it doesn't have anything to do with the "democrats" not calling out the "republicans" or vice versa. it is that they all just lie and don't call others out because they don't want their own lies uncovered.

i don't know how Al Franken does compared to other senators on a day to day basis, but we need more people to act like him in his uncovering of lies.

Franken ain't perfect, but he's 100% better than Coleman, and already he passed a law protecting rape victims from the war machine.

Let's hold that ground.

Wharrgarble! We're not "living in a different age", we're not in a "post-911" world. The TSA is a massive overreaction to one incident. That incident sucked, and there is no downplaying it. But the lesson that needed to be learned, ie that hijackers might do more with a hijacked plane that just kill everyone on board (as terrible as that alone is), has been learned.

Half the the response should be to lock cabin doors. Done. The other half should be for travelers on planes to remain alert and be willing to fight back against hijackers. Done - flight 93 accomplished that before the 9/11 attacks were even finished.

Instead, the TSA is created. Charged with the task of delaying, inconveniencing, and harassing law-abiding citizen travelers while doing absolutely nothing of any real value to prevent or limit terrorist attacks.

The shoebomber happens, all of a sudden everybody has to wait in line to take off shoes. Somebody realizes that some binary explosives are made by mixing liquids, all of a sudden you can't take a bottle of goddamn water or toothpaste on a plane. The Bush administration decides to make a massive list of names for a "no fly list", all of a sudden many completely innocent people are detained and harassed simply because they happen to share a name with someone who may have a tenuous connection to "terrorism". Not to mention the people who get put on the list out of pure spite, like reporters who question TSA practices. I shudder to think what the response to the "undies-bomber" is going to be.

Now Cheney et al are criticizing Obama for "failing to keep America safe". How about criticizing the goddamn TSA? How about remembering that you're infinitely more likely to die in a car accident, or from smoking-induced lung cancer, or even from being bitten by a snake than you are to die in an air-travel incident, terror related or not?

It bothers me these responses to Cheney running his mouth are good in that they make us remember that a lot of this crap started on the Bush administration's watch, but they don't go the bit further and point out what an obvious farce and waste of time, effort, and money the TSA is in general.

If I recall correctly, 9/11 took place under Bush & Cheney's watch. Also, happened while the majority in the House and Senate were in Republican hands (to which Bush and Cheney belonged to). And after that moment to when they both got kicked out of office Jan 20, 2009, Cheney comes back on the airwaves. Not to make anything constructive, but to simply have face time. Mr. Cheney's nemisis is ego, Mr. Bush's was intelligence. After they got booted out, Mr Bush finally learned to shut up and go in to retirement without another word. Mr. Cheney can not do this, as his ego is to large.

The quickest way to silence Mr. Cheney is simply ignore him. That is generally how you kill an egotistics tactics: ignore they even exist. Because, as often happens, they get more belligerent, much louder, and less wise. Eventually, they will do or say something, that will completely undermine their entire position, and lose all support they once had. Works every time with egotisticals.

For perspective for everyone that's completely upset over this failed terror attack, that think we need to INCREASE security over this nonsense: more Americans have died in car accidents since Halloween last year than died from terrorist attacks (not including military personnel) in our country's short history. More Americans have died from poor health care due to insurance issues since THANKSGIVING than from terrorist attacks in our history. We truly have screwed up our priorities in this country.