TSA Scanners Don't Work

Cap'n Jack

Cap'n Jack

Final Approach
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Cap'n Jack
What a surprise (not)!

Kind of reminds me of those 200+ air puffer scanner things that TSA used to have at airports (you walked in and it would check the air to see if you had been in contact with explosives). Of course, they found out later that those didn't work, so they're now in a warehouse somewhere....
 
When I flew home for new years, they had them set up in Omaha. We didn't even use them. I asked casually,"no scanners today?" She said,"not right now, the officers are on break." ...awesome, welp great time for everyone in line to have their super secret explosives in fun places that only an X-ray will pick up.
 
I've been traveling since before Xmas and I found them idled in no less than five airports where they were installed. For reasons unknown.

Good riddance too.
 
alaskaflyer said:
I've been traveling since before Xmas and I found them idled in no less than five airports where they were installed. For reasons unknown.

Good riddance too.
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Maybe TSA employees have been traumatized by looking at too many average Americans' naked bodies!
 
Palmpilot said:
Maybe TSA employees have been traumatized by looking at too many average Americans' naked bodies!
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LOL, very possible. I imagine they'll probably start a class-action suit, too, to gain compensation for their emotional trauma.

In all seriousness, if I buy something of more than a few dollars in cost and it doesn't work, I demand a refund or replacement. Why is it that when government buys something and it doesn't work, the taxpayers still get stuck with the bill?

-Rich
 
RJM62 said:
LOL, very possible. I imagine they'll probably start a class-action suit, too, to gain compensation for their emotional trauma.

In all seriousness, if I buy something of more than a few dollars in cost and it doesn't work, I demand a refund or replacement. Why is it that when government buys something and it doesn't work, the taxpayers still get stuck with the bill?

-Rich
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Depends on how the contract is written. And the skills of the contracting shops vary widely across the Gov't.
 
Hopefully, this will remove the requirement for scanners and pat downs. Would be a step in the right direction. Let's ignore the fact that the government has no basis for providing full-body x-rays prior to flight.
 
RJM62 said:
LOL, very possible. I imagine they'll probably start a class-action suit, too, to gain compensation for their emotional trauma.

In all seriousness, if I buy something of more than a few dollars in cost and it doesn't work, I demand a refund or replacement. Why is it that when government buys something and it doesn't work, the taxpayers still get stuck with the bill?

-Rich
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Probably answered your own question Rich. :wink2:
 
sba55 said:
What a surprise (not)!

Kind of reminds me of those 200+ air puffer scanner things that TSA used to have at airports (you walked in and it would check the air to see if you had been in contact with explosives). Of course, they found out later that those didn't work, so they're now in a warehouse somewhere....
Click to expand...


The TSA has spent roughly $14 billion in more than 20,900 transactions with dozens of contractors.

In addition to beefing up the fleets of X-ray machines and traditional security systems at airports nationwide, about $8 billion also paid for ambitious new technologies. The agency has spent about $800 million on devices to screen bags and passenger items, including shoes, bottled liquids, casts and prostheses. For next year, it wants more than $1.3 billion for airport screening technologies.

But lawmakers, auditors and national security experts question whether the government is too quick to embrace technology as a solution for basic security problems and whether the TSA has been too eager to write checks for unproven products.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/20/AR2010122005599.html
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"A performance guarantee in the contract? You won't need that. If you insist, we'll have to raise the bid..."

It would be nice if they leased them but NOOOO.... hadta waste the money. Let's get Costco to sell them so we cxan take 'em back for a refund.

I'll bet this doesn't include the toys that the Border Patrol and local police and such bought like the truck-mounted x-ray scanners that scan cars and trucks.

We need to send a few bureaucrats and lobbyists to jail along with a few on Wall Street.
 
Tristar said:
When I flew home for new years, they had them set up in Omaha. We didn't even use them. I asked casually,"no scanners today?" She said,"not right now, the officers are on break." ...awesome, welp great time for everyone in line to have their super secret explosives in fun places that only an X-ray will pick up.
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The point is that the x-rays won't pick them up. That was obvious to me from the get-go. They wouldn't have caught the undie bomber.

Attn our lawyers: Can't any citizen file a taxpayer lawsuit and get a percentage of the money recovered?
 
TMetzinger said:
Depends on how the contract is written. And the skills of the contracting shops vary widely across the Gov't.
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The shear fact the guvmint is 14 TRILLION dollars in debt pretty much explains their contracting skills. I would rate it at poor to criminal. :eek:
 
Carnack said:
The shear fact the guvmint is 14 TRILLION dollars in debt pretty much explains their contracting skills. I would rate it at poor to criminal. :eek:
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Um... purchase of goods and services is a very small portion of the debt (leaving out some DoD boondoggles). Most of it is due to direct payment to taxpayers (or those that service them) in the form of social security and medicare benefits.
 
TMetzinger said:
Um... purchase of goods and services is a very small portion of the debt (leaving out some DoD boondoggles). Most of it is due to direct payment to taxpayers (or those that service them) in the form of social security and medicare benefits.
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It is all part of the puzzle sir...

D.O.D. , NASA, Homeland Security, D.O.E.... The list goes on and on..........
 
TMetzinger said:
Um... purchase of goods and services is a very small portion of the debt (leaving out some DoD boondoggles). Most of it is due to direct payment to taxpayers (or those that service them) in the form of social security and medicare benefits.
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Perhaps, but the point is that they make very poor long term financial decisions. And should not be given the authority and trust that they have been given.

If a trustee acted the way the government did they would be held accountable and replaced. Bernie Madoff is in Jail for what he did - but the Congress and the president get away with it year after year...
 
The fact that they don't work doesn't in the least surprise me. The fact that the fact doesn't surprise me bothers me a great deal.
 
TMetzinger said:
Um... purchase of goods and services is a very small portion of the debt (leaving out some DoD boondoggles). Most of it is due to direct payment to taxpayers (or those that service them) in the form of social security and medicare benefits.
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Until very recently, Social Security has taken in more than it has paid out. I understand that's not true for Medicare, though.
 
Tristar said:
When I flew home for new years, they had them set up in Omaha. We didn't even use them. I asked casually,"no scanners today?" She said,"not right now, the officers are on break." ...awesome, welp great time for everyone in line to have their super secret explosives in fun places that only an X-ray will pick up.
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Back in October they had everyone go through them at Omaha. I didn't see the old magnetometer. Glad to see they changed it but sorry we are paying for it.
 
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