I heard this article on NPR this morning. I’m sure there are other hardcopy articles floating around that you can actually quote-check me on, but here’s the gist of it.<\/p>\n
Various major airport management types are off to Capitol Hill today to beg Congress to extend the deadline for baggage security checks by another year. The original deadline was to be 31 December of this year, still some months away, but …<\/p>\n
The airports are claiming that the time limit is unrealistic. It quite possibly is. However, there’s little sign that the airports have really taken it seriously. What they take more seriously is that it will be expensive. Very expensive. Equipment costs. Construction costs. Etc.<\/p>\n
All true. But let’s remember why we’re doing this, okay? We want to make sure that every bag that goes onto a plane has had some check for explosives.<\/p>\n
What the airports seem to really want to say, but don’t dare do so, is that it’s unnecessary<\/i>. That there’s already sufficient security. That to do this is just going to cost lots of money and torque off a lot of prospective passengers.<\/p>\n
The deadline really has nothing to do with it. They just don’t want to do it.<\/p>\n
Now, if they want to have an honest debate about whether the security is really needed, or whether it’s cost effective, or whether the public really wants it, great. Let’s do it. <\/p>\n
But don’t drag your feet, then claim there isn’t time, then beg for the first of an indefinite number of extensions, hoping the problem will go away. That’s childish. And dangerous.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I heard this article on NPR this morning. I’m sure there are other hardcopy articles floating around that you can actually quote-check me on, but here’s the gist of it….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics-law"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10612,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2006\/12\/11\/concessions_on_concession.html","url_meta":{"origin":3166,"position":0},"title":"Concessions on concessions?","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 11-Dec-06 11:12am","format":false,"excerpt":"Why is it the TSA keeps adding new, bizarre, \"security theater\" restrictions on travel (e.g., the Global War on Liquids), but seems more than willing to reduce restrictions if there's...","rel":"","context":"In "Homeland Security"","block_context":{"text":"Homeland Security","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/homeland-security"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":133450,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/05\/11\/how-the-us-will-actually-isolate-us-from-europe.html","url_meta":{"origin":3166,"position":1},"title":"How the US will actually isolate us from Europe","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 11-May-17 8:08am","format":false,"excerpt":"By making flying from there to here even more miserable than it is now.'The Department of Homeland Security is considering expanding its ban on electronic devices on US-bound flights from certain airports, according to a report by CBS News. The CBS report cites unnamed sources close to the DHS, who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51336,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/06\/01\/some-of-those-security-layers-are-pretty-threadbare.html","url_meta":{"origin":3166,"position":2},"title":"Some of those security layers are pretty threadbare","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 1-Jun-15 5:28pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Okay, I get it that no security system is going to be perfect, and that our airport \/ flight security is handled in a layered approach.But when one of those layers misses 67 of 70 attempts to sneak threatening materials through it, it's worth questioning whether that layer is worth\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9042,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2006\/02\/28\/because_travel.html","url_meta":{"origin":3166,"position":3},"title":"Because travel needs to be more expensive and less convenient!","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 28-Feb-06 6:45am","format":false,"excerpt":"Annoying pair of articles about how all those airports that have gone to great trouble and expense to provide WiFi service are now capping off and restricting access to power...","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","block_context":{"text":"Travel","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/travel"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1026,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2001\/10\/24\/airport_insecur.html","url_meta":{"origin":3166,"position":4},"title":"Airport Insecurity","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 24-Oct-01 6:49am","format":false,"excerpt":"Airport Security Interesting editorial in the Rocky Mountain News this a.m. on airport security. Looking at Europe, most of those countries (after having nationalized airports) now have airport corporations in...","rel":"","context":"In "Homeland Security"","block_context":{"text":"Homeland Security","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/homeland-security"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3265,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2003\/01\/06\/travel_planning.html","url_meta":{"origin":3166,"position":5},"title":"Travel planning","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 6-Jan-03 6:41am","format":false,"excerpt":"The new security regime was in place at airports when we travelled back. 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