WASHINGTON -- Government screeners every day confiscate four to five guns -- some of them loaded -- packed in carry-on luggage at the nation's airports, a sign that travelers "are not focused on the security protocols," the head of the Transportation Security Administration said Wednesday at a Senate hearing.
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| Hey, look, another loaded gun! |
TSA Administrator John PIstole testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs about the state of aviation security 10 years after the TSA's creation in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001. He confirmed the daily weapons haul in response to a point raised by Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the ranking Republican on the committee, who noted a loaded gun was found Tuesday on a passenger at Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Conn. "We face a determined foe," she said.
TSA officers have prevented more than 940 guns from getting on board planes at checkpoints nationwide this year alone. Pistole did not specify whether people caught trying to bring guns aboard aircraft did so with ill intent, were unaware that guns were prohibited, or had forgotten they had packed them.
"Your people are finding four or five weapons a day, and not in checked bags," said Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who chairs the committee. "Just think about what could be done to the other passengers. So what the TSA officers are doing is for the protection of the general public."
Emphasis added. Read the rest.
Ok. Joe Lieberman is a disgusting fearmonger and statist, but I knew that before I read this article.
"We face a determined foe"
Note how there are no specifics. The first paragraph actually only references travellers, not terrorists.
How many were legally owned by permit holders? How many were known criminals with no intent?
How many were terrorists? What background does each have?
Uh, that knife I had to throw out in Fort Lauderdale airport, because I had no time to mail it home, late for the flight...I forgot it was in my pocket....
Am I in the statistics as someone stopped at security with a knife?
On critical analysis, this testimony is typical fed.gov obfuscation to keep up the illusion that Das Blauen Hemden, er, I mean, the Blue Shirts are necessary, doing a bang-up job, and most importantly, deserve their budget.
"Das Blauen Hemden" would be the plural
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They got Jim Webb's, of course, I'm sure he was allowed to retrieve it.
ReplyDelete@A Reader:
ReplyDeleteSo much for google translate...Danke :-)
Years back, I stopped in at the local Social Security office, trying to get my father's Social Security number for some paperwork concerning his headstone at a National Cemetery. I had a pocket knife with a three inch blade on it clipped to my pocket. The SS cop (and I mean that literally), was generous. He allowed me to return it to my vehicle instead of arresting me (anything over two inches inside a Federal office apparently was a violation of Federal law), but he wrote it down anyway. When I asked why he needed my info, he said it was because they kept statistics on how many offenders they dealt with every day.
ReplyDeleteI guess I justified his job, dangerous miscreant that I was.