Why do people keep bashing the TSA?

[Bailey Guns]

I really like the Dept of Leave Me The Hell Alone.

[trlcavscout]

The Coast Guard is part of DHS. Is the Coast Guard bad? Does anyone like the Secret Service? They are part of DHS.

I'm just trying to find out if there is anyone here who likes any federal government agency.

I dont think most people here like anything let alone the gubment?

[tmleadr03]

The Coast Guard is part of DHS. Is the Coast Guard bad? Does anyone like the Secret Service? They are part of DHS.

I'm just trying to find out if there is anyone here who likes any federal government agency.

I am kinda fond of the Marine Corps...

[cstone]

I am kinda fond of the Marine Corps...

I intentionally did not mention the Department of Defense. It is the part of the federal government so many of us have been employed by at some point in our lives. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but it seems true to me so I will say it here; the beast looks different from the inside. I'm not saying it is better, but what I see in almost every federal agency, state or local agency, and business for that matter is, they come down to the people who make them work. If the leadership of a company changes, the company changes. If the rank and file changes, the organization changes.

There was a time when parts of our military were not too healthy. It doesn't mean that I would do without them.

To all who have served our Republic, thank you. YOU are what makes US strong!

[Sharpienads]

Somewhere between anarchy and a police state is a list of agencies which the majority of people can agree upon. This list would contain all of the government agencies who; provide a useful service, provide that service effectively and efficiently, and do so with fewer mistakes than successes.

Someone should start that list. I will go first:
City and County wastewater management

And this right here is exactly what is wrong with America. It doesn't matter if a majority of people like a certain federal agency. America was founded on rule of law, codified in the constitution, and is a republic, not a democracy. If it's not in the constitution, the federal government can't do it until it gets put in the constitution. It matters not if a majority of people like it.

And then your example is is a local government issue. Just because we don't like the federal government doing something doesn't mean we don't want it done.

[cstone]

If it's not in the constitution, the federal government can't do it until it gets put in the constitution.

I'm going to call that a bit overly simplistic. There is no possible way our Founding Fathers could anticipate everything that would happen 300 years into the future. The US Constitution is amended and interpreted to allow for changes in culture and circumstances. I just don't believe that everything should be or needs to be explicitly spelled out in the Constitution.

My point was not to focus on any particular agency, but to flip the coin over and see if there was anyone who actually had anything positive to say about any government agency, federal, state, or local.

I can't possibly be the only person who looks at our country and still believe that it is the greatest possible place to live both in history and geographically. The US is exceptional. Not because of our government, but despite our government. We the People are exceptional when we stop bitching and start creating.

Don't get me wrong, I do my fair share of complaining (and then some), but I've never forgotten a lesson I was taught many years ago. You can do nothing and you have no one to blame but yourself. You can do something and deal with your successes and failures as they come. You can complain about things you don't like. These are not mutually exclusive. I don't mind complaining, as long as you are doing something while you complain. Of course we each make our own choices. Yet one more thing to like about America.

If someone decides they don't like something because it isn't perfect, I would have to assume they deal with a bit of self-loathing.

[Irving]

I'm going to call that a bit overly simplistic. There is no possible way our Founding Fathers could anticipate everything that would happen 300 years into the future. The US Constitution is amended and interpreted to allow for changes in culture and circumstances. I just don't believe that everything should be or needs to be explicitly spelled out in the Constitution.

This always seemed like a cop out to me. There is no way that the Founding Fathers needed, nor intended to anticipate changes in the future. They wrote the Constitution in such a manner that it could be used to justly rule a country regardless of the existence of Youtube, Ponzi schemes, an illegal drug trade, etc.

I think you are absolutely correct that the way an agency is run depends on who is in charge, but because people aren't being thrown into prison for the way that they run their agencies, things aren't going to change. I'm trying to find a story I heard on NPR the other night to post here, as it exactly illustrates both your, and my point, but I can't seem to find it.

[Sharpienads]

I'm going to call that a bit overly simplistic. There is no possible way our Founding Fathers could anticipate everything that would happen 300 years into the future. The US Constitution is amended and interpreted to allow for changes in culture and circumstances. I just don't believe that everything should be or needs to be explicitly spelled out in the Constitution.

My point was not to focus on any particular agency, but to flip the coin over and see if there was anyone who actually had anything positive to say about any government agency, federal, state, or local.

I can't possibly be the only person who looks at our country and still believe that it is the greatest possible place to live both in history and geographically. The US is exceptional. Not because of our government, but despite our government. We the People are exceptional when we stop bitching and start creating.

Don't get me wrong, I do my fair share of complaining (and then some), but I've never forgotten a lesson I was taught many years ago. You can do nothing and you have no one to blame but yourself. You can do something and deal with your successes and failures as they come. You can complain about things you don't like. These are not mutually exclusive. I don't mind complaining, as long as you are doing something while you complain. Of course we each make our own choices. Yet one more thing to like about America.

If someone decides they don't like something because it isn't perfect, I would have to assume they deal with a bit of self-loathing.

It's not overly simplistic. It's called federalism. The federal government is bound by the constitution, specifically Article 1, Section 8. There are 18 enumerated powers that congress has. Everything else is left up to the States.

The founding fathers didn't have to predict the future. Name one thing that they couldn't have possibly known about that isn't covered by Article 1, Section 8 or the 10th Amendment. The federal government is meant to have limited powers, and that is why they are and must be explicitly spelled out in the constitution.

And the concept of a "living constitution" is contradictory to the rule of law. There is a way to change the constitution and it's spelled out in Article 5. The constitution isn't reinterpreted with a change in "culture and circumstances". No branch of government has the power to reinterpret the constitution.

I can tolerate federal government agencies that are authorized by the constitution. Anything beyond that is unacceptable, regardless of how I feel about it or how popular it is.

[roberth]

I can tolerate federal government agencies that are authorized by the constitution. Anything beyond that is unacceptable, regardless of how I feel about it or how popular it is.

Right, it isn't about feelings like quite a few people (mostly liberals) want it to be. Feelings don't matter, behaviour is what matters.

The United States is about the rule of law, that is why we're a constitutional republic with democratic institutions and not a pure democracy (rule of mob).

[roberth]

I really like the Dept of Leave Me The Hell Alone.

Exactly right.