http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1066671/posts "KEEPING PILOTS UNARMED"
FrontPageMagazine.com ^ | January 28, 2004 | By Steven Bernstein
Posted on 01/28/2004 2:18:52 AM PST by Main Street
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "On November 19, 2002, the Homeland Security Act, H.R. 5005, was enacted into law, authorizing the training and certification of commercial airline pilots in the use of firearms, to protect the cockpit against hijackers.
The Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) training program, administered by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), graduated the first weekly class of 48 volunteer pilots in April 2003. However, the second weekly class of 48 didn't graduate until July 2003, and as of January 2004, more than two years after the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001, only "500 to 800" out of more than 100,000 commercial airline pilots, who fly 11 million flights per year, have been firearms certified.(1)
As mandated by Congress, the goal of the FFDO program is to quickly train and certify large numbers of pilots in the use of firearms, to provide a credible deterrent to hijackers bent on taking over an airliner. However, even if the TSA doubles the number of weekly graduates, less than 1% of commercial airline flights will be FFDO protected by October, 2004.(2) What are the reasons that so few pilots have been firearms-trained?"
http://www.cbn.com/CBNNews/News/031113a.asp "Liberal Elites and the War on America"
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "CBN.com – Democratic candidates for President have been consistently bashing the Bush administration and U.S. military efforts in Iraq. All the while, these politicians claim to be patriotic. But nationally syndicated columnist and radio talk show host Laura Ingraham says liberal elites are actually working to undermine America's foundations. CBN News Anchor Lee Webb spoke with Ingraham about new book called Shut Up and Sing, where she takes a closer look at just who these elites are, and what their agenda really is."