Comments on: The Iron Rule Of Bureaucracy http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/04/30/the-iron-rule-of-bureaucracy/ Life. Liberty. Property. Defending individual freedom and liberty, one post at a time. Wed, 22 May 2013 18:26:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: David Z http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/04/30/the-iron-rule-of-bureaucracy/#comment-26478 David Z Tue, 01 May 2007 14:41:23 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/04/30/the-iron-rule-of-bureaucracy/#comment-26478 When I came back from Lake Tahoe in January, i had checked all of my shampoo and shaving cream. I emptied the 70 oz camelbak reservoir which I used to be able to use to enjoy a drink of water during a long flight filled with dry, re-circulated cabin air. My backpack went through all the screening, with no alarms raised.

When I got home, I found I had mistakenly left my flask in the bottom of the bag. It was made of metal, about the size of one’s palm, and it was about half full of whisky. How this slipped, is beyond me.

In December of 2001, a few months after 9/11, I flew to Houston and back. On the return flight, I was selected for additional screening, and they hand-searched my carry-on bags before I boarded the plane.

When I got home, I found a carpet-knife in my bag – a remnant from my summer job – that made it through 3 TSA screenings on that trip.

We’re not any safer.

]]> By: Chris http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/04/30/the-iron-rule-of-bureaucracy/#comment-26438 Chris Mon, 30 Apr 2007 21:12:50 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/04/30/the-iron-rule-of-bureaucracy/#comment-26438 The flipside of not having rigid rules, is the arbitrary and capricious application of rules.

On cannot have people applying whatever standards they choose for whatever reason they choose; presuming we allow for any standard to be applied at all.

However, I believe that any arbitrary and capricious application of a rule (the mere possibility of such an application in fact) should be prima facie evidence that the rule is either unnecessary, or so improperly written as to necessitate it’s elimination.

]]> By: Doug Mataconis http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/04/30/the-iron-rule-of-bureaucracy/#comment-26436 Doug Mataconis Mon, 30 Apr 2007 19:54:35 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/04/30/the-iron-rule-of-bureaucracy/#comment-26436 James,

You are probably right, but stuff like this just reinforces for me both how asinine most of what the TSA does actually is and how most of it doesn’t really address real security issues to begin with.

]]> By: James Joyner http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/04/30/the-iron-rule-of-bureaucracy/#comment-26434 James Joyner Mon, 30 Apr 2007 19:24:31 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/04/30/the-iron-rule-of-bureaucracy/#comment-26434 The alternative is having government functionaries make arbitrary decisions and treat citizens differently.

In this specific case, it would slow everybody in line down while people made their case to the TSA agents. And it would mean that some people got through with 4 oz bottles of lotion in the wrong size bag while others didn’t. This way is faster and more fair.

The solution to the asininity is to complain to politicians, airline execs, and others about the rules, not give more discretion to the security guards.

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