From time to time on this blog, I will highlight corruption in the government and its various agencies.  Why?  Because these are the people making and enforcing laws that the rest of us are supposed to follow.  I know that individual incidents of corruption don’t apply across the board to all people in all departments.  But, I plan to slowly make the case that we give the government too much credit.  We trust them too much.  We let them boss us around.  They often don’t deserve our respect and admiration.

Recently, two police officers and three TSA agents were arrested for conspiracy to distribute tens of thousands of highly addictive painkiller pills.  Regardless of what you think about the war on drugs, these people are hired to supposedly screen for these items and protect us from them.  These same individuals would probably be summoned to testify against you if you were caught doing the same thing.

Maybe I shouldn’t have the attitude that one bad apple spoils the whole bunch, but I am also not going to be naive enough to believe that all police officers and TSA agents have my best interest in mind and are somehow keeping me safe.

I’ve discussed the TSA (transportation security administration) several times on this blog.  I cautioned you not to read a book about airplanes on a plane (unless you want to be humiliated), and I also discussed the absurdity of the rule about cell phones on planes.  There are many, many things that people get into trouble for concerning flying (mostly because of the bloated TSA agency).

This article discusses the idea of dismantling the entire thing and privatizing it.  For me, the interesting part of the article is when the creator of the TSA describes it as reactive. As you know, I enjoy ranting against reactionary laws.

Here’s something interesting:  I had my hip replaced in October 2001, just a little over a month after the September 11, 2001 incident.  Prior to that, I had a rod placed in the opposite leg, several other hip fixations, and even metal shavings in my face (part of the reconstructive plastic surgery).  Because of this, I was given a card from my doctor that indicated that I may set off metal detectors in airports as a result of my orthopedic modifications.  The first time I flew since then was about a year and a half ago.

With all of this fanfare about the TSA and how rigorous the screenings are, I fully expected to set off the alarm, show my card, and then undergo a serious search for explosives or something.  After all, why would they just trust the little card that my doctor gave me?  It seems pretty easy to counterfeit one of these cards.  So, I arrived at the airport with enough time to endure a sexual assault of some kind.  (Hopefully it wouldn’t be as bad as this woman with a hip replacement endured. Why aren’t some of these TSA agents on the sex offender registry?)  Anyway, much to my surprise I DIDN’T EVEN SET OFF THE METAL DETECTOR.

We are told that we cannot use mobile devices on airplanes because “using just one mobile phone or electronic device during a flight can cause a plane’s systems to shut down.”  I am totally a compliant person.  I would never be the one to test this theory by using my cell phone or nook before they announced that it was OK to do so on a flight.  However, I don’t buy that it’s that dangerous.  Think about it.  We have to go through all kinds of pat downs and cavity searches for bomb material before we board the plane, right?  But, we can just turn on our cell phones while flying to take down the whole thing?  And they just let us have these deadly devices hoping that we use them wisely. Nonsense.

Anyway, a guy flying from Phoenix to El Paso found out what happens to you when you use your phone too soon.  He was restrained and arrested.  Some of the comments on the linked article are amusing to read.

I read an article this morning about folk musician Vance Gilbert. Evidently, he was given a pretty hard time on a flight recently.  According to him, five agents (two state police, two TSA agents, and someone associated with the airline) all came up to him and motioned for him to get off the plane.  Why?  Because he was reading a book about airplanes.  In our paranoid society today, anyone who reads about airplanes on a flight should be treated like the shoe bomber.

While he wasn’t charged with anything and was allowed to continue on the flight, this interrogation was humiliating to Mr. Gilbert. He said he wept all the way to his destination because of how degrading it was.

*Note: I have had to change the link to this story. The original article I linked to was subsequently removed.