A TSA Thanksgiving

Egyptian Air Flight 990. Investigators claim pilot did a suicide crash. 217 dead.

SilkAir Flight 185. Possible suicide pilot. 104 dead.

Private pilot crashes his small aircraft into IRS building.

Massachusetts - Snow Airport having an illegal training other Illegals on small palne operation.

This is just how freaking stupid this whole TSA joke is. What does it take to load up a Cessna 150 and fly at a few hundred feet right into Fortress Logan and take out a fully loaded heavy right on the tarmac? Or just flying the damn thing into that gas tank in Dorchester? I’m sure the geniuses that run our security are aware of this or maybe not? I’ll probably get a knock on my door and a pat down. Just look above at that issue at Snow. This was a fairly harmless situation since they were Brazilians attempting to get a pilots license that is gold back home. But what if they were not? Have they got cells planning crap like that? Does it take much for a terrorist network to spend the time and effort to get someone trained low end?

Israel has long had the tightest airport and airline security in the world and they manage it without strip downs, pat downs and nuking the passengers. Amazing! Lot of personal interviews with some profiling and common sense.

I can’t imagine why the TSA mall cops will not use some common sense. They are suppose to do their own version of profiling but some of those chosen for intensive personal attention just make one wonder.

Will perv’s now focus on getting employment at the TSA? Some airports have actually decided to use private companies and do not use the TSA. Seventeen at last count.

Do we give up our rights when we buy an airline ticket? Where is the line drawn? IMHO virtually every pat-down would constitute sexual assault in the real world. Yeah….I am really ticked off by the whole mess and especially being laughed at by terrorists.

The Ware Report found rampant corruption on Beacon Hill. Now that was a real shocker! I never suspected. Wonder why the report was released AFTER the election. Anyways, the Governor is in avoidance mode and the report simply shows what most of are already aware of….it’s not what you know but who you know and contributed to that gets you on the fast track for a job in the Probation Department.

Of significant mention in the Ware Report was our Senator Marc Pacheco (D-Payoff). Turns out he allegedly was involved in this mess by requesting one of “his guys” get a plum probation job which - a true miracle - happened. Then “His guy” is requested by the Senator to seek contributions to the Pacheco slush fund. Pacheco has denied all. Marc…do you know Chuck Turner? The report questioned the credibility of the Senator.

Steve Grossman won an election and is already hiring a defeated Democrat for his office staff. The payroll patronage is on to build up that old monthly kiss (pension).

Governor “Almost One And Out” Patrick is still on the kick for tuition breaks for illegal immigrants. Amazing.

Middlesex County Sheriff James DiPaola won his election and was on tap to collect a salary of 123K in addition to a newly minted pension of $98,500. Why? A state law exists that allows one to collect a pension if they are elected to a paying office. DiPaola had a “good conscious” moment and resigned.

Another investigation of insider trading on Wall Street. Certainly hope Martha Stewart isn’t involved.

How can someone write a story in the Peirce Trust that questions the methods of selecting beneficiaries by just a cursory review of Town Reports? You have the trustees available so interview them to get an idea of how the fund is managed, invested and what criteria they use to select where the money goes. Shoddy research is an understatement.

The stock market took some hits in the last week or so thanks to ongoing debt issues in Ireland. But when you look at Ireland it ranks 57th in world GDP - just behind Finland and ahead of Morocco. And this causes billions in losses? The logic is it is symptomatic to possible failures in other countries. Now Ireland has been handed a 100B bailout. This was the hot economy just a few years ago and now it is another European Economic Union welfare handout. How quick it can fall apart for a business or country.

I love the upsale I and others get at “Quick Lube” type places. I was getting my usual simple oil change when customer after customer was called into the shop to be given varying degrees of bad news regarding their vehicle. Then came my turn. I was showed the transmission leak I had that was barely noticeable so I said “That looks serious! I’d suggest you get it done right now since I don’t want any further issues” I got the no problem and the $200 estimate for a flush, seal and filter change so I came up with my own retort: “Oh…a charge? I had that done by you folks two weeks ago and less than a thousand miles ago. I requested it. Filter, seal and fluid change. Looks like you’ll have to see what you screwed up.” About 15 minutes goes by and out comes the service manager again: “I checked your records and you are correct. This is nothing more than residual leakage.” Sure. Told them I’ll watch it for the next 12,000 miles just in case.

Last year my daughter had here car fail inspection at a dealership in Raynham. Why? The seat belt in the real was frayed. I looked at it and she had to have what was frayed pointed out to me. This seemed like total BS since they wanted $300 to replace it. I took it to a station here in Middleboro that we generally do business with and they laughed at it. Total BS. Just an attempt by a dealership that is suppose to have a great reputation just trying to make a sale.

Patriots caught a break with Peyton Manning making an over throw on a pass.

Red Sox have been discussing the possibly of getting Adrian Gonzales from the Padres. Gonzales will be a free agent after 2011 so if a trade is made I would hope they would have a contract in place but the deal makes little sense to me. For the money Gonzales would require the Sox could resign both Beltre and Victor Martinez and not part with the players necessary to trade to get Gonzales.

A by law will now have to be written regarding the CPA and this will be interesting to see who ends up getting the power to select committee members.

An article appeared over the weekend that questioned giving more money to teachers with advanced degrees. Research claims that the increased education is not reflected in increase performance. No surprise to me. I’ve seen folks without a degree in 4H and scouts run classes that were great. The article pointed out the state of Washington where the added expenses total about 300M a year. This does not even address the added pension costs since pension is based on income and education increases income.