View Full Version : TSA, raising the bar on STUPID
Team Sergeant
12-04-2011, 14:53
Transportation Security Administration raising the bar on stupid. This is what happens when you hire "all" the possible fast food employees and give them a badge..... :rolleyes:
TSA Now Protecting Us From Gun-Shaped Purse Decorations
Teenage Floridian Vanessa Gibbs missed her plane ride home from Norfolk, Va. the other day because her purse featured a gun-shaped applique that TSA agents deemed illegal as a "replica" gun. Commence adding bold western wear to your list of "TSA-banned fashions," underneath snake pants and hummingbird pants.
Gibbs told Jacksonville's WJXT-TV that the TSA agent who inspected her "was like, 'This is a federal offense because it's in the shape of a gun'... I'm like, 'But it's a design on a purse. How is it a federal offense?'" Gibbs escaped being detained by authorities but had to check her bag so that the fake gun's invisible bullets wouldn't go off inside the cabin, theoretically killing all of her fellow passengers as they ascended into the clouds and entered an alternative universe at 30,000 feet.
http://gawker.com/5864775/tsa-now-protecting-us-from-gun+shaped-purse-decorations?popular=true
greenberetTFS
12-04-2011, 15:49
Well,as Sally said: Stupid is as Stupid does........:rolleyes: The TSA employees are required to have an IQ of 60,and of course it shows by their actions.....:(
Big Teddy :munchin
Holy crap that is just ... ridiculous. Stupidity at its' finest.
I bet soon they will ban hunting/shooting magazines and pull them from the "newstands" that are behind the security barrier.
They are just as much of a threat to air travel as a design on a purse!
I wonder when they're going to start culling music or movies from passengers since it is common knowledge that violent movies, music, and video games cause violence. :eek:
Holy crap that is just ... ridiculous. Stupidity at its' finest.
Agree completely! :confused:
Have just decided that my next time on an airplane will be in my new sweatshirt...let's see the Tragically Stupid Assh***s try and get it off me...they will be in for a fight!:mad:
Ret10Echo
12-04-2011, 16:41
I bet soon they will ban hunting/shooting magazines and pull them from the "newstands" that are behind the security barrier.
They are just as much of a threat to air travel as a design on a purse!
I wonder when they're going to start culling music or movies from passengers since it is common knowledge that violent movies, music, and video games cause violence. :eek:
...or travel in hospital gowns and paper slippers...no carry-on...
commobuddha
12-04-2011, 18:34
Agree completely! :confused:
Have just decided that my next time on an airplane will be in my new sweatshirt...let's see the Tragically Stupid Assh***s try and get it off me...they will be in for a fight!:mad:
Now you've done it. I'm sure you'll get some extra eyeballing from our national heroes next time you go through "security."
...or travel in hospital gowns and paper slippers...no carry-on...
...and after a thorough cavity search.
Badger52
12-05-2011, 08:15
Now you've done it. I'm sure you'll get some extra eyeballing from our national heroes next time you go through "security."Fixed it for ya.
Agree completely! :confused:
Have just decided that my next time on an airplane will be in my new sweatshirt...let's see the Tragically Stupid Assh***s try and get it off me...they will be in for a fight!:mad:Can I rub your crest?:eek::D
Stay safe.
dr. mabuse
12-05-2011, 09:49
I had better stop wearing the NRA logo underwear when flying commercial!:rolleyes:
mojaveman
12-05-2011, 10:18
I guess I better not bring anymore copies of American Rifleman to read while in flight, the mere image of a firearm might get me in a lot of trouble. :rolleyes:
Can I rub your crest?:eek::D
Stay safe.
Anytime, Guy...it will bring good luck, I am sure!:p
Seriously though, am thinking of just going all out for my next trip, and bringing my handbag with the, "I AM THE NRA," sticker placed right on the front, next to a Ted Nugent color decal...hmmmm, now theres an idea!
The way I see it, they can get it all up front, before I stand in the full body perv camera! (Now if only there was SF bikinis for us chicks.....that would show up on the scanner! Ha! I would buy out the store on those items!)
