TSA = Totally Stupid Agency
Published December 27th, 2007The TSA is good for nothing. Totally worthless. A complete waste of whatever money is put into it. There is simply no doubt in my mind.
If you pay attention to the reports, the TSA fails repeatedly on pretty much every test given to it. They missed 90% of explosive devices at a recent test at Denver Airport. At least TSA screeners at LAX did better - they only missed 75% of explosives sent through security. Oh, how secure I feel. Yet, they continue to restrict the items we can take on planes, no matter how far-fetched it may seem, or how ridiculous the procedures are. They - for NO credible reason - suddenly decide that liquids are banned. Supposedly, you could bring on Chemical A and Chemical B in separate bottles, mix them on the plane and blow it sky high(er). Never mind that any such liquid explosives are pretty unstable and would be pretty difficult to safely contain. Never mind that they make you pour out your liquids - into the same barrel (boom - there goes the entire terminal). Other genius things you can’t take on the plane? Well, breast milk was recently brought into question - one mother was forced to drink it. Won’t someone think of the children? Don’t you dare bring cheese on a plane - it’s the same as a plastic explosive. Everyone loves pie for the holidays - especially the TSA. They’ll confiscate your pie (they’re dangerous you know!) and then give them to the USO Lounge. I guess the TSA feels that “supporting the troops” means “using them as guinea pigs to find explosive or poison pies” - fantastic. Some TSA officials will be on the lookout for certain pies (probably their favorites) whereas other officials will say that all pies are OK - or that all pies are forbidden.
The TSA doesn’t just favor cheese, breast milk and pies over actual weapons - yep, pudding is up there as public enemy #1 too. In fact, when given the choice between a 4″ Swiss Army Knife and pudding, the TSA will happily confiscate the pudding. Obesity epidemic and all, I suppose. Yep, gotta save America from the dangers of pudding. As American as confiscating Apple pie.
So finally, today we have a real definitive report - TSA is USELESS. The “security” they provide is a fraud. They don’t prevent anything. Will this change anything? Probably not. In most industries, if you undertake a time and money-consuming process that shows zero results - that process is discontinued. If it fared poorly enough, you’d probably be demoted or fired. I somehow doubt the TSA will have to do anything though. Their response to the study?
“Even without clear evidence of the accuracy of testing, the Transportation Security Administration defended its measures by reporting that more than 13 million prohibited items were intercepted in one year,” the researchers added. “Most of these illegal items were lighters.”
In other words, “Trust us, it’s working. We’ve saved millions of people from horrific lighter deaths!” Since lighters are so often used in hijackings.
Here is a good interview with Kip Hawley, head of TSA. The interviewer, Security Expert Bruce Schneier ask legitimately tough questions. In my opinion, Hawley does a lot of dodging. It’s a long interview though, and I need to read it more closely. It is a fascinating look into the mind and philosophy of the TSA though. But it doesn’t build confidence in me.
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