Customer Reviews

Flying Blind: How Political Correctness Continues to Compromise Airline Safety Post 9/11

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To put it bluntly, "political correctness" has made a chronic mess of post-911 efforts to secure our country from Islamic terrorist attacks on our airlines, on our seaports, on our borders, on our infrastructure, and on our cities. Flying Blind: How Political Correctness Continues To Compromise Airline Safety Post by radio talk show host Michael Smerconish focuses specifically upon our airports and airlines and how anti-profiling tactics (first developed during the Clinton Administration and perpetuated under the Bush Administration) put 590 million airline passengers at risk every year for the past three years and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Flying Blind exposes the absurdities that pass for airline security these days, but even more importantly, offers practical, effect, applicable solutions for fixing the problem of insecure airports, foolish nitpicking while the larger picture is ignored, and the shell game that's been going on (such as federalizing baggage inspector and airport security personnel by simply changing the color of their uniform jackets but providing little or no in service training to better do their jobs) to disguise just how vulnerable we continue to be. Flying Blind is a highly recommended wake up call -- especially in this time of a presidential politics charged atmosphere of posturing and disassembling by all sides.

Plain and simple, we all know who hijacks planes and commits acts of terror around the world. We know their region of origin, their religious views, and yes, what they look like. Michael lays out a compelling case that when it comes to airline safety, we need to profile NOW if we hope to identify these 1terrorists and keep them from ever taking down another American flight. Anyone tired of the pro-Muslim, pro-ACLU figureheads out there spewing PC venom will thoroughly enjoy this book. And if you hold the other point of view, give this one a read and see what you think.

I fly because it's a necessity of my employment. I have been pulled aside in the secondary screening line while "Middle Eastern" males aged 18-35 just pass through. I can not be alone on this matter. When will we learn? First, start by reading this book. Michael Smerconish has taken the challenge and wrote an eye opening, informative testament to the issue of profiling in America's airports. The book details the debate regarding "political correctness" vs. the loss of civil liberties. The truth can not be disputed and Mr. Smerconish's book needs to be read by the decision makers of the DOT, TSA and Airlines.

I would have to say that if anyone starts touting this a "right-wing" book, then I accuse them of having not read the book at all. (Merely seeing the words doesn't count, just as hearing and listening are very different.)

Michael Smerconish writes a great book about how silly and ineffective our airline security has become. Perhaps his only mistake was getting an endorsement from Rep. Sen. Arlen Specter before going to print. Had he added Dem. Sen. Joe Lieberman to the cover, all those left wing loonies would have been forced to shut their traps.

This is not a Republican issue, this is not a Democratic issue. This book is also not an open invitation to use profiling as the only means of defense. Merely, the book tries to portray the fact that when it comes to dealing with terrorism, we are afraid of even whispeing the words "young arab males." A great read, for those who actually read.

This is quite a book, describing the effect of political correctness on our national security. Almost unbelievable!

Fact: In early 1942, then-Governor of California, Earl Warren, who eventually became Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, with the collusion of President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (D), had all of the Japanese/American residents on the Pacific Coast and Hawaii, including U.S. Citizens, interred in what can only be accurately described as "concentration camps." Their property, in most cases, was confiscated and sold, including prime agricultural land.

The reason?: It was thought that they represented a threat, and the U.S. government was fanning racial hatred in time of war against our enemy. We have since paid token reparations on an individual basis, a couple generations and many ruined lives later.

How things have changed!

Today, we are at war with Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorists. In 1979, the U.S. Embassy in Iran was attacked by young Muslim Male extremists mostly between the ages of 17-40.


In 1983, the U.S. Marine baracks in Beirut was blown up by young Muslim Male extremists mostly between the ages of 17-40.

in 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70-year-old American passenger in a wheelcair was killed and thrown overboard by young Muslim Male extremists mostly between the ages of 17-40.

In 1988, Pan Am flight 103 was bombed over Scotland by young Muslim Male extremists mostly between the ages of 17-40.

On October 12, 2000, 17 U.S. Sailors lost their lives on the U.S.S. Cole, bombed by young Muslim Male extremists mostly between the ages of 17-40.

On September 11, 2001. four airliners were highjacked and flown into the World Trade Center and Pentagon by young Muslim Male extremists mostly between the ages of 17-40.

In December, 2001, a young Muslim male extremist tried to light a shoe bomb on a commercial jetliner.

