Originally Posted by
TSORon
Your honesty is in question. As is mine often enough.
I'm not sure why you choose to dialogue with me, then, if you doubt my honesty. Again, I have never doubted yours. I believe you're honest. Honestly mistaken, perhaps, but definitely honest.
But back to the main debate ...
Originally Posted by
TSORon
It is dishonest to refuse to acknowledge that those facts have been made available. Not all of them, some are withheld because of national security, but enough.
"Enough" is a matter of judgment, not factual honesty. And as to whether or not "enough" facts have been made public ... I suspect we're going to have to agree to disagree.
Originally Posted by
TSORon
Some of those things had their roots in the 9/11 plot, most did not. All have been in response to specific threats though (with the possible exception of the BDO program), threats that we hear are still considered viable by terrorists around the world.
You skipped over my point. Too often, in these sorts of debates, when people complain about AIT, BDOs, etc., the default response of TSA supporters is "9/11 changed everything". As you affirm above, most of those things had nothing to do with 9/11 ... and it's dishonest for anyone to claim otherwise.
Originally Posted by
TSORon
But it sure would be nice to know that one can only be held responsible for their own actions, and not those of the folks with enough power to shift the blame. But again we are back to personal responsibility, and the fact that our nation is getting away from that concept. I suspect that the legal system has more to do with that than any other segment of our society.
People respond to genuine leadership when it's presented to them. It would be incredibly refreshing if TSA were to stand up and say "We can't possibly make airline travel 100% secure, but we're going to choose not to live in fear of incredibly unlikely events, either."
Maybe it wouldn't work. But I'm reminded of Churchill who told people shortly after being selected PM that he had nothing to offer them but "blood, toil, tears, and sweat". Great Britain seemed to do alright after that.