Airport Security Simply an Inconvenience

I saw this video taken on Jan 7th on Fox News and thought it perfectly depicted how bad Airport Security is. In the video it shows a security guard at a checkpoint. At first it's a little hard to understand but the mass of people who are moving on the right side are all getting off of a plane and leaving. A little into the video the security guard gets up and walks out of frame for some unknown reason. At this point a man walks right by where the security guard should be and meets up with a women then also leaves the cameras view. Check out the link below, Fox does a good job of describing what is going on.

Security Breach Caught on Tape

This is a common scene in an Airport. Hundreds of people moving through a doorway (Metal Detectors) with only a few security guards around. The way in which everyone gets bottle necked makes it a lot easier to keep track of everyone but at the same time those guards have other responsibilities. For instance the guard at the metal detector is very occupied with waving his magic wand over your crotch several times. He isn't capable of watching someone else's post to make sure they are doing their job right.

In this case the guard who was at the podium had to get up for some reason. I don't know what it was for but I am sure it wasn't to grab a donut. Apparently, he had already told the man that would soon sneak through to leave the area. Just because you have someone hanging around though doesn't mean you can totally ignore other problems should they arise.

I really have no problem with what the security guard did. Granted he did leave his post which he shouldn't have. I hope he at least had a good reason such as addressing another threat. The problem I see is with the overall layout or setup of the security checkpoint itself. Whether or not that guard is there should play little role in the overall function of the checkpoint.

The checkpoint should be able to operate efficiently on its own with the security guard providing a human presence to oversee operations. What I mean by this is, when the man entered the area he was unobstructed. He had nothing substantial in his way, not even a rotary device like at amusement parks or subways which could have been a valid deterrent.

The other real problem is that this guard was by himself. The concept of a partner or working in pairs didn't exist. With two men working the podium one would be free to move about freely while one ensured the checkpoint wasn't compromised. It seems that the Airports have the minimalist attitude. They want to have the least amount of security to get the job done. We have seen that it clearly doesn't do anything except slow innocent people down. If the system is set up with a properly staffed and equipped security team who is trained, then people who pose no danger would be the ones moving freely through while those who pose a threat are held up. It seems to me like the security is more for show at this point then anything else.

White House Holds No One Accountable

I can't say this is a surprise. In fact, I believe I specifically wrote that nothing would come of an investigation on this matter and that there would be no findings. It's hard to understand Obama sometimes because he stated during a press conference that actions would be taken and people would be held accountable. While I know he is prone to making promises he has no intention on keeping, shouldn't he simply state he will investigate the matter?

In a meeting recently when Obama was questioned about firings over this latest Terrorist incident he took the blame upon himself stating, "ultimately the buck stops with me". Quite simply that means that he doesn't want to hold anyone accountable because we obviously can't fire the President. There are plenty of people that should be held accountable. Clearly my favorite to dislike is Janet Napolitano. I can't understand how she still has a job. She went on TV the day before and stated our procedures are working. Then the next day a terrorist walks through our security. Napolitano, you are clearly not in touch.

Another notable person who I feel is worthy enough to be mentioned by name on my blog is Michael Leiter, who is the Director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center. Leiter didn't fail in the same way as Napolitano, he brought it to a completely new level. One can safely assume that working as the Director of the NCTC would mean you have some sort of a brain or at least common sense. Wouldn't common sense tell you that a terrorist is most likely to attack on or close to days of significance. Then that same common sense should be telling you that it might not be a great idea to go on vacation during those high risk days.

What got to me was that the Deputy Director of this NCTC stated that Leiter, "Deserved" the vacation and that he had a good group of people to deal with it while he was away. I have Breaking News for you Leiter: If a terrorist almost succeeds at exploding a plane you don't deserve anything except a permanent vacation. As usual however there are people that will try and defend Leiter and his vacation. They say that it was his seven year-old sons birthday and that he was spending it with him. They (Liberals) push that anyone who has a problem with his vacation obviously doesn't like kids.

This type of lowly defense is such a joke. If you are torn about spending time with your family or doing your job properly then maybe that position isn't for you. The Directors position is a 24/7 job. If you can't do that then get out and make room for someone that can. I don't even care if you are the best qualified for the job. If you aren't around when shit hits the fan then you are useless.

