slogan ``Hidden in Plain Sight'' -- will feature billboards and ads that include a toll-free number (866-DHS-2-ICE or 866-347-2423) that people can call to report cases to law-enforcement authorities.
Leadership Events
11 AM EST
Secretary Napolitano will deliver remarks and join ICE Assistant Secretary Morton for a media availability to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Secure Communities initiative
ICE Headquarters
500 12th Street SW
Washington, D.C.
Public Events
9 AM EST
NPPD Director for Software Assurance Joe Jarzombek will deliver keynote remarks at the Open Web Application Security Project AppSec 2009 Conference
Walter E. Washington Convention Center
801 Mount Vernon Place, NW
Washington, D.C.
9:40 AM EST
NPPD Under Secretary Rand Beers will deliver keynote remarks about the role of broadband in public safety and emergency response communications at the Federal Communications Commission Broadband Field Hearing
Georgetown University, Leavey Center
3900 Reservoir Road, NW
Washington, D.C.
11:15 AM EST
NPPD Cyber Security Evaluation Program Director Patrick Beggs will participate in a panel discussion about information technology sector risk management at the 10th Annual Security Conference
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.
11:30 AM CST
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas will participate in a media availability about his vision for the agency and current initiatives
USCIS District Office
8940 Fourwinds Drive
San Antonio, Texas
1:45 PM EST
DHS Director of Privacy Policy Toby Levin will participate in a panel discussion about federal enterprise architecture security and privacy at the 10th Annual Security Conference
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
Hemisphere A
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.
1 PM CST
USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas will deliver remarks about immigrant integration and USCIS’ coordination with local partners at the National League of Cities’ Congress of Cities and Exposition
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center
555 South Alamo Street
San Antonio, Texas