Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Damn We are a Bunch of Stupid People



I'm getting ready to fly to Washington, DC for a few days. So checking on what is and is not allowed to be taken aboard an airliner seems to be reasonable. Go to tsa.gov (here) to see what is and what is not permitted. Hmmmm, better check the sharp objects section.....no knives, ice axes, meat cleavers, box cutters (the infamous box cutter!), razor blades, swords....seems reasonable. Oh, but sharp pointed scissors are allowed as long as they are under 4 inches in length. Oh, yeah, kniting needles too, they couldn't be used as a weapon. Screw drivers are ok (<7 in), cigar cutters and cork screws ok, as well as nail clippers and nail files.

The liquids policy is a hoot and a laugh. We actually pay people to come up with this stuff. No bottles of water. That's ok with me. I really don't understand why people have to walk around with bottles of water. I guess people dehydrate more easily these days.

Who decides these things? Do they throw darts at a board? Are we really that dumb? Can we at least ask for some consistency?

10 comments:

Don and Sher said...

While in D.C., say hi to Dumb and Dumber for me.
I am not sure which leads the head of the class on stupidity, the TSA or Homeland Security.

Anonymous said...

I seem to recall that we haven't had anymore hijacked planes. If you're not willing to be part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

Anon

PCS said...

Of course there have been no more hijacked airplanes. We are fighting them "overthere" instead of here. And then we have the good ol "you're either with us or agin us" argument. Please explain how using a 1 qt plastic bag for your little 3 oz bottles of liquids instead of a 1 gal. plastic bag protects us against the terrorists. Oops, there I go again....supporting the terrorists.

Anonymous said...

You seem like a person that gets lost in minutia and loses sight of the forest. Use some common sense. Of course this particular measure doesn't directly protect us. Measures like this serve a simple purpose- to give the masses comfort that something is being done, which is what is needed to keep our economy, particularly the airline industry up in the air. I always find it particularly amusing that you crazed out Dems think the righteous are trying to link you with supporting Osama and the terror boys. The real problem with people like you is that you have enough (barely) intelligence to understand the ruse that the rest of the masses cannot, but not enough, because for some reason, you feel like you should point it out to the very people that shouldn't know that it is in fact a facade. I did like the run around you tried to give me in response to "no more hijacked airplanes." Running from the facts, how noble.

Anon

P.S. Don't you remember the old saying? "If you're not liberal when you're young, you have no heart; if you're liberal when you're old, you have no brain.

PCS said...

So anonymous, which is it? We haven't had anymore hijackings because of the TSA policies or the TSA policies are just a ruse for the "masses". And, who are the "masses". I assume you are not one the "masses" due the possession of boatloads of common sense. I guess I can't make the connection between the TSA policies and the economics of flying either. Maybe you could explain it in more detail.

The real problem with people like you is that you have enough (barely) intelligence to understand the ruse that the rest of the masses cannot, but not enough, because for some reason, you feel like you should point it out to the very people that shouldn't know that it is in fact a facade.

And would you please restate the above sentence in english so everyone can understand it.

Anonymous said...

Look at the little lib get defensive. I'm sorry I forgot a comma or two. I like your response, did you get a 12 yr old to help you write it? Attacking my grammar... nice. BTW, "agin" should be spelled "again".

Since you are a lot more dense than I had originally expected, I'll try to lay everything out for you in simpler terms. Most TSA policy = window dressing. Most of what you are ranting about serves no protective function, except to protect the airline industry and thus, our economy. Generally, people want to think our gov't is doing something to keep them safe. These TSA measures allow common folk to fly without worry. Flying = money for our economy. Good economy = $ for our gov't. People with sense understand this and don't need to blog about it to make themselves look intelligent.

I think most people would agree that no knives is a good TSA policy.

Anon

PCS said...

Show me where I attacked your grammer. I asked for clarification which you provided along with your typical personal insult to me. No knives is a good policy, I agree. The point is...why allow 12 or 16 inch knitting needles? How about the TSA using some of that common sense you love to talk about. BTW, are the "common people" the same as the "masses"?

Also, thanks for uping the statistics on my blog. I appreciate it. I think you now hold the record for someone spending the most time reading this blog.

Anonymous said...

"And would you please restate the above sentence in english so everyone can understand it." PCS 2007

That statement implies that my grammar is off. There are no spelling errors, so the words must be written in English and are understandable. The sentence reads correctly.

Knitting needles for a 60 yr old caucasian woman is acceptable by me. Knitting needles for a 22 yr old Islamic extremist is not. Again, have some faith in your common man working for the TSA and for the concept of common sense.

PCS, I agree with a lot of your blog and find it to be, for the most part, insightful, entertaining and interesting. I also enjoy the passion you exhibit in sparring and would hope you do not take written jabs personally. I am glad to now hold my dubious title. I will continue to observe your musings and when need be, provide an alternative opinion or viewpoint as I see fit. Checks and balances.

Regards,
Good Luck,

Anon

PCS said...

Thanks, I bet we agree on more things than we disagree. I'm sorry my statement implied to you that your grammer was off. It wasn't meant to do that. I could care less about spelling and grammer. I really couldn't understand what you were saying. It's a matter of clearness not grammer. I've read a lot of science written in english that is not clear.

Is there any chance that your "islamic" terrorist might take the knitting needle away from the 60 yr old "caucasian" women. Are you ok with 60 year old "negroid", "islamic", or hispanic women carrying kniting needles? Are you from Virginia?

Anonymous said...

lol. I knew the "taking the needle argument" would present itself. I fully believe that in the event of someone taking the needle, we would most likely see something akin to what occurred on United 93. Obviously not the best situation, but maybe not so bad now, as the TSA has mandated locked pilot cabins.

So, I see that you are implying that profiling is wrong. In most instances I would agree with you 100%. Additionally, as I am not a person of color, my thoughts on this matter are obviously skewed, as a white person would never be the target of this profiling. This is kind of a Catch-22. You don't profile and people may die. You do profile and someone gets offended and someone gets branded a racist. It is my opinion that if I had to make a choice, I would rather someone be offended than innocent people die.

Anon