The TSA and America's Turning Point

"A simple pronouncement of official regret for the passing of our founding documents, and then off we go into total tyranny?"

Spot-freakin-on.

I am so angry about this issue, it's hard to find the appropriate words to use. Thankfully, I have Scragged for that.

And now there is an official immunity list:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gVS67R25VPwjZBJttnJAO4d66AFw?docId=a6880c3fad2c400ebaf1c8115c08cc6c

"Cabinet secretaries, top congressional leaders and an exclusive group of senior U.S. officials are exempt from toughened new airport screening procedures when they fly commercially with government-approved federal security details."

The NYT has comments, but, as one would expect, they don't come down squarely on the side of government serving the people:

As Anger Over Body Scanners Grows, Their Developer Comes to Their Defense
The full-body scanner being used in many airports was developed 30 years ago, and right from the beginning there were those who did not care for it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/us/24scanner.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=a23

Sitting in the living room of his apartment here on Tuesday, Mr. Annis [the inventor of the body scanner], 88, said such protests were “not helpful.”

“We’re trying to prevent terrorists from blowing up airplanes,” he said.

But he did agree with one facet of the protests — he objects to the T.S.A.’s new pat-down policy, which he said could be avoided by using his machine.

“They’re somehow associating the pat-down with the technology,” Mr. Annis said. “I think the pat-down is very invasive and very annoying. It’s one of the worst things they’ve ever done.”

Aggrieved Fliers Ask, 'What Now?'
After fees, disappearing amenities, higher fares and full flights, fliers may find tougher security the last straw.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/business/24travel.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=a23

“Passengers are angry and frustrated about most of the flying experience — the whole ‘shut up and sit down’ experience of flying,” Ms. Dugan said. “But unless they’re professional travelers, they can’t pin the frustration on individual airlines. It’s easy, though, to focus on the T.S.A., which is a big and omnipresent part of every flight for everyone.”

And don’t expect any change for the better anytime soon. While many travelers may complain about their travel experience, the industry for the first time in years has found a way back to profitability by holding the line on the number of flights they offer.

United States airlines scheduled 526,000 flights in September, according to the Air Consumer Travel Report, down from more than 600,000 in September 2007. And each flight is now fuller. Load factors, which measure how many seats are filled by paying customers, have risen above 80 percent on average at most airlines and will probably be 90 percent or more over the holidays. Only a few years ago, airlines were achieving load factors of 70 percent.

I missed this one earlier. The Times thinks that opposition to scanners and pat-downs is purely an attack on Obama, just as disagreement with his economic policies was only racism. Wow!

Politicizing Airport Security
Conservative attacks on the Obama administration for trying too hard to protect America from terrorists are a remarkable spectacle of contortion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/opinion/24wed2.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=a211

In their eagerness to pin every problem in America on President Obama, prominent Republicans are now blaming his administration for the use of full-body scanners and intrusive pat-downs at airports. Those gloved fingers feeling inside your belt? The hand of big government, once again poking around where it should not go.

Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas and a Republican presidential hopeful, called the scanners and the pat-downs a “humiliating and degrading, totally unconstitutional intrusion,” in an interview on Fox News. If the president thinks such searches are appropriate, Mr. Huckabee said, he should subject his wife, two daughters and mother-in-law to them. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said the Transportation Security Administration had gone too far, and Gov. Rick Perry of Texas suggested T.S.A. agents be sent to the Mexican border, where he said, absurdly, that “we need security substantially more than in our airports.”

Seeing conservative Republicans accuse the Obama administration of trying too hard to protect America from terrorists is a remarkable spectacle of contortion. But many of them are making a far more pernicious point. They want the government to start “profiling” passengers on the basis of ethnicity or nationality or personal history to single out those most likely to commit terrorism. That would spare decent people from the indignity of a backscatter machine.

Representative Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, who is in line to become chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence in January, said profiling “only makes sense” to narrow the targets. Mr. Huckabee wants to do the same, as does Rush Limbaugh, and, inevitably, Sarah Palin, who recently sent out the following message on Twitter: “TSA: why politically incorrect 2 ‘profile’ anyone re: natl security issues? we profile individuals/suspects in other situations! profile away.”

It is bad enough that many of these politicians seem happy to trade away a long and proud history of civil liberties over a few moments of inconvenience in the airport. But even beyond the violation of such a basic principle, it has long been clear that the substitution of profiling for searches simply doesn’t work. The T.S.A. already pulls aside travelers for extra searching and questioning based on their nationality and travel patterns.

But terrorists, tragically, aren’t fools, and constantly adapt to the screening regimes. Before the T.S.A. started searching for bombs in shoes, underwear or printer cartridges, that’s where they were hidden. If terrorists learn that elderly white women from Iowa are exempt from screening, that’s exactly whom they will recruit.

Some individual pat-downs have gone too far, and the T.S.A. was ham-handed in answering those concerns. But the Obama administration should weather this storm by realizing these attacks are purely partisan and ideological. Americans know the difference between a big scanner and big government.

Rep. Ron Paul introduced the "American Traveler Dignity Act" to end this madness. And even Slate thinks this is nuts, the TSA hasn't caught any terrorists in 10 years that anyone's ever heard about.

http://www.slate.com/id/2275448/

awesome sauce. righteous indignation at its finest.

And get this... Opt-Outters are now going to be considered "domestic extremists" TSA is doubling down.

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/tsa-administrative-directive-opt-outters-to-be-considered-domestic-extremists_11242010

I understand the privacy issues and the crazy patdowns, but how do you stop a terrorist from blowing up the plane? They got on with a shoe bomb. They got on with an underwear bomb. They only failed because they were idiots. People suggest using the Israeli method of profiling, but that won't work in the US. It may work fine for an airport or two, but the US has thousands of daily flights and it is just not practical to question everyone before they even enter the airport. If a terrorist has a bomb and is at the security gate, it is too late. They can detonate and kill 200 people standing in the security line. Terrorists will use any means necessary from bomb implants, to planting bombs in animals or using fake limbs. How do you catch them without scanners & patdowns? I'm all ears.

Yes, but the TSA has admitted that it couldn't catch the underwear bomber WITH the scanners and patdowns.

We have to stop looking for bad THINGS, and start looking for bad PEOPLE. I.e. intelligence work, not security-guard work.

There's no reason even to have airport security, as we didn't until the 1970s without very many problems, if we have active intelligence and police agencies chasing down plots.

Besides, we already know the common link between each and every terrorist suicide attack, which narrows the field considerably. hint: It starts with "I".

"There's no reason even to have airport security, as we didn't until the 1970"....aaa...this isn't the 1970's. Al Qaeda wasn't out to kill us then.

Yes, we need better intelligence. But the underwear bomber or the shoe bomber would not have been detected with intelligence either. Not a single 9/11 hijacker was caught with intelligence either. We know that most of the terrorists out to kill us are Muslims and we should profile them accordingly. But you still have to determine whether or not they have a bomb on them, in their shoe or in their underwear. If you can't do that, then they will take down planes. Al Qaeda can recruit sympathetic businessmen or students to do their dirty work. There won't be an intel on these people. They only way to stop them is to prevent them from having weapons or bombs on the plane. Any person can at any time decide to become a terrorist but if they don't have the means to cause destruction, they are harmless.

The underwear bomber went through a porno scanner in the Netherlands; they don't work.

Also, the underwear bomber and the other recent bombing attempts we stopped by ordinary citizens and flight crews which is exactly what should happen.

Couple those facts with the facts discovered through this experiment:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/11/the-things-he-carried/7057/

and it should be plain that the TSA is utterly useless and only serves to harass The People and restrict their freedoms.

TSA and DHS should be disbanded because they are a shadow government not accountable to The People and just another drain on the people's treasury.

Enzo, do you understand that the Isreali method is faster and more thorough than the TSA method? Do you understand that the Isreali method does not involve bunching people together but actually is designed to keep people in small groups whereas the TSA method groups travelers together as targets?

