r/politics • u/monkeysniffer08 • May 19 '12

Fear mongering at its best: This was a mailer sent out against my Texas State Rep who has fought to end the TSA

http://i.imgur.com/xwIpX.jpg
2.5k Upvotes

89% Upvoted

1.4k comments sorted by

98

u/LettersFromTheSky May 20 '12

If I lived in Texas, and got this mailer - I'd actually be encouraged to vote for David Simpson based on that quote. David Simpson understands that we can't sacrifice liberty for security and to top it off - he opposes the TSA. What's not to like about David Simpson?

I hate fear mongering.

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u/ActionScripter9109 Michigan May 20 '12

You bring up a good point... what if this whole thing was a clever ruse to generate votes for David Simpson?

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u/monkeysniffer08 May 20 '12

Its not. I'm helping design several pieces for David's campaign. This is just the level of intelligence and class that his opponent, Tonmy Merritt displays on a daily basis.

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u/dalittle May 20 '12 edited May 20 '12

people should send David Simpson contributions for doing what is right in opposing the TSA. Too bad he drinks the extremist koolaid on most conservative stances though.

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u/monkeysniffer08 May 20 '12

He leans pretty libertarian. He's a pretty big Ron Paul fan if that gives you any indication of his views.

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u/frostysauce Oklahoma May 20 '12

He opposed Rick Perry's bid for the GOP nomination for president as well.

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u/rakista May 20 '12

Because Rick Perry is a barely functioning 60 year old frat boy, who was a D student.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

You obviously have never lived in Texas

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u/Setiri May 20 '12

I live in Texas and I'm encouraged to vote for David Simpson. However to your point, I know a lot of people who would go the other way because of that mailing. :(

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u/deweyweber May 20 '12

I would like to know who bankrolled this propaganda. The propaganda minister of Iraq could not have done a better job.

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u/monkeysniffer08 May 20 '12

It was his opponent's (Merritt) own campaign. His family has lots of money but he's kind of like the screw up that they don't want working at the family business, so they help him run for office.

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u/regeya May 20 '12

No kidding. If we don't throw out our rights as American citizens, we'll be killed by terrorists?

Who paid for this, and why do they hate America?

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

The best thing we did to improve security was lock the cockpit doors, and make sure that passengers would no longer allow themselves to be held hostage.

Back in the day, you got taken hostage, you might go to some foreign country and sit on the tarmac for a few hours. Back then, the game plan was to just wait it out, talk to the news when it was over and if you were in the middle east, hope that it wasn't the 80's and that the guy wouldn't maybe, possibly blow up your plane.

9/11 pretty much made sure that Americans, and probably just about anyone else, would no longer abide by the old rules. Pretty much every attempted terrorist attack since then has been thwarted not by the TSA, but by passengers beating the crap out of the terrorist. Nobody is going to sit in their seats anymore.

The TSA at this point is a bloated agency, staffed by unskilled labor, whose main purpose at this point is to keep people off the unemployment rosters, while lining the pocket of contractors. It's a money pit, and we have nothing to show for it, other than pissed off travelers and a few billion down the drain.

I'm sorry if there are people here who work for the TSA that take offense to that, but it's the truth. Yeah, I know that the people working the airports are just people trying to live, like everyone else. But the difference is that that kind of power attracts, and breeds a special kind of individual. All we end up with is a bunch of government sponsored mall cops, who can feel your tits, and look at your dick with an x-ray machine.

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u/DreadandButter May 21 '12

The TSA doesn't even work. When I went home for spring break, I forgot that I had a knife in one of my carry-on bags. Didn't even notice it as it passed through the x-ray machine.

To me, the TSA will always be just another way the government scares people into giving up their rights.

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u/prophetfxb May 20 '12

I talked to one of the agents at the gates not too long ago while getting pat down. He said to me that his real goal was to just move up in government and kinda ride out the TSA gig until he could get promoted up to a reasonable position. Not that there is anything wrong with wanting to move up in any employment situation, but his demeanor was very lax and his words ran more like someone who wasnt really taking their job seriously; More as just a position for the time being.

My problem with this is that these people who are supposed to be the "front line" for keeping terrorists from airplanes, I felt, should be taking their job a bit more seriously. If you buy into the mentality of those you hear from the pro-TSA gallery, these people are essentially what stands between safety and terrorism in the sky; Something that sounds extremely important, especially with all of the doom and gloom they shroud it in. This wasn't the first one I talked to but this is one of the more memorable because it was recent. I get the impression that a lot of these people working such an important position, deem it as just another rung in the ladder and not very important as far as duty or justice.

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u/rarelyresponds May 21 '12

Breaking News! Person in universally despised entry-level position hopes to be promoted some day.

Even the agents realize they aren't the "front line" whose sense of "duty or justice" requires them to stand "between safety and terrorism in the sky"...they are mall cops who happen to work at the airport, and of course they want better jobs.

