Election 2008

As I sit here in my dorm room, I can here supporters for Obama yelling "Vote For Change," "Obama 08'." As I sit here thinking, I am waiting for the supporters of McCain to start chanting back in hopes of a good old fashioned chant off, if there is such a thing. But the McCain supporters have been. Even though this is the first year in which i can vote, I have been paying more attention to the Leiutenant Governor race for North Carolina. I am a huge supporter of Senator Walter Dalton and believe he is the best politician in my wonderful state. As far as the presidential election goes, we may be witnessesing a monumental change in our federal government.

Links Posting

Rick Seaney.Com
The author of this blog analyzes everything anyone needs to know about the airport industry, from passenger rights to improving airport security.

The Volokh Conspiracy
This is a very descriptive blog. The author of this blog has been blogging for a couple of years now. Within these blogs the author blogs about his own personal experiences with airport security. He displays security weaknesses and compares our security system to the Israeli security system.

Schneier on Security
The author of this blog, Bruce Schneier, covers airport security with a focus on comparing airport security before and after 9-11. The author of this blog argues that airport security was just as effective before 9-11 as it is now, and TSA should spend money on more important things such as "intelligence, investigations, and emergenacy response."

Argonne National Laboratory
"Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, along with collaborators in Turkey and Japan, have created a compact device that could lead to portable, battery-operated sources of T-rays, or terahertz radiation." These new technological advances may reshape airport security screening.

Celestial Expanse
The author of this blog analyzes a recent airport arrest of an MIT student. The blog argues that airport security has gone too far. With the blog, the author presents a video of the arrest, to which he is able to support his argument.

Israeli Airport Security
The article extensively describes airport security in a specific Israeli airport. The text focuses on how and why the US should model its airport security after the platform of Israeli airports.

John McCain
The is the official site for John McCain's campaign. This page focuses on what John McCain is planning to do under the second era of Homeland security, and his plans for improving airport security. Since the election is just around the corner, it is important to vote for the candidate whose platform the potential voter agrees with, regardless of political affiliation.

Barack Obama
For those of you who are Obama supporters, here is your chance to see how he plans to improve Homeland Security and airport security compared to the platform that John McCain is using.

The Things He Carried
In this blog, Jeffery Goldberg interview two polar opposite sides on improving airport security. He first interviews Bruce Schneier who is opposed to technologically improving airport security and believes TSA should spend money else where. The other half of the argument comes from TSA's chief Kip Hawley, who argues that making technological advancements in airport security is the only way to prevent a repeat of 9-11.

Self Analysis

When I was first assigned to create a blog covering a political issue for the upcoming election, I had a mixed emotions, most of which were negative. I was almost clueless as to what the purpose of a blog exactly was, and what opinions I had about blogs were negative (Purpose of Blogs). I thought blogs were pointless and a waste of time. On top of that, I really had no interest in either candidate running in this upcoming election, so I had no interest in blogging about a political issue (Presidential Comparison). Nonetheless, I started blogging about how airport security has been improved and is still improving as a result of the terrorist attacks of 9-11 (9-11).When I told people what I was blogging about, they often ask me why I chose this particular issue. I chose to blog about this issue because I find the thought of a repeat of 9-11 to be one of my biggest fears, and I believe I can provide valuable feedback dealing with this issue.

When I first started this project, I felt like any type of advancement in airport security was a positive factor for our country (Body Scanning Technology). Improving airport security makes the potential passenger feel much safer and protected. The new technology is so advanced, it can detect almost any possible threat (TSA Technology). However, through extensive research, my opinion about airport security has started to fade away from my perspective of it being one hundred percent positive. There is one factor that makes it not one hundred percent positive, and that is the impact of the struggling economy (Economic Crash). With the economy on the downfall, I started to understand that technologically advancing our airport security was not one of the top issues to spend money on (Schneier). New advancements in airport security have and will continue to cost our country billions of dollars (Money Spent). This is money that should be spread out through our economy to try and get back a more consistent money flow through our markets. On top of that, technologically advancing airport security would more than likely cut the number of jobs. What job was once occupied by a human would now be done by a machine. The last thing our falling economy needs is increasing unemployment (unemployment rates).

