Posted on 08/06/2013 9:33:30 AM PDT by Shout Bits
In the wake of 9/11/01, the US had the sense that airport security was lacking – after all, a bunch of Saudis walked through security with box cutters and committed atrocities. In reality, box cutters were allowed on planes at the time, so even more thorough screenings would not have helped. Indeed, every airplane has many items on board that can be used as weapons (e.g. glassware, silverware, broken mirrors). 9/11 was a failure of intelligence because the government had the information to predict the attack and prevent it. Nonetheless, Sen. Daschle saw a chance to create a massive new bureaucracy friendly to Democrat politics, and Pres. Bush was a willing dupe.
The TSA started out with heavy handed tactics. It had an intimidating air, what with its fancy uniforms. Pat downs, strip searches, and harassment of seniors were common, along with unpredictably long lines. Inconvenience combined with a few felons on the staff drove the TSA's public image into the sewer. There were movements to shutter the agency and return to private contractors. Since federal employees are some of the best compensated people on the planet, such movements clearly would not do. The TSA needed to be less like a gang of thugs if they wanted to keep their ridiculously sweet benefits and union protections.
Today, most airport security lines are no more than 10 minutes long. The strip search machines probably no longer display naked images for perverts in darkened rooms, which is always nice. The process is less undignified and more predictable than before. Better still, a select few can keep their shoes on and are not forced to show the world what medicines they are taking (i.e. Precheck). Precheck allows some travelers to go back to sanity, and later this year anybody will be able to sign up – for an $85 fee.
Now, keeping one's shoes on at the airport is good for everyone; this reporter has never seen a TSA agent clean the floor that thousands of bare feet walk across. Maybe the TSA officer who came up with the shoe rule has a foot fetish, but yuck. Likewise, some TSA agents may enjoy knowing who uses eczema cream, but most people enjoy a little dignity and privacy. Good news all around, but the better news is that the universal Precheck program shows that the TSA knows it is irrelevant.
Essentially, the TSA is saying that any US Citizen without a serious crime record or Al Qaeda ties can skip the strip search for $85. Quite obviously, any terrorist group can find someone who would pass the background check. Terrorists can put their agents through the Precheck line, and the TSA must know this. This implies the TSA has reached one of two conclusions: 1. The Precheck system is strong enough for anybody, or 2. the entire security screening is a farcical theater designed to calm worried minds.
Either conclusion proves that the TSA is irrelevant or at least its enhanced security procedures are irrelevant. People are airing their feet, displaying their medicines, and being strip searched for no purpose. If most anybody with $85 can skip these indignities, why should any US Citizen endure them? Indeed, the TSA spends less time screening Precheck travelers, so they cost less to process. Why should the TSA charge $85 when they are actually saving money?
The TSA seeks to limit the Precheck travelers through a $85 fee because they like having a gross excess of agents standing around, taking breaks, and collecting obscenely generous benefits. If every US Citizen were to go through Precheck, there would be fewer TSA agents to pay union dues that go to Democrat politicians. Like most government bureaucracies, the TSA's own health and survival have become more important than their original mission of keeping travelers safe. Just as with the Commerce Department, for example, the TSA has realized it serves no purpose, but nobody in power sees an advantage in shutting them down.
In a way, the TSA's realization that it is irrelevant is good news. The TSA will remain a financial burden for a long time, but its new Precheck policy is reducing the burden on time and dignity. Maybe there will be a truce between travelers and the TSA – limited intrusion into lives in exchange for cushy jobs with benefits fit for war heroes.
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You can almost predict that somebody holding Precheck clearance is going to pull a terrorist act on board an airplane, can’t you?
Before going to the boarding gate for a recent flight home, a paperback set of books by C.S. Lewis which I was carrying got pulled out for an explosives test. I kid you not.
“Now, keeping one’s shoes on at the airport is good for everyone; this reporter has never seen a TSA agent clean the floor that thousands of bare feet walk across. “
Besides transmitting foot fungus and other viruses (MRSA), having people walk shoeless through the portal can also be a way to distribute, say, anthrax and other bio-weapons.
This has been a point of discussion for over a decade but nothing is done to address a) basic sanitation of the portal, and b) defending against a terrorist that put anthrax spores in his shoes, get those spores on his feet, takes off his shoes to walk shoeless through the portal thereby leaving a trail of spores behind so travelers pick up the spores. . .
explosive gospel?
The drill is meant to catch copycat crimes, it sounds like to me.
Every time I fly I get on the plane with a glass bottle of Starbucks frappuchino that I buy in the airport.
FYI, you can effectively apply for PreCheck now.
Enroll in Global Entry. It is $100 for 5 years.
In practice, it appears that being enrolled in Global Entry actually makes it more likely you will be cleared for PreCheck when you board your flight. Frequent flyers invited by the airlines still have to go through the regular security line about 40% of the time.
With Global Entry, you also can avoid the US Customs line when rendering the US. You instead use an ATM-like kiosk.
For Global Entry, you must be a US citizen and have a clean criminal record.
$85 for Precheck?
It kind of sounds like, “Traffic tickets are for safety!”
I won’t predict anything until I see what the TSA requirements for enrollment will be.
If you are a US citizen or have been a permanent resident for some number of years, and have a clean criminal record, I don’t foresee any additional risk.
Keep in mind that people cleared for PreCheck basically go through the same security screening as before 9/11. They also randomly check for explosive residue.
I think it’s close to the cost of administration and a background check. It’s less than the concealed handgun license fee in many states, and I would expect the extent of the check to be similar.
If you fly a couple of times a year, it is worth it. At busy airports, it can save you an hour.
bkmk
C.S. Lewis books could be dangerous (they could reveal what’s really going on in America today?),
“The Chronicles of Narnia
Her Majesty Queen Jadis’ Secret Police also known as the White Witch’s Secret Police was the undercover police force established by the Narnian ruler Jadis.
This Police force was created specifically for the purposes of intimidation, reconaissance, and spying on the oppressed Narnian citizens. They also went so far as to arrest any who they viewed of as traitors, including the Faun Tumnus, or those they were ordered to by Jadis.
Most of the Secret Police was made up of wolves, including Maugrim, the head Captain of the Police, Maugrim, but it also included some of the ever-listening trees and various other creatures, who worked as spies.....”
(Wiki web)
Thank you for posting your entire blog, unlike some other posters here.
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