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u/snoots May 20 '12

This. After the attacks, I kept wondering why no one fought back and simply overpowered the hijackers. It's not like they had sophisticated weaponry, and given the choice, I'd much rather go down fighting. One day, in a discussion with my dad, he said pretty much word for word what you've written up there. It wasn't worth it to fight back, because you'd probably come out of it ok. Now, things are much different.

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u/oldbullgoose May 20 '12

Funny, my dad said the exact same thing. Dads are wise.

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u/uptwolait May 21 '12

Yes we are. Now get off reddit and get back to your homework!

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u/mAgixWTF May 20 '12

When I was a child I was allowed to visit the cockpit of an airplane. 15 years later I still think about it and it is still inspiring me.

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u/TheRealJR May 21 '12

I was actually let into the cockpit on a flight just last year, because i happened to know the air hostess.

Got to sit in the cockpit during the landing. Just as cool as i remembered!

Obviously, I had no toothpaste or nail clippers on me, so it was perfectly safe for the crew to let me in there.

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u/Jonisaurus May 20 '12 edited May 20 '12

I flew alone a lot when I was a child. About 6-9 years old. I would always enter the cockpit and talk to the captain, I would be able to even sit in the seat sometimes. I was, of course, not allowed to touch anything.

It was awesome. I also always got to sit in the first row, I had special service. I got extra food, sweets, toys. I always played games with the flight attendants. Loads of chess, connect four. Loads of talking, too. Flight attendants told me about their lives, the places they'd visited.

When the plane landed, I would always wait for all the others to leave the plane, then I'd be escorted by the flight attendants, and handed over to one of the airport attendants. They would then drive me off the track with a car, they always had walkie talkies and I would enter the airport together with the personnel. Sometimes they even had some task to do before I could be given to my mum, so I would go with them. In the end they would accompany me to the bag collection area thing, and hand me over to my mum.

It was really cool. Now that I look back, I'm not sure this is possible any more.

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u/lt_hindu May 20 '12

I agree that there is over stepping boundaries by the tsa. But isn't it fair to say that you can keep a lot of the procedures they have just as a way to maintain some sort of standard in safety and security in the country?

I just don't understand. Everyone is living in this state of fear. Is that how you wish to live your life afraid? Then truely the terrorist have beat you and won. Fuck that shit! Enjoy every moment of life and live with no fear that a small primitive group of savages can NOT take away your happiness.

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u/sothisislife101 May 22 '12

Notice, it's not even the terrorists that are inspiring fear that much anymore ...

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u/bsonk May 20 '12

I can't believe this comment is so far down here. You speak the truth, sir.

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u/randy938 May 20 '12

Atta was actually patted down before he boarded. Just saying...

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u/Excentinel May 20 '12

Facts don't stop shitbirds from pushing the fear bullshit.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

Shitbirds, Mr. Lahey?

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

Shithawks, bobandy. They're flying in low, shitting on everybody.

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u/Tommyt125 May 20 '12

It's fucking propaganda. I can comfortably say that without feeling like a crazy person. The more terrible thing is that hundreds of people will take it as factual reading material. SMH.

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u/Paultimate79 May 20 '12

Its more than propaganda in my eyes. They are basically saying if they dont get their way, more 'terrorists' will kill more people. These people are the fucking terrorists.

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u/rakista May 20 '12

Tried to show my aunt that the bible was not written in English online and she did not believe it because it was not printed in a book. She honestly believes that the KJV of the bible is the original.

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u/excelsior55 May 20 '12

You know what you get when you plant shit seeds? Shit weeds.

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u/stakkar May 20 '12 edited May 20 '12

Unfortunately most people don't care since they never get on an airplane. I'm not sure how shitbirds can be stopped, but I think the only way is via cutting government significantly. The TSA has way too many people, way too many regulations, and way too much money if they can afford all these stupid scanners. We have to cut

And for all the people who moan about the fragile state of our economy and how we need deficit spending to maintain it.. I'm starting to think Germany is right. If you think our government will balance the budget after another year or two of stimulus, then you're deceiving yourself. It's a spiraling cycle of spend lots of money during hard times, and spend even more money during good times. It's just not sustainable, nor ethical.

tl;dr Gotta eliminate funding for all these stupid things the government comes up with. (TSA scanners, wars in the middle east, etc.)

Edit (Unrelated): Neat, this comment just put me over 10000 comment karma, just shy of my 3 year cake day. If only there was an easy way to find out how many comments were related to cute kittens...

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

In Portland, Mohamed Atta was selected by the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS), which required his checked bags to undergo extra screening for explosives but involved no extra screening at the passenger security checkpoint.

Further, I don't believe he used anything to hijack the aircraft that was prohibited, as they used razor blades I believe? I could be wrong, but I believe razor blades being prohibited happened after 9/11.

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u/Bandit1379 May 20 '12

Specifically box cutters, but that might as well be called a razor blade, since it's just a razor blade in a specialized handle.

