Sunday, November 28, 2010

TSA puts ads on pizza boxes

"A career where x-ray vision and federal benefits come standard"

From the Washington Post:

TSA using pizza boxes to recruit new workers


Federal agencies often head to college campuses, job fairs or buy newspaper classified ads to announce new job openings. But the Transportation Security Administration is reaching out with pepperoni and cheese.

"A Career Where X-Ray Vision and Federal Benefits Come Standard," reads a TSA ad appearing on pizza boxes across the Washington region.

...

The boxed ad campaign was developed last year in an effort to reach a broader applicant pool, according to TSA spokesman Greg Soule. The agency routinely uses ad space on Metro trains, at gas stations and in newspapers or buys ad time during movie previews. But no word on the cost of the pizza box campaign or which restaurants are using the boxes.

...

------

The comments people left on the website of the Washington Post are priceless:

"'The boxed ad campaign was developed last year in an effort to reach a broader applicant pool.' And that pool would be what? Ignorant lard butts? Just what the TSA needs - more obese cows clogging up the already inane security process."

"Recruiting via a pizza box. How appropriate since the security measures performed by TSA are both cheesy and loaded with fat."

"They should advertise on McDonald's Happy Meals since the behavior of the TSA agents at National Airport resembles a playground at an elementary school rather than serious professionals concerned about national security."

"As other commenters have already noted: The pizza box advertisement does seem to be the ideal demographic for TSA employees. The bottom of the Federal Ladder for sure......I'm sure they were meeting resistance on college campuses to have a career in telling people to throw away their shampoo."

"Put ads on cheap beer and the demographic goals will be complete."

After the aforementioned comments were posted about the article, the Washington Post disabled the ability for readers to comment about the TSA.

A blast from the past: TSA-like security in Airplane I and II



Friday, November 26, 2010

Doctors: TSA spreads bad diseases via pat down searches

From WND:

Doctors sound TSA germ alert

Dangers include syphilis, lice, viruses, ringworm


Syphilis, lice, gonorrhea, ringworm, chlamydia, staph, strep, noro and papilloma viruses all are part of the possible fringe benefits when airline passengers next go through a full hands-on pat-down by agents of the federal government's Transportation Security Administration, according to doctors.

WND reported two days ago on alarmed passengers who noted that TSA agents doing the pat-downs that have been described by critics as molestation since they include touching private body parts were not changing gloves between passengers. In fact, some apparently were patting down dozens of passengers or more wearing the same gloves.

But neither the TSA nor federal agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control was willing to comment on the possibilities that infections and other loathsome afflictions could be passed from passenger to passenger.

Now two doctors – and several others – have confirmed that there is the definite possibility that passengers will be able to catch whatever someone in front of them in line was suffering from via the latex gloves TSA workers use.

"There is no doubt that bacteria (staph, strep, v.cholerae etc.) and viruses (noro, enteroviruses, herpes, hepatitis A and papilloma viruses) can be spread by contaminated vinyl or latex gloves," Dr. Thomas Warner of Wisconsin told WND in a letter to the editor.

"If a traveler has diarrhea and is soiled, as can and does happen, the causative agent can be spread by this method since bacteria and viruses in moist environments have greater viability."

He continued. "The traveler readjusting clothes can easily get the infectious agents on their hands and therefore into their mouth, nose or eyes."

Added a pulmonary critical care physician from Connecticut who did not want to be identified by name, "That doesn't make sense that they're not changing gloves."

"Anything can be transmitted. If there are open wounds and they [TSA agents] are not aware, there's syphilis, gonorrhea, herpes, chlamydia, lice, ringworm."

...

Warner told WND some of the infections are "a tough little beast" and easily would be spread through the contact being used by the TSA.

"Staphylococci are also tough and can be spread on fomites (eg . towels, tampons or gloves ) and survive in dry conditions. Methicillin resistant staph creates havoc in hospitals AND in those awaiting surgery (eg. traveling for a transplant ) when the 'carrier' patient must be clear of the bacterium before elective surgery," he said.

...

"Air travel passengers across America have been complaining of the TSA fingering their genitalia and touching their sex organs. Just this week, an ABC News employee was fingered by a TSA agent who felt around inside her underwear. ... This process of touching traveler's genitals without consistently changing latex gloves means the TSA is involved in extremely risky behavior that could spread disease," the website warned.

...

"If an athlete with jock itch (a fungal infection) undergoes a TSA pat-down, that TSA agent could spread the passenger's jock itch from his crotch to his armpits and neck. The same is true for a person suffering from ringworm or other skin fungal infections: Merely touching them and then touching another body part can cause them to spread," the website said. "Even worse, if that same TSA agent does not change his or her gloves between pat-downs, they could be spreading jock itch, ringworm or other infections from traveler to traveler. So traveler #2 could end up with the jock itch picked up from traveler #1."

...

Thursday, November 25, 2010

TSA agent kidnaps and rapes woman

From La Grange News:

TSA employee accused of kidnap, assault
 
A TSA employee remained hospitalized today after being accused of kidnapping a young female in Atlanta, then taking her to his Hogansville residence and sexually assaulting her.

Randall Scott King, whose age and street address were not given, abducted the woman Wednesday evening from a MARTA parking lot in southwest Atlanta, police said.

The alleged victim said after the assault, she was released by her captor, who gave her a suicide note and instructions on where to deliver it.

Union City police alerted Hogansville police about the incident early Thursday.

Hogansville officers obtained search warrants and found King at his residence with what appeared to be self-inflicted wounds. Police did not describe the type or extent of his wounds. King was airlifted to Columbus Regional Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition this morning.

Criminal warrants against King were obtained by MARTA and Hogansville police. The charges were not specified.

King was identified as an employee of the federal Transportation Safety Administration, which is assisting in the investigation.

Hogansville police said the investigation is ongoing and further details will be released when the probe is completed.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Woman wears bikini to avoid TSA groping

View more news videos at: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/video.

Woman: TSA thugs singled me out because of my breasts

From Click Orlando:

Woman: TSA Agents Singled Me Out For My Breasts


ORLANDO, Fla. -- The head of the Transportation Security Administration said the agency will look further into allegations that two male TSA workers picked a woman for additional screening because of her breasts.

Eliana Sutherland recently flew from Orlando International Airport and told Local 6 she felt the two male TSA workers were staring at her breasts and chose her for additional screening because of their size.

