TSA got you down?

[annlaur]

Terry,
I don't think anyone is saying there should be no airport security whatsoever. But there already is plenty, and it's been ever-increasing since 9/11. Where does that stop ?

Let's make an analogy with diving and DCS. All of us here (I hope) know and accept the fact that diving includes an inherent risk of getting bent… No dive table/algorythm is 100% safe, the ones we use are based on an accepted/tolerated % of risk.
The only 100% effective means of avoiding scuba-related DCS is to stay at the surface.
The only 100% effective means of avoiding dying in an air crash (whether accidental or criminal) is to not get on a plane.

I have no idea what the actual % risk of a succesful terrorist attack onboard a plane is today, and I don't see how anyone could come up with a number.
[I have however just found out that over 19,000 Americans died of chronic liver disease or cirrhosis (1 in 10,000) in 2007. Why Homeland Security hasn't banned beer and all alcoholic beverages yet is beyond me…]

The thing is that, even though Homeland Security has been crying wolf a lot this past decade (remember how they wanted to postpone the 2004 elections ?), there has actually been very few terrorists attempts onboard a plane. And none that has succeeded.

Would the new regulations make it harder for wanna be killers to board the planes ? Maybe. But there will always be loopholes. Some highly-trained martial art experts could take over a plane without the need of a single weapon. Then what, are we all gonna have to be handcuffed, tied to our seats and maybe even sedated every time we fly ?

Also, why this fixation with airports and planes ?
Bombs can be planted anywhere : subways, malls, schools, markets, trains, festivals, or just on any street corner. Are people going to spend their lives freaking out round the clock ?

The sad thing is, the terrorists have won. They have implanted so much fear in us that, the second they open their mouth or make a statement, we give away our rights and our peace of mind.

 

[Mike Boswell]

I have always wondered why terrorists target civilians for their senseless slaughter.

Blow up a building? Do they think some janitor or data entry clerk is responsible for their grievances?

Do they think the US Government is going to change it's policies if a few thousand of the hoi polloi bite the dust? Hell, they don't even contribute to political campaigns!

I know we're a much easier target than the fatcats making the decisions, but c'mon, guys - get a clue! Really!

 

[annlaur]

Because, as you said, civilians are a much easier target.
And because it's a lot more effective in the sense that it instills fear in public opinion.

 

[Mike Boswell]

Because, as you said, civilians are a much easier target.
And because it's a lot more effective in the sense that it instills fear in public opinion.

And the government and the TSA are becoming well-aquainted with pubic opinion.

(And no, that wasn't a freudian slip...)

 

[inventor]

This is an article about lack of rail road yard security. Our local weekly published it after a tanker car full of anhydrous ammonia rolled across the Las Vegas valley. We are not being protected, and the TSA theater is just to annoy us into thinking we are.

Collision course : Las Vegas CityLife

REGULATING THE RAILS: Runaway tanker wake-up call - News - ReviewJournal.com

 

[Wookie]

It's sad. The Jihadis took a lesson from Ronald Reagan, one of histories greatest figures (and I'm definitely a Democrat). Wear them down, scare them, and bankrupt them. We arguably won the cold war using these tactics. The Jihadis have arguably won the jihad against us. We're just too feeble to see it. Meanwhile, China sits back and giggles, it isn't costing them a thing to win....

 

[naimis]

TSA no longer needed. I have invented a blast chamber that detonates any type of explosives.
You simply walk in, stand, and Boom. If you have no ordanance, you leave and board the plane.
No trail, lawyers, or jail needed. You simply self destruct. Awaiting patent.

That include lithium batteries?

 

[terrylowe]

Terry,
I don't think anyone is saying there should be no airport security whatsoever.

Annlaur, thanks for a rational post there. Nice job!

It APPEARS to me that some of the posters in this debate are scoffing the arguments of others by saying things LIKE..."one in ten million chance....get real". My look on a number like this is....IT's WORKING. Airline security has done a remarkably good job and producing numbers like one-in-a-gazillion chance of getting killed by a terrorist (or even a nut-job) in the air. My point was to get folks to imagine what the statistics would say if airline terrorism were to go unchecked.

Do I LIKE the idea of a total body search? Of course not.

Do I AGREE that it is necessary? No I don't.

Could some TSA agents get a better attitude? Of course.

Are there people in this world that want to kill you? Yup.

Does the TSA want to kill you? Nope.

Someone somewhere in TSA makes these rules. By reading the posts here, these rules somehow make all employees of TSA sexual predators and perverts. I object to that line of thinking.

Thomas Jefferson said a lot of things about our rights. He also said "The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness."

The problem with that statement is that safety and happiness don't always go hand-in-hand. So which one will we lean toward? The safety side? Or the happiness side? I would think that our leanings shift every day and are a result of our past experiences, current circumstances, and future hopes and dreams. (Quote partially stolen from Andy Stanley). If a loaded plane were flown into a crowded mall today, we would probably have a public outcry about why airport security was so lax. The victim's families would need to sue someone. People would be afraid to fly, etc. Since there has been no major event like this lately, people are leaning more toward the happiness side.

 

[wedivebc]

Personally I just avoid flights that land in the USA. There is plenty of good diving outside the USA and it is getting easier to find direct flights to those destinations every day.

 

[terrylowe]

We are not being protected, and the TSA theater is just to annoy us into thinking we are.

I firmly disagree with this statement.