You should read this before discounting the Isreali method. http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/744199---israelification-high-security-little-bother
Not only could it work in the US, it is what should be implemented over scans and pat downs.

We know we are not accurately represented. We know protests and protesters are dismissed, ignored or targeted for harassment. We know the only language people in power speak is money and subservience. Do not fly. This is the only choice. Now some will say, that's easy for you, but I have to fly it's my livelihood, my job requires it, etc. You and I choose our jobs, you and I choose where we spend our money. The only freedom we have left is to be free to consume. We are also free not to consume. Stop flying, stop buying the product that promotes this denigration. We have a choice and if we give that up all the complaining in the world will just get us denigrated faster.

"Enzo, do you understand that the Isreali method is faster and more thorough than the TSA method? "

Sure, you are correct. But, the roadside check, would cause chaos at busy US airports, so you would have to overcome that problem. Ben Gurion airport only has 10 million passengers a year, not even in the top 30 busiest in the world.

Besides, in Israel, the airport is secure so the terrorists have moved on to bombing softer targets like malls, cafes, & restaurants, which happens all of the time. Why waste time with the airport security when you can walk into a mall and kill 50-100 people easily?

Terrorist just want to cause chaos, fear and economic damage. What if 3 people with machine guns jumped out at 5 local malls across the country and started killing people? You would have 1000 dead major chaos. Then, being one step behind as we always are, they would install scanners at the front door of malls and do pat downs there too. Always a step behind.

Enzo, do you not remember the months after 9/11? Each car that approached our airports was inspected by running mirrors on the undersides to check for bombs. We did roadside checks and continued flying.

David, we have a burgeoning business based upon not flying in hub based services like http://megabus.com/ and http://www.chinatown-bus.org/ offering one way fares for as low as $1. My next trip to DC from Knoxville with my family will cost $1670 less than flying. My trip time doubles. But I have wifi the whole time so the kids will be entertained with movies and games while I will get work done during travel. Yes, someone may one day blow up a bus and security will increase for those too but for now, we definitely have options other than flying. You are correct!

"Besides, in Israel, the airport is secure so the terrorists have moved on"

Isn't that what we want?

Your little dig at the left ('Which of course is what the Left has tried to do...') is quite unhelpful. Don't let partisan nonsense derail us here: this is one case where all parts of the political spectrum can agree.

As a hard-leftist, I believe big government *does* have a role. But that role is to *help* the populace, not demean and terrorize them.

Let's work together on this. Don't let them divide us.

"Which of course is what the Left has tried to do with their repeated calls for illegal-alien amnesty and persistent voting fraud."

You had me until this point. No need to cast aspersions. This lefty was on your side before reading that.

"this isn't the 1970's. Al Qaeda wasn't out to kill us then."

And Al Qaeda is out to kill us now? Really? All we know is that our government has told us Al Qaeda is out to kill us. And roughly 3000 people have been killed in terrorist actions in, what, 20 years? This is justification for billions spent on useless agencies and equipment and wars, and who benefits? People like Chertoff and Cheney.

If "Al Qaeda" (if such an entity really even exists) were really trying to kill us, there are countless soft targets in the US where they could do such. Malls, schools, sports events, anywhere people are congregated. Our power grid. Our water supply. Crumbling natural gas infrastructure. Bridges. Attacking these targets would kill Americans and paralyze the economy. Yet no such attacks have ever happened. I wonder why.

Your article was great until you lambasted the left for "voting fraud." The right has just as many accusations against it about voting, including voting caging, but that is completely outside the point and has no relation to this article whatsoever. You took one of the few issues that everyone agrees on and made it partisan. Thanks for nothing.

To all commenters:

What are your thoughts on simply driving to Mexico or Canada and flying from there? Although this is not feasable to everyone (based on location or profession), if a lot of people do this, 3 good things will happen:

1) we reward those who do not harrass us.
2) we punish those who do harrass us.
3) we potentially have the airline lobby antagonize the TSA

Also,

Just for reference, are pat-downs same sex or will be patted down by either male or female? Do you get to choose, or does the TSA choose for you?

Being patted down by a specific gender certainly does not justify being publicly touched inappropriately. Nonetheless, I wanted to be sure about this fact.

Thanks

Ron, Pat downs are currently by the same sex but as I understand it they are debating allowing pat downs by the opposite sex for $45 a pat down plus a two drink minimum.

Fly from an American airport = get irradiated / molested.

Fly from a Mexican airport = get shot/kidnapped on the way.

Not a great choice.

@Doug

That's an outrage! In China, I was patted down by an attractive member of the opposite sex for free. ;[

@Patience

American Airport: probability of getting irradiated or molested = 100%

Mexican Airport: probability of getting shot or kidnapped = ???

Canadian Airport: ????

went through it, not evasive or molested by any means, I've gone through harsher searches at concerts. Everyone needs to settle down, if you don't want to go through the security, I suggest you drive. I would gladly deal with this so I know I am not going to blow up mid flight.

This whole hoopla about the new TSA requirements is ridiculous. Really, would you rather be blown up? I had a physical search. No big deal.

Re: "Which of course is what the Left has tried to do with their repeated calls for illegal-alien amnesty and persistent voting fraud."

So, which are you more upset about - "the Left" or the issue at hand in this post? Because you might find much common ground with "the Left" on this issue but vilification will prevent common-ground efforts that might, if we're very lucky, be able to push back possible encroachments on our Constitutional rights.

I just don't think the sector of the right that's concerned about this is powerful enough to go it alone. All political allies are provisional, and I'd suggest that it might be smart to now make some provisional political alliances.

Nate, Meg- Adam Savage went through the backscatter with two 12 inch razor blades by accident and didn't get caught. http://gizmodo.com/5697222/adam-savage-mythbusting-airport-security-wtf-tsa

This "security" is broken and will not preent you from being blown up.

The "hoopla" is a big deal because your rights are being eroded away in return for nothing. Read this article to understand how security could be done better without sacrificing efficiency or freedoms: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/744199---israelification-high-security-little-bother

Nate, Meg... one important point you're missing is that neither the ridiculous porno-scanners or the invasive grope will catch anything inserted in a body cavity. So what's the point?? They aren't effective. They aren't going to stop a terrorist. What they will do though, is waste our taxpayer money and erode our civil liberties.

Nate, Meg - Out of curiosity, do you happen to be in your early 20s? And did you have random searching and/or metal detectors in your school? I've been really interested in how these policies in our education system will impact our attitudes and laws.

@Doug

Incedentally, I'm 23 myself. I never dealt with searching or metal detectors in my schools. The idea of TSA using embarrassing scans or intrusive pat downs is absolutely detestful for me. I haven't even used an airport yet, and the whole idea still seems nightmarish.

A) I don't want some seaty 40 year old bloke touching me up or looking at me through that scanner.
B) I don't want the goverment to be okay with it either.
C) Most of all, I don't wantthe social values in this country to be okay with it as well.

However, the idea that metal detectors and searches are being used in our schools is, frankly quite surprising, if not shocking.

P.S - on another note, I read your previous post mentioning megabus and chinatown bus. I as well attest to megabus, as an easy, cost-effective substitute to undesirable flight services. I have not tried chinatown bus, but I have friends who have attested to it.

USA strange country. Still no investigation into who did your 9/11 and blew up those buildings. You have black eye that will not go away until fifty years or general public gets spine. Not looking good. Poor people, trapped in Rubic's Cube Dummy Value Vewrsion.

Ron, we had a shooting in one of our high schools. Interestingly enough, an independent security evaluation had been going on at the time. The evaluators concluded that our school system was wasting money on cameras and needed to hire personnel to interact with the students as per the joint study between the US Secret Service and Department of Education (See summar of USSS Safe School Initiative here http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/jr000248c.pdf and full report here http://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/preventingattacksreport.pdf also http://www.secretservice.gov/ntac_ssi.shtml and http://www.secretservice.gov/ntac.shtml)

Instead, that report quietly disappeared and an outside agency was paid $140,000 to produce a report that said our school system needed more cameras, metal detectors, and random searches. Now our students are periodically subjected to standing in line to wait their turn to go through a portable metal detector (they didn't buy one for each school) and random students are wanded like at our airports. They also have lined elementary students in the hallways and walked drug dogs past them. All counter to what the Secret Service recommended.