"It was pretty obvious. One of the guys that was staring me up and down was the one who pulled me over," said Sutherland. "Not a comfortable feeling."

Experiences like Sutherland's have been reported across the country, leaving many people to join a group planning to boycott the TSA's new full body scan in an effort to clog security lines on the day before Thanksgiving. Whether it's pat-downs or full-body scans, the changes are making some people question who gets chosen and why.

But it appears out of the tens of thousands going through security, only a small part of them may have to deal with this controversial checkpoint.

...

Colleen Moskaly went through a full body scan recently while her security agents performed a pat-down on her infant son. She said, "I'm not good with people touching me and touching my son."

...

Ron Paul subjected to TSA thuggery; calls it "absolutely disgusting"

Activist goes through TSA checkpoint in speedo

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

TSA agents spreading skin and venereal diseases to passengers via pat-downs.

From WND:

Spreadin' the glove: TSA infecting U.S.?


Those latex gloves Transportation Security Administration agents wear while giving airline passengers those infamous full-body pat-downs apparently aren't there for the safety and security of passengers – only the TSA agents.

That's the word being discussed on dozens of online forums and postings after it was noted that the agents wear the same gloves to pat down dozens, perhaps hundreds, of passengers, not changing them even though the Centers for Disease Control in its online writings has emphasized the important of clean hands to prevent the exchange of loathsome afflictions.

"Herpes via latex glove ... ewwww," wrote one participant on the independence-minded AR15 website forum.

Responding to the question, "Does the TSA change latex gloves after each sexual assault?" another wrote on the same forum, "I seriously doubt it. Gloves are for their protection, not yours."

In fact, TSA officials in both national and regional offices declined to respond to WND inquiries about the policy for changing gloves to prevent an infection that may be on the clothes or body of one passenger during a pat-down by TSA agents from being transmitted to other passengers, including children, in line

Martha Donahue in a commentary at Resistnet said she'd spent 30 years in the medical industry.

"For those of you who fly and opt for the 'pat down,' you need to demand the TSA thugs change their gloves. I've been watching on the news how they operate. People are being searched [with] dirty gloves ... gloves that have been in crotches, armpits, touching people who may be ill, people who pick their noses. Do you want those gloves touching you?

"These thugs are protecting themselves from you. You need to be protected from them," she wrote. "In a hospital, nursing home, in-home care, or even labs, that would never even be considered an option."

ABC reported one of its news employees documented how a TSA worker reached inside her underwear.

"The woman who checked me reached her hands inside my underwear and felt her way around," the ABC employee said in the network's report. "It was basically worse than going to the gynecologist. It was embarrassing. It was demeaning. It was inappropriate."

Asked today about the possibility of contamination being spread from one passenger to another on the gloves of TSA agents, a spokesman for the CDC bailed.

"Please contact the Dept of Homeland Security and/or TSA on this issue," the spokesman told WND.

...

On a TSA blog promoting the agency's actions and policies, one screener explained, "Changing gloves is fairly simple ... . When I gate screen I carry about 10-12 pairs in my pockets."

Respondents to the comment were outraged, "That's just plain disgusting and most certainly not acceptable ... procedures as set forth by the CDC for usage of gloves for protection," said one. "Reasoning being is that the bacteria count in your pockets is about the same is your mouth or armpit."

Wrote another forum participant, "Those gloves are soiled if they come out of your pockets and before handling my stuff you will be expected to obtain a clean, from the original container, pair. ... Who knows what filth inhabits your pockets!"

...

"Those gloves are worn for the protection of the agent," wrote the commentator. "You must request that they change the gloves in your presence or you risk acquiring venereal disease resulting from a fondle/molest search."

Monday, November 22, 2010

7-Year Old Girl: "Grandmama, they [the TSA] touched you on your special girl spots"

From Vision to America:

7-Year Old Girl: 'Grandmama, they touched you on your special girl spots'


Antonia Riggs Miernik reluctantly rolls up her left pant leg, revealing a scar that runs down her knee. When Miernik was 27 years old, she was injured in a car crash, and “basically destroyed the knee.” Now, she has a metal knee implant.

One of the effects of the implant is that whenever the New Port Richey woman flies, she triggers the metal detectors at airport security. She says the normal procedure is that she is then subjected to a TSA pat down. She has experienced multiple pat downs since Sept. 11.

“I feel molested. I’d like to go take a shower with Lysol (afterwards),” Miernik said, describing the pat downs, which she said includes being “touched all over.”

Miernik said the worst experience she had came when her 7-year-old granddaughter was at the airport with her. When her granddaughter saw the pat down, “She went ‘Grandmama, they touched you on your special girl spots.’”

Woman: The TSA took my baby

Click here to read the chilling statement by the mother who had her baby taken from her by the TSA.

Pervert TSA agent caught pleasuring himself at airport

From the Daily Squib:

Body Scanner Operator Caught Masturbating at Colorado Airport


DENVER - USA - A full body scanner operator was caught masturbating during a scanning session by airport staff late Tuesday.

Airport officials at Denver International airport were on high alert yesterday when a full body scanner operator was caught masturbating in his booth as a team of High School netball players went through the scanner.

"The young ladies were going through the scanner one by one, and every time one went through, this guys face was getting redder and redder. His hand was moving and then he started sweating. He was then seen doing his 'O' face. That's when the security dragged him out of his booth and cuffed him. He had his pants round his ankles and everybody was really disgusted," Jeb Rather, a passenger on a flight to New York told CBS news.

The controversial scanners display every minute detail of a person's body and have been called intrusive by privacy campaigners. Body scanners penetrate clothing to provide a highly detailed image so accurate that critics have likened it to a virtual porn shoot. Technologies vary, with millimeter wave systems capturing highly detailed pictures of genitals, and backscatter X-ray machines able to show precise anatomical detail. The U.S. government likes the idea because body scanners can detect concealed weapons better than traditional magnetometers.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Young boy strip-searched by TSA agents in public

TSA thug leaves cancer-survivor covered in urine after "pat down"

From the Detroit Free Press:

Cancer survivor tells of humiliating pat-down at Metro Airport


A Houghton Lake man says he was so aggressively patted down by an agent at a Detroit Metro Airport security checkpoint this month that it caused the lid on his urostomy bag to come loose, spilling urine on his shirt and pants.

Thomas Sawyer, 61, said he sent complaints to several Transportation Security Administration officials Saturday.
 
...
 
