Standing in the security line at Sea-Tac around the time Obama was elected in 2008, I thought that it would be a good indication of how much actual “hope and change” we’d be getting if the Obama Administration made some common sense changes to TSA procedures upon assuming office. It’s fairly well known that things like removing shoes and taking liquid items away doesn’t make much sense in any risk mitigation sense, and a new regime that billed itself as being more wedded to sound science than its predecessor would theoretically consider such changes to be no-brainers. Instead, we’ve continued to slide backwards in this respect, to the point of complete absurdity.
Our supposed national inclination towards personal liberty is nothing more than a mirage. What makes me even more convinced of this is that over 80% of the American public supports these body scans, while only 44% (Nate Silver estimates it’s far less than that) of Americans have even flown on an airplane in the past year. That means that there’s a significant number of Americans who never even face the miniscule risk of terrorism on an airplane who still insist that people’s naked images should be viewed by a government employee (or be sexually molested by one) before one can board a plane.
As Silver also points out in this post, people who travel most often are the most dissatisfied with airport security, and that was long before the porno-scanners were put into use. This seems perfectly normal to us, but it shouldn’t be. The people who should be most satisfied with a system of protecting air travelers are those most at risk from the security threats to air travelers. In a country where personal liberty is valued at some level, the people who aren’t at risk should be the least likely to go along with draconian security measures. Instead, they appear to be the most likely.
The brewing backlash against this insanity is good news, but the fact that it devolved to this point before people got this angry says a lot about how much we actually value freedom and how willing we’ve been to have blind faith in our government’s ability to “protect” us.
we need cavity checks at all borders including canada to make sure the evildoers and their anthrax stay the fuck out!
did the seattle police assassinate any more indian woodcarvers today?
Americans must have complete security and complete freedom, at the same time.
Let’s take this out to it’s illogical extreme, absolutely everyone should expect to be cavity searched and fly naked and carry nothing, only the rich who can afford to charter private jets will be exempt.
I opted out of a scan
and declined to be body searched in private
if an assault on my dignity and liberty is necessary
let it be seen in public
I’m hoping to catch the bootleg celebrity scan site in a couple of months. Now we can get the truth about Ann Coulter!
Honestly, it’s one more thing that’s killing air travel. I had to go on a trip recently and the security was just the unpleasant icing on the cake.
The perfectly awful service and cabin space the airline provided made for a miserable set of flights. One flight was totally full and I was next to a large man, so I couldn’t put my arm by my side for 5 hours. Gawd it was grim.
I was pretty much on travel most of the time in my previous life. I’ve hated the hassle since it started.
I listened to President Obama’s new TSA Director today on NPR. He sounded like a fucking smarmy jerk — “yeah, we grope you if you don’t let us see you naked so we can all be safe“ — I “heard” a smirk.
I’ve been boycotting air travel. I’ve not gone some places because of it. So hopefully enough of us stop flying so that it matters to someone in industry because they’re the only ones that seem to get what they want these days.
Sadly, it’s pretty likely (given the above) it’s going to get worse and spread to more things we do. I think I’ve probably already taken the last plane ride in my life.
Did you know?
DHS = Department of Homeland Security
KGB = Kommittee for State Security
“We added the new scanners because a profit-seeking company and its lobbyist persuaded TSA to shell out big bucks to buy them. Guess who works for the consulting company? Michael Chertoff, former head of Homeland Security, who hyped the “benefits” of these scanners when he was in office. “
http://jeffreymiron.com/2010/
A couple things:
I suppose writing “fuck you” in metallic body paint for the person observing by body scan would present some problems for me.
But I an courage any of you to consider a “freedom?” message, or something patriotic that can only be seen by the scanner.
I might to travel in January and do have to next September and do intend to express my freedom of speech.
Second, I may opt for the free gloved hand-job on the return flight.
Thanks auto-correct
I don’t care if Muslims are continually trying to bomb our planes, I don’t want to be inconvenienced with tighter security at the airport!
@11, what! The government is finally working for your side and you are mocking it? I thought all Republicans wanted a hand-job from an anonymous man at the airport, or is that some special Idaho Republican handshake?
