Random Thoughts - By Saintfan
Posted 11-23-2010 at 04:49 PM by saintfan
TSA. Man oh man but what is up with all the drama with TSA? The entire country is in an uproar over TSA, and it's a good bet 90 percent of the country doesn't even know what it stands for.
The, uh hem, "T"ransportation "S"ecurity "A"dministration is catching it from all angles over their new fangled scanning devices. Well, to be more accurate, they are catching hell from all the people who want to avoid those scanning devices citing an invasion of privacy.
No...wait. The hell is breaking loose because of the pat downs people are forced to endure because they feel violated by the new scanning devices which invade their privacy. Good God are we a bunch of wendy whiners or what?
Seems that everybody wants to feel safe when they fly, but nobody wants to suck it up a little. No, actually that's not true either. It seems that the majority of those who fly are willing to endure the ruthless invasion of their privacy for the sake of improved security. The minority that feels sexually abused by the process is sure making some noise though, aren't they?
As can be seen in skymike's avatar, the scanning devices can be quite revealing. Are people really so ashamed of themselves? Maybe they should be provided with a copy of their scanned image as a parting gift from TSA. They can spend the next few hours mulling over how fat and out of shape they have become. They can use the images as motivation to improve the overall quality of their lives. Free of charge and courtesy of your friendly TSA.
Of course you can opt out of the scanning device as a way to maintain this misguided inner image you have of yourself. You can, instead, get a much overdue pat down. Maybe the TSA can hire cheerleaders and male models. The discerning traveler could be allowed to decide who among them will provide their pat down. This can become your fantasy of choice and you can enjoy it over and over again. If it ever starts to fade, just buy another airline ticket and enjoy the process all over again. What's better than a pat down, I mean, besides the fact that they don't charge you extra? How about a pat down that comes with airline miles? All in the name of first class baby!
Here's the rub (pun intended). I fly and lot. Well, I fly less now than I used to, but I'm on a plane 6 to 8 times a year. I know a lot of people who fly a lot - a few times a week or more. I, along with EVERY person I know, recognize that airport security is a hassle, and I, along with EVERY person I know is willing to endure. We - my frequent flying friends and I - are not complaining. Sure, we're mumbling a little, but we are mostly keeping our sense of humor about it all. We appreciate the extra sense of security.
I have a suggestion for all you people raising all this hell over airport security. Well, first I have a statement: YOU DO NOT HAVE A GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO FLY ON AN AIRPLANE. Make sense? You twits understand? You can be banned from flying on an airplane (even before 9/11) simply because an airline employee doesn't care for your behavior. Raise hell at the gate and see how quickly you are sent to find alternate transportation. It isn't your plane, and you are sharing it with a few hundred other people in case you forgot.
On now to my suggestion: Drive. Or walk. Or catch a cab. I don't know. Click your heels together 3 times and hope like hell you get there. I could give a Falcon's feather, you know? Stop raising hell. Stop trying to clog up an already clogged up security line. Most of you fly, on average, once or less a year. Shut up. Get over yourselves. YOU, after all, don't rate that high. Get it? Go through security or find some other way to get there, or better yet, stay at home and find something real to protest, like child abuse, or hungry kids, or animal rights, or BP. God knows there's plenty to get worked up about.
And yes, all you activists, I understand there are issues. It is not a perfect system. There isn't one, but if we weren't so politically correct nowadays those TSA agents would be FAR more invasive of your privacy than a simple scan or pat down. Read up on airport security in other countries and you will probably be forced to re-think your position. Oh, wait...that will never happen will it?
Ladies, close your eyes and image Huey Lewis or Dree Brees or who the hell else, I don't know. Enjoy your little pat down. As for me, as soon as Zooey takes that part time TSA job to rehearse for her next role, Ima be the most frequent flyer you people have ever seen.
The, uh hem, "T"ransportation "S"ecurity "A"dministration is catching it from all angles over their new fangled scanning devices. Well, to be more accurate, they are catching hell from all the people who want to avoid those scanning devices citing an invasion of privacy.
