[GCFL-discuss] A TSA welcome home for the troops...

[Discussion of the Good, Clean Funnies List]

Hi Jeanene!

It is important that soldiers under arms only be issued ammunition when
they are under orders to use it, and directed by a chain of command on
when and how to use it. I think we all agree that the army chain of
command had covered all bases on that with the group of soldiers
described in the earlier email. The problem for both soldiers and
civilians, is that TSA employees do what they do for the sake of being
seen to be doing something, whether it makes any sense or not, whether it
makes us more secure or not.

I have some sympathy for TSA's position. It is perfectly true that the
first time an attack succeeds, lots of loud-mouths will be sound off
about why the TSA didn't do almost anything it might have done to prevent
it. Many of those loud-mouths will be the same people screaming loudest
about the intrusive searches. Those of us who think we have any integrity
complaining have to be prepared to say "But lot's of people, including
me, told the TSA it was going too far." (On the other hand, if TSA put
its money into intelligence and connecting the dots, it could have
stopped the "underwear bomber" ever getting on the plane.

TSA has a huge number of clueless, inexperienced, dobees on its payroll.
That is because on September 10, 2001, there were not ten thousand highly
trained security officers sitting around a conference room somewhere
waiting for their country to call on them in its hour of need. Who
applied for those jobs in 2002, 2003, 2004? A bunch of people who were
out of work, that's who. The ones that really care, which may well be
most of them, are earnestly trying to follow procedures and do a thorough
job. That puts them in the position of imposing stupid requirements on
soldiers newly returned from Afghanistan, with all sincere good
intentions, and not knowing what to say when asked what the hell it is
all for.

By the way Jeanene, a few years ago, you remarked that Janet Napolitano,
as governor of Arizona, was great. Now, as a member of President Obama's
cabinet, she's getting a lot of flak, sometimes silly sounding off,
sometimes because she puts her foot in her mouth. Is there a Peter
Principle at work here? Even if there isn't, I thought it was a mistake
for our president to call so many recently elected governors and senators
into his cabinet. They were needed, and doing a good job, where they
were, in Arizona and Colorado and Kansas. The qualifications needed in a
department administrator are not necessarily the same. Anyway, just
wondered what you thought.

Siarlys
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