Got a ride in a limo... well, sorta. The cabbie from my night out at Arnie Morton's (the one with the hottie hostess) in LA happened to be a one woman show. Her Lincoln was nice, so I figured it was worth the $45 ride to the airport.
Though my nose was still running and I had a pounding headache... I was not all that upset that I didn't get my first class upgrade. Nor was I upset that my $3's of cola gummies from the Catarina's candy store at Gate 66 were some cheap mexican knockoff. Basically I kinda slept most of the day away... and tried not to talk to people. Sure there were hot women everywhere, and yes I did comment on one chicks tattoo - but I was in no mood to be suave, let alone rico. :P
What bothered me the most... didn't hapen till a day later. Because I was sick, I didn't immediately unpack my case. I figured the fact that the incompetent baffoons (known as the TSA) couldn't have f*cked with my bag a second time. I mean - they did rifle through my case on the way to LA and nearly broke my laptop, so why would pull that kind of monkey-stupid stunt again?
And yet, they did. This time they rifled through my luggage... and then put it all back together not just wrong, but so wrong sh*t got screwed up. My shoes were crushed into some odd shape, my luggage strap was tore all to hell, my shaving bag was crushed at some odd angle that it was never intended to make, and my laptop (which was between several layers of clothes and inside my PDC05 tote bag) was placed back in so that the outer case was all scratched up with a pin (which was cleverly unlatched so as to cause the most damage) that was never near the laptop to begin with (it was in a side pocket).
Now, I understand the need for security; I understand that this country went ape-shit after 9/11; I understand that many of our most prized freedoms have been eroded in the name of hunting down terrorists. What I don't understand is how we can allow such an incredibly incompetent agency to continue to exist in its current form. Who did we go to when putting this farce together? Was it Israel (we all know they've become badasses to survive where they live)? Nope, I doubt it. Was it Germany - a country in the heart of Europe which experienced a number of terrorist attacks before the average American citizen had a clue? No, I'm sure it wasn't the Germans because the Frankfurt airport only implements such assanine levels of incompetence on request of the US government (and they still do it better). Who then? I mean the TSA is so bad, Carlos Mencina would have to give these retarded folks a Dee-Dee-Dee award!!
It's not like I'm talking without any knowledge either. My father was a cop for a number of years - both in, and out of the Army. He's worked for CID and he's been a private sector detective. He even works for TSA RIGHT NOW. My dad's a smart guy. We don't see eye to eye on everything, but he's a hard worker who tries to do right. When the TSA was first being formed his experience led him to become a shift supervisor for these screeners. I'm sure he's trained them well, but poor, mismatched and incompetent policies can't make it easier (witness the mismatched policies on removing your shoes). To top it all off, the screeners represent the bottom of the barrel. In fact, in many cases they had worked for the airports themselves prior to 9/11... the only difference now is the new uniform. Sure, some of them were those security guards you see in every mall and school; some were even the weakest link among actual cops; I would submit that very few are as competent as my father, and now they are the frontline of our defense against terrorism.
Are you scared yet? No. Well, at the least you should be pissed off that they are screwing up our personal belongings. It's as if we've given the government the right to go into our houses while we are at work... randomly pulling things off the shelves. TV's, computers, microwaves. It doesn't matter if it breaks - that's the price of security right? Sounds like the TSA is more like the MOB then we care to admit.
Here's your protection money Uncle Sam. Please don't destroy my laptop on my next flight. Pretty-please.
Tags: [TSA]
posted @ Sunday, September 18, 2005 4:05 PM