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TSA's Head of Security 'Removed' from Office

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Re: TSA's Head of Security 'Removed' from Office

#61
post #33

Can't believe I am saying this but whatever Israel does in their airports, do it here and problem solved. In fact whatever company does it in Israel should be hired to do it here, if it is a government thing, borrow their people to train ours, we give them enough for that loan.

The way Israel achieves their efficacy is blatant racial profiling. I've been to Israel several times, and because I am a white Jewish American, I have no problems. If I had brown skin, or was Muslim, or wasn't from the US, there's a good chance I'd just not be let in.

Now, it works extremely well. Can't deny that. And it's legal under Israeli law. But it would be blatantly illegal here.

Re: TSA's Head of Security 'Removed' from Office

#62

Let's close down the TSA instead. Use intelligent profiling and random searches instead of universal scanning. Let anyone go to the gates, not just ticket holders. Allow liquids, yogurt containers, etc. Allow knives. Allow people to "congregate" near the front lavatory. Try it for one year and I can almost guarantee, flights will be every bit as secure. Security theatre is not security.

I agree with you 100% on security theater, but you have to be careful with "intelligent profiling." Remember that if it involves singling somebody out by race, gender, religion, etc., it's almost certainly unconstitutional in the US.

Re: TSA's Head of Security 'Removed' from Office

#64

One of the most irritating aspects of the TSA inefficiencies is that they know the demand at each airport in advance. Because all airlines submit passenger information to the TSA as its booked (often months or weeks in advance), the TSA can shift resources. While I'm all for blaming the TSA, the head of the TSA's union was on NPR this morning and pointed out that Congress diverted funds collected from the "9/11 Tax"…

>the neo-conservative method of government

The only use the word "neo-conservative" has anymore is to identify people who only know political buzzwords.

Re: TSA's Head of Security 'Removed' from Office

#65
post #49

One of the most irritating aspects of the TSA inefficiencies is that they know the demand at each airport in advance. Because all airlines submit passenger information to the TSA as its booked (often months or weeks in advance), the TSA can shift resources. While I'm all for blaming the TSA, the head of the TSA's union was on NPR this morning and pointed out that Congress diverted funds collected from the "9/11 Tax"…

Just a nit: The management technique you're talking about is called "attrition". I think it's ideologically neutral. Either way: "starve the beast" isn't a neocon position; Grover Norquist isn't a neoconservative. Neoconservatism is primarily about activist foreign policy, something that sets them apart from traditional conservatism, where isolationism is a more prominent strain of thought.

This is not a small thing: Starve the beast is emphatically a right-wing tactic, and well known one at that. To call it ideologically neutral w/r/t government is blatantly wrong.

Whether it's technically neoconservative or not is a red herring. (Neoconservative being just one subset of the overall conservative movement.)

Re: TSA's Head of Security 'Removed' from Office

#66

I've been to the DMV yesterday. You wait in line for 40 minutes in the sun just to get a number and then wait some more. Once you get a number, you're counted in the official wait time statistics published on their website, so the extra 40 minutes are shaved off for free. Who ever though it was going to be different when the TSA was created?

I've been driving for 26 years in 6 different states and hardly ever have had any kind of serious wait.

Yeah, ironically DMV wait times are for people who aren't patient enough to wait for a low-traffic period of time, or to find a DMV that isn't busy.

Re: TSA's Head of Security 'Removed' from Office

#68

I've been to the DMV yesterday. You wait in line for 40 minutes in the sun just to get a number and then wait some more. Once you get a number, you're counted in the official wait time statistics published on their website, so the extra 40 minutes are shaved off for free. Who ever though it was going to be different when the TSA was created?

In CA you can make an appointment. I made one and was in and out in 20 minutes.

Re: TSA's Head of Security 'Removed' from Office

#69
post #65
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just a nit: The management technique you're talking about is called "attrition". I think it's ideologically neutral. Either way: "starve the beast" isn't a neocon position; Grover Norquist isn't a neoconservative. Neoconservatism is primarily about activist foreign policy, something that sets them apart from traditional conservatism, where isolationism is a more prominent strain of thought.

This is not a small thing: Starve the beast is emphatically a right-wing tactic, and well known one at that. To call it ideologically neutral w/r/t government is blatantly wrong. Whether it's technically neoconservative or not is a red herring. (Neoconservative being just one subset of the overall conservative movement.)

Starve-the-beast is certainly a conservative strategy! RIF through attrition, though, is a general management technique.

"Starve the beast" refers to cutting government revenue to force tougher decisions about which departments to reduce or eliminate.

I agree, like I said, it's just a nit.

Re: TSA's Head of Security 'Removed' from Office

#70
post #49

One of the most irritating aspects of the TSA inefficiencies is that they know the demand at each airport in advance. Because all airlines submit passenger information to the TSA as its booked (often months or weeks in advance), the TSA can shift resources. While I'm all for blaming the TSA, the head of the TSA's union was on NPR this morning and pointed out that Congress diverted funds collected from the "9/11 Tax"…

Just a nit: The management technique you're talking about is called "attrition". I think it's ideologically neutral. Either way: "starve the beast" isn't a neocon position; Grover Norquist isn't a neoconservative. Neoconservatism is primarily about activist foreign policy, something that sets them apart from traditional conservatism, where isolationism is a more prominent strain of thought.

The traditional definition of a neo con (pre GW Bush) is an ex leftist in the 50s/60s who moved to the right. There are domestic and foreign policy neo cons. The foreign policy sorta overshadowed the domestic side during the Bush years. I.e a conservative being a liberal who was mugged by reality, broken windows, Norman Podohertz's notorious 'my negro problem and ours' essay, etc.
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