Sawyer said he and his wife were heading to catch a plane to Orlando on Nov. 7 when he went through the airport’s new full-body scanner and was then selected to be patted down by a TSA agent.
 
...
 
Sawyer said one agent began the pat-down, but when he began sliding his hand firmly down his chest, he said he told the security officer that the pressure could pull the lid off his urostomy bag — which, Sawyer said, is what happened.
 
“When I got out of the room my wife knew something was wrong and I just broke down crying,” he said. “I was just so embarrassed, so humiliated.”

 
He said once through security, he changed his bag, but didn’t have time to change his clothing and had to board the plane soaked in urine.

“I was embarrassed to death,” Sawyer said.

He said he was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2007 and had to have a procedure that left him with a urostomy bag to catch re-routed urine.

...

Sawyer said he came home from his vacation Tuesday and waited to go public with his story until he was able to write a statement that satisfied him.

He said he was assisted by the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, a group he said he is a member of.
Claire Saxton, executive director for the network, called Sawyer’s claim “the most egregious incident I have heard of since the new procedures have been put in place,” and said agents should be trained to understand such medical issues.

...

Woman: What the TSA agent did to me was "sexual assault"



From KMOV:

Woman says her Lambert security screening was sexual assault


More Americans are growing angrier, over what the Transportation Security Administration, admits are more intrusive security put downs at airports.

One woman is comparing her experience at Lambert Airport to a sexual assault.
 
...
 
Moroney explains “Her gloved hands touched my breasts...went between them. Then she went into the top of my slacks, inserted her hands between my underwear and my skin... then put her hands up on outside of slacks, and patted my genitals.”
 
“I was shaking and crying when I left that room” Moroney says.  “Under any other circumstance, if a person touched me like that without my permission, it would be considered criminal sexual assault.”
 
Moroney complained to the Transportation Security Administration, TSA, supervisor and then complained on the ACLU’s website.
 
The national office is now monitoring what it calls a “flood of complaints” from across the country.
 
...

Michigan Woman: I was subjected to "violent" pat-down.



From WZZM13:

Enhanced pat down leaves Grand Rapids airline passenger in tears


GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM) - Before boarding a flight in Grand Rapids, a woman says the search at the security checkpoint was violent, unnecessary and extremely upsetting.

"When I got on the plane all I wanted to do was sob," says traveler Ella Swift.

Swift was one of an increasing number of passengers Transportation Security Administration officers are thoroughly searching by hand. They call it an "enhanced pat-down."

Swift says they told her she was singled out because she was wearing a skirt. She says the search earlier this month was very rough and left her in tears.

"The female officer ran her hand up the inside of my leg to my groin and she did it so hard and so rough she lifted me off my heels," she says. "I think I yelped. I was in pain for about an hour afterwards. It just felt excessive and unnecessary."

...

Friday, November 19, 2010

Gov. Jesse Ventura to not fly until TSA ends policies

Michigan State University professor bites airport security officer; student supports prof

From the State News:

MSU associate professor fights government power


Every day, our government increases its power and control over our lives. The Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act and wiretapping are but a few of the many onslaughts against personal liberty brought on by an increasingly bold and absolutist government.

So when I heard someone (MSU Associate Professor John D. McCallie) stood up to a uniformed imperial storm trooper, my first reaction was not to scorn him for not submitting, but to applaud him for standing up for his dignity. If more people did so, instead of acting like slaves, the government might not be able to act so tyrannically.

I don't know the details, but it is foolish to believe that people should bow down to an oppressor because they wear a uniform of state, as The State News appears to feel. I suppose they also look down on the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto who shot uniformed agents of the law when they came to kill them.

Last year's stories condemning Michigan's passages of a measure that would decriminalize shooting an assailant without first running away betrayed The State News' belief that individuals have no business defending themselves from a criminal, especially with a gun.

Now we know that The State News also thinks it's wrong for people to use their teeth when the airport Nazis (it seems like the right term judging by how they dress and act) come to arrest them for littering.

David Garlock
music senior


From the State News:

Professor arrested for biting officer


MSU women's basketball head coach Joanne P. McCallie witnessed a whole new defense tactic when she saw her husband bite the finger of a Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport police officer Wednesday.
John D. McCallie, an associate MSU economics professor and husband of Joanne P. McCallie, became hostile after his bag was lost at the Florida airport, said Bob Mattingly, the vice president of operations and maintenance at the airport.

McCallie was arrested on charges of resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement official.

"It's like the guy kind of flipped out," Mattingly said. "He got belligerent, and the trash container — he started swinging it in the air. It was at that time that he was placed under arrest."

The McCallies had flown to Florida for an annual vacation to unwind between the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, university spokesman Terry Denbow said.

When the couple arrived at the airport, they realized they were missing one of three bags. When the McCallies spoke with airport officials about finding the bag, they were told they would need the baggage claim tickets that were attached to their other two bags before the flight.

The McCallies had thrown the tickets away upon receiving the bags — a common move made by travelers, Mattingly said.

Upon hearing he would need the tickets to verify which bag was missing, McCallie started going through the trash bin to search for the tickets.

"He apparently then dumped some trash on the floor and couldn't find it and dumped another out, and at that time, people were taking note," Mattingly said.

During the trash mulling, a police officer approached McCallie. A scuffle ensued as McCallie became more hostile and bit the police officer on the finger. It took more than one officer to subdue him, Mattingly said.

McCallie was released on a $2,700 bond and is expected to continue his work at MSU today, Denbow said.

In a statement made Sunday by Joanne P. McCallie, she thanked those who have offered their support and warm wishes during this time.

"First, I want to thank all members of the immediate Spartan family and many others for their support and understanding over the past few days," McCallie said in the statement. "The McCallie family is very grateful and, based upon our years as Spartans, certainly not surprised."

Denbow spoke with Joanne P. McCallie on Friday, who told him all sides of the incident have not been revealed.

"She said, 'Remember there's two sides to every story, and only one side of this story has been out,'" Denbow said.

The McCallies couldn't be reached by The State News but have retained an attorney, Denbow said.

"We have to be concerned on the eve of the NCAA tournaments. The focus has to be on the team and the players," Denbow said.

"The players deserve it, so she will not be talking about this because she believes in her heart and soul that the team comes first at this time."

TSA agents: Americans upset over fondling are abusing us! Our morale is low! We cry!

