TSA -- Security By Bureaucracy

I had the unhappy duty of driving my eldest to the airport Sunday, so she could wing back to college. I genuinely like the kid, so it's always sad to see her go.

We had the further unpleasant experience of sharing a table with a gaggle of TSA (Transportation Security Administration) employees, while we had a cup of coffee in the airport. Y'know, the people responsible for screening people and baggage at the airports.

Oh. My. God.

The only thing that rang out more clearly than the abject stupidity of these people was their surliness. This group of about 10 TSA workers, on a break but in a public area, sounded like every other unhappy, jaded, don't give a sh-- government employee you've ever known. In fifteen minutes they bitched about their bosses, about the overtime, about the passengers, about working conditions, and about their pay, all in earshot of dozens of holiday travelers, and within 10 inches of my daughter and me. They didn't care.

To think that our safety, that my daughter's safety, depends on the judgment and sensitivity of these morons is unthinkable.

I immediately understood why we continue to hear stories about the screeners that just makes you scratch your head.

Bush was right not to want these people protected by civil service laws. This is a disaster waiting to happen.