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$12.85 an hour

> For government benefits and a salary that starts at $12.85 an hour, these unarmed officers swallow the irritation of others, apply security methods that intensify by the day, stifle the awkwardness they might have about touching other people — oh, and be on alert for bombs, [liquid containers](http://www.tsa.gov/311/ "TSA Web site.") holding more than 3.4 ounces, sharp objects, explosive ingredients and the next Abdulmutallab. > > “I want them to think Abdulmutallab with every pat-down,” Mr. Burdette said.
via [nytimes.com](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/us/23land.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss)
That’s how much our security is worth, in terms of personnel. $12.85 an hour. That’s what the TSA is willing to pay for the men and women on the front lines of our defense against terrorists.

And we’re supposed to take them seriously as an agency?

In-N-Out Burger pays better than that, in case you were thinking about signing up.

How about you save yourself the million dollars on the X-Ray backscatter machine and bump up the base salary to maybe $15 or $20 an hour. Better yet, make it a salaried position at $90,000 a year. Then spend a little more money training your staff on how to detect HUMAN BEHAVIOR and use judgement to figure out who the terrorists are, rather than having them waste time looking for bombs that are almost never there.

Of course morale is low for these employees. It’s not their fault that they are grossly unqualified for the responsibilities they are given. But we have to face facts. They are unqualified, and that’s not going to change as long as you’re paying $12.85 an hour. Keep tacking on more responsibility, including forcing them to grope people’s privates, and it’s no wonder they have an incredibly high turnaround rate.

Any business major would tell you that the more you look at the TSA, the more you see evidence of incredibly poor management, gross mishandling of basic public relations, and massive inefficiencies in the allocation of money and resources. This company wouldn’t last ten days in the private sector. And we’re supposed to believe that it’s the “most effective” way, as our president put it, of preventing terrorism? We’re supposed to just implicitly trust that they know better than anyone in the world how to keep bombs from airplanes?

Poll Finds Increasing Public Opposition to New T.S.A. Procedures - NYTimes.com

> The ABC News poll also suggests that opposition to the measures > is higher among those who fly regularly (a distinction that this > blog had [ > previously anticipated](http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/the-full-body-backlash/)). Among Americans who fly at least once > a year, 58 percent support the new x-ray scanners, versus 70 > percent of Americans who fly less often than that. Support for the > new pat-down procedures is at 44 percent among fliers, meanwhile, > versus 52 percent among those who do not fly regularly.
via [instapaper.com](http://www.instapaper.com/text?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com%2F2010%2F11%2F22%2Fnew-poll-suggests-shift-in-public-views-on-t-s-a-procedures%2F&article=97835842)
I love Nate Silver. Not only is he the king of stats, he always explains what the stats mean and how to put them into perspective.

Why would we care about the opinions of those who almost never fly? If you don’t fly at least once a year, you don’t get to tell the guy who has to fly every week that he needs to be exposed to radiation to make you feel safer as you sit in your recliner at home.

There’s a reason that political polls only care about “likely voters.” The only thing that matters for this poll should be frequent fliers, since they are the ones being sexually assaulted by their government on a regular basis.

It’s also very interesting to me that the numbers have shifted so quickly. 81% to 64% in a few weeks? And all it took were some stories on the Internet, which led to stories on the news, which led to Saturday Night Live and other late night parodies? Clearly, then, this is more a question of educating the public than anything else.

It’s safe to say, in other words, that a lot of people support the scanners only because they have no idea what they are or what they do. And they hear “pat down” and assume that it’s a standard frisk-type thing. Once you show them videos of little boys being stripped down, the mood shifts pretty fast.

Give it three more weeks, and more indications that people are going to fly less often as a result of all this, and you’ll see the airlines start pressuring Obama. Remember, the change only comes when one billionaire inconveniences two or more other billionaires.

As Silver suggests, there will be no official announcement. No admission of wrongdoing. They’ll just let up on the procedure quietly and go about their business.

The President on the TSA

> At this point, the Transportation Security Administration, in consultation with our counterterrorism experts, have indicated to me that the procedures that they’ve been putting in place are the only ones right now that they consider to be effective against the kind of threat that we saw in the Christmas Day bombing,” said Obama.
via [cnn.com](http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/11/20/obama.tsa/index.html?eref=rss_topstories)
With all due respect, Mr. President, that’s a load of crap, and you know it.

