T.S.A.--too stupid for America
My own experiences with TSA have not been stellar. One of my daughters with type 1 diabetes has an insulin pump, replete with doctor's prescription for same--but she wasn't allowed to board plane until it had already left the terminal. Needless to say, we did not get on the plane because of the delay caused by morons who could not read TSA regulations, which we had brought printed from their web site with us to the terminal to avoid the ensuing fiasco. The "pat down" my daughter received, despite the documentation was embarrassing for her and infuriating to her parents.
Well, idiocy is wide-spread. To be charitable, we might just ascribe this to ignorance. My own view is that a test is given and those who fail it get the job of obstructing air travel.
A recent example:
District of Columbia Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton sent a letter Tuesday to TSA Administrator David Pekoske Wednesday about a Washington, D.C. resident who had issues at the Newark International Airport with her driver’s license.
Holmes Norton said that a TSA officer denied that the I.D. was valid and had to consult with colleagues before allowing the D.C. resident to catch her flight.
“As I am sure you can imagine, it can be humiliating for a U.S. citizen to be delayed because a federal government does not recognize the name of the District of Columbia,” Del. Holmes Norton wrote in her letter.
A Washington journalist tweeted in 2014 that a TSA agent in Orlando “never heard of ‘District of Columbia.’ Demanded passport because he didn’t believe my drivers license was from US!?”
D.C. officials replaced “Washington D.C.” with “the District of Columbia” in 2014, which Del. Holmes Norton credited with the TSA’s troubles. This year, officials decided to return to the “Washington D.C.” labeling.
What's more:
A local Fox affiliate reported in July that Minneapolis TSA officers had a 95 failure rate during an internal test in which undercover agents smuggled explosive materials, fake weapons and drugs through screening.
But they won't allow an insulin cartridge containing less than 2 cc of insulin on board.
Comments
The TSA is a joke
I was surprised that people kept accepting whatever restrictions that they made. The first restrictions weren't that bad, but then they became ridiculous. As the article states they fail the security tests over and over. Even the body scans fail to see weapons, but maybe that isn't the point. Chertoff made a lot of money from them.
Here's the type of comment I read on my local website that I've commented about before.
Mike Lee (R-Utah) is concerned about the new rules for international flying where people have to submit to facial recognition scans. He's concerned about how people's civil liberties are constantly being invaded by the TSA.
This article was on my local website and the first comment was Where in the constitution does it say that we are supposed to have civil liberties? I'm okay with whatever it takes to keep me safe when I fly. sigh
This is the type of people who say that they have nothing to hide, so it's okay if the government spies on them.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Try wearing skate board shoes.
I'll admit I'm getting a little old to be skateboarding but they put the metal supports in the shoes for a reason.
I don't even wait to take them off. Sometimes I'll run them through the scanner just to see if I'll be accused of being the next shoe bomber
Never, ever tell them you're protecting your arches while being violated. Just grab your ankles.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
Oh come on now!
We all know there’s nothing too stupid for “‘Murcia! Fuck yeah!” The TSA is simply staffed by overachievers.
"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."
I'm sorry your daughter is ill, Alligator Ed. n/t
Betty Clermont
Terrible Sanitation at Airport
I got in a row with a crabby TSA lady at an Albuquerque terminal. Having been years between flights, I expected booties when de-shoeing. TSA lady said that's never been done. I told her she was wrong and it was on. I pointed out the untold billions of pathogens that must infest their literally-crust-covered carpeting, which I wasn't about to transfer to my socks, then inside my shoes. She barked for me to step aside, soon after which another TSA guy started yelling about the backlog of "who's not picking up their bags" from the scanner conveyor. "Talk to her", I yelled back, pointing to Ms. crabby.
I stripped my feet bare to save my socks, and picked up my bags. Then she pointed me to the body scanner. "No, absolutely not. It's not safe." I demanded a pat-down, and though I had no problem with it, the nice TSA man who did it got to wear rubber gloves. "So you get gloves, but no booties for me, when my ass is way cleaner than your filthy carpet." He shrugged. I washed my now-crusty feet in a mens room sink about 300 yards down the terminal.
Advice....bring baggies for your feet.
BTW, I reported this disease-dispersing airport condition to the CDC. They had no idea what to do either.
"If I sit silently, I have sinned." - Mossadegh
Good on you!
