Amerika na ivici propasti?

[Meho Krljic]

Posle brütalnog hejta koji je prosut po Obaminom Affordable Care Actu u kome je cilj bio da prethodno zdravstveno neosigurani stanovnici/ građani SAD budu obuhvaćeni nekm vidom osiguranja, posle smejanja loše organizovanom vebsajtu i gličeva u kome su ljudi koji nisu hteli da promene svoj plan osiguranja na kraju morali itd., Njujork Tajms objavljuje rezultate studije u kojoj se gledalo kome je ovaj zakon pomogao. Neiznenađujuće, najviše crnim i hispano stanovnicima, najviše siromanima i možda još više neiznenađujuće, najviše u državama koje su tradicionalno republikanske:

Obama's Health Law: Who Was Helped Most

[Meho Krljic]

I ponovo na temu studentskih zajmova, jelte, pošto je zakonodavcu (bar nekom) jasno da je ovo kamen oko vrata mnogim ljudima (naći na prošloj strani više detalja o tome), koledži i univerziteti bi uskoro mogli da se suoče sa obavezom da dokažu da isplata studentskog zajma u ratama ne prevazilazi dvadeset posto neke njegove projektovane zarade u odnosu na to čemu ga uče    Obama komunjaro. 

For-profit programs face 'gainful employment' rule

WASHINGTON (AP) — For-profit colleges with graduates unable to pay back their student loans could soon face scrutiny by the federal government.

Schools with career-oriented programs that fail to comply with the new rule announced Thursday by the Obama administration stand to lose access to federal student-aid programs.

To meet these "gainful employment" standards, a program will have to show that the estimated annual loan payment of a typical graduate does not exceed 20 percent of his or her discretionary income or 8 percent of total earnings.

The Education Department estimates that about 1,400 programs serving 840,000 students won't pass. Ninety-nine percent of these programs are offered by for-profit schools, although affected career training programs can come from certificate programs elsewhere in higher education.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan says the department wants to make sure that programs that prey on students don't continue abusive practices.

However, Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, calls the effort "nothing more than a bad-faith attempt to cut off access to education for millions of students who have been historically underserved by higher education."

Some questions and answers arising from the new rule:

Q: Who goes to for-profit colleges?

A: Students seeking training in areas such as nursing, truck driving, culinary arts and auto repair. Such fields attract many nontraditional students, including veterans and workers laid off during the economic downturn. About two-thirds are over the age of 24. Half have dependents and almost 40 percent work full time while enrolled, according to the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities. Students at for-profit schools are more likely to live at or below the federal poverty level and receive food stamp benefits than students in other sectors of higher education. About 1.3 million students enrolled last spring at a for-profit school, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. That was about a 5 percent decline from a year earlier.

Q: In what ways are for-profit colleges under fire?

A: The regulation, which goes into effect on July 1, is the latest step in a yearslong fight by the Obama administration to improve outcomes and end aggressive recruiting at for-profit colleges. In 2012, the for-profit colleges convinced a judge that similar regulations were too arbitrary.

Last summer, the Education Department reached an agreement with Corinthian Colleges, a chain based in Santa Ana, California, to sell or close its more than 90 U.S. campuses.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau earlier this year filed suit against the large, for-profit college chain ITT Educational Services Inc. alleging that it pushed students into high-cost private loans that would likely end in default. The company denied the charges.

On Capitol Hill, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, has aggressively investigated the industry. At the state level, several attorneys general have also pursued action.

"These regulations are a necessary step to ensure that colleges accepting federal funds protect students, cut costs and improve outcomes," Duncan said.

Q: Why is the sector a target?

A: The industry has among the highest student loan default rates and lowest graduation rates in higher education. Some veterans' advocates have accused it of aggressively targeting veterans because of their federal GI Bill money. Critics say the schools are too expensive and a waste of money not just for students, but for taxpayers who fund the GI Bill and other loan and grant dollars used by a large chunk of students to help pay to attend for-profit colleges.

Q: What's the other side of the story?

