Blog

  • Securing Security at Airports….

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/05/2785368.htm?section=justin

    Common sense might have finally made its way into our security procedures at airports.  Although Nigeria complained, it has been placed on a list of countries from which airline passengers will be more completely checked out before boarding flights into the United States.  Nigeria feels insulted because they claim that only one of their citizens, the underwear terrorist, has threatened a U.S. airline and that they have many people who have NOT threatened anyone

    Nigeria is suggesting that such screening is discrimination.  However, the extra screening did not come out of the blue.  If the bomb hadn’t failed, over 200 people flying into Detroit would be dead.   Rather than worrying about bruised feelings, even when it is a national ego, most of us who fly would understand the need for this type of scrutiny.   There is no reason NOT to double check people flying into the United States.    Nigeria’s reaction focuses on the wrong element of the increased security measures and  is based on emotions and political gamesmanship, not good intelligence factors.

    It’s time to get realistic about how to maintain our security and, Nigeria notwithstanding, our security should always trump political decisions.   The TSA should use statistics like insurance companies who figure out insurance rates based COMPLETELY on statistics, not whether they like someone or not.   If you insure a home in a statistically safe area, your rate is lower than someone who has a home in a flood plain!    This is not only logical, it is the only truly fair method of determining a fair rate.  The same rule should apply with airport security.  Statistically speaking, some countries produce terrorists.  For them, ALL people leaving their country should face the stiffest security checks.

    By using numbers rather than abstract concepts we will increase the security of the flying public and also have a reasonable basis for our decisions.    This is not discrimination.  It is common sense.

  • Body Scans — new information

    Just like the rush to “fix” alleged global warming which has now been proven to have been based on lies, suppressions, and outright criminal activities by pseudo scientists, so goes the story on full body scans.

    Immediately after the terrorist managed to bring in explosives, hidden in his underwear, there were strident calls to implement full body scans.  I object to these on privacy grounds and because I do not want these intense xrays bombarding my body and, potentially, causing cancer.  I also object because the TSA and airports are not using current techniques and tools to the maximum right now.  If the authorities in all countries rigorously  followed the guidelines set up for airports in the U.S., this man would NOT have been onboard.

    Anyway, here is another article that gives us another reason to not use full body scans.  Apparently, THEY DON’T WORK AND WOULDN’T HAVE STOPPED THE UNDERWEAR TERRORIST!

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/are-planned-airport-scanners-just-a-scam-1856175.html

  • Terrorism and Body scans

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a4fzip9qPK44

    After the failed attempt to blow up a Northwest airline flying into Detroit, there are a multitude of voices calling for more — more security, more scrutiny of passengers, and even more intrusive ways to check out passengers.  Some are trying to say that a full body scan of every passenger would prevent terrorism.  Maybe it would help in some cases, but there are countless other ways to flush out attempted terrorism.   Before anyone mandates that all passengers give up their personal privacy or submit to additional xrays, it seems wiser to implement other security measures because, even without the evidence of a body scan, there were a gazillion reasons to keep this particular passenger off the airline.

    The terrorist was on the list of problematic  passengers.  He was flying on an international flight,  AND, according to some reports, he didn’t even have a passport! Most critical of all the evidence against this man is that his own father reported him as a radical and potential terrorist.    If even one of those indicators had been understood and proper procedures followed,  this threat would have been eliminated before it could happen.  Other measures should include constantly updating the computer system with profiles of potential terrorists…and, we should use those profiles.  We should insist upon a current passport.  NO ONE should be able to talk their way onto a flight without the proper ID and passport and valid boarding pass.