@Ron: Sure the patdown was free, but what would a "happy ending" have cost you?

I agree with the other posters from the left, besides who knew Ronald Reagan, John McCain and both Bushes were lefties?

TSA pat downs and Nude-O-Scopes are theatrical.

The Underwear Bomber was a failure of intelligence. His own father ratted him out to the CIA. He was still allowed to board with no luggage.

The Underwear Bomber and Shoe Bomber (and a third of the 9/11 terrorists) were neutralised by civilian passengers, the very people demonised by the TSA.

Sniffer dogs are much better at detecting explosives than Nude-O-Scope machines. Metal detectors pick up weapons.

Most cargo is not screened.

"If Americans will permit their wives, children, and themselves, to be sexually molested and openly humiliated"

Nice sexism.

It's been hilarious watching all the misguided attention on the "sexism" of the "permit their wives" line, both here and on the Reddit thread.

Men generally lead their families. Not all men, not all families. But most of the time that is true. I'm sure the author merely phrased that sentence in an unfortunate way based on his own experiences.

Way to miss the forest for the trees.

The other hilarious thing is all the attention by "lefties" who hate that the author pointed out (in a single throwaway line) that liberals tend to be the usual heavyhanded regulating types and that most government intervention and intrusion is the result of leftists. (No, George Bush was not a conservative, sorry.)

Gee who knew? Scragged is a conservative e-zine with conservative writers. So what? If you take a few seconds and look around, you'll see that.

Does that matter. We all agree on this issue, right? TSA is a horrible experiment. It doesn't matter which President started it.

DISMANTLE, TEAR DOWN AND BURY THE TSA FOR GOOD. End of story on this one. Can't we at least do what 85% of the public agrees with??

I was right there with you until this:

"Which of course is what the Left has tried to do with their repeated calls for illegal-alien amnesty and persistent voting fraud."

Left and right are two sides of the same bird. They are far more alike than they are different. Don't forget that it was a republican congress that pushed through the Patriot act and that created the TSA. And it's our current Moderate-Conservative President who is keeping the Patriot act and the TSA around.

@Travis no one will ever see the sense in that, everyone will continue to find fault in who to blame. It's obvious there are those who want to us dead simply because of how we are. Funny thing is after almost 10 years after the fact people have simply forgotten how terrible it was. The argument will always be made that we shouldn't give up our freedoms but if it came down to it how many of those who are making those that argument will be willing to stand on the front line to protect it. There could be another solution but I have seen NO suggestions on what alternative we should do to keep potential terrorist off our planes and our citizens safe.

@Nate,

If you're afraid of being blown out of the sky, perhaps you should drive.

Well spoken article.

The problem is -- dissenting on forums etc doesn't do much. There's a lot of angry people out there writing letters (like me), but there's not a lot of doing.

I feel so helpless.

When these things like TSA start to fall apart and get dismantled we need to keep right on going and have the DHS, The FR (Federal Reserve), the WHO (World Health Organization) the FDA, the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency), the WTO and all these abusive agencies shut down, Oh and we don't want to forget the worthless CSD that tells people how to raise their kids or else bunch of horse pucky.

And just think, the Pope sits on his cowardly butt in the Vatican and does nothing. probably because the clergy of the church have done much worse than the TSA, even though the Pope has the power to influence World Political leaders, he won't do it, I think it's called Religious Hypocrisy that Christian Leaders, Jewish leaders and Islamic leaders are notorious for.

Sick, perdophile TSA, yet another violation of our rights. Add it to the list of gov’t violations of our right:
They violate the 1st Amendment by placing protesters in cages, banning books like “America Deceived II” and censoring the internet.
They violate the 2nd Amendment by confiscating guns.
They violate the 4th and 5th Amendment by molesting airline passengers.
They violate the entire Constitution by starting undeclared wars for foreign countries.
Impeach Obama and sweep out the Congress, except Ron Paul.
(Last link of Banned Book):
http://www.iuniverse.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-000190526

That is because Allah would not change a favor which He had bestowed upon a people until they change what is within themselves. And indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing. QURAN 8.53

So there you go Amerika. You killed nearly a million Iraqi kiddies during your sanctions thru the 1990s. Then inflicted terror on the world for a mere 3000 in 911. And even that is doubtful as to 'who did it'. You have declared yourselves a despotic empire ready to kill anyone and everyone.

You have changed yourselves from a nation of good to a nation of evil. So the pronouncement against you is like it was on those before you.

if these scanners are as lethal as reported shouldn't the protesters be grateful for the important role they are playing in culling out the gene pool??? new saying: "irradiated sheep. it's what's for dinner".

QUESTION: There are MANY "puddle jump" regional airports that will never have enough passengers to justify a scanner. Is EVERY passenger boarding in those airports getting the "intrusive" patdown? if not ...... WHY NOT?! If these scanners are SOOOoooo important, They SHOULD BE. If the scanners are SO necessary, and there is NO scanner, then EVERYONE should be getting the FULL INTRUSIVE patdown. ........ if not ...... WHY NOT?!

Have you noticed that the TSA has announced that people who refuse the porno-scanners and the grope will be arrested and treated as "terror suspects" until they can convince law enforcement that they're not!!!
Do you all realize that this means that the "Patriot"Act kicks in and you will have no legal rights- no access to an attorney, possible indefinite detention,no trial or even a criminal charge no contact with family, and maybe a trip to Bagram if they feel like it.
The sky IS falling.

@Marcello - Scragged proposed a simple solution to terrorists on airplanes some time ago:

http://www.scragged.com/articles/show-your-handgun-not-your-id

There are two problems with it:

1) It would work, and there's no budget in solving a problem

2) It's a non-government solution, and, as Joe Biden, our VP, said, everything good in the US for the last 100 years has required government intervention.

Boycott Flying COMPLETELY, until sanity returns! Please join us: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boycott-Flying/126801010710392

"Which of course is what the Left has tried to do with their repeated calls for illegal-alien amnesty and persistent voting fraud."

I agree with everything you wrote, everything except for this part (in quotes above) which has no place in this article. Please remove this offensive part, which is entirely off topic and simply distracts from the whole point of your article.

This isn't an issue of Left vs Right, Liberalism vs Conservatism, it's an entirely non-partisan issue! Please don't go there, don't start causing a political division where there is none to begin with! This is an issue that all Americans need to be united behind the 4th Amendment of the Constitution and everybody needs to just leave the typical partisan politics out of it.

As I was reading your article, I was thinking to myself: "Wow, this Author really understands the issue and I agree 100% with this, I'm going to share this on Facebook and use this as a reference article." I was with you wholeheartedly, until I read this crap you wrote about "the Left".

I am 100% in favor of what you call the so called "amnesty for the illegal aliens". This country was founded with open borders. My grandparents came here on boats from Greece and Italy, they started businesses, they learned English, they got an education, they became Americans. I know a lot of Mexican (and other Nationalities) people who are hard working and simply want there shot at the American dream. There are so many people in this country who are here "illegally" and all they want to do is go to college, get a job, work hard, support their families and become Americans. Why should you have that right and opportunity and not them? What makes you think you are so special or better than them?

What are you talking about with "voting fraud"? Who are you accusing exactly? "The Left"? Your point is entirely unclear and this has nothing to do with the main topic.

If you want to write another article going on about "voting fraud" and "amnesty for illegal aliens", go right ahead and I will gladly be there to blast your position on those issues. But for this issue with regards to the TSA, I want to support you 100%, so it's up to you. Do you want to unite people to stand with you behind this issue or do you want to drag in your other idiotic politics into your argument and lose supporters?

Flow with me for a second...

What if the pat-down procedures were MEANT to be so egregious and so outrageous that people were to start clamoring for the scanners?

