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Boondoggle
October 20, 2003 — 7:45 pm

Let’s see, the World Trade Center buildings were essentially taken down by a couple of box cutters, right? So, in the aftermath of 9-11, the Feds invent the Transportation Security Agency, one of the largest additions to the Federal Government in our history. What is the mission of the TSA? Well, to keep box cutters off of planes, of course.

Enter Nathaniel Heatwole, an enterprising 20 year old who thought that well, gee-wiz, I don’t think the TSA is doing a very good job. So he writes them an email to that effect, further informing them that on a certain date on a certain airline at a certain time, he will smuggle some “forbidden items” onto several of their planes. And so he did.

Bags full of box cutters, clay (molded into the shape of an explosive) and bottles of bleach were brought onto two flights and left there for five weeks before the Feds found them.

So, what was the reaction of TSA?

“Amateur testing of our systems do not show us in any way our flaws. We know where the vulnerabilities are and we are testing them. … This does not help.”

Feel any safer yet?

By the way, Mr. Heatwole is facing federal charges for his actions. The lesson here is, you must Never, Ever embarrass the Federal Government. I wonder if he will also disappear into some Navy Brig somewhere on the East Coast, never to be heard from again.

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— Justin M. StoddardComments (0)

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