The airlines causing long lines with all of their baggage fees; more people are using carry-on luggage rather than checked luggage. Government is often blamed for not solving problems created by corporations; corporations who don't want to pay the taxes for government to operate efficiently.
Ironically, it was a corporate-sponsored Congress that took money from TSA for other purposes, and then forced the resignation of a TSA official.
See http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/opinion/memorial-day-weekend-ranting.html.
I haven’t flown since 2008. I had had it with small seats, long security lines, and so-so service.
I think the only way the airlines will change is when they lose business. Unfortunately, more and more people want to fly somewhere for pleasure or business. Increasing ticket sales and profits just convince the airlines that they are doing the right thing.
Showing posts with label TSA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TSA. Show all posts
Friday, May 27, 2016
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Polling the self-selected
The political world is filled with polls that are targeted toward audiences that agree with the questions. These polls are generally sent only to those who are predisposed to "positive" answers to the questions. The Democratic National Committee does it. The Republican National Committee does it. News media with a particular slant do it. Political offshoots of all kinds do it.
I generally avoid polls of all kinds, no matter what the source. I don't even like the follow-up calls from businesses with whom I plan to buy again and again.
My Congressional Representative, Chip Cravaack, is one of the worst offenders in the biased presentation of polls. His latest is about "What Would You Cut", a list of three items he would like to cut from the budget - replacing TSA employees with private contractors, dispose of excess baggage scanners, and "Terminate a National Science Foundation program aimed at shaping public opinion on climate change". On the last he writes, "A review of prior grants made by the program shows a repeated pattern of funding activities intended to sway public opinion on a controversial topic about which the facts remain in heated dispute." The controversy is coming from those who ignore the facts and have a lot of money to lose if there is to be a serious mitigation of climate change.
This particular poll is at http://cravaack.house.gov/press-releases/cravaack-what-would-youcut/ as of 2012-05-15. Cravaack's staff will probably reuse this URL for a subsequent poll.
Rather than submit my answers, I sent the following webmail to Rep. Cravaack:
"With regard to your "What would you cut" email and many others, please have a chat with Bill Frenzel on how to communicate with constituents.
Rep. Frenzel wrote facts about what Congress was doing, not what he wanted constituents to agree with.
Each one of your "What would you cut" items makes it very clear what you want constituents to answer.
There are many much larger costs for things that are not really needed but have large constituencies supporting them.
I hope I don't have to tell you what these are; that would tell you what my biases are."
Bill Frenzel was the Representative from the suburbs of Minneapolis. He would be considered a RINO by today's Republicans. He wrote quite interesting newsletters about Congress that hardly ever touted what he was doing.
I generally avoid polls of all kinds, no matter what the source. I don't even like the follow-up calls from businesses with whom I plan to buy again and again.
My Congressional Representative, Chip Cravaack, is one of the worst offenders in the biased presentation of polls. His latest is about "What Would You Cut", a list of three items he would like to cut from the budget - replacing TSA employees with private contractors, dispose of excess baggage scanners, and "Terminate a National Science Foundation program aimed at shaping public opinion on climate change". On the last he writes, "A review of prior grants made by the program shows a repeated pattern of funding activities intended to sway public opinion on a controversial topic about which the facts remain in heated dispute." The controversy is coming from those who ignore the facts and have a lot of money to lose if there is to be a serious mitigation of climate change.
This particular poll is at http://cravaack.house.gov/press-releases/cravaack-what-would-youcut/ as of 2012-05-15. Cravaack's staff will probably reuse this URL for a subsequent poll.
Rather than submit my answers, I sent the following webmail to Rep. Cravaack:
"With regard to your "What would you cut" email and many others, please have a chat with Bill Frenzel on how to communicate with constituents.
Rep. Frenzel wrote facts about what Congress was doing, not what he wanted constituents to agree with.
Each one of your "What would you cut" items makes it very clear what you want constituents to answer.
There are many much larger costs for things that are not really needed but have large constituencies supporting them.
I hope I don't have to tell you what these are; that would tell you what my biases are."
Bill Frenzel was the Representative from the suburbs of Minneapolis. He would be considered a RINO by today's Republicans. He wrote quite interesting newsletters about Congress that hardly ever touted what he was doing.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
TSA is wrong target, but the only one we can reach
A major boycott may be forming against the full-body scanners of the Transportation Security Agency. See "Viral 'pornoscan' protest challenges TSA" and http://wewontfly.com/.
However, the TSA is only a product of decades of foreign policy failures. The United States has been meddling in other countries affairs at a level and a time span that we would not tolerate if other countries did the same to us. Our chickens have come home to roost.
Andrew Bacevich has been warning about our military/intelligence failures for some time, but despite the volume and popularity of his writing, he doesn't seem to be making much progress bringing about reform. See his "The Limits of Power, The End of American Exceptionalism" and "Washington Rules, America's Path to Permanent War", and many of his magazine articles.
Maybe a boycott of air travel could bring about a major change in foreign policy. It may seem like a win for the terrorists, but they keep winning in small ways all the time. The burden on passengers of airport security is a big win for terrorists; they have disrupted our economy and our sense of well-being. How long will we have to put up with terrorists before governments figure out how to permanently neutralize them without violence that creates more terrorists.
However, the TSA is only a product of decades of foreign policy failures. The United States has been meddling in other countries affairs at a level and a time span that we would not tolerate if other countries did the same to us. Our chickens have come home to roost.
Andrew Bacevich has been warning about our military/intelligence failures for some time, but despite the volume and popularity of his writing, he doesn't seem to be making much progress bringing about reform. See his "The Limits of Power, The End of American Exceptionalism" and "Washington Rules, America's Path to Permanent War", and many of his magazine articles.
Maybe a boycott of air travel could bring about a major change in foreign policy. It may seem like a win for the terrorists, but they keep winning in small ways all the time. The burden on passengers of airport security is a big win for terrorists; they have disrupted our economy and our sense of well-being. How long will we have to put up with terrorists before governments figure out how to permanently neutralize them without violence that creates more terrorists.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)