Nomaster:
These guys are just government goons, except probably trained much less and paid much much less.
Here's a little known fact about how much they are paid.
A starting TSA employee needs no more than a GED education to get the job, yet gets a pension and is paid more than the first officer of the regional jet your flying on who has a 4-year degree and spent countless hours of training and sacrafice to get into that seat.
Another point.
That pilot can apply to carry a gun in the cockpit and has a crash axe with pick stowed next to their seat, but can't carry a manicure scissors in their bag through TSA.
A question.
Why screen pilots for toenail scissors and such, when if they want to crash the plane, all they have to do is push forward on the control yoke on approach to landing?
At certain airports, airline employees with a SIDA badge can enter the ramp from outside security carrying anything in their bag that they wish. These items can be placed on any aircraft on the ramp. No security, no detection, no questions.
All a smokescreen for the passengers.
US airports will never have anything better than good security because what would be considered excellent security would not allow our congested flight schedules to continue. It is not possible to have excellent security and all the flight options at the same time. The cost is too high. Someone complained about the $10 security surcharge on their ticket price. Ha. Ticket prices are at an all time low.
The airlines and TSA are not the only people skewed right now. Passengers are very skewed as well. It's a right to have an aas so wide it takes up more than one seat, so if I have to pay for two seats????!!!! My last ticket from xxx to Europe was only $400, so xxx airline is screwing me on this $700 fare. A frequent flyer gets PO'd when he doesn't get his 'automatic' upgrade to first class, even though he paid $99 through priceline.com for his ticket. Same guy normally drinks and eats his weight in free boose and snacks on every flight.
Take a train. Rent a car. Ride a horse. Walk. Or, write your congressman and do something about it. If we all put as much time into writing congress as we do beotching on scubaboard, then something might get done. Don't forget, Bush is only one voice in DC. All your congressman, Dems and Repubs voted the TSA in and they all have the ability to change it. Most people forget how our government actually works. No one person has the power, but we all seem to think so in an election year.