If that were so, then my question would be, "Who is profiting from installing these scanners in all the airports?"

Because as anybody stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic can attest to, far more people drive than fly. A bomb on any highway in America detonated during rush hour could kill way more people and cause more fear and more damage than any bomb in any plane. So any real terrorist would target a highway or a bridge, and not an airplane.

Therefore, it's probably not a question of security. It's probably a question of dollars and cents and huge profits for outfitting airports with scanners. At least that's the way I see it.

Forbes writer reports that TSA threatened to take his camera when he photographed his wife being patted:

http://blogs.forbes.com/andygreenberg/2010/11/24/want-to-photograph-your-tsa-ordeal-not-so-fast/?partner=contextstory

My wife and I arrived at the airport for our annual Thanksgiving pilgrimage Tuesday evening, and like millions of others, came face-to-face with the TSA’s upgraded security measures. I breezed through; My wife, who apparently looks far more dangerous than I do, was pulled aside for a pat-down.

Her frisker was very polite and the procedure was barely invasive, if a bit more aggressive than in the past. But while she was being systematically searched from head to toe, I pulled out my BlackBerry to take some pictures and record a souvenir of the Great Gropefest of 2010. Within seconds I was being shouted at sternly by another TSA agent, who told me that “either you stop taking pictures, or I take your camera.” When I asked him why I couldn’t take photos of my wife in a public place, he said that it was “against the rules.”

The right to photography at TSA checkpoints matters: I was mostly hoping to show my wife her ridiculous facial expressions as she received “love pats” from a stranger. Others might hope to document real TSA abuses, or point out dangerous vulnerabilities in its security measures.

And it seems that some have had it far worse than I did: Security researcher Robert Graham, of Atlanta-based Errata Security, wrote on the company’s blog Wednesday that he was detained for thirty minutes after taking pictures of the full-body scanners at a checkpoint. After having his possessions taken from him and talking to several agents, one of whom forced him to delete one photograph (seemingly at random) he was let go. He describes one piece of his conversations as follows.

TSA: Don’t you have normal operating procedures at your work?
Me: Yes.
TSA: How would you like it if somebody came to your work and disrupted your procedures? How would you like it if people took pictures of you at your work?
Me: I don’t work for the government. Government agencies need to be accountable to the public, and therefore suffer disruptions like this.
TSA: Not all parts of the government are accountable to the public, especially the TSA.
Me: Wow. No, ALL parts of the government are accountable to the people, especially the TSA. I’m not sure what type of country you think we live in.

Graham points out that the TSA’s regulations seem to allow passengers to take photos at checkpoints. He cites this portion of the TSA handbook.

2.7. PHOTOGRAPHING, VIDEOTAPING, AND FILMING SCREENING LOCATIONS
A. TSA does not prohibit the public, passengers, or press from photographing, videotaping, or filming screening locations unless the activity interferes with a TSO’s ability to perform his or her duties or prevents the orderly flow of individuals through the screening location. Requests by commercial entities to photograph an airport screening location must be forwarded to TSA’s Office of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs. Photographing EDS or ETD monitor screens or emitted images is not permitted.
B. TSA must not confiscate or destroy the photographic equipment or film of any person photographing the screening location.

The handbook goes on to state that passengers are prohibited from taking pictures of x-ray screens–a reasonable measure, considering that those photographs could violate the privacy of a fellow passengers. You can read the whole handbook here.

Clear enough, right? Not quite. When I contacted the TSA, public affairs officer Greg Soule pointed to the “unless the activity interferes with a TSO’s ability to perform his or her duties” clause. That can be interpreted at the discretion of the checkpoint’s agents, apparently, to mean that anyone who takes pictures is interfering with their duties.

911 was an inside job. Don't you get it? Watch the movie Syriana. 99.9% of terrorists are manufactured by the CIA.

Anna, thank you for sending out letters & I agree with you 100% there still isn't a lot of 'doing'. Too many distractions (Monday Night Football, soap operas, video games, DCD movies, etc.). Nothing is going to change until there is action.....then the government will do something. Talk is cheap & without power...'action' makes changes in our lives.

It's too late. The apathy has spread too wide for too long.

http://www.theamericansheeple.com

says it all.

It is because We the People are so dumbed down, so afraid, so ragged, we aren't even familiar with any right we have, so they are only doing what's natural, stealing them all away. I am sickened with what this country has become, a buunch of Pillsbury Doughboys only interested in junk food and pornography. I hate everything that is happening in this country and wouldnt' be surprised if it sunk down to the bottom of the sea tomorrow..or even tongith.

Many good meaning people still don’t get it. You need to brush up on “False Flags”, & what that means. After realizing that those in power will lie, cheat, & steal (over & over again) to remain in power, you wound then understand the reason why we are not being protected – at all. We were not protected then, during 911, & we have not been protected ever since. The entire “Event” was designed to introduce the NWO, to brainwash us into thinking that we have no WILL of our own, & that boogey men do exist that are capable of bypassing the most expensive, capable, sophisticated, & advanced security apparatus the modern world (since after Christ) has ever seen. And yet, the only measurable thing we have been able to gain, ever since, is the guaranteed loss of our rights & our God given freedoms. My friend, ignorance is not bliss. As a matter of fact, ignorance is evil, because it will kill you. Real security comes from empowering every individual to be able & dutifully responsible to defend themselves. This whole thing is designed, again, to strip you from your rights as an individual, your autonomy, & to relinquish your will. America was freer & more powerful the day before 911. Those that were in power then, all of them, should have been removed from office & prosecuted, if not for anything else than their incompetence, because they failed US, as “elected representative leaders” of “WE THE PEOPLE”.

Jejune, both the article and the commentary.
Although the article comes from a good place, it is not historically very sophisticated.
Those who disagree with the bottom line of the article however, are the real fools in this picture.

The problem is, the US has been a police state since the Industrial Revolution.

ww

This is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment. You don't have to be a legal scholar to see that and, regardless what excuse is trotted out to "justify" it, it is illegal. We don't need another law, we already have one. What we need is for the public serpents to honor their oaths or for us to drag them from power.
This is truly a demonstration of lawlessness on the part of the government. This is simply the latest in a long line of Fourth Amendment violations. I'm old enough to remember when warrants had to be issued and for specific things (just as the Constitution demands). "Random" searches are not legal in America. They are not asking for permission. They are simply doing this in the belief that we will do nothing about it. If that's the case then the Constitution is merely a piece of paper with no value. Stop flying, refuse to cooperate with any such fascist maneuvers, and demand action. We can start by throwing all of these scum from office, regardless of "party".

@ WhiteSnow. Right on.

The only truth is action,
While words turn into lies.

BOYCOTT flying until this madness stops. Get rid of the TSA. It's not the intrusive patdown that bothers me, it's the 4th amendment violation. 911 was an inside job and the Patriot Act was written before the twins towers were ever hit. WAKE UP America, this is not a theory, it's a known fact.They have a bed waiting for you at Camp FEMA!!

ISRAELI SECURITY ALREADY IN CHARGE OF AIRPORT SECURITY AT THE AIRPORTS.THIS IS ALSO TRUE OF SECURITY ON 911

Lo Phatt, you are one of the informed. All we can do is keep spreading the word to the sheeple. We can't throw these bums out of office because all of the elections are rigged. As long as its electronic it can be rigged. I can hardly wait for the next false flag event to happen. Could be biological.

D, The twin towers security was done by Securicom and Marvin Bush was the head of that. Everyone should do their own research and draw their own conclusions.

They do this for compliance training,they are just breaking you down until its normal for you to take orders from employees of the BS.People who went along with all the lies and agreed to fund it all,are why this is happening.Its the sheep plain and simple.They always outnumber those who would object to being diminished.The sheeples who go along are making sure your children inherit the world they were too stupid or cowardly to avoid.Shun the sheep,make fun of them,don't eat or drink with cowards or cattle,accuse them of ruining everything,then maybe they will go hide in safety,out of everyones light.