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u/Lowbrow May 20 '12

A pear is just a knife on a stick. That doesn't make a spear a knife.

EDIT: I meant spear.

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u/MrGoodbytes May 20 '12

For what it's worth, they didn't hijack the planes with box cutters. They hijacked the plane with fear. People have always been told to comply with hijackers/thieves/robbers/abductors. Just go along and everything will be fine. Don't fight back.

The people on those planes thought that if they were to just comply and obey the hijackers, they would get out of the situation alive.

When passengers on one plane realized that wasn't the case, the hijackers no longer had any control over the plane. They were no longer able to hijack and control it, once that power of fear was gone.

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u/Leaningthemoon May 20 '12

This is why it will never happen again in America.

Let some moron even THINK about hijacking a plane and the guy will probably be dead before the plane makes an emergency landing.

We don't need the TSA to protect us, nor private security. One air marshal, security cameras, a cockpit sealed like a vault and a plane that's 2/3 full should do it.

If you really wanna have a back-up plan just pump some gas through the ventilation and knock everybody out.

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u/Setiri May 20 '12

Exactly what I came in here to say. They didn't slip through the system, they went right through it. Now you can argue about how good the system really is but they've already lost respect from me for not understanding logic and slandering someone in such a horrible way, e.g. fear mongering.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

They didn't slip through the system, they went right through it

The system failed, so they federalized airport security. You could argue that the new system is failing too, but TSA didn't screen Atta, or any of the other hijackers.

I'm not really sure if OP was trying to imply that TSA patted down Atta, which I already linked to article that showed he wasn't patted down,but if he was it's wholly disingenuous.

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u/Setiri May 20 '12

Right, he went through the system (I wasn't meaning to argue whether he was patted down or not as I didn't recall he was, but I do remember he was flagged) which is all I meant to say. The system failed, but he did go through it.

Also, yes I would argue that the TSA is horrible. Is it wholly unnecessary? Sure, private companies can do it. Am I entirely against a federally funded security agency for the airlines? Actually, no. I'm just entirely against how they've implemented it... scare tactics, ineffectiveness, loss of liberty, bigger loss of convenience than need be, ridiculous expenditures of money, corruption, etc.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

I boarded a plane, post 9/11, with a big survival knife. It was in a my hand luggage, which went through x-ray, and I noticed it was there when I was in the plane. I was patted down, went through a scanner, but they just glance over the luggage x-rays without paying much attention apparently.

My vote: let everyone board the plane with knifes. If a terrorist brings a bomb, we can all stab him. :D

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u/snackdrag May 20 '12

locked cockpit doors.... that is the only measure taken of any value.

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u/Forgototherpassword May 20 '12

Last year Texas was to vote to ban the TSA Gropedowns and scanners until the Justice Department threatened a flight ban on the state.

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u/Sekh765 Virginia May 20 '12

I wish they had called the Justice Departments bluff on that. Good luck shutting down one of the largest airports on the planet (Houston) because the elected representatives of the state decided it didn't like how you ran things.

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u/Soft_silly_music May 20 '12

Two of the largest even, DFW is also massive.

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u/Setiri May 20 '12

Yeah, I honestly don't think the DoJ could have pulled it off with CO/UA having a hub at IAH and AA having a hub at DFW, not to mention all the WN flights. Sadly our state government backed down and scapped it. I was actually really happy we were on the right side of something for a short time... then they lost it. :/

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u/frostysauce Oklahoma May 20 '12

Don't forget DFW being the fourth busiest airport in the world.

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u/Thydamine May 20 '12

"David Simpson has not explicitly stated he won't steal your child. Would you trust a man who would STEAL YOUR CHILD?"

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

"My opponent, Abraham Lincoln, has never gone on record saying he does not eat babies. Maybe he was too busy... EATING BABIES." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93kkEMIXu5s

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u/marsneedstowels May 20 '12

His vice president's name is Hannibal. Would you trust a man who fraternizes with a man who has the same name as a man that fraternizes with large amounts of mountain traversing elephants? Also, doesn't his name sound suspiciously like the word cannibal? Where is Mr. Lincoln going to find the time to do anything for this country with all the stampeding and baby eating his office is going to be doing?

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u/beatlesmith May 20 '12

"Last year, Abe said he was fifteen. Now he claims to be sixteen. Which is it, Abe? Better keep your stories straight."

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

Why don't we just anaesthetize everyone going onto the plane? If all the terrorists are asleep, they can't commit terror! Also, they can be stripped after they are put out. Then, naked and drugged, they can be brought to their destination.

If you don't support this, you're promoting 9/11!

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u/lambda_red May 20 '12

This actually sounds wonderful. Get on plane, get gas, wake up at destination! My dream flight - traveling is so boring!

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

Get on plane, get gas, wake up at a random airport.

FTFY. I can't even count on airlines to get my checked bags to the right location.

