Look How Thorough We Are

When the pressure is on to justify their tactics, the bureaucrats haul out some numbers to demonstrate how their abuses have made you infinitely safer.Without these centurions on the front lines we would be having to wear helmets to avoid being injured by the shower of airplane parts from the skies overhead.

We've Stopped 130 Items 

That's right! 130 items were intercepted on the way to a commercial airline seat near you in the last year. Huh? 130 in an entire year? Thousands of TSA agents, millions of passenger hours wasted in lines, security equipment in the astronomical millions of dollars and in an entire year they found 130 items? That's about one every three days at all of the airports for all of the flights all across the nation? One item for what would conservatively be a couple of million travelers inconvenienced!

And, are those bombs? Well no, not exactly. Guns? No, not those either. They are "prohibited, illegal or dangerous" items. Whatever that means.

Did they stop the underwear bomber? Nope, missed that one.

Coming soon to an airport near you:

I think I've got something...

Were any of those 130 items destined to be used in a terrorist act? Apparently not, or we would have heard it at the time it seems. Nope, just 130 items that are prohibited (like a six ounce bottle of shampoo, for example?) or illegal (like that heroin dose?) or dangerous (like those evil nail-clippers?). I feel so much safer already.

What is really being down-played so far is the contract award for these $200,000 back-scatter machines, the ongoing maintenance and the operating costs. The old principle of "follow-the-money" is still a good one to apply.