The Redhunter

Good morning, Tom -- it is still morning here in the Pacific Northwest.

Yes, I agree, we do need to change our securtiy protocols not only quickly, but radically. However, I don't blame Napolitano any more than I blame Bush for not finding any weapons of mass destruction or for not catching the kingpin Bin Laden who keeps inspiring these malcontents that won't do anything except bring down their own civilization. They are a slithering, sneaky bunch that take advantage of the lack of enough well-trained security peaple and the lack of new technology to see what they are carrying in their shoes or on their bodies before they enter planes or buildings.

Already in China they are using the new technology that, in order to expedite "frisking" of passengers, they just use a machine that sees right through their clothes. I wouldn't mind that---I already was "felt up" under my blouse once because the underwires in my bra kept making their frisking "wand" go off. Modest in the face of my own security I am not.

The security people apologized for frisking me like that, and prior to it they asked if I wanted to step into a room off to the side. I refused, not wanting to be delayed any longer, so my frisking took place in view of other passengers, who probably felt relieved that they didn't find anything suspicious on me. For a while I wore no underwear and only a jumpsuit and sandals, and for years now the underwires don't make anything go off, so maybe things are getting too relaxed security-wise.

However, I am afraid that too many conservative people would object to losing another "freedom" or would have the false modesty of not wanting their bodies seen through their clothes, or that lazy, distracted poorly trained security people would let something slip by.

Ever since 9-11, my husband and I have been unusually delayed at check-in even before we got to the screeners. They would take our ID's and go into another room, then they would come back and check us in. In September I found out the reason for the delays: we were at SEA-TAC airport and the fellow couldn't sign us in on his computer. He couldn't figure out what was wrong. Finally his supervisor came over and showed him that there was a "flag" on the computer screen (what kind of training do they get or not get?).

I demanded to know what "flag" there was, and they finally told me that my husband is on a "no fly" list. My husband's name is Antonio Garcia, as common a name as Ted Kennedy, who also was on a "no fly" list. Yes, my husband, former Marine, Korean War Vet, whose father was also a Marine in WWII and fought at Quajilain [sp] in the Pacific--forever to be delayed because of his name.

What happens is that they have other computers that only supervisors use, I guess, in another room, where they have to clear us by looking up the photo. description, birthdate, birthplace, etc. of the supposed terrorist with the same name as my husband. When they are sure my husband is not the one and the same, they send us on our way with apologies.

When we got to our cousin's house in Las Cruces, New Mexico, he told us that he too is on a "no fly" list. His name is Manuel Lopez, another very common name. He was in the Air Force during the Viet Nam war. I wish they would put the Muslims on those lists instead of good patriotic Americans.

So, yes, expedite the changes to protocols, and don't let the wimps say that it is a violation of our privacy to be seen in the nude before we board a plane. Had they gone over this latest nut with that new machine, they would have seen the contraption he had strapped to his chest and leg, etc.

Emilie
Port Orchard, WA

Bush era policies are still in place I believe Tom. This creep just made it through somehow.

I concede that Napolitano deserves firing after her silly statement. We got lucky.

Emilie,

Kwajalein Atoll is part of what is now The Republic of the Marshall Islands. Occupied by the Japanese, Kwajalein was taken by American forces in a battle beginning January 31, 1944 and ending February 6, 1944

Kwajalein was one of the few locations in the Pacific war where Islanders were killed while actually fighting for the Japanese.

Of the 8,782 Japanese personnel deployed to the atoll (including Korean laborers), it has been argued that only 2,200 were combat trained. Despite this likelihood, Japanese resistance was strong and resilient, even given the fact that Japanese troops were outnumbered by tens of thousands of American troops. By the end of the battle, 373 Americans were killed, 7,870 "Japanese" were killed, and an estimated 200 Marshallese were killed.

If your husband's father was part of the 4th Marine Division, he actually land on Roi-Namur, another island on the north side of the atoll.

TLGK

TLGK,

Yes, my husband says that his father was either in the 4th or 5th Marine Division. He was sent first to New Zealand for training after boot camp in Camp Pendleton, but for some reason my husband remembers that name Kwajalein, where they cleared the place of the enemy, as they did other islands, then the Army came in to secure them, then the Navy SeeBees would come and build air-strips so that our bombers could get closer and closer to Japan to more easily bomb the Japanese. His dad's last battle was at Okinawa, then he got to come home. He may not have gotten to come home had not Pres. Truman sent in the planes carrying the ultimate weapon to end the war without anymore loss of American lives.

I see they are talking more about having those new machines at airports that can see through peoples' clothes. I think that is the only solution to keep these suicide bombers off planes.

Emilie
Port Orchard, WA

Emilie,

The name of the entire atoll is Kwajalein. Kwajalein is one of the world's largest coral atolls as measured by area of enclosed water. Comprising 97 islands and islets, it has a land area of 6.33 mi², and surrounds one of the largest lagoons in the world, with an area of 839 mi².

Kwajalein island is the largest and southern most of the atoll while Roi-Namur is the second largest and on the north end.

So it is as if your husband's father stated that he invaded New York City when he landed in the Bronx, which is part of NYC.

TLGK