TSA officials blame passenger for their incompetence
There was a security breach at Lindbergh Airport in San Diego earlier today (hat tip - reader Mark). A passenger had a bag with liquids in excess of security allowances. The bag also contained a shoe, apparently with a built-in pedometer, which TSA screeners wanted to examine further. But the TSA goofs lost track of the bag and the passenger–causing massive traffic delays:
At least 20 flights were delayed at Lindbergh Field Wednesday morning because of a security breach at Terminal 2.
The terminal was closed at 9 a.m. and was reopened about two hours later but several flights were held from taking off and landing, airport spokeswoman Sharie Shipley said.
The breach happened after a passenger put a bag on the conveyor belt to have it screened and a security officer wanted to further inspect it, but lost track of the bag, said Nico Melendez, spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration.
The bag appeared to have exceeded the requirements governing the amount of liquids that can be carried. Also in the bag was a tennis shoe that appeared to have a built-in pedometer device, Melendez said.
Security officers tried to find the passenger and the bag but they did not have a good description of the person and didn’t know the destination of the bag.
Officials decided to evacuate several hundred travelers in the terminal and have them go through security once again, Melendez said.
The security breach caused delays for flights on U.S. Airways, America West, Continental, and Delta.
Ok, here’s your punchline. Instead of taking responsibility for screwing up and losing sight of the bag and the passenger, what does TSA do? Yeah, that’s right. The agency blames the damned passenger:
“If this passenger didn’t have those liquids, none of this would have happened,” Melendez said.
Your Transporation (In)security Administration hard at work…avoiding responsibility, deflecting blame, disrupting air travel, and endangering lives instead of protecting them.
As my TSA sources like to joke about their bosses: TSA stands for “Those Silly Asses.”
“Thousands Standing Around.”
“Taking Scissors Away.”
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Categories: Airline Security
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I have many horror stories as I travel to Thailand frequently. But the horror is in the US system not other country’s. Return through LA I had to rescreen and as my bag went through the scanner the young black girl was genuinely trying to screen the bag but her younger black supervisor was be-bopin and distracting her talking about the rap concert he was at the previous night. She had to keep running the bag through because of him! Scarey! But not as much on a more recent trip coming through gate E-14 Dallas Fort Worth when there was a burqua clad person in a non-standard TSA uniform (I guess accomodations have to be made) screening people. That really gave me a sense of security knowing that our lettuce head Secretary of HS is aware of all this. There are many more sad examples. It is disheartening. The level of incompetence from top to bottom is inconceivable.
Is there a more incompetent bunch than these TSA clowns?
This quote from the director of security at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel is instructive:
Our “security methodology” sucks because we insist on pretending that little old ladies or toddlers with pacifiers are threats. While not concentrating exclusively on Muslim males, perhaps we could spend more time looking closely at people who would actually pose a threat.
Yes, it’s unfair. But in life or death situations, give me unfair over dead thank you.
One other interesting tidbit from that article.
As the article makes clear, it’s not nationality, ethnicity, or religion that a trained security person looks for. It’s other “tells” that something may be up that they are trained to spot.
Maybe if they get good at it, we can keep our shoes on…
Hey Michelle from the “it’s not related to terrorism file” http://cbs11tv.com/topstories/local_story_199190248.html
Saturday the TSA screener informed me that I could not take Play-Doh in my carry-on bag in 5 oz cans; Play-Doh must be in cans of 3 oz or smaller and fit in the baggie with my shampoo. Larger quantities must be checked.
OK, no problem.
After telling me this, she sent me through–with all 20 oz of Play-Doh. Didn’t even open the cans.
She did this after she sent through a young man of Arab descent carrying two 6 oz. bottles of “Geoffrey Beene” cologne. Didn’t even open the bottles.
Neither of us should have gotten through with our banned substances. The screeners were annoyed that we slowed the line down but otherwise didn’t care.
They Slow Airlines
Boston comes to mind. I don’t want to diss them too badly, however, as they are a reliable ally in the global war on Lite-Brites.
No, these people will NEVER get good at it. Remember they are CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT employees. From my observation, the only government employees that would have a decent chance at getting good at it might be the US ARMED FORCES. Sadly, we civilians would balk at being screened by our military. Although, personally, I would feel safer:)
“If this passenger didn’t have those liquids, none of this would have happened,” Melendez said.
Sure. And if the passenger had decided to DRIVE instead of fly, and if the TSA were staffed by people trained in security procedures vs incompetent clock punchers, this wouldn’t have happened.
This is the Sec of Trans.
http://www.dot.gov/bios/peters.htm
Morons in charge of idiot employees. It has come to the point that we are ruled by people that may be dumber than than the economically active general population. They equate their abuse of power and petty serfdoms with intelligence.
Airport security. In a word? A JOKE. Seton Motley, a guest on tonight’s radio program, dubbed it the “Airport Toiletries Empowerment Act”.
Going through Orlando security, my bag was pulled for inspection. Oh-oh. Cripes. Did they see the knife I packed? the scissors? the corkscrew?