In any case...
Holly:munchin
According to a class mate, they missed the 9mm round that was mixed in with his keys and pocket change when he came back from Kentucky.
Not sure how he missed them himself, though...
I flew recently and TSA missed a small pocket knife that I inadvertently left in my briefcase - I mailed the small knife home upon discovering the mistake.
So, yes IME “things” do make it through the “intense” screening. :mad:
So, yes IME “things” do make it through the “intense” screening. :mad:
My husband once used his Costco member card for the photo ID required by TSA to board a flight. Really! This was post 9/11, too. :eek:
Susan
Well,as Sally said: Stupid is as Stupid does........:rolleyes: The TSA employees are required to have an IQ of 60,and of course it shows by their actions.....:(
Big Teddy :munchin
Really 60, that high?
bluenote
12-06-2011, 20:01
Whoa, whoa, whoa....
I can't stand around while men and women in uniform, who have sworn to protect this great nation, and who have completed their mandatory 10 day training class, are attacked and belittled. It is funny, but I have to post a response.
A single bullet, or a pocket knife, unless it is in the hands of a Navy Seal, will not bring down an aircraft.
TSA officers do not travel with you on your flight. They have to stay and annoy the next flight of people. So they may know your pistol is a replica and the members of this forum could probably spot a phony weapon in first class from the coach exit row, however, a plane full of retirees heading to Florida for the winter, and who are already on edge may not be able to keep their wits about them if a young stranger stands up on a plane and yells "We are going to Cuba Mother F-ers and by-the-way this gun is real as hell".
That is why they do some of the things they do. Not to protect themselves, but to protect the traveling public from...well...the traveling public. The "gun" in question was life size and made of metal. Nobody checks in with papers that certify they are not prone to violence or panic when faced with a stressful situation.
Someone has to make a decision. Let it through and you get goofed on. Take it away and you get goofed on.
If you think TSA officers are annoying for the 10 minutes you are in the checkpoint, you should have to put up with them day in and day out. Its worse than you can imagine. Anyway, keep up the comments, those guys suck.
Team Sergeant
12-07-2011, 09:01
Whoa, whoa, whoa....
I can't stand around while men and women in uniform, who have sworn to protect this great nation, and who have completed their mandatory 10 day training class, are attacked and belittled. It is funny, but I have to post a response.
A single bullet, or a pocket knife, unless it is in the hands of a Navy Seal, will not bring down an aircraft.
TSA officers do not travel with you on your flight. They have to stay and annoy the next flight of people. So they may know your pistol is a replica and the members of this forum could probably spot a phony weapon in first class from the coach exit row, however, a plane full of retirees heading to Florida for the winter, and who are already on edge may not be able to keep their wits about them if a young stranger stands up on a plane and yells "We are going to Cuba Mother F-ers and by-the-way this gun is real as hell".
That is why they do some of the things they do. Not to protect themselves, but to protect the traveling public from...well...the traveling public. The "gun" in question was life size and made of metal. Nobody checks in with papers that certify they are not prone to violence or panic when faced with a stressful situation.
Someone has to make a decision. Let it through and you get goofed on. Take it away and you get goofed on.
If you think TSA officers are annoying for the 10 minutes you are in the checkpoint, you should have to put up with them day in and day out. Its worse than you can imagine. Anyway, keep up the comments, those guys suck.
Yeah, I said the TSA is raising the bar on stupid, I looked again at the "pistol" it's not life size, it's sewn on and the individuals that work for/at the TSA are morons.
Please, feel free to defend the 3oz of liquids, nail clippers, nail files, Medal of Honor etc. that the TSA has deemed dangerous. Let alone the No Fly List with half of America and three year olds on it.
The only thing more stupid than the TSA airport idiots are the white collar professionals that manage the TSA.....
There's stupid and then there's TSA stupid.
bluenote
12-07-2011, 10:12
This is the fake gun on a purse:
20673
This is a real gun on a belt buckle:
20674
I can tell the difference, and you can tell the difference, but I guarantee you a pilot would divert a flight for either of them if they were removed from the garments they are on. It would be an in-flight call made by a hysterical stewardess into the cockpit describing the item, with screaming passengers in the background.