After completing this project, I feel as if I am stuck in between "a rock and a hard place." Every person would like to do away with their greatest fears, and for those people who are scared to board a plane due to 9-11, they would more than likely feel safer if the government would continue to improve airport security (Fear of Flying). On the other hand, my father is a Dentist, and going to the dentist is one of the first things unemployed people cut out of their regular routine.

Completing this project has increased my ability to think analytically and extensively. I have learned that almost all political issues can connect to all other political issues in some way. I have also become more appreciative of blogs and their purpose. I now better understand the positions of presidential candidates for the upcoming election, and can now vote intellectually. I like blogging often forces someone to critically think about their issue, and I hope to continue to blog about other issues.

Daily Post that Was Supposed To Be For October 9 But I'm Writing It Now

In my last post, I proposed that while our government improves airport security, they also need to cut down on the amount of time it takes get through each security checkpoint. With this post, I was ask to compare the amount of time it takes to get through security at a train station compared to the airport. The security at train stations, I have found, is rather short and not nearly as time consuming as airport security. This is due to the fact that the government is more focused on improving airport security since it has already been exploited with the attacks on 9-11. However, often times train tickets can be more expensive than plane tickets.

Whats To Expect For Our Future

In my theory posting, I discussed how technological advancements in airport security have two "polarized sides." The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 were a tragic event that still lingers in most American's minds. It is also an event that no one in our wonderful nation ever wants to see happen again(Attacks). The technological advancements and improvements in airport security are an obvious way to prevent a repeat of such a catastrophe. Improvements in airport security make the potential passenger feel safe about going on vacation or a business trip. However, improving airport security also has its down falls. Improving airport security will cost billions of dollars (Money spent on Technology), and with the struggling economy, improving airport security is not something the government should be putting money toward(unemployment). Also, improving technology will cut down on the number of airport security jobs. Cutting jobs will slow down the money flow causing the economy to fall even more than it already has. So, if this issue is not resolved, what could happen to our country. If we do not continue to strengthen airport security then another terrorist attack is possible. However, our airport security is much stronger than it was before 9-11, and I think we should employ more people in security rather than using technology to replace people. (Rick Seaney)

3 Fellow Bloggers

Here are some great blog posts from three of my fellow bloggers. Each of these blogs topics has been critically analyzed, and these blogs are very descriptive and thought provoking. All three are a must read.

http://studentblogger-greenblog.blogspot.com/:
This blog researches our struggling environmental issues with a "Think Green," mentality.

http://kwopuni.blogspot.com/
This blog attempts to pick our minds on environmental issues in his attempt to preserve our world for future generations.

http://voltairdoe.blogspot.com/
In this blog, the author also depicts environmental problems, but with a focus on how our struggling economy impacts environmental issues.

Cutting The Line

Since the attacks on September 11, the airport security has obviously improved and become rather strict. Improvements in airport security is obviously a good thing, but what is the deal with the long strenuous security lines. Now a days, airports suggest for passengers to arrive an hour and a half to two hours before departure. This means passengers can stand in line for up to and in some cases over an hour. Most people do not like to stand in line for more than 15 minutes much less an hour. With airport security technology on the rise, the overseers of these projects should find a way to make the machines more line efficient. The new technology will be created to detect a possible threat more efficiently than any available security machine being used today, but with all the new technology are the machines going to cut down on the long security lines or are we soon going to have to arrive three to four hours before departure.

The Power of Picture

theboisepicayune.blogspot.com

The image speaks for itself. Improving airport security and overall Homeland Security are a necessity in order to keep our powerful nation safe.

New information

Throughout this series of blogs, I have placed technological advancements of airport security high up on a pedestal. However, I have failed to mention that any new advancement in technology has its flaws. One of the new innovative advancement is IP-based surveillance systems. These new systems have many benefits over older-generation analog and digital systems. For example, IP cameras enable on-camera automated alerting, generated in response to predefined events. IP-based surveillance systems also allow the possibility of advanced and automatic analyzed video feeds to identify preconceived events, threats, and fraud. However, despite the advantages of new technology, IP-based surveillance systems also have many risks when not handled with the appropriate attention. When using the new systems, an attacker can access a surveillance network simply by disconnecting the LAN cable of a camera, often located outside of the security area or in an unattended location. The LAN cable can be connected to a laptop allowing access to other devices on the same network, such as any additional cameras, surveillance servers, monitors and storage.

