Reinke Faces Life

https://nypost.com/2018/04/15/why-were-forgetting-the-holocaust/

OPINION

Why we’re forgetting the Holocaust
By Karol Markowicz
April 15, 2018 | 7:06pm

*** begin quote ***

A scary new survey released on Holocaust Remembrance Day purported to show that Americans are forgetting the atrocities of the Holocaust. What it really showed, however, was that Americans don’t learn enough to forget in the first place.

*** and ***

Yet lack of Holocaust knowledge had become so pervasive that in 2016 Michigan and Rhode Island passed bills requiring Holocaust and genocide education in high school, joining New York, New Jersey, California, Florida and Illinois. Several organizations are pushing to expand this mandate to all 50 states.

That would be a good start. As these surveys show, students need to be taught not just the basics but the details. The Holocaust stands apart as one of the few world events students should have to master.

*** end quote ***

Instead of protesting the Second Amendment, the “children” should know about the direct relationship between a disarmed population and genocides. 

If there not going to learn the three R’s, then they should learn how to shoot.

Argh!

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5617901/Oregon-public-university-president-receives-monthly-76-111-pension.html

REVEALED: Oregon public university president receives a $76,111 A MONTH taxpayer-funded pension

• Dr Joe Robertson retired as president of the Oregon Health & Science University in October last year 
• The 66-year-old is receiving a monthly taxpayer-funded pension of $76,111
• His pension is considerably higher than what the average family in Oregon earns a year with the median household income being $57,532 in 2016
• His high pension is a result of the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System
• Pensions paid out by PERS are reportedly consuming other essential spending

By Emily Crane For Dailymail.com

PUBLISHED: 10:08 EDT, 15 April 2018 | UPDATED: 12:19 EDT, 15 April 2018

*** begin quote ***

A former Oregon eye surgeon and public university president is receiving a $76,111 a month taxpayer-funded pension after retiring late last year. 

Dr Joe Robertson, the former president of Oregon Health & Science University, will receive an annual pension of $913,000, which is the state’s largest public pension.

The 66-year-old’s pension is considerably higher than what the average family in Oregon earns a year. The median household income for the state was $57,532 in 2016, according to Census data.

*** end quote ***

Why should the taxpayers be one the hook for something that’s impossible for them to get?

It puts a burden on future taxpayers that they can’t escape.

And, in the case of the average fixed pension, inflation can ravage the purchasing power of the pension.

By making it a defined contribution plan, the taxpayer is off the hook for a future liability.

Argh!

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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/holocaust-study-millennials/

4 in 10 millennials don’t know 6 million Jews were killed in Holocaust, study shows

*** begin quote ***

NEW YORK — More than one-fifth of millennials in the U.S. — 22 percent — haven’t heard of, or aren’t sure if they’ve heard of, the Holocaust, according to a study published Thursday, on Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day. The study, which was commissioned by The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany and conducted by Schoen Consulting, also found that 11 percent of U.S. adults overall haven’t heard of the Holocaust or aren’t sure if they did.

*** end quote ***

Argh!

How can the children be so “mis-educated”?

Argh!

“We” need to do much better!

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https://patch.com/new-jersey/southbrunswick/s/ge8s8/east-brunswick-public-library-forgives-all-late-fines-for-kids

East Brunswick Public Library Forgives All Late Fines For Kids

Hey kids or teens, have an overdue book from the East Brunswick Public Library? You’re in luck…

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Maybe I’m an old curmudgeon but what lesson do the children get from this?

Like the “everyone gets a trophy”, it just sends the wrong message imho!

“Come home; all is forgiven!” should be “You promised; you knew the rules; you agreed to the rule; here is the consequences.” 

Children are smart and observant. It tells them that they don’t have to keep their promises.

Argh!

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https://www.lewrockwell.com/2018/04/james-bovard/after-the-fbis-pulse-nightclub-failure-why-should-we-trust-james-comey-anymore/

After the FBI’s Pulse Nightclub Failure, Why Should We Trust James Comey Anymore?