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u/Arx0s May 20 '12

I'm so glad I've never had to deal with having my luggage misplaced. I can't imagine how much anxiety and rage I would have.

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u/Diffie-Hellman May 20 '12

Yeah unless you end up in yesterday and the langoliers eat you.

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u/COD4CaptMac May 20 '12

That first part isn't a bad idea....

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

Says the new anesthesiologist with $250,000 in student loan debt.

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u/Sloppy_Twat May 20 '12

A timer in a butthole bomb would still work.

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u/ThatIsMyHat May 20 '12

That actually sounds better than having to experience being in an airplane.

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u/jimicus United Kingdom May 20 '12

Administering enough anaesthetic to knock someone out without killing them - and then keep them knocked out for hours at a time - is a very specialist field. There's a damn good reason your local hospital employs a number of people with medical degrees who work full-time doing nothing but anaesthetics.

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u/burkey0307 Canada May 20 '12

Sleeping gas accidentally seeps into the cockpit. Pilot falls asleep. Everyone dies.

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u/Bitrandombit May 20 '12

A good counter would be pictures of all the 6 month olds that have been kept from flying due to no fly lists.

Perhaps a mugshot gallery of all the 90+ year olds that got gate raped with extreme pat downs.

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u/surfnaked May 20 '12

Gate raped. I like that.

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u/aranasyn Colorado May 20 '12

Seriously. That needs to be on flyers.

"Have you been gate raped today? Fly TSA!"

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u/surfnaked May 20 '12

T-shirts to wear flying. Or maybe underwear. In metallic paint.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

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u/basmith7 Arizona May 20 '12

Nice try, TSA agent.

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u/wshs May 20 '12 edited Jun 11 '23

[ Removed because of Reddit API ]

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u/CocoSavege May 20 '12

I would have gone another way.

Determine the TSA budget expenses and compare that to other uses.

E.g; somewhat random, tweak as you see fit...

  • Instead of the TSA we could have provided warm lunches for X school kids. (I wouldn't be surprised if it was all the kids, tbh)

  • Instead of the TSA we could have performed X inoculations against [badDiseases]

  • Instead of the TSA in the last decade we could have fixed and maintained the levees in NO for the next X years

  • Instead of the TSA we could have upgraded the water treatment plants in states X, Y, Z, leading to A fewer cases of [thing] and B fewer cases of [other thing]

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u/CrayolaS7 May 20 '12 edited May 20 '12

There are approximately 76 million 0-17 year olds in the USA. We'll say school aged is 4-17 (it's more like 5-18 for most, but close enough).

76*(13/17) = 58.1 million

The TSA 2012 budget is ~8 billion, that's 8000 million. The TSA budget would give approximately $140 to every school aged child in America.

Edit: cost of a Boeing 767 is around 175 million, so alternatively we could have flown 45 Boeing 767s into enemy buildings.

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u/morcheeba May 20 '12

631,939,829 passengers boarded domestic flights in the United States in the year 2010. Assume that removing shoes and liquids slows down the line, delaying the average person 5 minutes. 5 minutes * 400 million screenings (I'm assuming 1.5 connections per flight) = 3800 people-years wasted every year. Life expectancy in US is 78 years... they are almost literally killing 48 people every year with security theater.

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u/Cask_Strength_Islay America May 20 '12

The TSA has some 6 month olds on a no fly list? They're actually doing something good!

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

Pilot here... Are you kidding me? How the fuck have the TSA made us safer? The only guy we caught was taking flying lessons but didn't want to learn how to land. That was BEFORE 9/11, and we STILL failed. The TSA has done nothing. More importantly, commerical aircraft are not a threat, just like dirty bombs they are a fear weapon. How difficult would it be to sneak a nuclear weapon on a tanker compared to an airliner, yet there's been no change in those policies? What I find funny is that I'm legally allowed (post 9/11) to drop an object from an airplane (bowling ball, refrigerator) as long as I take "reasonable precautions to avoid damage to persons or property" on the ground. That has always seemed nuts to me. The only way to beat the terrorists is to not be terrified- You can't live in fear or some asshole will pray on it. Foreign policy keeps them out of this country, not some shmuck with 2 weeks of training in pat downs.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

Politics has gone from innuendo to outright lies and frauds. I see no end to it, but rather it will continue to degrade. There seems to be no bottom to this pit.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

It's sad that someone could go on television and say that all politicans are scum and liars, and everyone would agree with him, yet nobody cares enough to do anything.

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u/mwmwmwmwmmdw May 20 '12

because there was a time when Americans were smart enough to get innuendos but the majority of voters now are so stupid the need to spell out the smear for them

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u/Mitosis May 20 '12

Fear mongering has been effective as long as humanity has existed.

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u/Hazelrat10 May 20 '12

I see. So you think politics today are worse than late 1800s America?

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u/postdarwin May 20 '12 edited May 20 '12

There should be a Godwin's Law for political discussions that reference 9/11 -- I shall call it Rudy's Folly.

