The Friendly Skies

"WASHINGTON - Security at U.S. airports is no better under federal control than it was before the Sept. 11 attacks; a key House member says two government reports will conclude. The Government Accountability Office — the investigative arm of Congress — and the Homeland Security Department's inspector general are expected to soon release their findings on the performance of Transportation Security Administration screeners."

A subject that I know something about...and it only confirms what I have said many times in the past.

The TSA won't comment on the specifics of the reports until they are released, spokesman Mark Hatfield Jr. said.

But, he said: "When the political posturing is over, rational people* will see that American screeners today are the best we have ever had and that they are limited only by current technology and security procedures that are significantly influenced by privacy demands**."

*People that think like we do…
**Passengers are unwilling to fly nude…

On Jan. 26, Homeland Security's acting inspector general, Richard Skinner, testified that "the ability of TSA screeners to stop prohibited items from being carried through the sterile areas of the airports fared no better than the performance of screeners prior to Sept. 11, 2001."

Skinner told the Senate Homeland Security Committee that the reasons the screeners failed undercover audits had to do with training, equipment, management and policy.

A year ago, Clark Kent Ervin, then-inspector general of Homeland Security, told lawmakers the TSA screeners and privately contracted airport workers "performed about the same, which is to say, equally poorly."

And the kicker in this report was...(This should make you think!)

Each month, screeners take from passengers about a half-million things, including 160,000 knives, 2,000 box cutters? and 70 guns. (and how many made it past the screeners?)

A recap and some personal history. Before 9/11/01, it was legal to carry a box cutter aboard a plane and the screeners at the time didn't make a mistake in allowing them aboard. And last year, while on a United flight to Chicago, I had a meal and was given a plastic knife, a steel fork and a steel spoon. How thoughtful!

Government Security...a true oxymoron.