TSA MADNESS

            There have been times during the course of our country’s history when the federal government has put on colossal displays of stupidity and ignorance.  Idiocy at levels only people at the federal government could not comprehend as something other than ridiculous.  Bureaucratic bumbling that would deserve a gold medal if there was such a competition at the Olympics.  Of course I’m referring to the organization known as the Transportation and Safety Administration (TSA).

            The job of the TSA is to make certain nobody takes weapons or even anything that could be used as a weapon on an airplane.  After the terror of 9/11 the public was understandably upset.  Many people were quite disturbed with the airport screeners at that time who let the terrorists get on a plane with box cutters.  Everyone seems to forget that box cutters were permitted on flights so the screeners did nothing but follow the policy that was in place at that time.  The flying public wanted to feel safe and cried out to the federal government to provide safety.  Politicians saw a golden opportunity to increase the federal bureaucracy and provide the illusion they were doing something about flying safety.  The Transportation and Safety Administration was created to administer airport safety.

            At first dealing with the TSA and airport security was okay.  You had to take off your shoes, belt and takeout your computer for the screenings but it wasn’t bad.  If you got beeped when going through the metal detector they usually ran a metal wand around you and found the source of the problem.  It was annoying but most of us could live with it.  Then the TSA went the way of most federal organizations.  They wanted to feel extra important.  I guess the metal wands didn’t give them the real sense of power over the flying public they desired.

In order to draw attention and satisfy their need for control the TSA installed something called a full body image scanner.  This enabled them to view nude x-ray-type images of the flying public.  There were many conflicting reports about the levels of radiation a person receives from such a machine.  If you don’t like the body scanner you also have the option of getting a full body pat down.  The two choices currently offered to the flying public are to be radiated or molested.  You can either permit the government to have a nude picture of you, your children, and spouse while being treated like a microwave meal or have a strange person run their hands all over your body.  The flying experience has now moved from annoying to intolerable.  The TSA has handled this situation like the federal government handles all similar situations, like a blind person driving a bus.

            At first we heard the TSA would not store images of the full body image scans.  Unfortunately TSA screeners have come forward and stated such images are stored.  I wonder why the federal government would want to store naked images of the flying public.  There are many stories on the web of such images being distributed. 

The pat downs performed by the TSA at airports have been done with reckless abandon and in many instances displayed the stupidity and ignorance of TSA agents.  Disgusting sights of TSA agents touching children and old people alike are all over YouTube.  It’s difficult to watch a three-year-old child sobbing and pleading with a TSA worker to stop touching her.  There was the bladder cancer survivor who tried to explain he had a urostomy bag and the pat down would make the bag break.  The ever-so-sensitive TSA agent continued the pat down and left this poor man covered in his own urine.  They also have displayed their ignorance to breast cancer survivors.  One woman was asked to remove her prosthetic breast from her bra and show it to the TSA agent.  I’m sure an actual list of these types of occurrences is too long to mention.  I wonder if degrading the flying public is part of their training or they just have a talent for it.

            Someone needs to let the TSA airport screeners know their jobs only exist only because ARAB men hijacked flights on 9/11 and they are the ones responsible for killing thousands of innocent Americans.  It wasn’t 3-year-old girls, cancer survivors, nuns, old people or disabled people.  Since they don’t understand that maybe their organization should be changed to the TSOA – Transportation Safety and Obtuse Administration.

Unfortunately Arab men seem to get past TSA screenings.  Paul Brown is a representative from Georgia.  During a recent flight he was patted down by the TSA as well as a little girl and her grandmother while a man in Arabian dress walked right past the screeners.  Huh?  Does this mean to avoid the screening process we should just wear Arabian dress?

           I would like to see an article that could tell us if the TSA has ever prevented a terrorist attack by using their full body image scanner or pat down techniques.  I’ve not seen one.  The TSA seems too busy upsetting the flying public to focus on real threats.  I have seen stories about politicians with investments in the companies that make the airport full body image scanners.  I’m not surprised.  The entire situation begs the question of what exactly is our tax money being used for when it comes to the TSA.  We used to believe in this country that you were innocent of a crime until you were proven guilty.  Now the TSA treats the flying public as if they’re guilty of a crime with no easy way to prove their innocence.