A:  For-profit colleges argue that they provide educational programs to students who have historically been left out of higher education and that the regulations would reduce the educational opportunities for students most in need of training programs. Critics say it's unfair to target just these career-oriented programs because poor outcomes can be found in other areas of higher education.

"This regulation could shut down a bachelor's degree nursing program at a for-profit institution but not one in exactly the same circumstances at a non-profit or public institution," said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the ranking member of the Senate education committee, who argues this isn't the best way to weed out bad actors in education.

In the proposed regulation released earlier this year, another measurement proposed to judge these programs was the default rate of student loans. But that was removed in the final regulations because the Education Department said that doing so would create more streamlined regulations. The for-profit sector says that was done to appease publicly funded community colleges that would have gotten snared under that metric.

"We will vigorously contest all these issues to help ensure that students, employers and communities are not harmed by such an arbitrary and biased regulation," Gunderson said.

A spokesman for Gunderson's organization said a decision hasn't been made yet about whether a lawsuit will be filed to challenge the rule.

Q: Are advocates for tougher regulations now happy?

A: Not necessarily. Some of them say the regulations don't go far enough.

Rory O'Sullivan, deputy director of the advocacy group Young Invincibles, said the administration caved by scrapping the student loan default rate component.

"By failing to include a default rate standard, the administration ignores the most vulnerable students: those who withdraw from failing programs with debt but no degree," O'Sullivan said.

Harkin said he commends the effort, but the rule does little to stop colleges that offer poor quality programs where most of the students drop out.

[scallop]

Megatrendi nisu naš izum. Lukavi Ameri misle da su našli način da i deci namaknu dužničku omču oko vrata.

[Anomander Rejk]

Na Zapadu ništa novo.
http://www.klix.ba/vijesti/strava-na-ulicama-fergusona-pozari-pucnjava-otkazani-letovi-i-zatvorene-ulice/141125003

[Truba]

u nas policija ništa ne smije

a to su nam uvalili ti pakaši 1995 baš što su došli iz takvih zemalja gdje je policija svetinja

[Meho Krljic]

Koga zanima da čita, evo transkripta saslušanja svedoka pred grand jury porotom koja je odlučila da u slučaju Darena Vilsona koji je ubio Majka Brauna u Fergusonu ne vredi pokretati suđenje:

https://cbsstlouis.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/grand-jury-volume-4.pdf

[Truman]

Daj to sažmi u par rečenica...

[Meho Krljic]

Pa video si valjda vesti? Policajac neće biti ni optužen, priča da je iz daleka upucao čoveka koji je stajao sa podignutim rukama i molio ga da ne puca na kraju nije baš skroz tačna, bilo je fizičkog kontakta između policajca i ubijenoga, prvi metak je ispaljen u natezanju dok je policajac još sedeo u kolima a ubijeni ga vukao rukom itd.

Nesrećna priča, potpuno žalosno da iko bude ubijen zbog praktično ničega, ali dobro svedočastvo o socijalnim i rasnim podelama u Americi 2014. godine. Gde, kako se čini, nažalost, veliki deo  odgovornosti za incident leži na ubijenome, bez obzira na to koliko je policajac bio lak na obaraču. 

[Meho Krljic]

Možda adekvatno podsećanje:

[Джон Рейнольдс]

Ево шта не ваља код овог подсећања. Кад за седамнаестогодишњака прочитам да је child, све ми се учини да је написано врло тенденциозно и једнострано, све и да јесте како овде пише.

[Meho Krljic]

Razumno. Opet, kad imaš zemlju u kojoj se sedamnaestogodišnjak ne smatra doraslim da pije alkohol ili da se fotografiše s dignutom ili bilo kakvom ćunom, al ga ubiše na ulici (pa makar delom i on za to bio odgovoran jer se konfrontirao sa čovekom koji ga je pratio, umesto da beži) - nije loše da se ta paradoksalna postavka makar ovako, između redova prizove.

[Джон Рейнольдс]

Сме да вози аутомобил, али не и да пије; то је парадокс. Међутим, та земља је имала и случај Родни Кинг где покојни Родни није баш био невинашце како је најпре приказано, а у демонстрацијама и нередима се подразумевало. Зато мислим да је ово child непромишљено, јер чак и оно што се на нету може наћи о Трејвону реално није Роднијевог ранга, те је мудро избећи осећај тенденциозности.