This is just one example of how there is a never ending battle with airport security. Attackers are always going to try and find ways around the system. It is the duty of the our natoinal government and the divison of Homeland Security to incorporate new systems in which attackers can not break through. Hopefully, our future will with hold new system where this becomes possible.

Theory Posting

Before the terrorist attacks of 9-11, the thought of improving airport security seemed irrelavent, because the idea of a terrorist attack occuring throught the use of our airlines was unheard of. It is no secret that the catastrophic event that occurred in New York City on September 11, 2001 is the most devastating event that has taken place within our country's walls since the attacks on Pearl Harbor. In order to prevent such an event from ever happening again, the US Transportation Security Administration have employed groundbreaking technological advancements and plan for many more to come into use within the next few years. One of these new machines called SPO technology has the ability to has the ability to scan moving people, including those who are not in the security line, within one second before or after they enter a transit area. They also have the ability to single out people as a possible threat (Skycontrol). However, like any new advancement, there are people who support the new technology, as well as those who oppose its bringing into use.

It is obvious that the use of new airport security would be supported by many people because it make the potential flyer feel safer. I know one of the first feelings a flyer has when he or she steps on to the aircraft is, "Am I going to have a safe and successful flight?," or something of that nature. The improvement of airport security not only provides travelers with a sense of safety, but more importantly, with technological advancements, the chances of another 9-11 occurring are slim to none. It is for the safety of our country as a whole. (evolution of security)

So if this new technology is going to make our country many times safer, then why would anyone be opposed? The answer is money and jobs. The funding provided by the government to technologically advance our airport security is billions of billions of dollars. With our economy on the downfall, it is easy to argue that money should be invested into improving our banking system to create a better money flow. The second reason people are opposed is due to the number of jobs that would be taken from people due to new technology. The Charlotte Douglas Airport employees about a thousand jobs just at the security check points (note this is the approximation spread across three shifts)(airport jobs). New technological advancement will drastically decrease the number of security jobs. These new machines only require at most three people to opperate. So if five machines are in on security area. The number of employees will decrease from about thirty during a work shift to around fifteen. Thus, adding to the overall economic downfall.

Since there are two polar opposite sides, how can our government find a happy medium, or will they have to choose one or the other. In my opinion, keeping our county is safe and improving our economy are the two most important government based issues in our country today. In order to provide a happy medium between both those who oppose the technological advancements, such as the SPO technology, and those who support its use, the government is going to have to continue to make technological advancement while creating new airport jobs. The government should not allow number of airport security jobs should not take a drastic fall. After all, machines can and will make mistakes.

McCain's Plans for Improving Airport Security.

About a week ago, I said that my next two blogs would explore both parties views on improving airport security. Last week I discussed Obama's plan, now it is McCain turn. For John McCain, the plan is very precise. "We need to know who and what is entering our country and where they are destined. This task must be accomplished by utilizing the appropriate mix of dedicated manpower, state-of-the-art technology, reliable information analysis, and sturdy physical barriers." (John McCain) I specifically quoted this statement from this website because this is the only thing I have found through indepth research where McCain addresses his plans for airport security. Yes, McCain has other plans for improving the Department of Homeland Security, but I feel that improving airport security is one of the most important sub-divisions of Homeland Security. After all, it was due to the lack of airport security that the terrorist attacks of 9-11 occured in the first place. So, if McCain is not focusing much attention on the improvement of airport security, then what many people are probably asking is, what is he focusing on to keep our country safe. That is the ultimate question. As I have mentioned before, the thought of a catastrophic event such as 9-11 recurring is one of my greatest fears. Another fear I have is flying, so when I am trying to decide which candidate to vote for in the upcoming election, I am going to vote for the candidate that is going to help take away my fears. On this issue, Obama is the clear winner. His plan is more detailed and he has put forth alot of attention toward improving the security of our airports and the safety of flying.

