Quick hit: Dallas County homeland security director fired

Just a quick piece of news I saw come in over the wire: Lisa Chambers, the director of Dallas County's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, has been sacked after less than two years on the job, the Dallas Morning News reported yesterday.

Chambers, a former employee of the CIA and Department of Defense, claims she was fired for pointing out problems within the department. "I called out wrongdoing on several occasions," she told the Dallas newspaper. "There's a lot of stuff going on there. It's an upsetting environment."

County Judge Clay Jenkins, however, said he fired Chambers because of ongoing performance issues. Jenkins said he acted alone. Interesting ... I didn't know a judge had so much power.

Judging from the photo of Chambers standing in front of a bookshelf that the Dallas newspaper posted on its website, she is a fan of traveling, quilting, cooking and ... casino gambling.