Low-Downs On Pat-Downs (The Point)

News Central ^ | 12/05/2004 | Mark Hyman

[Angry Republican]

Helen Chenoweth-Hage had a simple request. The former Idaho Congressman had been pulled aside at the Boise Airport for secondary screening to include a physical pat-down. Chenoweth-Hage had sailed through the metal detector without problem, but TSA officials wanted to scrutinize her some more.

The former Congressman simply asked to see the regulations that permitted TSA officials to pat her down. They refused. And she refused to allow them to pat her down. So they booted her off her flight.

Incidents like this have happened so many times that it is beyond absurd. The regulations of TSA, which should stand for "Thousands Standing Around," are cloaked in secrecy. In this case, a 66-year old former Member of Congress is told to submit to further scrutiny for reasons of political correctness and to inflate inspection numbers.

According to aviation industry sources, the TSA intentionally targets individuals for further scrutiny not because they pose a threat, but because their profiles fit those the least likely to complain. Groups getting extra scrutiny include government employees and the military. Other national security threats reportedly requiring further scrutiny in the past include former Vice President Al Gore and longtime Congressman John Dingell.

The two-part problem is this. First, inspecting people who clearly do not pose a threat distracts attention from those who could pose a threat. Second, the notion that TSA can subject the public to regulations that are not made public is ludicrous. It's like citing a motorist for speeding with the speed limit signs all covered.

The Transportation Security Administration has not provided real and responsible security to our nation's airlines and airports. Playing hide and seek with the regulations and subjecting innocents to absurd inspections in the name of political correctness is simply a waste of time and money.

And that's the Point.

I'm Mark Hyman.

[Max Combined]

"Personally, I think anyone entering a large building, skyscraper, tunnels, subways, malls etc, where literally 10,000 people work, should be groped, searched, scanned, x-rayed, sniffed, and searched."

Well, you certainly have a right to your opinion. Now if only you can convince enough other people to see it your way and you can make it happen.

Conversely, if you can convince enough people that searching people who are about to board an airplane is a bad idea, it will cease.

Good luck.

[iconoclast]

Because it was folks getting on planes who caused the carnage on 911, in case you did not notice.

Because it was folks A-rabs getting on planes who caused the carnage on 911, in case YOU did not notice.

What's your real name .... Mineta?

[Max Combined]

"Oh I see, you are all worried about some freak from Cal turning Muslim"

No, I am not all worried about some freak from Cal turning Muslim. Neither am I all worried about some nitwit being subject to a pat down before she boards a plane.

[Max Combined]

"I would say ... you are too"

Thanks, but I already knew that.

[Max Combined]

"Let me know when TSA catches a 66-year-old white women smuggling boob bombs, okay?"

"In September, the Transportation Security Administration instituted stricter rules to check passengers. The changes came after two women who had hidden explosives under their clothes brought down two Russian airliners this summer."

[iconoclast]

As for the people at the supermarket, they annoy the hell out of me for holding up the line.

Get in another line, and please never carry a gun.

[Joe Hadenuf]

I guess my question is, do *you* think anyone entering a large building, skyscraper, tunnels, subways, malls etc, where literally 10,000 people work, should be groped, searched, scanned, x-rayed, sniffed, and searched.?"

If not, why not?

[Max Combined]

"In other news, 8000 people entered our country illegally today."

Apparently we both agree that this should be stopped as soon as possible, but it doesn't look like it is going to happen any time soon.

We should have stopped the illegal immigration years and years ago before the number of Mexicans in this country reached a critical mass to where there are nearly as many of them as there are of us.

[Joe Hadenuf]

If you could answer 167. Thanks.

[Knitebane]

Good for you. Enjoy your walk.

What? Do you work for the airlines?

You do know, don't you, that there are many other ways to travel in this country without having to submit to a Federally-mandated groping, right?

Did you know I can charter a plane and not have to put up with it?

I can drive, take a bus, or take a train.

With a pilot's license I can lease a plane and even carry a gun onboard.

You do work for the airlines, don't you? That might explain why you're so bitter and irrational.

[Max Combined]

"What about large building, skyscraper, tunnels, subways, malls etc, where literally 10,000 people work, and shop. Should they too be groped, searched, scanned, x-rayed, sniffed, and searched?"

It depends.

[Max Combined]

"and while they're patting down algore, who is walking right through?"

Who?

[Max Combined]

"What exactly did you put in your previous posts would have shown this to be a fact and not a wild claim?"

I meant paying attention to the world in general, not just posts. I knew about the pregnant Irish woman trying to bring a bomb onto El Al because I pay attention to the news, not because someone told me in a post.

[Max Combined]

"MaxCombined's rules"

Thanks, but you give me more credit than I am due.

[F.J. Mitchell]

I would feel safer riding a plane with Dingell or Gore, after they had been patted down. I am sure that all airline passengers would feel safer if Known Democrat politicians were not only patted down, but strapped into straight jackets before being belted into their seats.

[iconoclast]

making sure potential terrorists like Pat Boone ain't hiding a nailclipper in their BVDs, thanks to the support of assured sheep like you. Relax in the afterglow.

And like me, a sixty-eight year old white haired Irish-American, relieved of my plastic corkscrew.

No big deal, it probably cost less than two bucks. But, I wonder how much more secure my fellow passengers felt.

Oh yeah, I was in my stocking feet when relieved of my "weapon".

[Max Combined]

"There is no need for patriotic Americans to be subjected to "unreasonable searches and seizures". "

True. For that matter, there is no reason for unpatriotic Americans to be subjected to "unreasonable searches and seizures". Airport searches are reasonable.

[Joe Hadenuf]

I guess my question is, do *you* think anyone entering a large building, skyscraper, tunnels, subways, malls etc, where literally 10,000 people work, should be groped, searched, scanned, x-rayed, sniffed, and searched.?" If not, why not?

It depends.

LOL! Depends on what?

What about theaters? Trains, subways, huge malls? Big buildings etc, etc. What about those Max? They hold a hell of a lot more people than a little 727.

Why not start do those folks too Max? Why just stop at airplanes? Don't we care about all those folks?

[durasell]

This issue is not real for them. And I can't blame'em. The consequences are horrible to consider.

[Max Combined]

"but are only serving to irritate the innocent."

While it is true that they irritate the innocent, including me lots of times, I do think they help discourage hijackers a little. Probably more important than actually preventing terrorists attacks, they make the faint at heart more willing to fly again, since all the security gives the illusion of something important being done. It is important for our economy that at least the illusion of safely is given so that more people fly and get about their business. If I had my druthers, I would fly on an airline that did no searching and allowed everyone to fly armed to the teeth, but that is not going to happen.

Probably the most important reason for all the security is so that when the next terrorist attack occurs, the politicians can all say that they were doing everything possible to make the sky safe.

Given all that, I still say that a woman who goes through security and then demands to see the regulation that allows her to be patted down is a nitwit.