I heard this put very well last night. In essence Obama just gave everyone a Mulligan. All the mistakes are forgiven and no one is getting in trouble. It must be really great to work for him because of the amount of slack he cuts you. I mean his staff didn't even wake him up from his slumber for three hours until after the attack happened. It's funny to think that I knew of this terrorist plot prior to the President because I get news updates emailed directly to my phone. Maybe that is what the President needs to get for himself and for his National Security team. At least they would be able to stay current with whats going on.

Health Care Debate Not Over, Constitutionality Questioned.

With the Health Care Bill moving from the Senate to the House for approval, some Republican Senators are using this time to ask if the Bill is even constitutional. The two main problems of the bill are: whether the deal Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson received for his state is constitutional, and is the overall premise of mandating Americans to purchase legal?

The deal dubbed "The Nebraska Compromise" exempts the state from paying medicare costs for life. This in return costs the government 100 million dollars over 10 years, so in essence taxpayers from other states pay the medicare costs of Nebraska. First off, how does this even sound fair to Democrats? I am pretty sure even a room of 6th graders could figure out that this isn't right. Unless those six graders are from Detroit but that's a completely different topic.


Now, under the constitution, which this Health Care Bill must follow, there is a clause in the Fourteenth Amendment known as Equal Protection. In a nut shell the clause basically says that a state shall not deny anyone equal protection under the laws. It reinforces that all men are created equal. Typically its used to reference discrimination according to color, race, sex or anything you basically can think of. In this Health Care case its being questioned weather people from 49 states aren't being granted the same protection and rights as Nebraska. In essence the answer is simple. If you don't live in Nebraska you are being discriminated against.

If you are reading this, please don't be the person that says you cant be discriminated against because of what state you live in, or even that's not what discrimination is. Discrimination isn't contained by color, race, or sex. By definition, it is the simple treatment in favor or against a person based on any group, class or category they may fall in. Now that we have that out of the way it should be plenty clear why this entire provision for Nebraska is wrong. The simple fact that I live outside of Nebraska shouldn't mean that I should have to cover their taxes.

The second part of the Health Care bill that is being questioned is if the Federal Government can force you to buy something which in this case is Health Care. Many people out there don't realize that there is in fact a penalty for not purchasing Health Care which ranges from a fine to a short bout in jail. Ask yourself if this seems right. I understand many peoples argument that "Health Care is supposed to help people" so everyone should get it. The problem however is that argument can be made in a lot of cases depending on how perverted your logic is.


For instance, "We all want to protect the Earth. Carbon emissions are bad. Incandescent light bulbs are bad for the environment. Energy star light bulbs will be better for everyone to have." Now the government proposes a bill mandating all homes to have Energy Star or florescent lights by the end of the year. Is this likely to happen? Maybe not, but it could be possible. The idea of the government telling everyone in the country they MUST buy something isn't really American.

Earlier someone made the argument to me that the government already forces you in some states to get car insurance. The simple fact is that driving is a privilege not a right you have under the Constitution so that's perfectly acceptable. Contrary, you have a Right To Live, its not a privilege.

I think that soon you will see this Nebraska provision removed from the Health Care Bill altogether. The concept of reform in the industry is a good one. However, in this situation the Bill has gotten too big and ridiculous. If it is passed, I think it will only be the beginning to what will be a long ride down a slippery slope.

Time for Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano to step down?

For those of you who do read this site and past articles you would remember my criticism of Janet Napolitano the Homeland Security Director. I for one do not have much faith in her ability to run what is this countries Umbrella security agency. She is by far the most interviewed Agency Director. I can recall only a handful of times in the past year that the FBI or CIA directors have been on TV to give an interview. Yet Napolitano is on every other week it seems. For this reason I think she has done a majority of the work to degrade the public’s trust in her.

Well, in what seems to have been foreshadowed by “yours truly”, Democrats and others are asking the question “Should Napolitano step down?” My answer is yes, she really should and I will tell you why. Amazingly it really has nothing to do with the fact that this recent terrorist plot happened or failed. It does have to do with the fact that after it did, she was posing questions in a media interview that she should already know considering she is the HOMELAND SECURITY SECRITARY. She made herself sound like she was completely out of the loop, as though she was in some entry level position with absolutely no clue as to what is going on. I don’t know about all of you out there, but I for one like my boss to know what is going on.

