Abdulmutallab spent a number months in 2009 in Yemen
engaged in what is believed to be Al Qaeda-associated training.
British officials notified the U.S. of a potential threat posed by
Abdulmutallab but without providing his entire name. Around the
same time, Abdulmutallab’s father contacted CIA officials in
Nigeria and warned them about his son’s involvement in radical
Islam. In spite of the father’s warning, Abdulmutallab’s U.S. visa
was not revoked and his name was not added to air travel screening
lists detailing potential threats.
Abdulmutallab began his overseas travel
to the U.S. on Christmas Day 2009 on an Amsterdam-to-Detroit
flight. He purchased the one-way ticket with cash and had not
checked any luggage for this international flight. Airline
passengers subdued Abdulmutallab as he attempted to light the
explosives sewn into his underpants.
Abdulmutallab’s bungled bombing attempt forced the TSA to
implement new security screening policies for flights originating
in the U.S. that include naked, full body scans (using machines
that the GAO states
will not likely detect underwear explosives) and “enhanced
pat-downs” including “genital probing.”
Such extensive practices are not in routine use in
overseas airports. However, in some countries suspicious and
unusual
behavior (or what U.S.
critics refer to as the racist policy of
“profiling”) may attract the interest of screeners who would then
direct the suspicious-acting passenger to secondary screening
measures.
So far, the TSA has yet to identify a common thread tying
together these terrorism incidents thereby necessitating the deeply
invasive inspections of Americans boarding flights in airports such
as Alpena, Michigan; Havasupai, Arizona; and Johnson City,
Tennessee.
That the perpetrators were all foreign-born Muslims who
consorted with radical Islamic clerics, attended suspect mosques,
worked with questionable Islamic charities, espoused anti-American
or anti-Western views, and traveled to countries known for
terrorism can only be chalked up to coincidence. The TSA is clearly
justified in its
policy that it “does not conduct ethnic or
religious profiling.”
(At this very moment, the Council on American-Islamic
Relations is interrupting its lobbying campaign that Muslims should
be permitted to conduct
self pat-downs in order to immediately launch an
argument that associating a Muslim with any single act of terrorism
is a false and racist allegation based on western
bigotry toward the “religion of peace.” Readers
may be interested to know that the Department of Justice has named
CAIR an “unindicted
co-conspirator” in the criminal case of an Islamic group
whose leaders
provided material support to the terrorist group,
Hamas.)
Let us now review the facts. The number of Americans who
perished in 2009 due to bombings on U.S.-originated airline flights
is in the low zero digits. The same in 2008. And 2007. And for a
bunch of years before that. This doesn’t mean that a rogue IBM
executive, despondent Baptist minister, or former U.S. House
Speaker being reintroduced to commercial airline travel doesn’t
pose a legitimate bombing threat. Of course they do. TSA tells us
so.
Yet, it is time America put TSA to a more effective use to
combat an even bigger threat to the homeland. No doubt, it will
require the willing suspension of disbelief to accept that there
are indeed larger threats to America than the one posed by a
wheelchair-bound, double-amputee veteran of the Iraq war who claims
he is traveling to Boise to see his family but in reality is
probably intent on blowing-up the 19-passenger Beech 1900 turboprop
commuter jet on which he would be traveling to that municipal
outpost in fly-over country.
The larger threat to American society that begs the
considerable expertise of the TSA is homicides.
According to the FBI, 13,636 people were murdered
in the U.S. last year, which are 13,636 more than were killed in
U.S. airline bombing incidents during the same period. There were
14,137 homicides in 2008, 14,831 in 2007 and 14,990 in 2006. The
corresponding number of deaths due to terrorism on U.S.-originated
airline flights during the same years was zero, nada, and
zip.
Fortunately, TSA can easily narrow-down its suspect pool
of likely perpetrators in which to investigate in order to find
America’s cold-blooded killers. Offenders include males, females,
adults, minors, nearly every race and ethnicity, relatives,
friends, acquaintances and complete strangers. In other words,
everyone is a likely murderer. Everyone is a suspect. Just as they
are likely to be an airline suicide bomber.
