Trash this thread #2

bump

I'm interested in 70 virgins !!! :-))

this needs a new thread already....

i are done...

Seventy virgins, huh?

LOL . . . but isn't that 87 pregnant pigs ???

Study Shows Airlines Now Safer For Terrorists
By Michael Parker 09.27.01

A recent test at Indianapolis International Airport has shown that in spite of heightened security measures, terrorists are perfectly capable of bringing weapons on board airplanes and now enjoy a far safer environment in which to work.

I know… I performed the test.

Flying this past weekend from Indianapolis to Tulsa via Memphis, I was stopped at Indianapolis International Airport's "A" terminal security checkpoint for a baggage search. Pretending for the moment that the Second, Fourth, Ninth and Tenth Amendments of the United States Constitution did not exist, I watched as three separate employees of Global Security ransacked my meager possessions under federal mandate without warrant or probable cause. What they found was a dull, one inch pocket knife in the outside zipper of my carry-on suitcase that I had simply forgotten to remove.

four inch non-folding
carbon composite dagger

Click on Image for Full View

What they missed was a razor sharp, six inch military knife, a four inch non-folding carbon composite dagger, a four inch steel bladed folding knife and a concealed triangular bladed defense knife. Every single weapon I carried was larger and more deadly than the box knives used by terrorists on September 11th. The entire arsenal had been placed in my suitcase in less than three minutes - most of it in plain sight - and got through. This, under intense security screening after the largest terrorist attack in U.S. history.

Scared yet? It gets worse.

a four inch steel bladed folding knife

Click on Image for Full View

After being denied entry into the terminal due to my pitifully small pocket knife, I was forced to return to the back of the line, produce my boarding pass and state identification (your papers, citizen?) and go through the security checkpoint all over again with four weapons still in my bag. What did they find this time? Nothing. Nada. Zip. What did they miss? The same razor sharp six inch military knife, the same four inch carbon composite dagger, the same four inch steel bladed knife and the same concealed triangular bladed defense knife. Again. Every single weapon went through security without a hitch. Twice.

Scared yet? It gets worse.

a concealed triangular bladed defense knife

Click on Image for Full View

I went through the Memphis airport with the same weaponry. My suitcase cleared security in Tulsa without a second look from the x-ray scanner and no physical search. My body was scanned with a hand-held metal detector, I was frisked with a hand search feeling for weapons under my clothes, and my state travel papers were checked and re-checked three times… reminiscent of a roadside check point in 1939 Germany. But my weapons? No problem. Then I returned through the same cities, through the same airports, and cleared the same security points… and yes, with the same weaponry… all the way home.

This is not some laboratory test, or a survey of what might have happened. This was me. Last weekend. In our home town. There is not the slightest doubt that had I been brave enough to take the risk, I could have toted a gun in my carry-on luggage on all six flights. This is not because security personnel are incompetent or lazy.

Rather, it is because they have been given an impossible task by a gutless Federal Aviation Administration which heeds neither the supreme law of the United States nor common sense. It is utterly impossible for Global Security or anyone else to disarm everyone all the time. Unbelievably, security personnel in Indianapolis actually picked up three of my weapons in their hands during the searches, but failed to recognize them. They weren't even close… and I went through the checkpoint twice within ten minutes.

Now, shall we throw out political correctness long enough to grasp a few uncomfortable yet undeniable truths?

Reality Check Number 1- Any terrorist who wants to bring a weapon on board an airplane will do so.

Although your average large mouth bass could figure it out with only marginal difficulty, this truth seems to have slipped past the FAA. It may not be politically correct. It may not be fashionable. It's certainly not comfortable. But it's true. Doubters are free to look in my suitcase. If we intend to combat terrorism, we must shake ourselves out of the ridiculous fantasy that criminals can be disarmed. They cannot. Living in denial will not help us. Any terrorist who wants a weapon on board an airplane will have one. The point is indisputable and non-negotiable. Until we work up the courage to deal with that reality, every other effort we make is tantamount to re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

Reality Check Number 2: You cannot stop crime by disarming the future victims.

Terrorists now enjoy more safety than ever before. If I were a terrorist, I could easily have commandeered any of four different airplanes - this weekend alone - with the help of one or two co-conspirators. I could have armed as many as three other criminals with deadly weapons, and still kept the largest knife for myself. And most importantly, there was no need to smuggle a gun on board because all of my would-be victims had already been disarmed by FAA regulations.