No...wait. The hell is breaking loose because of the pat downs people are forced to endure because they feel violated by the new scanning devices which invade their privacy. Good God are we a bunch of wendy whiners or what?
Seems that everybody wants to feel safe when they fly, but nobody wants to suck it up a little. No, actually that's not true either. It seems that the majority of those who fly are willing to endure the ruthless invasion of their privacy for the sake of improved security. The minority that feels sexually abused by the process is sure making some noise though, aren't they?
As can be seen in skymike's avatar, the scanning devices can be quite revealing. Are people really so ashamed of themselves? Maybe they should be provided with a copy of their scanned image as a parting gift from TSA. They can spend the next few hours mulling over how fat and out of shape they have become. They can use the images as motivation to improve the overall quality of their lives. Free of charge and courtesy of your friendly TSA.
Of course you can opt out of the scanning device as a way to maintain this misguided inner image you have of yourself. You can, instead, get a much overdue pat down. Maybe the TSA can hire cheerleaders and male models. The discerning traveler could be allowed to decide who among them will provide their pat down. This can become your fantasy of choice and you can enjoy it over and over again. If it ever starts to fade, just buy another airline ticket and enjoy the process all over again. What's better than a pat down, I mean, besides the fact that they don't charge you extra? How about a pat down that comes with airline miles? All in the name of first class baby!
Here's the rub (pun intended). I fly and lot. Well, I fly less now than I used to, but I'm on a plane 6 to 8 times a year. I know a lot of people who fly a lot - a few times a week or more. I, along with EVERY person I know, recognize that airport security is a hassle, and I, along with EVERY person I know is willing to endure. We - my frequent flying friends and I - are not complaining. Sure, we're mumbling a little, but we are mostly keeping our sense of humor about it all. We appreciate the extra sense of security.
I have a suggestion for all you people raising all this hell over airport security. Well, first I have a statement: YOU DO NOT HAVE A GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO FLY ON AN AIRPLANE. Make sense? You twits understand? You can be banned from flying on an airplane (even before 9/11) simply because an airline employee doesn't care for your behavior. Raise hell at the gate and see how quickly you are sent to find alternate transportation. It isn't your plane, and you are sharing it with a few hundred other people in case you forgot.
On now to my suggestion: Drive. Or walk. Or catch a cab. I don't know. Click your heels together 3 times and hope like hell you get there. I could give a Falcon's feather, you know? Stop raising hell. Stop trying to clog up an already clogged up security line. Most of you fly, on average, once or less a year. Shut up. Get over yourselves. YOU, after all, don't rate that high. Get it? Go through security or find some other way to get there, or better yet, stay at home and find something real to protest, like child abuse, or hungry kids, or animal rights, or BP. God knows there's plenty to get worked up about.
And yes, all you activists, I understand there are issues. It is not a perfect system. There isn't one, but if we weren't so politically correct nowadays those TSA agents would be FAR more invasive of your privacy than a simple scan or pat down. Read up on airport security in other countries and you will probably be forced to re-think your position. Oh, wait...that will never happen will it?
Ladies, close your eyes and image Huey Lewis or Dree Brees or who the hell else, I don't know. Enjoy your little pat down. As for me, as soon as Zooey takes that part time TSA job to rehearse for her next role, Ima be the most frequent flyer you people have ever seen.
Total Comments 32
Comments
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Skymike's avatar for demonstration purposes...
Posted 11-23-2010 at 07:16 PM by Halo
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I think this is a better demonstration....
Posted 11-23-2010 at 07:24 PM by Halo
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Yeah, I found that second one yesterday...
honest question...
John Malkovich- "In the Line of Fire"- made a gun out of plastic.
Doesn't anyone else think this is a wild goose chase?
