If these procedures “are the only ones right now that they consider to be effective”, can the TSA’s hiring of proctologists be far behind?

I expect that some whiz kid White House politico will soon come up with the bright idea to call these TSA procedures one of the new benefits of their Health Care Reform.

Shorter White House: “Get your breast exams and prostrate screenings free when you fly American, Delta and Southwest.”

As energy costs rise and thermostats are turned down, the TSA officers need some way to keep their hands warm!

170,000 sex crimes? 9 million? What’s the diff? And of course, that doesn’t count the people who went through the scanners even if they might have hated doing so…

The only person that matters here is the CEO of Rapiscan. As long as his campaign contributions continue and he pays big bucks to the lobbyists on K Street, all is fine and dandy in Obama’s world.

Incidentally, I wonder how he ever got the moniker “Constitutional Law Scholar”. Scholarship requires one to study a subject. I’m not sure Obama has ever read the Constitution, much less studied it.

From your link to the WH pushback:

“More than 2 million passengers travel every day in the United States, …” said Smith.

That works out to more than 730 million passengers in the US per year. Over the past 9 years that would be more than 6,570,000,000. During that period of time, 19 of those 6.57 billion passengers were terrorists.

If we include shoe and undie boys here, the percentage of terrorists drops further, since they had departure cities of Paris and Amsterdam, respectively, and we would need to account for all international travelers as well.

In short, I’m supposed to put up with indecent exposure or molestation, because Obama is bad at math.

That’s funny, because you would think a politician who depends on campaign contribution checks with lots of zeros on ’em would understand those kind of numbers better. On the other hand, I suspect the reason he is willfully bad at math is exactly because of who is writing those big checks.

Via the WaPo, a piece on the new WaPo/ABC News poll on the new TSA scanners and “enhanced” patdowns:

…About a third of all Americans see the new scanning machines as a potential health risk, but most say that’s not a big concern…

…The balance shifts, however, when it comes to the enhanced pat-downs. On that question, Americans divide down the middle, with 48 percent saying this new level of search is justified to try to prevent terrorism and 50 percent saying it goes too far. About 37 percent of all Americans say they feel strongly that the new procedure is overly intrusive…

WaPo/ABC News Poll Data here.

The really absurd thing about these latest TSA procedures is how far behind the curve the Administration is on real security.

The AQAP HP Printer bombers have already demonstrated how to exploit the unclosable massive hole in airline security.

They no longer need any suicide bomber wannabees like the Shoe and Undie bombers.

They aren’t worried about the closure of airline package delivery services in Somalia or Yemen.

They can simply smuggle PETN into any of the numerous EU countries (places like Turkey, Italy, and the former Eastern Bloc states readily come to mind) where smuggling is already rampant.

There it’s nothing to take advantage of the EU’s “Open Borders” policies to tranship the bomb material without any inspection into any other EU country (think Germany, France or Britain with their large Muslim populations).

Then it’s simply a matter of packaging the bomb material into suitable “delivery vehicles” such as desktop computers, laptop computers, or printers etc.

The largest computer sellers like Dell, HP, etc. all ship their systems via package delivery services like UPS and FedEx.

And the governments of the US and EU nations, all know that they have zero, nada, zilch capabilities to locate these materials (neither X-ray scanning nor bomb sniffing dogs can detect PETN), or even the fortitude to impose on their corporate masters and somehow holdup delivery and inspect each and every package shipped.

So with all the noise generated by these hapless “close the barndoor” TSA procedures, we hear crickets about the real security vulnerabilities from our governments because to discuss this reality would make us all really, really scared.

Has Mr. Bipartisan resigned yet? If not he should do the nation a service and retire to the gilded halls of Wall Street.

It occurs to me that if somebody detonated a bomb in a TSA line before they got to the pre gate grope rather than on an airplane, there would be more victims than if somebody managed to get explosives through and boarded a flight.

