Exactly none of your statements are supported by the evidence available. While I do believe that the TSA is doing the job they are supposed to be doing — according to someone anyway — there is no evidence whatsoever that that job includes searching for terrorists.
As for knowing in advance that wearing a fancy watch and large shoes with extra insoles is likely to set off the TSA — that’s only true if you are willing to justify that ANYTHING might set off the TSA. We haven’t seen a picture of the watch yet, so some speculation on this point may be premature, but we do know what a watch designed to be a bomb timer looks like: it looks like a watch. To be more specific: the watches to be used as timers in the famous “Bojinka” plot were dime-store Casio digital watches, with no wires poking out during transit through “security.” Real bomb timers are hidden. Almost by definition, something big and garish and flashy is NOT a bomb timer.
As for the shoes with extra insoles: you really think that was part of some plan to alert the TSA and wind up in jail? There’s lots of reasons to wear large shoes with lots of insoles. For example, there’s foot pain.
I’m going to cut you some slack here, and assume you are a healthy young kid — the kind of kid who has never yet had to deal with chronic foot pain. May you be young and healthy forever. For the rest of us, foot pain occurs, and wearing lots of insoles sometimes helps. You may wish to go to your local mall and observe what old men wear on their feet. You think they (all right, we) wear those big clunky thick-soled shoes because they think thick soles are fashionable?
So which is more likely: that 49 year old McGann wore big shoes with lots of insoles because he was part of some plot to blow up an airplane with a big stack of Dr. Sholl’s, or that he was deliberately planning to go to jail by wearing extra padding in his shoes ... or maybe he had bunions, or plantar fasciitis, or foot strain, or pedal tendonitis, or some other issue? Seriously, think about the alternatives here.
The watch, and the big shoes, were likely just excuses for the TSA to harass Mr. McGann. From the TSA’s point of view, they were excellent excuses, because they MADE NO SENSE. Governments throughout history have used the idea of random punishments (like jail) of the populace to instill fear and foreboding and a sense that punishment can come at any time. That kind of random, senseless punishment works partly because so many people, sometimes including the victims themselves, try to make sense of the punishment, and somehow convince themselves that the victims of this punishment did something to deserve it. I don’t pretend to understand this, but it’s a pretty well documented phenomenon.
Just a few things to consider.
Ok it looks like you deliebrately want to be obtuse, so I can’t help you
The article (which you obviously didnt read) described the watch as having wires and circuit boards with switches on it.
The boots were also described, and it sound more like a void in the boot that could be used to hold explosives.
In short, the dumbass deliberate went through airport security with materials that not only LOOK like bomb making materials (art or not) but could actually BE bomb making materials.
1) I am glad they noticed
2) he could not be so stupid as to not think they would be noticed
So... wiseass got hisself arrested and for THIS instance I say GOOD WORK, TSA
Imagine if he got through security- then he could have taken photos and then said “look what I snuck through security” and that might have been all over the news that night.
IO have been freeping here since before Clinton was molesting interns, so as a (mere) 10 year veteran I am surprised you could have been here this long and NOT spotted an attention-whore pulling a stupid stunt when you see one.