And TS you are so right about the people who run TSA. There are a couple of them that I would love for you and I to punch in the face. Most of the ridiculous rules that come down are from local area directors and managers who are worthless lumps of flesh.
.....I guarantee you a pilot would divert a flight for either of them if they were removed from the garments they are on.
Especially if it was a midget in a burka carrying that "gun".
It would take fingers the size of a newborn baby to squeeze that tiny and obviously 2-dimensional "trigger". That is not a full size purse. It's like a large wallet or small clutch. The gun appliqué is 3 inches, maybe 4. You can see it's smaller than the teenager's hand.
I'm with TS. This story raised the bar on stupid.
I guarantee you a pilot would divert a flight for either of them if they were removed from the garments they are on. It would be an in-flight call made by a hysterical stewardess into the cockpit describing the item, with screaming passengers in the background.
This does not describe the flight crews I have known. They were pretty well trained on identifying whether a threat was real or not. They even had training on household items that could be used to make bombs.
Recordings of the 9/11 hijacked aircraft doesn't support the “screaming passengers” comment either.
Pat
That is why they do some of the things they do. Not to protect themselves, but to protect the traveling public from...well...the traveling public.
I do quite well protecting myself from the public, or from myself for that matter. So do many of the people that I know. Granted there are some people who need to be protected from themselves and the public from them, however, the moment the government feels the need to protect all people from themselves is when the people need to protect themselves from the government.
Recordings of the 9/11 hijacked aircraft doesn't support the “screaming passengers” comment either.
Ever wonder how 9/11 could have turned out if the government didn't turn every passenger into an unarmed sheep?
P.S. The only place I agree with this whole liberal/progressive "fairness/equality" doctrine is with self-defense: One should have equal, fair, and easy access to the same weapons that are in use against him/her.
I just got through security fine with my purse. It has a medallion of a jolly roger with swords. I wonder what damage I could go with that? I could possibly choke someone out with my jolly roger silk scarf, does that count?
This does not describe the flight crews I have known. They were pretty well trained on identifying whether a threat was real or not. They even had training on household items that could be used to make bombs.
Recordings of the 9/11 hijacked aircraft doesn't support the “screaming passengers” comment either.
Pat
Pat,
Very well said!!! If anything "came up" during a flight I was on, my ass would be/will be the lunatic gal who jumps up and down and races to pummel the ass**les...but am sure I will be standing in line.:rolleyes:
"Let's Roll" is a great book, imho.
Holly:munchin
bluenote
12-07-2011, 18:32
I am not defending TSA. I have already said the majority of the people are worthless and the organization shouldn't exist as it is. TSA was thrown together in response to 9/11. It is not a perfect plan. It is just a hasty plan that has endured. The basic job can be done by an obese 65 year old woman who only has a high school education.
Behind the scenes, there is some (not much) method and reason to the madness.
Especially if it was a midget in a burka carrying that "gun".
20676
This is the gun from the belt buckle that works. It is 3/4 the size of the one on the purse. That is an adult male squeezing the trigger. It can ruin five people's day. There are only two (hopefully) that can fly the plane.
Recordings of the 9/11 hijacked aircraft doesn't support the “screaming passengers” comment either.
On 9/11 and before, passengers were told to be quiet and comply and everything will be a-ok. It is a different story now. And some aircrews are more likely to be the ones complaining that something like that got onto the plane.
BofH made a good point. Liberal/progressive "fairness/equality" doctrine is the root of the problem. The federal regulation states that "firearm replicas" are not allowed on commercial flights. If this girl is permited on the plane with her purse, than Al-answari can get on with his full size mock up of an AK right? If not he has been discriminated against, profiled, and had his civil rights violated. If an 80 year old man can come through with his WWII pocket knife, than the group of 12 military age males with accents and "death to america "shirts can bring their pocket-folders too, right? What about a replica of an IED?