Outstanding assessment of this constitutional crisis. You can feel it in your gut that this issue is a do or die issue for the preservation of our constitutionally enumerated liberties. We must fight and defeat these encroaching totalitarians on this issue or I fear for our nation's future.

We have already lost the battle! The implanted chip is next!

If more people would take the time to THINK we wouldn't be having this problem.
Here's my recommendation to get rid of harmful scanning and sexual assault at airports however it does require some reading and effort. This will exclude much of the population, how they can overcome their laziness to educating themselves remains in question.
As for me, I haven't flown since 911. I'll be a monkey's Uncle before I'm going to take off my shoes and socks, it's ridiculous. Prior to that I would put in 50K to 100K miles per year, often receiving free upgrade(s) to first class. Now, I drive or find another way to go, or I just don't take the trip.

www.scholarsfor911truth.org
www.pilotsfor911truth.org
www.ae911truth.org
www.firefightersfor911truth.org

Let's change the law and while we're at it, let's change the law that permits dual-citizen to high levels of Government. Let's send all the Israeli's packing

The reason that the "Israeli students" celebrated while viewing the destruction of the NY Towers (look it up!)was that they knew that they knew that as a result of 911 America would now have to deal with the same terrorist problem as Israel.
I see America becoming a mirror image of Zionist Israel. It is presently fighting its wars, and dealing with terrorism in a similar way....why not install an Israeli Leader, wouldn't that simplify things!

Most of you here are still so asleep & behind the ball its beyond pathetic, arguing in circles wether or not to grow a hint of backbone this late in the game when its all but a done deal. Laughable

Make no mistake about it, America is over. Your day in the sun is through & most of the world breathes a heary sigh of relief in your passing (as well as shivering to think what greater evil will come in to replace you).Anyone who's really paying attention can see the writing on the wall

You are BROKE & quickly becoming exactly the kind of third world fascist dirge you railed against, presided over by a pervasive Big Brother MSM that tells you what to think act, consume. Your food is poison, your children are feral, your people sex & celebrity obsessed, your infrastructure failing- hollowed out by the leaders you so thoughtlessly entrusted with your livelihoods. They sold you down the river long ago.You're cattle to them.

The largest transfer of wealth in history and you were all asleep watching dancing with the stars & scarfing down your daily soma, demanding to know what was in it for YOU. Terrorists? Give me a break. Whatever excuse this whole sick system needs to justify its own existence. Muslims are just most recent fall guy. Did you even know martial law was threatened if those bail outs weren't passed? Do you have any inkling of whats kept of the official media radars in order to keep you comfy in your deep slumber, the one thats breaking now? The Nazis won, and now they are going global.

Yet like recovering addicts, Yanks still don't want to face the cold hard truth of just how far they've fallen,just how despicable they are in the world's eyes, hiding behind gizmos & slogans & delusions of exceptionalism still. Still dreaming. The time is coming though, believe you me. The war is on

ISRAELI OWNED SECURITY AT THE AIRPORTS DURING 911. NUT IN YAHOO HAS ALREADY BEEN CALLING THE SHOTS(LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY)
WE WERE WARNED IN THE BOOK (MY STRUGGLE ) BY A. H.

I read an idea that seemed promising to me: name and shame TSA employees. Use communications technologies such as the internet and social networking sites to make sure they have nowhere to hide.
Another thing might be to book flights and cancel at the last possible moment before you're obliged to actually pay. If enough people do that...

All ears, why would someone blow themselves up standing in a line? Or why would they die in a plane? Since when has anyone in politics cared about you or me?

quote

If a terrorist has a bomb and is at the security gate, it is too late. They can detonate and kill 200 people standing in the security line. Terrorists will use any means necessary from bomb implants, to planting bombs in animals or using fake limbs. How do you catch them without scanners & patdowns? I'm all ears.

Listen up, people!

Airport scanners have absolutely nothing to do with flying safety or terrorists. It is all about control, and the government is testing you exactly the same way they tested the Branch Davideons at Waco. Just how much force and abuse will americans take from Big Brother? The government is anxious for the first shot to be fired from our side. That shot may be in the form of a 320 pound linebacker objecting to his wife or his child being fondled by a government agent. For a long time government has been taking surveys of our military sons and daughters , probing to learn if our troops will defend their government against a disobedient citizenry. If the government finds their answers disappointing, then it indicates more training is required. Just keep telling them that they're going over there to fight for our freedom. If that doesn't work we may have to ask the UN for some foreign troops. The government hasn't yet received their answer, so the abusive agents of government who receive regular paychecks have been ordered to continue the march until the answer is known. It's all about control, and only we have the answer.

Touch my junk and you're a dead man. Watcha gonna do Yankees aka pussies?

It's not onoly power, you have to follow the money.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/george-soros-michael-chertoff-profiting-off-controversial-new-tsa-scanners-108194724.html

says that George Soros has invested in the body scanners.

Be sure and read Tim Carney’s Examiner column today on the politically-connected lobby for the controversial new TSA scanners that are upsetting airline employees and travelers everywhere. Carney notes that a company called Rapiscan got a $165 million contract for the new body image scanners four days after the underwear-bomber incident this past Christmas. Not surprisingly, Rapiscan is politically connected, observes Carney:

Rapiscan got the other naked-scanner contract from the TSA, worth $173 million. Rapiscan’s lobbyists include Susan Carr, a former senior legislative aide to Rep. David Price, D-N.C., chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee. When Defense Daily reported on Price’s appropriations bill last winter, the publication noted “Price likes the budget for its emphasis on filling gaps in aviation security, in particular the whole body imaging systems.”

Then this morning Carney also noted that former Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff was flacking for Rapiscan.

As for the company’s other political connections, it also appears that none other than George Soros, the billionaire funder of the country’s liberal political infrastructure, owns 11,300 shares of OSI Systems Inc., the company that owns Rapiscan. Not surprisingly, OSI’s stock has appreciated considerably over the course of the year. Soros certainly is a savvy investor.

Note that OSI Systems CEO is Deepak Chopra, but it appears to be a different Deepak Chopra than the more famous liberal new age guru.

Come one folks. This is it. We have to win this one. Do anything to avoid a pat down or screening. Act like it is a fairy land. The whole thing is weird and must be regarded as such. Each of us must enjoy our personal rights over the rights of the commonwealth. Each of us know how to act. Take it to 'em.

So this is what our education system has taught us. Follow the authoritarian. Give me a break. The abuse we now take following this system of safety. Giveth meith a breaketh.

A great job on the article, Hobbes! I have an observation on your use of the word "leftist". About the "left". It is possible for Whites and Americans to be liberal, and liberals in a political sense, but it is not possible for Whites and Americans to be leftists. Leftist is a term which is reserved for jews and others who (often) reside in America but who intend harm to America. Most leftists do not consider themselves to be Americans, although they argue otherwise (to preserve a false reality which they use to "legally" hide behind) since not to do so would be an open admission of their treasonous intent. Those are treacherous enemies within our borders and many, if not all, leftists are committing open treason.

Try Incogman.net to learn what is happening. "And it appears that International Jewry’s financial house of cards is folding perhaps a little too fast than they want and they have to rush forward a few things on the NWO schedule." http://incogman.net/11/2010/get-your-hands-off-my-junk-zogbot/#more-48179

All these new invasive security measures sure take away from what's supposed to be a nice travel experience. I wonder how tourism to the U.S has been affected by all of this. They sure don't say much about the tourist industry.

I despise government
I despise the federal government the most
I despise Big Sis
I despise where our nation is headed, but if we do not check people, an airliner will be taken out of the sky and all of those whining "all of a sudden patriots" will cry that they should have done more to prevent it.

Check anyone that may be an Arab
Check all of those Black men from crappy Islamic nations and most importantly, get rid of that horribly expensive parasite known as Israel which is creating these nightmares for us.

