Don't drive around with a pressure cooker in your car!

[dismal]

Why do you keep playing this argument as if this is some sort of trump card?

Argument?
That's the question I was asking.
I'm not asking if your approve of what the cops did or if you can apologize for the behavior, i'm seriously questioning does this tactic produce any actual results? What's the scoresheet? How many actual bombs have been prematurely blown up after casual identification?

Terribly sorry if the question marks escaped your attention.

Go to an airport and you will find hundreds of people going through metal detectors and/or body scanners.

And taking off their shoes.

Do you imagine they do this because of all the bombs body scanners and metal detectors have found? In shoes?

Does the historical absence of finding bombs in airport security mean we shouldn't be looking for bombs?

Are there any documented cases of terrorists plots of any kind being foiled by airport security?

Airport security is a far more real and practical inconvenience to thousands of people everyday who are not big enough dumbasses to park their car on the Washington mall with a pressure cooker in it, so perhaps you should direct your philosophizing at that.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

To live free, to live with rights to do the things we want without causing harm to others, we can't let everything frighten us, nor can we let those entrusted with our safety have unaccountable power to harm us or that which is ours in the name of protecting us. The moment we accept the curtailment of liberty and the immunity of police authority out of fear and cowardice, is the moment we are no longer free.

 

[dismal]

To live free, to live with rights to do the things we want without causing harm to others, we can't let everything frighten us, nor can we let those entrusted with our safety have unaccountable power to harm us or that which is ours in the name of protecting us. The moment we accept the curtailment of liberty and the immunity of police authority out of fear and cowardice, is the moment we are no longer free.

So you don't think we should have airport security?

 

[NobleSavage]

To live free, to live with rights to do the things we want without causing harm to others, we can't let everything frighten us, nor can we let those entrusted with our safety have unaccountable power to harm us or that which is ours in the name of protecting us. The moment we accept the curtailment of liberty and the immunity of police authority out of fear and cowardice, is the moment we are no longer free.

So you don't think we should have airport security?

It should definitely be reduced. If they offered me a choice between more and less security when I buy my tickets on line I'd opt for the less every time. Hell, I'd probably pay a premium (Yes, I know you can be get "per-screened" and pay money to skip to the front of the line -- that is not what I'm talking about though).

 

[Keith&Co.]

Argument?
That's the question I was asking.
I'm not asking if your approve of what the cops did or if you can apologize for the behavior, i'm seriously questioning does this tactic produce any actual results? What's the scoresheet? How many actual bombs have been prematurely blown up after casual identification?

Terribly sorry if the question marks escaped your attention.

Are there any documented cases of terrorists plots of any kind being foiled by airport security? .

Is there any chance at all you could stop trying to anticipate and counter an argument I haven't made, yet, because I don't have any data to use to determine what my argument might be, and either answer the actual question i'm actually asking or maybe shut the fuck up?

 

[dismal]

So you don't think we should have airport security?

It should definitely be reduced. If they offered me a choice between more and less security when I buy my tickets on line I'd opt for the less every time. Hell, I'd probably pay a premium (Yes, I know you can be get "per-screened" and pay money to skip to the front of the line -- that is not what I'm talking about though).

Sorry, even if you accept only a little curtailment of liberty you are not free. See quote above. Thanks for playing.

- - - Updated - - -

Are there any documented cases of terrorists plots of any kind being foiled by airport security? .

Is there any chance at all you could stop trying to anticipate and counter an argument I haven't made, yet, because I don't have any data to use to determine what my argument might be, and either answer the actual question i'm actually asking or maybe shut the fuck up?

OK, I guess we can just agree your posts were silly and misguided and move on.

 

[Keith&Co.]

OK, I guess we can just agree your posts were silly and misguided and move on.

I have a question. You replied to what you thought was an argument I was making instead of answering the question. You can agree to whatever the fuck makes you a happy poster, dismal.
But my question remains.

Does ANYONE know if this tactic has provided any positive results?

 

[AthenaAwakened]

It should definitely be reduced. If they offered me a choice between more and less security when I buy my tickets on line I'd opt for the less every time. Hell, I'd probably pay a premium (Yes, I know you can be get "per-screened" and pay money to skip to the front of the line -- that is not what I'm talking about though).

Sorry, even if you accept only a little curtailment of liberty you are not free. See quote above. Thanks for playing.

Full Quote

"The moment we accept the curtailment of liberty and the immunity of police authority out of fear and cowardice, is the moment we are no longer free."

Arguments in the extreme can become the last refuge of the blind believer, the faithful fool. They should be used sparingly, with great discretion. and careful consideration.

 

[bilby]

To live free, to live with rights to do the things we want without causing harm to others, we can't let everything frighten us, nor can we let those entrusted with our safety have unaccountable power to harm us or that which is ours in the name of protecting us. The moment we accept the curtailment of liberty and the immunity of police authority out of fear and cowardice, is the moment we are no longer free.

So you don't think we should have airport security?

I don't think we should.

It does fuck all to protect anyone. It just moves a small part of the problem elsewhere. While causing major disruption for huge numbers of people.

Its introduction was a stupid knee-jerk response to a psychological, rather than a physical, problem.

Physical solutions to psychological problems should be the very last resort.

There was never a time when putting bombs on planes, or even hijacking planes, was common enough to justify the security measures that now exist - even if we were to grant the dubious premise that such measures are effective in stopping a determined attacker.

Airport security serves the same purpose as, and is about as effective as, praying for a safe journey, and buying a very expensive medallion depicting Saint Christopher.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

So... no tow trucks in DC?

Argument?
That's the question I was asking.
I'm not asking if your approve of what the cops did or if you can apologize for the behavior, i'm seriously questioning does this tactic produce any actual results? What's the scoresheet? How many actual bombs have been prematurely blown up after casual identification?

Terribly sorry if the question marks escaped your attention.

Go to an airport and you will find hundreds of people going through metal detectors and/or body scanners.

And taking off their shoes.

Do you imagine they do this because of all the bombs body scanners and metal detectors have found? In shoes?

Does the historical absence of finding bombs in airport security mean we shouldn't be looking for bombs?

Are there any documented cases of terrorists plots of any kind being foiled by airport security?

Airport security is a far more real and practical inconvenience to thousands of people everyday who are not big enough dumbasses to park their car on the Washington mall with a pressure cooker in it, so perhaps you should direct your philosophizing at that.

dismal has fallen off the wagon here. Does dismal even know what they are arguing. It seems to be that bombs aren't found in airports, so security there is silly while finding a car parked at the Washington Mall with a pressure cooker in it is an actionable threat worth detonating the pressure cooker?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Does the historical absence of finding bombs in airport security mean we shouldn't be looking for bombs?

Are there any documented cases of terrorists plots of any kind being foiled by airport security?

Failure to find bombs in the USA. Israeli security found a real one carried by someone who didn't know it was in her luggage. Their security is offensive as all hell but it does work. The TSA is a farce.