Naw… I had neglected to remove my toiletries and put them in the bin along with my shoes (anyone ever wonder they might get athletes foot as we pad around barefooted on rubber mats and carpet that thousands of feet have walked on each day?).
Making matters worse, airport rules require we pack no more than 3 ounces of any allowable liquid, and those little jars and bottles must be sealed in a see-through ziplock bag. Guess what. I broke the rule. I included a two-thirds used up tube of hair gel (gasp!) and a pressurized can of mousse, total weight 6.5 ounces.
The TSA agent patiently explained as if to a child that I had a choice. I could voluntarily relinquish the illicit items, or I could retain them and be escorted by an agent out of the secure area. What I chose to do at that point would be my decision — check the bag with the offending items inside was one of the options. “Do you understand, ma’am? I’m not confiscating these items. It is YOUR choice. Do you understand?”
He had me cold. I was guilty as charged. I gave up the items - total worth about $3, slipped back into my sandals, grabbed my bags and went on my way, thanking lucky stars I didn’t pack my favorite $60 5-0z bottle of fragrance.
The knife, the corkscrew and the scissors? No prob. Airport security? Not so much.
http://radiopatriot.blogspot.com/2007/05/from-lebanon-with-love.html
This very thing has been plaguing my mind ever since my wife began planning a trip for us and our 4-month old daughter. I have visions of us being strip-searched as we try to prove that what is in the baby bottles is water and that the whitish powder we are carrying is indeed formula mix, while two suspicious-looking males smelling of cordite skate on past security.
I can see the TSA quote now: “If she had had an abortion, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Terrorizing Seniors Always
Totally Sh**ty A****les
Taking Sippycups Away
Tenfold Stupider than Anyone-else
Taxpayer Subsidised Ass-clowns
the person made it through the checkpoint, luggage in tow, he/she must have figured that it was all cool and headed to their flight..
and it’s not the TSA’s fault?
things to make your head explode..
They Say Anything
Obviously you people will believe anything, if you believe this is true. I mean, these are GOVERNMENT WORKERS we’re talking about. The same GOVERNMENT WORKERS that my pal and idol Mikey Moore has convinced me will do a great job performing open heart surgery and prescribing chemotherapy.
I mean, if it wasn’t for all of those stupid sick people, I’m sure government controlled health care would work flawlessly.
And, btw, if it wasn’t for all of you idiots driving on our roads, flying our friendly skies, and just generally using our infrastructure: our bridges wouldn’t be falling down, our 80 year old steam lines wouldn’t be bursting, our airports would be secure, etc.
Seriously, at what point are going to accept that the government is the SOLUTION? The PROBLEM is the citizens, evidently…
Federal employees have unions and they have the buddy system to protect them from being fired and to protect them from having competent people hired from outside the government. MANY Federal government job postings forbid non-government candidates. It’s just plain wrong and we need to wrest control of our government from the bureaucrats. Complain to Congress about these points and we may be able to get better people in government.
And the winner is:
The TSA is the reason, unless there’s a death in the family, I don’t fly.
Not surprised by the story. The random TSA lunacy picture though is pricless. Probably a WWII vet that guy is scanning. Disgusting.
I’ve mentioned this before, but my friend brought a bunch of boxcutters onto a plane two months after 9/11. Airline security is a joke. Dedicated terrorists will always be a step ahead anyways.
If you want an example of why the American people are beginning to think that Iraq is wrong and that we are spinning our wheels in the “war on terror”, look no further than airport security. I believe that as the American people look at this bumbling group of clowns in their airports that they then transfer that image to the stalled efforts in Iraq and the comparison results in an overall impression that this administration is a joke.
As to the “war on terror”, what does that mean. Did we declare a war on the atomic bomb in the 60’s. That is the same thing and it is subconsciously making people uneasy about what we are doing. If Bush wants to re-establish at least a portion of credibility then he needs to drop this phrase and make a formal declaration of war on either Islam or those countries that are allowing their citizens to harm us. As he uses the phrase and applies it to the governments approach to the average American citizen, it makes all of us enemy combatants.
The Fourth Amendment is clear, it sates that we are not subject to search and seizure. As I understand this, that makes the Arab, Muslim definitely subject to search as it is “reasonable”. To make everyone subject to this is unreasonable. Now our founding fathers knew of terrorism and they still incorporated this into our basic rights. The fact that our government is ignoring this and other rights will ultimately produce other groups that are interested in changing our government by force, only they will be Anglo-Saxon and much more dangerous than what we currently face.
As to those of you who feel that airport security is doing something worth while, please think again. This is a basic sham. Anyone who desires to do harm can do so with little effort. So as you are going through the invasive, illegal, degrading process think that it is only for the benefit of mentally challenged citizens that want to feel our government is “doing something” when in fact it is doing little.
One last thought. Several studies have been done and none have shownn that you can make a bomb on an airplane using liquids.
My answer. Restrict the movement of Muslims until they show some responsiblity for their religion and its acceptance of violence. Tell countries that allow their citizens to cause us harm that we will immediately retaliate with excessive, indiscriminate force. Begin a process of vetting Muslims in our country to eliminate a home grown threat. We might not make friends of Arabs and Muslims but as it is we are making enemies among ourselves.