A real director of an agency should be commanding and demand respect because they know EVERYTHING that is going on with their organization. I know some of you are saying, “But there is so much going on how could she?” Well that’s the truth isn’t it? There really is a lot going on. So much so that she really couldn’t know everything. Public image is everything though. It is what makes people confident in your ability to do your job. When you lose your image it can be disastrous. Even if she had no clue what went on in this terrorist plot I personally believe she went about publicizing it totally wrong. Her choice of words were that of someone who is clueless. She really should have come out and instead of commenting about the faults. She should try and reassure that measures are being taken and procedures are being put in place.

In the end though, it really is a tossup as to whether she will leave or step down. Ideas like this can be tossed around when in reality they will lead to nothing. I do hope that for the sake of this country’s security she either gets her act together or ships out.

Do the US Intelligence agencies need an overhaul?

Try and watch the news lately and you will see a lot dealing with the CIA, TSA and apparently Bloggers. After the Nigerian terrorist incident last week a lot of things have been going on to determine whose at fault and what can be done in the future.

The CIA unofficially stated that they did in fact have a file on this Nigerian. They simply hadn't released it yet because the analyst in charge of it was waiting for pictures to include in the report. At first this sounds like it could be bad. Any delay in intelligence is typically considered bad. The deal is though, that this Nigerians name was actually in the national terrorist database that includes something around 500,000 names. He wasn't added to a completely separate "no fly" list which could have helped. So at first glance it really looks like it came down to a failure on the intelligence agency part.

On the same day of this attack the TSA put out a memo of sorts that updated security procedures. Well, apparently someone at the TSA thought it would be a good idea to give a popular blogger the memo for him to spread around. While I am all for freedom of information, there comes a time when you need to know what is appropriate and leaking new security precautions defiantly isn't. This blogger found himself with a few TSA agents at his door looking for a little information and I hope he does cooperate.

I hope this entire situation doesn't turn into a "We will open an investigation" to determine whose really at fault. We all know nothing will come of that until a year down the road when there is a 30 second news blip saying congress came to no conclusion. What really needs to happen is a systematic overhaul of this countries intelligence gathering.

Anyone who is involved in Law Enforcement at any level can see that agencies still can't communicate effectively. We have the technology to totally remake the databases that store vital information to make it accessible across agency lines. This analysts report on this Nigerian for example should already have been entered in electronic form so it could be forwarded automatically to the proper foreign office. That way one of our intelligence officials would already have a heads up as to what is going on in his area. Photos could be updated on the fly instead of being the ball and chain.

I bet if Google were in charge of the Intelligence gathering we would have nothing to worry about. If I were a terrorist I would be worried about eating my breakfast in the morning without Google knowing, never-mind trying to make a bomb. It would be like a scene out of Minority Report with Tom Cruise.



In all seriousness though we have more agencies then most people even know about. (FBI, CIA, NSA, DEA, ATF etc..) They might not all be built around pure intelligence gathering but for the most part they overlap a lot. We need to start realizing that Terrorists and people who want to hurt us will be around for a long time. It's time that America start acting like the super power that it is and get our Intelligence Agencies back in shape, back to where they should scare people just hearing about them.

Iranians, Nigerians and Obama! Oh my!

There has been a lot going on lately and I have been slow to update. In a short amount of time we have had a blood filled revolt on the streets of Iran, a Nigerian attempt to bomb a US plane headed to Detroit, and Obama strikes out to close the year with all those foreign leaders that have hated us for years (Chavez from Columbia and Ahmadinejad from Iran).

Let’s start with the revolution that is starting to take off in Iran. While Obama might not think this is a big deal, as is clearly evident through his speeches, I would like to disagree. I think the word of the month has been downplay because we are seeing a lot of this. These riots that have been taking place have not been peaceful. In this latest one upwards of 15 Iranians were killed by police. This didn't stop them, they began taking the weapons from police such as the night sticks and using them.

This is something serious. Imagine if in the United States there was a riot killing 15 people. (Which there has been in the past) This would be a huge news story. These Iranians aren't rioting because they don't like the service at the local McDonald's either. They are looking to change whose in power. Anyone paying attention to this can see that the riots have become more frequent and more violent over the course of the year. To downplay it and not offer strong words of support for the Iranian people and against the Iranian government is foolish.

The majority of Iranian people and youth like America. We bring a lot to the table so it should be natural that they do. The government doesn't like us in the slightest and we are basically months away from having to take out some nuclear reactors. So the fact that Obama refuses to offer strong words of support to the people of Iran bothers me because it makes me think that he wants to still be buddy-buddy with Ahmadinejad.