What is even more disturbing is that just as every
antiques dealer from Fire Island, New York may be ready to blow
himself up on his JetBlue flight to Rutland, Vermont, every corn
farmer from Lincoln, Nebraska, is not only a likely murderer but
may also be a serial killer.
It is beyond comprehension that a security-conscious U.S.
Department of Homeland Security with such talented government
employees as it has in the TSA would allow these homicidal maniacs
to remain at-large without being stopped, frisked, grabbed, groped
and otherwise patted-down for a murder weapon or other evidence of
evil-doing.
TSA must stop them before they kill again.
Ken (Old Texican)| 12.8.10 @ 6:46AM
Mr. Hyman,
Hush your pen!
If you haven't figured out yet that TSA just might be the core of Obama's "civilian national police force", (Gestapo),
.....Then you had better get another cup of strong coffee.
Alan Brooks| 12.8.10 @ 11:07AM
Want a laugh? the great Democracy of Nigeria is suing Cheney! watch out, they might invade America someday.
Keep your powder dry.
RCV| 12.8.10 @ 12:21PM
Anyone who would equate the Gestapo with our hapless TSA employees has no grasp of historical fact, or indeed, of reality.
George S| 12.8.10 @ 12:56PM
The only difference between the Gestapo and the TSA is the length of the law's leash. Ten years ago, any TSA employee (or police officer) who gave a 2010 pat down would have been charged with aggravated sexual assault. Today, it is "procedure". Isn't that another term for "following orders"?
Occam's Tool| 12.8.10 @ 12:57PM
No, RCV, Ken is worried that TSA might be used as a core of an extra-legal homeland security agency. Remember the origins of the Gestapo---the Weimar Equivalent of the FBI.
That being said, profiling is the only sane way to go. Myself, I would ask every person if they were an ACLU lawyer and then aggresively groin frisk them if the answer is "yes."
Alan Brooks| 12.8.10 @ 1:11PM
"Weimar Equivalent of the FBI"
Say, this brings up COINTELPRO; however that's only for libertarians to get all indignant about.
Alan Brooks| 12.8.10 @ 1:14PM
... I mean you guys brought it up; you mentioned GESTAPO, which went out of business 65 years ago.
Alan Brooks| 12.8.10 @ 5:11PM
...although I'm still alive, but I switched sides. Didn't see any difference.
Clint| 12.8.10 @ 1:24PM
Uh Oh ! A Groin Frisking Fetish.
Alan Brooks| 12.8.10 @ 1:34PM
But it only bothers you if it's someone like Liberace or Rock Hudson frisking you.
Clint| 12.8.10 @ 1:57PM
You Bother Me Too.
Alan Brooks| 12.8.10 @ 2:07PM
I'm not gay, unless I'm in bed with Justin Bieber-- and we should both be so lucky.
Clint| 12.8.10 @ 2:09PM
Like I Said, You Bother Me.
Attendants, Get The Net.
Alan Brooks| 12.8.10 @ 2:16PM
Admit it, you like Justin, too,
Clint.
All Those People Can't Be Wrong!
Alan Brooks| 12.8.10 @ 2:19PM
...Clint,
answer this:
who is purchasing all those Bieber CDs with the full-color photos on the jackets? Old Ladies? the blind?
Clint| 12.8.10 @ 2:31PM
TSA Groin Honkers & You
Alan Brooks| 12.8.10 @ 2:41PM
Well, yes. When you are older you will know this is not a "nice" world. "Nice" is from a greeting card, the brady bunch.
But best you find out the hard way, because then you really find out.
Alan Brooks| 12.8.10 @ 5:35PM
...and I love the "hard" way, if you get my drift...
Shamus| 12.8.10 @ 6:54PM
TSA: Your privates are in our hands.
Alan Brooks| 12.8.10 @ 5:14PM
Clint, I'm asking because I'm a flamboyant fag! I wish I could join the army and betray my country.
Clint| 12.8.10 @ 6:09PM
You sound like a Chickenhawk Wuz giving a poor imitation of Alan Brooks.
Carry On Wuz Job.
Alan Brooks| 12.8.10 @ 6:21PM
Getting close to the truth, Clint. Just do likewise and we'll get rid of those 2 idiots in no time.
Clint| 12.8.10 @ 6:48PM
The Truth Is You're An Israel Firster Chickenhawk Posseur Wuz.
