Nothing says “please ride public transit!” like missing a train or bus because someone has decided that it’s of the utmost importance that your backpack be swabbed every morning on your way to work.
What better way to get people to switch from the privacy of their automobile to shared transportation than adding fear, annoyance and delays into the morning routine.
And in 2012, those unnecessary security-theater checkpoints get to roam further into your life, thanks to a funding bill Obama just signed.
In the FY 2012 consolidated spending act (Public Law 112-074) signed by President Barack Obama last Friday, TSA received about $7.85 billion, up $153 million from 2011.
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In addition to the AIT devices, TSA received funds for 140 new behavior detection officers, 12 additional multi-modal Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) teams, 20 additional explosives detection canine teams, and 53 air cargo security staffers.
It’s that last part that is relevant to your daily commute….and even those occasional Greyhound and Amtrak trips. Just when you thought your travel choices were free of invasive procedures and warrantless searches, the TSA manages to secure a massive funding increase in these frugal times.
The recent LA times article TSA Screenings Aren’t Just For Airports Anymore goes into detail on these VIPR teams.
Rick Vetter was rushing to board the Amtrak train in Charlotte, N.C., on a recent Sunday afternoon when a canine officer suddenly blocked the way.
Three federal air marshals in bulletproof vests and two officers trained to spot suspicious behavior watched closely as Seiko, a German shepherd, nosed Vetter’s trousers for chemical traces of a bomb.
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The TSA’s 25 “viper” teams — for Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response — have run more than 9,300 unannounced checkpoints and other search operations in the last year. Department of Homeland Security officials have asked Congress for funding to add 12 more teams next year.
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Last month in Orlando, Fla., a team set up metal detectors at a Greyhound bus station and tested passengers’ bags for explosive residue.
In the Carolinas this year, TSA teams have checked people at the gangplanks of cruise ships, the entrance to NASCAR races, and at ferry terminals taking tourists to the Outer Banks.
At the Charlotte train station on Dec. 11, Seiko, the bomb-sniffing dog, snuffled down a line of about 100 passengers waiting to board an eastbound train. Many were heading home after watching the Charlotte Panthers NFL team lose to the Atlanta Falcons after holding a 16-point lead.
So far, these teams have not yet stopped a single individual driving a private vehicle, even though private vehicles enter “sensitive” areas all the time, like tunnels and bridges.
But dare you use public transportation, even the private kind, like Greyhound, and you are subject to search and delays. Readers from Boston, New York, DC and LA may have encountered checkpoints as they entered their favorite subway station, ruining their carefully timed commute.
We all know these searches provide absolutely no added security to our lives. One looking to blow up a train has no reason to enter a train station or even board the vehicle, simply place their explosive on one of the hundreds of thousands of open tracks around the country. A terrorist looking to make a point won’t target a Greyhound bus with at most, 48 passengers, but instead would find more success at a Friday screening of the newest Twilight film. And anyone looking to create mass damage would simply rent a truck (or caravan), fill it with the explosives of their choice, and detonate their vehicle while in a harbor tunnel.
So why target transit? Is it really so crazy an idea to ponder if some simply want to inconvenience riders so much that they’d prefer to travel in a private car on public roads? Makes about as much sense as spending almost $8 billion on the TSA for “safety” while ignoring the 30,000 killed on highways every year.
TSA is bullshit which needs to be repealed forthwith IMNSHO.
TSA IS BULLSHIT.
It is being used by the Pentagon to pacify paranoid freak civilians, such as the paranoid freaks who call the police about someone just standing on a public sidewalk, or freaks out if someone looks intimidating, or something trivial as that.
Also, the word "terrorist", is just being used as Propaganda by the US Pentagon, to incite fear and horror in the Public. In actuality, the "terrorists" are "SOLDIERS".
Also, it is the US PENTAGON who instigated the so-called 9-11 war that happened, if it should even be called a war. It is the US PENTAGON who harassed Bin Laden and other Muslims FIRST. Many Middle East Countries do not permit Foreign Military's in their Countries. This is where it really started with Bin Laden. But there is more to that Historic Story, that is not discussed here.
Although, there is ZERO evidence that the three planes did not just coincidentally crash by accident. Bin Laden may have been happy about it, but he never admitted doing it in any of his videos.
Also, IF Bin Laden, Iran, or other MIDDLE EAST SOLDIERS, really wanted to attack someone in the US, other than the Pentagon itself, then in reality, they could use a rocket-launcher, machine-gun, mortar, or some other weapon, other than an airplane! And if the MIDDLE EAST SOLDIERS wanted to use an Airplane, could they stuff plastic explosives somewhere, without it being detected, OR, could 20 MIDDLE EAST SOLDIERS get onto a plane at once, and then start kicking some American Ass?
Also, compared to the amount of persons killed during 9-11, how many people are MURDERED in the US each year? Is it really MURDER? Or is the US under attack, by "terrorists"?
Some people say 9-11 was done by the CIA.
In reality, If a bank robber would kill everyone in a bank to rob 10 Million dollars, how many people would certain people in the Pentagon kill, to rob the tax payers of one or two TRILLION dollars? These are the same people who sodomize Muslims, intentionally burn Korans (instead of just confiscating them), murder innocent Muslim Civilians, etc.
Also, George W. Bush profited directly from the raise of oil prices after the alleged 9-11 attack. How much did George W. Bush profit? And for that matter, how much did other US Oil Companies profit from the raise of oil prices?
The fact is, the US is not under attack by the Middle East, and never was.
ALLEGATIONS THAT THE US IS UNDER ATTACK IS FALSE-PROPAGANDA USED BY THE US PENTAGON, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ROBBING TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS FROM THE US TAX PAYERS, AND FOR THE PURPOSE OF DOING OTHER THIEVERY AGAINST THE US CITIZENS, SUCH AS BY USING THE PATRIOT ACT.
THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, THAT CONSPIRATORS IN THE UNITED STATES PENTAGON, THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, AND PERHAPS OTHERS, ARE THE REAL TERRORISTS, AND THEIR MOTIVATION MAY BE ROBBING SEVERAL TRILLION DOLLARS, ACTUAL MONEY, AND CAUSING MAYHEM IN GENERAL !!!
THE PENTAGON IS WANTING TO CONTINUE THE 9-11 WAR, WITH ANOTHER WAR, AND ANOTHER WAR, AND ANOTHER WAR.
NEXT, THEY WANT TO ATTACK IRAN, BECAUSE IRAN IS TRYING TO GET A NUKE!!!
WHAT HAPPENS IF IRAN GETS A NUKE WHILE THE US ATTACKS IRAN, OR AFTER THE US ATTACKS IRAN ???
MAYBE THEY WILL JUST NUKE WASHINGTON DC, AND THE US MILITARY BASES IN THE US, AND THEN AGAIN MAYBE NOT.
THE REAL REASON THE US PENTAGON DOES NOT WANT IRAN TO GET A NUKE, IS BECASE IRAN WOULD BE ABLE TO TELL THE US PENTAGON TO GET OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST.