Idiots and Airport Security
Hearing on the news and reading today that the TSA is going to allow scissors and tools on airplanes again. (link to article on Foxnews.com)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,177410,00.html
All I can say is its about f'n time.
Of course you've got the pussy-ass idiots who are playing the scaredy-cat game (quote from the article)
Rather then rape peoples right to privacy with illegal gestapo-type searches at airports before you can board a commercial airline. How about this for common sense.
1. We were safer from hijacking on September 12th 2001... Before ANY freedom raping security procedures were put in place at airports. We were safer because before Sept. 11th. We had a society of complacency. A society of "attrition". For years we had been told by news media and law enforcement to "comply" to "not try to be a hero".
For years we had seen terroristst that only wanted hostages. We had been lulled into a belief that if you just 'do what they want' noone gets hurt, and they get their television time, and then you get to go home.
There was an awakening on Sept 11th. In fact that awakening started on Flight 93. The only hijacked flight to NOT hit its intended target. The people on that flight were made aware by cell phones etc what happened to the other planes, and the people on that flight decided it was time to be hero's (actually they just probably wanted to live) and try to take back the plane. "Lets Roll"
I assert that no wack-job would ever make it anywhere near the cockpit of a plane anymore. They'd be jumped by passengers before they ever got close because our population got a rude awakening on September 11th.
We were made safer instantly by our knowledge, and our awareness of the new reality.
2. My second point is that if you DID want to take additional measures to protect the safety of flights. Confiscating tweezers and nail files and scissors from law-abiding citizens is a pathetic feel-good-accomplish-nothing measure. REAL security would be to put locks on the cockpit doors. And to my knowledge, this has been done.
3. Pilots with guns. Trained to use them. I don't think this needs any explanation.
So there you have it. We CAN be as safe as we possibly can be (without taking away civil liberties) because of our new awareness, and because of taking common sense measures that in no way encroach on civil liberties.
It doesn't take a 1.5 billion dollar a year tax on air travel... It doesn't take freedom infringing body searches at airports... It doesn't take the lost productivity and loss of convenience of air travel for millions of people who waste HOURS and HOURS of their time standing in security lines over the course of a year.
It just takes a little common sense. So to the idiots who are crying about screwdrivers and scissors and nail files being allowed on plains again. Get your head out of your ass.
And to whomever initiated this more common sense move at the TSA or wherever. Its about time. Good start...
fhl
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,177410,00.html
All I can say is its about f'n time.
Of course you've got the pussy-ass idiots who are playing the scaredy-cat game (quote from the article)
"On Sept. 11, we witnessed the devastation and death that can be perpetrated onboard a plane with commonly-used items like boxcutters, and TSA wisely took action to ban such sharp objects. Now is not the time to overturn this ban, since we know that Al Qaeda continues to put passenger plans near the top of its terrorist target list,"
Rather then rape peoples right to privacy with illegal gestapo-type searches at airports before you can board a commercial airline. How about this for common sense.
1. We were safer from hijacking on September 12th 2001... Before ANY freedom raping security procedures were put in place at airports. We were safer because before Sept. 11th. We had a society of complacency. A society of "attrition". For years we had been told by news media and law enforcement to "comply" to "not try to be a hero".
For years we had seen terroristst that only wanted hostages. We had been lulled into a belief that if you just 'do what they want' noone gets hurt, and they get their television time, and then you get to go home.
There was an awakening on Sept 11th. In fact that awakening started on Flight 93. The only hijacked flight to NOT hit its intended target. The people on that flight were made aware by cell phones etc what happened to the other planes, and the people on that flight decided it was time to be hero's (actually they just probably wanted to live) and try to take back the plane. "Lets Roll"
I assert that no wack-job would ever make it anywhere near the cockpit of a plane anymore. They'd be jumped by passengers before they ever got close because our population got a rude awakening on September 11th.
We were made safer instantly by our knowledge, and our awareness of the new reality.
2. My second point is that if you DID want to take additional measures to protect the safety of flights. Confiscating tweezers and nail files and scissors from law-abiding citizens is a pathetic feel-good-accomplish-nothing measure. REAL security would be to put locks on the cockpit doors. And to my knowledge, this has been done.
3. Pilots with guns. Trained to use them. I don't think this needs any explanation.
So there you have it. We CAN be as safe as we possibly can be (without taking away civil liberties) because of our new awareness, and because of taking common sense measures that in no way encroach on civil liberties.
It doesn't take a 1.5 billion dollar a year tax on air travel... It doesn't take freedom infringing body searches at airports... It doesn't take the lost productivity and loss of convenience of air travel for millions of people who waste HOURS and HOURS of their time standing in security lines over the course of a year.
It just takes a little common sense. So to the idiots who are crying about screwdrivers and scissors and nail files being allowed on plains again. Get your head out of your ass.
And to whomever initiated this more common sense move at the TSA or wherever. Its about time. Good start...
fhl
posted by N1K | 8:01 AM
2 Comments:
Agreed! It's about time.
n1k, you've made some great points here. and being in this business, i agree with you about 99%. until we get to the pilots and guns part.
the single dumbest thing i've ever heard of is knowingly giving a pilot a gun for use in an airplane. in my opinion, that's what FAMs are for. unfortunately, they can't be on each flight, but they typically are on all international flights and flights to selected airports (reagan, dulles, jfk, etc.).
there are places for firearms, but a cockpit simply isn't one of them.
i know several pilots and none of them would sign up for those 'classes'. their line of thinking, which i happen to agree with entirely, is that they'd rather spend their time safely maneuvering the aircraft from point A to B instead of getting into a fire-fight with a would-be attacker.
and you did mention that the passengers would most likely take care of such a situation before it escalated to that point. in fact, a passenger on a southwest airlines 737 was killed by other passengers when he flipped out and started kicking at the cockpit door. and that was before 9/11.
i'm all for armored cockpit doors, or even the extreme that the israeli airlines have instituted- adding a bullet-resistant bulkhead between the cabin and the cockpit and installing another external door for flightcrew access.
the next plane with an issue won't be an on-board attack- a stinger missile (twa800.com for more information) will do that job nicely. unfortunately, until something like this happens, there won't be any demand to protect against it.
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