windwalker

More brew haha about lighters/matches

USA today

From the article " The TSA is planning to extend the restriction to all lighters and matches in a rule that will be announced in the next week or two and take effect after a 30- to 45-day education campaign."

uve vill read ze manual and march in ze steps or we vill re-educate you.

more from the article
" Dorgan said lighters and matches are real threats to aircraft, noting that the FBI has warned that terrorists want to use dolls stuffed with incendiary devices as a possible bomb on a plane."

Next up on the no-fly list-DOLLS, remember you read it hear first.

and the real reason behind this
"The policy could force airports to halt smoking in restaurants and lounges located beyond checkpoints."

Dresden

When dolls are outlawed, only outlaws will have dolls. . . .

The only thing more dangerous to American liberty than the DHS is the Congress. What boobs! Remember our president and his cronies have brought us the shoe carnival, the war in Iraq and brinksmanship that may lead Iran or North Korea to turn over a nuclear weapon to terrorists who would use it inside our country.

But, hey, lighters and matches will bring down airplanes if they are not banned. If it saves only one life, its worth it . . . NOT!

studentff

Congress did not outlaw matches. Outlawing butane lighters was stupid enough, but they did not outlaw matches.

If TSA decides to ban matches, then TSA deserves our wrath for the stupidity of the policy and the problems it will cause. Just like TSA deserves our wrath for the shoe carnival (not mandated by congress), silly secondary policies, nail scissors ban, etc.

red456

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6975474/

L-1011

I understand your comment as if you questioned the TSA involvement here. The law ban butane lighters only, the administration (read DHS) decided to take it two steps further:

eyecue

"I understand that you dont write back to people outside your state. That is okay. I just wanted to comment on your ammendment to the intelligence reform bill about lighters on airplanes. This is without a doubt one of the dumbest laws enacted. By adding this law, you have for all intents and purposes, tasked the TSA with trying to find a needle in a haystack! They are not detectable on peoples person. The TSA catches enough grief for missing things that are a true threat to aviation security. Now you have added another item that is going to be routinely missed by screeners and this will bring further discredit on the agency. You have also added dilution to the screening process because there is one more thing that has to be looked for when there are other things that are more important. Finally you are saying with this ammendment that TSA might miss a potential explosive so lets make it impossible to ignite that explosive. You have in effect created an enigma and given no credit to TSA and their ability to find IED's. A much more realistic approach is the electric power sources that are carried on airplanes daily (batteries.) So now you have created a boon for the concessions outside the airport secure area and also the disposable lighter companies. You have also made it very difficult for the employees that work in the airport secure areas that are smokers. You have in effect, created a hardship in the name of national security. I seriously doubt that any thought or research went into this law! "

L-1011

Nice!

Cholula

Good job, eyecue!! I need to get around to doing the same myself.

Maine2LA

And I wonder how these Congresspeople get to be Congresspeople? Follow that trail and you'll find the real boobs.

Carlin says it best at:

http://www.citrano.com/politicians.mp3

(some adult language)

janey

Well done, eyecue.

Might I suggest that others who intend to write to Senators Dorgan and Conrad may also wish to send copies to their own representatives (at the very least).

Link to addresses:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contac...m.cfm?State=ND

studentff

^ eyecue. I still need to do the same; it's on my list.

My "30- 45-day education campaign re: the lighter and match? ban:"

Inconsistency is the only consisetency in TSA policy implementation. Even if we are lucky enough that TSA just says it will catch lighters/matches when they see them (but not dump bags or go fishing for them), some stations will be overzealous just like some stations run a shoe carnival. Some screeners, supervisors, and FSDs will want 100% detection and treat a lighter/match like it's the same threat as a loaded gun.

Therefore no matter what we will have:

Passengers arrested/fined for accidentally having a lighter. MSY-MSP has already said MSP wants to turn people over to the cops on their first offense.

Overzealous airports that do bag dumps on everyone, secondary anyone who smells of smoke, pat down everyone all over their body even in the most sensitive areas looking for a single match.

Terminal evacuations after discovering a single lighter/match. Public will probably never hear the real reason for most of the evacuations.

These two senators, and the people at TSA who want to include matches, should be sent on a flight home with a UX to UX connection in ORD in the F gates in the late evening in the middle of a major snowstorm. Then they should be fired.

Japhydog

Great job, eyecue!

Wally Bird

Do these dolts ever get on an airplane ? When was the last time passengers just sat there and watched somebody light a match ?

Telfes

"In the long run every government is the exact symbol of its people, with their wisdom and unwisdom."
- Thomas Carlyle

PatrickHenry1775

But folks, please check your spelling in your notes, e-mails, and letters. There is only one "m" in first syllable of amendment. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation can be the difference between someone in authority reading and acting on the thoughts expressed in the writing or the document being ignored.