I mean, I understand what the scanners are meant for all, but the whole "war on terror" thing smacks of what I recently heard described in the Economist as "an autistic notion of verisimilitude". These guys want to kill us, and nothing will quell their anger short of stopping the bombing and occupation of their countries, along with placing reasonable conditions that Israel must follow if they are to maintain their status as a de facto protectorate of the US.Posted 11-23-2010 at 08:38 PM by CashAndFlash
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"meant for and all"Posted 11-23-2010 at 08:38 PM by CashAndFlash
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All I have to say is thanks for writing the darn Blogs... to everyone. Here we have a football website that has grown into something thought provoking. Never in all my years working with the website that I would see intelligent questions of economics, policy, and national security mixed in with good "fart" humor found in some of my blogs. It keeps me glued here.
Thanks Saintfan for writing!!! Thanks cashandflash for adding more thought provoking questions in the comments!!!Posted 11-23-2010 at 09:19 PM by Halo
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Airports suck..is that thought provoking enough....Ive flown all over the world.. which im sure a lot of you have...and i hate most that ive encountered ...if you want to see how when the millitary gets involved ..fly to El Salvadore...your greeted by M16s..and forget about exiting unless you have buisness there...
I had to pay 20 bucks to a cleaning guy to go have a smoke..
I can see where some people will whine over this and thats their god givin right ,,,but if your going to fly just know in advance of what to expect...
I flew back from Paris to N.Y once and went thru living hell to get back into our country ,,my country!..i was singled out for where i had been in Europe.. and for having a guitar ,,which they assumed had something hid.....Times have changed and we are headed for more and more security...I know it sucks ...but just be ready for it and if its that big of a deal ....make other arrangments for your travels..
Thats why i wanted to be a rock star ...where i could own the airplane..
PeacePosted 11-23-2010 at 10:23 PM by strato
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That's where I disagree Strat. I think human nature is unchanging and, as such, times don't change.
In other words, bomb a guy's family to smithereens and he'll find a way to kill a few citizens of the country responsible.
All this stuff is just too 1984-ish for my tastes.Posted 11-23-2010 at 11:17 PM by CashAndFlash
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Cash I think you agree ..im principle..im all for protecting people...
Im out
Who DatPosted 11-24-2010 at 12:42 AM by strato
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Dude, who knows. That CashAndFlash is a drunk. He's a drunkard.Quote:Originally Posted by strato
Cash I think you agree ..im principle..im all for protecting people...
Im out
Who Dat
The kid's drunk all the time, so who knows.Posted 11-24-2010 at 03:19 AM by Halo
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Seems so far the scanners are working....people just want to get through the lines....Only about 70 airports worldwide have them and only have one...so most people might not even have to deal with them...Posted 11-24-2010 at 01:07 PM by strato
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I've done the M16 drill Strato. 1985 in Luxembourg headed home. I've also lived on a closed military base - home of the 5th infantry at the time - circa the 1970's where you had to state your purpose to a soldier with an M16 at the ready just to pass through the gate.
People don't have a concept, and people seem to be eager to protest at the drop of a dime. Everybody want to feel violated so they can start up a website and get themselves on Oprah I guess.
I maintain the following for all those whose panties are currently in a wad over airport security: It isn't your plane. If you're raising hell about scans and pat downs you are in the minority because people who fly regularly, while no happier about long lines than you, appreciate the extra security. In my humble opinion, the airline should have the right to ask you to pee in a cup before they let you on THEIR plane with THEIR other paying customers, and they should be able to do so for ANY reason they see fit.
Like you said, if you don't like it, become a rock star so you can own your own jet, otherwise do as you are told. The government isn't trying to feel you up, they're trying to keep you safe.Posted 11-24-2010 at 02:00 PM by saintfan
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I can see why you'd think that, Mark, but it's not true.
And I really do have serious issues with the way the "War on Terrorism" is being waged.
I loved watching CNN coverage of the advancing troops in 2003. But it's 7 years later, and we've still accomplished nothing; we're still being told that a terror threat is imminent, and being asked to sacrifice our rights.
I know that flying isn't my god-given right, but it's something I used to love doing- I wanted to be a pilot at one time, and even went so far as some preliminary lessons. However, I just find the whole experience to be more of a chore than anything now. So yeah, I choose not to fly.Posted 11-24-2010 at 03:11 PM by CashAndFlash
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And I also want to point out- in the TSA's defense- (which I know makes no sense, considering my position on this issue)- that the two examples above are inverted images; they are not what the TSA is actually looking at.