Get Clucked !
RCV| 12.8.10 @ 2:44PM
Occam (or Ockham, to be truer to the original): As I have said before, the whole "war on terror" response to the WTC attack was ill-conceived and exactly what that miserable little band of plotters were looking for. I too, would favor adopting the Israeli approach to security rather than the inconvenience everyone on an equal basis approach. As for ACLU lawyers, I admire them greatly for the tireless work they do on behalf of all our constitutional liberties, but if groping their groins is your thing, that's between you and your therapist. Be well.
solipslip| 12.8.10 @ 4:22PM
"..the tireless work they do on behalf of all our constitutional liberties,..."
That's a good one! I love satire!
Appleby| 12.8.10 @ 7:11AM
Send them into Black neighbourhoods to pat down and nekkid-scan the Crips and the Bloods. Put it on PPV and solve two problems in one: eliminate the TSA and retire the National Debt.
Anne| 12.8.10 @ 11:35AM
Finally! This is the most practical idea I have heard.
RCV| 12.8.10 @ 12:22PM
Ah, the white hoods are off...
Alan Brooks| 12.8.10 @ 1:16PM
Yes, they don't hate blacks at AS, but they don't have much use for them.
Curtis Rasmussen| 12.8.10 @ 3:46PM
Yes, the hoods are off and all I see are Alan Brooks and RCV, 2 trolls with way too much time on their hands.
Please do all the readers of AS a favor and go away.
RCV| 12.8.10 @ 5:00PM
Ah, but Curtis, who will bring enlightenment to those in the Dark? Someone has to the missionary work among the uneducated.
Alan Brooks| 12.8.10 @ 5:07PM
...and at the same time , we accuse them of being slave owners! Come to think of it, the Klansmen exclusively voted Democrat! I voted Obama, does this mean that I, Alan Brookenstein, am a Klansman? We libturds are pretty messed up. We're lozels.
Intelligent Design| 12.8.10 @ 7:36AM
This is a good article which demonstrates the absurdity of the TSA's 67,000 employees and its "equal searching" of 310 million Americans plus millions of other travelers. The solution is profiling and sophisticated screening. For example, I would be happy to register in advance with the airlines, giving them info such as my DOB, SSN, home address, driver license, military service, criminal record (if any), fingerprints, and an iris scan. Then when I go to the airport, I would simply look into a screen to be be confirmed as the owner of these eyes, and cleared for takeoff. There's more, but I don't want to write a book :)
Tom| 12.8.10 @ 7:47AM
ID,
No problem solving please.
Point security measures, such as terminal screening, is the most inefficient form of security. It really should only be done when we are presented with a new technique to buy time for real and effective security measures to catch up. The time to stop a terrorism attack is long before the terrorist shows up at the airport. I am still shocked no one has blown themself up in one of the busier airports. A suicide bomber in JFK or Midway could probably kill as many people as downing an airline.
Intelligent Design| 12.8.10 @ 9:04AM
Do you think the current procedures are efficient? Should there be no passenger screening at all? Yikes!
We really need both: before the airport and at the airport.
I wonder how many terrorists have walked across the Mexican border? I am also surprised that terrorists have not detonated suicide bombs inside airports. A few of them would seriously impact air travel, and a significant portion of our economy is linked to air travel in some manner.
Tom| 12.8.10 @ 10:58AM
No, the current procedures are not efficient. They are a waste of resources. When you arrive at the airport you should have already been screened. There should be a small list of people who would be subject to further screening, some random checking (random is better for many reasons, the most important of reach is those conducting the screening are more thorough than if they are screening everyone), and some agents scattered around trained in how to spot terrorists. The most important aspect should be pre-screening, followed by behavioral analysis, and then final point security.
Mel Torme| 12.8.10 @ 11:33AM
No, Tom, I guess you and many other commenters, have not really understood what freedom is (maybe you are too young to remember). The US gov't has no right to screen any passengers, unless there is probable cause.
No, I don't want to be screened from home, and, no, I don't have anything to hide. I just remember what living in a free country is like. You apparently don't.
We got along pretty damn well for the first 100 years of air travel, oh, and car travel, and bicycling and walking, without any of this illegal searching of our bodies and property.