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SAUDI FEMALE POTENTIAL

            I think it’s fair to say that many of the rules that govern women in Saudi Arabian society seem quite a bit harsh to us in the west.  I’m confident that many of the things females have to accept in that country would not work too well with women in the United States.  I only say this as experience has taught me how American women react in certain situations.

One thing that amazes me is that in Saudi Arabia women are not allowed to drive.  I can’t imagine such a thing.  It would be a struggle to be home watching football and run out of beer in the third quarter of a close game.  When I have experienced such an upsetting situation my wife has come to my rescue and made a life-saving trip to the beer distributor.  Sure it requires a sufficient amount of begging, pleading and a promise to accompany my wife on her next shopping trip, but it’s always worth it in the end.  It really wouldn’t matter in Saudi Arabia because Muslims aren’t allowed to drink alcohol and don’t watch football. 

            It is required for all women to have a male guardian such as a father, uncle, son or brother who controls their life.  They need such a guardian just to apply for a passport.  If a woman is divorced or a widow her son then becomes his mother’s guardian and she would need his written approval for anything.  I bet it’d be interesting if that was ever tried in this country.

            “I need you to write a letter for me to get a passport.”

            “I’m sure there’s some chocolate chip cookies involved with this somewhere.”

            “You’ll get your cookies; now write the letter.”

            “Does this mean that the new video game system I want will come with cookies?”

            “Do you want your nude baby pictures on the internet?  I could have a website specifically dedicated to that if you want.”

            “Not need for such a website; one passport letter coming up.”

            Then there is the fact that women in Saudi Arabia must be covered from head to toe and only expose their eyes.  This would entirely change the concept of girl watching.

            “Wow, did you see that girl in the hijab and abaya?  I think she just took my breath away.”

            “That’s nothing, just look at the girls over there with the eyes.  Each of them has two and just watch how they can blink.”

            “If somebody ever put that on a poster they’d make a lot of money.”

            “I agree.”

            Women and men are extremely segregated in public.  If you go to a McDonald’s in Saudi Arabia men and women have separate entrances and eat in separate areas of the restaurant.  Women are forbidden from going to restaurants alone.  Even movie theaters are segregated.  I guess that means if you wanted to take a girl out on a date to a movie and a restaurant she’d have to send you a text at the end of the night to let you know if she enjoyed herself, because you’d never be able to see her.

            With that type of control over women there is one interesting aspect of Saudi Arabian society that I find very fascinating.  Lingerie shops are staffed exclusively by men.  Women are able to do their shopping at malls but because of segregation of the sexes in the work place, female sales assistants can only work at the women-only floors at certain shopping centers.  It would just boggle the mind to see a man in a lingerie shop discussing the benefits and drawback of spandex and elasticized lace to a woman covered from head to toe.  Interesting how that would be acceptable, but a woman working with him in the lingerie shop would be forbidden.

            It’s also okay for a man to have up to four wives in Saudi Arabia, but women can only have one husband.  I don’t envy such men at all.  Four wives would mean you’d have to hear about everything bad that happened during your wife’s day four times.  Instead of just one woman telling you to mow the lawn and fix things around the house you’d hear it from four different women.  That would also mean four sets of in-laws to deal with during the holidays.  The females complaining about you spending too much time watching sports on the weekends would quadruple.  I don’t even want to think what life would be like with four women trying to decide on a restaurant to go to after seeing a show.

            I will be the first to admit that I know nothing about Saudi Arabian culture.  I’m certain the things they do which seem strange to me probably fail in comparison to the things I do they view as odd.  I know we’re very different.  It took our country hundreds of years to clear the way for women to begin reaching their full potential.  I bet Saudi Arabia could only benefit from clearing such a path for the women in their country.

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A Man Traveling With Mannequin Wife. A Real Story

Ned Nefer and his wife make a touching couple as they travel on their vacation in upstate New York.  People are often amazed when they see the couple.  Nefer’s wife Teagan is unable to walk so Ned willingly pushes her around in a wheelchair. Unfortunately, Teagan hasn’t been able to walk since she was made.  I would say born but that wouldn’t apply since she is actually a mannequin.  I stand corrected because she’s actually the head of a mannequin that Ned found in the 1980s and a body he attached to it.  Talk about finding someone who was made just for you.  Wow!

I hope the courts are not going to soon be filled with people claiming it is social justice for people to be married to the mannequin of their choice. In today's society, it is possible.

            According to Ned Nefer, he and Teagan were married on Halloween night in 1986.  Since Ned is 38-years-old that means he was all of 13 at the time. 