(Наравно, гуглао сам има ли Трејвон досије.)

[scallop]

Ste bili neko vreme u SAD da proučite sve to što vam se čini ili ne čini kao paradoks?

[tomat]

ja nešto ne vidim paradoks da se nekom da da vozi auto, a pri tome ne dozvoli da pije.

[scallop]

Naravno da nema paradoksa. Ne postoji zabrana konzumiranja alkohola nego usluživanja alkoholom na javnim mestima. U prekršaju odgovornost je na kelneru. Postoji i zabrana za vožnju maloletnicima ispod 16 godina, mislim da se i neko vreme po dobijanju dozvole zahteva pratnja odrasle osobe. Moja unuka u petnaestoj godini već merka šta će da vozi. Hoću da kažem da je u zakonskim uslovima priprema za vožnju dugotrajna. Na drugoj strani je postupak policije u intervenciji. Bio sam skandalizovan u Dallasu kad su intervenisali na jednoj ženi. Mera prisile u po bela dana, na otvorenom prostoru je bila krajnje nasilna. Postojanje kriminala na ulicama u SAD ne opravdava mere koje se preduzimaju.

[Джон Рейнольдс]

ja nešto ne vidim paradoks da se nekom da da vozi auto, a pri tome ne dozvoli da pije.

Нису то повезане ствари, нема "при томе". Просто ми се чини апсурдно да се сматра да је човек са 16 година довољно зрео да управља аутомобилом, али да не сме легално да купи пиво. Аутомобил је много већа одговорност па и опасност - алкохол је то само у случају бахаћења, док аутомобил носи са собом још низ фактора који не морају у основи да имају бахатост - ту су и умор, искуство, способност брзе процене ситуације, рефлекси, итд.

[scallop]

Ja sam mnogo teže razumevao vožnju babaca od preko 80 godina. Komentar o vožnji ti je potpuno promašen. Čak ni teza o bahaćenju ne stoji. Jednom mi je kompetentno rečeno da su veća opasnost u vožnji pripiti od pijanih. Blago pijanstvo povećava smelost, a teško pijanstvo sužava svest pa su vozači sporiji i vide sve saobraćajne znake. Ono šta se kod nas dešava posledica je nečeg drugog.

[Джон Рейнольдс]

Ја не мислим на пијане возаче, него на продају пића уопште.

[scallop]

Jednom, u Tulsi, nisu nas pustili u Hassler Hall, mesto gde se pije pivo i jedu kobasice, jer smo imali troje dece sa sobom. Zabrane su dobro upozorenje.

[mac]

Kad budu uveli polaganje ispijanja, i to i teorijski i prakticni deo onda neka usaglase i godine za voznju i za ispijanje.

[taurus-jor]

Pedeset jedna stranica ovog topika, a Amerika nikako da propadne...

[scallop]

Ni Đekna nije umrla.

[taurus-jor]

Tačno!

[Anomander Rejk]

http://www.klix.ba/vijesti/svijet/stotine-bosanaca-na-ulicama-st-louisa-nismo-dosli-ovdje-da-nas-ubijaju/141202185

[Ugly MF]

Jooooj kad krenu ove placipicke sad da kukajuuuu...
...dal' ce Andji odma i film da naruce...

[Truman]

Da su ubili Srbina onda bi izlazak na ulice bio sasvim opravdan...

[Ugly MF]

Ako cemo bez zaebavanja, za 'ednog blek madrfakera, strado jedan vajtboj....ebga, steta Izbosne...
Trebalo bi sad prekinuti sva ta sranja, kad vec nigeri nisu imali kahonese da ucmekaju zandara, jelte!?