That, at least to me, was the point of Mr. Hyman's superb tongue-in-cheek article here, Tom. If we are to ruin the US Constitution in order to prevent 0, zilch, nada, nunca, and squat, deaths per year, respectively, then why don't we just do the same outside the airport, day-in and day-out, on account of the 13 to 14 thousand murders that occur every year.
That was the point, but correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Hyman. (maybe it wasn't tongue-in-cheek; in the case I'm about ready to GTFO of here ;-)
George S| 12.8.10 @ 1:12PM
Would you fly on a plane where no one is screened? I would, in a heartbeat. After all, I do not hesitate walking into a stadium, theater or shopping mall filled with unscreened people. Why is an airliner different? Who in their right mind would joke "Allahu Akbar" in a crowded plane today? The same type who would point a toy gun at a uniformed cop and say "stick 'em up".
Mel Torme| 12.8.10 @ 2:11PM
You get it, George S. What you said, exactly. I guess that makes 3 of us.
In fact, screening of law-abiding passengers on 9/11/2001 was a major contributing factor in the deaths of those 3,000 people and the permanent injuries to many more. I don't say "cause", as obviously, the 19 visa-expired Moslem men were the cause. By "major contributing factor", I mean the death and injury would never have happened had it not been for this (and other) contributing factors.
It'd have only take one or two armed passengers to stop the takeover of any of the 4 aircraft. A country defeated by men with box-cutters - now that's downright pathetic in the annals of history, when you think about it.
Occam's Tool| 12.8.10 @ 1:02PM
I have managed to avoid invasive screening at airports where I've watched LOLs get frisked (Little Old Ladies). I'm Jewish, but look Lebanese. I evaluate an airport's security based on whether they frisk me. I should be frisked everytime. Not bloody often.
RCV| 12.8.10 @ 2:46PM
No, you shouldn't. The Israelis don't frisk everyone who looks middle-eastern. What they profile is behavior and other things that we could go into in detail, but they don't simply racially profile.
Robert| 12.8.10 @ 10:17AM
...ahhh, but not without the excitement of downing one of those evil Boeing Kapitalist Flugzeugs!
What's the glamor of slaughtering 100 Americans on an airport floor? We Islamic Freedom Fighters deserve better!
Nancy in NC| 12.8.10 @ 7:57AM
Our government is reactive rather than proactive. One can't help but wonder if any of them had ever had a creative thought.
God help us when the terrorist brings something through in his anal cavity.
JFGalt| 12.8.10 @ 7:59AM
It's all part of the plan to control Americans. The TSA's response would be that because they were in place that no attempts are made to penetrate their security. This even though when tested they routinely fail to detect anything. But then again we know that this is not the real purpose behind the TSA-this is actually the front line of controlling Americans. After all, why let a good crisis go to waste as they have shown time and time again.
Anne| 12.8.10 @ 11:37AM
You are correct.
RAMIII| 12.8.10 @ 1:38PM
Yes this is the real travesty. It won't be long before Govt Motor's "ONSTAR" becomes more of the same. Kiss the 4th Amendment good bye folks.
"The RIGHT of the PEOPLE to be secure IN THEIR PERSONS, houses, papers, and effects, against UNREASONABLE searches and seizures, SHALL NOT BE VIOLATED, and no Warrants shall issue, BUT UPON PROBABLE CAUSE, . . . "
Read it and weep, 'cause it ain't no more.
Melvin| 12.8.10 @ 8:06AM
There are at least 50,000 MS13 terrorists wandering around various US cities, making a very comfortable living on torturing, murdering, raping, prostitution, the drug trade, and all forms in the fine art of terrorism.
Does anyone in our beloved government view MS13 as a threat? No, they just give them in state tuition at the local community college.
More Americans have been murdered by gang members of MS13 than any grandma with a walker going through airport security. But who gets the anal check?
Homeland Security is an abysmal failure that is run by the very people that we are supposed to be protected from. It is a waste of taxpayers money, it is a waste of resources, and is completely devoid of any professionalize associated with security.
People, our government has failed us. We can no longer abide by fascist rouge elements that masquerade in the guise of protecting us from ourselves.
