Is airport security yet just another government rip-off?
541006
I really enjoy taking my shoes of, especially when it's been snowing, and walking in my socks through a scan. I also find it an amusing use of my time to take my laptop out of its bag.\n\nIf you add up travelers per year x time per traveler to just deal with this, the enemy has won a major economic blow against us.
931281
This is another example of what is wrong with our government as well as our voters. Here you have an elected official who does not even know that there are laws against higher illegal aliens, as well as laws against stealing social security numbers.
227457
national security doesn't just help individuals. people who value privacy more than the sanctity of human life should admit themselves to a f***in insane asylum. at least that way they wouldn't run the chance of withholding valuable information from the government that could help prevent loss of more American citizens, however disgusting some may be. like those self-centered a**holes concerned about their privacy. "oh, the government is trying to spy on us". Oh, grow a f***in spine! the only reason these people are complaining is because they have something to hide. to those people i say, hide your secrets up your a** like all the other drug smugglers or in your shoes like that one bomber sh**head!
606463
Well why do some people enjoy stealing? It's pretty much the same thing! Why should I pay for something when I can hack it to work?\nIf you're refering to those that hack into govermental websites to substract secret documents, or fake something, they are not doing this just for the fun of getting caught!
623889
The money's in the pockets of the people who are supposedly "keeping us safe". They do nothing, but the government spends a ton of money, giving it to their friends companies who are supposedly protecting us, but instead they're buying bigger yachts and houses with our money. Welcome to reality.
1045406
In fact, just such a system as you have described has been designed.  I saw it featured in Popular Science many years ago.\n\nProblem is, that it would be extremely expensive and prohibitively heavy.  The added expense, AND the added weight would have to translate into much much higher ticket prices.\n\nYou may argue that safety is a worth any price.  But, when you consider that millions of passengers arrive safely, without  incident, compared to the relatively few who are involved in plane crashes, even you might not think it worth a ten fold increase in ticket prices.
401544
IT'S FISHY.\n\nBUT THIS IS THE COVERUP ADMINISTRATION.
124805
Absolutely. In fact, we need the military, walls, mine fields, razor wire, concertina wire, heat sensors, motion sensors, seismic sensors, gates, dogs, and Lord knows what else on our borders.\n\nIt seems kind of foolish to me to spend billions of dollars securing the airports when any would-be terrorist can simply walk across the border from either Canada or Mexico, and no one would know about it.
715280
There are tons of stuff the government keeps from the public.I think its a conspiracy.
535486
I thought it was for the Airport.
349151
You have a point.  The recent arguments about immigration have focused on the border with Mexico.  But immigration can come overland from Canada, as well.  Which means whatever security we really need at airports to prevent terrorists, we also realistically need at every part of every border.  Such a thorough system of electronic search and so on is obviously impractical.  Therefore, are we kidding ourselves that the extra manpower, expense and inconvenience at the airports is serving any useful purpose?  As the questioner points out, it probably never did make much difference, anyway; the original 9/11 gang did not come in through an airport.\n\nSo how do we combat terrorism if these measures are about guaranteed to be ineffective?  It has been said repeatedly that the intelligence community (the spies, if you will) knew a great deal about Osama bit Leaden (I don't use his real name on purpose) before 9/11/2001.  They warned their bosses, including the president, who played it his way.  You gotta wonder if he didn't like the idea of an excuse to put restrictive measures on airports and the various other compromises to our freedom we have accepted under the "homeland security" rubric.  (Love the tee shirt with a picture of several old Indian warriors!)  \n\nFolks, our borders are too long, and with modern transportation, too open to everyone and anyone, for us to even try to stem the flow.  Why not say come; I lift my lamp beside the golden door.  If you come in peace, and are willing to work hard to make your way here, come.  If you do not behave well, we will send you home.
688440
coz of security concern only
712757
It's like the air force, but its not.  The security is so tight, that the commanders at the advanced aircraft testing facility have abosulute power.  Your rights will be gone, it's not like a public agency where they're concerned about employee safety, rights or anything close to contemporary business ethics.  \n\nThere's pros and cons to how its operated....of course we need a secret facility to test our advanced aircraft, but the downside, is the impact on the employees working there.
44907
The conspiracy theory is ridiculous. There were not any jets to protect us, simply because it was completely unexpected by most people in defense (aka the people in charge) that airliners would be used to attack the US.
894187
The UK government monitors everyone and everything. We are the most spied upon people on earth. Even North Korea are in awe of the UK government. Not only are mosques monitored, There are special informers everywhere to grass on you. There are Phone numbers to report crime, litter, drugs, recycling avoidance, illegal immigrants, suspicious this or that - everything. Its a b***dy nightmare. Most people want to get out.
1111804
Our airports are really no more secure,  The american public will not accept full security nor will they pay for it.
866346
It's not often that something renders me speechless but this completely blew me away!\n\nWhat a set of robbing bar-stewards! I'll bet that little fine will go some way to funding their Christmas p*ss up.\n\nHow on EARTH can they possibly justify clamping you?! Did the dumb a$$ that did the clamping not notice the car had been broken into?!\n\nPerhaps if they had been doing their jobs properly, your car wouldn't have been broken into in the first place - in fact how do you know that one of them didn't do it?!\n\nCan your company not intervene or at least reimburse you for the fine you had to pay? Does the car park have any CCTV? Is there not a manned gate that you have to show your pass to in order to access the car park? (in which case how would you have been able to park in the first instance if you had not shown someone your pass?)\n\nThey are being deliberately obtuse for the sake of it, I would complain to anyone and everyone until I got my money back.\n\nAbsolutely unbelievable!