Inspecting my grandpa’s and grandma’s crotches isn’t going to make America safer. Sorry Obama, you are wrong. This is completely unnecessary.

Am I not correct in there being “NO” US citizen attempt to interfere with a commercial flight? All attempts have been from foreigners. So why are Americans treated as though they are potential terrorists?

What a waste of time and effort to bother about this. Talk about a non-issue! Forget this and move on to something of importance.

@wagthedog
Thanks…sorry about that :)

The saddest statistic…

1 guy who said “Hey, wait a minute…”
169,999 sheep that complied as ordered

I refuse to fly. I am intersexual. I have not had the corrective surgeries in order for my body to look like a normal woman’s yet. That will show up in a scan. I wrote a lot about it on LGR . Suffice it to say, what happens if I get a transphobe for a screener? Will I be subjected to horrible things just because I was not born an anatomically correct woman?

What is more, as a molestation survivor, I have a strong problem with anyone who I do not know touching my person, especially my breasts or groin. While I do not panic as much if the person is another woman, it is still not easy for me and the stress of everything would probably throw me into a panic state.

This is just a really bad idea.

Isn’t it always justifiable if it ain’t happening to you or your family members.

If every time they went to the airport Michele Obama had a stranger running

his finger up & down her inner thighs….I am sure this policy would be long gone….this doesn’t surprise me,we are quickly becoming a country where laws apply to some & not all,this all started with Bush,probably before but became apparent to me then…..Outing of Valerie Plame everyone skated free,remember how many times Rove was permitted to change is testimony,6 times.You & I would have been charged for perjury at 1.

O/T,but on target,Steve Rattner and Janet Napolitano on Charlie Rose,right now.

anderson christian university:

Public Servant: Pistole brings sense of mission to FBI’s #2 post
By David Harness
Ask John S. Pistole BA ‘78 about his job, and he’ll tell you about a sense of calling.

“It’s a very challenging, demanding job that I wouldn’t have sought,” he says. “But I believe I’m here for a reason.”

Pistole is deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He is the highest-ranking FBI official not appointed by the President of the United States and second only to FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III in authority and responsibility within the bureau.

Pistole’s position commands considerable trust and respect. As the FBI’s “chief operating officer,” he oversees the bureau’s 30,000 employees, 56 field offices, and $6 billion budget. While Director Mueller is the public face of the bureau — the “CEO” who sets policy — Pistole runs the FBI’s day-to-day operations, carrying out Mueller’s vision and acting on his behalf when the director is away.

“I appointed John Pistole deputy director because he best brings the qualities to help lead — and transform — the FBI during a time of evolving terrorism and crime challenges,” says Mueller. “John is a dedicated public servant, a major asset to the FBI and to our nation.”

Pistole has regularly briefed President George W. Bush and testified before Congressional committees. He addressed the 9/11 Commission about efforts to thwart future terrorist plots. On the seventh floor of the J. Edgar Hoover Building – FBI headquarters – in Washington, D.C., he occupies an office large enough to make a comfortable apartment for an undergraduate.

But if Pistole’s position is commanding, the man himself is modest, his demeanor understated. He seems both comfortable in, and awed by, the role. “If it weren’t for God’s hand at work,” he says, “I wouldn’t be here.” This awareness at once humbles and empowers him.

Pistole was a college sophomore at Anderson University when he began to recognize public service as a calling. His father, Dr. Hollis Pistole BA ’45, then a professor at Anderson’s School of Theology, had modeled a more traditional calling – first as a pastor, then as a teacher/mentor to would-be pastors. Likewise his mother, Elizabeth BS ’43, a teacher at Anderson High School, had set an example of investing one’s life in serving others.

“My parents stressed the value of integrity and hard work, responsibility and being accountable – and treating others fairly,” recalls John, whose siblings Cindy Poikonen BA ’68, Carole Greenwalt BA ’72, and David Pistole BA ’77, all pursued careers in education.