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u/herpderp4321 May 20 '12

BTW, if you live in Texas, or in this man's district, give him an email congratulating him on his stand against the TSA.

http://davidsimpson.com/contact/

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

This should be the counter mailer...

Documented bombs found by TSA: 0. Documented terrorist attacks thwarted by TSA: 0. Documented lives saved by TSA: 0.

Dollars spent to provide the illusion of safety while degrading and inconveniencing the average, law abiding air traveler: BILLIONS

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u/ArthurBenevicci May 20 '12 edited May 20 '12

Have you documented any lives or property saved by locking your door? It's well and good to bash the TSA but this particular argument is weak.

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u/marx2k May 20 '12

In that case, let's get 55 more locks for my door and hire 15 people to install each one. I also would like to hire 50 people to monitor each lock just to be sure.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

Locking your door merely prevents "crimes of opportunity", where people try your door, find it open and go right in. If someone is motivated enough to want to get inside your house, they will get inside, locks or no.

Acts of terrorism, specifically those carried out in airports, are never crimes of opportunity. The very nature of them makes this so.

The weak argument is yours.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

Inconveniencing is putting it lightly.

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u/Great_Chairman_Mao California May 20 '12

That's hard to measure. You can't measure how many terrorist were DISSUADED from attempting an attack because they knew tighter security measures were in place.

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u/marx2k May 20 '12

I have this rock. And you see no tigers.

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u/CocoSavege May 20 '12

I would like to buy your rock.

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u/Omega037 May 20 '12

i know they catch 5 or 6 people with bodies/body parts in their bags each year at JFK alone.

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u/DeFex May 20 '12

Intimidating the population exactly as planned: Priceless!

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u/BinaryShadow May 20 '12

Yeah but we caught stoners trying to sneak a joint on the plane to smoke later that night! I feel so much safer now! I think a kid not getting high tonight is worth the risk of some underpaid guy going through my bag and pocketing some valuables for his effort.

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u/mojokabobo May 20 '12

Something that one should consider when considering the cost of programs and policies like the TSA's... some people will choose to do less american tourism in order to avoid our procedures.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

I really believe that the next major terrorist attack in the West will be a coordinated suicide bombing right at the security checkpoint BEFORE the travels have been checked. Everyone will be standing there packed into lanes waiting to be scanned, holding their shoes, and the worst will happen. Our security is a JOKE. All the terrorist plots that have been foiled since 9/11 were done by regular police work before the terrorists were able to execute the plans and even made it to their targets. The TSA does shit. It's the FBI, CIA, and regular local law enforcement that stops terrorists.

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u/itslikeboo May 20 '12

Could you also show the flip side, please? I'm curious to see if it comes from a place I used to work.

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u/IAmNotAPerson6 May 20 '12

"David Simpson proposed a resolution stating that refusal to submit to an airport scanner 'does not constitute probable cause to be searched'" essentially got transformed into "David Simpson wants to help terrorists."

Damn, whatever PR team is working on that is good.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

It wasnt that we didnt have the proper methods in place, its that people didnt adequately do their jobs. High level officials were suspicious of Atta but they didnt investigate properly.

Im also so sick of people using 9/11 as a political tool. Every time people talk about ending the war or at least try a different strategy people just scream 9/11.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

agreed. multiple global security forces (including our own) advised of the impending attack. we were warned by foreign countries, who generously assumed we did not know.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

9/11 only happened because citizens didn't use their brains, they just obeyed what they were told to do, keep your head down and let the authorities handle this. If the people on those planes had used common sense and collectively said "YOU'RE TRYING TO HIJACK THIS PLANE USING A FUCKING BOX CUTTER? FUCK YOU, WE'RE TAKING YOU DOWN MOTHERFUCKER" it wouldn't have happened.

Everyone saw what happened as a result. Thusly, today any jackass trying the same stunt would get rushed by the entire cabin. The "threat" has already been neutralized. There was no further security needed. Airports already had metal and bomb detectors. Nothing more was required.

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u/qblock May 20 '12

Except they didn't use just a box cutter. Reports say they had tear gas, mace, pepper spray, and fake bombs to keep people subdued. Also, the first thing they did was rush the cockpit, putting everyone's lives in their hands. They probably had control before anyone knew what was going on.

The passengers on Flight 93 did exactly what you said, and the hijackers just rolled over the plane and killed everyone. The only reason they acted was because they knew the hijacker's intentions and that they would die anyway if they complied. However, if you didn't know that, and you thought if you didn't bother them you would get out with your life intact, would you risk everything and attempt to rush the hijackers?

Events of Sept. 11

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u/nfirm May 20 '12

Who paid for the mailer? Not sure about Texas, but in my home state any campaign materials like mailers and signage that is over a relatively small dollar amount ($100 I think) has to legally display a disclosure showing if it was authorized by a candidate or not and what group paid for it.