From Boarding Area:

TSA Enhanced Pat Downs : The Screeners Point Of View


In the past few weeks since the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) implemented its new “enhanced” pat down procedures there has been considerable backlash from the traveling public. This backlash has been loud and angry … but what is not heard or seen in the media is the quiet resentment of this new policy within the TSA.

A few days ago I contacted 20 TSA Transportation Security Officers (TSO) to ask their opinions of the new “enhanced” pat downs. Of the 20 I reached out to, 17 responded. All 17 who responded are at airports where the new “enhanced” pat down is in place … and the responses were all the same, that front line TSOs do not like the new pat downs and that they do not want to perform them.  I expected most to not like the pat downs … but what I didn’t expect was that all 17 mentioned their morale being broken down.

Each of the 17 TSA TSOs that responded to me detailed their personal discomfort in conducting the new pat downs, with more than one stating that it is likely they are more uncomfortable performing the pat down than passengers are receiving them.

Some comments from these TSOs include:

...
 
Being a TSO means often being verbally abused, you let the comments roll off and check the next person, however when a woman refuses the scanner then comes to me and tells me that she feels like I am molesting her, that is beyond verbal abuse. . . .

I was asked by some guy if I got excited touching scrotums at the airport and if it gave me a power thrill. I felt like vomiting when he asked that. This is not a turn on for me to touch me it is in fact a huge turn off. There is a big difference between how I pat passengers down and a molester molesting people.”

Aside from the issue of TSA TSOs being required to physically touch passengers in places they do not want to be touching them during the ‘enhanced’ pat down, morale is decreasing for front line TSOs, due in part to an increase in verbal abuse.  Each of the 17 TSOs who responded to me detailed a new level of verbal abuse they are experiencing at work.

...

Some comments from these 17 TSOs include:

Molester, pervert, disgusting, an embarrassment, creep. These are all words I have heard today at work describing me, said in my presence as I patted passengers down. These comments are painful and demoralizing, one day is bad enough, but I have to come back tomorrow, the next day and the day after that to keep hearing these comments. If something doesn’t change in the next two weeks I don’t know how much longer I can withstand this taunting. I go home and I cry. I am serving my country, I should not have to go home and cry after a day of honorably serving my country.

...

Do people know what a Nazi is? . . . I am Jewish and a TSA Transportation Security Officer, an American Patriot and to call me a Nazi is an offense beyond all other offenses.

WND: We just mailed 500,000 protest letters to Congress

From World Net Daily:

Half-million TSA protest letters on their way


WASHINGTON – More than a half-million individual letters of protest of the new system of institutionalized airport abuse and humiliation are on their way to members of Congress, Barack Obama and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, thanks to WND's C.E.A.S.E. program – Cease Enhanced Airport Security Excesses.

The program allows the public to send 537 protest letters to each member of the House and Senate, Obama and Napolitano, with guaranteed Fed Ex delivery, for only $29.95. It is modeled after the historic "pink slips" campaign of last year that sent 9 million letters that drained the nation's supplies of pink paper and put members of Congress on notice of what to expect in the Nov. 2 election this year. Do you want to put a stop to airport humiliation through invasive "pat-downs" and "virtual strip searches"?

Here's how to participate in the program, devised by Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer of WND, who has set a goal of ending the abuse by Thanksgiving.

Because of the volume of these messages, WND is able to send them less expensively than American citizens could send them individually. Through this program, you can send the 537 messages for only $29.95. To replicate that feat individually, postage alone would cost more than $236. But the impact of participating in the "STOP AIRPORT HUMILIATION CAMPAIGN" makes your protest much more impressive – being a part of a mass movement, rather than an individual grievance, explained Farah.

WND simultaneously established a free on-line petition to these same officials. Similar petitions launched by WND have attracted nearly 600,000 virtual signatures.

"If $29.95 is not in your budget right now, at least sign the free petition," urges Farah. "I understand what politicians in Washington have done to our economy. But don't let them cow you into silence as they march us like sheep down the road to tyranny and degrading subjugation."

As the letter being sent to officials in Washington states, under the new screening protocols, passengers are subjected to a virtual "strip search" by being required to undergo a humiliating full-body scan, resulting in the display of a graphic image of their naked body to be scrutinized by a TSA agent.

If they choose to "opt out" of the full-body scan, they are forced instead to undergo the same kind of aggressive pat-down that criminals and drug-dealers get, including direct manual contact with their breasts and genitalia. Children are not exempt.

While such degrading and invasive searches certainly violate passengers' Fourth Amendment guarantee to be "secure in their persons … against unreasonable searches and seizures," the generation of naked images of minor passengers arguably amounts to the creation of illegal child pornography.

Moreover, backscatter X-ray technology is known to produce radiation that is potentially harmful to frequent fliers and airline crew members, which is why the American Pilots Association, representing about 12,000 pilots (including almost all of American Airlines' pilots) has strongly warned its members to refuse the full-body scanning.

This humiliating and degrading new program is already massively unpopular, and obviously subject to horrific abuse. As such, it is certain to result in a significant decline in air travel by Americans at a time when neither the airline industry nor the country can afford another economic crisis.

"Don't wait on taking action," urges Farah. "I am participating in this bargain program – and I urge every single American to do the same. Let's recreate the success of the 'Pink Slip' program and other similar efforts and return sanity and decency to our airports."

Prosecutor: I will charge TSA perverts with a felony

A picture is worth 1,000 words: for these pictures, the words "pervert" and "sexual assault" come to mind



Woman: I want TSA agent arrested

From New10:

Sacramento traveler wants TSA screener arrested for security pat-down


SACRAMENTO, CA - A woman who said she felt sexually violated by a security screener at Sacramento International Airport is insisting on a criminal investigation.

Wendy James Gigliotti, 43, believes she was pulled from the line of passengers going through security Tuesday morning because she was wearing a loose-fitting skirt.

Gigliotti said the female screener ordered her to spread her legs, and then conducted an extremely personal pat-down in full view of other passengers.

"I feel like I was sexually assaulted. Anybody but my husband or my doctor shouldn't be touching me up between my legs," she said.

Gigliotti, who is visiting family in Ann Arbor, Michigan until mid-December, said the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department told her she should have reported the incident before she got on the plane.

Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran confirmed the policy. "The victim is no longer here. We wouldn't take that type of report over the phone."

Curran said local authorities would prefer passengers file a complaint directly with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), but that the sheriff's department would take an incident report at the scene if a passenger insisted upon it.