A bajdvej, truki i ova jje bio Srbin, samo krive vjere 

[Anomander Rejk]

http://www.blic.rs/Vesti/Svet/516513/KOLAPS-U-NJUJORKU-Demonstranti-besni-zbog-jos-jednog-nevinog-policajca-ubice

[Anomander Rejk]

Američkoj policiji izgleda nije dosta belaja:
http://www.blic.rs/Vesti/Svet/516821/REVOLUCIJA-Novi-protesti-potresaju-SAD-policajac-ubio-nenaoruzanog-crnca-zbog-tableta-u-dzepu

[Meho Krljic]

Što više čitamo i gledamo ovakve stvari sve se više pitamo kakvu obuku dobijaju ti panduri u Americi. Daren Vilson je čoveka, kako god da se okrene, ubio bez povoda. Ovaj takođe. O onom detetu od 12 godina da ne pričam. A jutros sam gledao kako su udavili onog nesrećnika usred Njujorka, njih četvorica. Pa da smo se skupili Anomander, Ja, Zosko i Skalop pa bi ga uhapsili na profesionalniji način. Zaista, imaju li neku obuku, neke treninge, neke testove da se utvrdi znaju li kako se prilazi osumnjičenom tako da svi budu što je moguće bezbedniji ili to samo lažu za potrebe filmova?

[Anomander Rejk]

Kad bih bio ljubitelj teorija zavere, rekao bih da izgleda kao da se iz petnih žila trude da izazovu rasni sukob. Ali da se zadržimo na objektivnoj stvarnosti-složio bih se sa Mehom, nešto je trulo u državi Danskoj...u sistemu. Jasno, dešavaju se greške, postoje situacije gde je teško u sekundama doneti ispravnu odluku i nema se vremena za prisećanje pravila, ali ovo se prečesto dešava da bi bila pojedinačna greška-ovo je sistemski problem, a možda i šire, problem kulture nasilja u USA. Jer ako policija prvo puca i davi, pa onda postavlja pitanja, onda to više nije policija, već kaznena ekspedicija. A ono davljenje, zaista mučno, šta reći.

[Meho Krljic]

Da, pa, u drugim zemljama naprosto nema ovoliko slučajeva da policija ubija osumnjičene. Hajde da na stranu stavimo na ovom topiku već dokumentovanu militarizaciju policije (kačio sam Johna Olivera i Cracked koji pričaju o ovome) jer su tu stvari jasne - kada prečesto koristiš jedinice obučene i opremljene da se bore protiv naoružanih i opasnih osumnjičenih  - tu će povremeno ljudi biti ubijani. Ali ovi slučajevi o kojima pričamo su sve slučajevi gde ubistva počine obični policajci, dakle oni koji u principu ne bi ni trebalo da posežu za fizičkom prinudom i oružjem sem u najekstremnijim slučajevima, oni koji bi trebalo da upozore osumnjičenog a zatim se sklone i zovu SWAT da se izbori sa nekim za koga se osnovano sumnja da predstavlja opasnost. Umesto toga gledamo kako četiri policajca guše čoveka koji prodaje cigarete na ulici. Ko ih je obučio? I kako je moguće da niko od njih neće biti procesuiran za nešto što je u najmanju ruku ubistvo iz nehata?

[scallop]

Da ponovim, jer ne čitate.

Na drugoj strani je postupak policije u intervenciji. Bio sam skandalizovan u Dallasu kad su intervenisali na jednoj ženi. Mera prisile u po bela dana, na otvorenom prostoru je bila krajnje nasilna. Postojanje kriminala na ulicama u SAD ne opravdava mere koje se preduzimaju.

Policija se obučava za primenu ekstremnih mera. Osnovna uputstva "mirnim" građanima su: "Ne suprotstavljaj se policiji!". "Ne pokušavaj da se našališ." "Ne turaj ruke u džepove." Čini mi se da su policajci krajnje prepadnuti i sužene svesti kad treba da intervenišu.

[Meho Krljic]

Tako deluje. Ne valja im filozofija.