His parents’ upbringing laid the groundwork for a college experience where vocational pursuits and spiritual development went hand in hand. Except, John Pistole almost didn’t make it to college, or the FBI, or adulthood for that matter.

“I had a rebellious time in high school,” he recalls. “I got to see what selfish living was like.” Then a car accident his senior year of high school broke his neck, nearly paralyzed him, and almost cost him his life. “I see that as God’s way of giving me a wake-up call, saying ‘Knucklehead, I’ve blessed you in so many ways. Don’t squander your living. I’ve given you blessings and an opportunity. You’ve got a job to do.’” With his energies refocused, he entered college with purpose.

By his sophomore year at AU, Pistole had found a mentor in Dr. Doug Nelson, a new political science professor at the time. Nelson, then as now, served as director of the Center for Public Service (CPS), an on-campus honor society designed to support and encourage students pursuing careers in public service.

“That idea, of public service being a calling, clicked with me,” recalls Pistole, who chose an American studies/pre-law major. Through CPS, he obtained a summer internship working for his congressman in Washington, D.C., later interned in the Indiana State Assembly, and participated in Anderson’s Model United Nations program. International trips, through the university’s Tri-S program (Study, Serve, Share), further opened his horizons and taught him the rewards and value of serving others.

The discipline of the analytic approach to the study of law, he says, prepared him for law school. At Anderson, Pistole also learned that “calling” can transcend vocation.

“Each of us as Christians are called to be ministers to a unique congregation, that is those we interact with on a daily basis — our families, our coworkers, whomever,” he explains. “We may be the only Christ that somebody sees.” Thus, regardless of one’s career or position, a believer has a God-given assignment to live out Jesus’ example of service, says Pistole.

By the early 1980s, John Pistole had completed his law degree, practiced two years as an attorney, and married Kathy Harp BA ’78. Though he had initially believed his calling was as an attorney, he had grown restless to do something more.

“I had a very positive image of the FBI,” he recalls. “I liked the application of law to the issues the FBI dealt with.”

Pistole’s law background opened doors to a position with the FBI, and in 1983 he began his career as a special agent in the bureau’s Minneapolis division, investigating organized crime and violent crimes. Two years later, he was transferred to the New York division, where he continued investigating organized crime, culminating in his 1990 arrest of Vincent Gigante, head of the Genovese crime family.

From there, Pistole was promoted to a supervisor in the organized crime section at FBI headquarters in Washington in 1990, field supervisor of a white collar crime and civil rights squad in Indianapolis in 1994, and assistant special agent in charge in Boston in 1999.

Along the way, he coordinated the FBI’s collaboration with the Italian National Police, as they investigated the assassinations of two prominent magistrates; developed curriculum and provided instruction at the International Law Enforcement Academy in Budapest, Hungary; and represented the FBI in Bulgaria on a State Department mission on organized crime. In 2001, he directed the “blue team” of the Information Security Working Group addressing security issues following the arrest of Robert Hanssen.

While weighing the promotion to assistant special agent in charge, Pistole discovered John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer through his church’s small group Bible study. At the time, staying in Indianapolis — close to his family of origin — had much appeal, for his family and for him. But the opportunity to have a greater impact also loomed. Praying Wesley’s prayer, especially “the part about turning myself over completely,” convinced John and Kathy to put their future in God’s hands, even if it meant moving to Boston.

In July 2001, Pistole was promoted from Boston back to FBI headquarters, as inspector in the inspection division, where he led teams conducting evaluations and audits of FBI field offices and divisions at headquarters. The following April, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Director Mueller summoned Pistole into leadership of the bureau’s most important mission, as deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter terrorism division. As the #2 ranking official in counter terrorism, he oversaw all its domestic and international terror investigations, and helped build the division from a staff of less than 200 to over 1,000 personnel, as counter terrorism became the FBI’s highest priority.

