The TSA form letter from the CongressCritter

denverpilot

denverpilot

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Dear Mr. Duehr:

Thank you for contacting me concerning the exclusion of Bruce Schneier from a hearing on the effectiveness of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this issue and for the opportunity to respond.

Mr. Schneier, a vocal critic of the TSA, was originally invited to testify by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform regarding the TSA as "Security Theater." At the request of the TSA, he was uninvited because he is a plaintiff in a case against the TSA. While I agree with you that it is unfortunate that he was not able to testify on the record, I believe that his absence did not change the tone of the hearing. After reviewing the hearing transcripts, it is clear that the members of the committee were very critical of the lack of progress, inefficiencies, and violations of personal liberty by the TSA.

Recently my colleagues on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, who have jurisdiction over the TSA, released a joint report. Their judgment of the ineffectiveness of the TSA echoes your concern. They made several recommendations that I look forward to exploring. Please review the report for yourself at the website below:

http://republicans.transportation.h...2th/Aviation/2011-11-16-TSA_Reform_Report.pdf

I will keep your concerns in mind as legislation is introduced this year that may lead to reform. I hope to eliminate the wasteful use of funds in growing government bureaucracy while continuing to increase the security of the American people.

Thank you again, Nathan, for taking the time to contact me. For more information on my work in Congress on your behalf, please sign up for my newsletter at https://forms.house.gov/coffman/webforms/enews.html.




Sincerely,

Mike Coffman
Member of Congress
 
Keep a close eye on him Nate.... If he stands his ground on the issues then let us know... If he caves to party wants and needs and the TSA gets a free pass then please let us know too.... My bet is one of his staffers crafted the email.... But one never knows in DC.:dunno::dunno:
 
The TSA is popular with the public despite the numerous and scandalous abuses of travelers. Congress will not get rid of it any time soon. I would't ask Congress to make it any more effective, since that will involve even further invasion of privacy.
 
steingar said:
The TSA is popular with the public despite the numerous and scandalous abuses of travelers. Congress will not get rid of it any time soon. I would't ask Congress to make it any more effective, since that will involve even further invasion of privacy.
Click to expand...

One former head of the parent agency admitted publicly a couple of weeks ago that the agency used "fear of something bad happening" to make Congress give them funding and a lot of leeway in their behavior. He noted that it was very successful, and will likely continue.

Fear is a powerful motivator.
 
It is a case in point of democracies giving the people what they want. People apparently feel safer with the TSA on watch, despite it's demonstrated ineffectiveness. So it continues, and will likely be with us so long as air travel is.
 
steingar said:
The TSA is popular with the public despite the numerous and scandalous abuses of travelers. Congress will not get rid of it any time soon. I would't ask Congress to make it any more effective, since that will involve even further invasion of privacy.
Click to expand...

Actually the TSA is not popular with a majority of people. Though neither is there a solid majority against it.

As of Sept. of 2011:
In answer to the question "What word best describes your view of the TSA" the percentages were:
​

  • Positive: 38%
  • Neutral: 8%
  • Negative: 43%
  • Don't know: 11%
Asked their position on the statement "We have given up too much freedom and privacy in the name of security," the percentages were:
​

  • Agree: 55%
  • Disagree: 43%
  • Don't know: 2%
Source: http://reason.com/poll/2011/09/16/43-percent-of-americans-have-a

(Good to see the demographic groups I belong to have the most negative views of the TSA. :))

See also: http://reason.com/poll/2011/09/01/americans-have-mix-feelings-ab
 
denverpilot said:
Dear Mr. Duehr:

Thank you for contacting me concerning the exclusion of Bruce Schneier from a hearing on the effectiveness of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this issue and for the opportunity to respond. [...]
Click to expand...

Um, if that is a "form letter" then your congresscritter must be getting a lot of letters about that subject!
 
Don't think it was a form letter. Written by a staffer in a district office and then auto signed, yes :)
 
Pretty devastating committee report. Prolly won't change a thing.
 
The staffers write 'em once and file them away on a computer for the next person who comments on the same topic. How you can tell is sometimes a staffer gets the topic completely wrong and you get a nice letter like this one on the completely wrong topic.

A letter regarding an FCC spectrum auction matter that I sent around the time of the HDTV cutover was replied to with a very nice letter explaining that I could get a government-subsidized Digital to Analog converter box by way of the gift cards they were offering.

I sent a fairly comical reply explaining the difference between a spectrum auction and Digital TV, with a copy of the original letter, their reply, and my new reply so the staffer would have full references to the stupidity... ha... and never heard back on the follow-up letter. ;)
 
Funny how, by the end of the letter, you're on a first name basis with the congressman. Thanks for the response, Mike!
 
Brad Z said:
Funny how, by the end of the letter, you're on a first name basis with the congressman. Thanks for the response, Mike!
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That's how the congress critters deal with the masses.. Kinda like the circus barkers who stand outside the tents wailing " he walks, he talks, he crawls on his belly like a reptile.... Step right up and pay to see Jo Jo, the dog faced boy".. The majority of the sheeples eat it up and pay their hard earned money to see smoke and mirrors... The few of us that see through their BS stand there in disbelief..... And so goes the most powerful country in the world as it craters from being run by crooks who were voted into office by absolute idiots...:sad:

Please..... someone wake me up from this nightmare. :eek:
 
All he has to do is send back form letters and smile for the cameras. He'd have to shoot a baby in the face with a .45 to lose the Colorado 6th Congressional District.

He knows this. It seems to have motivated him not to pay attention to constituents unless they're donating money.

About the only thing that'd rock his boat would be some scandal where the Party money went to a competitor in the same Party. Or a mass vote for an Independent or a Libertarian. Pretty doubtful.

Like so many we send to Congress, they start voting Party lines and forget about their Colorado roots. Salazar is another one. What a doozie he is.
 
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