Monday, August 14, 2006

Bureaucratic Shoe Removal

Per the AP:
X-ray machines that screen airline passengers' shoes cannot detect explosives, according to a Homeland Security Department report on aviation screening.

Findings from the report, obtained by The Associated Press, did not stop the Transportation Security Administration from announcing Sunday that all airline passengers must remove their shoes and run them through X-ray machines before boarding commercial aircraft.

What the fuck is the matter with these people?  

In their defense, TSA spokeswoman Yolanda Clark says:
"We do not have a specific threat regarding shoes.  In an abundance of caution we require all shoes to be removed and X-rayed to mitigate a variety of threats."

To which I quote:
“X-ray machines that screen airline passengers' shoes cannot detect explosives…”

What the fuck is the matter with these people?  But I suppose, when you elect people who insist that government is inefficient and annoying, you’ll get a government that is inefficient and annoying.  These people are masters of the self-fulfilling prophecy.

2 comments:

Daniel said...

Hmm. Playing devil's advocate, x-raying shoes will still detect weapons hidden in them. It might also deter someone hiding explosives in them, just the act of having a security person look at them closely might reveal something suspicious about them (like a fuse, or that they're far too heavy etc).

Most of the value of airport security is deterrence. Terrorists might want to die for their causes, but they don't want to rot in jail for them.

Matthew Celestine said...

I think it is a sensible rule.