Just once, I’d love to hear you say that you talked with your experts about something but decided that they were wrong. That people may disagree with you, but that you’re going to trust your instincts and the power of your amazing intellect, employ some LOGIC, and strap on a set of balls.

That’s what Presidents of the United States are supposed to do.

The part I don’t get is that this is a win-win political issue for you. It’s one of those magical things that both Rush Limbaugh and Keith Olbermann agree on. You could easily gain favor from all sides for this, buy yourself millions of independent voters in 2012.

It’s not like the people out there who don’t think the scanners are bad are going to care if they go away. There’s no movement to keep our airports more inconvenient and invasive.

But I guess the interests of rich businessmen really do trump everything, including Red and Blue.

If one of your daughters, Mr. President, were being photographed naked and subjected to X-rays every time she flew, you’d change this procedure today. But that’s never going to happen to them, is it? So I guess you really don’t care. That’s the only conclusion I can make, since I know you are far too smart to think that these procedures are “effective” against any sort of threat.

National Opt-Out Day

> As if air travel over the [Thanksgiving](http://www.sfgate.com/thanksgiving/) holiday isn’t tough enough, it could be even worse this year: Airports could see even more disruptions because of a loosely organized Internet boycott of full-body scans. > > Even if only a small percentage of passengers participate, experts say it could mean longer lines, bigger delays and hotter tempers. > > The protest, National Opt-Out Day, is scheduled for Wednesday to coincide with the busiest travel day of the year. The [Obama](http://www.sfgate.com/barack-obama/) administration’s top transportation security official implored passengers Monday not to participate, saying boycotts would only serve to “tie up people who want to go home and see their loved ones.”
via [sfgate.com](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/11/19/state/n131910S42.DTL&feed=rss.news)
I’d be sympathetic to those who just wanted to get home to their loved ones, but you know what? Just wanting to get home to your loved ones without causing a stir is what got us into this mess. We need to wake people up. Does this have the potential to cause delays, stranded passengers, even some altercations over heated emotions? Yeah. Deal with it. Sometimes the right thing to do trumps convenience.

My guess is that the TSA will lower the percentage of people “randomly selected” for the X-Ray machine on Wednesday, just to decrease the incidents of opting out. Then they’ll use the low number of protesters as a talking point for how most Americans don’t have a problem with these procedures.

Of course, most Americans are completely unaware of these procedures. They walk into the X-ray machine not knowing at all that they are being photographed naked. Most Americans don’t even travel, anyway, so they really shouldn’t get a vote on this.

There are some issues where the majority really shouldn’t rule. If the majority always ruled, after all, women and blacks would still not be allowed to vote.

What we really need is for this issue to go to court. I really can’t see any sane judge making an argument that modern airport security methods don’t violate the fourth amendment. Nor can I see any lawyer making a competent argument that the airport deserves some sort of special status vs. other places where many people gather or travel.

Someone finally releases a tablet cheaper than the iPad - But man, does it suck

> It really says something when some of your customers ask the Internet whether they got the right thing when they received your product, or whether it got switched out with some joke Chinese knockoff that’s not really supposed to work. > > The [Maylong M-150](http://www.maylonggroup.com/M-150_MID.htm) TabletPC is an Android-based device sold by Walgreens for a mere $99 a pop. The obvious purpose for this tablet’s existence is to appeal to bargain basement shoppers—grandmas, poor college kids, those on a tight budget—by claiming to offer a full tablet experience for cheap. I mean, it runs Android, right? That’s a legit operating system nowadays. Unfortunately, the Maylong M-150 is the very epitome of “race to the bottom,” and anyone looking to buy one would get more bang for the buck by setting it on fire for warmth.
via [arstechnica.com](http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/reviews/2010/11/worst-gadget-ever-ars-reviews-a-99-android-tablet.ars)
I have no words that can improve upon the review Jacqui Cheng gave of the Maylong M-150. She may just be right that this is the worst gadget ever made.

And it runs Android.

That’s actually a key element to point out. Not because all Android devices suck; not because Android itself sucks. But the fact that this complete and utter failure has an Android logo slapped on it demonstrates exactly what’s wrong with the notion of “Open” being better. It also demonstrates that the Android brand, and Google’s along with it, is in serious jeopardy for being associated with this sort of junk.

Some people who have never seen an Android device might just buy one of these at Wal Mart, after all, and end up thinking that this is what all the Android hype is about. And then they’ll go buy an iPad next time.

I mentioned last week that Google would sell its grandmother to make one more Android sale to win the numbers game. I think this product is proof of that.