Their true objective (docility training) has been achieved, however. The TSA will be part of the muscle used against us should the S ever HTF.

The giraffe repellent analogy was outstanding.

"Yes, terrorists have been stopped, but neither the underwear bomber nor the shoe bomber were apprehended by the TSA. They were stopped by alert passengers."

Don't forget to add the magic words: "OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY."

They were never even IN TSA'S jurisdiction.

Anyone remember the Bear Patrol?

Homer: Not a bear in sight. The Bear Patrol must be working like a
charm.
Lisa: That's spacious reasoning, Dad.
Homer: Thank you, dear.
Lisa: By your logic I could claim that this rock keeps tigers away.
Homer: Oh, how does it work?
Lisa: It doesn't work.
Homer: Uh-huh.
Lisa: It's just a stupid rock.
Homer: Uh-huh.
Lisa: But I don't see any tigers around, do you?
[Homer thinks of this, then pulls out some money]
Homer: Lisa, I want to buy your rock.
[Lisa refuses at first, then takes the exchange]

Yes, terrorists have been stopped, but neither the underwear bomber nor the shoe bomber were apprehended by the TSA. They were stopped by alert passengers.

Only because the bombs didn't work, and the reason they didn't work was the compromises the bombers had to make to get them through security.

Hey Jeff, wanna buy my tiger repelling rock?

Only because the bombs didn't work, and the reason they didn't work was the compromises the bombers had to make to get them through security.

Really?

I think I'd argue that al Queda's master bomb makers were rushed by Upper Management into putting forth new explosive devices without adequate field testing and that the results speak for themselves.

"Only because the bombs didn't work, and the reason they didn't work was the compromises the bombers had to make to get them through security." JeffG

Too True Jeff...

But NOT AMERICAN SECURITY, right? Not the TSA? Someone else's security far away... not for when Aunt Edna want's to fly down from Lincoln, NE to Amarillo to visit the grandkids?.

Here's an important thought about the guys that killed our people.

They used boxcutters that are currently outlawed, but difficult to detect in any case, EVEN NOW.

They could also have used broken glass from their favorite prophet's picture in their carryone, and who has outlawed THAT?

Hardening the cockpit, and realizing that hijacking will prolly be more of a religious thing than a political one from now on, and flyers will have to respond accordingly... have taken care of the issues that caused 09/11 to be a viable thing.

Without spending billions of dollars on boondoggles.

The real question that an intelligent person would ask is "What will the NEXT thing be?"

The thing that removed Pan Am 103 from our lives has NEVER been addressed in the Airport security system or by the TSA, and that is what can be put on a plane in luggage or on the ramp.

That was 25!! YEARS AGO.

So, what kind of Tiger Repellant Rock do you want?

I passed a Homeland Security Tahoe in Aiken, SC yesterday. It's horse country.
Evidently there are six-year-olds wanting to ride horses around here that need to be patted down first.

Yes, terrorists have been stopped, but neither the underwear bomber nor the shoe bomber were apprehended by the TSA. They were stopped by alert passengers.

Now that passengers are willing to kick hijacker ass, there's no need to have any airport security.

Really, the threat is very low. Just look at the things the TSA brags about as the "scariest" finds: grenade-shaped paperweights, artsy watches with electronic components glued to them, preserved snakes, and other weird - but ultimately harmless - items.

Even the real knives and guns don't bother me. As many have pointed out, armoring the cockpit was the only necessary and effective measure after 9/11. If the terrorists can't take over the plane, there's no reason for them to even board it.

If this is the best they can show after more than 10 years, there's just no threat out there.

Planting explosives is an entirely different threat, and best address by looking at what goes in the cargo hold. Searching passengers provides no real security, but sure is expensive.

I remember needing 20 minutes from the airport parking lot to the boarding area. Today, lifetimes are spend standing in security lines. What a waste!

Put this in a different perspective.

If this was 1970, with SAC bombers in the air 24/7/365, would there be "Homeland Security"?

There wasn't.

ANYONE who supports such a thing has been frightened out of their wits by the means suggested by H.L. Mencken and Orwell - and even Goebbels. Yes, I mean you, if you offer support at all.

There have been other societies who never imagined that there would be a knock at the door - that a uniformed "officer" of some kind would demand to know what a productive citizen was doing, objecting to inspection by the State.

Once upon a time, we KILLED those fucking people, held them up as the very enemies of America - and now we want them?

Who's crazy? History repeats itself. This is a rerun you do NOT want to watch.

To those who say or agree with the statement, "If you have nothing to hide, you should not object to a search", I note this: that power is followed by harassment, jail and death.

Watching Snooki is not the antidote to that disease.

The flight attendants are now, supposedly, complaining about travelers carrying knives again.

It is a total joke.

There will never be a 9/11 because Al-Qaeda used the single whole in air travel. Passengers will never let 9/11.2 happen because they know better.