If more people did that, although they would probably miss their flight, it might cause TSA to eventually change their procedures.
I missed a flight due to delays caused by TSA stupidity
a few years ago. Since then we've opted for the fast-pass upgrade, which amounts to little more than bribery. You pay $85 (every five years), and in return they don't slow you up. Similar shakedowns happen with petty officials all over the world.
"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."
You've nailed it yet again.
In my opinion, what they actually do - harass, demean, grope/irradiate and strip citizens of privacy and other rights - and what they don't do - catch actual hazards when tested for this ability - demonstrates the actual purpose of this imposed and routine ordeal.
But then, it seemed pretty obvious from the beginning, especially since the wealthiest and most powerful can avoid all of the nonsense, with no concerns about their supposed hazard from shoe-bombs, underwear bombs, adult/baby diaper bombs, explosive pumped breast milk, liquid medications or deadly cigarette lighters.
Just accept that anyone in authority can do whatever they like to you whenever they want, and any pretended concern about your safety in these limited areas will promptly evaporate. Although the harassment, demeaning, groping/irradiating and stripping citizens of privacy and other rights may well continue, just for the fun of knowing that TPTB and TSA can ruin the days and personal security of the relative Poors - and cop a feel if they like it. Maybe not trying the latter with alligators, though...
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
You've nailed it yet again.
In my opinion, what they actually do - harass, demean, grope/irradiate and strip citizens of privacy and other rights - and what they don't do - catch actual hazards when tested for this ability - demonstrates the actual purpose of this imposed and routine ordeal.
But then, it seemed pretty obvious from the beginning, especially since the wealthiest and most powerful can avoid all of the nonsense, with no concerns about their supposed hazard from shoe-bombs, underwear bombs, adult/baby diaper bombs, explosive pumped breast milk, liquid medications or deadly cigarette lighters.
Just accept that anyone in authority can do whatever they like to you whenever they want, and any pretended concern about your safety in these limited areas will promptly evaporate. Although the harassment, demeaning, groping/irradiating and stripping citizens of privacy and other rights may well continue, just for the fun of knowing that TPTB and TSA can ruin the days and personal security of the relative Poors - and cop a feel if they like it. Maybe not trying the latter with alligators, though...
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Almost to the point of...
...not wanting to fly at all.
It didn't start off well the last time I flew. The TSA line agent was barking at us like a herd of cattle to keep the line going fast. When I finally got my personal belongings loaded into the bucket I put into place the travel tip (as I always do) I had read about when we still had the standard metal detectors. The tip was to wait until the person ahead of you got through the metal detector before you place your bin into the screening machine. The concern was that while the person ahead of you might have trouble passing through the metal detector, your personal items are on the other side and easily swiped by someone while you're stuck waiting to get into the metal detector.
So, I was putting this into practice since there were a couple of people ahead of me waiting to get scanned. The TSA agent started barking at me to push my bin into the screener and get in line. I told him that I was waiting for the others ahead of me to get through so my personal items stay with me. Well, that didn't go over well with him so he told the people behind me to go around me. I caught a bit of a break when there was just one person ahead of me to go through the scanner so I took my chances of letting my bin go ahead of me down the belt.
Naturally, I was fuming and told myself that flying is getting less and less pleasant and almost swearing that this was my last trip. Who needs to put up with that? Unfortunately, I'm on the West coast and family is on the East coast. I guess they're just not going to see me as often.
Edited: grammar and spelling correction.
Dang Ali Ed, sorry your daughter had to deal with that
I dealt with ignorance, and refusal to learn or even read the statute that I printed out with regard to my son having his epipen at his disposal, not locked up in a cabinet, in a locked office at school. I tried to get my son to just secretly keep one in his backpack, but he said that was dishonest. He was 8 at the time.
As far as flying goes, the last time I did it, I was screamed at for touching the back of my son's head to guide him, and they took every single thing out of our carry on bags, and stuffed their hands down our pants as we stood barefoot. This was in Lubbock, Tx about 15 yrs ago.
On the way back, in Phoenix, they let me get on with a half full, glass bottle of tequila, and didn't stuff their hands down our pants or even make us take off our shoes, though everyone else was barefoot. Knitting needles = NO! Glass bottle = enjoy your trip (before liquid ban, of course).
No method to the madness.