[Meho Krljic]

Čisto da se ne misli da kanadska policija zaostaje u ovoj oblasti:


http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-stories-that-prove-police-are-just-as-terrifying-in-canada/

[Meho Krljic]

Još jedna potvrda Obamine vizije    Čoveka naraniše govnima, i s pravom u mnogim stvarima, ali ova priča oko zdravstvenog osiguranja ne deluje tako loše:

The Obamacare paradox: the law looks terrible but is doing great

Politically, Obamacare has had a terrible past few weeks. First there was inaccurate enrollment data (the administration wrongly included dental plans). Then there were Jon Gruber's comments on "the stupidity of American voters." And it was  capped off with Sen. Chuck Schumer saying that passing the law was a mistake. That led to headlines like: "Dark days ahead for Obamacare," "The Obamacare controversy grows" and my own "Obamacare's terrible, horrible, no good very bad month."

But if you look beyond the political fights, the picture looks very different. Obamacare is, policy-wise, having a great month — maybe even the law's best month ever.

Jonathan Chait wrote a piece in New York magazine detailing four recent studies that show Obamacare is working. Some of it has to do with the part of the law that we all know the best — the coverage expansion to millions of Americans. Study after study shows that the Affordable Care Act has increased the number of Americans with health insurance. And this wasn't actually taken as a given at this point last year: there was some speculation that coverage rates might actually drop in 2014, as Obamacare's regulations cancelled millions of individual policies.

Then there are the parts of Obamacare that are about improving the health care system not just for the uninsured, but for everyone who goes to the doctor. And here, too, the law seems to be working.

Health care costs grew at their slowest rate ever in 2013 — in part due to Obamacare's spending cuts — according to a recent study in Health Affairs. And hospitals have been making fewer deadly medical errors since the Affordable Care Act began cutting Medicare reimbursements for institutions with lots of errors.

Chait's piece is worth reading in full, and I'd only add to it a few other tidbits of good Obamacare news that have come out in recent days. One has to do with enrollment: 765,000 Healthcare.gov shoppers selected health insurance plans during the first three weeks of open enrollment this fall.

To put that in perspective: during the first two months of open enrollment in 2013, just 470,000 people enrolled in coverage — and those numbers included both Healthcare.gov and the 14 state-based exchanges. This time around, and only counting the Healthcare.gov shoppers, enrollment has easily surpassed that total in half the time. Much of this likely boils down to the fact that the Obama administration (and states) built health shopping websites that actually work this time.

Enrollment is moving faster, and shoppers have more options when they turn up to buy. Health and Human Services put out a report this afternoon finding that the number of options on Healthcare.gov has increased 25 percent over the past year.

More insurers want to sell on the marketplace, and that seems to be restraining the growth of insurance premiums. The average benchmark insurance premium (the mid-level plan that the government uses to figure out how big subsidies will be) went up 2 percent between 2013 and 2014. In the years before the health insurance expansion, premiums in the individual market typically went up by at least 10 percent annually.

Obamacare, despite one political disaster after another, is delivering on some of the key things the law meant to change about the health care system. The health care system covers more people than it did a year ago. Costs are growing at a slower pace than ever before and hospitals are killing fewer patients. That's a lot of good news that's happened quickly. There's a lot of good happening with the law that, if you're just looking at the politics Obamacare, you'd never know was happening.

[scallop]

Moj zet, sad već bivši zagovarač Obame nonstop cvili. Izotpuštaše mu sestre, pa i neke lekare, a administracija sve silnija. Jebeš lokomotivu, ako kondukteri naplaćuju karte u vagonima.

[Anomander Rejk]

Opet problemi i u St.Luisu:
http://www.klix.ba/vijesti/svijet/bosanka-pretucena-i-opljackana-u-st-louisu-policija-istrazuje-zlocin-iz-mrznje/141206006

[Meho Krljic]

Evo, kome se čita, sažetak od 480 strana onog izveštaja komisije američkog senata o tome kako je CIA mučila pojačano ispitivala osumnjičene za terorizam:

http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/study2014/sscistudy1.pdf


Kompletan izveštaj na 6000 strana je i dalje poverljiv, ali i ovo je valjda dovoljno zabavno.

Edit: Uzgred, valja podsetiti i na jednu jednostavnu istinu koja se tiče torture kao metoda ispitivanja zarobljenika. Naime, cela diskusija o "opravdanosti" mučenja od strane američkih službenika a nad osumnjičenima za terorizam se svodi na pitanje da li se korišćenje neetičkih metoda ispitivanja može racionalizovati time da se na taj način (jedino) dobijaju informacije koje pomažu da se spreči  dalji terorizam, odnosno da se, jelte, spasu životi.

