Seldom have bureaucrats managed to so unite Democrats and Republicans, liberals, moderates, conservatives, libertarians, and anarchists. In fact, they have united more factions than Father Orthoduck even knew existed in the United States of America, the Minor Islands, Guam, and other possessions. Over what subject have these men and women of the desk so managed to unite our divided and fractious nation? Over the boarding procedure necessary to get into an airplane! Notice the cartoon above. Can you tell from what political or religious viewpoint it was written? No you cannot, because every possible political and religious viewpoint pretty much holds the view pictured above with regards to American boarding procedures.
The TSA was founded in 2001 and through two Presidents and several Congressional hearings, it has managed to keep the premier spot previously held by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). While FEMA appeared poised to regain its leading spot after the Katrina disaster, the TSA quickly struck back and was able to regain its top billing. While FEMA did momentarily unite the country, it was only temporary. The TSA has shown the ability to negatively affect more people than FEMA ever has and to affect them in an ongoing and unstoppable fashion. But, more than that, although FEMA surged ahead after Katrina based on the lateness of its supplies and the ineffectiveness of its aid, they were never able to come close to the almost near perfect ability that the TSA has shown. No other agency can match its ability to enrage and delay passengers unnecessarily with its inability to actually stop terror.
And, so, for those of you old enough to remember this now-defunct award, Father Orthoduck says, “This week’s winner of the flying fickle finger of fate award is . . .” the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Seldom have so few managed to unite so many in such a tsunami of ineffectiveness.
Deep Purple’s “Highway Star” comes to mind. No thanks, I’m driving.
I think it is interesting that a friend who is a Lebanese Christian with a middle Eastern sounding name was “randomly picked out to be searched” each and every time she flew until she married and took her husband’s Jewish sounding name. She has never been “randomly searched” since. HMMMMM!! Now they can search a Lebanese Christian with an arab sounding name but they can’t search a man who has an arab sounding name, no luggage and who books a one-way ticket with cash and whose passport is not right and whose name is already on a watch list!! Amazing…..