This Arab would be ecstatic if there was a policy that targeted the Islamic. I am not offended. Target the real enemy. It is the relgion of terror, Islam, not the race Arab, I am a Christian. No offense to handling the process appropriately.
I have always liked Taking Stupidity to new Altitudes.
I have a better idea for the TSA …
I think they should hire every wounded serviceman and woman as screeners so that every time someone goes through the airport security they are reminded of those that are risking their lives daily to give us the right to live and travel freely in this country … and made to realize that if we lose in this war against radical islam that they are next on the AQ list to be exterminated …
I think we would all be more comfortable with wounded heros at the airports than some of the dolts they have there now …
TSA = Travel Suppression Agency
DesertLover,
Please tell me exactly how even wounded service men are going to make an airplane secure. I really would like to know. Besides the inability of screeners of any kind to be effective, you still have to concept of the government rubbing the Constitution in our faces.
I feel that one of the reasons that we need to stop this idiotic security concept is that it sends a message to terrorist that they are winning (we are scared to death) and that it does absolutely nothing to correct the real problem which is eliminating the enemy.
davidcaskey in #26
I have yet to see anyone around the screening equipment itself that could physically stop anyone at that point in the line …
the only real line of defense is the people at the point where you exit the screening area and actually enter the concourses … they are the only ones that look like they could handle any level of a physical disturbance …
Read some of the earlier posts … someone mentioned having a screener that was in a Bourqah (not sure of spelling) …
would that make you feel better than a military veteran? … (American Legion, VFW, DAV, or any of the others)
which would you feel was being more observant and conscientious at doing their job? …
a military vet or a person (can’t even be sure it is a female - common terrorist escape tactic in Iraq ) in a head to toe covering? …
guess I simply don’t mind whatever steps are taken to attempt to prevent something from happening … security sometimes requires that we sacrifice a little something in our daily lives … be it food rationing, gasoline rationing, mail censorship, (all of which were done in WWII) or passenger screening (today) …
Besides … look at the bright side … at least I don’t have to go through being already be on the plane and have them come on and say they are holding the flight for some idiot that just showed up at the ticket counter … and that used to happen a lot … now they don’t hold the flights for the latecomers … so unless you are on Jet Blue sitting on the tarmac you are probably going to be at least somewhat close to on time taking off …
safe and secure are terms that mean something different to each and every person … Not saying the vets would make it any safer in the minds of 100% of the passengers … just think they would be more dedicated at doing their job …
too many people just want to push these vets off the radar screen so they don’t have to be reminded of what sacrifices are made to give them their freedom …
I say … remind them every day
Overheard at TSA Headquarters: “If it wasn’t for these damn passengers trying to fly, none of this would have happened.”
Did anyone ever really expect that this would be anything other than a jobs program for minimally skilled, minimally motivated Democrat constituents?
Tired Stupid Angry
Flying from Khanabad to Tashkent for R&R, security advised me “We had a problem”. I left my they’ll-never-take-me-alive knife in my storage bag.
Yak-40s don’t have below deck storage. Somehow 2,000 soom solve “the problem”. I wonder how much it would have cost for dynamite.
Germany was very efficent and fast.
As usual with the USA EEO employees always seemed to have a grudge or an attack of slowidiss…
DesertLover,
What does it take for you to understand that the screening process does not in any way secure the plane. So who cares if the screener is military or even Muslim? They are not doing a thing!!
People are beginning to be sick and tired of the rights we are losing in the name of security especially when that security is usless. Ultimately Americans will begin to fight back. As we don’t seem to be able to communicate with Washington by votes this is going to take the form of violence.
Our government needs to stop this idioicity and make the hard, politically incorrect decisions that will ultimately stop the Muslim terrorist. We will need to eliminate their rights but that is better than even the minor inconvience that we now face.
I can remember times when you did not have any security at all around a plane. We can return to that point. Our risk of something happening at those times was just as great as now.
Terrorists Slip Around
Transportation Shall Annoy
Try Strangling Airlines
Typical Stagnating Agency
… and my fave …
Terrorism’s ‘Slapstick Award’
I think that pretty much describes the TSA.
“If Woody had gone right to the police, none of this would ever had happened.”
“Ah shut up”.
Transportaion Security Abomination
On July 18th, 2007 at 11:08 pm, hawkeye54 said:
As the article makes clear, it’s not nationality, ethnicity, or religion that a trained security person looks for. It’s other “tells” that something may be up that they are trained to spot.
Maybe if they get good at it, we can keep our shoes on…
No, these people will NEVER get good at it. Remember they are CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT employees. From my observation, the only government employees that would have a decent chance at getting good at it might be the US ARMED FORCES. Sadly, we civilians would balk at being screened by our military. Although, personally, I would feel safer:)
…a lot of people that work for TSA at the airports are former military. Many have formal training in explosives, security and the like. I hope that makes you ….”feel”…safe.
Rio
Semper Fi!