• Now that Noor Salman has been acquitted of charges she played a role in the worst terror attack on U.S. soil since 9/11, the FBI should be embarrassed.

By James Bovard USA Today April 5, 2018

*** begin quote ***

Federal prosecutors flourished the FBI memo of Salman’s confession as the ultimate proof of her perfidy. But the memo contained false statements and contradictions which even the government could not sweep away. After the trial ended, the jury foreman (who wished to remain anonymous) notified the Orlando Sentinel: “I wish that the FBI had recorded their interviews with Ms. Salman as there were several significant inconsistencies with the written summaries of her statements.”

*** end quote ***

Require all FBI “interviews” to be video recorded … …

… … because “we” can no longer trust them — if “we” every could.

Argh!

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https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2018/04/04/trump-should-withdraw-us-forces-from-syria-but-he-wont/

Trump Should Withdraw US Forces from Syria, But He Won’t
Daniel Larison Posted onApril 4, 2018

*** begin quote ***

If Trump did withdraw US forces from Syria, it would be the only good foreign policy decision he has made thus far. The US military presence is illegal. It has no authorization from Congress, no international mandate, and our forces are in the country over the explicit objections of the recognized government. The US military presence is not needed to protect US security interests, which are not threatened by the prospect that the Syrian government might reclaim control over its own territory. No vital American interests are at stake in Syria, and therefore no American lives should be put at risk there. Staying indefinitely in Syria an attempt to oppose Iranian influence in the territory of Iran’s own ally is not only a waste of time, manpower, and resources in a dubious cause, but it is also runs roughshod over international law and the Constitution.

*** end quote ***

One can only hope for DJT45 pulls out and gives us some “peace”.

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http://ncc-1776.org/tle2018/tle966-20180325-04.html

Here’s Plenty We Could Do About Mass Shootings 
by Vin Suprynowicz 
vin@vinsuprynowicz.com
Special to L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise

*** begin quote ***

Despite the fact this giant unionized “jobs-and-day-care” program for the otherwise largely unemployable now costs a hundred times more per student than the schools of a century ago (which turned non-English-speaking immigrant kids into the physicists who built the atomic bomb), they certainly aren’t producing many graduates today who can count change, do long division, find Paris on a map, speak a foreign Language, or explain if their lives depended on it the difference between “there,” “their,” and “they’re.”

*** end quote ***

Certainly seems this way.

Why does the taxpayers of the Pepuls Republik of Nu Jerzee pay such high property taxes for a dismal result?

Why aren’t parents responsible for educating THEIR children?

Argh!

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https://www.ac2news.com/2018/03/maxine-waters-video-the-president-obama-has-put-together-a-database-that-no-one-has-ever-seen-before-that-database-will-have-information-on-everything-on-every-individual/

Maxine Waters VIDEO: “The president (Obama) has put together a database that no one has ever seen before…That database will have information on everything, on every individual”
https://www.ac2news.com/2018/03/maxine-waters-video-the-president-obama-has-put-together-a-database-that-no-one-has-ever-seen-before-that-database-will-have-information-on-everything-on-every-individual/

 — via my feedly newsfeed

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​Why the uproar that DJT45 did basically the same thing as BHO44 except that BHO44 probably had Facebook’s help doing it?

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http://www.jeffjacoby.com/20903/the-scandal-free-obama-administration-an-urban

The ‘scandal-free’ Obama administration? An urban legend
by Jeff Jacoby
The Boston Globe
March 7, 2018

*** begin quote ***

And he declared that his administration had been scandal-free.

“We didn’t have a scandal that embarrassed us,” Obama said. Sure, there were occasional mistakes and screw-ups, “but there wasn’t anything venal in eight years.”