I can only imagine what would take place during that wedding ceremony.

            “Do you teenage boy take this mannequin to love, not use as firewood, regularly apply waterproofing and polish regularly until the day you die?”

            “I sure do.”

            “Do you mannequin take this teenage boy to love, not give splinters, not grow moldy or attract termites until the day you are turned into mulch?”

            “I do.”

            “That sounded strangely like Ned doing a female voice but I’ll take it.  I now pronounce you mannequin and one disturbed young boy.”

            (I did resist the temptation to say this was “sappy”)

            According to the Watertown Daily Times, Ned claims he and Teagan really love the outdoors.  Maybe while traveling in the forest Teagan is able to visit with old relatives she’s not seen for a long time, such as cousin Maple or uncle Pine.  I’m sure Aunt Spruce is always glad to see the couple.  I’ll bet Ned enjoys the chance to look at old family photographs of Teagan when she was just a sapling.

I wonder if Ted’s friends are very accepting of his wife.

            “Dude I hate to say this but your wife is a mannequin.”

            “So?  What are you?  A mannequinaphobe?”

            “Don’t you want a real wife?”

            “Hey, my wife never yells at me, never complains when I go out with my friends or says anything bad about my family.  She’s quiet when I watch sports and doesn’t complain when I go to porn sites on the web.  How many guys you know have a wife like that?”

            “Wow, does she have a sister?”

            For some reason in this relationship, Ned does all the talking.  He tells people his wife’s full name is Teagan Yvonne Savannah Thjodhild-Nefer.  She has a father who was Icelandic and her mother was Sudanese.  According to Ned, Teagan lived in Haiti and Sudan before moving to the United States.

            “Look at my parents on that ship.”

            “Where?”

            “See all of the paneling on the outside?”

            “Yeah.”

            “That’s them.”

            Ned tells people this is a special vacation because they’re visiting all the places in New York they’d previously visited together.  He likes to take pictures with a disposable camera and has filled three photo albums.  His photographic preference is of the town and village signs he goes past as well as rock formations and cemeteries.  Ned claims he does like taking pictures of nature in general.  Almost makes you wonder if Ansel Adams ever had a mannequin somewhere in his life.

            It’s painfully obvious this guy has problems.  I don’t know what’s more disturbed; Ned Neffer pushing his mannequin wife around New York in a wheelchair or people calling police after seeing them. 

            “Nine One One, what’s your emergency?”

            “There’s a man pushing a mannequin around in a wheelchair taking pictures.”

            “Is he bothering you?”

            “No.”

            “Is he causing any problems?”

            “No.”

            “Then why are you calling?”

            “That mannequin looks like my ex-wife and she owes me money.”

            “Goodbye.”

            Jefferson County Sherriff John P. Burns has responded to calls about the couple.  According to Sheriff Burns, Ned has never been taken into custody because he has never been a threat.  Officer Burns did take the time to check out Nefer’s background and said that “Nefer” is a shortened version of his actual last name, but he does have a valid state Department of Motor Vehicles identification card, but not a driver’s license.  For some reason knowing that makes me feel better about driving in upstate New York.

            It seems that when people meet Ned and Teagan they like the couple.  People have even set up a Facebook fan page for them.  Erin LeClair and her fiancé Steve Kalwarovski count the couple as their friends.  Erin feels Ned is actually eccentric and is extremely intelligent.  The two are considering inviting Ned and Teagan to their wedding.  I can only imagine what type of wedding present they’ll receive from this couple.

            I don’t know how a guy has the finances and time to push his mannequin wife around upstate New York in a wheelchair, but I guess it’s none of my business.  Ned seems to live in a world most of us don’t understand.  He’s different and maybe if we can accept him the way he is we can begin to accept ourselves.  According to Steve Kalwarovski, Ned’s favorite musical bands are Godsmack and Disturbed.  Doesn’t that say it all?

Here is a link to the article.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/new-york-man-ned-nefer-on-walking-with-mannequin-teagan_n_876827 

Here is a funny video from It is a Glorious Day.

