A placating bone: A push to go private.....

[Pudfark]

Here ya go...just a little proof that there is no shortage of idiots and thieves in either party, let's pick on a Republican, for a change.......

Congressman Seeks to Ditch TSA for Private Firms, Some of Them Campaign Donors

Seeking to capitalize on the growing furor over passenger patdowns, a powerful Florida congressman is pushing for airports to consider ditching TSA agents altogether in favor of private contractors -- a proposal that the Transportation Security Administration conditionally supports.
But Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., a longtime critic of the TSA, counts among his campaign contributors some of the companies that might take the TSA's place. In the past 13 years, he has received almost $81,000 in campaign donations from political action committees and executives connected to some of the private contractors already at 16 U.S. airports.
Mica's spokesman says those contributions have never influenced his decision-making. As the ranking Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Mica is expected to lead the panel once the new Congress convenes in January.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/11/19/ai ... z15kmaNSbS

This is the kind of crap that we all have to be vigilant in preventing....Dangerous, Thieving Idiots.

The last four years of my career were in Airport Security/Policing. My wife has a background in the same thing, 14 years worth. Before and shortly after 9-11-01 all screening was done by private contractors. The contractors paid the "screeners", minimum wage. Despite, the low wage, the "screeners" did a pretty damn good job within the rules and regulations that they were given. I watched/observed the TSA take over this task after 9-11. It was a complete and dangerous clusterfeck for the next two years. I saw shit that was unimaginable. I saw it covered up. Things, I never saw/observed when the private contractors were involved.

The point I am making is this.....It takes a minimum of a couple of years to train "screeners", supervisors and construct/create a workable safe system, that is accountable. To go back to "square one" is unthinkable, dangerous to all and a complete waste of time and money.

This douche bag Congressman is willing to jeopardize our Nations Security/Air Travel to compensate his cronies.....That is treasonous in my opinion.

I am no fan of the TSA. I have good reasons. They are, however, the only trained force we have in Airport "Screening"......There is no way, a private company can do it better, now.

Here is a little something else...that oughta sicken you.....
"The TSA, meanwhile, is not opposed to calls for privatizing airport security."
WTF? Nine years ago, they took a lot of peoples jobs, said they couldn't be trusted to do the work...Nine years later, they say they don't want the job, you can have it back....WTF?

Comments?

[callmeslick]

it's sort of a tough bind the TSA is in......on the one hand, the public will fry them if so much as a near-miss event of terror takes place. On the other, a lot of folks are impatient, and hair-trigger ready to bitch or worse, sue, over any little affront(or perceived affront). I figure, overall, they're doing a good a decent enough job, with a few bumps along the way as the rules change regularly. Still, it's a ripe climate for political exploitation, and the guy cited by you is doing just that. Sadly, our national politics has come to this level far too frequently.......it's more important to exploit peoples fears and unhappiness than to try and harness their cooperation and optimism.

[ruggbutt]

I'd bitch if someone insisted on touching my kid's junk.

[callmeslick]

I'd bitch if someone insisted on touching my kid's junk.

you say that now, but what happens when some 'kid' walks onto a Airbus with a couple hundred grams of powdered explosives? Like I said, a real tough bind for anyone charged with a zero-failure tolerance task of keeping the skies safe.

[ruggbutt]

Yes, lets give up all our rights and freedoms cuz you and the rest of your east coast douche ilk are scared. Cracking down on illegal immigration, visas, permits and green cards would be a good start. There are hand held sniffers that can smell explosives. Or do you think that when you're taking your shoes off at the airport they're just making sure that you don't have athletes foot?

[Pudfark]

I'd bitch if someone insisted on touching my kid's junk.

you say that now, but what happens when some 'kid' walks onto a Airbus with a couple hundred grams of powdered explosives? Like I said, a real tough bind for anyone charged with a zero-failure tolerance task of keeping the skies safe.

I see your point, Slick and in my opinion it isn't wrong. I advocate, a tiered system, along with profiling, the exact same system that Israel has used successfully for the last 40 years, combine that with most of the current technology and a large dose of common sense and a workable/tolerable solution is achieved. It is totally understood by me, that a certain type/group of people are going to warrant more attention than others. I agree that this isn't fair. However, it is undeniably safer and more expedient.

There is far more here to "chew on" than folks getting their nuts nudged or their tits tweaked....or peeked. What about the "political corruption"? What about the administrative corruption in the TSA or Home Land Security Administration? Comments on that?

[fatman]

I'd bitch if someone insisted on touching my kid's junk.

Did you see the pat down of the 3 year old boy last week, it was pretty fucked up if the dude didnt have a badge it would be jail time

[callmeslick]

Yes, lets give up all our rights and freedoms cuz you and the rest of your east coast douche ilk are scared. Cracking down on illegal immigration, visas, permits and green cards would be a good start. There are hand held sniffers that can smell explosives. Or do you think that when you're taking your shoes off at the airport they're just making sure that you don't have athletes foot?

dude, I've said here since 2001 that we WAY overreact to terrorism, because that is how terrrorism succeeds. Look at yourownself, you're ready to exhort war against all Muslims. Scared? Not in the least, but I am VERY aware of the politics of this thing, and TSA answers to politicians.