Wow...And Just When You Thought It Could Get Worse...It Does!

If you're a Rush Limbaugh listener...you've probably heard him refer to other talk show hosts using his program as "show prep." The gathering of news worthy of discussion. My method of "blog prep" is to scan the DrudgeReport and WorldNetDaily to find something that I might have an opinion on. Today, this preparation takes me back to one of my least favorite governmental agencies, the Transportation Security Administration.

Here's my source...

Cigarette Lighters to be Banned Past Airport Checkpoints

In the intervening years since 9/11, the TSA has finally decided that butane cigarette lighters and perhaps book matches present a clear and present danger to the American flying public. Even though Richard Reid's hare-brained scheme to take down an aircraft over the Atlantic by trying to "light" his shoe bomb happened over three years ago...now the TSA thinks it's high time to take the "fire" away from the American flying public.

First, I think that this is somewhat akin to trying to close the barn door after the horse is long gone. When terrorists or criminals stage a high visibility crime or act...they can usually only get away with it once. It's like the trick play you'll see on the NCAA football fields or in that rare case, during an NFL game. Trick plays need to be executed amazingly well... because you can usually only get away with them ONCE! I think that the odds of anyone trying to physically "light" anything on board an aircraft is extremely low. Fellow passengers have shown themselves to be incredibly helpful when it comes to instilling a little bit of order when there have been problems aboard civilian flights.

Secondly, if you're going to take away lighters and matches...what else are we going to start taking away? Actually, I'd probably be satisfied with the concept of doing away with carry-on luggage of all kinds. The only exceptions would include a small purse for ladies, perhaps a briefcase for men, and one small bag for babies/children flying (toys/books/diapers/etc). All the roll-on carryon bags would be stored below...with the LUGGAGE! Even with the changes since 9/11, passengers are allowed to check two bags. Far too many people, for their own convenience on the destination end of their trip, do not check bags...and try to carry everything they're taking with them in the cabin. To me...that gives people far too much access to things that they probably ought not have access to during a flight.

To me, every electronic device carried onto an aircraft has the potential to become a dangerous device. Whether it's used to interfere with navigational aids, electronic systems, or is actually a bomb disguised as something else...it's a threat. How do you solve this? No electronics on board the aircraft that are not provided by the airline. I think that the airlines have noodled this one through...having recently flown to the East Coast with MajorMom we watched movies, played games and even tracked the progress of our flight to Newark, NJ on a monitor placed in the headrest of the seat in front of us. Very cool system...and it did help entertain us and burn the three hours it took to fly from Houston. I suppose we could always go back to the days of yesteryear and do something archaic, like read a book.

So, just how should we protect people flying American carriers:

1. Conduct ethnic and racial profiling beginning at the moment a reservation is made. This needs to continue during the check-in process. We have database upon database collecting information on us every day. We need to tap into those databases to check on the identities of everyone getting on an aircraft here in the United States. This would also help round up people that are in this country illegally...or at least keep them off the high risk modes of transportation like civilian airliners.

There are also some crude "voice stress" analyzation tools out there. Have them up and running when the moronic questions (for 99.999% of the flying public) are asked. If you feel better, do the same for everyone...but I still think that in the interest of national security, law abiding Muslims should not fear a system like this, but embrace it as a means of keeping their families as safe as mine. As long as the racial and ethnic profiling does not lead on to improper incarceration or harrassment, what's the problem?

Sir, did you pack your own bag?

Sir, have you left you bag unattended for any period of time?

Sir, are you planning to blow up this flight?

If someone is trying to sneak aboard an aircraft with the intention of bringing it down, I'll bet we get a 'hit' on question number 3. I think that I've referenced El Al in previous posts...from what I understand, they have a VERY effective program ongoing. All airline personnel are trained to observe and pick up on "stressed" passengers through their voice and body language. Let's look at their track record over the hears. I think we can learn a great deal from them.

2. Cause the airlines to "throttle back" on carry-on baggage. There's no need for people to carry anything larger than a laptop-sized case on board the aircraft. I don't want to hear excuses about gifts, paintings, etc. UPS, FEDEX, DHL and even the US Postal Service can get anything you buy shipped to any point on the globe for a reasonable price. Your inability to plan ahead does nothing for me...the gift will have to be late, as it's not coming on board this aircraft.

Yes, the howls of discontent will go up for sure...but if you don't want to trust people, then you have to attack it universally. For the most part, all I'm calling for is for the airlines to enforce the rules and guidelines they already have in place.

3. Increase the protection of our borders both here in the US and abroad. I'm not sure what might be in place in airports that service American destinations...but I think that it would be a good idea for us to have security in those foreign cities as well. Why even allow someone to board a plane entering the United States without knowing who they are?

We also need to get a handle on our southern, northern and coastal borders as well. With a country as large as ours is geographically, we have almost infinite number of entry points. We need to figure out how to keep the borders closed to illegal immigration or terrorist infiltration.

Well, once again, I've taken a longer route than I wanted to...but hopefully I've gotten you to think about knee jerk reactions and solutions to problems. In order to really make the country safer against attacks on our transportation infrastructure or using that infrastructure as potential weapons, we need to look past silly rules banning groups of items from transport on aircraft. We need to figure out how to keep BAD PEOPLE from getting on these modes of transportation in the first place.

See you all on the high ground...or perhaps somewhere between here and El Paso. Yes...headed out of town again, but as always, I'll try to keep in touch. Maybe I'll do a little audioblogging again from the road.

MajorDad1984