Three years after 9/11 and the Bush Administration won't even
begin to secure the flight schools until December 2004:

U.S. Begins Tighter Flight School Checks
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...flight_schools

WASHINGTON - The federal government has begun conducting
background checks on all foreigners seeking to attend U.S. flight
schools, the Transportation Security Administration said Friday.
...
All foreign applicants,including certified pilots, will have to undergo
TSA checks starting Dec. 19.
...
Terrorism suspect Zacarias Moussaoui, the only U.S. defendant
accused of participating in the al-Qaida Sept. 11 plot, was arrested a
month prior to the attacks when he aroused suspicions at a flight school.
...
"TSA is turning flight instructors into unpaid border guards," said Phil
Boyer, head of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

TSA boozing it up:

Report finds lavish spending at TSA
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...LATE=DE FAULT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government agency in charge of airport security
spent nearly a half-million dollars on an awards ceremony at a lavish hotel,
including $81,000 for plaques and $500 for cheese displays, according to
an internal report obtained by The Associated Press.

Awards were presented to 543 Transportation Security Administration employees
and 30 organizations, including a "lifetime achievement award" for one worker
with the 2-year-old agency. Almost $200,000 was spent on travel and lodging
for attendees.

The investigation by the Homeland Security Department's inspector general,
Clark Kent Ervin, also found the TSA gave its senior executives bonuses
averaging $16,000, higher than at any other federal government agency,
and failed to provide adequate justification in more than a third of the
88 cases examined.

The report said lower-level employees were shortchanged, with a far lower
percentage receiving bonuses.

"A substantial inequity exists in TSA's performance recognition program between
executive and non-executive employees," the report said.

TSA spokeswoman Amy von Walter said the agency believes the bonuses and
party were justified "given the hours and productivity of the work force
during this critical period."

This year, said von Walter, the TSA will conduct awards ceremonies at
individual airports, as well as a much smaller and less expensive event
at its headquarters in November.

Congressional skeptics have criticized the TSA's hiring and spending
practices during its short existence. Republicans say the agency has
grown far larger than they envisioned when it was created following
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Ervin also is investigating why the agency's private recruiters worked
out of lush resort hotels with golf courses, pools and spas.
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said that he had not seen the full report
but that it indicated "a colossal waste of money."

"There's something terribly wrong with that agency," Dorgan said.
"Of all the agencies, that's the one that's supposed to be working
full-time against terrorist attacks."

...