Turns out the U.S. government also thinks its screeners are no better than the mall cops who went before.

The inspector general’s report, as well as a study by the GAO portrayed the TSA as an unresponsive, inflexible bureaucracy that is failing to provide an adequate level of security at airports.

But wait, you might argue, aren’t TSA personnel at least more professional and pleasant than their predecessors? A certain cancer patient doesn’t think so. The TSA is trying to blame private security, but it’s clear that at a minimum they colluded with the airline to deny a woman a flight because she “no longer looked like her photo.” You know, because she lost hair and weight.

I thought these guys were going to be so much better trained that nobody would ever be able to do anything bad again. I mean, after all, federal workers have such a reputation for greater competence than their private counterparts, which is why all food production, distribution, and preparation is done by the federal government in this country, because that’s simply too important a function to be left to the vagaries of the market.

Right?