What is the allure in attacking Democrats instead of being honest with oneself and sharply denouncing the worst modern American presidency? Honestly, what? How can you (Mr. Obvious) feel good about yourself and your respect for others if you cannot direct your attentiveness to life and prosperity in even the most generally appropriate direction?

Honestly, how can you continue to lie to yourself? How can you say that someone who reveals weaknesses is doing anything but revealing weaknesses? What is so friggin’ twisted in your mind? It’s the ultimate Mind Job.

That has been the hallmark of popular conservative thought since the beginning of the Bush Administration, and it’s self-defeating DNA

I m a regular business traveler and dont understand the
security issue with this ? May be I m slow but how does
one getting into a gated area with a fake pass pose a
threat ? When a person is literally strip searched, her
belongings (especially the so called liquids) are
examined for 3oz vs 4oz and thrown in the garbage, when
there are more than hordes of TSA employess (ofcourse
paid by our tax money) watching you over.

As someone pointed out there is hardly anyone getting
up in the plane to look at their carry-on baggages. I
myself reach for my laptop but agree with the assessment
that its a very small percentage who really need their
carry-on while in flight. The big deal here is walking
out quickly when you get off the plane and not waiting
for your checked in baggage to show up like 30-45min
after you land…this brings us to the security of
checked in luggage and this is where all the loopholes
are there and need to be fixed.
A person getting into past TSA with fake id is not a big
deal as they still have to go through the strip search
bag search and they still cant get into the plane even
if they did they deal with air marshalls and much educated
passengers about hijackers.
so its just an intruder into the gated area.
This incident just goes to show how much the terrorists
are affecting our thinking and behavior and winning the
‘WAR’ as they say it.

Hopefully the responsible parties are smart enough and
doing the right things to keep the bad guys out. I think
they are doing excellent…given the record of ‘0′
9/11 type incidents since.

Comments welcome.

He must blindly believe everything this flawed administration says, including all evil is the fault of Democrats. Next thing you know he will goose-step behind Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfield and lead us to victory in Iraq and over terrorists everywhere!

October 31, 2006

Carl Corliss
[My Address]

Dear Carl:

Thank you for expressing your concern about the issue of fake boarding
passes. When I first heard that someone had built a website for the
purpose of making it easier to create fraudulent boarding passes, I
called for the “apprehension” of the person or persons responsible.
Later, when I had confirmed that the creator of the website was a
student interested in publicizing – not creating – a security loophole, I
immediately issued the following statement:

October 29, 2006 – MARKEY: DON’T
ARREST STUDENT, USE HIM TO FIX
LOOPHOLES

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Statement of Rep. Ed
Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the
House Homeland Security Committee, on the
website created to expose a massive security
loophole in the printing of boarding passes for
commercial passenger planes:
“On Friday I urged the Bush Administration to
‘apprehend’ and shut down whoever had
created a new website that enabled persons
without a plane ticket to easily fake a
boarding pass and use it to clear security,
gain access to the boarding area and
potentially to the cabin of a passenger plane.
Subsequently I learned that the person
responsible was a student at Indiana
University, Christopher Soghoian, who
intended no harm but, rather, intended to
provide a public service by warning that this
long-standing loophole could be easily
exploited. The website has now apparently
been shut down.
“Under the circumstances, any legal
consequences for this student must take into
account his intent to perform a public service,
to publicize a problem as a way of getting it
fixed. He picked a lousy way of doing it, but
he should not go to jail for his bad judgment.
Better yet, the Department of Homeland
Security should put him to work showing
public officials how easily our security can be
compromised.
“It remains a fact that fake boarding passes
can be easily created and the integration of
terrorist watch lists with boarding security is
still woefully inadequate. The best outcome
of Mr. Soghoian’s ill-considered
demonstration would be for the Department
of Homeland Security to close these loopholes
immediately.”

I appreciate and agree with your point that the government should
spend its time and resources on closing security loopholes, not arresting
well-meaning graduate students. Thank you again.

Watching my fellow sheep this weekend, I paid special attention to the overhead lockers in the plane during my 3 hour flight. Out of the 200 or so people in the plane, maybe 2 or 3 actually got something out of their bags during the flight, yet most had 2 bags (One + a laptop or purse) plus a coat and so on.

The only reason I can understand for not checking this luggage is the complete lack of security for checked baggage…wait a second….the cabin environment is insecure because we are avoiding the insecurity of the cargo environment ? Methinks the TSA are missing the point ;)

No, a fake boarding pass does not allow you to by-pass security. For that matter, a real boarding pass does not allow you to by-pass security.

Think about the last time you travelled. Everyone with a boarding pass has to be screened before entering the restricted area.

At the very worst, a fake boarding pass allows an individual access to a restricted area with other legitimate travellers.

““conspiracy to commit, or the commission of knowingly presenting a false and fictitious claim upon or against the United States, or any department or agency thereof,” according to the warrant.”

The search warrant is seriously flawed. Unfortunately the government can afford the best lawyers to cover their asses. This is blatant intimidation, pure and simple. It is a case of my lawyer can beat up on your lawyer.