Next up we have a 23 year old Nigerian the son of a wealthy business man attempting to blow up a plane. If the heart of his plan wasn't to light himself on fire he might have actually succeeded. A piece of detonation cord or an electronic trigger would have been much faster. There are so many problems with this story it’s ridiculous. To start, this guy walked in and got on a plane. He isn't some secret agent mastermind who outsmarted everyone. He is some kid whose screwed up in the head and got lucky.

The problem is though; think of how many times over the last 6 months an Al-Qaeda member has tried to get on a plane. I bet you can’t think of too many times. Now, if there were dozens of reports I could understand one person getting through. I mean, if you throw enough people at a security checkpoint someone is bound to get through or find a weakness sooner or later. This inst the deal though. We had 1 person try 1 time and they succeeded.

The fact that disaster was adverted doesn't make up for the fact that the TSA isn't working how it should be. It would be easy to say that those baggage screeners are simply low wage- low skilled workers. In all honesty though, when you walk into an airport to pass through the security checkpoint are you intimidated by the security presence or just put off at how long the line is? You should really feel a presence while walking up to that checkpoint. If the checkpoint were actually working properly it would be the target to hit for terrorists, because they would know they wouldn't get through.

Before I go too far off topic let’s get back to this 23 year old Nigerian terrorist and his ability to get on a plane. Last time I checked, in this country we have Intelligence organizations whose sole duty is to know about these people and where they are. What a coincidence that this guys father had alerted the embassy that his son may not be behaving. Now, I'm not the director of Homeland Security (Hint Janet Napolitano) but I would think something of this nature would be important.

Napolitano was on Good Morning America a few days ago. She was quoted as asking why this Nigerian wasn't flagged at a higher level and also asked how these explosives got on the plane. She was posing these as questions they are investigating. I don't think Janet realizes that it’s her job to make sure this security works. In fact her sole position and umbrella agency was designed to facilitate better communication between agencies. I think there needs to be some form of new database that the aviation industry uses to book passengers, that way it can be easily checked against the terrorist database known as TIDE. I’m not suggesting that the airports have access to this either, considering certain privacy expectations.

The final topic I want to hit before I wrap this up is Obama. I want to try and keep this short. It is no secret that Obama has had a policy of attempting to talk with nations that don’t like us. Two of the important ones would be Venezuela whose president is Chavez and Iran whose president is Ahmadinejad. Now, many don’t know how Obama placed a year-end deadline for Iran that dealt with their nuclear program and cleaning it up so they can’t make bombs. Well, the New Year is only a few days away and Iran is laughing at us. I can’t blame Obama for trying because one would always hope that it works out. However, now that we know Iran will not work with us and is actively working to make an atomic bomb we can’t sit behind words.

Remember the saying, actions speak louder than words. People like Hitler got so far because everyone wanted to be diplomatic right to the very end. Let’s not make the same mistake with Iran and let things get out of hand before it’s too late. Given the serious revolts going on in Iran right now, being more assertive and blockading and taking out key targets could prove to be very beneficial. Ahmadinejad said, "We don't care about international deadlines over Iran's nuclear program.” How much clearer does it need to be?

Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 anyone? I just caught the trailer for Iron Man 2 today and I would have to say that it looks like it could be pretty awesome. I was a big fan of the first Iron Man mostly though because Robert Downey Jr plays it excellently. If you haven't seen the trailer for it yet, you should check it out. Hopefully the second installment will be as great as the first one but with some new kicks. Stark's witty banter and personality are what really make the movie for me so hopefully that isn't lost while he battles his new foes.



There is also Sherlock Holmes which is coming out soon, which if I didn't have a family I would gladly fill my Christmas day with seeing this movie. There is nothing like some good fight scenes and explosions to put you in the Christmas spirit of giving. I've added the link to IMDB Iron Man 2 at the bottom. Merry Christmas to everyone in case I don't write again beforehand.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1228705/

Copenhagen Climate Talks

It seems as though Copenhagen is the new popular place to go for Obama. Not too long ago he was there to try and convince the Olympic committee to give us the 2016 Olympic games in Chicago. I don’t think I was surprised when this didn’t work out. Chicago really isn’t on anyone’s top 10 places to travel to.