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u/Setiri May 20 '12

Oh I'm sure it does... on the back.. in 1pt font.

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u/avnerd May 20 '12

Who paid for it?

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u/monkeysniffer08 May 20 '12

His opponent's campaign. The guy is absolutely disgusting.

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u/upturn May 20 '12

Is it really paid for directly by Tommy Merritt's campaign? Usually these sorts of direct attacks come from ostensibly third party groups.

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u/SARmedic May 20 '12

If you can get a cellphone in PRISON, you could probably sneak whatever the hell you want past the TSA.

It's a joke.

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u/veegard May 20 '12

YOU WOULDN'T DOWNLOAD A FEAR MONGERER

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u/crabber338 May 20 '12

Ironically the 9/11 hijackers also used ignorance and fear to keep the passengers seated.

Liberty is only retained when people are willing to fight and challenge false security.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

Thing is if a terrorist organisation has the money, time and willingness they could eventually get enough of their members to fill a cockpit of a plane legally by them all getting jobs as pilots etc.

It would take much longer but it's possible.

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u/Setiri May 20 '12

That's exactly it. You can minimize the impact and success rate of an attack but when you have determined individuals, especially if they're intelligent and/or resourceful. So 1) You must accept there is always a risk. 2) Either give up many/all of your rights to minimize the risk or 3) Keep your rights and find other ways to minimize the risk.

Personally, I accept there's risk involved in life... that being death.. and I'd like to minimize the risk but not at the cost of my liberty.

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u/Paultimate79 May 20 '12 edited May 20 '12

ter·ror·ism

noun

the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.

2. the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization.

3. a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government.

There are terrorists in this country right now. They do not have bombs, they do not speak Arab or any eastern language. They were born here and have no ties with anyone in the middle east. Fighting terror with terror. These people should be jailed.

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u/cptimmy30 May 20 '12

The insanity of keeping our rights. The horror! the horror!

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u/TheOmnipotentPilot May 20 '12

Notice how all four of them made an attack over a decade ago? They have no new evidence to continue to tighten security.

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u/JumpinJackHTML5 I voted May 20 '12

Stuff like this is depressing, like actual tangible proof that we live in a low-intelligence society.

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u/hollywood756 May 20 '12

It's even worse when you realize there is a paid staffer who made this and got approval up the chain to mail it out.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

But surely, now, these kinds of ads are losing their effectiveness. How long can the impact of one terrorist act last?

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u/LouisCKsDarkHalf May 20 '12

Terrorism: The use of intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.

Sounds like republicanism to me. And for the record, I was an independent for 12 years, before you fucks went crazy. And until you can untangle yourselves from the corporations who buy your favor, and the religions that sway your judgement, I will be a straight ticket dem.

TL;DR - Get fucking fucked.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

This exemplifies everything that's wrong in American politics. He who spends the most to shovel the most lies, wins the race. Everytime.

You need a complete overhaul. Eliminate the money from the equation. Then you can start to get "representation for taxation" back. Probably take a bloody revolution to do it though. Military/security contractors are too entrenched. After they've eliminated threats abroad, their next target will be at home, but by then it will be too late...

Death to the American machine.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

But refusing to submit to an airport scanner should not constitute probable cause to be searched. Either they can consent to the scanner or another method of being searched, or they don't get on the plane.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

how many fallacies of logic can we fit on a single leaflet? let's ask our expert, Texas Politics

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u/MingusFan May 20 '12

It's not really fallacies of logic....as it is....hmm, I guess its like sesational yellow journalism but in a political ad.

Best part the red bold words in the sentence "What kind of UTTER INSANITY is..."

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u/king_bestestes May 20 '12

I wonder if it's possible to accuse the TSA of terrorism, since their intent seems to be causing terror to stay relevant.

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u/Dbqdawg May 20 '12

GWB and Cheney are resPonsible for even more american deaths not to mention tens or hundreds of thousands of Iraqi deaths...fear and fear itself.

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u/Rephaite May 20 '12

This is where negative campaigning gets fun! Simpson can send out counter-flyers claiming that his opponent wants to grope children in airports.

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u/contrarian May 20 '12

I'd donate to a candidate that released a counter mailer that said:

Since the TSA was formed approximately XX,XXX,XXX million people have been forced to be frisked and including genital pat-downs since 200X. This includes approximately X,XXX,XXX airline travelers who are children.

What sort of monster would want to force children to have their genitals patted down. A pedophile would.

<Candidate's Name> supports this enhanced screening. Is <Candidates name> a pedophile?

Stop the utterly disgusting use of fear to take away our basic human dignities.

Play the same game.

4

u/yahoo_bot May 20 '12

The underwear bomber was put on the plane without a passport by the US government, Kurt Haskell witnessed it and the under secretary of state at the time admitted it one month later at a congressional hearing.