Here's how you end the madness. Pass a bill requiring TSA to stand down, remove their worthless porno scanners, their lines, and disappear. FIRE THEM ALL! In their place REQUIRE all airlines to issue upon boarding one can of mace and one taser. How many terrorists do you know that are going to start something with EVERY passenger armed in such a manner? The Answer: NONE! This solution solves the fear of flying in a post 9/11 world, gets rid of the groping molesters, and the X-ray cancer machines. It is common sense, saves money, makes flights safer, and saves your dignity.

This discouragement of us traveling is what the illuminati want. The Masons and assholes are going to get what they want. A total lock down of america. That's Ok. We'll get together in our communities, gather our weapons, get tight and fight. As I've heard it said before, this new world order "ain't a gonna work." It just can't. Care and love for each other will build up and smother the hate that the illuminati is all about.

Jews did 911 and all world wars and depressions. The airport Security scam is a Jew deal as well.
This no doubt a Jew front censorship list.
Those who do not name the enemy by name are complicit in their crimes, Jew crimes.

"Anna said:

Well spoken article.

The problem is -- dissenting on forums etc doesn't do much. There's a lot of angry people out there writing letters (like me), but there's not a lot of doing.

I feel so helpless."

Anna, We hear you. But this ground swell is big. When I get involved, it's big. I hide behind everything, except now. The TSA is a weird joke. It must be harassed. Everyone can weigh the TSA down. Passive resistance will grind the wheels to a stop. It starts with each of us responding to the pleasant hello from the initial TSA screener with a open mouthed awe struck, dumb struck, non responsive appearance from each of us, totally disregarding the screeners salutations. Consider them lazy assholes that must find other jobs. They can find love at home and stay there with relatives until they find a more suitable job.

Go thru the screeners with gym shorts and a t shirt.

They can bite me.

Well worth thinking about after the recent comments from the "white" jew, Tim Wise. From a comment at another site on this article:

"The recently-escalated battle between the American people and the TSA is far more important than it first appears. The final outcome of this argument will determine whether we still live in a nation “of the people, by the people, for the people”, or whether we have become a soft tyranny where our democratic forms of elections and representatives have been reduced to a meaningless veneer as in the old Soviet Union or Red China.”

Echoes of the ominous Tim Wise threat: “You have won a small battle in a larger war the meaning of which you do not remotely understand.”

A couple of decades ago, Jews still kept the friend mask on, mostly. Now they all sound like their true selves, gangsters."

Whites and Americans will continue to lose battles until they realize that they have had war declared against them. You won't learn about it from the TV or media which is a part of the enemies communications apparatus and under their ownership and control.

http://incogman.net/11/2010/get-your-hands-off-my-junk-zogbot/comment-page-4/#comment-76949

americans will lay down and continue to take it. Right up until they pull up those train cars to take you to "residential centers." You know for your "protection." You get what you deserve.

First it was the "Shoe Bomber." Then came the "Underwear Bomber." God help us all if a "Suppository Bomber" shows up! :)

"Z" you're friggin idiot... Americans are fighting back. They just haven't gotten to the messy stuff yet. And if I were you I would bet against the Yanks... not just yet. Good day.

"Fadder" I vehemently disagree with your assumption that writing letters and internet chatting isn't helping much. If these forums weren't having an affect then Congress wouldn't be looking for ways to shut down the Web. They hate free speech and that's because "They" hate the truth. There will be plenty of time for a good old fashion "Gun Fight at OK Corral." Till then live by the 3 G's: God, Guns, and Gold... Good day.

It's all the same as it was before and anon. we have the progression of a cycle so why should we fear? aristocracy to oligarchy to democracy and ends in tyranny. Only to begin the cycle again. We are only manifesting what is inherent in nature. And that is the ciphering of it all. Know that we are near to a new beginning. Birth pangs, before the delivery of a new being.

The key here is 911. Most people believe that it was solved but I tell you that It Is Not and Was Not Solved!

If 911 is actually properly investigated it would put an end to the wars, the TSA invasive screening and the people responsible would be removed from power and charged with treason!(yes,I believe it was an inside job).

Believe me 911 had absolutely nothing to do with "Terrorists wielding box cutters" and everything to do with someones agenda.

As long as you refuse to look into this event, this type of control nonsense will go on without end...please do your work!

You people should be ashamed of yourselves for parading around trying to act intelligent. Many yammer on about planes exploding and how Israeli "security" is better. If you had any brains at all you would know that the only terrorists that are out to get you are your very own agencies. That's right, from the people who bring you tighter security. If they decide a plane gets blown up, then it's gonna happen, PERIOD. As for Israeli Security, Who do you think allowed the "underwear" bomber on that plane? Who do you think was in charge of security at the WTC on 9/11/01? Stop talking if you are so damn voluntarily ignorant. No wonder this crap goes on. Turn off the tv and really look for truth. .. It takes effort, not a sit in front of the tv with a quart of rocky road, listening to the talking heads spewing total tripe while you eat it up faster than that bucket of ice cream. All my love, jim

Could not fuckin agree more,,,,, WAKE UP AMERICA!!!!! we actually have power ...just need to use it

I seen this sh*t coming. I left the US. What's next? "Bend over serf cause we're gonna drive!" Looks like from way over here as they's already drivin, drivin, drivin down the rights of all good Americans. Go Ron Paul!!

Lockerby was brought down by a bomb in the baggage.
TWA 800 was brought down by a ground to air missle.

Pat downs could not have helped.

There are indications that the underware idiot was waived through security.

If there is a war on terror, NOT, but if there is, it is the American people who are considered the enemy. It is the American people who will eventually but a stop to fascism. It's the American people who have them scared.

The TSA has you guys running for cover, when in actual fact your very own FBI can be utilised to solve the problem.
If you know you are flying, ring the Feds and ask for the protection of a sovereign, whilst passing through an International Postal Port, because you need safe passage for a vessel(yourself)!
Then ring Interpol and report the TSA-Unqualified person, by name and nunmber, for interference and Rape of a sovereign US citizen.
Voila! Try it! See what happens.

It is interesting information !

Keep it up and we will start hiring charter flights and go around you evil molesters and naked pictures machines. When we get you in the wallet than watch how you will change you evil Mr. Pistole. What you do does not make anyone safer and you know it.

To all ye Government rabble that thinkest ye is better than tho citizens...We Will Live Free or Die in the pursuit of Freedom!

This is the tipping point that we have all waited for. When Government decides to humiliate, dehumanize, sexually pervert, and destroy the humanity in our children.

The call to action is clear.
The call to taking responsibility over our lives and freedom, is now!
It has ALWAYS been us against them!
We The People who build families, against those who would destroy them!

Our sworn enemy is at the wheel of our bus.
Driving and threatening to kill everyone on the bus.
We have a choice: ignore them, fear them, or go for the wheel and say everyone on the bus. If we go for the wheel, the present driver must be thrown off the bus, during the fight for the wheel.

So take a stand.
Lose it all or, take it all back and more!
Remember, you do this to protect your child's future.

Patrick Henry is a little bit behind the times. The UN already has troops over here. If you do your research you will find that there are RUSSIAN TROOPS IN Alaska, CHINESE TROOPS IN Hawaii and GERMAN TROOPS in the Southern states.There are FEMA camps for dissidents. Most Americans will not fire upon their own, however another nation has no problem with it because they are so brainwashed to believe that AMERICANS are the problem. BOYCOTT all flying as I have done since 911. How many planes have been hi-jacked since 911....I thought so. These so called terrorists are just false flag events to initiate the Patriot Act and have Martial Law take effect. The time has come for the SHEEP of this great nation to take a stand and herd these WOLVES back where they belong.