I sat on board the Memphis to Tulsa flight and looked around at my fellow passengers. 150 helpless, pathetic sheep stripped of even the slightest ability to defend themselves. This was our answer to terrorism? We attempt to stop crime by disarming the future victims? I began to think of all the major targets available along my route. Chicago. Fort Benning. Dallas. My choice of a dozen NFL football games. Atlanta… college football… major league baseball… the list was endless. It slowly dawned on me that we are now far more susceptible to terrorism than ever before. We have adopted an ideology that was doomed to failure from the outset. We have given an impossible task to our security personnel.

We have created the perfect environment for terrorists… an environment where citizens are stripped of all self-defense mechanisms, and absolve themselves from the responsibility of self-defense by entrusting it to incompetent bureaucracy. Thanks to self-defeating federal airline regulations, we have fallen face-first into the trap laid by terrorists, who are now doubt falling out of their chairs laughing.

Reality Check Number 3: Americans will not tolerate Gestapo tactics.

If the airline industry collapses, it has only itself to blame. Strip searches, pat downs, luggage seizures and a total dismissal of federal privacy laws might be tolerated in China or Cuba. But not here. Americans are abandoning airlines in droves. And they aren't doing it because they're afraid of terrorists. They're doing it because they are not willing to sell out their liberties in exchange for the illusion of security. Regardless of the whiny, pitiful airline passengers shown on the nightly news begging for more "security," most Americans would still rather die standing than live on their knees. To misunderstand that is to misunderstand the fundamental premise of all that is American.

The American public will not tolerate the hassle, intrusion and inconvenience of fanatical security measures that offer no security. If airlines want passengers to come back and fly again, they should disregard FAA mandates and implement their own measures for genuine, effective security. Certainly, the FAA might retaliate with even more Gestapo tactics and try to shut down uncooperative airlines… but last I heard they were going out of business anyway.

Reality Check Number 4: Terrorists prepare in advance.

Obviously, the only way to stop hijackers dead in their tracks is to have qualified, armed personnel on board each and every flight in America and for the identity of those persons to be concealed. But who shall we arm? If we arm flight crews and air marshals, we can rest assured that future terrorists will begin immediate training to fill those positions. Sound far-fetched? Think again. Terrorists arrived in the USA years in advance of the September 11th attacks and took professional flight training in preparation for their work. To offer them guns after completion of their flight training only makes their jobs easier. And air marshals? The FAA readily admits that putting an air marshal on every flight is an impossibility. Believe it or not, the federal government is now accepting applications for air marshal positions, with preference given to disabled persons. Yes, I said "disabled persons," and no, that is not a misprint. If you expect any government agency to protect you from terrorists, your faith is tragically misplaced.

Reality Check Number 5: Ninety-three courageous people on board American Airlines flight 11 died because they were disarmed by FAA regulations.

We know without a doubt that the passengers who crashed near Pittsburgh on September 11th were aware of the situation, and that they fought valiantly to defend themselves. And we also know that they had been disarmed by our own government. Those ninety-three people did not die for lack of courage, or lack of effort. They died because they had no weapons. They were so thoroughly defenseless… so completely and utterly helpless… that every last one of them could be killed by four men with box cutters. Of course, we expect terrorists to be terrorists and to commit heinous acts. We do not expect them to be aided and abetted by our own Federal Aviation Administration, without whose regulations this act could likely never have been committed.

After considering some of the cold, hard facts of air travel, there emerges one clear plan so obvious that even a bureaucrat could see it. Holders of private concealed carry permits should be able to travel on commercial aircraft while armed. Air marshals cannot possibly man all domestic flights for protection, but millions of concealed carry permit holders certainly could. Air marshals will have to undergo lengthy background checks by the FBI and state officials before being put on duty. Concealed carry permit holders have already passed complete background checks. New air marshals will have to be trained in the use of firearms. Concealed carry permit holders already have been. New air marshals will have to have fingerprints taken and filed with the proper authorities. Concealed carry permit holders have already done that, too. New air marshals will cost millions of dollars in new taxes and take months or years to train. Concealed carry permit holders can start tomorrow, and will work for free. New air marshals will have to purchase and train with millions of dollars in new weapons. Concealed carry permit holders already have those weapons and are already proficient in their use. According to Newsweek Magazine, state agents fire on innocent civilians in more than 11% of their shootings. Concealed carry permit holders make the same mistake less than 2% of the time.

