Sunday, May 15, 2005

Say It Ain't So

This Is True, an e-mail newsletter I subscribed to in a weak moment some time ago, reports:

"The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has not upgraded equipment at many airports because it can't afford it all. The TSA says that's why its screeners sometimes miss guns, knives and other items passengers carry through security checkpoints. Yet TSA employees at a new operations center in Herndon, Va., spent $500,000 on artwork and silk plants for their offices, a government auditor says. The building and its furnishings, which houses just 79 employees, cost $19 million, including a $350,000 gym, seven kitchens with restaurant-grade appliances, and $63,099 worth of cable-fed TVs. Even "low level" employees have large private offices. David Stone, the center's manager, says the new building and its decorations are "worth every dollar spent." (Washington Post) ...To whom?"

79 employees????

Maybe they shouldn't have changed their name from the "Federal Aviation Transportation Airport Security Service."


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