It is called: Buy My Book Because I need the money By Leroy Jo Jo Jones

BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND THE FOOLHARDY

            There are those of us who foolishly believed our government actually learned a lesson about the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) from their handling of Waco.  Remember that sparkling jewel of mismanaged incompetence brought to us by the ATF?  There was this crazy guy named David Koresh who was a little over the top when it came to the bible.  He had this compound that housed people who believed like him and overlooked his unusual behavior.  ATF agents didn’t like him having guns.  It didn’t matter if they were legal weapons obtained legally, they didn’t like it.  David Koresh offered to have the ATF come to his compound to inspect the weapons and show them his paperwork.  The ATF refused because they didn’t care about legalities.  They didn’t like this guy having guns legally or otherwise.  So the ATF got a search warrant and told a little lie.  They said David Koresh was operating a methamphetamine lab.  Who needs the truth when you’re the ATF?  This little lie enabled them to use military assets when they served their warrant.  Are these people special or what?  When David Koresh and his followers saw heavily armed men enter their compound a battle began.  It resulted in four ATF agents and six followers of David Koresh being killed.  Things calmed down for the next 50 days until the FBI assaulted the compound.  Fires were started resulting in 74 deaths including 20 children and two pregnant women.

            I guess it should be of no surprise to anyone a governmental agency with that type of track record could once again astound the world with their ineptitude.  In an effort to curtail gun smuggling to Mexican cartels the ATF came up with a brilliant plan.  They would permit weapons into Mexico so the entire drug cartel network would be open to prosecution.  It was called “Operation Fast and Furious” and should’ve been called “Operation Dumb and Deadly.”

            A few problems occurred with this plan.  The ATF agents observed hundreds of weapons going into Mexico.  The only glitch was those silly Mexican cartel guys actually started using those guns to kill each other and anybody else they felt needed shot.  This increased the violence and death in Mexico by a bunch.  Instead of thinking this was a bad thing the ATF supervisors were quite happy.  They believed the guns recovered at crime scenes in Mexico would provide a link to straw gun purchasers in Phoenix.  Huh?  Where does the ATF get these people?

            “What types of qualifications do you have to be an ATF Supervisor?”

            “I graduated last in my high school class.  I like guns, cigars and can drink more whiskey than a sailor on shore leave.”

            “You’re hired.”

            All of this murder and mayhem continued in Mexico for 18 months until a U.S Border Patrol Agent named Brian Terry was killed in December 2010.  Unfortunately he was shot by an AK-47 purchased a year earlier by a gun smuggler named Jamie Avila.  Avila had been under surveillance by the ATF since November of 2009 (Should an ATF supervisor be reading this the following sentence is known as sarcasm).  I hope they were able to trace the gun involved in that shooting back to the straw gun purchasers in Phoenix.  Wait a minute; it was purchased by a guy they’d been watching for over a year.  Sometimes the brilliance of the ATF can blind a person.

            In a March 2010 memo the ATF stated it permitted Mexican gun smugglers to buy 359 guns while during the same month 958 people died in Mexico.  If I were a citizen of Mexico I just may be more than a bit upset with such a finding.  At the very least I would cheer for the Canadian teams during hockey season.

            Many people involved with this operation saw it was both stupid and dangerous.  ATF line agents and gun dealers repeatedly warned the ATF supervisors the guns being obtained by the smugglers would end up killing people.  The ATF supervisors told these people not to worry because they wouldn’t let those guns fall into the wrong hands.

            “I think the hundred guns we just sold to Juan might end up being used to kill someone.”

            “Why would you think such a thing?  I’m an ATF supervisor and would never permit those guns to be used for criminal activity.  You’re such a silly goose.”

            “I don’t know about that but Juan just shot two guys sitting in a car, robbed a bank and shot at a police officer before taking off in the policeman’s car.”

            The ATF supervisor takes out his cell phone.

            “See, we’ll just call one of our friends to follow him to Mexico and then he’ll be in big trouble.  What do you think about that Mr. Doubting Thomas?”

            “I think we’re the ones in big trouble already.”

            After 18 months, hundreds of guns sold and almost a thousand dead people in Mexico the operation retuned indictments for 20 straw purchasers who were known before the operation even began.  I would like to suggest the ATF supervisors involved in this operation change to careers more suited for their skills and abilities, like supervising the rides at Disneyland.

            I’m sure the ATF does have supervisors who are very proficient at their jobs.  They may even have had a few successful operations that didn’t result in the mass slaughter of innocent people.  The only problem with this governmental organization is that when they do something stupid, the results are quite deadly.