I have wondered what would happen if you extended middle fingers of both hands as they were above your head. Would they haul you away as an example? It would have nothing to do with safety but rather to discourage any vocal protests. The other option would be to go for the pat down and start moaning.
I hate flying. I think TSA is comprised of a bunch of incompetent clowns who have an inflated sense of importance.
I do believe that writing anything on yourself would assure that you did not make your flight. They’d be testing your metallic paint for explosive residue and it would extend into a cavity search.
@12
I’m being sarcastic. It’s obviously ridiculous to complain about tighter airport security. Muslims are trying to blow our planes out of the sky!
@14, no shit.
Is it that they are wearing blue gloves that makes it just that much more dirty, filthy for Republicans?
TSA Hand-jobs for FREEDOM!
@13, what if it said, God Bless Our Free America
@11, @14 Thing is, as Lee pointed out, these procedures do almost nothing to actually make flights more secure. They just inconvenience millions of people so as to convince the gullible (like you) that they’re effective. If I can think of 100 different ways around them — and I can — any genuinely trained terrorist can think of a lot more.
The simplest, most cost-effective solution is to stop doing the things that inspire terrorists to strike and convince a segment of the Muslim world to support them. You’ll always have loonies, but you can do a lot to dry up support for the organized stuff and save a lot of money (not to mention the US commercial airline industry) at the same time. Revamping our failed Middle East policies would be a huge start.
But none of that ever gets seriously discussed by either political party. Instead we’d rather make toothpaste contraband and launch a whole new YouTube cottage industry. When the best justification for these procedures is “Well, the airlines will be torturing their customers for hours already, so what’s a little more discomfort or indignity?,” you know you’ve got a failed policy.
If it’s less than four days away, I drive now.
No one seems to get it. These increasingly invasive tactics at the airport are designed to “train” Americans to not question authority and to be docile, so when the Repugs institute a totalitarian police state no one will object. Any chance of a real protest against these tactics are gone because most Americans have been taught to not have opinions about anything to do with state security. We have our experts!
Every person who flies is an expert in as much as they know the experience they have had and they should be bitching their heads off, but the Bushites with their Homeland Security apparatus have most people scared to death. (Yes, the Bushites still have power in Obamaland, it’s true.)
Test yourself: How likely are you to complain about a long line when you see five TSA employees standing around doing nothing and you might be late for your plane? If you call one over and point out the absurdity they could detain you and make you miss your flight, right? So you keep your mouth shut.
This situation is similar to all authoritarian experience in human history. People are made to be quiet about absurdity and injustice to themselves or others because they might be singled out and lose something personally. We are no longer living in a free society. It’s just a matter of time until we (collectively) notice. But by then it will be too late.
Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be flying again any time soon.
The airline industry sucks up too many tax payer dollars as well.
That survey showing wide support for the scanners doesn’t mean a thing unless it consisted entirely of business travelers flying full fare Mon – Fri and of course it didn’t. For those of us who do fly on a weekly basis, the outrage is real as is the backlash.
I travel a fair amount on business but have not yet encountered the dread body scan and pat down. I expect to soon. Even without that, I would happily join any organization that makes opposing this s**t its prime mission and would join in any (legal) protest actions that it suggested. Even though most flight screenings go fairly well, even one bad time leaves a scar. Once a young woman was either in the process of losing her mind or misunderstood something I said and started threatening to take me into custody. Such things make every trip more stressful than it needs to be. I would stop flying in a heartbeat if I could.
Building a high-speed rail network looks better and better all the time, doesn’t it?
@18
This was my thought exactly. I noted this while waiting in line at the security checkpoint at SeaTac last year. There were big TVs showing a “public service” message that boiled down to “Do what you’re told” and “Don’t ask questions” and “Say the wrong thing and you’ll be detained”
We are/have become a police state.
I’m fretting about these scanners/gropings more about my kids than me. We usually travel south at Spring break, to Mexico, so there really isn’t a non-air alternative.
I have a 9 and a 14 year old, boys, and I don’t want them either groped or exposed to the “safe” (read bullshit) radiation.
For myself, I would opt out of the scan, and then somehow taunt the groper with either a moan, or a “was that good for you” or some such sexually-charged statement.