*** and ***

• Operation Fast and Furious
• Benghazi 
• Veterans Administration 
• The IRS discriminated against politically conservative groups
• The Office of Personnel Management suffered a catastrophic data breach 
• Solyndra
• Letting Hezbollah funnel cocaine into the United States
• Wiretapping AP reporters

*** end quote ***

I’d add a few of my own:

• Eric Holder
• Hillary Clinton’s email servers
• Hillary Clinton’s Foundation pay for play
• Fairview 
• Firing of Shirley Sherrod

It’s really hard to list them all. And, they keep getting revealed in dribs and drabs.

Argh!

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https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/nutria-should-we-eat-invasive-species-swamp-rats-12726054.php

Giant swamp rats are poised to dig into California. Should we eat ’em?
By Filipa Ioannou Updated 5:12 am, Sunday, March 4, 2018

*** begin quote *** 

It’s been about a month since California wildlife officials started sounding the alarm on nutria, invasive South American rodents that look like enormous, 20-pound rats and have the power to devastate wetlands. They’re making a comeback after being eradicated in the 1970s and have been spotted in Stanislaus, Fresno, Tuolumne and Merced counties so far.

*** end quote ***

Turn the hunting community loose on them. 

Have the “Governor’s Prize” for the biggest, the most, and the last one shot in a “season”.

Instead of being against “guns”, put them to use.

Seems obvious to me.

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/big-batteries-are-taking-a-bite-out-of-the-power-market-1518431400?mod=djem10point

Big Batteries Are Taking a Bite Out of the Power Market
Batteries charged by renewable energy are nibbling at power plants that generate extra surges of electricity during peak hours
By Russell Gold
Feb. 12, 2018 5:30 a.m. ET

*** begin quote ***

Overall, it still generally costs 35% more today to provide extra power via a battery compared with a conventional peaker plant, according to energy analysts at SSR LLC. But they estimate that batteries will be less expensive by 2024. Batteries, they add, are better suited to replace peaker plants in warmer areas than in colder climates, where winter peaks can last for longer than four hours.

*** and ***

The American Petroleum Institute, a lobbying group that represents natural-gas producers, applauds batteries but believes they should compete on a level playing field. Storage projects, when paired with renewable energy, currently qualify for a 30% federal investment tax credit, which was left intact in the recent tax overhaul.

“It appears that battery technology is now ready to compete in the market. This means the financial support provided by governments intended to encourage the development and deployment of the technology can be eliminated,” an Institute spokesman said.

*** end quote ***

The Gooferment should not have special tax breaks for their “favorite” Crony Capitalists.

In this case, let solar power stand or fall on its own merits.

Look at the computer marketplace, the “invisible hand” of the truly free market will deliver benefits to everyone without help from the politicians and bureaucrats taking a cut.

Argh!

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https://www.cato.org/blog/trial-penalty

FEBRUARY 9, 2018 9:51AM
The Trial Penalty
By CLARK NEILY

*** begin quote ***

Have you ever heard of the “Trial Penalty”? It is among the most important features of America’s criminal justice system, and yet there is no reference to it in the Constitution, it is not taught in high school civics classes or even law schools, and most lawyers have never heard of it. Nevertheless, the Trial Penalty is the grease that keeps the massive engine of American criminal justice humming along at peak efficiency.

So what is it? Simply put, the Trial Penalty is the array of penalties, paybacks, and repercussions that are inflicted upon criminal defendants who presume to insist upon exercising their Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial—or what Cato Research Fellow Trevor Burrus calls “bespoke justice.”

With more than 10 million arrests last year and the world’s highest incarceration rate, America’s criminal justice system simply cannot afford to provide each and every defendant with an expensive and time-consuming jury trial. Nor do we: These days, about 95 percent of criminal convictions are obtained through plea bargains rather than jury trials. In the federal system, the numbers are even higher—more than 97 percent of convictions come from plea bargains.

Think about that for a moment. The citizen jury is the cornerstone of American criminal justice. It is a historic and hallowed institution. Why would so few people choose to invoke such a precious and fundamental right as the opportunity to challenge the government’s case in court and force the prosecutors to convince a unanimous jury (in most jurisdictions) of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt?