Gigliotti said she had already made multiple attempts to contact the TSA without any response.

Curran said Gigliotti could see if a local police agency in Michigan would be willing take a report and forward it to Sacramento County sheriff's investigators.

Gigliotti told News10 that's what she intended to do.

Woman: I was shaking and crying when they were done with me

Female cancer survivor told to remove prosthetic breast by TSA agent

Vice President Joe Biden: Airport screening pat-downs a 'necessary policy'

Vice President Joe Biden defends those "love pats" so many Americans who opt-out of full body scanners are forced to endure, as administered by the TSA:

Vice President Joe Biden is defending the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) controversial new pat-down technique, calling it a "necessary policy."
It's only a "love pat" to Democrats

Biden acknowledged people have concerns that the TSA's use of full-body scanners and pat-downs are frustrating and intrusive but argued they are crucial to prevent another incident like the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing. 

"Well look, Larry, maybe because I spend so much time every morning dealing with the threat assessment that's out there and the fact that it's real — I understand peoples' frustration, but I — unless there's a new technology that comes along pretty quickly, I think it's — I think it's a necessary policy," he said on CNN's "Larry King Live" program. "I think it will have the effect of saving lives, intercepting explosives."

Even though the TSA's new policy has riled lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Biden's comments indicate the agency will continue to scan or pat down passengers at the nation's airports.
Are elected officials  subjected to "love pats" or do they get special treatment? Vice President Biden is exempt from being checked by the TSA when he flies.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Woman in tears at airport after incident with TSA; TSA policies break up families

From the Los Angeles Times:

Traveler who resisted TSA pat-down is glad his moment of fame is nearly over


...

One 32-year-old woman said she was in tears after a full-body scan Monday as she boarded a flight out of Los Angeles International Airport to attend a family member's funeral. Adriana, who asked that her full name not be used, said she was molested as a child and that the screening experience was so traumatic that she is actually considering train travel for the first time in her life.

"People who have not been violated before can't understand how it feels for a stranger to see more of you than your doctor," she said. "Someone should try to explain the situation for those that quietly and continuously take the torment."

Sandra Elliott of Denver said she is no prude but that a recent pat-down at John Wayne Airport was so humiliating that she is considering no longer traveling to see her grandchildren in Newport Beach.

"These women's hands were thrust firmly in my crotch. They pulled up my sweater and stuck their hands inside of my pants, plus thoroughly groped my breasts," Elliott said of screeners she encountered before her Nov. 1 flight back to Denver. "Please know that I am not a prude. I am not adverse to being touched by others, sometimes intimately, but this was absolutely overboard."

...

Woman: The TSA agent touched my vagina



From Prison Planet:

Sexual Assault: TSA Goon Gropes Woman’s Vagina

I have an incident to share that occurred late Friday afternoon, November 12, 2010, around 5:15 in the Dayton International Airport.

I realize the publishing this publically on the internet puts me into a delicate situation, given that I am a high profile blogger and author. This is a difficult incident to share, but it needs to be said…Because I will not be a silent victim.

I will share the facts of the incident in as a matter of fact manner as I can.

I checked into my flight and had a boarding pass printed that included “plus infant.” My baby and I were flying from Dayton, OH, to San Antonio, TX, so I could run in the San Antonio Half Marathon. I was taking my baby along because he is still breastfeeding for part of the day.

I entered the security line, removed the special formula that I had with me for the baby, as well as my quart size baggie with my other liquids. I went through the x-ray machine and metal detector, carrying the baby, with no incident.

Because I was traveling with baby formula, I knew to expect that they would test it with the paper circles for explosives. The TSA agent took all of my belongings over to the table in the center of the explosive screening tables. She asked me, “Are you aware of the NEW policies for carrying liquids through security that were instated 4 years ago?” (capitalized to show the emphasis that she placed on that word.)

I replied, “Yes, I fly with him every several weeks.”

She scanned the formula, then turned to me and said, “Remove your shoes and stand on that black mat for a patdown.”

I said, “OK, what do I do with the baby?”

“You cannot be holding him.” (I am traveling alone.)

So I placed him into his stroller. She instructed me, “Spread your feet apart and hold your arms out to the side.” I obliged.

She patted my left arm, my right arm, my upper back and my lower back. She then said, “I need to reach in and feel along the inside of your waistband.”

She felt along my waistline, moved behind me, then proceeded to feel both of my buttocks. She reached from behind in the middle of my buttocks towards my vagina area.

She did not tell me that she was going to touch my buttocks, or reach forward to my vagina area.

She then moved in front of my and touched the top and underneath portions of both of my breasts.

She did not tell me that she was going to touch my breasts.

She then felt around my waist. She then moved to the bottoms of my legs.

She then felt my inner thighs and my vagina area, touching both of my labia.

She did not tell me that she was going to touch my vagina area or my labia.

She then told me that I could put my shoes on and I asked if I could pick up the baby, she replied Yes.

She then moved back to my belongings to finish scanning them with the paper discs for explosives. When she finished she said I was free to go.

I stood there holding my baby in shock. I did not move for almost a minute.

I stood there, an American citizen, a mom traveling with a baby with special needs formula, sexually assaulted by a government official. I began shaking and felt completely violated, abused and assaulted by the TSA agent. I shook for several hours, and woke up the next day shaking.

Here is why I was sexually assaulted. She never told me the new body search policy. She never told me that she was going to touch my private parts. She never told me when or where she was going to touch me. She did not inform me that a private screening was available. She did not inform me of my rights that were a part of these new enhanced patdown procedures.

When I booked my ticket, I was given no information that the TSA had changed their wand and unintrusive patdown procedures to “enhanced” patdown procedures that involved the touching of all parts of your body, including breasts and vagina on women and testicles and penis on men. I was not informed by any signs on the front side of security about the new procedures. I had not seen any media coverage about the issue, so I had no idea that this was a new government sanctioned policy.

Another important piece in this story, the Dayton airport does not have the new body scanners. I was not given any other search options. It was enhanced patdown, or nothing. (And I would have opted for the body scanner, if I were going to be subject to a sexual assault.)

I asked to speak to a supervisor immediately. I had a very unpleasant conversation with him that lasted 20 minutes. I moved to the back of the security area, made a few phone calls, including to my lawyer. He did some quick research, and learned that I had indeed been sexually assaulted because she did not follow the SOP (standard operating procedure) for the new search.