The answer is obvious, even to the most fanatical, fearmongering pessimist. Alas, it is also politically incorrect, and few politicians have the courage to break away from the path of least resistance. It's easier to let ninety-two helpless people die than to face an election year on the wrong side of a controversial topic.

So next time you get frisked at an airport security check point or have your luggage dumped out on the counter, remember this: you have sold your most precious freedoms for the false illusion of security, and got nothing in return. You can rest assured that any terrorist on your airplane will most certainly be armed in whatever way he sees fit.

I know. I already did it.

That's an automatic thread breaker </hurl>

For the edification of those who wondered why I thought that would still break threads, fire up your favorite Nutscape 4.7x browser and head over here. FYI, it looked pretty broken in preview, so I'll try one more post (originally here, but with a twist that leaves out the last few </t...>s)

September 28, 2001

Only Guns Can Stop Terrorists

By John R. Lott Jr. Mr. Lott is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and the author of "More Guns, Less Crime" (University of Chicago Press, 2000).

President Bush yesterday unveiled a plan to tighten airline security, ranging from employing the National Guard at airports to place more marshals on flights. Those are important steps, but they won't be enough, especially since no one knows where the terrorists will strike next. The only adequate response is to encourage more ordinary, responsible citizens to carry guns, as Israel has done.

Screening at airports, while important, will always be inadequate; terrorists will always figure some way to circumvent the controls -- for instance, by bribing airport employees. Strengthening cockpit doors is probably a good idea, but given current airline design it may create dangerous differences in air pressure between the cockpit and cabin. In any case, the door must be opened sometime, to allow pilots to go to the bathroom or get food.

The marshals program is more promising. Empirical research by Bill Landes at the University of Chicago found that between a third and a half of the drop in airplane hijackings during the 1970s could be attributed to the introduction of armed U.S. marshals on planes and an increased ability to catch and punish hijackers.

But to put just one marshal aboard every daily flight in the U.S. would require at least 35,000 officers -- far more than currently work for the FBI, Secret Service and U.S. marshals combined (17,000). And one marshal might not be enough to foil a whole gang of hijackers, of the kind used by Osama bin Laden. Clearly it will take a long time to deploy enough marshals.

There are things we can do in the meantime. There are about 600,000 active state and local law enforcement officers in the U.S. today. They are currently forbidden from bringing their guns on airplanes. That should change. They should even be given discount fares if they fly with their guns. Most pilots have also had military experience. The request of their union to arm pilots should be granted; this is what El Al has done for a long time.

Fears of having guns on planes are misplaced. The special, high-velocity handgun ammunition used on planes packs quite a wallop but is designed not to penetrate the aluminum skin of the plane. Even with regular bullets, the worst-case outcome would simply be to force the plane to fly at a lower altitude, where the air pressure is higher.

The use of guns to stop terrorists shouldn't be limited to airplanes. We should encourage off-duty police, and responsible citizens, to carry guns in most public places. Cops can't be everywhere.

In Israel, about 10% of Jewish adults have permits to carry concealed handguns. To reach Israel's rate of permit holding, Americans would have to increase the number of permits from 3.5 million to almost 21 million. Thirty-three states currently have "right-to-carry" laws, which allow the law-abiding to obtain a permit if they are above a certain age and pay a fee. Half of these states require some training. We should encourage more states to pass such law, and possibly even subsidize firearms training.

States that pass concealed handgun laws experience drops in violent crimes, especially in multiple victim shootings -- the type of attack most associated with terrorism. Bill Landes and I found that deaths and injuries from multiple-victim public shootings fell by 80% after states passed right-to-carry laws.

Passing right-to-carry laws might even deter terrorist attacks. True, some terrorists are suicidal, but they still want to cause maximum carnage. They know the "return" on their terrorism would rapidly diminish to the vanishing point if faced with gun-wielding "victims."

Looks like you fixed the tables bug in Netscape 4.77. The two posts I sent that broke their threads didn't break this one.

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Just testing...

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IT WORKED!

FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum" [Last | Latest Posts | Latest Articles | Self Search | Add Bookmark | Post | Abuse | Help! ] Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works. Trash this thread #2 Miscellaneous Free Republic Keywords: TRASH THREAD HTML TEST Posted on 09/27/2001 17:58:36 PDT by supercat The first 'trash this' thread was getting rather long... Foo Bar Okay, so I'm impressed with IE... 1 Posted on 09/27/2001 17:58:36 PDT by supercat [ Reply | Private Reply | Top | Last ] To: supercat Let's try this...... All your thread are belong to us 2 Posted on 09/27/2001 18:06:48 PDT by Brett66 [ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ] To: supercat Thread One 3 Posted on 09/27/2001 18:11:30 PDT by supercat [ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ] To: Brett66 wowwowis this a test to ensure that fr withstands bad posts? Why are we being instructed to do this? 4 Posted on 09/27/2001 18:13:05 PDT by ImaGraftedBranch [ Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | Top | Last ] ??? 5 Posted on 09/27/2001 18:15:24 PDT by xm177e2 [ Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | Top | Last ] Interesting... a css file? 6 Posted on 09/27/2001 18:17:47 PDT by xm177e2 [ Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | Top | Last ] To: supercat Louisiana's quarter dollar, scheduled for release in May, will feature a brown pelican and celebrate the Louisiana Purchase. The final design features an outline of the United States with the area of the Louisiana Purchase highlighted and the text LOUISIANA PURCHASE off to the right of the map. A profile view of a brown pelican is at the lower left while a trumpet and three notes are located above the map. 7 Posted on 09/27/2001 18:18:30 PDT by SamAdams76 [ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ] To: supercat Did you see the size of that chicken? 8 Posted on 09/27/2001 18:21:52 PDT by Nick The Freeper [ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ] To: Nick The Freeper THE HELL WITH THE CHICKEN...I SAW THE PIGS FLY TODAY! 9 Posted on 09/27/2001 18:23:57 PDT by Sungirl [ Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | Top | Last ] To: supercat YIKES! TRASHED!!! 10 Posted on 09/27/2001 18:26:08 PDT by Brett66 [ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ] To: Brett66 Cool! That was some pretty sloppy HTML and it closed everything. 11 Posted on 09/27/2001 18:27:09 PDT by Brett66 [ Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | Top | Last ] To: Brett66 ALL YOUR BASE BELONG TO ME 12 Posted on 09/27/2001 18:28:44 PDT by republicangel [ Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | Top | Last ] To: John Robinson PING! 13 Posted on 09/27/2001 18:29:34 PDT by supercat [ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ] To: supercat Trash that thread, eh? You asked for it: 14 Posted on 09/27/2001 18:30:00 PDT by Izzy Dunne [ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ] To: Brett66 I still dislike the automatic blockquote! 15 Posted on 09/27/2001 18:31:10 PDT by eddie willers [ Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | Top | Last ] To: Izzy Dunne i like cheese. 16 Posted on 09/27/2001 18:31:20 PDT by glock rocks [ Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | Top | Last ] To: supercat Take THAT! 17 Posted on 09/27/2001 18:32:58 PDT by Izzy Dunne [ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ] To: Izzy Dunne left right left Have we trashed it yet? 18 Posted on 09/28/2001 13:01:13 PDT by The Old Hoosier [ Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | Top | Last ] To: The Old Hoosier Does this work? 19 Posted on 09/28/2001 13:02:06 PDT by The Old Hoosier [ Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | Top | Last ] To: supercat llllll000 Illegal immigration becomes focus of terrorism fight By Andrew Bounds As the US seeks to construct a Fortress America to guard against future terrorist attacks, attention is turning to its weak spot: Latin America. Hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants try to enter the US through Mexico and Central America every year and their need for false papers and passports has fuelled a booming illicit industry that could have helped some of the terrorists involved in the September 11 attacks to penetrate the US. "Now, individually and collectively, we must take concrete steps to tighten border controls, enhance air and seaport security, improve financial controls, and increase the effectiveness of our counter-terrorism forces," Colin Powell, US secretary of state, told Latin American and Caribbean countries last week. Nicaragua newspapers this week reported that the FBI had asked the government to investigate cases of Arabs who had gained Nicaraguan nationality and lift secrecy on 21 bank accounts. The cases included that of Mohamed Atta, one of the alleged hijackers, a naturalised Nicaraguan, the papers said. The FBI would not comment. In El Salvador the police last week raided an operation that was providing Ecuadoreans with false documents and assistance in entering the US. A US official said long-standing assistance for the region's governments from Washington would now include anti-terrorism operations. "Before, they were thinking about Ecuadoreans and coyotes [people who facilitate illegal border crossings]. Now, after these attacks, there is a recognition