A sheeple that allows themselves to be violated, deserves to be
violated.
You don't have to go along.
Here is what you should do:
When signing up for your airline ticket, write "all rights
reserved" above your signature, including digital signatures. If you don't, you are presumed
to have waived you rights under the Constitution.
When at the airport, opt out of the death scanners.
Politely also decline body search, on grounds of the forth amendment:
You may wish to ask politely to see the warrant.
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
By traveling, you are exercising a guaranteed right, not a privilege.
If you have not committed a crime and are not planning one, there is no
probable cause to warrant an invasive search.
The US Supreme Court has ruled that:
"The right to travel is a part of the liberty of which the citizen cannot be deprived without due process of law under the 5th Amendment." Kent v. Dulles, 357 US 116, 125.
Of course you only have these rights if you have not waived them,
so be sure to write above your signature when you buy a ticket,
"All rights reserved".
Other than that, support Ron Paul's bill. Call your congressman right now.

2500 years ago this was foretold about the ANGLO AMERICAN WORLD POWER

Daniel 8:23-25 (New Century Version)

23 "When the end comes near for those kingdoms, a bold and cruel king who tells lies will come. This will happen when many people have turned against God.24 This king will be very powerful, but his power will not come from himself. He will cause terrible destruction and will be successful in everything he does. He will destroy powerful people and even God's holy people.25 This king will succeed by using lies and force. He will think that he is very important. He will destroy many people without warning; he will try to fight even the Prince of princes! But that cruel king will be destroyed, and not by human power.

too bad the airport hasn't gone to the dogs. dogs can smell bombs, but then dogs don't bring in mega profits in the game of crony capitalism. They might not be able to smell metal but then the metal dectors would catch that

I had a 'friend' in school where these things start. He would rip out an antennae of 2 ants then throw them together. This was the non-nerd 'trainer' Then there was another 'friend' who was the runt of the litter that was in on this game, who was willing to teach sycophancy by being 'a friend'. Introducing useless hobbies like COLLECTING stuff collecting things is but a HABIT, a weakness to lure away one's *ATTENTION/AUTONOMY* to the producers of these items.

These friends one has, some of them do not have autonomy and among them some do, being part of the establishment, but are GIVEN autonomy. Look out for the individuals and loners in society strong enough and *AWARE* enough to think for themselves and not indulge in 'society', and you will find the REAL populace. Everyone else are too weak to think for themselves. You must realize this and help *RETUNE* those who can be *REAWAKENED*, most times though, they are asleep.

You may not be a leader in nature but the strength you have which allows you to focus and separate, must be taught to everyone. Not to replicate yourself but to enable the integrity of others.

Ahh all the protests on here. But the flying public? They accepted the scanners with little to no question. And where were the mass protests and "Opt outs"? Non existant. Unfortunately the masses have spoken. They enjoy being cattle and they will continue to be treated as such. Those of us who took the other pill will be hard pressed to convince them of the matrix around them.

Yo, Hobbes: We do NOT have "democratic forms of elections and representatives". We are a "Constitutional Republic".

Thats correct Commander Z. Its time to start NAMING the perpetrators of 911, most wars, and financial terrorism (among a myriad of schemes to enlarge their power and marginalize the sheeple serfs - the ZIONISTS.

And the amazing thing is that people keep voting for these bastards. But with electronic ballots and a MEDIA controlled by THEM, its hardly a surprise.

I understand that TSA backed down on the 24th and turned off the scanners. Has anyone else found this to be true?

ww

The New York Times agrees with scragged!

The Real Threat to America
The fear industry has engineered security's victory over freedom.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/26/opinion/26iht-edcohen.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=a212

LONDON — The full-body scanners and intrusive pat-downs that are fast becoming the norm at U.S. airports — just in time for Thanksgiving! — do at least provide the answer to what should be done with Osama bin Laden if he’s ever captured: Rotate him in perpetuity through this security hell, “groin checks” and all.

He’ll crumple fast and wonder that 19 young guys in four planes could so warp the nervous system of the world’s most powerful nation that it has empowered zealous bureaucrats to trample on the liberties for which Americans give thanks this week.

In his stupor, arms raised as his body gets “imaged,” arms outstretched through “enhanced” patting, bin Laden might also wonder at just how stupid it is to assemble huge crowds at the Transportation Security Administration’s airport checkpoints, as if hundreds of people on planes were the only hundreds of people who make plausible targets for terrorists.

It seems Abdulmutallab, a name T.S.A. agents must now memorize, is to blame. Abdulmutallab is the failed Nigerian “underwear bomber” of last Christmas. He joins the failed shoe bomber and failed shampoo-and-bottled-water bombers in a remarkable success: adding another blanket layer of T.S.A checks, including dubious gropes, to the daily humiliations of travelers.

Whether or not these explosive devices were ever actually operable remains a matter of dispute, just as it remains a mystery that the enemy — if as powerful as portrayed — has not contrived a single terrorist act on U.S. soil since 9/11. What is not in doubt is an old rule: Give a bureaucrat a big stick and a big budget, allow said bureaucrat to trade in the limitless currency of human anxiety, and the masses will soon be intimidated by the Department of Fear.

Lavrenti Beria, Stalin’s notorious secret police chief, once said, “Show me the man and I’ll find you the crime.” The T.S.A. seems to operate on the basis of an adapted maxim: “Show me the security check and I’ll find you the excuse.”

Anyone who has watched T.S.A. agents spending 10 minutes patting down 80-year-old grandmothers, or seen dismayed youths being ordered back into the scanner booth by agents connected wirelessly to other invisible agents gazing at images of these people in a state of near-nakedness, has to ask: What form of group madness is it that forsakes judgment and discernment for process run amok?

I don’t doubt the patriotism of the Americans involved in keeping the country safe, nor do I discount the threat, but I am sure of this: The unfettered growth of the Department of Homeland Security and the T.S.A. represent a greater long-term threat to the prosperity, character and wellbeing of the United States than a few madmen in the valleys of Waziristan or the voids of Yemen.

America is a nation of openness, boldness and risk-taking. Close this nation, cow it, constrict it and you unravel its magic.

There are now about 400 full-body scanners, set to grow to 1,000 next year. One of the people pushing them most energetically is Michael Chertoff, the former Secretary of Homeland Security.

He’s the co-founder and managing principal of the Chertoff Group, which provides security advice. One of its clients is California-based Rapiscan Systems, part of the OSI Systems corporation, that makes many of the “whole body” scanners being installed.

Chertoff has recently been busy rubbishing Martin Broughton, the wise British Airways chairman who said many security checks were redundant — calling him “ill-informed.” Early this year Chertoff called on Congress to “fund a large-scale deployment of next-generation systems.”

You ask "Are we a free people or are we not?" The answer, clearly, is "not". There is no way around this, no way to recover "your" government. All that can be done now is walk away en masse and set up new societies. An example of this is what we are beginning to do at www.gaienecommunion.org - but we won't be the only ones. It is no use fighting governments. Your options are restricted to either becoming them, and changing them from the inside, or ignoring them and walking away, or both.

The turning point has already occurred. This TSA horror is but the first in many such 'dry runs' setting us up for the EndGame. It is not, however, too late by any means.

Roman General Sulla: Stop quoting the law, we have swords.

ww

excellent! next question is what, if anything, is the complacent people going to do about it? the TSA has over-stepped their boundaries and will continue to do so no matter what we say about it =( so any suggestions?

"When in the course of Human Events it becomes necessary"...DO IT

WW

You may war against poor and corrupt nations. You may war against religion/s, the opposite gender, your race, someone else's race, younger generations, older generations, your teachers, nurses, money, capitalism, socialism, government itself. You may abort unborn lives. You may even mock almighty god. But you SHALL NOT look at Israel for what it is.

And now, you will line up to have your genitals fingered. Your grandchildren will thank you for your courage.

Come on, one at a time, sheep.

Yes DickC,

Homo Vishnu Amerikanus...as docile as Hindu Cows.

The flame seems to have blown out..ignis fatuus

-National No One Flys Day-

Pick 1 day then Publish it (to pass the word) as "no one flys day" like the national smoke out day, and no one books flights and no ones flys that day.
Start costing the airlines some money and may be they will help get TSA out of the loop!!!

@CTB - TSA won't care. They don't care whether airlines make money or not. If you call the US House of representatives, (202) 224-3121, get connected to your rep's office, and remind them that they were elected to make sure government follows the will of the people.