“It’s not a script that anybody could write,” Pistole says, of his unlikely promotion to deputy assistant director of counter terrorism and, just a year and a half later, to deputy director. He had not thought about or aspired to either position. “That’s why I attribute it to God’s moving. It was so much a matter of timing and place.”

When, as a young attorney, Pistole first considered a career in the FBI, he did his own investigating: he read The FBI Pyramid, the 1979 memoir of W. Mark Felt, the FBI’s deputy director at the time of the 1972 Watergate break-in. This spring, Felt was revealed to be Deep Throat, the secret source who helped Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the scandal which led to President Nixon’s resignation. That revelation, Pistole says, only strengthened his respect for the position and responsibilities he now holds.

While Pistole’s tenure as deputy director hasn’t brought any Watergate-style investigations, the challenges he — and the bureau — face have been unprecedented. As the only government agency with law enforcement and intelligence responsibilities, the FBI provides a crucial link between the nation’s 750,000 police officers and its 15 different intelligence agencies – especially in this age of persistent terrorist threats.

As the bureau and its responsibilities have grown, Pistole has been responsible for finding more efficient ways of accomplishing its mission. “One of the key things I’m trying to do is really integrate the collection, analysis, and dissemination of public property called intelligence, throughout all our investigative areas,” he says. “How do we make sure people who are collecting information are getting it analyzed and shared in a timely basis — not only in the FBI, but especially in law enforcement?”

Pistole also manages personnel decisions, identifying future leaders and selecting officials for key assignments. “The personnel part of the job is huge,” he says, noting that post-9/11 burnout and greater job demands have increased the pace of such appointments, and made them all the more crucial.

“People still have a sense of mission [in the FBI], to make sure everything humanly possible is done to [prevent] another terrorist attack,” he says. “There are a lot of very dedicated, extremely hard-working people in this organization.”

But, he admits, the challenges — including adjusting to new structures, such as the Department of Homeland Security and the director of national intelligence — have never been greater.

“I try to be an optimist and say, ‘Rather than looking at all the problems, let’s look at them as opportunities to demonstrate character,’” says Pistole, of the counter-terrorism effort.

“I’m very hopeful there will not be another attack,” he adds, “but the reality is that there are a lot of people around the world who really want to cause harm to Americans, and if they have the means to do it, they will.”

If his job’s considerable demands seem stressful, Pistole takes it in stride. “I think stress can be a positive thing; it keeps you on your toes” — and on his knees.

“For myself, every day I pray for discretion or discernment, encouragement and wisdom,” he says, acknowledging he needs a lot of each in his work. Where he feels the greatest stress, Pistole admits, is in being away from his family so much. Each morning, he leaves home at 5 a.m., not to return from the office until 8 p.m., or later. Even weekends at home are subject to interruption.

“There is a tradeoff in that I wish I could spend more time with my family, and they wish that too,” he says. “So, I relish and really appreciate the time that I do have with them.”

“It’s a challenge,” adds his wife, Kathy, “but it’s something that we’ve worked at together. I miss him and I know that our daughters miss him, but he’s able to be available and accessible when he is home. It’s understanding the difference between quantity and quality time — and feeling a sense of calling to do what I do, as a full-time mom.”

“But for her support and sense of calling about this, I wouldn’t be here,” says John of Kathy. “I’m at peace about what I am doing, that I’m in God’s will and that I’m doing what he wants me to do. But if today I had a strong sense that God was calling me to do something else, that’s what I’d do.”
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For your reading pleasure. Two TSA stories.

We can’t pat you down if you won’t put your clothes on.

How to get through an airport without being body scanned or patted down.

I want to know if moaning in pleasure and simulating (or having!) an orgasm would be considered hindering the agent’s duties and subjecting one to the civil fines. If the federal government requires my junk to be fondled, I’m at least going to demand a happy ending.

Just a joke! A decade of failing economy has rendered air travel (or vacations) out of my price range anyway.