The country has been coming to a slow boil over TSA screening measures. What’s disturbing is the TSA keeps lying to us.
It started with introducing what are now being called “naked body scanners.” At first we were told that they didn’t violate privacy because you couldn’t make out people’s genitalia. Well, that turned out to not be true. We were then told that the images wouldn’t be stored. Also not true. We were assured that the radiation was harmless, but now we’re hearing reports that is also a lie.
Now we’re getting reports that if you elect to opt-out of these scanning machines that you get an aggressive full-body pat-down that includes private areas of your body, and if you fuss over it, you may get handcuffed to the chair, like talk show host Meg McLain.
I read the comments on blogs of people responding to this, and they get angry. Some threaten not to fly. “Hit them in the wallet!” threatened one post. “Don’t fly.”
Think, people, think! It’s not the airlines who are doing this. They are also victims. Pilots and flight attendants are joining the protest. Don’t you remember, back in 2001, just after 9/11, Congress voted to nationalize airline security? We were told the government could do it better, and putting security agents under the authority of the new Department of Homeland Security would make them more professional, blah, blah, blah. These people are paid by our tax dollars. They could care less if you fly – they’ll still get paid. The TSA is part of the Department of Homeland Security. Their boss is Janet Napolitano. And she was appointed by none other than our adorable agent of hope and change, Barack Obama himself, and confirmed by our ever-vigilant Senate where they so try to look out for us.
The way these TSA agents are behaving is a lesson in human nature and in politics that I wish more people would learn, remember, and generalize about. People like authority. There is someone at the Department of Homeland Security that I’m sure gets a thrill everytime he or she thinks, “I’m the person who decreed that you have to put all your liquids that you carry onto the plane into a one-quart plastic zip-lock bag, and in bottles of three ounces or less.” Everyone in the country now has to do that. I’m confident they get a thrill out of that. And then these agents. They snap their fingers and point, and you have to follow where they point. They pull you aside for a naked body scan and you have to do it. They pat you down and squeeze and twist your breasts, and you just have to take it. (Listen to Meg McLain’s account on YouTube.)
Think clearly people, and learn. This is just human nature. Our founders were so wise when they mapped out this scheme of limited federal government. We have gone astray by creating this massive, out-of-control bureaucracy. To be effective against this, you need to protest the encroachment of government power wherever you find it, and elect people who are firmly committed to limiting it. Government encroachment, whether it is in the form of burgeoning bureaucracies, over-regulation of business, confiscatory taxation, judicial activism, or whatever form it takes, it’s all part of the same, elitist, “let us take care of you” mentality.
Travelers are now being treated the same as prison inmates. The option between genital groping or being radiated and virtually strip searched is not a real choice. A government agent feeling you or your children up or ogling your or your children’s naked bodies isn’t about privacy or security, it’s about an unreasonable search. TSA is trampling all over the fourth amendment. Been molested by the TSA? Make a report to epic.org/bodyscanner/incident_report/ , to the TSA itself and to your congressman’s office of constituent services. Just generally concerned about the rapidscan? Try dontscan.us .
Unfortunately your article ends with Blaming Government. But this mess was begun by G.W. Bush and once you give Martial Law power to a bunch of dimwit law enforcement people, you end up with government not being able to control the corruption in the TSA/homeland in-security, for fear of being called wimpy.
If a person is sexually assaulted in the name of safety? Scream RAPE anyways. Its unconstitutional to treat all people as guilty, until proved innocent.
Don’t forget to get your Radiation Badges, if you are a frequent traveler.
Republicans are going to destroy this world. Iran is next to be invaded/blown up, if dumb people vote in a republican president in 2012.
Response by David Hall –
I’m sorry, UGGG, but this just sounds like a mindless rant. You don’t want to blame government and then you say this was begun by Bush. Duh. Bush was president of, guess what, the government.
I begin by pleading for people to think clearly, and then I get this kind of response. It’s downright depressing. If anyone has an intelligent comment, please visit my Contribute Your Thoughts form. Remember, that’s a request for an intelligent comment.
UGGG, I think what is happening is your mind is getting thrown into a partisan track. “Republicans bad – Democrats good.” I don’t think that way. I like my liberty, and whether it’s Democrats that stomp on it or Republicans, I push back. And there is some of both – you just pointed out that this started under the Bush administration. I’m a staunch Republican, but that doesn’t justify this, not in my mind.
