Total $@!#head Administration

[Mike Arman]

What a way to start the morning!


Let's back up a moment, fellow Audifans (there, M.A.C.) - I think the 
problem is not the TSA, but one (of evidently more than a few) nincompoops 
who work for them.

We - and that is a very inclusive, non-name-calling word - are in an 
unusual situation since 9/11. This is a new kind of enemy, one which isn't 
an organized nation state that has a fixed seat of government which we can 
conveniently nuke and quickly settle the fight once and for all.

The TSA, for all its excesses, bumbling, confusion, and often over-reaction 
*is* going to be needed for a while. The problem is that until airport 
screening is done by looking into people's minds, the only thing they have 
to go on is external indications - what are they carrying, are their papers 
legitimate, does the situation "make sense"?

TSA screeners are new at this, the TSA itself is new at this, there IS no 
book of instructions that says THIS is how it works - everyone involved is 
making this up as they go along, and hopefully, they are trying to do the 
best job they can in a difficult and unfamiliar situation.

A big part of the problem is the way this particular batch of bad guys work 
- they test and probe the "system" for weaknesses to exploit. We can't know 
what they are going to test next, and unfortunately, if they do find an 
exploitable weakness and use it, it will be too late. Therefore, we have to 
strengthen ALL our "systems" so that when they look at something, the 
conclusion they will draw is "that won't work, we need to try something 
else" - and we do NOT know what something else they will look at next.

In the meantime, while we are discouraging them from attacking us at home, 
we are taking the fight to them, wherever and whenever we can find them. 
You will notice the news reports about each and every "engagement" - in 
every case where we can find them and force them to fight, they invariably 
lose, and take very heavy casualties.

Sure, taking my shoes off at the airport is a nuisance - but we do this 
because of some clown named Richard Reid, who came very close to blowing up 
a 747 with a bomb concealed in his shoe. And no, I don't like being told I 
can't take a picture of a subway station or a power plant or a bridge, but 
right now this is a very small price to pay to prevent someone else taking 
that picture with other intentions than to place it into his photo album at 
home.

Saying that we can't do anything because "it might infringe on our 
freedoms" is a mistake, because if the bad guys win, we won't HAVE any 
freedoms. Let's face it, the world is a pretty rough neighborhood, and we 
have just discovered that we need to lock our doors - and THAT is the part 
we don't like, because up to recently, we had a society in which we didn't 
have to do that.

Best Regards,
Mike Arman