it may be a different kind of person," she said. The six countries of Central America - Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama - have become a jumping-off point to the US for illegal migrants from around the world. In June the US Immigration and Naturalisation Service conducted the world's biggest operation against people-smuggling with 13 other countries. Over 16 days 7,898 people were held from 40 countries including Sudan, Iran and Egypt. A month after Operation Crossroads International, as it was called, Mexico began a crackdown on its border with Guatemala, where lax controls have brought constant complaints from Washington. Mexico denied that the crackdown was linked to its own hopes of reaching a deal with the US over illegal Mexican immigrants, but the signal was clear. "This is a great initiative. It is a sign by Mexico to the region that it wants to be a partner in the struggle against migrant trafficking," said Hipólito Acosta, district director of immigration at the US embassy in Mexico City. "There was an acceptance in Mexico that 'This is not our problem - they are heading out of the country'. Now they are taking responsibility." Central America has also promised its support. Its police chiefs have agreed to swap information on the movements of suspected terrorists but their forces are under-resourced, badly paid, susceptible to corruption and already grappling with an unprecedented crime wave. But that is expected to change with the war on terror. "A few years ago these countries considered drug trafficking solely a problem for the US. Now they realise that it affects them too, through corruption, crime and violence. People trafficking will be the same," said a US diplomat. The extent of corruption was illustrated just days after Operation Crossroads when Luis Mendizabal, Guatemala's chief immigration officer, was dismissed because of anomalies in the sale of visas to 700 Koreans who had entered illegally. In January this year the US withdrew the visa of Ernesto Peréz Balladares, president of Panama from 1994 to 1999, on the grounds that he had helped Chinese immigrants enter the US by giving them Panamanian passports. He denies the charges and a legal case against him in the US was dropped last year. Even when countries have the will to combat terrorism, they may be unable to do so without outside help. In November Luis Posada Carriles, a Cuban exile on the run from a conviction for bombing a Cuban airliner in 1976, was arrested in Panama with three accomplices - all with false papers. They and some buried explosives were caught only thanks to a tip-off from the Cuban secret service, which had uncovered an alleged plot to blow up President Fidel Castro during a summit there. To build Fortress America, the US may have to be open to using some very diverse contractors. 20 Posted on 09/28/2001 13:08:36 PDT by Stand Watch Listen [ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ] To: slap me I am interested in cows and apples 21 Posted on 09/28/2001 13:08:56 PDT by Crusty_Pant_Suit [ Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | Top | Last ] To: The Old Hoosier bump 22 Posted on 09/28/2001 13:09:41 PDT by Waeismic [ Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | Top | Last ] To: Crusty_Pant_Suit I'm interested in 70 virgins !!! :-)) 23 Posted on 09/28/2001 13:15:18 PDT by GeekDejure [ Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | Top | Last ] To: Waeismic this needs a new thread already.... i are done... 24 Posted on 09/28/2001 13:15:32 PDT by Mr. K [ Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | Top | Last ] To: GeekDejure Seventy virgins, huh? 25 Posted on 09/28/2001 13:25:08 PDT by uglybiker [ Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | Top | Last ] To: uglybiker LOL . . . but isn't that 87 pregnant pigs ??? 26 Posted on 09/28/2001 14:40:31 PDT by GeekDejure [ Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | Top | Last ] To: Is Nutscape 4.7x still broken? Tune in and find out... Study Shows Airlines Now Safer For Terrorists By Michael Parker 09.27.01 A recent test at Indianapolis International Airport has shown that in spite of heightened security measures, terrorists are perfectly capable of bringing weapons on board airplanes and now enjoy a far safer environment in which to work. I know… I performed the test. Flying this past weekend from Indianapolis to Tulsa via Memphis, I was stopped at Indianapolis International Airport's "A" terminal security checkpoint for a baggage search. Pretending for the moment that the Second, Fourth, Ninth and Tenth Amendments of the United States Constitution did not exist, I watched as three separate employees of Global Security ransacked my meager possessions under federal mandate without warrant or probable cause. What they found was a dull, one inch pocket knife in the outside zipper of my carry-on suitcase that I had simply forgotten to remove. four inch non-folding carbon composite dagger Click on Image for Full View What they missed was a razor sharp, six inch military knife, a four inch non-folding carbon composite dagger, a four inch steel bladed folding knife and a concealed triangular bladed defense knife. Every single weapon I carried was larger and more deadly than the box knives used by terrorists on September 11th. The entire arsenal had been placed in my suitcase in less