With my kids, while they would find the theater in such a small rebellion funny, that still doesn’t protect them. I’m not sure how to protect my kids from 1. radiation, 2. having their genitals groped, 3. having their sense of personal integrity violated – with #3 being the most egregious.
It would be a hilarious (though expensive) protest to get a large number of people – several dozen, at least – to purchase tickets and go through security at the same time, and as the beginning of the group gets to the scanners – everybody disrobes, down to nothing! I think the sight of 20-30 naked people refusing a scan and daring a grope would be a powerful message of protest.
Of course, they’d all get arrested, as we have laws to protect us for the heinous crime of public nudity. It would also likely be construed as a sex offense and really tarnish the records of such protesters.
We are in a police state.
Is it true that Janet Napolitano is going to be exempting Muslim women from the body scans and body searches if they are wearing conservative dress (i.e. hijab, with head scarf)?
I can see how Muslims would be genuinely affronted in their religious and moral sensibilities to either a nude body scan or a groping search of the private areas.
But so would anyone else with personal sensibilities.
And exempting Muslims sorta defeats the whole purpose. While only a very very small amount of Muslims commit terrorist acts, pretty much all of the airplane terrorist incidents over the last 10 years or more have been committed by Muslims.
It seems like Drudge has been stoking the fires on the issue for quite a few days now.
Blue John–
If we are to be groped by a same-sex Security person, shouldn’t we have the right to know if that person is gay or not??
Perhaps gay males should be groping females….and Lesbians groping males??
What do you think?
The ONLY solution is to do what Israel does…PROFILING! Groping a 3 year-old girl is ludicrous. Same will grannies.
@18
super true and worth repeating:
>>This situation is similar to all authoritarian experience in human history. People are made to be quiet about absurdity and injustice to themselves or others because they might be singled out and lose something personally. We are no longer living in a free society. It’s just a matter of time until we (collectively) notice. But by then it will be too late.<<
@26
I can see how Muslims would be genuinely affronted in their religious and moral sensibilities to either a nude body scan or a groping search of the private areas.
But so would anyone else with personal sensibilities.
Exactly. I don’t think anyone likes to be groped by a stranger in a public place.
I’m hoping that when the ACLU and Drudge are both outraged by something, it might actually provide that rare opportunity where an outrageous authoritarian security measure actually gets rolled back.
Lee-
You do realize your hero Barry ImamObaMao is in charge of this clusterfuck.
He’s your guy Lee!!!!!!!!!!!!
As outraged as you pretend to be, you will vote for Barry in 2012!!
Unlike the Tea Party, Progressives have no balls to hold their leadership accountable.
@30
As outraged as you pretend to be, you will vote for Barry in 2012!!
Not if the Republicans nominate someone who isn’t a joke. But as we both know, that’s not likely. And if someone runs as a Democrat against Obama in the primary attacking Obama’s civil liberties record, I’d support them too. As always, you have far more exclamation points than actual points in your comment.
If we are to be groped by a same-sex Security person, shouldn’t we have the right to know if that person is gay or not??
Why do you care? Why do you straight men always think everyone wants in your pants?
Trust me. We don’t.
Anyway, looks like the former DHS secretary Michael Chertoff is making millions off the Rape-Scan x-ray porno scanning machines. It is something Chertoff started developing in 2008 and earlier when he was still in office.
So you have the evils of the Bush administration for making it happen, combined with some incompetency by the Obama administration (i.e. Napolitano) for letting this happen.
Hopefully, Napolitano doesn’t start exempting conservatively dressed Muslim women from this degrading process. The backlash against Obama would be enormous.
The Israelis don’t even use this invasive technology themselves, and they are targeted for terror much more than we are. Basically, it is just the US and Britain, from what I can tell.
31. Lee spews:
Why do they have to run as a Democrat??
Why not bring forth the Progressive Party?
You pot-smoking KLOWNS poke fun at the Tea Party…but at least they stand up for what they believe…unlike you who are ImamObaMao’s USEFUL IDIOTS!
You KLOWNS are worse than what you claim to abhor.
Whining sheep is all you are.
@31, Lee: Well done, sir!
Zotz–
Well-done??
