And they all rejoiced
Apparently the Transportation Security Administration "is slated for dismantling," according to a Washington Post story:
The TSA has been plagued by operational missteps, public relations blunders and criticism of its performance from the public and legislators. Its "No Fly" list has mistakenly snared senators. Its security screeners have been arrested for stealing from luggage, and its passenger pat-downs have set off an outcry from women.No surprise, this has been met with enthusiasim among the right bloggers. PoliBlog thought the TSA was dumb. Pejmanesque hopes we'll learn from the TSA's failures as we continue to improve security. Instapundit hopes this begins a trend of shrinking the government. K.J. Lopez at the Corner is impressed that a failing agency is actually getting canned. Outside the Beltway always thought government employees handling airport security was a dubious proposal. It would seem only Michelle Malkin is somewhat pessimistic, but that's because she doubts the TSA will actually be fully eliminated.
Under provisions of President Bush's 2006 budget proposal favored by Congress, the TSA will lose its signature programs in the reorganization of Homeland Security. The agency will probably become just a manager of airport security screeners -- a responsibility that itself could diminish as private screening companies increasingly seek a comeback at U.S. airports. The agency's very existence, in fact, remains an open question, given that the legislation creating the Department of Homeland Security contains a clause permitting the elimination of the TSA as a "distinct entity" after November 2004.
Eliminating bloated, ineffectual, and unpopular government boondoggles is always a great thing. And if you need a good example of why throwing lots of money willy-nilly at a problem (espeically public tax dollars) often doesn't work, the TSA is a text book case. Furthermore, Kevin at Wizbang makes a great point:
From a logical and practical perspective it's always seemed to me that the TSA was a giant public funded placebo. Security wasn't much better, even with that addition of several more layers of screening and technology.Here's to hoping that Homeland Security starts to get things right while they reorganize.
The 9/11 hijackers commandeered planes with box cutters; but do you think that could happen again today? Probably not, but not because of the billions spent on the TSA or changes to the screening process. The real change is that airline personnel and the flying public are much more security aware than pre 9/11. Things we thought we knew about hijacking turned out not to be true, so the policy of not actively resisting a hijacking attempts has thankfully been changed.
posted by Q at 4/08/2005 02:14:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home