...useful information from the Forum today

Quotes on the imported drywall problem which is suspected of contaminating homes:

First we put a Wal-Mart in every town and suckled at the teat. Little people who stood up to Teh Wal-Mart would be destroyed like the little guy in a bad Steven Segal movie or any episode of the A-Team. We bulldozed historic Civil War sites to put up more, nothing would stop in the way. That was not enough.

Short term thinking/profits - ignore any long term consequences. It's been the U.S. mantra for 3 decades now.../ still lovin that cheap crap you can buy from countries run by dictatorships?// Americans ... self-destructing, by our own greed

Quotes on TSA airline security issues (screener left post and snuck through security):

"TSA is in a no win situation and someone has to draw lines in many grays. It's largely a matter of liability and reactive policy that you see some of the restrictions being enforced.That said, I can't believe that TSA brain trust is anymore, or for that matter, any less inept than any other fed. agency."

"Ok, since you asked. 1)Militarize it.13 weeks of basic training for all TSA employees, including discipline and respect. I've never seen a soldier sailor or marine on duty behave as anything less than professional when dealing with the public, even in a disaster (I've vol'd witht he red cross). It also engenders more respect from the public, elicits more trust, and hopefully, would make anybody trying something suspicious think twice about messing with a solider than a rent-a-cop. In addition, recruit, train and deploy 75,000 new air marshalls, randomly deployed on all flights throughout the united states. Run the whole thing like the Coast Guard, answerable to the Joint Chiefs."

"The flight was held up for over an hour as every passenger was taken off the plane and screened again, TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said. The plane took off at 10:15 a.m. without Weems, who was questioned and taken into custody, Davis said.Because ONE PERSON got on without screening, they subject the entire passenger list AGAIN to another tedious time-wasting screening. Jackasses. There's actually decent logic behind that practice.If they had smuggled a bomb or a gun on the plane, they could have passed it to an accomplice prior to being removed from the plane. If they only searched that one person, the contraband would not be found.Of course in this situation, its pretty clear they weren't dealing with a terrorist just an idiot, but the policy must be followed because it does not allow any room for judgment calls. And when you are dealing with a bunch of uneducated workers in positions of implied authority, I think taking away their ability to make judgment calls is the wise thing to do."