I do plan to fly at some point in the future; it's just become like I said more of a chore than the liberating experience I once found it to be.Posted 11-24-2010 at 03:20 PM by CashAndFlash
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Cash, I don't want you to take offense with what I'm about to say, because I'm not taking at shot at you in any way, but I think you bring about a good point.
Flying in a commercial airliner is not a 'liberating' experience. The airlines may have once billed it that way when it was new, but it is far from liberating, and it hasn't been (if it every was) for decades. 9/11 didn't make it any less liberating.
If you want liberating, scrape up 5 large and head down to your local air strip. You can get your private license in a Cesna and get liberated (although helicopters are more challenging to fly).
Let me ask this question: If I invite 100 people over to my house and charge them 10 bucks at the door because, lets say, I've got Zooey inside signing autographs, do I have the right to pat you down at the door before I let you in?Posted 11-24-2010 at 03:59 PM by saintfan
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Im a yellodog here me bark...lolPosted 11-24-2010 at 04:06 PM by strato
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Saintfan... I think you need to re-read what I wrote. pre-9/11, I [I]did[/I] find flying to be a liberating experience, and as I already mentioned, the private pilot license thing is somethiing I have already shown more than a passing interest in.Posted 11-24-2010 at 05:52 PM by CashAndFlash
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I'd be curious to know what you found liberating about commercial jet liners pre 9/11. The food wasn't any better. The planes were just as cramped. Security was less of a hassle, but honestly not much less. There were still an endless number of slow-moving lines. Parking sucked. All the shops in the terminal were extremely expensive. The actual sensation of flying hasn't really changed though - I mean you still get that sensation when the wheels leave the ground, there is still turbulence, and landings continue to be an adventure.
Regardless, I think you miss my point. If you are upset because you can no longer feel liberation by flying commercially then you must look for that elsewhere. It is not the job of the government to grant you this liberation at the expense of security. Honestly, we can't just NOT have security, no matter how inconvenient it is. The 'do nothing' approach is, in many ways, how we got in to this mess in the first place.
And by the way, and on a slight different topic you touched on earlier. The 'terrorists' may hate us for this or that or the other thing, but at the end of the day, they hate, and there is no existing on this planet with them peacefully. If you think dropping our support of Israel will stop the violence you are wrong. If you think they are mad because we bomb them, well, probably, but we aren't bombing them arbitrarily. They are displaying their hate against more than just the United States.
If it were up to me I'll kill the whole lot and let God sort them out...but that's just me. In the mean time, I'm happy to endure a bit of security-induced displeasure...at the expense of liberation or anything else.Posted 11-24-2010 at 06:32 PM by saintfan
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Dude, I already told you, that's how I felt. Trying to make me remember it as the "bad old days" isn't going to work.
"It is not the job of the government to grant you this liberation at the expense of security" sounds an awful lot like the opposite of "He who would sacrifice freedom for safety deserves neither."Posted 11-24-2010 at 10:02 PM by CashAndFlash
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Not trying to throw you under the bus. Just asking you to elaborate on what it is you meant is all. I'm not trying to get you to remember it any other way than you do. I'm stating it hasn't changed much in broad scope. Certainly you don't have to agree, or even explain what you meant...
As for freedom, you are far less free than I bet you are ready to believe, and 9/11 has taken less of your freedom than the government took prior to it. Airport security is necessary. There are alternatives for those who are morally opposed. That's the freedom so many are overlooking.Posted 11-24-2010 at 10:28 PM by saintfan
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I just disagree saintfan, but since you're playing right civil now, I'll answer:
the opportunity to go somewhere I had never been before with A MINIMUM OF FUSS is what I found liberating.
When it comes to "go down the cattle line in the name of security," I'd be a fool to give in.
But stop with the "alternatives" bull****. You may not be trying to throw me under the bus, but you're sure as hell trying to put me on a Greyhound.Posted 11-24-2010 at 10:39 PM by CashAndFlash
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