*** end quote ***

Up in NH, I took part in a jury outreach that had two aims:

• get every  defendant to demand a jury trial — when the system was maxed out, the judge was forced to dismiss. The “serious crimes” would push the Marijuana “crimes” down the list and some, if not all, were pushed off and dismissed.
• get every juror to be aware that they could judge the law and the circumstances and vote “not guilty”. Regardless of what the judge said. “Keep quiet and vote to acquit.” Ever heard of Zenger and the reason we have “freedom of the press”? 

Made me feel like I made a contribution to justice.

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https://www.howtogeek.com/trivia/in-the-1930s-there-was-a-craze-to-get-which-of-these-things-tattooed-on-your-body/

*** begin quote ***

In The 1930s, There Was A Craze To Get Which Of These Things Tattooed On Your Body?

• Franklin Roosevelt’s Face
• Social Security Number
• Tube TVs
• Airships

Answer: Social Security Number

*** and ***

Because the program was so new (and favored so strongly by the public), there was a certain excitement surrounding the launch of Social Security. People were instructed to keep their cards safe, but they also needed to keep the number handy at the same time. While some people simply memorized the number, there was a fad of sorts where individuals rushed out to get the number tattooed on their bodies. Some simply had the number itself—as seen here on the arm of Memphis-area engineer Jeon Reese Roofener—while others had the number embedded in a flag, Social Security Administration logo, or other embellishment. Even for those that wished to avoid getting a tattoo, there was a market for Social Security number related products. To this day, you’ll occasionally find signet rings and other jewelry in antique stores with Social Security numbers openly displayed on them.

*** end quote ***

In all the horrors of the Nazi extermination camps, one that stands out was the tattooing of tracking numbers on the poor victims.

Here we have an example of the same thing, except people are doing it voluntarily!

Craziness.

When you realize that current day “identity theft” would not be possible without the “social security number”, you’ll understand how “We, The Sheeple” was fooled.

Hard to believe that it was “(and favored so strongly by the public)”. Guess they didn’t see the Ponzi-like scheme behind the curtain. Like the bull fighter’s sword behind the cape, the politicians and bureaucrats really stuck it to us. Intergenerational theft!

So how do we unwind it?

Demand the politicians and bureaucrats give us back our identites. Maybe the new blockchain technology can do that for us?

Argh!

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https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/NYC-School-Cafeterias-Cited-Violations-Health-Department-Pests-Mice-Roaches-Flies-471957173.html

Roaches, Flies and Mice: Nearly Half of NYC Public School Cafeterias Cited for Critical Violations, Report Finds
Of the 1,150 critical violations found at nearly 700 cafeterias, about half of those inspected by health officials in 2017, most indicated evidence of mice, rats, roaches, flies and other insects in areas where food is prepared and eaten
Published at 2:06 PM EST on Jan 31, 2018 | Updated 6 hours ago

*** begin quote ***

Nearly half of all New York City school cafeterias inspected last year were cited for at least one critical violation for issues that could lead to foodborne illnesses, according to a recently released report.

Of the 1,150 critical violations found at nearly 700 cafeterias, about half of those inspected by health officials in 2017, most indicated evidence of mice, rats, roaches, flies and other insects in areas where food is prepared and eaten, according to the investigation by NYCity News Service, a CUNY University student-powered news service that provides special reports and feeds stories to news organizations.

NYCity News Service based its reporting on data obtained by the Department of Health under the Freedom of Information Act. 

*** end quote ***

It’s a disgusting report. I feel for the children imprisioned there. How would you describe it? There’s no excuse for this but there is an explanation. Politicians and bureaucrats don’t care. Have them eat there and let’s see what happens?

Argh!