    And, it’s time to hold someone responsible for such obvious lapses in our airline security.  Who’s to blame?  After the secure environment provided by President Bush, President Obama has gutted our security systems.  He says we are not at war with terrorism, but the terrorists haven’t heard the message!  President Obama has to stop  mollycoddling terrorists and start securing the homeland again.  And, it’s time for the media to start honestly reporting the failures of the Obama administration because, right now,  Obama is giventoo much latitude by the press even when our safety is at stake.  Remember when President Bush was berated for pausing 15 minutes to collect his thoughts before speaking out on 9/11?  Well, Obama waited several days before addressing this terrorist event…and, then, his message was to “be more vigilant”.  Wow, that’s going to stop the terrorists in their tracks!  Oh, wait. Obama was on vacation, so we shouldn’t expect him to do HIS job, right?

    This particular incident occurred because of a failure by authorities to follow their own procedures.  It does NOT prove that body scans are  needed for every passenger.   What we do need is an administration that understands that terrorists are at war with us.  After all, this is not just some misguided young man who “happened” to be wearing explosives in his underwear.  We need an administration that will make sure that terrorists know they will receive the harshest punishment possible for their acts, not that they get the use of  some public defender–at our expense — and free rein to spew their hatred in a courtroom.

    President Bush was castigated for playing golf after 9/11.  Well, we now have a president who takes off for Haiwaii — he needs a vacation after being in office less than a year —  when our country is in economic turmoil and our citizens threatened by unbridled terrorism.  We need President Obama to quit playing games and get down to the business of defending America and all Americans!

  • Energy…

    http://gizmodo.com/5431887/mojave-desert-solar-farm-blocked-by-senator-dianne-feinstein

    So what is her motive? If this was a republican blocking this, everyone would be all over them for leaning towards big oil.

    -Mr. Knowledge

  • 60 Hypocrites in Washington, D.C.

    So, Senator Reid was finally able to buy that last vote needed to pass this horrendous health care bill.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/19/AR2009121900797_pf.html

    What a farce this entire situation was!!  After Mary Landrieu of the $300 million fame publicly admitted she sold her vote, the rest of the Senate lined up to get ‘THEIR” FAIR SHARE.  Unfortunately, all these shares will come out of  OUR taxpayer dollars.

    At Christmastime, we expect to see 3 Wise Men, not 60 money-grabbing, greedy, arrogant, unresponsive, evasive, double-dealing criminals determining our future.  But, there you have it.  It took some time before Senator Reid could find enough ways to buy off members of his own party, like  Nelson and Lieberman, but they finally all sold their souls to the Devil.  Let’s hope the Devil comes to get them soon.  In the meantime, if you want to see the 60 biggest hypocrites in the world….go to  Washington, D.C, and visit the Senate!!!

  • Typical…

    http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/led-traffic-lights-dont-melt-snow-do-cause-accidents/

    That is so freaking typical. They try to get all PC and green with traffic lights without even thinking of the consequences. This is a typical case of idiots in charge.

    -Mr. Knowledge

  • How much is “it” worth.

    I’m asking how much a Senator or Representative’s vote is worth.   Ms Landrieu got $300,000,000 for her vote for health care.  And, I’m sure she’s not the only one.

    The posturing and pseudo consideration of the health bill is ludicrous.  Grown men and women pretend to be studying the value of the bill–when we know they’re positioning themselves for the big buyout — even as the American public is saying “NO” in poll after poll.  We do NOT want a government run health insurance.  We do NOT want the government intruding into our private medical history.  We DON’T WANT Congress to insist upon health care “reform” when we know it is a political steal of our rights and privacy.

    We DO WANT reform of the regulations that prohibit insurance companies from competing across state lines.

    We DO WANT tort reform so doctors and hospitals can operate without fear of reprisals for problems that are truly beyond their control.

    We DO WANT Congress to begin listening to us and STOP trying to control us.  Congress is supposed to REPRESENT us, not CONTROL us.

    So, how much is an individual legislator’s vote worth? Only time will tell.

  • Lies, Lies, and more Lies!

    How many lies does it take to make one a Democrat?  Well, here are some of the whoppers coming out of what was once a party “of the people”.

