Oh. My. Gosh.

As some of you know, I have been reading the TSA's blog, which in my view is really just a PR tool for an agency that makes its living by keeping Americans afraid, obedient, and compliant to authority. If you read the blog, make sure to check out the comments, which are far more interesting than the propaganda the TSOs post.

Anyway, yesterday one of the bloggers posted that the percentage of flights that contain one or more air marshals numbered "in the double digits." Evidently, that information is a premium super-duper top TSA secret, because a mere 24 hours later the following appeared:

Yesterday I mistakenly wrote and subsequently reiterated last night in a comment that the percent of flights covered by air marshals is in the “double digits.” Frankly, this was a result of my haste to provide information and to get the truth out quickly about our federal air marshal program. It is simply not appropriate to discuss percentage of flights covered.

So...he wrote it, repeated it, says he was mistaken, but then says he should never have given out that information (which was mistaken). So, was the figure he quoted right or wrong? If it was wrong, then he could have just said, "Hey, that figure I quoted was wrong, and I am not allowed to state the real one." If it was right, this half-assed denial is convincing nobody. My goodness, man...if you're going to try to sleaze your way out of a screw-up, make your lies plausible, or at least consistent.

This is why people don't trust the TSA; the agency appears incompetent at best, or dishonest at worst.