than three minutes - most of it in plain sight - and got through. This, under intense security screening after the largest terrorist attack in U.S. history. Scared yet? It gets worse. a four inch steel bladed folding knife Click on Image for Full View After being denied entry into the terminal due to my pitifully small pocket knife, I was forced to return to the back of the line, produce my boarding pass and state identification (your papers, citizen?) and go through the security checkpoint all over again with four weapons still in my bag. What did they find this time? Nothing. Nada. Zip. What did they miss? The same razor sharp six inch military knife, the same four inch carbon composite dagger, the same four inch steel bladed knife and the same concealed triangular bladed defense knife. Again. Every single weapon went through security without a hitch. Twice. Scared yet? It gets worse. a concealed triangular bladed defense knife Click on Image for Full View I went through the Memphis airport with the same weaponry. My suitcase cleared security in Tulsa without a second look from the x-ray scanner and no physical search. My body was scanned with a hand-held metal detector, I was frisked with a hand search feeling for weapons under my clothes, and my state travel papers were checked and re-checked three times… reminiscent of a roadside check point in 1939 Germany. But my weapons? No problem. Then I returned through the same cities, through the same airports, and cleared the same security points… and yes, with the same weaponry… all the way home. This is not some laboratory test, or a survey of what might have happened. This was me. Last weekend. In our home town. There is not the slightest doubt that had I been brave enough to take the risk, I could have toted a gun in my carry-on luggage on all six flights. This is not because security personnel are incompetent or lazy. Rather, it is because they have been given an impossible task by a gutless Federal Aviation Administration which heeds neither the supreme law of the United States nor common sense. It is utterly impossible for Global Security or anyone else to disarm everyone all the time. Unbelievably, security personnel in Indianapolis actually picked up three of my weapons in their hands during the searches, but failed to recognize them. They weren't even close… and I went through the checkpoint twice within ten minutes. Now, shall we throw out political correctness long enough to grasp a few uncomfortable yet undeniable truths? Reality Check Number 1- Any terrorist who wants to bring a weapon on board an airplane will do so. Although your average large mouth bass could figure it out with only marginal difficulty, this truth seems to have slipped past the FAA. It may not be politically correct. It may not be fashionable. It's certainly not comfortable. But it's true. Doubters are free to look in my suitcase. If we intend to combat terrorism, we must shake ourselves out of the ridiculous fantasy that criminals can be disarmed. They cannot. Living in denial will not help us. Any terrorist who wants a weapon on board an airplane will have one. The point is indisputable and non-negotiable. Until we work up the courage to deal with that reality, every other effort we make is tantamount to re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Reality Check Number 2: You cannot stop crime by disarming the future victims. Terrorists now enjoy more safety than ever before. If I were a terrorist, I could easily have commandeered any of four different airplanes - this weekend alone - with the help of one or two co-conspirators. I could have armed as many as three other criminals with deadly weapons, and still kept the largest knife for myself. And most importantly, there was no need to smuggle a gun on board because all of my would-be victims had already been disarmed by FAA regulations. I sat on board the Memphis to Tulsa flight and looked around at my fellow passengers. 150 helpless, pathetic sheep stripped of even the slightest ability to defend themselves. This was our answer to terrorism? We attempt to stop crime by disarming the future victims? I began to think of all the major targets available along my route. Chicago. Fort Benning. Dallas. My choice of a dozen NFL football games. Atlanta… college football… major league baseball… the list was endless. It slowly dawned on me that we are now far more susceptible to terrorism than ever before. We have adopted an ideology that was doomed to failure from the outset. We have given an impossible task to our security personnel. We have created the perfect environment for terrorists… an environment where citizens are stripped of all self-defense mechanisms, and absolve themselves from the responsibility of self-defense by entrusting it to incompetent bureaucracy. Thanks to self-defeating federal airline regulations, we have fallen face-first into the trap laid by terrorists, who are now doubt falling out of their chairs laughing. Reality Check Number 3: Americans will not tolerate Gestapo tactics. If the airline industry collapses, it has only itself to blame. Strip searches, pat downs, luggage seizures and a total dismissal of federal privacy laws might be tolerated in China or Cuba. But not here. Americans are abandoning airlines in droves. And they aren't doing it because they're afraid of terrorists. They're doing