Heard briefly this a.m.: Skeletor has said there will be a review of screening procedures at airports, apparently (I say "apparently" as the blurb I heard was not clear on this) triggered by many complaints
received.

I found a link:


review of screening

If a person isn't cleared into the nation's airspace by aviation authorities, "you will not make it into the U.S. without being greeted by a couple of F-16s," he said.

Right. This worked so well during the heyday of the war on drugs that no drug planes ever got into the country.

This sounds like a plan hatched by a couple of 12 year olds sitting in the basement. Unbelievable.

Pretty much, Chertoff is right up with Hawley in sense.


Anyone else love how he says, "Well I'm gonna do something, but I'm not going to tell you, cause I'm not sure I'm gonna do it.". ..... ..huh?

Being an inside-the Beltway'er for way too long, I always look for the hidden agenda, because Chertoff wouldn't have thought of this on his own and he has no apparent motivation for reviewing TSA practices and policies.

He's unemployed next Jan 20th at noon EST, so he's certainly not doing this to increase his stature within the Administration or impress Congress or the American public. Perhaps he's embarrassed by the amount of bashing the TSA is taking on the blog (Maybe he never wanted to start the blog in the first place?) and by the poor performance of his senior leadership's attempts at explanations (Francine the Lawyer and Kippie himself) of their policies that were either wrong or convoluted.

But, the most fundamental question I have is: Why is Chertoff making this pronouncement and not Kippie???

FliesWay2Much - Maybe Chertoff is tired of getting ripped on about TSA (and the fact it ate up 15% of the DHS budget this year), and he really has no clue what is going on. Perhaps he's listened to Kip about all this TSA crap, and is just fed up. This is him calling out Kip and saying he's got 30 days to review and explain this ish, or else, Chertoff doesn't know what he'll do. Now he has 30 days to figure that out.

I'd agree that he has no clue what's going on in his department. I follow most of the Congressional hearings pretty closely and I haven't noticed Chertoff taking much TSA-bashing -- at least more than anything else in his portfolio. If he's looking to start doing other things he hasn't done, such as cargo screening or port security, at the expense of the TSA (i.e.: making the TSA the bill-payer), he certainly didn't have to go public about it.

If he's fed up with Kippie, this is best handled internally. Going public with an internal issue is seen as a sign of weakness. For a guy like Chertoff, who is so full of testosterone that it oozes, I would think that this violates his prime directive.

'Still scratching my head...

True, but if Chertoff does this, and things magically improve he can take credit for the improvements at TSA and show what a leader he is at DHS. He gets things done. I'm just throwing out hypotheticals, odd move.
Or maybe there's been strife between the two, and he's using the media to motivate him.

Plus the whole F-16 thing at the end.

I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt here.

Maybe, just maybe, they (Chertoff AND Hawley) took the feedback in the blog and took it to heart. Or they were persuaded by others to do the "review."

Regardless, it's a start.

My guess is that Chertoff is going to position himself as taking the credit for "no terror attacks since 9/11" while placing all the negative press on Hawley or others.

I never said "Chertoff is an idiot"

Classic political move.

Reminder: election coming up, and party in executive power is girding for a real battle. This is a classic party-in-power move to try and gain political benefit.

IMHO (inside the beltway).

But how many times has it been said in this forum that no pol would want to seem soft on security? Doesn't make sense for the Republicans, especially since McCain wants to stay in Iraq for another century.

The chances of that disgusting piece of Communist filth named Chertoff reducing travelers' harassment in any meaningful way is approximately zero.

He's an arrogant piece of human garbage.

Not soft, but easing the traveler's pain. This could all be a stunt as Chertoff also said:

Time honored tactic: make people think you're easing things.....

I'd guess that some of the more stupid stuff goes away, like the liquid nonsense. That could be touted as easing our pain, with recognition that the liquid nonsense didn't add much to the process.

Skeletor doesn't have a chance in hell of getting anything job-wise from a Democratic Administration, except maybe cleaning toilets in the Executive Office Building.

What is he posturing for? He is unemployed in a few months (and not a moment too soon), and will likely end up working as a Professor teaching a class on the benefits of Totalitarian Police States or writing for a fascist neo-con 'think tank' while licking Ann Coulter's toes. Why does he care about his failed screening procedures now?

Does anyone NOT think that 'updated screening procedures' will translate into anything less than more suffering and hell for US at the airport checkpoint?

First, I should head down to South Florida and give you a hearty punch in the groin for the mental picture of Chertoff and Coulter's toes.

Second, I'm open to waiting and seeing what Chertoff does. He's got major problems on his hands with the TSA. Not only in the public's eyes, but within the rank and file.

A lot of them work split shifts, including part-timers. And, they have got to know about the feeling among many of them, as pointed out in this forum, about the skepticism about the "security" procedures in place.

Again, I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt to Chertoff and Hawley. But I don't think our frustrations are their chief concern. I think it probably has more to do with saving their own bacon, and stop the 25% staff turnover. As pointed out earlier, it will be positioned to the traveler's benefit, but you know what they say about knowing how to tell when a politician is lying.....