Pat Oliphant for December 28, 2009

The eagle’s dismayed expression suggests it regrets being our national bird.

I usually like Pat, but since when does TSA work out of Nigera and Netherlands?? Somebody please tell Americans “We are the World” is a nice song, but it does NOT relate that we control the whole world.

Oliphant is really an Elephant, but without a memory.

Hey, DTROUTMA—–it’s the TSA list that is screwed up, and if you’ll get your head out of the sand, you’ll find that this list is “worked out of” Nigeria and the Netherlands.

Pat Oliphant—Your cartoon was 100% on the mark…great job!

Wonder how many of the resident security wizards have done any traveling in the last year or so ?

Ransom, as much as I am a raging liberal and as much as I hate G W Bush, Oliphant has a point. We know terrorists want to hit American targets and we know they like using airplanes. So why are their still breaches of security? All of us who freely criticized the Bush Administrations for their numerous failures in airport security must also hold the Obama Administration accountable for their failures.

Homeland Security still remains a a huge group of too many former agencies that have nver been fully intergrated into a new dynamic organiation. As it stands now, Sen. Jim Demint has held back approval of Obama’s nominee for TSA Director because Demint doesn’t want any unionizing of TSA workers.

Only in South Carolina is it more important to pay the TSA workers less in order to make our skies safer!?!?!?!?

av8tor; It’s sad….so far we owe our lives more to our ennemies’ fabulous idiocy and clumsyness rather than ourselves…

Pretty poor cartoon from an otherwise astute cartoonist. Putting intelligence into Homeland security is like putting it into the military. Too many ill thought about knee jerk reactions to a news item. e.g. like a push to kill all Canadian Geese after the NY aircraft accident that was caused by a couple getting sucked into jet engines.

Bob Hasty

I just love your logic. If you pay a TSA employee more than you get a better job. The fact that government workers get paid 78% more than their equivalent private employees and work fewer hours and accomplish less doesn’t seem to effect your thinking.

But I must admit your thinking has even found acceptance at the highest corporate levels. CEOs say if I get a $10M bonus I will do a better job than if I get a $5M bonus.

Good comments here today. Fact is, most of what the TSA is doing is pointless (scanning pilots? Why?), and we’ve had millions of miles of flights without a single terrorist worth the name. Certainly not this latest idiot, who couldn’t even kill himself right, let alone everyone else. But no doubt the TSA will try to implement more restrictions, like the liquids restriction, based on a nonexistent explosive a bunch of guys were speculating about. Grrr.

In the low-traffic months preceding the holidays, what was the Threat Level (TM)? Orange?

When this guy made it through security during the Christmas rush, what was the Threat Level (TM)? Orange?

What is the Threat Level (TM) now, following the discovery of this (failed) attempt? Orange?

What do you imagine the Threat Level (TM) will be once things stabilize (with or without new security procedures) in a couple of weeks? Care to make a prediction?

Speaking as one who has experienced firsthand the incompetence of our illustrious Secretary of Homeland Security; Mr. Oliphant is spot on with his view. Napolitano is a consummate politician and a stunningly disastrous leader. Mr. Obama demonstrated his political priorities with her selection. The security of our borders and the safety of our country was not his priority; only a political afterthought. There have been no solutions; only excessive amounts of money spent and pomp. We the tax payer are no closer to secure borders and safe efficient travel than we were on 09/10/01………………….

Rog, seeing as how you seem to be willingly sheparded by the “terrorists will kill you all if you don’t vote for us” crowd, you ought not wag your finger at the other sheep.

Guess no one understands that any Muslim TSA employee (or Muslim anywhere in the world) who exposes an armed jihadist, risks his/her own life and eternal damnation as an apostate. The incompetence of jihadists should tell all that Islamic doctrine ain’t difficult to understand, but ignorance of that doctrine can be lethal. www.politicalislam.com now provides a complete education on Muslim political doctrine (how they deal with non-Muslims) to any who is interested. The articles at the web-site are most informative on real Islamic thinking.

Where are those Air Marshalls we were promised after 9/11? Might have stopped the whole thing before it started. I do think Janet Napolitano made a fool of herself with her early comments – “the system worked”???.