it because they are not willing to sell out their liberties in exchange for the illusion of security. Regardless of the whiny, pitiful airline passengers shown on the nightly news begging for more "security," most Americans would still rather die standing than live on their knees. To misunderstand that is to misunderstand the fundamental premise of all that is American. The American public will not tolerate the hassle, intrusion and inconvenience of fanatical security measures that offer no security. If airlines want passengers to come back and fly again, they should disregard FAA mandates and implement their own measures for genuine, effective security. Certainly, the FAA might retaliate with even more Gestapo tactics and try to shut down uncooperative airlines… but last I heard they were going out of business anyway. Reality Check Number 4: Terrorists prepare in advance. Obviously, the only way to stop hijackers dead in their tracks is to have qualified, armed personnel on board each and every flight in America and for the identity of those persons to be concealed. But who shall we arm? If we arm flight crews and air marshals, we can rest assured that future terrorists will begin immediate training to fill those positions. Sound far-fetched? Think again. Terrorists arrived in the USA years in advance of the September 11th attacks and took professional flight training in preparation for their work. To offer them guns after completion of their flight training only makes their jobs easier. And air marshals? The FAA readily admits that putting an air marshal on every flight is an impossibility. Believe it or not, the federal government is now accepting applications for air marshal positions, with preference given to disabled persons. Yes, I said "disabled persons," and no, that is not a misprint. If you expect any government agency to protect you from terrorists, your faith is tragically misplaced. Reality Check Number 5: Ninety-three courageous people on board American Airlines flight 11 died because they were disarmed by FAA regulations. We know without a doubt that the passengers who crashed near Pittsburgh on September 11th were aware of the situation, and that they fought valiantly to defend themselves. And we also know that they had been disarmed by our own government. Those ninety-three people did not die for lack of courage, or lack of effort. They died because they had no weapons. They were so thoroughly defenseless… so completely and utterly helpless… that every last one of them could be killed by four men with box cutters. Of course, we expect terrorists to be terrorists and to commit heinous acts. We do not expect them to be aided and abetted by our own Federal Aviation Administration, without whose regulations this act could likely never have been committed. After considering some of the cold, hard facts of air travel, there emerges one clear plan so obvious that even a bureaucrat could see it. Holders of private concealed carry permits should be able to travel on commercial aircraft while armed. Air marshals cannot possibly man all domestic flights for protection, but millions of concealed carry permit holders certainly could. Air marshals will have to undergo lengthy background checks by the FBI and state officials before being put on duty. Concealed carry permit holders have already passed complete background checks. New air marshals will have to be trained in the use of firearms. Concealed carry permit holders already have been. New air marshals will have to have fingerprints taken and filed with the proper authorities. Concealed carry permit holders have already done that, too. New air marshals will cost millions of dollars in new taxes and take months or years to train. Concealed carry permit holders can start tomorrow, and will work for free. New air marshals will have to purchase and train with millions of dollars in new weapons. Concealed carry permit holders already have those weapons and are already proficient in their use. According to Newsweek Magazine, state agents fire on innocent civilians in more than 11% of their shootings. Concealed carry permit holders make the same mistake less than 2% of the time. The answer is obvious, even to the most fanatical, fearmongering pessimist. Alas, it is also politically incorrect, and few politicians have the courage to break away from the path of least resistance. It's easier to let ninety-two helpless people die than to face an election year on the wrong side of a controversial topic. So next time you get frisked at an airport security check point or have your luggage dumped out on the counter, remember this: you have sold your most precious freedoms for the false illusion of security, and got nothing in return. You can rest assured that any terrorist on your airplane will most certainly be armed in whatever way he sees fit. I know. I already did it. 27 Posted on 09/29/2001 08:20:35 PDT by steveegg (Game over, man! Game over!) [ Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | Top | Last ] To: uglybiker That's an automatic thread breaker 28 Posted on 09/29/2001 08:21:40 PDT by steveegg (I'm now blinded) [ Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | Top | Last ] To: Hey, tables don't break threads anymore For the edification of those who wondered why I thought that would still break threads, fire up your favorite Nutscape 4.7x