I am sure that most of you have experienced our post 9/11 airport security screening process. I think it’s the best part of flying! (Sarcasm heavily intended!) Obviously nothing could have really prepared us for the tragic events of 9/11, and it doesn’t surprise me at the lengths the government went to try and prevent this from happening again. And it only got worse after those idiots successfully snuck shoe bombs and liquid bombs onto their respective flights. But I have gotten to the point where I believe we have gone too far.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for security and protecting us from those nutballs who are hell-bent on killing people, but at some point we have to say enough is enough. I am sick of the current screening process and how it makes me feel like some criminal being processed at the county lockup.
I stand in a line with a hundred other people (on a good day) and we slowly move forward through the turnstyles as if we are waiting to get on the Tea Cup ride at Disneyland. Then I am greeted by a TSA agent who gives the impression of being either annoyed or disgruntled. I hand over my photo id and boarding pass for the agent to scrutinize. After several tense seconds, and several glances at my id and my face, the agent decides I am a legitimate and non-threatening traveler. I am handed back my id and boarding pass and I proceed to the next step. I reach the x-ray machine and proceed to empty everything I have with me into dirty plastic bins so that they can be x-rayed for unapproved items.
(Thanks to all the restrictions regarding liquids I travel real light in the toiletry department. All I have with me right now is a tooth brush. I’ll buy deodorant at my destination and leave it there so that I can avoid that whole ordeal.)
So I stand there at the conveyor belt and empty my pockets, remove my belt, jacket, and shoes, and put all the items into a bin. Second and third bins are required so that I can properly have my backpack and laptop scanned. I also have my carryon luggage. So I go through the magnetometer while holding my pants up (luckily I pass through the metal detector without issue), and meet my belongings on the other side. Satisfied that I am not carrying contraband, my belongings are spit out the other side of the x-ray machine. I then get to carry three bins and my luggage to a chair so that I can re-assemble myself, and then I am done and can proceed to the gate.
This was a relatively painless interaction, considering what I’ve gone through in the past when flying with the family. We’ve had milk scrutinized, diaper rash crème confiscated, and our bags searched. (Because a terrorist would be stupid enough to blow up a plane with his wife and kids on it, I’m sure.) Maybe it’s just me, but I think all of it is a little excessive. I also hate how they have to be pc and suspect everyone.
The dumbest part of this whole subject is that even if the current airport procedures had been in place before 9/11, it still wouldn’t have prevented those terrorists from succeeding. Sure they wouldn’t have had box cutters, but they were all ticketed passengers on the flight who could have easily used non-metallic weapons to carry out their evil plans. The only thing that would have stopped them is the current cockpit door procedure.
So next time you fly, when you are going through security, make sure to check out the person in front of you and the person behind you, because chances are the TSA suspects all three of you are terrorists.
Look for my next post: Unsportsmanlike Conduct
26 October 2008
20 October 2008
Where's My Bailout?
Yeah, so I know that its like old news now but I want to talk about the bailout. When I first heard about the idea of a bailout, all I heard was that the government was going to help out struggling banks and I thought it was a good idea. Then, when I learned more about it I became strongly opposed. I fully understand that there are good people who just want their piece of the American dream by owning a home, and that for some, these sub-prime mortgages were the only way to make it happen, but to me that doesn't outweigh all the rest of the people who caused the problem. As I see it, the people who bought way more home than they could afford, and knew it, deserve to lose their homes. I have absolutely no sympathy for them.
The Banking institutions involved in all of this deserve to suffer some of the consequences as well. You can't pay your Executives millions of dollars, and approve mortgages that you have no business approving, and get away with it because the government bails you out. At least, that is what I think. Apparently our government feels differently. This just builds on an issue I already had with corporate bailouts.
Every time the government gives money to GM, Ford, Daimler Chrysler, or the Airline industry I cringe. What kind of a government do we have that professes capitalism, but practices something else? Capitalism is built on the principles of survival of the fittest, not survival of who can get the biggest the fastest regardless of financial consequences and then expect a government handout out to save them and "American jobs." Capitalism teaches us that those who work hard succeed, and those who don't fail. And yet here we are.
The thing that ticks me off the most with this situation is how much I get screwed by it. The economy took a nose dive just as I graduated college. So for me, it took a 2,000 mile move and almost six months to find a job at all (outside of fast food). Many of us who went to college also incurred student loan debt in order to pay for our education. And now that I have graduated, guess who isn't waiting for me to start paying them back? That's right, the bank.
So from my perspective, I am one of those hard-working Americans who went to school and got a degree so I could make a better life for myself. I paid for that degree with debt, and now I get to scrape by at a job that is irrelevant to my degree in order to pay my bills. (Don't get me wrong, I love my job.) Then I look at the other people out there, the ones who are benefiting from this bailout. Some of them don't even work, they live off the government because they can and not because they must. People who are genuinely disabled or have other circumstances I am fine with giving government help, the people I am not okay with are the lazy people. So, I sit here and look at the person who didn't go to college because they didn't want to or because it was too hard, and they don't work because they don't want to, and I see them sitting in their homes that they can't afford, and I think why? Why do we reward those people?