You may have to wait until the new guys are sworn in, but if you melt their switchboard, they will get the point and defund the TSA.

get your head out of your ass. Representiatives follow the will of the corporations, not the sheeple. Your country is a facist wet dream

"You may have to wait until the new guys are sworn in, but if you melt their switchboard, they will get the point and defund the TSA."~James

You mean the way the Bailout was passed despite ten to one protest by an awakened and angry public at the end of 2008?

Is that really the way you think this thing works?

Naivety is NOT innocence my blogbot friend...

ww

ICTS was the Israeli-owned security company that allowed the underwear bomber, shoe bomber, and 9/11 hijackers to slip through security. It also was responsible for Twin towers security before 9/11 and London Bus system security on 7/7.
Michael Chertoff, ICTS and Mossad are the only words you need to know relating to all terrorist events over the last 10 years.

America's Turning Point...

Just to be clear, historically "America's Turning Point" was actually in 1913 with the imposition of the 'Federal Researve Act'. That was the actual end of the constitutional republic. It has all been 'appearances' from that time.

ww

@Willy - you are close, Willy, but what really nailed it was the change to elect Senators by popular vote as opposed to having them appointed by state legislators. Would senators who were appointed by the states vote for unfunded mandates? not!

See this:

http://www.scragged.com/articles/1913-americas-worst-year---election-reform

There was a lot more wrong with 1913 as the above article explains.

Fred,

Yea...we can do a lot of doubletakes when it comes to exploding lollipop history. We could jump back to 1871, when America Inc was incorporated.
We could jump as far back as Valley Forge, when George met that "angel" who turns out to be in truth, a Jewish moneyman to save his freezing starving army--offering a 'deal he can't refuse'...which was 'no interest, just make Hamilton treasury head...
So, the 'original coup'? It's in the Federalist Papers...

This is obviously a deep dilemma.
A long discussion on all of this is due...somewhere on the web...

ww

http://www.stockrocker.blogspot.com

Would the TSA be purposely trying to demoralize Americans? This feeling up and down of one's body is very suspect.

The perpetrators of terrorism don't lay within the American Spirit. Those who wish harm are uniquely identifiable.

www.blackpope this site will explain it all.

Hey! Net Kelly what specific link on "blackpope" will explain it all?
Sounds like spam to me!!

Read the interview on the blackpope count hans kolvenbach and then allow a couple of days to read the links . The jesuits are the military arm of the catholic church and direct most of the world , murders , wars etc and terrorism one nazi /communist / catholic world gov't. World war three as soon as u.s.a. is disarmed , around 2015. Look at all the masons devil worshippers false religions already twisting the values , read and then reply.

The Washington Post says that the scanners are unconstitutional.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/26/AR2010112604290.html

One advocacy group, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, has already filed a lawsuit, calling the body scanners unconstitutional. Could this challenge succeed?

Courts evaluating airport-screening technology tend to give great deference to the government's national security interest in preventing terrorist attacks. But in this case, there's a strong argument that the TSA's measures violate the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.

Although the Supreme Court hasn't evaluated airport screening technology, lower courts have emphasized, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled in 2007, that "a particular airport security screening search is constitutionally reasonable provided that it 'is no more extensive nor intensive than necessary, in the light of current technology, to detect the presence of weapons or explosives.' "

In a 2006 opinion for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, then-Judge Samuel Alito stressed that screening procedures must be both "minimally intrusive" and "effective" - in other words, they must be "well-tailored to protect personal privacy," and they must deliver on their promise of discovering serious threats. Alito upheld the practices at an airport checkpoint where passengers were first screened with walk-through magnetometers and then, if they set off an alarm, with hand-held wands. He wrote that airport searches are reasonable if they escalate "in invasiveness only after a lower level of screening disclose[s] a reason to conduct a more probing search."

As currently used in U.S. airports, the new full-body scanners fail all of Alito's tests. First, as European regulators have recognized, they could be much less intrusive without sacrificing effectiveness. For example, Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, the European airport that employs body-scanning machines most extensively, has incorporated crucial privacy and safety protections. Rejecting the "backscatter" machines used in the United States, which produce revealing images of the body and have raised concerns about radiation, the Dutch use scanners known as ProVision ATD, which employ radio waves with far lower frequencies than those used in common hand-held devices. If the software detects contraband or suspicious material under a passenger's clothing, it projects an outline of that area of the body onto a gender-neutral, blob-like human image, instead of generating a virtually naked image of the passenger. The passenger can then be taken aside for secondary screening.

TSA Administrator John Pistole acknowledged in recent testimony that these "blob" machines, as opposed to the "naked" machines, are the "next generation" of screening technology. His concern, he said, is that "there are currently a high rate of false positives on that technology, so we're working through that."

But courts might hold that, even with false positives, "blob" imaging technology that leads to a secondary pat-down is less invasive and more effective than imposing a choice between "naked" machines and intrusive pat-downs as primary screening for all passengers.

I have looked through these sites blackpope.com.net.and.org none of them have interviews or anything related to exposing anything. I even did a search on each site for a "count hans kolvenbach interview"....none was found!

Typically these domains, previously relevant to disclosure, are now exclusively hawking goods and are now for sale.

I stand by my previous comment!

www.blackpope nothimg else

ned kelly

There is no such thing as www.blackpope. It is as I stated above com/net or org (the common domains!!)

Are you ok?

The Economist says that TSA hardly ever catches test weaponis put through the system:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2011/01/tsa_threat_detection

N RECENT WEEKS, multiple news outlets (including this blog) have cited numbers that suggest that screeners from America's Transportation Security Administration (TSA) detect less than 30% of the knives and guns that officials try to sneak through security in tests. On Friday, the TSA's Blogger Bob attempted to counter those reports. According to Bob, the 30% number (or 70% failure rate) is based on a report released in 2006, which was itself based on tests conducted in 2004 and 2005. He says that "[s]ince 2004-2005, TSA has implemented new security measures and deployed enhanced technology, which reflect TSA's evolving approach to aviation security." Bob is suggesting the publicly reported numbers are outdated and TSA's actual failure rate could be or is lower than reported.

There's definitely some confusion here. The ABC News report Gulliver linked to last month didn't rely on 2004, 2005, or 2006 numbers—it referenced "a person briefed" on "the latest tests" who said they have a failure rate of 70%. And earlier in December, TSA administrator John Pistole told the press that some airports let every test gun, knife, and bomb part through. Here's a key excerpt from another ABC News article:

"We've had a series of reports actually going back several years from the inspector general, from the General Accounting Office, and our own TSA Office of Inspection, where they do, as you describe, covert testing," Pistole acknowledged to George Stephanopoulos last month during an interview on Good Morning America. "And unfortunately, [undercover testers] have been very successful over the years."

The TSA is clearly still doing this sort of testing. There are legitimate reasons that the government might want to keep the results secret. On the other hand, if screeners are doing better, agency officials would certainly be within their rights to release the results and brag about them. But the agency can't have it both ways. If TSA officials are going to imply that the situation has improved since the last inspector general and GAO reports were leaked to the press, they should prove it.

The TSA doesn't seem willing or able to release its current failure rate. Fine. But in the meantime, agency public affairs officers should be very careful about attacking the press for reporting what information is actually available. Surely if TSA screeners were doing much better in covert testing, the agency would be eager to release the data. That hasn't happened. You don't have to be a cynic to think that the current, unreleased numbers might not be quite as impressive as the agency would like.

"If America has a single founding principle, it is this: no government has any authority to take any action without the consent of the governed."

Sorry but this country has not had the "consent of the governed" since 1865. Whatever you think about the War Between the States Abraham Lincoln proved that you don't need "the consent of the governed" to run the country. You just have to have the biggest army, the most resources and a willingness to take away the Constitutionally guaranteed right to leave a union that had been voluntarily joined. This "might makes right" attitude has been pervasive in the US domestic and foreign policy for over 150 years. Why is anyone surprised by it now?