tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2265659668411443893.post6276379302211655723..comments2023-11-02T02:20:42.056-07:00Comments on The Ephemeral Frontier: Christmas traditions: the morphing of my holidayDiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266713613721430111noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2265659668411443893.post-10090674502255743812022-04-12T09:15:07.534-07:002022-04-12T09:15:07.534-07:00Hi great reading your bllogHi great reading your bllogCooper Bhttps://www.cooperbentley.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2265659668411443893.post-70099309207753649832010-12-22T12:37:29.798-08:002010-12-22T12:37:29.798-08:00Thank you Rhia,
And likewise safe journeys to you...Thank you Rhia,<br /><br />And likewise safe journeys to you on I-95. You're a brave woman.<br /><br />In all honesty I'm not that woried about my safelty flying, even withthe limitations of TSA's capabilities and the fact that yes, they do in fact miss things they should catch with a certain degree of regularity.<br /><br />All the same I'm not inclined to go along with those who want to shoot the horse because he stumbles now and then. Yes, what they do in the terminals is not perfect, and it is not going to address much of what the international terrorists are working on as their next phase of attacks--it is always a race between the preventiaon protocols and the perps--the latter continually trying to invent new ways to defeat the strategy and tactics of the former--but that doesn't mean that once you have moved don to a new form of threat you can abandon the old tactics: you have to maintain those as well.<br /><br />No the real means of defeating the international terror-guys isn't at the tactical level at the passenger and freight terminals, it's in big picture stuff such as your intelligence operations and diplomatic activity.<br /><br />That said, to me the real current value of what we have put in place at the terminals is not necessarily related to the big international terror context--it's the domestic and individual dangers that are really being interdicted most successfully.<br /><br />White supremacists, homegrown religious extremists (think Westboro baptist Church with guns), mentally unbalanced individuals who are reeling from losing a job or a failed relationship--you know, the people who go into our workplaces, schools, and post offices with disturbing regularity and take a bunch of innocents with them as they self-immolate....these are exactly the kinds of loonies and knuckleheads who are foiled or at least discouraged by the current range of TSA tactical protections.<br /><br />And there are a lot more of those kinds of dangerous idiots out there than there are real ooga-booga terrorists.<br /><br />So anyhow, as I said--even with the imperfections of the system (and the appalling reality that certain people have benefited economically and politically from the way the system is equipped and managed--it does somewhat increase the odds in our favor.<br /><br />By the way, Rhia, I want you to know I appreciate the way you consistently read and respond to my puffed-up pontifications. A good Christmas and fruitful New Year to ya, hon.Diohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14266713613721430111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2265659668411443893.post-24177854617069810112010-12-22T06:42:55.398-08:002010-12-22T06:42:55.398-08:00I sympathize with your having to travel around the...I sympathize with your having to travel around the holidays - pretty much any holiday, these days - and even more so that it involves air travel. Despite logistical nightmares every year (that end up making no one happy, I might add), I am fortunate that I only have to endure I-95, and not the worst part of that godawful congested road at that.<br /><br />It's hard to argue that neither the boots on the ground in the army nor those in the TSA have been well-served by their respective high commands. Flying involves slogging through lines filled with clueless individuals, only to be subjected to invasive searches that aren't terribly effective in preventing the kinds of problems the searches are intended to prevent. One often feels tempted to take it out on the unfortunate soul patting one down, just as it's tempting to yell at the clerk who is unable to help because of a corporate policy. I suspect most of us suppress the anger less because the TSA agents are not responsible for the policies being carried out and more because the agents have the power to make your already-difficult travel a true nightmare.<br /><br />Still, it's useful to take a step back and reflect that, for the most part, these are people carrying out orders with which they don't necessarily agree and trying to make a buck, just like the rest of us.<br /><br />Safe journeys, Miz Dio!Rhianon Jamesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13627163137265856251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2265659668411443893.post-36655159038168124252010-12-19T23:22:18.119-08:002010-12-19T23:22:18.119-08:00Hey Fogwoman,
Hon, first and foremost, let me say...Hey Fogwoman,<br /><br />Hon, first and foremost, let me say that I respect your reservations about the two institutions in question, and I really have my own reservations about the way they have been used in the last decade. Please keep in mind that I make a big distinction between the front line people who actually do the hard work and put their lives at risk, and the witless, profiteering jackanapes who set policy and called the shots. <br /><br />But then, the Dick Cheney's and Michael Chertoff's of this world aren't the ones who are taking commercial airliners at Christmas and sitting in crowded terminals waiting to catch a plane with crying babies on their laps, so I am not likely to run into them anyway. <br /><br />And also please keep in mind that how I look at TSA and its operations is colored by personal experience that has rendered me less than objective. But again there is a big difference between the folks at the operational level as opposed to the policy making level.<br /><br />So in a lot of ways, I am guessing we're probably not too far off in how we look at things, hon.<br /><br />And Fogwoman, I also wish you and yours a splendid holidays.Diohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14266713613721430111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2265659668411443893.post-60088535403892861332010-12-19T21:32:39.000-08:002010-12-19T21:32:39.000-08:00An extremely thought-inspiring posting.
I am of a...An extremely thought-inspiring posting. <br />I am of a slightly different mindset regarding a couple of points, but I think the outcome should be the same. While I am not in agreement with the current policies of either the US military or the TSA, that is certainly my problem and not the problem of the folks who do an often dangerous and/or thankless job in carrying out those policies. My personal issues can remain unspoken, but "thank your for all you do" can sincerely be given.<br />Thanks for the kick in the pants, ma'am :)Fogwomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06615171920466443722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2265659668411443893.post-30262268692437314612010-12-19T11:17:46.677-08:002010-12-19T11:17:46.677-08:00Hey Emilly,
I'm glad you think so. There is ...Hey Emilly,<br /><br />I'm glad you think so. There is a part of me that is saying to myself, hey ye feckless ol' harpy, ye shoulda been doin' this all along, and ye should be doin' it year-round, to boot. <br /><br />Well, I suppose I will have to work up to that. The irony here is that deciding to do this is something that has been inspired in part by my time in SL. Belive it or not, my persona in SL is much nicer and open hearted than I allow myself to be irl. I am much more inclined to go up to someone I don't know in SL and say hello and share thoughts with a stranger, than I have been in a meatspace context. <br /><br />In short, I think I have had some good practice in SL being a more decent and sociable person, and I am starting to more regularly apply that in my non-virtual life. <br /><br />Emilly, I hope you have a happy and pleasant holiday season and a good new year.Diohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14266713613721430111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2265659668411443893.post-27961278295615534032010-12-18T23:07:06.123-08:002010-12-18T23:07:06.123-08:00That is a wonderful new tradition to embrace.That is a wonderful new tradition to embrace.Emilly Orrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07245643246821826101noreply@blogger.com