During our first conversation, the TSA acting manager of the shift told me that the TSA agent who sexually assaulted me was supposed to inform me about the new search procedure and tell me when and where she was going to touch me. He also apologized on behalf of himself and on behalf of the agent who sexually assaulted me. I was not allowed to speak to the agent who sexually assaulted me, nor did the acting manager provide me with her name. (I did not have the presence of mind to look at her nameplate, as I was in shock.)

I also spoke with the Dayton police, the Dayton airport police, and left a message for the TSA manager for the Dayton airport. I intend to request the TSA to arrange for counseling services to be provided to me, so I can deal with the aftermath of the sexual assault that took place, caused by the specific touching actions and failure to inform me of the policies by the TSA agent.

I am speaking out against the TSA and share my sexual assault case to ensure that this does not happen to anyone else, anywhere.

I will not be a silent victim of sexual assault by a TSA agent. Total Sexual Assault.

I am calling for immediate change to this new enhanced body patdown search.

I am calling for the TSA agent who sexually assaulted me to be fired.

I am calling for you, a fellow American, to stand up against these new enhanced full body patdown search procedures of the TSA.

Please note: I do plan on flying back to Ohio on Monday, because it will take me too long to drive home from Texas. I do not however intend to fly again until this search policy of sexual molestation is revoked by the TSA.

I will leave you with this thought: “It is acceptable and encouraged that a TSA government official can do something to an American citizen that US military personnel cannot do to a member of the Taliban.”

TSA agents harass American soldiers returning from war

From Red State:

Another TSA Outrage


A friend of mine sent me this about his TSA experience. He, unlike most of us, was coming back into the country from Afghanistan on a military charter.

As the Chalk Leader for my flight home from Afghanistan, I witnessed the following:

When we were on our way back from Afghanistan, we flew out of Baghram Air Field. We went through customs at BAF, full body scanners (no groping), had all of our bags searched, the whole nine yards.

Our first stop was Shannon, Ireland to refuel. After that, we had to stop at Indianapolis, Indiana to drop off about 100 folks from the Indiana National Guard. That’s where the stupid started.

First, everyone was forced to get off the plane–even though the plane wasn’t refueling again. All 330 people got off that plane, rather than let the 100 people from the ING get off. We were filed from the plane to a holding area. No vending machines, no means of escape. Only a male/female latrine.

It’s probably important to mention that we were ALL carrying weapons. Everyone was carrying an M4 Carbine (rifle) and some, like me, were also carrying an M9 pistol. Oh, and our gunners had M-240B machine guns. Of course, the weapons weren’t loaded. And we had been cleared of all ammo well before we even got to customs at Baghram, then AGAIN at customs.

The TSA personnel at the airport seriously considered making us unload all of the baggage from the SECURE cargo hold to have it reinspected. Keep in mind, this cargo had been unpacked, inspected piece by piece by U.S. Customs officials, resealed and had bomb-sniffing dogs give it a one-hour run through. After two hours of sitting in this holding area, the TSA decided not to reinspect our Cargo–just to inspect us again: Soldiers on the way home from war, who had already been inspected, reinspected and kept in a SECURE holding area for 2 hours. Ok, whatever. So we lined up to go through security AGAIN.

This is probably another good time to remind you all that all of us were carrying actual assault rifles, and some of us were also carrying pistols.

So we’re in line, going through one at a time. One of our Soldiers had his Gerber multi-tool. TSA confiscated it. Kind of ridiculous, but it gets better. A few minutes later, a guy empties his pockets and has a pair of nail clippers. Nail clippers. TSA informs the Soldier that they’re going to confiscate his nail clippers. The conversation went something like this:

TSA Guy: You can’t take those on the plane.

Soldier: What? I’ve had them since we left country.

TSA Guy: You’re not suppose to have them.

Soldier: Why?

TSA Guy: They can be used as a weapon.

Soldier: [touches butt stock of the rifle] But this actually is a weapon. And I’m allowed to take it on.

TSA Guy: Yeah but you can’t use it to take over the plane. You don’t have bullets.

Soldier: And I can take over the plane with nail clippers?

TSA Guy: [awkward silence]

Me: Dude, just give him your damn nail clippers so we can get the f**k out of here. I’ll buy you a new set.

Soldier: [hands nail clippers to TSA guy, makes it through security]

This might be a good time to remind everyone that approximately 233 people re-boarded that plane with assault rifles, pistols, and machine guns–but nothing that could have been used as a weapon.

TSA: We now think that our agents should touch children's private parts

From USA Today:

No 'enhanced' pat-downs for kids, TSA says

Children going through airport security will no longer be subject to the aggressive pat-downs that have riled some passengers and will instead face less-intrusive hand searches from screeners, the Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday.

"After a thorough risk assessment and after hearing concerns from parents, we made the decision that a modified pat-down would be used for children 12 years old and under who require extra screening," TSA spokeswoman Kristin Lee said in a statement.

The TSA last month began "enhanced" pat-downs on passengers who decline to enter body scanners that create graphic images of people under their clothes and are viewed in a private room by screeners. Some passengers complained the pat-downs were intrusive, while others have protested the body scanners as a privacy invasion.

The TSA decision to ease screening for children came as the agency was sued Tuesday by two airline pilots seeking to block the use of body scanners and enhanced pat-downs. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., by Michael Roberts, an ExpressJet Airlines pilot who created a minor stir last month when he refused to undergo a body scan and a pat-down at Memphis International Airport, where he was trying to board a flight to his base in Houston. The other plaintiff is Continental Airlines first officer Ann Poe.

Grandmother fondled by TSA agent

From the Boston Herald:

NH Grandma groped by TSA blasts ‘invasive’ body search


A local grandmother’s Nov. 12 wardrobe choice of cargo pants with zippers made her victim of the federal government’s new full-body pat-down searches at airports.

Diane Bitter said she was passing through Manchester Airport en route to Arizona last Friday when her pants zippers triggered a metal detector.

“Of course you can’t just take your pants off,” she said, explaining she was then directed to step aside for an “insane” inspection.

“Right out in the middle of everything,” a female airport screener began patting Bitter’s body in places she did not expect.

“She touched my private parts,” said Bitter.

Pressed for details, the 67-year-old Rye Beach resident said the airport employee put her hands inside the waistband of her pants, felt around her waist, passed her hands over both her breasts, and rubbed her hands up and down the insides of her legs - “twice in front and twice in back.”

