The TSA recently decided to relax its rules regarding small (6 cm or smaller) pocket knives, allowing them to be taken past security and into the airplane cabin. After this fleeting moment of common sense from the TSA (as post-9/11, no terrorist would even think of taking on a cabin full of Americans armed only with 2″ knives), Delta CEO Richard Anderson begged TSA Administrator John Pistole to reconsider, in a love letter addressing both parties by first name and gushing that Delta “will always be good partners with the TSA.”
It is truly unclear to me why those in the industry feel the need to ass-kiss with the TSA at all times. They can’t possibly think that the TSA is an effective, well-run organization. Do they fear retribution if they speak out? Or is it simply that they enjoy having a third party take the responsibility (and blame) for aviation security?
Delta, unfortunately, is not the only people who oppose the policy change. Useful idiots on both sides in Congress, such as Chuck Schumer on the left and John McCain on the right, flight attendants and pilots, and Jon “The Skies Are Falling” Adler of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, who cries, with trembling voice and while holding his mommy’s hand, that “if [the new policy] isn’t changed, say a prayer, rub a rabbit’s foot, and get ready to fly the deadly American skies.”
Most of the opposition talks about generic “safety” in the skies, avoiding the unjustifiable proposition that a pocket knife would make the difference between success and failure of a terrorist attack. But, what does this mean? Safety of flight attendants? That of other passengers? If so, then we might as well ban knives on buses, in McDonald’s, and everywhere else, since the people there are just as deserving of safety via governmnet-imposed weapons searches as FAs and airline passengers. The “anything to keep us safer” crowd strikes again, this time taking things even farther than the TSA (perhaps because knife detection doesn’t give the TSA an excuse to buy shiny new toys like nude body scanners).
You may have never expected to read this on this blog, but TSA Out of Our Pants fully supports this change in TSA policy.
Professional Troublemaker ® 
First-class international flights provide a steak-knife with dinner.
Perhaps we should T H I N K about this silly issue.
After all of the public comments from elected officials, airline CEO and employees and other hand-wringing citizens, I started wondering if TSA did not design this policy change to induce this exact reaction. Notice they did not relax standards on taking off shoes, groping people, snow globes, liquids, taking laptops out of bags or any other countless things that would have been overwhelmingly welcome. Instead, they went straight for allowing knives. It’s like they knew it could cause this backlash, which can now be used for future comments like “we tried to relax security measures, but the public WANTS this level of security”.
This matches my first thought when I heard about the change. Of all the things they could of done why relax the one restriction guaranteed to get everyone in an uproar except to use the uproar to justify all the other useless restrictions.
TSA confession describes security screenings as ‘a complete joke’; ‘It’s all for show’
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/confessions_of_tsa_agent_we_re_bunch_OhxHeGd0RR9UVGzfypjnLO
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/newark_tsa_bomb_boozled_eTIZBp2X7B299qO5WCWvAK
EPIC Prevails in Two FOIA Cases, Obtains Further Details on Body Scanners:
http://epic.org/2013/03/epic-prevails-in-two-foia-case.html
Head Of TSA Questioned On Criminal Conduct Within TSA & Body Scanner Safety:
Don’t know if you saw this:
http://www.expressjetpilots.com/the-pipe/showthread.php?50173-EWR-TSA-Fail
Oops.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=%3C3
I wonder how did the TSA reached the conclusion that what air travelers want the most is to carry 2″ knives into planes and not, just a wild thought, stopped getting radiated, stripped searched and having their kids and grandmothers sexually molested by the TSA.
Airport Screening Concerns Civil Liberties Groups:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/business/passenger-screening-system-based-on-personal-data-raises-privacy-issues.html?hp&_r=0
More airport madness: What will your risk rating be?
http://privacysos.org/node/998
Oh for gosh sake, “KNIVES”, the sky is falling! the sky is falling! the TSA just needs to be abolished. I just watched the interview with John Pistole (posted by Joe) the man is sickening. The whole TSA show is just insane!
After reading the new knife policy by TSA, I write here to remind Americans that on Sept. 11 ,2001, airline pilots were trained comply with hijackers. Obviously, that included opening the cockpit door, getting out of the pilot’s seat and letting a hijacker fly the aircraft on 911. Armed federal agents, traveling on commercial aircraft, were under orders not to interfere with hijackers unless “first asked for assistance by the captain.” No Kidding. Pilots are briefed differently now and federal agents now have “shoot anyone who touches the cockpit door, with intent to take over the plane” orders. They do not wait for the captain to take action. Small knives, hockey sticks, etc. are not a factor in anyone taking the aircraft for 911 type terror. My suggestion for keeping things safe, report, to the FAA and your congressman, anytime the cockpit door is opened in flight. The airline and flight crew will answer for those safety breaches and that is the thing that really prevents a 911 terror repeat.
TSA agents ‘humiliated’ wounded Marine with aggressive inspection: report:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2013/mar/19/tsa-agents-humiliated-wounded-marine-aggressive-in/
A bumbling TSA agent “playing around” with a pepper-spray container at Kennedy Airport fired the caustic liquid at five fellow screeners yesterday, sending all six to the hospital, a source told The Post.
The agent, Chris Yves Dabel, discovered the device at the Terminal 2 security checkpoint and tried to determine if it was real, a source told The Post.
He told Port Authority cops that he “found the canister on the floor and thought it was a laser pointer.”
“They were playing around with it,” said one Kennedy Airport official.
The screener sprayed five other TSA agents around him, sending all six to Jamaica Hospital and halting security checks at Kennedy for at least 15 minutes, police said.
No passengers reported injuries. Dabel refused medical attention.
TSA officials scrambled to keep the embarrassing incident under wraps yesterday — until The Post began inquiring about it, a source said.
The agency has been plagued with a rash of humiliating incidents at area airports — including the failure of Newark screeners in February to catch an undercover fed with a fake explosive stuffed in his pants at either of two checkpoints.
Authorities have called for a top-to-bottom review of that airport’s procedures.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/oops_tsa_guy_goes_spray_zy_zpNfHADRbTmEKrDnnHQ05H