    Al Gore — lying about Climategate:

    http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/climategate_gore_falsifies_the_record

    Hillary’s nepotism for friends:

    http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/71353-mark-penn-got-6-million-from-stimulus

    Obama urging “more of the same bad lending practices” that led to the recession while simultaneously complaining about being handed a recession.

    http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30388.html

    Obama pretending to have deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, while sending 30,000 more troops into harm’s way.

    http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-obama-accept-nobel-peace-prize-oslo-norway/story?id=9284977

    And, our beloved Senator Reid, trying to drum up racism in order to promote his own agenda.

    http://www.breitbart.tv/harry-reid-implies-radio-host-is-racist-for-tying-fannie-mae-exec-to-obama/

    IS IT ANY WONDER THAT PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS THE LOWEST APPROVAL RATING OF ANY PRESIDENT FOR THIS POINT IN HIS TERM?

    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/08/obamas-percent-approval-lowest-president-point/

  • Muckrakers

    When I was young, we were told that muckrakers were journalists who scraped up muck on people and institutions in order to right wrongs.  If a politician was dirty, the muckraker would expose his faults.  If a business wasn’t following the law, the muckraker would explain exactly what was wrong with their business’ practices.  Muckrakers did a lot of good work in correcting what ailed society.

    Today’s muckrakers have a new name and, it isn’t much prettier than muckraker.  It is computer hacker. Few people use it in a complimentary fashion.  But, the good news is that, many times, hackers have exposed a politician’s lies or fraud in government.  And isn’t it a good thing for all of us when corruption is laid bare and then corrected?

    Well, maybe it is good for us, but risky for the hackers.  The latest expose is alleged global warming.  Hackers managed to reveal the skulduggery of scientists who promoted the concept of global warming even though they knew their “facts” were unfounded!   The scare tactics of these pseudo scientists included omitting data, fudging numbers, and even suppressing contrary voices… actually, much like Congress is doing in their attempt to foist health care measures upon an unwilling American public.

    So now, even knowing that the hackers discovered corruption in the global warming theory community, some want to punish them.  Whether you agree with what the hackers did or not, there is absolutely no way you can deny what the hackers discovered.  And, aren’t we glad that these false prophets of global warming  have been shown to be liars?  Well, it depends.  If you’re on the losing side of the argument, as Barbara Boxer is, you want to punish those who made you look foolish.  It’s the old, “Kill the messenger” attitude that has worked top well for the democrats in the past.  Hence, she chooses to ignore the importance of the hackers’ revelations in favor of trying to punish them for exposing the untruths of global warming.

    http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/70249-boxer-hacked-climategate-emails-may-face-criminal-probe

    It sounds as though we should sic’ the hackers on good old Barbara!  Let the muckraking begin.

  • Media blunder…?

    If you’ve been under a rock and don’t know about the White House dinner story, Read This! Personally, I think the stunt / gag was pretty funny.

    Here’s where the media rears its ugly head. Had this been President Bush in the White House the press would have a field day talking about the administration’s incompetence. Instead, the lieberal media comes to Obama’s defense and claims the stunt was wrong and charges be flung at the couple like candy. Had this been with the Bush administration, the media would be lauding the couple for sticking it to President Bush. It’s this double standard in the media I think shows a clear cut example of how bat-shit insane they are.

    Another example is the Tiger Woods story. First of all, everyone and their brother are making assumptions and throwing out opinions as on national tv. It’s ok if you want to throw out opinion in the safety of your home, but when you’re in a public forum you can’t decide what the facts are on his personal life or what may have happened. Then watching the Sports Reporters Sunday, Mike Lupica made note that they deserve to know all the details as to where he was going and why, so that they may correctly determine what happened. Until it’s public record, he and everyone else have no right to know what went down.

    Maybe Tiger just lost control of his car, maybe there was some personal issues or maybe he was trying to run over a nosy reporter.

    If it’s the third option, let’s hope there’s more like him. 🙂

    – Mr. Knowledge