Once again I found myself in trouble at the Los Angeles International Airport, and once again it was (arguably) my own damn fault. Last Thursday I flew Southwest to Providence, Rhode Island to testify in court on behalf of my dad, who was in the midst of a textbook “frivolous lawsuit”. I detest being late in general, and even more so when it comes to flying. I am the guy that gets to the airport at least two hours in advance. My adventure began almost as soon as I got out of my friend’s car.
I was looking for more information on the TSA, because I ran across a blog a while back where some “investigative journalist” was describing exactly how to get around all the TSA regulations. I wanted to do an article on him, and try to uncover his motivations. I wanted to know whether he is motivated to protect the civil rights of citizens to travel freely (by exposing and undermining the fallacious reasoning behind absurd over-regulation of the transportation industry) or whether he just wanted to undermine the current administration (and the federal government) any way he could.
While searching “investigative journalism,” I came across an interesting website called ProPublica, which at first appeared to be too good to be true. ProPublica describes itself as “an independent, non-profit newsroom that will produce investigative journalism in the public interest.” Their website says:
“Our work will focus exclusively on truly important stories, stories with “moral force.” We will do this by producing journalism that shines a light on exploitation of the weak by the strong and on the failures of those with power to vindicate the trust placed in them.”
Their About Us page, on their website, says, “The Sandler Foundation has made a major, multi-year commitment to fund ProPublica. Other philanthropic contributions have been received as well, and more are welcomed.”
As it is generally recognized, money is the motivating force behind nearly everything that goes on in America (and, indeed, in the world). He who holds the purse strings is the puppetmaster of those he funds. So, let’s take a look at The Sandler Foundation.
A good way to determine an organization’s intentions (especially a “philanthropic” organization) is to look at what sort of people (or other organizations) they employ, fund, trade with, etc. According to Wikipedia:
In 2006, the Sandlers gave 17,422,751 shares of Golden West Financial stock worth $1.3 billion to the foundation.[1] This was the second largest American charitable contribution of 2006.[2]
In 2000, the Foundation gave $525,000 to the activist organization, ACORN.[3]
The Sandler Foundation is a “lead funder” of ProPublica, an investigative journalism website.[5]
Herb and Marion Sandler
A press release from ProPublica says this about Herb and Marion Sandler:
Mr. Sandler and his wife Marion founded Golden West Financial Corporation in 1963. They were Golden West’s Chief Executive Officers and Chairmen of the Board from 1963 until 2006 when the company was sold to Wachovia Corporation. Under the Sandlers’ leadership, Golden West became the second largest thrift institution in the United States and was considered to be one of the best managed financial institutions in the country by many industry observers. Fortune magazine ranked Golden West as the nation’s most admired mortgage services company, and on seven separate occasions named Golden West America’s most admired savings institution. Morningstar, a leading provider of investment research, named the Sandlers CEOs of the Year in 2004.
Now, you might remember Herb and Marion Sandler from their “appearance” on Saturday Night Live:
What is really interesting, beyond their “contribution” to the subprime mortgage crisis, is their association to ACORN. As quoted above, they contributed (through their foundation) over half a million dollars to ACORN. Now, ACORN is mired in allegations (supported by a mountain of evidence) of voter registration fraud, and, very probably, voter fraud.
So, what does ProPublica have to say about ACORN? I did a little search on ProPublica about ACORN. I got 1 search result. One.
It was an article entitled, “Reading Between the Extremes of Obama Campaign v. Michigan GOP” written by Chisun Lee for ProPublica on September 25, 2008 at 1:31 pm EDT.
Now, I didn’t get into the details of that particular article (although, I may at some point, and if I do, I will update this post with any relevant information), but for an “investigative journalism” outfit, there certainly isn’t adequate information on the topic of ACORN’s contributions to voter (registration) fraud – one of the most vital controversies of the most important election of our lifetime.
One is given to wonder if ProPublica is motivated to investigate an organization that receives contributions from one of their major sources of funding. One might reasonably wonder, too, if ProPublica uncovered the dirt that is inarguably there to be found on ACORN, if that might reflect poorly on their benefactors. You make the call.
One thing is for sure, though, Herb and Marion Sandler certainly don’t like it when news organizations broadcast their nefarious deeds, as the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The irony of Saturday Night Live lampooning Herb and Marion in a skit as “people who should be shot” for their part in the financial crisis is only overshadowed by the irony that the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting on all this – instead of ignoring it, as ProPublica is doing.
ARLINGTON, Va. — Airline passengers starting next year will be barred from boarding planes if they refuse to provide their full name and birth date, the government said Wednesday.
“You have to give this information,” Transportation Security Administration chief Kip Hawley said.
The rule will “dramatically reduce” the number of people hassled at airports because their name resembles a terrorist’s on a government watch list, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and some children have been mistaken for terrorists.
Comparing a passenger’s first, middle and last name and birth date to the watch list will eliminate “most” false matches by more precisely identifying a passenger, Chertoff said. Travelers now must give airlines only a last name and first initial.
Airlines must collect the new information starting in July for flights originating or ending in the USA. The requirement also applies to any flight traveling over the country, such as from Canada to Mexico. Some airlines may start in January, Hawley said.
In a shift, airlines will give passenger information to the TSA to compare to the watch list. The comparisons have been done for years by airlines, but that has led to “inconsistencies” because some are better than others at updating their lists as the FBI adds and drops names, Chertoff said. Having the government compare passenger names to the watch list will improve security, Chertoff said.
Travelers who book flights and don’t give required information won’t be able to print a boarding pass at home or at an airport kiosk, Hawley said. They will have to go to an airline counter and show an ID card with the required information.
For passengers making last-minute reservations, the TSA will check their backgrounds in seconds and report results to airlines, Hawley said.
Many airlines had opposed collecting new passenger information when the TSA first proposed it a year ago, saying that would complicate making reservations. Steve Lott of the International Air Transport Association said Wednesday it could be “costly and complex” for airlines to revise their computer systems to collect the new passenger information.
Paul Ruden of the American Society of Travel Agents said the new system “will be a big improvement” by reducing the number of false matches.
Security expert Bruce Schneier said it won’t improve security because terrorists could buy a ticket using someone else’s name.
Once again I found myself in trouble at the Los Angeles International Airport, and once again it was (arguably) my own damn fault. Last Thursday I flew Southwest to Providence, Rhode Island to testify in court on behalf of my dad, who was in the midst of a textbook “frivolous lawsuit”. I detest being late in general, and even more so when it comes to flying. I am the guy that gets to the airport at least two hours in advance. My adventure began almost as soon as I got out of my friend’s car.
SocialVibe