Tuesday 10-30-12

Looks like they caught another one.

 Woman Says TSA Agent Stole Jewels At Logan Airport

Terri Ivester was on her way to a family christening in Chicago when she ran into a snag at the security checkpoint at Logan Airport.
Terri Ivester says, “The TSA agent holds my backpack up, and um, says there’s a water bottle in this backpack, I’m going to have to take that.”
That’s when Ivester says the agent left the area with her bag.
George Nacara, who is head of the TSA at Logan, tells the I-Team that passengers have the right to stay with their bags.
Ivester says she continued through the security checkpoint and she never gave it another thought until she got dressed for the christening.
“I’m ready to put on my jewelry and I can’t find it,” she says.
She realized she was missing four pieces including a single strand of pearls and a double strand bracelet totaling $3,700.
“It had gone through the scanner, I think they saw the jewels and took them,” says Ivester.
The Transportation Security Administration recently revealed that 382 of its agents have been fired for theft in the past ten years.
According to Nacara, six TSA agents have been fired from Logan out of the thousands hired. He says Logan’s high-tech security camera system closely monitors checkpoints and is often used to resolve cases of theft.
But there is a catch. The tapes are only saved for 30 days and Ivester says she lost time initially filing her complaint with police. By the time she made her claim with TSA it was too late.
The I-Team also analyzed thousands of reports of stolen items nationwide, laptops, watches, currency and jewelry. Since 2011 – more than $60,000 worth of claims were filed in Boston. TSA reimbursed less than $3,000.
Not surprising to Nacara, who says closed circuit cameras often reveal items are stolen by other passengers.
Still the Airline Passenger Rights Association warns travelers a series of recent TSA firings means there’s plenty of reason for concern.
The TSA’s advice: While they are watching you with your cameras, you should keep a close eye on your belongings.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/10/26/i-team-woman-says-tsa-agent-stole-jewels-at-logan-airport/   Governmental waste, it would be funny if it were not so sad, your and my tax dollars are paying for this.   Over $60,000 in Welfare Spent Per Household in Poverty   New data compiled by the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee shows that, last year, the United States spent over $60,000 to support welfare programs per each household that is in poverty. The calculations are based on data from the Census, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Congressional Research Services."According to the Census’s American Community Survey, the number of households with incomes below the poverty line in 2011 was 16,807,795," the Senate Budget Committee notes. "If you divide total federal and state spending by the number of households with incomes below the poverty line, the average spending per household in poverty was $61,194 in 2011."
This dollar figure is almost three times the amount the average household on poverty lives on per year. "If the spending on these programs were converted into cash, and distributed exclusively to the nation’s households below the poverty line, this cash amount would be over 2.5 times the federal poverty threshold for a family of four, which in 2011 was $22,350 (see table in this link)," the Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee note.
To be clear, not all households living below the poverty line receive $61,194 worth of assistance per year. After all, many above the poverty line also receive benefits from social welfare programs (e.g. pell grants).
But if welfare is meant to help bring those below the poverty line to a better place, it helps demonstrate that numbers do not add up.
As for the welfare programs, the Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee note:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/over-60000-welfare-spentper-household-poverty_657889.html