Americans will need to first open up the front of their trousers and reach down if they have a pair. All to often Americans protray themselves as terrorized Chicken Littles. Stop being scared little chicken shits arm and protect yourselves and your families.
We cannot count on government for anything, we must count upon ourselves and our neighbors. You know who you can trust, and government isn't one of them. I thought I would never ever utter these words. Our government has become the enemy of the people. We must revoke our consent to be governed.
The vast majority here at American Spectator are keenly aware of what is being transpired, but there are millions upon millions of Americans that are completely ignorant to what is swirling about them, for I fear they will be lost, through their blind faith and trust in the government.
Louis Jenkins| 12.8.10 @ 8:32AM
Unfortunately, Melvin and Old Texican, you are correct again. We can no longer trust, if we ever could, Big GovCo.
Stephanie| 12.8.10 @ 8:49AM
Top down, bottom up, inside out.
Brian Mc| 12.8.10 @ 8:51AM
A few years back I was called into the store manager's office to witness video of one of the store's employees acting suspicously. We had recently had optics merchandise come up missing in excess of what could have been accomplished by a customer due to security measures in place and I was shocked by what the video inferred. Problem was, it was not cut and dry...but his deceptive movements were a serious red flag.
A few days later the individual stated that he was leaving the employ of the store to go work for the federal government. We all breathed a sigh of relief. Measures were implemented to keep better track of future high dollar items and life went on.
A year, or so later, the wife and I were in line for a flight to Florida. Who did I chance to see, standing aside in his uniform chatting with one of his cronies, trying to appear as official as a Joseph Goebbels look-a-like but that same associate who we had been one theft away from catching red-handed. He gave me a dead-pan stare of shocked annoyance and turned his back to me. I shuddered at the thought that he was now part of the security efforts on my supposed behalf. Who knows, he may rise to more prominent positions in our bureaucracy and I will sleep oh, so much better in the knowledge of same. Might be the TSA should implement brown shirts in their arsenal. They can have at it; I doubt I will ever fly again.
Melvin| 12.8.10 @ 9:49AM
He had the power to make your life a living hell. Remember Heinrich Himmler was an unsuccessful chicken farmer before he signed on the the Nazi's version of the TSA.
MikeBee| 12.8.10 @ 10:44AM
Brian Mc,
With respect to this particular ex-employee, now working for the TSA: you can rest in peace, knowing that the only thing he can possibly steal now is one of the family jewels!
PzKfw| 12.8.10 @ 9:00AM
I am absolutely astounded that the TSA hands out bonuses! Since when does a federal employee work toward a bonus? Incredible that a person serving in the military (for basically minimum wage) gets groped as a suspect by some fool who should be cleaning offices, and fool earns more.
We have met the problem...and they are us!
Sam Vaughn| 12.8.10 @ 9:46AM
PzKfw, they get bonuses based on the number of complaints, the more complaints the bigger the bonus ..... ;)
KyMouse| 12.8.10 @ 10:08AM
Every time I see an airliner coming in low and slow to our airport, I marvel (and thank God) that no one is trying to use shoulder-fired missles, or even high-powered rifles, against aircraft. Someone with a vehicle like the kind used by the D.C. sniper, or concealed on a rooftop, could take a shot and be long gone before anyone could react. I'm sure this kind of thing has occurred to terrorists.
How would airlines respond? How would TSA? How would it affect air travel and commerce?
Seems to me it is only a matter of time, but I pray that I'm wrong.
Yes we can| 12.8.10 @ 12:03PM
They would issue parachutes to every passenger and force everyone to evacuate the plane 10 miles fromthe airport. That way, if the scenario you mention happens, only the pilots would be killed, saving hundred of lives in the meantime. Problem solved. Did I mention I work for the government, I have submitted this proposal to the suggestion program and will await my bonus. Thank you for the idea.
Melvin| 12.8.10 @ 10:16AM
Something to think about. Who says it's the Middle Eastern terrorists doing the terrorizing?