In 2002, reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped on murdered by young Muslim Male extremists mostly between the ages of 17-40.

Since then, the scenario has been much repeated, with captives, including a woman humanitarian worker, in Iraq, being shot and beheaded, etc. The culprits, as you can see, are not hard to identify in this country, when they venture here to do their mischief.

But this author tells us that if more than two members of the same ethnic group, or who appear to be of the same ethnic group, are stopped at the airline for secondary screening, the airline will be fined for "profiling." If, for example, you have four or five young Muslim Males mostly between the ages of 17-40, you may only stop two of them for further searching or questioning, or be fined for profiling.

The world has changed, but not for the better.

If police are aware that cocaine smuggling in South Florida is being carried out massively, and that 90 percent of the traffickers are black males in new, big shiny black Cadillacs, who would you expect them to keep an eye out for on the highway?

But, they can't single them out. That would be profiling.

Has the country gone nuts, or what?

That is this author's question.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

Smerconish is an intelligent, thoughtful talk show host who writes an intelligent and thoughtful book. If you can get past the media hysteria over racial profiling--Smerconish is only suggesting that we return to the use of common sense in airport security.Ignore this book at your own peril.

"Flying Blind" refers to the way our politically correct policies on screening passengers before flight effectively blind our security apparatus to the most likely dangers. The author, Michael Smerconish, is a radio personality in Philadelphia. He got on this issue when he was taking a flight with his family and his eight year old son was selected for "secondary screening". Makes sense, right? Many terrorist acts have been committed by eight year old boys.

Then he heard John Lehman questioning Condoleezza Rice during the 9/11 hearings and was shocked to hear Secretary Lehman refer to a policy that airlines would be fined if they singled out more than two people of a given ethnic group, say Arabs, for screening. He then did an on air interview with Lehman, then wrote a news article, then a TV show on this issue. He also interviewed Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines who confirmed this PC policy about random screening.

So, if you think our security is enhanced by pulling aside children, old women, or other members of groups never implicated in terrorism, then this book really is not for you. However, if you would like to see how and why Norman Mineta insists on the present policy, you will find this book valuable. It is a short book and reads quickly. There is even a CD with portions of the author's radio show that are relevant to this book.

I believe our present policies on screening are foolish and putting us at risk. Smerconish is not advocating racial profiling, however, putting increased attention on those who are more likely to be terrorists simply makes sense. Check your blood pressure before you read this book because when you see how out of it so many in our government are you might explode.

Michael Smerconish has done us all a great service by authoring this book. Hopefully its words will force some changes that I believe can make it safer to fly.

I own this book and have read it ... since a proof of purchase is not required to draft a review I believe this is a point worth mentioning.

READ THIS BOOK BEFORE YOU START SCREAMING FOR THE PROFILING POLICE !!!

If you read the book you will find that Mr. Smerconish does not suggest that we single out all Arab men of a certain age group for secondary screening. Instead, the author suggests that our existing screening process be supplemented to perhaps INCLUDE a person's country of origin, race, religion & appearance. Can we all at least admit that the Sept 11 perpetrators actually did have a few of these traits in common ???? (please look at their pictures in Mr. Smerconish's book if you are unsure, please refer to their countries of origin also mentioned in the book if you are unsure, ...)

Are there terrorist that fall out of this profile ? (I'm almost afraid to use the p-word) Yes, of course there will be exceptions, but I believe their numbers aren't enough to change the overall batting average much. The MAJORITY of radical Islamic terrorists we are at war with seem to have many traits in common. Read this book.

If these additional attributes were included on Sept 11 as part of the secondary screening process, maybe things would have turned out differently. Keep up the great work Mr. Smerconish.

It's scary that some still think 9-11 was our fault. Let's understand the one common characteristic of all those involved in the event... they were radical muslims. Radical muslims who care to kill Christians and jews alike. Why? Because we do not follow their belief.

This book begins to place an honest and open context to the world we live in today. I have a 10 year old daughter that I will do anything to protect.

You should read this book and pass on it on to others. Maybe together we could get our congressman to do something about it.

This book is great as it points out the type of power that one man can have in our government administration. Because of Mr. Maneta being able to sacrafice security for PC and not getting fired for it is amazing. Because of this book I have put the Bush administration and the republican party on notice that they must fix this NOW or I'll be voting differently next election.

This book is a must read for those people that travel and for those that wonder what the government administration fail to do to protect us.