It’s time to do the following:
1. Stop flying
2. Let airline and travel industry execs know you are stopping until they put a leash on the TSA
3. Demand an investigation of the TSA’s hiring of sex offenders and pedophiles
4. Demand an investigation of Michael Chertoff, the former Homeland Security head who set these machines in motion while in office and is now profiting from them
Response by David Hall
Still looking for that intelligent comment . . .
Has anyone seen one?
That’s real sweet to blame this on Chertoff, who’s not around and has no power to do anything. I don’t know what role he had in this and frankly, I don’t care, because it doesn’t solve anything. Janet Napolitano, who works under the direction of President Obama, has the authority to put a stop to this. And your idea is to go after Chertoff?
Brasscheck, thanks for the heads up – so we know not to look to you to solve any of our problems.
And guess what, airline executives have no power over the TSA. So that’s real smart to try to put pressure on them.
I did check the link you sent with your comment. I didn’t post it, because the language on the page it linked to was filthy. And you rail against Republicans. Yes, granted, there was little opposition to the nationalizing of airport security back in 2001, but what little there was came from conservatives – evil people in your book, I’m sure. It was people like Rush Limbaugh who saw the potential problems with making all these people government employees.
Brasscheck, you sound liberal. Or I should say Leftist – because your point of view seems to be driven by a core philosophy: “hate Republicans, hate corporations.” You can have truth staring you right in the face, but you refuse to admit it. The basic problem is that you give too much power to government and there are going to be abuses. The clear thinkers among us can see that. The airlines have no power over this. This problem would never last long in private industry because if it were private industry, a boycott would bring them to their knees. But this is the government, and so we are powerless to stop it, unless we vote them out of office. But when we try to do that, we have to fight against wilfully blind people like you, and, frankly, it’s a tough battle.
David, I get the feeling that you just see what you want to see. MOST of this nonsense was started by the Neo-Conservatives after 9/11. And, if you remember your history the Neo-Conservatives were thrown out of the Left Movement for being ‘too radical’ and ‘transformative’.
Chertoff may not be in office anymore, but don’t worry. He’ll be back as there is a revolving door between the public and private sectors. I’m sure Napolitano will join him in what’s becoming a very lucrative business in violating our rights.
Civil disobedience by ‘opting out’ will only go so far. And will get you on a ‘list’.
But the macro effect of 1000s of people voting with the ONLY THING that matters to these politicians: Money — will effect change. Folks en masse ‘stay home’ or do not take that business trip, the travel industry brings their lobbyists to bear, laws get enacted.
On the other side, Unions, Scientists, and the ACLU bring lawsuits and findings to bear, and the courts start throwing things out. And limiting the power of the real villain here, the DHS.
So IMHO *you* need to think clearly. It’s all nice what you have written, but what are the *tools* available to the average person? To start with, their pocketbooks. And, en masse, the market. It *has* to start at the grass roots, in a non-violent way. And the only thing that matters to the pols is money. What do the people have? Money.
No money to the travel industry means no tax revenues for the government. Layoffs. Bankrupcy for the airlines. Again! Memories in corporations and their lobbyists are longer than the average joe who has to get back to his job or has mouths to feed.
The mover in this sad play is the DHS. Not terrorists. As you say, this has to be dealt with NOW. Elections are every 2-4 years, and memories (on all sides) are short. And the revolving door of public/private collusion continues its, um, ‘revolving.’
-Drunken Economist
http://mindtaker.blogspot.com/
Dear Drunken Economist,
Ahhh, an intelligent comment. Thank you!
What you have said that classifies your comment as intelligent is that you recognize that this is the government that we’re dealing with. I’m not sure what you have pointed out that I refuse to see. It sounds like you just suspect that, but you can’t put your finger on it. On the fundamental point, focusing on the government, we see eye-to-eye. Lobbyists, lawsuits – all of that is focused on getting Congress to act, or Janet Napolitano to act, and those ideas make sense. What will work? Well, we will ultimately see, won’t we? I’m not against those tactics you mention, as I think they will get some action here. But I would really like to take away this authority from the federal government and give it back to contractors, and that will take another election.
Anyone who harbors the notion that the conservative side of this argument is that screeners should be federal employees, and that the liberal philosophy is that they be private contractors – that is so ridiculous on its face that it’s hardly worth discussing. In fact, I’m going to create another post here that brings you up to speed on the history of the TSA and who pushed for it and who pushed against it. I remember the arguments. I thought it was stupid at the time, and a mistake, to federalize these people. The Democrats wanted it, because that brought all these people into the government employees union. Republicans basically rolled on this one, and that’s how it became law.