Why did she have to have that purse during the flight anyway? She was offered the chance to take everything in it with her and the purse could be checked so she would be in compliance with the law. Nobody was trying to steal or confiscate the thing.
Are you advocating flying in beachwear and zero carry-on since a weapon is determined by the imagination and ability of the assaulter?
ZonieDiver
12-07-2011, 21:54
They made my 10 month old grandson - in his mother's arms - take off his tiny little shoes last Christmas at DIA. I almost ran down to kick the stupidity out of them.
It's a typical federal boondoggle, where the employee - whether having an IQ of 60 or 160 - has NO ability to use common sense.
It's all 'smoke and mirrors' for the sheeple. They don't take their shoes off in London!!!!!
x SF med
12-08-2011, 14:56
The airlines supply plenty of weapons on a flight if you know where to look... 'nuff said.
The TSA screeners are mostly megalomaniacal undertrained genetically damaged morons that barely speak coherent English. the first flight I took after 9/11 wit ha TSA screener... the screener was of Middle Eastern descent, accent, attitude and all...
Rep. Marsha Blackburn is sponsoring a bill to STRIP the TSA of their 'officer' title.
...Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), the lead sponsor of the Stop TSA's Reach in Policy (STRIP) Act, said that TSA has essentially allowed its airport screeners to play dress-up by giving them metal badges and police-like uniforms in recent years. But she said many airport screeners have no "officer" qualifications, and should have this title removed.
She also said giving airport screeners police-like uniforms has led to problems. She said in New Jersey, a screener was arrested for impersonating an officer, and a Virginia woman was raped by a screener after he approached her showing his TSA badge.
"It is outrageous that in a post-9/11 world ... the American people should have to live in fear of those whose job it is to keep us safe," Blackburn said. "Congress has sat idly by as the TSA strip-searches 85-year-old grandmothers in New York, pats down 3-year-olds in Chattanooga and checks colostomy bags for explosives in Orlando.
"Enough is enough!" she added. "The least we can do is end this impersonation, which is an insult to real cops."
Link (http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/198357-house-gop-looks-to-strip-tsa-screeners-of-officer-title)
My personal best was being pulled out of line when they found a jump wings size pin of a military style rifle in my bag. They had a supervisor come out (who ironically I had trained years ago), 2 other guys coral me for this clearly dangerous device and apologize, but take it.
I get on and sit down, and the 30 yr old woman next to me is knitting away with two knitting needles (spears) about 18-24 " long each.
I asked her how she got on with them. She very defensively retorts "They NOT on the restricted list"
LOL, talk about missing the forest for the trees!
PedOncoDoc
12-09-2011, 11:26
My personal best was being pulled out of line when they found a jump wings size pin of a military style rifle in my bag. They had a supervisor come out (who ironically I had trained years ago), 2 other guys coral me for this clearly dangerous device and apologize, but take it.
I get on and sit down, and the 30 yr old woman next to me is knitting away with two knitting needles (spears) about 18-24 " long each.
I asked her how she got on with them. She very defensively retorts "They NOT on the restricted list"
LOL, talk about missing the forest for the trees!
When do the Harsey knitting needles come out? We could use some combat knitters! :D
Buffalobob
12-24-2011, 09:47
TSA is now confiscating red velvet cupcakes so if you wish to have a snack on the plane make sure your cupcake is either chocolate or yellow. :D
http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/24/9676807-frightening-frosting-tsa-confiscates-cupcake
Ret10Echo
01-18-2012, 20:59
TSA at work...
"You got toothpaste or anything they will stop you real quick, but a gun? They got to figure something out," another passenger said
Story here....FoxDFW (http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/Plane-Left-Gate-With-Gun-on-Board-DFW-Airport-Says-011812)
I worked for the TSA for 3 months. I honest can say I received no training, but for some reason they have this idea in their heads that they're like the FBI or CIA or some other federal agency. While technically they are the training you receive doesn't reflect that in the least. I felt more like a hall monitor with a badge, and the public hates you because all you do is harass people. The best part of the job was meeting all the celebrities. All in all one of the worst jobs I've ever had.
Dozer523
01-19-2012, 06:07
http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/24/9676807-frightening-frosting-tsa-confiscates-cupcake
"she told the agent she had passed through security at Boston's Logan International Airport earlier in the week with two cupcakes packaged in jars, gifts from a student. But she said the agent told her that just meant TSA officials in Boston didn't do its job.
Well . . . I seem to recall you aren't supposed to carry anything aboard provided by anyone else. I mean she is a professor, what does her grading curve look like? :o who is her student"
In a jar? "Professor, please to be taking home theese coopkakes. Is old family recipe. Is in jar because I no find pretty box. And sodium react very big with air. Enjoy them! But wait for you are over the ocean"
and
"The TSA agent who saw them, picked them up and said, 'these look delicious,' and sent me on my way," Hains told WHDH. opps. A good rule of thumb at the airport: don't go to the fat ones.:p
84-year-old claims TSA strip search:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57336167/84-year-old-claims-tsa-strip-search/?tag=contentMain;contentBody
2nd elderly woman says TSA exposed her:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57336591/2nd-elderly-woman-says-tsa-exposed-her/?tag=contentMain;contentBody
TSA admits errors in searching 2 elderly women:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57361213/tsa-admits-errors-in-searching-2-elderly-women/
The above TSA screeners are a bunch of f’ing idiots, I can’t believe they treated those two women like that. Those a’holes have no respect and IMHO they did it because they knew the elderly women wouldn’t resist. I’ll tell you what; if my mother was treated like that there would be hell to pay!!
TSA at work...
Story here....FoxDFW (http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/Plane-Left-Gate-With-Gun-on-Board-DFW-Airport-Says-011812)
Yesterday, a woman was removed from a plane at DFW after she made it through security and onto the plane with the gun.
The plane had left the gate and was about to take off when it was recalled.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=8511026
What they don't describe in the article, and did describe on the evening news was the manner in which she was removed...
The evening news reported that the plane was returned to the gate at which time all female passengers were ordered to deplane with their luggage.
This is a huge mistake, if you ask me. The time it takes for all female passengers to grab their luggage and deplane is detrimental during a security breach like this.
It would have been wiser, in my opinion, to just have armed security/police/marshals board the plane and remove the woman, hopefully without incident.
Team Sergeant
01-20-2012, 09:23
Yesterday, a woman was removed from a plane at DFW after she made it through security and onto the plane with the gun.
The plane had left the gate and was about to take off when it was recalled.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=8511026
What they don't describe in the article, and did describe on the evening news was the manner in which she was removed...
The evening news reported that the plane was returned to the gate at which time all female passengers were ordered to deplane with their luggage.
This is a huge mistake, if you ask me. The time it takes for all female passengers to grab their luggage and deplane is detrimental during a security breach like this.
It would have been wiser, in my opinion, to just have armed security/police/marshals board the plane and remove the woman, hopefully without incident.
Surely you jest.... you actually think they knew who it was? I can see the TSA agent now, "it was a woman, no a man, wait, it had to be a woman, let's just pull all the women off the plane."
Surely you jest.... you actually think they knew who it was? I can see the TSA agent now, "it was a woman, no a man, wait, it had to be a woman, let's just pull all the women off the plane."
Well, Team Sergeant, not to detract from the topic of this thread, but I guess I have been watching a bit much of N.C.I.S. lately.
Dohhunter
01-23-2012, 15:15
What hell are they going to do when Ron Jeremy goes through the screener?
Conversely, when Jenna goes through the sniffer?
I enjoyed Jay Carney raising the bar of stupidity in today's TSA vs Rand Paul incident...
But Carney sided with the TSA saying, “I think it is absolutely essential that we take necessary actions to ensure that air travel is safe.”
Has the TSA thwarted anything beyond a colostomy bag to date?