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2018-Feb-02

http://www.kob.com/politics-news/new-mexico-legislature-politics-post-high-school-plan-bill/4766980/

New Mexico bill would force students to apply to college
By MARY HUDETZ and MORGAN LEE
January 31, 2018 04:45 PM

*** begin quote ***

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s high school juniors would be required to apply to at least one college or show they have committed to other post-high school plans as part of a new high school graduation requirement being pushed by two state lawmakers.
The proposal is scheduled for its first legislative hearing on Thursday. If it eventually becomes law, New Mexico would be the first state to require post-high school plans of students, said Jennifer Zinth, who is the director of high school and STEM research at the Education Commission of the States, a Denver-based group that tracks education policy.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Nate Gentry, a Republican, and Daniel Ivey-Soto, a Democrat, would make it mandatory for public school juniors to apply to at least one two- or four-year college. Exceptions would be made for students who can prove they have committed to military service, a vocational program, or work upon graduation in an apprenticeship or internship. Parents and school guidance counselors would have to approve of the students’ plans.

*** end quote ***

This has to be the dumbest piece of legislation I’ve heard of lately.

As the “college degree” has been generally acknowledged as worthless unless you want to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or such. The cost of “college” inflict a huge debt burden on the “student” that is often impossible to repay. The inflation of college cost is linked to the Gooferment, its loan programs, and its subsidization of “state skrules”.

Argh!

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http://keywestlou.com/george-bernard-shaws-caesar-and-cleopatra

A blog post from Petrone, Louis S. “Key West Lou” (MC1957)

*** begin quote ***

You have to admire Iceland. They are always a step ahead.

Following the bank debacle of 2008, they prosecuted and jailed bankers. Those at the top. Something I have been recommending for years we do in the U.S.

They elect women big time. Almost 50 percent of their Parliament is female. They elected a woman Prime Minister in November.

Iceland recently passed a law that allows companies who pay women less than men to be punished. Fined. No jail. A step forward, however.

Equal pay laws have no teeth. They tell the companies females must be paid equal to men. Enforcement lacking. Iceland recognized the problem and moved the step ahead.

It is generally acknowledged the law would not have come into being were it not for the large number of women in Parliament. 

*** end quote ***

Equal pay laws are a joke.

The invisible hand of the free market will quickly, efficiently, and effectively punish companies that underpay women. It’s only logical. If a business systematically underpays anyone, they will leave for someone who will pay them what they are worth.

That brain drain will hurt in numerous ways  — cost of replacement, poor morale, loss of competitive advantage, bad image, impaired reputation.

The Gooferment probably is the worst offender in this regard. Politicians and bureaucrats routinely are exposed for pay disparities, but they always seem to spin their way out of it. Women don’t need “protection” and especially not from the Gooferment! Those “gals” are pretty tough imho.

Now if we could just end Gooferment Skrules, then both the girls and boys would not be brainwashed to think like serfs. Argh!

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FROM BEHIND THE WSJ PAYWALL

*** begin quote ***

Why Tax Hospitals?

It’s a Medicaid Shell GameProviders pay the state. The state pays providers, then collects matching funds from Uncle Sam.

By Red JahnckeDec. 29, 2017 5:22 p.m. ET

When Connecticut faced a budget shortfall of $2.2 billion, or 11%, this year, it helped close the gap by almost doubling its tax on hospitals, to $900 million. Taxing hospitals sounds strange, especially since most are nonprofits. It also would seem to increase their costs and, thus, the cost of care—much of which, thanks to Medicaid, is borne by the state that levies the tax.

Yet 42 states tax hospitals. Why? One answer is the perverse incentives built into the Medicaid law. When a state returns tax money to hospitals through Medicaid “supplemental payments,” it qualifies for matching funds from Washington.

Connecticut hospitals will pay $900 million in taxes, but the state will offset that with $600 million in supplemental Medicaid payments—matched with $450 million of federal funds. The state keeps those matching funds, plus the $300 million from the hospital tax, meaning Hartford comes out ahead in the whole scheme by $750 million. Nice work if you can get it.

*** end quote ***

Oh come on. Hope DJT45 shuts this stupidity down immediately. 