Now he is headed to Copenhagen for another reason. Climate control!!! Many news sites are trying to hype this up by asking if coming back empty handed for a second time could be harmful to his approval ratings. Of course no staff member would ever say yes; because of the slight chance he could come home after reaching no deal.

My main problem with this entire deal is what Secretary of State Clinton had to say. She mentioned that the United States will raise $100 billion dollars to aid poorer countries with climate change. First off, if the country is that poor I doubt it is having that much influence on the climate. When was the last time you heard that Ethiopia was affecting the climate? Never because they are too poor. The countries that can affect the climate can afford to fix it on their own ie. China.



I would appreciate if the Government could focus on not dishing out money to every country in the world when there are many people living within its own borders who desperately need it. We don’t need to try and pay countries to like us anymore we have Obama for president, everyone loves him.

Health Care & Unemployment

You can't turn on the news news lately without seeing something about Health Care. Last time I checked the nation’s unemployment rate was through the roof. Is there something about this health care legislation that will create jobs? There are billions of dollars left in the stimulus plan that have yet to be paid out. Maybe congress should focus on actually using this money properly instead of letting it sit untouched.

It’s almost comical to think of this Health Care & Unemployment problem we have. It is like when your mother gave you a list of 10 chores to take care of. Now, on that list there is bound to be something that is really important to do (Like take the trash out before the garbage man drives by the house) and something not so important that you save till later because it still needs to be taken care of. (Oh by the way in my metaphor congress is the little child doing chores.) Well, for some reason congress can’t hear that the trash man is coming down the street. Health Care should be on a side burner right now because soon if the unemployment rate doesn’t change it will be too late to fix it by any means and Obama is going to be running down the street in his socks carrying a large trash bag.

While some of this may seem like I am bashing the country or not being pro American I will add this. Living in America everyone can feel that the economy is bad right now. No secret it’s not doing so hot. Even so, we are still the richest most powerful country in the world. Im not going to throw ridiculous numbers on this blog but we are first in GDP by country. To beat us you still have to add the next three countries to come close to ours. So for all those people that think America isn’t the superpower it once was I have to disagree.

Tank & Assassin

I figure I will take this time not only to introduce myself properly but also my partner in crime. My name is Liam and I am currently unemployed. I however am not the average unemployed worker you may think of, or at least I hope I am not. In fact the route I was headed in my career seemed to be on the fast track. I have a Masters degree in Criminal Justice that I received when I was only 23 which I think is a fairly good accomplishment. This degree made it much easier to apply to my dream job of being a Police Officer and as such I was given the opportunity to complete a six month academy to become a PO.

Well guess what, I finished the training and on the first day I would have put on my 'oh so special' police blues I was laid off along with 31 other police recruits. The feeling I had that day was absolutely horrible. I had begun to see that all the hard work for both my education and training had been for nothing. (Hopefully I am proven wrong)

The reason? The absolute mess that the economy is in, partly because because of an inept government that has forgotten how it started and has grown wildly out of control because of people on the Left & Right of the isle. But I digress this is no time for a wild tangent.

My partner in crime is Lucky who will add to this blog time to time. He is the Tank in the title to the blog; I am the Assassin. Both names turn our outward appearance into a cartoon ish visualization which can only be described as perfect. Although I see Lucky more as Zangeif from Street Fighter.

As stated in my first post I dont know what direction this blog will take which is probably a good thing. For right now I can see it as a way to comment on current events and add my own personal opinions on the subjects. I do know that it will be 100 percent pro American even if it is not 100 percent serious all the time

Twin Towers

So I was going through the thousands of pictures I have stored on my computer and found this one of the World Trade Center Twin Towers.



While I know it can be a sensitive subject for many I thought this was too good of a picture to leave buried in some random folder on my computer to never be seen again. This is actually one of few pictures that I personally took while on vacation in NYC with my family. Thinking back now I find it interesting that I have more pictures of the Twin Towers then I do of the Statue of Liberty. From where I was standing in this picture the statue would have been clearly visible directly behind me.

Today your humble narrator will try and fill out the dreaded "About Me" section. Not because I think everyone NEEDS to know about me but because I feel bad leaving it blank haha.

Welcome..

This is my first post on my new blog. I recently realized that being laid off is even more boring then I originally thought it would be. So, after months of procrastination I have decided to start this blog. Right now I am not sure the direction it will go only time will tell.