Anyone else notice Tennessee is a hot bed TSA activity?
http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/tsa/205813-white-house-sides-with-tsa-in-rand-paul-standoff
Team Sergeant
03-03-2012, 10:02
Just when you thought the Transportation Security Administration could not get more stupid, they again raise the bar.... well done Transportation Security Administration, well done.
National Interest - US
TSA: Hawaii agent made mistake about breast pump
Published March 03, 2012
| Associated Press
LIHUE, Hawaii -- The Transportation Security Administration in Hawaii says an agent was wrong to tell a nursing mother she couldn't board an airplane with her breast pump.
The TSA tells KITV the agent at the Kauai airport mistakenly told Amy Strand she could only bring the pump onboard if the bottles contained milk.
She was allowed to board after pumping in a bathroom and showing the full bottles to the agent.
Strand was traveling home to Maui with her 9-month-old daughter Wednesday when her pump raised questions during screening.
She asked for a private place to pump and was told to go to the women's restroom. Strand says the only outlet was next to a sink facing a wall of mirrors, so she had to stand in front of others.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/03/tsa-hawaii-agent-made-mistake-about-breast-pump/
MTN Medic
03-03-2012, 11:34
So, they can catch brownies, crap bags and a breast feeding pump, but they cannot find lbs of C-4, bombs, guns, knives and tazers huh? I can tell you this much:
If I did my job this poorly, with this much lack in sensitivity, I would be an E-1; likely in Leavenworth. :eek:
TSA: Hawaii agent made mistake about breast pump
Published March 03, 2012
| Associated Press
The TSA tells KITV the agent at the Kauai airport mistakenly told Amy Strand she could only bring the pump onboard if the bottles contained milk.
I guess I need to check youtube to see if there is a TSA training video for teaching agents to drink breast milk bottles to ensure the ladies are compliant.
Now I am really confused, a jar with a cupcake in it is confiscated, something about potentially hazardous frosting not being allowed on planes.
But on the other hand an empty container meant to hold breast milk has to be filled in order for the passenger to board a plane. I thought that we had the means to do some sort of a sniff test in order to detect explosives, the cupcake should have been cleared, just put it on the line that checks shoes and underwear for explosives.
My question is does TSA possess the means at all airports to confirm whether or not a liquid in any container is actually breast milk? Say what you will about Ron Paul but one of his planks is abolishing the TSA.
dr. mabuse
03-03-2012, 18:55
Terrorist to Pilot: " If you do not open the cabin door, I will start squirting breast milk into peoples eyes, one passenger every half hour until you do. I will then escalate and make the crew drink formula!!!" :rolleyes:
For those of you that are parents and have every tasted formula...pretty rough.
PedOncoDoc
03-04-2012, 05:52
For those of you that are parents and have every tasted formula...pretty rough.
I have don memories of having my interns do "taste tests" of the formulas and oral medications they were asking the kids to take. Their faces were priceless.
TSA is criminally inept. If phyisicians practiced their trade with the same effort and skill they would immediately have their licenses revoked.
greenberetTFS
03-04-2012, 06:33
TSA recruits their first class personal at Micky D's...... The hamburger flipper is always their first choice,however the manager is their last choice because he/she couldn't make it on the outside in a regular job so he/she is not desirable candidates ...:rolleyes::eek::p
Big Teddy :munchin
Ret10Echo
03-04-2012, 07:37
TSA is criminally inept. If phyisicians practiced their trade with the same effort and skill they would immediately have their licenses revoked.
They got themselves ORGANIZED Doc.... Union not going to lose that many dues-payers.....
“We are obviously thrilled with the election results, but more importantly are delighted that the transportation security officers now will have the full union representation they rightly deserve,” AFGE President John Gage said in a statement.
Oh, and I believe the whole thread should actually state "TSA, LOWERING the bar on STUPID". Proving that it isn't really that hard.
Badger52
03-05-2012, 11:07
They got themselves ORGANIZED Doc.... Union not going to lose that many dues-payers..... They'll get some small amount of due$. The bigger loss is that someone for the Guv ink'd a Negotiated Agreement in the first place. That way John "Wish I Was Hoffa" Gage and the rest of the AFGE national-level thugs get to count anyone not supervisory as part of "the bargaining unit." That statistic is at times more important to them in terms of elbowing clout, than that each person be a dues-paying member (which they still can't be coerced to pay).
