PSA: Homeland security nonexistent

Undertoad · 04-07-2003, 10:23 AM

Imagine this:

- You check your daily mail and find an ITINERARY for a trip you did book: someone has stolen your credit card number and used it to buy plane tickets.

- You notice that it's a middle eastern name traveling to Philly, where the President is scheduled to be. You remember that credit card fraud is one of the terrorists' approaches. And we're under code "Orange".

- So you call US Airways, who tells you that an agent did ask about the name difference when the man checked in, but that he told them you were his parent so they let him board.

- So you call the Philly FBI. {UT's note: the incompetent FBI, remember?} They take no interest, say it's a case of credit fraud, which they don't handle, and refer you to the Secret Service.

- So you call the Secret Service. They take no interest, saying that it has to be fraud of over $50,000 for them to really care.

- So you call the Pennsylvania State Police terrorist tip line, and it's busy and you can't get through.

- So you call the Philadelphia International Airport police, but they say they only take tips from the police and not from the public.

- So you email the White House, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the General Services Administration, and all the Philadelphia TV stations. Now you get two responses. The Pennsylvania homeland security office calls you to tell you they only work during regular business hours so they won't do anything until 9 AM Monday. The GSA emails you back to say it's not their problem.

- So you call the Philadelphia Police, who give you the number of a disconnected Philly FBI line and the Philly airport cops you've already tried.

- So you call US Airways back and cancel the return flight ticket, which you do at the last minute hoping to create confusion for the man at check-in. But later you learn it never does.

And that's what happens when you depend on the government to do some of the most important work it can do: it turns it all into a buck-passing, not-my-department, bureaucratic trash heap. I just figured you'd like to know.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/ne...003-68212.html

04-07-2003, 10:23 AM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	PSA: Homeland security nonexistent Imagine this: - You check your daily mail and find an ITINERARY for a trip you did book: someone has stolen your credit card number and used it to buy plane tickets. - You notice that it's a middle eastern name traveling to Philly, where the President is scheduled to be. You remember that credit card fraud is one of the terrorists' approaches. And we're under code "Orange". - So you call US Airways, who tells you that an agent did ask about the name difference when the man checked in, but that he told them you were his parent so they let him board. - So you call the Philly FBI. {UT's note: the incompetent FBI, remember?} They take no interest, say it's a case of credit fraud, which they don't handle, and refer you to the Secret Service. - So you call the Secret Service. They take no interest, saying that it has to be fraud of over $50,000 for them to really care. - So you call the Pennsylvania State Police terrorist tip line, and it's busy and you can't get through. - So you call the Philadelphia International Airport police, but they say they only take tips from the police and not from the public. - So you email the White House, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the General Services Administration, and all the Philadelphia TV stations. Now you get two responses. The Pennsylvania homeland security office calls you to tell you they only work during regular business hours so they won't do anything until 9 AM Monday. The GSA emails you back to say it's not their problem. - So you call the Philadelphia Police, who give you the number of a disconnected Philly FBI line and the Philly airport cops you've already tried. - So you call US Airways back and cancel the return flight ticket, which you do at the last minute hoping to create confusion for the man at check-in. But later you learn it never does. And that's what happens when you depend on the government to do some of the most important work it can do: it turns it all into a buck-passing, not-my-department, bureaucratic trash heap. I just figured you'd like to know. http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/ne...003-68212.html

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