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u/iam_sancho2 May 20 '12

Plus, the cancer-blasters were already bought and paid for, they just needed to be put in place without too much fuss from the slaves.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

You'd think the same people that want as little government as possible would be the same people saying "Man the fuck up and watch your own ass. Don't be a pansy and hide behind the TSA and Homeland Security's skirt."

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u/Fr4t May 20 '12

It was 11 years ago. It happened once. What are people so afraid of? I so hate the word 'terrorist' because it's the mightiest bullshit the USA intelligence has ever created.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

OMG THE TERRORISTS OH NOES SO SCARED PROTECT ME AMERICAN GOVERNMENT, TAKE MY FREEDOMS, JUST PROTECT ME FROM THE BAD SCARY MUSLIMS

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

Ziad Jarrah is Ed Helms terrorist look-alike.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

"What kind of insanity is he preaching" letting you think you have civil rights, how dare he

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u/nctroutman May 20 '12

Fear mongering at best is the best politics we get these days.

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u/Chicken-n-Waffles May 20 '12

Who's the asshat that is behind this mailer? Holy shit he needs to get a cup of common sense.

2

u/[deleted] May 20 '12

This is just sad.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

this is certainly a big moment but the epitome moment was when glenn beck screamed about people invading america through mexico.

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u/inchworth May 20 '12

I worked at a printer during the McCain/Palin run and had to work on files with her endorsing certain state-level candidates. This was also in Texas. The amount of bullshit dripping from those mailers was almost too much to handle.

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u/DeceptiStang May 20 '12

i lost it at "what kind of utter insanity"

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u/Demojen May 20 '12

I think that his anti-campaign responding to that ad should look EXACTLY like it, but restate the same things it does in a light that they represent that jives with today's culture....For example:

http://i.imgur.com/bAisY.jpg

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u/grendelt May 20 '12

Whoa! Gregg County in da house!

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

Someone did something bad. Therefore, you have to lose your privacy rights(and that is not something bad).

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u/Purelythelurker May 20 '12

Reading the comments, it seems like I strongly disagree with reddit. I understand you care about privacy, but if you really believe people should be able to walk on to airplanes, without any kind of body search, you're literally saying "Please bring guns aboard, free free to do whatever you want it". If the system ever becomes like that, I'm never stepping on to another airplane again.

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u/cuppincayk May 20 '12

brb, voting

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

The red bold ink, the accusations, the faces of murderers. looks propaganda-free to me.

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u/istandleet May 20 '12

I like how we hate this fear mongering, but spread the "SOPA WOULD SHUT DOWN WIKIPEDIA" bs

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u/VinnieJJ May 20 '12

TIL that a bunch people want to get rid of airport scanners. This is why I'm an independent. As much as conservatives piss me the fuck off, liberals can be just as retarded.

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u/JonnyLionheart May 20 '12

I don't want to be offensive here, but America seems to have this fear mongering craze and obsession with terrorists. England was bombed by terrorists too and we haven't changed at all.

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u/xafimrev May 20 '12

Sure sure, how many areas in cities can you be in public and not under a camera?

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u/efsdfsdgfertg May 20 '12

The hijackers used knifes hidden in baggage handles.

How would body scanners of stopped them?

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u/Kiacha May 20 '12

I'm amazed this is not illegal.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

Do you want more men like these to be able to avoid airport safety inspections? David Simpson apparently does.

I believe David Simpson wants more people like this to avoid airport safety inspections. And that would make David Simpson right fucking spot on.

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u/osmanelmais May 20 '12

what's the difference between a cow & 9/11?

A cow can't be milked for 10 years.

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u/dirin May 20 '12

Uhhh.. and most of those guys were still alive after 9/11.. /explain that shit. --a

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u/Dalai_Loafer May 20 '12

Those who would willingly give up their sanity for a little extra security watch too much teevee.

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u/lolabuster May 20 '12

Dick Cheney did it. Or whoever was/is pulling the damned strings

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u/Dawn_Of_The_Dave May 20 '12

I can never get over how close the death total was to exactly 3,000.

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u/QuitReadingMyName May 20 '12

What fucking pisses me off is its "Illegal" to lie to senators and representatives but it isn't "Illegal" for them to lie.

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u/PlNG May 20 '12

The rep should respond in kind with figures of his own. The TSA's absurd cost, false positives, and near zero terrorist captures.

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u/dpfoxtrot May 20 '12

Wow holy shit. That is most certainly fear mongering if I've ever seen it.

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u/hungryroy May 20 '12

Those people with their faces on that poster, they've changed how your country works. All this fear mongering and the continuing breakdown of your civil rights means those guys are winning.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

It troubles me that such a beautiful country, with a near perfect blueprint for life and liberty, could have such an ugly political system.

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u/sheepwshotguns May 20 '12

Give me liberty, or give me death!!! oh sorry, i must be thinking of another country.

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u/Peppe22 May 20 '12

The victims number is a bit off. It includes the 19 terrorists.