David Gonzalez| 12.8.10 @ 10:18AM
I will never forget the day at O'Hare International when I witnessed about a dozen fresh-faced Navy
recruits (both sexes, in uniform) being subjected to "secondary screening" at the gate. A few minutes later, an entire family of Muslims (the women were in traditional garb) being escorted to the gate by [what I assumed to be] a TSA official. The official addressed the "patriarch" of the family as "Mr. Moussaoui" (those who don't recognize the name might try Googling it), thanking him for his understanding and cooperation. Even if we assume that the recruits were being "wanded" just to show how impartial we are---while the Moussaoui family had been strip-searched in a private room prior to being frog-marched to the gate, I thought that it lent new meaning to the term "ironic".
tdiinva| 12.8.10 @ 10:39AM
Once again I will make my pitch for canine security agents. Not only are dogs more effective screeners for explosive materials then humans, they are nicer and more intelligent then your average TSA screener.
Arne Paul| 12.8.10 @ 10:55AM
Watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfq15gTSt64
The genius and timeliness of Monty Python is amazing, even from nearly 40 years ago.
The TSA, like any expanding police force must show that they are "needed" and "new threats" are "out there"; hence, the need to humiliate and search grandma, little babies, etc. Much like the cops who tazer little children and the elderly: they're issued the tazer, so they find excuses to use them.
We've come a long way since Norman Rockwell's America. Can you imagine the horrific images he would paint if he were trying to capture modern, average America? George Orwell was spot on, only 1984 is happening just a few decades later than he expected.
ezsolutions| 12.8.10 @ 11:00AM
There needs to be a call to the Muslim hierarchy to condemn suicide attacks. The Religion of Peace is the sponsor and cause of terrorist attacks. IT SUPPORTS YOUNG MEN STRAPPING ON EXPLOSIVES AND LOOKING FOR INNOCENT VICTIMS. In order to force the Muslim religion to correct this, the only pressure they will respond to is church members, subjected to targetted profiling, who tell them to pronounce jihad attacks in public places. A simple statement making it clear that any muslim killing innocents will be subject to eternal damnation should be a good beginning. Absent that, Muslims cannot claim peaceful intent, and they should be condemned in mass. As long as muslim leadership sponsors suicides and declares martyrs, they must be held responsible for all the consequences - TSA groping, profiling (if it occurs) and the tying up of innocent people at airports required to pass through checkpoints and scanners. This is muslim responsibility. The tsa is only reacting to the situation, ineffectually, obviously, but muslim leaders need to feel some pressure, more than the TSA. Let's deal with the religious causes forst, and then reduce the security measures later.
NJK| 12.8.10 @ 11:06AM
The TSA needs to be abolished. We can see now what it becomes in the wrong hands. I agree that Obama is grooming them to be his Civilian National Security Force. "The Blueshirts" as opposed to Hitler's "Brown Shirts." And please don't anyone say, do not compare Obama with Hitler. He will kill if he can get away with it. I think at this point considering what he's gotten away with, not being a natural born US citizen and be able to sit in the White House, it's below 50/50 anyone would stop him. Our military is so used to taking orders, I think they are incapable of telling lawful orders against unlawful anymore. I don't even feel confident, they would protect the American people, but may turn against them, at Obama's request. Look at Gates and Mullen. They are political stooges. They aren't military leaders.
GreyLion| 12.8.10 @ 11:45AM
Get serious.
The United States Military protects the people of America every day 24 hours a day AND they lay their lives down to do it. A little gratitude from folks like you might go a long way to make 'em feel better.
As for Obama being like Hitler, he isn't smart enough, and there are too many irritable old rednecks around to let it happen.
Jose| 12.8.10 @ 12:40PM
If you watch TSA employees at any airport, you will see more of them than any other transportation workers for any and all airlines. Some of the TSAs appear to be disoriented or disinterested and are there just to collect a paycheck. The over zealous ones make up for the slackers. We can do without all of them!!!
WilliamInWien| 12.8.10 @ 12:48PM
The immediate results of 9/11 was the terrible loss of life, families dismembered and property loss. The lasting result of 9/11 is FEAR. And this FEAR is continually perpetrated on the flying public by the DHS and the TSA!
Daniel| 12.8.10 @ 1:10PM
GreyLion...You get serious! Yes, the United States Military protects the people of America everyday 24 hours a day AND they lay their lives down to do it. However, their orders can be changed at anytime for some of them to render service to protect Big Government from anti-Big Government protests. I doubt very much, they would be used to protect the American people from crimes and assaults from Big Government upon the American people. In fact, the U.S. Military could be used to support the TSA or any National Security Force to conquer and enslave the American people when, tyrannical Big Government feels it can get away with giving the command.