browser and head over here. FYI, it looked pretty broken in preview, so I'll try one more post (originally here, but with a twist that leaves out the last few s) September 28, 2001 Only Guns Can Stop Terrorists Advertisement By John R. Lott Jr. Mr. Lott is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and the author of "More Guns, Less Crime" (University of Chicago Press, 2000). President Bush yesterday unveiled a plan to tighten airline security, ranging from employing the National Guard at airports to place more marshals on flights. Those are important steps, but they won't be enough, especially since no one knows where the terrorists will strike next. The only adequate response is to encourage more ordinary, responsible citizens to carry guns, as Israel has done. Screening at airports, while important, will always be inadequate; terrorists will always figure some way to circumvent the controls -- for instance, by bribing airport employees. Strengthening cockpit doors is probably a good idea, but given current airline design it may create dangerous differences in air pressure between the cockpit and cabin. In any case, the door must be opened sometime, to allow pilots to go to the bathroom or get food. The marshals program is more promising. Empirical research by Bill Landes at the University of Chicago found that between a third and a half of the drop in airplane hijackings during the 1970s could be attributed to the introduction of armed U.S. marshals on planes and an increased ability to catch and punish hijackers. But to put just one marshal aboard every daily flight in the U.S. would require at least 35,000 officers -- far more than currently work for the FBI, Secret Service and U.S. marshals combined (17,000). And one marshal might not be enough to foil a whole gang of hijackers, of the kind used by Osama bin Laden. Clearly it will take a long time to deploy enough marshals. There are things we can do in the meantime. There are about 600,000 active state and local law enforcement officers in the U.S. today. They are currently forbidden from bringing their guns on airplanes. That should change. They should even be given discount fares if they fly with their guns. Most pilots have also had military experience. The request of their union to arm pilots should be granted; this is what El Al has done for a long time. Fears of having guns on planes are misplaced. The special, high-velocity handgun ammunition used on planes packs quite a wallop but is designed not to penetrate the aluminum skin of the plane. Even with regular bullets, the worst-case outcome would simply be to force the plane to fly at a lower altitude, where the air pressure is higher. The use of guns to stop terrorists shouldn't be limited to airplanes. We should encourage off-duty police, and responsible citizens, to carry guns in most public places. Cops can't be everywhere. In Israel, about 10% of Jewish adults have permits to carry concealed handguns. To reach Israel's rate of permit holding, Americans would have to increase the number of permits from 3.5 million to almost 21 million. Thirty-three states currently have "right-to-carry" laws, which allow the law-abiding to obtain a permit if they are above a certain age and pay a fee. Half of these states require some training. We should encourage more states to pass such law, and possibly even subsidize firearms training. States that pass concealed handgun laws experience drops in violent crimes, especially in multiple victim shootings -- the type of attack most associated with terrorism. Bill Landes and I found that deaths and injuries from multiple-victim public shootings fell by 80% after states passed right-to-carry laws. Passing right-to-carry laws might even deter terrorist attacks. True, some terrorists are suicidal, but they still want to cause maximum carnage. They know the "return" on their terrorism would rapidly diminish to the vanishing point if faced with gun-wielding "victims." 29 Posted on 09/29/2001 08:27:56 PDT by steveegg (Call me Rice Krispies :-) [ Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | Top | Last ] To: John Robinson Looks like you fixed the tables bug in Netscape 4.77. The two posts I sent that broke their threads didn't break this one. 30 Posted on 09/29/2001 08:35:49 PDT by steveegg (Still some anomalies with my personal CSS, but I can live with it) [ Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | Top | Last ] BLahadkahsdfksdf jhdsaf kljhdsaf lkjasdhf ljksadhf ljkhfd saidhfasldkhfkjasdhfkj jdashf kjdsahf kjasdhfkjsaf jkahfd kjshdaf dsakhfdksjaf jdsahfkjasdf kjhdsaf kjhsdkj hsadkjfh kjdsahf akdshfjahdsf jdshf kjhsdf kjh sfdkjh akjdsfh kjdshf Just testing... 31 Posted on 09/29/2001 17:28:06 PDT by xm177e2 [ Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | Top | Last ] To: supercat test--------------------------------- test-----------------------------------------------test test----90876654326454578899234567890--------------------- 32 Posted on 09/29/2001 17:58:42 PDT by nomad [ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ] To: nomad IT WORKED! 33 Posted on 09/29/2001 17:59:23 PDT by nomad [ Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | Top | Last ] Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. 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Mr. T?

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