Police State: Family Misses Flight After TSA Gives Pat-Down To 7-Year-Old Daughter...

[uscitizen]

Get your own private plane.

 

[RoadVirus]

The TSA = the real terrorist threat of the airline industry

 

[MikeK]

How odd....I am of the Left and I think Buchanan was our worst president, not Bush. But here you say I refer to Bush as our worst President.

What's it like, telling others what they think and say?

Based on what I've read about Buchanan I'd have to say history agrees with you. But my personal assessment of Presidential performance is measured in accordance with contemporary rather than historical standards and academic appraisal.

I was born during the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Administration. My personal experience and observations hold that FDR was among this Nation's best Presidents while George W. Bush, the first and only appointed President, was the very worst. And while Buchanan was plainly incompetent and driven by personal biases and ambition rather than concern for what was best for the Country, Bush undoubtedly is an arrogant criminal elitist who if properly investigated and correctly prosecuted would spend the rest of his life in prison along with the principal members of his disgracefully corrupt administration.

 

[LoneLaugher]

Nutters had a miraculous change of heart after the election of 2008. Until those results were in, big brother was A-fuckin' OK. What a bunch of lying assholes.

Liberals were the loudest voices AGAINST the "Patriot Act". The politicizing of our national security infrastructure is a pile of shit left to us by the fuckers YOU voted for.

Instead of coming here crying about how liberals want to control you............why not stop voting based on fear.

 

[Lovebears65]

I refuse to fly unless its an emergency because of the TSA tactics. What I mean about emergency a life and death situation like a family member is on their death bed before I will fly.

 

[Seawytch]

All Americans should boycott Air Travel until this is stopped.

A 7yr. old girl with cerebral palsy, an Al Qaeda Terrorist? My God, get it together Big Brother. What a mess.

Not that I agree with what happened, but who is to say that they suspected the girl? Perhaps, the terrorists could be the parents who believe that their daughter would avoid a pat down so they planted the device on her rather than tried to carry it aboard themselves? Obviously that is not the case here, but who is to say it is impossible.

It isn't impossible. In fact, it is not only possible, but happens pretty regularly. Usually it isn't weapons, but I recall a story from my TSA days where a weapon was hidden in the child's stuffed toy.

I read the OP but have not yet read the full article. How early did they arrive for the flight? I seem to recall being told to arrive at least two hours early. How early was this family?

That was one of the first things that struck me too...that a pat down would make them miss their plane. They didn't plan well...which I get, being a parent, but then to blame it on someone else...

One more thing, we all, me included, bitch about the hassle of getting through security at airports, but what would most of us say if something terrible were to happen again? I suspect many of us bitching would blame airport security. And then what will we have to go through?

Immie

We'd have to go through more money thrown at Michael Chertoff.

 

[Inthemiddle]

A 7yr. old girl with cerebral palsy, an Al Qaeda Terrorist? My God, get it together Big Brother. What a mess.

Would you put it past Al Qaeda?

 

[Inthemiddle]

So I think Janet Napolitano should give some thought to replacing the offensively authoritarian one-size-fits-all system of airport security with the decidedly more sensible, and probably more effective, Israeli method.

I have no desire to see our government support or endorse unadulterated prejudice. Forget the Israeli approach. What we need is to get the government to take a step back and privatize airport security, with government regulation instead of administration.

In my own job I very often have to deal with awkward and difficult situations that require a certain "firmness with a smile" toward clients. While it is often a difficult path to follow, it is entirely possible to do an adequate job of providing airport security, while also maintaining a customer service oriented approach. Privatize the whole thing, and let the market do it's thing to improve the quality of service.

 

[Seawytch]

So I think Janet Napolitano should give some thought to replacing the offensively authoritarian one-size-fits-all system of airport security with the decidedly more sensible, and probably more effective, Israeli method.

I have no desire to see our government support or endorse unadulterated prejudice. Forget the Israeli approach. What we need is to get the government to take a step back and privatize airport security, with government regulation instead of administration.

In my own job I very often have to deal with awkward and difficult situations that require a certain "firmness with a smile" toward clients. While it is often a difficult path to follow, it is entirely possible to do an adequate job of providing airport security, while also maintaining a customer service oriented approach. Privatize the whole thing, and let the market do it's thing to improve the quality of service.

Here are the dangers I see in privatization...and regulation (which we know the RW abhors) would be key:

Employees without thorough background checks done

Private companies beholden to the airlines...who only have an interest in getting as many people in the air as possible in the least amount of time...which would mean that "regulations" get ignored in favor of greater profits.

Fewer American jobs. Anybody remember who was doing private security before the TSA? A lot of them weren't US citizens.