Sleeping screener forces evacuations at Sea-Tac

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer ^ | Sunday, January 5, 2003 | KOMO 4 STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES

[pepsi_junkie]

Most of Sea-Tac Airport had to be evacuated Sunday morning because a security screener fell asleep at his post.

Bob Partker, a spokesman for the Port of Seattle, said the screener was supposed to be watching the shuttle trains that move passengers between terminals. The screener's job is to make sure nobody gets off a train, then back on.

But just before 7 a.m. the screener was found to have been asleep for at least eight minutes and possibly as long as a half hour.

All concourses except one were evacuated and everybody had to go back through security checkpoints for screening.

In addition, all passengers on flights that departed during that time had to be re-screened at their destinations.

[pepsi_junkie]

Didnt President Bush lobby hard to keep the new federalized screeners non-union so he could get rid of clowns like this, but the dems in the Senate shot his efforts down to keep their union cronies happy? Well now we can all fly secure in the knowledge that through the efforts of the democrat controlled Senate of 2002, this guys job is probably safe.

[LibKill]

Fer cryin' out loud! Even Barney Fife didn't sleep on the job!

It makes me want to beat my head against the wall, but I know better. :)

[SkyPilot]

If continue to be underwhemed by these Federal Pargons of Security and State Security.

The male screeners pay attention to one thing: be on the lookout for attractive women to single out for searches.. It is disgusting.

One of our Founding Fathers said those who would trade freedom for security deserve neither.

That has become our nation.

[SkyPilot]

Forgive my crummy spelling--long day.

[Tom Bombadil]

One of our Founding Fathers said those who would trade freedom for security deserve neither.

I believe it was W. Somerset Maugham in a 1942 essay and his conclusion was that they "wouldn't be either free or secure".

I think that the statement really applies to something like the so called single payer health system and to socialism in general.

What would you replace the present screening system with?

[Tom Bombadil]

this guys job is probably safe

It hasn't been announced, but I would bet that the screener has already been terminated.

[Tom Bombadil]

From his job that is.........

[widowithfoursons]

I thought Benjamin Franklin said it first.

[Recon by Fire]

He will probably get a promotion, heck sleeping is part of the job if you are in civil service.

[neutrino]

What would you replace the present screening system with?

The Israeli system. More invasive and time consuming? Sure. But the present guards are mere dregs with a sudden infusion of power and a patina of invulnerability.

Why dregs? Most - not all, granted, but most - private security guards are. And that is the origin of our airport screeners....

[Tom Bombadil]

I thought Benjamin Franklin said it first.

I looked it up once in famous quotes book and it was attributed to Maugham in the book I used. Franklin may also have said it.

[kitkat]

Thank you for post #5. I'm tired of hearing that misapplied quote.

[Tom Bombadil]

But the present guards are mere dregs with a sudden infusion of power and a patina of invulnerability.

I've heard that the Isreali system uses one way mirrors and invasive questioning along with a lot of other powerful tools. There is no question that it is effective.

As far as the dregs and the infusion of power and the patina stuff goes, I suppose that may be true for some TSA screeners..... most of the ones I've dealt with seem pretty polite to me.

[YOMO]

Let me see. The screener is now a Federal Employee.
He was well trained on xray operations and of course the most important thing to learn, SLEEPING ON THE JOB.

[CyberAnt]

"already been terminated"

I agree - because I think the repubs agreed to the federal workers ONLY if the employee could be fired if proved to be incompetent.

I know this was a problem with the Homeland Security bill also. And ... Bush got his way.

[Oztrich Boy]

As cited it's Franklin

Somerset Maugham said
If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that, too.

There's also

Never could an increase of comfort or security be a sufficient good to be bought at the price of liberty.
-- Hillaire Belloc

But Edward Gibbon appears to have precedence

[On ancient Athens] In the end, more than freedom, they wanted security. They wanted a comfortable life, and they lost it all -- security, comfort, and freedom.

[widowithfoursons]

Obviously, Franklin had had a classical education (knew Greek and Latin), and STOLE a quote from Gibbons. This is definitely copyright infringemant. All of Gibbon's heirs should demand reparations in a civil suit from all of Franklin's heirs. They should also sue Gutenberg and every printing company thereafter for propogating this myth that Franklin said it first.

[Tom Bombadil]

Thanks for the info. It has been close to five years at least since I ran accross the Maugham quote.

[joesnuffy]

BWAHAHAHAH
Another Absurd Authority Figure Protecting America
Homeland Security ...the biggest cluster f*#k thrust on Ameicans