Nationalization of Banks

It has only been a week since Congress voted into action the 700 billion dollar buy out plan, but over the weekend officials from leading nations met in an attempt to form a new economic plan. The newly constructed US plan follows the similar platform of European countries. The US government is forcing nine of the largest banks to except a partial nationalization. The government plans to inject cash into the world's leading banks in order to guarantee their debt. The planned amount of $250 billion dollars will be divided into two $125 billion dollar investments. In exchange for giving the Treasury minority stakes, the first $125 billion will be equally invested among the nine large firms. The government will make the second $125 billion available for the next 30 days to thousands of other smaller banks and thrifts across the country.

The nationalization of banks does have a few risks. There is a possibility that the banks will use the new money to increase their balance sheets but still not resume lending. At this point there is not a contract that prevents the banks from doing this. However, bank regulators such as the Federal Reserve will lean heavily on the firms using the money to increase lending to businesses and consumers. The business of lending all but dried up during the past weeks. The new steps planned by the Treasury, the FDIC, and the Federal Reserve amount to a big step in rebutting lending to businesses.

Many people have lost money due to the crash of the stock market, but the new US plan along with the news that Europe would use a similar plan created a huge surge in the stock market. Dow went up over 930 points the next day after the new plan. This was the largest gain in history.

I am very supportive of this new plan. I personally have lost money due to the stock market, and I am hoping that nationalizing the banks will continue to boost the stock market and help solve our countries economic crisis.

What is Obama Doing to Improve Airport Security

One reason I chose to create this blog on Homeland Security is because I believe this along with our nation's economic crisis are the two most important issues in the upcoming election. One of my greatest fears is a repeat of a catastrophe such as that of 9-11. I cant imagine being one of the persons who lost a love one due to the disaster. Also, this will be the second elected president of the Homeland Security era. Because Homeland Security, and in particular improving airport security, is such an important issue to me, I want to make sure the candidate I vote for has a strict and efficient plan for improving airport security.During my next to blogs I am going to compare both candidates views on how they plan to improve airport security. Senator Barack Obama is a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. As a member of this committee, Senator Obama is and advocate believer in redoubling our governments efforts in determining if the measures implemented after 9-11 are adequately dealing with the threats the US continues to face from airplane-based terrorism. If elected as President, Obama plans to increase the amount of airports screening and increase and improve funding toward technological advancements in airport security. One other factor of concern Obama has is that airport passengers are still not screened against an advanced terrorist watch list. Developing such a list will protect a passengers privacy while insuring a safe flight. (www.barackobama.com)

Seven Years After 9-11/ Are Our Airports Any Safer? A comparison of airport security before and after 9-11

This years presidential election is a huge toss up (2008 Election). Who has the better tax plan? Who has the more efficient health care plan? Which candidate has the more productive plan for reducing gas prices? All of these are concerns voters are going to have. With the economy grasping all the voter's attention (Economic downfall), the issue of homeland security has seemed to get lost in the mix. If this was a repeat of the 2004 election, homeland security would be the number one issue on the importance scale (2004 election). Don't get me wrong, it is viewed as a very important issue in this election, but I think it is an issue that should receive more attention than it is receiving right now. After all, many would argue that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 have had the most crucial effect on our country since the new millennium (9-11). The Department of Homeland Security was formed in response of the 9-11 attacks, which of course occurred during the presidential term of President George W. Bush. Many critiques would argue that President Bush is the worst ranked president in U.S. history (Worst Job Ever), and since the Department of Homeland Security was formed during Bush's administration, many people argue homeland security has not been as affective as it could be under the administration of a different president (Department of Homeland Security). I even heard a guy say one time that he thought Dennis Rodman (Dennis Rodman) would have made a better president. There was a rumor once that Rodman was considering running for the position. Enough chatting though. The terrorist attacks of 9-11 left our country petrified of airline use and in need of a government response.

With the airport security as tight and technologically advanced as it is in today's airports (Security Advancements), it seems like the pre 9-11 airport security regulations are long forgotten. However, these slack regulations should never be forgotten, as our country may have never suffered from the affects of a terrorist attack, had these new advanced regulations been put into affect in the first place.
Its easy to say that now, but lets take a look at just how easy it was for the terrorist attacks to take place (Target for Terrorists). First and foremost, the airport security before 9-11 was a joke (warning). My father used to put his pocket knife in his carry on bag and it would pass right through the security check point. However, my father's pocket knife is minor compared to the weapons people have passed throught security. Many times teams were able to breach security about 90% of the time, sneaking bombs and submachine guns past airport screeners, exploiting expensive new bomb detection machines which consistently failed. According to one team leader, "The team repeatedly warned the FAA of the potential for security breaches and hijackings but was told to cover up its findings." (FAA) So if we knew our security system was weak, then why didn't our federal government fix the problem and strengthen airport scurity.