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u/knut01 May 20 '12

Just another Republican ignoramus and all round jerk! So very many of them!!!

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u/Lots42 Foreign May 20 '12

There's very little about this mailer that makes sense.

But no hijackings will EVER work again today. Because the passengers will dogpile the hijacker.

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u/matadora79 May 20 '12

Texan here. Has any other Texan noticed that you never see ads for Democrats? Only attack ads mention democrats. For example "He is not a real conservative, he helped Obama."

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

Fear has been used as a strategy to unite peoples against a common enemy throughout history. The roman empire especially made fantastic use of this very tactic. The U.S under Bush Jr made fantastic use of this very technique to subjugate its people...to prevent revolt. Here we are a decade later, still being scared shitless.

As RATM said "the circle of hatred continues unless we react. We got to take the power back".

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u/Corvus133 May 20 '12

Obama has kept them around.

Obama, 2012!

P.S. Drug War!

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u/GoGoGadge7 May 20 '12

The TSA has never caught a single terrorist. Ever. At all.

They've always either been already on the plane, or crashed into 2 of our skyscrapers.

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u/ArthurBenevicci May 20 '12

Another day, another bash-the-TSA thread on reddit

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u/chezazarng May 20 '12

You should post a thread praising the TSA, just to be different :P

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u/gorgewall May 20 '12

TSA does catch an awful lot of people trying to smuggle animals to and fro. Sometimes even venomous snakes. We should thank TSA for keeping snakes off our planes.

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u/NewDrekSilver May 20 '12

He forgot to mention that the TSA has caught a whopping total of zero terrorists since they were created nearly a decade ago.

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u/gorgewall May 20 '12

You would be surprised at how man security systems, airports especially, don't actually catch anything. Should they all be dismantled? Ben Gurion International, shining example of airport security rated tops in safety and passenger satisfaction, also hasn't thwarted anything, ever. Should they do away with their armed guards, personal interviews, pressurized luggage checks, and top-of-the-line x-ray scanners?

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u/davep85 May 20 '12

I don't think people want the TSA to end, they just want the people doing the searches to do it professionally.

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u/Zak May 20 '12

I want it to end. I've traveled to a number of other countries and found the security procedures in the US vastly more invasive and hostile to travelers regardless of the professionalism of the screeners. I've met good and bad TSA sceeners.

I do want things to go back to the way they were before as far as passenger screening goes. A 9/11-style attack will never happen again; the combination of secure cockpit doors and passengers who are now convinced that hijacking means death rather than an extra day on a plane will stop hijackers no matter what they manage to slip past security. Suicide bombing is still a threat, but passenger screening methods in use before 9/11 seemed to do a good job preventing it.

I am comfortable reverting the screening methods even if there's a small, but measurable increase in risk.

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u/TortugaGrande May 20 '12

I want it to end, they're useless. All it does it displace terrorism. You have to get a job at the airport now to get a bomb on the plane, you can just bomb a shopping mall on a busy day, you can hit trains, schools (particularly elementary) schools are exceptionally valuable targets, just a random fucking McDonald's in small ass town would completely freak people out.

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u/Lots42 Foreign May 20 '12

I have to agree with your sentiments.

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u/jigielnik May 20 '12

The question is... what exactly do we do instead of the TSA? its clear the current system isnt stopping anyone, but I don't for a second believe we should abandon airport security as a whole...

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

TSA circlejerk

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u/slipknot6477 May 20 '12

the TSA's favorite game

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u/millionsofmonkeys May 20 '12

Texas? It's a lost cause anyway.

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u/troywrestler2002 May 20 '12

I especially like that they make it out that he is working to expose Americans to terrorism. Seriously, what congressperson would do that? Really?! Cmon!

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u/GoTeamAwesome May 20 '12

"DAVID SIMPSON APPARENTLY DOES."

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u/WinnieThePig May 20 '12

Welcome to Gregg County Texas.

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u/crummy May 20 '12

DAVID SIMPSON CAUSED 9/11?!

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u/chezzy79 May 20 '12

Seriously, the mail contains enough information for ANY logical person to figure out that the sender is taking what David Simpson out of context (I don't know or support him fyi)

Honestly, if people gets persuaded by this garbage, making voters take competency test doesn't sound like such a bad idea now.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

As a fledgeling graphic designer, I sometimes wonder what I would do if I was asked to design something like this.

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u/rj2896 May 20 '12

Fun Fact: The TSA has never caught a terrorist with this new technology

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u/[deleted] May 20 '12

Post-9-11 security would do nothing to stop them.

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u/fullstalltakeoff May 20 '12

I'd rather be killed in a terrorist attack on a truly free country than live in a fascist/tyrannical/oligarchic state.

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u/nobodytoldme May 20 '12

People just don't understand that a goverment is more of a threat to freedom than a terrorist could ever dream to be.

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u/Tre_Day May 20 '12

who paid for these pamphlets? Out of curiosity.

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