So your premise is that let anyone carry anything they like onto an airplane?

Maybe we shouldn't even bother checking boarding passes.

You're not getting an argument from me about that either.

I guess it depends on what you consider "enhanced" to mean.

It is an incontrovertible fact that lax gate security was NOT the cause of the 9/11 tragedy. It was a combination of poor investigative practices by the law enforcement community, poor sharing of intelligence information, and airline policies in place at the time that prevented airline crews from resisting a hijacking. The 9/11 hijackers took advantage of all three, and were successful.

All three of the above had absolutely nothing to do with the adequacy of gate security on and before 9/11. Ignoring this very basic set of facts, Congress and the Bush Administration overreacted and gave us TSA uder the premise that if we had TSA before 9/11, it would not have happened. That is a lie of monstrous proportions.

I've flown through at least 8 European airports so far this year. No nudeoscope, no shoe carnival, no barking clerks, no BDO's, no TDC with a magic eyepiece, yet amazingly, airplanes are not being hjijacked or otherwise attacked.

Tin foil? You haven't seen Mike's avatar over at Travel Underground, have you? :p:D

Yes, with the exception of weapons, explosives and incendiaries (and liquids are not a credible explosive aboard commercial aircraft).

Of course not; this is nothing more than theatre for the TSA, and revenue protection for the airlines.

The terrorists have one what? A cookie?

Do you really think that your crusade against TSA is making it harder for the terrorists? Actually, your suggestions about how to circumvent security is playing right into their hands.

Come up with an alternative to current security. According to you, it isn't that hard.

Do you really believe that the terrorists are that stupid? Do you even remember how long they prepared for the 9/11 attacks?

Your "anything for security" attitude plays right into the hands of the overbearing government officials who profit from creating the atmosphere of fear that they depend on.

What to do with the TSA short term-

1. Full accountability of TSA employees. A Citizen Review Board should be established to investigate allegations of screener abuse. Initiate a focus on customer service training for screeners, instead of barking and asking “Do you want to fly today?”


2. Stop the use and deployment of body scanning machines. They don't see into body cavities, under folds of flesh, or detect explosives. They are an intrusion into privacy and needlessly add to cumulative lifetime radiation doses, and there are no peer-reviewed studies that back up the government's claim they are safe.

Properly procured and administrated use of Explosive Trace Detection Portals (puffers) addresses the technical shortcomings of the body scanners, while at the same time are non-intrusive and pose no health risks. It’s unfortunate that the Chertoff Group and other lobbyists that profit from the deployment of body scanners have no interest in ETP technology that is being used in venues as varied as nuclear installations and the CN Tower in Toronto.

ETP, coupled with Walk Through Metal Detectors and x-ray of bags, is real security at the checkpoint, without the need for genital gropes.


3. End the War on Liquids. The exemptions make it pointless, and even if there was such a Magic Liquid™ that could be used to create a bomb airside without laboratory conditions if you just had enough of it, just send ten guys through the checkpoint with their Kippie Bags and combine it airside.


4. End the removal of shoes. The X-Ray machine cannot detect explosives, period.


5. Eliminate the gate screenings. The fact that this is being done in MCI, where each gate area pretty much has its own checkpoint to start with, is proof that this is nothing more than security theatre and workfare.


4. The wearing of metal “police” badges is stopped immediately, and replaced with the screener’s name and identification number that is plainly visible. Phase out the “police” uniform and replace it with something that reflects the fact that screeners have no law enforcement powers. Eliminate the TSA Honor Guard as there is no need for screeners to dress up in costumes and parade around. Stop trying to cash in on the respect that people that serve in the military have earned.


5. Get rid of the No Fly List. There’s no effective means of redress or oversight how the list is managed. If the people on these lists are so dangerous, arrest them.


6. Stop trying to encroach on privately owned aircraft and kill LASP dead in its tracks. The Inspector General has determined that private aircraft are not a threat. Personal Liberties — For the first time, the TSA’s regulatory activities would be extended to personal GA aircraft, historic and vintage aircraft, and operators, passengers, and pilots flying for personal and business use. As such, the LASP is a radical departure from anything the TSA has enacted to date. It would, in effect, require governmental review and authority before you could operate your own personal vehicle.


7. Stop the ID checks. The TSA has no need to know who I am or where I’m flying. This is nothing more than revenue protection on behalf of the airlines. The thought that I must “present my papers” to travel within the border of my own country is disgusting. Stop using the checkpoint as a dragnet. College kids with fake IDs, illegal aliens, or some common criminal wanted on a drug charge somewhere are not a threat to commercial aviation. We have other government agencies tasked for this.


8. End the mission creep. No more TSA appearances at sporting events, bus and train stations, or highways. Let the real law enforcement professionals tasked with these venues handle things without interference from the TSA. Why is the TSA showing up at thousands of non-airport venues every year when the own Red Team test score failures are "off the charts" according to Rep. Mica?


9. The junk science SPOT program gets the boot.


10. Stop any consideration of having screeners armed with firearms, or having any law enforcement powers. We hear of continuous cases where airport LEOs are the last line of defense against abuse by TSA screeners.



What to do with the TSA long term-

The TSA should become a part of the DOT. Actual screening should be done by private contractors with oversight by the DOT or FAA. Funny how we never heard the constant stories of mistreatment and harassment of PAX, organized rings of theft and general thuggery when this was being done by private sector firms.

Sorry, but anyone who believes that we need no security is living in a completely different universe. That is also a slap in the face to every military member who fought for your right to post your drivel on these blogs.

I believe we need a reasonable standard of security that is also accountable to the public that they serve.

The current level of fear-based molestation-enhanced, do-what-I-say-or-else security is truely a slap in the face to every military member who fought for your right to post your drivel on these blogs.

Get a grip, CB1111. :rolleyes:

I don't know where you're traveling to, but I'd say that most people I know who travel a lot (which is most of my friends and family) have ALL been singled out and haven't even set off alarms. Totally random. Like a girlfriend who two weeks ago was patted down in Phoenix ... while wearing a sun dress... yes, those morons patted her bare legs and arms...

If you're being truthful, you've merely been lucky. Your time is coming too.

Well, no and yes.

However, I have a question about the first question. Answer with logic rather than emotion. I have a concealed carry permit. This means that I have had instruction using my weapon and I have been trained in safety. I was tested in my ability to hit a target. There are several other states that have reciprocity agreements with mine. This means my CCP is valid in those states but I must know and submit to local laws.

If I were to travel from my jurisdiction to another where it is legal, what is it about me or my concealed firearm that makes me or it more dangerous just because it is on an airplane?

Who is advocating for "no" security?

Sorry, I call BS. There are no more HHMDs -- when is the last time anyone but the OP has seen a HHMD in a US airport?

--Jon

You won't get much disagreement from me on most of your points although I don't agree with your assessment of the no-fly list.

As far as long term, I think you are forgetting some of the thefts that happened pre-TSA. I remember regular theft of laptops from screening points. The reason there is more publicity about fewer actual incidents is because of more scrutiny and oversight, increased use of cameras and so forth, but don't delude yourself into thinking that everything was peachy keen in the pre-TSA days. JFK in the 80's was a free for all.

I'm also not sure that moving responsibility from one organization to another really would help - although getting it away from DHS may help.

I agree. Our TSO contributors have indicated that the HHMD are no longer in use [correct me if I am mistaken] and haven't been for some time now...

Also, it is an odd story about having a resolution on a zipper. Never seen or heard that one before, either.