Don't like the TSA? Just don't fly. Oh... wait...

[cstone]

Recently a buddy of mine was looking through his wallet for something and realized he had several razor blades in it (he uses them daily for his job in the material department). I told him he was lucky that he didn't go through security at the airport with that stuff. Unfortunately he had flown at least 8 times with those razor blades without even realizing.

So much for security.

A weapon in the hands of someone with no intent to harm anyone is not a threat. It doesn't sound like your buddy was bringing a weapon onto an airplane so much as he forgot he had some tools from work in his wallet.

Security isn't perfect. Are you surprised?

I really hope our government isn't spending our tax dollars trying to prevent random citizens from bringing items which could be used as weapons onto airplanes. I know it often seems like that is exactly what TSA is doing.

If you were in charge of security at the airport, where would you focus your resources? What do you believe are the biggest threats and how would you defend against those threats?

[Irving]

If you were in charge of security at the airport, where would you focus your resources? What do you believe are the biggest threats and how would you defend against those threats?

I'm not a psychologist, a community organizer, nor an anthropologist, so I have no idea how to get tribes in Africa to stop raping virgins to try and cure themselves of HIV. I do know that it is wrong though.

Same thing with the TSA. Security isn't something I know a lot about, but I know what they are doing is WRONG, and isn't even one step closer to safer commercial air travel.

[Irving]

Let me get on an airplane the same way I get on a city bus and I will take responsibility for my personal safety on the airplane the same way as I do on the city bus. Today as I write this, our society and our government doesn't agree with me. Some of the previous posts here do not agree with the idea of letting private citizens take personal responsibility for their own safety on airplanes, and by that I mean concealed carry of whatever weapon(s) would be appropriate.

I agree with this. Except you can take $300 worth of groceries onto a city bus.

[cstone]

I'm not a psychologist, a community organizer, nor an anthropologist, so I have no idea how to get tribes in Africa to stop raping virgins to try and cure themselves of HIV. I do know that it is wrong though.

Same thing with the TSA. Security isn't something I know a lot about, but I know what they are doing is WRONG, and isn't even one step closer to safer commercial air travel.

Everything TSA does is wrong or are there specific things that you could list? Would those things be just as wrong if they were done by a private security company?

Did you know that TSA trains and arms pilots who volunteer to be deputized?

http://www.tsa.gov/lawenforcement/programs/ffdo.shtm

Is that wrong? Does that get us one step closer to safer commercial air travel?

[Irving]

The creation of TSA is the main thing that is wrong. Also, commercial air travel is not a reasonable reason to search a person.

[Elhuero]

A weapon in the hands of someone with no intent to harm anyone is not a threat. It doesn't sound like your buddy was bringing a weapon onto an airplane so much as he forgot he had some tools from work in his wallet.

yes.

there is nothing that is "a weapon"

a chair is a chair, a razor is a razor, a rifle is a rifle.

now of you pick up a chair and clobber someone over the head with it, it becomes a weapon.

the title of "weapon" is determined by how an object is used, not by what it is.

people have been trained to fear and distrust certain objects, like firearms, because of what they can do.

yet the same brainwashed liberal that will freak out at the sight of a firearm will get in a car without hesitation?

why is that? think about it. you're strapped in a powered metal box on wheels that is going to catapult you at high speed.

they don't bat an eye because of perception, even though statistically traveling by car is far more dangerous than being in proximity to a firearm.

it's this gradual control of perception that will destroy our country.

[Elhuero]

[mcantar18c]

If you were in charge of security at the airport, where would you focus your resources? What do you believe are the biggest threats and how would you defend against those threats?

One word: Israel.

Cstone, thanks for presenting all this info and good questions.

[Mick-Boy]

The problem with the Israeli model is numbers. They have 3 international airports. We have 29 large hubs, 36 medium hubs, and 74 small hubs. They dealt with 12.1 million passengers in 2010. We dealt with 713.5 million (source). While not impossible, the numbers alone make their model very difficult to follow.

It takes a long time to train someone to read body language well. Some people just can't figure it out. Once you factor in cultural differences it becomes even more challenging. I'd love to see some of it implemented but I have a hard time seeing most of the TSA mouth breathers I've dealt with figuring it out (no offense cstone).

[mcantar18c]

The problem with the Israeli model is numbers. They have 3 international airports. We have 29 large hubs, 36 medium hubs, and 74 small hubs. They dealt with 12.1 million passengers in 2010. We dealt with 713.5 million (source). While not impossible, the numbers alone make their model very difficult to follow.

It takes a long time to train someone to read body language well. Some people just can't figure it out. Once you factor in cultural differences it becomes even more challenging. I'd love to see some of it implemented but I have a hard time seeing most of the TSA mouth breathers I've dealt with figuring it out (no offense cstone).

We can't just copy their playbook, but I think that if we were to look to them as an example to build from (with some changes to make things more feasible for the larger volumes) while replacing the crap TSA workers with skilled, intelligent people that get paid what they're worth, it would be one hell of an improvement.
Of course this will never actually happen, but it'd be a big step in the right direction.