When you consider all the costs of “handling” this money from one Gooferment pocket to another, the Taxpayers are really getting screwed.

By “handling” I mean, the “loss” at each level of Gooferment that passes Taxpayer money to another level of Gooferment. I’ve seen calculations that estimate it at 50%. So a CT Taxpayer sends the “Federal” Gooferment a dollar, from which then the “Federal” Gooferment send the “Connecticut” Gooferment fifty cents. The CT Taxpayer would be better off just allowing the “Connecticut” Gooferment to steal the fifty cents directly. Argh! 

Why can’t “We, The Sheeple” see that?

Argh!

So if the “Connecticut” Gooferment steals 450M$ from the “Federal” Gooferment, then the “Federal” Gooferment has to steal 900M$ from everyone paying taxes. Mutliply that by 50 States and who knows what else and that’s a lot of <synonym for the act of procreation in real time> money.

Argh!

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https://www.cato.org/blog/horrible-way-be-right

DECEMBER 18, 2017 3:50PM
A Horrible Way to Be Right
By RANDAL O’TOOLE

*** begin quote ***

No matter what speed, intercity passenger trains are obsolete and have been at least since the advent of jet airliner service. Even after hundreds of millions spent on improvements, this particular train would have been slower than driving from Seattle to Portland, but even the fastest high-speed trains are slower than flying.

*** end quote ***

I really am tired of politicians and bureaucrats deciding how to waste Taxpayer money on feel good projects!

At some point in time, “We, The Sheeple” need to say “enuf’s enuf”.

There’s no need for these boondoggles and at least 6 people paid the ultimate price for this stupidity.

Argh!

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FROM BEHIND THE WSJ PAYWALL

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-taxman-cometh-senate-bills-marginal-rates-could-top-100-for-some-1512942118

POLITICS
The Taxman Cometh: Senate Bill’s Marginal Rates Could Top 100% for Some
Certain high-income business owners would face backwards incentives; lawmakers work to bridge gap
By Richard RubinUpdated Dec. 10, 2017 6:46 p.m. ET

*** begin quote ***

WASHINGTON—Some high-income business owners could face marginal tax rates exceeding 100% under the Senate’s tax bill, far beyond the listed rates in the Republican plan.

That means a business owner’s next $100 in earnings, under certain circumstances, would require paying more than $100 in additional federal and state taxes.

As lawmakers rush to write the final tax bill over the next week, they already are looking at changes to prevent this from happening. Broadly, House and Senate Republicans are trying to reconcile their bills, looking for ways to pay for eliminating the most contentious proposals. The formal House-Senate conference committee will meet on Wednesday, and GOP lawmakers may unveil an agreement by week’s end.

*** end quote ***

Would anyone like them to be required to READ what they are voting on?

DNF Democrat Nancy Pelosi’s “Have to pass the bill so you can see what’s in it”?

Argh!

https://downsizedc.org/rtba/

*** begin quote ***

If ignorance of the law is no excuse for me, neither can it be permitted to you.

Congress keeps voting on healthcare bills that no member has even seen, let alone read. This must end. But I can’t expect Congressional leaders to end the practice because they benefit from it. That means I have to rely on YOU, my supposed representative.

I can see no good reason why you would NOT introduce RTBA. I want you to immediately contact Downsize DC and work with them to introduce this bill.

*** end quote ***

Seems simple enough!

Argh!

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http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/11/09/report-undercover-operation-reveals-tsa-failed-security-checkpoint-tests-u-s-airports/

Report: Undercover Operation Reveals TSA Failed Most Security Checkpoint Tests at U.S. Airports

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Isn’t it time to nuke George Bush’s TSA?

Obviously no one is attack airplanes because if they were, then they’d be succeeding.

“Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program” —Milton Friedman 

Shut down “Homeland Security”, turn “airline security” back to the airlines, and ask the “Department of Defense” to do its job.

Seems simple to me but what do I know; I’m just a fat old white guy retired injineer who’s a poor old senior citizen on a fixed income.

Argh!

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