ViceZilla’s Views

CNN reported today that an Airline employee was able to smuggle a duffel bag containing 14 firearms and 8 pounds of marijuana onto a plane!

The story reports that the employee went through ‘normal’ TSA screening, used his airport ID to return to the ’secure’ area, retrieve the bag, then carry it onto a Delta flight headed for San Juan! What makes this episode even more laughable is authorities learned of this from a ‘tipster’! Even with airport identification enabling him to access ’secure’ areas of the airport, how the hell could he still get a duffel bag containing 14 firearms into the ’secure’ area?

Lets recap shall we. Water, or any other form of liquid is banned from carry on baggage. No lighters, matches, or batteries allowed either. All carry on baggage is meticulously inspected as it passes through the x-ray. Then opened and hand inspected by a security ‘official’ after that. Laptop computers are scanned separately, then required to be turned on as well. The passenger is then asked to remove all belongings from their pockets, remove jewelry, jackets, belts AND shoes, which is again put through the x-ray.

Then, while waiting in line to go through the metal detector, you make a mental note to replace your Odor-Eaters insoles in your shoes (if you ever get them back) because the foot odor you are smelling just might be from you. Your turn comes to go through the metal detector, as you walk through, your relieved to not hear it ‘ding’. But even though it didn’t go ‘ding’, you are asked to stand spread eagle while another security official ‘wands’ you! What the hell? If the big one didn’t go ‘ding’, why do they think the little one might do a better job? But if it’s not your lucky day, and you lose the ‘lottery’, you are subjected to a ‘pat-down’ by another security official! As all this is happening, your personal belongings are being piled up at the end of the x-ray conveyor belt, along with everybody else’s stuff. Meanwhile as you are trying to explain why you have your lucky penny in your sock, some airport employee is walking past you with a duffel bag full of guns!

This is another prime example of the Government using smoke and mirrors to take attention away from a serious problem that they can’t fix! Maybe they should concentrate on fixing the problems from the ‘inside’ first, then worry about asking you, “did you pack your luggage yourself”?

Tags: Musings //