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RMN FLAMING IDIOT AWARD III

It is time for the third RMN Flaming Idiot Award.  This is an award given to individuals who have distinguished themselves with behavior that demonstrates an IQ with a decimal point in the front.  The type of individual who might have a family tree that doesn’t fork and only possess one set of DNA.  As we all know these people are everywhere and especially in positions of power.

The third RMN Flaming Idiot Award goes to (drum roll please) a teacher at the First Philadelphia Charter School for Literacy and the people who operate it.  It seems that these idiots of the educational realm have proven their inability to comprehend reality by (you’re going to love this) expelling a 6-year-old boy for touching his teacher’s leg.  Ignoring the innocence of a child that age can only be done by a truly unhinged mind.

            The teacher testified at a April 2010 school disciplinary hearing that the boy’s contact made her feel uncomfortable.  Huh?  If being touched by a 6-year-old child makes her feel so uncomfortable what is she doing teaching kindergartners?  She did admit during the hearing that she regularly received hugs from her other students. 
            “Teacher can I give you a hug.”
            “Why yes dear.”
            “I accidently touched your arm.”
            “You disgusting little demon you need to be expelled.”

            My wife taught pre-school for a number of years.  Kids’ touching her inappropriately was something that was common.  She didn’t make a big deal about it as she understood children of that age will do such things.  She would simply tell them to stop touching her that way and explain why it was wrong.  She actually taught the child their behavior was unacceptable and explained why.  When she handled the situation in this way the behavior usually stopped.  My wife has never been able to make me cease such behavior with her, but that’s another story.

What is this particular teacher trying to say by her actions?  A child this young was coming on to her?  He had impure intentions?  It’s not like he bragged about the incident to his buddies on the playground and posted a video of it on YouTube.  If this educator holds such low opinions of 6-year-old children maybe she shouldn’t be teaching kindergartners.  Is it possible this individual needs to seriously consider changing occupations?  She might want to seek out a position teaching people how to properly empty trash receptacles at amusement parks.

            Unfortunately this 6-year-old boy had been a challenging little kindergartner.  In December he had been suspended for 10 days for touching a girl’s bottom while under a table picking up crayons.  Is that really the best way to handle such a situation?  This school administration is just brilliant.  I’m certain a child at that age can fully comprehend what he did wrong and why he can’t go to school for 10 days  (If anyone who runs the First Philadelphia Charter School for Literacy is reading this you need to realize this type of writing is known as blatant sarcasm).

            “Why can’t I go to school?”

            “You touched a girl’s bottom when you were under a table.”

            “So, she put her bottom in my face and I wanted her to move it.”

            “Unfortunately her bottom can touch your face but you can’t touch her bottom.”

            “Why if I touch a girl’s bottom in my face I can’t go to school?”

            “It’s, ah, because, it’s, well, you know, ah, not good to touch bottoms of girls if you want to go to school.”

            “I’m confused.”

            “So am I.”

            Now this young child’s reign of kindergarten terror didn’t end there.  He was also suspended twice for stepping on his classmates’ shoelaces.  I’m sure we all know if you step on a classmate’s shoelaces in kindergarten you’re eventually going to become a terrorist.  A suspension is what probably cured this young boy of any desire to become a terrorist (That was more sarcasm.).  He was also considered disruptive in class.  He was probably more of a challenge than this teacher wanted to handle.  I imagine there are actual teaching methods to address such behavioral issues; but unfortunately they seem to be unknown at this school.

            A judge overturned the kindergartner’s expulsion.  It appears the little boy heard his teacher complain her legs hurt and just wanted to make them feel better.  The boy had only been in school for seven months.  The school argued that’s it’s inappropriate for a 6-year-old child to touch an adult teacher on bother upper thighs, near her crotch area, while the adult is sitting, in a school setting.  I think most people who breathe air can agree with that statement.  The real issue is if suspension and expulsion is the appropriate punishment.  It’s like giving life in prison for a parking ticket.

            Luckily the judge wrote the school made a gross abuse of discretion that was not supported by evidence in the record.  He was going to expunge the boy’s record of the expulsion.  It appears the boy transferred to a private school and has had no significant behavioral problems since leaving the school.  I can only imagine that the teachers at his new school understand the development of a child involves social skills.  Maybe they’re taking the time to teach him there is proper and improper behavior.  It would be nice if some school administrators could teach the individuals at the First Philadelphia Charter School for Literacy the proper and improper ways to discipline a young child.

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