How is blindly supporting the Democrats “well-done”. The Tea Party went after Senators, House Members and lots of local RINO’s.
Remember how you KLOWNS laughed and predicted it would divide the Republican Party?
At least the Tea Party has courage of their convictions. They will hold R’s accountable.
You KLOWNS have nothing.
Just close your eyes and hope for change, right?
You are lazy and have no courage.
If you did, you would challenge incumbent Dems who keep disappointing you, including ImamObaMao.
But you won’t……
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
WHINEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@36
Remember how you KLOWNS laughed and predicted it would divide the Republican Party?
At least the Tea Party has courage of their convictions. They will hold R’s accountable.
It did divide the Republican Party. The Tea Party cost the Republicans the Senate, and their continued willingness to force Republicans to field unelectable candidates will continue to doom it in 2012 and beyond.
You’re slowly killing your party. That’s why you’re far more of an ally to Obama than I am. You’re doing way more to get him re-elected than I could possibly do.
@34
And by the way, all the Tea Party candidates ran as Republicans, so your point about running as a separate party doesn’t even make sense. Do you even proof-read your comments before you post them to make sure you’re not about to totally embarrass yourself?
You probably should.
Lee–
I disagree.
It has strengthened the Republican Party.
The Senate does not matter in 2010.
It does matter, along with the Presidency, in 2012.
Your idea of Democrat Kumbaya is quickly killing your Party Lee. You have become like the old R’s where their is a hierarchy and it’s this guys turn to run..or this person, like Pelosi & Reid deserve to stay in power.
THAT will do more to hurt the Dems that anything I can say or do.
Pelosi & Reid should leave power positions after the shellacking.
2012 has 14 Democrat Senate Seats that will be highly contested, including Cantwell. The R’s appear to only have 1…Scott Brown.
The 2010 Election was merely a stage setter.
As long as Obama is President, controlling the House is all that is necessary.
The Senate matters in 2012.
And looking ahead to 2014…there are lots of Dems like Franken that will by big-time targets.
Lee, you are in power, but weakened.
You are on the defensive.
You are struggling internally with a Party clearly divided by old-time Dems and New Age Progressives.
At least the Blue Dogs and Heath Shuler have the courage to standup/
Where are you Lee?
Lazy, lighting up a bowl, bitching & whining.
Lee-
The Tea Partiers ran against incumbent and establishment R’s in numerous Primary’s. Some R’s retired rather than face the Tea party.
Yes Miller failed in Alaska…but Murkowski will never become a Democrat.
No Republican had a chance in Delaware, Nevada or Connecticut….not even Castle per exit polling.
Where is the Progressive Organization that will stand up to wayward Democrats??
Doesn’t seem to exist.
@39
It has strengthened the Republican Party.
The Senate does not matter in 2010.
It does matter, along with the Presidency, in 2012.
And if the same thing happens in the Presidential primary for the GOP (a Tea Party loonie beats a moderate), Obama will cruise to re-election.
@40
No Republican had a chance in Delaware, Nevada or Connecticut….not even Castle per exit polling.
Absolute bullshit. Castle would have easily won in Delaware, and even relatively competent candidates could have won in Nevada, West Virginia, and Colorado.
Your wishful-thinking style of political commentary is fascinating. It’s like Calvin and Hobbes political science. In your mind, Hobbes is real, but to everyone else, you’re just a six-year-old talking to an imaginary stuffed animal.
Fucking hilarious. Keep it up.
@39
Lee, you are in power, but weakened.
Dude, you need help. I’m no more “in power” than you are. Are you seeing any pink elephants right now? Have you eaten any strange mushrooms lately? You sound like you’re on a bad trip, let me know when the black helicopters start flying through your kitchen.
Gee Lee-
I remember you and your KLOWNmates telling us what you were going to do to us Conservatives after the 2008 election. Remember? That sure sounded like you felt you had power. Guess your “feelings’ have changed, huh?
You seem quite bitter about this Lee. I told you ImamObaMao and the Democrats would disappoint you.
Come on Lee..ObamaCare?? What a joke.
It still might not pass Constitutional mustard.
They have already granted numerous exemptions.
It’s going to be so gutted, it will accomplish nothing but add more bureuacrats and increase cost.