Međutim, tu se valja setiti da tortura kao metod ispitivanja nikad nije ni bila zamišljena da proizvodi autentične obaveštajne informacije, već da osobe nad kojima se tortura vrši navede da daju željena (često lažna) priznanja o svojim gresima, svojoj umešanosti u protivzakonite ili terorističke aktivnosti itd. Ovo zna i svako ko je privođen u policiju i u stanici dobijao batine tokom informativnog razgovora - a izdignuto na nivo federalnih agencija SAD, princip je isti: tortura ne daje obaveštajne podatke nego materijal za optužnicu koji može ali ni slučajno ne mora biti verodostojan. Ergo, diskusija o tome je li mučenje "opravdano" jer možda spasava živote je bspredmetna pošto početna premisa ne stoji: mučenje nikada nije ni trebalo da daje stvarne informacije već samooptužujuće izjave koje se uklapaju u prethodno dizajniranu priču.

[Anomander Rejk]

http://www.klix.ba/vijesti/svijet/bosanka-iz-st-louisa-uhapsena-zbog-lazne-prijave-napada-iz-mrznje/141216007

[Meho Krljic]

 10 things the military won't tell you

[Anomander Rejk]

Američka policija opet ubija crnce:
http://www.blic.rs/Vesti/Svet/521785/NOVO-UBISTVO-Policija-ubila-jos-jednog-Afroamerikanca-u-Sent-Luisu

[Meho Krljic]

Kraj je godine pa da se setimo druge stvari koja je obeležila Ameriku u 2014-oj, pored povećane svesti o tome kako se policija odnosi prema AfroAmerikancima, a to je Piketijeva knjiga Kapital u 21. veku koja je doduše izašla prošle godine ali je ove tek prevedena na engleski i dobro sumirala antisocijalne trendove savremenog liberalnog kapitalizma.

Ali pošto smo mi lenji internet smarači, napravićemo još bolje sumiranje. Ovaj dijagram, naime:

[Meho Krljic]

http://youtu.be/GDyO4KzbuiE

[Father Jape]

Ovo kačim s posvetom za skalopa:

'Why everything sucks'

[Truman]

Evo malo o privrednom rastu u Americi: http://www.b92.net/biz/komentari.php?nav_id=939843

[Filaret]

Producent, scenarist i režiser filma "Gray State", koji govori o apokaliptičnom društvu, koncentracijskim logorima, policijskoj državi, panici i rasulu u kojem jedino policijski sustav "Novog svjetskog poretka" jamči sigurnost, nađen je mrtav u svom stanu s cijelom obitelji.


http://voxbblog.blogspot.com/2015/01/autor-filma-o-novom-svjetskom-poretku.html

[Meho Krljic]

Bill Clinton's libido threatens to derail Hillary — again

Naravno, ovo je tekst iz Nju Jork Posta koji je njihova verzija Aloa ili Informera, ali eto, ko voli nek se naslađuje.

[Meho Krljic]

Ahahah, ovo ko iz nekog vica. Službenici TSA na denverskom međunarodnom aerodromu manipulisali sistemom nadzora tako da jedan od kolega dobije priliku da ispipava atraktivne muškarce 



CBS4 Investigation: TSA Screeners At DIA Manipulated System To Grope Men's Genitals