The changes put in place following the September 11th catastrophe have been drastic and rapidly put into effect. The changes to airport security can be placed into two catagories: those practical and effective, and those irrational, wasteful, and pointless. This summer, I flew to Mexico. Everytime I have flown post 9-11, the Department of Homeland Security has introduced a new technologically advanced security checkpoint, so I was very eagar to see what new security advancements were being used. I recall one new advancement being a machine that as someone passes through, the machine blows air onto the person from every angle possible. These new devices are the most accurate metal detectors on the market and will detect the smallest metal masses (Smith's Detection). On top of this new detector there are many smaller security advacements that have been put into effect: liquid limits, bullet proof cock pits, more intense passenger screening, more body searches and more random bag searches (T-ray). There are many new secruity advancement that are still being processed. These include machines that are heat sensitive, as well as those that will be capable of detecting whether someone is a possible threat based on that person's emotions prior to flying(Malintent). Although most of the changes in airport security have been successful there are those that have not been as successful (ineffective). As mentioned before, in the years before 9-11 if a security detector was not effective the federal government was not stepping in and discarding the use of that machine. Now a days, however, the government is accepting nothing but nearly 100% detection of anything that may be a possible threat to the flight. Despite this there are still many improvements that need to be made. It has been hinted that our country's airports should model some of its security strategies after Isreal's airport security system (Israeli Security System). A fellow classmate of mine constructed a blog in which he compared Isreal's airport security to that of the U.S. (Classmate)

The upcoming election will feature the second elected president of the homeland security era. Many people question how the new administrations are going to approach the subject seeing as it is a very broad issue. Some may also be questioning if McCain is the winner, whether or not he will approach homeland security in the same manner as the Bush Administration (John McCain). Each candidate has his own specific view on how homeland security will be managed during their administration. Both candidates are in extreme favor of increasing airport security. However, Obama's stance on this issue is the one I am in support of. Obama wants to give money toward the advancement of not only our airport security but also toward protecting our nuclear power plants and cyber hackers (Barack Obama). McCain, on the other hand, wants to continue to build the army and national fire power while attempting to create a possitive image toward the war in Iraq (war in Iraq).

National Cyber Security Awareness month

When people think of the month of October, they often think of trick o' treating and costume parties to celebrate Halloween. They may also think of the month in which the leaves starts to change colors to beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows. However, they probably do not know that October is Homeland Security's National Cyber Security Awareness Month. The number of hackers in our world is on the rise. This includes individual hackers, criminal groups who are trying to steal identities, and small nation states who are engaged in cyber espionage. The Department of Homeland Security has already developed technology that will detect malicious activity on networks, and in future technological advancements made by DHS will be able to detect intrusion in real time.

Department of Homeland Security

The idea of flying in a commercial 757 jet has always been a very feared activity among Americans, and since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Americans have become even more scared of flying. In fact I know some people from my home town who will not even consider the idea of flying even if the bus fare is double the price of a plane ticket. If for some extreme reason another terrorist attack did happen, it the Division of Homeland Security's responsibility to "provide a coordinated, comprehensive federal response and mount a swift and effective recovery effort." (www.dhs.gov) However the U.S. Division of Homeland Security have incorporated new forms of security technology and laws that make it next to impossible for a repeat of 9-11.
Citizens and future citizens of the United States should never worry about flying on a commercial airline again. The security is so strict now a days that every time I go into the airport I have to get my name cleared before I can fly because I have the same name as someone the national airport security is own the hunt for. The first time I went through an airport security line, I was seven years old. The security checkpoints were a joke. The security did not even make my father dispose of his pocket knife that he always carries with him. If my father tried to go through security post 9-11 with his knife he would have been escorted off the airport premises.
The Department of Homeland Security is simply put, READY! No event such as 9-11 will ever slip up and disrupt our country ever again.