Vomit.
kingfish
03-05-2012, 11:48
Anyone ever been through an airport where screeners were contracted vice government TSA employees? Big difference, but I have very limited experience here. Attitude and approach to their jobs was 180degrees out from the government screeners. I'm not saying contractors are the way to go, just that the thought of losing one's job for poor performance is a real motivator. Government + Unions = FAILURE.
From what I've seen, read, and experienced, the TSA and the flying public are both made up of a significant percentage of idiots...and it is often the results of a 'perfect storm' situation of these idiots coming together which makes the news reports.
And so it goes...
Richard :munchin
CloseDanger
03-05-2012, 23:43
I had to snicker at "A perfect Storm" analogy.
TSA guy Bob (http://blog.tsa.gov/) does explain a'lot of what is happening there. Presents a compelling argument (http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-05/why-cant-the-tsa-be-as-cool-as-the-tsas-blogger-bob).
To be honest, they have been good with me when I made mistakes, but I do see why it is a hated agency. Just don't take it out on the Pawns.
Who woulda thunk? :rolleyes:
In response to the 9/11 attacks, many airline pilots have been trained, deputized as federal law-enforcement officers and armed since 2003. Now the Obama administration wants to gut the program with a 50 percent cut in funding.
In defense of the cut, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano recently told Congress the program is not “risk based,” that pilots aren’t the last line of defense and that we can trust the cockpit door to keep us safe.
Sorry: If we’re going to cut $12 million from air security, there are much better places to go. This program is efficient, effective and cheap.
Arming pilots is not a new idea: Airline pilots flew armed in large numbers until 1987 with no recorded problems. When the federal government disarmed pilots in 1987, many predicted cockpit-takeover attempts. Sadly, one of those Cassandras was the late Victor Saracini, who captained United Flight 175 on 9/11; his Boeing 767 was hijacked and crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
It was the disarming of pilots in 1987 that inevitably allowed the 9/11 cockpit takeovers.
In the runup to the 2003 re-arming of pilots, critics baldly predicted we’d have accidental shootings and other safety problems. Hasn’t happened: Though large numbers of pilots stepped forward to attend training (on their own time and expense), the program has a safety record that rivals any law enforcement agency’s in the country.
Armed, trained pilots protect the airplane from the best tactical location on the plane: behind the reinforced cockpit door. These volunteers protect an enormous number of flights for a tiny fraction of the cost of the federal air marshals: $15 per flight vs. at least $2,500 a flight for a marshal.
Napolitano offered the post-9/11 strengthened cockpit door as a reason armed pilots are no longer needed. But the doors were armored before the first pilots were armed in April 2003: Again, it’s cheap added security, which many passengers find reassuring. (After all, they’re already trusting us with their lives.)
Terrorists and security experts know there’s no such thing as an impenetrable door. Armor will slow break-ins, but it’s foolish to blithely assume that it will stop them.
Most ridiculous is Napolitano’s claim that she wants to move to a “risk based” system. This, from the woman who has under her wing the Transportation Security Administration — which regularly targets grandmothers in wheelchairs and 4-year-olds afraid to leave their mothers’ side for government searches. Meanwhile, the TSA “system” allowed the shoe bomber and the underwear bomber onto planes.
The administration’s cuts — which are focused on the training programs — would likely reduce the number of armed pilots by more than half. We’d be far better off trimming the TSA behemoth. This doesn’t look like “risk-based” budgeting but the same ideology that disarmed pilots in the first place.
Arming airline pilots is effective, safe and extremely inexpensive. How many government programs can make that claim?
The US military stands ready to destroy an unarmed airliner that has been commandeered, killing everyone board. How can government officials support that potential killing of innocents while at the same time denying those passengers the final line of defense that could save their lives — armed pilots?
Tracy W. Price has been an airline pilot for over 25 years.
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