DENVER (CBS4) – A CBS4 investigation has learned that two Transportation Security Administration screeners at Denver International Airport have been fired after they were discovered manipulating passenger screening systems to allow a male TSA employee to fondle the genital areas of attractive male passengers.
It happened roughly a dozen times, according to information gathered by CBS4.
According to law enforcement reports obtained during the CBS4 investigation, a male TSA screener told a female colleague in 2014 that he "gropes" male passengers who come through the screening area at DIA.
"He related that when a male he finds attractive comes to be screened by the scanning machine he will alert another TSA screener to indicate to the scanning computer that the party being screened is a female. When the screener does this, the scanning machine will indicate an anomaly in the genital area and this allows (the male TSA screener) to conduct a pat-down search of that area."
Although the TSA learned of the accusation on Nov. 18, 2014 via an anonymous tip from one of the agency's own employees, reports show that it would be nearly three months before anything was done.
RELATED: TSA, Denver Refuse To Release Groping Video, Reports
On Feb. 9 TSA security supervisor Chris Higgins watched the screening area, observing the employees. "At about 0925 he observed (the male TSA screener) appear to give a signal to another screener ... (the second female screener) was responsible for the touchscreen system that controls whether or not the scanning machine alerts to gender- specific anomalies, according to a law enforcement report obtained by CBS4.
DOCUMENT: Read The Police Report
According to the report, the TSA investigator then watched a male passenger enter the scanner at DIA "and observed (the female TSA agent) press the screening button for a female. The scanner alerted to an anomaly, and Higgins observed (the male TSA screener) conduct a pat down of the passenger's front groin and buttocks area with the palm of his hands, which is contradictory to TSA searching policy."
Higgins later interviewed the female TSA agent who was an accomplice in the groping conspiracy. She "admitted that she has done this for (the male TSA officer) at least 10 other times. She knew that doing so would allow (the male TSA officer) to perform a pat down on a male passenger that (the male TSA screener) found attractive," reported Higgins.
The TSA said the male passenger who they saw being fondled was flying on Southwest Airlines and the agency has videotape of the incident. CBS4 has requested the tape but it was not immediately released. TSA has said it could not identify the male passenger who was groped and the agency says there have been no other complaints about the serial groping.



A spokesperson for TSA released a brief written statement to CBS4 saying, "These alleged acts are egregious and intolerable. TSA has removed the two officers from the agency. All allegations of misconduct are thoroughly investigated by the agency. And when substantiated, employees are held accountable."
The agency has not released the names of the two fired employees and refused a CBS4 request for an interview.
Earlier this month a prosecutor from the Denver District Attorney's Office was asked to review the case but she declined to press charges because there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction and no victim had been identified.


It's not the first time TSA screeners at DIA have been accused of inappropriate touching of passengers. Jamelyn Steenhoek filed a complaint against TSA screeners at the airport saying the frisking she received in December 2013 amounted to a sexual assault. She said a female TSA agent searched her at an airport checkpoint after an alarm went off.
"There are just areas of my body I'm not comfortable being touched in. On the outside of my pants she cupped my crotch," said Steenhoek, who called the frisking "invasive."
She said "the part of the search that bothered most was the breast search. You could tell it shouldn't take that much groping. I felt uncomfortable, I felt violated."
In 2014 the Denver District Attorney's Office announced it would not be filing criminal charges in the Steenhoek case.
RELATED: TSA, Denver Refuse To Release Groping Video, Reports
Across the country other passengers have raised concerns over the years about TSA pat downs. But the recent case uncovered by CBS4 is more problematic for TSA since its own employee blew the whistle on the practice, a supervisor observed it happening, the agency fired the employees, and the female screener who was fired admitted to the fondling conspiracy.
CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass has been with the station more than 30 years uncovering waste, fraud and corruption. Follow him on Twitter @Briancbs4.

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Police Force Quits After Black Woman Elected Mayor

Employees of one small Missouri town had an extreme reaction when residents elected their first Black female mayor: 80% of the police department quit, along with the city clerk and two other staffers.

Tyrus Byrd, a former Parma, MO city council member, was sworn into office as mayor last week, but she will have to deal with a police force with only one person. Five of the town's six police officers submitted letters of resignation last week, citing only "safety concerns," according to news station KFVS.

No one knows yet exactly what "safety concerns" would make a town's public safety officers quit en masse, but Byrd has said she is still determined to clean up the city. To make the mass resignations even more suspicious, KFVS also reported that when Byrd started her first day, the officers' resignation letters could not be found, and that computers had been wiped clean.

Byrd won a close election against longtime Mayor Randall Ramsey, who held the office for 37 years. The population of Parma is slightly more than 700 people, and Byrd won by less than 40 votes. The city attorney, clerk, and waste water treatment supervisor also resigned with the police officers.