I might actually start flying again

“End the TSA. Replace them with frangible ammo vending machines.”
— Bill St. Clair

Based on testing results, TSA missed 1,387 guns

I’m guessing they missed 95%.

TSA hits new record after confiscating 73 guns in one week from carry-on bags
“Unfortunately, these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent, which is why we talk about these finds,” the TSA’s Bob Burns said, according to the paper.

Oddly enough, despite all those guns they didn’t catch a single terrorist.The only arrest mentioned at was carrying without a permit. Why, you’d almost think the alleged terror threat is a little overblown.

Some need more protection than others

The story is about the feds wanting to forcibly medicate a guy for trial. But I found the background material of most interest.

Forcing Competency With Big Drug Doses a No-Go
Nna Alpha Onuoha made the threats in September 2013, shortly after resigning from his job at the airport as a TSA screener. According to the Circuit’s opinion, he called airport authorities with instructions to evacuate the airport because he was going to “deliver a message” to the United States and the world.

Authorities did not evacuate the airport, but they did evacuate TSA headquarters. (emphasis added-cb)

TSA: Failing in every possible way since 2001.

I’ve said it before…

RE: this-

Rep. Adam Schiff on Airport Security: ‘When We Test the TSA, They Fail’
An internal investigation of the Transportation Security Administration revealed security failures at dozens of the nation’s busiest airports, where undercover investigators were able to smuggle mock explosives or banned weapons through checkpoints in 95 percent of trials, ABC News learned this summer. The series of tests were conducted by Homeland Security Red Teams who posed as passengers, setting out to beat the system.

The TSA was established nearly fourteen years (Nov 19, 2001). During that time, there have been no hijackings or aircraft bombings in America. The TSA says that’s because they’re so good.

But the repeated failed tests, missed weapons, ineffective screening machines suggest otherwise.

When tested they fail. People have voluntarily returned to the checkpoints when they realize they boarded an aircraft with weapons. One training contractor made it across the continent — multiple flights — with an explosives detection kit the TSA never noticed.

The TSA has never, ever caught a terrorist.

So the TSA is — at dubious best — totally useless…

…and yet there’ve been no hijackings or aircraft blown up or craqshed by terrorists in America since 9/11.

Maybe, just maybe the threat has been outrageously overblown by empire building bureaucrats, control-freak politicians, and greedy former bureaucrats-now-in-the-private-sector.

Maybe, just maybe there aren’t really too many terrorists interested in coming to America to do anything. The alleged threat doesn’t seem to justify rationalize 47,000 goons in blue violating the hell out of human/civil rights, stealing, and assaulting millions of people.

Kinda like the rest of the government.

Thousands Standing Around… and Over-worked?

DHS Internal Watchdog ‘Deeply Concerned’ Over TSA’s Screening at Airports
The Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog says he remains “deeply concerned” about the Transportation Security Administration’s ability to keep terrorists and other threats off airplanes, a blunt assessment offered one week after ABC News first reported that an undercover investigation of TSA revealed a 95-percent failure rate to detect mock explosives and banned weapons at security checkpoints.

At the same time, Johnson and others at today’s hearing noted the difficult work of TSA’s 50,000 officers, who screen nearly 2 million passengers and 3 million carry-on bags each day. (emphasis added-cb)

One, it was closer to a 96% failure rate.

Two, judging by testing reports I’ve seen over the years, TSA isn’t getting better. They aren’t even treading water. They’re getting progressively worse in these test runs.

Three, a little something to think about. TSA has never, ever caught a terrorist. When FBI trumpets every little sting in which they conned some mentally deficient, incompetent, impecunious dweeb into carting a rented car across town (on the Feebs dime), and the ATF brags about busts of similar types even as they lose their own automatic weapons and forget to pay their own bills… The TSA has never announced having stopped a terrorist.

So: TSA can’t find their asses with a backscatter scanner, much less a terrorist, and yet — somehow — there has not been a single terroristic incident involving a commerical flight originating in the US.*

You think that “terror threat” has been a little overblown?

Four: Take another look at that emphasized quote. 50,000 morons groping 2,000,000 victims per day averages each TSO assaulting 40 per 8 hour shift, or just five per hour. Less than 8 carry-ons per hour.

For a fun comparison, I once worked in a sonar factory. I had to physically inspect, electronically test, tag, log each into a database, make final assembly, and pack units. All at a 100% rate. By myself, I was expected to complete a minimum of 250 units per shift, not counting units that failed QA. On a good night, my count would go over 350.

I could wish my job had been as slow and leisurely as a TSO’s. And as well paid.

And could the constitutionalists among us point out where the Constitution explicity authorizes the feds to sexually assault** 2,000,000 people a day?

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* The shoe and panty “bombers” were on flights originating outside the US, neither had an actual working explosive device (even according to the feds), and both were suppressed by passengers rather than gov agents.

** Disgusting factoid: I also worked in a prison, among my unfortunate duties was strip searching inmates as they were brought back into the prison from outside work details (think the chain gangs picking up trash on highways). Even for that — searching convicted criminals for weapons — we didn’t grope crotches )non-strip searches were different). Ghu, I’m glad I regained my senses and got out of there.

Off Broadway

Way, way, way, way off-Broadway security theater.

Undercover DHS Tests Find Security Failures at US Airports
An internal investigation of the Transportation Security Administration revealed security failures at dozens of the nation’s busiest airports, where undercover investigators were able to smuggle mock explosives or banned weapons through checkpoints in 95 percent of trials, ABC News has learned.

This is news? The TSA has always failed these tests. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over.

There’s a reason that the TSA has never, ever caught a terrorist.

They sure do employ a lot of criminals, though. They expect it.