Make no mistake...Obama is a ruthless tyrant and will do whatever he thinks he can get away with in his efforts to destroy American Liberty and become dictator over our remains.
DRed| 12.8.10 @ 1:48PM
I know! Did you see the way he ruthlessly compromised with the congressional republicans on the Bush tax cuts! Just like Pol Pot used to do!
Dan Ragon| 12.8.10 @ 1:44PM
In ten years, the TSA has managed to come up with zero people killed. They say this is proof they are doing a good job. This is reminiscent of the joke about the guy standing in Times Square waving his arms. Somebody asks what he's doing. He says keeping the elephants away. The questioner says "There aren't any elephants in a thousand miles from here." The arm waver says: "Doing a good job aren't I?"
TSA is an expensive, wasteful, and ineffective blister on the butt of air travel and an insult to citizens of this nation.
Mojo Risin| 12.8.10 @ 2:27PM
This is all brought to you by the insane leftists, who no matter whether in or out of power control the PC mentality.
Yah know, there are sensibilities just waiting to be offended and they are just the folks to see Americans will die to keep that from happening...
opal| 12.8.10 @ 6:45PM
I am a Devout Catholic mother of many. We only wear ankle length skirts or dresses and buttoned collar shirts that are buttoned all the way up for modesty. The entire screening process is a violation of my religious rights. We will unfortunately never fly again due to violation of privacy and modesty that is occuring in the airports. I plan on suing the TSA on the day that my parents die and we can not make it home to funeral on time because we have to drive and not fly. I can not in good conscience allow my girls to be so publically violated. I am genuinely surprised that no one in the Evangelical camp has sued yet for the same reason.
Novice Bladesmith| 12.8.10 @ 9:40PM
Several of you have pointed out that to date no terrorists have attempted to blow up airport terminals, but have you asked yourselves why? They have no need, because they have us where they want us.
This enemy doesn't want us unified and hunting them, but divided and fighting amongst ourselves. They prod just enough to provoke an overreaction from the authorities, which in turn provokes hostility towards the authorities from us.
I'm predicting that within a month of our having forced the authorities to remove scanners from the airports, there will be another major attack.
Paul Revere II| 12.9.10 @ 12:23AM
Constantly badger your Senators & Congressmen/women with quote of the IV Amendment and urging them to disband the TSA and replace it with probability analysis/personal interrogation ("profiling"). There are possibly two problems to this solution: meager qualified labor pool, sharp increase in unemployed former 7-11 dropouts.
Paul in Colorado| 12.10.10 @ 1:15PM
Certainly is CAIR is far from being the honest advocates they pretend to be, as their suggestion that Muslims should be allowed to self inspect makes abundantly clear. Lewis Carroll could hardly make a more ridiculous proposal. But we should be quick to acknowledge and thank the Muslim community of Portland for doing the right thing. They handed their problem child over to the FBI, and make no apologies for doing so. Theirs is the example to which we should point with pride - that they are Americans first and will not tolerate or protect criminals who hide their community.
Dale Cord| 12.12.10 @ 10:30AM
Discuss it now my friends and fellow Americans, for any subject mentioned about the second rise of the Third Reich, in the concentration camps of America, your future captive residents. Will be a violation of the law."Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it"!Hitler was the fate of Germany. Obama is the fate of America,and this fate could not be stayed.
Dale Cord| 12.28.10 @ 1:13PM
2011 a year that will live in Infamy. Future school history books will read: The year the Muslims conquered the United States of America. With not so much as a whimper from its cowardly military leaders, and name calling armchair patriots. Disgraceful,Shameful there are no words to adequately describe her defeat. As the 300 Spartans strength and ingenuity conquered all of those who challenged them, so a small band of renegades conquered the greatest country the world has known. When Davids rock slued Goliath. It also foretold a warning. "The bigger they are,the harder they Fall." Our country lost its battle of survival when it became intoxicated with its deceptive mentality, that it did not need its Creator anymore, and wisdom no longer was apart of its citizens physiology to survive