Why do I get screwed for working hard and doing the right thing, while the non-contributors of society get all the benefits? You want to know a much better use for that bailout money? Pay off every American's student loan debt. In my case, it would instantly mean a higher credit score and an extra $200 a month that I have to save for a house or spend on other needs. Those homeowners who can't pay their mortgages? Their student loan debt goes away and suddenly they have several hundred or even thousand dollars extra with which to pay their mortgages. Granted this isn't perfect and surely a number of people would abuse it, but to me, its much more fair (reward those who work hard and make sacrifices) and much smarter than handing $750 BILLION DOLLARS over to the banks who have already proven they can't be trusted with money! As proof... Washington Mutual loaned out $16 for every $1 they had on deposit. What kind of idiots were running the show over there?
Lastly, I called a loan officer at a local bank, just as this crisis began, to inquire about my qualifications for buying a house. To qualify for a $100,000 mortgage, my annual salary has to be above $50,000. That is double what I currently make! When is someone in my position going to get into a house? At our current rate of economic decline, probably never. I guess honest hard work doesn't really pay off.
The Banking institutions involved in all of this deserve to suffer some of the consequences as well. You can't pay your Executives millions of dollars, and approve mortgages that you have no business approving, and get away with it because the government bails you out. At least, that is what I think. Apparently our government feels differently. This just builds on an issue I already had with corporate bailouts.
Every time the government gives money to GM, Ford, Daimler Chrysler, or the Airline industry I cringe. What kind of a government do we have that professes capitalism, but practices something else? Capitalism is built on the principles of survival of the fittest, not survival of who can get the biggest the fastest regardless of financial consequences and then expect a government handout out to save them and "American jobs." Capitalism teaches us that those who work hard succeed, and those who don't fail. And yet here we are.
The thing that ticks me off the most with this situation is how much I get screwed by it. The economy took a nose dive just as I graduated college. So for me, it took a 2,000 mile move and almost six months to find a job at all (outside of fast food). Many of us who went to college also incurred student loan debt in order to pay for our education. And now that I have graduated, guess who isn't waiting for me to start paying them back? That's right, the bank.
So from my perspective, I am one of those hard-working Americans who went to school and got a degree so I could make a better life for myself. I paid for that degree with debt, and now I get to scrape by at a job that is irrelevant to my degree in order to pay my bills. (Don't get me wrong, I love my job.) Then I look at the other people out there, the ones who are benefiting from this bailout. Some of them don't even work, they live off the government because they can and not because they must. People who are genuinely disabled or have other circumstances I am fine with giving government help, the people I am not okay with are the lazy people. So, I sit here and look at the person who didn't go to college because they didn't want to or because it was too hard, and they don't work because they don't want to, and I see them sitting in their homes that they can't afford, and I think why? Why do we reward those people?
Why do I get screwed for working hard and doing the right thing, while the non-contributors of society get all the benefits? You want to know a much better use for that bailout money? Pay off every American's student loan debt. In my case, it would instantly mean a higher credit score and an extra $200 a month that I have to save for a house or spend on other needs. Those homeowners who can't pay their mortgages? Their student loan debt goes away and suddenly they have several hundred or even thousand dollars extra with which to pay their mortgages. Granted this isn't perfect and surely a number of people would abuse it, but to me, its much more fair (reward those who work hard and make sacrifices) and much smarter than handing $750 BILLION DOLLARS over to the banks who have already proven they can't be trusted with money! As proof... Washington Mutual loaned out $16 for every $1 they had on deposit. What kind of idiots were running the show over there?
Lastly, I called a loan officer at a local bank, just as this crisis began, to inquire about my qualifications for buying a house. To qualify for a $100,000 mortgage, my annual salary has to be above $50,000. That is double what I currently make! When is someone in my position going to get into a house? At our current rate of economic decline, probably never. I guess honest hard work doesn't really pay off.
19 October 2008
Purpose and Repercussions
As this is the first entry of this blog, I feel it only appropriate to do some explaining and set some ground rules.
My purpose is to create an outlet where I can freely express my own opinions and feelings on various subjects. I plan to discuss things that I feel positively about as well as things I feel negatively about. Realizing that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I am reserving this as my place to express mine. I plan to post about once a week, but may post more or less depending on what and when I want to write. Who knows maybe something I say will educate and open the eyes of someone in need of such education and eye-opening.
It is likely that at some point I will say something that you disagree with. When that happens, you are welcome to express your opinion, but only if you can act like an adult and express your opinion using sound arguments and evidence, and without name-calling or labels. Anyone refusing to comply with these rules will not be allowed to express their opinion here.
Lastly, I would encourage you to invite your friends and family to read my blog, because after all, what good is expressing your opinion if no one reads it?
My purpose is to create an outlet where I can freely express my own opinions and feelings on various subjects. I plan to discuss things that I feel positively about as well as things I feel negatively about. Realizing that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I am reserving this as my place to express mine. I plan to post about once a week, but may post more or less depending on what and when I want to write. Who knows maybe something I say will educate and open the eyes of someone in need of such education and eye-opening.
It is likely that at some point I will say something that you disagree with. When that happens, you are welcome to express your opinion, but only if you can act like an adult and express your opinion using sound arguments and evidence, and without name-calling or labels. Anyone refusing to comply with these rules will not be allowed to express their opinion here.
Lastly, I would encourage you to invite your friends and family to read my blog, because after all, what good is expressing your opinion if no one reads it?
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