I’m sure in your wetdreams you believe contested primaries and battles for ideology & power within a party is good for you sheep.
Did you think there would be this many House Seats swapping hands Lee??
The 2012 Republican nominee will be someone Tea Partiers can support nearly 100%. Why? Because the Republican establishment got the message. I would support a 3rd party candidate before Romney.
I’ve said it will be Paul Ryan (R-WI) since Obama was annointed. Perhaps Pawlenty.
I’d love to see Newt run….but I suspect he won’t.
Lots of TRUE CONSERVATIVES to choose from.
No RINO’s.
Obama should have made it a priority (yes, above health care reform, and perhaps even ahead of banking regulation) to abolish or completely reorganize DHS. That whole thing was a construct by the prior administration, taking full advantage of post-911 hysteria, to accomplish the following three objectives:
(1.) Take tens of thousands of federal jobs out from under civil service protection.
(2.) Use (1.) above to populate all levels of management with cronies and Monica Goodwin-esque foot soldiers, many of whom are still in their positions, working to further the neocon agenda and embarrass the new administration at every opportunity.
(3.) Funnel vast amounts of cash into the hands of contractors like Chertoff’s company.
@43
Come on Lee..ObamaCare?? What a joke.
It still might not pass Constitutional mustard.
Constitutional mustard?!?
LOL!
What a fucking retard.
@43
I’m sure in your wetdreams you believe contested primaries and battles for ideology & power within a party is good for you sheep.
That’s been your entire argument this whole thread! LOL!
Wow, you’re so dumb it’s painful…
The 2012 Republican nominee will be someone Tea Partiers can support nearly 100%.
And my point is that if that happens, that candidate will get crushed by Obama. The Tea Party is nuts and the American public knows it.
@43
I’ve said it will be Paul Ryan (R-WI) since Obama was annointed.
Paul Ryan voted for TARP and the bailouts. You think he’ll get 100% Tea Party support after that?
@45
Had to post that at Effin Unsound.
Got any more stupidity to share with us today?
Cynical @ 43
Gingrich pretty much Newt-ered himself when he resigned from Congress back in 1999 a few days into his term. Of course, a similar strategy hasn’t stopped half-term governor Palin from pursuing bigger and badder things.
Seems like Republicans love to RESIGN. Dole resigned when he ran for President. Rossi resigned when he ran for governor. Trent Lott and Denny Hastert resigned when the Democrats captured Congress in 2006 and they wanted higher pay as lobbyists.
@48: He probably thinks that in “Purple Haze”, Jimi Hendrix says “excuse me while I kiss this guy”.
It’s “pass muster”, fucknuts. It’s a military term for passing an inspection… which shows that like any other braindead coward conservative, you don’t really have a clue about the armed forces.
Lee–
I thought you’d like that one.
Pass the mustard.
The answer is do what Israel does. But we can’t due to Seattle lefty insanity. RACISM they cry, so they submit gladly to the public proctology exam.
You might have noticed that when you buy your ticket online, you get repeated options to buy additional conveniences and options – super-economy seats (three extra inches of legroom), upgrades which allow you to skip to the front of the security line, access to private lounges while you wait at the airport, etc.
So why don’t we just add an “extra-intimate securty massage/screening” to the options, and charge a hundred bucks or so for the screeners to escort us to a private room where we would be disrobed entirely, while they perform the most “intimate security screens” possible. Of course, it works only if TSA hires some attractive strippers (male and female) to perform the task.
Not only would many of the travelers quit complaining, but the extra fees would even pay for the service, and perhaps post a profit, as well!
Of course, business travelers would then have even more explaining to do back home, when they insist to their spouses that a twice-weekly business trip from Seattle to Spokane is really necessary, and taking a Horizon flight is really the only available travel option.
I think it’s time to repeal the Patriot Act and abolish the Department of Homeland Security. The TSA goons have overstepped their bounds and should be shown the door for being arrogant servants who think they are actually the master. Judge Andrew Napolitano has it right when he declares that the government is the servant, not the master.
Lee, thanks for taking a Libertarian view on this one. It’s time to end the TSA and fire all the arrogant jerks who work there.