Common Sense Takes It In The Shorts (Again)

February 11th, 2008 at 08:36am Andy In Glenwood 712

One of my Dad's favorite sayings was "They Got No G** Damn Horsesense". As a kid I thought this was kind of a cornball statement. Now that I qualify as Old Geezer I know just what my old man meant.

One of my daughters is a Glenwood Springs High School Cheerleader. They qualified for the national competition held in Disneyworld this past weekend. I prepared sacks of food for each of them which I distributed at the Eagle Airport as they awaited their early morning flight to Florida. Amongst the muffins, cookies and other snacks were two containers of juice. You know, the small 6-3/4 ounce boxes a lot of us parents use for school lunches.

Well, TSA (Transportation Security Administration or as I like to refer to them as, "Taking Scissors Away") promptly informed us they would not be able to take the juice on the plane.

19 high school girls, all in their red and white cheerleader warm-ups, accompanied by two WONDERFUL coaches and several parents, on their way to Disneyworld. Yes, I can envision them replacing the juice with C4 and then resealing the boxes. What a great cover for a terrorist group. I am so thankful TSA was there to help prevent this tragedy from happening.

I understand the need for rules and regulations, and the government's penchant to protect us at all costs (including our civil liberties). My old man would simply say "They got no G** damn horsesense".

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6 Comments Add your own

1. alpha6 | February 12th, 2008 at 9:20 am

Andy,

What you have just experienced is an illusion of security. TSA is a joke as are the majority of the security measures they enforce. It is meant to give the illusion of security and stops the really stupid people trying to do something, but in reality will do nothing to stop a determined terrorist from accomplishing their mission.

"In tests conducted in 2006 and disclosed to USA Today last year, investigators successfully smuggled 75 percent of fake bombs through checkpoints at Los Angeles International Airport, 60 percent through Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and 20 percent at San Francisco International Airport."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/28/tsa.bombtest/

I find it amusing that TSA wants you to take your shoes off after a bomber put some C4 in the bottom of his shoe. However, many shoes have steel or hard plastic shanks in them to prevent nails from piercing them when stepped on. These shoes are given no more look over even thought those shanks would appear to consist of the same thing as C4. In the aftermath of a group using liquid chemicals that when mixed could cause an explosive, TSA now won't let you on with more then 3 oz of liquids. Why? Because the TSA screeners are not smart enough to distinguish between nitro glycerin and kool aid.

There are so many holes in TSA security it should scare the pants off anyone. I don't have time to go over all the problems that haven't been addressed by airport security, but rest assured, if someone wanted to get something on a plane, with a little effort it would be easy.
2. Andy In Glenwood | February 12th, 2008 at 9:53 am

I agree with you whole-heartedly. TSA is kind of like using duct tape to seal the borders.
3. mgman | February 12th, 2008 at 7:53 pm

Great Idea, Andy! People can donate all the duct tape and plastic that they bought in 2003 after our early reactions to the now-comical multi-colored terror alerts!
4. Mitch Mulhall | February 12th, 2008 at 9:10 pm

Great post Andy.

Back in the late 80s, when time on a Cray was something to covet, I did a nine-month stint documenting a weather forecasting system for NOAA in Boulder. I wasn't a government employee—I worked for a sub-contractor. Even so, my employee status was the exception, not the rule. It didn't take a month to figure out that nothing ever got done. As soon as I'd fulfilled my obligations, I found my way back to Carbondale.

I must admit I have seen many Department of Agriculture employees operate effectively, but I have also seen first-hand the kinds of work-place inefficiencies that define the term “governmental bureaucracy.” It is this experience that makes me highly suspect of the TSA. I’m sure the garden variety TSA worker is the salt of the earth, educated, and diligent. I don’t doubt the people who swab suitcases for bomb residue. I doubt the efficacy of any agency assembled quickly by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (November 19, 2001, co-sponsored, incidentally, by Senators John McCain and Fritz Hollings). Why? Because it is the brain child of DC legislators who almost to a one have such a finely-tuned sense of political correctness that TSA workers end up strip searching blue haired old ladies instead of looking for C4 in the shoes of nervous-looking young men. This isn’t a function of a TSA worker’s intelligence, it’s a function of seriously twisted Congressional mandate.

A few years ago, my wife and I spent a week in London. Upon departure at Heathrow, we entered a long hallway. After about eighty feet, the hallway turned abruptly to the left. There, at the turn, was a man in what looked like a green, decorated military uniform. What was most remarkable is that he wore a turban that appeared to be part of his uniform. My guess is that he was a member of the Pakistani or Indian military. With steely eyes, he studied every person who passed. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t spending much time looking at the blue haired old ladies.

Of course, as soon as I type this there will be a story on the increased use of female suicide bombers, and, by implication, potential hijackers. For that matter, I have read recent reports that al Qaeda have been recruiting American and British citizens. The larger point is there are no rules here, which makes the TSA's political correctness more tragic than it is silly...

Alpha… Thanks for the link. There were links to other interesting reads on that page, too...

Cheers,
5. Andy In Glenwood | February 13th, 2008 at 4:56 am

You hit the nail on the head when you used the term "political correctness" Mitch.

For the controlling forces at TSA to allow their workers to apply common sense to their work would make them guilty of "racial profiling". And heaven forbid that !!! It is so politically incorrect I find myself at a loss for words to adequately describe it here.

For a TSA worker to allow Granny on the plane with her yarn and knitting needles or a cheerleader with her box of apple juice is just unheard of.....I mean how could you even begin to write the regulation when it is not a "chiseled in stone" "one size fits all" situation. Why, you would have to have a worker with the ability and the authority to think! Something our federal government frowns on - thinking. They do not allow their workers to think and make decisions because the federal government is all about rules and regulations (read some George Orwell), and it is nigh impossible to write a fluid, flexible regulation.

So TSA applies the same set of rules to all, making sure they don’t focus solely on those who match the appearance of all known Post 9-11 terrorists. To put more emphasis on young and middle-aged males of apparent middle-eastern descent is to be using a “racial profile”. So to be politically correct and show they are not singling out any one segment they take away granny’s knitting needles, the cheerleaders juice and my Bic lighter. They do not seem to be able to truly provide security as Alpha’s linked story shows, but at least they are not guilty of racial profiling.

I have news for the government. I have been a victim of racial profiling my whole damn life. Do you know how many things I didn't qualify for as I struggled to put myself through college because I was a "White Male"? And only because I was a White Male. The Small Business Administration told me in 1986 that I was not likely to receive any assistance in starting my business because preference was being given to certain segments of the population. The government worker's exact words were “You are welcome to fill out the forms but you are literally wasting ink”, a phrase that has stuck with me ever since. All the White Males before me had too much of the American Pie so my slice was to be divvied up amongst all the Non White Males.

But I digress....intentionally. Racial profiling is another government myth right there with political correctness. Somehow the government finds a way to saccharin coat the BS and the lemming-like populace gladly swallows it as they dive head-first off the cliff of socialism.
6. infowars.com | February 14th, 2008 at 5:07 pm

and the borders are all open........kind of makes this war on terror seem like a big joke.....but, the joke is on us.

What did Franklin say about Freedom again???

ohh, who cares, as Busch would say, its just a G.D. pc of paper.