[rescue] Airport Security and Rescues...

[Jonathan C. Patschke]

On Thu, 27 Mar 2008, Ian Finder wrote:

> The moral here: ALWAYS FedEx your stuff,  and F the TSA. They also
> scratched a brand new Macbook during examination, and dropped a mac
> plus I brought in my carry-on.

#ifdef RANT

What do you expect?  They're government goons.  If they actually had to
compete with other organizations for what they provide[0], they'd either
shape up or get run out of business.

As it is, since they are the government, they don't have to put up with
any competition, since they get armed thugs to kidnap any perceived
competition and lock them up in little stone rooms with metal bars.
They don't face any downsides to providing crap service, and they rarely
get and flack for outright negligence and malice.  So, what motivation
have they to even attempt doing a halfway decent job?

I mean, really, they mess up your stuff, what's the fallout?  I've had
them literally cut open unlocked, brand-new (so it's not like the
zippers were sticking) luggage, rendering it useless for future trips.
At least they were kind enough to stick a notice in there letting me
know they they decided to search through my luggage, in case I might've
otherwise suspected that the airline had a pack of angry wolverines in
the luggage hold.  If you actually do get to someone, their response is
"oh, we're terribly sorry sir, but we're not responsible.  You -must-
have had your luggage locked or something".

These days, unless I absolutely, positively have to be on the other side
of the country the same day, I just drive.  F the TSA and F my
countrymen for sitting for this asinine security theatre.  If even a
third the people traveling would just say "No" to this stupid crap, the
government would either have to rethink this idiocy or we could just
watch the airline industry grind to a screeching half.

#endif


[0] Err...once we figure out what the TSA provides, aside from
     harassment and irritation.
-- 
Jonathan Patschke | "There is no such thing as a short of reserves...
Elgin, TX         |  one bank can have a problem...the Fed can print
USA               |  money, there is no shortage."
.                 |     --Jim Glassman, US Economist, JPMorgan Chase