Does the TSA need to take some style tips from New York City?

So far we have seen a New York-style rather than a Washington-style response to the threat. And while New York is the least ‘American’ of U.S. cities, its emotional and social response is just what America’s should be.
“The Atlantic” writer James Fallows • Discussing how New York’s response to the Times Square car bombing attempt is so unlike that of the Transportation Security Administration’s response to any problem. Essentially, Fallows argues that it doesn’t put people in constant fear that something’s going to happen, but emphasizes resiliency. (Note how quickly Times Square re-opened after the incident.) Regarding the TSA’s methods, Fallows explains: “It’s not just that they’re pointless, uninformative, and insulting to our collective intelligence; it’s that their larger effect is to make people feel frightened rather than brave.” source

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It is clear that my nomination has become a lightning rod for those who have chosen to push a political agenda at the risk of the safety and security of the American people.
Transportation Security Administration chief nominee Erroll Southers • Regarding his decision to drop out after a brutal, months-long stalling created by Sen. Jim DeMint. DeMint’s big problem with Southers? He didn’t like the fact that he might unionize the TSA. This nomination became contentious, by the way, after the attempted terror attack in Detroit last month. source

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The TSA guy who let the security-breacher through could feel the pain. Flights may be back to normal today, but last night’s security breach at Newark Airport won’t come without consequences. While they never caught the guy, everyone did go through a checkpoint again and subsequently had their night ruined. For its part, the Transportation Security Administration says they’re trying to learn lessons from the incident. “We’re reviewing the circumstances and its totality,” said TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis. “We’ll look and see if any lessons can be learned and take further action going forward.” source

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There is no other way to interpret it: The TSA is saying clearly that they can’t prevent terrorists from getting explosives on airplanes, but by god, they’ll make sure those planes explode only when the TSA says it’s okay.
Gizmodo writer Joel Johnson • Regarding the Transportation & Security Administration’s decisions on security. The tech site gathered every logical thought on the Internet regarding security restrictions and came to a conclusion everyone was pussyfooting around – airline security is a joke. Instead of fighting terrorism in a way that actually works, the government has spent billions of dollars trying to cover every possible scenario, when the likelihood of a terrorist attack actually happening to the average person is slim to none, based on simple logic. In other words, kids, the TSA is wasting everyone’s time and money by forcing us to take off our shoes or do any of the other expensive stuff they do. We’re with Gizmodo on this one. Fire the TSA. If you want to actually stop terrorism, focus on intelligence, Obama. source

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03 May 2010 19:23