Mixed Message

Just when you thought you couldn't get any more annoyed by the ass-backwards airport security screening system, here's further evidence that TSA has absolutely no idea what they're doing at America's airports:

Read the whole article, but here's a SNIP:

Screeners at Newark Liberty International Airport failed 20 of 22 security tests conducted by undercover U.S. agents last week, missing an array of concealed bombs and guns at checkpoints throughout the hub's three terminals, federal security officials familiar with the results said.

The tests, conducted Oct. 19 by U.S. Transportation Security Administration "Red Team" agents, also revealed significant failures by screeners to follow standard operating procedures while checking passengers and their baggage for prohibited items, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because it is against TSA policy to release covert-test results.

"We can do better, and training is the path to improved performance," said Mark Hatfield Jr., Newark Airport's federal security director, declining to address specifics."Test results are not a grade or a scorecard; they are a road map to perpetual improvement; any other characterization is simply misleading. We have to challenge ourselves to do better every day and be relentless in that pursuit."

TEST RESULTS ARE NOT A GRADE OR A SCORECARD? What are they then? In every other walk of life, tests determine if you get into that college, get that job. Tests tell us if we're sick or if our air is clean. But when it comes to government bureaucracies, test results "are a road map to perpetual improvement."

What we've learned, and what we already knew, is that TSA sucks. Their screening sucks, their results suck, and their training sucks. Perpetual improvement? More like a perpetual nuisance. If we want our air travel to be more secure, maybe we should more closely screen the cargo that goes underneath the plane. Maybe the federal bureaucracies should stop fighting and share their lists with each other so airport screeners know who to look for and when to look for them.

All of these people need to be slapped in the face.