“As it got more invasive, I thought, ‘why am I consenting to this?’” she said. “It was totally humiliating.”

Bitter said after the screener “finished feeling me all over,” she removed a pair of blue latex gloves, rubbed them with “a detecting pad,” put the gloves into a machine and got a reading clearing Bitter for hazardous substances.

“I didn’t hang around to see if anyone else got the treatment,” she said.

...

The ACLU is collecting reports from passengers about their pat-down experiences and advertising that it wants to hear from passengers who “suffered from rough, rude and humiliating manhandling and groping of breasts and crotch areas, sexual comments, and a lack of privacy.”

Reports can be made online here.

Peverts apply for TSA jobs en masse

From GlossyNews.com:

TSA Groping Incident Attracts New Employees to Agency

...

“R. Kelly gets busted for child pornography, but Baltimore International’s got five showings of my kids naked — with no admission charged,” complained one parent. However, failure to submit to a full body scan will result in “enhanced” screening processes carried out in person by TSA officers, including the touching of genitals. It was after refusing to enter the scanners that John Tyner was subjected to TSA groping. In the video of the incident, Tyner threatened to have TSA personnel arrested for touching his “junk.” The Airline Pilots Association also supports Tyner’s claims, calling the TSA pat downs “sexual molestation.”

...

Despite the backlash from consumers, TSA procurement officials claim that since the groping procedures were enacted, the number of job applicants has tripled. Barnes Hamroid, the TSA’s vice president of Human Resources, said, “I think people in America are smarter than the media portrays. They understand the need for these safety protocols, and the mountain of resumes on my desk supports that.

...

Pilot: The TSA wanted to see my private parts.

From HotAir.com:

Pilot to Hannity: The TSA wanted to see my penis

Yeah, he really said that, which caught Hannity completely off guard. What he was really talking about was going through the airport scanners. Michael Roberts, a pilot who is now suing Homeland Security decided to forgo the airport scanners and the fully body ‘love pats’ and took the third option of going home, which is where he’s been every since. He says that he’s always gone through the metal detector, but this is going way too far.

A point that Hannity made which I find interesting is that the logic fails on scanning and searching pilots because they can ultimately crash the plane anyway. There’s no procedure in the world that can prevent that and it just shows how ludicrous these measures have become. Last night on the O’Reilly Factor, Ann Coulter asked if body cavity searches would be next, considering that terrorists have already used this method to conceal explosives.

What we really need to do is to take a page out of Israel’s playbook and begin doing background checks on airline passengers and putting people on the ground in the airports that are specifically trained to interview suspicious passengers. These methods are much less invasive, and highly effective according to the former Security Chief of El Al airlines.

I’ll be glad when we get some common sense in Washington. This is really getting pathetic.

Annual family tradition of thirty years ended because of TSA policies

From MSNBC:

Fed-up fliers protest airport security measures


For 30 years, Marcia Miller has flown across the country to Toledo, Ohio, to join four generations of her family for Thanksgiving dinner. But scared off by newly ramped-up airport security measures — including full-body scans and, in some cases, “enhanced” pat downs by TSA workers — Miller has decided instead to dine alone in L.A.

She is opting out.

“Am I really supposed to let a total stranger rub my private parts because I bought an airplane ticket?” said Miller, who runs the jewelry and fashion website, ILoveAccessories.com. “Would you allow your daughter to be patted down by a stranger and not feel like punching the person that did it? It leaves scars... just like a rape leaves scars.”

Miller has some company in both her personal protest and her fear of the Transportation Security Administration’s new methods.

A grassroots group of fliers who say they are fed up with airport “feel ups” and who call TSA X-ray machines “porno scanners” are cooking up a Thanksgiving Eve revolt that, they vow, will turn the nation’s heaviest travel day into “holy hell.”

Fueled by two new websites — OptOutDay.com and WeWontFly.com — as well as by several awkward, security-point frisking videos that recently went viral, movement members are vowing to unleash a surreal spate of Nov. 24 disruptions just as millions of Americans fly off for annual family feasts. Atop the protesters’ tactical list: urging passengers to “opt out” of full-body scans, forcing TSA employees to instead administer “enhanced,” hand-sliding, pat downs that can include feeling a person’s inner thighs and buttocks.

One X-ray glimpse typically takes TSA employees about 30 seconds, but the more-intimate, physical searches — implemented by the federal government three weeks ago — can last several minutes per passenger. If a large enough portion of travelers choose to “opt out” of the scans, security lines could potentially coil to record lengths at multiple airports — and travelers may miss their flights.

...

“TSA is not going have the manpower to stick their hands in the pants of every man coming through there,” said James Babb, a 42-year-old advertising consultant from the Philadelphia area who co-founded WeWontFly.com. “We are really encouraging people to not just opt out of the radiation scan but also opt out of the groping by not flying at all.”

Even lawmakers are considering whether it is time to "opt out."

Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., who helped write the bill creating the TSA, now says it might be time to eliminate the government agency, NBC's WESH-TV reports.

Mica, who will chair the House Transportation Committee in the new year, has sent letters to 150 airports suggesting that they dump TSA screeners and hire private security. Florida's Orlando Sanford Airport, which handles 2 million passengers a year, already plans to replace "testy" TSA screeners with private contractors.

The federal law that created the TSA gives airports the right to use private screeners, as long as they follow the Department of Homeland Security's rules and guidelines.

"As TSA has grown larger, more impersonal, and administratively top-heavy, I believe it is important that airports across the country consider utilizing the opt-out provision provided by law," Mica wrote in the letter.

It's only a "love pat" says Missouri Sen. McCaskill

Sen. Claire McCaskill calls it a "love pat"
Do you enjoy the "love pats" at the airport? Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill considers the TSA use of pat-downs for those who opt-out merely a "love pat":
Transportation Safety Administration chief John Pistole and several senators from both parties defended the new, enhanced airport security screening procedures as necessary in the face of a persistent and evolving terrorist threat in a hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill.

Pistole, calm and confident in the face of an increasing public outcry against the procedures, talked extensively about the repercussions of last year's attempted Christmas Day bombing being the impetus for the enhanced screenings before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, TSA's oversight committee.

"We know the terrorists' intent is still there," Pistole testified. "We are using technology and protocols to stay ahead of the threat and keep you safe. (Several near-misses by terrorists on airplane bombings) got through security because we were not being thorough enough in our pat-downs."

Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri said prior to Pistole's testimony that she believed TSA was in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation, because people would be hopping mad at TSA if Christmas bomber Umar Farouk Adbulmutallab had succeeded. She went on to say the new advanced imaging technology--which has caused uproar because of its leave-no-secrets imaging and potential health risks--is more of a blessing than a curse.

"I'm wildly excited that I can walk through a machine instead of getting my dose of love pats," Sen. McCaskill said.{emphasis added}

It begins: Orlando's Sanford Airport to opt-out of TSA Screening

And so it begins, as the first airport has opted-out of utilizing TSA screeners:

The backlash continues over those new TSA screening measures, and now one Central Florida airport has decided to go with a private security screening firm. 


Orlando Sanford International Airport has decided to opt out from TSA screening.


"All of our due diligence shows it's the way to go," said Larry Dale, the director of the Sanford Airport Authority. "You're going to get better service at a better price and more accountability and better customer service."

Dale says he will be sending a letter requesting to opt out from TSA screening, and instead the airport will choose one of the five approved private screening companies to take over.

Congressman John Mica, who's expected to lead the powerful Transportation Committee next year, says the TSA is crying out for reform.

"I think TSA is overstepping its bounds," said Mica.

Dale says, if all goes as planned, the private security firm could take over in about 12 months.

The TSA points out that even if an airport decides to use a private firm for security, the screeners still must follow TSA guidelines. That would include using the full body scanners if they are installed at the airport.
Let this be the beginning of a restoration of sanity around the nation.

Barney Frank's "Pervert Airlines"

From Human Events:

AUDIO: Barney Frank's Pervert Airlines

The Obama Administration has a premiere civil servant leading the TSA this holiday season: Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts!  The mission, which he enthusiastically accepted, is to ensure that all of Barney's fingers end up on every organ of every American...every day!  Homeland Security has now become Homeland Perversity!  All of the groping security-check madmen will now model their behavior on Barney!

Won’t it be fun to run the gauntlet of drooling mouths, fat hairy bellies, and sticky hands?  And, if Barney is busy while you're late for that flight to grandma’s, get ready to reach second base with DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano!  It’s time to lose your airport virginity to Frisky Frank and his team of sexual predators!  Click the player below, and hop aboard Pervert Airlines.  It's an experience you can’t wash off!

Fox and Rice Experience: Pervert Airlines by HumanEvents

Prank call to the TSA

"The TSA is out of control"

John Tyner video

Just say "No!" to gate-rape

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Ron Paul: "I'm fed up."

California District Attorney: I will prosecute TSA perverts

From FOX News:

California DA Vows to Prosecute Airport Screeners Who Touch Travelers Inappropriately

The public outcry over the government's new pat-downs gained momentum Wednesday, as a California district attorney vowed to prosecute any complaints of inappropriate touching by airport security screeners and a U.S. congressman called for screeners to receive improved training.

The developments came as the head of the Transportation Security Administration, John Pistole, acknowledged that the new pat-downs are more invasive than what travelers were used to in the past.

The "enhanced" pat-downs of airline passengers who opt out of using the high-tech body scanners require screeners to touch travellers' breasts or genitals. 

...

Steve Wagstaffe, the incoming district attorney in San Mateo County, told FoxNews.com that he would charge screeners with sexual battery for complaints of inappropriate touching with sexual or lewd intent.

...

"It becomes a crime when someone does that touching, reaches under the blouse and fondles breasts," he said. "That's a crime under California law."

If convicted of a misdemeanor, TSA screeners would face up to one year in the county jail; for a felony, which would involve skin-on-skin contact, they would face up to three years in state prison.

...

Ron Paul introduces anti-TSA legislation

From the U.S. Congress:

Introducing the American Traveler Dignity Act

Mr. Speaker, today I introduce legislation to protect Americans from physical and emotional abuse by federal Transportation Security Administration employees conducting screenings at the nation’s airports. We have seen the videos of terrified children being grabbed and probed by airport screeners. We have read the stories of Americans being subjected to humiliating body imaging machines and/or forced to have the most intimate parts of their bodies poked and fondled. We do not know the potentially harmful effects of the radiation emitted by the new millimeter wave machines.

In one recent well-publicized case, a TSA official is recorded during an attempted body search saying, “By buying your ticket you gave up a lot of rights.” I strongly disagree and am sure I am not alone in believing that we Americans should never give up our rights in order to travel. As our Declaration of Independence states, our rights are inalienable. This TSA version of our rights looks more like the “rights” granted in the old Soviet Constitutions, where freedoms were granted to Soviet citizens -- right up to the moment the state decided to remove those freedoms.

The incident of the so-called “underwear bomber” last Christmas is given as justification for the billions of dollars the federal government is spending on the new full-body imaging machines, but a Government Accountability Office study earlier this year concluded that had these scanners been in use they may not have detected the explosive material that was allegedly brought onto the airplane. Additionally, there have been recent press reports calling into question the accuracy and adequacy of these potentially dangerous machines.

My legislation is simple. It establishes that airport security screeners are not immune from any US law regarding physical contact with another person, making images of another person, or causing physical harm through the use of radiation-emitting machinery on another person. It means they are subject to the same laws as the rest of us.

Imagine if the political elites in our country were forced to endure the same conditions at the airport as business travelers, families, senior citizens, and the rest of us. Perhaps this problem could be quickly resolved if every cabinet secretary, every member of Congress, and every department head in the Obama administration were forced to submit to the same degrading screening process as the people who pay their salaries.

I warned at the time of the creation of the TSA that an unaccountable government entity in control of airport security would provide neither security nor defend our basic freedom to travel. Yet the vast majority of both Republicans and Democrats then in Congress willingly voted to create another unaccountable, bullying agency-- in a simple-minded and unprincipled attempt to appease public passion in the wake of 9-11. Sadly, as we see with the steady TSA encroachment on our freedom and dignity, my fears in 2001 were justified.

The solution to the need for security at US airports is not a government bureaucracy. The solution is to allow the private sector, preferably the airlines themselves, to provide for the security of their property. As a recent article in Forbes magazine eloquently stated, “The airlines have enormous sums of money riding on passenger safety, and the notion that a government bureaucracy has better incentives to provide safe travels than airlines with billions of dollars worth of capital and goodwill on the line strains credibility.” In the meantime, I hope we can pass this legislation and protect Americans from harm and humiliation when they choose to travel.