Dana Milbank writes at WaPo about Tracy Henke, the genius behind the Homeland Security allocation.

Henke seems rattled. Arriving for her speech yesterday to a DHS-backed group called the Citizen Corps, she was a bit out of breath and hurried to the stage, saying “I’m up again.” She immediately brought up the controversial grant announcement and appealed to her audience for some love. …

… In this time of torment over big-city terrorism funding, Henke opted to recall her small-town upbringing. “People come to Washington and they forget where they came from and they think all knowledge, all information, all good ideas generate in the marble buildings of Washington, D.C.,” she argued. “Guess what? Not true. Not true at all. I’m very fortunate, I come from a very small town in Missouri.” She said she keeps a sign in her desk that says “Remember where you came from.”

Henke has. St. Louis, not far from her hometown of Moscow Mills, gets a 31 percent boost in counterterrorism money under the new formula.

Well, guess what? I’m from a very small town in Missouri, too. And although Park Hills (which was named Flat River when I lived there) is not quite as small as Moscow Mills, Moscow Mills is about thirty miles closer to St. Louis, which means Park Hills is more rural. Moscow Mills has a higher median income ($37,067) and house value ($78,800) than Park Hills — $25,277 and $53,900, respectively. Thus, being from Park Hills/Flat River carries a higher hick value.

I can say with some authority that, although there’s nothing wrong with being from a small town in Missouri, it’s not exactly something to brag about, either. Unless you’re competing in a “worse redneck” contest, of course. It doesn’t confer any special virtue, and if you move away you can never answer the question “where are you from?” without tossing in a geography lesson.

And while I do not for a minute think that all knowledge, all information, and all good ideas come out of marble buildings in Washington, DC, if any knowledge, information, or good ideas ever came out of Moscow Mills, I’d like to know about it. Park Hills/Flat River was always better at generating curiosities than knowledge. I heard tell they’ve had some ideas over in Potosi, but the folks that had ’em’s in jail now.

Ms. Henke remembers where she is from. Judging by the photos, there’s not much there to remember, so remembering shouldn’t tax her brain much. I suggest she put more effort into noticing where she is now.