Friday, October 06, 2006

Flying

We're heading to Michigan this afternoon for the Michigan-Michigan State game tomorrow afternoon. This will be the first time I've been on an airplane since the ban on carrying liquids and gels on airplanes in August. I've never been afraid of flying at all, but the fact that this (and yes, I know they've modified it to some degree) is somehow seen as a useful way of making the skies safer from terrorists has had me pondering over the last few days how we're really doing in that regard. Kevin Drum has a post this morning that is not reassuring.

NAMES NOT TO HAVE....Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes has somehow gotten hold of a copy of the no-fly list used by airport authorities to screen for possible terrorists. So who's on the list?

60 Minutes: "Gary Smith, John Williams and Robert Johnson are some of those names. Kroft talked to 12 people with the name Robert Johnson, all of whom are detained almost every time they fly. The detentions can include strip searches and long delays in their travels. "Well, Robert Johnson will never get off the list," says Donna Bucella, who oversaw the creation of the list and has headed up the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center since 2003. She regrets the trouble they experience, but chalks it up to the price of security in the post-9/11 world. "They're going to be inconvenienced every time ... because they do have the name of a person who's a known or suspected terrorist," says Bucella."

You know, I'll bet if there were some senator named Robert Johnson, the FBI would figure out a way to make this list a little more user-friendly. Maybe we should try to elect one.


I try not to be overtly partisan here most of the time, but I feel pretty strongly about this: if you think this is what good government is supposed to look like, please vote Republican. Please do so now and forever. However, if, like me, you think this is a small, though not unimportant, example of what a corrupt and incompetent government looks like, do not vote Republican ever again (or at least for a long, long time). And thank God (and your parents) that your name isn't Robert Johnson or John Williams. (Mine is a little too close for comfort to the latter.)

Oh, and fire Donna Bucella. Fire her now!

MORE:

"[Former] FBI agent, Jack Cloonan, knew the list that was hastily assembled after 9/11, would be bungled. 'When we heard the name list or no-fly list … the eyes rolled back in my head, because we knew what was going to happen,' he says. 'They basically did a massive data dump and said, 'Okay, anybody that's got a nexus to terrorism, let's make sure they get on the list,"' he tells Kroft.

"The 'data dump' of names from the files of several government agencies, including the CIA, fed into the computer compiling the list contained many unlikely terrorists. These include Saddam Hussein, who is under arrest, Nabih Berri, Lebanon's parliamentary speaker, and Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia. It also includes the names of 14 of the 19 dead 9/11 hijackers."

Posted by jwb at 8:44 AM   

3 Comments:

Blogger monica said:

The fact that they wouldn't let you bring onto the plane liquids/gels, which were purchased at the airport, once you were PAST security, is admitting that they're still not effectively screening the people who work at airports. I'm not saying that someone who works the Starbucks kiosk should be strip-searched every day before clocking in, but it makes having to take your shoes off even more ridiculous. Doesn't make me feel any safer, either.

And now, gels and toothpaste are ok, as long as they're in Ziploc® baggies. 'Cause we all know about the awesome anti-terrorist properties of 2 mil polyethylene plastic.

Idiots.

---------------------------------
unrelated to this post:
Just read your comment (from the Baltimore trip post) over at Going 2 NM (Bram gets the notification emails, not me), and would be happy to make you a new blogger template. If you follow the link to my profile, all the blogs listed are ones I've monkeyed with. Also Mouth of Wonder and The Soundtrack of My Life is Playing at Applebee's (don't ask). Let me know if'n you're interested.
at 1:17 PM     

Blogger jwb said:

Hey, Monica.

Re. flying: For all my ranting, our trip was remarkably angst-free. Security was a breeze on both ends--though they gave my chapstick a good, thorough looking over--and the flight was great. We flew on Spirit Air--apparently not a new airline but new to me. Their fleet is made entirely of new airbuses, which seem to have more legroom than I'm accustomed to. Highly recommended.

However, I maintain my more general concerns abour security in general. And you make a very nice point--strip search the Baristas or we'll never be safe.

Re. the blog. Thanks for the offer and I'll definitely take you up on it. I'l check out the links and be in touch.
at 9:33 AM     

Anonymous Anonymous said:

"I try not to be overtly partisan here most of the time...". C'mon, seriously
at 7:52 PM     

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