In Memoriam 20

"Tribute in Light" credit 2006 - Denise Gould / USAF

It’s truly hard to believe that it has already been 20 years. While there were without a doubt issues among we American citizens after 9/11/01, they are sadly nothing compared to what we face today. We have fallen so far from the hopeful ideal that this country should be.

Today I am hopeful that the sense of unity that this country showed after the 9/11 attacks will return someday very soon. We sorely need it so that we may defeat the growing authoritarian and fascistic elements that have caused our wide and painful divisions.

In Memoriam 14

"Tribute in Light" credit 2006 - Denise Gould / USAF

     As we all likely say every year since and will for some time to come: "It's hard to believe it's been so long already."  Fourteen years.  Myself and many of you will probably remember where we were this day in 2001 for the rest of our lives. We will indeed never forget.

The TSA: Internal Investigations Reveal...what we expected.

View fullsize

{PHOTOGRAPH} Transportation security administration, 2015

(June 1, 2015) - Recently ABC News received information that the Transportation Security Administration "...failed 67 of 70 tests, where undercover agents tried to pass through security while carrying fake prohibited items."

The items in question were fake explosive devices to prohibited weapons concealed with the undercover agents. From ABC News, "An internal investigation of the Transportation Security Administration revealed security failures at dozens of the nation’s busiest airports, where undercover investigators were able to smuggle mock explosives or banned weapons through checkpoints in 95 percent of trials...." As a response to the ABC News report, DHS gave a written response stating that, “Upon learning the initial findings of the Office of Inspector General's report, Secretary Johnson immediately directed TSA to implement a series of actions, several of which are now in place, to address the issues raised in the report,” 

View fullsize

{photograph} mike segar, reuters, corbis, 2015

This is always a reassuring moment, because as any traveler knows...this is not a comforting statistic. God only knows what has already passed through security by an ill-intentioned passenger. But I digress, as this is not the first time TSA has failed to catch prohibited items through the security check points. Never mind just general weaknesses in the screening processes, such as JFK in 2013. 

Former TSA employees, such as Jason Harrington, have come forward whistle-blowing on the poor practices and procedures of the security infrastructure within TSA. Harrington speaks to the improper use of the body scanners, never mind the obvious incertitude. In 2012, he began a controversial blog addressing the weaknesses and poor policies of the U.S. Transportation Security Agency. Below, in his own words, Harrington relays his accounts from the view of a former TSA agent.

View fullsize

{Video Capture} 2010, "A toddler in a wheelchair is stopped by the TSA at ORD (O’Hare Airport in Chicago)", Video by Matt DuBiel, 2010.

"In short, the full body scanners are inherently plagued by so many weaknesses that it would be in the public’s best interest for them to be removed from airports as a primary screening method. This is my opinion, and the opinion of many TSA employees whom I knew. EPIC’s lawsuit is correct in its statement:

“When the TSA deployed the body scanners, it initiated one of the most sweeping, most invasive and most unaccountable suspicion-less searches of American travelers in history.”

View fullsize

{Photograph} "TSA agent performs enhanced pat down on elderly traveler: A Transportation Security Administration agent performs an enhanced pat down on an elderly traveler at the Denver International Airport, Nov. 22, 2010 in Denver." John moore, getty images, 2010 

With this post I am merely voicing the opinion of many TSA employees who are too timid or complacent in their jobs to speak out about the gross mismanagement and abuse of public trust endemic to the TSA."

Although this new report has brought a raging red flag to the forefront of the main stream media, we shall see how it is managed. However, just as with the previous concerns of TSA's procedures and policies, very little has changed. If anything, the rights of U.S. law biding citizens will continue to come under fire with the absurdity of TSA's brand of safety in the name of national security. 

God Save Our Ship.