TSA

[moosedaddy]

A couple of years ago when they were installing the second and third body scanners in Tulsa I ask a TSA agent if the scanners were better than what they had.  I was told of course, then I ask if she thought they were twice as good since they take at least twice as long, at that point she turned around and told a male agent that I should get a secondary screening.  All I could do then was roll my eyes at her and laugh.

[Conan71]

Did you enjoy your secondary screening?

[heironymouspasparagus]

95 year old woman in Florida made to remove her diaper for the patdown.  In a wheelchair.  Woman has leukemia and is so weak she required a transfusion to build up the strength for travel.  Yeah, now there's a big threat!

Anyone else been writing to their "representatives" over this crap??  Between that and molesting the 6 year old girls, this kind of stuff needs to be ended.  But just try to get Inhofe to agree, let alone actually DO something about it.

[DolfanBob]

TSA......Terminal Sexual Assault, that sounds about right.

[patric]

Such a mistrust of authority here. 
No one has any friends or family in the TSA?
(or do they just sprout from pods placed next to sleeping people?)

[Conan71]

Such a mistrust of authority here. 
No one has any friends or family in the TSA?
(or do they just sprout from pods placed next to sleeping people?)

It's like trying to find anyone who admits to having voted for President Obama.

[Ed W]

It's like trying to find anyone who admits to having voted for President Obama.

I did, and I'll do it again when he wins next year...not that it matters with the Electoral College system and Oklahoma's propensity to vote Republican no matter what.

[heironymouspasparagus]

No friends OR family at TSA.

I started to make a snide remark about how no one I know or in family was that indecent, but then I thought, yeah, I got one guy who is.  But he doesn't work there either.  Maybe the repeated negative interface with law enforcement and the judicial system would preclude his employment...or not.

Actually, my real feelings on this are not all that much against the ones on the line - even if they do seem to get too much enjoyment from this at times - but with the clowns running their little goat rope.  And especially with a Congress that allows the whole "Patriot Act" thing to continue as practiced today.

[patric]

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/taking_pictures.shtm

"TSA does not prohibit the public, passengers or press from photographing, videotaping or filming at security checkpoints, as long as the screening process is not interfered with or slowed down."

[patric]

Since they have been doing so good, they deserve a raise:

(CNN) – At a time when airlines seem to be adding extra charges for everything from seats to snacks,  there's another fee in the works.  This time, it's transportation security officials who want you to pay more.

The TSA budget, like many in Washington, is set to be cut. The agency said boosting this fee would help cover the increase price of security like those costly scanners.
Republicans want to cut from social programs to pay for the security fee increase. All of this has to be worked out right now, so that the TSA can get its funding for next year.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-elliott/5-things-the-tsa-doesnt-want-video_b_1551218.html

[Townsend]

Since they have been doing so good, they deserve a raise:

(CNN) – At a time when airlines seem to be adding extra charges for everything from seats to snacks,  there's another fee in the works.  This time, it's transportation security officials who want you to pay more.

The TSA budget, like many in Washington, is set to be cut. The agency said boosting this fee would help cover the increase price of security like those costly scanners.
Republicans want to cut from social programs to pay for the security fee increase. All of this has to be worked out right now, so that the TSA can get its funding for next year.

Per NPR story from a couple of weeks ago:  San Francisco is the only major airport not using the TSA and numbers show people like the private company much better.  You have to apply to cancel TSA but the only way to do that is to get the TSA to approve it.  They say "no".

[RecycleMichael]

I like the scanners. Last time I went to the airport I taped some of my kid's magnetic letters to my chest that said, "not a threat."

[nathanm]

If the TSA weren't mainly a vehicle for pork going to certain Bush-era cronies (I have no doubt the pork will be redirected soon, but the old contracts have to expire first!), it would cost a whole lot less and probably be a lot more effective. First off, we'd have bought more "puffer" machines that actually detect explosives rather than the nude-o-meters that take nude pictures of people that just so happen to be almost completely ineffective at detecting weapons (presuming the person bringing the weapon makes even a token effort to conceal it).

Personally, I take the pat-down and make it clear that touching my junk is not OK. They're usually reasonably careful to avoid molesting me, despite having a de facto exemption from the criminal code that allows them to molest people with impunity. I'd probably be more accepting of the scanners if they had been made to go through the FDA approval process to ensure they only emit the proper amount of (EM, not nuclear) radiation.

Theoretically, a backscatter X-Ray machine ought to be safe. As should a millimeter wave machine. They don't require dumping a lot of energy into your body. Problem is that they're very much capable of dumping lots of energy into your body, so they need to be regularly calibrated and checked, which is not done. Instead, they pretty much just turn them up if contrast is too low. Who knows by how much, or if it's ever dialed back down.

[TheTed]

Hate the scanners. Safe or not, it's just a matter of principle. I always opt out and get the freedom grope. I've never seen anyone else opt out.

Tulsa airport is the worst with the scanners, too. Maybe because it's a fairly small airport, they can use them on everyone without too much delay.

When I go to larger/busier airports, only a fraction of the travelers are forced to go through the scanner. They start sending folks through the metal detectors to prevent backups. At TUL, it seems everyone goes through the scanner.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Hate the scanners. Safe or not, it's just a matter of principle. I always opt out and get the freedom grope. I've never seen anyone else opt out.

Tulsa airport is the worst with the scanners, too. Maybe because it's a fairly small airport, they can use them on everyone without too much delay.

When I go to larger/busier airports, only a fraction of the travelers are forced to go through the scanner. They start sending folks through the metal detectors to prevent backups. At TUL, it seems everyone goes through the scanner.

I escaped the scanner on my last trip for some reason.  Wasn't that big a crowd, either.  Maybe I just look old enough to not be a threat?  Geez,...when they disrobe a 95 year old...I must look REAL old!!